The Sixers rang in the New Year on the west coast tonight as they continued their road trip in L.A with a matchup against the Clippers. Incredibly the Sixers actually got off to a quick start in this one and had the lead at halfime 51-49. Unfortunately everything went sour from there for the Sixers. I mean they just lost it almost completely in the 2nd half. Meanwhile, the Clips did what the Sixers have the last couple games and started shooting lights out, outscoring the Sixers 29-14 in the 3rd quarter en route to an easy 104-88 victory. All told the Sixers wound up shooting just 36% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc, which isn't going to beat anyone. They also allowed L.A to shoot 54% from the field and 62% from beyond the arc with 10 threes, the kind of numbers anyone could beat the Sixers with. In short it was a game to forget for the Sixers and what they need to remember are the two games prior to this one. That's the way they need to play the rest of the season. Anymore games like this and it won't be too long until there is nothing left for them to play for. By the way, have a Happy New Year everyone!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers continued their road trip tonight in Sacramento with a matchup against the Kings. After a stirring victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in their last game the Sixers actually came in looking to string together back to back wins. With the King' s top 2 scorers, Tyreke Evans, and Kevin Martin missing for the game, the Sixers had a golden opportunity to take it too the the young Kings for the victory. Instead they almost let the opportunity get away from them. Early on just couldn't hit anything, as they fell behind the Kings by 11 after a quarter of play. Then they slowly started to get their rhythm in 2nd quarter and by the half they picked it up completely, rallying all the way back to tie it at 50. In the 2nd half they just kept it going at a blistering pace, shooting 52% from the field and 56% from beyond the arc with 9 threes, and before you knew it the Sixers had rolled to another win, 116-106. Lou Williams and AI led the way with 22 and 20 respectively, while Andre Iguodala added 19, Thad Young dropped 11 and Elton Brand and Rodney Carney each chipped in with 14 off the bench in a true team effort. This really was the best game the Sixer's have played this season. For the first time they actually looked like they were running Eddie Jordan's offense and succeeding. They also fairly good defense against a highscoring Kings team. If they can just keep this up the rest of the season they'll be tough beat it and then who knows what can happen. For now anyway they are 9-22 overall and just 3.5 games out of the 8th in the Eastern conference.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers continued their road trip tonight in New York, this time against the Rangers, as they looked for their 4th win in a row. The last time these two teams faced each other at the Wachovia center, New York go the win as the Flyers were shutout by Henrick Lundqvist. Tonight the Orange and Black returned the favor. Once again they got off to a quick start with Blair Betts scoring against his old team just 54 seconds into the game for a 1-0 lead. Then later in the first period, Danny Briere and Claude Girouz each added goals for a 3-0 lead that got Lundqvist pulled from the game in favor of Chad Johnson, no not that one. In the 2nd period Johnson faired no better than Lundqvist as Simon Gagne beat him twice for a 5-0 lead. Finally, halfway through the 3rd period Gagne scored his 3rd goal of the night to complete his 1st hat trick since 2005 and all but finish off a 6-0 win. Micheal Leighton was pretty good in goal again, saving all 22 shots that came his way for his 4th career shootout. Again though, it was really more great defense in front of Leighton than great goaltending by Leighton. Still, with that kind of goaltending and scoring each night it appears the Flyer's are rounding into shape at just the right time. We'll see if they can keep it going but for now at 19-18-2 overall for 40 points, they are all the way back up to 8th in the Eastern conference and are firmly back in the discussion for the playoffs.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
EAGLES NEWS
The Pro Bowl selections were announced today and 6 Eagles were selected. Desean Jackson was selected as a starter at WR and kick returner, the first time in NFL history that a player has been selected to start in the pro bowl at multiple positions, and the 1st in Eagles' history that a player has been selected to start as the kick returner. Joining Jackson as NFC starters are tackle Jason Peters, CB Asante Samuel, FB Leonard Weaver, and kicker David Akers. Defensive End Trent Cole was also selected as a reserve and QB Donovan Mcnabb was selected as a first alternate.
Monday, December 28, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers continued their current road trip tonight in Portland with a matchup against the Trail Blazers. Coming in the 20-13 Blazers had won 4 in a row and the Sixers had lost 3 of 4, so the chances of a Sixer's victory did not seem high. However, Allen Iverson finally returned to the Sixer's lineup on this night as well and his return seemed to spark the Sixer's offense which put on an awesome display. They got off to a slow start as usual and trailed by 10 at the half. Then in the 2nd half the Sixer's offense just caught fire, erasing the deficit by the end of the 3rd quarter and pushing the Sixer's ahead by 4 heading into the 4th. The Sixer's never looked back from there and never cooled off as they went to roll to shocking 104-93 victory, just their 8th of the season, against 22 losses. All told the Sixer's shot 57% from the field, with Andre Iguodala, 14, 9 assists and 7 rebounds, AI, 19, Sammy Dalembert, 14 and 8 rebounds, Mo Speights, 14, and Elton Brand, game high 25, all in double figures on the night. Defensively, they were just okay allowing Portland to shoot 42% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc, but it was good enough. When you shoot and score like the Sixer's did tonight you don't need to D up that well to win. So Anyway with the win the Sixers remain 4.5 games out of 8th in the Eastern conference and who knows maybe AI can continue to spark on dare I say it? a winning streak. Hey it could happen.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles got some bad news today as they learned that center, Jamal Jackson who hurt his knee yesterday against the Broncos, tore his ACL and is finished for the season. This means either Nick Cole or Mike Mcglynn will be at center for the Birds the rest of the season and that could really hurt them.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
EAGLES NEWS
The Birds welcomed the Broncos and old friend Brian Dawkins to the Linc this evening for an important game with playoff implications for both teams. Denver needed the win stay safe in the AFC wild card race, while the Birds needed the win to stay on course for an NFC East title and a possible 1st round bye as the #2 seed in the NFC heading into the playoffs. Offensively, it was another explosive afternoon for the Birds, at least in the 1st half anyway. Still, despite a 2nd half dropoff they Eagle's amassed 394 yards and 30 points, with Donovan Mcnabb throwing for 322 yards and 3 Tds. Brent Celek with 4 catches for 121 yards and a TD and Jeremy Maclin with 6 catches for 92 yards, were Mcnabb's favorite targets and they had to be as Desean Jackson was covered up most of the game by Champ Bailey, and made just 4 receptions for 33 yards on the day. The Eagles mixed in plenty of runs, mostly by Brian Westbrook who finally returned to the field following the 2nd of two concussions he suffered 6 weeks ago. Lesean McCoy and Leonard Weaver also got their fair share of carries, but Westbrook was big story on ground, as gained 39 yards on 9 carries and looked good doing it. So he'll be a useful asset for the Birds come playoff time. Defensively, the Birds were solid for the 2nd week in a row, limiting Denver to just 241 yards offense, with just 70 on the ground and only 189 passing yards from Kyle Orton whom the Eagles sacked 3 times and intercepted once. Unfortunately, they also committed 9 penalties and allowed Denver to stay in the game throughout with some poor tackling. Early it was just about all Birds, as Mcnabb fired a 2 yd TD pass to Jackson and a 47 yd TD pass to Celek and David Akers booted 2 field goals for a 20-10 Eagle's halftime lead. Midway through the 3rd quarter Mcnabb added a 3rd TD pass to Jason Avant for a 27-10 lead. Then with 2 quick TD passes by Orton and a field goal, off defensive stops and an Eagle's turnover on a kickoff return, Denver was able to rally all they way back to tie it up at 27 midway through the 4th quarter. The two defenses held for a while after that, before a 26 first down scramble by Mcnabb changed the complexion of the game with under 3 minutes to play, as it finally reversed the field position in the Eagle's favor. After stopping Denver on downs the Eagle's were able to start their next drive in Denver territory. After a short run by Lesean McCoy, Mcnabb hit Jeremy Maclin on 2nd down for a 27 yard completion down to the Denver 13. Maclin made an incredible catch along the sidelines to complete the play and set up Akers for the game winning field goal attempt a few plays later. With only 4 seconds Akers booted a 28 yard field goal for the 30-27 win. So again it wasn't pretty the Eagles move to 11-4 overall and are now just 1 win over the Cowboys next week from a division title and at least the 3rd seed in the NFC.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers continued their road trip this afternoon in New York with a matchup against the Islanders, as they looked to get their 3rd win in a row. Considering they have owned the Islanders for the last few years this was another game they should have been able to win easily. Thanks to some questionable officiating that went against the Flyers, it turned out be a little closer then they probably planned but they got the job done with a 2-1 victory. Micheal Leighton got another start in goal and was pretty good again with 28 saves out of the 29 shots he faced, but once again it was really more solid defense in front of him, then great goaltending by Leighton. Meanwhile, Danny Briere and Jeff Carter each had a goal and an assist and Scott Hartnell assisted on both goals as well. This is first time since the first two games of the season that Carter has scored in back to back games, and his goal on this evening, with just over 3 minutes to play was the game winner, so that's a real positive for the Flyers to take forward with them. Also Hartnell, whose frequent penalties had been killing the Flyers when they were losing, did not take a single penalty which is a good sign that he is reverting back to his winning ways. So there's a positives for the Orange and Black as they move to 18-18-2 overall, and with 38 points now, jump all the way back up to 11th in the East, 2 points out of 8th.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers continued their current road trip as well tonight as they looked to string together back to back wins for the first time in a while. Considering they were in Carolina tonight, against the Hurricances, the Eastern conference's worst team thus far, that should have been no problem. It looked like, for 2nd and half periods, that for all intensive purposes it wouldn't be any problem. Micheal Leighton, in his 2nd start, took a shutout into the 3rd period, mostly on the strength of superb Flyer's defense. Meanwhile, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter each scored midway through the 1st period, and Danny Briere, yes Danny Briere scored on the power play, in his first goal in 10 games, to put the Flyers up 3-0 mdway though the 3rd period. Then wheels came loose. The Flyers suddenly simply started trying to keep Carolina out of their zone and run out the clock after that, which is fine for a team relies on its defense. Unfortunately, they did poor job of keeping the Canes out of the zone and a couple power plays and bad bounces later, Carolina had come all the way back to tie it up at 3 and send the game into overtime. You would think at that point the Flyers would have been deflated, instead they actually picked up their energy in the overtime period, but neither they nor the Canes could score in overtime, so it came down to a shootout which usually bad news for the Flyers, but not on this night. Leighton opened the shootout with a spectacular glove save of Tuomo Ruutu. Then Danny Briere opened the shooting for the Flyers with a score. Next Leighton got just enough of a Jussi Jokinen's attempt to knock it off the post out of harm's way. So Mike Richard's took the ice with a chance to seal the victory and he did beating Cam Ward right through the five hole for the 4-3 win. Thus, in the end ex-Cane Leighton and for Canes' coach Peter Lavoliette got revenge on the team that had given up on them and the Flyers got their 2nd win in a row in dramatic fashion. The Flyers are now 17-18-2 overall, for 36 points, just 4 out of 8th in the Eastern conference.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers continued their road trip in Utah tonight with a matchup against the Jazz. After a close loss to the Wizards to begin this trip and with AI still missing in action the Sixers didn't bring much confidence into this one and it showed. They got off to a good start in the 1st quarter and actually held the lead for most of the period, but once Utah pushed ahead with 1:33 remaining in the period that was literally all she wrote. The Sixer's never led again. They rallied back a couple times at the end of the 2nd quarter and in the 3rd quarter, but still trailed by 8 heading into the 4th quarter. In the 4th the Sixers just went cold as the Jazz turrned it on defensively, outscoring the Sixers 25-12 en route to a runaway 97-76 victory. For the night the Sixers only shot 33% from the field with Mo Speights going 0 for 8 and failing to score a single point. They rely on him to score off the bench so much, that when Mo plays this poorly the Sixers really have no chance to win. With Mo struggling Thad Young led the way offensively with 20, while Andre Iguodala had a nice night with 16 and 8 rebounds, and Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday each chipped in 10 off the bench. The Sixer's defense was simply awful on the night as they allowed Utah to shoot over 50% from the field and from beyond the arc. They were also outrebounded 49-39, which considering their bad shooting on the night didn't help things either. Ultimately, this was just a pathetic effort by the Sixers, really the first one they had put forth in some time, and I don't like it. I hope this doesn't mean they are throwing away the season now in hopes of a high draft pick because it is still a little early for that.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers started on what could be a make or break road trip tonight with a visit to Tampa Bay for a matchup with the Lightning. Coming in the Flyers had not won in over a week and were desperate for points. Darroll Powe returned from his injury at last and seemed to energize his teammates early on as they scored two quick goals by Blair Betts, and by Mike Richards on the power play, and jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. The Orange and Black reverted back to their slumping ways in the 2nd period, allowing Tampa to come back and tie it up at 2 on 2 goals that were far too easy. Somehow after that abysmal 2nd period they were able to pick themselves up and come out with renewed energy in the 3rd period, I mean they really took it to Tampa early on in the period. Still, it took them 10 minutes to finally get another one in the net With Betts deflecting in a shot from the point by Oskars Bartulis for a 3-2 lead. 7 minutes later Richards scored his 2nd goal of the night for a 4-2 lea, before Simon Gagne scored in the final seconds on Tampa's empty net to salt away a 5-2 victory. There are a lot of positives to take away from this one. Mike Richards was everywhere with 2 goals and an assist. Blair Betts 2 scores were the result if him getting in front of the net and creating traffic in front of goalie Mike Smith, something the Flyer's had not been doing very well. Simon Gagne had a goal and an assist in his best performance in a while. Ian Laperriere, Oskars Bartulis and Claude Giroux each had 2 assists, which is impressive for a team that was really struggling with passing the puck. Finally, Micheal Leighton was actually okay in goal with 31 saves out of the 33 shots he faced, but he struggled at times to handle rebounds and got very good defense in front of him most of the night and obviously that will have to continue for him to have success.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Washington tonight to begin a long road trip with a matchup against the Wizards. Once again the Sixers were without AI, who is supposed to return for their next game, and Lou Williams did not start. Thus, not surprisingly they got off to a slow start in this one with Washington up by 6 after a quarter of play. Then Elton Brand came off the bench in the 2nd quarter to spark the Sixers to pull within 3 at the half and then take a 7 point lead into the 4th quarter. Unfortunately they cooled off in the final period of play and couldn't make defensive stops down stretch as Washington rallied to win 105-98. If they could only figure out a way to consistently get stops at the end of games they might just have something here. Clearly they can score without any problem, with Elton's 18 and 12 rebounds leading the way tonight, and Willie Green's 16, Lou William's 12, and 10 each for Sammy Dalembert and Andre Iguodala rounding out a good night for the Sixers shooters. In fact they shot 50% from the field on the night. Unfortunately, they also let Washington shoot 47% from beyond the arc, with 7 threes and that's really what cost them tonight and what keeps killing them every night. They are in fact dead last in the NBA in 3 pointers allowed. If anyone on this team knew how to guard the perimeter they would probably be at least .500 right now. Instead they are languishing at 7-21 overall, 2nd worst in the Eastern conference. On the other hand they are incredibly, still only 4.5 games out of 8th in the Eastern conference so I guess we can't give up hope just yet.
Monday, December 21, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
Fresh off a disheartening loss to the Rangers,the Flyers looked to get back on track tonight as they welcomed the Florida Panthers to the Wachovia center. Coming in Florida was holding the 8th spot in the Eastern conference, 5 points ahead of the Flyers, so this was a big opportunity for the Orange and Black to pull closer and make up some ground, especially the Flyers were the winners the last time these two teams met. Unfortunately, the Orange and Black couldn't duplicate that same success this time around. Florida just took it to them from the get go and never let up. They were more physical than the Flyers, and played with far more spirit and energy and it showed. The Flyers also killed themselves by taking 8 penalties while the Panthers only took 7. The Panthers' however killed off all 7 orange and black power play opportunities, while the Flyers allowed Florida to score 3 times on the power play and that was really difference. Early on things were okay as the Flyers just trailed by 2, 2-0 after the 2 periods of play. Then Brian Boucher had to leave the game with an injury leaving recently acquired backup Micheal Leighton to finish the game for the Flyers. Ultimately, he couldn't as Florida scored 2 more early goals on the Flyers in the 3rd period for a 4-0 lead. Finally Braydon Coburn got the Flyers on the board with a little under 8 minutes to play, but it was too little too late as Florida rolled to the 4-1 win, dropping the Flyersto 15-18-2 overall and now 7 points out of 8th in the Eastern conference. What a team.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles came into this early evening's game simply needing to win to clinch at least a playoff spot. With their opponents being the San Francisco Forty Niners, who desperately needed to win just avoid being eliminated from playoff contention, that didn't figure to be any easy task. Fortunately, unlike last week against the Giants, the Eagle's defense came to play. They forced the Niners to committ 4 turnovers, intercepting Alex Smith 3 times, and forcing a key fumble deep in Eagle's territory. They also sacked Alex Smith 3 times ,and held San Fran to just 261 yards of offense and zero 3rd down conversions. Where the pass rush had not been able to put any heat on Eli last week it did time and time again in the face of Alex Smith on this day. He just really never got comfortable in the pocket and the Niners were lucky he didn't throw more than those 3 picks. Offensively, the Birds simply continued their fine play with Donovan completing 21 of 36 passes for 306 yards and a TD. Desean Jackson, with 6 catches for 140 yards and a TD, and Brent Celek, with 4 for 73 yards, hauled in most of those completions. Meanwhile, Leonard Weaver and Lesan Mccoy formed a successful running tandem once again, as they combined for 100 ruhsing yards and a TD. The Birds started strong taking their opening drive 50 yards for a TD, on a pass from Mcnabb to Jackson. After kicking a field goal to cut it 7-3, Smith and Niners started turning it over and the Birds took advantage of those turnovers to put a further 13 answered points before the half, with Mcnabb scrambling 8 yards for a TD, and David Akers booting a pair field goals, for a 20-3 halftime lead. San Fran really turned things around in the 3rd quarter shutting down the Eagles and scoring 10 unanswered points to pull within one score of the Birds at 20-13. Finally in ther 4th quarter the Eagles put together an 89 yard drive, capped off by a 2yd Mccoy TD run to push ahead for good 27-13. In fact thanks to the defense that's how it ended. So at 10-4 overall the Eagles have clinched an NFC playoff spot. They'll still probably have to win out to claim the division and at least 3rd in the NFC. Also the Minnesota Vikings lost tonight, so the Eagles are now just one game behind them in the NFC standings, which means they just need to win out and hope the Vikes one of their 2 remaining games, to steal a first round bye.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
After their huge win over the Celtics last night, Sixers returned to wachovia center tonight as they looked to continue building momentum against the visiting L.A Clippers. A.I was again held out of tonight's game, but Lou Williams made an early return to the Sixers from the broken jaw that supposed to sideline him for another month, so there appeared to be nothing that could get in the Sixer's way. Unfortunately, just like their co-tenants the Sixers came out flat in this one, falling behind by 13 at the half. Once again, behind 20 and9 rebounds by Andre Iguodala, 19 and 8 rebounds from Thad Young, 12 and 7 assists from Willie Green, 14 from Elton Brand, 28 and 9 from Mo Speights and yes even 6 and 4 assists from Lou, the Sixers rallied back and by the 8 minute mark of the 4th quarter they had tied it up at 84. From there the two teams battled back and forth the rest of the way, until with the game tied at 99, and only seconds left, the Sixers got the last look. As usual they went to Iggy with the game on the line, and this time he kept it himself and drilled a fadeaway for the win! or not. Officials reviewed the shot and waved it off, claiming Iggy did not get it off in time. The Sixers were a bit deflated after that, after quickly falling behind by 6 in overtime they were toast, as the Clips hung on to win 112-107. Considering this marks the 20th loss of the season for the Sixers, this one hurts pretty badly too. I guess two good nights in a row was too much to ask.
FLYERS NEWS
After coming this close to upsetting the Pens in their last game the Flyers returned to action this afternoon at the Wachovia center as they welcomed the hated Rangers to town. With both teams struggling recently yet still very much in the running for one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern conference, this was a key matchup. Unfortunately, the Flyers came out a bit flat, and fell behind early 1-0 on unassisted Chris Drury score early in the 1st period. A few minutes later the Flyers answered back with a power tally by Chris Pronger off an assist from Simon Gagne to knot it up at 1. From there all they picked it up the rest of the way and ultimately New York 37-24, the only other score of the night went to New York with Artem Anisimov scoring early in the 2nd period to cap off a disheartenting 2-1 loss to the Rangers. Basically, Ranger's goalie, Henrick Lundqvist stole this one from the Flyers with 36 huge saves, and it hurts. It kinda makes you wonder what the heck the Flyers have to do around here to get a win. Anyway despite the gut wrenching loss the Flyers, at 15-17-2 overall remain just 5 points out of 8th in the Eastern conference.
Friday, December 18, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
Coming into tonight the Sixers had lost 12 of their last 13 games, while there opponent, the hated Boston Celtics, had won 11 in a row. So chances of a Sixer's victory on this night were slim at best. They became slimmer when it was revealed that AI, with a bum knee and shoulder, would not make the trip to Boston. It looked even worse when the Sixers fell behind at the half 53-42. Then something funny happened. As usual the Sixers made a run at the end to get back in it, but this time there was no fight back from Boston. Maybe they believed they could coast to victory, that the Sixers would rollover, but they didn't. In the 3rd quarter they outscored Boston 30-23 to cut the lead all the way down to 4. Early in the 4th quarter the two teams tussled back in forth for the control, before the Sixers finally pushed ahead 85-84 with 6 minutes to play. They were then on the seesaw for the most of the rest of the night. With 29 seconds left Mo Speights sunk two free throws to put the Sixers ahead 96-95. Kevin Garnett came back with two free throws to put Boston ahead 97-96 with 23 seconds to play. As usual the Sixers then went to AI, that's Andre Iguadola, to take the last shot. He was defended well and passed to Speights who got a good look at a jumper, but it came up short. Fortunately, Elton Brand was right there to tap it in for a 98-97 Sixer's lead wth 8 seconds to play. On the final possession Boston had two looks at the win, but Paul Pierce missed a 17 footer and Ray Allen missed a desperate 15 footer off the rebound to give the Sixers the stunning victory that moves them to 7-19 overall. Do you believe in miracles? Yes!
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils have picked up the $8.5 million 2011 option on Jimmy Rollins contract. Which he is officially under contract for the Phils through 2011, which leaves only Jayson Werth, among the Phils core players, un-signed through 2011. This is really should come as no surprise, given his perennial spectacular defense and unmatched leadership on this team. Ultimately, there's no one else in the NL who you would rather have at shortshop then JRoll.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers got some good news today when they learned that sniper, Simon Gagne will be back with the team at last for their next game against the Rangers. Blair Betts has already returned to the team and now with Gagne back, all they need now is for Darell Powe to come back from his injury and they could be rolling again in no time.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers welcomed the Penguins to Wachovia center tonight in a rematch of the embarrassing loss the Flyers incurred in their last game. This time around it was a more spirited effort as they held Pittsburgh two just goals, both on power play. As long as they weren't killing power plays though the Flyer's defense was solid and Brian Boucher was spectacular in goal with 28 saves out of the 30 shots he faced. Unfortunately, the Flyers could only come up with a couple scores as well, with Jeff Carter scoring early in the 1st period and Claude Giroux early in the 2nd period on the power play. Aside from that neither managed a goal through the rest of regulation time and an overtime period. So the game went into a shootout which is never good news for the Flyers. Accordingly, the Flyers lost the shootout which lasted only 2 rounds, as Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang each scored for the Pens and Giroux and Danny Briere both failed to score for the Flyers. So the Flyers improve to 15-16-2 overall for 32 points, 3 out of 8th in the Eastern conference.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed Lebron and the Cavs to the wachovia center tonight as they looked to win 2 in a row for the first time in a long time. They played hard as usual and were right with the Cavs most of the night, but they made mistakes in the final minutes of the game and Cleveland was able to escape with the win. Offensively, Andre Iguodala led the way with 26, Thad Young had 16 and 10 rebounds, Allen Iverson pumped in 16, Jrue Holiday had 9 and 9 assists, Elton Brand had 11 and 7 rebounds off the bench and Maurice Speights, finally off injured reserve, looked as if he had never left, as he added 14 off the bench. Defensively, the Sixers actually did pretty good job. Other than Lebron's 36 points, no other Cavalier had more than 12 points. The Sixer's also outrebounded Cleveland 45-38 and forced them to settle for jumpers rather than allowing easy baskets inside. Unfortunately, Cleveland was able to shoot 60% from beyond the arc and hit 9 threes. So guarding the three continues be the one area where the Sixers struggle. Anyway the Sixers actually had the lead in this one, as late the final 5 minutes of the game with the score 96-93. At that point, though Lebron hit a ridiculous 3 3 pointer off a turnover and Mo Williams drained his only baskets of the 2nd half to push Cleveland ahead. They would never trail again, as the Sixers missed their next couple field goals and turned the ball over on and in bounds play, allowing Cleveland to coast to a 108-101 win. Oh well, better luck next time I guess.
PHILLIES NEWS
Well it's official. After a lot of speculation and reports from "sourcea" the Phils introduced ace starting pitcher Roy Halladay today as the newest member of the Phillies. Unfortunately, he came at a very steep price. To get him the Phils had to send top prospects pitcher Kyle Drabek, and outfielder Micheal Taylor, plus catcher Travis Arnaud to the Blue Jays. They then also had to trade last year's ace Cliff Lee to the Mariners to free up room on the payroll for Halladay, and replenish the farm system with Seattle's top prospects, pitcher Phillipe Aumont, outfielder Tyson Gillies, and pitcher Juan Ramirez. While those 3 may someday be as good as Drabek and Taylor were, they won't be ready to help the Phils as soon as Drabek and Taylor would have been. Also having Lee and Halladay together would have given the Phils a better chance at a title than just having Halladay will. Hopefully, Halladay will at least guarantee the Philsa trip back to world series and maybe this time they'll have enough to win it. Also you have to hope the prospects the Phils got back from Seattle do pan out. Then this deal will seem much better than it already does
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
After rallying to defeat the Boston Bruins last night the Flyers came right back tonight with a matchup in Pittsburgh with the Penguins. It's been a while since the Flyers last strung together multiple wins so a win tonight would have been huge. Unfortunately, the Orange and Black were no match tonight for the Penguins' power play and scoring overall. The Pens out shot the Flyers 35-27, and were the more physical of the two teams for most of the night. Oddly , the Flyers actually won more faceoffs than the Pens and it didn't help them at all. The Fyers also committed 6 penalties to only 4 for by the Pens, and paid dearly for it with an early Sidney Crosby power play tally, a shorthanded tallly by Jordan Staal and a Bill Guerin tally, immediately put the Orange and Black behind 2-0 in the first period. Midway through the period the Flyers went on the power play and got on the board finally with a James Van Reimsdyk power play goal to cut it to 2-1. Unfortunately, thaf would be as close as the Orange and Black would get on this nght. Jordan Staal scored with just seconds left in the 2nd period to push the Penguins lead to 4-1. Then in the 3rd period ex Flyer Ruslan Fedotenko made it 5-1 Pens before Evgeni Malkin scored shorthanded to make it 6-1 Pens with a little over a minute to play and that's how it ended. So another night, another embarrassing loss for the Flyers. At least they're still only 2 points out of 8th in the Eastern conference. So if they can just become a little more consistent than they are right now they could be just fine to at least make the playoffs this season.
Monday, December 14, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyer's have been struggling mightily lately and desperately needed a win tonight against the Boston Bruins to try to right the ship a little and get themselves on a roll again. They played hard and did a lot of things right in Boston tonight, but through 2 periods they just couldn't score any goals. The Flyers outshot the Bruins 38-27 and played solid d with Brian Boucher compiling 27 saves but it was too no avail. Finally a couple minutes into the 3rd period James Van Reimsdyk scored to knot it up at 1. Later in the 3rd period Kimmo Timonen made it 2-1 and then 3- 1 Orange and Black with a shorthanded goal. From there the Flyers just held off the Bruins for the 3-1 win. So overall the Orange and Black improve 15-15-1 and with a total of 31 points they currently sit just 2 points out of 8th in the Eastern conference.
SIXERS NEWS
It's over, it's finally over. After 12 grueling, heartrbeaking, gut wrenching losses the Sixers finally snapped their 12 game losing streak tonight as they welcomed the Golden State Warriors to the Wachovia center. Golden State came in as one of the highest scoring teams in the NBA on the season thus far, but the Sixers played them tough, holding them to just 44% shooting from the field and outrebounding them 59-26, with 25 of them offensive rebounds. Still, Golden State managed to shoot 50% from beyond the arc which kept them close a good amount of the night. Ultimately they were not match for the firepower of the determined Sixers on this night. 7 Sixers scored in double figures, including all 5 starters. Thaddeus Young led the way with 26 and 14 rebounds, Allen Iverson hit 7 of 10 from the floor for 20 points, Jrue Holiday actually got the start along side AI, and posted 15, 6 assists, and 7 rebounds, Andre Iguodala and Willie Green each had 14, Sammy Dalembert was the last Sixer's starter to reach double figures with 12 and 13 rebounds and finally Elton Brand added 11 and 7 rebounds off the bench. You just can't play much better than the Sixer's offense did night with all those scorers in double figures and and 49% shooting from the field. They just clicked on all cylinders, jumping out to a 12 point lead after a quarter of play. By the half they led by 14 and after a dominating 3rd quarter they headed into the 4th quarter ahead by 29 before winning easily 117-101. So the Sixers improve to 6-18 overall and at this point sit just 4.5 games out of 8th in the Eastern conference. They'll just have to feed off this night to get themselves on a enough of a roll to push back into the playoff picture.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
EAGLES NEWS
After a loss by the Cowboys earlier today, the Birds went into New York against the Giants tonight with a chance to move into first plcace in the division. Thanks to a spectacular nightt by Desean Jackson and Giant's miscues they were able to do just that. Both teams were horrible on defense, allowing a combined 896 yards and 83 points. It was just one of those nights where defense didn't matter and the winner would just be whoever kept scoring longer. The Giants alone had 512 yards of offense and they lost. New York also had 3 turnovers to just 1 for the Eagles and that really turned out to be the difference. For the Eagles' offense, Donovan Mcnabb threw for 275 yards and 2 TDs, Desean Jackons had 6 catches for 178 yards and a TD, Brent Celek had 5 catches for 64 yards and a TD, Leonard Weaver ran 10 times for 33 yards and the game winning TD, and Micheal Vick completed a pass for 32 yards and ran 3 times for 11 yards and a TD. The Eagles got off to a quick start with an opening 67 yard TD driv capped off by Mcnabb's 8 yard screen pass to Brent Celek for the score. Then on the Giants opening drive Brandon Jacobs fumbled right to Sheldon Brown who ran it back 60 yards for a TD and 14-0. NY fought back cutting the Eagle's lead to 14-10 by the 2nd quarter before the a David Aker's field goal and 74 yard Jackson punt return for a TD pushed it back up to 24-10. NY fought back again to cut it to 24-17 before the a 70 yard capped off by a 1 yard Vick TD run pushed the lead back up to 30-17 at half. NY then opened the 2nd half with a 9 minutes TD drive to cut it to 30-24. Then on their next drive Domenick Hixon caught a short pass from Eli Manning, broke a couple tackles and raced 61 yards for a TD and 31-30 Giant's lead. On the ensuing Eagle's Mcnabb came right back with a 60 yd TD pass to Jackson to put the Birds ahead 37-31. The two teams then actually a few defensive stops before the Birds marched 91 yards and ate up 7 minutes on a 4th quarter TD drive capped off by a 1 yd Weaver TD run and 2 point conversion for a commanding 45-31 Eagles' lead. NY rallied back again to cut it to 45-38 before the Birds ran the clock down to about 30 seconds and forced Eli into a game ending fumble on the final Giants' drive. So at 9-4 overall the Eagles are now all alone atop the NFC East and control their own destiny. They can clinch a playoff birth with a win next week and can still finish as high a 2nd in the NFC, if they win out and Minnesota loses 2 of 3. A more realistic goal though might be finishing 3rd in the NFC which they can do by winning out and having Arizona lose 1 of 3 down the stretch.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers traveled to New Jersey tonight for a matchup with the New Jersey Devils, as they looked to get back on track following a loss to the Ottawa Senators in their last game. They did anything but on this night. They let up an early power play goal to Niclas Bergfors to put themselves behind 1-0 just 2 minutes into the 1st period and never recovered. By the end of the 1st period they were already behind 3-0 as Begfors scored another power play goal and Patrick Elias added a late score. It was not until late in the 2nd period that Claude Giroux finally put the Orange and Black on the board with a power play goal to cut it to 3-1. Then Elias added another score with just second left in the period to push it to 4-1 and that's how it ended with neither team scoring in th 3rd period. It could have been worse but the Flyer's defense hung in there to hold New Jersey to only 28 shots on goal. However, they took 6 penalties, which is too many, and could only kill off 4 of them. Also Brian Boucher did not play very well in goal, as he struggled to handle rebounds and gave up some cheap goals. Finally the Flyers mustered very it little offensively, with just 23 shots on goal and then one score by Giroux. Sure, they're missing top faceoff man Blair Betts, top power play Daroll Powe, and top points scorer Simon Gagne, but the Flyer's still have some dynamic scoring talent in Giroux, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Danny Briere, JVR, and Scott Hartnell and should be able to do better than this. Still there is surely no where to go at this point but up right? right?
Friday, December 11, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed the Houston Rockets to the Wachovia center tonight as they looked to snap an 11 game losing streak. The Sixers played fairly well on the night, even leading for a while early on, but they dropped off again in the 2nd half, and were forced to put together another desperate rally late in the 4th quarter which alas came up short once again. The Sixers shots just 41% from the field while Houston shot 44% and hit 8 threes, and proved to be the difference. Andre Iguodala led the way offensively for the Sixers with 24, Allen Iverson posted 20, Elton Brand had a nice night with 19 and 10 rebounds, and Thad Young worked hard for 15 and 11 rebounds. Defensively, in addition to holding Houston to just 44% shooting the Sixers also outrebounded them 52-40. Yet, they still couldn't get the stops they needed late in the game for the win. They just didn't defend the perimeter very well at times and allowed the Rockets to score in transition far too easily at times. The Sixers had an early 10 point lead after the 1st quarter, but Houston rallied back to within 3 at the half and by the 4th quarter they were up 10, as they went on to hold off the Sixers 96-91. So the Sixers drop their 12th in a row, and surely at this point there's nowhere to go but up right? right?
Thursday, December 10, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
After a 6-2 thumping of the Islanders in their last game the Orange and Black welcomed the Ottawa Senators to the Wachovia center as they looked to make it 2 in a row. Once again they played solid defense, holding the Sens to just 25 shots on goal, of which Brian Boucher saved 23. However, the Flyer's also went back to struggling to score on this night, as Brian Elliot saved all 23 shots the Flyer's threw at him. Try as they might the Flyers just couldn't get anything by Elliot, and eventuallyy fell 2-0 for their 6th loss in 7 tries. The Flyers just can't afford to keep losing close games like these or they'll never be able turn things around. I just hope it's not already too late for them to turn things around.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed the Detroit Pistons to the Wachovia center tonight as they looked to end their 10 game losing at last. They were this close to doin so, but in the end it was not to be on this night. scoring wise Andre Iguodala led the way with 18 , Sammy Dalembert dropped 17 and 11 rebounds, Elton Brand put 17, and That Young and Allen Iversion each added 11 to round out a balanced night of scoring, although the bench did seem to be lacking at times. Defensively, the Sixers performed solidly as they held Detroit to just 45% shooting from the field and only one 3 pointer. They also compiled 6 blocks and 7 steals, but were outrebounded by Detroit 45-32 which did not help matters. The Sixers trailed by 2 after 1 quarter of play, knotted it up at half and trailed by 4 heading into the 4th quarter with the score 67-63. Initially in the 4th Detroit pulled out to a double digit lead, before the Sixers put together one last furious rally that saw them pull back ahead briefly, fall back again then draw even again with just over 2 minutes to play and again as Iversion sunk a jumped to tie it at 86-86 with only about a minute to play. The Sixers fell behind again though and with 3 seconds left and the score now 88-86, Andre Iguodala got an open look at the 3 and the win but he missed and Detroit hung on to win 90-86 for the Sixers 11th loss in a row. What a team.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles rewarded Andy Reid today for the great job he has done as the head coach the last 11 years, by signing him to a 3 year extension. Reid has taken the Eagles to 5 NFC championship games and 1 superbowl in his tenure and owns more wins than any other coach in Eagle's history. Now it will be more of the same for the next 4 years with hopefully a superbowl victory mixed in.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers welcomed the New York Islanders to the Wachovia center tonight as they looked to end a 5 game losing streak. Before the game even started the Flyer's got some bad news when they learned Ray Emery will be sidelined for the next 6 weeks with an abdominal tear head had been trying to play through. Without Brian Boucher will start most of the games in that time, with the rookie Jonas Backlund, recently called up from the Phantoms, backing him up. The way Boosh has been playing I'm sure they'll be alright. Anyway back tonight's game. For the 2nd time in as many nights they Flyer's came out and played some inspired defense, holding the Isles to just 24 shots on goal, 22 of them saved by Boucher who really didn't face any serious scoring opportunities until late in the 2nd period. The Flyers did pick up 8 penalties though, thus presenting the Isles with 8 power play opportunities, and although they killed off 6 of them, they really can't afford to take that penalties on a daily basis. The 8 penalties didn't matter tonight though, as the Flyer's finally figured how score some goals again, that is 6 of them to be exact. In the first period Mike Richards scored twice, one on the power play and one shorthanded for a 2-0 lead. Jeff Carter scored twice early in the 2nd period to push it to 4-0. Then late in the period Claude Giroux scored the Flyer's 3rd power play of the night for a 5-2 lead. Giroux then scored again early in the 3rd period for a 6-2 lead en route a 6-2 Flyer's victory. So the losing is streak is over at last and you can only hope this will be a springboard to further success this season for the Orange and Black.
PHILLIES NEWS
The phils rounded out their bench for the next season, by signing power-hitting utility outfielder Ross Gload, formerly of the Florida Marlins, to a 2 year contract. This means of course that the veteran Matt Stairs won't return to the Phils next season, probably will retire.
Monday, December 07, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
After their worst performance in some the time Flyer's headed north of the border to Montreal for a matchup with the Canadiens, as they looked to snap a 4 game losing streak and give Peter Lavoliette his first win as Flyer's head coach. They played 100 times better defense on this night then they had against the Capitals, limiting the Habs to just 13 shots on goal and only 3 power plays. Unfortunately, the Flyer's themselves had just 15 shots on goal and did not do a good making them count as they went scoreless on 4 power play opportunities. Brian Boucher got the start in goal, for the struggling Ray Emery and played well, allowing just 3 goals, and saving 12 of the 15 shots he faced. at least 2 of those goals were really not his fault, as one came on a breakaway and the other came on a 100 mph slap shot, both of which Boosh probably never saw coming. Danny Briere scored midway through the 1st period to actually give the Flyer's a 1-0 lead, but they would not score again. By the end of the 2nd period the Habs had already rallied ahead 2-1, with 2 scores on just 9 shots in the period. Halfway through the 3rd period, the Habs went on the power play, during which Marc-Andre Bergeron uncorked a screaming slapshot over Boosh's head and in for a 3-1 lead. From there the Flyer's fought and clawed the rest of the way in an effort to draw even but their efforts proved to be for naught as they fell 3-1 for their 5th straight loss. At least this time though they showed good effort and weren't totally blown out, so Lavoliette is starting to reach them.
SIXERS NEWS
Allen Iverson made his regular season debut tonight with the Sixers, as they played host to the Denver Nuggets and looked to snap a 9 game losing streak. A.I sparked the Sixers to an early lead, thanks to superb team defense, and hot shooting from Andre Iguodala, and Thad Young, and for 3 quarters it looked like Iverson's first game back would be a w, but it was not to be. For his part Iverson played 38 minutes and put up 11 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. Meanwhile, Andre Iguodala led the way for the Sixers on the night with 31, Thad Young dropped in 21, and Elton Brand added 10 and 9 rebounds. Defensively, the Sixers had one of their better nights, with 8 blocks, 7 steals, 47 rebounds to the Nuggets 41, and a 39% shooting percentage from the field for the Nuggets, currently the highest scoring team in the NBA. Unfortunately, the Nuggets also shot 60% from beyond the arc and that proved to be the difference. For the 1st 3 quarters the Sixers played front-runners, never trailing once, and taking a 2 point lead into the 4th quarter. It was all Denver in the 4th though as they began to lock down on defense and the Sixers just couldn't handle it, eventually falling by 10, 93-83, for their 10th straight loss. Still, at this point, with their record at 5-16 overall they remain only 3.5 games out of the 8th in the Eastern conference, so the season isn't over yet.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
EAGLES NEWS
Micheal Vick's return to Atlanta this afternoon was a success for he and the Eagles. Vick himself threw for 48 yards and a td and ran for 17 yds and another TD to help guide the Eagles to another win. Aside, from Vick other offensive standouts for the Birds on the day include Donovan Mcnabb who threw for 238 yards and a TD, Leonard who compiled a combined 100 yards of offense and a TD, and finally Jeremy Maclin and Reggie Brown who each stepped up in the absence of the injured Desean Jackson, to pull in 4 catches for 83 yards and 2 receptions for 64 yards respectively. It was the defense though that was truly the Eagle's big star on this afternoon. They held the Falcons , without Matt Ryan, Micheal Tuerner, or Micheal Jenkins, to under 300 total yards, with only 61 of them through the running game. The Birds also forced 4 Atlanta turnovers and took advantage of each of them in getting the win. The Eagles struck first midway through the 1st quarter, with a David Aker's field goal and a 4 yd TD pass from Mcnabb to Leonard Weaver for a 10-0 lead. Another Aker's field goal made it 13-0 in the 2nd quarter and an interception as time expired in the half kept it that way. In the 3rd quarter Vick ran for his first TD, and Sheldon Brown picked up the 2nd and last interception of the day for the Birds, returning it 83 yds for a TD and a 27-0 lead. That was day for Mcnabb as he left the game early in the 4th quarter to give Vick a chance to play in front of his old home crowd. Vick used the opportunity to drive down and toss a 5 yd TD pass to Brent Celek for a 34-0 lead, but he hurt his hand during the drive and had to leave the game in favor of Kevin Kolb. It didn't seem too serious though so I won't be worried. Anyway from there the Falcons finally managed to get on the board with a TD, to avoid an embarrassing shutout, before the Eagles closed out the 34-7 win. So the Birds move to 8-4 overall, now tied for 1st in the NFC East, and with a win next week against the Giants, they can just about clinch a playoff berth and are in position now to win the division and perhaps do more than just get to the playoffs.
FLYERS NEWS
For the hit that caused him to get a 9 minute major last nght, Dan Carcillo was hit with a 4 game suspension today. That seems to me a bit of a harsh punishment, considering Carcillo only threw one punch , but again the NHL is not on the Flyer's side.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers welcomed the Washington Capitals to the Wachovia center tonight and it wasn't pretty. Peter Lavoliette's first game as Flyer's head coach was about as bad as it gets and downright embarrassing. Midway through the 1st period the Flyers finally scored a goal as Mika Pyrola snuck one by Jose Theodore to tie the game at 1. That was as good as it got for the Flyers tonight though. Dan Carcillo was penalized twice on the same play and the Flyers were hit with an unheard of 9 minute major power play to kill off while Carcillo was sent to the showers. With the lethal Capital's power play on the ice, even without an injured Alexander Ovechkin, those 9 minutes proved fatal to the Flyers. Washington scored not once, not twice, but 3 times on the same power play and each time the Ray Emery, who the got the start in goal, really had no shot to stop the Caps, as replays clearly showed he never saw the puck coming, and you can't stop what you can't see. Washington wasn't yet either. They just kept coming after the Flyers one rush after another and each time the Flyer's were powerless stop it. By the end of the 2nd period Washington had 3 more goals, and a laughable 7-1 lead. Emery was back on bench after the 5th one, in favor of Brian Boucher, but obviously he did no better allowing another 2 goals before the end period. Of course, Boucher had no chance a couple times as well. The Flyer's finally got on the board again early in the 3rd period as Scott Hartnell scored to cut it to 7-2, before another Washington power play finished off the 8-2 massacre. I am not even sure what to say about this one, except I am sure Lavoliette will make sure things get better eventually and it's still early enough in the season for the Flyer's to turn this thing around, but they desperately need to get healthy first.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers' traveled to Charlotte tonight for mathcup with Bobcats, the last team against which they had a victory before the 8 game losing streak they came into tonight with. Thus there was thought that maybe just maybe this would be the night the streak ended. Unfortunately it was not. Before they even took the court the Sixers became even more shorthanded then they already were as the rookie Jrue Holiday went down with a rotator cuff injury, which has him day to day. That left the Sixers with only 10 active players. Then Andre Iguodala turned his ankle and was seen visibly limping down the court late in the game. The loss of Holiday couple with a limping Iggy ultimately cost the Sixers on this night. They actually played well shooting 42% from beyond the arc with 8 threes, which helped to spread the wealth around enough for them to get 5 guys in double figures. Willie Green, in what could be his last start for a while, led the way with 26, Iggy dropped 22, 11 rebounds and7 assists, Elton Brand returned to the starting lineup provided 14 and 8 rebounds, Thad Young had a big night with 17 and 11 rebounds and Jason Kapono hit a pair of threes and scored 14 off the bench. Thanks to the scoring the Sixers were able to built a 10 point lead with a little over 4 minutes to play. However, with their best defended and playmaker limping around the Sixer's defense did not hold up down the stretch and they couldn't score, allowing Charlotte to roar all the way back to take the lead 106-105, on a Raymond Felton layup with just 4 seconds to play. From there the limping Iggy somehow managed to get off a final shot at a buzzer, but it missed to cap off the Sixers 9 loss in a row. What a team. Incredibly though, despite the losing streak, they're still at 5-15 overall, only 3 games out of 8th in the Eastern conference.
Friday, December 04, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers have decided on a solution to the troubles they have had with losses in 6 of their last 7, as they fired head coach John Stevens today and replaced him with Peter Lavoliette. Lavoliette is best known as the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes when they won their first and to this point only Stanley Cup a few years ago. He was fired not long after when the team took a nose dive in the standings during the following seasons. Still he is known as a no nonsense type of coach, willing to get in his player's faces when they don't perform well. That could help the Flyer's immensely. The reality though, is that the Flyer's recent swoon wasn't Steven's fault. The Flyers are just a little too riddled with injuries right now, with top power play man Darroll Powe, top faceoff man Blair Betts, and top scorer Simon Gagne, all misssing due to injury. I am not sure even Lavoliette can win without them. I suppose gm Paul Holmgren had to do something to keep the fans rioting over the Flyers' struggles of late but I am not sure this is it.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers welcomed the Vancouver Canucks to the Wachovia center tonight as they looked to end a 2 game losing streak and get out of rut that had seen lose 5 of their last 6. Brian Boucher got the start in place of the suddenly struggling Ray Emery and played well with 26 of the 29 shots he faced, a number of them spectacular. The Flyers also outshot the Canucks 38-29 and won majority of the faceoffs, but it all went for naught as they were shutout for the 2nd night in a row with Robert Luongo saving all 38 shots the Flyers threw at him. That's a total now of 7 straight periods without a goal for the Flyers and frankly it's kind of an embarrassment for the players and the coach. Tonight aganst the always tough Luongo, it seemed the Flyers just tried to be a little too precise with their shots and often didn't get a lot on them as a result. Still you would think one of them would have found a way in, especially considering the Flyer's had 5 power plays with which to rack up shots and scoring chances, yet they came up with nothing. So they drop to 13-11-1 overall and now 10th in the Eastern conference, but just 2 points out of the 8th. Maybe they should bring Eric Lindros out of retirement. Hey couldn't hurt could it?
PHILLIES NEWS
Reunion week continued in Philadelphia today as the Phils reacquired former 2B Placido Polanco who spent the last few seasons with the Tigers and is probably best remembered here as the guy who stood in the way of Chase Utley becoming the Phils full-time 2B, before the Phils traded him to Detroit for reliever Ugueth Urbina. The Phils brought him back to play 3rd base this time in place of the departed Pedro Feliz. Polanco has been a steady .300 hitter for the Tigers the last few years and is a two time gold glove award winner at 2nd base. He has last played 3rd base in 2005, but before that in 2001 he had the highest fielding percentage for a 3rd baseman in the NL while playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. Although he is 34 age shouldn't be a factor for the fit Polanco, just like it wasn't for Raul Ibanez last year. He should be able to transition back to playing 3rd base seamlessly and he should fit right in to the Phils lineup. So I for one am excited to see him back. The Phils also acquired utility infielder Juan Castro who will probably take the place of the departed Eric Bruntlett. Thus, all that is left for the Phils and ruben Amaro to do at this point is to sure up the pitching staff, perhaps with one more starter and obviously some help for the bullpen.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
Well, it is official, after widespread speculation for some time Allen Iverson will be coming be back to the Sixers. He and tbe team came to terms on a one year non-guaranteed contract. He will debut on Monday against the Denver Nuggets and start at point guard in place of the rookie Jrue Holiday. It should be interesting. Anyway, aside from AI's return the Sixers had a game to play tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder. With 7 straight losses coming into tonight the Sixers desperately needed this one to halt the skid. Unfortunately the Sixers couldn't stop Kevin Durant who scored 33 or the rest of the Thunder for that matter, in their 8th straight loss. Why they couldn't get stops again, the sixers' performed well at least, shooting 50% from the field and a whopping 60% from beyond the arc, while draining 14 threes. The other A I, Andre Iguodala led the way with 28 points and 6 rebounds, Thad Young added 20 points, Willie Green posted 14, Jrue Holiday,, in his best start and now probably last start for a while, scored 15, and finally Elton Brand added 13 off the bench. It was all for naugth though, as Oklahoma City actually shot a higher percentage from the field at 50.6% and hit 10 threes. You're just not going to win many games giving up that much offense. Still, the Sixers had a 1 point lead at halftime and decent opportunity to pull out the win. Then the Thunder rallied ahead by 6 heading into the 4th quarter and never looked back disposing of the by 11, with the final score 117-106. So the Sixers drop to 5-14 overall and I am not sure if even the Answer can fix them now. What the Sixer really need is stronger defense, which is the one thing AI is going to give them. So they'll just have hope the extra 20 points he brings to the table will be enough to simply outscore teams. So expect a lot of high scoring Sixer games from here on out.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles signed tight end Brent Celek to a 6 year extension today. This is really no surprise considering this was the Eagles do. They sign young players to long extensions as soon as they can, so as to keep under contract at a reasonable price for a good amount of years, before they can really ask for a big contract. Celek has been a very good tight end thus far for the Birds and should continue to be in the years to come.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils have signed old nemesis, catcher Brian Schneider to be Carlos Ruiz backup for the 2010 season. Apparently Paul Bako is not coming back next season, but Schneider who is known for his defense, should replace him just fine.
Monday, November 30, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Dallas tonight for a matchup with the Mavericks. They were hoping to avoid a 7th straight loss overall and 5th straight at Dallas. As usual they put forth a strong effort, fighting to stay with the hot shooting Mavs all night long, until they could put together another late rally which alas, fell short again. Elton Brand returned from his hamstring injury finally, and was superb with 21 and 10 rebounds, despite enjoying only a limited 24 minutes off the bench, but once he got in the game the Sixers almost couldn't take him out. Aside from Brand, Andre Iguodala had a nice night with 19 points, Willie Green got the start again at shooting guard and pumped in 23 and 8 rebounds, Thad Young added 21 and 7 rebounds, and Sammy Dalembert was large defensively, with 19 rebounds and 3 blocks. In fact the Sixers dominated the boards on the night 60-37. On the other hand they had just one other block beside's Sammy's 3 and allowed the Mavs far too many open looks. Dallas took advantage of the open to hit 10 treys, and keep the Sixer's at arms lenght most of the night. With about 5 minutes to play the Sixers finally managed to string together some defensive stops, allowing to cut into the lead, until Andre Iguodala hit a three pointer with 5 seconds to play to pull the Sixers even 102 all. Jason Terry then broke the Sixer's hearts on the next Dallas possession, as he somehow drained a 17 footer with a little over a 2nd to play. I mean Willie Green could not have defended Terry any better and he still drained it. I guess sometimes it is just not your day. Anyway the Sixers got one last chance to tie or go ahead on the final posses ion of the game, but Andre Iguodala's attempt a game winning 3 pointer, seemed to come up short, although Sammi tried unsuccessfully to guide it in. So the Sixers fell 104-102 for their 7th straight lost, but at 5-13 overall the Sixers are still within range for a turnaround as they sit just 3 games out of 8th in the East.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
EAGLES NEWS
The Birds welcomed the Washington Redskins to the Linc this afternoon. At 3-7 overall and winless on the road coming in the Skins should have been easy pickins for the Birds. Instead they put up a strong effort and forced the Eagles to dig deep in the 4th quarter for the win. Offensively, the Birds were fine with a balanced 381 yards(123 rushing, 258 passing). Donovan Mcnabb had a nice game, throwing for 260 yards and a TD, Jason Avant had 5 catches for 94 yards, and Lesean McCoy rushed 17 times for 76 yards to lead the way. The defense on the other hand was a problem for the Birds. Asante Samuel intercepted two Jason Campbell passes, and Trent Cole was his usual dominant self, with a sack, 3 tackles and countless times pressuring Campbell. However, Washington's normally futile offense piled up over 300 yards and 24 points, which is just embarrassing for the Eagle's defense. They just can't keep allowing that every week and expect to get away with it. Anyway the Redskins had the momentum early as the Eagles botched an onsides kick attempt to start the game, and gave Washington the ball at the Eagle's 19. Just a few plays later it was 7-0 Skins. Thanks to a 35 yd td pass from Mcnabb to Desean Jackson the Birds rallied ahead 10-7 by the end of the 1st quarter. Washington came back with an 80 yard 2nd quarter TD drive, with Campbell firing a 4 yd TD pass to Santana Moss for a 14-10 lead. Asante Samuel then intercepted Campbell on the Skins final 1 drives of the half, to set up 2 David Aker's field goals and put the Birds up 16-14 at the half. Washington came back with yet another 80+ yard drive to open their 2nd half with Campbell tossing a 10 yd TD pass to Fred Davis for a 21-16 lead. Later Mcnabb was hit as he threw and intercepted deep in Eagles' territory to set up a Redskins' field goal and 24-16 lead heading into the 4th quarter. There with a little over 10 minutes remaining the Eagles drove 90 yards, with Eldra Bunkley running it in from a yard out to cut the lead to 24-22. Then Lesean McCoy took a shovel pass, ran into his own line and then somehow stayed up right just long enough to get in the end zone for the 2 point conversion and the 24-24 tie. Washington did nothing on their next drive and the Eagles were drive into range for an Aker's field goal and a 27-24 lead with under 2 minutes to play. The Skins then went 3 and out on their next series to finish off the Eagle win. So the Eagles move to 7-4 overall and are now in good position to at least claim a wild card spot for the 2nd year in a row.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to San Antonio tonight for a matchup with the Spurs. Having lost 5 in a row, the Sixers desperately needed a win, but coming in they had won just once in San Antonio since the 1985-86 season, so the losing streak didn't figure to end here. Still the Sixers played hard and kept close until the end just as they have been, with Andre Iguodala's 21 points, 7 assists, and 8 rebounds leading the way. Thad Young added 16, Sammy D posted a mammoth 14 and 14 rebounds and Willie Green, who started at shooting guard(Iggy moved over to forward for tonight), provided 17. Unfortunately, outside of those 4 the Sixer's shooting was cold, at a combined 39% from the field. Defensively, the Sixers were solid tonight blocking 10 shots, and producing 17 Spur turnovers, including 12 steals. Unforunately, the Spurs still shot 48% from the field and hit 10 threes, which really hurt, especially in the 2nd quarter where they outscored the Sixers by 7 to jump to a 9 point halftime lead. The Sixers hung tough and were still within 10 after 3 quarters. At one point in the 4th quarter they even pulled within 7 before finally succumbing to Antonio by 8 with the final score 97-89. Once again without Lou and Elton the Sixers just didn't have enough down the stretch and they drop their 6th in a row to fall to 5-12 overall, but they're still just 2.5 games out of 8th in the East.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers went back on the road tonight as they traveled to Atlanta for a matchup with the Thrashers. Having lost 4 of their last 5 the Flyers really needed to win this one to try to get back on track and avoid losing their 2dn in a row. Brian Boucher got the start in goal and was great again as was the Flyer's defense, as he saved 17 of the measly 18 shots he faced. Unfortunately, for the Orange and Black, Johan Hedberg was a just a little better for the Thrashers as he blanked the Flyers despite facing 34 shots to the 18 Boucher faced. So although they tough defense and were even on faceoffs the Flyers just couldn't figure out how to score once again. They had plenty of opportunities with 4 power plays and various other scoring chances and just couldn't make it happen for whatever reason. Danny Briere did sit out for another game with the flu and the Flyer's were still without Simon Gagne, Daroll Powe, Blair Betts, the rookie Jared Ross. Perhaps that was just a little too much to overcome for tonight anyway. Whatever the reason they need go figure it out and refocus fast before they fall any further.
Friday, November 27, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed the Atlanta Hawks to the Wachovia center as they looked to snap their current 4 game losing streak. Once again Lou Williams and Elton Brand were not able to suit up, leaving Jason Smith and Jrue Holiday in the starting lineup. Mike Bibby took advantage of Holiday's presence in the lineup, torching the rookie for 21 points, including 5 threes. As hole though the Hawks to proved to have to much firepower for the Sixers handle, as they shot 51% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. The Sixers were aslo outrebounded by 10, 42-32, despite an 8 rebound 6 block night out Sammy Dalembert, so it was a tough night all round for them. Still, with 8 threes on the night and decent 44% shooting from the field and beyond the arc, the Sixers were able to hang with the Hawks for a few quarters, as they trailed by only 3 after the 1st, quarter, 5 at the half, and only 9 after 3 quarters. Finally in the 4th quarter Atlanta pulled ahead by double digits annd never looked back easily rolling to a 14 pint, 100-86 victory, the 5th loss in a row for the Sixers who drop to 5-11 overall. Despite all that the Sixers are still only 2 games out of 8th in the Eastern conference and that' s something to be positive about at least. If they want to get out of slump though, Holiday and the defense will have to play much betteer, because right now they're just not getting enough stops to win games.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers finally returned from their road trp this afternoon as they welcomed the Buffalo Sabres to the Wachovia center. The Orangle and Black came in without Daroll Powe, Blair Betts, Simon Gagne and Danny Briere, and during the game Ian Lapperier, and Jared Ross each went out with injuries. So for a while there the Flyers were down to about 3 lines and it showed as they ran out of gas down the stretch in a Sabres' victory. They actually outshot Buffalo 33-25 and fared well on faceoffs against the Sabres, but still lost because they didn't have quite enough left to take advantage of their opportunities down the stretch. The Flyer's actually had the early lead with Mike Richars and Braydon Coburn scoring within seconds of one another to finish off the 1st peroid with the Flyers up 2-1. From there Bufallo rallied with a power play goal in the 2nd period tie it up and then Tim Connolly scored twice in the 3rd period to put the Flyer's away for good in a 4-2 Sabre's win. So the Flyers drop their 4th out of their last 5 games and now desperately need to figure out how to get back on track fast. Fortunately, Danny Briere returns from his suspension for the Flyer's last game so that should help them a bit, but for now at 13-9-1 overall they sit 8th in the East by a slim margin.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
Lou Williams had surgery to fix his broken jaw today and his prognosis is not good. He will have to miss 8 weeks to allow it to heal. He had been playing very well, and was probably the Sixers most consistent performer thus this season so it is going to hurt to not have him in there all that time. On the other hand this means Jrue Holiday will get an extended amount of time to show his stuff, and continues to play well like he has and picks up the slack enough, the Sixer's could have an interesting conundrum on their hands when Lou comes back.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers finished their road trip at last tonight in New York against the Islanders. After losing 3 in a row the Orange and Black desperately needed this one to at least salvage a 2-3 road trip. Brian Boucher got the start in goal and he made all the difference with 28 spectacular saves out of the 29 shots he faced. The Islanders really outhustled and outmuscled the Flyers on this night, but thanks to Boosh they could only come up with one goal and 1-0 lead through most of the first 2 periods. Then with a little over 30 seconds left in the 2nd period Mike Richards scored on the power play, the Flyer's first only power play of the night, to knot it at up at 1. The Flyer's took over from there, with New York registering only 1 shot on goal in the 3rd period. Meanwhile, the Orange and Black kept throwing everything at former Flyer Marty Biron, but couldn't seem to get the winning goal past him. Finally with about 5 and half minutes to play, Scott Hartnell slapped one by Biron for a 2-1 lead that held up the rest of the way, thanks to some relentless Orange and Black defense. So the Flyers move to 13-8-1 overall and skate safely back up to 5th in the East. With Ray Emery struggling his last few times out I wouldn't be surprised to see Boosh out there for another night or two, especially if he keeps playing like this.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Boston tonight for a matchup with the Celtics. With Lou Williams out with a broken jaw, Elton Brand out with the hamstring strain, and still no Mo Speights, the Sixers weren't supposed to have a shot in this one. Instead, Andre Iguodala stepped up his game with 25 points, and 9 assists, Thad Young was solid again with 17 points and 6 boards, Jrue Holiday played well again in his 1st NBA start with 10 points and 6 assists, and Jason Kapono and Willie Green had huge nights off the bench with a combined 38 points and 6 threes, to help the Sixers take this one right down to the wire. They actually shot better than Boston from beyond arc at 65% with 13 treys, to Boston's 25.9% and 7 treys, and outrebounded the bigger and stronger Celtics 39-37. All of which allowed the Sixers to take a one point lead at the half and you guessed it, a 6 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. There unfortunately they fell short again. They held the lead until Rasheed Wallace drained a 3 pointer with a little under 9 and a half minutes to play. Boston then raced to a 10 point lead and it looked like the game was over, but Sixers put together another late rally, pulling within 2, at 107-105, with the ball in hand and about 30 seconds to play. Unfortunately Iggy was called for an offensive foul and then Rajon Rondo hit a 17 foot fade away as the shot clock expired to breaks Sixer's hearts and put Boston ahead by 4, with only 10 seconds left. From there Iggy hit a miracle 3 to cut it back to 1 at 109-108, but Boston hit their free throws down the stretch and would not allow the Sixers to put up another trey. So that was all she wrote as they hung on to win 113-110 and the Sixers drop to 5-10. Still you have to at least be encouraged by the fact, that the Sixers, missing 3 of their top scorers, nearly beat the mighty Celtics. If they could just figure out how to win one of these things, I can they get on a roll.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Washington today to face the Wizards in Eddie Jordan's first time back to D.C. since he was fired as the Wizard's head coach at about this time last year. Coming in Washington had just 3 wins on the season and were battling injuries with Mike Miller and Caron Butler both on the shelf for the tonight's game. So the Sixers should have had the upper hand in this one. Instead they were cold from the field a good chunk tonight, particularly Andre Iguodala, and Elton Brand who went down with an injury once again, this time a hamstring strain. No word yet on how long he'll be out this time, if at all. Anyway As a team, the Sixers' shot just 40% from the field, while Elton and Iggy were only a combined 3-19 from the field. Obviously it is tough to win when your first 2 optiions on offense can get it done for you. While they were struggling though, Sammy Dalembert stepped up with 15 points and 9 rebounds, Thad Young dropped 23, and Lou Williams pumped in 26 to keep it close for a half. Then Washington got hot in the 3rd quarter and pulled out a 10 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. There the Sixer's mounted a final rally as the rookie Jrue Holiday came off the bench to spark the team with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals in the final 10 minutes of the game. He three 3 pointers in rapid succession and Lou Williams drilled another 2 threes to pull the Sixers within 1 at 106-105. Agent Zero, Gilbert Arenas came right back to put Washington ahead 108-105, before sweet Lou dipped in for a layup to cut it back to 1 again at 108-107. Arenas then turned the ball over on the ensuing Washington possession leaving the Sixers with the final shot and a chance to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. Lou decided to go one on one with Gilbert and got him to bite enough, to create some space and get himself a good look at the buzzer but his 20 footer at the buzzer rimmed out for the 108-107 Wizard's victory. So by the slimmest of margins the Sixers drop to 5-9 overall and with Boston next on the schedule tomorrow, they're in trouble now. For tonight though much can be said. First the defense was not very good, as Washington shot 5o% or better most of the night before cooling off a bit at the end, with Antawn Jamison scoring 32, and Nick Young, in the game only because of the injuries, dropping 20. You just can't let a kid beat you like that. On the flip side it was a kid, Jrue Holiday, who put forth the most remarkable performance for the Sixers on the night. He was just everywhere and nearly rallied the Sixers to the win all on his own. What in the world has Eddie Jordan been waiting for with this kid on the bench. Clearly from now on though Holiday is going to get a lot more playing time. He's just too good to waste on the bench. Speaking of the bench Jason Smith also came off the pine for some big minutes as well, as he scored 14 and played some solid defense. So if nothing else the future looks bright for the Sixers.
EAGLES NEWS
It's official big Jon Runyan is not coming back to the Eagles. He had knee surgery in the offseason and has been a free agent all this season. Today though he signed with the San Diego Chargers, effectively ending the speculation that the Eagles were going to bring him back. Meanwhile, the Eagles signed Winston Justice, who's been filling in for Shawn Andrews all season to a 4 year contract extension today, perhaps signaling that he and not Andrews is the future for the Birds.
FLYERS NEWS
Danny Briere was hit with a 2 game suspension today for a blow to kneck he put on Scott Hannan after he scored a goal in the last night's game. No one on the Colorado bench complained about the hit at the time and no penalty was called so this comes as a bit of a surprise and really hurts the Flyers who were already shorthanded.
Monday, November 23, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyer's completed the west coast swing of their road trip tonight with a stop in Colorado to faceoff against the Avalanche. Having lost their last 2 games, the Orange and Black, desperately wanted to end the skid tonight and played like it. Unfortunately, Ray Emery had his worst game of the season thus far, allowing 4 goals before the end of the 2nd period. Emery was so poor on the night, that he was pulled late in the 2nd period in favor of Brian Boucher. Boucher allowed just one goal the rest of the way but it was too little too late to save the Flyer's on this night. Other than Emery's struggles the rest of the team peformed well. The Flyers had the edge on faceoffs and shots on goal, and even scored the only power goal of the night and yet they still lost. I guess sometimes one guy really does mean everything to his team. Early on it looked like it was going to be a runaway for Colorado as they jumped to a 2-0 lead, but goals by Danny Briere late in the 1st period and Jeff Carter early in the 2nd period quickly knotted it up at 2. Then Colorado struck back midway through the 2nd with a pair of goals to push the lead to 4-2. David Jones also added a 5th score late in the 2nd period for a 5-2 Avalanche lead. The Flyer's weren't finished yet though, as Briere and Carter each scored again to cut it to 5-4 with about 5 minutes to play. From there try as they might the Flyers could not get the equalizer, especially not after Scott Hartnell was whistled for goaltender interference with a little over a minute and a half to plat, giving Colorado power play that effectively spanned the remainder of the game. So the Orange and Black drop their 3rd game in a row and fall to 12-8-1 overrall and down to 7th in the Eastern conference.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles traveled to Chicago tonight for a key game against the Bears. With losses in their last 2 games the Eagles had to win tonight to stay in the playoff picture. It wasn't pretty by any means, but with a little luck they were able to get the win they needed. The Birds really did play a sloppy game tonight, committing 10 penalties, and turning the ball over 3 times, yet they were still able to eke out the win, which tells you how poorly the Bears are playing right now. Jay Cutler had an especially terrible night, missing several wide open recievers, while throwing for just 171 yards and 1 TD. He was so bad that he made the banged up Eagle's defense look good, as they held Chicago to just 284 yards of offense and 1 TD, which is about as good a game as you could have hoped from them. While a bit sloppy, the Eagle's offense was solid tonight and for once somewhat balanced with Lesean McCoy rushing for 99 of the Eagle's 157 rushing yards , and a what turned out to be the game winning TD. Micheal Vick also had a 34 yard run, for his longest play as an Eagle thus far. Donovan Mcnabb meanwhile, threw for 244 yards and 2 TDs, including a 48 yarder to Desean Jackson. In fact Jackson caught most of Mcnabb's passes with 8 receptions for 107 yards and a TD. Jeremy Maclin, was also a key contributor with 6 catches for 64 yards. The Eagles came out firing early, using a no huddle offense to roll to scores on their first 2 offensive drives for a 10-0 lead. They cooled down in the 2nd quarter as Robbie Gould booted 3 field goals to cut it to 10-9 at the half. Gould hit his 4th field goal of the night early in the 3rd quarter to give Chicago their first lead at 12-10. A couple drives later Mcnabb hooked up with Jackon for a 46 yard TD pass and a 17-12 lead. Cutler and the Bears came right back on their ensuing drive, as Cutler hit a few open guys for a change in leading his team down the field before hooking up with Kellen Davis on a 15 yd TD pass for a 20-17 lead. On the next Eagle's possession MCcoy fumbled the ball away after a long run and it appeared as though Chicago was primed to score again and take hold of this tight game. Instead the Eagle's defense held, forcing another Gould field goal attempt. This time, undrafted rookie Antonio Dixon, bashed through the line and blocked it to keep the lead at 3 and shift the momentum back to the Birds. On the ensuing drive the Birds swiftly moved down the field until on first down from the 10 yard line, McCoy burst through the line and danced into the endzone for go ahead TD to make it 24-20 Birds. On their next possession the Eagles, still leading 24-20, could not run out the clock and seal victory, leaving Cutler with one more chance to lead his team to the win. Instead he was intercepted by Sean Jones to clinch the 24-20 Eagle's victory. I know it was not well played, but a win is a win and this one moves the Birds to 6-4 overall, currently good enough for the 6th and final NFC playoff spot.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyer's continued their road trip tonight in Phoenix against the resurgent Coyotes. Considering they were playing their 2nd game in as many nights in the middle of a long road trip, you had expect the Flyers to be tired coming into this one. It appeared they were in fact a bit exhausted with just 24 shots on goal and an 0 for 5 night on the power play. They were also without Darroll Powe and Blair Betts who went down during the game with a shoulder injury. So they didn't have the edge they normally do on faceoffs and they didn't have the power play attack they normally do. Coming into tonight Phoenix had also been playing very well so far this season, and they carried that over into this game. Ilya Bryzgalov had 23 saves, Matthew Lombardi and Keith Yandle each scored power play goals and Shane Doan scored on the Flyer's empty net to lead the Coyotes to a 3-1 win. Scott Hartnell scored the only goal for the Flyers in the 2nd period with assists from Claude Giroux and Kimmo Timonen, but other than that there was nothing to cheer about for the Orange and Black on this night as they drop to 12-7-1 overall but remain 5th in the Eastern conference. Fortunately they now have a little time before their next game on Monday, which they can use to regroup, refocus and get back to winning again.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Cleveland tonight for a matchup with King James and the Cavs. Considering they came in having lost their last game to the Grizzlies, this did not figure to be much of a contest. Early on it didn't look good for the Sixers at all as the Cavs jumped out to a 20-4 lead to start the 1st quarter. The Sixers were actually able to fight back though and their chances to steal the win in the 4th quarter, but the King proved to be too much. Like Rudy Gay last night the Sixers just couldn't stop Lebron tonight as he scored a game high 32. The Sixer's scoring was solid again tonight as well, with Lou Williams' 22 leading the way. Also Elton Brand put up 18, Thad Young poured in 21, and Andre Iguodala and Rodney Carney each chipped in with 12, but it wasn't enough. The Sixer's defense actually played pretty well tonight too, holding the Cavs to just 48% shooting from the field and racking up 8 steals. Unfortunately, they also allowed Cleveland to shoot 40% from beyond the arc with 8 threes and that was just as much a killer tonight as Lebron was. Still, the Sixers can hold their heads high knowing they were able to play the Cavs tough and keep this one close. The Sixers trailed by 13 after a quarter of play but were able to close within 3 at the half and take a 6 point lead into the 4th quarter. They just couldn't stop Lebron enough to hang on for the win in the 4th and eventually fell by 6, 97-91. So the Sixers drop to 5-8 overall now and remain 11th in the East, but now a game and a half out of 8th.
Friday, November 20, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers continued their road trip tonight in San Jose with a match up against the Sharks. The last meeting between these two teams was an ugly loss for the Flyers at the Wachovia center. This time the Orange and Black were hoping for a little revenge, but instead they were Shark bait once again. They kept it close for a couple periods, but Danny Heatley took over in the 3rd period completing a hat trick for himself and leading San Jose to victory. It's not that the Flyer's played poorly tonight, San Jose just had too much firepower for even Ray Emery to handle. San Jose scored 6 goals, despite being limited to just 29 shots on goal. Unfortunately, too many of those shots for free shots at Emery, which he could do nothing about. Some of it was just the strength and will of the Shark's scoring attack, but the Flyer's also had a bunch of problems with their skates, as Chris Pronger twice fell over on his own, leaving Emery helpless against Sharks' oddman rushes. If nothing else the Flyer's did play better tonight then they had in the first meeting. In fact they had the lead midway through the 1st period with a funky goal that somehow deflected off Danny Briere's stick and in. San Jose answered on the power play to tie it at 1 after 1, then Heatley scored his first of the night to open the 2nd and put the Sharks up 2-1. Midway through the 2nd, Claude Giroux apparently scored another funky goal which deflected off a Shark and in to tie it at 2. Then with about 5 seconds left in the period Patrick Marleau somehow snuck one by Emery for a 3-2 Shark lead. Midway through the 3rd, Heatley scored shorthanded for a 4-2 lead. Giroux answered a minute later to cut it to 4-3, but the Flyer's would not get any closer. A few minutes later Heatley scored on the power play this time, for a 5-2 lead and eventually the Sharks skated away with a 6-3 win. So the Flyers drop to 12-6-1 overall, but remain 5th in the East.
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