2 nights after an exhilarating season opening win over the Pens the Orange and Black put up a dud tonight in St.Louis. They were no less tough they had been in Pittsburgh, but no less sloppy as well and that cost them. They just committed way too many turnovers and penalties, even for a game this early in the season and you won't win very often when you do that. All told the Blues went on the power play 10, count em 10 times. Somehow the Flyer's penalty kill, thanks in large part to Brian Boucher and his 23 saves, held up 9 of those times. Still with all that time spent killing off penalties there was little time for the Flyers get anything going offensively. When they did try to move the puck and make things happen in the offensive the Blues did a very good job clamping down on them defensively and not making anything easy.
Thanks to the 1 power play goal for St.Louis and the Flyers own futility in the offensive zone they actually trailed 1-0 heading into the 3rd period. Finally a little over 2 minutes into the Danny Briere shot one over Jan Halak's head and in to tie it at 1. After that the Orange and Black continued to pick it up in the 3rd period again, but just couldn't come up with the winning score as game went into overtime. Just under 2 minutes into the overtime Boucher lost a Carlo Colaiacovo shot behind a screen and St.Louis had the 2-1 win. The fact that the Flyers at least got to the overtime and earned themselves a point, shows how good they are, but they've really got to clean things up if they want to have any sort of sustained success this season. They'll take the the 3 out of 4 points on the road though as head back to Philly for the home opener Monday night.
Saturday, October 09, 2010
SIXERS NEWS
Thad Young had 16, Evan Turner had 14, Andre Iguodala had a game high 20, and the Sixers had a 7 point lead with 15 seconds remaining. However, Jrue Holiday and Andres' Nocioni combined to miss 3 free throws while the Nets hit 3 treys in those 15 seconds to stun the Sixers 90-89. At least it was the preseason instead of the regular season.
Friday, October 08, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
It was an ugly night in Philadelphia tonight but someone had to win it. For most of the evening it didn't look like that someone would be the Phillies. However, a late rash of Red's errors proved to be the difference. During the regular season the Cincinnati Reds were the best defensive team in baseball, but tonight was different. They committed 4 errors, hit 3 batsmen and allowed 5 unearned runs. Against anyone, especially the Phils, that is a recipe for a disaster. Moreover, they actually led 4-0 Early in the game and just let it slip away thanks to all the miscues. When you do that. When you lose a game of such magnitude in that fashion it takes a lot out of you and the Reds, particularly manager Dusty Baker, certainly looked like a defeated team after wards.
Anyway, lets take it from the top. Roy Oswalt allowed leadoff homer to Brandon Phillips in the first and was basically off his game after that. He just started constantly shaking off Carlos Ruiz and his pitches suddenly didn't have the same bite on them. In end he managed to at least keep things close, allowing just 4 runs on 5 hits while striking out 5. On multiple occasions he got key outs with runner's scoring position and minimized damage by allowing solo homer to Philips and Jay Bruce. Otherwise things might not turned out much differently for the Phils tonight. More on that in a second. Ultimately you would be hard pressed to call this bad start by Oswalt. It just wasn't his best and I would expect much better from him moving forward.
Anyway, the Phils for their part just could not figure out Bronson Arroyo in the early going, that is until his teammates hung him out to dry. He put up 4 scoreless frames to start the night and appeared to be cruising, but as is often said, a pitcher is only as good as the defense behind him. Such was this case for Arroyo in the 5th. He continued to make good pitches, but with 2 out things went awry. First Brandon Philips failed to properly field a ground ball, allowing Shane Victorino to reach base, as Dominic Brown slid safely into 2nd. Then Scott Rolen booted a grounder to 3rd to the load bases for Chase Utley. Utley made 2 errors early in the game that really hurt Roy Oswalt, but he began to atone for them here with a 2 run single to cut the lead to 4-2.
Next in the 6th, Jayson Werth worked a leadoff walk and one batter after that Arroyo's night was over. ex-Phil Arthur Rhodes replace Arroyo and beaned Carlos Ruiz in the knee to put 2 on and 2 out for pinch hitter Ben Francisco. Logan Andrusek came in to pitch to Francisco and threw a ball off his helmet to load the bases for Shane Victorino. Victorino walked to force in a run and the lead was down to 4-3. Andrusek finally regained his control long after that to retire Placido Polanco and end the inning. In desperation Dusty Baker went to the Cuban Missile, Aroldis Chapman to pitch the 7th inning. The move backfired in every way possible. First Chapman hit Utley, or at least the umpire though he hit him. Then with one out Rolen botched a fielder's choice as Utley slid into 2nd just ahead of his throw, putting 2 on and 2 out for Jimmy Rollins.
From there, Rollins looped a routine fly ball to right field by Bruce lost in the lights, resulting a 2 run double which put the Phils ahead 5-4. Raul Ibanez followed with a single off the stunned Chapman, but it wasn't enough to score the hobbled Rollins. Instead a fielder's choice by Ruiz brought Jimmy in for a 6-4 lead. Later Werth slapped an RBI single to add a run in the 8th before Brad Lidge closed out the shellshocked Reds relatively easily for the 7-4 win.
Anyway, lets take it from the top. Roy Oswalt allowed leadoff homer to Brandon Phillips in the first and was basically off his game after that. He just started constantly shaking off Carlos Ruiz and his pitches suddenly didn't have the same bite on them. In end he managed to at least keep things close, allowing just 4 runs on 5 hits while striking out 5. On multiple occasions he got key outs with runner's scoring position and minimized damage by allowing solo homer to Philips and Jay Bruce. Otherwise things might not turned out much differently for the Phils tonight. More on that in a second. Ultimately you would be hard pressed to call this bad start by Oswalt. It just wasn't his best and I would expect much better from him moving forward.
Anyway, the Phils for their part just could not figure out Bronson Arroyo in the early going, that is until his teammates hung him out to dry. He put up 4 scoreless frames to start the night and appeared to be cruising, but as is often said, a pitcher is only as good as the defense behind him. Such was this case for Arroyo in the 5th. He continued to make good pitches, but with 2 out things went awry. First Brandon Philips failed to properly field a ground ball, allowing Shane Victorino to reach base, as Dominic Brown slid safely into 2nd. Then Scott Rolen booted a grounder to 3rd to the load bases for Chase Utley. Utley made 2 errors early in the game that really hurt Roy Oswalt, but he began to atone for them here with a 2 run single to cut the lead to 4-2.
Next in the 6th, Jayson Werth worked a leadoff walk and one batter after that Arroyo's night was over. ex-Phil Arthur Rhodes replace Arroyo and beaned Carlos Ruiz in the knee to put 2 on and 2 out for pinch hitter Ben Francisco. Logan Andrusek came in to pitch to Francisco and threw a ball off his helmet to load the bases for Shane Victorino. Victorino walked to force in a run and the lead was down to 4-3. Andrusek finally regained his control long after that to retire Placido Polanco and end the inning. In desperation Dusty Baker went to the Cuban Missile, Aroldis Chapman to pitch the 7th inning. The move backfired in every way possible. First Chapman hit Utley, or at least the umpire though he hit him. Then with one out Rolen botched a fielder's choice as Utley slid into 2nd just ahead of his throw, putting 2 on and 2 out for Jimmy Rollins.
From there, Rollins looped a routine fly ball to right field by Bruce lost in the lights, resulting a 2 run double which put the Phils ahead 5-4. Raul Ibanez followed with a single off the stunned Chapman, but it wasn't enough to score the hobbled Rollins. Instead a fielder's choice by Ruiz brought Jimmy in for a 6-4 lead. Later Werth slapped an RBI single to add a run in the 8th before Brad Lidge closed out the shellshocked Reds relatively easily for the 7-4 win.
EAGLES NEWS
It could be a long Sunday for the Eagles this week. Not only will they be without Mike Vick, but Asante Samuel and Riley Cooper will also be out with post concussion symptoms. That means the Birds will be short on receivers and Joselio Hanson will be starting in place of Samuel at cornerback. Considering Hanson struggled mightily in the preseason that could be a big problem. In other Eagles's news, Juqua Parker and Moise Fokou will be in the starting lineup while Brandon Graham and Akeem Jordan move to the bench.
FLYERS NEWS
Bad news for Micheal Leighton. His strained back will require surgery and keep him out 6 - 8 weeks. It should be interesting to see if by that time Sergei Bobrovsky has established himself as a No. 1 goalie. What then would the Flyers do? Stick with Bobrovsky or replace him with Leighton.
Thursday, October 07, 2010
FLYERS NEWS
When the 2010-2011 NHL schedule first came out all Flyers fans and players immediately noted the very first date on the schedule for the Flyers. They were to open the season against the archrival Pittsburgh Penguins in the first game at brand new Console Arena. Ideally, every team wants to open their new arena with a win. When it was announced first that Micheal Leighton would be out for a month and later that Chris Pronger and his knee would not be ready for the opener there seemed to be little doubt that Pittsburgh would have any trouble doing so.
However rookie goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, thrust into the starters role at the last minute, and the Flyers silenced any doubters with their efforts tonight. Bobrovsky had 29 saves, all of them crucial, with the Prongerless Flyer's defense playing sloppy at times in front of him. They were particularly sloppy in the first 2 periods with 24 of Bobrovsky's 29 saves coming in that time, but they picked it up when they needed to in the 3rd period. Bobrovsky wasn't perfect and did make the rookie mistake of getting out of position more than once, but Pittsburgh wasn't really able to make him pay. In fact neither Sidney Crosby nor Evgeni Malkin managed a goal against him. Moreover, no Penguins scored on him in the first 2 periods and by the time they finally got going in the 3rd period it was seemingly too little too late.
No one scored at all in the first period with Marc Andre Fleury matching Bobrovsky save for save. Early in the 2nd period, on the Flyers 2nd power play of the season, Danny Briere finally lit the lamp off an assist from Mike Richards. Late in period Blair Betts redirected a Darroll Powe shot to make it 2-0. 44 seconds into the 3rd period Bobrovsky finally yielded on a wide angle shot by Kris Letang to cut it to 2-1. It stayed 2-1 until Claude Giroux stole a pass in the Penguins zone and beat Fleury for a shorthanded tally about 5 minutes into the 3rd. It looked like that would be enough until Pittsburgh finally scored their 1st power play goal to cut it to 3-2 and then went on the power play again for the game' s final minute and 13 seconds.
Somehow Bobrovsky and the Flyers held them off and walked away with a satisfying 3-2 win to open the season. Overall it wasn't a great performance for the Orange and Black but a great debut for Bobrovsky and hopefully a sign of things to come for him.
However rookie goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, thrust into the starters role at the last minute, and the Flyers silenced any doubters with their efforts tonight. Bobrovsky had 29 saves, all of them crucial, with the Prongerless Flyer's defense playing sloppy at times in front of him. They were particularly sloppy in the first 2 periods with 24 of Bobrovsky's 29 saves coming in that time, but they picked it up when they needed to in the 3rd period. Bobrovsky wasn't perfect and did make the rookie mistake of getting out of position more than once, but Pittsburgh wasn't really able to make him pay. In fact neither Sidney Crosby nor Evgeni Malkin managed a goal against him. Moreover, no Penguins scored on him in the first 2 periods and by the time they finally got going in the 3rd period it was seemingly too little too late.
No one scored at all in the first period with Marc Andre Fleury matching Bobrovsky save for save. Early in the 2nd period, on the Flyers 2nd power play of the season, Danny Briere finally lit the lamp off an assist from Mike Richards. Late in period Blair Betts redirected a Darroll Powe shot to make it 2-0. 44 seconds into the 3rd period Bobrovsky finally yielded on a wide angle shot by Kris Letang to cut it to 2-1. It stayed 2-1 until Claude Giroux stole a pass in the Penguins zone and beat Fleury for a shorthanded tally about 5 minutes into the 3rd. It looked like that would be enough until Pittsburgh finally scored their 1st power play goal to cut it to 3-2 and then went on the power play again for the game' s final minute and 13 seconds.
Somehow Bobrovsky and the Flyers held them off and walked away with a satisfying 3-2 win to open the season. Overall it wasn't a great performance for the Orange and Black but a great debut for Bobrovsky and hopefully a sign of things to come for him.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
What a start to the postseason it was for the Phils and Roy Halladay tonight against the Cincinnati Reds. In his postseason debut, Halladay delivered a pitching performance that may never be forgotten. It was one of the most dominating performances by a pitcher you'll ever with Red's batters constantly looking one way while the ball went the other. He was simply too in command and too overpowering for them to handle. Ultimately none of the Red's 27 batters ever managed figure Roy out on this day as he tossed just the 2nd no hitter in postseason history on just 104 pitches, while striking out 8. It just doesn't get any better than that.
As if his pitching weren't good enough for the Phils on this night he also helped to provide a spark to the Phils offense. After Shane Victorino doubled and scored on a sac fly in the 1st for a quick 1-0 lead, the Phils put 2 on with 2 out for Roy. He made them pay by ripping a 2 run single for a 3-0 lead in the 2nd. Victorino followed with another RBI single and then just like that it was 4-0 Phils. From there only a walk to Jay Bruce in the 5th inning, prevented a perfect game. The Reds really had no chance against him after that and before you knew it he had the 2nd no hitter in postseason history and the Phils were 1 game up on the stunned Reds. Here's hoping for a fitting sequel from the other Roy, Oswalt, on Friday.
As if his pitching weren't good enough for the Phils on this night he also helped to provide a spark to the Phils offense. After Shane Victorino doubled and scored on a sac fly in the 1st for a quick 1-0 lead, the Phils put 2 on with 2 out for Roy. He made them pay by ripping a 2 run single for a 3-0 lead in the 2nd. Victorino followed with another RBI single and then just like that it was 4-0 Phils. From there only a walk to Jay Bruce in the 5th inning, prevented a perfect game. The Reds really had no chance against him after that and before you knew it he had the 2nd no hitter in postseason history and the Phils were 1 game up on the stunned Reds. Here's hoping for a fitting sequel from the other Roy, Oswalt, on Friday.
SIXERS NEWS
With Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand both healthy scratches, the Sixers 2nd preseason game was a losing proposition and ultimately an embarrassing proposition. Thad Young led all scorers with 17, Jodie Meeks who started in place of Iggy, chipped in with 11 points and Jrue Holiday added 10 points. Unfortunately the Sixers struggled mightily to score in the 1st half and wound up taking a 38 point, 93-65 beat down. Even in the preseason that is not a very good result.
FLYERS NEWS
The news is not good for Ian Laperriere right now. Apparently his post concussion symptoms have not improved at all since back when he first suffered the concussion. It is highly likely then that he'll miss the entire 2010-2011 season. He may also be forced to retire if the symptoms don't start to get better.
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils playoff roster is set. The starters are obviously Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels. J.C Romero, Ryan Madson, Brad Lidge, Jose Contreras, Chad Durbin, Antonio Bastardo, and Joe Blanton will come out of the bullpen. Carlos Ruiz and Brian Schneider will be the catchers. Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez, Ben Francisco, Dominic Brown, and Ross Gload are the outfielders. Finally, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Placido Polanco, Ryan Howard, Mike Sweeney, Wilson Valdez, and Greg Dobbs are the infielders. The only real surprise is Dobbs, considering his struggles during the season, but he is only on the roster as insurance in the event that the Phils lose 2 of their infielders to injuries and most likely he won't see the field at all.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers dropped their preseason opener to the Nets 103-96. They weren't really trying to win as much they were trying to learn Doug Collins system and get a feel for each other. So it is not surprise they lost. Even to the Nets. Mo Speights led the way with 19 pts and 9 rebounds, while Elton Brand chipped in with 15 pts, Jrue Holiday contributed a solid 10 pts and 4 rebounds and Evan Turner added 12 pts and 7 rebounds off the bench.
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