For the Flyers to resuscitate their position in the Conference Finals tonight, they need more than Umberger goals and Marty Magic. In fact, they need some help from above, in the form of upper-deck dancer Shawny Hill, a senior at Rowan University who over the past two years has seen more JumboTron time than the Flyers themselves. — Amy Strauss

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That’s what Inquirer writer Don McKee speculates after the Flyers appeared lifeless again last night, dropping the home-and-home series with the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2:

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This is getting confusing. Either Peter Forsberg’s agent is trying to cause a NHL-trade-deadline battle royal between general managers by releasing a statement that it’s “highly unlikely” his client will return this season, or else Swedish TV interview to English newspaper translation is way behind Babel Fish. Because according to the International Herald Tribune, Forsberg just went on Swedish television and still didn’t rule out a comeback this season:

“The foot doesn’t feel 100 (percent), but there is still one week left until the deadline.”

Just 24 hours ago, it appeared the rest of the league had given up all hope of acquiring the future Hall of Famer this season and started to focus on acquiring key players that will actually be able to skate for three minutes without their metatarsals turning to dust.

The Flyers seemed exasperated by the Forsberg situation last week, so it’d be a little surprising to see GM Paul Holmgren get himself worked up over this recent development.

Though even a guy with one foot could probably help the injury-bitten team pull out of this ugly losing streak.

Peter Forsberg keeps hope alive for NHL comeback [IHT]

The drawn-out saga of Peter Forsberg’s possible return to the NHL has produced all sorts of misdirections and backpedaling since the rumor was first floated at the beginning of the hockey season. And the Flyers, supposedly the frontrunners, have been cooling on him the longer it drags out. Any Forsberg news that happened this week was supposed to be about the lucky NHL team finally able to snag him. Unless, of course, his horse dies:

Swedish hockey star Peter Forsberg is suing a local company and the owners of a horse racing track for 12 million kronor (€1.28 million; US$1.87 million) for causing an accident that led to his horse being put down.

The name of the horse was “Tsar d’Inverne,” which is Swedish for “lingering foot problem.”

Peter Forsberg sues Swedish companies for horse race accident [International Herald Tribune]

Rich Hoffman’s story in the Daily News today about NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s 15-year anniversary party is a little misleading. Although Bettman is featured in the headline (and in an odd-looking photo), the bulk of the story is a conversation with Flyers/Sixers chairman and warmonger Ed Snider, whose quotes about the NHL’s relationship with another giant sports media conglomerate seem to have been taken after he chugged a blender full of Ripped Fuel:

“You can’t measure our success whether or not we’re on ESPN,” Snider said. “Screw ESPN. Most of our television is local and we do very well in our local markets.
 
“We could have gone to ESPN. They offered us bupkus. Then they acted like they had us over a barrel, that we had no place else to go. I never liked the way they treated us …”

And then Ed Snider tore off his shirt and began eating Hoffman’s tape recorder.

For the NHL, Bettman has money in the bank [Daily News]

The Inquirer reports that the death of the Wachovia Spectrum — the other, more historic arena in South Philly, now mostly used for Philadelphia Phantoms games, monster truck events and bands that couldn’t sell out the Wachovia Center — could be announced as early as next month.

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Former Flyers player/GM and current senior executive vice president Bobby Clarke still lives by a code. Talk to anybody who played against those broken-knuckled Flyers teams of the ’70s and you’ll find out that, regardless of his seeming Golden Boy persona, the guy was a menace on the ice. So it shouldn’t be a surprise when Clarkie lobs a sound bite sticking up for the freewheeling thuggishness of young Steve Downie, who recently made national hockey news once again thanks to his supposed sucker-punch to Toronto Maple Leaf Jason Blake last Saturday night.

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The news that former Flyer Eric Lindros was announcing his retirement today unleashed many reflective, what-could-have-been tributes to a player who always seemed on the precipice of hockey greatness but never fully achieved it.

Then there’s blogger Jeremy Taylor, who took the time yesterday to share a Lindros story that will most likely not be shared during any other tribute pieces. Taylor met the ex-Flyer on a trip to Atlantic City in the late ’90s and had an uncomfortable run-in with him in the bathroom at Ceasar’s:

The bathroom was relatively crowded — in fact there were only two side-by-side urinals available. I took my urinal just like I would if I didn’t think the number one pick in 1991’s NHL Entry Draft was about to take the next one.
 
The first thing I noticed, upon seeing Lindros in person standing, was that he was taller (and skinnier) than I expected. I guess height helps in hockey because it allows you to see things from a less obstructed perspective.
 
As I did my thing, I felt something bearing down on me from an unobstructed perspective. It was Lindros, and, yes, he was sneaking a peek.

Taylor goes on to say that Lindros realized he was caught, then “quickly turned away” as they both finished up. Flyers fans shouldn’t be too surprised by this behavior, given the Lindros was criticized many times throughout his career for skating with his head down.

Eric Lindros used his height to his advantage [TheJSB]

Eric Lindros, the man who was supposed to save this city from perpetual championship-lessness thanks to his blessed hockey DNA and enormous size, is finally putting his weary, concussion-prone head to bed.

Although many think it happened a few years ago, Lindros is scheduled to officially announce his retirement from professional hockey tomorrow. Philadelphia, of course, has a distorted view of his unfulfilled playing career, but some hockey experts still refer to him as “one of the greats” for a supposedly dominant eight-year run that most Flyers fans seem to forget.

To refresh your memory, the London Free Press offers up a fawning tribute to Lindros, from his prodigal rise as a young hockey phenom all the way to his professional career as underachieving superstar. Amazingly, Lindros received a ringing endorsement for his hockey legacy from former arch enemy/Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke, who told the paper: “Certainly he’s a Hall of Famer.”

Really. If that does happen, how many Philadelphians would actually drive up to see the induction ceremony?

Eric the great hanging ‘em up [The London Free Press]

The Eagles take over Monday Night Football and the Phillies continue to inexplicably dominate the Mets, but there’s also that other team that’s stealing a little sunshine.

The Philadelphia Flyers have come off last year’s dismal dismantling and are, surprisingly, gaining momentum once again as one of this city’s most popular teams. This is the first full season of the post-Bobby Clarke era and the first full one of John Stephens’s young pro coaching career. The team stockpiled young free agents, has cut some of the dead weight, and seems poised to return to the playoffs even though most casual fans would have trouble naming any of the players besides Simon Gagne.

First order of business? Find a captain. Right now, the “C” is sitting alone in a dusty locker in Voorhees waiting to find out whose jersey it’ll adorn. Clear-cut leaders include Gagne and defenseman Derian Hatcher, but new free agent acquisitions Daniel Briere and Kimmo Timmonen may also be considered.

Tonight the Flyers engage in their first pre-season game with the New Jersey Devils, stepping out in their new “old” jerseys and re-igniting black/orange mania in the Philadelphia area.

Flyers have several candidates to fill captain’s vacancy [SI]
Philadelphia Flyers [Home Page]

PHOTO: Philadelphia Daily News