Wednesday, December 05, 2007
FLYERS NEWS
After a tough loss to the Dallas Stars in their last game, the Flyers traveled to Minnesota tonight to faceoff against the Wild. Thanks to 28 saves out of 29 chances by Antero Niittymaki, and a goal and an assist by Jeff Carter the Flyers prevailed. Early on, it was all Flyers in the 1st period with Scottie Upshall and the aforementioned Jeff Carter scoring to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead. The Wild's Pavol Demitra cut it to a 2-1 Flyers lead with a power play goal in the 2nd period. In the 3rd period Braydon Coburn blasted in a goal from the blue line, for a 3-1 Flyers lead, early in the period. With Antero Niittymaki(Marty Biron got a rare night off), making save after save the rest of the way, the Flyers hung on for an important 3-1 win to improve to 15-9-2 overall and move into a 3 way tie for 1st place in the Atlantic division, along with the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers. Now if only they could win a couple in a row now, instead of winning one and then losing one and then winning one again and so on and so forth.
SIXERS NEWS
After a humiliating loss to the Atlanta Hawks in their last game, things only figured to get worse for the Sixers tonight as they continued their home stand against the Boston Celtics, holders of the NBA's best record, and 1st place in the Sixers own Atlantic division. Not, surprisingly the Sixers were no match for Boston, but they played them close. Offensively, 5 Sixers(Andre Miller, Willie Green, Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert, Louis Williams) scored in double figures with Andre Miller's 26 leading the way, as he combined those 26 with 12 assists for a rare double-double. Defensively, Samuel Dalembert had another stellar night with 9 rebounds and 2 blocks, allowing the Sixers to hang in there with Boston from start to finish. Early on the Sixers actually led 32-26 after the 1st quarter. At the half the Sixers were still clinging to a 57-52 lead. The 2nd half then belonged to Boston. After the 3rd quarter the Celtics had rallied back to take an 83-80 lead. The Celts kept pouring it on in the 4th quarter, and upped their lead to 10 winning easily, 113-103. So the Sixers drop to 5-13 overall, and well they're still in last place.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
Well, apparently Ed Snider has had enough of the Sixers futility this season, as he fired GM Billy King today. Perhaps, with a rebuilding team, King should be given the benefit of the doubt, but he's already been given several chances to prove himself and it hasn't really worked out. Taking King's place will be ex-Nets GM Ed Stefanski, architect of the Nets teams of the mid 2000s that reached the NBA finals two years in a row. Maybe he can help to turn around the Sixers as well.
Monday, December 03, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
The rough days continued for the Sixers tonight, as they returned home to the Wachovia center to face the Atlanta Hawks tonight. Coming into tonight's game the Sixers had won 7 straight games at home against the Hawks, and that streak only figured to continue. Unfortunately it didn't. Offensively, 4 Sixers scored in double figures(Andre Miller, Willie Green, Andre Iguodala, Kyle Korver) with Willie Green's 23 leading the way. Defensively, Samuel Dalembert had another fruitful night with 10 rebounds and 2 blocks, and Reggie Evans chipped in with 10 blocks as well, as the Sixers outrebounded Atlanta 44-41. Unfortunately, the Sixers also turned to ball over 5 more times than the Hawks(17-12), with 12 fewer assists than the Hawks(26-14). Thus Assist -turnover ratio was the big factor tonight. Early on the Hawsks lead 24-17 after the 1st quarter. The Sixers rallied back in the 2nd quarter to take a one point 46-45 lead at the half. In the 3rd quarter Atlanta began to pull away, taking a 4 point ,66-62, lead through 3 quarters. Atlanta then put it away in the 4th quarter, running to a 9 point , 88-79 win, as the Sixers shooting cooled down. So the Sixers drop to 5-12 overall, and remain in last place in the Atlantic division.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
EAGLES NEWS
After there near miss against the Patriots last week, the Eagles returned home today, to face the Seattle Seahawks, and were given a dose of reality. Let me just say reality bites. Perhaps last week wasn't so much the Eagles excelling as it was the Patriots simply performing poorly,but at any rate that was not the true Eagles that showed up last week. The Eagles that showed up today, resembled more the Eagles that had shown up all season until last week . Suffice it to say, between A.J Feeley misfiring on passes, when he wasn't being intercepted and the Eagles secondary missing tackles, when they weren't dropping their own interceptions, it wasn't much of a contest to watch from an Eagles standpoint. Still, thanks to 139 all purpose yards of offense alone, from Brian Westbrook was able to keep it close. Seattle Struck first on a 2 yard run by Shawn Alexander, early in the 1st quarter, and following Feeley's 1st interception. Minutes later on the Eagles next possession, Correll Buckhalter picked up his teammate with a 30 yard TD run to tie it at 7. Later in the quarters Seattle when back ahead 14-7, on a 12 yard TD pass from Matt Hasselback to Bobby Engram. The Eagles then finished the scoring in the 1st quarter with a David Akers field goal to cut the lead to 14-10. In the 2nd quarter Seattle struck first again with another Hasselback TD pass, this time 43 yards to Nate Burleson for a 21-10 lead. The Eagles answered yet again with 24 TD pass from Feeley to Kevin Curtis, to cut the lead to 21-17. Then Eagles then got ball back late in the 2nd quarter, and drove down to the Seattle 1 yard line with a chance to take the lead into the half. Unfortunately, the Seahawks made a stand, and the Eagles failed to punch it in, turning it over on downs to end the half. Not unnerved by the goal line stand, the Eagles forced and recovered a fumble on the Seahawks 1st possession of the 3rd quarter. Minutes later, Brian Westbrook raced in with an electrifying 29 yard TD run, to put the Eagles up 24-21. The Seahawks responded on their next possession and after a long drive, Maurice Morris scampered 45 yards for a TD run and a 28-24 Seahawks lead. From here the Eagles went 7 straight possessions without a point scored and nary a yard gained. Finally, with just under a minute to play Westbrook broke open a 64 yard punt return to Seattles' 14 yard line. Once again the Eagles appeared destined to steal victory , but again they would come up short. Their 1st two plays here went, nowhere, and Feeley was then intercepted again to seal the Seahawks 28-24 victory. So the Eagles drop to 5-7 overall, but with all of the instability in the NFC the Eagles are actually stilling in the running for a playoff spot, however, unlikely that may seem now.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
Another night, another tough loss for the Sixers. Tonight they traveled to New Jersey to face the Nets. Offensively, four Sixers scored in double figures(Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, Kyle Korver, Louis Williams.) with Andre Iguodala leading the way with 26. Defensively, Samuel Dalembert was once again a standout. Dalembert pulled down 16 rebounds, to help the Sixers outrebound the Nets 43-36, and blocked 5 shots. Early on, after the 1st period the Sixers lead 28-19. In the 2nd period the Sixers upped there lead to 51-35(that is a 16 point lead). The Nets rallied back to within 1 through 3 quarters(61-60). The 4th quarter was once again an up and down battle, but the Nets had just enough resolve to forge an 83-83 tie at the end of regulation and force the game into overtime. In the overtime period defense reigned supreme as the two teams combined for just 20 points. At first it was all Nets as they pushed out an 88-83 lead. The Sixers rallied back several times and with 2 seconds to play they got to within 1, with the score 93-92 . From here though, the Nets made their free throws and the Sixers were not able to score again, losing 94-92 in a heartbreaker. So the Sixers drop to 5-11 overall, and remain in last place in the Altantic division.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers returned home tonight to face the Dallas Stars. Okay so Flyers-Stars isn't exactly Eagles-Cowboys, but its still Philadelphia vs. Dallas and a Flyers win would have been just as sweet. Unfortunately the Flyers did not produce much offense on the night and goalie Marty Biron did not have one of his better nights, allowing 4 goals(3 in the 2nd period), and the Flyers fell. Early in the 1st period Randy Jones made it 1-0 Flyers. Later in the period Jeff Halpern knotted it at 1 and the Starts never trailed agan. The 2nd period belonged to the Stars, as Jussi Jokinen, Antti Miettinen, and Mke Ribeiro each scored to make 4-1 Starts. Finally, in the 3rd period, the goalies put uo matching shutouts until the game had ended in a 4-1 Stars victory. So the Flyers drop to 14-9-2 overall and 2 points out of fist place in the Atlantic division
Friday, November 30, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
A little over a week ago the Sixers traveled to Washington to face the Wizards and were embarrassed 116-101. Tonight at home in the wachovia center, the Sixers exacted revenge. While the last game was a shootout, tonight's game was a sloppy defensive stalemate. Despite poor shooting(under 40% from the field, 0-14 from beyond, and only 73% from the free throw line) the Sixers still managed to post 4 scorers in double digits(Andre Miller, Willie Green, Reggie Evans, Samuel Dalembert). with Samuel Dalembert leading the way with 19. Defensively, Dalembert was the star again with 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. Andre Iguodala also contributed 12 rebounds and 2 blocks as the Sixers outrebounded the Wizards 42-40. Perhaps more importantly though, the Sixers won the turnover battle with just 8 to the Wizards 18, just enough of a factor to help the Sixers pull out a win. Early on the Sixers led by as much as 11, but had to settle for a 5 point lead after the 1st quarter(25-20). Washington stormed back to take a 1 point lead at the half(43-42). The Sixers rallied back in the 3rd quarter to forge a 68-68 tie through 3 quarters. The 4th quarter was a tight back and forth tussle throughout. The Sixers led 85-81 with 45 seconds to play. Then the Wizard's Caron Butler nailed a 3 pointer to cut the lead to 85-84. From there, Sixers milked the clock down to 12 seconds, but Andre Iguodala missed a layup and the Wizards had a final possession to steal victory. Fortunately rookie Nick young jacked up a 3 pointer with 1 second to play and missed it, to give the Sixers an 85-84 win. So the Sixers improve to 5-10 overall, but remain tied for last place in the Atlantic division.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers continued to play hard tonight as they returned home to face the Utah Jazz. This time, however hard work was not enough, and the Sixers ultimately fell to the Jazz. Offensively, 4 Sixers scored in double figures(Andre Miller, Willie greene, Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert) with Miller leading the way with 20 points. Defensively, the Sixers outrebounded the Jazz 39-36, but turned the ball over 4 more times than the Jazz and allowed them to shoot over 50% from the field. Early on the Sixers lead by 2 through the 1st quarter(27-25). The Jazz then rallied to take a 5 point lead into the half(49-44)l. By the end of 3 quarters that lead was up to 9, with the score 77-68. Although the Sixers kept fighting they would not get any closer than they'd been back in the 1st half and lost by 11, 106-95. All in all it was a pretty disheartening loss coming after such a satisfying win. So the Sixers drop to 4-10 overall and back into sole possession of last place in the Atlantic division. What a team.
FLYERS NEWS
The Orange and black returned to Carolina for the 2nd time in a week tonight, and for the 2nd time they prevailed over the Hurricanes. Marty Biron was the man of the hour with 40 saves of the 41 shots he faced on the night. Early on the Flyers jumped out to a 2-0 lead as Derian Hatcher(his 1st goal of the season), and Kimo Timonen each scored in the 1st period. The 2nd period was scoreless. Then early in the 3rd period Mike Knuble scored to make it 3-0 Flyers. The Hurricanes attempted to mount a comeback as Corey Stillman scored on the power play midway through the 3rd period, cutting the lead to 3-1. However, Biron was impenetrable the rest of the way and the Flyers got the win, 3-1. So the Flyers improve to 14-8-2 overall and assume sole possession of first place in the Atlantic division by two points over the Rangers.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers came out firing against the Milwaukee Bucks tonight and were not disappointed. Offensively five Sixers scored in double figures(Andre Miller, Willie Green, Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert, and Kyle Korver), and 3 of those 5 scored 20 points or more(Iggy and Korver each had 20, and Dalembert had 22). After sitting out the last 4 games Korver returned with a vengeance hitting 4 of 5 from downtown. Also for once, Andre Miller with a near double-double(18 points, 9 assists) actually distributed the ball amongst his teammates, and a funny thing happened. The Sixers won the assist to turnover battle, with 31 assists, to 9 turnovers, to the Bucks 20 assists and 14 turnovers, and shot over 50% from the field. In other words the Sixers offensive actually flowed together the way its supposed to for about the first time all season. If only Miller would play like that every night instead of just when he feels like it. Anyway, defensively it was once again the Samuel Dalembert show, as the center pulled down 8 rebounds to help the Sixers outrebound Milwaukee 39-35, blocked 3 shots, and likely redirected countless others. Basically, just about every statistical category went the Sixers away tonight and its hard to lose when that happens, even for the Sixers. Early on the Sixers raced out to a 32-18 lead after 1 quarter of play, but by the half Milwaukee had cut the lead back down to 4(56-52). Tonight however, the Sixers would not fall off in the second half. By the end of 3 quarters, the Sixers' lead was back up to 9(85-76). Then in the 4th quarter the Sixers just kept pouring it on and finally wound up winning by the laughable final score of 114-99. So the Sixers improve to 4-9, but for now remain tied with the Knicks for last in the Atlantic division.
Monday, November 26, 2007
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers maddening inconsistency continued tonight as they returned home to face the Boston Bruins. After getting the night off against the Senators, Marty Biron returned to the ice for the Flyers today and he didn't fare so well. In just 14 shots faced and 23 minutes played he allowed 3 goals and was yanked in favor of Antero nittymaki. Niittymaki didn't fare to well either, allowing two goals despite facing only 15 shots on goal. Early on Boston jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Glen Murray and Marc Savard in the 1st period. In the 2nd period Boston jumped out to an eaven bigger lead on goals by Murray and Glen Metropolic. Late in the 2nd period Mike Knuble and Mike Richards finally got the Flyers on the board to cut the lead to 4-2 Bruins. With about a minute to play in the 2nd, Pete Schaefer scored yet another Bruin's goal to up the lead to 5-2 heading into the 3rd period. Finally, early in the 3rd period Scottie Upshall scored on a power play to cut the lead back to 5-3. Then Chuck Kobasew scored on the Flyer's empty net to put it away for good with the final sc0re 6-3 Bruins. So the Flyers drop to 38-7-2 overall but remain tied for 1st place in the Atlantic dvision with the Rangers.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles came oh so close to pulling what would have been the biggest upset in NFL regular season history, in terms of the point spread. Unfortunately thanks to a couple late interceptions of A.J Feeley, starting in place of a banged up Donovan Mcnabb, the unbeaten Patriots survived and improved to an NFL best 11-0. Even without Mcnabb the Eagles offense clicked on all cylinders. Feeley completed 27 of his 42 passes for 345 yds and 3 TDs, Brian Westbrook rushed 17 times for 52 yards and a TD, and Greg Lewis made 5 catches for 88 yards and 2 TDs. Meanwhile, the Eagles defense played about as well as they could have against the Patriots #1 offense. They sacked Tom Brady 3 times, made Randy Moss and the deep pass largely a non-factor and limited the Patriots running attack to just 48 yards. Unfortunately, with the Pats unable to go deep, the underneath reciever, speedy Wes Welker, emerged with 13 catches for 149 yards, which proved to be the difference. The Patriots struck on the 3rd play of the game, as Asante Samuel intercepted Feeley deep in the Eagles own territory and returned it for a TD. The Eagles responded with a long drive capped off a by 1 yard Brian Westbrook TD run to tie it at 7. The Patriots came back to score on their 1st offensive series on a 1yd TD run by Heath Evans for a 14-7 lead heading into the 2nd quarter. Early in the 2nd quarter Feeley fired a 28 yard TD pass to Greg Lewis to tie at 14. The Patriots answered with a Stephen Gostkowski field goal for a 17-14 lead. Feeley fired another TD pass to Lewis, this time from 18 yards out for a 21-17 Eagles lead. After a long drive to end the half, it appeared the Eagles would hold the Pats to a field goal a retain a 21-20 lead at the half. Instead, with 8 seconds left Brady hit Jabar Gaffney with a 19 yard TD pass for a 24-21 halftime lead for the Pats. Late in 3rd quarter following a missed field by Gostkowski, Feeley fired an 8 yard TD pass to Reggie Brown for a 28-24 Eagles lead. The defense gave the Eagles the ball back with a chance to boost their lead heading into the 4th quarter, but they went 3 and out. Then in the 4th quarter with 7 minutes to play, after another long Patriots drive, Laurence Maroney plowed in from 4 yards out, to put the Pats up 31-28. The Eagles drove down to the Patriots 29 yard line with 3 minutes to play. They had a 2nd and 4, but rather than slowing down, milking the clock and going in for the winning score with little time on the clock they choose to go for it all, and Feeley was intercepted in the endzone by Asante Samuel. The Eagles defense held and Feeley and offense got the ball back one last time with 19 seconds to play, but Feeley was intercepted again, and the Pats ran out the clock for the 31-28 escape. In the end it was the greatest loss in Eagles history and hopefully a springboard to a playoff run down the stretch of this season, as the Eagles at 5-6 now, remain just one game out of the final playoff spot in the NFC, held precariously by the struggling Detroit Lions.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
Losses don't get much more heartbreaking than this one. The Sixers returned home to the Wachovia center tonight to face the Golden State Warriors. Offensively, Andre Iguodala with 26, Andre Miller with 23, and Louis Williams off the bench with 18 led the way. Defensively the Sixers held Golden State to just 39.1% shooting and turned the ball over just 16 times to the Warrior's 18 turnovers. However, Golden state outrebounded the Sixers 54-47, and shot better down the stretch. The Sixers jumped out to a quick start leading by 7(30-23) after the 1st period. The Sixers upped the lead to 12 at the half with a season high 57 points to the warriors 45. Unfortunately they cooled off in the 2nd half, as the Warriors cut the lead to 1 by the end of the 3rd quarter(76-75). Still, the Sixers kept fighting and hung on to force the game into overtime tied at 90 after Andre Iguodala missed a shot at the buzzer. In overtime the lead jockeyed back and forth between the two teams. The Sixers took a 98-97 lead with 13 seconds to play on layup by Iguodala. Then with 6 seconds to play Kelenna Azabuike hit a three pointer to put Golden state up 100-98. The Sixers had one last chance to tie or win, but as he was driving to the basket Louis Williams turned the ball over with one second to play and the Warriors hung on to defeat the Sixers 100-98. The Sixers drop to 3-9 overall and into a tie for last place in the Atlantic division.
FLYERS NEWS
While the Eagles face the NFL's best tomorrow, the Flyers faced off against the NHL's best tonight as they traveled to Ottawa to face the Senators. Thanks to 3 points from Daniel Briere(1 goal and 2 assists) and 29 saves by Antero Niittymaki in a rare start, the Flyers surprised the Senators and prevailed. Wade Redden scored early in the 1st period to put Ottawa up 1-0. R.J Umberger knotted it up at 1 for the Flyers a couple minutes later. Late in the period Danny Heatley scored to put Ottawa up 2-1. Early in the 2nd period Scott Hartnell scored to tie up again at 2. A few minutes later Chris Schubert put Ottawa back ahead 3-2. Mike Richards tied it up again at 3 a couple minutes later. Finally, late in the period Briere put the Flyers up 4-3 heading into the 3rd period. From there Niittymaki kept Ottawa from lighting the lamp and the Flyers hung on to win 4-3. So the Flyers improve to 13-7-2 overall and move back into a tie for 1st in the Atlantic division.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles are in a world of trouble now as they get ready to face the New England Patriots tomorrow night. Donovan Mcnabb will not be play in the game, as he is nursing a sprained ankle and a sore thumb. Instead A.J Feeley will get the start. So the Eagles chances of shocking the world by defeating the mighty Patriots have now gone from slim to none.
Friday, November 23, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Detroit tonight to face the always tough Detroit Pistons. As usual against the Pistons defense was the name of the game, but the Sixers were still productive offensively with Andre Iguodala's 17 points, leading 5 Sixers players scoring in double figures(Iguodala, Andre Miller, Samuel Dalembert, Willie Green, Louis Williams). Defensively, the Sixers ruled the boards with 47 to Detroit's 36. However the Sixers also turned the ball over 14 times to Detroit's 6, and shot just 39.1% from the field, while Detroit shot 41.5% from the field. Thus Detroit prevailed. Early on it was all knotted up at 17 after the 1st period. The Pistons led by 2 at the half, with the score at 40-38. By the end of the 3rd quarter Detroit was ahead by 10 with the score at 64-54. Finally, in the 4th quarter the Sixers rallied back and actually cut the Pistons lead to 1 with just under 15 seconds to play, as Iguodala nailed a 3 pointer. Unfortunately from there the Sixers did not score again and the Pistons made their free throws to hang on for a hard fought 83-78 victory. So the Sixers drop to 3-8 overall, but remain 4th in the Atlantic division.
FLYERS NEWS
In their usual post Thanksgiving matinee this afternoon the Flyers welcomed Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals to the Wachovia center. Thanks to 31 saves by Marty Biron the Flyers were able to make it a close game but Washington ultimately prevailed. Early on it was all Washington. Mike Green made it 1-0 Capitals early in the 1st period. Early in the 2nd period Chris Clark made it 2-0 Caps. Then late in the period all heck broke loose. Former Flyer Donald Brashear made it 3-0 Caps, but Daniele Briere and Jeff Carter scored goals minutes apart from each other and suddenly it was only 3-2 Caps heading into 3rd period. Late in the 3rd, Mike Richards knotted it at 3 to complete the Flyers rally and force the game into overtime. There, just under 2 minutes in Nicklas Backstrom scored for a 4-3 Capitals victory. So the Flyers drop to 12-7-2 overall, but remain in 2nd place in the Atlantic division, just 2 points behind the Rangers.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
FLYERS NEWS
So far this month with one of their top goal scorers, Simon Gagne, on ir the Flyers had struggled. They hadn't been getting many shots on goal ,and very few goals. The defense had likewise begun to slow down somewhat, leaving Marty Biron to fend for himself against a barage of shots. So all that said, as the Flyers traveled to Charlotte, to face the Carolina Hurricanes and their former comrade Rod Brindamour, they sorely needed a win and a clean performance to restore their own belief in themselves. Thanks to a hat trick by Daniel Briere and 32 saves from Biron the Flyers got their win and perhaps some much needed confidence. In the first period Brindamour put the Canes ahead 1-0 with a power play goal late in the period. In the 2nd period the Flyers forged ahead 2-1 on goals from Mike Knuble and Kimmo Timonen. The 3rd period was a sea saw battle. First Briere scored 21 seconds in for a 3-1 Flyers lead. Eric Staal answered for the Canes with a power play to cut the lead to 3-2. Briere responded with his 2nd goal 1 minute later for a 4-2 lead. A couple minutes later Matt Cullen scored another power play goal for the canes, cutting the lead to 4-3. Briere responded again late in the period with his 3rd goal for a 5-3 lead. later with under a minute to play Scott Hartnell fired yet another goal into the Canes empty net to cap off the 6-3 Flyers victory. So the Flyers improve to 12-7-1(the one refers to an overtime loss, rather than a tie) overall but remain 2nd in the Atlantic division two points behind the NY Rangers.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
After a key win over the Trailblazers in their last game, the Sixers were looking to keep things rolling tonight against the Washington Wizards. Unfortunately the Wizards were just red-hot tonight from the field, shooting a combined 57.3%, and the Sixers just had no answer for this stellar offense, falling to Washington in a laugher. Offensively, Louis Williams led the way with 25 points off the bench, Thaddeus Young chipped in with 14 points off the bench, and Andre Iguodala, and Rodney each added 10 points. Defensively, due to the above shooting stats, the Sixers were nothing short of abysmal. Early on the Sixers actually led 26-24 after the 1st quarter. Then Washington took over. By halftime the Wizards led by 16 points. By the end of the 3rd quarter Washington was up 30 points and a Wizards victory was all but a formality. Still the Sixers kept fighting in the 4th quarter and actually managed to cut the lead down to 15, but it was to no avail, as the Sixers fell to Washington 116-101. The Sixers now drop to 3-7 overall, and stay in 4th place in the Atlantic Division just the ahead of the struggling New York Knicks.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils have brought in a lot of hardware this offseason, but today they got the big prize as Jimmy Rollins was named NL MVP by a slim margin over Matt Holiday of the Colorado Rockies. Rollins wins largely on the strength of becoming just the 4th player in major league history to have 20 homers, 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 stolen bases in the same season(Curtis Granderson, Frank "wildfire" Shultze, and the Say Hey kid, Willie Mays were the others). Rollins becomes just the 5th Phillies player to be named NL mvp, after Ryan Howard, Mike Schmidt(3 times), Jim Konstanty, and Chuck Klein. Also JRoll, and Howard are the 1st teammates to be named MVP in back to back seasons, since the San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent in 2000-2001. In all, this off season Rollins has been awarded with a silver slugger award, a gold glove award, and now the NL MVP. It seems the only thing missing is that world series ring. We'll have to fix that.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
EAGLES NEWS
For the second week in a row, it wasn' t pretty but against the winless Dolphins the Eagles did just enough to win, clinching their first back-to-back wins of the season. On offense the key contributors were as usual Brian Westbrook with 32 carries for 148 yards, and A.J Feeley with 13 completions out of 19 pass attempts for 116 yards and a TD(Mcnabb went down late in the 2nd quarter with a knee sprain, but chances are he'll be back next week against the Pats). On defense the Eagles simply played well as a whole, keeping the Dolphins offense out of the endzone, and limiting it to just 186 yards. Initially, the winless Dolphins actually led 7-0 on an 84 yard punt return by Ted Ginn early in the second quarter. After 3 consecutive turnovers in the redzone, the Eagles finally got on the board late in the 2nd quarter as David Akers booted a 34 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 at the half. The Eagles then opened the second half with a long drive capped off by an 8 yard Touchdown plunge by Correll Buckhalter for a 10-7 Eagles lead. It stayed that way until the Eagles opened the 4th quarter with another long time consuming drive, capped off by Feeley's 4 yard TD pass to Jason Avant, for a 17-7 Eagles lead. Later after the Eagles held the fins on the 4 downs at the Eagles 1 yard line, Feeley and the offense ran out the clock for win. So the Eagles improve to 5-5 overall, just 1 game out of the final playoff spot in the NFC. They're chances of getting that spot are still pretty slim though, as the brutal final stretch of games to finish their season can attest.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
FLYERS NEWS
After a tough loss to the Rangers in their last game, the Flyers were looking to rebound tonight against the Devils, but they did not. In the battle of the Martys the win went to Brodeur who saved 26 of the 28 shots he faced, while Biron allowed 4 goals in the first 2 periods and was yanked to start the 3rd period in favor of Antero Niittymaki. Even Niittymaki had no answer for New Jersey as he allowed 2 more goals to complete the Devils onslaught. Early on in the 1st period New Jersey jumped out a 2-0 lead on goals by former Flyer Danius Zubrus and Karel Ruchanek. Early in the 2nd period Patrick Elias made it 3-0 Devils. Then late in the period after Mike Richards finally got the Flyers on the board, Jay Pandolfo scored yet another goal to put the Devils up 4-1. Early in the 3rd period Scottie Upshall cut the Devils lead to 4-2 and provided momentary hope of a Flyers comeback but it was not to be. Brian Gionta made it 5-2 Devils minutes later and a minute after that Zach Parisse ended the scoring to seal a 6-2 Devils win. So the Flyers drop to 11-7 and into second place in the Atlantic division, 2 points behind the Rangers.
Friday, November 16, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
Tonight's game pitted two of the youngest teams in the NBA in the Sixers and the Portland Trailblazers and surprisingly it was a well played game. Thanks to a massive rebounding edge, and despite 21 turnovers, the Sixers prevailed. Offensively, Andre Iguodala led the way with 22 points, Andre Miller posted 13 points, Louis Williams dropped 19 points off the bench, and the rookie Jason Smith chipped in with 12 off the bench. Defensively, no one player shined but the Sixers as a team ruled the boards, with 43 to the Trailblazers 30. Early it was all Blazers, with a 7 point lead after 1 quarter and an 18 point lead at the half. At one point in the 3rd Portland led by as much as 25 points, but Iggy and the Sixers chipped and charged back to within 17 at the end of 3 quarters. The 4th quarter then belonged to Sixers as they ripped off 36 points, outscored the Blazers by 21 points, and pull out a thrilling 92-88 win. So the Sixers improve to 3-6, but remain in last place in the Atlantic division.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers engaged in a thriller at the Wachovia center with the New York Rangers tonight. Prior to tonight, the Flyers had been undefeated at home, so when they forced the game into overtime, it seemed a safe bet that they would pull it out. Unfortunately, the Orange black came up short at home for the first time tonight, losing in a shutout. In the end, 26 saves out of 30 shots faced by Marty Biron were not enough and Denis Tolpeko's first career goal went for naught. Early on the Flyers led 1-0 early in the 3rd period on a goal by Jim Dowd. New York tied it up at 1, later in the period. Early in the 2nd period Brendan Shanahan put the rangers ahead 2-1. However, Daniel Briere tied it up again, with a goal later in the period. Early in the 3rd period Peter Prucha pushed New York ahead again, 3-2. Then late in the period Tolpeko poked in his first career goal to tie it at 3. From here Biron and his counterpart Henrick Lundquist shut it down and pushed the game first, into overtime, and then into a shootout. There the Flyers failed to score, while Brendan Shanahan scored the lone goal for a 4-3 Rangers win. So the Flyers drop to 11-6 overall and into a tie for 1st in the Atlantic division with the Rangers.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers were back on the road again tonight in New Orleans to face the Hornets. With this being there 3rd game in 4 nights, they were understandably weary and it showed in the 2nd half as the Hornets pulled away and prevailed. Offensively, Willie Green led the way for the Sixers with 20 points, Andre Miller added 17 and Samuel Dalembert quietly dropped 13. Defensively, the Sixers simply had no answer for Morris Peterson, who pumped in a game high 27 points, while shooting 58.3 % from the field and 66 % from the three point line. The only real positive for the Sixers on this side of the ball is that they outrebounded the Hornets 41-35 as Dalembert pulled down 13 rebounds. Early on the Sixers looked spent, falling behind by 12 twice, and trailing by 6 after the 1st quarter. Somehow they mustered up enough steam to rally back to a 43-43 tie at halftime. Then the Hornets took over, as the exhausted Sixers ran out of gas. New Orleans led by 8 after 3 quarters, and then turned it on in 4th quarter to roll to a 19 point win, by a final score of 95-76. So the Sixers drop to 2-6 and remain in last place in the Atlantic division. They'll probably be down there for a while.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
SIXERS NEWS
Against the tough Dallas Mavericks tonight at the wachovia center, the Sixers chances of winning were slim from the onset, and not surprisingly despite a near triple-double by Andre Iguodala, the Sixers fell hard. Offensively, 5 sixers scored in double figures(Iguodala who also had 8 assists, Samuel Dalembert, Willie Green, Andre Miller, and Kyle Korver). Defensively, Iguodala and Reggie Evans each pulled down 12 rebounds as the Sixers matched Dallas with 47 rebounds. Unfortunately, aside from the rebounding, the Sixers defense was no match for the high-powered Dallas offense which shot nearly 45% from the field. The Sixers actually led early, with a one point lead after the 1st quarter and a 7 point lead at the half(50-43). The Mavericks then went on a 16-2 run to open the 2nd half and looked like they were going to run away it. However, the Sixers battled back one more time, and got back within two late in the 3rd quarter. Then the Mavs turned it up again and pulled away for good, with an 8 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. By the time the smoke finally cleared, the Mavs had rolled to a 15 point win, 99-84. So the Sixers drop to 2-5 overall, and remain in last place in the Atlantic division.
Monday, November 12, 2007
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers continued their home cooking tonight against the Islanders. Marty Biron saved 24 of the 26 shots he faced, Scottie Upshall scored twice early, and Mike Richards scored shorthanded to cap off a Flyers victory. Late in the 1st period Upshall scored to put the Flyers up early 1-0. New York tied it early in the 2nd period on a goal by Mike Sillinger. Late in the 2nd period Upshall scored his 2nd goal on a spectacular breakaway for a 2-1 Flyers lead. Chris Simon scored a fluky goal with about 2 minutes to play in the 2nd period to forge a 2-2 tie. Finally, early in the 3rd period, with the Flyers down 2 men, Mike Richards scored shorthanded for a 3-2 Flyers lead. From there, Biron shut things down for the Islanders, and the Flyers got the win, 3-2. So the Flyers improve to 11-6 overall and remain firmly entrenched in 1st place in the Atlantic Division.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
EAGLES NEWS
It wasn't pretty, in fact it didn't even look good at times, but the bottom line is that when push came to shove, and the Eagles absolutely had to have a play, they got it, while the Redskins did not ,and that ultimately proved to be the difference in today's game. In the end, thanks to 251 yards and 4 TDs from Donovan Mcnabb, and 183 total yards(100 rushing, 83 receiving) and 3 TDs from Brian Westbrook the Eagles prevailed. The Early lead belonged to the Eagles as Westbrook scored from 4 yards out on a shovel pass, midway through the 1st quarter. In the 2nd quarter Jason Campbell fired a pair of TD passes to James Thrash(yes the former Eagle) to put Washington up 12-7 at the half(the PAT failed after the 1st TD and the 2 point conversion failed after the 2nd TD). Shaun Suisham booted a field to open the 3rd quarter and push the Redskin lead to 15-7. Late in the 3rd Mcnabb hit L.J Smith with an 8 yard TD pass, to cut the lead to 15-13(the Eagles attempted the 2 point conversion for the tie and it failed). Jason Campbell opened the 4th quarter with at TD pass to veteran Keenan Mccardell for a 22-13 lead, and for a fleeting moment it appeared the Eagles were headed to anothe debilitating loss. Then 2 minutes later Mcnabb hit Reggie Brown with a 45 yard TD pass to cut the lead to 22-20 and the Birds were right back in it. Then on their ensuing possession the Skins drove it deep into the Birds territory but fumbled it away, seemingly handing all the momemtum to the Eagles. Unfortunately, Mcnabb was sacked seconds later and fumbled it back. Somehow from there, the Eagles defense stopped the Skins on 7 straight possessions from inside the Eagles 10 yard line. Washington settled for a field goal, to push their lead to 25-20. A minute later on the Eagles ensuing possession Mcnabb fired a screen pass to Westbrook, who then proceeded to zig-zag his way 57 yards for a TD and 26-25 Eagles lead(after another failed 2 point conversion). On the ensuing Skins possession Campbell was sacked and fumbled it away to the Birds deep in Redskin territory. A minute later, Westbrook ran it in from 10 yards out to put the Birds up for good 33-25 ,and that was all she wrote as the Eagles improve to 4-5 overall. So for now their season is saved, but they will have to string together some wins if they still hope to make a run at the playoffs.
SIXERS NEWS
One thing is undeniable about this edition of the Sixers, they're fun to watch. Unfortunately, they're just not very good yet and New Orleans Hornets made sure they knew it tonight. For the Sixers Andre Iguodala led the way with a game high 17 points, Samuel Dalembert had a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and a pair of blocks, and Kyle Korver chipped in with 13 points off the bench. However, after that there wasn't much scoring for the Sixers, as the Hornets defense locked them down, forcing 18 turnovers and countless bad shots. The Sixers actually led early 24-23 after the 1st quarter. Then New Orleans took over from there with a 14 point lead at the half, and a 23 point lead after 3 quarters. The Sixers rallied in the 4th quarter to at least make it respectable, but the Hornets still won easily by 21, 93-72. So the Sixers drop to 2-4 overall. Looks like they're not so good after all.
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