Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Nationals 4 Phillies 3
It Was Over When......
Chase Utley's homerun in the 2nd inning was called foul, despite the fact that instant replays clearly showed it glancing off the foul pole. They might not have looked it at the time, but after seeing the replay for themselves the Phils knew they had been robbed, and after Ryan Zimmerman doubled in 2 runs to give the Nationals a 3-2 lead in the 3rd inning just minutes later it was clear that they felt that their fate had been sealed. Basically, they never got over the anger of Utley being robbed of a homer.
The Game Ball Goes To.......
Nationals 3rd baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who knocked in 3 of the Nationals 4 runs, had 3 hits, and scored a run. There has been a lot of talk lately that Zimmerman should be named NL rookie of the year, and now we all know why.
The Stat of the Game is......
11 , as in 11 consecutive at bats between Utley's phantom homer in the 2nd inning and his RBI single in the 9th inning in which the Phillies failed to get a hit with runners in scoring position, and 3 out of 14 as in the Phils went just 3 out 14 with runners in scoring position on the night and left a whopping 5 runners in scoring position with 2 out. Incredibly the phils had 13 hits on the night and yet scored only 3 runs. I mean, having a lot of runners on base is nice, but only if you can get them to cross the plate.
The Bottom Line Is......
This loss is an even tougher one to swallow for the Phils than last night's was. To make matters worse the Dodgers were playing tonight too and they won, so the Phils now trail them by 1.0 game in the wildcard with 5 games to play. If they still want to make playoffs, they may well have to win all of those final 5 games and that might just be to much to ask at this point. Well, happy trails everyone.
Monday, September 25, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Astros 5 Phillies 4
It Was Over When......
The Astros scored 3 runs in the top of the 7th inning to take a 5-4 lead. Not only did this inning suck all of the emotion out of a sold out Citizens Bank Park, but it exhausted the Phillies as well, as Mike Lamb capped off the inning with an 11 pitch at-bat(including 5 consecutive foul balls) against Geoff Geary, that ended with Lamb blooping a single off the glove of Chase Utley, to score the eventual winning run.
The Game Ball Goes To......
The Astros bullpen, which despite obvious exhaustion from last night's game with the Cardinals, managed 5 and 2/3rds innings, while allowing just 4 runs. Obviously, those are not great numbers, but good enough to get the Astros the win.
The Stat of The Game Is.......
0, as in o runs and o hits following Jimmy Rollins 2 run homer in the 6th inning. Over the last 3 innings of the game the Phils offense did not record a run or even a hit, while the Astros had 3 runs and 4 hits. Basically, that was difference in tonight's game. I mean if the Phils had recorded even 1 hit in those final 3 innings, they might have been able to forge a tie late in the game and steal it extra innings, but they weren't able to and lost.
The Bottom Line is.......
This was a tough loss for the Phils to swallow, but hey they are still tied with the idle Dodgers for the wildcard lead, so there is no reason to panic just yet. Ultimately, the Phils are just going to have to bear down now and take care of business over the final 6 games of the season if they want to beat out the Dodgers for the wildcard. So may the best team win the wildcard and happy trails everyone.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
EAGLES NEWS
I am going to write this a little differently then I usually do, but I hope you all still like it.
Eagles 38 Niners 24
It Was Over When.......
Mike Patterson scooped up a fumble by 49ers running back Frank Gore on the Eagles 1 yard line and raced, er, trudged a record 98 yards for a touchdown and a 31-3 Eagles lead with just over 6:00 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. Thus, producing a 14 point swing, from which the 49ers would never recover.
The Game Ball Goes to.......
The Eagles offense which amassed over 400 yards for the 2nd week in a row. Donovan Mcnabb hit 18 of his 33 passes for 296 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brian WestBrook carried the ball 8 times for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 71 yard touchdown run, and he caught 4 passes for 47 yards and another score. Reggie Brown, playing in the absence of Donte Stallworth, caught 5 passes for 106 yards, including a 50 yard reception off a flea flicker on the 1st play of the game.
The stat of the Game Was.......
52, as in 52 rushing yards for 49ers running back Frank Gore. If the 49ers had been able to win today, it was Gore who was supposed to have been the difference. However, despite 16 carries, including 3 at the Eagles 1 yard line, Gore managed just those 52 yards and never got in the endzone for a score.
The Bottom Line is.......
After that which shall not be mentioned happened last week, this was a nice bounce back win for the birds, but what does it really prove about them. Ultimately the Niners like the Texans in week 1 are just another one of those teams on the schedule, that you look at and say okay the Eagles should beat them. If they really want to prove that they are back among the elite teams in the NFC they are going to have to beat someone that isn't supposed to be an easy win, namely someone else in their division. They will get their chance on October 8th when T.O and the Cowboys come to town, but until then the Eagles will just have to be content with another easy date on schedule, this time next Monday night against the struggling Packers who are currently 1-2, after barely hanging on to defeat the equally woeful Detroit Lions earlier today.
PHILLIES NEWS
For a little while it looked like today would not be a good one for the Phils. The Marlins jumped on Jamie Moyer for 4-0 runs in the 1st inning, quickly quieting a sellout crowd at Citizens Bank Park. From there, Moyer could have folded and allowed the Marlins an ever bigger lead, but the wiley veteran hung tough and kept the Marlins scoreless for the next 4 innings as the Phils stormed back. In the 3rd inning the Phils scored an incredible 7 runs on a pair of 2-run homers by Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley(# 30 for Utley), and 3 run homer by Chris Coste. Ahead 4-0 after the 1st inning, the Marlins suddenly found themselves behind 7-4 following the 3rd inning and didn't know what had hit them. Meanwhile, the Phils just kept plugging away adding a run in the 5th inning and another in the 6th via Chase Utley's 2nd homer of the day, to go up 9-5 through 6 innings. Then Following a short rain delay, they were able to add yet another run in the 7th inning on a solo homer by Pat Burrell, to take a 10-5 lead. From there the Phils bullpen was able to close things out once again, despite giving up 2 more runs, as the Phils got the win 10-7. Thus, the Phils are still leading the wildcard race and they are still only leading by 0.5 games because the Dodgers also won today. Well, happy trails everyone.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils just continued their playoff push today with their 4th win in a row and 7th out of their last 8. Jon Lieber went 7 solid innings, allowing just 2 runs on 7 hits, while striking out 6. Offensively the Phils jumped out early with 4 runs in the 1st 3 innings, to take a 4-0 lead. The Marlins fought back to cut the lead to 4-2 in the top of the 6th inning, but the Phils just kept at them, taking a 6-2 lead in the bottom of the inning, as Jimmy Rollins hit his 23rd homer of the year. The Marlins fought back again to cut the lead to 6-4 in the top of the 8th inning, but the Phils again answered with 2 in the bottom of the inning to take an 8-4 lead into the 9th. There, Flash Gordon, nearly coughed up the lead, allowing consecutive homers to start inning, but he bared down and secured a big 8-6 win for the Phils. In all, this was a total team effort for the Phils, as Carlos Ruiz and Jeff Conine, both knocked in 3 runs and Chase Utley and Shane Victorino both had 4 hits and 3 runs scored. Any way you look at it this was a good day for the Phils. Anyway, well I was going to say with the win the Phils moved back into a tie with the Dodgers for the wildcard lead, but as I was writing this the Dodgers finished their game and they lost! Yes, that's right that means that the Phils are now all alone in 1st place in the wildcard race 0.5 games up on the Dodgers. YEAAAAAAAHHHH! oh sorry I got carried away there. Well, happy trails everyone.
Friday, September 22, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
The Good times just keep on rolling for the Phils. Tonight in front of a sellout crown the Phils earned their 3rd win in a row, with a 5-2 thumping of the Marlins. Cole Hamels dazzled the fish for 6 and 2/3rds innings, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits, while striking out 10. Meanwhile, the Phils offense jumped on the Marlins early and took a 4-0 lead through 3 innings, on an RBI single by Chase Utley in the 1st inning and a 3 run homer by Ryan Howard in the 3rd inning(that's 58 now). The Phils would later manufacture an extra run in the 6th inning to bolster their lead to 5-1 and from there the Phils bullpen closed things out, allowing just 1 more run on 3 hits, as Tom Gordon earned his 33rd save of the year. Now at the moment, with the win the Phils have once again locked themselves in a tie for the wild card lead with the Dodgers. However, the Dodgers are playing right now and if they win the Phils would drop to 0.5 games behind them for the wildcard lead, otherwise if they lose the Phils will move into 1st in the wildcard race 0.5 games up on the Dodgers. Of course right now the Dodgers are locked in a scoreless tie with the Diamondbacks in the top of the 6th inning, so who knows what the Wildcard situation will be like come tomorrow, but when I know you'll know, so don't worry about it. Well, happy trails everyone.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils actually got an off day today and of course it's there last off day of the regular season. Tomorrow they continue their final homestand of the year, with the 1st of 3 games in another crucial weekend series against the Florida Marlins. Hopefully they will be take care of them and increase their standing in the wildcard race. Speaking of the wildcard, the Phils are currently tied for 1st in the wildcard with the Dodgers. Yes, that's right they have finally reached the top of mountain, however they may not be there for long. The Dodgers are playing today(they are tied with the Pirates at 2 in the bottom of the 5th inning) and if they were to win the Phils would drop to 0.5 games behind them in the wildcard. Otherwise, if they were to lose the Phils would be all alone in 1st place in the wildcard at 0.5 games up. Now of course the Padres are playing tonight as well, and they also lost yesterday, but because of the things mentioned above, they remained 0.5 games up on the Dodgers in the NL west. Right now they are leading the Diamondbacks 3-1 in the 6 innings, and if they win they would have no real bearing on the wildcard race, as they would stay in 1st in the NL west. However, if they were to lose and the Dodgers were to win, they would drop back into a 1st place tie with the Phils in the wildcard race. So Anyway, go Pirates and go Diamondbacks, and happy trails everyone.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Another big win for the Phils tonight, due to good starting pitching, and timely hitting. Brett Myers went the distance for the Phils allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits, while striking out a career best 12. Although it took them awhile to get going, as the Phils went scoreless for the 1st 3 innings and actually fell behind 1-0 after the top of the 4th, once the Phils offense got going it never stopped. They answered Cubs 1st run with 2 in the bottom of the inning, then tacked on an extra run almost every inning afterward, with 1 in the 5th inning, 2 in the 6th inning on a homer by Chase Utley(his career high 29th), and 1 more in the 7th inning on a homer by Pat Burrell. By the time the Cubs finally scored another run in the top of the 8th inning it was already 6-1 Phils and the game was out of their reach. After allowing a hit and a walk to start the 9th inning Myers induced a groundout and then struck out the side, earning his 1st complete game of the year and a huge 6-2 win for the Phils. Now at the moment, with the win the Phils have to moved to within .5 games of the Dodgers for 1st in the wildcard. Right now, the Dodgers are trailing the Pirates 2-0 in the top of the 4th inning, and if they lose the Phils will move into a tie for the wildcard, otherwise if they win the Phils will remain 1 game behind them in the wildcard. However the Padres are playing right now as well, and they are trailing the Diamondbacks 3-1 in the bottom of the 4th inning, and if they were to lose, and the Dodgers were to win, the Dodgers would move back into 1st place in the NL west and the Padres would drop to 1st in the wildcard just .5 games ahead of the Phils. Either way the worst the Phils can be at the end of the night is 1.0 game back, so I would say they are in good shape. Well, happy trails everyone.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers started their preseason today. Now since it is only 7 games long and almost none of the games are televised, I am not going to talk to much about the Flyer's preseason games, but I will give you quick a summary of their preseason when it is over, just so you know where the Flyers are before they start the season. Anyway, just in case you're reading this to find out if they won or not, I will tell you that they lost to the Penguins 5-4, but it's the preseason so who cares.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
After an embarrassing 11-6 loss to the Cubs last tonight, the Phils really needed to bounce back and beat them tonight and you know what, they did. Jamie Moyer did what Jon Lieber couldn't last night and shutdown the Cubs, allowing just 1 run over 7 innings while scattering 6 hits. Still, even with Moyer dazzling the Cubs, the Phils needed a little luck to get the win. After going scoreless for the 1st 4 innings of the game, the Phils somehow managed a 2 out rally in the 5th inning scoring 3 runs on a double by David Dellucci, and a 2 RBI single by Abraham Nunez. The Cubs answered back with their previously mentioned 1 run, in the 6th inning cutting lead to 3-1 and temporarily putting the outcome in doubt. Fortunately Jimmy Rollins gave the Phils some insurance with a solo homer in the 8th inning to push lead to 4-1. From there the Phils bullpen, which had been roughed up last night, closed the door tonight as Flash Gordon closed it out in top of the 9th inning for his 32nd save of the year and a 4-1 Phils win. Anyway with the win the Phils at least keep pace with Padres, who currently lead the wild card(the Dodgers pulled a manning last night a came back to beat them in extra innings, thus they moved back into 1st place in the NL West, and the Padres dropped back to 1st place in the wild card). The Phils came into the night 1.5 games behind the Padres and with the win moved to within 1.0, but right now the Padres are leading the Diamondbacks 5-1 in the bottom of the 6th inning, so it looks like the Phils are going to stay at 1.0 game back of whoever is leading the wildcard race after tonight(the Dodgers are currently trailing the Pirates 2-1 in their game, and if they were to lose the Padres would jump back into 1st in the NL West, and the Dodgers would fall back to 1st in the wildcard, 1.0 up on the Phils). Well now that I got all that cleared up, happy trails everyone.
Monday, September 18, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
If you looked at the schedule tonight, you probably thought, "sweet we're playing the Cubs tonight, the Phils are gonna win easy". Well, apparently someone forgot to tell the Cubs that they have worst record in the NL and that they were supposed to lose, or maybe someone just forgot to tell the Phils they were supposed to win. Needless to say, after a solid road trip in which they went 7-3, the Phils didn't quite play there best ball today. Jon Lieber, who had been virtually lights out lately, looked like someone had turned the lights out on him, as he lasted just 2 and 1/3rd innings and allowed 5 runs on 5 hits, 3 on a homer by Aramis Ramirez. Things didn't get much better for the Phils after Lieber left, as Eude Brito tossed up another 3 run homer to Aramis Ramirez, and suddenly after only 3 and 1/2 innings it was 8-0 Cubs and things looked bleak. In the bottom of the 4th, the Phils raised hopes of comeback, with 6 runs on a 2 run single by Christ Coste and a grand slam by Jose Hernandez, cutting the lead to 2 at 8-6. Unfortunately the Cubs weren't finished yet and wound up scoring 5 more runs to bury the Phils by a final score of 11-6. Basically, this was just an off night for the Phils, but hopefully they will be able to bounce back tomorrow with a win. Anyway, at the moment the Phils are 1.5 games behind the Dodgers for the wild card lead, but currently the Dodgers are tied with the Padres at 4 in the bottom of the 7th inning. If the Dodgers lose the Phils will be back to within 1.0 game of the wildcard lead otherwise they will drop to 1.5 games back, so go Padres. Well, happy trails everyone.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers officially ended their off-season wheeling and dealing today, by resigning head coach Ken Hitchcock to a new 3 year deal through 2008-2009. Hitchcock led the Flyers to the conference finals in 2004 and won the stanley cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999, so it should come as no surprise that the Flyers resigned him and I think it's a good move on their part. Hopefully, he can still figure out a way to get the Flyers deep into the playoffs again.
EAGLES NEWS
If you thought yesterday's lost was bad than wait to you here this one. If you watched the excruciating overtime period of yesterday's game then you probably saw Jevon Kearse injure his knee and get carted off the field. Well, today the x-rays came back and the prognosis is not good to say the least. Kearse sprained not, 1, not 2, but 3 ligaments in his left knee and is out, that's right out for the remainder of the season, and probably won't be able to comeback until next year. All of which means that Trent Cole, yes that Trent Cole who got flagged for a late hit, will replace Kearse in the starting lineup and Jerome Mcdougle who was inactive the past 2 weeks will fill Cole's spot in the Eagles d-line rotation. Let's just hope that the Eagles d-line is as deep as everyone thinks it is.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
EAGLES NEWS
Ummm, you know what I don't know what to say. I mean the Eagles dominated the Giants in every facet of the game and led 24-7 heading into the 4th quarter, and yet still wound up losing in overtime 30-24. I mean if you can't protect a 17 point in the 4th quarter at your home stadium, then what can you do. It's just inexcusable that Eagles lost this game. I mean it's not even that they lost the game, it's that they gave it away with some really sloppy play in the 4th quarter. Yes, it's still early in the season, but this is still a hard pill to swallow regardless. Think about it, if the Eagles had won they would be 2-0 and all alone a top the NFC East, while the Giants would be in a huge hole at 0-2 and all alone in last place. Instead, the Eagles lost and are now tied with the Giants for 1st at 1-1. Yes, it's true that the Eagles upcoming schedule is somewhat soft other than an OCT 8th meeting with the Cowboys, and that there is still a possibility that the Eagles can get off to a fast 6-1 start, but this one was important. It was supposed to reestablish the Eagles as the beasts of the East, but instead all it did was establish that the Eagles aren't quite all the way back yet. With this loss the Eagles have now dropped 7 consecutive games to divisional opponents. If they want to turn things around and make playoffs this season, or get back to the top of the divison, they are going to have to figure out a way to beat somebody in their division. Now, normally I would talk about the stats, but I don't even want to do that, because after what happened in this game they really don't matter. I mean the Eagles had over 400 yards of offense and sacked Eli Manning 9 times, and still lost so you tell me if the stats mattered today. As for why I think the Eagles lost today, well I am not sure I even know why. All I know is that they missed opportunities early in the game, which allowed the Giants to hang around, and they played just a horrible 4th quarter, losing fumbles, not getting 1st downs when they needed them, and taking stupid penalties at inopportune times. If that's not a good enough explanation for why they lost, then I don't know what is. Anyway, I just hope the Eagles can rebound with a win next week, because if they don't they will be in big trouble.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils are just plain hot right now. I mean they are burning up with 5 wins out of their last 6 and 3 in a row with today's win. That's right the Phils finally got their sweep today with a 6-4 win over the Astros. Randy Wolf went 5 and 2/3rds innings and allowed just 3 runs on 5 hits, while the Phils offense hit 4 homers , 2 by Mike Lieberthal who just returned from the DL and 1 each by Ryan Howard(that's 57 now) and Jimmy Rollins. 3 of the 4 homers came in the 1st 4 innings as the Phils built an early 5-0 lead and never looked back. Wolf nearly coughed it up, as all 3 runs he allowed came in the 6th inning, cutting the lead to 5-3. Fortunately, Lieberthal hit his 2nd homer in the 8th inning to put the phils up 6-3 and put it way for good. Reliever Geoff Geary did give up a 4th run in the bottom of the 8th inning, but it didn't matter as Flash Gordon came on in the 9th inning and got the save. All, in all this was another good day for the Phils, and I really like the way they are playing right now. I mean it's beginning to look more and more like the Phils are going to push their way into the playoffs, but only time will tell. Anyway, the Padres also played today and they defeated the Dodgers 2-1. However, with that win the Padres moved in to 1st place in the NL west and the Dodgers dropped to 1st place in the wild card race, just 1 game ahead of the Phils, so things are really getting exciting now. Well, happy trails everyone.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Well, it's official the Phils are on a roll right now, of course I could've said that earlier this week when they won both games of their doubleheader with the Braves, but then they lost the next game, proving that they weren't really on a roll. Hopefully that won't happen to the Phils tomorrow, but at any rate with the win tonight they have won two in a row and 4 out of their last 5, which to me sounds like being on a roll. Anyway, getting back to the game, you could almost argue that the game didn't even really start until the 7th inning, as starters Cole Hamels for the Phils, and Jason Hirsch for the Astros, dueled to a scoreless tie through 6 innings. However, the 6th inning would be Hirsch's last as he gave up 2 runs early in the 7th inning and failed to get through it. Hamels meanwhile hung in their until there were 2 outs in 8th inning, and it was this little bit of extra work by Hamels that would be the difference on the night. After Hirsch left the game, the Phils simply feasted on the Astros bullpen for 5 runs on 5 hits and by the time Hamels started the 8th inning he had 7-1 lead and was well on the way to his 8th victory of the season(of course he also has 8 losses, but lets just forget about those). All told Hamels went 7 and 2/3rds innings, allowing just 2 runs on 3 hits, and striking out of 11. If those stats aren't good enough for you, than consider this , for the 1st 6 and 2/3rds innings of the night, Hamels held the Astros hitless, yes that's right he had a no-hitter going 2 outs into the 7th inning, until Adam Everett doubled to break it up, just 7 outs short. Basically it was good day for the Phils, and hopefully there will be many more to come. Anyway, at the moment the Phils trail the Padres by 1 game for 1st place in the wildcard, but right now the Padres are preparing to face the Dodgers later tonight and if they lose the Phils will close to within .5 games of the wild card, so tune in tomorrow for an update on that. Well, happy trails everyone.
Friday, September 15, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Its, not often that 1 hit in the very 1st inniing of a game, proves to be the difference between winning and losing, but that's exactly what happened to the Phils tonight. Lately, the Phillies have been struggling to knock in runs with 2 outs, but with 1 swing Pat Burrell changed all that. With the bases loaded and 2 outs, Burrell managed to work the count full against Astros starter Roger Clemens, and subsequently delivered his 1st ever hit off Clemens, a grand slam no less, to give the Phils an early 4-0 lead. Incredibly, as it turned out those 4 runs would be all the Phils would need. Brett Myers pitched 7 solid innings, allowing just 3 runs on 5 hits, with all 3 runs coming in the 4th inning via homers by Luke Scott and Morgan Ensberg of the Astros. However, following that 3-run 4th inning, the Astros would not score again for the rest of the night, as Myers and relievers Geoff Geary, Matt Smith, , and closer Flash Gordon, combined to keep the Astros scoreless for the final 5 innings and to preserve a key 4-3 victory for the Phils. Now obviously with the close score and all, this was a very exciting game, but it didn't have to be, as the Phils had several chances to really run up the score against Astros, and put the game away early but they were unable to do it. Bascially, the Phils didn't play as good as they could have, and are probably lucky to have won this game, but any rate a win is a win, so I am stiil happy. Before I go, let me just update the wild card situation a bit. You already know that the Phils won, but what happened to the Padres? well, they lost so the Phils are now back to within 1.5 games of them for the lead in the wild card race, which as I said before is not a bad place to be in. Well, happy trails everyone.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Normally, he doesn't make many mistakes while he is on the mound, but the few mistakes that Jamie Moyer made in his start today, would be all the Braves needed to get the win. For 4 innings Moyer dueled to a scoreless tie with Braves starter Chuck James. In the 5th inning however, he made his 1st mistake serving up a 3 run homer to Martin Prado for a 3-0 Braves lead. Still, the Phils had come back from 5-0 down to win 6-5 just yesterday, so there was still hope that they could pull out the win. However, it only got worse for the Phils in the 6th inning as Moyer made his 2nd and final mistake, serving up a solo homer to Andrew Jones for a 4-0 Braves. All told, in 6 innings of work Moyer allowed just 5 hits, but because of 2 measely pitches that hung over plate, 4 runs had managed to cross the plate. Meanwhile, as Moyer was making mistakes, James was continuing to cruise and although the Phils were only down 4-0 it was beginning to look like the night would not be theirs. In total, James wound up blanking the Phils for 7 innings on 5 hits, before being lifted for a reliever before the beginning of the 8th inning. All that averted a combined shutout of the Phils for the Braves, was an RBI single by Jeff Conine in the 8th inning, as the Braves averted the series sweep with a 4-1 win. Basically, the Phils just didn't get the job done tonight, and really didn't deserve to win this one. Now, of course to make matters worse the Padres won earlier today so the Phils are now 2.5 games back in the wildcard race, but that's still more than within striking distance, if only the Phils could get on a roll in the final 16 games of their season. Well, happy trails everyone.
FLYERS NEWS
Well, after a long and strenuous 11 month battle to return to the Ice, he's finally called it quits. Yeah that's right today Flyers captain Keith Primeau announced his retirement. With 266 goals, 619 points, and 2 all-star appearances in his 15 year career there is no doubt that Primeau was a great hockey player and a leader on and off the ice. Although, he only spent 5 of his 15 seasons with the Flyers, those 5 seasons will never be forgotten, especially the 2004 season in which he singlehandedly carried the Flyers to the brink of the Stanley Cup Finals, with 9 goals and 16 points, only to fall 1 win short. Anyway, with Primeau retiring, the Flyers needed to name a new team captain, and they did. Not surprisingly, the new captain of the Flyers will be Peter Forsberg, who oddly enough has never been a captain before. I don't know about you but I feel pretty good about Forsberg being named the captain, and I am sad to see Primeau go. Farewell Keith, farewell.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
After their recent struggles with the Marlins, I wanted nothing more than to see the Phils sweep both games of their doubleheader with the Braves tonight, and you know what, they did. In the 1st game of the doubleheader things got off to a bit of a rocky start, as Randy Wolf was roughed up for 5 runs on 6 hits. I mean the game started and before you knew it, it was 5-0 Braves. Fortunately the Phils bullpen had all answers tonight as they not only shutout the Braves for the final 7 innings, they kept them hitless. Meanwhile, the Phils offense was chipping away at the lead, with 3 runs in the 3rd inning, and 3 more in the 8th inning. All told they scored 6 unanswered runs to pull out a dramatic 6-5 win in game 1. In the 2nd game it was more of the same for the Phils except that this time it was the Phils who jumped out to the Early lead at 4-1 and it was Phils starter Jon Lieber, and not the bullpen who shut down the Braves for 7 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 8 hits in 7 and 1/3rd innings of work. Basically the Phils raced out to an early 4-1 lead with 4 runs over the 1st 3 innings, and never looked back winning easily 7-2 to sweep the doubleheader. I don't know about you, but as far as I am concerned that's about as good as the Phils have played in a while and I think they have some real momentum now, so watch out. Anyway, just to update the Wildcard situation, the Padres won today, but the Marlins lost, so the Phils are now back in 2nd place in the wildcard race, 1.5 games behind the Padres for 1st, which is a pretty good position to be in. Well, happy trails everyone.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Stop me if you have heard this before. The Phillies and the Braves got rained tonight, but it will be made it up tomorrow as part of , yes you guessed it, a doubleheader. Anyway, just to update the wild card situation, the Padres and the Marlins lost today, so the Phils now trail the Padres by just 2.0 games for 1st in the wildcard, the San Francisco Giants by just 0.5 games for 2nd in the wildcard and are now tied with the marlins for 3rd in the wildcard, so don't give up on them just yet. Well, happy trails everyone.
EAGLES NEWS
I mentioned yesterday that starting cornerback Lito Sheppard sprained his ankle and would miss next week's game against the Giants. I also mentioned that Roderick Hood would be starting in his place. Now with Hood, starting the Eagles would have gone into next week's game without a backup for Hood. Well, today the Eagles fixed that problem by signing Dexter Wynn, who had previously been one of the Eagles final cuts following the preseason. Now, obviously at the present time with all the offensive and defensive lineman on the roster there wasn't room to just add Wynn to the roster so they Eagles had to release running back Bruce Perry to make room for Wynn. This means of course that for now at least Wynn and not Perry will be returning kickoffs for the Eagles. Anyway, I don't think any of this will make the Eagles any better or worse than they are already, but it's probably a good thing that they got Wynn, because never smart to go into battle without a backup plan.
Monday, September 11, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils had an off day today, but tomorrow they start a key 3 game series with the braves in Atlanta, with Randy Wolf on the mound against Kyle Davies. Also as promised I will give you a quick wild card update. Well, the Padres blew out the Giants yesterday 11-2, so the Phils now trail them by 2.5 games and they are now tied with both the Giants and the Marlins for 2nd in wild card race. Well, that's about all for today, happy trails everyone.
FLYERS NEWS
Big news for the Flyers, yes that's right it's a done deal. The Flyers and Simon Gagne have finally agreed to a new 5 year contract worth 26 million. Gagne is coming off the best season of his career with 47 goals and 79 points and thus far he has meshed exceptionally well with superstar Peter Forsberg. Also the Flyers training camp starts later this week, so this agreement comes at a perfect time, and really fills me with some excitement for the upcoming hockey season.
EAGLES NEWS
Amongst the glory of their 24-10 victory yesterday the Eagles did have one minor setback. Cornerback Lito Sheppard sprained his ankle in the middle of the 1st quarter, and today Coach Andy Reid confirmed that it was significantly sprained and that Sheppard would miss at least next week's game against the Giants. This Means of course that Roderick Hood will start in his place. Hopefully he will be able to fill in adequately enough for the Eagles to win.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
EAGLES NEWS
Coming off an injury plagued 6-10 2005 season, the Eagles enterd this season with a lot of questions. Well, after a solid 24-10 victory over the Houston Texans to open the season consider those questions answered. Yes, things started out a little shaky as the Eagles defense allowed the Texans to score a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, but the Eagles never panicked and by halftime it was 14-10 Eagles, and the Texans had missed their chance for an upset. Now that you know how the Eagles fared as a team, let's talk about some individual performances. Donovan Mcnabb started shaky as well, firing an early interception, but he settled down with the rest of the Eagles and wound up passing for 314 yds and 3 touchdowns. Donté Stallworth has been with the Eagles for only a couple of weeks now, but today he looked like he had been there all along, with 6 catches for 141 yards and a score(a 42 yard strike from Mcnabb on a beautiful play fake). Not to be outdone though, is the Eagles running game as Brian Westbrook (71 yards, 17 carries) and Correll Buckhalter(50 yards, 8 carries) combined for 121 yards, not great, but pretty good for a team that usually relies on it's passing game. The Eagles defense looked pretty good too, sacking Texans QB David Carr 5 times, and keeping the Texans off the scoreboard for the entire 2nd half. They also held the Texans to just 70 yards rushing, which is a lot better then they ever did last year. Just to summarize, the Eagles certainly looked like a much improved football team today, but they made a few mistakes and didn't play as well as they could have. I mean they played well enough to beat the Texans, but they didn't blow them out as they would have in the past. If they hope to get back on top, they are going to have to raise their level just a little bit, because they are going to need everything they've got next week against the Giants. If they win that one then they will make me a believer, but until then I'll just be content with this week 1 victory.
PHILLIES NEWS
If last night was frustrating then today was just down right ugly. Not only were the Phils once again unable to take advantage of their opportunities, they really never got any opportunities. Basically, the Phils offense just couldn't get anything done today as Marlins starter Dontrelle Willis blanked them for the entire game on just 3 hits. Phils starter Cole Hamels meanwhile, lasted just 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and walking 5. Yes, the Phils bullpen performed admirably and kept things close, giving up just 1 run in their 5 innings of work, but it didn't matter as the Marlins prevailed 3-0 anyway. I'd like to talk about it some more but that's really all there is too it. The Phils just ran into a buzzsaw today in Willis and never really had a chance. Anyway, for what it's worth the Phils ,at 72-71, are now tied with the Marlins for 3rd in the wild card race. At the moment they trail the Padres by 2 games, but if the Padres lose again tonight, the Phils will still be 1.5 games back. However if the Padres win they will fall to 2.5 games back. Now, I would love to tell whether the Padres won or lost, but as I write this the Padres and the San Francisco Giants are locked in a scoreless in the 2nd inning so I will have to update you on the situation tomorrow. Well, happy trails everyone.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
It's hard to imagine anything more frustrating then tonight's game was for the Phils. Chase Utley homered twice, and Brett Myers pitched 6 solid innings, allowing just 3 runs but it wasn't enough for the Phils to get the win. They took the an early 1-0 lead on Utley's 1st homer in the 1st inning, but the Marlins and Dan Uggla(he hit a 2 run homer) came right back with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning to go up 2-1. Utley briefly tied it at 2 with his 2nd homer in the 3rd inning, but Uggla once again put the Marlins on top 3-2 with an RBI single. For a while after that it seemed like that 3-2 lead would stand up for the Marlins, as the Phils missed several opportunities to pull even. I mean it seemed like every inning the Phils got another chance to pull even with Marlins but they just couldn't as they left 17 men on base. However, just when it appeared it was over for the Phils, they got 1 last chance in the top of the 9th inning and finally took advantage of it. With 2 on and 1 out, Jeff Conine got the Phils offense off the deck and burned his old team for an RBI single to tie it at 3. Marlins Reliever Joe Borowksi then loaded the bases, but the Phils just could not push across the go ahead run, and the game stayed tied at 3 into extra innings. The Phils and Conine got another chance to push across the go ahead run in the top of the 10th, but Conine's line drive with the bases loaded was caught by a diving Josh Willingham, and the Phils came up empty again. They would not get another chance as Cody Ross singled in the winning run with 1 out in the bottom of the 10th after the Phils had walked the bases loaded in hopes of turning a double play to end the inning. To make matters worse, Phils reliever Arthur Rhodes went down earlier in the inning with a left elbow strain(no word yet on how serious it is). Now of course, as the Phillies lost tonight, so did the Padres, meaning the Phils remain 1.5 games out of 1st in the wild card race. If they had won they would have pulled to within .5 games, but oh well, let's just hope they come back and get a win tomorrow. Well, happy trails everyone
SIXERS NEWS
There is nothing new to report, but I did forget to mention something yesterday. So, without further adieu let me just extend a congratulations to the round mound of rebound himself, Charles Barkley on being inducted into the NBA hall of fame yesterday.
Friday, September 08, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils got a big win against the Marlins last night and just kept it going tonight. The Marlins actually led early 1-0 after an RBI triple by Miguel Olivo and for a while it looked like that 1 run might hold up. Both starters, Ben Olsen for the Marlins, and Jamie Moyer for the Phils, were just dealing through 5 and 1/2 innings as the Marlins maintained their 1-0 the lead, but in the end Moyer simply outlasted Olsen, with a little help from Ryan Howard. Moyer tossed 8 solid innings, allowing just that 1 run on 5 hits, and Howard homered twice(that's 56 now), 1st in the top of the 6th(a 2 run homer) to give the Phils their 1st lead at 2-1, and again in the 8th inning(a solo shot) to put the Phils ahead for good 3-1. Tom Gordon(yes he's back now, in fact he pitched briefly last night too) then came in and closed it out in the 9th, but not before allowing 1 more run as the Phils held on for a 3-2 win. All in all, this was a nice win for the Phils and a big one at that. With the win the Phils move to within 1.5 games of the wild card leading Padres who lost tonight. Anyway, before I finish this for the night I just want to talk about Ryan Howard for a minute. I mean, it's great that the Phils won tonight, but let's be honest the real reason you've been watching the Phillies lately is to see Howard do his thing. I mean come on, can the guy get any hotter. It doesn't seem to matter where you pitch to him, he still hits it out. With the 2 homers tonight he now has 56 homers, as I mentioned earlier, 138 RBIs and he's currently batting .311. All I can say is, I hope he can keep this up for the rest of the season, and not just because what he is doing right is just extraordinary, but because it's just fun to watch him go out there every night. Well, happy trails everyone.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers actually made some roster moves today, signing veteran forward/center Alan Henderson who spent last season with the Cavs, and forward Ivan Mcfarlin, a rookie free agent out of Oklahoma State who dazzled for the Sixers during summer league play. Now, I can't say for sure what the Sixers expect from these 2, but apparently they feel like Mcfarlin and Henderson can add good depth to their front court.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Coming off a tough loss yesterday, the Phils needed something positive to happen to them. Moreover, tonight also began a run of 10 straight road games for the Phils, so it was really important that they start on the right foot and get a win tonight. Unfortunately, for the Phils, there first stop on the road trip was against the hottest team in majors right now, the Marlins, in a place, Dolphin Stadium(formerly Pro Player stadium), that has been a house of horrors for the Phils over the years. Thus, the chances of the Phillies starting their road trip with a win seemed slim. However, no one told the Phils that they weren't supposed to win tonight. Jon Lieber tossed 5 and 1/3rd solid innings, allowing just 4 runs on 7 hits, and Ryan Howard(solo shot, number 54 now), Chris Coste(solo shot), and Chase Utley (3 run homer) all crushed homeruns, as the Phils jumped out to a 10-4 lead through 7 innings. Now you would think that a 10-4 lead through 7 innings would be enough to guarantee the Phils a win, but not against the feisty Marlins, who roughed up reliever Rick White for 4 runs on 3 hits, cutting the lead to 10-8. Fortunately, for the Phils though, their bullpen was able to bare down from, there, and Jeff Conine, who had already burned his former team for a triple and a single, hit the Phils 4th homer of the night(another 3 run homer), putting the phils up for good 14-8. Yeah, that's right the Phils got the big 14-8 win over the Marlins that they needed, and they gained .5 games against the idle Padres(they won again last night, so the phils were behind by 3 games). Thus, the Phils are back to within 2.5 games of the Padres for the lead in the wild card. Well, happy trails everyone.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Remember how I said the Astros have been the Phils arch nemesis for last few years, well today they showed why. Randy Wolf tossed 6 solid innings, allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits, Carlos Ruiz homered in the 5th inning, and Jeff Conine singled in a run in the 6th inning for a 2-2 tie, but that was as good as it would get for the Phils. The game stayed tied at 2 into the top of the 9th inning and it looked like the Phils were headed toward another extra inning thriller, but it was not to be. As they have in the last couple weeks the Phils bullpen collapsed late, this time in the form of Ryan Madson. Madson, got himself in trouble right off the bat in the top of the 9th inning by loading the bases with only 1 out. From there, he struck out Craig Biggio and actually got ahead of Lance Berkman 0 balls and 2 strikes. Now, just 1 strike away from ending the inning, there was hope that Madson could get himself out of the jam, but a couple pitches later Berkman managed to inside out a curveball just inside the foul line for a bases clearing double. At this point, down 5-2 it was pretty much over for the Phils, and although they rallied to score a run in the bottom of the inning, they still fell short 5-3. Needless to say it was a crushing loss for the Phils, but one they can still recover from. Anyway, at the moment the Phils trail the Padres by 2.5 games, but they can get back to within 2.0 games if the Padres lose later tonight. The Padres won last night, but currently they are locked in a scoreless tie with the Rockies through 5 innings(I will have to update you on the situation tomorrow). Well, happy trails everyone.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Well, if you looked outside your window today then you know what I am about to say. The Phils and the Astros were rained out today, but their game will be made up on September 25th , which was originally an off day for both of them. As for the Wild Card situation the Padres did play today and as I write this they are tied with the Rockies at 3 in the top of the 6th inning. If the Padres lose, then the phils will move to within 1.0 game of the wild card lead, so I will have to update you on the situation in tomorrow's post. Well, happy trails everyone
Monday, September 04, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Over the last few years the Phillies arch nemesis has been the Houston Astros. In fact, coming into today's game the Phils had lost their last 12 against the Astros, but tonight all that changed. Pitching against his idol, Roger Clemens, Cole Hamels tossed 8 solid innings, giving up just 2 runs on 2 hits(both solo homers). Meanwhile, the Phils offense could do no better against Clemens, scoring just 1 run on 1 hit, before he left following the 5th inning. Ryan Howard then added a 2nd run, with a solo homer off reliever Russ Springer. Actually, the Phils led at that point, 2-1, but Aubrey Huff led off the top of 8th inning with a solo homer of his own to tie it a 2. After that, though, neither team could get on the board as the 9th inning went by and the game ventured into extra innings. Just like game 2 last night, the extra innings wouldn't last very long. With 2 out in the bottom of the 10th inning and nobody on, Chase Utley stepped up to the plate and delivered. Lately, Utley has been slumping a bit, but in this one instant he rebounded in a big way, as he crushed a homer off Astros reliever Dave Borkowski to lift the Phils to a 3-2 win. Thus, for 1 game at least the Phils were able to get a measure of revenge against their nemesis. Anyway, with the win, the Phils remain 1.5 games behind the Padres in the wild card race(the padres won today too). Well, happy trails everyone.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
WEEKLY POLL QUESTION
Will Ryan Howard hit 60 homers this season?
a. yes, definitely
b. no, not quite
(actually these are from 2 weeks ago, not sure why I didn't post a question last week)
last week's results:
50% a. smart move
50% c. not sure
0% b. what were they thinking
a. yes, definitely
b. no, not quite
(actually these are from 2 weeks ago, not sure why I didn't post a question last week)
last week's results:
50% a. smart move
50% c. not sure
0% b. what were they thinking
PHILLIES NEWS
As I mentioned yesterday, the Phillies had a doubleheader today, and well it went kinda like yesterday's doubleheader, except this time the Phils won the 1st game and lost the 2nd. In the 1st game of the doubleheader, it was all about the power of Ryan Howard and Jamie Moyer rebounding from the rough outing he had in his last start. Well at least for the first 8 innings that was all it was about, as Moyer tossed 7 and 1/3rd solid innings, allowing just 3 runs on 6 hits, and Howard homered in 3 straight at bats giving the Phils a 6-3 lead through 8 innings. In the 9th inning however, it got a little tricky. Neither Ryan Madson, nor Fabio Castro could close out the Braves and in fact coughed up the lead completely, as the Braves went up 7-6. Fortunately for the Phils, Geoff Geory was able to stop the bleeding from there, and the Phillies were able to mount a final rally to escape with an 8-7 win on a game-tying single by Jimmy Rollins and a walk off single by Shane Victorino. In the 2nd game however, the Phils weren't so lucky. Brett Myers cooked up a good one, allowing just 1 run on 3 hits over 8 innings, but the Phils offense couldn't get anything going either as they too scored only 1 run through 8 innings. Try as they might, the Phils just couldn't push across a 2nd run in 9th, so the game went into extra innings, and didn't last long from there. A couple innings later in the top of the 11th inning, the Braves finally forged ahead for good, as Geoff Geary, who had saved the day in the 1st game, fell victim to a throwing error and a passed ball by catcher Carlos Ruiz, allowing the Braves to score 2 runs for a 3-1 lead. Unfortunately the Phils did not have another rally in them and went down in order to give the Braves the win. Well, just to summarize again, that's 1 up and 1 down , and at this point a 1.5 game deficit in the wild card race (the Padres won again today). Well, happy trails everyone.
WEEKLY TRIVIA QUESTION
I know there was no question last week, and that's because for now due to time constraints and a lack of trivia for me to use I am discontinuing the trivia question for a little while, but I'll bring it back from time to time (whenever I get a good question). Anyway, let me just give you the answer from a couple weeks ago. The 5 players besides Ryan Howard who have hit 40 homers in a season for the Phils are the following:
Mike Schmidt
Dick Allen
Chuck Klein
Cy Williams
Jim Thome
Mike Schmidt
Dick Allen
Chuck Klein
Cy Williams
Jim Thome
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