On the NHL schedule, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers are scheduled to face each other at 1 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2012. The game will be carried on NBC and CBC. It is not, however, identified as the Winter Classic.
This is because there's been no formal announcement of said Winter Classic by the NHL, the Flyers, Citizens Bank Park or the Philadelphia Phillies. And despite some chatter that it could come this week, Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly says the waiting will continue:
According to a source involved in the negotiations, no announcement is anticipated this week, after all.
Other sources told CSNPhilly.com that the Flyers had anticipated an announcement two weeks ago, saying that terms and conditions between the NHL and the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park were completed. Never happened.
So what's the holdup? Seating? Tickets? Using the rink for games by the AHL's Adirondack Phantoms and NCAA's Penn State University men's hockey team, which Chuck Gormley said were in the works earlier this month? Maybe it's about the logistics for this, which Gormley also noted:
Since the Wells Fargo Center will have an open date on Jan. 2, the Flyers are considering opening the building and its adjacent parking lot for a daylong festival that will kick off a week of hockey-related activities.
In other Philadelphia Winter Classic news, we fully support our friends at The 700 Level in their effort to get The Roots as the musical act for the 2012 game. In fact, we'd like them to provide the soundtrack for all three periods, if that's humanly possible.
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