Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Philadelphia Flyers: Behind the scenes - Part 3



My photo, taken inside the Philadelphia Flyers' locker room on March 2, 2013.

I took this photo of Ilya Bryzgalov along with another of Brian Boucher in order to contrast the two goaltenders. 

 "Bryz" remains uneasy in front of the media. He's clearly been coached on how to handle these moments and has taken a smart route so far this year. He's not offering bites to the hungry crowd and is purely focused on the team. 

 In getting to know him up close, I can say that an English language barrier (as he is a native Russian speaker) does appear to affect his ability to understand what he hears and to communicate effectively. Bernie Parent, who I interviewed at length one-on-one a few years ago, experienced a similar situation during his career as a native French speaker. 

 Feeling for someone who makes millions of dollars (as Brzygalov does) isn't something that hardened fans are open to. All fans aren't hardened, but a growing amount are and they aren't shy about saying so.

 I like Bryzgalov's skill level and I think that he's trying his best to meet his media commitments this season. People who want him to be who he isn't are have been and remain out of line. How great it would be for him to skate with the Stanley Cup held over his head again someday (he won the Cup in Anaheim earlier in his career, while he was a backup) while wearing the Flyers' crest this time instead.
                                                                                                                                    My photo, taken inside the Philadelphia Flyers' locker room on March 2, 2013.

 On the other hand, "Boosh" is well-known to the Flyers' faithful. An affable guy, who has had a serviceable NHL career, Boucher is playing in the twilight of his hockey years. 

 He's exactly the type of person who will support Bryzgalov this season, while also offering a competent backup effort. He's a good guy who is the type of person who could spend the next part of his career somewhere within the Flyers' scouting department, their coaching staff, or in the front office.

Tomorrow: Behind the scenes with Claude Giroux. 
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Digital Creation


Writing my brief eBook was enjoyable. Making it available to the public by publishing it was exciting.  

A strong thank you to everyone who has been downloading: 
Fast Fiction and Other Stuff on Amazon.com. Your response has been heartwarming.

Humor, horror, mystery, adventure, travel, sports and a few selected stories are all wrapped inside this mini-tome. 
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At the end of 2012, I was ranked among Yahoo.com's Top 100 Contributors. Yahoo cites more than 600,000 paid writers. Click on my Contributor Page to learn more.
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Some GREAT WEBSITES from some fine digital friends:
The Sports Critic by Raymond Bureau
Positive Calm by Solvita Bennet
Meltzer's Musings via Bill Meltzer at HockeyBuzz.com 
Free eBooks Daily
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Philadelphia Flyers' Legends

Each of these Flyers' legends (Brian Propp, Dave Poulin and Tim Kerr) deserved their own article. So, that's why these three features were written...

Here is a link to the story about Propp: 

The link to Poulin's piece: 
Philadelphia Flyers' Captain Dave Poulin Earned Permanent Respect

Last, but not least, here's Kerr's link:
Philadelphia Flyers' Tim Kerr Was a True Power Forward
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Classic headline: Those great hockey cards
Nothing topped the meaning that these hockey cards still hold. Here is the special feature that still ranks among the most-read articles that I've written since 2011: 
Topps Hockey Card Mystery is Revealed.
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I'm truly humbled that all of my online features have combined to generate millions of documented hits since I first began my digital adventure on Labor Day, 2010. Thank you to all readers.
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Name-dropper 
These are some of the high achievers I've had the opportunity to interview...
Not just sports though...
My recent feature: State of the Union Address: Commonsense Gun Response Warranted was written in response to an assignment from the Yahoo News editorial team after the President of the United States gave his address. 
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Baseball cards
Bygone days spent with elementary school days and family members opening packs of Topps cardboard gold never truly fade away. 
Here is my special feature that highlights many of our collective childhood memories:  When Baseball Cards were King.
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Classic Headline Topic: MMA Phenomena
Here is my most recent feature article about a live XFE Cage Wars event that I attended. I encourage fans of any sport to attend one of these events when you can. The excitement of the crowd and the efforts of the fighters will earn your admiration. 
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