The Phils continued their series with the Nationals tonight as Jimmy Rollins went on the DL with a calf strain. Thus, they were going to need a good start from Kyle Kendrick tonight to have any chance. Unfortunately, Kendrick was rocked again, allowing 6 runs on 6 hits, in just an inning and a third. So the Phils were almost instantly in a 6-0 hole and seemingly headed toward defeat. Remarkably though, they remained unfazed. Newly reacquired, Nelson Figuera, best known as one of the 3 players Arizona sent the Phils in exchange for Curt Schilling, relieved Kendrick and settled things down, allowing just 1 run over the next 3 innings. Meanwhile, the Phils lineup started to turn it on. They actually scored 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the 1st. Then Chase Utley slammed a 3 run homer in the 2nd to totally erase the deficit and put the Phils up 7-6. They never trailed again.
In the bottom of the 5th, Shane Victorino, who had 3 hits and 5 RBIs on the day as the Phils new leadoff man, crushed a 2 run homer for a 9-7 lead. They weren't done yet. Utley homered again in the 6th to make it 10-7. Then in the 7th, Victorino laced a triple with the bases loaded and later scored to push the lead to 14-7 and that finally did it. The bullpen pieced together scoreless innings from there and the Phils had their 7th win in 8 games. Once again the lineup was unbelievable with 14 runs on 14 hits and the bullpen was brilliant allowing 1 run over the last 6 innings. The only problem for the Phils at this point is the starting pitching. Sure Roy Halladay is great, but that's about it. Every other game ends up like this one and that can't continue or the bullpen will be all used up by July. Hopefully when Joe Blanton comes back things will fall into place. They way they are playing right now, if they could just add consistent quality starts into the mix, there would be no stopping the Phils this season. For now though I am just going to enjoy the hitting.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers started their 2010 postseason run tonight in New Jersey in game of their Eastern conference quarterfinals series with the Devils. In the regular season the Orange and Black had the Devils number winning 5 out of 6. Add that to a shootout win to finish regular season and clinch this playoff spot just a few days ago and the Flyers had plenty of momentum to bring into this one. Let's just say they took advantage of it on this night. Brian Boucher was spectacular in the net saving 23 of the 24 shots he faced, and really the one he didn't save was just a lucky bounce. In addition, the Flyers defense was terrific all night long, holding New Jersey to just 23 shots on goal, and killing off all 5 New Jersey power play opportunities. They were just tough and aggressive, never allowing New Jersey to really get set up on offense.
The Devils really had to work for everything they got. In short, the Flyer's simply outDeviled the Devils. The Devil's defense was pretty good too, holding the Flyers to just 14 shots on goal, but they made them count. Halfway through the 2nd period Chris Pronger scored on the power play for a 1-0 lead. Later, with about 3 and a half minutes left in the 2nd, Mike Richards scored off a rare assist from Ian Laperriere for a 2-0 lead. From there it looked like Boucher would finish off a shutout of the Devils, but with about 3 minutes to play Zach Parise threw one the net, which deflected off of Travis Zajac and under Boosh's pads to cut it to 2-1. New Jersey had a few chances to tie it up after that, but Boosh made a few good saves and defense held firm to close out the big 2-1 win. So the Orange and Black continue to have the Devils number as they take the early lead in the series.
The Devils really had to work for everything they got. In short, the Flyer's simply outDeviled the Devils. The Devil's defense was pretty good too, holding the Flyers to just 14 shots on goal, but they made them count. Halfway through the 2nd period Chris Pronger scored on the power play for a 1-0 lead. Later, with about 3 and a half minutes left in the 2nd, Mike Richards scored off a rare assist from Ian Laperriere for a 2-0 lead. From there it looked like Boucher would finish off a shutout of the Devils, but with about 3 minutes to play Zach Parise threw one the net, which deflected off of Travis Zajac and under Boosh's pads to cut it to 2-1. New Jersey had a few chances to tie it up after that, but Boosh made a few good saves and defense held firm to close out the big 2-1 win. So the Orange and Black continue to have the Devils number as they take the early lead in the series.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Orlando tonight for their season finale against Dwight "Superman" Howard and the Orlando Magic. Unfortunately for the Sixers, rather than rest their starters, Orlando brought their A game in this one. Also as usual the Sixer's defense did not show up in this one, allowing Orlando to shoot 59% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc with 11 treys. So the Sixers never really had a chance in this one. They did't play that poorly, shooting 51% from the field and 31% from beyond the arc with 6 treys, but it was no match for the Magic. By the end of the 1st quarter the Sixers were already down by 17. They cut to 13 by the half, but by the 4th quarter they were down by 23 and it was over. With that little pride they had left, they managed a final push in the 4th quarter before losing by 14. It was just that kind of season for the Sixers.
Mo Speights wound up the Sixers' leading scorer on the night with 23. Meanwhile, Sammy Dalembert posted 12, Jason Kapono 10, Lou Williams 10, Rodney Carney 11, and Willie Green 11. So if nothing else they did score a bunch tonight, but as usual it was for naught. If the 14 point loss at the Magic, it's because that exactly the way the Sixers started this season, Funny how things work out sometimes. Anyway with the loss the Sixers finish the season at 27-55 overall, 6th worst in the NBA and 13th in the Eastern conference. That means the Sixers should at least get a top ten pick in the NBA draft this summer, and could possibly sneak into the top 5, but anything more than that would be wishful thinking.
Mo Speights wound up the Sixers' leading scorer on the night with 23. Meanwhile, Sammy Dalembert posted 12, Jason Kapono 10, Lou Williams 10, Rodney Carney 11, and Willie Green 11. So if nothing else they did score a bunch tonight, but as usual it was for naught. If the 14 point loss at the Magic, it's because that exactly the way the Sixers started this season, Funny how things work out sometimes. Anyway with the loss the Sixers finish the season at 27-55 overall, 6th worst in the NBA and 13th in the Eastern conference. That means the Sixers should at least get a top ten pick in the NBA draft this summer, and could possibly sneak into the top 5, but anything more than that would be wishful thinking.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils finally returned to the Bank this afternoon for their 2010 home opener, once again, against the Washington Nationals. Cole Hamels got the start and once again he wasn't as effective as he probably would have liked, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits while striking out 6, in 5 and 2/3rds, but it was solid and good enough to keep the Phils in it. The way they've been hitting lately that's all they need, even without Jimmy Rollins in the lineup, who was scratched late due to a calf injury. In fact by the time he left the mound in the 6th he had the lead and the chance to get the win, thanks to a rally by the Phils lineup in the 4th and 5th innings. Down 4-0 in the 4th, A Ryan Howard single with 2 on and a fielder's s choice cut it to 4-2. Then in the 5th, Juan Castro slapped an RBI double for his first hit as a Phil, Placido Polanco followed with a 2 run single, and Finally Chase Utley slammed a 2 run homer to suddenly put the Phils ahead 7-4.
From there Chad Durbin finished off the top of the 6th, Jose Contreras tossed a scoreless 7th, Dannys Baez followed with a scoreless 8th, and finally Ryan Madson closed the door on the Nats with a 1-2-3 9th. So the Phils took the 7-4 win, their 6th win their first 7 games, better than anyone else in the majors right now. I know Hamels wasn't perfect again today, I think it is too early in the season to worry about him just yet. He has actually been better so far this season then he was last year, and seems to playing with a little more resolve. He's no longer getting rattled after allowing a few runs. He's also striking out a lot of batters. So there's two things right there that bode well for him moving forward. Besides, who cares about pitching when you can hit like the Phils have so far.
From there Chad Durbin finished off the top of the 6th, Jose Contreras tossed a scoreless 7th, Dannys Baez followed with a scoreless 8th, and finally Ryan Madson closed the door on the Nats with a 1-2-3 9th. So the Phils took the 7-4 win, their 6th win their first 7 games, better than anyone else in the majors right now. I know Hamels wasn't perfect again today, I think it is too early in the season to worry about him just yet. He has actually been better so far this season then he was last year, and seems to playing with a little more resolve. He's no longer getting rattled after allowing a few runs. He's also striking out a lot of batters. So there's two things right there that bode well for him moving forward. Besides, who cares about pitching when you can hit like the Phils have so far.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed the Miami Heat to the Wachovia center tonight for their final home game of the season, that is fan appreciation. Inspired by the halfway decent fan turnout the Sixers actually played well again in this one, with another great shooting night. They went 54% from the field and 48% from beyond with 12 more treys. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, they again failed to do anything on the other side of floor. Miami shot 55% from the field and Dwayne Wade was unstoppable with 30, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. So inevitably in the end after Andre Iguodala missed a 3 pointer at the buzzer, Miami pulled out a 107-105 win, thwarting Sixer hopes of a 2 game winning streak and a win for the fans. Instead there was only more frustration
Other than missing the trey at the buzzer Iguodala had a good night with 14 and 6 assists. Jason Kapono drilled 4 treys for 24, and Jodie Meeks came off the bench to knock down 5 treys for 21. Elton Brand even chipped in with 15, Sammy Dalembert had 10 and 11 rebounds, and Lou Williams added 11 off the bench, but it was all for naught. Although he didn't really score tonight, Jrue Holiday put forth another solid performance with a career high 13 assists. If only they still cared enough to play defense that all might have amounted to something but oh well. With the loss the Sixers drop to 27-54 overall, still 12th in the East.
Other than missing the trey at the buzzer Iguodala had a good night with 14 and 6 assists. Jason Kapono drilled 4 treys for 24, and Jodie Meeks came off the bench to knock down 5 treys for 21. Elton Brand even chipped in with 15, Sammy Dalembert had 10 and 11 rebounds, and Lou Williams added 11 off the bench, but it was all for naught. Although he didn't really score tonight, Jrue Holiday put forth another solid performance with a career high 13 assists. If only they still cared enough to play defense that all might have amounted to something but oh well. With the loss the Sixers drop to 27-54 overall, still 12th in the East.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils completed their series with the Astros this afternoon with the first NL style battle of the Roys, that is the Phils Halladay against the Astros Oswalt. In this case after Jimmy Rollins slammed a leadoff homer and Raul Ibanez doubled and scored in the 2nd for a 2-0 lead, Halladay bested Oswalt. In fact, Halladay bested all of the Astros in a complete game gem, allowing just 1 run on 7 hits while striking out 8. He was really all the Phillies needed today against the struggling Stros. The bullpen never even had to bother warming up. It was Halladay's day all the way.
He did get himself into a couple of jams thanks to his own bad fielding, but he got out of them without much of a problem. There's not really not much else to say. This is simply what you should expect from him the rest of the way.
Unfortunately the Phils streak of 10 + hit games came to end today, as they racked up just 6 hits, but they didn't really need to do anymore. Jimmy Rollins was big star of the day, with 2 hits, 1 RBI, 1 run scored and 5 total bases. Shane Victorino, Ibanez as mentioned, and Chase Utley also collected hits as well. So it was a solid effort all around, at least as solid as you need to be with Roy on the mound. The Phils have now 5 of their first 6 games as they head home for their opener at the Bank tomorrow. Hopefully the good times will keep rolling in front of the home crowd.
He did get himself into a couple of jams thanks to his own bad fielding, but he got out of them without much of a problem. There's not really not much else to say. This is simply what you should expect from him the rest of the way.
Unfortunately the Phils streak of 10 + hit games came to end today, as they racked up just 6 hits, but they didn't really need to do anymore. Jimmy Rollins was big star of the day, with 2 hits, 1 RBI, 1 run scored and 5 total bases. Shane Victorino, Ibanez as mentioned, and Chase Utley also collected hits as well. So it was a solid effort all around, at least as solid as you need to be with Roy on the mound. The Phils have now 5 of their first 6 games as they head home for their opener at the Bank tomorrow. Hopefully the good times will keep rolling in front of the home crowd.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers welcomed the New York Rangers to the Wachovia center this afternoon in the regular season finale for the two teams. Both teams came in with 86 points overall, tied for 8th in the Eastern conference, and needing to win on this day to lock up the last playoff berth in the Eastern conference. In what will go down as the one of the most thrilling games in Wachovia center history, 60 minutes plus 5 minutes of overtime was not enough to decide a winner in this one. So the final playoff berth in the East came down, which normally spells doom for the Orange and Black. Of course the game should never have gotten to a shootout in the first place. The Rangers took early 1-0 lead just 3 minutes into the 1st period after the Flyers messed up what should have been any clear of their zone and allowed Jody Shelley to camp himself in front of the net and deflect one in. After that the Flyers basically dominated for the remainder of the evening and had pretty much all the scoring opportunities the rest of the way, but Henrick Lundqvist was dazzling with 46 saves. Finally, about 7 minutes into the 3rd period Matt Carle slapped a rebound past Lundqvist to knot it up at 1.
In the end the only reason New York was ever in it at all in this one was thanks to Lundqvist. Although he couldn't hang on for the shutout, thanks to the Flyer's tight defense and Brian Boucher's 24 saves, Lundqvist would get his chance to steal this one for the Rangers in the shootout. First up for the Flyers in the shootout was Danny Briere, who went right on in to Lundqvist, and waited until literally the last possible second for slapping one just over his right shoulder for a 1-0 lead in the shootout. Boucher then slapped away Erik Christensen's attempt for Rangers. Next up for the Flyers was Mike Richards but he missed a wrister high and wide to keep it up 1-0. P.A Parenteau then beat a sprawling Boucher to tie it up at 1 and that had to be it right?. There was no way the Flyers would score twice in the shootout was there? Apparently for Claude Giroux there was a way as he beat deked and beat Lundqvist through the 5 hole to score the Flyer's biggest goal of the season thus far for a 2-1 lead in the shootout.
That meant the Ranger's next shooter, Ollie Jokinen, had to score or the game was over. He came in quickly on Boucher, deked and tried to beat him through the 5 hole, but Boosh closed the wickets just in time to preserve the victory. So just like that the Orange and Black clinched their 14th playoff berth in the last 15 seasons. Since the Montreal Canadiens lost in OT yesterday, the win the gave the Flyer's the 7th seed in the East, and a first round date with the New Jersey Devils, whom they have owned this season. So they could very well reach the 2nd round of the playoffs, but after that who knows what could happen. Although I know they probably won't win the cup, I am just glad they got in so I can at least enjoy a little playoff hockey anyway.
In the end the only reason New York was ever in it at all in this one was thanks to Lundqvist. Although he couldn't hang on for the shutout, thanks to the Flyer's tight defense and Brian Boucher's 24 saves, Lundqvist would get his chance to steal this one for the Rangers in the shootout. First up for the Flyers in the shootout was Danny Briere, who went right on in to Lundqvist, and waited until literally the last possible second for slapping one just over his right shoulder for a 1-0 lead in the shootout. Boucher then slapped away Erik Christensen's attempt for Rangers. Next up for the Flyers was Mike Richards but he missed a wrister high and wide to keep it up 1-0. P.A Parenteau then beat a sprawling Boucher to tie it up at 1 and that had to be it right?. There was no way the Flyers would score twice in the shootout was there? Apparently for Claude Giroux there was a way as he beat deked and beat Lundqvist through the 5 hole to score the Flyer's biggest goal of the season thus far for a 2-1 lead in the shootout.
That meant the Ranger's next shooter, Ollie Jokinen, had to score or the game was over. He came in quickly on Boucher, deked and tried to beat him through the 5 hole, but Boosh closed the wickets just in time to preserve the victory. So just like that the Orange and Black clinched their 14th playoff berth in the last 15 seasons. Since the Montreal Canadiens lost in OT yesterday, the win the gave the Flyer's the 7th seed in the East, and a first round date with the New Jersey Devils, whom they have owned this season. So they could very well reach the 2nd round of the playoffs, but after that who knows what could happen. Although I know they probably won't win the cup, I am just glad they got in so I can at least enjoy a little playoff hockey anyway.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Astros tonight as the ageless Jamie Moyer got his first start of the season. For a while it looked like it would be a great start as he rolled through the first 2 innings and had 2 outs in the 3rd with the pitcher coming up. Then that pitcher, Felipe Paulino ripped a double and suddenly everything fell apart. The Astros went on to score 5 in the inning and it looked like that might be it for Jamie. However, he managed to tough out another 3 innings, all scoreless, and at least gave the Phils a chance to win. Let's just say they took advantage of it. Before Moyer imploded in the 3rd, the Phils had actually jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Ryan Howard tripled and scored in the 1st for a 1-0 lead. Then a walk by Howard and a double by Jayson Werth with the bases loaded pushed it to 4-0.
From there after Moyer gave up the lead and then hung in there for those last few innings the Phils found themselves down 5-4 in the 7th with 2 out. Then Chase Utley walked, Ryan Howard crushed a 400 + foot homer, and Werth, Raul Ibanez, and Shane Victorino collected 3 straights hits to put the Phils back ahead 7-5. Later Victorino put the Stros away for good with a 2 run homer in the top of the 9th to push the lead to 9-5. After Chad Durbin and Danys Baez had tossed scoreless innings in the 7th and 8th, Ryan Madson took the ball for the 9th, in a non save situation. Despite allowing a leadoff double to Micheal Bourn and a run, Madson was able to close out the Astros for the 9-6 win, the Phils 4th in their first 5. In addition to their 9 runs the Phils racked up 11 more hits for their 5th straight game with 10 hits or more. That is just amazing and I just wonder how long they'll be able to keep it up.
From there after Moyer gave up the lead and then hung in there for those last few innings the Phils found themselves down 5-4 in the 7th with 2 out. Then Chase Utley walked, Ryan Howard crushed a 400 + foot homer, and Werth, Raul Ibanez, and Shane Victorino collected 3 straights hits to put the Phils back ahead 7-5. Later Victorino put the Stros away for good with a 2 run homer in the top of the 9th to push the lead to 9-5. After Chad Durbin and Danys Baez had tossed scoreless innings in the 7th and 8th, Ryan Madson took the ball for the 9th, in a non save situation. Despite allowing a leadoff double to Micheal Bourn and a run, Madson was able to close out the Astros for the 9-6 win, the Phils 4th in their first 5. In addition to their 9 runs the Phils racked up 11 more hits for their 5th straight game with 10 hits or more. That is just amazing and I just wonder how long they'll be able to keep it up.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Memphis tonight for a doubly meaningless affair with the Grizzlies, also eliminated from playoff contention. Maybe because they were playing a team that also didn't care anymore, blowing it again without looking too bad just wasn't possible. Instead after yet another listless 1st half that left them down 7, the Sixers exploded for 69 points in the 2nd half, thanks to 57% shooting and 53% shooting from beyond the arc with a season high 14 treys.All I can say is, where's this been all season and why now when they're so close to locking up the 3rd worst record in the league and a high draft pick? I guess they just got tired of losing and no one likes to lose. So you had to expect to try for at least one more win before the end of the season and if they were going to win one this had to be it, with the rest of their games against playoff bound teams.
Maurice Speights wound up the Sixers leading scorer with 22 off the bench, almost all in the 2nd half. Jason Kapono drilled 5 of 7 from beyond for 15 and Andre Iguodala knocked down 7 of 10 from the field for 15 points of his own. Jodie Meeks, Willie Green, and Lou Williams all came off the bench to score in double figures. Heck, even Elton Brand woke up enough to score 10. So in all 7 Sixers scored in double figures to help the team collectively amass 120 points, their highest total of the season, in an easy 120-101 win. With the win the Sixers improve to 27-53 overall and yes they're back up to 12th in the East again. We'll see how much longer that lasts.
Maurice Speights wound up the Sixers leading scorer with 22 off the bench, almost all in the 2nd half. Jason Kapono drilled 5 of 7 from beyond for 15 and Andre Iguodala knocked down 7 of 10 from the field for 15 points of his own. Jodie Meeks, Willie Green, and Lou Williams all came off the bench to score in double figures. Heck, even Elton Brand woke up enough to score 10. So in all 7 Sixers scored in double figures to help the team collectively amass 120 points, their highest total of the season, in an easy 120-101 win. With the win the Sixers improve to 27-53 overall and yes they're back up to 12th in the East again. We'll see how much longer that lasts.
Friday, April 09, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils traveled to Houston tonight to begin a series with the Astros. J.A Happ made of his start was solid tossing 5 scoreless innings. He would have gone deeper into the game but his control wasn't quite there and he ended having throw 103 pitches in those innings. So the Phils were forced to take him out after the first batters reached safely in the 6th. It didn't matter though as the Phils racked up 8 runs and 16 hits, their 4th straight games with 10 hits or more. It's hard to lose when you have that kind of firepower night in and night out, and seemingly a different hero at the plate every day. Tonight Raul Ibanez, who went 3 for 4 and drove in 3 of the 8 runs. Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth all had 2 hits today as well. In fact as of now all 5 are hitting over .300, and Rollins, Polanco, Utley, and Howard are all hitting over .400. Obviously they aren't going to stay that all here, it's about 50 years now since anyone did, but I am going to enjoy it while they are.
Anyway back to the game now. The Phils got going right away with 3 in the 1st inning as Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez both smashed RBI doubles. After leaving runners on for a couple innings, Chase Utley slammed a solo homer and Ibanez crunched another RBI double in the 4th to make it 5-0. 3 straight hits with 2 outs in the 5th, from Rollins, Polanco, and Utley netted 2 more runs and 7-0 lead. Finally in the top of the 7th, Polanco ripped a one out single to make it 8-0. The Phils bullpen took it from there. After getting out of Happ's jam in the 6th, David Herndon tossed a scoreless 7th. Danys Baez followed with a scoreless 8th, and finally Jose Contreras completed the shutout with a perfect 9th. So the Phils move 3-1 overall and I can't wait to see what they do next.
Anyway back to the game now. The Phils got going right away with 3 in the 1st inning as Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez both smashed RBI doubles. After leaving runners on for a couple innings, Chase Utley slammed a solo homer and Ibanez crunched another RBI double in the 4th to make it 5-0. 3 straight hits with 2 outs in the 5th, from Rollins, Polanco, and Utley netted 2 more runs and 7-0 lead. Finally in the top of the 7th, Polanco ripped a one out single to make it 8-0. The Phils bullpen took it from there. After getting out of Happ's jam in the 6th, David Herndon tossed a scoreless 7th. Danys Baez followed with a scoreless 8th, and finally Jose Contreras completed the shutout with a perfect 9th. So the Phils move 3-1 overall and I can't wait to see what they do next.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers traveled to Madison Square Garden tonight for huge game with the New York Rangers. A win in this one would clinch a playoff spot for the Orange and Black, and overtime loss would all but clinch a spot, but a loss would keep the Rangers alive in playoff hunt. As they have lately, the Flyers put up a strong effort, but made too many mistakes right in front Brian Boucher and couldn't score in the 3rd period when they had to. New York was better defensively with a better goalie and they didn't make any dumb mistakes. If nothing else the Flyers should have been able to take this game into overtime, but Henrik Lundqvist proved to tough in the 3rd period and on most of their scoring chances in the period the Orange and Black couldn't really keep it together long enough to even challenge Lundqvist anyway.
They actually had the lead early with Mike Richards beating Lundqvist 1 on 1 just 40 seconds into the game. Two turnovers in front Boucher later and they were down 2-1 heading into the 2nd period. About 7 minutes into the 2nd, Boucher let up his only soft goal of the day and it was 3-1 Rangers and all hope of victory seemed lost. The Orange and Black battled back though. A couple minutes after that Danny Briere scored to cut it to 3-2. Then without about 5 minutes left in the period Richards racked up his 2nd score of the day to knot it up at 3. Unfortunately, the tie lasted just 2 minutes Marian Gaborik beat Boucher on a breakaway for a 4-3 lead. The thing this Chris Pronger was right there in front of Gaborik the whole time, but he had rare senior moment, whiffing on an attempt to poke the puck away. Then as mentioned the Flyers could not come up with the equalizer in the 3rd period. So now the Flyers and Rangers are tied for 8th in the East, but with 40 wins to the Rangers 38 the Flyers at least have the tiebreaker over them.
They actually had the lead early with Mike Richards beating Lundqvist 1 on 1 just 40 seconds into the game. Two turnovers in front Boucher later and they were down 2-1 heading into the 2nd period. About 7 minutes into the 2nd, Boucher let up his only soft goal of the day and it was 3-1 Rangers and all hope of victory seemed lost. The Orange and Black battled back though. A couple minutes after that Danny Briere scored to cut it to 3-2. Then without about 5 minutes left in the period Richards racked up his 2nd score of the day to knot it up at 3. Unfortunately, the tie lasted just 2 minutes Marian Gaborik beat Boucher on a breakaway for a 4-3 lead. The thing this Chris Pronger was right there in front of Gaborik the whole time, but he had rare senior moment, whiffing on an attempt to poke the puck away. Then as mentioned the Flyers could not come up with the equalizer in the 3rd period. So now the Flyers and Rangers are tied for 8th in the East, but with 40 wins to the Rangers 38 the Flyers at least have the tiebreaker over them.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed the Milwaukee Bucks to the Wachovia center tonight as they looked to snap a 5 game losing streak. Playoff bound Milwaukee came in on a 3 game winning streak, but without top big man Andrew Bogut, so the Sixers at least had a chance in this one. They played fairly yet again with 9 treys, and managed to hang in there with Milwaukee for most of the night, but as always came up in short in the end. They just couldn't stop the Bucks on the other side of the floor. They hit 10 treys, and 21 of 23 free throws, a near perfect performance from the line. Carlos Delfino alone, had 5 treys and really lit them up with a game high 23. Brandon Jennings also shredded the Sixer's defense with 18 and 7 assists. Still with 20 seconds left the Sixers found themselves within 2 after Jrue Holiday drilled a three, to cut it to 89-87 Milwaukee. After a couple Milwaukee free throws, Andre Iguodala drilled another three with 13 seconds to cut it to 91-90. That would be as the close as the Sixers would get though. With 9 seconds left Holiday missed a three that would have tied it at 93 and then Sammy Dalembert lost the rebound out of rebounds.
Two more free throws and a missed Iggy three and Bucks had held on to win 95-90. Iggy ended as the Sixer's leading scorer on the night with 21, while Holiday chipped in with a solid 13 and 8 assists. Lou Williams,Willie Green, and Jodie Meeks also came off the bench to score in double figures. Other than that it was pretty much status quo for the Sixers in this one. There was plenty of O but not much D and that usually doesn't get you anywhere. Maybe the only other interesting tid bit from this game was that Francisco Elson was actually activated for the night and got a chance to play, probably just so that other teams can get a look at him, because he won't be back here next season. He actually scored a couple points and pulled down rebound in only 4 minutes, showing that maybe the Sixers should have put him out there sooner. Anyway so the Sixers drop their 6th in a row and at 26-53 now, they finally drop to 13th in the Eastern conference, only 1 game ahead of the 14th place Wizards.
Two more free throws and a missed Iggy three and Bucks had held on to win 95-90. Iggy ended as the Sixer's leading scorer on the night with 21, while Holiday chipped in with a solid 13 and 8 assists. Lou Williams,Willie Green, and Jodie Meeks also came off the bench to score in double figures. Other than that it was pretty much status quo for the Sixers in this one. There was plenty of O but not much D and that usually doesn't get you anywhere. Maybe the only other interesting tid bit from this game was that Francisco Elson was actually activated for the night and got a chance to play, probably just so that other teams can get a look at him, because he won't be back here next season. He actually scored a couple points and pulled down rebound in only 4 minutes, showing that maybe the Sixers should have put him out there sooner. Anyway so the Sixers drop their 6th in a row and at 26-53 now, they finally drop to 13th in the Eastern conference, only 1 game ahead of the 14th place Wizards.
Thursday, April 08, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The finished their series with the Nationals tonight as they looked to complete the sweep. Kyle Kendrick got the start in place of the injured Joe Blanton and unfortunately was roughed up allowing 5 runs on 6 hits in the just 4 innings. That put the Phils behind early 5-2 and they couldn't quite dig out of that hole despite a valiant effort. In the top of the 5th, an error gave the Phils 1 run and then a Ryan Howard single knocked in a 2nd run to cut it to 5-4. Then in the top of the 6th Jimmy Rollins sac flyed in a run to knot it all up 5. Ryan Zimmerman untied it in the bottom of the 7th with an RBI double for a 6-5 Washington lead, leaving the Phils to rally again and they almost did successfully. In the 8th and 9th innings they had chances to tie it up again, but Placido Polanco grounded out with runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2 out in the 8th, and Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, and Shane Victorino all flied out with the tying run in scoring position.
So in the end Phils came up just short in this one, losing 6 -5. It is too early in the season to panic over a loss like this. Kendrick can only get a better from here on out and he only figures to be in the rotation for another month so when Joe Blanton comes off the DL. While the pitching struggled a bit tonight the Phils continued to hit, racking up anoher 12 hits and 5 runs in the loss. Most Impressive tonight was Werth who slapped 3 hits and scored a run. Unfortunately for him it just wasn't quite enough to get the Phils the win. Rollins, Howard, and Chase Utley also continued to look with each collecting 2 hits and an RBI on the night. So the Phils drop to 2-1 overall, but that's fine because 2 out of 3 in each series is all you need to be successful. The sweep would have nice though. Next up for the Phils will be Brett Myers and the Astros. Unfortunately Myers won't be available to pitch against his old team, but it should be an interesting series anyway.
So in the end Phils came up just short in this one, losing 6 -5. It is too early in the season to panic over a loss like this. Kendrick can only get a better from here on out and he only figures to be in the rotation for another month so when Joe Blanton comes off the DL. While the pitching struggled a bit tonight the Phils continued to hit, racking up anoher 12 hits and 5 runs in the loss. Most Impressive tonight was Werth who slapped 3 hits and scored a run. Unfortunately for him it just wasn't quite enough to get the Phils the win. Rollins, Howard, and Chase Utley also continued to look with each collecting 2 hits and an RBI on the night. So the Phils drop to 2-1 overall, but that's fine because 2 out of 3 in each series is all you need to be successful. The sweep would have nice though. Next up for the Phils will be Brett Myers and the Astros. Unfortunately Myers won't be available to pitch against his old team, but it should be an interesting series anyway.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils returned to action tonight Washington as Cole Hamels made his long awaited 2010 debut. It probably wasn't quite what he or the Phils were hoping for but it was okay for a first start of the season. He went just 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits while striking out 5, but against the Nats that was just good enough to get him the win. Mostly, because the Phils again had too much firepower for Washington to handle. Jason Marquis started for the Nats and was rocked for 6 runs on 8 hits as the Phils just wore him out. Jimmy Rollins walked and scored and Placido Polanco was hit by a pitch and scored in the 1st inning. In the 4th, Hamels himself slapped an RBI single for a 3-0 lead. In the 5th, Polanco doubled and scored and Ryan Howard crushed a 2 run homer to put the Phils up 6-3 through 5 innings. From there the Phils bullpen took over.
Chad Durbin pitched two scoreless innings, Danys Baez was a little shaky allowing 1 run on 2 hits, and recording only one out, Antonio Bastardo and Ryan Madson then combined to end the inning and bail out Baez with the lead holding at 7-4. Raul Ibanez got one back in the next inning with a sac fly to push the lead back up to 8-4 and that was about it for the Nats. Madson kept them scoreless the rest of the way to close out the 8-4 win and send the Phils to 2-0 for the 1st time in a long time. So ultimately the Phils bats appear to be 2nd to none, but the pitching is not quite at the same level, at least not yet it seems. There's plenty of time to fix that though. Hopefully Cole will continue to win games like this one, but he'll want to make it at little bit easier to do so, otherwise he could end up blowing some game down the road he should have been able to win. At any rate though it has been great watching the Phils so far and I just hope they keep it up.
Chad Durbin pitched two scoreless innings, Danys Baez was a little shaky allowing 1 run on 2 hits, and recording only one out, Antonio Bastardo and Ryan Madson then combined to end the inning and bail out Baez with the lead holding at 7-4. Raul Ibanez got one back in the next inning with a sac fly to push the lead back up to 8-4 and that was about it for the Nats. Madson kept them scoreless the rest of the way to close out the 8-4 win and send the Phils to 2-0 for the 1st time in a long time. So ultimately the Phils bats appear to be 2nd to none, but the pitching is not quite at the same level, at least not yet it seems. There's plenty of time to fix that though. Hopefully Cole will continue to win games like this one, but he'll want to make it at little bit easier to do so, otherwise he could end up blowing some game down the road he should have been able to win. At any rate though it has been great watching the Phils so far and I just hope they keep it up.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Miami tonight for a matchup with Dwayne Wade and Heat as they looked to snap a 4 game losing streak or maybe not who knows. Anyway they actually played pretty well tonight, shooting 50% from the field and and 44% from beyond the arc with 8 treys, just good enough to give themselves a chance to win. Playoff bound Miami also didn't play its best otherwise the Sixers probably would not have been able to keep it close. At any rate, whether it was Miami playing poorly or the Sixers actually playing well for a change, the two teams were tied after the 3rd quarter. Despite the best efforts of Wade they were still tied with 48 seconds to play in the 4th. Then Jason Kapono missed a three pointer, Wade sunk a couple free throws, the Sixers followed with a couple of stupid turnovers, and finally sent Carlos Arroyo to the line for the game clinching free throws. He missed both, but of course the Sixers failed to gather in the rebound, fouled Arroyo again and then had watch him sink two free throws to rap up the 99-95 Miami win. What a team.
In the loss Sammy Dalembert was great with 19 and 16 rebounds, Andre Iguodala put up 16, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, Lou Williams chipped in with 12, 4 assists and 4 rebounds, Jason Kapono added 13, and Willie Green provided 10 off the bench. So it was another good night for the Sixers offensively. They simply didn't do enough defensively. They did actually out rebound Miami 45-42, but other than that they weren't very good. They also committed too many fouls and loss the turnover battle, not a recipe for success. The Sixers have now lost 5 in a row to drop to 26-52 overall, which is still good enough for 12th in the East, but only by a game now.
In the loss Sammy Dalembert was great with 19 and 16 rebounds, Andre Iguodala put up 16, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, Lou Williams chipped in with 12, 4 assists and 4 rebounds, Jason Kapono added 13, and Willie Green provided 10 off the bench. So it was another good night for the Sixers offensively. They simply didn't do enough defensively. They did actually out rebound Miami 45-42, but other than that they weren't very good. They also committed too many fouls and loss the turnover battle, not a recipe for success. The Sixers have now lost 5 in a row to drop to 26-52 overall, which is still good enough for 12th in the East, but only by a game now.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles continued with their off season duties today, signing OL Nick Cole to a one year 1.75 million deal. Cole is the Eagles is most versatile OL and is pretty much the go to guy to fill in whenever someone on the line gets hurt. Thanks to injuries he spent much of last season in the Eagles starting lineup, not always in the same position. He was pretty good but most agree he should go back to being a backup. He is just more valuable to the Eagles in that capacity. At any rate he's a good guy to have around.
FLYERS NEWS
Jeff Carter was cleared to practice with his teammates again today so maybe he'll be back on the ice soon. Considering he is the Flyer's leading scorer this season they could use him.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers traveled to Toronto tonight for a key game against the lowly Maple Leafs. After their huge win over the Red Wings on Sunday, the Flyers had to have this one to consolidate their playoff positioning. Thanks to superb defense and Brian Boucher's best game of the season, they got it. The D held Toronto to just 23 shots on goal and Boucher saved them all. Toronto went on the power play 6 times and yet they could not score. That shows how bad they are and how sterling the Flyers were on D tonight. While the defense held its own, Claude Giroux made sure it did not go for naught, scoring on the power play late in the first period and assisting Mike Richards on game clinching empty netter late in the 3rd period. So in the end the Orange and Black took the win 2-0.
It was perfect night for them by any means but it was exactly what they needed. They simply took care of business. They only had 23 shots on goal of their own and went on the power play 6 times as well, cashing in just that one time. That's fine against Toronto, but in the playoffs, if they make it, that won't be good enough. Speaking of the playoffs with the win the Flyers now have 86 points overall which jumps them up to 7th in the East. They also move 4 points ahead of the 9th place Rangers, with just 2 games to play, as New York lost today. So if the Rangers lose their next game the Flyers are in, or if the Orange and Black win on of their final 2(both against the Rangers), they'll be in. Hopefully one or the other will happen.
It was perfect night for them by any means but it was exactly what they needed. They simply took care of business. They only had 23 shots on goal of their own and went on the power play 6 times as well, cashing in just that one time. That's fine against Toronto, but in the playoffs, if they make it, that won't be good enough. Speaking of the playoffs with the win the Flyers now have 86 points overall which jumps them up to 7th in the East. They also move 4 points ahead of the 9th place Rangers, with just 2 games to play, as New York lost today. So if the Rangers lose their next game the Flyers are in, or if the Orange and Black win on of their final 2(both against the Rangers), they'll be in. Hopefully one or the other will happen.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed the Detroit Pistons to the Wachovia center tonight as they continued to play out the rest of this lifeless season. This one was another total drag. Sammy Dalembert and Elton Brand each played only about 12 minutes, so there wasn't much defense for the Sixers to speak of. In fact Detroit shot a whopping 62% from the field and 47% from the beyond the arc with 8 treys. You're not going to win very often when the other team can't miss and the Sixers didn't tonight. In fact they got blown out by 21, 124-103, against a team that had lost 12 in a row. Only the Sixers could do something like that. It's just another clear sign that they've given up and perhaps that they're throwing games to improve their draft positioning.
If nothing else the Sixers did score tonight. Jrue Holiday was solid with 11 and 9 assists, Andre Iguodala chipped in with 12, and the Sixer bench combined for 61 points(21 from Mo Speights, 19 from Jodie Meeks, and 12 from Lou Williams who finally returned from the DL tonight). So that at least kept things somewhat exciting, but that's about all there was to cheer for the Sixers tonight. With the loss they drop to 26-51 overall, incredibly still good for 12th in the East.
If nothing else the Sixers did score tonight. Jrue Holiday was solid with 11 and 9 assists, Andre Iguodala chipped in with 12, and the Sixer bench combined for 61 points(21 from Mo Speights, 19 from Jodie Meeks, and 12 from Lou Williams who finally returned from the DL tonight). So that at least kept things somewhat exciting, but that's about all there was to cheer for the Sixers tonight. With the loss they drop to 26-51 overall, incredibly still good for 12th in the East.
Monday, April 05, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils opened their 2010 campaign this afternoon in Washington against a supposedly improved Nationals team. Thanks to Roy Halladay and the hot bat of Placido Polanco, Washington looked like the same last place team as usual on this day. Halladay went 7 strong, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits, while striking out 9. That's about as good as an opening day start as you can get. Meanwhile, Polanco racked up 3 hits and 6 RBIs, 4 on a grand slam in the 7th inning. Even if no other Phils had hit safely in the game they still would have won somewhat convincingly 6-1. However, it wasn't just Polanco in this one. All 9 members, of the Phils starting lineup, yes even Halladay, hit safely in the game. Jimmy Rollins leadoff the game with a single and tripled in a run in the 6th, Chase Utley had a hit and a run scored, Ryan Howard slapped 2 hits including a 2 run homer in the 4th, Jayson Werth singed and scored a run, Raul Ibanez ,who struggled all spring, had a hit and 2 runs scored, Shane Victorino rapped an RBI single in the 4th and later scored, Carlos Ruiz collected 1 hit a scored a couple of runs, and finally Halladay himself beat out an RBI infield single.
Put it all together and you get 11 runs, 13 hits, and a dominating 11-1 season opening victory for the Phils. Things really couldn't have gone any better for the Phils. Their 2 biggest off season acquisitions came through big time and even the bullpen had a pretty good day with three scoreless innings. Antonio Bastardo was a little shaky but he managed to get a couple outs and Danys Baez bailed him with just a few pitches. Still, since he's the Phils only left handed arm out of the pen, at least until J.C Romero comes back from the DL, he's gonna have to do better than that. Other than Baez and Bastardo, rule 5 pick Dave Herndon got a chance to show his stuff in the 9th inning and did himself proud with ,an albeit shaky, scoreless inning. Of course when you have an 11-1 lead you don't have to worry about the bullpen too much. So it was great start to the season for the Phils, but it's a little early to pencil them in to the world series again just yet. The real key for the Phils this season will be how they fare when Halladay isn't on the mound. We still have to wait until Wednesday to see how that pans out.
Put it all together and you get 11 runs, 13 hits, and a dominating 11-1 season opening victory for the Phils. Things really couldn't have gone any better for the Phils. Their 2 biggest off season acquisitions came through big time and even the bullpen had a pretty good day with three scoreless innings. Antonio Bastardo was a little shaky but he managed to get a couple outs and Danys Baez bailed him with just a few pitches. Still, since he's the Phils only left handed arm out of the pen, at least until J.C Romero comes back from the DL, he's gonna have to do better than that. Other than Baez and Bastardo, rule 5 pick Dave Herndon got a chance to show his stuff in the 9th inning and did himself proud with ,an albeit shaky, scoreless inning. Of course when you have an 11-1 lead you don't have to worry about the bullpen too much. So it was great start to the season for the Phils, but it's a little early to pencil them in to the world series again just yet. The real key for the Phils this season will be how they fare when Halladay isn't on the mound. We still have to wait until Wednesday to see how that pans out.
Sunday, April 04, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
Fresh off a huge loss to the Canadiens, the Flyers had to get the win this afternoon against the Detroit Red Wings, or risk watching their playoff hopes go up in smoke. Detroit came in as the hottest team in the NHL so it didn't seem likely the slumping Flyers would be able to knock them off. Guess again. The inspired play the Flyers exhibited in their last game carried over into this one and fueled the Orange and Black to a quick 2-0 lead, off scores by Danny Briere and Kimmo Timonen, just over 7 minutes into the game. The Flyers then broke down a bit defensively, as Detroit scored a pair of soft goals late in the period to rally back to a 2-2 tie. The Flyers fought back in the 2nd period though with Claude Giroux scoring just seconds into the period for a 3-2 lead. Later with a little under 3 minutes to play in the period Aaron Asham made it 4-2 Orange and Black.
Early in the 3rd period Pavel Datsyuk scored to cut it to 4-3 ,but from there despite a furious late push from Detroit, the Flyers hung on to win, as Brian Boucher and the defense both rose to the occasion. Boucher was solid again with 31 saves out of 34 opportunities, and Detroit's red hot lineup was kept under wraps with just 25 shots on goal, and no real scoring opportunities down the stretch. Meanwhile, the Flyers simply did enough themselves, with those 4 goals, to hang on for the win. With the win the Orange and Black now have 84 points overall, still 8th in the East, and 2 points up on the 9th place New York Rangers. So they must remain in must win mode like they were today, and keep winning if they are to hang on to a playoff spot.
Early in the 3rd period Pavel Datsyuk scored to cut it to 4-3 ,but from there despite a furious late push from Detroit, the Flyers hung on to win, as Brian Boucher and the defense both rose to the occasion. Boucher was solid again with 31 saves out of 34 opportunities, and Detroit's red hot lineup was kept under wraps with just 25 shots on goal, and no real scoring opportunities down the stretch. Meanwhile, the Flyers simply did enough themselves, with those 4 goals, to hang on for the win. With the win the Orange and Black now have 84 points overall, still 8th in the East, and 2 points up on the 9th place New York Rangers. So they must remain in must win mode like they were today, and keep winning if they are to hang on to a playoff spot.
EAGLES NEWS
It's official the Donovan Mcnabb era is over in Philadelphia. The Eagles traded him today to the division rival Washington Redskins for the 37th pick(2nd round) of this month's draft. On the one hand the Eagles now 11 picks, 5 in the 1st 3 rounds, in what supposed to be a deep draft so they should be able to improve the team now with a good draft. Also Kevin Kolb will now get his chance to start for the Eagles. On the other hand they sent him to Washington so the Birds will have to play him twice this season, and Washington, already a good defensive team, could improve enough with Mcnabb to move past the Eagles in the NFC East and become a playoff team. Also I can't imagine Donovan in a Redskins jersey so that should be interesting to see. In the end it is hard to know at this point whether this was a good or bad trade. We'll just have to see how the draft goes and how Kolb fares next season.
PHILLIES NEWS
A new season and the pursuit of a 4th straight NL East division title and 3rd straight National League Championship begins for the Phils tomorrow. I can't wait.
Saturday, April 03, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed the Toronto Raptors to the Wachovia center tonight for an afternoon matchup. Toronto came into the afternoon clinging to the 8th seed in the Eastern conference, so they desperately needed a win to move closer to clinching themselves a playoff berth. Fresh off an embarrassing loss to Ok City Thunder Sixers didn't figure to fair any better in this one. All the signs pointed to another lopsided Sixers's loss. However, the Sixers actually came to play in this one for a change and while Toronto did eventually get the win, they had to earn it. For 4 quarters the Sixers matched them shot for shot as Andre Iguodala put 33 and 11 assists, and Jrue Holiday pumped in 25 and 7 assists, to almost lead the Sixers to the upset. The Sixers actually trailed by 13 heading into the 4th quarter, but a furious Sixer rally early in the quarter, allowed them to cut the lead to singe digits, before knotting up at 111 with a little under 2 minutes to play.
From there Holiday and the Raptors traded threes to send the game into overtime tied at 114. In OT the Sixers continued to match Toronto shot for shot until the Raptors pulled ahead with under a minute to play. A few Sixer misses and mistakes later and Toronto had prevailed 128 - 123, not really a surprise at all. Once again the Sixer's defense didn't show up in this one, allowing Toronto to shoot 56% from the field with 11 three pointers. That just isn't going to get it done against the Raptors. Still, it was fun to watch and nice to see the Sixers actually exhibiting some effort. You just wonder why Iggy doesn't score like he did today in every game and whether Jrue Holiday can cosistently become the kind of scorer he was tonight. In the meantime, with the loss the Sixers drop to 24-60 overall, still 12th in the Eastern conference.
From there Holiday and the Raptors traded threes to send the game into overtime tied at 114. In OT the Sixers continued to match Toronto shot for shot until the Raptors pulled ahead with under a minute to play. A few Sixer misses and mistakes later and Toronto had prevailed 128 - 123, not really a surprise at all. Once again the Sixer's defense didn't show up in this one, allowing Toronto to shoot 56% from the field with 11 three pointers. That just isn't going to get it done against the Raptors. Still, it was fun to watch and nice to see the Sixers actually exhibiting some effort. You just wonder why Iggy doesn't score like he did today in every game and whether Jrue Holiday can cosistently become the kind of scorer he was tonight. In the meantime, with the loss the Sixers drop to 24-60 overall, still 12th in the Eastern conference.
Friday, April 02, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers welcomed the Montreal Canadiens to the Wachovia center tonight in a huge matchup between the two teams tied for 6th in the Eastern conference. In fact Peter Lavoliette, described it as the biggest game of the season for the Flyers. Unfortunately, for the Orange and Black, Jaroslav Halak owned the night for the Habs. The Flyers threw everything but the kitchen sink at him, and he stopped it all, with 35 saves. Meanwhile, Montreal got a lucky score midway through the 1st period and thanks to Halak that was all they needed for a 1-0 win. The Flyers really dominated for good a portion of this one, so to lose 1-0 in a game they had to have is disheartening.
The Orange and Black don't have time to feel sorry for themselves though. With only 4 games left to play they sit 8th in the Eastern conference, just 2 points ahead of the Rangers and Thrashers at this point. That means they'll have to win at least 2 of those 4, if not 3 of them in order to hang on for a playoff spot. If nothing else the performance of Brian Boucher tonight, saving 22 of the 23 shots he faced, was an encouraging sign that perhaps they can do so. If they do hang on for a playoff spot it doesn't feel like at this point that they'll go any further than the an embarrassing first round exit. So maybe getting to the playoffs is not worth it for the Flyers this year anyway. I don't know, I am not sure what to think anymore.
The Orange and Black don't have time to feel sorry for themselves though. With only 4 games left to play they sit 8th in the Eastern conference, just 2 points ahead of the Rangers and Thrashers at this point. That means they'll have to win at least 2 of those 4, if not 3 of them in order to hang on for a playoff spot. If nothing else the performance of Brian Boucher tonight, saving 22 of the 23 shots he faced, was an encouraging sign that perhaps they can do so. If they do hang on for a playoff spot it doesn't feel like at this point that they'll go any further than the an embarrassing first round exit. So maybe getting to the playoffs is not worth it for the Flyers this year anyway. I don't know, I am not sure what to think anymore.
EAGLES NEWS
The Birds continued their suddenly busy off season today trading CB Sheldon Brown and LB Chris Gocong to the Cleveland Browns for a 4th and 5th round pick and LB Alex Hall. Gocong never really fit with the Eagles and it was highly probable he wasn't even going to be in the starting lineup when the season began, so losing him is no big deal. Brown was going to be 31 this season and his health had been declining a bit in recent years. He had also openly talked about his displeasure with his contract with the Eagles. So it is not a huge surprise that he was dealt. However, as pretty much the only veteran leader left on the Eagle's defense he is going to be hard to replace. Basically his absence leaves one more hole in a defense that was already full of them. Sure if he is completely healed from the neck injury that ended his season last year, Ellis Hobbs could replace him, but after that the Birds have no one capable of doing so. Thus, they'll have to add CB to their list of needs on draft day. Having those 2 extra picks, 10 overall, in what is supposed to be a deep draft, should make it easier for them to find a CB there if they so choose. As for Hall, he is a big 6-5 250 strong side LB who will compete with Moise Fokou for the job there, assuming the Eagles don't bring in someone else. Who knows, he could be a good fit there, much better than Gocong would have been. Only time will tell.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers traveled to NY tonight for a matchup with the Islanders as they looked to string together back to back wins for the first time in a while. Considering they came into the night with a Flyer's record 16 straight wins over the Isles, a 2nd straight win overall shouldn't have been too much to ask for. Unfortunately, Brian Boucher had a horrid and unlucky night allowing 3 goals less than 8 minutes into the game. First two bounced off Flyers and into the net leaving the Orange and Black in a shell shocked state from which they never recovered. It was 4-0 just 3 minutes into the 2nd period. Then after Aaron Asham finally got the Flyers on the board late in the 2nd, NY made it 5-1 just 2 and a half minutes into the 2nd period and Boucher was actually yanked from the game in favor of rookie Jeremy Duchesne, who was just called up from the AHL yesterday.
He only allowed one more score the rest of the way, but that was enough to for New York to hold off the Flyers. James Van Reimsdyk, Danny Briere, and Darroll Powe all scored in the 3rd, but it was too little too late, as the Orange and Black eventually succumbed 6-4. With only 6 games left in the regular season and the Flyers desperately needing every point possible to lock up a playoff spot, this was exactly the kind of night they didn't need. It's hard to see Boucher being good enough to help the Flyers hang in there for another 6, but what other choice do the Flyer's have? at this point no matter what he's going to be the only goalie on the roster eligible to play for the Orange and Black in the postseason until Micheal Leighton returns, but that would be sometime after the playoffs start. So basically the Flyers are really going to have pick things up defensively down this last stretch of games or they're not going anywhere this season. For now they're still somehow 6th in the East, with tiebreakers over the 7th and 8th seeds(Montreal and Boston) and 2 points ahead of 9th place Atlanta.
He only allowed one more score the rest of the way, but that was enough to for New York to hold off the Flyers. James Van Reimsdyk, Danny Briere, and Darroll Powe all scored in the 3rd, but it was too little too late, as the Orange and Black eventually succumbed 6-4. With only 6 games left in the regular season and the Flyers desperately needing every point possible to lock up a playoff spot, this was exactly the kind of night they didn't need. It's hard to see Boucher being good enough to help the Flyers hang in there for another 6, but what other choice do the Flyer's have? at this point no matter what he's going to be the only goalie on the roster eligible to play for the Orange and Black in the postseason until Micheal Leighton returns, but that would be sometime after the playoffs start. So basically the Flyers are really going to have pick things up defensively down this last stretch of games or they're not going anywhere this season. For now they're still somehow 6th in the East, with tiebreakers over the 7th and 8th seeds(Montreal and Boston) and 2 points ahead of 9th place Atlanta.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils finally returned to Philly tonight and completed their spring training schedule against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jamie Moyer got the start and was rock solid again, allowing just 2 runs over 6 innings as the Phils held off Pittsburgh 4-2. Unfortunately, some of the Phils other pitchers weren't so lucky yesterday. Joe Blanton went down with an injury will be out for the first 3-6 weeks of the season. Which means Kyle Kendrick will in fact be in the Phils rotation until then at least. J.C Romero and Brad Lidge, who both spent the spring rehabbing were also placed the on the 15 day DL, but hopefully that's all the time they'll need to get back. In the meantime Ryan Madson will close the games for the Phils and they'll just have to figure out who the setup guy will be.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Charlotte tonight for a matchup with Larry Brown's Bobcats, currently the #7 seed in the East. I want to tell you the Sixers came out and at least put up another decent,y respectable performance in this one, but I would be lying. The truth is it was a total embarrassment. They turned the ball over 24 times, and threw up 21 shots from beyond the arc, hitting just 5 of them, everything you don't want to do against a defensive minded team like the Bobcats. Charlotte jumped out to a 6 point lead after the 1st quarter and never looked back. They were up 10 at the half, and 18 ending into the 4th quarter, before winning easily by 19, 103-84. The Sixers played again without Lou Williams and Thad Young, as well as Rodney Carney, but that's really no excuse. They simply stop caring about winning and losing tonight and they'll probably stay like that the rest of the season.
Even Jrue Holiday, who's been the teams lone bright spot as of late, had a horrible night with 7 turnovers. Andre Iguodala was the leading scorer as usual with 14, and Jason Kapono drilled 3 treys for 13. The rest of the scoring for came from the bench where Willie Green added 12, and Mo Speights scored 13. As they have in most of their losses this season the Sixers failed to regularly attack the basket in this one. They drew just 11 fouls to 35 for the Bobcats, and gathered just 10 points at line to 54 for the Bobcats. You are not going to win too many times with that kind of discrepancy. Incredibly despite the loss, the Sixer's are still 12th in the East, and well who cares now how far out of 8th they are. I mean how can that many other teams in the East be that much worse than the Sixers.
Even Jrue Holiday, who's been the teams lone bright spot as of late, had a horrible night with 7 turnovers. Andre Iguodala was the leading scorer as usual with 14, and Jason Kapono drilled 3 treys for 13. The rest of the scoring for came from the bench where Willie Green added 12, and Mo Speights scored 13. As they have in most of their losses this season the Sixers failed to regularly attack the basket in this one. They drew just 11 fouls to 35 for the Bobcats, and gathered just 10 points at line to 54 for the Bobcats. You are not going to win too many times with that kind of discrepancy. Incredibly despite the loss, the Sixer's are still 12th in the East, and well who cares now how far out of 8th they are. I mean how can that many other teams in the East be that much worse than the Sixers.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued spring training today against the Toronto Blue Jays. Roy Halladay got the start against his old team and seemed a bit affected as he was roughed up for 4 runs on 5 hits as the Phils lost 5-2. He also struck out 5 and didn't walk any so I wouldn't worry too much. I think he was giving his old boys some batting practice. He just has to be sure not to do that to for them in the regular season.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles continued to lock up their own players today re-signing Omar Gaither to a one year deal. Gaither has been the Eagles backup middle linebacker to Stewart Bradley. He started for a while last season after Bradley, and looked alright before missing the rest of the season with an ankle injury. Now that Bradley is back he'll just be a backup again and he may push Akeem Jordan for the weakside LB spot.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
After back to back shocking wins over the Bucks and the Hawks, the Sixers looked to make it 3 in a row as they welcomed Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Wachovia center tonight. Ultimately, the Thunder proved to be too much in this one. Durant poured in 26 and 10 rebounds to lead all scorers and OK City shot 50% from beyond the arc and rolled to 111 points. Meanwhile, the Sixers shot just 27% from beyond the arc and Elton Brand was the leading scorer with 22, as the Sixers failed to reach triple digits in yet another game. So it was pretty much all OK city, all the time. The Thunder led by 10 after the 1st quarter, 11 at half, and 10 heading into the 4th quarter, before winning easily by 18, 111-93. The Thunder really were dominant in every facet of the game, with 10 more assists, rebounds, and steals then Sixers and 10 fewer turnovers. Basically they played like a team that wanted it while the Sixers played like they didn't care.
Now for their part, the Sixers didn't play that poorly. Brand had 22, Iggy dropped in 21, Jrue Holiday scored 11, and Rodney Carney and Mo Speights each posted 10. So they had sufficient scoring. They just struggled from beyond the arc and their defense wasn't good enough. Not even close to good enough really. Three shockers in a row was just too much to ask. At least they didn't totally embarrass themselves. At ant rate with the losss the Sixers drop to 26-48 overall, still 12th in the East, but now 10.5 games out of 8th and mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Better luck next year I guess.
Now for their part, the Sixers didn't play that poorly. Brand had 22, Iggy dropped in 21, Jrue Holiday scored 11, and Rodney Carney and Mo Speights each posted 10. So they had sufficient scoring. They just struggled from beyond the arc and their defense wasn't good enough. Not even close to good enough really. Three shockers in a row was just too much to ask. At least they didn't totally embarrass themselves. At ant rate with the losss the Sixers drop to 26-48 overall, still 12th in the East, but now 10.5 games out of 8th and mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Better luck next year I guess.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued spring training today against the Houston Astros. They lost 5-2 despite another solid but abbreviated outing by Kyle Kendrick. In more important news the Phils announced today that Jamie Moyer will be the number 5 starter for the Phils, at least to start the season. Kendrick for his part won a spot in the Phils bullpen. Given that this is likely his last season Moyer deserved at least the chance to finish up the way he began as a starter. Moreover, Kendrick shouldn't be affected at all by moving to the bullpen. So all in all I think the Phils made the right move.
EAGLES NEWS
The Birds continued their not so busy offseason today, signing their own restricted free agents, LB Chris Gocong and CB Ellis Hobs to 1 year deals. Hobbs was very valuable last season as the 3rd CB and kick returner for the Birds, but he got hurt just 8 games into the season so we never really got a chance to see how valuable he could be. Gocong was the Eagles starting weakside LB until last year. Then he lost his job to Akeem Jordan. With Will Witherspoon gone now he'll probably have to be a start for the Birds again so hopefully he'll be alright,
Monday, March 29, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued spring training today against the Braves. J.A Happ got the start and was a bit shaky walking 5 in 5 innings, but allowed just 2 runs and kept the Phils in it. Unfortunately, Ryan Madson allowed a leadoff solo homer in the top of the 9th and the Phils fell 5-4. For Happ, just the fact that he was able to hold Atlanta to just 2 runs, despite all the walks, shows he still has the mental toughness that served him so well last year. As for Madson he's not had a very good spring and will need to turn things around this week or so of spring or the Phils will have all kinds of trouble closing games when the season starts.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers welcomed the Devils to the Wachovia center tonight as they looked to snap a 5 game losing streak. Coming into tonight the Flyer's had owned New Jersey this season, with just one loss against them all year. In fact the last time these two teams met the Flyers swept New Jersey in a home and home. Desperately in need of 2 points, the Orange and Black could not have picked a better time to face New Jersey again. They basically picked up right where they left off in the home and home, with a couple quick scores in the 1st period by Matt Carle and Ville Leino for an early 2-0 lead. Just seconds into the 2nd period Kimmo Timonen scored off the power play for a 3-0 lead. With just seconds left in the 2nd period Lukas Krajicek deposited a rare goal for a 4-0 lead. Just past the halfway point in the 3rd, Ilya Kovalchuk finally got New Jersey on the board to cut the lead to 4-1 but it was too little too late for the Devils.
Only about 30 seconds later Leino and Danny Briere set up Simon Gagne for another score and an insurmountable 5-1 lead. Thanks to Brian Boucher and his 32 saves that lead held up the rest of the way and the Flyers got their 2 points. While Boucher was fantastic the Flyer's defense really stepped up in this one. They did allow 33 shots on goal but for once few of those shots represented good scoring for New Jersey. Perhaps more impressive though were the 5 goals they scored. With all the scoring struggles they have had lately, just the fact that they were able to score 5 just like that tonight shows what this team is capable when they focus and give it their all. They'll need to keep doing that from here on out if they still want to lock up a playoff spot and go anywhere this season. For now with 82 points overall, they're back up to 6th in the East, 4 points ahead of the 9th place thrashers and 6 ahead of the 10th place Rangers.
Only about 30 seconds later Leino and Danny Briere set up Simon Gagne for another score and an insurmountable 5-1 lead. Thanks to Brian Boucher and his 32 saves that lead held up the rest of the way and the Flyers got their 2 points. While Boucher was fantastic the Flyer's defense really stepped up in this one. They did allow 33 shots on goal but for once few of those shots represented good scoring for New Jersey. Perhaps more impressive though were the 5 goals they scored. With all the scoring struggles they have had lately, just the fact that they were able to score 5 just like that tonight shows what this team is capable when they focus and give it their all. They'll need to keep doing that from here on out if they still want to lock up a playoff spot and go anywhere this season. For now with 82 points overall, they're back up to 6th in the East, 4 points ahead of the 9th place thrashers and 6 ahead of the 10th place Rangers.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers traveled to Pittsburgh this afternoon for a matchup with the Penguins as they looked to snap a 4 games losing streak. Desperate to stop the losing streak and their slide out of playoff contention the Flyers brought up Jonas Backlund from the Phantoms to get the start in goal. He did pretty good job in the first two periods but reaggravated the groin injury, which kept the Flyers from calling him up sooner, and could not come out for the 3rd period. The Flyer's also had some bad luck with the officials in the first those first 2 periods as well, with a Simon Gagne goal getting disallowed while a Pen's goal that should probably have been disallowed was not, and ended up going into the 3rd period down 2-1. There with Boucher in goal Pittsburgh quickly made it 3-1 and then eventually 4-1 with a later power play goal, to the send the Orange and Black to their 5th straight loss.
Actually the goal by Matt Cooke, that made it 3-1, probably should have been disallowed too, but with ex-Flyer Ruslan Fedotenko scoring that late power play goal, the Flyers would have lost anyway so I guess it doesn't really matter. For the record Aaron Asham scored the only Flyer goal just one minute into the game. Which means the Flyers did actually lead this game 1-0 at one point, but obviously that didn't last long. It's too bad Backlund reinjured himself because now he'll be out for at least 10 days, which means we're pretty much stuck with Boosh for most of the rest of the season. Hopefully he can clean up his act enough to at least get the Orange and Black into the playoffs and then perhaps Micheal Leighton will be back to care of things after that. At this point with the loss the Flyers are down to 8th in the East, but still 2 points ahead of 9th place Atlanta and 4 points ahead of the Rangers. If they are still to make the playoffs they're going to have a win a few at some point.
Actually the goal by Matt Cooke, that made it 3-1, probably should have been disallowed too, but with ex-Flyer Ruslan Fedotenko scoring that late power play goal, the Flyers would have lost anyway so I guess it doesn't really matter. For the record Aaron Asham scored the only Flyer goal just one minute into the game. Which means the Flyers did actually lead this game 1-0 at one point, but obviously that didn't last long. It's too bad Backlund reinjured himself because now he'll be out for at least 10 days, which means we're pretty much stuck with Boosh for most of the rest of the season. Hopefully he can clean up his act enough to at least get the Orange and Black into the playoffs and then perhaps Micheal Leighton will be back to care of things after that. At this point with the loss the Flyers are down to 8th in the East, but still 2 points ahead of 9th place Atlanta and 4 points ahead of the Rangers. If they are still to make the playoffs they're going to have a win a few at some point.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued spring training today against the Minnesota Twins. Cole Hamels got the start and was roughed up for the 2nd time in as many spring training starts, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits over 6 and 1/3rd innings as the Phils fell 8-4. It' s still only spring training so I don't want to get too alarmed with Cole at this point, but I would say one more start like this and there might be something to worry about.
Friday, March 26, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
After a shocking win over the red hot, Eastern conference #5 seed Milwaukee Bucks in their last game the Sixers looked to make it two shockers in a row as they welcomed the already playoff bound, and Eastern conference #4 seed, Atlanta Hawks to the Wachovia center tonight. For most of the night it was a pretty listless affair with a disinterested Atlanta holding a slim lead. Then late in the 3rd quarter Andre Iguodala slammed a back a rebound off a miss by Jason Kapono, to put the Sixers up 4 and they were off and running. Atlanta did come back to take an 88-87 lead with 6 minutes to play in the 4th, but then Jrue Holiday stole the ball from Josh Smith, and took all the way to the basket before making a perfect dish to Sammy Dalembert for the stuff and an 89-88 lead. The Sixers would never trail again as they used more Hawk turnovers to close out another shocker 105-98, in arguably the best game the Sixers have played all season.
Other than the steals the Sixer's defense was just okay, but they came up with 15 steals in all and they made all the difference, as the Sixers were able to get out and run and attack the basket, the two things they must do to succceed. While steals helped the Sixers greatly tonight, their new look lineup, with Mo Speights at center, and Jason Kapono again starting small forward, with Iggy shifted over to shooting guard. All I have to say is where has this lineup been all year, because it perfect tonight. Elton Brand, had 14 and 6 rebounds, Kapono had drilled 4 treys for 14 pts, and racked up 5 rebounds and 3 steals, Speights had 8 and 4 rebounds, Holiday was fantastic with 12, 13 assists, and 7 steals, Iggy was Iggy with 25, 9 assists, and 10 rebounds, and Sammy Dalembert was great off the bench with 14 and 7 rebounds. Put it all together and you an impressive win over the Hawks, especially considering both Lou Williams and Thad Young sat the night out with injuries. You just wonder how much the better the Sixers could have been this year if they had found this lineup sooner and how exciting things could be in the future if they stick with this lineup. For now anyway, the Sixers move to 26-47 overall, still 12th in the East, and 10 games out of 8th, that is just barely alive in the playoff race for another day at least.
Other than the steals the Sixer's defense was just okay, but they came up with 15 steals in all and they made all the difference, as the Sixers were able to get out and run and attack the basket, the two things they must do to succceed. While steals helped the Sixers greatly tonight, their new look lineup, with Mo Speights at center, and Jason Kapono again starting small forward, with Iggy shifted over to shooting guard. All I have to say is where has this lineup been all year, because it perfect tonight. Elton Brand, had 14 and 6 rebounds, Kapono had drilled 4 treys for 14 pts, and racked up 5 rebounds and 3 steals, Speights had 8 and 4 rebounds, Holiday was fantastic with 12, 13 assists, and 7 steals, Iggy was Iggy with 25, 9 assists, and 10 rebounds, and Sammy Dalembert was great off the bench with 14 and 7 rebounds. Put it all together and you an impressive win over the Hawks, especially considering both Lou Williams and Thad Young sat the night out with injuries. You just wonder how much the better the Sixers could have been this year if they had found this lineup sooner and how exciting things could be in the future if they stick with this lineup. For now anyway, the Sixers move to 26-47 overall, still 12th in the East, and 10 games out of 8th, that is just barely alive in the playoff race for another day at least.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued spring training today against the Yankees. Jamie Moyer got the start and was brilliant tossing 6 and 1/3rd scoreless innings, while allowing 1 hit, striking out 6, and walking none. Best of all the Phils went on to win 3-0. So Moyer is again the front runner for the number 5 spot in the Phils rotation and in fact he may have already locked up the spot with this one.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers welcomed the Minnesota Wild to the Wachovia center tonight, as they looked to snap a 3 game losing streak. Minnesota has been too good this season, so this was a real opportunity for the Orange and Black, to pickup a desperately needed 2 points and bolster their playoff positioning. For the better part of 3 period it looked like the Flyers would do just that, but unfortunately it wasn't to be. The Flyers jumped out to a quick 2 -0 lead just 4 minutes into the 1st period, with goals by Oscars Bartulis and Simon Gagne. Dan Carcillo scored a little over halfway through the 2nd period to make it 3-1 Orange and Black. 6 minutes into the 3rd period it was still 3-1 Flyers and victory appeared imminent. However, the bottom kinda fell out from under the Flyers from that point on. Brian Boucher's level of play dropped and by the time the 3rd period was 13 minutes old Minnesota had rallied all the way back to tie it at 3.
Form there neither team could score for the remainder of regulation so the game ended going into overtime. There, just 2 and a half minutes in Kyle Brodziak broke the Flyer's hearts, scoring for a 4-3 Wild win. This one is tough to swallow as the Flyers really needed it, had it in their grasp, and ultimately let it slip way. Since they lost in overtime the Flyers do still earn at least a point and remain 7th in the Eastern conference, 4 points up on 9th place Atlanta. This was the kind of effort the Flyers will need the rest of the season, but they have got to learn how to finish. Otherwise their season may not last too much longer.
Form there neither team could score for the remainder of regulation so the game ended going into overtime. There, just 2 and a half minutes in Kyle Brodziak broke the Flyer's hearts, scoring for a 4-3 Wild win. This one is tough to swallow as the Flyers really needed it, had it in their grasp, and ultimately let it slip way. Since they lost in overtime the Flyers do still earn at least a point and remain 7th in the Eastern conference, 4 points up on 9th place Atlanta. This was the kind of effort the Flyers will need the rest of the season, but they have got to learn how to finish. Otherwise their season may not last too much longer.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued spring training today against the Houston Astros. Kyle Kendrck and was solid again, allowing just 1 run on 5 and 1/3rd innings, as the Phillies won 8-7. So once Kendrick gets a leg up in the competition for the Phils 5th starter.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
The Miracle finally happened tonight. The Sixers actually won a game, against a good Eastern conference team, in the Milwaukee Bucks, who came in as the 5th seed in the Eastern conference. Given the Sixer's track record against the top Eastern conference teams this season, there wasn't much hope for them to win tonight. Instead for a change they actually played for it and showed what they're capable of doing when they actually care. They shot 54% from the field with 6 Sixers scoring in double figrues, on a superb night for the Sixer scorers, led by Wille Green and his 16. Thanks to the hot shooting the Sixers were able jump out to a 5 point lead after the 1st quarter, a 13 point lead at half, and an 18 point lead, heading into the 4th quarter. There the Bucks were able to make a final push but the Sixers held them off for a surprising 101-86 win.
for their part the Bucks didn't play that poorly, but they shot just 40% from the field compared to the Sixers 50%, hit just 5 treys, the Sixers actually had more with 6, and were outrebounded by the Sixers 43-37. Basically they played down to the Sixers like the most of top teams in the NBA have against the Sixers this season, but simply weren't good enough to pull it off. Losing games like this that you should win is just one of those things that happens to young teams like Milwaukee, and the Sixers know that all too well by now. While Willie Green was there leading scorer tonight, the Sixers top performer on the night was Sammy Dalembert who tallied another 12 and 10 rebounds on the night. Jrue Holliday was pretty impressive too with 15 and 7 assists, but all in all it was a total team effort for the Sixers tonight and the best they've put forth in some time. So now the Sixers move to 25-47 overall, still good enough for 12th in the East, currently 11 games out of 8th.
for their part the Bucks didn't play that poorly, but they shot just 40% from the field compared to the Sixers 50%, hit just 5 treys, the Sixers actually had more with 6, and were outrebounded by the Sixers 43-37. Basically they played down to the Sixers like the most of top teams in the NBA have against the Sixers this season, but simply weren't good enough to pull it off. Losing games like this that you should win is just one of those things that happens to young teams like Milwaukee, and the Sixers know that all too well by now. While Willie Green was there leading scorer tonight, the Sixers top performer on the night was Sammy Dalembert who tallied another 12 and 10 rebounds on the night. Jrue Holliday was pretty impressive too with 15 and 7 assists, but all in all it was a total team effort for the Sixers tonight and the best they've put forth in some time. So now the Sixers move to 25-47 overall, still good enough for 12th in the East, currently 11 games out of 8th.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued spring training today against the Atlanta Braves. J.A Happ got the start and was roughed up a bit, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits, over 5 innings. Meanwhile, Tim Hudson tossed 6 scoreless innings for Atlanta, allowing just 3 hits, as the Braves blanked the Phils 8-0. Again it is only spring training so there is no need to worry to much, but it seems it will be very scary facing the Braves this season, particularly when Hudson is on the mound.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers traveled Ottawa tonight for a key matchup with the Senators, as they looked to snap a 2 game losing streak. Ottawa came into tonight 5th in the Eastern conference, just 2 points ahead of the Flyers. So a win for the Orange and Black in this one could have meant a jump for them from 6th in the East back up to 5th in the East. Unfortunately for the 3rd straight night it just wasn't to be for the Flyers. They played fairly good defense in holding the Sens to just 26 shots on goal and killing off all 7 of their power play opportunities. Brian Boucher was also okay saving 24 of the 26 shots he faced to keep the Orange and Black firmly in it most of the night. Unfortunately, with no Jeff Carter and still a lack of energy in the lineup, the Flyer's couldn't get anything going offensively. They too had just 26 shots on goal and they too had several opportunities to score, with 7 power play chances. In the end though they just couldn't finish off any of their opportunities and it cost them.
Brian Elliot wound up a pitching bag left in a shutout for the Sens, saving all 26 shots he faced. Meanwhile Daniel Alfreddson and Chis Kelly to put Ottawa up 2-0, a lead they would never relinquish en route to the win. So it was another disheartening for the Orange and Black and they desperately need to rebound in their next game or they're chances of making the playoffs could very well completely go up in smoke. For now even with the loss, the Flyers remain 6th in the East, now 4 points out of 5th and just 4 points clear of 9th Atlanta. It is going to be a tough and interesting final week or so of the regular season for the Flyers and you just hope they're still standng at the end of it.
Brian Elliot wound up a pitching bag left in a shutout for the Sens, saving all 26 shots he faced. Meanwhile Daniel Alfreddson and Chis Kelly to put Ottawa up 2-0, a lead they would never relinquish en route to the win. So it was another disheartening for the Orange and Black and they desperately need to rebound in their next game or they're chances of making the playoffs could very well completely go up in smoke. For now even with the loss, the Flyers remain 6th in the East, now 4 points out of 5th and just 4 points clear of 9th Atlanta. It is going to be a tough and interesting final week or so of the regular season for the Flyers and you just hope they're still standng at the end of it.
EAGLES NEWS
The New Orleans Saints finally confirmed today that they will not match the Eagles offer to free agent RB Mike Bell, which means he will be signing with the Birds after all. In his career, when he has played Bell has been a strong RB, good at following his blockers and breaking tackles. He's also a veteran presence in the what would have been a very young backfield for the Birds, with 2nd year man Lesean McCoy leading the way. Now at least he has the veteran Bell to learn from. Speaking of signings the Birds also locked LB Akeem Jordan the other day for 1 year at $1.684 million.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued spring training today against the Tampa Rays. Joe Blanton got the start and was solid allowing just 2 runs over 5 and 1/3rd innings. Meanwhile, Ryan Howard slammed 2 solo homers and Jimmy Rollins collected a couple of hits as the Phils rallied to win 4-3.
Monday, March 22, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed Dwight "Superman" Howard and the Orlando Magic to the Wachovia center tonight, as they looked to, oh who am I kidding, continue throwing away the rest of their season. In a game pitting two teams heading in opposite directions you wouldn't expect it to be much of a contest. As they have done all season against the NBA's best, the Sixers brought out close to their best in this one, and incredibly managed to hang in there for 3 quarters. They trailed by only 4 after the 1st quarter, 9 at the half, and just 10 heading into the 4th quarter. There Orlando finally pulled away for an easy 16 point, 109-93 win. As usual it was the 3 pointer that killed the Sixers in this one. Orlando shot 51% from beyond the arc and drilled 16 of them, plus Howard was dominant inside with 23 and 15 rebounds, basically everything you don't want to see happen when you're playing the magic. Moreover, the Sixers again failed to attack the basket, not they could have with Howard standing in the middle anyway, and instead attempted to out magic the magic, pounding it inside to Elton Brand and Sammy Dalembert either for an easy basket or a kick out for an open three.
It almost worked as Eddie Jordan was finally smart enough to bring his best 3 point shooter, Jason Kapono, off the bench. In fact Kapono started at small forward for the first time all season, and hit two treys, as the Sixers shot a respectable 42% from the beyond the arc, with 6 treys all together. In the end though, they simply didn't have the firepower to stay with the Magic. They also really didn't make much of an effort to stop the Magic, who as mentioned shot 51% from beyond the arc, and 52% from the field and even 70% from the free throw line, with 30 attempts. Basically Orlando got to do whatever it wanted on offense tonight. The Sixers for their part got impressive performances out of Sammy with 16 and 14 rebounds, Andre Iguodala with 23 , 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, and Brand with 23, but none of it was ever going to be enough to knock off the Magic tonight and I am not sure they really wanted to win anyway. With the loss they drop to 24-47 overall now, still good enough for 12th in the East, but now 12 games out of 8th.
It almost worked as Eddie Jordan was finally smart enough to bring his best 3 point shooter, Jason Kapono, off the bench. In fact Kapono started at small forward for the first time all season, and hit two treys, as the Sixers shot a respectable 42% from the beyond the arc, with 6 treys all together. In the end though, they simply didn't have the firepower to stay with the Magic. They also really didn't make much of an effort to stop the Magic, who as mentioned shot 51% from beyond the arc, and 52% from the field and even 70% from the free throw line, with 30 attempts. Basically Orlando got to do whatever it wanted on offense tonight. The Sixers for their part got impressive performances out of Sammy with 16 and 14 rebounds, Andre Iguodala with 23 , 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, and Brand with 23, but none of it was ever going to be enough to knock off the Magic tonight and I am not sure they really wanted to win anyway. With the loss they drop to 24-47 overall now, still good enough for 12th in the East, but now 12 games out of 8th.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued spring training today against the New York Yankees. Cole Hamels got the start and was roughed up allowing 7 runs over 4 innings. Incredibly that didn't cost the Phils the game as Wilson Valdez slammed a game winning 2 run homer in the 9th inning, for a 9-7 win. Hamels says he was just working on some things and is not worried. Considering it is still pretty early in the spring that's good enough for me.
FLYERS NEWS
There was more bad news for the Flyers today as they learned that Jeff Carter is out for the next 3 to 4 weeks with a fractured foot. Considering he was their leading scorer, on a team that has struggled to score at times this season, losing him could be a huge blow to the Flyers chances of wrapping up a playoff spot in the next couple of weeks and frankly getting anywhere if they were to get to the playoffs. On other hand this could be the wake up call the Flyer's needed to get them going down the stretch and make a final push into the playoffs. Only time will tell.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers welcomed the Atlanta Thrashers to the Wachovia center tonight to complete the 2nd half of a home and home with them, as they looked to snap a 2 game losing streak and avoid an Atlanta sweep of the season series between the two teams. While the Orange and Black did put up a much better effort on this night, allowing just 31 shots on goal, while littering the Atlanta goal with 45 shots, it made little difference. Once again the Thrashers jumped out to a quick lead, this time 2-0 just 11 minutes into the game. With 8 minutes to play in the 3rd period Mike Richards finally got the Flyer's on the board, cutting it to 2-1 and briefly restoring hope for an Orange and Black victory. That hope was dashed just 5 minutes later when Rich Pevereley scored to make it 3-1 Atlanta and put the Flyers away for good.
While it was poor defense that doomed the Flyers last night, tonight it was poor play Brian Boucher that killed. As mentioned the Flyer's defense did a decent job holding the quick Thrashers to just 31 shots on goal and killing off all 3 of their power play opportunities. Unfortunately, Boucher failed to handle a couple of pucks he should have been able to, while Atlanta's Ondrej Pavelec, made all the saves he had to, 44 in all, and carried his Thrashers to the 3-1 win. The Flyers also failed to really take advantage of all the scoring opportunities they had, including 3 listless powerplays. Put it all together you've got the Flyer's 3rd straight loss and now a big problem for the Orange and Black. With the loss the Flyers drop to 6th in the Eastern conference, now just 4 games ahead of the 9th place Thrashers, and suddenly are now in danger of the missing the playoffs completely if they don't turn things around and fast. He's hoping they do turn it around again before it's too late or we'll have nothing to watch next month.
While it was poor defense that doomed the Flyers last night, tonight it was poor play Brian Boucher that killed. As mentioned the Flyer's defense did a decent job holding the quick Thrashers to just 31 shots on goal and killing off all 3 of their power play opportunities. Unfortunately, Boucher failed to handle a couple of pucks he should have been able to, while Atlanta's Ondrej Pavelec, made all the saves he had to, 44 in all, and carried his Thrashers to the 3-1 win. The Flyers also failed to really take advantage of all the scoring opportunities they had, including 3 listless powerplays. Put it all together you've got the Flyer's 3rd straight loss and now a big problem for the Orange and Black. With the loss the Flyers drop to 6th in the Eastern conference, now just 4 games ahead of the 9th place Thrashers, and suddenly are now in danger of the missing the playoffs completely if they don't turn things around and fast. He's hoping they do turn it around again before it's too late or we'll have nothing to watch next month.
PHILLIES NEWS
After a bit of rain delay the Phils continued spring training today against the Orioles. Jamie Moyer got the start, his first official spring training start(the rest were in 'B' games), and was solid, allowing just 1 run over 5 innings, while striking out 6 and walking none. Unfortunately the Phils struggled to score once again and lost 5-4. At any rate thought it was an important performance for Moyer which probably put him back in front in the contest for the Phils #5 starting spot.
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