Those of you who read our site regularly know we never copy and paste articles or even bits of articles from other websites or publications. We work  pretty damn hard to come up with our own content.  With that said, this is just something we couldn’t ignore, as it’s probably one of the most classless things we’ve read in quite some time.

Below is an excerpt (I can’t post the whole thing) of an article out of the Philadelphia Sun that trashes the Rangers organization for honoring Neil Auricchio, the cop and former Iraq vet, who was beaten by Flyers fans following the Winter Classic.

The New York Rangers announced this week that they will honor Neal Auricchio at an upcoming game against the New Jersey Devils, giving him free tickets and bringing him into the locker room to meet the players.

But not for his service to his country as a Marine in Iraq, where he went for two tours, being seriously injured in the first.

And not because he’s a cop in Woodbridge, N.J. – a job that is often underappreciated.

Instead, the Rangers will give Auricchio free tickets and an inside look at the locker room because he attended the Winter Classic on January 2, went to Geno’s Steaks for a bite to eat afterward, wore his Rangers jersey, got loud with undoubtedly drunk Flyers fans waiting in line, then got the crap kicked out of him.

Are you f*&^ing kidding me?!?!?

This is so typical of New Yorkers. “

…But what message are the Rangers trying to send here? That it should be encouraged for other fans of the team to go into the heart of an opposing city – whose fans are infamous for being a bunch of rowdy, over-the-top and sometimes out-of-touch a-holes – and get involved in a bad situation that can’t possibly turn out well?

This is New York Rangers defenseman Mark Staal. His brothers Jordan and Eric are a lot better than him.

“Hey kids, here’s something you can aspire to as a Rangers fan – getting into a brawl in Philadelphia. If you do it when you grow up, we’ll give you free tickets to a game and let you meet the third best NHL player in the Staal family.”

Pathetic.

The Flyers would never think of doing something like this.”

Here’s the full article. Shameful. We don’t want to give the guy pageviews, but I think we have to link them.

Note by Dave: Although Tim Ronaldson, the author of this article, is a complete buffoon, you should not judge all of Philadelphia media or the city itself based on one idiot’s words. The guys at Broad Street Hockey called for the arrest of the assailant, and the Flyers organization assisted in the search for him. This is just one man’s idiotic words, they do not reflect the opinion of an entire city or sports organization.

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