flyers

Philadelphia sports fans have a bit of a reputation for not always being the most upstanding of citizens.

If you’re wondering why, just ask the kid who had a home run ball snatched from his glove and given to the woman not-so-affectionately known as “Phillies Karen.”

You could also ask former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin.

Or some Pennsylvania State Police horses.

Or Santa Claus.

All that said, though, it’s hard not to feel a teensy bit bad for Philly fans after what they endured Thursday night.

The Phillies suffered a season-ending playoff loss (pausing here for L.A. fans to respectfully compose themselves — you’ve had plenty of time to celebrate after the Dodgers won 2-1 in 11 innings on a shocking throwing error by Philadelphia relief pitcher Orion Kerkering).

Then over in the NFL, the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles were dominated by NFC West rival New York Giants 34-17 on “Thursday Night Football.” And in the NHL, the Flyers lost their season opener 2-1 to the Florida Panthers.

For any other city’s fan base, that might be considered the worst day ever. But believe it or not, Philly fans had to endure a similarly disheartening day nearly 42 years ago, according to sports statistician Greg Harvey.

Harvey pointed out on X that Oct. 16, 1983, was the only other time in history that one city’s MLB team team suffered a season-ending loss in the postseason while its NFL and NHL teams lost as well. And that unlucky city was Philadelphia.

That was the day that the Phillies, nicknamed the “Wheeze Kids” that season for all the veteran players on the roster, fell 5-0 to the Baltimore Orioles to lose the World Series four games to one.

Meanwhile, the Eagles were off to a 4-2 start to their season before losing that day to the Dallas Cowboys 37-7. It was the start of a seven-game losing streak for the Eagles, who wound up finishing the season 5-11.

The Flyers suffered their first loss of that season — 5-4 to the New York Rangers — after starting the year with five straight wins. Months later, they ended up finishing third in the Patrick Division before being swept out of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Washington Capitals.

So maybe, just maybe, you might want to take it easy on the Philadelphia sports fans in your life — at least until the next time one or more them does something that makes the rest of us cringe.

And hopefully those fans extend the same courtesy to Kerkering. Maybe he’ll end up being the one person who can tell Santa Claus and the others that Philly fans aren’t all that bad after all.

The plane to London Gatwick from Cancun was diverted almost five hours into the flight

Passengers were left stranded at an airport for over 17 hours a flight was diverted due to a couple apparently smoking onboard. Brit Terry Lawrance, 66, said it was like a “war zone” with passengers camped out on rows of airbeds, after his flight home from Cancun, Mexico, on was grounded.

About an hour after take-off on July 8, the captain of the London Gatwick-bound TUI flight announced two passengers had been smoking in the toilets, and that if it continued, he would have to divert. After another three-and-a-half hours, the captain announced the plane would now be diverting to Bangor International Airport, Maine, US.

They landed at 21.30 local time – and the two alleged smokers were turfed off the flight. But Terry said the other passengers sat in their seats for another five hours and even taxied to take-off, before the flight was abandoned as the original crew were not able to continue to operate the rest of the flight back to Gatwick due to legal working hours.

Consequently, a relief flight was readied immediately, and a new crew were dispatched from the UK to the US to fly everyone back. The passengers were then kept in a room – which Terry claims is part of the military airbase section of the airport – for over 15 hours while the airline works to sort a relief crew.

A flight to take passengers home to Gatwick eventually took off at 15:00 local time (20:00 BST) on Wednesday, July 9 – with all passengers now safely home. Videos taken by Terry show rows of beds as passengers awaited updates, whilst another video shows vehicles approaching the plane after touching down in Bangor.

Terry said: “We were there for over 12 hours – it all went pear shaped. Everybody was fed up. In fairness, they started bringing out airbeds, but it was like free-for-all for vultures.

“It was like a warzone in a lounge – rows and rows of beds. All our luggage was still on the plane whilst we waited. TUI told us a relief crew was being sent from the UK because the current crew had used up their hours.”

Tracking on Flightradar24 shows the plane turning back towards Maine, shortly after entering Canadian airspace. Terry said: “After an hour the captain came on and said someone had been smoking in the toilet – he read the riot act and said if it continues, we’d have to divert.

“About three hours later, around the border with Canada and he came on to let us know that the plane was being diverted to Bangor, Maine. Once we landed, they removed the two passengers.

“They were obviously drunk. The captain then said we’d be getting going again once the paperwork has been done. We were sat on the plane on the ground for five hours – the plane started taxing again and we thought ‘great’ and then they said there was a problem with flight plan, and we have to get off.

“Next thing, we’re not going anywhere, and we’ve got to stay in this small lounge. We waited six or seven hours before we were offered a drink.”

TUI declined to comment.

The Ducks traded Trevor Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, ending the exciting forward’s inconsistent half-decade in Orange County.

The Ducks get forward Ryan Poehling and the 45th overall pick in the upcoming draft that initially belonged to Columbus, along with a fourth-round pick next season.

Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said he dealt away the Ducks’ charismatic former leading scorer in part because Zegras no longer fit the Ducks’ roster as they attempt to end their seven-year playoff drought.

“You start imagining lines and how you want certain players to complement each other,” Verbeek said. “We started looking at that scenario, so ultimately we made the decision to move Trevor because of that.”

Zegras is a natural center who wants to be a playmaker in the middle, but rising stars Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish have earned those spots on Anaheim’s top two lines, which has forced Zegras to play left wing or to center a depth line. The Ducks also recently acquired longtime Rangers forward Chris Kreider, who works out with Zegras in the summer, to play left wing on one of their top two lines.

“I think he’ll be given that opportunity in Philadelphia to play center,” Verbeek said. “He’s more creative in the middle of the ice and (not) having to play from the wing. We’re fortunate that there’s Leo and there’s Mason, (but) Trevor has to kind of get pushed to the wing, and that probably doesn’t suit his best attributes.”

Verbeek also acknowledged the financial realities of the deal. Zegras will be a restricted free agent next summer, when the Ducks also will need to re-sign Carlsson, promising forward Cutter Gauthier and talented young defensemen Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger.

The big, speedy Poehling will become a key contributor on the Ducks’ awful special teams, Verbeek predicted. Poehling was one of the Flyers’ top penalty-killing forwards last season while scoring 31 points — just one fewer than Zegras.

Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek speaks to reporters during a news conference in June 2023.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

Verbeek still realizes his decision will rankle some Ducks supporters who won’t be happy to lose the most interesting player on a few terrible Anaheim teams in recent years. Zegras remained a fan favorite at Honda Center throughout his tenure with the Ducks, who hired coach Joel Quenneville last month with the stated goal to return to the playoffs next spring.

Zegras was the Ducks’ first-round pick in 2019, and he had two 60-point seasons early in his NHL career. He finished as the runner-up to Detroit’s Moritz Seider in 2022 for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie.

Zegras also became well known outside Anaheim for his proficiency with the Michigan goal, in which a player lifts the puck with his stick blade and wraps it into the net from behind.

But the 24-year-old Zegras struggled with injuries and consistency for the past two seasons, scoring just 47 points in 88 combined games. He had 12 goals and 20 assists in 57 games last season, increasing his production at midseason after a slow start and a 22-game absence with a knee injury.

Zegras’ commitment to defense was also widely questioned in Anaheim, although he appeared to make significant strides on that end of the ice last season.

Zegras has been a frequent topic of loud trade rumors for the past two seasons, although Verbeek claimed Monday that “there was never really anything talked about in the past as far as Trevor.”

The Flyers made another major deal with the Ducks in January 2024, with GM Danny Briere sending the disgruntled Gauthier to Anaheim for defenseman Jamie Drysdale, Zegras’ longtime friend. Both Zegras and Drysdale were drafted in the first round by the Ducks before Verbeek took over the front office.

Gauthier had a strong rookie season for the Ducks with 20 goals and 24 assists, while Drysdale scored 20 points with a minus-32 rating last season for the Flyers.

Philadelphia also has a new coach for the upcoming season with the hiring of Rick Tocchet.

Poehling had 12 goals and 19 assists in 68 games as a depth forward for Philadelphia last season. After starting his career in Montreal and getting traded to Pittsburgh for the 2022-23 season, he signed with the Flyers as a free agent and produced the best two offensive seasons of his career.

Beacham writes for the Associated Press.