Saturday, December 22, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
After consecutive tough losses the Sixers needed a win tonight over the Memphis Grizzlies to get on track. Thanks to a hot second half from Andre Iguodala they did just that. Offensively, three Sixers scored in double figures(Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, Kyle Korver) with Andre Miller's 29 leading the way. Defensively, the star was once again Samuel Dalembert with 14 rebounds and 3 blocks as the Sixers out rebounded Memphis 40-37. As for the game it was pretty exciting and this time it ended right for the Philly squad. The Grizzlies lead 30-25 through the first quarter. After a tight 2nd quarter and an equally tight 3rd quarter the Grizzlies still led by 5 heading into the 4th quarter with the score 74-69. With five seconds to play it was tied at 97-97, as the Sixers got the ball for the final possession of the game. With one second to play Iguodala hit a jumper to sink the Grizzlies at the buzzer 99-97. So the Sixers improve to 11-16 overall, but remain in 4th place in the Atlantic division.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers played their best game of the season tonight and it still wasn't enough as they lost their 6th in a row and 2nd straight to the Sabres in another home and home series. Hey, sometimes when you get stuck in a streak like this you're best just isn't enough. As for the game it was pretty exciting until the end at least. In the 1st period Maxim Afinogenov made it 1-0 Sabres early, and Jeff Carter tied it at 1 with a late goal in the period. In the 2nd period all heck broke loose. Ales Kotalik and Jay Pominville made it 3-1 Sabres. Then Jeff Carter and Mike Richards tied it at 3. Next Jon Spacek made it 4-3 Sabres. Finally, with just seconds left in the period Mike Richards tied it up again at 4. Kimmo Timonen gave the Flyers their first lead at 5-4 early in the 3rd period. Then with 2 seconds to play, Thomas Vanek followed an icing call by scoring immediately off the faceoff for a 5-5 tie and a trip to overtime. The overtime period went scoreless and in the ensuing shootout the Sabres' Ales Kotalik scored the only goal for a 6-5 Sabres victory. So the Flyers drop to 16-13-4 overall and remain in 4th place in the Atlantic division.
Friday, December 21, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
Kobe and the Lakers visited the Wachovia center tonight and together with the Sixers they helped put on a show. Unfortunately, the final act didn't quite go the way the Sixers wanted it to. Offensively, five Sixers scored in double figures(Andre Miller, Willie Green, Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembet, Kyle Korver) with Andre Miller's 21 leading the way. Defensively, the star was once again Samuel Dalembert with 14 rebounds and 2 blocks. As for the game it was close and hotly contested throughout. Through the first quarter of play the Lakers lead 32-24 and Sixers appeared headed to a tough night. The Sixers had other ideas though and rallied to within 3 at the half, with the score 56-53. After a back and forth 3rd quarter the Sixers still trailed by 3 heading into the 4th quarter, with the score 84-81. The 4th quarter was equally topsy turvy, but with about 4:30 to play just as the Sixers closed to within 5, with the score 96-92, the Lakers finally began to pull away. L.A hit their free throws down the stretch and despite a late 3 pointer by Kyle Korver, hung on to win 106-101. So the Sixers drop to 10-16 overall and into 4th place in the Atlantic division.
FLYERS NEWS
The streak continues for the Orange and Black, with this their 5th straight loss tonight, this time to the Buffalo Sabres. Once again, it was a close game, the Flyers had the lead, and they gave it away late. It's beginning to look more and more like last season all over again. A long streak of misery with no end in sight. The Sabres led 1-0 after the 1st period. Early in the 2nd period the Flyers went up 2-1 on goals by Joffrey Lupul and Jeff Carter. Early in the 3rd period Alexander Kotalik tied it at 2 for the Sabres and Jonathan Hecht made it 3-2 Sabres with under 2 minutes to play. A bunch of saves from Ryan Miller later and Buffalo had won 3-2. So the Flyers drop to 16-13-3 overall and into 4th place in the Atlantic division.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phillies finally did something with their off season today signing veteran outfielder Geoff Jenkins to a 2 year 17 million deal, and pitcher Chad Durbin to a 1 year 900,000 deal. Jenkins will likely split time in right field with Jayson Werth. Considering he batted .255 with 21 homers and 64 RBIs last season he should only add to the Phils NL best offense. As for Durbin he went 8-7 last season with a 4.72 era, both as a reliever where he went 2-0 with a 4.18 era, and as a starter. So he's a versatile pitcher, who will only add depth to the Phils pitching staff whether it be as a starter in the rotation or a reliever in the bullpen. So neither one of these free agent pickups dramatically improves the Phils for next season, at least not on paper. Hopefully, the Phils will do some more wheeling and dealing this off season, because otherwise this will be another in a long line of disappointing off seasons.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers have been playing so well lately, you're almost surprised to see them go down as hard they did tonight, but not really. Considering they turned the ball over 18 times to the Pacers 8 turnovers, and shot just 34.6% from the field, to the Pacers 45.7%, it should come as no surprise that they lost. Offensively, four Sixers scored in double figures(Andre Miller, Willie Green, Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert) With the Andre's leading the way with 16 a piece. Defensively, Samuel Dalembert led the way again with 14 rebounds and 6 blocks, and Reggie Evans chipped in with 16 rebounds as the Sixers out rebounded Indiana 55-39. Early on, the Sixers held the winning hand leading 28-26 after the 1st period. From there, the rest of night belonged to the Pacers. By halftime Indiana led 50-47. After the 3rd quarter the route was on with Pacer lead at 81-67. By the bitter end Indiana had won easily 102-85, to drop to the Sixers to 10-15. However, the Sixers remain tied for 3rd place in the Atlantic division with the New Jersey Nets.
EAGLES NEWS
The Pro Bowl rosters were released today, and the lone Eagles' representatives will be Brian Westbrook and offensive tackle Sean Andrews. While it's no surprise Westbrook was selected, Andrews might come as a bit of a surprise to some, but make no mistake about it, he's had a great season so far. In fact, were not for Andrews protecting his backside, Westbrook would not be headed to the pro bowl. Trent Cole, 3rd in the NFC with 12 and 1/2 sacks got the big snub on defense, but realistically, he should have made it 3 pro bowlers for the Eagles season, but alas it's not always he who works the hardest and performs the best that gets selected to the pro bowl, but rather he who is most well known.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers have traded Ben Eager to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Jim Vandermeer. Vandermeer was with the Flyers from 2002-2004, before being traded to Chicago for Alexei Zhamnov who helped the Flyers get within a game of the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals before succumbing to Tampa Bay. Now Vandermeer is back for a second stint with the Flyers, giving them a surplus of defenseman. Hopefully he'll help to assuage the problem that caused the Orange and Black to lose last night.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
FLYERS NEWS
The streak continues for the Flyers who suffered their 4th straight loss tonight, this time to the Phoenix coyotes. Once again it was a close game and once again the Orange and Black gave it away down the stretch. This time though it's not Marty Biron's fault, as he racked up 39 saves on 42, yes 42 chances. Clearly it's the defense that allowed those 42 chances that's at fault. In the 1st period Scott Hartnell put the Flyers up 1-0 with a power play goal. In the 2nd period Mike Richards made it 2-0 early, then Keith Yandle and Fredrick Sjostrom both scored late goals for Phoenix tie it up at 2 heading into the 3rd period. There, midway through the period Peter Mueller put the Coyotes up 3-2 and again the Flyers could not answer. So they lost to the Coyotes 3-2 and drop to 16-13-3 overall and 3rd place in the Atlantic division.
Monday, December 17, 2007
EAGLES NEWS
The Minnesota Vikings, holders of the NFC's 6th and final playoff spot, played the Chicago Bears tonight and rallied from behind to win 20-13. Thus, they improved their record to 8-6, which sadly eliminates the 6-8 Eagles from playoff contention, since the best they could do would be to finish in a tie, to which the Vikes would have the tiebreaker. Oh well, better luck next year boys.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
EAGLES NEWS
Who woulda thunk it? On the brink of elimination from the playoffs, but still Mathematically alive, the Eagles got the win they sorely needed this afternoon, defeating T.O and the Cowboys. It was not an especially pretty game, as both offenses struggled, but when it mattered most the Eagles' offense got the job done, while the Dallas offense came up short. For the Eagles, Donovan Mcnabb completed 23 of his 41 passes for 208 yards and a TD, while Brian Westbrook rushed 18 times for 81 yards, and caught 9 passes for 63 yards. For Dallas, on the other hand nothing clicked as the Eagles defense held them to just 240 total yards(187 yards passing, and just 53 yards rushing) and 0 TDs. Tony Romo hit just 13 of his 36 passes for 214 yards and 0 TDs as he was sacked 4 times and intercepted 3 times. Additionally, Marion Barber and Julius Jones combined for just 37 yards rushing and Mr. Owens caught just 2 passes for 37 yards. The only true sparkle out of the Dallas offense came from TE Jason Witten who caught 8 passes for 113 yards. As for the game it was largely uneventful, and yet still exciting. Until the final minute of the first half the only score of the game was a Nick Folk field goal for a 3-0 Dallas lead. Then the Eagles finally put together a long drive to finish half, capped off by a 27 yard run by Mcnabb and a 1 yd TD pass from Mcnabb to Reggie Brown, for a 7-3 Eagles lead. Midway through the 3rd quarter the Dallas offense seemed to finally get on track, driving deep into Eagles territory, but again they were forced to settle for a Nick Folk field goal to cut the Ealges lead to 7-6. The Eagles had a golden opportunity early in the 4th quarter to take charge of the game, but they too could not get in the end zone and had to settle for a David Akers field goal for a 10-6 lead. From there, the Eagles held Dallas in check until with just under 3 minutes to play Brian Dawkins intercepted Romo for the 3rd and final time. The Eagles were then able to run out the clock and walked away with a 10-6 victory. So the Eagles improve to 6-8 overall, and although they still need a lot of help to fulfill them, their playoff hopes stay alive for now.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers continued to go in the wrong direction tonight, with their third loss in a row, this time at the hands of Marty Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils. It started slow with a scoreless first period. Then after Mike Richards scored a power play goal to give the Flyers the 1-0 lead early in the 2nd period, the Devils exploded for 3 goals(2 by John Madden, 1 by Arron Asham) for a 3-2 lead heading into the 3rd period. There, Daniele Briere scored an early power play goal to cut the Devils lead to 3-2. Unfortunately, try as they might the Flyers could not get the equalizer to force the game into overtime. In desperation they pulled Antero Niittymaki from the goal(starting in the place of the now struggling Marty Biron), in favor of the extra attacker. The Devils and Brodeur snuffed it out though, and Jamie Langenbrunner scored on the Flyers empty net to put it away for good. So the Devils won 4-2 and the Flyers lost to drop to 16-12-3 overall, still good enough though for 2nd place in the Atlantic division.
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