Only for Guild Members » Gritty has schmoozed with Jimmy Fallon

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Scott Mayfield Jersey Womens , gave a bushy bro hug to the Phillie Phanatic and saw his wild-haired, googly-eyed, fuzzy face plastered on beer cans , protest signs and even as tattoos .Pick a time of day and there’s Gritty: “Good Morning America ,” ”Last Week Tonight ” and “Weekend Update” all put their comic spin on the Philadelphia Flyers‘ mascot.Hungry? Hop in an Uber for a Philly food tour and load up on Gritty cupcakes , Gritty mac ‘n cheese fries , Gritty Italian ice and, of course, the Gritty cheesesteak (steak, whiz wit, French fries and Cheetos).Gritty’s been loved and lampooned, swept into politics and become more than just an orange face that turned into a No. 1-trending hashtag.There’s little need to play 82 games this season to find the NHL rookie of the year: it’s Gritty.Even the commish admits he’s a Gritty Guy.“If he’s supposed to bring attention to the game , I think he’s done a pretty good job of doing that,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.Gritty’s been in your face (and invaded your dreams ) since his debut last week.Gritty got off to a slow start when the Flyers unveiled him with a stock photo of a menacing mascot that made him look like more like the cold-blooded Pennywise than a lovable monster that a kid would want to hug.Gritty can’t be blamed for looking more threatening than the Flyers’ Stanley Cup chances once he stumbled out of captivity. The Flyers say Gritty was found by the team in his secret hideout during offseason renovations at the Wells Fargo Center.His father was a “bully,” and his unkempt beard suggests he may have arisen from the ashes of the Flyers’ long-ago home, the Spectrum. And those crossed-eyes? Well, yours would be too if you spent all that time trapped trying to find Patrick Kane’s Game 6 goal.Mascot mythology is fun.But the truth is, the Flyers had missed out on the in-game frivolity Max Domi Jersey Womens , the merchandise revenue streams and the community outreach programs that result from a marketable mascot. At the 2016 NHL All-Star game in Nashville, Tennessee, the Flyers’ marketing department saw the rest of the league’s mascots — like Bailey the Lion , S.J. Sharkie and Stormy — competing in various games and realized it was time to make a mascot from myth to reality.The Flyers had tried a mascot before, but Slapshot lasted just one season in 1976.“Our players, the Flyers’ wives, the alumni, you can only ask them to do so much,” said Joe Heller, Flyers’ vice president of marketing. “We felt that there is so much more we could do by creating a mascot program.”Some mascots are obvious: The Panthers mascot is, well, a panther. The New Jersey Devils? Yup, a Devil. The Arizona Coyotes mascot is … wait for it … a coyote!The Flyers were stumped.“It didn’t seem like any animal or person would fit what a Flyer would be,” Heller said.The Flyers didn’t have to search far for inspiration: the mascot gold standard — make that, the green, potbellied, red-tongue and big-beaked, ATV wheeling mascot standard — was launching hot dogs and dancing on dugouts across the street.The Flyers leaned on advice from character branding consultant Dave Raymond Richard Panik Jersey , better known as the founding father of the Phillie Phanatic for the baseball team. Raymond played the Phanatic for 15 years and has helped franchises decide everything from character development to choosing the person inside that XXXXXXL jersey.Raymond said the best mascots are as synonymous with their teams as their Hall of Fame players, such as the Phanatic, Brutus Buckeye or the Suns gorilla.“I really believe Gritty is on a path to becoming that,” Raymond said.The Flyers considered over 100 options before they settled on a sketch from freelance designer Brian Allen of Flyland Designs.“I began the project by sketching over 20 different possible mascots, including, bats, bulls, groundhogs, dragons, tough guys, yetis, and even a flying squirrel,” Allen wrote on his website. “Once the client saw the sketches, they picked a big dumpy monster I had drawn as the starting point.”Character Translations, in suburban Philly, created the outfit that includes 33 1/2 size skates and a size 58 jersey.The name was decided over the summer by team president Paul Holmgren.“(He) chimed in, ‘How great would it be if we named our mascot Gritty?” Heller said.Just like that, a social media star was hatched.“He’s getting a ton of attention http://www.officialsabres.com/authentic-adidas-jack-eichel-jersey , and I suppose that’s what mascots are supposed to do,” Bettman said. “Looking at social media, he has admirers and he has doubters, but it looks like the greater Philadelphia community and in particular the Philadelphia hockey community has embraced him.”Yes, a GoFundMe page was set up to euthanize Gritty. And comedian Jon Oliver said Gritty “looks like the end result of the orange McDonald’s Fry Guy hooking up with Grimace.”But Philadelphia’s new director of fun won over the city in his debut when he bit it on skates and fell on his fuzzy rear at a preseason game. Gritty’s been carved on pumpkins, made beer menus and palled around with Flyers stars Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds . He made it into HQ Trivia and has nearly 120,000 Twitter followers in just 10 days.“I don’t think we have our arms around everything that’s out there,” Heller said.Gritty’s going to throw his around everyone he can — and wins fans over one furry hug at a time. TORONTO — The Winnipeg Jets need to play a complete game to get some payback when the visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.The Maple Leafs defeated the Jets 4-2 on Wednesday night in Winnipeg.Before the rematch in Toronto, the Jets visited the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night and came back for a 2-1 win on a goal by Dustin Byfuglien at 13:15 of the third period. It was the defenseman’s 500th career point.Article continues below ...The Jets had fallen behind in the first period.Against the Maple Leafs, the Jets fell behind 3-0 before scoring twice in the third period, but John Tavares finished the scoring for the Maple Leafs to clinch the victory.“We worked hard and made a push at the end,” said Jets left winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who ended an 11-game drought without a goal on Wednesday. “But I think there is still a lot we can do better. I think the way we pushed in the third is the way we need to play for a full 60 minutes.”The loss meant the Jets (7-3-1) finished their six-game homestand with a 4-1-1 record.The Maple Leafs (7-3-0), meanwhile, had lost their two previous games, both at home, and had scored a total of one goal in those games.“You reach the 10- or 20-game mark, teams become dialed into their systems and there’s less room out there http://www.officialflames.com/authentic-adidas-sean-monahan-jersey ,” said Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, who has 10 goals but none in his past four games. “But I liked our last game, we had a lot of chances. I feel myself and (linemates Patrick Marleau and Kasperi Kapanen) are getting chances.”Toronto will not have defenseman Travis Dermott after he became ill before the game in Winnipeg. He did not attend practice on Friday.The Maple Leafs are 5-0-0 on the road this season. They are 2-3-0 at home. The Jets are 5-1-1 at home and 2-2-0 on the road.“We seem to be more patient (on the road) and don’t press, we don’t get into a run-and-gun game,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “I don’t know if we just try and look too cute and look too good. At the end, it’s about getting results. It’s always hard to beat a good team twice in a row. They’d be no different from us, they’ll want to respond.”Toronto center Nazem Kadri scored his first goal of the season on Wednesday.“I’ve been around long enough to try to not get frustrated, but that’s always nice finding the back of the net and contributing to help your team win,” Kadri said. “Hopefully, they come in bunches.”The Maple Leafs kept the Jets under control for most of the game on Wednesday.“Our structure was good, we didn’t give them too much time,” Kadri said. “We were able to be in the right places at the right times, especially breaking through the neutral zone. On the defensive side of things, we were able to stay above guys and not give them too much momentum to generate speed entering the offensive zone.”Defenseman Jake Gardiner and winger Tyler Ennis will both be playing in their 500th NHL game Saturday.The Jets lead the all-time series 27-26-7 overall. The teams are 12-12-5 at Scotiabank Arena.While the Jets have a decent record, they have not looked as imposing as they became last season.“We’re not struggling,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “We’re not where we’re going to be in the end, but no team is. We’re all building here. We’re living the daily life in the NHL right now.”The game in Detroit was the opener of a four-game trip for the Jets that includes two games in Finland against the Florida Panthers next week.