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His season came to an abrupt end when Boston University laid the smack down on them in the NCAA Tourney. Ok, BU barely beat them 2-1 in the last 15 seconds or so of the game to advance to their first ever Frozen Four….but still. The bottom line is that UNH lost.

Anyway, JVR reported to the Phantoms (the Flyers minor league affiliate) today.

“We are pleased to have James in the fold and look forward to monitoring his development more closely,” general manager Paul Holmgren said. “It was a difficult decision for James to leave school, but we both believed that it was in his best interest to do so.”

According to JVR, the signing was “a thrill of a lifetime.”

“This is a day I have been dreaming about ever since I got drafted by the Flyers,” he said. “Just to have this opportunity is something I am really grateful for.

“I thought the sooner I made this decision the better it would be for all parties involved. Since I’ve decided to leave school, I’ve told the UNH coaching staff and everyone else early on so they will have more time to fill my spot there. I just thought signing at this point would help me get my feet wet a little bit in the professional game and start working on some things that I want to improve upon.

“Obviously, this is a huge jump in level of play. I know I am going to have to work hard and basically that is what I am expecting. I am going to work hard and learn a lot from this experience.”

The fact that the Flyers were able to draft Van Riemsdyk second overall in 2007 shows how much pole the team smoked in 2006.

We copied and pasted his list for you because we know how lazy our readers are:

- Brian Dawkins Signs With Denver Broncos

- Brett Myers works a 9 pitch walk from C.C. Sabathia and draws a standing ovation

- World Ph#$#ing Champions!!!

- McNabb is benched at Halftime

- World Series clinching game takes 4 days to play

- Billy King is hired as an analyst for NBA TV

- Marty Biron “stands on his head”

- Eagles go with defensive tackle as #1 FB

- Hank Baskett bags a Playmate

- Eagles fans want Kolb instead of McNabb (Note: Not all of them, but seriously?)

- After hitting a huge pinch hit home run in the NLCS Matt Stairs says, “When you get that nice celebration coming into the dugout and you’re getting your ass hammered by guys—there’s no better feeling than to have that done.”

- Willie Green is a starting 2 guard in the NBA (sorry, couldn’t help it)

- Tony DiLeo is Sixers new head coach

- Jimmy Rollins is DH behind Derek Jeter for Team U.S.A.

- Terrell Owens is in Buffalo

- Jay Cutler wants out of Denver

- Alex Rodriguez took steroids (Wait, nevermind, we all knew that)

- Isaiah Thomas may be hired by Clippers

- Arizona Cardinals play in a Super Bowl

According to Hershey broadcaster John Walton:

“The two teams came to center ice for the face-off, and Downie stepped into the face-off circle. Linesman (Mike) Hamilton prepared to drop the puck. Instead of trying to win the face-off, Downie took a baseball-like swing with full wind-up and struck Hamilton across the right shin. Watching the replay no less than 20 times myself during the postgame, I was appalled not only at the lack of respect for an official, but the sheer violence from one man to another.”

For this brutal act, Downie received a game misconduct and could face a 20-game suspension for “physical abuse of an official.”

Here is Downie’s impressive resume:

• Downie was selected in the first round, 29th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers.
• Downie was suspended for five games in 2005 (OHL) when he blindly cross-checked and then fought teammate Akim Aliu during practice, knocking out three of Aliu’s teeth.
• Downie was suspended for 20 games in 2007 by the NHL when he left his skates to check left winger Dean McAmmond, catching him with his head down.
• Downie, in 2009, was suspended indefinitely (possibly 20 games again) by the AHL for the “physical abuse of an official” after slashing a referee in his shin during a face off.

Furthermore, a new hockey term has been born.  The Downie Hat Trick, when a player is suspended by three different hockey leagues because of idiotic acts.  Downie has been suspended by the OHL, AHL, and NHL.  Congratulations Steve Downie, you’re a loser.

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“I’ve spoken with [Flyers GM] Paul [Holmgren] and I’ve spoken with most other general managers in the league,” Martin said, most likely in a snotty, obnoxious accent. “And on a fairly regular basis. With a lot of other teams, it’s whether there is a fit or not.

“This is not a trade where in the past, teams would be looking to get prospects. We’re looking for a trade that is going to improve our hockey club [right now].”

The problem for the Flyers is that they really don’t have the cap room to land Bouwmeester.

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Briere has missed 33 games this year with groin injuries.  In the nine games Daniel has played in this season, he registered five goals and four assists.  If you do the math, that’s averaging a point per game.  Philadelphia center Theo Ratliff also averages a point per game.  Daniel and Theo will most likely be used on separate lines.

PHOTO CAPTION: “I’m awesome and I’m back.  Suck it Crosby.”

“We had a pretty hard skate there at the end and we’ll see tomorrow how it reacts,” Briere said. “Last week, after Wednesday’s skate, the next couple of days were a little tougher. I’m hoping that I’m going to pull over that hump, and even through a tough practice and tough skate, I can recuperate and be fine the next day.”

The Flyers are completely flying under the radar right now in the NHL and there is no team that wants to face them in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and with Briere coming back, it only creates more fear in the Eastern Conference.

They got off to a hot 10-2-1 start, but have been awful lately and can’t seem to score. They have lost 10 out of their last 12 games.

GM Glen Sather has not immediately named a replacement.

There are quite a few athletes that might want to read that article, so pass it around if you are friends with some of them. And I’m not talking about Donovan McNabb because I think his “choking” is much overrated.

We’re working hard in the OTR newsroom to collect relevant sports information that you may or may not care about. Or flat-out don’t care about, but still think it’s funny to hear rude/obnoxious commentary on the world of sports. Trust us, we are a reputable news gathering organization as far as you know. Just check out the awards we’ve won.

Photo Caption: “Jim, stop being a dick. You know what time it is in Moscow. That joke stopped being funny a long time ago.”

So, try us out for 3-5 years just to see what we’re about. We think you’ll agree that OTR is one of the best half-assed, at-times-credible sports sites anywhere on the entire internet (east coast only, and only down to Virginia).

Bookmark us today and never feel out of the sportsworld loop for the rest of your life!

Chris Drury (pictured) is as NHL-ready as one can be, and will be impossible to stop for the rest of the year. Mike Grier is a force and having a great season. And with DiPietro in net, we don’t see how Northeastern even scores a goal in the Beanpot final. Also, Tom Poti is looking more and more like a blue-chip NHL prospect, so they will need to account for him as well. Northeastern has no one to mark Chris O’Sullivan and when you consider the season Joe Sacco is having, well….the game is over before it starts.

So anyway, here are the current USA Today rankings:

1 Boston University
2 University of Notre Dame
3 Northeastern University
4 University of Michigan
5 Cornell University
6 Miami (Ohio) University
7 University of Vermont
8 University of Denver
9 University of Minnesota
10 Princeton University
11 University of New Hampshire
12 Boston College
13 University of North Dakota
14 Yale University
15 The Ohio State University

The move will not affect his relationship with NBC, where he has worked since 1980.

“No, we don’t have a problem,” NBC spokesman Brian Walker said.

Costas hosted the first-ever program on MLB Network, while HBO demanded cable exclusivity.

“Bob Costas was a terrific addition when he joined HBO Sports eight years ago, providing us with a distinct and unique presence,” HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said. “Television is about change, and we respect Bob’s decision to move to the MLB Network.”

“I am a player,” O’Brien said. “I don’t want to be just considered a fighter.”

O’Brien came over in a trade with the Lighting at some point prior to today.

“I am not happy with it,” said O’Brien, who has been replaced on the Vancouver defence by Rob Davison. “I don’t want to take anything away from Davie, because he can play. But I am at the point in my career where I think I need to play. If they don’t think I’m worth playing to see if I can develop, if they just want me to be a fighter or whatever, maybe it’s not the right situation.”

In response, head coach Alain Vigneault may or may not have had this to say.

“Shane, who? Oh yeah the white kid! I know who you are talking about,” Vigneault could have perhaps told a reporter who may or may not have been listening at the time he said it. “Hell yeah I’d trade him! Why, what did he say?”

After being told exactly what O’Brien said, there is a chance that Vigneault just muttered, “no comment” and then rolled his eyes while making a jerk off motion with his left hand.

OTR loves hockey news and this is top-notch stuff.

PHOTO CAPTION:  Jim McMahon also wore the number nine.  The top of the nine is seen here.

Graves played 17 years in the NHL with four different teams and in 1994 he was part of the Rangers’ team that won the Stanley Cup.  The left-wing part of the team.

And just for reference, because I know a lot of you don’t watch college ice hockey, winning the HE Pure Hockey Defensive Player of the Week award is roughly as difficult as winning NBA MVP for a season. And winning it in a year in which Magic, Bird and Jordan all had career years.

Just to let you know, B.U. is currently No. 2 in the nation behind only Notre Dame, who B.U. is better than in many ways, including, but not limited to, book smarts, street smarts, ice hockey and sex with women. Lame schools like Northeastern, whose lesser academic standards have finally caught up with the hockey program, are only ranked #5. I guess that’s good for them, but certainly B.U. wouldn’t tolerate that low of a ranking.

Stay tuned. Because you know if it happens in college ice hockey (men’s or women’s), OTR will cover it.

Elliott Hershman, the Islanders team orthopedist (We know you know who he is, but we had to say it anyway), said the decision was based on continued swelling in his surgically repaired left knee.

When asked if the injury could be career threatening, Hershman spewed his typical raft of crap.

“At this time, I would say no,” Hershman said in his typically flippant manner that we’ve all be come so accustomed to. “But we need to continue to monitor Rick and get him to where he needs to be.”

Whatever you say, Hersh! When the Islanders get a real team orthopedist, that’s when they will be able to seriously compete.

Stephen (pronounced ‘Steven’) is the starting tight end for the Arizona Cardinals.  He caught three balls for 34 yards against the Carolina Panthers this past weekend.

PHOTO CAPTION:  You can’t coach this.

Spach played for the Eagles in 2005 and many experts thought he was going to be the X-factor in the Championship game because he knows everything about Jimmy Johnson’s defense.  This will be a huge loss for Arizona and even if Anquan Boldin can play, there’s no replacing the offensive juggernaut that is Stephen Spach.

Let’s review The Rules that Jarko Ruutu scored on:

• Ron Artest Rule: A player shall receive 1 point for every game he is suspended up to a maximum of 16 points per suspension. If the player is suspended during the playoffs or the suspension carries over into the playoffs, the same rules apply and 2 bonus points are awarded. Jarko Ruutu scored 2 points.
• Bill Romanowski Rule: If a player is fined by the team or league he plays for, that player shall receive points based on the dollar amount of the fine multiplied by .10% up to a maximum of 30 points. This rule also applies to a player getting suspended without pay where the fine equals the loss in salary. This rule does not apply to a player holding out.  Jarko Ruutu scored 3.7 points.

Total points scored = 5.7

Check out the current Fantasy Turd League standings right here.

Here at OTR we like to update our readers with information like this so fantasy teams can be updated.  So, make sure Tyson is out of your lineup for last night’s game in Denver which the Hornets lost 105-100.

Anyone notice how good the Denver Nuggets are without Allen Iverson on the team?

Anyone notice how stupid NBA players look when they try to fight?  They never connect with their punches, they always wait for someone to come between them so they don’t have to fight, or they just look retarded, for example…

PHOTO CAPTION:  Chandler uses the formatted three knuckle punch where the pinkie and thumb are fully extended.  All while 245-pound Joel Przybilla is somehow being held back by a 75-pound dwarf referee.

Hey NBA players, leave the fighting for the real men of the NHL.  They fight better on ice skates than your pansy asses do on Nike Lebron Zoom VI’s.

This is our lame attempt at adding hockey news.

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• Hurry up and ‘Buy It Now.’  It’s a signed index card by Rich Kotite for only $9.99.
• There’s no other way to tell your friend how much you respect his love for sports than to give him this rare 1997-98 Finest GOLD Shawn Bradley basketball card for under a dollar.
• In the seller’s description it reads, ‘collected by a true autograph hound.’  And thanks to this hound, for three American dollars you can purchase this 1991 Donruss baseball card signed by Pat Combs.
• Three for the price of one.  Remember the golden QB years in the early 90’s with this 3-card lot of Philadelphia Eagles’ QB Brad Goebel for the friendly price of two bucks.
• Frame it and hang it right on the wall next to the pictures of your family.  It’s an 8 x 10 signed photo of Ed Wade for $5.00 ($6.50 for shipping).
• You only have a little over nine hours to bid on this Eric Lindros Philadelphia Flyers jacket.  You must bid at least $3.04.
• Where would the 1996 Phillies have been without the services of Todd Zeile?  To be reminded of this question every day, put this signed Todd Zeile Rawlings baseball on your mantle.  How much?  A cent below seven dollars with free shipping.
• He went to one of the best colleges on the east coast, North Carolina State.  Then dominated the paint with the Philadelphia 76ers.  A Charles Shackleford signed upper deck basketball card is a great, last-minute impulse buy.
• Reserve your seat today for when one of the most exciting NBA teams comes to visit your Philadelphia 76ers.  On March 27th, you can watch the Charlotte Bobcats live in these binocular-ready seats.  Upper end 206, row 6, for only $8 a pop.
• Last but definitely not least, for you big spenders out there, try this hat on for size.  It’s a BYU Cougars helmet signed by Koy Detmer’s brother Ty on bid for $39.99.

Good luck to all and happy bidding!

We’d rather just shut it down than to run a boring, poorly updated blog, which is what OTR is starting to become.

We can’t thank all of our readers enough. You guys have all been great and we had a ton of fun playing with everyone. Maybe we’ll do it again some day. We could have just let the blog die slowly and not update it, but that’s not fair to anyone. We thought we would give OTR a proper burial by at least letting everyone know that we are calling it quits.

Memorial services will be held Sunday, December 21st at 2 PM at the Lodi, NJ YMCA.

You can send thoughts and regards to MPerry_77@hotmail.com and MicahW@feverpitchmedia.com.

Happy Holidays to all of those in OTR land!!