flyers come up small

This game was boring. The flyers played as if this was some regular season game in the middle of a long road trip in December and not game 5 of the playoffs. But it's not like game 5 is important or anything; the winner of game 5 goes on to win the series over 75% of the time.

The flyers lacked intensity, they lost battles on the boards, and they backed in and backed in even more. Of course the turning point in the game, the end of the second period powerplay goal, was a result of a BS call on Savage for goalie interference after he was crosschecked into Miller. But did it matter? The flyers had nothing from the start. Instead they gave a shutout to a shaky goalie that they didn't test at all.

This team is so frustrating.

This will get you ready for the season

Disney has released the trailer for "Invincible". It looks pretty good. More moustaches than a major league baseball game. Watch it here.

Draft open thread

Feel free to comment on the Eagles picks and the rest of the draft here. Let me make the first - Houston is retarded.

Rising from the grave

Down 2-0 in the series and looking horrible, down 2-0 in this game and looking horrible, Forsberg has become a defibrillator on skates and personally resuscitated the Flyers. After Forsberg, the best player on the ice for the Flyers tonight was Esche who kept the Flyers in the game by stopping several breakaways and a penalty shot (crap call). Too bad Desjardins negated one of those saves with his suckiness. But even though that goal was bad luck the Flyers got the luck back and Desjardins redeemed himself with a slapshot goal that deflected off a Buffalo player after the Gretzky-esque tour of the offensive zone and set up by Forsberg. The tying goal was also fortunate as Pitkanen, who played with some confidence tonight, had his shot blocked but it deflected right to Forsberg in the high slot and he buried it. Then the Flyers took the lead with some more luck as Nedved shot one in on the power play off of McKee. That powerplay was a really good one though so the goal was earned. From that point the Sabres were playing catch-up instead of the Flyers. (Please Flyers, score the first goal on Sunday. Please.) But then Rathje did his best to be the goat with a horrible play and penalty that led to a tying powerplay goal by Briere. But then Umberger put one in that Miller should have had and Forsberg kinda iced it with an empty net goal and the Flyers had a well deserved victory to tie the series.

Other notes: This was the first back to back win for the Flyers since the last week in March. Even though I think the Flyers were lucky again in this game, they did outshoot Buffalo 15-5 in the second and dominate the period and they definitely deserved to win. And even though it's only tied, have they taken the upper hand in the series? Meyer played great. He played with confidence, purpose, and made quick decisions and good plays. His assist on the Nedved goal was the first point for a rookie in the series. Then later Umberger got the go ahead goal that should have been the game winner. Grier stole that from him but Umberger was still awarded the Toyota Turning Point. The interference call on Carter was maybe the weakest one of the playoffs so far. Rathje sucks. Kapanen played good but dude, you need to stop hesitating and also start finishing. The powerplay at the end of the game was disappointing because the Flyers did nothing with it. Instead of going for the kill they were extra cautious and playing not to lose. And finally, Umberger, who has the hardest head in hockey, is the new Brindamour.

2006 NFL Draft

Time for the next Philadelphia Sports Debacle™, the Eagles draft. What are the Eagles needs? The consensus seems to be defensive tackle, offensive line, linebacker, wide receiver and big running back with the various "experts" weighting each need differently.

Here is a far from complete list of players people think the Eagles may pick depending on whether they trade up, trade down, or stay put at 14.

Haloti Ngata, DT Oregon
Good: is a huge dude with speed and quickness - very rare, really big and strong and can dominate. Bad: takes plays off, is a Mormon so if he sucks he'll still be on the team for years and years and years.

Brodrick Bunkley, DT Florida State
Good: solid, strong, good balance, quick, good push. Bad: undersized, seen as lazy, stole a video game once.

Winston Justice, OT USC
Good: Big dude that could get bigger, good athlete, strong, powerful and quick, protected Leinart's blindside. Bad: is a punk and lots of people think he will be a bust.

Marcus McNeill, OT Auburn
Good: Huge dude - 6'7", great athlete for his size, smart, good run and pass blocker. Bad: bad back, needs to get mean. (this is my personal entry/guess)

Chad Greenway, OLB Iowa
Good: good size, great athlete, smart with good instincts, good tackler, hard worker. Bad: sometimes too aggressive and reckless, needs to get stronger.

Ernie Sims, OLB Florida State
Great athlete, quick and fast, good tackler that pops people, good playmaker. Bad: too short and underweight, sometimes reckless.

Bobby Carpenter, OLB OSU
Good: Excellent size, fast, instinctual and athletic, smart, knows the game, tough, tenacious and aggressive. Bad: not the best tackler, sometimes reckless, dad played for the Giants.

Chad Jackson, WR Florida
Good: great athlete, good speed, good yards after catch, good hands, not afraid of the middle, lots of upside. Bad: is not strong or physical (just what the Eagles need more of) and Eagles already have a disappointing receiver from Florida, Jabar Gaffney. If the Eagles do draft a receiver in the first round, which I highly doubt, I'd rather they take Santonio Holmes from OSU. But I'd rather get Jevon Walker over both these guys.

Nick Mangold, C OSU
Good: competitive, hard worker with a mean streak, good size and can get bigger, smart and technically sound. Bad: needs to get stronger, not the best run blocker. But who cares, the Eagles don't run.

Kamerion Wimbley, DE Florida
Good: great athlete, really fast and quick, could be moved to linebacker. Bad: is basically Jevon Kearse and with one asset - speed. No idea why the Eagles would pick an end though.

I really think the Eagles want Ngata but he probably won't be around at 14. In that case I think the Eagles will trade down unless somebody unexpected drops to 14 that they'd be stupid not to take. If they trade down, at the bottom of the round should be the center from OSU, Mangold and they have recognized they need a better center. But I really have no idea, and probably all the crap I read to put this thing together has no idea either.

Scoresberg

Here are my comments on the game.

• Hey the Flyers weren't dominated for a change!
• Overall this game was pretty evenly matched, the Flyers actually came up big with the pressure on, got some bounces, and won.
• After Esche allowed a bad goal early Savage maybe saved the season with his shorthanded score.
• Miller really isn't playing that great but he really hasn't had to
• Flyers missed several chances early - Nedved just missing, Savage icing it instead of passing to Richards for odd man rush, Gagne PP shot right into Miller's chest, Richards hitting the post on 2 on 1.
• Congratulations on the Flyers for hitting the Sabres. Now do it more.
• Pitkanen sucks. He's into his tentative, scared, no passion or confidence mode. Someone needs to piss him off so he wakes up.
• Nedved sucks. No further elaboration needed.
• It was admirable that Umberger played but he really wasn't himself. He looked sluggish, sheepish, and out of it.
• Handzus is definitely suffering from his labrum injury and is also not himself but he made several really big plays in this game.
• A line other than the first one has to do something. We're looking at you Carter, Umberger, and Dimitrakos.
• Flyers defense played pretty good for a change.
• Big difference in this game was special teams - No Buffalo PP goals, 1 for the Flyers plus one shorthanded.
• Buffalo didn't have any odd man rushes (I think).
• Flyers third period was awful but they did hold on and win.
• Flyers must stay UP and not do their usual routine of following up a good game with a terrible one.

Pathetic Execrable

2-0 four minutes in. I change my losing in 6 to losing in 4. They will lose this game 6-1. They have nothing. I may quit as a Flyers fan as I did after the Ottawa embarrassment of 3 years ago that's how angry I am. How can they be so damn bad?

UPDATE: I was wrong, they lost 8-2 and outdid my disgust fueled pessimistic prediction. Highlight of the game was Eager punching that turtling wuss on the Sabres.

Flyers lose

I wasn't able to watch the game but looking at the score sheet I see the Flyers were outshot 58-32 for the game and 29-12 after 2 periods. Are you kidding me?

First round of the playoffs

After watching the Flyers struggle to defeat the Garth Snow led Bridgeport Sound Tigers, AKA the NY Islanders, in the last game of the season, I really have little hope for the team in the playoffs. Many of their best players are hurt or hurting. Forsberg has a great history of playoff greatness but his groin could go at any moment. Esche actually looks good but not the defense in front of him. The second line of Carter, Umberger and Dimitrakos have been the best and most consistent line down the stretch but can they maintain it at the next level of play? Then there is the biggest problem - the penalty kill. The Flyers don't have one. And their power play is almost as bad. I think the Flyers will put up a good fight and battle in every game but in the end special teams is what will doom the Flyers. I see them losing in 6. Below is what it will look like:

Other Series
Ottawa over Tampa Bay in 5
Carolina over Montreal in 6
New Jersey over New York in 4
Detroit over Edmonton in 6
Dallass over Colorado in 5
Calgary over Anaheim in 6
San Jose over Nashville in 6

I'll stick with my beginning of the season prediction and say Ottawa wins the cup but I can see NJ getting another one as well.

Blog banner suggestions

I've been thinking about creating a new header image for this little hole in the wall site. I think that's Thome representing the Phillies, he's gone. That's Tocchet there for the Flyers, he's long gone. Iverson will probably be the next to be gone and personally I've had enough of McNabb. Who or what should I use to represent the teams now?

The Sixers, sux0rs

On this blog there are almost no Sixers posts at all, mainly because no one cares. They are a team that inspires nothing but indifference, so much so I can't even be moved to complain about how bad they are, and I love to complain. But there is one thing that distinguishes the Sixers -- they are the last team to win a championship, 23 long years ago this June.

Sigh.

Anyway, this post is just to note that with the Sixers failing to make the playoffs it is now 87 seasons (i think) of Philadelphia franchise failure. And with the Sixers you can't even say wait till next year. They are so screwed.

Flyers Suck, Part II

Once again the Flyers have failed to show up.

Pathetic.

Is it time to start blaming Hitchcock for the Flyers unpreparedness and awful efforts?

Sound familiar? Well so was this game. Backing in on defense to allow Scott Gomez tons of time with the puck? Check. Forecheck so weak that even company man Coatsey criticized it? Check. Foresberg injury? Check. Refusal by nearly any Flyer to go to the net on offense? Check. New injury to a defenseman? Check. Soft goals? Double check (Esche and Niittymaki).

"It's been frustrating because we've had our chances to really determine where we end up and now it's going away and now we have to see what happens with some other teams," Mike Knuble said.

Even the quotes are weak. Prelude to a first round exit.

Flyers suck

As I write this there are still 2 periods to play vs. the Devils but the game is already over with NJ up 2-0. Once again the Flyers have failed to show up and the game even started 30 minutes later than usual.

Pathetic.

Is it time to start blaming Hitchcock for the Flyers unpreparedness and awful efforts? (Insert Civil War/Paul Bearer/Percy Pringle crack here)

Let's go Phils

Are the Phillies so bad that they basically have to play a perfect game to win?

Time to start a "Manuel gets fired" pool in the comments. I'm saying it will be earlier than you would think. The Phillies can't afford to lose this much so early because they have a majority of road games at the end of the season.

UPDATE: Here's SI's take so far:

What's gone wrong?
Nobody in the National League is having more trouble with the basics -- we're talking scoring runs -- than the Phillies. Twenty-four runs in seven games is pathetic. The strange part about the team's scoring outage is that other than Chase Utley and David Bell, nobody's having an unforgivably terrible start. Unless, of course, someone's on base. Then everybody goes in the tank. With runners in scoring position, Philly is hitting .160, last in the NL.

Proving that they're currently a well-rounded bad team, Jon Lieber's two starts have resulted in two losses, a boatload of hits against him and an 8.71 ERA. He's considered the ace of the staff. The Phillies' best start of the season probably came out of Ryan Madson, who is No. 5 in the rotation.

Luckily for the Phillies, their fans haven't burned down Citizens Bank Park, even after that 0-4 start, the first time the Phillies have laid that big an egg to open the season at home since 1977. But, certainly, the season's young for Philly fans, too.

What's gone right?
Jimmy Rollins is hitting, though his streak has come to an end. The 25-year-old Madson, making only his second career start and his first since 2004, looked like he belonged on Sunday, becoming the first Philadelphia starter to go six innings this season (he didn't get the decision). And the bullpen, even without Madson, is respectable (3.21 ERA).

What's next?
If Madson's this good, and if Lieber starts acting like the team ace, all the Phillies need to be competitive is one more pretty good starter. Brett Myers or Cory Lidle ought to be the one to take on that burden. If that happens -- yeah, we know, "if" -- the Phillies should hit enough to be competitive in a weakened NL East.

How come no mention of Manuel's atrocious managing?

Next season's schedule

Eagles are playing Dallass on Christmas Night on MNF but it's in Dallass, not Philadelphia as previously rumored. So 3 Monday night games and 2 Sunday night games. Why? What did the Eagles do last year to warrant that? Note 3 of the last 4 games are in the division and on the road. That's rough but hopefully they'll mean something this year.

Sun., Sept. 10 @ Houston 1 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 17 vs. Giants 1 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 24 @ 49ers 4:15 p.m.
Mon., Oct. 2 vs. Green Bay 8:30 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 8 vs. Dallass 4:15 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 15 @ New Orleans 1 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 22 @ Tampa Bay 1 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 29 vs. Jacksonville 1 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 5 BYE
Sun., Nov. 12 vs. Washington 1 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 19 vs. Tennessee 1 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 26 @ Indy 1 p.m.
Mon., Dec. 4 vs. Carolina 8:30 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 10 @ Washington 1 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 17 @ Giants 1 p.m.
Mon., Dec. 25 @ Dallass 5 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 31 vs. Atlanta 1 p.m.

Douchebag Rangers

First of all this game is a tie because I do not acknowledge the false hockey that is a shoot out. That being said I will point out the positives. #1 Richards goes after douchebag Hollweg for running Umberger last game. Stuff like this is why Richards will one day captian the Flyers. #2 Gauthier hammers lil' douchie Straka with one of the best hits ever. #3 Penalty killing holds the Douchebag Rangers scoreless on 6 attempts, so uber douche Jagr can't score his precious 53rd goal and give JD a big "oh baby". #4 Esche looks real sharp. #5 Foresberg line looks very good. #6 Flyers threw a lot of hits. Now the negatives. #1 Douchebag Rangers won and remain in first place. #2 Savage got totally hammered on a check and sprained his goatee. #3 Hatcher is super slow, its like Paul Wall gave him a chopped & screwed remix. #4 Desjardins continues to find new ways to suck. #5 The Flyers continue to back in instead of standing up at the blue line, allowing the Rangers to get many shots on Esche. #6 Flyers continue to get shots blocked all the time, especially on the power play.

Still the Flyers had some chances to win this game- 2 hit posts, but the turnover from Kapanen and strong goaltending from Weeks sealed their fate. Friday is another "4 point game" against friggin Buffalo. I am calling that one a must win, as it is likely an openning round playoff preview.

Round Mound of Rebound is Springfield Bound

Charles Barkely was elected to the Basketball Hall Of Fame. I remember little of him playing here, as I was not that big of a basketball fan. He did get a lot of rebounds and said some pretty crazy stuff. He also never had any hair. Barkley got traded to Phoenix for Jeff Hornacek's (who had a nice head of hair) and some other chumps in a deal that people still complain about like it happened yesterday. Read more Barkley memories here or share your own below.

Let's go Phils!

Well the losingest franchise in sports history begins the march to 10,000 losses today. Does anyone besides local sportstalk radio think things will be any different this season, like maybe making the playoffs? Not really.

ESPN's experts either pick the Braves or the Mets to win the NL East and only 2 of 19 picked the Phillies to gain a wildcard. Some guy from Sports Illustrated picks the Braves to win, Mets to wildcard and Fox Sports seconds that prediction. I suspect I could continue to look at season predictions and continue to find Braves or Mets over and over again.

Why does no one believe in the Fightin' Phils? Sure their offense looks pretty good but David Bell, Mike Lieberthal, and the pitcher will still have to bat several times each game. Their starting pitching is shakey and their bullpen is even worse. Basically it's the same problems they've had the last couple years. One bit of optimism though is maybe Pat Gillick will be able to make the move at the trading deadline that makes a difference <cliche>down the stretch</cliche>, something Ed Wade could never do. The Phillies are the masters of <cliche>close, but no cigar</cliche>. Maybe things can be different.

I'm going with 87 wins this year with Ryan Howard hitting 35 homeruns and the bullpen blowing 35 saves.

Rollercoaster continues

After crushing the Senators (who have been slumping) Flyers were embarrassed by Toronto (who have been on a roll) lost to the Devils (who are once again looking prepared for a playoff run) and beat the lowly Islanders in a very boring game. One constant over the last week is you never know what team will show up. They truly are a fragile team. If they get on a roll like the Senators game they look great but if they get behind and frustrated they look terrible like in the Toronto game. I really can't figure it out.

WWEW bracket results

With UCLA defeating LSU, Flying Hellfish becomes this year's champion and i don't see any Baron von Wortzenberger coming along at the last minute to steal the victory away.

1. Flying Hellfish - 85
2. Pearlcoupeg35 - 72
3. timjimmcg - 71
4. ronscrappypicks - 70
5. Big Daddy B - 66
6. Calhoun Hates You - 65
7. Netstradamus - 64
8. Gay Tuna - 61
9. kbock - 56
10. coin flipper - 54
11. ChillyV's Super Dooper Picks - 53
11. EasyForAPimp - 53
13. Vito Taraschi - 42
14. Dick Cheney - 12

Congratulations.