Saturday, November 29, 2008
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers completed their trip back down to earth tonight with their 2nd straight loss after 6 consecutive wins, as they traveled to Toronto for a match up with the Maple Leafs. Marty Biron had a solid but not great night, saving 23 of the 27 shots he faced, and Mike Richards scored twice, but it was not enough to avoid another loss. Late in the first period Lee Sternpriak scored for a 1-0 Leafs lead. Richards knotted it up at 1 a minute later. Early in the 2nd period Nic Antropov made it 2-1 Leafs. Halfway through the period Dominic Moore made it 3-1 Leafs. Late in the period Richards netted his 2nd goal to cut it to 3-2. Early in the 3rd period Pavel Kubina put the veritable nail in the Flyer's coffin making it 4-2 Leafs. From there the Flyers would not recover eventually falling 4-2. So the Orange and Black fall to 11-7-5 overall and remain at 27 points and 6th in the Eastern conference.
Friday, November 28, 2008
SIXERS NEWS
The hits just keep coming for the Sixers. Tonight they renewed their rivalry with the Boston Celtics, but it wasn't much of a contest. Boston's defense smothered the Sixers from the beginning, as they shot just 41% from the field, and 22% from beyond the arc, and were held to a season low of just 78 points on the night. Conversely Boston was veritably unstoppable on the other side of the court, shooting 51% from the field and 42% from beyond the arc. Essentially the Sixers never had a chance in this one, and it just goes to show how much work they have left to do before they are title contenders. Boston quickly jumped to a 6 point lead through one quarter of play and by the half the Sixers had just 28 points, and trailed Boston by 18, with the score 46-28. In the 3rd quarter Boston continued to dominate and by the 4th, the lead was 26, with the score 73-47. Finally in the 4th quarter for posterity's sake if nothing else, the Sixers mounted a rally, cutting the final deficit to 24, with final score 102-78. So the Sixers drop to 7-9 overall and it is clear now that they still have a lot of work to do.
FLYERS NEWS
Unfortunately all good things must come to an end at some point and so the Flyer's winning streak did tonight as they welcomed the Carolina Hurricanes to the Wachovia center. Marty Biron had another solid night in goal with 27 saves out of the 30 shots he faced and Jeff Carter scored yet another goal, but it would not be enough tonight. Early in the first period Joffrey Lupul scored for a 1-0 lead. Late in the 2nd period Pat Dwyer and Tuomo Ruutu quickly scored a couple of goals to put Carolina up 2-1. A few minutes later Carter scored his goal to knot it up at 2. In the 3rd period neither team was able to score and so the game went into overtime. There Sergei Samsonov broke the Flyer's hearts scoring just under 4 minutes in for the 3-2 Carolina win. So the Flyers drop to 11-6-5 overall for 26 points and now 6th in the Eastern conference.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
EAGLES NEWS
After an embarrassing loss to the Baltimore Ravens in their last game the Birds returned to action tonight in their first Thanksgiving day game in several years against the Arizona Cardinals. Depite his recent struggles Donovan Mcnabb got the start at QB and boy did he deliver, completing 27 of 39 passes for 260 yards and 4 Tds. Brian WestBrook finally looked healthy again rushing 22 times for 110 yards and 2 tds and catching 3 balls for 20 yds and 2 more tds. Finally Desean Jackson had another solid night, with 6 catches for 76 yards and a td. Basically the Eagle offense was as a calm and efficient as it had been all year, as they even converted on a 3rd and 1. Defensively, it was a surprisingly stellar night for the Birds, with Omar Gaither and Asante Samuel out of the lineup . Although they blitzed sparingly, they were able to keep Kurt Warner uncomfortable all night ,and intercepted him 3 times. They also forced the normally reliable Anquin Boldin to drop a few balls and lose a fumble and held the Cards rushing attack to just 25 yds on 10 carries. Simply put they had Arizona's number tonight. Essentially the Eagles jumped out early and never looked back. Westbrook scored 3 quick touchdowns, catching 2 and running for another, to put the Birds up 21-0 early in the 2nd quarter. Late in the quarter Warner finally hooked up with Larry Fitzgerald for a TD pass to cut the lead to 21-7, before David Akers booted a 42 yard field with a second left in the half, for a 24-7 hafltime lead. Late in the 3rd quarter Westbrook ran in his 4th TD of the game for a 31-7 lead. A few minutes later Warner fired a td pass to Steve Breaston to cut it to 31-13, before Akers finished off the quarter with another field goal for a 34-13 lead. Early in the 4th quarter Warner hooked up with Fitzgerald again to cut it to 34-20,but that would be as close as Arizona would get. A few minutes later Mcnabb hit Desean Jackson with a td pass for a 41-20 lead. Finally with just over 5 minutes to play Mcnabb sealed the deal with a td pass to Jason Avant for a 48-20 lead. From there new bruisng Eagle fullback Kyle Eckel, who made the distance on that 3rd and 1, helped to run out the clock for the 48-20 win. So the Eagles move to 6-5-1 overall and for now stay alive in the playoff race. They were a totally different looking team tonight, just overwhelming the NFC West leading Cardinals, but only time will tell whether or not this was a sign of things to come, or just a blip on the radar screen.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
FLYERS NEWS
The Orange and Black stayed hot tonight as they traveled to Carolina to face the Hurricanes. Antero Niittymaki got the rare start in goal and delivered saving 27 of the 28 shots he faced. Meanwhile Simon Gagne slapped home a couple of goals to lead the Flyers to their 6th consecutive victory. Early in the first period Gagne scored his first goal for a 1-0 lead. Early in the 2nd period Chad Larosa knotted it up at one for the Hurricanes. Early in the 3rd period Matt Carle put the Flyers back up 2-1. Finally with just seconds left in the game, Gagne sealed deal with an empty netter to close out a 3-1 victory. So the Flyers move to 11-6-4 overall, good for 26 points and still 7th in the Eastern conference. Can anyone stop these guys? I hope not. Oh and by the way Happy Thanksgiving everyone, enjoy your Turkey, but not too much.
SIXERS NEWS
After dropping a tough one to the lowly Bobcats in their last game, the Sixers were looking to get back on track tonight as they returned to the Wachovia center to face the Orlando Magic. Ultimately it turned out to be a thriller between two teams desperate to prove they are among the Easternce conference's elite teams. Unfortunately, although they played well the Sixers came out on the wrong side of it. Their shooting was a bit better at 44% from the field, but still the same from beyond the arc at 23%. The rebounds were done a bit at just 39, but the Magic also only pulled down 39. Finally the assist to turnover ratio was much better, at 25 assists to just 14 turnovers. Also the bench played at a suitable level for once with 31 points. So the Sixers played well enough to win, but when it counted most the Magic were just a step faster. Early on Orlando jumpe out to a 7 point lead with the score 26-19 after a quarter play. By the half the lead was up to 10 with the score 54-44. In the 3rd quarter the Sixers rallied ahead by 1, with the score 71-70. They still held a 1 point lead with the score 94-93 and just 5 seconds to play when Rashard Lewis broke the Sixer's hears with a 3 pointer, after Thaddeus Young left him open in the corner for a split second to help on defense. Andre Miller then clanged a desperation heave at the buzzer and the Sixers had lost 96-94. So the Sixers drop back under .500 just like that at 7-8 overall.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
FLYERS NEWS
Make it 5 in a row for the suddenly red hot Orange and Black, as they welcomed the Dallas Stars to the Wachovia center tonight. Marty Biron had another stellar night with 22 saves out of the 25 shots he faced. Meanwhile, Jeff Carter scored yet another goal and Mike Knuble add 2 as well, to help the Flyers to their 5th straight win. You have to wonder now how long they can keep this up, especially considering they are without top playmaker Danny Briere. On the other hand if they can do this without Briere imagine what they could do with him. Anyhow, back to the game. Scottie Upshall struck first early in the first period for a 1-0 lead. Landon Wilson knotted it at 1 for the Stars late in the period. A few Minutes later Knuble deposited his first score for a 2-1 lead. Early in the 2nd period Mike Modano knotted it up again at 2. Late in the period Carter scored his annual goal for a 3-2 lead. A few minutes later Modano tied it up again at 3. Finally late in the 3rd period with just under 5 minutes to play Knuble put the Flyers up for good 4-3, closing out another tough win. So the Flyers move to 10-6-4 overall good for 24 points and 7th in the Eastern conference. Beat that Eagles.
SIXERS NEWS
After toughing out a win at home last night the Sixers traveled to Charlotte for a matchup with ex-coach Larry Brown and the struggling Bobcats. Unfortunately it was the Sixers who were struggling tonight, struggling to catch their breaths, apparently playing two nights in a row, with a commute in between took its toll. They appeared sluggish as they shot just 39% from the field, and 18% from beyond the arc, and got out rebounded 39-35. The Bobcats meanwhile, shot 54% from the field and 51% from beyond the arc, helping to offset 20 turnovers, including 12 Sixers steals. In the end Charlotte simply had more in the tank. The Sixers actually led early by5 with the score 25-20 after a quarter of play. By the half Charlotte had tied it up at 41. In the 3rd quarter the Bobcats edged ahead by 4 with the score 68-64 heading into the 4th quarter. Finally in the 4th quarter the Bobcats extended their lead, before a final Sixer rally came up short as Charlotte hung on to win by 9, with the final score 93-84. So the Sixers drop to 7-7 overall, which is still better than the Eagles.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
EAGLES NEWS
It was an afternoon to forget for the Eagles, especially for Donovan Mcnabb. It is tough to begin to describe how it all went wrong for the Birds today, but the big number was 5 , as in 5 Eagles turnovers, including two interceptions each by Mcnabb and backup Kevin Kolb, and yet another fumble lost by Mcnabb. In fact, Mcnabb was actually benched in the 2nd half in favor of Colb, but it didn't help. Realistically, nothing could have helped the Eagles offense today. Not even the defense which failed to create any turnovers of their own. Of course, that was about the only thing the Eagle's defense did wrong all day, as they limited the Ravens to just 248 total yards and only 1 TD that was really their fault and that one didn't occur until early in the 4th quarter. Unfortunately their effort was futile and only served to delay the apparently inevitable for a few quarters. Neither team was able to score until late in the 2nd quarter following a Mcnabb int, as Matt Stover booted a 44yd field goal for a 3-0 Raven lead. Another Mcnabb int later Joe Flacco fired a 1 yd td pass to Daniel Wilcox for a 10-0 lead. Then with about a minute and half remaining in the half Quintin Demps returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for an electrifying td cutting the lead to 10-7. It would be the only bright spot for the Birds, ,as from there it was all Baltimore. Mcnabb was benched at half but all Kolb could do was settle for a safety and get picked off twice and before you knew it there were only 3 minutes to play and the Ravens were up 36-7. It is simply too embarrassing and sickening to divulge how the score got that way so we'll stop here ,but basically the Eagles are now 5-5-1 overall, Mcnabb might be finished and well you get the picture, stick a fork in them, they're done, well done.
SIXERS NEWS
At long last, the Sixers are above .500. Tonight they welcomed the Golden State Warriors to the Wachovia center and taught them how to play defense. The Sixer's offense struggled a bit again, shooting just 39% from the field, and receiving just 24 points from the bench. However, they did the little things right again, with 22 assists to just 16 turnovers, 54 rebounds to 38 for the Warriors, and the aforementioned 16 turnovers to 18 for the Warriors. Thus, while they may have lost some of the battles they won the war. Early the Sixers jumped out to a 10 point lead with the score 27-17. By the half the lead was up to 18 with the score 57-39. In the 3rd quarter Golden State began to mount a rally cutting the lead to 10 heading into the 4th, with the score 72-62. Finally in the 4th Golden State continued their rally but the Sixers held them off long enough for an 8 point win ,with the final score 89-81. So the Sixers move to 7-6 overall which pushes them to 2nd in the Atlantic division and 7th in the Eastern conference. So that's two teams now that are in better shape than the Eagles, go figure.
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