The Birds made their first two selections of the 2009 NFL draft today. First after they were unable to trade up for Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno, they traded up from the 21st pick to the 19th pick in the first round to select Missouri WR Jeremy Maclin. At first I was a bit confused by this pick, but the more I think about it the more I like it. Maclin was a legit top 10 prospect in this draft and to get him at 19 was a real steal for the Eagles. Also he does provide the Eagles with two things they needed. First of all he can come right in and play as the Eagles kick returner which allows Quintin Demps to just focus on being the Eagles new number 1 at free safety. I think it may have been asking a little too much of him to both replace a legend and continue to be the steady kick returner. Secondly, I think he gives them a legit number 3 receiver right now and a future number 2 along side Desean Jackson. Frankly I question whether or not Reggie Brown will even play for the Eagles this season. They didn't even use him at all late last season and seemed to be less than thrilled with his play when they were using him. After getting Maclin the Eagles finished the day by selecting Pittsburgh RB Lesean Mccoy in the 2nd round with the 53rd pick. Mccoy has been described as a younger version of Brian Westbrook, capable of making people miss, whether catching a pass out of the backfield or taking a handoff. Therefore he will immediately provide a one two punch at running back for the Eagles and is capable of becoming their number 1 back in the future. With Correll Buckhalter gone in free agency, and really only Lorenzo Booker behind Westbrook on the depth chart this was a pick the Birds needed to make. All in all I would say it was very good first day of the draft for the Eagles.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Marlins tonight. Chan Ho Park, still looking for his first win of the season, got the start and pitched well enough only to get a no-decision, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits in 7 solid innings of work. The Phils meanwhile finally got a little bit of offense going early on but still found themselves needing to rally from behind late to pull out the win. In the top of the 3rd Chan Ho Park, yes Chan Ho Park slugged a solo homer for a 1-0 lead. In the top of the 4th Ryan Howard clobbered a solo homer for a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the 4th Jorge Cantu crushed a 3 run homer and Dan Uggla followed with a solo shot for a 4-2 Marlin lead. In the top of the 6th Jimmy Rollins singled and scored on a fielder's choice to cut it to 4-3. It was still 4-3 in the top of 9th when Jayson Werth doubled and scored on a fielder's choice to knot it up at 4 and send the game into the extra innings. Finally in the top of the 10th Chase Utley singled in one run and Werth singled in a second run for a 6-4 lead. After walking the bases loaded Brad Lidge then closed out the 6-4 win , striking out Cody Ross on a slider. So the Phils move to 8-8 overall and look to finish the sweep tomorrow.
FLYERS NEWS
The dream is dead. Well for this year anyway. The Flyers had to knock off the Penguins in game 6 at the Wachovia center to keep their season alive. Despite taking a 3-0 lead early in the 2nd period they did not. Sometimes it just isn't your year. 30 saves from Marty Biron and a goal and an assist from Danny Briere just weren't enough. The Flyers just seemed to run out of gas after the Pens rallied back to tie it, and played very sloppy throughout the 3rd period. Frankly the game was really a microcosm of the Flyer's season. They started strong, faced a little adversity, and just went away for a while. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time for then to recover and come on strong again. Late in the first period Mike Knuble scored for a 1-0 lead and Joffrey Lupul followed a minute later for a 2-0 lead. Early in the 2nd period Danny Briere scored off the power play for a 3-0 lead and the celebration was on, the Flyers were going to force a game 7. There was no way Biron would allow the Pens to come back from three goals down would he? Unfortunately Dan Carcillo then made a huge mistake picking a fight with Maxim Talbot. Yes he won the fight easily and fired up the home crowd, but at the same time he unwittingly lit a fire under the Pens. No sooner was Carcillo in the box when ex-Flyer Ruslan Fedotenko put the Pens on the board scoring off a crazy deflection to cut the lead to 3-1. Two minutes later, another crazy deflection and another goal this time scored by Mark Eaton and Pittsburgh had cut it to 3-2. Late in the period "the Kid" Sidney Crosby finished the comeback off with yet another crazy deflection to knot it up at 3. Early in the 3rd period the Flyers somehow got lost in their own zone, allowing Sergei Gonchar to freely blast one past Biron from just inside the blue line for a 4-3 Pens lead. From there Biron bared down and kept it 4-3 until he was pulled in favor of the extra attacker with under 2 minutes to play. Sadly just as they began playing with the extra attacker Jeff Carter weakly gift wrapped a pass right onto the stick of Crosby who raced in to score an empty netter to sink the Flyers 5-3. Well better luck next year guys.
Friday, April 24, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers played game 3 of their opening playoff series with the Magic tonight at the Wachovia center. With the series tied at 1 game a piece the Sixers needed the win to keep the upper hand in the series they had seized by rallying from 18 points down to win game 1. Early on it looked like they would do so easily. However, just as the Sixers had done in games 1 and 2, the Magic managed to rally from way down to get back in game, leading to a heart stopping 4th quarter. This time the Sixers secured the rebounds they let get away in game 2. They also continued to shutdown the Magic from beyond the arc, as Orlando hit just 8 of 20. That coupled with stalwart performances out of Iggy with 29 points, and Andre Miller with 24 allowed the Sixers to turn the tables in their favor in this one. Early on the Sixers got off to a great start while the Magic put up little resistance. By the half the Sixers were up by 11 with the score 60-49. They kept it going in the 3rd quarter building up an 18 point lead at one point. Then Orlando seemingly flipped the switch, picking it up on defense, and hitting some threes to pull within 3 heading into the 4th quarter with the score 80-77. All seemed lost with 6 minutes to play in the 4th quarter as Rashard Lewis drilled a 3 pointer to tie it up at 86. The Sixers remained poised though and continued to play stingy enough D to keep a nose in front until Dwight Howard sunk two free throws with 7 seconds left to tie it up again at 94. From there out of the timeout the Sixers looked to in bound the ball to Iggy for the win, but he was well covered so Thad Young, cutting towards the basket got the ball instead. He ran into Howard who knocked the ball loose, and seemed to poise to keep him from getting a shot off before time expired. Somehow Thad regrouped, got the ball back, and got under Howard to lay in the game winning basket. Lewis' desperation heave from halfcourt then harmlessly sailed off the top of backboard to cap off the 96-94 Sixers' win and set off a raucous celebration among the fans and players. So once again to everyone's surprise the Sixers lead their opening series 2-1. We'll see if they can translate this into a series win this time around.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils traveled to Florida tonight to begin a 3 game series with the Marlins. Having lost their last 2 games the Phils really needed to win this one to get back on track. Once again though they didn't seem to be able to come up with any momentum against Marlins starter Josh Johnson who shut them down for 7 innings on just 3 hits. Meanwhile, Brett Myers was rocked early, but managed to keep the Phils in it, toughing out 6 innings, while allowing just 3 runs on 8 hits. Still through 8 innings the Phils were scoreless and there was little chance of them pulling this one out. After all it is rare that a team blows a three run lead in the 9th inning and just as rare that a team scores 3 runs or more in the 9th inning. So the odds were truly stacked against the Phils in this one. The 3 runs came on a monster 3 run homer off the bat of Dan Uggla in the bottom of the 1st and thanks to Johnson those runs appeared to be all the Marlins would needed on this night. After that homer though Myers kept the Fish off the board through the 6th and Clay Condrey took care of business in the 7th and 8th. So coming into the 9th the Phils still trailed 3-0 but it was going to be too late for them to mount a rally right? Unfortunately, for the Marlins it wasn't too late after all. First Jayson Werth doubled and scored on a single by Matt Stairs to cut it to 3-1. Then a few batters later Jimmy Rollins walked with the bases loaded to cut it to 3-2. Next "the Flyin Hawaiian" Shane Victorino slugged a grand slam, the first of his career in the regular season(He also has one memorable postseason slam), to put the Phils up 6-3. Finally Chase Utley followed with a solo shot to make it 7-3. After allowing a couple of hits, Ryan Madson put away the shell shocked Marlins in the bottom of the inning to close out the 7-3 win. So the Phils move to 7-8 overall and will want to keep this momentum going.
EAGLES NEWS
The NFL draft begins tomorrow. It should be an interesting couple of days for the Eagles, and could determine how good they'll be next season.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers played game 5 of their opening playoff series with the Penguins. Down 3-1 in the series they had to win to stay alive and stay alive they did. When they had to have it, Marty Biron gave them the best game of his life, saving all 28 shots he faced, for just his 2nd ever playoff shutout. It was not just Biron though who came to play. As a team the Flyers played with increased intensity and energy, the likes of which they hadn't displayed all series long. Clearly they still believe they can win the series, and if they can keep up this kind of play they might still have a chance. Anyway, getting back to tonight, because Biron pitched a shutout the Flyers didn't need to come up with much offense but they did anyhow. Early in the 2nd period Arron Asham scored for a 1-0 lead. Early in the 3rd period Claude Giroux scored for a 2-0 lead. Finally late in the 3rd period Mike Knuble slapped home a rebound to cap off a 3-0 Flyers win. So the Orange and Black cut the series lead to 3-2 and now return to the Wachovia center looking to force a decisive game 7.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils completed their series with the Brewers this afternoon. With Cole Hamels on the mound, they had to feel good about their chances to win. Unfortunately, Hamels lasted just 3 and 1/3rd innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits before disaster struck, as he was nailed in the shoulder by a line drive off the bat of Prince Fielder. Currently Hamels is listed as having suffered a shoulder contusion and is day to day so hopefully he'll be okay. Anyway, while Hamels left the field with an injury, the Phils nearly fell victim to a no-hitter at the hands of Brewers starter Dave Bush. As a result of that combined with the shock of the blow to Hollywood's shoulder ruined the Phils chances of victory. In the top of the 4th, just before Hamels bowed out, Ryan Braun slammed a 2 run homer to put the Brew Crew up 2-0. In the top of the 5th Fielder lined a bases clearing double for a 5-0 lead. In the top of the 8th Bill Hall crushed a solo homer for a 6-0 lead. In bottom of the 8th, Matt Stairs finally broke up Bush's no hit bid with one out, slugging a pinch solo homer to cut the lead to 6-1. Like last night though, it was too late to save the Phils and eventually they lost 6-1. So the Phils drop to 6-8 overall, but this weekend they get their shot at the NL East division leading Florida Marlins and can improve their current situation with a good showing.
EAGLES NEWS
Well it's official Tony Gonzalez will not be coming to the Eagles this season. Instead the Atlanta Falcons acquired the future hall of fame tight end in exchange for a 2nd round pick in the 2010 draft. The Eagles, well they um re-signed WR Hank "put the biscuit in the" Baskett to a one year deal today. I don't know maybe the Eagles know something we don't. Perhaps they still think they can get a decent tight end in the draft or maybe they think Brent Celek is already a top flight tight end. Who knows.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers played game 2 of their opening playoff series with the Orlando Magic tonight, looking to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. They played well and actually had an early lead, but the Magic again managed to build up an 18 point lead. This time, despite Dwight Howard fouling out, the Sixers couldn't quite come all the way back. The Sixers performed well defensively, limiting Orlando to just 26% shooting from the beyond the arc, and holding superman to a more pedestrian 11 points and 10 rebounds. Unfortunately, they also allowed the Magic to gather in 14 offensive rebounds and that ultimately cost the Sixers the game. Offensively, Thad, Iggy, and Andre Miller combined for 71 points. Unfortunately, the rest of the team contributed just 16 points. That just won't cut it the rest of the series. Still, the Sixers probably could have won this one. The game was tied after the 1st quarter, and the Magic led by just 7 at the half. Things went south in the 3rd quarter as the Magic built an 18 point lead. The Sixers again managed to rally back and were within 5 with under 3 minutes to play and Howard done for the night. Unfortunately, the Sixers couldn't get the stops they needed in the final minutes and Orlando was able to hang on for the 96-87 win. So the series is even at 1 game a piece, but the Sixers still have the home court at this point with the next 2 games at the Wachovia center and if they can just shore up the defensive glass they have a good chance of holding serve.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Brewers tonight on yet another wet and rainy night. Although the rain didn't delay the game at all it seemed to throw off the Phils, at the plate, in the field and on the mound, just enough for Milwaukee to eke out a win. Joe Blanton got the start and pitched well, allowing just 3 runs on 8 hits, but he was bested by Braden Looper who tossed 6 shutout innings. So in all it was not a fun night for the Phils. In the top of the 5th J.J Hardy lined a solo homer into the seats for a 1-0 Brewer lead. In the top of the 6th Mike Cameron doubled in a couple of runs for a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the 9th Jayson Werth finally put the Phils on the board with a solo homer to cut the lead to 3-1. Alas, it was too little, too late, and a few batters later with the tying run on first, Chris Coste struck out to end it. So the Phils drop to 6-7 overall and will look to bounce back tomorrow and win the series.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
Fresh off their unexpected day off the Phils welcomed the Milwaukee Brewers to the Bank tonight to begin a 3 game set. Thus far this season the Brewers, the reigning NL wild card champs, have struggled mightily. Their struggle only continued tonight. Jamie Moyer got the start and produced his best outing of the season thus far, allowing just 4 runs on 7 hits in 6 solid innings of work. Meanwhile the Phils victimized Brewer pitching on the night for 11 runs on 13 hits. In fact every member of the Phils starting lineup, even Moyer, managed to reach base safely at least once. The Brewers simply can't get outs right now and from the very beginning the Phils took advantage of them. In the top of the 1st Ryan Braun slammed a solo homer for a 1-0 Brewer lead. They would never lead again. In the bottom of the 1st, 3 straight hits, a double by Jayson Werth and singles by Raul Ibanez and Pedro Feliz, produced 4 runs and a quick 4-1 lead. In the bottom of the 3rd Feliz lined a solo homer for a 5-1 lead. In the top of the 5th Braun launched a 2 run shot into orbit to cut the lead to 5-3. In the bottom of the 5th the Phils came right back to just about put the game out of reach, as Ibanez walked, stole second and scored on a fielder's choice, "the Flyin Hawaiian", Shane Victorino singled in a 2nd run, Chase Utley worked a bases loaded walk for a 3rd run, and finally Victorino and Jimmy Rollins each scored on a wild pitch and a subsequent error by catcher Jason Kendall, for a 10-3 lead. In the bottom of the 6th Werth doubled and scored on an infield single by Feliz for an 11-3 lead. In the top of the 7th Braun struck again with an RBI infield single to cut it to 11-4, but Braun's heroics proved meaningless as the Phils bullpen eventually closed out the 11-4 win. So the Phils move back to .500 overall at 6-6 and jump to 2nd in the NL East. Not bad for a day's work.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers played game 4 of their opening playoff series with the Penguins tonight. Just as with game 3 it was a must win for the Flyers to even the series at 2. Unfortunately, although they came out with the same spark they had in game 3, it was to no avail, as the man of the hour tonight was Pen's goalie Marc Andre Fleury. Fleury compiled 45 saves, many of them spectacular, out of the 46 shots he faced. So in the end the Flyers didn't lose this one, so much as Fleury took it away from them. Early in the 2nd period "the Kid" Sidney Crosby scored on a fluky play in which the puck was passed to him as he slid on his back into the net, sliding the puck in with him for a 1-0 lead. A few minutes later Tyler Kennedy scored for a 2-0 lead. Halfway through the 3rd period Dan Carcillo, of all people, got the Flyers on the board cutting the lead to 2-1. From there the Flyers had their opportunities to score the equalizer but could not. Finally with a minute to play Marty Biron was pulled from goal in favor of the extra attacker, but Scott Hartnell turned the puck over off a faceoff in the Pen's zone, and Max Talbot preceded to fire the puck into the empty net to close out the 3-1 Pen's win. So the Flyers trail now 3 games to 1 and should probably start booking their flights home for the offseason.
Monday, April 20, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
Unfortunately the Phils series finale with the Padres was rained out today and will be made up at a later date. Hopefully the extra time off won't slow down their progress and if nothing else it will give their pitchers some time to work through all their problems.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers began their opening round playoff series with the Magic tonight in Orlando. No one, myself included, gave the Sixers much of a chance to win this series and through 3 periods tonight it looked like they didn't believe they could either. Dwight "superman" Howard was dominating underneath with 31 points and 16 rebounds, but the Magic were abnormally cold from beyond the arc shooting just 27%. Also Hedo Turkoglu, usually one of Orlando's big three, struggled mightily shooting just 2 of 8 from the field for 6 points. The Sixers meanwhile, shot 51% from the field and 58% from beyond the arc. Thus, although Orlando was able to build an 18 point lead at one point in the 3rd quarter they couldn't hit the threes they needed to put the Sixers away. With their big three(Iggy with 20 points, Thad with 14, and Andre Miller with 15) all on their game the Sixers were able to slowly chip away the lead, cutting it to 14 heading into the 4th quarter. Still there was no way the Magic would blow a double digit 4th quarter lead was there? Fortunately no one told the Sixers they couldn't come back. They picked it up on defense just when they needed too, hit every shot they needed to fall, and seemingly pulled down every rebound they had to have. Twice in the final 4 minutes Donyell Marshall answered seemingly back breaking Orlando threes, with threes of his own. The first brought the Sixers within two and the 2nd tied the game at 98 with 35 seconds to play. After Rashard Lewis missed a jumper with 27 seconds to play the Sixers ran the clock down and gave the ball to Iggy who drilled an 18 footer with 2 seconds to play for a 100-98 lead. From there Turkoglu missed a 3 pointer at the buzzer and the Sixers had themselves a stunning 1-0 series lead.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers returned to the Wachovia center for game 3 of their opening playoff series with the Penguins. Down 2 games to none they had to win to keep hope of winning the series alive. Thanks to 26 saves by Marty Biron, a goal and an assist by Claude Giroux and 2 goals by Simon Gagne they were able to get the win they needed. Frankly they just came out with more energy than they had in the first 2 games and kept at it until the end. If they can figure out a way to play like that for the rest of the series they can still win this thing. Getting back to this game, Jeff Carter got things started with a score early in the first period for a 1-0 lead. A few minutes later Mike Richards made it 2-0. Late in the period Evgeni Malkin scored to cut it to 2-1. Just seconds into the 2nd period Rob Scuderi scored to knot it up at 2. A few minutes later Giroux scored for a 3-2 lead. A few minutes later, an incredible effort by Giroux led to a shorthanded goal by Gagne for a 4-2 lead. Early in the 3rd period Jared Ross made it 5-2. A few minutes later Malkin scored off the Pens power play to cut it to 5-3. Finally with just under 2 minutes to play Gagne scored again to put away a 6-3 win. So the Orange and Black cut the Pens series lead to 2-1 and now must win game 4 to even the series at 2 and put the pressure back on the Pens.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Padres this afternoon, looking to avoid their 4th straight loss. Chan Ho Park got the start and was a bit better than in his first start but still had to be rescued by J.A Happ in the 6th inning after allowing 4 runs on 8 hits in just 5 innings of work. For San Diego Josh Greer kept the Phils in check most of the day going 7 strong innings, while allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits. So the Phils would need some late heroics to pull this one out. In the top of the 3rd Jody Gerut singled in one run and Edgar Gonzalez tripled in a run ,after Raul Ibanez muffed his fly ball, and scored on a fielder's choice for a 3-0 Padres lead. In the top of the 5th Adrian Gonzalez slammed a solo homer for a 4-0 lead. In the bottom of the 6th Chase Utley slugged a 2 run homer to cut it to 4-2. In the bottom of the 8th Jimmy Rollins, who didn't start the game, lined a pinch solo homer into the seats to cut it to 4-3. Finally in the bottom of the 9th following a leadoff single by Ryan Howard, Ibanez had a chance to redeem himself, and he did, crushing a game winning 2 run homer to lift the Phils to a 5-4 win. So the Phils move to 5-6 overall and can now at least finish the series tomorrow at an even 2-2.
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