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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2011 PAGE 13C
N AT I O N A L H O C K E Y L E A G U E
BASEBALL
Winter Classic will take Flyers back
Sales process stops for Dodgers
Some Philadelphia players have cool memories about playing outdoor hockey. By SAM CARCHIDI The Philadelphia Inquirer
Team’s plans to sell media rights to future games halted by Delaware judge. By RANDALL CHASE AP Business Writer
DOVER, Del. (AP) — A U.S. District Judge in Delaware on Friday dealt a significant blow to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ plans to sell the media rights to future games, halting the sales process while he consider an appeal by Fox Sports. Judge Leonard Stark also said he likely will agree with Fox’s position that a bankruptcy judge who authorized the sale process erred when he determined that certain protections granted to Fox in its existing contract with the Dodgers were unenforceable in bankruptcy. “The court is also likely to conclude that the bankruptcy court opinion and/or order are based on one or more clearly erroneous findings of fact,” wrote Stark, who said he would issue an opinion on Tuesday further explaining his reasons for granting Fox’s request for an emergency stay of the bankruptcy order. Attorneys for the Dodgers and the team’s creditors committee had warned Stark at a hearing Thursday that issuing the stay could torpedo plans to sell both the team and the media rights by the April 30 deadline included in a settlement between the Dodgers and Major League Baseball. But Stark noted in his order that it is “undisputed” that the team itself will be sold by April 30, even with entry of the stay, and that the stay will not substantially injure the Dodgers or the creditors committee. “LAD has no comment other than that it will be reviewing the court’s opinion when issued on Tuesday,” a Dodgers spokeswoman wrote Friday in an email replying to a request for comment. Fox Sports spokesman Chris Bellitti also had little comment. “We’re letting the legal process play out,” he said. Lawyers for Major League Baseball and a spokesman for the league did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Stark is set to hear arguments on the merits of Fox’s appeal at a Jan. 12 hearing, but Thursday’s hearing on whether to issue the emergency stay offered a prelude to next month’s arguments. Fox attorney Catherine Steege argued Thursday that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross exceeded his authority in authorizing the media rights sale, saying Gross effectively rewrote the existing contract between Fox and the Dodgers. That contract gives Fox an exclusive 45-day period starting in October 2012 to try to negotiate a contract extension with the Dodgers. The contract also prohibits the Dodgers from talking to other potential buyers of the media rights before Nov. 30 of next year and gives Fox a limited right of first refusal on competing offers received after that date. But in his order, Gross said those “no-shop” provisions were unenforceable in bankruptcy, a finding that Stark indicated likely will not pass legal muster. Stark said Fox had met its burden of showing that it would be irreparably harmed without the stay because the media rights sale process approved by Gross gives Fox a lesser chance of winning the right to televise Dodgers games after 2013 than it had before Gross entered his order.
AP PHOTO
Boston Bruins’ Dennis Seidenberg, center, celebrates in a huddle with teammates Joe Corvo (14) and Tyler Seguin (19) as Florida Panthers’ Tomas Kopecky, left, skates away Friday.
Bruins are back on top After slow start, defending Stanley Cup champs took off on a torrid stretch.
The Associated Press
BOSTON — The Boston Bruins got off to a horrid start to their Stanley Cup championship defense, winning just three of their first 10 games and landing in last place in the Eastern Conference. After an incredible two-month surge, they’re back on top. “They deserve a lot of credit for that and they worked hard to accomplish that and I think it’s important that they enjoy the three days of the Christmas holiday they have,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said after Boston beat Florida 8-0 on Friday night for its 20th win in 23 games. It’s easy to see why the Bruins have been nearly unbeatable since losing two in a row to Montreal at the end of October. They enter the NHL’s three-day Christmas break with the most goals scored (119) and the fewest allowed (63) in the NHL. A recipe for success for any team — not just defending champs. During the Bruins’ rough stretch, the players heard complaints and some boos from the hometown fans. They sensed the disappointment and feel as if they’ve responded with a similar effort that saw them win the organization’s first title in 39 years.
“We were sitting at the15th spot in October with a lot of criticism on us so we realize that this is a game that things change quickly and oftentimes things change through hard work and that’s what I think we did the last two months,” forward Gregory Campbell said. “We worked hard, we played our game and we played consistent. It’s a tough league. Every night is a battle and every night you have to compete. Wins aren’t always going to flow as easily, or not as easily, but I think as pure as they have, but as long as we’re competing and playing our game, I think that’s our goal right now.” The big offensive night against Florida was hardly unusual for the Bruins this season. They’ve scored six or more goals nine times — eight coming in their last 22 games. Quite a run for a team known for its defense under Julien. “I think it goes to show that we have probably more talent than sometimes people give us credit for,” Julien said of the team’s offensive outburst. “We play a good team game, we create our scoring chances and right now our guys are scoring some pretty nice goals.” Behind Boston’s offense is the top goalie tandem in the league. Both Tim Thomas — last season’s winner of the Vezina and Conn Smythe trophies — and Tuukka Rask have goals against averages
under 1.85, making the Bruins the NHL’s only team with two goalies allowing under two goals a game. The pair have combined for three shutouts in Boston’s last five games and held opponents to two goals or less 22 times this season. “It’s a big-time luxury. I’m not going to hide that fact. It doesn’t matter who you put in net right now, you know you’re going to get good goaltending,” Julien said. “Both guys have been at the top of their game, which allows you to put in one or the other. The other guy gets a rest and the other guy stays sharp. They’re both very supportive of that approach and they’re OK with it. That just makes us such a better team by having that situation right now. We’re extremely fortunate because most teams in this league don’t have that approach or luxury.” The players talked after Friday’s win about how they realize now what it took to recover from the rough start but they hardly seemed content with where they’re at — considering that the calendar hasn’t even turned to 2012. “We’re feeling good about ourselves. We’re confident, but we can’t, we always said it before, we can’t be satisfied,” forward Patrice Bergeron said. “Now we have a couple days to rest and make sure we get ready for the second half of the season because it’s going to get tougher.”
PHILADELPHIA — The Winter Classic is easily the most eagerly anticipated regular-season game on the Flyers’ schedule. For several reasons. For one, the national buildup and accompanying HBO series, “24/7,” have given the matchup — the Flyers face the rival New York Rangers on Jan. 2 at Ryan Howard’s favorite ballpark — a Super Bowl-like feel. For another, playing outdoors takes the players back to the innocence of their youth, back to when they skated on neighborhood ponds, screaming with glee during pickup hockey games. Or, perhaps, just screaming. Maybe “screaming” is a slight exaggeration, but Andrej Meszaros, the Flyers’ dependable 26-year-old defenseman, admits he is one of the few NHL players who despised playing on a river or a pond during his younger days. The player known as “Mez” didn’t fear getting hit with a puck or stick. He feared falling through the ice. “I was always scared and terrified of going on the river because I wasn’t sure if it was going to be frozen enough, so I just played street hockey,” he said the other day, laughing. “It was safer, you know! “I tried to always play inside,” added Meszaros, who grew up in Slovakia. “I never played outside, but my buddies used to play on the river.” He paused. “Actually, I did play outside. It was like a basketball court and they put water on it and it froze. It wasn’t a river, so I wasn’t afraid of falling through.” There will be no fear, of course, when the Flyers skate at Citizens Bank Park. “Hopefully the weather will be good, and it’ll be nice and sunny and a full house,” Meszaros said. “I never dreamed of doing this. My dream was to play in the NHL, and to play outside is special. My family is going to be here, so I’m really excited for them to be here and watch me play outside.” This will be Meszaros’ first outdoor game, but many Flyers played in the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park, where the Boston Bruins were outplayed for most of the game but rallied for a 2-1 overtime win. “It will be very cool. I can’t wait,” Flyers center Danny Briere said. “The first time around, I thought it was going to
be a gimmicky kind of game, but looking back, it was one of the best experiences of my career. And it’s not just the game itself. It’s everything around the game — the practice outside the day before, the family skate, the preparation. “You walk in and look up at the sky. That’s one of the things that’s so cool about it. I was totally wrong in my first impression I had when I found out we were playing at Fenway. So this time round, I’m really looking forward to it and I’m a lot more excited.” A lot of the Flyers, including Briere, said the highlight of the 2010 Winter Classic was having an outdoor practice that was accompanied by snow the day before the game in Boston. When you watched the giggling, smiling players throwing snowballs at each other as they practiced breakaways, it was like a time machine had taken them back to their youth. It was a scene that Norman Rockwell would have enjoyed painting. “It started snowing and that was the most perfect setup you could possibly hope for,” Briere said. “I don’t know the forecast for this year’s game” — 50 degrees and mostly clear was predicted entering the weekend — “but that’s what I remember the most from the first one.” Defenseman Matt Carle said the Winter Classic “has taken on a life of its own. I don’t want to say it’s compared to the Super Bowl or anything, but it’s a pretty important game and you want to win it. To be able to play in one was great, and to be able to play in two is even more special, especially to play it in Philly. It’s going to be unbelievable.” Because the rink is set back from the stands, the players feel as if they are in their own little world. “When you’re on the ice out there, it’s almost like you’re in your own surroundings. The crowd is so far away. You can hear them, but it’s pretty quiet on the ice,” Carle said. “It’s pretty cool. It’s almost like a calm out there and you can communicate, but at the same time, there’s 50,000 people there, so it has a pretty special feel. I don’t know if it’s like that in the football stadiums because obviously I’ve never played there, but in the baseball stadiums, that’s how it seems to work. And it’s a big thrill to be out there." Carle playfully used an Ilya Bryzgalov-ism when describing what it’s like to play outdoors. “It’s pretty rare when you look up and you can see the sky — or the ‘whole universe, if you want to quote Bryz,’” Carle said with a grin. “It’s neat.” Bryzgalov hopes rain doesn’t affect the game.