My Former Intern Came Up With the Philadelphia Phantoms’ Mascot Name

Last night, an unlikely team clinched their place in the Stanley Cup Final.

The 8th-seeded Florida Panthers completed a sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes last night in dramatic fashion as Matthew Tkachuck (Yes, all my hockey lovers, that is, in fact, the son of Keith Tkachuk) scored a goal to give the Panthers the lead with just 4.9 seconds left in the game.

With that last-second goal, the Panthers clinched their first Stanley Cup appearance in 27 years.

The last time they made it that far was 1996!

Funnily enough, I have another first-time hockey-related story that is also a throwback to the year 1996!

Back then, I was still with WMGK’s sister station, WMMR, doing the midday show because Pierre Robert was doing the mornings for the station.

I was doing an appearance for the station at D&Q Ski + Snowboard in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

It was sort of just like any other appearance we did where we brought the MMR van, a speaker or two to play the station live, and just had an overall good time for all our listeners out there.

However, one thing was different at this appearance: we had a special guest with us!

I brought along Phlex, the mascot for the Philadelphia Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers!

At the time, the Phantoms still played all of their games at the Spectrum before eventually moving a little more north to Lehigh Valley.

Manning the Phlex suit that day was none other than my intern at the time, Chuck Damico!

Chuck was actually the first person to ever wear the Phlex suit!

Not only that, he actually came up with the name Phlex as well – even though you won’t find his credit in any of the history books or any extra money in his bank account for coming up with such a creative name, we that are in the know, know the truth behind the name’s origin!

Chuck said he came up with the name because when he put on the costume, it made his arms flex.

Sometimes the best ideas just organically happen!

With a sharp mind like that, no wonder my one-time intern eventually worked his way up to becoming the Program Director at 97.5 The Fanatic and the Assistant Program Director at WMMR!

And that is why I always say, be nice to your interns because you never know what could happen!

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What a Show!

Over the weekend, a few concerts took place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday down at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly.

It was a tiny artist that not too many people know about, and there definitely were not close to 100,000 people in and outside the stadium enjoying each show.

And by that, I mean the BIGGEST artist in the world currently and there were absolutely that many people surrounding the Linc and in their seats enjoying the show!

Yes, Taylor Swift was in town over the weekend and it was quite the spectacle!

I was actually in attendance for the show on Saturday night with my niece, Lily!

She is actually a part of the event staff for all of the Eagles games and also works a few select concerts taking place at the Linc!

And you know she was not going to miss Taylor!

I got to walk in the tunnel with her and clock in and then it was right to her post at the Pepsi Plaza!

Lily was super helpful to all the concertgoers assisting plenty of Swifties to their seats and giving them guidance throughout the stadium!

The event itself was incredible!

I got to see the merch first hand that people were lining up by the hundreds for on Thursday — a full day and a half before any of the shows even started!

Taylor put on an amazing show for all the people that were fortunate enough to be in the building and even thousands more outside who just wanted to hear their favorite artist sing.

If you haven’t seen the videos by now, thousands upon thousands of Taylor Swift die-hard fans surrounded the stadium singing their favorite songs and enjoying the show from outside!

I have never seen anything like that in all my years in the music industry!

Overall, I had an amazing time with Lily and I’m glad she got to work one of the shows!

As we all know, last week, Joel Embiid was the center of the basketball world as he was finally awarded his first career NBA MVP award.

It was an award that had evaded him the past few years after coming so close, and one that he admittedly wanted to achieve in his career.

It was the second MVP season I have had the pleasure to watch as the public address announcer for the Philadelphia 76ers, with the other being Allen Iverson’s 2001 season.

And both of those seasons were filled with unforgettable moments.

I was so happy for Embiid when the news broke last Tuesday night that he won the league’s most valuable player.

As soon as I heard the news, my thoughts went directly to Game 3, the first home game of the series against the Boston Celtics, where they would present Embiid with the trophy in front of a sold-out Wells Fargo Center crowd.

When I got to the building that night, you could tell the atmosphere was a little different than normal as everyone was anxiously awaiting the trophy presentation.

It was actually the first live MVP event that the NBA hosted on the court in the playoffs since 2016, so I got to host it live on ESPN prior to tip-off.

It was surreal!

It was also the first time the newly unveiled Michael Jordan Trophy was presented to the MVP winner as the league introduced the trophy this season.

The presentation was pretty emotional for all involved, including the Big Fella who was moved to tears when his son, Arthur, ran onto the floor.

It was a night he will remember for sure as will all who were in attendance!

Luckily, for all of you that weren’t, I got some behind-the-scenes pictures and videos of the rehearsals and pregame for you to enjoy!

I love when the spring finally hits and the weather starts to warm up!

Of course, it means summer is getting closer and closer.

The Phillies season has just started.

And the NBA Playoffs are underway, with hopefully a deep run in store for the Philadelphia 76ers!

But one of the main reasons I love this time of year is because I can finally ride my bike to and from work again a few times a week!

I love riding my bike as much as I can to work at the WMGK studios at 1 Bala Plaza from my house all the way in South Philly.

It is honestly such a scenic route that I never get tired of riding through.

I pass through the gorgeous Kelly Drive, including the iconic Boathouse Row section of the city!

Also along my trip, I pass the Rocky statue, so whenever I get tired that gives me the extra motivation to last the extra rounds like our favorite fictional boxer would do!

I can’t forget Delancey Street, either!

The homes on that street are beautiful!

I also pass some great establishments in the city during my ride!

One of these is a restaurant called Rouge, which easily has some of the best burgers in the whole city!

Another place I pass is the Mitchell & Ness headquarters!

For all my sports lovers out there, you have to stop by one of their flagship stores because they have some of the best sports gear and memorabilia in the game!

My favorite part of the route is along the Schuylkill Trail!

Then, finally, the homestretch down legendary South Street.

Altogether, it is 10.8 miles total and I do it typically in just under an hour!

I know that information thanks to my Strava map!

I put some photos and videos together from my ride so you guys can see what I see and enjoy!