Official Flag - IronPig Patriots of Noise Nation

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ATTENTION IRONPIG PATRIOTS OF NOISE NATION
(in particular, Mr. Dan KEHL) :

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be it yours to hold high

Lt. Col. John McCrae, Royal Canadian Army
“IN FLANDERS FIELDS”

The very last national team of East Germany (Deutsche Demokratische Republik) to appear at the IIHF World Championships - B Pool : Megeve, FRANCE - 1990.

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Yeah, dude, the news really brings me down like no tomorrow these days. The spin and outright fabrication…

Where we all the stories of the NIKOLAI CHURCH and CHRISTIAN FUEHRER and the LEIPIZIG MONDAY DEMONSTRATIONS?

You know, the real heroes of the fall of the Berlin Wall — like the East German people themselves, maybe.

What does Poland’s LECH WALESA have to do with events transpiring at the BRANDENBURG GATE on November 9, 1989? (Answer – Walesa is a great guy and his Solidarity trade union was nice, but, uh — nothing).

At least Soviet leader MIKHAIL GORBACHEV did repeal the BREZHNEV DOCTRINE, which is what allowed the events of November 9 to transpire peacefully.

But, if Gorbachev is such a great hero, why was it not until September 1 of 1994 that the last Russian (Soviet) troops finally withdrew from the reunified Germany as per the arranged agreement?

Where was the mention of the reformer KAROLY GROSZ and the dismantling of Hungary’s physical border defenses with Austria, which really set the stage for the events leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall?

Whatever.

Meanwhile, as far as the Slovak national team goes, we have a plan just for you old friend. All the national teams are involved, hab keine Angst. Details to follow.

Out.

So, who wants a free blog.

All year long, to be quite honest, the news has done nothing but make me angrier and angrier with each passing day.

It is not my “job” to ignore current events.

To believe the real world does not affect the sports world is to be utterly naive.

This blog has been doing nothing for me for a very long time, I just never had the desire to disappoint my brother. However, enough is enough.

It’s November now. By the end of this month, I’d like to be thankful I don’t have a blog. Meanwhile, I can get a jump start on the spirit that is supposed to prevail at Christmas with direct respects to giving. Retailers love to get a head start before Thanksgiving even arrives; why can’t I?

Seriously — we can turn over the passwords and that can be that.

That’s about the only ‘comment’ I am now interested in reading – who wants a blog?

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This would be just one American hero — proudly navigating Army helicopters more than twenty years now.

Unfortunately, America has 13 fewer heroes today and all on account of a cowardly practicioner of the Religion Of Peace — United States Army Major NADAL MALIK HASSAN.

Let this asshole Nadal Malik Hasan’s name live in infamy everywhere. It already does here.

PS — Fuck you Muslims. We don’t want to hear your tired, old, recycled and redundant crapola about one or two bad apples spoiling the whole barrel.

Fuck you Muslim apologists and panderers one and all. You are even bigger pieces of shit than the practicioners of the Religion Of Peace themselves.

BTW – Is this another of President Barrack Hussein Obama’s “significant Muslim contributions to American history”?

Swiss goalie MARTIN GERBER hooks the stick of Czech DAVID KREJCI on the edge of the crease at the 2008 IIHF World Championships in Canada. The Czech Republic shutout Switzerland 5-0 in the relegation round match at Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City.

Boston Bruins center DAVID KREJCI is out indefinitely with the swine flu.

The National Hockey League team’s general manager, PETER CHIARELLI, announced Thursday afternoon that the Bruins’ medical staff has confirmed the diagnosis of H1N1 for the 23-year-old native of the Czech Republic.

The Boston Bruins also stated that Krejci will be kept away from the team until no symptoms or fever is displayed for at least a 24-hour period. Chiarelli said the team is taking all steps deemed necessary to protect the other players as well as staff members of the organization.

The Boston Bruins have not received vaccinations for the H1N1 virus.

Krejci, the Bruins’ second round pick (# 64 overall) in 2004 from the Gautineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, was Boston’s second leading scorer last season having registered 22 goals and 51 assists for 73 points in 82 games.

Krejci received a new three-year contract worth in excess of $ 11 million dollars shortly before undergoing hip surgery this summer.

Krejci currently has one goal and four assists from 14 games this fall and, over parts of four NHL seasons for the Boston Bruins, has totaled 29 goals and 76 points in 158 career games.

Krejci, a two-time representative for his nation at the IIHF World Junior Championships, has appeared in exactly one major international event at the senior level and has skated five games (0 go 0 as) for the Czech Republic.

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This same AP story reports that, so far, four other NHL players have already successfully contended with swine flu earlier this season — Colorado Avalanche goaltender PETER BUDAJ (Slovakia), Washington Capitals forward QUINTIN LAING (Canada), Edmonton Oilers defenseman LADISLAV SMID (Czech Republic) as well as New York Islanders captain and center DOUG WEIGHT (United States).

Canada's SIMON GAGNE fishes for a puck among the skates with VASILY PANKOV (14) as netminder ANDREI MEZIN guards the Belarus goal in the semi-finals at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. The Belarussians, engineers of a shock 4-3 upset of Sweden in the quarterfinals at Salt Lake City, were bounced by the eventual-champion Canadians, 7-1.

The 29-year-old Gagne, an 11-year professional who graduated straight from juniors in Quebec to the National Hockey League, has two small hernias in his right groin. This would be the same area that required surgery prior to the start of the 2007-08 season. Gagne has also undergone several hip operations as a direct result of the problems with his groin.

Gagne, a native of Ste-Foy, Quebec, has totaled one goal and four assists in nine games with the Philadelphia Flyers so far this 2008-09 NHL schedule.

This development all but deals a death blow to Gagne’s hopes to represent Canada for the third time in his career at the Winter Olympic Games, which are being held this February in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Gagne, a veteran of 615 NHL games (243 go 246 as, 489 pts) has represented his nation four times (27 ga, 6 go 13 as, 19 pts) at major international tournaments, including the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics. Gagne was a gold medalist for Canada at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.

Tour du olympique chapeau pour Gagne? — Peu probable.

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder JOHN MAYBERRY rounds third and heads for home this past spring in the Grapefruit League. Mayberry, who made his Major League debut this season, also made 89 International League appearances (13 HR 43 RBI, .256 avg) for the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs in 2009.

Again, the IronPigs had put themselves in a position where the team needed to win the last seven games of the season to reach the IRONPIGPEN’s modest goal of a .500 winning percentage.

After winning the first three, the IronPigs stumbled and fell at the fourth hurdle, in other words, exactly halfway to the finish line.

Meanwhile, following the historic 6-RBI effort in Game Six from the New York Yankees’ Japanese star, HIDEKI MATSUI, it is now known that the Philadelphia Phillies did not reach their goal, a World Series championship, in the end, either.

Needing three wins from the last three games of the Fall Classic, how ironic then that the Phillies failed to negotiate their second hurdle of the three required for a World Series repeat.

Like the IronPigs, the Phillies fall halfway home.

Too bad, so sad.

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The IRONPIGPEN never asked for a championship, just a .500 ball club and was, on the whole, effectively told to shut up.

Karma can be a killer every now and then.

While absorbing the disappointment of failure at the highest level, maybe the management of the Philadelpha Phillies will not insult Lehigh Valley fans with propaganda about a great season and find it fit to leave the IronPigs in the International League with a full bench at least once in a while next season…

MIKE CERVENAK batted .311 (10 HR 66 RBI) in 115 games for the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs their inaugural 2008 season in the International League. Cerveank, a University of Michigan man, also appeared 10 times for the World Series champions that year.

Someone punched in “2009 playoff money” at the always-interesting (for us) ’search’ section here at the IRONPIGPEN.

Good question.

Fact of the matter would be, it is not known at this time how much the winning team will receive from this 2009 World Series being contested by the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies yet.

However, according to an Associated Press story released last December, the Philadelphia Phillies baseball club received a total of $ 18.42 million dollars to be split among the players and coaches from Major League Baseball for winning the 2008 World Series versus the Tampa Bay Rays.

The AP reported, as we did last winter with “…Espeically When You Win The World Series” (Dec 18, 2008 — the eighth day of this blog’s existance) that the Philadelphia Phillies split this $ 18.42 million pot into 45 full shares, 7.039 partial shares as well as 15 cash awards. A World Series-winning team is free to split the playoff money amongst themselves as the team sees fit. From what the IRONPIGPEN has read, a popular vote within the team is the method normally used to decided who is deserving of what.

And so, a full winning share of the playoff money for the Philadelphia Phillies last season worked out to $ 351,504, according to the AP report. It is unknown what a partial share or cash award was worth from the 2008 World Series championship for Philadelphia players. Both ANDY TRACY and MIKE CERVENAK, living legends in the annals of AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball, received a partial share of playoff money from the Phillies last season but declined to reveal a hard number when asked by The Morning Call’s JEFF SCHULER in one of the sportswriter’s articles earlier this season.

But, because we have calculators and friends who know how to operate them properly, the IRONPIGPEN knows that $ 2,602,320 was the amount to be distributed into the 7.039 partial shares and 15 cash awards by the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies.

A full share for a player on the losing team, the Tampa Bay Rays, for the 2008 World Series was $ 223,390. The Rays elected to divide their playoff money into 43 full shares, 10.645 partial shares as well as 27 cash awards.

PLAYOFF MONEY FOR WORLD SERIES WINNERS
(2006-2008 — full share)
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2008 Philadelphia Phillies —- $ 351,504 – (45 full, 7.039 partial, 15 awards)
2007 Boston Red Sox ———- $ 308,236 – (47 full, 14 partial, 11 awards)
2006 St. Louis Cardinals —— $ 362,173 – (divided how unknown)

Grade A++ Bulletin Board Material

This was seen at LEHIGH VALLEY CLANCULARIUS INTROSPECTIVE — www.lehighvalleyclanculariusintrospective.blogspot.com

The IRONPIGPEN hopes PEDRO MARTINEZ sees this. If we were in charge of the Phillies, there is no question we would have this blown up to poster size and produced in mass quantity. We would then make sure the visitor’s clubhouse at Yankee Stadium is wallpapered with this prior to the players’ arrival.

We would certainly have a special copy signed by the editor of the New York Post hanging in Martinez’ stall, rest assured.

This just could be the very best thing that could have happened to the Philadelphia Phillies just prior to Game Six…time will tell.

IronPigs all-time HR (48) and RBI (181) leader, ANDY TRACY

$ 6,500,000 — Jamie MOYER, p
$ 4,000,000 — J. C. ROMERO, p

$ 835,000 — Jack TASCHNER, p
$ 750,000 — Tyler WALKER, p
$ 650,000 — Clay CONDREY, p
$ 500,000 — Miguel CAIRO, inf
$ 475,000 — Kyle KENDRICK, p
$ 420,000 — Andy TRACY, inf
$ 400,000 — Drew CARPENTER, p
$ 400,000 — John ENNIS, p – (d.l.)
$ 400,000 — Sergio ESCALONA, p
$ 400,000 — Paul HOOVER, c
$ 400,000 — John MAYBERRY, of
$ 400,000 — Drew NAYLOR, p
$ 400,000 — Mike ZAGURSKI, p