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.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
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.
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