Is Claude Giroux the Best Player in Hockey? He did it again on Sunday, and it’s becoming a regular occurrence. Claude Giroux broke a 2-2 third period tie against the Devils with what The700Level describes as a “rocket” of a goal (watch the video here) just over four minutes in. Yes, Danny Briere was the real hero Sunday, but we digress. It was Giroux’s seventh goal of the playoffs, which is tied for most in the league (with Briere). They always say you can’t win the Stanley Cup without good goaltending, but you can win the cup when a guy playing at Giroux’s level is playing is on your team.

We asked you a few weeks ago about Giroux being the best athlete in Philly. It’s likely that his performance the past few weeks may garner him a few more votes in that poll from Philly Magazine (his opponents are the Philadelphia Union’s Freddy Adu, DeSean Jackson of the Eagles, Evan Turner of the Sixers and Hunter Pence of the Phillies).

But it’s time to think bigger than Philly. ESPN’s Barry Melrose says that Giroux is the best player in all of hockey right now. As you’ll recall, The Hockey News named Giroux the 3rd best player in the NHL back in March (behind Sidney Crosby and Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk) and in January, the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association (PSW) named Giroux their pro athlete of the year.

We want you to weigh in: has he taken his game to a whole new level? Is he the best in the league?

-LD

[The 700 Level, PhillyMag, CSNPhilly, Philly.com]

Photo: Getty Images

Is Claude Giroux Philly’s Best Athlete in 2012? Yes, it’s only April. And yes, the Phillies (despite two masterful performances from Doc Halladay) are off to a bit of a slow start. But since we all have Flyers fever as they battle our cross-state rivals in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs (how does 3-0 feel, Pittsburgh?), it’s a question worth asking.

The folks at Philadelphia Magazine are conducting a poll for some of their annual “Best of Philly” categories, and one of them is “Best Athlete.” On the list are Giroux, the Philadelphia Union’s Freddy Adu, DeSean Jackson of the Eagles, Evan Turner of the Sixers and Hunter Pence of the Phillies (we hear you, Phillies fans…no sign of Halladay, Cliff Lee or Cole Hamels).

Giroux made all of Philadelphia proud in the 1st period of today’s game by engaging in a little scuffle with one Sidney Crosby (not to mention an assist and a goal today to go along with 28 goals and 65 assists in the regular season, and Friday night’s 3-goal, 3-assist performance in Pittsburgh). But beyond that, it got us to wondering…is Giroux in fact the best Philly athlete in 2012? (note: because the magazine is published in August, the voting closes in May.)

Quick aside: The Hockey News named Giroux the 3rd best player in the NHL back in March (behind Crosby and Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk) and in January, the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association (PSW) named Giroux their pro athlete of the year.

Weigh in below…

-LD

[PhillyMag, CSNPhilly, Philly.com h/t The20’s @VictorFiorillo]

Photo: Getty Images

Should the 76ers Kill Off Hip-Hop? Since the new Sixers owners (led by financier Joshua Harris) officially took over on October 18, they’ve been encouraging fans to send in suggestions of what they’d like to see changed with the team. And as The20’s @dhm writes for PhillyMag today, “the only concrete idea fans can get behind is getting rid of Hip-Hop, the creepy anthropomorphic rabbit that’s been the team’s mascot since 1998.”

The20 and CSNPhilly’s @GonzoCSN explains why the rabbit needs to go, saying:

“Even in the late ‘90s, when baggy jeans and over-sized jerseys and the like were the standard youth uniform, Hip-Hop was a gross, embarrassing, obvious attempt to appeal to 20-somethings…Back when it was created – and for, oh, the first decade or so thereafter – Hip-Hop was a transparent and lame marketing ploy. Now it’s lame and stale, like the mascot version of planking.”

Meanwhile, @dhm takes the opposite side of the argument, stating that the team’s problems need not focus on a rabbit:

“What Sixers fans really want is for the team to acquire better players, win more games and eventually contend for a championship. But submitting that suggestion to the owners is boring; they have to know that already. It’s more fun to think they’ll read your letter and fix your stupid pet peeve about the 76ers.”

Weigh in: should the Sixers ditch the rabbit, or focus on bigger issues? They could always bring back Big Shot, as @dhm says. Of course, none of this matters until the NBA lockout ends.

-LD

[Sixers, @dhm, PhillyMag, @GonzoCSN, CSNPhilly, Philebrity]

Photo: Getty Images