I’m still trying to wrap my head around the size of Michael Barkann’s balls to go all David Frost on Ed Snider in an interview that left the chairman furious.
Now some of that brainpower needs to go to figuring out what melon factory new Inquirer columnist visited before returning to Philly after a stint covering sports for the Wall Street Journal.
On Monday, Sielski pressed Ed Snider. And on Tuesday, he wrote a screed against the organization and challenged Craig Berube to punish Jay Rosehill for committing a dumb penalty.
Today, he continued his crusade via ink-laden words formulated as such to convey mocking criticism of the OB:
That the Flyers muffled the Panthers over that stretch, holding them to one shot on goal and killing off the penalties, is beside the point. Rosehill’s irresponsible actions could have changed the course of a one-goal game, a game his team needed to win, yet there was Berube afterward, mitigating Rosehill’s first penalty and offering a halfhearted condemnation of the indefensible.
“Well, I thought it was a weak call originally,” Berube said. “And then what he did afterward was unacceptable. He can’t do it. He knows that.”
Did the coach have some sort of punishment in mind?
“You want me to spank him?” Berube said. “Get lost.”
It was a funny line, and with it, Berube deftly let himself off the hook. No, Chief, we don’t want you to smack the bottom of a 6-foot-3, 215-pound left winger. But it would be good if you benched him. In fact, it would be better if you and Holmgren did the right thing and cut him.
Berube and Holmgren will never do such a thing, because these are the Flyers, and they still cling to that tired belief that an NHL team has to suit up at least one fighter every night to protect its other, more talented players. The Detroit Red Wings, with their commitment to skill and speed and synchronicity, have been proving that theory wrong for two decades, but no matter. The Flyers stick to it, so Rosehill will stay.
HOLY SHIT.
What’s the over-under on how long until Sielski loses his press credential? I say six days. And today is Day 3.
I’m not sure why one would expect Berube to suspend – that’s the league’s job – or “cut” Rosehill*, but that’s not the point. Sielski very obviously has an agenda here to hold the OB accountable. This column is completely out of bounds and reaching for something that’s not there… but, his tactic is a breath of fresh air. None of the beat writers would dare question the organization’s culture, and few media members in Philly would go after Mr. Snider like that, especially considering that in many cases, Snider and the Comcast umbrella are, in one way or another, responsible for their continued employment.
Sielski is flying really close to the sun right now, yes, but he’s also trying to hold the organization accountable for years for goofy management. It’s almost as if he spent his time at the Wall Street Journal plotting his return to Philly, waiting for the perfect moment to strike an exposed Snider. Using the firing of Peter Laviolette to do so is probably the second most necessary-evil plan since Walter lured Gustavo into Hector’s nursing home room in Season 4 of Breaking Bad.
Of course, it will take a lot more than one pesky incendiary device like Sielski to dispose of Snider.
*He has a two-year contract. So they still have to pay him. And would still take the cap hit. This is why you don’t give goons two-year deals.
35 Responses
It was definitely a dumb penalty, but Sielski is going overboard.
Clearly Sielski knows nothing about hockey. Rosehill should get cut from the team because of what happened? That’s one of the dumbest things I’ve read, and it’s dumber than 99% of the comments on the Comment Sections of all of these websites. Dude, you got shutdown, let it go, move on. You’re not making any friends.r. If you want to challenge the flyers at least know what your talking about. His first attack was that they should hire from outside the organization. Didn’t Lavy come from outside the organization? If you look at the history of the coaches, they’ve hired from outside on a regular basis. Then you ask if a pro hockey player is going to get punished? What a bizarre question. This guy knows NOTHING about the sport and instead of sitting back and learning, he looks like a fool
Although he’s 100% correct that the Flyers focus too much on bringing in “tough guys” as opposed to skilled players.
…works for the Bruins though, right? I’m not saying it’s my preferred style, but I think people are just throwing anything and everything at the wall. If I think there’s one guy that needs to go it’s Hartnell. Simmonds fits the banger/crash the net guy, and Hartnell’s salary is too high for that type of player. If they fill a skill guy with his salary, then they are a more evenly balanced team. .
I didn’t realize you were a blind Flyers defender, my bad.
#FreeTyeMcGinn
ROADHOUSE!!
I cried happy tears after reading his article this morning. I stood & gave a standing ovation. Fantastic work by Mike. This has been needed for many years now. I’m a die hard Flyers fan, but I am not part of the legion of blind sheep that fill the FU/Cores States/Well/whatthefuckever arena.
I agree with you Kyle. His overall scheme, I agree with. Call out Ed and his cohorts for years of arrogance and lack of getting with the times. But this story is bs, plain and simple.
Its about time a writer got in there who isn’t a hundred years old like the crew they have now. Those guys are still fixated on the fact that Snider brought hockey to Philadelphia and won a few cups back in the stone age. This guy represents the majority of hockey fans here who only care that they haven’t won a cup in 40 years. Snider has been at the head of a franchise that has failed at the ultimate goal for as long as a lot of us have been alive. I hope Sielski keeps this up. No one gives a damn they make the playoffs all the time. Win a freakin cup.
I don’t think he asked the question very well. Rosehill shouldn’t be suspended or fined but there should be repercussions, like dressing him for fewer games.
› Visit Amazon’s Mike Sielski Page
Mike Sielski
Biography
Born in New Brunswick, N.J., and raised just outside Philadelphia, Mike Sielski (1975-) is the author of “Fading Echoes: A True Story of Rivalry and Brotherhood from the Football Field to the Fields of Honor.” In 2005, he co-authored the book “How to Be Like Jackie Robinson: Life Lessons from Baseball’s Greatest Hero” with Pat Williams. A 1997 graduate of La Salle University and a 1998 graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Sielski has been the sports columnist for Calkins Media, a chain of daily newspapers in suburban Philadelphia, since 2003.
No shot Rosehill goes anywhere, unfortunately…I like Sielski, though. La Salle communication grad. I hope he doesn’t get blacklisted by Spectacor for having the balls to do his job.
You are all clowns!! I will call out the big orange machine for what they are and you will like it. Kneel before me like the peasants that you all are. Go pour another beer on the ground by the old Bungalo and cheer for the goons of the Flyers. I will put it in your kind of language so you can understand: Y’all is dumb, yous dont know shit about hockey in 2013. Miller lite and dumb penalties, thats what Philly does. Peace out dikenzians!
This guy has a serious complex…just watch this cock-sucker on Daily News Live (or whatever it’s called now) and his completely smug demeanor. He acts as if he’s doing everyone on the panel a favor by simply uttering his opinions. He’s a little arrogant, fucking prick who’s out to make a name for himself…nothing more, nothing less.
Rosehill should be cut…give me a fucking break! This thought alone should be enough to completely dismantle any shred of credibility this fuck-bag has.
…Now back to Kyle blowing Seilski’s needle-dick because his own media credentials are absolutely **zero.**
full dislcosure: I’m not fan of Rosehill by any means, but the idea that he should be cut because of the idiotic instance last night is not only childish, but completely fucking retarded and shows how little of an understanding this asshole has of the NHL.
Kyle… Is it still to early for the Mike Sielski big balls wheelbarrow?
Sielski is a boner. Plain and simple.
I don’t agree with suspending or outright cutting Rosehill for his dumb-assed penalties but I have no qualms with benching him whenever necessary.
As far as Sielski in general? I love that he’s calling this team on the carpet, whereas most of his journalist cohorts lost their testiular fortitude to do so a long time ago, or never had it to begin with. The condescending, arrogant attitude that Snider showed in the firing press conference was the straw that broke the camel’s back with me. “We don’t need a fresh perspective”. That line will go down in infamy as one of the stupidest/most deluded/in denial comments in Philly sports lore.
SPOILERS
I still question why this dude left The Wall Street Journal, one of the most respected periodicals in the world, for the Inquirer.
Yes, I know Kyle explained that it was a promotion because he is now a columnist, but it seems to me if he was doing a good job at the WSJ as a reporter he could have worked his way up to a columnist. Who wants to be a columnist for a paper like the Inquirer that no one reads anyway?
I will not defend myself to you dullards. The Inquirer used to be a great paper, but I didn’t realize that none of you dopes know how to read anymore. Now everyone reads blogs written by 25yr old half wits that have no training or education like me and my prestigous Lasallian piece of paper. Sielski Out
Oh and Kyle, before you come over tonight for drinks, pick up some astroglide, k bye
Mr. Scott, even i find mr. Sielski’s attacks on the Flyers organization and your campaign against the team this week preposterous. We are only four games into the season. That aside, please forward me Mr. Sielski’s contact information, we have many things to discuss.
look who it is!!!
Rosehill is a goon. He provides nothing for the team other than penalty minutes. Zac Rinaldo can provide all the toughness the team needs. How about we add some players to the lineup that know how it hit the net and bury some goals. Both goals we scored yesterday were flukes. We should still be 0-4
Sure, Rosehill is a goon, but the Flyers knew what they were getting. The dude got drunk at a strip club, stole a car from the parking lot, and tried to drive it to another strip club, getting a DUI in the process. Not exactly a rocket scientist. But I really think Sielski is out of line here. He’s making himself part of the story just like Eskin does all the time, and he seems to be pretty clueless overall about hockey. God forbid a coach be allowed to deal with discipline issues internally without telling the press every single detail about it. Take a chill pill, Sielski.
Excellent use of punctuation.
Go ahead and write me a ticket for those extraneous commas. My bad. It’s after 5 PM so I make no guarantees of not typing under the influence.
Lol hopefully you are going with a nice craft beer and/or liquor and not some shit beer.
Drinking whiskey tonight, officer.
My statement about the shit beer applies to whiskey too. Please tell me you are going with a respectable brand and not the cheapest thing on the shelf.
Italicizing the first “i” in “organization” in every Flyers post? That’s Philly’s Most Irreverent Sports Blog for you, folks.
I wonder if the media realizes they are part of the problem? Their little back and forth with the Flyers over the years, Clarke/Snider and now Holmgren/Snider, only makes the OB form a tighter circle and do things even more their way. Not to mention that we have to overpay for free agents to get them to come here and have to deal with these morons on a daily basis. It’s clear Sielski has an agenda and was put in his place by Berube for asking a poorly worded follow up question. If he had a little more tact to his question instead of trying to be funny and abrasive, Berube probably would have answered it. Don’t talk to a coach like he’s dealing with a five year old child. Anyone with two eyes realizes Rosehill is a douche but he’s the option they decided to go with as a fourth line security guard, right now. Don’t tell me other teams in the league don’t do it because they do including Chicago who employs the likes of Dan Carcillo …although I do agree with Tye Mcginn being brought in to take Rosehill’s place. He at least can play hockey and contribute a bit. Rosehill is on a two way contract, I’m sure, and can easily be sent to the minors for a quarter of the price.
Jay Rosehill and his 2yr contract are reasons #68 & #69 why Paul Holmgren should be fired. The team didn’t need this type of player (goon) or type of person (felon – charged with car theft). And Sielski, if he had been a smarter man, wouldn’t have simply asked if Berube would punish Rosehill (leaving the question open to well deserved snark). NO, what he should have asked if Rosehill’s actions would result in less ice time the next few games or longer. That’s how you do it.
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