The Orange and Black had a huge day saturday in more ways than one. They and Jeff Carter agreed to a 11 year $58 million extension. They might sound high, but the cap hit is only $5.27 million over the 11 years, which is actually quite cheap, considering Carter's age and skill level. With 30+ goals the last 2 seasons and another 30-40 goals, already just about a given this season, he should be worth the investment. Moreover, his meager cap hit, leaves the Flyers room to lock up Ville Leino, also slated to be a free agent after a season, to a long term deal as well. If they do that as expected, with Richards, Giroux, and now Carter already locked up, they'll have a pretty good foundation to build upon and maintain their winning ways over the next few years.
Anyway, the other Flyer news on the night was an easy win over the lowly Florida Panthers. The offense stayed hot with another 5 goals and 6 assists. Giroux and Richards each scored two goals and Leino had 2 more assists to lead the way. Meanwhile, the Flyer defense remained solid, if not strong with 10 takeaways, only 4 penalties, and a majority of the faceoffs won. Still, the real stalwart for the defense, continued to be Sergei Bobrovsky who racked up another 34 saves out of the 36 shots he faced. He's just red hot right now and seeming impenetrable, but he is also a rookie, so there could still be some growing pains, but who cares about that right now.
It was a somewhat tight game for 11 minutes than the Flyers took over. Just 14 seconds into the 12th minute of the first period, Andreas Nodl assisted Richards for a 1-0 lead. A few minutes later Leino setup Scott Hartnell to make it 2-0. 7 minutes into the 2nd period Carter setup Richards for a power play tally to make it 3-0. Giroux followed just a couple minutes later with another power play tally, as Leino picked up his 2nd assist. A couple minutes after that Giroux scored again, this time unassisted to make it 5-0 Orange and Black and that was about all she wrote. Florida did add a couple late goals, but it made little difference as the Flyers cruised to a 5-2 win. Can anyone in the NHL possibly be hotter than the Flyers right now.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers continued their west coast trip in San Antonio tonight. Coming in the Sixers had never won in San Antonio before. Thanks an incredible night by Tony Parker who had 24 and 7 assists, they still haven't. The Sixers for the part, played a solid game. 5 Sixers scored in double figures with Jrue Holiday's 16 and 5 assists, and Lou Williams 13 off the bench leading the way. Mo Speights also chipped in with 11 and 7 rebounds, and Andre Iguodala and Thad Young had 10 each. While they're shooting from the field as just okay at 41%, they were actually pretty good from beyond at 44% with 4 treys, and they were great at the line for once, at 87%. Defensively, the Sixers were badly outrebounded 47-38, but had 6 blocks and 5 steals and managed to hold the Spurs to just under 50% shooting on the day. So on the whole it wasn't terrible. The problem for the Sixers in this one was that the Spurs were just that much better.
In the 1st quarter alone the Sixers were outscored 39-28 and looked out of sorts. Somehow they managed to close to within 9 by the half, but that would be their last positive moment of the night. The 3rd quarter was all Spurs, 35-12, as the Sixers went cold from the field and the Spur defense totally locked them down. By the start of the 4th the Sixers were embarrassingly down by 32, their largest deficit all season. As they have all season the Sixers did turn things around in the 4th, outscoring the Spurs 29-20, but it was truly too little too late, as San Antonio cruised to a 23 point victory, 116-93. This is really the first time all the season the Sixers have been really roughed up like this all season. It's hard to say what went wrong. You really just have to give the Spurs credit. They were just in a different class than the Sixers tonight.
In the 1st quarter alone the Sixers were outscored 39-28 and looked out of sorts. Somehow they managed to close to within 9 by the half, but that would be their last positive moment of the night. The 3rd quarter was all Spurs, 35-12, as the Sixers went cold from the field and the Spur defense totally locked them down. By the start of the 4th the Sixers were embarrassingly down by 32, their largest deficit all season. As they have all season the Sixers did turn things around in the 4th, outscoring the Spurs 29-20, but it was truly too little too late, as San Antonio cruised to a 23 point victory, 116-93. This is really the first time all the season the Sixers have been really roughed up like this all season. It's hard to say what went wrong. You really just have to give the Spurs credit. They were just in a different class than the Sixers tonight.
Friday, November 12, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers continued their west coast trip in Dallas tonight against the Mavericks and an ailing Dirk Nowitzki, who played with a sprained ankle. As they have all season they came to play and gave the Mavs all they could handle. In the end though the Sixer's lack of experience in closing out games proved too much overcome against the Veteran Mavs. 12% shooting from beyond and 60% shooting from line were also a major factor for the Sixers in this one. To be fair the Mavs didn't necessarily shoot that well either, at only 27% from beyond,but they hit their shots when it counted and they were solid at the free throw line, at 79% overall.
In fact, the Sixers defense was actually pretty good in this one, as they held one of better shooting teams in the league, to under 50% from the field, and forced them into 10 turnovers, all of them steals. They managed to keep things pretty even on the boards, with Dallas barely edging them 47 to 42. Again though, Dallas got the rebounds when it really counted and none of their turnovers were of the careless variety. They too forced the Sixers into some turnovers, 13 of them to be exact, and only 6 of those 13 were steals. That's 7 Sixer turnovers that probably never should have happened and that alone could have made the difference for them in this one.
Still, despite all of their shortcomings, the Sixers still made it a close, exciting game for the most part and that's about all you can ask for from such a young team. Things didn't look exciting early on as the Mavs jumped out to a 9 point lead through 1 quarter. The play of Andre Iguodala, who had 13 and 7 rebounds in his return to the lineup, and Jrue Holiday, who had 11 and 13 assists, kept Dallas from extending their lead in the 2nd, and in fact the Sixers closed to within 7 at the half. The Sixers continued their march back in the 3rd quarter, eventually drawing even at 71 a piece with 2:25 left in the quarter. Dallas, was just able to hold them off though, as they took a 3 point lead into the 4th quarter. In the 4th, Dallas shifted into a zone and the Sixers, unable to rebound or hit threes down the stretch, never really figured it out. Somehow they at least managed to keep it close, but in the end Dallas cruised to a 99-90 win. So the Sixers drop to 2-7 overall, but still have only one loss by double digits this season, which enough for me to hang on to some hope for the remainder of the season.
In fact, the Sixers defense was actually pretty good in this one, as they held one of better shooting teams in the league, to under 50% from the field, and forced them into 10 turnovers, all of them steals. They managed to keep things pretty even on the boards, with Dallas barely edging them 47 to 42. Again though, Dallas got the rebounds when it really counted and none of their turnovers were of the careless variety. They too forced the Sixers into some turnovers, 13 of them to be exact, and only 6 of those 13 were steals. That's 7 Sixer turnovers that probably never should have happened and that alone could have made the difference for them in this one.
Still, despite all of their shortcomings, the Sixers still made it a close, exciting game for the most part and that's about all you can ask for from such a young team. Things didn't look exciting early on as the Mavs jumped out to a 9 point lead through 1 quarter. The play of Andre Iguodala, who had 13 and 7 rebounds in his return to the lineup, and Jrue Holiday, who had 11 and 13 assists, kept Dallas from extending their lead in the 2nd, and in fact the Sixers closed to within 7 at the half. The Sixers continued their march back in the 3rd quarter, eventually drawing even at 71 a piece with 2:25 left in the quarter. Dallas, was just able to hold them off though, as they took a 3 point lead into the 4th quarter. In the 4th, Dallas shifted into a zone and the Sixers, unable to rebound or hit threes down the stretch, never really figured it out. Somehow they at least managed to keep it close, but in the end Dallas cruised to a 99-90 win. So the Sixers drop to 2-7 overall, but still have only one loss by double digits this season, which enough for me to hang on to some hope for the remainder of the season.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers rebounded from their close loss to the Washington Capitals with a drubbing of the Carolina Hurricanes tonight. Carolina came in full of confidence, fresh off a 7-1 win over the NHL's worst team, the Edmonton Oilers. All of that confidence is probably gone now. Once again, against a bad team the Flyer's the defense was not at it's best, but it didn't have to be as Sergei Bobrovsky continued his torrid pace, with 35 saves out of the 36 Carolina threw his way. Who needs defense when you have goaltending like that. Anyway, Bobrovsky had plenty of help from his friends on the other side of the ice, as the Orange and Black pumped in 8 goals, including a perfect 2 for 2 on the power play. Jeff Carter led the way with a hat trick, while Danny Briere had 2 goals and an assist and Claude Giroux chipped in with 2 more assists.
Briere started things off just under 8 minutes into the first period, with Leino and Hartnell assisting. With just over a minute left in the period Carter registered his first tally of night on the power play to give the Orange and Black a 2-0 cushion heading into the first intermission. Just 1:54 into the 2nd period Carter struck again, deflecting in a Andrej Meszaros slapshot for a 3-0 lead. A few minutes a later he completed the hat trick, with Briere setting him up on the power play and the route was on. The Flyer's weren't done yet though. Early in the 3rd period Mike Richards scored shorthanded for a 5-0. After that Carolina finally got on the board but their momentum was short lived. Just a minute after Scott Hartnell scored unassisted for a 6-1 lead. A couple minutes after that Dan Carcillo setup Briere for his 2nd goal of the day and it was 7-1. Finally, with a couple minutes left in the period Nikolay Zherdev got in on the fun, with an assist from Andreas Nodl and at 8-1 Orange and Black the scoring ended.
Briere started things off just under 8 minutes into the first period, with Leino and Hartnell assisting. With just over a minute left in the period Carter registered his first tally of night on the power play to give the Orange and Black a 2-0 cushion heading into the first intermission. Just 1:54 into the 2nd period Carter struck again, deflecting in a Andrej Meszaros slapshot for a 3-0 lead. A few minutes a later he completed the hat trick, with Briere setting him up on the power play and the route was on. The Flyer's weren't done yet though. Early in the 3rd period Mike Richards scored shorthanded for a 5-0. After that Carolina finally got on the board but their momentum was short lived. Just a minute after Scott Hartnell scored unassisted for a 6-1 lead. A couple minutes after that Dan Carcillo setup Briere for his 2nd goal of the day and it was 7-1. Finally, with a couple minutes left in the period Nikolay Zherdev got in on the fun, with an assist from Andreas Nodl and at 8-1 Orange and Black the scoring ended.
EAGLES NEWS
TE Cornelius Ingram is back with Birds. After cutting him following training camp in September the Eagles have signed Ingram to their practice squad. With Brent Celek, Garret Mills, and Clay Harbor all ahead of him on the depth chart, there's no room for him on the Eagles' roster at this point, but hopefully this will be a spring board for him to join the roster the next season and finally deliver on all the promise the Eagles saw him when they drafter him in the 5th round of the 2009 draft.
PHILLIES NEWS
Juan Samuel is coming back to where his baseball career began. He'll be the Phils 3rd base coach next season while Sam Perlozzo shifts across the diamond to coach 1st base. Like Perlozzo, Samuel spent his last couple years before joining the Phils, as a member of the Orioles' organization, mostly as their 3rd base coach. He already holds two everlasting distinctions in Phils history, with the franchise single season record of 72 stolen bases, and as the guy who was traded to the Mets for Lenny Dykstra. Here's hoping he earns another distinction this season, world champion.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
Andre Iguodala remained on the sidelines as the Sixers began a tough west coast trip in Oklahoma City with a matchup against Kevin Durant and the Thunder. Surprisingly, even without Iguodala, the Sixers were able to give the Thunder all they could handle.They struggled to score at times with Iggy in there but now A=all of the sudden they look like a team that score with anyone. In fact, 5 Sixers scored in double figures tonight. Elton Brand was probably the leading man with 17 and 9 rebounds, but Jrue Holiday was also great with 17 and 11 assists, Evan Turner looked good in his 2nd start with 15 and 8 rebounds, Andres Nocioni had an impressive 12 points while guarding Durant most of the night, and Jodie Meeks poured in 17 points off the bench, while drilling 4 of 5 from beyond.
Unfortunately while they performed well offensively, the Sixer's defense was less than impressive and it cost them tonight. They did out rebound OKC 37-34 and post 8 steals, but other than that the defense was poor. Durant and Russell Westbrooik were both practically unstoppable with 31 points apiece. Oklahoma also shot 49% from the field, 1% higher than the Sixers and they seemed to do a better job spreading the floor. As a result the Sixers struggled to contest shots all night long, and ended up with just 1 block for their struggles. In addition to the mediocre defense the Sixers all turned the ball over way too many times with 16 to the Thunder's 14. Put together turnovers with bad defense and you don't usually get a win. The Sixers came pretty close though.
Early in the contest the Sixers hung right in there with OKC, seemingly matching them shot for shot. They were safely within 4 as the 2nd quarter began. In the 2nd quarter, Sixers' foul trouble allowed OKC to extend their lead a bit as they went into the half up by 8. The 3rd quarter was more of the same as the Sixers found themselves down by 11, heading into the penultimate time period. There in the 4th quarter, as has happened many times this season, the Sixers took command and outscored OKC 29-24. They pulled within 3 of the Thunder a couple of times down the stretch, but the defense never held up enough for them to get closer. Ultimately their 4th quarter proved too little too late as the Thunder hung on to win 109-103. With the loss the Sixers drop to 2-6 overall. If it's any consolation though , the Sixers proved to me at least that they have improved greatly from last season and can pretty much play with anyone at this point. If only they could beat anyone too.
Unfortunately while they performed well offensively, the Sixer's defense was less than impressive and it cost them tonight. They did out rebound OKC 37-34 and post 8 steals, but other than that the defense was poor. Durant and Russell Westbrooik were both practically unstoppable with 31 points apiece. Oklahoma also shot 49% from the field, 1% higher than the Sixers and they seemed to do a better job spreading the floor. As a result the Sixers struggled to contest shots all night long, and ended up with just 1 block for their struggles. In addition to the mediocre defense the Sixers all turned the ball over way too many times with 16 to the Thunder's 14. Put together turnovers with bad defense and you don't usually get a win. The Sixers came pretty close though.
Early in the contest the Sixers hung right in there with OKC, seemingly matching them shot for shot. They were safely within 4 as the 2nd quarter began. In the 2nd quarter, Sixers' foul trouble allowed OKC to extend their lead a bit as they went into the half up by 8. The 3rd quarter was more of the same as the Sixers found themselves down by 11, heading into the penultimate time period. There in the 4th quarter, as has happened many times this season, the Sixers took command and outscored OKC 29-24. They pulled within 3 of the Thunder a couple of times down the stretch, but the defense never held up enough for them to get closer. Ultimately their 4th quarter proved too little too late as the Thunder hung on to win 109-103. With the loss the Sixers drop to 2-6 overall. If it's any consolation though , the Sixers proved to me at least that they have improved greatly from last season and can pretty much play with anyone at this point. If only they could beat anyone too.
PHILLIES NEWS
The NL gold glove award winners were announced today and the only Phillies' representative among the winners was Shane Victorino, who won his 3rd straight gold glove in center field. With a league leading 11 outfield assists, and just 2 errors all season for a .995 fielding percentage, it's no wonder Victorino was so honored.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Monday, November 08, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
Given his spectacular play thus far this season, it should come as no surprise that the Flyers have signed Claude Giroux to a 3 year 11.25 million extension. If the Orange and Black had not signed him to the extension he would have become a restricted free agent after season. So Giroux has been extended but curiously enough Jeff Carter hasn't. Very interesting indeed.
Sunday, November 07, 2010
EAGLES NEWS
Out since week 4 with broken ribs, Mike Vick returned to the starting lineup today and didn't miss a beat. Out since week 7 with concussion symptoms, Desean Jackson returned for the Eagles today as well and he too didn't miss a beat. Together Jackson and Vick combined for 401 yards of offense and a TD. Lesean McCoy also had a pretty big day with 16 rushes for 95 yards, most of them on a 75 + yard romp to open the game. Together the triumvirate helped the Eagles keep a nose in front of Peyton Manning and the Colts for most of the evening. Aside from their heroics, the Eagles defense also showed surprising poise against Manning, intercepting him twice and holding him to under 300 passing yards and 1 TD. The D also continued their strong play against the run, holding Indianapolis to just 62 rushing yards on the day. The lone damper on the Eagles performance were several questionable penalties, two of which contributed Colt's scoring drives, that marred an otherwise exciting game.
Following McCoys opening scamper. Vick found Jackson from 9 yards out for a quick 7 -0 lead. On the ensuing Colt's drive Asante Samuel intercepted Manning and returned it into Colt's territory. The Colt's defense stepped it up though, and Eagles couldn't punch it in, instead settling for a chip shot Aker's field to make it 10-0. After stopping the Colts on downs near midfield the Eagles got the ball back inside their own 2 yard line, from which Vick directed a 96 yard drive, including a highlight reel 40 + yard pass to Desean Jackson. Unfortunately the Eagles again couldn't punch it in, instead settling for another chip shot Aker's field goal for a 13-0 lead. Finally the Colts offense started rolling after that, as Manning marched them 76 yards, before hitting Jacob Tamme from 3 yards out to cut the lead to 13-7. The Eagles drove right back into Colt's territory again on their next drive, but again they couldn't punch it in and settled for another chip shot Aker's field goal for a 16-7 lead.
It was on the ensuing Colt's drive that the evening's first controversy developed. Halfway through the drive, Manning connected with Austin Collie on deep pass into the Eagle's territory. Collie was then blasted by Quintin Mikell and Kurt Coleman, playing in place of Nate Allen who was injured earlier. The hit by Coleman knocked Collie out cold and jarred the ball loose, prompting the officials to rule an incomplete hit and flag Coleman for uneccesary roughness. Only one problem. Replays clearly showed Collie made the catch, got two feet down, lowered his helmet to protect himself and took a step forward, all before either hit. So he was not a defenseless receiver and Coleman's hit was perfectly legal. The officials didn't see it that way and Colts capitalized on their good fortune a few plays later with a 6 yard run by Javarris James cutting to 16-14. The Eagles couldn't do anything on their next drive and with the ball back to finish the half Manning drove into range for Adam Vinatieri to put the Colts up 17-16 at half.
After a series of defensive stops the Eagles again managed a drive into the Colt's territory and again couldn't punch it in, settling for a 44 yard Aker's kick to push back ahead 19-17. A couple stops later the Eagles had the ball back early in the 4th quarter, and marched 80 yards into the Colt's territory and this time, after Eagles had 3 TDs called back, 1 by penalty, 2 by review, Vick himself snuck one in from a yard out for a 26-17 lead. The Eagle's defense appeared to have things in control after that until another penalty got in the way. With just over 2 and a half minutes to play, and the Colts having to convert a 4th and 18 to keep the game alive, The Eagles came with the blitz and seemed to force Manning into a virtual game ending fumble. Only one problem. Trent Cole was whistled for a personal foul, a blow to Manning's head which gave the Colt's an automatic first down. Replays cleared show though that Cole did not do so intentionally and was instead swatting at the ball. The officials could easily have let it go, instead they flagged Cole and Manning took advantage handing to James for a 1 yard run to cut it to 26-24.
Still the Eagles should have been able to run out the clock after that and actually just needed to convert a 3rd and 2 with just 54 seconds left to do so. Only one problem. The Eagles were flagged for going offsides even though replays clearly showed a Colt illegally simulating the snap count and drawing them off. With a 3rd and 7 instead of a 3rd and 2 the Birds were forced to just send Vick on an outside run and use a much clock possible. When all was said and done. Manning still had 40 + seconds to drive the Colts into field goal range for the win. Fortunately the Eagles defense stepped up. Dmitri Patterson perfectly blanketed receivers down field on a couple deep Manning throws, and then Samuel picked him off for the 2nd time of the evening to seal the huge 26-24 Eagles win, which moves them to 5-3 overall, and solo 2nd in the NFC East with a date with Donovan Mcnabb and the 3rd place Redskins, in Washington, er Landover, Maryland looming next week.
Following McCoys opening scamper. Vick found Jackson from 9 yards out for a quick 7 -0 lead. On the ensuing Colt's drive Asante Samuel intercepted Manning and returned it into Colt's territory. The Colt's defense stepped it up though, and Eagles couldn't punch it in, instead settling for a chip shot Aker's field to make it 10-0. After stopping the Colts on downs near midfield the Eagles got the ball back inside their own 2 yard line, from which Vick directed a 96 yard drive, including a highlight reel 40 + yard pass to Desean Jackson. Unfortunately the Eagles again couldn't punch it in, instead settling for another chip shot Aker's field goal for a 13-0 lead. Finally the Colts offense started rolling after that, as Manning marched them 76 yards, before hitting Jacob Tamme from 3 yards out to cut the lead to 13-7. The Eagles drove right back into Colt's territory again on their next drive, but again they couldn't punch it in and settled for another chip shot Aker's field goal for a 16-7 lead.
It was on the ensuing Colt's drive that the evening's first controversy developed. Halfway through the drive, Manning connected with Austin Collie on deep pass into the Eagle's territory. Collie was then blasted by Quintin Mikell and Kurt Coleman, playing in place of Nate Allen who was injured earlier. The hit by Coleman knocked Collie out cold and jarred the ball loose, prompting the officials to rule an incomplete hit and flag Coleman for uneccesary roughness. Only one problem. Replays clearly showed Collie made the catch, got two feet down, lowered his helmet to protect himself and took a step forward, all before either hit. So he was not a defenseless receiver and Coleman's hit was perfectly legal. The officials didn't see it that way and Colts capitalized on their good fortune a few plays later with a 6 yard run by Javarris James cutting to 16-14. The Eagles couldn't do anything on their next drive and with the ball back to finish the half Manning drove into range for Adam Vinatieri to put the Colts up 17-16 at half.
After a series of defensive stops the Eagles again managed a drive into the Colt's territory and again couldn't punch it in, settling for a 44 yard Aker's kick to push back ahead 19-17. A couple stops later the Eagles had the ball back early in the 4th quarter, and marched 80 yards into the Colt's territory and this time, after Eagles had 3 TDs called back, 1 by penalty, 2 by review, Vick himself snuck one in from a yard out for a 26-17 lead. The Eagle's defense appeared to have things in control after that until another penalty got in the way. With just over 2 and a half minutes to play, and the Colts having to convert a 4th and 18 to keep the game alive, The Eagles came with the blitz and seemed to force Manning into a virtual game ending fumble. Only one problem. Trent Cole was whistled for a personal foul, a blow to Manning's head which gave the Colt's an automatic first down. Replays cleared show though that Cole did not do so intentionally and was instead swatting at the ball. The officials could easily have let it go, instead they flagged Cole and Manning took advantage handing to James for a 1 yard run to cut it to 26-24.
Still the Eagles should have been able to run out the clock after that and actually just needed to convert a 3rd and 2 with just 54 seconds left to do so. Only one problem. The Eagles were flagged for going offsides even though replays clearly showed a Colt illegally simulating the snap count and drawing them off. With a 3rd and 7 instead of a 3rd and 2 the Birds were forced to just send Vick on an outside run and use a much clock possible. When all was said and done. Manning still had 40 + seconds to drive the Colts into field goal range for the win. Fortunately the Eagles defense stepped up. Dmitri Patterson perfectly blanketed receivers down field on a couple deep Manning throws, and then Samuel picked him off for the 2nd time of the evening to seal the huge 26-24 Eagles win, which moves them to 5-3 overall, and solo 2nd in the NFC East with a date with Donovan Mcnabb and the 3rd place Redskins, in Washington, er Landover, Maryland looming next week.
SIXERS NEWS
With Andre Iguodala MIA for the first time in 3 years, due to a strained achilles, Evan Turner stepped into the starting lineup for the first time in his career, at Madison Square Garden of all places and looked very much like he belonged. He had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists and played all the big minutes in the 4th quarter. Jrue Holiday continued to be just as impressive with another 19 points and 8 assists. Elton Brand continued his torrid play with 20 and 7 rebounds. Finally. Lou Williams continued to light it up off the bench with 19. As a team the Sixers were at least solid in all statistical categories and that was enough tonight. They did all the little things the Knicks never do and it worked to say the least. The lone statistical category that went in the Sixers' was 3 point shooting and that proved to be the difference. The Sixers were a decent 7 of 18 from beyond, while New York, which averages 10 treys a game, hit just 3 of 19 tonight and when you throw up that many treys and nothing falls it just kills you.
Early on the Sixers took advantage of some particularly porous Knick's defense, and shot 70 % in the first quarter while racing out an 8 point lead, heading into the 2nd squarter. As per their norm this season, the Sixers couldn't keep it going in the 2nd period and in fact when back to struggling to score again. Luckily the Knicks own poor shooting kept them from truly pulling ahead at the half and instead the Sixers clung to within 2 points of the Knick halftime lead. In the 3rd quarter the Sixers turned things back around again, rallying to back head briefly by 1 before a botched Lou Williams finisher found them done by 1 again heading into the 4th quarter. As they for most of this season the Sixers again owned the 4th quarter, outscoring New York 26-15, thanks in large part, not to the young guys but to the 34 year old veteran, Tony Battie, who played the final 16 minutes and provided a clutch 5 points and 6 rebounds. Together the solid ply of the youngsters and Battie's heroics were enough to hold off the Knicks 106-96 for the Sixers 2nd win of the season.
Early on the Sixers took advantage of some particularly porous Knick's defense, and shot 70 % in the first quarter while racing out an 8 point lead, heading into the 2nd squarter. As per their norm this season, the Sixers couldn't keep it going in the 2nd period and in fact when back to struggling to score again. Luckily the Knicks own poor shooting kept them from truly pulling ahead at the half and instead the Sixers clung to within 2 points of the Knick halftime lead. In the 3rd quarter the Sixers turned things back around again, rallying to back head briefly by 1 before a botched Lou Williams finisher found them done by 1 again heading into the 4th quarter. As they for most of this season the Sixers again owned the 4th quarter, outscoring New York 26-15, thanks in large part, not to the young guys but to the 34 year old veteran, Tony Battie, who played the final 16 minutes and provided a clutch 5 points and 6 rebounds. Together the solid ply of the youngsters and Battie's heroics were enough to hold off the Knicks 106-96 for the Sixers 2nd win of the season.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers faced off with the Washington Capitals this evening in showdown between the top two teams in the Eastern conference. They'll likely have more showdowns later in regular season and perhaps in the postseason before all is said done so this was just the first of the many rounds in this fight. Unfortunately round 1 went to Washington in a hard fought thriller as the Flyers were burned by a questionable boarding penalty, that allowed the Caps to score the winning goal. Before that call the star of the game for the Orange and Black was again Sergei Bobrovsky, who got the somewhat surprising start in goal, despite the fact the Flyers were playing on back to back nights. Bobrovsky reward Peter Laviolette's confidence, with another 36 saves to practically carry his teammates into overtime and salvage at least a point for the 7th straight game. If the Flyers had won Bobrovsky would have tied the Late Pelle Lindbergh's franchise rookie record of 7 consecutive wins, but it just wasn't to be.
Instead penalties, some of them questionable, did the Orange and Black in on this evening. The Flyers actually had the first lead of the game about halfway through the first period, as Andrea Nodl picked up the assist on a Nikolay Zherdev score. Later with just under 3 minutes left in the period, the Flyer's defense, which struggled all night, allowing 39 shots on goal, allowed Eric Fehr to slip one past Bob for a 1-1 tie. Just 4 minutes into the 2nd period Danny Briere, finally back from his suspension, picked up the assist as Ville Leino scored to put the Flyers up 2-1. That might have been enough to win, if not for Leino himself, getting called for a touch high sticking penalty, which opened the door for Alexander Semin to slap in a power play goal to tie it at 2. Thanks mostly to Bob the Flyers managed to hang in there with the game tied at 2, all the way into overtime. It was still tied at 2 with 40 seconds left in OT when Sean O'Donnell was, probably erroneously, called for boarding. That set the stage for Mike Green to beat Bob with 29 seconds left in OT, for a 3-2 win. So the Caps and the officials might have won this one, but we'll get them next time.
Instead penalties, some of them questionable, did the Orange and Black in on this evening. The Flyers actually had the first lead of the game about halfway through the first period, as Andrea Nodl picked up the assist on a Nikolay Zherdev score. Later with just under 3 minutes left in the period, the Flyer's defense, which struggled all night, allowing 39 shots on goal, allowed Eric Fehr to slip one past Bob for a 1-1 tie. Just 4 minutes into the 2nd period Danny Briere, finally back from his suspension, picked up the assist as Ville Leino scored to put the Flyers up 2-1. That might have been enough to win, if not for Leino himself, getting called for a touch high sticking penalty, which opened the door for Alexander Semin to slap in a power play goal to tie it at 2. Thanks mostly to Bob the Flyers managed to hang in there with the game tied at 2, all the way into overtime. It was still tied at 2 with 40 seconds left in OT when Sean O'Donnell was, probably erroneously, called for boarding. That set the stage for Mike Green to beat Bob with 29 seconds left in OT, for a 3-2 win. So the Caps and the officials might have won this one, but we'll get them next time.
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