Fresh off an easy versus the Leafs the Flyers significantly upgraded their competition level tonight as they traveled to Boston for a matchup with the Bruins. Last time these two teams met there wasn't much scoring. In fact, the Flyers were shut out for just the 2nd time all season. This time around there wasn't much scoring but it was the Flyer's whose goalie shined brigher. Brian Boucher was brilliant stopping 35 of the 36 shots he faced, blanking Boston through 2 periods and 2 power plays before finally getting beat halfway through the 3rd. Meanwhile, the Flyers, who actually got out shot 36-33, got the better of the scoring opportunities for most part, and this time Tim Thomas couldn't stop all of them as James Van Reimsdyk and Mike Richards each registered goals on the night.
Neither team managed to score in the 1st period as they combined for just 19 shots. For a while it didn't look like either team would score in the 2nd period either. Then with about 2 minutes left the Flyers broke out 3 on 2 rush into Boston zone and Jeff Carter saucered a beautiful to a trailing JVR who one timed it in. Boucher played so well that you'd think that one goal would be enough but it was not. About halfway through 3rd Boston finally got one by him as David Horton jabbed on in. From neither team managed to scored in the remainder of regulation so the game went into overtime, usually not a good place for the Orange and Black. Tonight though, they were dominant in the overtime period and with just over 3 seconds left in OT Mike Richards faked out Thomas unassisted and scored for the 2-1 Flyer's victory, an impressive win to say the least.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
EAGLES NEWS
Asante Samuel and Winston Justice will both miss this Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys. That means King Dunlap will start in place of Justice and Joselio Hanson will continue to start in place of Samuel. In other words don't expect much defense in this one and expect Mike Vick to be running around a lot.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, December 09, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
Coming off a gut wrenching shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks the Flyers found themselves with perfect opponent, in the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs, against which to rejuvenate themselves and they surely did so. Offensively, Danny Briere led the way with 2 goals and an assist while Andrej Meszaros chipped in with a pair of assists. Against the struggling Leafs the Flyers didn't really have to be that great defensively, but they were decent at least, allowing 32 shots on goal, and blanking the Leafs power play unit in four opportunities. Most credit there though should rigthtfully go to Brian Boucher who had a sparkly night with 31 saves out of the 32 shots he faced, essentially just what the doctor ordered.
Halfway through the 1st period Ville Leino produced the biggest shocker of the night with a Flyer power play goal. A minute later Chris Pronger deflected one in off a Briere blast for a 2-0 lead. 12 minutes into the 2nd period, Briere struck again, with help from Meszaros for a 3-0 lead. Just 5 minutes later Briere and Meszaros teamed up again for a 4-1, to put the proverbial nail in the Leaf's coffin and this time it stuck. 10 saves from Boucher later, the Flyers had rebounded from the loss to the Sharks quite nicely, thank you, with a 4-1 win over the Leafs.
Halfway through the 1st period Ville Leino produced the biggest shocker of the night with a Flyer power play goal. A minute later Chris Pronger deflected one in off a Briere blast for a 2-0 lead. 12 minutes into the 2nd period, Briere struck again, with help from Meszaros for a 3-0 lead. Just 5 minutes later Briere and Meszaros teamed up again for a 4-1, to put the proverbial nail in the Leaf's coffin and this time it stuck. 10 saves from Boucher later, the Flyers had rebounded from the loss to the Sharks quite nicely, thank you, with a 4-1 win over the Leafs.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers came within 6.6 seconds of extending their home winning streak to 6 and ending the currently Shaqless Boston Celtic's 8 game winning streak, but it just wasn't to be on this night. For the 2nd game in a row the Sixer's had 7 players in double figures, as they shot 45% from the field and a very impressive 47% from beyond. Andre Iguodala had 14 and 11 assists, Elton Brand had 13 and 14 rebounds, Spencer Hawes had 11 and 7 rebounds, Jodie Meeks went 4 for 4 from beyond and dropped 19, Jrue Holiday had 12 and 6 assists, Thad Young continued his huge play off the bench with 16 and 7 rebounds, and Lou Williams also chipped in with 16 off the bench. Once again, thanks to their strong offensive exploits the Sixer's defense did not have to be great overall, as Boston shot 50% from the field and from beyond. Still though not great, the Sixer's defense was effective, out rebounding Boston 39-33, forcing them into an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers, and holding Paul Pierce to just 10 points.
Despite the less than desired outcome it really was a great back and forth contest between two hot teams. In the first quarter it was the Sixers who nudged ahead and hung on for an early 3 point advantage heading into the 2nd. In the 2nd quarter the two teams locked in a tight battle with Boston clinging to a 1 point halftime lead after an Iguodala 11 footer went begging. In the 3rd quarter the Sixers came out firing and jumped to an 8 point lead at one point with about 2 and half minutes to play in the period, before an 8-0 Boston run, capped off by a Rajon Rondo trey, gave them a 1 point lead heading into the 4th. Like the 2nd quarter it was another tightly contested affair. Several times both teams got up by 3 or for and seemed in control before the other team quickly came back to even things up. So it was real edge of your seat thrills kinda stuff.
The last team to go up by multiple scores was the Sixers who led by 4 with 1:45 to play. Ray Allen erased that advantage on his own though, with 2 free throws and a trey to put Boston up 98-97. Twice after that Iggy sliced into the lane and scored to put the Sixers back up, first 99-98, and then 101-100 with 6.6 seconds left. Doc Rivers came up with a perfect in bounds play after that with Rajon Rondo fooling everyone by going under the basket to Kevin Garnett to who layed in what would be the game winner. The Sixers had no timeouts at that point, forcing Holiday to just heave a long pass down court which ended up in the arms of a Celtic for a 102-101 Boston win.
Despite the less than desired outcome it really was a great back and forth contest between two hot teams. In the first quarter it was the Sixers who nudged ahead and hung on for an early 3 point advantage heading into the 2nd. In the 2nd quarter the two teams locked in a tight battle with Boston clinging to a 1 point halftime lead after an Iguodala 11 footer went begging. In the 3rd quarter the Sixers came out firing and jumped to an 8 point lead at one point with about 2 and half minutes to play in the period, before an 8-0 Boston run, capped off by a Rajon Rondo trey, gave them a 1 point lead heading into the 4th. Like the 2nd quarter it was another tightly contested affair. Several times both teams got up by 3 or for and seemed in control before the other team quickly came back to even things up. So it was real edge of your seat thrills kinda stuff.
The last team to go up by multiple scores was the Sixers who led by 4 with 1:45 to play. Ray Allen erased that advantage on his own though, with 2 free throws and a trey to put Boston up 98-97. Twice after that Iggy sliced into the lane and scored to put the Sixers back up, first 99-98, and then 101-100 with 6.6 seconds left. Doc Rivers came up with a perfect in bounds play after that with Rajon Rondo fooling everyone by going under the basket to Kevin Garnett to who layed in what would be the game winner. The Sixers had no timeouts at that point, forcing Holiday to just heave a long pass down court which ended up in the arms of a Celtic for a 102-101 Boston win.
PHILLIES NEWS
Pending a physical, the Phils and left handed reliever Denys Reyes have agreed on a 1 year $1.1 million deal with an option for a 2nd year. Reyes is a solid lefty reliever who went 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA last season for the St. Louis Cardinals, and who should bee able to replace J.C Romero as the Phils lefty specialist. In addition to the Reyes signing, the Phils also selected infielder/outfielder Mike Martinez off the Washington National's triple A team in the annual rule 5 draft. Martinez is a versatile switch hitter who hit .272 with 11 homers, 56 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases. Most likely he'll contend for a spot on the Phils bench this season.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
Usually when you take a 4-1 lead early in the 3rd period it is game, set, and match. Unfortunately that was not the case for the Orange and Black tonight. Before that all was well. Offensively, Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, and Ville Leino each had a goal and an assist and Matt Carle collected another 2 assists. Defensively, Sergei Bobrovsky looked impenetrable, saving 14 of the San Jose Shark's measily 15 shots through 2 periods and the Flyers penalty kill had erased all 4 Shark's power play opportunities. They were basically in control. Then San Jose ratcheted up the pressure in the 3rd period. They had 15 shots on goal in the 3rd period and Bobrovsky only stopped 11 of them and that was that. Still, the Flyer's defense can't be blamed for this one. They also failed to score on the power play again, when even one power play score would have made the difference, and they lost twice as many faceoffs as they won. Frankly, it's hard to hold a lead late when you can't win faceoffs, particularly in your zone.
Tbe Sharks actually had the early lead as Ryan Clowe scored with 5 seconds left in the first period for a 1-0 lead. The 2nd period was all Orange and Black. 6 minutes into the period Jeff Carter setup Giroux to knot thing up at 1 apiece. 5 minutes later Hartnell and Kimmo Timmonen setup Leino for a 2-1 lead. Just a minute later Giroux and Carle setup Nikolay Zherdev for a 3-1 lead and the route was on, seemingly. Just 6 minutes into the 3rd, Carle and Leino setup Hartnell for a 4-1 lead and proverbial nail in San Jose's coffin. Unfortunately no one told the Sharks the game was over. Just a minute later it was down to 4-2. Then 3 minutes after that it was 4-3 and just a minute after that Joe Pavelski tied it at 4 with a power play goal that. The two the teams went scoreless for the remainder of regulation. Then in the final seconds of overtime Mike Richards seemed to score the game winner, but it hit the back of the net just a second after time expired and did not count, forcing a shootout. There Bobrovsky was beaten twice while the Flyers failed to score to complete the collapse and a 5-4 loss to San Jose. It's now been a decade since they last beat the Sharks.
Tbe Sharks actually had the early lead as Ryan Clowe scored with 5 seconds left in the first period for a 1-0 lead. The 2nd period was all Orange and Black. 6 minutes into the period Jeff Carter setup Giroux to knot thing up at 1 apiece. 5 minutes later Hartnell and Kimmo Timmonen setup Leino for a 2-1 lead. Just a minute later Giroux and Carle setup Nikolay Zherdev for a 3-1 lead and the route was on, seemingly. Just 6 minutes into the 3rd, Carle and Leino setup Hartnell for a 4-1 lead and proverbial nail in San Jose's coffin. Unfortunately no one told the Sharks the game was over. Just a minute later it was down to 4-2. Then 3 minutes after that it was 4-3 and just a minute after that Joe Pavelski tied it at 4 with a power play goal that. The two the teams went scoreless for the remainder of regulation. Then in the final seconds of overtime Mike Richards seemed to score the game winner, but it hit the back of the net just a second after time expired and did not count, forcing a shootout. There Bobrovsky was beaten twice while the Flyers failed to score to complete the collapse and a 5-4 loss to San Jose. It's now been a decade since they last beat the Sharks.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
It was a banner night for the Sixers offensively, as they extended their home winning streak to 5 at the expense of the Cleveland Cavaliers. in fact, by the numbers it was just about indisputably their best offensive display of the season thus far. Overall, they shot an impressive 51% from the field, 34.8% from beyond, and 82% from the line, producing 7 scorers in double figures, including all 5 starters. Andre Iguodala had 13, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds, Elton Brand had 12, Spencer Hawes had 10 and 12 rebounds, Jrue Holiday had 16 and 7 assists, Jodie Meeks drilled 4 more threes and pumped in 16, Thad Young had a game high 26 off the bench, and Lou Williams chipped in another 19 off the bench. Thanks to the spectacular offense the Sixers really didn't need to play that well defensively, as Cleveland also shot 50% from the field and 41% from beyond. The Sixers did destroy Cleveland on the boards though, 44-29, and forced them into 11 turnovers. In the end that was enough to keep them at bay.
The Sixers jumped out early, taking as much as an 11 point lead in the first quarter, before settling for a 9 point lead as the quarter ended. From there on out they basically kept Cleveland at arm's length the rest of the way. In the 2nd quarter they jumped ahead by as many as 14, before settling for a 12 point advantage at the half. They came out blazing to start the 3rd quarter, extending to a 20 point cushion with 9 minutes left in the quarter before settling for a 15 point lead going into the 4th quarter. There another solid 12 minutes of play finished Cleveland off by 20, 117-97. The win is the Sixer's 4th in 5 games and at last moves them out of the cellar in the Atlantic division and up as high as 12th in the Eastern conference.
The Sixers jumped out early, taking as much as an 11 point lead in the first quarter, before settling for a 9 point lead as the quarter ended. From there on out they basically kept Cleveland at arm's length the rest of the way. In the 2nd quarter they jumped ahead by as many as 14, before settling for a 12 point advantage at the half. They came out blazing to start the 3rd quarter, extending to a 20 point cushion with 9 minutes left in the quarter before settling for a 15 point lead going into the 4th quarter. There another solid 12 minutes of play finished Cleveland off by 20, 117-97. The win is the Sixer's 4th in 5 games and at last moves them out of the cellar in the Atlantic division and up as high as 12th in the Eastern conference.
Monday, December 06, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
ex Phils GM Pat Gillick will be inducted into the baseball hall of fame in 2011 along with players still to be determined. He will be the 32nd executive to be inducted as he beat out the recently departed George Steinbrenner and the original head of the player's association, Marvin Miller, now 93 and unsuccessful for a 5th time. If he's still alive a year from now, Miller might finally get in for 2012. Anyway, going back to Gillick, he was the GM of 3 teams that won world series, two in Toronto, and 1 here in Philly and certainly deserves induction.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good and so the Flyers were this afternoon to be playing the lowly Islanders, instead of a team with actual talent. Otherwise, they might well have finished on the wrong side of things for the 4th time in 5 games. Instead New York provided it's usual 3rd period collapse to help the Flyers avoid that embarrassment. Like yesterday against the Devils this was not exactly the Flyers best effort but they did just enough. New York actually out shot them 30-27 and in someways out played them for a stretch late in the 2nd period and into the 3rd. In fact they really had every right to believe they were actually going to win for a change. Fortunately, for the Orange and Black after a struggle yesterday afternoon, the team's special teams rebounded in a big way this afternoon, blanking the Islander power play on 4 attempts and actually scoring on their power play for the first time in seemingly forever.
Late in the 1st period Andrej Meszaros and Mike Richards setup Matt Carle for a 1-0 Flyer's lead. From there all the way to the beginning of the 3rd period the Orange and Black just sat on that lead and seemed poised to ride it to a win, with Sergei Bobrovsky and the D holding up well. Then 5 minutes into the 3rd period New York finally broke the Flyer defenses with 2 goals in about 40 seconds to swiftly move ahead 2-1. It then looked like that lead might hold up before Matt Moulson took a foolish holding with just over half the period left to play. It was here on their 4 power play of the contest that the Orange and Black finally ended their streak of failed power plays, Andreas Nodl registering the tally as Meszaros picked up his 2nd assist. The final outcome was still in doubt though until Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell teamed up to assist Danny Briere on the game winner, as the Orange and Black pulled out a fairly lucky 3-2 win which actually moves them back to first in the Eastern conference and Atlantic division because they have fewer losses then everyone else in the conference and division.
Late in the 1st period Andrej Meszaros and Mike Richards setup Matt Carle for a 1-0 Flyer's lead. From there all the way to the beginning of the 3rd period the Orange and Black just sat on that lead and seemed poised to ride it to a win, with Sergei Bobrovsky and the D holding up well. Then 5 minutes into the 3rd period New York finally broke the Flyer defenses with 2 goals in about 40 seconds to swiftly move ahead 2-1. It then looked like that lead might hold up before Matt Moulson took a foolish holding with just over half the period left to play. It was here on their 4 power play of the contest that the Orange and Black finally ended their streak of failed power plays, Andreas Nodl registering the tally as Meszaros picked up his 2nd assist. The final outcome was still in doubt though until Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell teamed up to assist Danny Briere on the game winner, as the Orange and Black pulled out a fairly lucky 3-2 win which actually moves them back to first in the Eastern conference and Atlantic division because they have fewer losses then everyone else in the conference and division.
PHILLIES NEWS
Jayson Werth will not return to the Phils next season. Instead today he signed a stunning 7 year $126 million deal with the Washington Nationals. It's stunning because the $126 mil is probably way more than he's uh worth, and at age 32 he's unlikely to still be playing 7 years from now. It's also stunning because it's the Nationals, who even with Werth have little chance of rising out of the NL East cellar next season. Oh well. have fun in last place Jayson.
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