Just one night after a heartbreaking loss, the Sixers came out angry tonight at home against the Indiana Pacers, who beat them 2 games ago, and used it as fuel to finally play a complete game defensively. The increased defensive intensity paid off handsomely for the Sixers, in the form of their first win of this young season. The Sixer's defense had been good in spurts thus far this season, but never for any sort of sustained period of time. Tonight they came out strong defensively, and never dialed it down. They held the Pacers to just 31% shooting from the field, and completely took away Roy Hibbert and Danny Granger who combined for just 16 points. For the first time all season they actually managed to not get outrebounded, instead outrebounded the Pacers 54-46, with 2 guys, Elton Brand with 12, and Mo Speights with 11, rebounding in double figures. Finally they also threw in 8 blocks and 9 steals just for good measure. The defense was so good that even much maligned center Spencer Hawes got into the act with 4 rebounds and 2 blocks.
On the same night the Sixers produced their best defensive performance of the season, they also produced arguably their best offensive performance as well. For the first time this season, 6 Sixers got into double figures. It's not hard to see why either as they finally go to free throw line consistently and didn't kill themselves when they got there, hitting 21 of their 25 free throw attempts. Leading rebounder Brand, was also the Sixers leading scorer with 25. Andre Iguodala, and Jrue Holiday each had 11, to round out the scoring for the Sixer's starters, while Thad Young, Lou Williams, and Evan Turner came off the bench for 16, 11, and 12 respectively. Finally in addition to scoring more, the Sixers also took much better care of the ball, with just 10 turnovers, their lowest total of the season thus far. The offense was so good that even much maligned center Spencer Hawes got into the act with 9 points, including his first trey as a Sixer.
The Sixers really came out firing in this one, taking a 15 point lead into the 2nd quarter. This time there was not 2nd quarter let down as the Sixers actually extended their lead to 24 at halftime. Once again they did fall off slightly in the 3rd quarter, but enough for Indiana to really get back in the game, as the Sixers retained an 18 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. As they have all season they took over again in the 4th quarter, outscoring Indiana 23-17, extending their lead en route to an easy 101-75 win, a complete reversal of the first meeting between these two teams. That at least is a sign this team might be different from last year's after all. Only time will tell.
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
EAGLES NEWS
Apparently Ellis Hobbs has not been demoted to backup CB. Instead he won't be starting for the Eagles this Sunday because he has a hip injury. In fact, he tried to play through it last week, which explains why he just couldn't keep up with Kenny Britt in the 4th quarter. In other Eagles' news Ernie Sims was fined 50,000 for a helmet first hit on WR Lavelle Hawkins in the Eagles' game against the Titans 2 weeks ago. Given the NFL's new strict guidelines on helmet first hits, this fine is not a surprise at all. You just wonder why the NFL waited two weeks to levy it. Why not fine Sims two weeks ago when the hit actually happened.
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers must be wondering at this point what it will take for them to finally get a win this season, because they were oh so close tonight in Washington. They really did everything you could ask for in this one. They shot 55% from the field while the Wizards only shot 47%. They were even with the Wiz in the rebound department at 36 a piece. Finally they were pretty even turnover wise with 22 and 21 respectively, and steals wise with 10 and 15 respectively. So defensively, it was an evenly matched contest and it was the scoring or lackthereof that made up the difference in this one. In fact, Washington had the advantage for the better part of the night because offensively they were able to take advantage of all the turnovers they got, While the Sixers failed to consistently take advantage of their turnover opportunities.
Individually the Sixers top performer was Lou Williams who poured in 30 points, mostly in the 4th quarter to almost singlehandedly carry the team to a win. Other impressive Sixers included Elton Brand who put up a solid 21 points and 9 rebounds, Andre Iguodala who contributed 12 and 9 assists, and Jrue Holiday who had his best game of the season thus far with 14 and 13 assists. Other than that it was a pretty average night for the rest of the Sixers and it showed at times. The other guys did their part as well though, they just weren't as into the game and weren't as a big a part of the Sixer's efforts as the others were.
Early on the Sixers actually jumped out to a 14 point lead and appeared poised to break this one open into an easy win. Then Doug Collins started going to the bench to end the quarter and the lead all but evaporated. The Sixers managed to hang in there for the next 2 quarters on guts and guile alone, before they finally heated up and started hitting shots again. Most notably Lou Williams drilled a trey at one point early in the 4th, that just beat the shot clock and Ignited Williams game. He was only 1 for 7 on the night before that first trey, but after that he caught fire and couldn't miss again. He hit another trey a later in the quarter to momentarily put the Sixers up 6. Later still with the Sixers clinging to a 3 point lead in the final seconds he drilled 10 straight free throws to preserve the lead.
Unfortunately all of Williams heroics went for naught as Cartier Martin somehow knocked in a three over Iggy at the buzzer to force overtime. In overtime the two teams went back in forth until Brand banked in a mid range jumper to put the Sixers up 1 with 14 seconds left. Alas, Brand then fouled out trying to block Andray Blatche's possible game winning attempt. It looked to be a clean block but the officials blew the whistle, Blatche sunk the free throws and the Sixers were down 1 with 7 seconds left. Unlike Washington the Sixers were not able to get a clean look as Iggy wound up throwing up a wobbly fadeaway that caught iron as time expired. So in the end the Sixers ultimately dropped their 4th straight game to open the season, 116-115. Better luck next time boys.
Individually the Sixers top performer was Lou Williams who poured in 30 points, mostly in the 4th quarter to almost singlehandedly carry the team to a win. Other impressive Sixers included Elton Brand who put up a solid 21 points and 9 rebounds, Andre Iguodala who contributed 12 and 9 assists, and Jrue Holiday who had his best game of the season thus far with 14 and 13 assists. Other than that it was a pretty average night for the rest of the Sixers and it showed at times. The other guys did their part as well though, they just weren't as into the game and weren't as a big a part of the Sixer's efforts as the others were.
Early on the Sixers actually jumped out to a 14 point lead and appeared poised to break this one open into an easy win. Then Doug Collins started going to the bench to end the quarter and the lead all but evaporated. The Sixers managed to hang in there for the next 2 quarters on guts and guile alone, before they finally heated up and started hitting shots again. Most notably Lou Williams drilled a trey at one point early in the 4th, that just beat the shot clock and Ignited Williams game. He was only 1 for 7 on the night before that first trey, but after that he caught fire and couldn't miss again. He hit another trey a later in the quarter to momentarily put the Sixers up 6. Later still with the Sixers clinging to a 3 point lead in the final seconds he drilled 10 straight free throws to preserve the lead.
Unfortunately all of Williams heroics went for naught as Cartier Martin somehow knocked in a three over Iggy at the buzzer to force overtime. In overtime the two teams went back in forth until Brand banked in a mid range jumper to put the Sixers up 1 with 14 seconds left. Alas, Brand then fouled out trying to block Andray Blatche's possible game winning attempt. It looked to be a clean block but the officials blew the whistle, Blatche sunk the free throws and the Sixers were down 1 with 7 seconds left. Unlike Washington the Sixers were not able to get a clean look as Iggy wound up throwing up a wobbly fadeaway that caught iron as time expired. So in the end the Sixers ultimately dropped their 4th straight game to open the season, 116-115. Better luck next time boys.
Monday, November 01, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
It was not the Flyer's best effort, and how could it be with Danny Briere suddenly serving a 3 game suspension, but rather was just one of in what a should be a long list of games this season in which they simply took care of business. The defense was solid, allotting Carolina just 28 shots on goal and keeping the penalties to a minimum. In fact the Orange and Black committed just 3 penalties all night long and killed off all of them. Meanwhile, Claude Giroux collected another power play tally, to give the Flyers at least one power play goal for the 4th straight game. Considering how much they struggled on the power play earlier in the season, that's pretty impressive. Equally impressive was Sergie Bobrovsky who shined again with another 26 saves out of the 28 shots he faced. Put it all together and you've got another job well done.
Jeff Carter picked up the assist as Scott Hartnell gave the Flyers the early 1-0 lead with 8 minutes left in the first period. Mike Richards assisted as Claude Giroux broke a 1-1 tie on the power play with 8 minutes left in the 2nd period. Early in the 3rd period Carter picked up another assist along with Kimmo Timonen as Hartnell picked up another goal for a 3-1 Flyer's lead. It stayed that way until Joe Corvo scored with 27 seconds left to cut the Flyers lead in half 3-2. It was too little too late for Carolina though and Orange and Black walked, er skated away with the 3-2, their 5th in a row. With the win the Sixers are now all alone in first place in the Atlantic division and 2nd in the Eastern conference.
Jeff Carter picked up the assist as Scott Hartnell gave the Flyers the early 1-0 lead with 8 minutes left in the first period. Mike Richards assisted as Claude Giroux broke a 1-1 tie on the power play with 8 minutes left in the 2nd period. Early in the 3rd period Carter picked up another assist along with Kimmo Timonen as Hartnell picked up another goal for a 3-1 Flyer's lead. It stayed that way until Joe Corvo scored with 27 seconds left to cut the Flyers lead in half 3-2. It was too little too late for Carolina though and Orange and Black walked, er skated away with the 3-2, their 5th in a row. With the win the Sixers are now all alone in first place in the Atlantic division and 2nd in the Eastern conference.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles have demoted Ellis Hobbs to backup CB, while promoting Dmitri Patterson to take his place. It was Hobbs' struggles that allowed Kenny Britt to go off for over 100 yards and TDs in the Eagles last game before the bye week. So this comes as no surprise.
PHILLIES NEWS
After much consternation Davey Lopes has decided not to return as the Phils first base coach next season. A master at reading pitcher's tendencies and timing their throws to plate, Lopeshas been instrumental in the success of Phils' base stealers since 2007. The Phils will now have to find someone equally as adept to replace him.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
With the eternal Orange and Black elixir, the NY Islanders, visiting the Wells Fargo center tonight the Flyers were primed to grab their 3rd straight victory and boy did they. I mean everyone got into the act in this one. Chris Pronger had 2 goals, his first scores of the season. Kimmo Timonen had a goal and 2 assists and finally looked again like the Timonen controlled the blueline in the playoffs last season. Jeff Carter had 2 goals and an assist, racking up 3 points for the 2nd time in 3 games. Ville Leino and Claude Giroux each had 2 assists and continue to be offensive stalwarts. Finally, Sergei Bobrovsky had his best game of the season thus far with 30 saves, several of them highlight reel. Really it was about the first time all season that the Orange and Black played a hard as a team from start to finish. Of course it was also against the Islanders who have now lost 11 straight games in Philadelphia, so maybe the excitement should be tempered, but just to see the Flyers show the ability to break out like this was a blast, especially considering Nikolay Zherdev got a breather for the 2nd night in a row. Maybe he should just stay on the bench.
Just 2 and a half minutes into the 1st period Timonen put the Flyers on the board with an assist from Scott Hartnell. With about 3 minutes left in the period Giroux picked up the assist as Carter blasted one home for a 2-0 lead. Just under 3 minutes into the 2nd period Carter struck again, thanks to another Giroux assist. A couple minutes later Chris Pronger slapped one in on the power play for a 4-0 lead and the route was on. The Islanders finally got on the board with a shorthanded tally after that to cut it to 4-1, but that was as close they would get. Just over a minute later Pronger scored again on the power play for a 5-1 lead. Finally with about 5 minutes left in the 2nd period, Andreas Nodl nabbed his 2nd goal in 3 games, thanks a pretty pass from James Van Reimsdyk. At that point with the lead an insurmountable 6-1, the Flyers settled donw played solid d the rest of the way. The Islanders had some opportunities on the power play in the final minutes of the 3rd period but Bobrovsky made sure they did not cash in and Flyers eventually walked with away with the Easy 6-1. It's their 3rd straight win and keeps them tied for first in the Atlantic division with 13 points overall.
Just 2 and a half minutes into the 1st period Timonen put the Flyers on the board with an assist from Scott Hartnell. With about 3 minutes left in the period Giroux picked up the assist as Carter blasted one home for a 2-0 lead. Just under 3 minutes into the 2nd period Carter struck again, thanks to another Giroux assist. A couple minutes later Chris Pronger slapped one in on the power play for a 4-0 lead and the route was on. The Islanders finally got on the board with a shorthanded tally after that to cut it to 4-1, but that was as close they would get. Just over a minute later Pronger scored again on the power play for a 5-1 lead. Finally with about 5 minutes left in the 2nd period, Andreas Nodl nabbed his 2nd goal in 3 games, thanks a pretty pass from James Van Reimsdyk. At that point with the lead an insurmountable 6-1, the Flyers settled donw played solid d the rest of the way. The Islanders had some opportunities on the power play in the final minutes of the 3rd period but Bobrovsky made sure they did not cash in and Flyers eventually walked with away with the Easy 6-1. It's their 3rd straight win and keeps them tied for first in the Atlantic division with 13 points overall.
SIXERS NEWS
This was it. This was the game the Sixers were finally going to win. The one in which they were finally going to show what kind of team they really are this season. Unfortunately, the movie looked all too familiar for Sixer's fans tonight in Indiana. On paper the Sixers actually came in the bigger of the two teams and probably slightly better talent wise. The bottom line is they should have been able to hold their own against the Pacers. Instead like they did so many times last season they didn't show up for a full 4 quarters and paid the price for it. Defensively the Sixers were not very good again, but got lucky that Indiana didn't shoot very well otherwise this one could have a blowout. Still, they got out-rebounded 51-46 by a smaller team and that's just unacceptable. Offensively, they also weren't that great, at only 43% from the floor and a putrid 50% from the free throw line. They also only got to the free throw line 16 times, so getting to the line and making free throws when they get there continues to be a problem for this team.
The only real bright spot for the Sixers on this night was their 3 point shooting, which for once was actually very good at 54% from beyond. In fact, Thad Young and Lou Williams were a combined 3 for 3 from beyond, as the Sixers jumped out to a 13 point lead in the 2nd quarter. Unfortunately, Williams who had 18 points in the first half to lift the Sixers to that lead, did not score again. Indiana meanwhile went on a 17-5 to start the 3rd quarter and this time there was Sixer 4th quarter comeback as they ironically fell by 13, 99-86. Aside from Williams and Thad who scored 11 by the way, the other bright spots for the Sixers were Jrue Holiday who finally got into double figures with 12, Elton Brand who continued to impress with 12 and 10 rebounds, Evan Turner who was back on the upswing with 9 and 7 rebounds, and Andre Iguodala who posted 12 points. Again all of that only added to another missed opportunity for a win. I really thought things were going to be different for the Sixers this season, and they would win games like these now. Sadly it seems I was wrong. Nothing has changed.
The only real bright spot for the Sixers on this night was their 3 point shooting, which for once was actually very good at 54% from beyond. In fact, Thad Young and Lou Williams were a combined 3 for 3 from beyond, as the Sixers jumped out to a 13 point lead in the 2nd quarter. Unfortunately, Williams who had 18 points in the first half to lift the Sixers to that lead, did not score again. Indiana meanwhile went on a 17-5 to start the 3rd quarter and this time there was Sixer 4th quarter comeback as they ironically fell by 13, 99-86. Aside from Williams and Thad who scored 11 by the way, the other bright spots for the Sixers were Jrue Holiday who finally got into double figures with 12, Elton Brand who continued to impress with 12 and 10 rebounds, Evan Turner who was back on the upswing with 9 and 7 rebounds, and Andre Iguodala who posted 12 points. Again all of that only added to another missed opportunity for a win. I really thought things were going to be different for the Sixers this season, and they would win games like these now. Sadly it seems I was wrong. Nothing has changed.
Friday, October 29, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
Just 10 games into the season the Flyers were already matched up with the arch-rival Pittsburgh Penguins for the 3rd time. After blowout loss in their last meeting it was the Flyers who came out on top in this one. Sergei Bobrovsky had 26 saves and kept Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby both scoreless, just as he had in the season opener. Claude Giroux was excellent on special teams with shorthanded and power play goals. Finally, Dan Carcillo, inserted into to the lineup give Nikolay Zherdev a breather, proved to be a key cog in the Orange and Black's efforts, with a goal late in the 2nd period. On the whole the Flyers defense and penalty kill was good enough, holding the Pens to just 26 shots on goal and killing off all 6 Pittsburgh power play opportunities. Offensively, they were solid and inefficient, with at least 1 power play goal for the 3rd straight game, and Giroux's brilliant night.
Pittsburgh actually had the lead through 1 period with Evgeni Malkin picking up the assist on a Kris Letang score midway through the 1st period. After that it was almost all Orange and Black. Early in the 2nd period Mike Richards picked up the pretty asssist, as Giroux dazzled on a shorthanded score, to knot it up at 1. With a little under 7 minutes left in the period Carcillo's deflected one in to put the Flyers up 2-1. They never trailed again. Midway through the 3rd Giroux gave the Orange and Black their only power play tally of the night for a 3-1 lead. Thanks to the brilliance of Bobrovsky, it stayed that way until Tyler Kennedy scored with 45 seconds left to cut the Flyer's lead in half to 3-2. They kept the pressure on in the final seconds but there just wasn't quite enough time left for them find the equalizer. So the Orange and Black hung on for the 3-2 win, their 2nd in a row and 3rd in the 4 games. Thanks to that semi hot streak the Flyers are now tied with the Pens for the first in the Atlantic division and sit 3rd in the Eastern conference.
Pittsburgh actually had the lead through 1 period with Evgeni Malkin picking up the assist on a Kris Letang score midway through the 1st period. After that it was almost all Orange and Black. Early in the 2nd period Mike Richards picked up the pretty asssist, as Giroux dazzled on a shorthanded score, to knot it up at 1. With a little under 7 minutes left in the period Carcillo's deflected one in to put the Flyers up 2-1. They never trailed again. Midway through the 3rd Giroux gave the Orange and Black their only power play tally of the night for a 3-1 lead. Thanks to the brilliance of Bobrovsky, it stayed that way until Tyler Kennedy scored with 45 seconds left to cut the Flyer's lead in half to 3-2. They kept the pressure on in the final seconds but there just wasn't quite enough time left for them find the equalizer. So the Orange and Black hung on for the 3-2 win, their 2nd in a row and 3rd in the 4 games. Thanks to that semi hot streak the Flyers are now tied with the Pens for the first in the Atlantic division and sit 3rd in the Eastern conference.
SIXERS NEWS
Still looking for their first win, the Sixers welcomed the Atlanta Hawks, another of the East's elite, to the Wells Fargo center tonight. Once again they played them close but as happened so many times last season they just didn't quite have enough to win. The Sixer's defense wasn't really any better, as the Hawks shot 54% from the field and outrebounded the Sixers 46-36. The Sixers did have 9 steals though, mostly in the 2nd half and that's what enabled them to keep it close. Offensively, the Sixers were a little, if only because Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand both had big nights. Brand had 20 and 8 assists, and Iguodala had 27 big points, including 2 threes, but again they were only starters in double digits, as Doug Collins stuck with the same lineup.
Finally the Sixer bench wasn't quite as good with Evan Turner and Thad Young both having off nights, but it still proved to be an asset. Andres Nocioni and Lou Williams were both huge again. Nocioni drilled 2 threes himself and poured in 15 and Williams had 16 to bolster the Sixer's 2nd half comeback effort that fell just short. So what do the Sixer's need to change to get a win, 2 things. First their defense needs to play hard all game not just in the 2nd half as it did night. Second, young point guard Jrue Holiday needs to improve. He has just 7 assists through 2 games and is struggling with his shot, going just 3 of 11 tonight. It would also help if guys like Turner and Young could be more consistent, but more than those 2 the Sixers need Holiday to produce and become play maker they thought he would be when they drafted him.
Anyway like last the night the Sixers kept things tight for much of the first half. They actually had the lead for a while at the onset and were down by just 3 after 1 quarter of play. As late as the final 3 minutes of the 2nd quarter they were within 4 points of the lead. Then Atlanta turned it on for a bit and took a 10 point lead into the half. This time the Sixers did not let the game get away from them in the 3rd quarter. Instead they played Atlanta even and went into the 4th quarter still down 10. Once again they took command in the 4th, outscoring Altanta 27-20. Unfortunately it was too little too late again. A Nocioni jumper with about a minute left cut the lead to 2 before Josh Smith answered with a 3 to push it back to 5. Still, a couple of missed free throws by Joe Johnson kept the Sixers in it, and Nocioni had a look at a 3 to tie it at the buzzer but Smith blocked it to preserve the 104-101 Hawk's victory.
Finally the Sixer bench wasn't quite as good with Evan Turner and Thad Young both having off nights, but it still proved to be an asset. Andres Nocioni and Lou Williams were both huge again. Nocioni drilled 2 threes himself and poured in 15 and Williams had 16 to bolster the Sixer's 2nd half comeback effort that fell just short. So what do the Sixer's need to change to get a win, 2 things. First their defense needs to play hard all game not just in the 2nd half as it did night. Second, young point guard Jrue Holiday needs to improve. He has just 7 assists through 2 games and is struggling with his shot, going just 3 of 11 tonight. It would also help if guys like Turner and Young could be more consistent, but more than those 2 the Sixers need Holiday to produce and become play maker they thought he would be when they drafted him.
Anyway like last the night the Sixers kept things tight for much of the first half. They actually had the lead for a while at the onset and were down by just 3 after 1 quarter of play. As late as the final 3 minutes of the 2nd quarter they were within 4 points of the lead. Then Atlanta turned it on for a bit and took a 10 point lead into the half. This time the Sixers did not let the game get away from them in the 3rd quarter. Instead they played Atlanta even and went into the 4th quarter still down 10. Once again they took command in the 4th, outscoring Altanta 27-20. Unfortunately it was too little too late again. A Nocioni jumper with about a minute left cut the lead to 2 before Josh Smith answered with a 3 to push it back to 5. Still, a couple of missed free throws by Joe Johnson kept the Sixers in it, and Nocioni had a look at a 3 to tie it at the buzzer but Smith blocked it to preserve the 104-101 Hawk's victory.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils have decided not to offer contracts to Jamie Moyer and Greg Dobbs. That means both will become free agents and likely play for someone else next season. That's assuming the 48 year old Moyer actually plays next season. At this point Moyer is slated to play winter ball to test out his injured elbow and then if all is well he'll hope to catch on with another team. Good luck Jamie.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers opened their regular season tonight against the Miami Heat, in front of an unusually large Wells Fargo center crowd. Of course the crowd tends to be larger when you've got Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, and Chris Bosh all in the building at the same time. Still the Heat and their Dynamic trio actually came in at 0-1 on the season after a sloppy loss to the Boston Celtics and they continued their sloppy play tonight, mostly to the delight of the crowd. Unfortunately the Sixer's couldn't quite take advantage of Miami's sloppiness, to steal a win, but they played hard and were at least able to keep it close.
They actually did a decent job defensively, against the big 3 with only Wade managing to break out with a 30 point night. The continue to lack even solid perimeter defense though, and that's what killed them tonight. James Jones alone, was 6 of 9 from beyond the arc, for 20 points off the bench. As a team Miami shot 50% from beyond with 8 treys which is just too much. You just can't allow that kind of success from beyond all the time and expect win consistenly. They couldn't get around it last year and they won't this year. So at point Doug Collins will have to figure out how to improve their game on that side of the floor.
For now though, he take some consolidation in the improvements he's made on the offensive side of the things. Evan Turner, who struggled all summer and started the night on the bench, was actually the Sixers leading scorer on the night, with 16. He also added 7 rebounds and was overall very encouraging to watch. Elton Brand actually looked somewhat like his oldself for a change with 12 and 9 rebounds. Aside from Brand, Andre Iguodala, with 10 was the only other Sixer starter to reach double figures, so Collins made need to shuffle the lineup a little.
That's especially considering how well the bench performed. Besides Turner, Thad Young and Lou Williams each chipped in with 15 and Andres Nocioni dropped 10, with 2 treys. Whether one of those guys gets moved into the starting lineup are not, its looks as though the bench will be a strength for the Sixers this year. That's nice considering it had been a weakness for some time.
In early going the Sixers really came out to play in this one and actually had a couple brief leads.
They really stood two to two with the Heat in the first half and only trailed by 8 at the half. Things got away from the Sixers a bit in the 3rd quarter as turnovers creeped in for them. Miami took advantage as they pulled away to a 26 point lead through 3 quarters. Surprisingly, rather than go away, it was the Sixers who really took command in the 4th quarter, outscoring Miami 33-17. Sadly it was just a bit too little too late as Miami thrice held off the Sixers for their first win 97-87.
While it is encouraging that the Sixers were able to keep it to a 10 point game, it's also important to remember that they a lot of good teams close last season as well, only to not show up against bad teams and get spanked. So it will be a little while before we know if this team is really anything more than the same mess it was last season. Here's hoping it is.
They actually did a decent job defensively, against the big 3 with only Wade managing to break out with a 30 point night. The continue to lack even solid perimeter defense though, and that's what killed them tonight. James Jones alone, was 6 of 9 from beyond the arc, for 20 points off the bench. As a team Miami shot 50% from beyond with 8 treys which is just too much. You just can't allow that kind of success from beyond all the time and expect win consistenly. They couldn't get around it last year and they won't this year. So at point Doug Collins will have to figure out how to improve their game on that side of the floor.
For now though, he take some consolidation in the improvements he's made on the offensive side of the things. Evan Turner, who struggled all summer and started the night on the bench, was actually the Sixers leading scorer on the night, with 16. He also added 7 rebounds and was overall very encouraging to watch. Elton Brand actually looked somewhat like his oldself for a change with 12 and 9 rebounds. Aside from Brand, Andre Iguodala, with 10 was the only other Sixer starter to reach double figures, so Collins made need to shuffle the lineup a little.
That's especially considering how well the bench performed. Besides Turner, Thad Young and Lou Williams each chipped in with 15 and Andres Nocioni dropped 10, with 2 treys. Whether one of those guys gets moved into the starting lineup are not, its looks as though the bench will be a strength for the Sixers this year. That's nice considering it had been a weakness for some time.
In early going the Sixers really came out to play in this one and actually had a couple brief leads.
They really stood two to two with the Heat in the first half and only trailed by 8 at the half. Things got away from the Sixers a bit in the 3rd quarter as turnovers creeped in for them. Miami took advantage as they pulled away to a 26 point lead through 3 quarters. Surprisingly, rather than go away, it was the Sixers who really took command in the 4th quarter, outscoring Miami 33-17. Sadly it was just a bit too little too late as Miami thrice held off the Sixers for their first win 97-87.
While it is encouraging that the Sixers were able to keep it to a 10 point game, it's also important to remember that they a lot of good teams close last season as well, only to not show up against bad teams and get spanked. So it will be a little while before we know if this team is really anything more than the same mess it was last season. Here's hoping it is.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
Fresh off their most lifeless performance of the season the Flyers rebounded in a big way tonight, exploding for 6 goals, 3 on the power play, against the Buffalo Sabres and the top goalie in the Eastern conference, Ryan Miller. Considering how poorly they played in their last game this kinda came out of nowhere but it just goes to show how talented this team really is. I just wish they would show that talent more consistenly. Tonight was fun though and I'll take it. It was just one of those nights where just about everything went in the favor of the Orange and Black.
The rookie, Sergei Bobrovsky, outplayed Miller with 32 saves to Miller's 28. The Flyer's power play outplayed the Buffalo power play with 3 goals in 5 scoring changes, to the Sabres two scores in 3 opportunities. Only the Flyer's defense failed to impress allowing 35 shots on goal and scores on 2 out of 3 Buffalo power plays. So ironically the first game all season in which the Flyers scored multiple power plays is also the first game all season in which they allowed multiple power plays. There's a joke in there somewhere, but anyway aside from that it was great to be a fan of the Orange and Black.
Things started slowly with a Jody Shelley penalty leading to a 1-0 Sabres lead just about 9 minutes into the contest. From there however, it was pretty much all Flyers. Late in the first period Danny Briere scored the first of the 3 Flyer's power play goals to knot it up at 1. Just under 5 minutes into the 2nd period Nikolay Zherdev, with an assist from Scott Hartnell, gave the Flyers a lead they would never relinquish. Late in the period Darroll Powe extended the Flyer lead to 3-1. Just 3 minutes later, Claude Giroux, who assisted on the Powe goal, added a pretty unassisted tally for the 2nd of the Orange and Black's 3 power play scores.
38 seconds into the 3rd period Jeff Carter slapped home the 3rd and final power play score to push the lead to 5-1 and all but put the game away. The game Sabres did fight back cut it to 5-3 with about 8 minutes to play, but it was too little too late. Andreas Nodl added an empty netter and the Flyers walked away with an easy 6-3 win. If only they could play like that every night.
The rookie, Sergei Bobrovsky, outplayed Miller with 32 saves to Miller's 28. The Flyer's power play outplayed the Buffalo power play with 3 goals in 5 scoring changes, to the Sabres two scores in 3 opportunities. Only the Flyer's defense failed to impress allowing 35 shots on goal and scores on 2 out of 3 Buffalo power plays. So ironically the first game all season in which the Flyers scored multiple power plays is also the first game all season in which they allowed multiple power plays. There's a joke in there somewhere, but anyway aside from that it was great to be a fan of the Orange and Black.
Things started slowly with a Jody Shelley penalty leading to a 1-0 Sabres lead just about 9 minutes into the contest. From there however, it was pretty much all Flyers. Late in the first period Danny Briere scored the first of the 3 Flyer's power play goals to knot it up at 1. Just under 5 minutes into the 2nd period Nikolay Zherdev, with an assist from Scott Hartnell, gave the Flyers a lead they would never relinquish. Late in the period Darroll Powe extended the Flyer lead to 3-1. Just 3 minutes later, Claude Giroux, who assisted on the Powe goal, added a pretty unassisted tally for the 2nd of the Orange and Black's 3 power play scores.
38 seconds into the 3rd period Jeff Carter slapped home the 3rd and final power play score to push the lead to 5-1 and all but put the game away. The game Sabres did fight back cut it to 5-3 with about 8 minutes to play, but it was too little too late. Andreas Nodl added an empty netter and the Flyers walked away with an easy 6-3 win. If only they could play like that every night.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers have set their starting linuep for the season opener against the Miami Heat. The starting 5 will be Jason Kapono, Andre Iguodala, Jrue Holiday, Elton Brand, and Spencer Hawes. So Lou Williams, Thad Young, Mo Speights and the No.2 overall pick in 2010 NBA draft, Evan Turner, will all come off the bench.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils have decided not to excercise the 2011 option on J.C Romero's contract. Most likely he will not return to the Phils next season and someone will replace him as the Phils primary lefty reliever. That someone could be farmhands Mike Zagurski or Antonio Bastardo, or a free agent. This is only the start of what will be an interesting offseason.
Monday, October 25, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers went into Columbus looking to win back to back games for the first time since the first few games of the season. Once again the defense showed up strongly enough, limiting the Blue Jackets to just 25 shots on goal and only 4 power play opportunities. Also Brian Boucher was solid in goal, saving 23 of the 25 shots. Unfortunately aside from that there was just nothing there for the Orange and Black tonight. They had no heart, no hustle, and no intensity. They just came out lifeless and disinterested from the beginning and were never able to get over it. They even allowed a power play goal. You know's something not that there when even the team's lone strength doesn't hold up.
The Flyers themselves only got on the power play twice all night, both in the first period. That means they went two full periods without a power play, and it's not as if the Columbus' defense was really that great. In fact the Flyers actually outshot the Blue Jackets 29-25. You have to be pretty lifeless to go two periods without a power play against a poor defense. Anyway, thanks to the Briere - Hartnell - Leino line the Orange and Black at least avoided a shutout but only just barely. With a just over 5 minutes to play in game Ville Leino scored off assists from who else, Briere and Hartnell, to cut the Columbus lead in half at 2-1. Unfortunately the Flyers could not find the equalizer in the final 5 minutes. So once again that one line was the only one to give the Orange and Black anything tonight and it cost them.
The Flyers themselves only got on the power play twice all night, both in the first period. That means they went two full periods without a power play, and it's not as if the Columbus' defense was really that great. In fact the Flyers actually outshot the Blue Jackets 29-25. You have to be pretty lifeless to go two periods without a power play against a poor defense. Anyway, thanks to the Briere - Hartnell - Leino line the Orange and Black at least avoided a shutout but only just barely. With a just over 5 minutes to play in game Ville Leino scored off assists from who else, Briere and Hartnell, to cut the Columbus lead in half at 2-1. Unfortunately the Flyers could not find the equalizer in the final 5 minutes. So once again that one line was the only one to give the Orange and Black anything tonight and it cost them.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
EAGLES NEWS
With their bye week looming next week the Birds were looking to go into their break on a positive note with their first ever win against the Tennessee Titans. For the better part of 3 quarters it looked like it would be mission accomplished. However, the Birds failed to take advantage of some early Titan miscues and those missed opportunities eventually came back to haunt them. They led by 9 early in the 4th quarter, but should have been ahead by at least 13 or maybe even 20. As a result they had no recourse when Kenny Britt went off later in the quarter for 96 yards and 2 TDs and turned the 9 point deficit into an 18 point win.
Most of the blame for the loss probably goes to Kevin Kolb. He threw for only 231 yards and 1 TD while getting intercepted twice. 4 times he and the Eagles offense had to settle for David Aker's field goals and 3 times they come up empty following Tennessee turnovers. Most notably after the Titan's 3rd turnover, with the Eagles already leading 16-7 in the 3rd quarter, Kolb and Lesean McCoy botched a handoff on 1st and goal from inside the 3 yard line as Kolb was hit before he could even hand the ball off. That mistake likely cost the Eagles a sure 7 points that might have put the game out of reach with a 23-7 Eagles' lead. Instead after the teams traded field goals on their next possessions the Titans had new life.
While Kolb went cold the rest of the day Kerry Collins, starting in place of the injured Vince Young, finally found his timing and began to exploit the suddenly slow footed Eagles' secondary. It just got to the point where the Birds both couldn't cover down field and couldn't get pressure on Collins and they paid for it dearly in the 4th quarter. Ellis Hobbs simply couldn't stay with Kenny Britt throughout the 4th quarter and the Eagles safeties always seemed to be out of position against him. They'll probably have nightmares about him over the bye week. Bye the time the Britt show was over the Titans had gone from trailing 19-10 to leading 30-19. Then on the final play game Cortland Finnegan added insult to injury by picking off Kolb and racing 41 yards to pay dirt to cap off a 37-19 Titan win. Yes, the Eagles will certainly remember the Titans.
Most of the blame for the loss probably goes to Kevin Kolb. He threw for only 231 yards and 1 TD while getting intercepted twice. 4 times he and the Eagles offense had to settle for David Aker's field goals and 3 times they come up empty following Tennessee turnovers. Most notably after the Titan's 3rd turnover, with the Eagles already leading 16-7 in the 3rd quarter, Kolb and Lesean McCoy botched a handoff on 1st and goal from inside the 3 yard line as Kolb was hit before he could even hand the ball off. That mistake likely cost the Eagles a sure 7 points that might have put the game out of reach with a 23-7 Eagles' lead. Instead after the teams traded field goals on their next possessions the Titans had new life.
While Kolb went cold the rest of the day Kerry Collins, starting in place of the injured Vince Young, finally found his timing and began to exploit the suddenly slow footed Eagles' secondary. It just got to the point where the Birds both couldn't cover down field and couldn't get pressure on Collins and they paid for it dearly in the 4th quarter. Ellis Hobbs simply couldn't stay with Kenny Britt throughout the 4th quarter and the Eagles safeties always seemed to be out of position against him. They'll probably have nightmares about him over the bye week. Bye the time the Britt show was over the Titans had gone from trailing 19-10 to leading 30-19. Then on the final play game Cortland Finnegan added insult to injury by picking off Kolb and racing 41 yards to pay dirt to cap off a 37-19 Titan win. Yes, the Eagles will certainly remember the Titans.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
With their season on the line again the Phils turned Roy Oswalt to extend it for at least another game. Oswalt did his job, allowing just 2 runs on 9 hits, while striking out 5. The Giants had multiple opportunities to put up crooked against Oswalt but he held firm and found his way out of trouble again and again. By all rights Oswalt's performance should have been enough to force a game 7, but it wasn't. The Phils had at least twice as many opportunities as the Giants to produce runs, most of which came against the San Francisco bullpen, as Jonathan Sanchez failed to get through the 3rd inning, and they just didn't come through.
Early on the Phils took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, on a double by Chase Utley, and a sac fly by Jayson Werth. They also had 2 on with 2 out for Raul Ibanez and could have really broken the game open but Ibanez popped up to end the inning. In the 5th Jimmy Rollins leadoff with a double and Ryan Howard looked to have an RBI double but Rollins was held at 3rd. After Werth was walked to load the bases, Shane Victorino grounded out to end the inning, blowing another opportunity. In the 6th Raul Ibanez lead off with a double and moved to 3rd on a bunt by Carlos Ruiz, but he was stranded when Ben Francisco struck out looking, and Jimmy Rollins flied out.
In the 8th, Victorino and Ibanez collected back to back singled to put 2 on with 1 out for Ruiz. Ruiz crushed a line drive the other way, but right at Aubrey Huff who snared it and threw to 2nd to double off Victorino and end another threat. Finally in the 9th, the Phils put 2 on with 2 out for Ryan Howard who went down looking at strike 3, on a very questionable pitch. It was a borderline pitch at best that I've seen go both ways. In this case the umpire decided to give it to Brian Wilson to clinch the NL title for the Giants. So there will be no 3rd straight NL title for the Phils. It was still a good season for them and a lot of fun to watch.
Considering all of the injuries they had to overcome, I am still proud of them for making it this far. Considering they could make it all the way to game 6 of the NLCS without ever being at 100%, you can just imagine how good they could have been if they had been able to stay healthy all season. You have to like their chances to repeat as NL East champions, especially since Halladay, Hamels, and Oswalt will all be back next season for a full season, not just the last few months. Where they go beyond that will be determined by what they do with the Jayson Werth free agency situation. If they can figure out a way to keep him or they can replace with him with another power right handed bat they will contend for a world title again. Otherwise they might have trouble getting deep in the playoffs again.
Early on the Phils took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, on a double by Chase Utley, and a sac fly by Jayson Werth. They also had 2 on with 2 out for Raul Ibanez and could have really broken the game open but Ibanez popped up to end the inning. In the 5th Jimmy Rollins leadoff with a double and Ryan Howard looked to have an RBI double but Rollins was held at 3rd. After Werth was walked to load the bases, Shane Victorino grounded out to end the inning, blowing another opportunity. In the 6th Raul Ibanez lead off with a double and moved to 3rd on a bunt by Carlos Ruiz, but he was stranded when Ben Francisco struck out looking, and Jimmy Rollins flied out.
In the 8th, Victorino and Ibanez collected back to back singled to put 2 on with 1 out for Ruiz. Ruiz crushed a line drive the other way, but right at Aubrey Huff who snared it and threw to 2nd to double off Victorino and end another threat. Finally in the 9th, the Phils put 2 on with 2 out for Ryan Howard who went down looking at strike 3, on a very questionable pitch. It was a borderline pitch at best that I've seen go both ways. In this case the umpire decided to give it to Brian Wilson to clinch the NL title for the Giants. So there will be no 3rd straight NL title for the Phils. It was still a good season for them and a lot of fun to watch.
Considering all of the injuries they had to overcome, I am still proud of them for making it this far. Considering they could make it all the way to game 6 of the NLCS without ever being at 100%, you can just imagine how good they could have been if they had been able to stay healthy all season. You have to like their chances to repeat as NL East champions, especially since Halladay, Hamels, and Oswalt will all be back next season for a full season, not just the last few months. Where they go beyond that will be determined by what they do with the Jayson Werth free agency situation. If they can figure out a way to keep him or they can replace with him with another power right handed bat they will contend for a world title again. Otherwise they might have trouble getting deep in the playoffs again.
FLYERS NEWS
Coming into tonight the Flyers had 3 lost straight contests and had not looked good doing so. Tonight was much different. The defense finally resembled last year's, holding the Toronto Maple Leafs to just 14 shots on goal. Once again they also kept the penalties on low side, putting Toronto on the power play only 4 times and killing off all of them. More importantly, the Flyer's finally got it going offensively, even scoring on the power play. They were still only 1 of 6 on the power play which isn't great, but it's a step in the right direction. Aside, from the power play score, Mike Richards had his first goal of the season and 2 assists, and the Leino, Briere, and Hartnell line, produced 3 goals, including the lone power play tally. The Flyer's can't just rely on that line the rest of the season. Sooner or later another line will have to step up for them, but for now they'll take the 1 hot line and run with it.
Richards opened the scoring on the night with an unassisted tally late in the first period. Ville Leino followed a minute later with the lone power play score and the Flyers led 2-0 after 1 period. The Flyers allowed a couple sloppy goals in the 2nd period, but a late Blair Betts score off an assist by Daroll Powe at least kept them ahead 3-2 heading into the 3rd period. The Briere - Leino - Hartnell line took over in the 3rd period. First Hartnell scored a minute into the period off Richards 2nd assist, for a 4-2 Orange and Black lead. Then Briere scored unassisted just under 8 minutes into the period to put the Leafs away for good. Brian Boucher and the defense held up the rest of the way and the Flyers walked away with an important 5-2 win.
Richards opened the scoring on the night with an unassisted tally late in the first period. Ville Leino followed a minute later with the lone power play score and the Flyers led 2-0 after 1 period. The Flyers allowed a couple sloppy goals in the 2nd period, but a late Blair Betts score off an assist by Daroll Powe at least kept them ahead 3-2 heading into the 3rd period. The Briere - Leino - Hartnell line took over in the 3rd period. First Hartnell scored a minute into the period off Richards 2nd assist, for a 4-2 Orange and Black lead. Then Briere scored unassisted just under 8 minutes into the period to put the Leafs away for good. Brian Boucher and the defense held up the rest of the way and the Flyers walked away with an important 5-2 win.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
With the Phillies season on the line Roy Halladay delivered a performance that may be remembered for a long time, especially if the Phils somehow reach their 3rd straight world series this year. Despite pulling his groin while pitching to the first batter of the game Halladay gutted out 6 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 5. It wasn't pretty but it was exactly what the Phils needed to stave off elimination. Halladay did have some help though as Phils blead out 3 runs on 4 hits off Tim Lincecum. The Phils also deservedly backed up Roy with 3 huge scoreless innings.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, as Chase Utley fumbled away a double play opportunity, the Phils got some luck in the 3rd. Raul Ibanez lead off with a single. Carlos was then hit by a pitch to put two and nobody out for Halladay. Attempted to bunt the runners over into scoring position but bunted foul, or at least he thought it was foul, but the home plate ump called it fair, and Ruiz went to second and the hustling Ibanez reached 3rd, despite Buster Posey's throw beating him as Pablo Sandoval missed bag with his foot. The dumbfounded Halladay never left the batter's box and was thrown out at first. Still the damage had been done. Shane Victorino followed with a ball off Aubrey Huff's glove and into right to score both runners. Then back to back singles by Utley and Placido Polanco scored Victorino for a 3-1 lead.
The 3 runs would be all the wounded Halladay would need. He got into and out of trouble in 3rd, allowed a run in the 4th but avoided further damage, as Jayson Werth gunned Cody Ross at 3rd as he attempted to tag up. He cruised through the 5th inning and then finally got of jam in the 6th inning, striking out Juan Uribe, with 2 on and 2 out to preserve the Phils 3-2 lead. The Phils had a golden opportunity to cushion their lead in the 7th, but Huff robbed Ross Gload of extra base hit, to keep it at 3-2. Next in the 7th Jose Contreras and J.C Romero combined for a scoreless frame after Polanco and Utley snared back to back line drives, by Freddy Sanchez and Aubrey Huff.
After the Phils again failed to cushion their lead in the top of the 8th, Ryan Madson, who pitched an inning and a 3rd last night, stared down the heart of the Giants lineup, Buster Posey, Pat Burrell ,and Ross and struck them out one by one to preserve the lead. Finally in the 9th Werth offered some insurance with a leadoff solo bomb to push the lead to 4-2. As it turned out, Brad Lidge did not need extra run. He comfortably retired Sandoval, Uribe, and pinch hitter Travis Ishikawa in order to close out the huge 4-2 win that shifts the series back to Philadelphia. Getting the series back to Philly doesn't mean the Phils will win it but with Roy Oswalt to pitch game 6 and Cole Hamels if neccessary in game 7 they at least have a chance now.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, as Chase Utley fumbled away a double play opportunity, the Phils got some luck in the 3rd. Raul Ibanez lead off with a single. Carlos was then hit by a pitch to put two and nobody out for Halladay. Attempted to bunt the runners over into scoring position but bunted foul, or at least he thought it was foul, but the home plate ump called it fair, and Ruiz went to second and the hustling Ibanez reached 3rd, despite Buster Posey's throw beating him as Pablo Sandoval missed bag with his foot. The dumbfounded Halladay never left the batter's box and was thrown out at first. Still the damage had been done. Shane Victorino followed with a ball off Aubrey Huff's glove and into right to score both runners. Then back to back singles by Utley and Placido Polanco scored Victorino for a 3-1 lead.
The 3 runs would be all the wounded Halladay would need. He got into and out of trouble in 3rd, allowed a run in the 4th but avoided further damage, as Jayson Werth gunned Cody Ross at 3rd as he attempted to tag up. He cruised through the 5th inning and then finally got of jam in the 6th inning, striking out Juan Uribe, with 2 on and 2 out to preserve the Phils 3-2 lead. The Phils had a golden opportunity to cushion their lead in the 7th, but Huff robbed Ross Gload of extra base hit, to keep it at 3-2. Next in the 7th Jose Contreras and J.C Romero combined for a scoreless frame after Polanco and Utley snared back to back line drives, by Freddy Sanchez and Aubrey Huff.
After the Phils again failed to cushion their lead in the top of the 8th, Ryan Madson, who pitched an inning and a 3rd last night, stared down the heart of the Giants lineup, Buster Posey, Pat Burrell ,and Ross and struck them out one by one to preserve the lead. Finally in the 9th Werth offered some insurance with a leadoff solo bomb to push the lead to 4-2. As it turned out, Brad Lidge did not need extra run. He comfortably retired Sandoval, Uribe, and pinch hitter Travis Ishikawa in order to close out the huge 4-2 win that shifts the series back to Philadelphia. Getting the series back to Philly doesn't mean the Phils will win it but with Roy Oswalt to pitch game 6 and Cole Hamels if neccessary in game 7 they at least have a chance now.
FLYERS NEWS
For the 3rd straight game the Flyers played a team, this the Anaheim Ducks at the Wells Fargo center that came in tired, having just played the night before. For the 3rd straight game they failed to take advantage of it. They did cut finally down on the penalties, with just 5, 4 of which resulted in a power play. They also killed off all 4 of those power plays but again their own power play struggled once again, going 0 for 5 and that ultimately came back to haunt them. Aside from the power play struggles there was just something missing for the Flyers tonight. The hunger that they played with at the end of last season just isn't there yet and until they find that hunger again they're going to continue struggling.
The Flyers fell behind early in the first period, with Lubomir Visnovsky scoring just 35 seconds into the game. 4 minutes later Scott Hartnell scored his first goal of the season to knot it at 1. A little over halfway through the period Jason Blake put the Ducks ahead again 2-1. That would be the trend the remainder of the night. Late in the 2nd period Claude Giroux tied it up again at 2. The Flyers had opportunities after that to slap in the goal that would win it, with 10 of their 42 shots on goal coming in the 3rd, but for whatever reason they just couldn't finish on their scoring chances.
Their inability to finish finallly came back to bite them when with a little under 2 minutes to play, Ryan Getzlaf beat Sergei Bobrovsky for a 3rd time on the night to put Anaheim ahead for good 3-2. The Flyers couldn't come up with anything of their own in the waning moments as they dropped their 3rd in a row and fell to 11th in the Eastern conference. Sure, it's still early in the season but I don't think they want to stay that far down in the standings much longer.
The Flyers fell behind early in the first period, with Lubomir Visnovsky scoring just 35 seconds into the game. 4 minutes later Scott Hartnell scored his first goal of the season to knot it at 1. A little over halfway through the period Jason Blake put the Ducks ahead again 2-1. That would be the trend the remainder of the night. Late in the 2nd period Claude Giroux tied it up again at 2. The Flyers had opportunities after that to slap in the goal that would win it, with 10 of their 42 shots on goal coming in the 3rd, but for whatever reason they just couldn't finish on their scoring chances.
Their inability to finish finallly came back to bite them when with a little under 2 minutes to play, Ryan Getzlaf beat Sergei Bobrovsky for a 3rd time on the night to put Anaheim ahead for good 3-2. The Flyers couldn't come up with anything of their own in the waning moments as they dropped their 3rd in a row and fell to 11th in the Eastern conference. Sure, it's still early in the season but I don't think they want to stay that far down in the standings much longer.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
Down 2-1 in the NLCS and desperately seeking the win that would even the series again, the Phils turned to Joe Blanton to cook up a good one in game 4. Save for 2 wild pitches in the first inning that lead to an unearned run, he gave the Phils about as much they could have hoped for. He allowed 3 runs on 5 hits in 4 and 2/3rds innings and left the game with the lead thanks to a 4 run Phils 5th, which would have been 5 had Carlos Ruiz only been held at 3rd. He would have gotten through 5 if not for Aubrey Huff's 2 out RBI single, that went just over Blanton's head. Still, Jose Contreras finished the inning without further damage and the Phils just needed their bullpen to hold up to even the series.
Unfortunately because the 39 year old Contreras went 2 innings in game 3, he could not come back out for the 6th inning. Instead Chad Durbin, out of action since September because of the Phils great starting pitching, came in for the 6th and promptly walked the leadoff man before allowing 2 runs on a Pablo Sandoval double to put San Fran back ahead 5-4. Somehow Durbin avoided further damage and sent the game into the 7th at 5-4. Ryan Madson pitched into and out of trouble to keep it at 5-4 heading into 8th. There back to back doubles by Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth tied the score at 5. However, Jimmy Rollins, Ben Francisco, and Carlos Ruiz all failed to get Werth and proved to be the Phils undoing.
Madson got through the 8th as well, thanks to Carlos Ruiz gunning down Andres Torres at 2nd. The Phils didn't score in the top of the 9th so Brad Lidge could not come in to close it out in the bottom of the inning. If they had only been able to score Werth in the 8th, Lidge likely would closed the door on San Fran in the 9th and evened the series at 2. Instead the desperate Phils were forced to go to Roy Oswalt to keep the game tied and he could not, as Juan Uribe slapped a 1 out game winning sac fly as the Phils dropped a heartbreaker 6-5 and fell behind 3 games to 1 in the series. It isn't over yet though as the Phils have their big 3, Halladay, Oswalt, and Hamels lined up for the final 3 games and are certainly capable of winning out if they can all toss a gem.
Unfortunately because the 39 year old Contreras went 2 innings in game 3, he could not come back out for the 6th inning. Instead Chad Durbin, out of action since September because of the Phils great starting pitching, came in for the 6th and promptly walked the leadoff man before allowing 2 runs on a Pablo Sandoval double to put San Fran back ahead 5-4. Somehow Durbin avoided further damage and sent the game into the 7th at 5-4. Ryan Madson pitched into and out of trouble to keep it at 5-4 heading into 8th. There back to back doubles by Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth tied the score at 5. However, Jimmy Rollins, Ben Francisco, and Carlos Ruiz all failed to get Werth and proved to be the Phils undoing.
Madson got through the 8th as well, thanks to Carlos Ruiz gunning down Andres Torres at 2nd. The Phils didn't score in the top of the 9th so Brad Lidge could not come in to close it out in the bottom of the inning. If they had only been able to score Werth in the 8th, Lidge likely would closed the door on San Fran in the 9th and evened the series at 2. Instead the desperate Phils were forced to go to Roy Oswalt to keep the game tied and he could not, as Juan Uribe slapped a 1 out game winning sac fly as the Phils dropped a heartbreaker 6-5 and fell behind 3 games to 1 in the series. It isn't over yet though as the Phils have their big 3, Halladay, Oswalt, and Hamels lined up for the final 3 games and are certainly capable of winning out if they can all toss a gem.
SIXERS NEWS
With the Knicks resting Wilson Chandler, Amare Stoudemire, and Danilo Gallinari they were no match for the Sixers who closed out their preseason tonight with a win. Andre Iguodala and Jason Kapono each had 20 points, Elton Brand had 16 and 11 rebounds, Jrue Holiday had 10 and 11 assists, and Thad Young and Lou Williams were big off the bench with 14 and 18 respectively as the Sixers blew away the Knicks B team 118-91. With the win they finish the preseason at 2-5 and probably with more quetions then answers as they head into the season.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
In a pivotal game 3 matchup of aces it was unfortunately Matt Cain who bested Cole Hamels. Cain tossed 7 scoreless innings while Hamels allowed 3 runs on 5 hits in just 6 innings. Like Roy Halladay in game 1, it was just hard luck that got to Hamels in this one. He had 2 outs in the 4th inning when a walk to Pat Burrell, followed by back to back RBI singles by Cody Ross and Aubrey Huff put the Giants up 2-0. Later in the 5th inning he had 2 outs again when Chase Utley was unable to keep a groundball in front of himself, allowing Aaron Rowand to score from 3rd for a 3-0 lead.
Those 3 runs would be all the Giants would need. Cain was just too good for the Phils today. They did have a few opportunities against him but were unable to capitalize. They had 2 on with 2 out in the 3rd inning, but Chase Utley grounded out. They 2 on with 1 out in 4th but Jimmy Rollins flied out and Raul Ibanez. They put 2 on with 2 out in the 7th for Shane Victorino but after a long at bat he grounded sharply to the 2nd to end the inning and Cain's night. From there the Phils. Finally they had 1 on with 1 out in the 9th but Ibanez grounded into a game ending double play and the Giants had a 2-1 series lead.
This is not the first time the Phils have trailed 2-1 in the NLCS with game 4 on the road, in fact they won the series that last 2 times that happened. They trailed 2-1 in the 1980 NLCS and came back to win 3-2, defeating Nolan Ryan at Houston in game 5. They also trailed the 1993 NLCS 2-1 and came back to win 4-2, winning games 4 and 5 at the then 2 time defending NL champion Atlanta Braves. So the series is far from over and they're just going to have to dust themselves off and come back strong in game 4 tomorrow.
Those 3 runs would be all the Giants would need. Cain was just too good for the Phils today. They did have a few opportunities against him but were unable to capitalize. They had 2 on with 2 out in the 3rd inning, but Chase Utley grounded out. They 2 on with 1 out in 4th but Jimmy Rollins flied out and Raul Ibanez. They put 2 on with 2 out in the 7th for Shane Victorino but after a long at bat he grounded sharply to the 2nd to end the inning and Cain's night. From there the Phils. Finally they had 1 on with 1 out in the 9th but Ibanez grounded into a game ending double play and the Giants had a 2-1 series lead.
This is not the first time the Phils have trailed 2-1 in the NLCS with game 4 on the road, in fact they won the series that last 2 times that happened. They trailed 2-1 in the 1980 NLCS and came back to win 3-2, defeating Nolan Ryan at Houston in game 5. They also trailed the 1993 NLCS 2-1 and came back to win 4-2, winning games 4 and 5 at the then 2 time defending NL champion Atlanta Braves. So the series is far from over and they're just going to have to dust themselves off and come back strong in game 4 tomorrow.
SIXERS NEWS
Micheal Curry subbed in as head coach for Doug Collins, who went to back to Philly with post-concussion symptoms, as the Sixers faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in their 5th preseason game. Andre Iguodala has his best game of the preseason thus far with 19 pts, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists, and Andes Nocioni and Lou Williams came off the bench for 17 and 15 points, respectively, but the Sixers stil lost 111-95. The Cavs 44 points in the paint and 57% shooting from the floor were just too much for the Sixers to overcome.
FLYERS NEWS
Matt Walker, the defenseman the Flyers acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning for Simon Gagne, is going to need to surgey on his hip and will miss 10-12 weeks. He injured the hip during a fight in the preseason and hasn't played at all so far in the regular season. Even if he was healthy there wa some question as to whether there was even room for him in the Flyer's rotation of defenseman. So losing him now is probably not that big of a deal, but it could be a big deal to add him to the roster when he comes back, especially if the Orange and Black are really hurting defensively.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
When the Phils had to have it from him, Roy Oswalt delivered tonight. He was brilliant, dazzling Giant's hitters through 8 innings in which he allowed just 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 9. Only Cody Ross' 3rd homer of the series in the 5th inning averted a shutout and perhaps even a no hitter. Aside from Roy Halladay's no-no and Cole Hamel's shutout in the NLDS it doesn't get much better than what Oswalt did tonight. That's especially evident when you consider the pressure he was under to do so with the Phils down 1-0 in the series and in a virtual must win scenario. Oswalt didn't just do it with his arm either. He also singled and scored as the Phils offense awakened to the tune of 6 runs on 8 hits and treated the Giants to their first non 1 run game of the postseason.
Early on the Phils had a golden opportunity to get to Jonathan Sanchez right away in the first inning, but Jimmy Rollins bases loaded walk was all they could come up with. The pitching of Oswalt and Sanchez mostly dominated the night from there and it looked like for all the world that Roy would have to throw a shutout to get the Phils the win. Then Ross homered in the 5th to tie it at 1 and panic briefly set in at the Bank. Shane Victorino quickly wiped the sweat off everyone's brows in the home half of the 5th with a leadoff double and run scored on back to back sac flies. Sanchez hung in there and kept it 2-1 through a scoreless 6th but he finally ran out juice in the 7th. There after Oswalt leadoff with a single Sanchez was removed from the game. The Giants bullpen proceeded to implode from there.
Oswalt moved to 2nd via a bunt and then surprisingly scored on a 1 out single by Placido Polanco, after running threw a stop sign at 3rd. From there the Phils executed a double steal before struck out to put 2 on with 2 out for Jayson Werth. Werth was intentionally walked to bring up the struggling Jimmy Rollins to face righty Santiago Casilla. That forced JRoll to turn around and bat lefthanded, which is generally his weaker side, especially season. At this moment though it wasn't weak at all as JRoll got ahead of Casilla and then ripped a bases clearing double to blow the game open. Behind 6-1, the Giants did not resign themselves to loss, but instead kept fighting. It didn't matter though as Oswalt held them off in the 8th and Ryan Madson worked around a walk and a single to close them out in the 9th. Tied at 1-1, the series now shifts to San Francisco for game 3 on Tuesday as Matt Cain and Cole Hamels faceoff.
Early on the Phils had a golden opportunity to get to Jonathan Sanchez right away in the first inning, but Jimmy Rollins bases loaded walk was all they could come up with. The pitching of Oswalt and Sanchez mostly dominated the night from there and it looked like for all the world that Roy would have to throw a shutout to get the Phils the win. Then Ross homered in the 5th to tie it at 1 and panic briefly set in at the Bank. Shane Victorino quickly wiped the sweat off everyone's brows in the home half of the 5th with a leadoff double and run scored on back to back sac flies. Sanchez hung in there and kept it 2-1 through a scoreless 6th but he finally ran out juice in the 7th. There after Oswalt leadoff with a single Sanchez was removed from the game. The Giants bullpen proceeded to implode from there.
Oswalt moved to 2nd via a bunt and then surprisingly scored on a 1 out single by Placido Polanco, after running threw a stop sign at 3rd. From there the Phils executed a double steal before struck out to put 2 on with 2 out for Jayson Werth. Werth was intentionally walked to bring up the struggling Jimmy Rollins to face righty Santiago Casilla. That forced JRoll to turn around and bat lefthanded, which is generally his weaker side, especially season. At this moment though it wasn't weak at all as JRoll got ahead of Casilla and then ripped a bases clearing double to blow the game open. Behind 6-1, the Giants did not resign themselves to loss, but instead kept fighting. It didn't matter though as Oswalt held them off in the 8th and Ryan Madson worked around a walk and a single to close them out in the 9th. Tied at 1-1, the series now shifts to San Francisco for game 3 on Tuesday as Matt Cain and Cole Hamels faceoff.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles came into this afternoon's matchup with the Falcons wondering how good they really were. Atlanta came in having been anointed the best team in the NFC and were simply looking to cement that claim. After 60 minutes of football 2 things were clear. The Falcons were most definitely not the best in the NFC and the Eagles were most definitely back in the conversation for tops in the NFC. The Birds just thoroughly outclassed the Falcons on both sides of the ball from beginning to end. Offensively, Kevin Kolb was near flawlesss throwing for 326 yards and 3 TDs. With Desean Jackson getting knocked out early in the game with a concussion, Jeremy Maclin wound up Kolbs top target with 7 catches for 159 yards and a TD.
Before he left with a concussion Jackson had a pretty explosive day as well with a 34 yard TD catch and 2 carries for 44 yards and a TD. On the whole the Birds piled up 474 yards of offense, 154 rushing and 320 passing, to stun the vaunted Falcon's defense. Defensively the Birds played maybe only their 2nd complete game of the season. They held the rush happy Falcons to just 65 yards on the ground. They also terrorized Matt Ryan most of the afternoon, sacking him 3 times and intercepting him once as he threw for just 250 yards. Like their defense, the Atlanta offense was just out of sync all day long. The Eagles jumped on them early and they never recovered. At the same time they also seemed to have a poor game plan and no real plan B and that cost them dearly as well. It was type of performance of Atlanta that makes you wonder what people ever saw in them in the first place.
It was all Eagles in the first quarter, with Desean Jackson rushing 31 yards for a TD on the Birds opening drive and Kevin Kolb tossing a 34 yard TD pass to him for a quick 14-0 lead. Later a little over halfway through the 2nd quarter Kolb found Maclin for an 8 yard TD pass and a 21-0 lead. Asante Samuel then intercepted Ryan late in the 2nd half and the route was on, or at least it would have been if Kolb had not given the ball right back. Following Kolb's interception, Ryan and the Falcons finally punched it in to cut it to 21-7 at the half. A little over halfway through the 3rd quarter, with Atlanta having cut the lead to 21-10, Kevin Kolb fired his 3rd TD pass of the day, an 83 yarder to Maclin to make it 28-10. Finally in the 4th quarter Tony Gonzalez hauled in a TD pass from Ryan to cut it to 28-17 before David Akers could add a late field to put away an impressive 31-17 win. Ultimately it wasn't as close as that score would indicate.
Before he left with a concussion Jackson had a pretty explosive day as well with a 34 yard TD catch and 2 carries for 44 yards and a TD. On the whole the Birds piled up 474 yards of offense, 154 rushing and 320 passing, to stun the vaunted Falcon's defense. Defensively the Birds played maybe only their 2nd complete game of the season. They held the rush happy Falcons to just 65 yards on the ground. They also terrorized Matt Ryan most of the afternoon, sacking him 3 times and intercepting him once as he threw for just 250 yards. Like their defense, the Atlanta offense was just out of sync all day long. The Eagles jumped on them early and they never recovered. At the same time they also seemed to have a poor game plan and no real plan B and that cost them dearly as well. It was type of performance of Atlanta that makes you wonder what people ever saw in them in the first place.
It was all Eagles in the first quarter, with Desean Jackson rushing 31 yards for a TD on the Birds opening drive and Kevin Kolb tossing a 34 yard TD pass to him for a quick 14-0 lead. Later a little over halfway through the 2nd quarter Kolb found Maclin for an 8 yard TD pass and a 21-0 lead. Asante Samuel then intercepted Ryan late in the 2nd half and the route was on, or at least it would have been if Kolb had not given the ball right back. Following Kolb's interception, Ryan and the Falcons finally punched it in to cut it to 21-7 at the half. A little over halfway through the 3rd quarter, with Atlanta having cut the lead to 21-10, Kevin Kolb fired his 3rd TD pass of the day, an 83 yarder to Maclin to make it 28-10. Finally in the 4th quarter Tony Gonzalez hauled in a TD pass from Ryan to cut it to 28-17 before David Akers could add a late field to put away an impressive 31-17 win. Ultimately it wasn't as close as that score would indicate.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The anticipation had been mounting for a nearly week that tonight's clash in game 1 of the NLCS would be a pitching duel for the ages between Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum. Sadly the game did not quite live up to its billing. Neither Halladay nor Lincecum had their best stuff and surprisingly the long ball ruled the night. Halladay allowed 4 runs on 8 hits, including 2 homers, while striking out 7 while Lincecum allowed 3 runs on 6 hits, including 2 homers, while striking out 8. Ultimately, it came down to who would take better advantage of their opportunities and on this night it just so happened that it was Giants who did so, and so they got the win in game 1 and the Phils took the loss.
Cody Ross gave San Francisco the initial 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the 3rd inning. Carlos Ruiz answered right back in the home half of the 3rd with a solo bomb of his known. Ross tagged Halladay again in the 5th for a 2-1 Giants lead. Then in the 6th Buster Posey slapped an innocent 2 out single before Halladay was denied a close strike 3 against Pat Burrell. That gave 'the Bat' a chance to hit a deep fly ball to left field on the next pitch which Raul Ibanez probably should have caught. Instead it bounced off his glove and went for an RBI double to make it 3-1 Giants. Burrell was replaced with a pinch runner Nate Schierholtz, who scored on a single back up the middle by Juan Uribe, as Shane Victorino's throw home went off line.
That run proved crucial as Jayson Werth crushed a 2 run homer in the home half of the 6th to cut it 4-3. Without that extra run it would have been tied at 3. Instead the Phils needed one more run in the last few innings and unfortunately Werth was stranded in the 8th, and Ruiz and then pinch runner Wilson Valdez were stranded in the 9th inning as Brian Wilson and the G-men hung on for the 4-3 win. I am not surprised the Giants, just how they won. I never knew Ross had it in him. He was terrible for the Marlins in the regular season and the Phils seemed to own him then which just makes you wonder what's changed. Anyway 1 game does not make a series, and the Phils are just going to have to dust themselves off and win game 2 or they're in big trouble.
Cody Ross gave San Francisco the initial 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the 3rd inning. Carlos Ruiz answered right back in the home half of the 3rd with a solo bomb of his known. Ross tagged Halladay again in the 5th for a 2-1 Giants lead. Then in the 6th Buster Posey slapped an innocent 2 out single before Halladay was denied a close strike 3 against Pat Burrell. That gave 'the Bat' a chance to hit a deep fly ball to left field on the next pitch which Raul Ibanez probably should have caught. Instead it bounced off his glove and went for an RBI double to make it 3-1 Giants. Burrell was replaced with a pinch runner Nate Schierholtz, who scored on a single back up the middle by Juan Uribe, as Shane Victorino's throw home went off line.
That run proved crucial as Jayson Werth crushed a 2 run homer in the home half of the 6th to cut it 4-3. Without that extra run it would have been tied at 3. Instead the Phils needed one more run in the last few innings and unfortunately Werth was stranded in the 8th, and Ruiz and then pinch runner Wilson Valdez were stranded in the 9th inning as Brian Wilson and the G-men hung on for the 4-3 win. I am not surprised the Giants, just how they won. I never knew Ross had it in him. He was terrible for the Marlins in the regular season and the Phils seemed to own him then which just makes you wonder what's changed. Anyway 1 game does not make a series, and the Phils are just going to have to dust themselves off and win game 2 or they're in big trouble.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers sloppy play continued tonight against the injury depleted Penguins. With Jordan Staal, Brooks Orpik, and Zbynek Michalek all missing from the Pittsburgh arsenal the Flyers should have been able to handle them. Instead they made it way too easy for the Pens to get out of the Wells Fargo center with a win. Once again they spent most of the night on the penalty kill with 10 penalties, 8 of which resulted in power plays, and as a result could never get it going offensively. Currently they lead the league in having shorthanded a whopping 31 times. The Flyers power play struggles also continued as they went just 1 for 5, to drop to a league low 2 for 22 on the season. You could maybe overcome just having a poor power play or just taking too many penalties, but it is almost impossible to overcome both and the Orange and Black are learning that the hard way right now.
The Flyers actually had the early lead with Danny Briere scoring just the Flyer's 2nd power play goal of the season a little under 7 minutes into the 1st period. It was all Pittsburgh after that. The managed to kill off their first 6 penalties, but Pittsburgh scored twice anyway, late in the 1st period and late in the 2nd period, to take a 2-1 lead into the penultimate period. The Flyers actually went into the 3rd killing off a 4 on 3 and almost got out of it before Claude Giroux was whistled for tripping to set up a 5 on 3. On that 5 on 3 Sidney Crosby sunk the Flyers for good with 2 goals within a minute of one another for a quick 4-1 lead. Pittsburgh later added an empty netter to walk away with an easy 5-1 win.
The Flyers actually had the early lead with Danny Briere scoring just the Flyer's 2nd power play goal of the season a little under 7 minutes into the 1st period. It was all Pittsburgh after that. The managed to kill off their first 6 penalties, but Pittsburgh scored twice anyway, late in the 1st period and late in the 2nd period, to take a 2-1 lead into the penultimate period. The Flyers actually went into the 3rd killing off a 4 on 3 and almost got out of it before Claude Giroux was whistled for tripping to set up a 5 on 3. On that 5 on 3 Sidney Crosby sunk the Flyers for good with 2 goals within a minute of one another for a quick 4-1 lead. Pittsburgh later added an empty netter to walk away with an easy 5-1 win.
Friday, October 15, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils NLCS roster is set. There are only 2 changes from the NLDS roster. Kyle Kendrick was added to the roster to be the long man in the bullpen as Joe Blanton moves back into the rotation to start game 4. Greg Dobbs was removed from the roster to make room for Kyle Kendrick. That leaves only Wilson Valdez to back up 3rd base, shortstop, and 2nd base. While Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, or Chase Utley could be removed from roster in the event of injury, they would then be ineligible for the world series. So the Phils better hope no one gets hurt or they could be in big trouble.
EAGLES NEWS
Kevin Kolb will start again for the Eagles on Sunday. Mike Vick has not been totally ruled out though and could be at least a wildcat option or a decoy against his old team. After receiving arthroscopic surgery on his knee Jason Peters will not play on Sunday. Instead King Dunlap will get the start at left tackle. Uh oh. Watch out Kevin.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
When Simon Gagne was traded to the Lightning in the offseason the first thing most fans likely did was check the schedule to see when Tampa Bay's first visit to Philly would be. As it turned out that visit was tonight, in just the Orange and Black's 2nd home game of the season. The Lighting came in fresh off an overtime war in Montreal on Wednesday and thus should have been tired an easy mark for the Flyers. Instead they played with a surprising energy the Flyers could never quite muster. Maybe they were extra motivated to win for Simon or maybe the Orange and Black decided to throw their old buddy a bone, but whatever the reason, Tampa just had it tonight and Flyers didn't.
The Orange and Black struggled particularly on defense, continuing to turn the puck over and take bad penalties as they have all season thus far. They took 7 penalties alltogether, 6 of which resulted in power plays. While their red hot penalty kill managed kill off all 6 power plays , the constant penalty killing took away any momentum they might have been able build offensively from 2nd the period on. Moreover, the Flyers power play continued to struggle, going o for 4 on the night, to move to 1 for 17 on the season. Just 1 power play would have at least gotten them a point tonigt. By the same token if Brian Boucher's play in net had been just a tad better they would have gotten at least a point also. He was pretty much hung out to dry on 2 of the 3 Lightning goals but he probably should stopped the last one.
There were at least some bright spots for the Flyers on the night. Late in the 1st period Nikolay Zherdev scored his first goal as a Flyer and 100th of his NHL career. At the time the goal tied the score at 1. Midway through the 3rd period Danny Briere scored his 3rd of the season to cut the Tampa Lead at the time to 3-2 and briefly restore Flyer's hopes of earning a point or 2. Unfortunately a James Van Reimsdyk penalty put the Flyes right back on the penalty kill stalling the comeback. They just ran out of time and steam from there as Tampa hung on for the 3-2 win. I'm happy that Simon got one more win, at the Wachovia, er Wells Fargo center, but the Flyers will need to start playing up to their ability to avoid any more losses like this one.
The Orange and Black struggled particularly on defense, continuing to turn the puck over and take bad penalties as they have all season thus far. They took 7 penalties alltogether, 6 of which resulted in power plays. While their red hot penalty kill managed kill off all 6 power plays , the constant penalty killing took away any momentum they might have been able build offensively from 2nd the period on. Moreover, the Flyers power play continued to struggle, going o for 4 on the night, to move to 1 for 17 on the season. Just 1 power play would have at least gotten them a point tonigt. By the same token if Brian Boucher's play in net had been just a tad better they would have gotten at least a point also. He was pretty much hung out to dry on 2 of the 3 Lightning goals but he probably should stopped the last one.
There were at least some bright spots for the Flyers on the night. Late in the 1st period Nikolay Zherdev scored his first goal as a Flyer and 100th of his NHL career. At the time the goal tied the score at 1. Midway through the 3rd period Danny Briere scored his 3rd of the season to cut the Tampa Lead at the time to 3-2 and briefly restore Flyer's hopes of earning a point or 2. Unfortunately a James Van Reimsdyk penalty put the Flyes right back on the penalty kill stalling the comeback. They just ran out of time and steam from there as Tampa hung on for the 3-2 win. I'm happy that Simon got one more win, at the Wachovia, er Wells Fargo center, but the Flyers will need to start playing up to their ability to avoid any more losses like this one.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
Jrue Holiday finally ended his preseason struggles tonight against the Raptors with a triple double, 18pts, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds, but the Sixers still lost their 4th preseason game to Toronto in double overtime, 119-116. The Sixers nearly forced a 3rd overtime but Lou Williams missed a 3 pointer at the buzzer. Aside from Holiday other standout Sixer stars, included Evan Turner who had a double double, with 13 points and 12 rebounds, Craig Brackins with 15, Eltan Brand and Jodie Meeks with 12 each and Williams himself who added 10 points off the bench.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles have traded RB Mike Bell to the Browns for RB Jerome Harrison. Bell was injury prone and ineffective for the Birds and they had been discussing acquiring another running back in his stead so does not come as a surprise. A year ago when Harrison rushed for the most combined yards in the final 3 games of a season in the NFL history this would have been a huge move. Now it is still a nice move but nothing earth shattering. Harrison, a fast outside runner, whereas Bell was a slower inside runner, should be better suited to the Eagles offense and I look forward to seeing him on the field.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
With Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Shaq, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo all getting night off for Boston, the Sixers, who did play their starters, were finally able to get their first preseason win and their first win of any kind for Doug Collins, defeating the Celtics 103-92. 3 of their 5 starters, Andre Iguodala with 10, Thad Young with 10, and Jrue Holiday with 12, scored in double figures, while the bench combined for 57 huge points which proved to be the difference. In fact, the Sixer's leading scorer on the night, was Mo Speights who came off the bench for 19 points. A win is a win, but it would have been much more impressive if the Celtics had actually been trying to win. At least they finally have a win though.
EAGLES NEWS
Once though to be done for the season with a torn up elbow, Broderick Bunckley might now actually be able to play through the injury if he so chooses. The Eagles will just have wait and see about that. In the meantime, Jeff Owens, the 2010 draft pick still in Philly who hadn't already been a part of the regular roster, has been promoted from the practice squad to replace Bunkley. In other injury news Asante Samuel is apparently over his post concussion symptoms and has been cleared to practice. He should be back in the Eagles starting lineup come Sunday.
Monday, October 11, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
Chris Pronger was back in black,er make that Orange and Black tonight as he and Flyers returned to what is now the Wells Fargo center for the 2010-2011 home opener. With Pronger back in tow the Flyers' defense finally started to clean things up, holding the Avs to just 25 shots on goal and committing just 3 penalties. Still, they did have a mental lapse in the 2nd period which almost cost them as they continued to not make it easy for themselves. Their power play has struggled so far but the penalty kill unit has been untouchable and they were again today as they produced yet another shorthanded tallly and killed off all the Avalanche power plays.
Meanwhile, Sergei Bobrovsky got his 2nd start in goal of the season and was impressive, saving 25 of the 27 shots he faced, including several kep stops in the game's final minute or so. With Bob shutting down the Avs the Orange and Black were able to dominate the 1st period and take an early 2-0 lead on goals by Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux(shorthanded). In the 2nd period the Flyers hit the snooze button and allowed Colorado back into it. Just 32 seconds into the 3rd period, Milan Hejduk beat Bobrovsky to knot it up at 2. With the Flyers still snoozing at the time, it looked like a victory in the home opener was going to slip right threw their fingers. However, just as in the season's 1st 2 games the Orange and Black were able to pick it up when they needed to.
With a little under 3 minutes left in the game Carter scored his 2nd goal of the night off Mike Richards' 2nd assist for a 3-2 lead. The two teams battled on bravely after that until Daroll Powe scored an empty netter with a little over a minute left to put away a 4-2 Flyer's win for good. With the win the Orange and Black now have 5 points in their first 3 games and certainly appear headed for a big season.
Meanwhile, Sergei Bobrovsky got his 2nd start in goal of the season and was impressive, saving 25 of the 27 shots he faced, including several kep stops in the game's final minute or so. With Bob shutting down the Avs the Orange and Black were able to dominate the 1st period and take an early 2-0 lead on goals by Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux(shorthanded). In the 2nd period the Flyers hit the snooze button and allowed Colorado back into it. Just 32 seconds into the 3rd period, Milan Hejduk beat Bobrovsky to knot it up at 2. With the Flyers still snoozing at the time, it looked like a victory in the home opener was going to slip right threw their fingers. However, just as in the season's 1st 2 games the Orange and Black were able to pick it up when they needed to.
With a little under 3 minutes left in the game Carter scored his 2nd goal of the night off Mike Richards' 2nd assist for a 3-2 lead. The two teams battled on bravely after that until Daroll Powe scored an empty netter with a little over a minute left to put away a 4-2 Flyer's win for good. With the win the Orange and Black now have 5 points in their first 3 games and certainly appear headed for a big season.
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils will start the NLCS on Saturday and their opponent will be the San Francisco Giants who closed out their NLDS tonight.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
Before tonight the Phils had never before swept a postseason series. They had been swept themselves, by the Yankees in the 1950 world series and by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1976 NLCS, but they had never successfully done the deed to someone else. Now thanks to Cole Hamels' efforts tonight they have, exacting revenge on the same Reds team that did it to them 34 years ago. Hamels was positively brillint in every way. He had little trouble in the first inning, allowing leadoff man Drew Stubbs to reach base, but Shane Victorino's running catch of a fly ball off the bat of Brandon Philips got him out of it. It was pretty much smooth sailing from there in a complete game 5 hit shutout, including 9 strikeouts, and one frustrated Red after another.
The Reds never managed to get more than one runner on base at the same time and got a runner in scoring position just once after the 1st inning, when Ramon Hernandez doubled into the gap in the left with 2 out in the 7th. Aside from Roy Halladay's no hitter in game 1, it just doesn't get more dominating than that. Anyway, while Hamels dominated the Phils lineup simply took care of business. Placido Polanco singled with 1 out in the 1st, moved to the 3rd on a Ryan Howard single and scored on an error by Orlando Cabrera. Later, Chase Utley crushed a solo homer in the 5th for a 2-0 lead and that was about all she wrote. Hamels took it from there as the Phils danced into their 3rd straight NLCS and 3rd in the 4 straight years they've been to the postseason. Let the good times roll!
The Reds never managed to get more than one runner on base at the same time and got a runner in scoring position just once after the 1st inning, when Ramon Hernandez doubled into the gap in the left with 2 out in the 7th. Aside from Roy Halladay's no hitter in game 1, it just doesn't get more dominating than that. Anyway, while Hamels dominated the Phils lineup simply took care of business. Placido Polanco singled with 1 out in the 1st, moved to the 3rd on a Ryan Howard single and scored on an error by Orlando Cabrera. Later, Chase Utley crushed a solo homer in the 5th for a 2-0 lead and that was about all she wrote. Hamels took it from there as the Phils danced into their 3rd straight NLCS and 3rd in the 4 straight years they've been to the postseason. Let the good times roll!
EAGLES NEWS
The Birds weren't great tonight but against the sloppy and winless 49ers they were good enough. Kevin Kolb was solid throwing for 253 yards and a TD. Lesean McCoy courageously played with a cracked rib and racked up 92 rushing yards and a TD and 5 catches for 46 yards. Finally, Jeremy Maclin was the Eagles leading receiver with 6 catches for 96 yards. Defensively, the Eagles weren't great, allowing both Vernon Davis and Micheal Crabtree to go over 100 receiving yards, but they were good enough when they had to be. They did a pretty good job clamping down on the vaunted 49er run game, holding Frank Gore to only 52 yards. Alex Smith did shred them a bit with 300 yards and 2 TDs but the Eagles also forced him to turn the ball over 3 times and that proved to be the difference.
Both teams scored on their opening drives with Kolb firing an 8 yard TD pass to Brent Celek to answer the 49ers opening score. Later about 5 minutes into the 2nd quarter, Frank Gore fumbled the ball away in his own territory, as Stewart Bradley poked it loose. The Eagles turned that into an Aker's field goal for a 10-7 lead. Late in the 2nd quarter Desean Jackson broke a 20 yard punt return, and a couple plays later Lesean McCoy found an opening and rumbled 29 yards for a TD. San Francisco threw one opportunity for points on Smith's first interception, added a field goal and missed another following a Kolb fumble to give the Eagles a 17-10 lead at the half. It was still 17-10 early in the 4th quarter when Smith was sacked and fumbled right to Quintin Mikell who returned it untouched 52 yards for a TD and a 24-10 lead. Smith rebounded to fire a couple late TD passes but an Aker's field goal with 4 and a half minutes left kept the Eagles ahead 27-24.
Still they weren't quite able to run out the clock before San Francisco got the ball back 1 last time with about a minute to play and only 1 timeout. Smith was able to make one 20 + yard connection with Vernon Davis to get the 49ers in Eagles territory but they get no further. On 3rd and 10 from the Eagles 44 with under 50 seconds to play, a blitzing Trevor Laws forced Smith to throw one up for grabs and right into the hands of Trevard Lindley for his first career interception. With that 49er hopes of victory were dashed and the Eagles and Kolb were able to kneel down and the savor the important win which moved them to 3-2 overall and a still 3 way tie for 1st in the NFC East with the Redskins and Giants. Incredibly at this point the Eagles are 3-0 on the road and 0-2 at the Linc, what gives?
Both teams scored on their opening drives with Kolb firing an 8 yard TD pass to Brent Celek to answer the 49ers opening score. Later about 5 minutes into the 2nd quarter, Frank Gore fumbled the ball away in his own territory, as Stewart Bradley poked it loose. The Eagles turned that into an Aker's field goal for a 10-7 lead. Late in the 2nd quarter Desean Jackson broke a 20 yard punt return, and a couple plays later Lesean McCoy found an opening and rumbled 29 yards for a TD. San Francisco threw one opportunity for points on Smith's first interception, added a field goal and missed another following a Kolb fumble to give the Eagles a 17-10 lead at the half. It was still 17-10 early in the 4th quarter when Smith was sacked and fumbled right to Quintin Mikell who returned it untouched 52 yards for a TD and a 24-10 lead. Smith rebounded to fire a couple late TD passes but an Aker's field goal with 4 and a half minutes left kept the Eagles ahead 27-24.
Still they weren't quite able to run out the clock before San Francisco got the ball back 1 last time with about a minute to play and only 1 timeout. Smith was able to make one 20 + yard connection with Vernon Davis to get the 49ers in Eagles territory but they get no further. On 3rd and 10 from the Eagles 44 with under 50 seconds to play, a blitzing Trevor Laws forced Smith to throw one up for grabs and right into the hands of Trevard Lindley for his first career interception. With that 49er hopes of victory were dashed and the Eagles and Kolb were able to kneel down and the savor the important win which moved them to 3-2 overall and a still 3 way tie for 1st in the NFC East with the Redskins and Giants. Incredibly at this point the Eagles are 3-0 on the road and 0-2 at the Linc, what gives?
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