I had no idea that the National Hockey League was in the business of endorsing candidates. This from the NHL website (www.nhl.com)
"Sarah Palin to drop puck at Flyers season opener
"We are very excited she (Palin) has accepted our offer and we are very proud of the publicity she is generating for hockey moms and the sport of hockey." -- Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the nation’s most popular hockey mom, will join the winner of the Philadelphia Flyers regional search for the "Ultimate Hockey Mom" contest and drop the puck at the ceremonial opening face-off as the home team Flyers host the New York Rangers at the Wachovia Center on Saturday, October 11 at 7 p.m.
More over the fold...
"Because of the tremendous amount of publicity she has brought to our sport, we invited the most popular hockey mom in North America to our home opener to help us get our season started," said Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider who founded the Flyers in 1967. "We are very excited she has accepted our offer and we are very proud of the publicity she is generating for hockey moms and the sport of hockey.
The Flyers have been searching for the ultimate hockey mom in the Greater Philadelphia Region through an on line contest which asked hockey players or hockey moms themselves to submit their hockey mom poster to the team."
What this PR from the NHL fails to note is that Ed Snider has contributed to the McCain campaign. So this is just not some wholesome publicity stunt, it's to promote the campaign of the candidate he gave money to.
I think this is wildly inappropriate (and to be fair, I would feel the same way if Joe Biden, as much as I love him, was going to toss a football at a NY Jets or Giants game. Invite them both, or none at all).
I just called and gave a piece of my mind to both the NHL and the Flyers offices. The NHL's official position is NO position; they have no control over what individual teams/front offices do. The lady who answered at the Flyers office admitted that they had been getting "lots" of calls on this matter. I told them they would be getting plenty more!
NHL 1-212-789-2000
PA Flyers 1-215-465-4500