There is nothing new to report
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers finished their road trip at last tonight in New York against the Islanders. After losing 3 in a row the Orange and Black desperately needed this one to at least salvage a 2-3 road trip. Brian Boucher got the start in goal and he made all the difference with 28 spectacular saves out of the 29 shots he faced. The Islanders really outhustled and outmuscled the Flyers on this night, but thanks to Boosh they could only come up with one goal and 1-0 lead through most of the first 2 periods. Then with a little over 30 seconds left in the 2nd period Mike Richards scored on the power play, the Flyer's first only power play of the night, to knot it at up at 1. The Flyer's took over from there, with New York registering only 1 shot on goal in the 3rd period. Meanwhile, the Orange and Black kept throwing everything at former Flyer Marty Biron, but couldn't seem to get the winning goal past him. Finally with about 5 and half minutes to play, Scott Hartnell slapped one by Biron for a 2-1 lead that held up the rest of the way, thanks to some relentless Orange and Black defense. So the Flyers move to 13-8-1 overall and skate safely back up to 5th in the East. With Ray Emery struggling his last few times out I wouldn't be surprised to see Boosh out there for another night or two, especially if he keeps playing like this.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Boston tonight for a matchup with the Celtics. With Lou Williams out with a broken jaw, Elton Brand out with the hamstring strain, and still no Mo Speights, the Sixers weren't supposed to have a shot in this one. Instead, Andre Iguodala stepped up his game with 25 points, and 9 assists, Thad Young was solid again with 17 points and 6 boards, Jrue Holiday played well again in his 1st NBA start with 10 points and 6 assists, and Jason Kapono and Willie Green had huge nights off the bench with a combined 38 points and 6 threes, to help the Sixers take this one right down to the wire. They actually shot better than Boston from beyond arc at 65% with 13 treys, to Boston's 25.9% and 7 treys, and outrebounded the bigger and stronger Celtics 39-37. All of which allowed the Sixers to take a one point lead at the half and you guessed it, a 6 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. There unfortunately they fell short again. They held the lead until Rasheed Wallace drained a 3 pointer with a little under 9 and a half minutes to play. Boston then raced to a 10 point lead and it looked like the game was over, but Sixers put together another late rally, pulling within 2, at 107-105, with the ball in hand and about 30 seconds to play. Unfortunately Iggy was called for an offensive foul and then Rajon Rondo hit a 17 foot fade away as the shot clock expired to breaks Sixer's hearts and put Boston ahead by 4, with only 10 seconds left. From there Iggy hit a miracle 3 to cut it back to 1 at 109-108, but Boston hit their free throws down the stretch and would not allow the Sixers to put up another trey. So that was all she wrote as they hung on to win 113-110 and the Sixers drop to 5-10. Still you have to at least be encouraged by the fact, that the Sixers, missing 3 of their top scorers, nearly beat the mighty Celtics. If they could just figure out how to win one of these things, I can they get on a roll.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Washington today to face the Wizards in Eddie Jordan's first time back to D.C. since he was fired as the Wizard's head coach at about this time last year. Coming in Washington had just 3 wins on the season and were battling injuries with Mike Miller and Caron Butler both on the shelf for the tonight's game. So the Sixers should have had the upper hand in this one. Instead they were cold from the field a good chunk tonight, particularly Andre Iguodala, and Elton Brand who went down with an injury once again, this time a hamstring strain. No word yet on how long he'll be out this time, if at all. Anyway As a team, the Sixers' shot just 40% from the field, while Elton and Iggy were only a combined 3-19 from the field. Obviously it is tough to win when your first 2 optiions on offense can get it done for you. While they were struggling though, Sammy Dalembert stepped up with 15 points and 9 rebounds, Thad Young dropped 23, and Lou Williams pumped in 26 to keep it close for a half. Then Washington got hot in the 3rd quarter and pulled out a 10 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. There the Sixer's mounted a final rally as the rookie Jrue Holiday came off the bench to spark the team with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals in the final 10 minutes of the game. He three 3 pointers in rapid succession and Lou Williams drilled another 2 threes to pull the Sixers within 1 at 106-105. Agent Zero, Gilbert Arenas came right back to put Washington ahead 108-105, before sweet Lou dipped in for a layup to cut it back to 1 again at 108-107. Arenas then turned the ball over on the ensuing Washington possession leaving the Sixers with the final shot and a chance to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. Lou decided to go one on one with Gilbert and got him to bite enough, to create some space and get himself a good look at the buzzer but his 20 footer at the buzzer rimmed out for the 108-107 Wizard's victory. So by the slimmest of margins the Sixers drop to 5-9 overall and with Boston next on the schedule tomorrow, they're in trouble now. For tonight though much can be said. First the defense was not very good, as Washington shot 5o% or better most of the night before cooling off a bit at the end, with Antawn Jamison scoring 32, and Nick Young, in the game only because of the injuries, dropping 20. You just can't let a kid beat you like that. On the flip side it was a kid, Jrue Holiday, who put forth the most remarkable performance for the Sixers on the night. He was just everywhere and nearly rallied the Sixers to the win all on his own. What in the world has Eddie Jordan been waiting for with this kid on the bench. Clearly from now on though Holiday is going to get a lot more playing time. He's just too good to waste on the bench. Speaking of the bench Jason Smith also came off the pine for some big minutes as well, as he scored 14 and played some solid defense. So if nothing else the future looks bright for the Sixers.
EAGLES NEWS
It's official big Jon Runyan is not coming back to the Eagles. He had knee surgery in the offseason and has been a free agent all this season. Today though he signed with the San Diego Chargers, effectively ending the speculation that the Eagles were going to bring him back. Meanwhile, the Eagles signed Winston Justice, who's been filling in for Shawn Andrews all season to a 4 year contract extension today, perhaps signaling that he and not Andrews is the future for the Birds.
FLYERS NEWS
Danny Briere was hit with a 2 game suspension today for a blow to kneck he put on Scott Hannan after he scored a goal in the last night's game. No one on the Colorado bench complained about the hit at the time and no penalty was called so this comes as a bit of a surprise and really hurts the Flyers who were already shorthanded.
Monday, November 23, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyer's completed the west coast swing of their road trip tonight with a stop in Colorado to faceoff against the Avalanche. Having lost their last 2 games, the Orange and Black, desperately wanted to end the skid tonight and played like it. Unfortunately, Ray Emery had his worst game of the season thus far, allowing 4 goals before the end of the 2nd period. Emery was so poor on the night, that he was pulled late in the 2nd period in favor of Brian Boucher. Boucher allowed just one goal the rest of the way but it was too little too late to save the Flyer's on this night. Other than Emery's struggles the rest of the team peformed well. The Flyers had the edge on faceoffs and shots on goal, and even scored the only power goal of the night and yet they still lost. I guess sometimes one guy really does mean everything to his team. Early on it looked like it was going to be a runaway for Colorado as they jumped to a 2-0 lead, but goals by Danny Briere late in the 1st period and Jeff Carter early in the 2nd period quickly knotted it up at 2. Then Colorado struck back midway through the 2nd with a pair of goals to push the lead to 4-2. David Jones also added a 5th score late in the 2nd period for a 5-2 Avalanche lead. The Flyer's weren't finished yet though, as Briere and Carter each scored again to cut it to 5-4 with about 5 minutes to play. From there try as they might the Flyers could not get the equalizer, especially not after Scott Hartnell was whistled for goaltender interference with a little over a minute and a half to plat, giving Colorado power play that effectively spanned the remainder of the game. So the Orange and Black drop their 3rd game in a row and fall to 12-8-1 overrall and down to 7th in the Eastern conference.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles traveled to Chicago tonight for a key game against the Bears. With losses in their last 2 games the Eagles had to win tonight to stay in the playoff picture. It wasn't pretty by any means, but with a little luck they were able to get the win they needed. The Birds really did play a sloppy game tonight, committing 10 penalties, and turning the ball over 3 times, yet they were still able to eke out the win, which tells you how poorly the Bears are playing right now. Jay Cutler had an especially terrible night, missing several wide open recievers, while throwing for just 171 yards and 1 TD. He was so bad that he made the banged up Eagle's defense look good, as they held Chicago to just 284 yards of offense and 1 TD, which is about as good a game as you could have hoped from them. While a bit sloppy, the Eagle's offense was solid tonight and for once somewhat balanced with Lesean McCoy rushing for 99 of the Eagle's 157 rushing yards , and a what turned out to be the game winning TD. Micheal Vick also had a 34 yard run, for his longest play as an Eagle thus far. Donovan Mcnabb meanwhile, threw for 244 yards and 2 TDs, including a 48 yarder to Desean Jackson. In fact Jackson caught most of Mcnabb's passes with 8 receptions for 107 yards and a TD. Jeremy Maclin, was also a key contributor with 6 catches for 64 yards. The Eagles came out firing early, using a no huddle offense to roll to scores on their first 2 offensive drives for a 10-0 lead. They cooled down in the 2nd quarter as Robbie Gould booted 3 field goals to cut it to 10-9 at the half. Gould hit his 4th field goal of the night early in the 3rd quarter to give Chicago their first lead at 12-10. A couple drives later Mcnabb hooked up with Jackon for a 46 yard TD pass and a 17-12 lead. Cutler and the Bears came right back on their ensuing drive, as Cutler hit a few open guys for a change in leading his team down the field before hooking up with Kellen Davis on a 15 yd TD pass for a 20-17 lead. On the next Eagle's possession MCcoy fumbled the ball away after a long run and it appeared as though Chicago was primed to score again and take hold of this tight game. Instead the Eagle's defense held, forcing another Gould field goal attempt. This time, undrafted rookie Antonio Dixon, bashed through the line and blocked it to keep the lead at 3 and shift the momentum back to the Birds. On the ensuing drive the Birds swiftly moved down the field until on first down from the 10 yard line, McCoy burst through the line and danced into the endzone for go ahead TD to make it 24-20 Birds. On their next possession the Eagles, still leading 24-20, could not run out the clock and seal victory, leaving Cutler with one more chance to lead his team to the win. Instead he was intercepted by Sean Jones to clinch the 24-20 Eagle's victory. I know it was not well played, but a win is a win and this one moves the Birds to 6-4 overall, currently good enough for the 6th and final NFC playoff spot.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyer's continued their road trip tonight in Phoenix against the resurgent Coyotes. Considering they were playing their 2nd game in as many nights in the middle of a long road trip, you had expect the Flyers to be tired coming into this one. It appeared they were in fact a bit exhausted with just 24 shots on goal and an 0 for 5 night on the power play. They were also without Darroll Powe and Blair Betts who went down during the game with a shoulder injury. So they didn't have the edge they normally do on faceoffs and they didn't have the power play attack they normally do. Coming into tonight Phoenix had also been playing very well so far this season, and they carried that over into this game. Ilya Bryzgalov had 23 saves, Matthew Lombardi and Keith Yandle each scored power play goals and Shane Doan scored on the Flyer's empty net to lead the Coyotes to a 3-1 win. Scott Hartnell scored the only goal for the Flyers in the 2nd period with assists from Claude Giroux and Kimmo Timonen, but other than that there was nothing to cheer about for the Orange and Black on this night as they drop to 12-7-1 overall but remain 5th in the Eastern conference. Fortunately they now have a little time before their next game on Monday, which they can use to regroup, refocus and get back to winning again.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Cleveland tonight for a matchup with King James and the Cavs. Considering they came in having lost their last game to the Grizzlies, this did not figure to be much of a contest. Early on it didn't look good for the Sixers at all as the Cavs jumped out to a 20-4 lead to start the 1st quarter. The Sixers were actually able to fight back though and their chances to steal the win in the 4th quarter, but the King proved to be too much. Like Rudy Gay last night the Sixers just couldn't stop Lebron tonight as he scored a game high 32. The Sixer's scoring was solid again tonight as well, with Lou Williams' 22 leading the way. Also Elton Brand put up 18, Thad Young poured in 21, and Andre Iguodala and Rodney Carney each chipped in with 12, but it wasn't enough. The Sixer's defense actually played pretty well tonight too, holding the Cavs to just 48% shooting from the field and racking up 8 steals. Unfortunately, they also allowed Cleveland to shoot 40% from beyond the arc with 8 threes and that was just as much a killer tonight as Lebron was. Still, the Sixers can hold their heads high knowing they were able to play the Cavs tough and keep this one close. The Sixers trailed by 13 after a quarter of play but were able to close within 3 at the half and take a 6 point lead into the 4th quarter. They just couldn't stop Lebron enough to hang on for the win in the 4th and eventually fell by 6, 97-91. So the Sixers drop to 5-8 overall now and remain 11th in the East, but now a game and a half out of 8th.
Friday, November 20, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers continued their road trip tonight in San Jose with a match up against the Sharks. The last meeting between these two teams was an ugly loss for the Flyers at the Wachovia center. This time the Orange and Black were hoping for a little revenge, but instead they were Shark bait once again. They kept it close for a couple periods, but Danny Heatley took over in the 3rd period completing a hat trick for himself and leading San Jose to victory. It's not that the Flyer's played poorly tonight, San Jose just had too much firepower for even Ray Emery to handle. San Jose scored 6 goals, despite being limited to just 29 shots on goal. Unfortunately, too many of those shots for free shots at Emery, which he could do nothing about. Some of it was just the strength and will of the Shark's scoring attack, but the Flyer's also had a bunch of problems with their skates, as Chris Pronger twice fell over on his own, leaving Emery helpless against Sharks' oddman rushes. If nothing else the Flyer's did play better tonight then they had in the first meeting. In fact they had the lead midway through the 1st period with a funky goal that somehow deflected off Danny Briere's stick and in. San Jose answered on the power play to tie it at 1 after 1, then Heatley scored his first of the night to open the 2nd and put the Sharks up 2-1. Midway through the 2nd, Claude Giroux apparently scored another funky goal which deflected off a Shark and in to tie it at 2. Then with about 5 seconds left in the period Patrick Marleau somehow snuck one by Emery for a 3-2 Shark lead. Midway through the 3rd, Heatley scored shorthanded for a 4-2 lead. Giroux answered a minute later to cut it to 4-3, but the Flyer's would not get any closer. A few minutes later Heatley scored on the power play this time, for a 5-2 lead and eventually the Sharks skated away with a 6-3 win. So the Flyers drop to 12-6-1 overall, but remain 5th in the East.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed the Memphis Grizzlies to the Wachovia center tonight as they looked to string together back to back wins for the first time in a while. The Grizzlies came in winless on the road thus far this season, so you would think this one was in the bag for the Sixers. Instead Rudy Gay went off for 33 points and Sixer's defense couldn't get it done down the stretch, as the Sixers dropped their 3rd out of their last 4 games. They put up a decent offensive effort with Lou Williams putting up a career high 31 points, Elton Brand posting 22, and Andre Iguadala adding 15 and 9 assists. The Sixer's defense just couldn't stop Memphis which shot 51% from the field. Rudy Gay in particular though was the guy that killed them tonight. He shot 63% from the field, including 2 threes, and no matter who the Sixers put on him, he couldn't be stopped. It seemed like every time the Sixer's tried to get on a run, there was Gay to hit a jumper and end the run. There's just no defense against a guy who can't miss. Despite Gay, the Sixers were right with the Grizzlies all night, pulling to within 5, 96-91, on a Brand Jumper with 2 minutes to play. Then with 43 seconds to play Iggy put back a rebound to cut it to 3, with the score 98-95, only to watch Gay sink a 20 footer with 2o seconds to push the lead back to 5 at 100-95. From there Memphis hit their free throws and walked away with a 102-97 win. So the Sixers drop to 5-7 overall, and now 11th in the Eastern conference, but only 1 game out of 8th in the East.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyer's began a west coast road trip tonight in Los Angeles with a matchup against the surprising Kings, currently 4th in the western conference with the NHL's top points scorer thus far, Anze Kopitar. Kopitar did not score tonight though and the Flyer's walked away victorious. This time it was pretty even on faceoffs and the L.A defense was actually a bit better than the Flyers. Ultimately it was the play of goaltender, Brian Boucher, that saved the Flyer's on this night. After allowing 5 goals in his 1st start of the season, nearly a month ago, Booosh finally got a chance to rebound tonight and he did in a big way, with 37 dazzling saves out of the 39 shots he faced, just enough to hold off L.A for the Flyer's 8th win in their last 9 tries. The Kings had the early lead as Jarret Stoll scored late in the first period to put them up 1-0. Midway through the 2nd period Mika Pyorala knotted it up at 1, with his first NHL goal in regulation time. Then with under 2 minutes to play in the period Mike Richards scored for a 2-1 lead. Early in the 3rd period James Van Riemsdyk scored off the power play for a 3-1 lead. Later in the period L.A tried to begin a late rally with a Drew Doughty power play goal to cut it to 3-2, but Booosh would have none of it and eventually the Orange and Black hung on to win 3-2. So the Flyers move to 12-5-1 overall and remain 5th in the Eastern conference.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed the Charlotte Bobcats and old friend Larry Brown to the wachovia center tonight as they looked to snap a 2 game losing streak. Thanks to Elton Brand's first full performance of the season and heady play by Lou Williams they were able to end the streak. Elton was just everywhere tonight with 19 points, 11 rebounds, 6 blocks, 3 steals, and 2 assists. So for one night at least the absence of Mo Speights was not a problem. Aside from Brand, Lou Williams had a strong night with 19 points and 6 assists, and Andre Iguodala scored a game high 25 in a determined effort. Collectively though, the Sixers only shot 43% from the field and thus had to rely on their defense to win the day. Fortunately, their defense was superb, as they held Charlotte to just 42% shooting from the field, and amassed 9 steals and 7 blocks. Despite all those positives the Sixers still needed some magic at the end to pull this one out. The Sixers had the lead most of the night, with a 9 point lead at the half, and 4 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. Eventually, Charlotte did manage to push ahead late in the 4th quarter, but the Sixers did not back down. With the scored tied at 84 and only 9 seconds left the Sixers stopped Charlotte at one end, and then on the other end Williams laid in the eventual game winner off the breakaway for an 86-84 lead. Elton slapped away the ensuing Bobcat in bounds pass and Iggy swept it away to run out the clock and close out the 86-84 win. So the Sixers move back to 5-6 overall and seem to be headed on the right track now. They simply need to keep up this kind of defense and Elton just needs to keep playing like he did night and they'll be okay.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers welcomed the Atlantic division leading Devils to the Wachovia center tonight. This was a special night for the Flyers as "the Hammer", Dave Schultz was inducted into the Flyer's hall of fame. The least they could do as honor him with a win and that they did. Once again the Flyer's played tough defense, had the edge on faceoffs and Ray Emery outshined Marty Brodeur with 33 saves out of the 35 shots he faced. Daroll Powe, got things started midway through the 1st period with his 6th goal of the season against 0 assists thus far, to put the Orange and Black up 1-0. Just seconds into the 2nd period Scott Hartnell scored off the power play for a 2-0 lead. A successful New Jersey power play made it 2- 1 heading into the 3rd period. Late in that period the rookie sensation James Van Reimsdyk scored unassisted for a 3-1 Flyer's lead. the Flyer's defense made it hold up from there, although a fluky New Jersey goal at the end did cut the final score to 3-2. So the Flyers have won 7 of their last 8 and at 11-5-1 overall for 23 points, they're now 5th in the Eastern conference. Not bad if may say so myself.
PHILLIES NEWS
The rookie of the year award was given out today, but not to J.A Happ, who was beaten out by the Marlins' Chris Coghlan 17 votes to 10. Unfortunately, it seems all the time Happ spent on the DL towards the end of the season may have cost him the award. He's still the winner in my book though
Sunday, November 15, 2009
EAGLES NEWS
The Birds traveled out to San Diego this afternoon for a matchup with the Chargers, as they looked to bounce back from a loss to the Cowboys. Unfortunately, the problems that have been plaguing them got them again today. On their 1st 3 trips into the red zone the Birds were forced to settle for field goals. The defense, minus another linebacker and most of the starting secondary, was shreaded by San Diego to the tune of 331 yards and 31 points. Finally the Eagles committed 9 penalties on the day, with many of them occurring at the most innoportune times. If they could have gotten a TD on any of those 3 drives, and Sheldown Brown hadn't gone down with an injury early in the game, the Birds might have won this one. Instead they settled for field goals and found themselves down 21-9 at the half. Donovan Mcnabb did manage a pair of TD drives in the 2nd half with TD passes to Brent Celek and Jeremy Maclin to cut the lead to 28-23 with about 7 minutes to play. Once again thoug, like last week against the Dallas, the Eagles' defense couldn't get the stop they needed to put Mcnabb back on the field with a chance to win it and eventually San Diego managed a field goal to push the lead to 31-23 with about 30 seconds to play. Mcnabb then managed to drive the Birds down to about the Charger 30 yard line, but neither of the 2 plays he had time for at that point resulted in a game tying score, so the Birds fell 31-23 for their 2nd straight loss to drop to 5-4 overall, still good enough for 2nd in the NFC East, 1 game behind Dallas who also lost today. I think the blame for this one falls squarely on the defense. Donovan Mcnabb threw for 450 yards and 2 TDs and Jason Avant had a career day with 8 catches for 156 yards. So the offense did it's job, other than those few times in the red zone. The defense just couldn't stop San Diego. Here's hoping that banged up defense gets healthy soon.
SIXERS NEWS
Things went from bad to worse for Sixers today as they learned today that backup center/forward Maurice Speights partially tore the MCL in one of his knees and will be sidelined 6 to 8 weeks. As the Sixer's top scoring big man thus far, Speights has been invaluable this season. It is going to be very tough for the Sixers to win without him, especially considering how poor their defense has been this season. If nothing else this means at least that Elton Brad will get a few more touched than he has been, and so perhaps he'll be able to break out of the slump he's been in and then maybe the Sixers would still be ok
Saturday, November 14, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyer's welcomed the Buffalo Sabres to the Wachovia center tonight as they looked for their 6th straight win. This one was a tight well played game by both teams, but Buffalo was just a little better. They had 2 power play goals to 0 for the Flyers, the NHL's best power play unit, despite having 4 opportunities. The Flyer's were also hit with 9 penalties, including a few on some very ticky tacky calls, and that made it difficult for them to get it going offensively. Ray Emery also had a bit of an off night, allowing 3 goals while facing only 25 shots. Goals by Thomas Vanek in the 1st period, and Tyler Ennis in the 2nd period gave Buffalo a 2-0 lead heading into the 3rd period. There, the Flyer's finally put together a rally. Chris Pronger scored early in the period to cut it to 2-1. Then after Paul Gaustad scored another Buffalo power play goal, to push the lead back to 3-1, Jeff Carter scored shorthanded to cut it to 3-2 with a little under 10 minutes to play. Unfortunately, try as they might the Flyers could not come up with the equalizer down the stretch and eventually Buffalo hung on to win 3-2 to snap the Flyer's winning streak at 5. So they drop to 10-5-1 overall and back to 6th in the Eastern conference, with 3 of the 5 teams ahead of them also from the Atlantic division(Rangers, Pens, Devils). In fact if the season were to end now, literally the entire Atlantic division would be in the playoffs, as the Islanders, last in the Atlantic, are currently right behind the Orange and Black at 7th in the East. That's how bad the rest of the Eastern conference is this year.
SIXERS NEWS
After an embarrassing loss to the Jazz in their last game, the Sixers traveled to Chicago tonight for a matchup with the Bulls. They played much better tonight, and even led by 1 at the half, but Chicago closed better in the 2nd half, as the Sixer's defense broke down again and allowed the Bulls to surge to victory. Andre Iguodala led 4 Sixers in double figures on the night, with 24, Lou Williams netted 20, Thad Young pumped in 16 and Elton Brand chipped in with another 11 points but it wasn't enough. The Sixer's bench had terrible night with just 9 points, while Chicago got 33 points from there bench and that was probably the difference. The Sixers were also outrebounded by Chicago 45-40, and that hurt down the stretch. It's just hard to win when you can't protect the basket late in the game. That said the Sixer's defense was better tonight , compiling 10 steals and 7 blocks, and forcing 20 Chicago turnovers. They just couldn't get it done down the stretch. The Sixers did lead 41-40 at the half, as Thad Young dunked with about 30 seconds left in the half to preserve the lead. From there the Sixers were then outscored by Chicago in the 2nd half 54-47, and eventually fell 94-88 for their 2nd straight loss to drop to 4-6 overall. They're just going to have to go back and learn how to close out games again. Also they really need to figure out how to run this offense, because it still seems now after 10 games, that they're still trying figure what to do out there on offense. It's early in the season and there's still time for them to right the ship, but they can't wait too much longer or this is going to be a long season.
Friday, November 13, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed the Utah Jazz to the Wachovia center tonight. Normally, this would have been mismatch in Utah's favor, but they came in without all-star point guard Deron Williams, meaning the Sixers perhaps had the advantage. In the end it was ultimately still a mismatch with Carlos Boozer scoring 24, to lead 7 Jazz in double figures. The Sixers on the other hand had just 5 scorers in double figures, led by Thad Young's 17. If they had been able to play even half decent defense that might have been enough to pull out a win over the Jazz, but they couldn't figure out how stop Utah all night long, and so instead they lost badly. Utah was just superb defensively, and far stronger underneath the basket with 44 rebounds to the Sixers 33, and that was the difference. The Sixers were able to keep it close for most of the 1st half thanks to some hot shooting to start the night, but eventually they started to cool off and by the end of 3rd quarter they were down by 20 as they went on to lose by 22, with the final score 112-90. The Sixers really need to toughen up and try harder, because the listless manner in which they played tonight's game isn't going to get it done. Elton Brand had his best night of the season thus far with 11 points, but that is still a far cry from the Sixers need out of him in order to be successful. If he can just pick it up, then I think the team will pick it up as well and then I think they'll still be fine. Anyway so the Sixers drop back under .500 again at 4-5 overall, and now have a lot of questions to answer and a lot of soul searching to do.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers and more specifically Danny Briere, returned to action tonight as they welcomed the Ottawa Senator's to the wachovia center. Riding a 4 game winning streak the Flyers picked up right where they left off. In fact, tonight was about the best they have played thus far during the streak. They committed just 2 penalties, held Ottawa to only 23 shots on goal, and once again dominated on faceoffs and on the power play. Ray Emery was brilliant against his former team, saving 22 of the 23 shots he faced. Briere also seemed to return to form immediately, netting 2 goals on the night, while Jeff Carter, Kimmo Timonen, and Chris Pronger each had 2 assists. It was just an all around superb performance by the Orange and Black. Blair Betts got it going midway through the 2nd period, scoring off the power play for a 1-0 lead. A few minutes later Mike Fisher netted a fluky power play goal off Emery's stick to knot it at 1 for Ottawa, but it would be all Flyer's from there. James Van Reimsdyk answered a couple minutes later with another power play goal for a 2-1 lead. Early in the 3rd period, Briere scored his 1st, for a 3-1 lead. 5 minutes later Daroll Powe pushed it to 4-1. Finally a couple minutes Briere netted his 2nd goal for a 5-1 lead and the Flyer's had their 5th straight victory easily, to move to 10-4-1 overall and now 5th in the Eastern Conference.
PHILLIES NEWS
Chase Utley was awarded his 4th consecutive silver slugger today, with another 31 homers and almost 100 RBIs he was far better this past season than any other NL 2nd baseman, so this too is no surprise. Now only the greate Ryne SandBerg, the last 2nd baseman to be inducted into the hall of fame, owns more silver sluggers as a 2B than Utley, with 5 in a row from 1988-1992. Also Mike Schmidt himself, with 5 silver sluggers, is now the only Phil who has won more than Utley.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to New Jersey for another matchup with the shorthanded and still winless Nets. Once again it should have been an easy win for the Sixers, but again New Jersey managed to hang around for most of the night before the Sixers pulled out the win. The Sixers had their worst shooting night of the season thus far, at 39% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc, otherwise New Jersey would not have been able to keep it close. Only 20 points from Thad Young and another 19 and 9 rebounds from Maurice Speights off the bench, combined with good tight defense late in the game, gave the Sixers just enough to hold off New Jersey. The Sixers led by 1 after a quarter of play, 3 at the half, 2 after 3 quarters and finally held on to win by 3, with the final score 82-79. So the Sixers move back to .500 at 4-4 overall, but they'll have play better than this, if they ever want to get back above .500 and stay there. If nothing else though it was good to see them play defense like they did tonight because defense it what ultimately wins you the big games.
PHILLIES NEWS
Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino were awarded gold gloves today, for their defensive efforts at shortstop and centerfield respectively, this past season. They both deserved it and I am not surprised.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, November 09, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed the Phoenix Suns to the Wachovia center as they looked to get back on track after losing to the Pistons yesterday. They played much better offensively on this night, then they had against the Pistons, shooting 53% from the field and 38% from beyond the arc, with 5 Sixers in double figures. Andre Iguodala led the way with 24, Lou Williams had 13, Elton Brand chipped in with 10, Thad Young scored 15, and Maurice Speights came off the bench for 20. Unfortunately, the Sixers just couldn't stop the high powered Sun's, who also shot 53% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. The Sixers hung with them for a while, and even had a 12 point lead at the half, but it was all but gone by the 4th quarter. Still, they managed to hang in there until Phoenix finally pulled ahead for good with a little over 2 minutes to play and eventually hung on to win 119-115. So the Sixers drop under .500 for the 1st time this season at 3-4 overall and hopefully they won't stay there for too long.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Detroit this afternoon for a matchup with the Pistons. With Tashawn Prnce and Rip Hamilton both missing the game for Detroit, you would think this would have been an easy eay evening for the Sixers. Instead Ben Wallace played some inspired defense, pulling down 16 rebounds, and racking up 3 steals and block each, as he helped limit the Sixers to just 43% shooting from the field and 16.7% shooting from beyond the arc. The Sixers just simply couldn't get any rythm going offensively. They hung in there though, with Andre Iguodala's 24 points leading the way. In fact after 3 quarters of play they were only down by 4 with the score 64-60. Even as late as about 2 and half minutes to play in the 4th quarter, the Sixers were within 2 and had actually led at one point before that. Then Detroit turned it on even more defensively, the Sixers went cold the rest of the way, and the Pistons hung on to win 88-81. So the Sixers finally lose one they probably should have won as they drop to 3-3 overall. Better luck next time I guess.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils decided today not to pick up the option remaining on 3B Pedro Feliz's contract. Now that doesn't mean yet that he won't be back with the Phils next season. It simply means the Phils are keeping their options open. So ultimately we'll have to wait and see what happens.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles welcomed the Dallas Cowboys to the Linc tonight for yet another showdown to decide 1st place in the NFC East. It was not a well played game with several penalty flags on both sides and 3 interceptions, 1 by Tony Romo and 2 by Donovan Mcnabb, but it was a typical tight NFC East battle. The Boys led early 7-0 on a 2 yd TD run by Tashard Choice following Mcnabb's fist int. The Eagles came back with a couple of field goals in the 2nd quarter to cut it to 7-6, before Nick Folk drilled a 22 yarder as time expired for a 10-6 Dallas halftime lead. The Eagles then opened the 3rd quarter with 77 yard drive, capped off by a Mcnabb TD pass to Brent Celek for a 13-10 Eagle's lead. Sadly they never led again, as luck was just not on the Birds side tonight. First Mcnabb miscommunicated with the rookie sensation, Jeremy Maclin on a crossing route, resuling in Mcnabb's 2 int of the day and a Dallas field goal to tie it at 13. Later the Eagles went for it on a 4th and inches from about midfield. It appeared for all intensive purposes that Mcnabb got the needed yardage on a QB sneak, but the officials did not give him the spot and then would not overturn the spot they had given simply because they couldn't see whether or not one of his elbows was down before he got the needed yardage. That then left the Eagles with no timeouts and a 20-13 deficit after Dallas, taking over from about midfield, drove down into Eagle's territory and turned a 3rd and 14 into a 49 yd TD pass to Miles Austin. It was his only catch of the game, after a combined 300+ yards recieving the last 3 weeks, and it made all the difference. The Eagles put together one more drive to try and tie it, but on 3rd down from inside the Dallas 40, Mcnabb came a shoestring tackle away from scrambling for a 1st down, and the Birds decided to settle for another Aker's field goal, this one 52 yards out. That left the Eagles down 20-16, and with no timeouts, desperate to stop Dallas quickly. Unfortunately, LB Akeem Jordan went down with a knee injury on the ensuing kickoff and Dallas exploited his absence on 3rd and 3 from inside their own 40, with Romo completing a short pass to Jason Witten to move the chains and allow Dallas to run out the clock. The Eagles have the toughest part of their schedule coming up now and really needed to win this one to solidfy their spot atop the NFC East and towards the top of the NFC. Instead they drop to 5-3 overall and now must hope they can survive this upcoming stretch well enough for another shot at Dallas and the division. It won't be easy though.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers welcomed the St.Louis Blues to the Wachovia center tonight as they looked for their 4th straight win. Thanks to another inspiring night of defense and 30 more saves by Ray Emery out of the 31 shots he faced, they were able hold off St.Louis and extend the winning streak to 4. It wasn't easy though. Scott Hartnell scored the only Flyer's goal in regulation with a power play tally late in the 2nd period. For a while it looked like that would hold up, but just under 6 minutes into the 3rd period T.J Oshie finally got one by Emery to knot it at 1 for St. Louis. It stayed that way through the rest of regulation and all the way through overtime as went into a shootout, which usually means bad things for the Flyers, but not tonight. In the 2nd round of the shootout Brad Boyes beat Emery to give St. Louis the edge, but Claude Giroux, the hero the last time the Flyerr's played a shootout, came through again to even things at 1. After 2 more rounds and 2 more Emery saves, Mika Pyrola, who had not previously scored a goal on the season, finally ended it by beating Chris Mason to start the 5th round of the shootout. So the Flyer's got the 2-1 victory for their 10th win of the season, and at 9-4-1 with 19 points they're still only 6th in the Eastern conference.
Friday, November 06, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed a beat up New Jersey Nets team to the wachovia center tonight. New Jersey came in with only 9 healthy players and half the starting lineup on the injured list, except center Brook Lopez and shooting guard Courtney Lee. In fact New Jersey came in winless on the season, so this stood to be an easy Sixer victory. In the end was a Sixer victory, barely, but a win is a win. The Sixers actually trailed most of the night, despite shooting 50% from the field and beyond the arc. It wasn't because New Jersey played all that well, the Sixers just simply let them stick around, committing 15 turnovers, almost getting out-rebounded and allowing a shorthanded team shoot 47% from the field. Ultimately though, the Sixers were able to take care of business thanks to hot shooting down the stretch from the likes of Andre Iguodala with 16 points, Lou Williams, with a game high 18, and Jason Kapono who came off the bench to drill 4 threes and score 14. The Sixers trailed by 2 after 1, clung to a 3 point lead at the half, and were down again by 5 after 3. Finally in the 4th the Sixer's shooting heated up again, as Iggy nailed a 3 with 2 minutes to play to put the Sixers ahead for good, and then swiped the ball from Terence Williams as time expired, to preserve a 97-94 win. So the Sixers are now 3-2 and have beaten everyone they were supposed to, if only they could learn how to do it a little more easily.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers traveled to Buffalo tonight for a matchup with the Sabres. who came in having allowed the fewest goals in the NHL thus far, while the Flyer's came in with the NHL's best power play thus far. Of course the Flyers also came having the last 4 meetings between these two teams and having won their last 2 in a row, this season, while Buffalo came in having lost 2 of their last 3. Ultimately the Flyer's picked up right where they left off, destroying the Sabres 5-2. The Flyer's were just better than the Sabres tonight in all facets of the game, except oddly enough the power play, the source of both Buffalo goals. Otherwise Ray Emery outshined Ryan Miller with 28 saves out of the 30 shots he faced to 32 out of 36 for Miller. The Flyers limited Buffalo to only 30 shots on goal, while getting 37 themselves. Sometimes good defense is all you need to win, even in today's wide open NHL. The Flyer's led 1-0 after the first period with Dan Carcillo of all people scoring late in the period. After 2 periods they were up 3-1 with goals from Chris Pronger and the rookie James Van Reimsdyk, who continues to impress. Finally in the 3rd period goals from Daroll Powe and Dan Carcillo again, this into the Sabres empty net put away the win. So the Flyers now have 17 points with an 8-4-1 record, good enough only for 6th in the Eastern conference, because everyone ahead of them has played more games than the Flyers have.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils have already started to making offseason moves. Today they picked up the $9 million option to keep ace Cliff Lee here for another year. They also decided not to negotiate a new contract with former ace Brett Myers, meaning his tenure here is effectively over. So it will be interesting to see what the Phils rotation looks like next season. Obviously, the top 4 will or should remain intact, with Lee, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, and J.A Happ, but will be interesting to see who the number 5 starter. If Pedro Martinez comes back then it would probably be him, otherwise they can go with the ageless one, Jamie Moyer, who will be back for one more season, or Kyle Kendrick who looked very good late last season, and was the Phils no.5 starter in 07 and much of 08, or there's even a 3rd option, the young phenom Kyle Drabek, the 1st round pick from a couple years back who's been tearing up the Phil's farm system, but he's probably not ready yet. Aside from that the Phils also want to bolster their bullpen and bench, which were really the only weaknesses for this year's team. Finally the Phils also have to decide whether or not to resign 3B Pedro Feliz for another season. There are a few free agent 3B who might be an upgrade over Feliz, offensively, but defensively he is about as good as it gets, so it will be a tough decision. I think we should stick with the Feliz though , as his numbers this year, contrary to popular belief, were up from 08, with 154 hits, 30 doubles, 82 RBIs, and a .266 batting average. As far as I am concerned if you can get that kind of production from your #7 hitter in the National League, you're lucky and you'd be crazy to give it up.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Yankees won their 27th world series tonight, defeating the Phils 7-3 in game 6 of the World Series. The Phils kept fighting until the bitter end, but they simply were not able to come up with the big hits when they needed them tonight. Actually for the most part the Yanks didn't come up with any big hits tonight either, that is except for one particular Yankee, Hideki Matsui. Matsui put forth a performance for the ages, smashing a 2 run homer and a 2 out 2 run single off Pedro Martinez, and launching a 2 run double off J.A Happ for a total of 3 hits and 6 RBIs. The Yankees as a team meanwhile, had just 8 hits, and 7 RBIs. So Hideki really carried them through the night. In fact if you take what he did away, the Phils would have won tonight 3-1 and pushed the series to game 7 on the strength of 2 run homer by Ryan Howard in the 6th inning. Instead that homer only served to cut the Yankee lead to 7-3. The Phils then had a couple chances after that with Chase Utley at the plate, to start a serious rally but they could not capitalize and eventually they succumbed in the top of the 9th, as Shane Victorino lined a slow roller to 2nd for the final out. Oh and to answer my question from the other night, obviously Pedro Martinez did not have another masterpiece left in him, Hideki made sure of that. So the Phils bid to repeat as world champions fell short but ultimately they have no reason to hang their heads. They should still be proud of their accomplishments. I am still proud of them for forcing a game 6 against these powerful Yankees and for repeating at least as National League champions for the first time in their history. They will still always be the 2008 world champions and nothing the Yankees do will ever take that away. I feel privileged to have had the honor to have witnessed first hand the greatness this team has displayed on and off the field these last few years and I look forward to witnessing their continued greatness in the years to come. Not long ago I could never have imagined I would get to see my beloved Phils win a World Series and then return next year with the chance to repeat and even if they never make it back to world series and they're never this great again I'll always have the memories from these last 2 years to have and to cherish. Finally to those of you who believed we needed to win this one for Harry, you're wrong. Yes the title last year was for the long suffering city of the Philadelphia as much as anything, but just that chance at last to call the final out of the world series for the team he loved, was likely the greatest gift Harry could ever have received. He didn't need to see it again this year. This team and this magical repeat season was his lasting gift to us. So now you'll know the next time things suddenly start to go right for the Phils, against all odds, it's just Harry pulling some strings for us. Oh and don't worry boys we'll get them next year. You can count on it.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed the Boston Celtics to the Wachovia center tonight in a showdown for top billing in the Atlantic division. There wasn't much belief coming into tonight, despite their 2 game winning streak, that the Sixers would be able to seriously challenge Boston, but for a time early in the 1st quarter, an upset victory for the Sixers seemed a real possibility. The Sixers just came out hot, while Boston started slow and before you knew it they were up by 8. Then Boston finally started to wakeup defensively and Rasheed Wallace and Eddie House hit a barage of threes, and after Rajon Rondo drilled a jumper over the backboard at the buzzer, Boston led after 1, 19-17. The Celtics never looked back from there. The Sixers really cooled off offensively the rest of the way, shooting just 36% from the field and .06% from beyon the arc. They jut couldn't get anything to fall, and they couldn't get the ball inside or get out on the break for easy baskets. The Boston defense was just too smothering the rest of the way, and eventually the Celts got to be in full control of this one, rolling to a convincing 107-54 win. So ultimately the Sixers just weren't ready to challenge Boston quite yet, but give them some time to perfect that princeton offense and figure it out on defense a little more and we'll be right on their heels. For now the Sixers drop to 2-2 overall and remain 2nd in the Atlantic division behind Boston.
Monday, November 02, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils and Yanks squared off in game 5 of the world series tonight with the Phils needing to win to keep the series alive. Looking to replicate his game 1 win, Cliff Lee got the start and was not quite as dominant as he had been, but effective enough to help the Phils pull out an 8-6 win. Lee allowed 5 runs on 7 hits, in 7 strong innings, while striking out 3. Meanwhile, the Phils' bats, other than Ryan Howard who did at least get on base a couple times , finally woke up, with Chase Utley bashing 2 more homers, for his world series record tying 4th and 5th homers, Raul Ibanez slamming his first homer of the series, and a pair of singles by Jayson Werth and Ibanez, and a fielder's choice, leading to 3 more runs. In all the Phils racked up 8 runs on 9 hits, with Utley accounting for 7 of 8 runs, and 2 of the 9 hits. He was simply on fire tonight and has been all series long. Still, despite all that the Phils almost lost it late again. An exhausted Lee gave up 3 runs in the 7th, to help the Yanks cut it to 8-5. Then in the 9th against Ryan Madson the Yanks put their 1st 2 runners on and got it down to 8-6 with 1 on and 2 out for Mark Teixeira, the AL home run leader. With A-Rod looming in the on deck circle Madson had to get him out, and after a long at bat he did, striking Teixeira out on a nasty changeup to preserve the win. So the Phils and Yanks head back to the Bronx for game 6 on Wednesday with Pedro Martinez to go up against Andy Pettitte. Hopefully Pedro has one last masterful performance left in that golden right arm.
FLYERS NEWS
After throttling the Hurricanes 6-1 in their last game, the Flyers came right back out and did it again tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning, in a 6-2 win, for pretty much the same reasons as their last game. Ray Emery was strong in the front of the net as always, registering 26 saves out of the 28 shots he faced. The Flyers again won a good amount of faceoffs, which in turn helped them to kill them off 2 more power plays. Finally, they jumped out a quick lead with goals by Scott Hartnell and Mike Richards in the 1st period. Jeff Carter made it 3-0 early in the 2nd period and a few minutes later after Tampa finally got on the board, David Laliberte scored yet another goal(I mean really who is this guy and why didn't they bring him up sooner) and Mike Richards added a 3rd goal in the period to push it to 5-1. Carter then rocketed in a power lay goal early in the 4th quarter to push it to 6-1 and that was about all she wrote. So the Flyers win their 2nd in a row, against another subpar team mind you, and appear to be on the rise.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles welcomed the Giants to the Linc this afternoon for a show down for 1st place in the NFC East. It was thought that this would be a close game against the two division rivals, but instead it quickly turned into a shootout in the Birds favor. Leanard Weaver got it started with a 41 yard TD run early in the 1st quarter. A few minutes later Donovan Mcnabb hooked up with Brent Celek on a 17 yd TD pass, for which the extra point was blocked. David Akers later added a field goal for a 16-0 early in the 2nd quarter. Then after the Giants had finally scored with under 2 minutes to play in the 1st half, Ellis Hobbs returned a kickoff into Giants' territory, which was followed by Mcnabb hooking up with a wide open Desean Jackson for a 54 yd TD pass. Later after an Eli Manning interception, Mcnabb hooked up with Jeremy Maclin for a 23 yd TD pass and just like that it was 30-7 Birds at halftime, and New York did not know what had hit them. The Giants tried to come back in the 2nd half cutting the lead to 33-17 heading into the 4th quarter. Early in the 4th quarter though, Lesean Mccoy put the Gmen away for good with a 66 yd TD run to cap off a convincing 40-17 Eagles win. It was just a totally dominant afternoon for the Birds on both sides of the ball. On defense, they sacked Eli Manning twice and intercepted him twice, while holding New York to just 17 points. On offense New York just couldn't stop the Eagles who rolled to 391 yards of offense, including 180 rushing yards, and 40 points. They really could not have scripted the afternoon any better, and I think today shows that they really do need to run the ball a little more consistently if they want to continue to have success going forward. I just wonder though after seeing the Eagles dominate in this game, how they ever lost to the lowly Raiders. I guess you just really have to give Oakland some credit now for what they did that day. Anyway so the Birds are now 5-2 overall and first in the NFC East as they prepare for another divisional showdown next week against the Dallas Cowboys.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils and Yanks met in game 4 of the world series tonight with the Phils looking to even the series at 2 games a piece. Joe Blanton got the start and was effective, allowing just 4 runs on 5 hits in 6 tough innings. Meanwhile, the Phils could only come up with 3 runs off Yankee starter C.C Sabathia. on an RBI double and a solo homer by Chase Utle, and an RBI single by Pedro Feliz. Still that was only good enough to put the Phils behind by one heading into the 8th inning. There with 2 out and Feliz down to his last strike he rocketed a game tying solo homer to the seats in left to tie it up at 4. Next it was up to Brad Lidge to keep it tied in the top of the 9th and give the Phils a chance to pull it out in the bottom of the inning. He got the 1st 2 outs of the inning without issue and then Johnny Damon gave him an extraordinary at bat before lining a 2 out single. Damon then stole 2nd and with the Phils infield shifted to the right to neutralize Mark Texeira, no one was covering 3rd base, allowing the alert Damon to advance all the way to 3rd. Since he often bounces his slider in there to get guys to chase, he didn't feel safe enough to pitch it to A-Rod or Jorge Posada they made him pay with a pair RBI doubles to put New York back haed 7-4. From there to no surprise Mariano Rivera rolled another postseason save and the Phils had a lost a heartbreaker 7-4, to drop 3-1 behind the Yanks. With Cliff Lee to start tomorrow there is still a good chance the Phils can push this thing to a game 6, but who knows after that.
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