Flyers Fan Viewing Guide: What to Watch When You Can’t Watch the Flyers
Congratulations everyone! You’ve made it to the weekend! The good news is you’ve survived another week of the soul-sucking horror that is life in 2021! The bad news is, that our unrelenting viral overlords have demanded yet another sacrifice, this time snatching our beloved Philadelphia Flyers away from us until at least next Thursday and potentially longer than that.
So, since you probably have some extra time on your hands this weekend and no Flyers games to alleviate your boredom, here are some things you can watch instead!
Other Hockey Teams
While a total of eight NHL teams are currently facing COVID-related postponements, there are still 23 other teams that will be skating this week. Although this game may be more nauseating for Flyers fans than season 7 of The Walking Dead, NBC’s hockey afternoon in America game between the Caps and Pens Sunday at 3:00 would be worth a watch.
These two teams very famously despise each other, and could be major obstacles in the Flyers’ cup chase this year. It’s always good to keep an eye on your competition. If you’d prefer to see some good fast paced hockey action without having to worry how the result will affect your team however, the Avalanche vs. Golden Knights miniseries looks to be VERY entertaining. Those two go at it on Sunday at 7:00 on NBCSN
OR, if you want a team you can actually feel good rooting for, you could watch the Lehigh Valley Phantoms; the Flyers of the future! The AHL finally got underway last week and the Phantoms kicked off their slate with a pair of 2-1 OT decisions, a win against Hershey on Saturday and a loss to Binghamton on Wednesday. The Phantoms stop into Hershey for a Valentine’s Kiss (get it, cause that’s where they make the chocol… never mind) at 1:00 Sunday afternoon but are off until Friday evening after that.
Basketball
Yes, yes, I know basketball is the inferior winter sport, but Philly basketball is really pretty fun right now!
The Sixers are currently on top of the NBA’s Eastern Conference and are enjoying an MVP-type season from Joel Embiid and All-Star caliber performances from Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons. They’re currently on a west-coast swing, but fortunately they don’t have any more of those obnoxious 10:00 ET starts!
They play in Phoenix at 3:00 on Saturday (on NBATV), then head to Utah for an epic clash of conference leaders on Monday at 9:00 (NBC Sports Philadelphia) before returning to South Philly to take on the Rockets at 7:30 on Wednesday (ESPN).
Also, if the Sixers aren’t your cup of tea, you could check out the greatest Philly sports dynasty of the century, Jay Wright’s Villanova Wildcats, as they get set for the stretch run leading up to March Madness. ‘Nova is currently 13-2 (8-1 in conference play), sitting first in the Big East and ranked 5th in all of DI Men’s Basketball.
They have a major matchup with 19th ranked Creighton, who promises to be their biggest competition for the conference title, on Saturday. That game will be nationally broadcast on FOX, with tip off coming your way at 5:00. The Wildcats will also be in action Wednesday night, when they take on Georgetown on CBSSN. A start time for that game has not been announced.