Sportsology: Philadelphia Flyers charity fundraiser

By Rick Morris

Our good pal Russ Cohen at Sportsology has forwarded us another great feature from his site: a very unique fundraiser that the Philadelphia Flyers will be holding this Sunday afternoon. If you have nothing else going on and are anywhere at all near the Philadelphia area, you really should check this out in person.


Step Up And Box Riley Cote At "The Flyers Wives Fight For Lives Carnival -- If You Have The Nerve
By Russ Cohen

That's right, if you are a gamer, and you are in Philadelphia this Sunday, then you can take a few "virtual" swipes at Flyers forward Riley Cote. Sure, he's 6-2, 216 pounds, but in the game -- if you know what you are doing -- you have a good shot at beating him, according to an inside source.

“A lot of the stuff is the same, but since interactive games went so well this year, we will have a lot more of those. So we’ll have Rock Band and Wii Boxing as well,” said Holly Cote, the Carnival Co-Chair and wife of Riley Cote.

“My husband will be available to box. He’s not that good at it, though. He’ll be losing a lot, I have a feeling,” she added. “We used to box a lot, but we haven’t done it in a while. So I’m out of practice and he’s out of practice.”

When asked if she could beat him, she answered, “Probably not, but his sisters can. So we should probably fly them in on the big day to embarrass him.”

In my opinion, you couldn’t meet two nicer people than the Cotes and I have known them for years now. They have always gone out of their way to interact with the fans, and that goes back to Riley’s days with the Phantoms.

From what I was told, the Finnish players like Guitar Hero, and they are all big Metallica fans, so that should be fun.

“The fans can come up and be in a band with one of the guys,” she said.

Fans will also get to take a shot at Hockey Hall of Famer and Flyers legendary goaltender Bernie Parent. I grew up watching him, and he was nearly impossible to score on, so good luck with scoring on him now!

All of the Flyers wives have been working hard to promote this very worthy cause. I think the players and families deserve very high marks for making this event a big success every year. It’s a great way for fans to meet and interact with the players and grab a few autographs in the process. The annual event will be held at the Wachovia Center on Sunday, February 22 from 1:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. Fans can also tune in and watch the Carnival and donate through the telethon on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia and The Comcast Network from 2-4 p.m. The Carnival will also be replayed on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia at 7 p.m. that evening. Carnival tickets, as low as $15, are available now exclusively through ComcastTIX at 1-800-298-4200, online at ComcastTIX.com, in person at the Wachovia Complex box office, or available at the door. Pre-sold photograph sessions with Flyers players are priced at $27 and autograph sessions with Flyers players are priced at $22, and are also expected to sell out in advance. For more information on the Carnival, visit www.flyerscarnival.com.