The Flyers came into tonight a win in Montreal away from advancing to the conference finals for the first time in 4 years. This, after finishing last season with the worst record in the NHL. A remarkable turn around indeed. Thanks' to the desperation of the Habs to save their season, tonight's game proved to be about 3 times harder to win than the last 3, but eventually the Flyer's indomitable will to win won out. Early in the first period of play, Tomas Plekanec got the Habs off to a roaring start with a power play goal to put them up 1-0. Late in the period R.J Umberger scored to tie it up at 1. Then a few minutes later Alexei Kovalev scored for a 2-1 Habs lead. Midway through the second period Chris Higgins scored for a 3-1 Habs lead and a for a while it appeared that a game 6 would be inevitable. Instead the resilient Flyers roared back, as Mike Richards, Umberger again, and Scotty Hartnell each scored late in the period and suddenly the Flyers were back ahead 4-3 heading into the 3rd. Early in the 3rd period of play, Andrei Kostitysn score to knot it up at 4. Later in the period with just over 3 minutes to play, Scottie Upshall scored for a 5-4 lead. Then in the final minutes of the game, the desperate Habs pulled goalie Carey Price, in favor of the extra attacker, but it was to no avail, as Mike Knuble scored on the empty net with just under a minute to play, to finish off a 6-4 Flyer's win. So the Orange and Black are headed to the Eastern Conference finals, and if they keep playing like this, they might just be headed back to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1997.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils bats finally cooled off a bit tonight in the second of their 3 game set with the Giants. Brett Myers got the start and pitched well, allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits in 7 innings of work. However the Giant's Matt Cain was equally up to the task allowing the Phils just 2 runs on 3 hits in 7 innings of work. So the two teams fought into extra innings for the second night in a row, but this time there would be no late inning magic for the Phils. Now onto the game. In the top of the first Fred Lewis walked, stole second, and scored on a single by Randy Winn for a 1-0 Giant's lead. In the bottom of the 4th, Chase Utley homered to tie it at 1. In the top fo the 5th Lewis homered for a 2-1 Giant's lead. In the bottom of the 5th, Geoff Jenkins crushed a solo homer to tie it at 2. From there neither team could score until the game had gone into extra innings. There in the top of the 10th, Bengie Molina lined a one out single to plate Winn for a 3-2 Giants lead. Brian Wilson then closed out the Phils in the bottom of the inning, for a 3-2 Giants victory. So the Phils drop to 17-14 overall, but remain in first.
Friday, May 02, 2008
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils stayed hot tonight as they welcomed the San Fransisco Giants and old friend Aaron Rowand to the Bank for a 3 game set. Kyle Kendrick got the start, and produced a solid effort allowing just 3 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings of work. Still a late rally nearly made Rowand the hero against his old team, before some Phils extra inning magic helped them prevail. Now onto the game. In the bottom of the first inning Chase Utley slammed a 2 run homer as the Phils jumped out to a 2-0 lead. In the top of the 4th, Jose Castillo plated Rowand with a two out single to cut the lead to 2-1. In the bottom of the inning ex-Giant Pedro Feliz slapped a 2 run homer for a 4-1 Phils lead. In the top of the 7th, Ray Durham knocked in a couple runs with a bases loaded single and a couple batters later, Eugenio Velez scored on a fielder's choice, and just like that it was all tied up at 4. From there neither team could score in the final innings and the game went into extra innings. There, in the top of the 10th, Rowand nearly became a hero crushing a solo homer to put the Giants up 5-4. Finally in the bottom of the 9th, Utley slinged a one out single to right field, and after Ryan Howard struck out and was ejected, Pat Burrell stepped to the plate with a chance to be a hero. After working the count to 3-0, he got 3 straight fastballs to hit. He just missed crushing the first two , but he was right on the money with the 3rd, depositing it in the seats in left field and setting off the hometown celebration as the Phils walked off with the win 6-5. So the Phils improve to 17-13 overall and remain in first place in the NL East.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils finished off their 3 game set with the Padres tonight and began the month of May in encouraging fashion. Ex-Padre Adam Eaton got the start against Ex-Phillie Randy Wolf and in the battle of the exes neither came out on top as both allowed 2 runs in 6 innings, Eaton on 5 hits and Wolf on 6 hits. So it came down to a battle of the bullpens and not surprisingly the Phils bullpen prevailed allowing 0 runs on 0 hits in 3 innings, while the Padres bullpen allowed a run on a hit in 2 innings. Now onto the game. For the second night in a row, Adrian Gonzalez got things started by crushing a 2 run homer for a 2-0 Padres lead. In the bottom of the 3rd inning Shane Victorino, back in the lineup at last, doubled and scored on a double by Ryan Howard. Pat "the bat" Burrell then plated Howard with a double of his own to tie it up at 2. In the bottom of the 8th, Howard struck again this time with a towering solo homer to right field for a 3-2 Phils lead. Finally, in the 9th Brad Lidge put the Padres down in order for his 7th save in 7 attempts and a 3-2 Phils win. So the Phils improve to 16-13 overall and don't look now but the Phils are now first in the NL East. That's right folks their magic number is only 133. believe it!
SIXERS NEWS
Well, they fought hard all season and never showed any quit, but coming into tonight down 3-2 and needing a win in game 6 of their playoff series with the Pistons to keep their season alive, the task proved too great. The Pistons came out firing again and never looked back. Offensively, on 3 Sixers scored in double figures(Andre Iguodala, Andre Miller, Louis Williams) with Iggy's 16 leading the way. Defensively, it was another poor night for the Sixers as they allowed Detroit to shoot 58% from the field and 56% from beyond the arc, not the way to extend a series. In the first quarter of play, the Pistons jumped out to a merciless 18 point lead with the score 30-12. In the 2nd quarter of the play, the Sixers made some middling inroads, but still trailed by 18 at the half with the score, 51-33. In the 3rd quarter of play, the Pistons pulled away for good, pushing the lead out to 28 with the score, 79-51 heading into the 4th. In the 4th quarter the Sixers at least finished strong, but sadly still lost by 23, with the final score a disheartening 100-77. So the season is over for the Sixers, but what a season it was. No one thought they would get this far, and whose to say they can't get farther next season. After all this is a young team with a bright future. We just caught our first glimpse of it this season.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
FLYERS NEWS
How sweet it is. Coming into their 2nd round series with the heavily favored # 1 seeded Montreal Canadiens, few gave the Flyers any hope of advancing, but now after tonight's game few would bet against them. Marty Biron had another dazzling night with 36 saves out of the 38 shots he faced and the Flyers rode him to the finish. In the first period of play neither team could light the lamp. Midway through the second period of play, R.J Umberger scored on the power play for a 1-0 Flyer's lead. Early in the third period of play, Scotty Hartnell scored for a 2-0 Flyer's lead. Then late in the period Tomas Plekanec and Saku Koivu each scored within seconds of each other and suddenly it was all tied up at 2. A few minutes later, Danny Briere scored on the power play for a 3-2 Flyer's lead. Then the desperate Habs pulled goalie Jaroslav Halak, starting in place of Carey Price, in favor of the extra attacker, a move that worked to net them game 1. This time it back fired as Umberger scored in the empty net with about 2 seconds to play, to cap off a huge 4-2 Flyer's win. So now the Flyer's lead the series 3-1 and can close it out back in Montreal in game 5 and advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time, since 2004. How Sweet would that be.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils ended their April tonight in the second of their 3 game set with the Padres. On his bobblehead night the veteran Jamie Moyer got the start and had an okay night, allowing 4 runs on 9 hits in 5 and 1/3rd innings of work, but he got no help from the Phils offense and couldn't make his night a happy one. Now onto the game. In the top of the first inning Adrian Gonzalez crushed a 2 run homer for a 2-0 Padre's lead. In the bottom inning Chase Utley quickly erased that lead with a 2 run homer of his own, his league leading 11th, to tie it at 2. In the top of the 3rd Kevin Kouzmanoff banged a solo homer for a 3-2 Padre's lead. In the top of the 6th, Josh Bard doubled and scored on a single by ex-Phil Tad Iguchi for a 4-2 Padre's lead. From there, although they had their chances, the Phils could not rally back and eventually Trevor Hoffman put them down in the 9th to finish off a 4-2 Padre's win. So the Phils drop to 15-13 overall, but hey at least they finished above .500 in April. That can only bode well for them as the season progresses.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils stayed hot tonight, as they returned to the bank to face the San Diego Padres in the first of a 3 game set. Tonight's matchup presented an intriguing pitching duel, between Greg Maddux going for his 350th career win, and Phils ace Cole Hamels. Thankfully Hamels ultimately prevailed allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits in 7 and 1/3rd innings of work, while Maddux allowed 3 runs on 8 hits in just 6 and 1/3rd innings of work. Now onto the game. In the bottom of the first inning Eric Bruntlett walked, stole second, and scored on a single by Ryan Howard. In the bottom of the 3rd Jayson Werth tripled and scored on a single by Bruntlett for a 2-0 Phils lead. In the top of the 5th the Padres finally got on the board with a solo homer by Jerry Hairston. In the bottom of the 7th, Carlos Ruiz singled and scored on a sac fly by Werth, for a 3-1 Phils lead. In the top of the 8th, Hairston doubled and scored on a fielder's choice to cut the lead to 3-2. In the bottom of the 8th, the Phils broke it open, as with two outs, Pedro Feliz singled in a run, Carlos Ruiz slammed a 2 run double, and Greg Dobbs slapped an RBI double, for a 7-2 Phils lead. Finally in the top of the 9th, after allowing Hairston to crack a 2 run homer, Ryan Madson closed the door on the Padres to finish off a 7-4 Phils win. So the Phils improve to 15-12 overall and clinch an April above .500 at long last.
SIXERS NEWS
After such a stunningly good start to their series with the Pistons, the tonight's game 5 was hard to bear. From the very beginning Detroit came out with high energy, and never backed down. So basically it was an old fashioned Piston bad boy ass whuppin, in which the Sixers never really had a chance. Offensively, only three Sixers scored in a double figures(Andre Iguodala, Andre Miller, Louis Williams) with Iggy's 21 leading. So in Sixer's worst game of the series, Iggy had his best game, just our luck. Defensively, it was not a good night for the Sixer's as they allowed Detroit to shoot 58% from the field and 46% from the beyond the arc, never a recipe for victory. In the first quarter of play, the Pistons jumped out to a 14 point lead, with the score 35-21. In the second quarter of play, the Sixers simply managed to hang around, as the Piston lead was only 12 at the half with the score, 54-42. In the 3rd quarter of play, the Pistons finally pulled away for good, pushing the lead out to 20, with the score 79-59 heading into the 4th. In the 4th quarter of play, the Sixers kept playing hard to their credit, but all it did was reduce the final margin of victory to a more respectable 17, with the Pistons winning easily 98-81. So now the Pistons lead the series for the first time 3-2, and Sixers will to have to go to the palace for a game 7 if they still want to win it, and tomorrow's game 6 back at the Wachovia center, is now a must win elimination game.
Monday, April 28, 2008
FLYERS NEWS
Coming into tonight as they returned to the Wachovia center, the Flyers were looking to take control of their second round series with the Canadiens, after hanging on for a big win in game 2. Thanks to a strong 2nd period and 32 saves by Marty Biron they were able to do just that. In the first period of play, neither team was able to light the lamp, although the Habs had several golden opportunities, with shots clanging off the post, and Biron making glove saves. The second period of play belonged to the Orange and Black. About midway through the period Scottie Upshall scored for a 1-0 Flyer's lead. Then late in the period Mike Richards scored shorthanded for a 2-0 Flyer's lead. Finally a few minutes later , R.J Umberger scored for a 3-0 Flyer's lead. Midway through the 3rd period of play the Habs charged back. Tomas Plekanec and Saku Koivu each scored during a 5 minute power play, courtesy of a bogus boarding call on Derian Hatcher. Fortunately, Biron beared down the rest of the way and somehow kept the Habs scoreless until the end, helping the Flyers to pull out a huge 3-2 win. So the Flyers now lead the series 2-1,and with 17 wins in 20 playoff series when leading 2-1 that certainly bodes well for them.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
SIXERS NEWS
After a stunningly easy win in game 3 to grab the series lead at 2 games to 1, the Sixers came into tonight with a chance to go up a commanding 3 games to 1 with a win. Despite a thrilling first half that had the raucous home crowd buzzing, Detroit's grit and experience eventually won out on this night. Offensively, six Sixers scored in double figures(Andre Iguodala, Andre Miller, Thaddeus Young, Samuel Dalembert, Willie Green, Louis Williams) with Young's 15 leading the way. Defensively, Sammy D led the way with 12 rebounds and 2 blocks, but it was a pretty even night defensively between the two teams, and in the end Detroit was just a tick better when it mattered most. In the first quarter of play, the Sixers got off to a quick start, jumping out to a 6 point lead with the score 25-19. In the 2nd quarter of play, the Sixers continued to be more energetic then the Pistons and built themselves a 14 point lead, before finally settling for a 10 point half time lead, with the score 46-36. In the 3rd quarter of play, everything fell apart for the Sixers ,as the Pistons found their game at the right time and stormed back to take an 8 point lead with the score 70-62 heading into the 4th. The 4th quarter of play was more of the same and Pistons eventually won going away by 9, with the final score 93-84. So now the series is tied up again a 2 games a piece and shifts back to the Palace for game 5.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils hot streak finally got derailed this afternoon in their last game of a 3 game set with the Pirates in Pittsburgh. Brett Myers got the start and got a bit roughed up allowing 4 runs on 8 hits in just 5 innings of work. Meanwhile the Pirates Paul Maholm limited the Phils to a run on 2 hits as he went the distance for the rare complete game win. Now onto the game. In the bottom of the first inning Nate Mclouth led off the game with a solo homer for a 1-0 Pirates lead. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Adam Laroche singled and scored on a single by Jose Bautista for a 2-0 Pirates lead. In the top of the 5th the Phils finally got on the board, as Pat "the Bat" Burrell doubled and scored on a single by Eric Bruntlett, to cut the lead to 2-1. In the bottom of the inning Mclouth struck again with a two run homer to push the lead to 4-1. Finally, in the bottom of the 6th, Laroche singled and scored again on a fielder's choice to push the lead to 5-1. From there Maholm shut the Phils down all the way to the final out, for a 5-1 Pirates win. So the Phils drop to 14-12 overall, but remain on track for an April above .500.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles concluded their draft today with 8 more picks. Most of the guys they got today will be lucky to make the team, let alone contribute, but they did get some guys who will contribute, and possibly fill some of their needs. So without further adieu let's run through the rest of their picks. In the 3rd round with 80th pick they selected Defensive End Bryan Smith out of 1-AA Mcneese State. Smith like Trent Cole is an undersized but speedy end who likes to rush the passer and simply gives them another option at end, and a sure special teams starter. In the 4th round, with the 109th pick, they selected Pittsburgh offensive lineman Mike McGlynn, with the 117th pick, UTEP free safety Quintin Demps, and with the 131st pick, Wisconsin cornerback Jack Ikegwuono. Mcglynn is a versatile o-lineman who can play at all three positions, tackle,guard, and center, just the kind of guy Andy Reid loves to draft and insurance just in case Max Gean-gilles and Winston Justice don't work out. Demps, is a solid secondary man, who gives the Eagles the depth at safety they needed behind the aging Brian Dawkins. Finally, Ikegwuono is a real gamble considering he'll probably miss this season while recovering from a torn ACL, but if he comes back healthy next season he can become a solid nickel back for the Birds. In the 5th round ,the Eagles did not have any picks. In the 6th round they selected with the 184th pick Cal offensive tackle Mike Gibson, with the 200th pick, linebacker Joe Mays, out of 1-AA North Dakota State, and finally with the 203rd pick linebacker Andy Studebaker out of tiny Divsion III Wheaton. Gibson is simply another versatile o-lineman, and you never have enough those right? Mays, is a small scrappy player, who might be able to make plays at this level, or not who knows. Studebaker, is well um I don't know do you? Finally in the 7th round the with 230th pick the Eagles selected Auburn offensive tackle King Dunlap who with some coaching and a little attitude adjustment, could make the Eagles as a backup or maybe as a special teamer, or not who knows. So that concludes the 2008 NFL draft, any questions?
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