Wednesday, November 25, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Boston tonight for a matchup with the Celtics. With Lou Williams out with a broken jaw, Elton Brand out with the hamstring strain, and still no Mo Speights, the Sixers weren't supposed to have a shot in this one. Instead, Andre Iguodala stepped up his game with 25 points, and 9 assists, Thad Young was solid again with 17 points and 6 boards, Jrue Holiday played well again in his 1st NBA start with 10 points and 6 assists, and Jason Kapono and Willie Green had huge nights off the bench with a combined 38 points and 6 threes, to help the Sixers take this one right down to the wire. They actually shot better than Boston from beyond arc at 65% with 13 treys, to Boston's 25.9% and 7 treys, and outrebounded the bigger and stronger Celtics 39-37. All of which allowed the Sixers to take a one point lead at the half and you guessed it, a 6 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. There unfortunately they fell short again. They held the lead until Rasheed Wallace drained a 3 pointer with a little under 9 and a half minutes to play. Boston then raced to a 10 point lead and it looked like the game was over, but Sixers put together another late rally, pulling within 2, at 107-105, with the ball in hand and about 30 seconds to play. Unfortunately Iggy was called for an offensive foul and then Rajon Rondo hit a 17 foot fade away as the shot clock expired to breaks Sixer's hearts and put Boston ahead by 4, with only 10 seconds left. From there Iggy hit a miracle 3 to cut it back to 1 at 109-108, but Boston hit their free throws down the stretch and would not allow the Sixers to put up another trey. So that was all she wrote as they hung on to win 113-110 and the Sixers drop to 5-10. Still you have to at least be encouraged by the fact, that the Sixers, missing 3 of their top scorers, nearly beat the mighty Celtics. If they could just figure out how to win one of these things, I can they get on a roll.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Washington today to face the Wizards in Eddie Jordan's first time back to D.C. since he was fired as the Wizard's head coach at about this time last year. Coming in Washington had just 3 wins on the season and were battling injuries with Mike Miller and Caron Butler both on the shelf for the tonight's game. So the Sixers should have had the upper hand in this one. Instead they were cold from the field a good chunk tonight, particularly Andre Iguodala, and Elton Brand who went down with an injury once again, this time a hamstring strain. No word yet on how long he'll be out this time, if at all. Anyway As a team, the Sixers' shot just 40% from the field, while Elton and Iggy were only a combined 3-19 from the field. Obviously it is tough to win when your first 2 optiions on offense can get it done for you. While they were struggling though, Sammy Dalembert stepped up with 15 points and 9 rebounds, Thad Young dropped 23, and Lou Williams pumped in 26 to keep it close for a half. Then Washington got hot in the 3rd quarter and pulled out a 10 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. There the Sixer's mounted a final rally as the rookie Jrue Holiday came off the bench to spark the team with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals in the final 10 minutes of the game. He three 3 pointers in rapid succession and Lou Williams drilled another 2 threes to pull the Sixers within 1 at 106-105. Agent Zero, Gilbert Arenas came right back to put Washington ahead 108-105, before sweet Lou dipped in for a layup to cut it back to 1 again at 108-107. Arenas then turned the ball over on the ensuing Washington possession leaving the Sixers with the final shot and a chance to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. Lou decided to go one on one with Gilbert and got him to bite enough, to create some space and get himself a good look at the buzzer but his 20 footer at the buzzer rimmed out for the 108-107 Wizard's victory. So by the slimmest of margins the Sixers drop to 5-9 overall and with Boston next on the schedule tomorrow, they're in trouble now. For tonight though much can be said. First the defense was not very good, as Washington shot 5o% or better most of the night before cooling off a bit at the end, with Antawn Jamison scoring 32, and Nick Young, in the game only because of the injuries, dropping 20. You just can't let a kid beat you like that. On the flip side it was a kid, Jrue Holiday, who put forth the most remarkable performance for the Sixers on the night. He was just everywhere and nearly rallied the Sixers to the win all on his own. What in the world has Eddie Jordan been waiting for with this kid on the bench. Clearly from now on though Holiday is going to get a lot more playing time. He's just too good to waste on the bench. Speaking of the bench Jason Smith also came off the pine for some big minutes as well, as he scored 14 and played some solid defense. So if nothing else the future looks bright for the Sixers.
EAGLES NEWS
It's official big Jon Runyan is not coming back to the Eagles. He had knee surgery in the offseason and has been a free agent all this season. Today though he signed with the San Diego Chargers, effectively ending the speculation that the Eagles were going to bring him back. Meanwhile, the Eagles signed Winston Justice, who's been filling in for Shawn Andrews all season to a 4 year contract extension today, perhaps signaling that he and not Andrews is the future for the Birds.
FLYERS NEWS
Danny Briere was hit with a 2 game suspension today for a blow to kneck he put on Scott Hannan after he scored a goal in the last night's game. No one on the Colorado bench complained about the hit at the time and no penalty was called so this comes as a bit of a surprise and really hurts the Flyers who were already shorthanded.
Monday, November 23, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyer's completed the west coast swing of their road trip tonight with a stop in Colorado to faceoff against the Avalanche. Having lost their last 2 games, the Orange and Black, desperately wanted to end the skid tonight and played like it. Unfortunately, Ray Emery had his worst game of the season thus far, allowing 4 goals before the end of the 2nd period. Emery was so poor on the night, that he was pulled late in the 2nd period in favor of Brian Boucher. Boucher allowed just one goal the rest of the way but it was too little too late to save the Flyer's on this night. Other than Emery's struggles the rest of the team peformed well. The Flyers had the edge on faceoffs and shots on goal, and even scored the only power goal of the night and yet they still lost. I guess sometimes one guy really does mean everything to his team. Early on it looked like it was going to be a runaway for Colorado as they jumped to a 2-0 lead, but goals by Danny Briere late in the 1st period and Jeff Carter early in the 2nd period quickly knotted it up at 2. Then Colorado struck back midway through the 2nd with a pair of goals to push the lead to 4-2. David Jones also added a 5th score late in the 2nd period for a 5-2 Avalanche lead. The Flyer's weren't finished yet though, as Briere and Carter each scored again to cut it to 5-4 with about 5 minutes to play. From there try as they might the Flyers could not get the equalizer, especially not after Scott Hartnell was whistled for goaltender interference with a little over a minute and a half to plat, giving Colorado power play that effectively spanned the remainder of the game. So the Orange and Black drop their 3rd game in a row and fall to 12-8-1 overrall and down to 7th in the Eastern conference.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles traveled to Chicago tonight for a key game against the Bears. With losses in their last 2 games the Eagles had to win tonight to stay in the playoff picture. It wasn't pretty by any means, but with a little luck they were able to get the win they needed. The Birds really did play a sloppy game tonight, committing 10 penalties, and turning the ball over 3 times, yet they were still able to eke out the win, which tells you how poorly the Bears are playing right now. Jay Cutler had an especially terrible night, missing several wide open recievers, while throwing for just 171 yards and 1 TD. He was so bad that he made the banged up Eagle's defense look good, as they held Chicago to just 284 yards of offense and 1 TD, which is about as good a game as you could have hoped from them. While a bit sloppy, the Eagle's offense was solid tonight and for once somewhat balanced with Lesean McCoy rushing for 99 of the Eagle's 157 rushing yards , and a what turned out to be the game winning TD. Micheal Vick also had a 34 yard run, for his longest play as an Eagle thus far. Donovan Mcnabb meanwhile, threw for 244 yards and 2 TDs, including a 48 yarder to Desean Jackson. In fact Jackson caught most of Mcnabb's passes with 8 receptions for 107 yards and a TD. Jeremy Maclin, was also a key contributor with 6 catches for 64 yards. The Eagles came out firing early, using a no huddle offense to roll to scores on their first 2 offensive drives for a 10-0 lead. They cooled down in the 2nd quarter as Robbie Gould booted 3 field goals to cut it to 10-9 at the half. Gould hit his 4th field goal of the night early in the 3rd quarter to give Chicago their first lead at 12-10. A couple drives later Mcnabb hooked up with Jackon for a 46 yard TD pass and a 17-12 lead. Cutler and the Bears came right back on their ensuing drive, as Cutler hit a few open guys for a change in leading his team down the field before hooking up with Kellen Davis on a 15 yd TD pass for a 20-17 lead. On the next Eagle's possession MCcoy fumbled the ball away after a long run and it appeared as though Chicago was primed to score again and take hold of this tight game. Instead the Eagle's defense held, forcing another Gould field goal attempt. This time, undrafted rookie Antonio Dixon, bashed through the line and blocked it to keep the lead at 3 and shift the momentum back to the Birds. On the ensuing drive the Birds swiftly moved down the field until on first down from the 10 yard line, McCoy burst through the line and danced into the endzone for go ahead TD to make it 24-20 Birds. On their next possession the Eagles, still leading 24-20, could not run out the clock and seal victory, leaving Cutler with one more chance to lead his team to the win. Instead he was intercepted by Sean Jones to clinch the 24-20 Eagle's victory. I know it was not well played, but a win is a win and this one moves the Birds to 6-4 overall, currently good enough for the 6th and final NFC playoff spot.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyer's continued their road trip tonight in Phoenix against the resurgent Coyotes. Considering they were playing their 2nd game in as many nights in the middle of a long road trip, you had expect the Flyers to be tired coming into this one. It appeared they were in fact a bit exhausted with just 24 shots on goal and an 0 for 5 night on the power play. They were also without Darroll Powe and Blair Betts who went down during the game with a shoulder injury. So they didn't have the edge they normally do on faceoffs and they didn't have the power play attack they normally do. Coming into tonight Phoenix had also been playing very well so far this season, and they carried that over into this game. Ilya Bryzgalov had 23 saves, Matthew Lombardi and Keith Yandle each scored power play goals and Shane Doan scored on the Flyer's empty net to lead the Coyotes to a 3-1 win. Scott Hartnell scored the only goal for the Flyers in the 2nd period with assists from Claude Giroux and Kimmo Timonen, but other than that there was nothing to cheer about for the Orange and Black on this night as they drop to 12-7-1 overall but remain 5th in the Eastern conference. Fortunately they now have a little time before their next game on Monday, which they can use to regroup, refocus and get back to winning again.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers traveled to Cleveland tonight for a matchup with King James and the Cavs. Considering they came in having lost their last game to the Grizzlies, this did not figure to be much of a contest. Early on it didn't look good for the Sixers at all as the Cavs jumped out to a 20-4 lead to start the 1st quarter. The Sixers were actually able to fight back though and their chances to steal the win in the 4th quarter, but the King proved to be too much. Like Rudy Gay last night the Sixers just couldn't stop Lebron tonight as he scored a game high 32. The Sixer's scoring was solid again tonight as well, with Lou Williams' 22 leading the way. Also Elton Brand put up 18, Thad Young poured in 21, and Andre Iguodala and Rodney Carney each chipped in with 12, but it wasn't enough. The Sixer's defense actually played pretty well tonight too, holding the Cavs to just 48% shooting from the field and racking up 8 steals. Unfortunately, they also allowed Cleveland to shoot 40% from beyond the arc with 8 threes and that was just as much a killer tonight as Lebron was. Still, the Sixers can hold their heads high knowing they were able to play the Cavs tough and keep this one close. The Sixers trailed by 13 after a quarter of play but were able to close within 3 at the half and take a 6 point lead into the 4th quarter. They just couldn't stop Lebron enough to hang on for the win in the 4th and eventually fell by 6, 97-91. So the Sixers drop to 5-8 overall now and remain 11th in the East, but now a game and a half out of 8th.
Friday, November 20, 2009
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers continued their road trip tonight in San Jose with a match up against the Sharks. The last meeting between these two teams was an ugly loss for the Flyers at the Wachovia center. This time the Orange and Black were hoping for a little revenge, but instead they were Shark bait once again. They kept it close for a couple periods, but Danny Heatley took over in the 3rd period completing a hat trick for himself and leading San Jose to victory. It's not that the Flyer's played poorly tonight, San Jose just had too much firepower for even Ray Emery to handle. San Jose scored 6 goals, despite being limited to just 29 shots on goal. Unfortunately, too many of those shots for free shots at Emery, which he could do nothing about. Some of it was just the strength and will of the Shark's scoring attack, but the Flyer's also had a bunch of problems with their skates, as Chris Pronger twice fell over on his own, leaving Emery helpless against Sharks' oddman rushes. If nothing else the Flyer's did play better tonight then they had in the first meeting. In fact they had the lead midway through the 1st period with a funky goal that somehow deflected off Danny Briere's stick and in. San Jose answered on the power play to tie it at 1 after 1, then Heatley scored his first of the night to open the 2nd and put the Sharks up 2-1. Midway through the 2nd, Claude Giroux apparently scored another funky goal which deflected off a Shark and in to tie it at 2. Then with about 5 seconds left in the period Patrick Marleau somehow snuck one by Emery for a 3-2 Shark lead. Midway through the 3rd, Heatley scored shorthanded for a 4-2 lead. Giroux answered a minute later to cut it to 4-3, but the Flyer's would not get any closer. A few minutes later Heatley scored on the power play this time, for a 5-2 lead and eventually the Sharks skated away with a 6-3 win. So the Flyers drop to 12-6-1 overall, but remain 5th in the East.
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