Scorching Flame-Out

If you had never heard of the AHL's Adirondack Flames before this week, you were... well, normal. They are the seventh incarnation of a franchise that started out as the Maine Mariners in 1977. Their NHL affiliation has been with the Calgary Flames since 1993, but it had previously been the farm team for the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers. This year is their first in Glens Falls, NY after relocating from Abbottsford, B.C.

It is not the first AHL team to be based in Glens Falls, though, as the Adirondack Phantoms (Flyers affiliate) and Adirondack Red Wings (Detroit's affiliate) had ensured a continuous presence in the area since 1979.

But two games in, and a player by the name of Trevor Gillies has already been suspended for 12 games (for attempting to seriously injure youngster William Carrier).

The ''worst'' news, though, comes from having to can their mascot, Scorch - if it ever really existed - because in addition to looking like a red turd villain from the Power Rangers, this was its unveiling, ''overpowering a fireman'':

And, of course, post-9/11, you can't have fire winning against firemen. Though this one was an actor. From Glens Falls, the hotbed of acting. Which probably means both he and the teenager inside Scorch will ''never work in that town again''.

A mascot taking the fall for the team losing its first two games and coming as a distraction from the Gillies assault? That's new. Free publicity for a new team in a specific market? Now, you're talking!