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CALLING SIGNALS |
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FAB FLYERS |
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Has anyone soared higher
of TheColumnists.com
The soaringest sportsmen
so far this year have to be ... let's see:
The Sun-dousing Lakers? No.
The James-jamming Celtics? No.
The Mosley-mopping Mayweather? No.
The Mayweather-hunting, vote-producing Pacquiao? No.
The Favre-flogging, Super-balling Saints? No.
The Butler-besting Dukin' Blue Devils? No.
The Bobby Hull-reliving Blackhawks? No.
Getting warm.
Try another bunch on the ice, this one with wings in their logo:
The Flyers of Philadelphia.
You want fabled? The Flyers of 2010 already are.
We're not halfway through the year, and they're flying at a historic
clip.
The Flyers shot into the National Hockey League semifinals by:
1. Outshooting the New York Rangers in the regular season's last
game to squeak into the playoffs.
2. Facing a 0-3 series hole and winning the next four games against
the Boston Bruins.
3. Facing a 0-3 hole in that seventh game and finishing off those
Bruins 4-3.
4. Meeting hockey's other playoff shocker, the Montreal Canadiens,
and skating to a 2-0 series lead.
Fightin', fantastic, fabled. The Flyers rule the 4-F Club.
And who knows them? Philly fans, no doubt. A few of those loyalists
might line your office. Other than them, no one would recognize
Michael Leighton if he buzzed in. Or Peter Laviolette.
Introducing:
Goalie Leighton. He took over from an injured starter and is stopping
every shot that matters.
Coach Laviollete. He's that rarity in the NHL, a stud American. He
directed Carolina to the 2006 Stanley Cup and has Phenomenal
Philly on the brink. Boston fans surely are bummed a neighbor
nailed them, what with the First Flyer hailing from Norwood,
Mass.
Speaking of Boston, it also had to be sickening to swallow its
own medicine. Recall the Red Sox rose from 0-3 in the 2004 pennant
series. That nuking of the New York Yankees capped baseball's
greatest rebound. Six years later, Bostonians had to feel queasy.
The Flyers of 2010. The Sox of 2004. Makes you ponder sports'
top comebacks.
How about:
The Giants of 1962. Sure, Bobby Thomson's Giants of 1951 gave New York
drama worthy of Broadway. But the San Francisco version 11 years
later was more improbable. Behind by four games in the standing
with seven to go, the Giants were done. Really? Somehow they
rallied to tie the Dodgers and force a three-game playoff. Then
in the deciding game, the Giants looked dead again. They trailed
4-2 in the ninth inning. Yet they woke up to walk over Los Angeles
for the pennant.
The Bengals of 1970. They started 1-6, hardly surprising for a team in
just its third season. Forget it, right? Wrong. Winning its last
seven games, Cincy gave Paul Brown the AFC Central title.
The lesson: Never say bye.
©2010 by Bucky Fox.
The Flyers logo is courtesy of the Bright Star Images website.
This column first posted May 24, 2010.
You can visit Bucky Fox's
website at http://www.buckyfox.com/
You
can comment on this column online via our TALKBACK page. Please address your message to
either "The Editors" or Bucky Fox care of Syndpack@aol.com
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