In wild afternoon affair the Flyers evened their series with the Sabres at a game apiece. Sergei Bobrovsky was beaten 3 times on just 7 shots before being yanked in favor of Brian Boucher. In the 1st period alone the two teams exchanged the lead 3 times. First the Flyers led 1-0 on a beautiful goal by Claude Giroux just 4 minutes into the contest. Then after Buffalo tied it with a power play tally, Dan Carcillo knocked in a rebound to put the Flyers back ahead 2-1. Just 5 minutes later the Flyers found themselves behind 3-2. Finally with an assist from Giroux James Van Reimsdyk scored to send the two teams into the intermission tied at 3. From there Boucher stabilized things and shut down the Sabres in the 2nd period while Ville Leino finally scored a power play goal for the Orange and Black and Danny Briere followed with a deflection a couple minutes later for a 5-3 lead through 2 periods. The Orange and Black mainly sat back and protected their lead in the 3rd period and it only almost cost them. About 6 minutes into the period the Sabres cut it to 5-4. Buffalo then had numerous opportunities to put in the equalizer but the Boucher stood just tall enough and the Flyers hung on to win 5-4.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
SIXERS NEWS
In their playoff opener against the Heat the Sixers showed the same resiliency they have all season. Unfortunately it wasn't quite enough. They actually stunned everyone by jumping out to an early 14 point lead and holding it into the 2nd quarter. Miami then turned on the switch and rallied all the way back to as much as a 16 point lead of their own. The Sixers did not give up though. They locked up on D in the 3rd quarter as Andre Iguodala held Lebron James to just 1 field goal the entire quarter and after Jrue Holiday hit a couple late threes and Thad Young put in a miracle layup they found themselves down 1 with 2 minutes to play. Sadly they ran out of gas and Miami eventually hung on to win game 1 97-89. There's plenty for the Sixers to hang their heads on though. Iggy's defense and the Sixers D on the whole was outstanding as they held all of the big three under 50% shooting for the game and in fact, Lebron himself had just 4 field goals. The Sixers also outscored the Heat in the paint by 10 and on the break by 7. Most responsible for the points in the paint were Thad Young who had 20 and 11 rebounds, and Elton Brand who had 17 and 7 rebounds. Holiday also had a great first playoff performance with 19, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, and Lou Williams found a way to score 10 on one leg. All in all it was a good start to the playoffs for the Sixers and something they can build on moving forward in the series.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils and Marlins were rained out today so Cole Hamels will make his scheduled start tomorrow instead and the two teams will play a doubleheader later this season to make today's game.
Friday, April 15, 2011
PHILLIES NEWS
Roy Oswalt allowed just 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 6 through 6 innings, but he was forced to leave before the 7th inning with back spasms and the Phils bullpen could not get through the 7th in a 4-3 loss to the Marlins. The Phils got off to a good start with Raul Ibanez slapping two RBI singles and Ryan Howard launching a sac fly on the way to a 3-1 lead through 6. Unfortunately as mentioned that wasn't enough of a lead for the bullpen to hang on to in the 7th. After falling behind 4-3 through the 7 the Phils were able to put together any type of rally in the final 2 innings. They should be back in business tomorrow with Cole Hamels on the mound.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
PHILLIES NEWS
Cliff Lee one upped Roy Halladay tonight tossing a complete game shutout while allowing just 3 hits and striking out 12 in of the most masterful performances in franchise history. Meanwhile, Carlos Ruiz crushed a solo homer and singled and scored on a fielder's choice, Shane Victorino doubled and scored on an error, and finally ripped a 2 out single for his 1st RBI of the year. All together it was more than enough for a 4-0 win. To date with the win the Phils still have not lost a series this season.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers began their playoff run tonight with a disappointing effort. Sergei Bobrovsky was great in his first playoff start stopping 24 of 25 shots. The Flyer defense was also pretty good allowing just those 25 shots and only one power play opportunity on which the Sabres failed to score. The problem as had been the case late in the season was the offense. They did get 35 shots on goal but too many of them were from far away. They just didn't get enough shots close in on Ryan Miller and the few times they did get pucks in on him they didn't a good enough job following them up. As a result Miller gobbled up all 35 shots and the Flyers fell in game 1, 1-0.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
PHILLIES NEWS
Roy Halladay got the Phils right back on track tonight with his first complete game of the season thus far. It wasn't easy though. After tossing 8 scoreless innings while striking out 7, he had tough a long 2 run 9th inning, before striking out the side with the tying run on base. While Halladay was mowing them down the Phils scratched out a few runs, on a fielder's choice in the 4th, and another RBI single by Placido Polanco, and via Ryan Howard getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the 5th. All together it was just enough for a 3-2 win.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers came into tonight with a chance to finish over .500 for the first time since 2004. All they had to do was knockoff the lottery bound Pistons at the Wells Fargo center. Unfortunately Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams both sat out again and without them the Sixers didn't quite have enough. Their defensive effort just wasn't good enough as Detroit host 48% from the field and 35% from beyond and were forced into just 11 turnovers. A few more stops and they would have squeeked by with a win but it wasn't to be. Evan Turner had 18, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds, Jrue Holiday had 21 and 7 assists, Andres Nocioni had 18 and Thad Young had 13 to key a strong scoring effort, but it wasn't quite enough. Jason Kapono missed a late trey in the closing seconds that likely would have forced overtime and the Sixers fell 104-100 to finish the year 41-41.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
PHILLIES NEWS
Joe Blanton's struggles continued tonight in Washington as he was touched up for 5 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings. Old friend Jayson Werth was biggest Blanton killer with a double, a homer, an RBI, a stolen base and 2 runs scored. As for the Phils, Ryan Howard's solo shot in the 2nd inning actually gave them an early 1-0 cushion, but Livan Hernandez shut them down from there. They did fight back gamely against the National's bullpen with 2 runs in the 8th on a fielder's choice and a wild pitch, and 1 run on an RBI single by Placido Polanco in the 9th inning, but it was too little too late. In the end despite the comeback effort their first game of the season in Washington turned out to be a 7-4 loss.
Monday, April 11, 2011
SIXERS NEWS
The effort wasn't there for the Sixers tonight as they welcomed Dwight Howard and the Magic to the Wells Fargo center. Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams both sat the night out so the Sixer's chances of winning were slim anyway. Their only chance would have been to outwork the Magic on both sides of the court but they did not. Instead they were out rebounded 56-31 and shot just 42% from the field and 29% from beyond. They did come up with 11 steals and force 16 turnovers to but most came during a late rally that was too little too late. Ultimately, Elton Brand's 22, Jrue Holiday's 15 and 11 assists and Andres Nocioni's 13 were the lone Sixer highlights in a tough 95-85 loss.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
PHILLIES NEWS
Cole Hamels rebounded from his rough first start today in a big way, tossing 7 scoreless innings, while allowing just 4 hits and striking out 8. It was arguably the best start any of the big 4 have had thus far this season and with Derek Lowe on the mound the for Atlanta, it was the start the Phils had to have out of him this afternoon. Anyway while Cole was mowing them down, the Phils scratched out a couple of runs off Lowe. Shane Victorino was responsible for both. In the 4th inning he singled and scored on a fielder's choice. Then in the 6th inning he launched his first homer of the season for a 2-0 lead. Later Jimmy Rollins added some insurance, doubling and scoring in the 9th, and Jose Contreras worked out his 2nd save of the season with a 1-2-3 home half of the 9th, for the 3-0 win. At 7-2 overall now, the Phils already own a 2 game lead in the NL East.
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