FLYERS NEWS

Capitals 5 Flyers 3

It Was Over When....

The first period ended. The Capitals scored 4 goals to take a 4-1 lead by the end of the period, and basically the Flyers never recovered.

The Game Puck Goes To....

The Capitals' Alexander Ovechkin and Ben Clymer who scored 2 goals each, including 3 of the Capitals 1st 4 goals.

The Stat Of the Game Is....

50, as in the save percentage for Flyers goalie Robert Esche on the night, in his 1 period of play before being replaced by Antero Niittymaki. Esche faced just 8 shots in the 1st period and allowed 4 of them to pass into the goal. In fact on the night the Capitals had just 19 shots on goal to the Flyers 36 and yet scored 5 goals to the Flyers 3. Basically the defense was good for the Flyers tonight, but the goaltending just wasn't.

The Bottom Line Is....

I hate to say it, but this is becoming a recurring theme for the Flyers this season. They fell behind early and never really came to life until the 3rd period and by then it was already too late. I would like to stay optimistic with this team, but the bottom line is they are fading fast and it doesn't appear that there is going be a light at the end of tunnel, any time soon.

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SIXERS NEWS

Sixers 105 Magic 103

It Was Over When....

The buzzer sounded. Allen Iverson scored on a driving layup with 2.2 seconds left ,and Magic forward Grant Hill missed a jumper from 12 feet away at the buzzer, ending it in a win for the Sixers

The Game Ball Goes To....

Allen Iverson with 39 points and 10 assists, and Kyle Korver who came off the bench to score 28 points including 4 three pointers.

The Stat Of the Game Is....

23, as in 23 turnovers for the Magic on the night. In a game with 8 lead changes and 12 ties, this is what turned out to be the deciding difference between the two teams.

The Bottom Line Is....

Hey, the Sixers are 2-0, how about that, and you know what the last time they were 2-0, was back in 2001 when they started 10-0 and advanced all the way to the NBA finals. Now I am not saying that they are going to do that this year, but they could be headed to a good year. Yes ,the Sixers allowed the Magic to score 103 points while shooting over 50% from the field, but as I said they forced 23 Magic turnovers and found a way to win by scoring 105 points, while also shooting over 50% percent from the field and over 70 % from beyond the 3 point line. Usually if you can shoot that well, it doesn't matter how bad your defense is ,you are going to get a win. However, if the Sixers are to remain undefeated they will have to get back to what won them their season/home opener, team defense. So while I am pleased that they won, I just wish that they would keep at it on the defensive end a little more.

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FLYERS NEWS

Lightning 5 Flyers 2

It Was Over When....

The Lightning's Vincent Lecavalier and Eric Perrin scored consecutive goals on the Flyers empty net with just over 2:oo minutes to play in the 3rd period, to put Tampa Bay up for good 5-2. Earlier in the period the Flyers had started a furious comeback cutting the lead to 3-2, but after going to the empty net in order to get the equalizer, they ran out of luck.

The Game Puck Goes To....

Lightning goalie Johann Holmqvist who had 30 saves on 32 shots for the night. Yes he allowed 2 goals, but in the new NHL 2 goals is nothing and if not for Holmqvist, the Flyers would have had their 2 goals one period earlier.

The Stat Of the Game Is....

0, as o goals in the first 2 periods for the Flyers. You just can't get off to such a slow start and expect to win. If the Flyers had scored even 1 goal in the first 2 periods, they might have had a chance to win this one.

The Bottom Line Is....

I don't know what it is, but for some reason the Lightning seem to bring out the worst in the Flyers and they did again tonight. The Lightning weren't even fresh, as they just played a game last night, and yet they still had enough to beat the Flyers. That goes to show, that the Flyers just aren't explosive enough right now, to consistently compete in every game, and I am not sure if they ever will be this season.

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SIXERS NEWS

Sixers 88 Hawks 75

It Was Over When.....

Samuel Dalembert, after sealing consecutive defensive stands with a block and a rebound, dunked to put the Sixers up 86-71 with just under 5:00 minutes to play. The Hawks had cut the lead to as little as 10, at 81-71 with 6:07 to play, but Dalembert's dunk put the nail in their coffin.

The Game Ball Goes To.....

Allen Iverson with 32 points and 6 assists, Andre Iguodala with 15 points and 3 steals, Chris Webber with 8 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks, and finally Samuel Dalembert with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

The Stat Of the Game Is.....

75, as in just 75 points on the night for the Hawks, and 33.3 as in a mere 33.3 team shooting percentage for the Hawks on the night. Yes the Hawks, are not very good team to begin with, but even so, these numbers really show just how committed the Sixers are to improving their defense.

The Bottom Line Is.....

This is the way you wanted to open the season if you are the Sixers. You get a win, and you get it because of your team defense, instead of your offense. Just by watching tonight's game you can see how much easier is to win a game with your defense, rather than to just outscore the other guy as the Sixers tried to do all last season. The Only question remaining for this team, as far as I am concerned, is can they keep it up. It's one thing to play great defense for one night, but it's another to do it for an entire season. Yes this was an encouraging win for the Sixers, but they still have a little ways to go to prove that they belong at the top of the Eastern conference, or at the very the least, the top of the Atlantic division. Who knows, if they can keep this up, they might just go farther than anyone expected them to.

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EAGLES NEWS

Earlier today the Eagles made an interesting change to their roster. Cornerback Dexter Wynn who had been the Eagles kickoff returner, until Reno Mahe took over last week, was put on waivers. Now of course the Eagles had to replace him, so they signed free agent Cornerback William Peterson, or William James as he calls himself now, to a one year contract. You might remember Peterson er, James from his 2 seasons as the Giants starting cornerback, in which he recorded 199 tackles and 5 interceptions. Now, James hasn't played since last September because of a back injury, but hopefully he will be able to give the Eagles some more depth at cornerback, although I don't know how much he can help the Eagles out of there current funk, but who knows maybe he can help fire up the troops over the bye week.

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FLYERS NEWS

Flyers 3 Blackhawks 0

It Was Over When.....

Peter Forsberg stepped on the ice. The Flyers Captain score just over 7:00 minutes into the game to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead which they would never relinquish.

The Game Puck Goes To.....

Peter Forsberg who scored 2 spectacular goals on the night, and Goalie Robert Esche who shutout the Blackhawks with 26 saves, for his first win of the year.

The Stat of The Game Is.....

0, as in 0 goals scored by the Blackhawks on the night. This is the 3rd consecutive game in which the Blackhawks have failed to score a goal.

The Bottom Line Is.....

This was a nice win for the Flyers but it was against the Blackhawks who are arguably the only team that has played worst than the Flyers have this season. Also the only goal scorers for the Flyers were Peter Forsberg, and Simon Gagne, on empty net goal. Generally, these are the guys that you expect to score goals on a daily basis, but it's the Kyle Calders and the Jeff Carters who have to score if the Flyers are to turn things around. Until they do, and until the Flyers get a win against a team that's not struggling like the Blackhawks or the Thrashers for that matter, I will continue to say what I am going to say now, nice win guys, but you could do better.

SIXERS NEWS

As promised this is a quick report on how the Sixers fared during their preseason and thus where they are heading going into the season. The Sixers final record for the preseason was 3-4, but as usual that doesn't matter, so let't talk about what does. As a team the Sixers averaged about 100 points scored per game and the usual suspects Allen Iverson, Chris Webber, and Andre Iguodala helped the team to do so. One pleasant surprise, if any, was the solid play of Kyle Korver who consistently put about 20 points a game despite coming off the bench most nights. However, despite all their scoring prowess, defense was a problem for them, just as it was all last season, and just as it will likely be all this season. As they were scoring about 100 points a game they were also giving up about 100 points a game, and that usually doesn't add to much success. If the Sixers are to even just reach playoffs this season their defense will have to be vastly improved from last year, and judging from the preseason it isn't so I just can't see this team going any farther than it has been the last few seasons, 38-44 and fighting for the 8th playoff spot.

EAGLES NEWS

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EAGLES NEWS

Jaguars 13 Eagles 6

It Was Over When.....

The Jaguars recovered a last ditch onsides kick attempt by David Akers, to seal the win.

The Game Ball Goes To.....

The Jaguars offensive line, which allowed Fred Taylor and Maurice Drew to rush for a combined 209 yards and 1 touchdown, and allowed just 1 sack of QB David Garrard. It also helped the Jaguars dominate the field position all day long, as The Eagles were continually starting drives deep in their own territory.

The Stat Of the Game Is.....

142 and 85, as in 142 yards passing and 85 yards rushing for a combined 227 yards for the Eagles offense. For a team with the NFL's # 1 offense, which had been averaging 400+ yards and nearly 30 points a game, a dismal output like that is simply unacceptable even against a defense like Jaxsonville's.

The Bottom Line Is.....

This was just an ugly loss for the Eagles. As good as their defense was today, their offense was twice as bad. I mean, there were false starts, incomplete passes, and dropped passes. Basically it would be very difficult for the Eagles offense to execute any worse than they did today. Even in the last 2 weeks although they got off to slow starts ,the Eagles still managed to come alive just long enough for over 300 yards and 21 points. Today, they were just awful from start to finish and never really got untracked against the Jaguars. However, an even bigger problem for the Birds is that this is their 3rd consecutive loss and they are now just 4-4 on the season. Fortunately next week is their bye week, so hopefully they will be able to figure out whatever it is that's been wrong with them these last few weeks, because I sure can't figure it out and I doubt you can either.

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