The Orange and Black came into tonight in Dallas needing a win to clinch a playoff berth. Thanks to their first consistent effort in some time they were able to get the win they needed. Against the desperate Stars the Flyers defense really did a good job limiting them to just 30 shots on goal. In a spectacular effort Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 of the 30. Meanwhile, Andrej Meszaros picked up 2 assists to key the Flyers offense. First with about a minute and 20 left in the first period he teamed up with Matt Carle to assist Jeff Carter for a 1-0 lead. Then about a minute and 20 into the 2nd period he teamed with Carle again to assist Mike Richards for a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately the lead didn't hold up but the Flyers did at least manage to hang on for overtime. Neither team scored in the overtime to force a shootout.
In the shootout Claude Giroux scored in the 2nd round and looked like it would be the game winner before Mike Ribeiro beat Bob in the 3rd round to extend the game. From the sprawling Bobrovsky kept the Flyers alive until Ville Leino finally scored in the 6th round and Bob followed with another save to cap off the 3-2 Flyer win. With the win the Flyers clinch a playoff spot with 10 games left to decide what their seed will be. Considering they didn't clinch a playoff spot until the final game of the season last year, that's a pretty big thing to get out of the way.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
SIXERS NEWS
Nursing a sore knee, Andre Iguodala was forced to sit out as the Sixers finished their road trip in Portland. While they were able to overcome his absence on the offensive end the defense simply didn't hold up without him. Portland simply torched them from all angles, shooting 51% from the field, 47% from beyond, and 86% from the line. Also Gerald Wallace and Wesley Matthews were just about unstoppable with 25 and 28 respectively. Despite all that the Sixers managed to hang around for 3 quarters with 50% shooting from the field, 47% shooting from beyond, and 87% shooting from the line of their own. Thanks to that shooting 6 Sixers managed double figures. Lou Williams led the way with 24 off the bench, while Thad Young and Andres Nocioni also added 19 and 10 off the bench respectively. Jodie Meeks was top scorer among the starters, drilling 3 treys and winding up with 17, while Elton Brand chipped in with 10 and 9 rebounds. In the end though the Sixers were just outgunned by the Blazers in a 110-101 loss.
PHILLIES NEWS
Cole Hamels struggled again allowing 5 runs on 7 hits while striking out 5 in 3 and 2/3rd's innings but Shane Victorino and John Mayberry Jr. each homered and the Phils defeated the Orioles anyway 7-5.
Friday, March 18, 2011
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers came into tonight needing only a win over the lowly Kings to finally move into the 6th place in the Eastern conference. Thanks to mostly poor play by the Kings they did indeed get the win and the new seeding. The Kings really were aweful all night long. They shot just 34% from the field, and 27% from beyond. Despite getting to the free throw line twice many times as the Sixers they shot 60% percent and derived no real benefit from that advantage. They also turned the balled over a whopping 21 times, while getting victimized by 16 Sixer steals. The Sixers for their part weren't great either, but more than good enough.
They only shot 44% from the field but shot a solid 43% from beyond as 4 Sixers scored in double figures. Jrue Holiday led the way with 15, 5 assists, and 9 rebounds, while Andre Iguodala added 13, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds, Elton Brand had 10 and 6 rebounds and Lou Williams chipped in off the bench for a big 14. In the end that little bit of scoring and strong defense was enough to allow the Sixers to lead pretty much the whole way en route to an easy 102-80 victory. With win the Sixers move a half a game ahead of the Knicks for the 6th in the East and pull within 3 games of 5th in the East.
They only shot 44% from the field but shot a solid 43% from beyond as 4 Sixers scored in double figures. Jrue Holiday led the way with 15, 5 assists, and 9 rebounds, while Andre Iguodala added 13, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds, Elton Brand had 10 and 6 rebounds and Lou Williams chipped in off the bench for a big 14. In the end that little bit of scoring and strong defense was enough to allow the Sixers to lead pretty much the whole way en route to an easy 102-80 victory. With win the Sixers move a half a game ahead of the Knicks for the 6th in the East and pull within 3 games of 5th in the East.
PHILLIES NEWS
Roy Oswalt allowed just 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 5 in 6 innings as the Phils held off the Pirates 3-2.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
FLYERS NEWS
In the last couple months the Flyers have the been the picture of inconsistency and tonight in Atlanta was no different. Things started out spotty for the Orange and Black with only Brian Boucher's 17 saves keeping them in it through the 2 periods. Danny Briere also did his best to keep the Flyer's afloat. First he teamed with Matt Carle to assist Claude Giroux on a game tying score halfway through the 1st period. Later in the 2nd period Briere himself got an assist from Jeff Carter as he tied things up at 2 before Atlanta scored again for a 3-2 lead heading into the 3rd period. Finally in the 3rd period the Flyers woke up and played their best, but it was a little too late. They held Atlanta to just 3 shots on goal in the final period, all stopped by Boucher. Meanwhile the Orange and Black put 11 shots on the Atlanta net before Briere again deposited the equalizer. Neither team managed a score in overtime to force a shootout. There the Flyers went cold while Boosh was beaten twice to cap off a tough 4-3 loss. Despite the loss the Flyers do at least remain first in the East for now.
PHILLIES NEWS
Cliff Lee tossed 3 scoreless innings before allowing 5 runs on 5 hits, including 2 homers in the 4th inning in a 7-6 loss to the Blue Jays.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
SIXERS NEWS
After back to back debilitating losses the Sixers were desperate for a win tonight to avoid going 0-3 on their current road trip and more importantly avoid falling back to .500 on the season. Fortunately they reverted back to form just in the nick of time to avoid both. Furthermore, the Clippers have been struggling a bit lately, which only made things easier for the Sixers. Defensively, they did a solid job, limiting L.A to just 30% shooting from beyond holding and down Blake Griffin to just 14 points on just 3 of 12 shooting. The Clipper also killed themselves by shooting just over 50% from the line and turning the ball over 17 times.
The Sixers meanwhile shot over 40% from beyond and 82% from the line, while turning the ball over just 11 times and that really gave the . In all 6 Sixers scored in double figues, led by Jodie Meeks 22 on 5 of 8 shooting from beyond. Jrue was next with 20 and 9 assists, while Elton Brand powered through 19 and 12 rebounds. Spencer Hawes was also solid with 12 and 6 rebounds and Lou Williams chipped in off the bench for 14. All that together was just enough for the Sixers to lead pretty much wire to wire and when the smoke had finally cleared the Sixers had their win in L.A, 104-94.
The Sixers meanwhile shot over 40% from beyond and 82% from the line, while turning the ball over just 11 times and that really gave the . In all 6 Sixers scored in double figues, led by Jodie Meeks 22 on 5 of 8 shooting from beyond. Jrue was next with 20 and 9 assists, while Elton Brand powered through 19 and 12 rebounds. Spencer Hawes was also solid with 12 and 6 rebounds and Lou Williams chipped in off the bench for 14. All that together was just enough for the Sixers to lead pretty much wire to wire and when the smoke had finally cleared the Sixers had their win in L.A, 104-94.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
FLYERS NEWS
After blowing a huge lead at home the Flyers looked to get back on track tonight in Florida and they did barely. Fortunately the Panther's offensive attack was typically lackluster or the Orange and Black might have ended up blowing another lead. Ultimately their defense got the job done this time blocking 22 shots and holding Florida to just 22 shots on goal, 20 of which were stopped by Brian Boucher. Jeff Carter scored a pair of goals to took care of the rest. The Flyers had the early 1-0 lead as Ville Leino and Mike Richards set up Scott Hartnell. The Orange and Black trailed 2-1 at the end of the first before Carter took over. 4 minutes into the 2nd period Claude Giroux picked up the assist as Carter tied it at 2. Then with about 5 minutes left in the period Danny Briere picked up an assist as Carted made it 3-2. That would be all the Flyers would need as the defense and Boucher hung on in the final period for the 3-2 win.
PHILLIES NEWS
Joe Blanton allowed 2 runs on 7 hits in 4 innings of work, ,while Raul Ibanez and Ben Francisco each homered and Ryan Howard slapped an RBI double in a 13-7 win over the Blue Jays.
Monday, March 14, 2011
SIXERS NEWS
Coming off close to their worst loss of the season, the Sixers figured to play much better tonight in Utah. Unfortunately for about 3 quarters it was more of the same, basically just a lot of mistakes, missed opportunities, and a lack of energy on the Sixer's side of the floor. Eventually the Sixers did finally wake up in the 4th quarter, but it still wasn't really a great effort overall. Defensively they were probably good enough to win for the most part, but offensively it was a struggle as they shot just 42% from the field and 38% from beyond, with just 5 Sixers in double figures. Andre Iguodala led the way with 23 and Lou Williams chipped in with 22 off the bench to spearhead a late rally that saw the Sixers erase a 21 point deficit and go up by 3 in the final seconds.
Jodie Meeks, who scored 17, then missed a free throw to preserve the 3 point and Utah was able to tie it up. Andre Iguodala missed a pull up J for win after that and the game went into overtime where the Sixers ran out of gas and fell 112-107.
Jodie Meeks, who scored 17, then missed a free throw to preserve the 3 point and Utah was able to tie it up. Andre Iguodala missed a pull up J for win after that and the game went into overtime where the Sixers ran out of gas and fell 112-107.
PHILLIES NEWS
Cole Hamels was bombed for 5 runs on 7 hits, but Micheal Martinez manufactured a late run and the Phils defeated the Astros anyway, 7-6.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
PHILLIES NEWS
Prospect Micheal Stutes tossed 3 scoreless innings while allowing no hits and Delwyn Young jacked a 3 run homer as the Phils knocked off the Twins 6-3.
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