Thursday, December 11, 2008
FLYERS NEWS
Well if it's the Flyers it must be overtime. Yes that's right they went into OT again tonight at the Wachovia center as they welcomed the Carolina Hurricanes to town. Antero Niittymaki got the rare start in goal and did not have his best game, saving just 26 of the 31 shots he faced, but it was enough to keep the Flyers in it which seems to be just about all they need at this point. Meanwhile, Scotty Hartnell scored a hat trick to lead a furious Flyers comeback that forced overtime and eventually helped to pull out the win. Early in the first period Eric Staal scored for a 1-0 Canes lead. Early in the 2nd period Matt Cullen scored for a 2-0 lead. About halfway through the period Hartnell scored his first to cut it to 2-1. A few seconds later Sergie Samsonov pushed it to 3-1 Canes. A few minutes later ex-Flyer Joni Pitkanen made it 4-1. A few minutes later Staal score again for a 5-1 Canes lead and all hope seemed lost. However, Niittymaki finally bared down and shutout the Canes in the 3rd period and halfway through the period Hartnell had finished off his hat trick to cut it to 5-3. With just under 5 minutes to play Scottie Upshall scored to cut it to 5-4. Finally with just under 2 minutes to play Simon Gagne scored to knot it up at 5 and complete the comeback. From there neither team could accumulate another tally until the game had gone into a shootout. There Tomo Ruutu and Rod Brindamour each missed their attempts, while Gagne and Mike Richards were each successful on their attempts to close out the 6-5 shootout win for the Flyers. So the Orange and Black move to 15-7-6 overall, good for 36 points, 5th in the Eastern conference, and 2nd in the Atlantic division, just 4 points behind the Rangers for first.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers welcomed King James and the rest of his Cleveland Cavalier cohorts to the Wachovia center tonight. Cleveland came into tonight with the 2nd best record in the Eastern conference so there was little hope the Sixers would be able to beat them, even with Elton Brand back in the lineup. It was actually a close game for a while but eventually Cleveland's fire power proved to be too much as Lebron dropped 29, and Mo Williams chipped in with 27. Meanwhile, the Andres, Miller and Iguodala with 22 and 27 points respectively kept it close for the Sixers. The Sixers actually had the early 3 point lead after a quarter of play with the score 28-25. By the half Cleveland had pulled ahead by 2 with the score 48-46. In the 3rd quarter the Cavs took control of the game, and actually led by 20 at one point before settling for a 19 point lead, with the score 84-65 heading into the 4th quarter. Finally in the 4th quarter, the Sixers mounted a serious comeback but it was too little too late, and eventually Cleveland hung on to win by 8, with the final score 101-93. So the Sixers drop to 9-13 overall and it doesn't look like anything can save them at this point.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers finished a game in regulation for a change tonight as they faced off with the New York Islanders. Marty Biron got the start in goal and had another solid night saving 24 of the 27 shots he faced. Meanwhile, Jeff Carter scored yet another goal as the Flyers pulled out a nail biter. About halfway through the 3rd period Andy Hilbert scored and Doug Weight followed a minute later for a quick 2-0 Isles lead. Aaron Asham answered a minute later to cut it to 2-1. About midway through the 2nd period Darrell Powe tied it at 2. Then late in the period Carter put the Flyers up for the first time 3-2. Early in the 3rd period Brandon Comeau scored to knot it up at 3. Finally with just under 9 minutes to play Simon Gagne scored to put the Flyers up for good 4-3. Thanks to Biron that lead stood up the rest of the way and the Flyers got the 4-3 win. So the Flyers move to 14-7-6 overall for 34 points and yes still 6th in the Eastern conference.
PHILLIES NEWS
After the leading the Phils to their first world title in 28 years this season, manager Charlie Manuel was rewarded by the Phillies today with a contract extension through 2011, hopefully just enough time for a few more parades down broad street.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Sunday, December 07, 2008
EAGLES NEWS
On life support just a few weeks ago the Birds are now alive and well after totally dominating the Giants this afternoon for their 2nd win in a row. From the beginning the Giants offense appeared distracted and was totally out of sink. As a result the Eagles defense had its best game of the season thus far holding the Giants to just 211 yards of offense, just 88 rushing, and 123 passing. NY was also just 3 for 11 on 3rd down, o for 3 on 4th down, and wound up with just one offensive score all game long , a touchdown late in the game. The Eagles offense on the other hand took a page out of the Giants book with a methodically efficient performance with lots of runs and short passes, that ate up over 30 minutes of clock including most of the 2nd half, while racking up a solid 331 yards on the day. Brian Westbrook was the star with 33 carries for 131 rushing yds and 1 TD, and 6 catches for 72 yards and another TD. Donovan Mcnabb did not have his best day, but he managed the game well, did not make any mistakes, and completed 19 0f 30 passes for a solid 191 yards and a TD. Late in the first quarter David Akers gave the Eagles the early 3-0 lead with a 51 yard field goal. Late in the 2nd quarter Westbrook finished off a long Eagles drive dashing 30 yards for his 1st score and a 10-0 lead. After the Giants failed to do anything on their final drive of the half, the Eagles appeared poised to go up 13-0 at the half with another Aker's field goal, but it was blocked and then scooped up by Kevin Dockery who ran it back 71 yards for a score cutting the Eagles halftime lead to 10-7. The Eagles, unfazed, put together another long drive to start the 3rd quarter, before Akers was blocked again, this time with no return. Fortunately, New York again went nowhere on offense, and the Eagles preceded to run out the rest of the 3rd quarter on another long drive, capped off early in the 4th, by a 40 yd TD pass from Mcnabb to Westbrook for a 17-7 lead. After another empty Giants drive, the Birds preceded to eat up all but the final 2 minutes of the game on their next drive, before Akers finally booted another field goal through the uprights untouched. The Giants finally put together a nice drive on their next possession as Eli Manning hooked up with Darcy Johnson for a 1 yd TD pass to cut the lead to 20-14, but with only 15 seconds to play it was too little too late ,as the Eagles recovered the ensuing onsides kick an ran out the clock for the huge win 20-14 win. So the Birds move to 7-5-1 overall, and with the Redskins dropping to 7-6 , and the Cowboys and Falcons both dropping to 8-5 today, they are right back in the thick of the playoff race, at 3rd place in the NFC East, and just a half game out of the last playoff spot in the NFC.
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