I just read some kooky headline that described the upcoming Eastern Conference Final as a “war” between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

I guess that makes for good, fast-food journalism. But it’s just a game.

And tonight there’s the news that the Flyers have “lost” D-man Kimmo Timonen for the playoffs with a blood cot in his leg.

But Philadelphia has lost a whole lot more than just Timonen for a few hockey games.

Philadelphia Police Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski will be buried on Friday, the third police officer in Philadelphia to die in the line of duty in the last 2 years.

It will be hard to get excited about Friday’s game when I think of the Liczbinski family: what is has been through; what Friday will be like; and what challenges lie ahead for the late officer’s wife and children.

Sure, hockey is important and the conference finals are important as well. But there’s more to life than hockey and the murder of Sgt. Liczbinski overshadows the opening game of this round of playoffs … and the games beyond the first as well.

Regardless what happens on the ice Friday, my thoughts and prayers will be with the Liczbinski family.

It’s supposed to rain a ton in Philly on Friday. I guess that is sort of fitting.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 8th, 2008 at 10:46 pm and is filed under Bully's Perspective. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.