There is nothing new to report
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers continued their road trip in L.A tonight with a matchup against the Lakers. Like the last meeting between these two teams in Philly, the Sixers were close to upending the defending champions but came up just a little short. Offensively, they had another good night, despite being bothered by the Laker's size which pretty much kept Elton Brand. Still Andres Nocioni, had 13 and 8 rebounds, Jrue Holiday had team high 19 and 11 assists, and off the bench, Evan Turner had 12 and 6 rebounds, Thad Young had 14 and 5 rebounds, and Lou Williams had 18. Unfortunately with Andre Iguodala again sitting out, it was at the defensive where the Sixers truly came up short. With Iggy on the court in the Philly, Kobe had just 9 points, tonight with no Iggy, he had 33 points and proved to be the difference in a tight contest as Lakers shot over 50% from the field.
The opening quarter belonged to the Lakers who used their good shooting to cruise to 10 point lead heading into the 2nd. In the 2nd quarter the Sixers toughened up a bit, but it could close the gap to 8 at the half. Things stayed tight in the 3rd quarter as the Lakers maintained a 9 point advantage heading into the 4th quarter. At one point the advantage was up to 11 in the 4th quarter, but as been the case all season, the Sixers would not go away. With 1:33 to play they had erased the deficit and tied thing up at 98. Kobe drilled a fadeaway after that to make it 100-98. The Sixers had 4 chances to answer after that but Turner missed a trey with a minute left, Young followed with a hook shot that was blocked with 57 seconds left, Holiday missed a trey with 8 seconds left, and finally Lou Williams missed a trey with 4 seconds left. After all that Kobe calmly sunk two free throws and the Lakers held on to win 102-98.
The opening quarter belonged to the Lakers who used their good shooting to cruise to 10 point lead heading into the 2nd. In the 2nd quarter the Sixers toughened up a bit, but it could close the gap to 8 at the half. Things stayed tight in the 3rd quarter as the Lakers maintained a 9 point advantage heading into the 4th quarter. At one point the advantage was up to 11 in the 4th quarter, but as been the case all season, the Sixers would not go away. With 1:33 to play they had erased the deficit and tied thing up at 98. Kobe drilled a fadeaway after that to make it 100-98. The Sixers had 4 chances to answer after that but Turner missed a trey with a minute left, Young followed with a hook shot that was blocked with 57 seconds left, Holiday missed a trey with 8 seconds left, and finally Lou Williams missed a trey with 4 seconds left. After all that Kobe calmly sunk two free throws and the Lakers held on to win 102-98.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyer's defense collapsed again tonight Anaheim as the Ducks to it to them for their 3rd loss in 4 games. They allowed 37 shots on net, and far too many of them where from point blank range with nothing in front of the net but the goalie, and you just can't be successful when that keeps happening. Sergei Bobrovsky also continued to struggle along with defense, allowing all 5 Anaheim goals. At the same time, the explosive offense from the win over the Kings, wasn't there tonight as the Orange and Black went back to being scoreless on the power play. They did manage a couple goals later in the contest, to make things interesting, but that was all they did.
Just 6 minutes into the 2nd period the Orange and Black were down 3-0, but they didn't quit. A few minutes later, Jeff Carter and Matt Carle setup Andreas Nodl to cut it to 2-1. Then a few minutes into the 3rd period Carter scored unassisted to cut it to 3-2. Unfortunately that was as close as the Flyers would get. A couple minutes later Bobby Ryan made it 4-2 Ducks and then with about 4 minutes to play, Lubomir Visnovsky made it 5-2 Ducks and that was that.
Just 6 minutes into the 2nd period the Orange and Black were down 3-0, but they didn't quit. A few minutes later, Jeff Carter and Matt Carle setup Andreas Nodl to cut it to 2-1. Then a few minutes into the 3rd period Carter scored unassisted to cut it to 3-2. Unfortunately that was as close as the Flyers would get. A couple minutes later Bobby Ryan made it 4-2 Ducks and then with about 4 minutes to play, Lubomir Visnovsky made it 5-2 Ducks and that was that.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
After back to back embarrassing losses Peter Laviolette switched up the Flyer's top 2 lines to try to wake the team up tonight against the L.A Kings. Jeff Carter centered Andreas Nodl and Ville Leino, while Mike Richards teamed up with Danny Briere and James Van Reimsdyk. It worked offensively, as they exploded for 7 goals, including 2 on the power play, on just 28 shots. In all, Mike Richards had 2 goals and 2 assists, Danny Briere had a goal and an assist, Jeff Carter had a goal and an assist, James Van Reimsdyk had a goal and an assist, and Claude Giroux had 3 assists. They continued to struggle defensively though, and that's despite the season debut of Micheal Leighton who looked a little rusty in allowing 4 goals, 2 of them weak. The last 2 goals weren't really his fault though, just poor defense by the Orange and Black while protecting a lead.
The Flyers trailed early 1-0, before Richards setup Briere to tie it up. Down 2 -1 later in the period, the Flyers knotted it up again when Giroux setup Richards. Finally early in the 2nd Giroux and Scott Hartnell teamed up to put the Orange and Black ahead 3-2. A minute later Van Reimsdyk and Briere setup Richards again for a 4-2 lead. Later in the period after L.A had cut the lead to 4-3, Richards and Giroux setup Carter on the power play for a 5-3 lead. A few minutes later JVR scored another power play goal unassisted for a 6-3 lead. Still L.A fought back to cut the lead to 6-4 heading into the 3rd period. Halfway through the 3rd period Carter assisted Leino to make it 7-4 and that was finally too much for the Kings t0 overcome as Leighton shut them down the rest of the way.
The Flyers trailed early 1-0, before Richards setup Briere to tie it up. Down 2 -1 later in the period, the Flyers knotted it up again when Giroux setup Richards. Finally early in the 2nd Giroux and Scott Hartnell teamed up to put the Orange and Black ahead 3-2. A minute later Van Reimsdyk and Briere setup Richards again for a 4-2 lead. Later in the period after L.A had cut the lead to 4-3, Richards and Giroux setup Carter on the power play for a 5-3 lead. A few minutes later JVR scored another power play goal unassisted for a 6-3 lead. Still L.A fought back to cut the lead to 6-4 heading into the 3rd period. Halfway through the 3rd period Carter assisted Leino to make it 7-4 and that was finally too much for the Kings t0 overcome as Leighton shut them down the rest of the way.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers continued their road trip in Phoenix tonight against the new look Suns. Most nights the Sixers rely on their defense to keep things close and then they try to pull it out at the end. Tonight was not one of those nights. The defense was okay in this one and that's really all it needed to be in an old fashioned shootout. It simply came down who got the most shots and who made the most. On the both counts it was the Sixers who out rebounded the Suns 46-31, and shot 54% from the field, while the Suns hit just 49% of their field goal attempts. In all, 7 Sixers scored in double figures as the team exploded for a season best 123 points, and that's with Andre Iguodala in street clothes. Jrue Holiday led the way with 25 and 7 assists, while Andres Nocioni, who started in place of Iggy, had 22 and 12 rebounds, Elton Brand had 16 and 7 rebounds, Spencer Hawes had 10 and 11 rebounds, and off the bench Thad Young had 15 and 8 rebounds, Lou Williams had 10, and Evan Turner had his best night as a pro with 23 and 5 rebounds.
Neither team could miss early on as the teams combined for 68 points in the first quarter and the Suns grabbed a 35-33 lead. In the 2nd quarter the two teams racked up another 63 points but it was the Sixers who grabbed a 1 point halftime lead. In the 3rd quarter the Sixers finally slowed things done and used solid defense to take a 6 point lead into the 4th quarter. It was more of the same in the 4th quarter as the Sixers used some defense to extend to a 13 point lead before cruising to an important 123-110 win. They now move to 3-3 on the trip with 2 games left and at 13-19 overall jump up to 8th in the East. Believe it.
Neither team could miss early on as the teams combined for 68 points in the first quarter and the Suns grabbed a 35-33 lead. In the 2nd quarter the two teams racked up another 63 points but it was the Sixers who grabbed a 1 point halftime lead. In the 3rd quarter the Sixers finally slowed things done and used solid defense to take a 6 point lead into the 4th quarter. It was more of the same in the 4th quarter as the Sixers used some defense to extend to a 13 point lead before cruising to an important 123-110 win. They now move to 3-3 on the trip with 2 games left and at 13-19 overall jump up to 8th in the East. Believe it.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
EAGLES NEWS
With the a possible top 2 seed in the NFC on the line, the Eagles were not able to bring their A game tonight against the Minnesota Vikings. They just seemed to be affected by the extra 2 day layoff, as in one of their sloppiest efforts in recent memory, they committed 12 penalties, gave the ball 3 times, allowed Mike Vick to get sacked 6 times, and watched as 3rd string QB Joe Webb threw for 195 yards and ran for 31 yards and a TD. Their run defense which had been great as of late, faltered badly as Adrian Peterson ran for 118 yards and a TD. Dmitri Patterson continued to beat deep and was eventually benched by the end of game. Mike Vick had probably his worst performance of the season, with 3 turnovers(2 fumbles and an interception), and yet still threw for 263 yards and a TD and ran for 63 yards and another TD, but it wasn't enough. The lone bright spots were Brent Celek who had 10 catches for 97 yards, Jeremy Maclin who had 6 catches for 74 yards, and rapidly improving rookie TE, Clay Harbor, who had a spectacular 3 yard TD reception.
The Eagles actually had the early 7-0 lead as Vick hit Harbor with the 3 yard TD pass while the Viking offense was ineffective. Then late in the first half with the Eagles up still 7-0 and driving toward more points Vick stripped by Antoine Winfield who raced 45 yards for the tying score. The Eagles got the ball back with under a minute to play and actually managed to drive into field goal range, but David Akers came up short on a 54 yard attempt the Birds went into the locker room tied at 7. The Vikings stunned the home crowd by racking up 10 unanswered points in the 3rd quarter for a 17-7 lead. Vick engineered a final Eagle's push pretty much on his own, sneaking it in from 10 yards out to cut the lead to 17-14 with about 10 minutes to play. The Eagle's defense failed to hold though as Adrian Peterson rammed it in from a yard out to make it 24-14 Vikes. From there the Eagles came up empty on their next drive and down stretch as the Vikings held on to win by that same score. If nothing else the loss means the Eagles, who are now locked in as the #3 seed in the NFC, can rest their starters next week.
The Eagles actually had the early 7-0 lead as Vick hit Harbor with the 3 yard TD pass while the Viking offense was ineffective. Then late in the first half with the Eagles up still 7-0 and driving toward more points Vick stripped by Antoine Winfield who raced 45 yards for the tying score. The Eagles got the ball back with under a minute to play and actually managed to drive into field goal range, but David Akers came up short on a 54 yard attempt the Birds went into the locker room tied at 7. The Vikings stunned the home crowd by racking up 10 unanswered points in the 3rd quarter for a 17-7 lead. Vick engineered a final Eagle's push pretty much on his own, sneaking it in from 10 yards out to cut the lead to 17-14 with about 10 minutes to play. The Eagle's defense failed to hold though as Adrian Peterson rammed it in from a yard out to make it 24-14 Vikes. From there the Eagles came up empty on their next drive and down stretch as the Vikings held on to win by that same score. If nothing else the loss means the Eagles, who are now locked in as the #3 seed in the NFC, can rest their starters next week.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers totally fell apart again as they returned from their holiday break with a matchup against the Vancouver Canucks. Coming in the Flyers had won 14 straight games in Vancouver dating back to 1989. All that came to end in this one as the still Prongerless defense came unraveled. They allowed 49 shots on goal, far too many of them easy point blank looks at the net. Brian Boucher, who got the start in net, pretty much had no chance to be effective as he allowed 4 goals before getting yanked in favor Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky similarly hung out to dry as he allowed another 2 goals. Fortunately the Flyer penalty kill held the Canucks to just 1 of 3 on the power play or this could have been a real embarrassing night. The Flyers themselves went just 1 of 5 on the power play, killing any chance they might have had of hanging around with the Canucks.
The Flyers quickly fell behind 3-0 just 2 and a half minutes into the 2nd period. About a minute and half later Ville Leino setup Danny Briere to slap one home, briefly cutting the lead to 3-1 and instilling hopes of an Orange and Black comeback, but it wasn't to be. Just 3 minutes later Ryan Kesler made it 4-1 Canucks and that was about all she wrote. Just under 8 minutes into the 3rd period, despite the Flyer's best efforts it was 6-1 Canucks and out of reach. Jeff Carter added a late power play goal to cut it to 6-2, but it had little meaning as the Flyers eventually fell by that same score.
The Flyers quickly fell behind 3-0 just 2 and a half minutes into the 2nd period. About a minute and half later Ville Leino setup Danny Briere to slap one home, briefly cutting the lead to 3-1 and instilling hopes of an Orange and Black comeback, but it wasn't to be. Just 3 minutes later Ryan Kesler made it 4-1 Canucks and that was about all she wrote. Just under 8 minutes into the 3rd period, despite the Flyer's best efforts it was 6-1 Canucks and out of reach. Jeff Carter added a late power play goal to cut it to 6-2, but it had little meaning as the Flyers eventually fell by that same score.
Monday, December 27, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers perimeter defense fell apart tonight with Andre Iguodala sitting out with his achilles acting up again. The Golden State Warriors shot 65% from beyond the arc and drilled 15 treys. You're just not going to win very often when you give up numbers like that. The Sixers also turned the ball over 17 times which didn't help matters. So essentially the team's biggest flaws crept to the surface on this night and came back to bite them. There were some bright spots for the Sixers though. Elton Brand was great again with 16 and 16 rebounds, Jrue Holiday had probably his best game of the season with 23 and 11 assists, Jodie Meeks continued to rediscover his stroke with 19, and Thad Young continued his 6th man of the year campaign, with 15 and 8 rebounds off the bench.
The Sixer's defense actually held up nicely early on as they took a 30-25 lead after a quarter of play. In the 2nd quarter it started raining threes, and that was really the theme the rest of the night, as Golden State went up by 6 at the half. In the 3rd quarter the Sixers managed to turn things around a little but still trailed by 5 heading into the 4th quarter. For a while in the 4th it looked, the Sixers, despite playing on back to back nights, might have just enough left to pull off another comeback but it wasn't to be. Golden State began raining threes again and before you knew it they had pulled away to win 110-95. With the loss, the Sixers drop to 2-3 on their road trip and now 12-19 overall.
The Sixer's defense actually held up nicely early on as they took a 30-25 lead after a quarter of play. In the 2nd quarter it started raining threes, and that was really the theme the rest of the night, as Golden State went up by 6 at the half. In the 3rd quarter the Sixers managed to turn things around a little but still trailed by 5 heading into the 4th quarter. For a while in the 4th it looked, the Sixers, despite playing on back to back nights, might have just enough left to pull off another comeback but it wasn't to be. Golden State began raining threes again and before you knew it they had pulled away to win 110-95. With the loss, the Sixers drop to 2-3 on their road trip and now 12-19 overall.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
After a break for the holidays the Sixers continued their road trip in Denver tonight as they visited the Carmelo - less Nuggets, the 2nd time in 4 stops on this trip that they've had the chance to play a shorthanded team. Like last time against the Magic, the Sixers took full advantage on both sides of the court. Offensively, they finally got things going again, as Jrue Holiday's hot shooting led the way with 22 points, while Elton Brand posted 16 and 17 rebounds, Jodie Meeks drilled a pair of threes en route to 17, and Thad Young came off the bench for 20 and 7 rebounds. Other than that as a team the Sixers again struggled from the field at just 39% and from beyond at just 21%, but their defense more than made up for that. They the Nuggets to just 40% shooting from the field and 29% from beyond, while racking up 6 blocks and 11 steals, and forcing Denver into 17 turnovers. They also just barely out rebounded the Nuggets 49-48. So it was an all around effort.
Despite their great defensive play, things actually got off to a rocky start for the Sixers in this one. Thanks to their poor shooting, the Sixers actually fell behind by 12 after a quarter of play. In the 2nd quarter they found their stroke though, and managed to pull to within 3 at the half. The 3rd quarter was a tight affair with the Nuggets staving off multiple Sixer's surges to take a 5 point lead into the 4th quarter. Denver's short bench finally caught up with them in the 4th, as fresher Sixers outpaced them 29-18 to pull away to a big 6 point win, 95-89, as they move to 12-18 overall.
Despite their great defensive play, things actually got off to a rocky start for the Sixers in this one. Thanks to their poor shooting, the Sixers actually fell behind by 12 after a quarter of play. In the 2nd quarter they found their stroke though, and managed to pull to within 3 at the half. The 3rd quarter was a tight affair with the Nuggets staving off multiple Sixer's surges to take a 5 point lead into the 4th quarter. Denver's short bench finally caught up with them in the 4th, as fresher Sixers outpaced them 29-18 to pull away to a big 6 point win, 95-89, as they move to 12-18 overall.
PHILLIES NEWS
Apparently J.C Romero will return to the Phils after all. A source says he and the team have agreed to a new contract. No details have been released about the contract as of yet though. If Romero is indeed headed back to Philly he'll again at least fill the void in the bullpen as the lefty specialist. He wasn't terrible last season and if he can just regain some consistency he'll be just fine.
EAGLES NEWS
Due to the blizzard like conditions in Philly, the Eagles - Vikings game has been postponed until Tuesday. Despite that the Eagles still clinched the NFC East today as the Giants were blown out by the Packers 45-17. With the NFC East title in hand the Eagles are assured of at least the #3 seed in the NFC. However, if they win out and the Chicago Bears lose to the Packers next week the Eagles will earn the # 2 seed in the NFC and a 1st round bye. If they win out, the Bears lose and the Atlanta Falcons lose tomorrow night and next week the Eagles would earn the #1 seed in the NFC and home field throughout the playoffs, but that's a big if.
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