After back to back heartbreaking losses the Flyer's desperately needed to turn things around this afternoon against the New York Islanders. Coming in the Flyers were 7th in the Eastern conference just a point ahead of the Islanders. So the Orange and Black had to win this one or risk losing their playoff seeding to the Isles. Fortunately, they came out firing and just 8 minutes into the 1st period Danny Briere scored for a 1-0 lead. Later with just under 3 minutes to play in the period, Scott Hartnell scored off the power play for a 2-0 lead. With a little under 6 minutes to play in the 3rd period the Flyer's seemingly made it 3-0, but Scott Hartnell was flagged for a bogus goaltender interference call to negate the score. Replays clearly showed the puck in the net before Hartnell ever came in contact with Islander's goalie, Dwayne Roloson. Moreover, the contact between Hartnell and Roloson appeared to be incidental, so one way or another the goal should have counted. Instead the Isles went on the power play and scored to cut the lead to 2-1.
Fortunately, from there the Flyer's defense stiffened up holding the Isles to just 10 shots on goal in the 3rd period. Ray Emery saved all of them to cap off a 31 save day, and thwart any thoughts of an Islander comeback, preserving a 2-1 Orange and Black victory. Emery wasn't perfect as he continued to struggle to handle rebounds, but he got the job done. As did the Flyers as they move to 27-23 overall for 57 points and 6th in the Eastern conference. Not bad, for a team that was struggling so mightily earlier this season. Now if only they can keep it going for a while
Saturday, January 30, 2010
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles lost a member of the family today after Tom Brookshier succumbed to Cancer. Brookshier was an all-pro CB for the Eagles in the 50 and 60s, and was a key member of the 1960 Eagles, still the last Bird's team to be crowned NFL champions. Unfortunately, he broke his leg late in the 1961 season, ruining the Eagle's hopes of repeating and bringing his storied career to an end, following an unsuccessful comeback attempt in 1962. He then became the first ex-player to enter the broadcast booth, as he teamed with Bill Campbell to do radio play by play for Eagle's games. From there he was eventually hired by CBS in 1970s, as Pat Summerall's original color man, before John Madden came along a decade later, and together they broadcast all the big games on CBS, including a few super bowls. So for years he was a ubiquitous presence among all NFL fans and well liked. After retiring from CBS he came back to Philly and helped to begin the 610 sports radio morning show where he remained a host along side Angelo Cataldi until entering retirement. He was ultimately, a Philly icon both for what he did on the field and his many contributions off it as a broadcaster and a human being and will be sorely missed by all. He was 78 years old.
Friday, January 29, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
Fresh off back to back losses to sub par teams the Sixer's welcomed Kobe Bryant and the Western Conference leading L.A Lakers to the Wachovia center tonight. While the Sixers probably should have won their last couple games, there only chance tonight was for the Lakers to try to coast through this one. The Laker's did coast most of the night, and the Sixers were thus able to stay with them for most of the night, but it didn't matter. With all the talent L.A has these days they are one of the few teams that is good enough to coast some nights and still win easily. Tonight was no exception. The Sixers only trailed by one after the 1st quarter, but L.A turned on the intensity in the 2nd quarter take a 9 point lead into the half. In the 3rd quarter a red hot AI, in a entertaining duel with Kobe, managed to rally the Sixers to within 3, but again L.A turned up intensity just enough to finish the quarter ahead by 9. In the 4th quarter L.A coasted again but at that point the Sixers had already wasted all of their energy rallying back in the 3rd quarter, so the Lakers easily went on to win 99-91.
There's not much you can say about this one. The Sixer's were just thoroughly outclassed by L.A on this night. It really wasn't as close as the final score would indicate. It was close only because as usual the Lakers didn't put forth a full effort. The Sixers on other hand had to put in a strong effort to just to lose by 9. Offensively, AI had 23 to lead the way, Elton Brand had 19 and 9 rebounds, Sammy Dalembert had 10 and 12 rebounds, and Thad Young added 10 off the bench. Defensively, the Sixers, who are really the smaller of the two teams, actually outrebounded L.A pretty handily, 44 - 36, and held them to just 20% shooting from beyond the arc. None of that effort mattered in the end though which really shows the disparity in talent between these two teams.
This was the Sixers 3rd loss in a row. While they've only won 3 in a row a handful of times this season, they've lost 3 in a row more times than I count this season. Thus, it's no surprise that they currently have the 2nd worst record in the Eastern conference at 15-31 overall. This could be the beginning of long rest of the season for the Sixers. NBA Draft lottery here we come.
There's not much you can say about this one. The Sixer's were just thoroughly outclassed by L.A on this night. It really wasn't as close as the final score would indicate. It was close only because as usual the Lakers didn't put forth a full effort. The Sixers on other hand had to put in a strong effort to just to lose by 9. Offensively, AI had 23 to lead the way, Elton Brand had 19 and 9 rebounds, Sammy Dalembert had 10 and 12 rebounds, and Thad Young added 10 off the bench. Defensively, the Sixers, who are really the smaller of the two teams, actually outrebounded L.A pretty handily, 44 - 36, and held them to just 20% shooting from beyond the arc. None of that effort mattered in the end though which really shows the disparity in talent between these two teams.
This was the Sixers 3rd loss in a row. While they've only won 3 in a row a handful of times this season, they've lost 3 in a row more times than I count this season. Thus, it's no surprise that they currently have the 2nd worst record in the Eastern conference at 15-31 overall. This could be the beginning of long rest of the season for the Sixers. NBA Draft lottery here we come.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
After a heartbreaking loss to the Penguins in their last game the Flyer's welcomed the Atlanta Thrashers to Wachovia center tonight as they looked to get back on the winning track. Atlanta actually won the last time these two teams met, but before that the Flyers had beaten the Thrashers in 14 straight contests, so you would think tonight would be just another check in the win column for the Orange and Black. Think again. Instead it was an up and down night for the Flyers which only allowed them to encounter more heartbreak. They fell behind early 1-0 in a sluggish 1st period. They owned the 2nd period though with Claude Giroux scoring a dazzling unassisted tally early in the period and Dan Carcillo and Aaron Asham scoring on breakaways late in the period.
So headed into the 3rd period the Orange and Black led 3-1 and all seemed well. Unfortunately, the good feelings didn't last too long. Just 29 seconds into the 3rd Ilya Kovalchuck raced into the Flyer's zone all alone off a faceoff and slapped one by Ray Emery to cut it to 3-2. 4 minutes later Rich Beverley rumbled into the Flyer's zone again all alone on a breakaway and gunned a slapshot past Emery to tie it up at 3. Finally with a little under 7 minutes to play Jim Slater completed the heartbreak scoring off yet another largely uncontested Thrasher breakaway, to put Atlanta ahead 4-3. The Flyer's had plenty of time from there to tie it up again and at least earn 1 point by pushing the game to overtime. Apparently they were just a little too shell shocked and thanks to a goaltender interference call on Danny Briere they spent 2 of the final 3 minutes on the penalty kill, essentially ruining any comeback hopes they still had at the time.
So for the 2nd time in as many games the Flyer's defense broke down late in the game for a loss, but this one hurts even more, for the Flyer's truly had victory in their grasp on this night. In fact coming in they were unbeaten this season when leading after 2 periods. Going by the stat sheet, they also played a pretty complete game in this one, throwing 37 shots on goal while allotting Atlanta just 28 shots on goal, of which Emery saved 24 while helping his teammates kill off all 4 Thrasher's power plays on the night. Sometimes it is just not your night though, and tonight just wasn't meant to be for the Orange and Black for whatever reason. If nothing else though the Flyers are still at least 7th in the Eastern conference at the moment, but they'll have to stop this losing streak right now if they want to stay there.
So headed into the 3rd period the Orange and Black led 3-1 and all seemed well. Unfortunately, the good feelings didn't last too long. Just 29 seconds into the 3rd Ilya Kovalchuck raced into the Flyer's zone all alone off a faceoff and slapped one by Ray Emery to cut it to 3-2. 4 minutes later Rich Beverley rumbled into the Flyer's zone again all alone on a breakaway and gunned a slapshot past Emery to tie it up at 3. Finally with a little under 7 minutes to play Jim Slater completed the heartbreak scoring off yet another largely uncontested Thrasher breakaway, to put Atlanta ahead 4-3. The Flyer's had plenty of time from there to tie it up again and at least earn 1 point by pushing the game to overtime. Apparently they were just a little too shell shocked and thanks to a goaltender interference call on Danny Briere they spent 2 of the final 3 minutes on the penalty kill, essentially ruining any comeback hopes they still had at the time.
So for the 2nd time in as many games the Flyer's defense broke down late in the game for a loss, but this one hurts even more, for the Flyer's truly had victory in their grasp on this night. In fact coming in they were unbeaten this season when leading after 2 periods. Going by the stat sheet, they also played a pretty complete game in this one, throwing 37 shots on goal while allotting Atlanta just 28 shots on goal, of which Emery saved 24 while helping his teammates kill off all 4 Thrasher's power plays on the night. Sometimes it is just not your night though, and tonight just wasn't meant to be for the Orange and Black for whatever reason. If nothing else though the Flyers are still at least 7th in the Eastern conference at the moment, but they'll have to stop this losing streak right now if they want to stay there.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixer's traveled to Milwaukee tonight for a matchup with the Bucks as they looked to get back in the winner's column, following that tough loss to the Pacers in their last game. The last time these two teams met the Sixer's got the win, as part of a run of 6 straight wins over Milwaukee. There was no reason tonight couldn't be their 7th in a row, but they would have to bring the defense with them that had won them 2 of their last 3. Unfortunately, while they did bring the D, holding the Bucks to just 43% shooting from the field and outrebounding them 51-35, they also brought along a bunch of sloppy mistakes with them as well and it cost them. In the 1st half alone they turned the ball over 11 times, turning what should have been a halftime lead into a 2 point halftime deficit. They then cleaned up a bit in the 2nd half with only another 6 turnovers, but went cold from the field, particularly beyond the arc, where they hit just 2-14(that's 14% shooting from beyond).
Thus, Milwaukee was able to stay ahead going into the 4th quarter and with the Sixers' missing one three pointer after another, and unable to find any consistent enough scoring, they hung on to win a close one, 91-88. As usual the Sixer's just couldn't hit the baskets at the end when they needed to and no one really stepped up to do so. In fact the Sixers had only 2 players score in double figures on the night. Elton Brand had 26 and 10 rebounds and Thad Young had 14 off the bench, but other than that there wasn't much to celebrate for the Sixer's scoring wise. So while a little defense can go a long way it is not always enough. You have to be able to put some points at times too.
Looking at the final score you can see that if the Sixers had hit just 2 more of the 14 three pointers they took they would have won. The Sixer's are not known for their 3 point shooting, but even for them 2 out of 14 is pretty bad and they'll have to improve that number if they want to get a few more wins this season. Currently with the loss, the Sixers are just 16-30 overall. That's right they have already lost 30 games this season and it isn't even the all-star break yet. Aren't you proud of them? Anyway, at this point the Sixers are now 7.5 games out of 8th in the East so the playoffs may finally be out of reach now, as if they weren't already.
Thus, Milwaukee was able to stay ahead going into the 4th quarter and with the Sixers' missing one three pointer after another, and unable to find any consistent enough scoring, they hung on to win a close one, 91-88. As usual the Sixer's just couldn't hit the baskets at the end when they needed to and no one really stepped up to do so. In fact the Sixers had only 2 players score in double figures on the night. Elton Brand had 26 and 10 rebounds and Thad Young had 14 off the bench, but other than that there wasn't much to celebrate for the Sixer's scoring wise. So while a little defense can go a long way it is not always enough. You have to be able to put some points at times too.
Looking at the final score you can see that if the Sixers had hit just 2 more of the 14 three pointers they took they would have won. The Sixer's are not known for their 3 point shooting, but even for them 2 out of 14 is pretty bad and they'll have to improve that number if they want to get a few more wins this season. Currently with the loss, the Sixers are just 16-30 overall. That's right they have already lost 30 games this season and it isn't even the all-star break yet. Aren't you proud of them? Anyway, at this point the Sixers are now 7.5 games out of 8th in the East so the playoffs may finally be out of reach now, as if they weren't already.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
After handling them fairly easily on the road a couple days ago the Sixers welcomed the Indiana Pacers to the Wachovia center tonight with thoughts of knocking them off for the 2nd time in as many games. Unfortunately, the defense that carried them through that game wasn't there tonight. In short the Sixers just couldn't stop Indiana when they needed to and that was the difference tonight. Indiana shot over 51% from the field and a solid 36% from beyond the arc with 8 threes, the kind of numbers that are usually good enough to win you most games. The Sixers didn't make it easy for Indiana though. As late as the final 2 minutes of the game the Sixers were within striking distance of the Pacers.
Then Dahntay Jones, known more for being a defensive stopper, heated up from the field, hitting a bunch of crucial shots down the stretch to extend the Pacer's lead and put away the Sixers. By the end he had 18 points, and the Pacers had won easily 109-98. Ultimatelly it was once again Sixer's defense that proved to be the deciding factor for them tonight, but for all the wrong reasons. The Sixer's scoring didn't help them all that much tonight either with Andre Iguodala's 22 leading just 4 Sixers in double figures. AI had 20, Elton Brand chipped in with 12, and Lou Williams poured in 16 off the bench but that was it as Thad Young and Mo Speights both dropped off a bit, combing for just 12 and 5 rebounds.
If the Sixers had won tonight it would have been their 3rd win in a row, and only about the 5th time this season that they won 3 in a row. Moreover, they have yet to win more than 3 in a row at any point thus far this season, not exactly a formula for a playoff team. At just 16-29 overall now, the playoffs seem a long way away for the Sixers at this point anyway, but you never know.
Then Dahntay Jones, known more for being a defensive stopper, heated up from the field, hitting a bunch of crucial shots down the stretch to extend the Pacer's lead and put away the Sixers. By the end he had 18 points, and the Pacers had won easily 109-98. Ultimatelly it was once again Sixer's defense that proved to be the deciding factor for them tonight, but for all the wrong reasons. The Sixer's scoring didn't help them all that much tonight either with Andre Iguodala's 22 leading just 4 Sixers in double figures. AI had 20, Elton Brand chipped in with 12, and Lou Williams poured in 16 off the bench but that was it as Thad Young and Mo Speights both dropped off a bit, combing for just 12 and 5 rebounds.
If the Sixers had won tonight it would have been their 3rd win in a row, and only about the 5th time this season that they won 3 in a row. Moreover, they have yet to win more than 3 in a row at any point thus far this season, not exactly a formula for a playoff team. At just 16-29 overall now, the playoffs seem a long way away for the Sixers at this point anyway, but you never know.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers and the Pens faced off today in a huge game at the Wachovia center. The last time these two teams met the Flyers got the win in Pittsburgh despite a controversial call that took a goal away from Simon Gagne. This afternoon another controversial call took a goal away from the Flyers. Unfortunately the Orange and Black weren't so lucky on this afternoon. Ahead 1-0 on a power play goal by Jeff Carter, the Flyer's looked to be headed to a 2-0 lead with a little over 6:30 left in 1st period on a Mike Richards score. Instead the goal was waved off because Simon Gagne was called for high sticking and roughing Evgeni Malkin, apparently before the goal was scored.
Replays showed though, that Gagne neither high-sticked nor roughed Malkin at all. Moreover, the officials whistles did not blow until after Richards had scored. So one way or another his goal should have counted. Instead it was taken away and Pittsburgh was given a power play on which Sergei Gonchar scored the game tying goal. Thanks to the play of Ray Emery, who racked up 20 saves, it stayed tied at 1 until deep in the 3rd period with a little less than 2 minutes to play. The officials then went against the Flyers again calling Kimmo Timonen for a delay of game after he desperately knocked the puck into the stands just inside the Flyers' zone, as the Pens were threatening to score. Once again given the opportunity they needed Pittsburgh capitalized with Matt Cooke scoring the power play goal that would seal the 2-1 Pens win.
Don't you just love NHL officiating? I know I don't. Anway as much the officials hurt the Flyers today, they hurt themselves with a lot of missed opportunities. In fact they were on the power play 9 times but could score only on the 1st one. You just can't let that many chances slip away and expect to win. Not if you are the Flyer's with the way things have gone this season. Anyway despite the loss the Flyers remain 6th in the East and in prime position for a playoff berth.
Replays showed though, that Gagne neither high-sticked nor roughed Malkin at all. Moreover, the officials whistles did not blow until after Richards had scored. So one way or another his goal should have counted. Instead it was taken away and Pittsburgh was given a power play on which Sergei Gonchar scored the game tying goal. Thanks to the play of Ray Emery, who racked up 20 saves, it stayed tied at 1 until deep in the 3rd period with a little less than 2 minutes to play. The officials then went against the Flyers again calling Kimmo Timonen for a delay of game after he desperately knocked the puck into the stands just inside the Flyers' zone, as the Pens were threatening to score. Once again given the opportunity they needed Pittsburgh capitalized with Matt Cooke scoring the power play goal that would seal the 2-1 Pens win.
Don't you just love NHL officiating? I know I don't. Anway as much the officials hurt the Flyers today, they hurt themselves with a lot of missed opportunities. In fact they were on the power play 9 times but could score only on the 1st one. You just can't let that many chances slip away and expect to win. Not if you are the Flyer's with the way things have gone this season. Anyway despite the loss the Flyers remain 6th in the East and in prime position for a playoff berth.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils avoided arbitration with their 4th and final arbitration eligible player today as they agreed to a 3 year $9 million deal with Carlos Ruiz. So at this point all of the Phils championship pieces are secured through 2011 except for right fielder Jayson Werth who will be a free agent after the 2010 season. Hopefully the Phils will be able to figure out a way to bring him back but we'll see.
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