Delaware Parlay Play Picks for Week 8

Pick 3 games in the comments to win! Get the odds from USA Today and make up half point spreads if there are none. I'd link to the PDF of the actual parlay card if I could find it on delaware onlines site, but their search feature is as worthless as a Yankees fan.

Shut down

These are more fun to do when the Phillies win, and of late that's all they've been doing. But not tonight. Guess you can't win 'em all.

What's frustrating is this game was there for the taking, as the Phillies got another strong performance from Pedro Martinez, but he gave up a few too many in the end and the Yankees evened up the Series.

More than the Phillies pitching though, this was really a case of the Yankees getting the ideal performance from their hurlers, with starter A.J. Burnett taking the lead to the eighth and handing off to closer Mariano Rivera. No one has ever doubted Burnett's stuff, and it was effective tonight, especially that nasty curveball. He allowed only one run, coming in the first off the bat of DH Matt Stairs.

Rivera got the last six outs, but wasn't exactly lights out, and so the game was still in play late as it always is with the Phillies. Maybe the decisive play came in the eighth when, with Rollins on second and Victorino on first with one out, Charlie Manuel did not send the runners with a full count to Utley. Utley grounded to second and the Yankees pulled off a close double play to end the potential rally. Announcer Tim McCarver was all over it, criticizing the non-move, and I have to agree. There was little chance of eigther runner getting thrown out if Utley struck out, which he didn't look like he was going to do anyway based on his at-bat to that point, provided he swung.

NOTES:
• Umps blew another call, letting the Phils get out of trouble in the seventh when they ruled Ryan Howard caught a ball in the air, thus doubling off Posada at second. In reality it was a short hop, and both the batter and Jorge Posada running to second should have been safe, as Howard threw wildly to second. This one was a really close call to the naked eye, but I'm not sure why an ump would assume it was caught cleanly, especially when Howard throws to second right away. I do have to give the umps credit for getting the previous night's weird play — when Rollins caught it in the air to start a double play — correct though.
• I missed the run being scored in the first and keep missing it in the hightlights. Anything weird there needing to be addressed?
• Raise your hand if you have as many hits in the World Series as A-Rod. OK, everyone put your hands back down.


Hamels vs. Pettitte back home Saturday. Andy Pettitte looks like a stereotypical New Yawka to me, and he has four T's in his last name. Him him around, Phillies.

First real opponent in awhile

11/01 1:00 PM ET	Opening	betED	Bodog	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
New York @ Philadelphia	45.5 -3	44 -1	44 1	44 0	44 0

Matchup • Expanded Odds • Line History

Bonus Question: Anybody have a good question?

Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good

If you heard Yankees fans at all in the past week, you would have thought Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson would be on the field Wednesday night to help kick off another World Series victory. They weren't. Unfortunately for the Yankees, Cliff Lee was.

Lee was dominant in pitching a one-run complete game. The one run came in the ninth after Jimmy Rollins made the Phils' lone miscue in going for a double play that wasn't really in the cards. But by that time the Phillies had a 6-0 lead, and Lee was never in any real danger. He simply struck out the last two guys in the ninth to close it out.

C.C. Sabathia was very good for the Yankees as well, but he gave up two home runs to Chase Utley that pretty much sealed the game considering Lee's performance. Eleven out of the last 12 game 1 winners went on to win the Series, and the Phillies just took game 1 on the road, with their ace winning while the Yankees' ace lost. That's a big win.

Utley was the hitting hero early on, but the rest of the bats opened up on the vaunted Yankees bullpen. Good to see the long layoff meant nothing.

NOTES:
• Lee, and a lot of the Phillies actually, looked super relaxed on the field, like they were playing a spring training game. That can't make the Yankees feel good.
• Utley set a MLB record by reaching base in his 26th consecutive playoff game. He also got a lot of airtime for his Gordon Gekko look. Why does he care about hat hair while he's playing baseball? He doesn't have to go home like that. Whatever works for ya, I guess.
• I might have missed it, but I was happy to not see Kate Hudson at all when I was expecting it 37 times. I saw Kurt Russell, but Kurt's cool by me.
• A-Rod A-no show at the plate.
• Ron sent me this funny photo of Jay-Z. Can't think of a caption, so provide your own.


Pedro tomorrow. Should be interesting, especially as it's not a must-win for the Phils, so do the Yankees come out with guns blazing, or uptight?

The Phillies Are a Good Team!

To be contrasted with the Skins and Eagles (and Raiders and Bucs and Chiefs, etc...), they are really good. They're World *bleeping* Champions!

Lee in Game 1. I like Pedro in Game 2 if they win 1. I'm a bit cautious about it otherwise, but how can you not start him after what he did in LAD? Anyone? I probably would have started Blanton, but who knows. I totally agree with Hamels in Game 3 at home, definitely not in NYY. Odd to hear that given he was last year's MVP of the playoffs, but... WOW. That could mean Lee back on the mound for game 4, although I'm guessing Charlie might wait to see what the Series is at by then.

WOW. Game 1. Under 24hrs away. Woo hoo!

The Redskins are a bad team

Another very painful game to watch even though the Eagles won 27-17. Just imagine if you were a Redskins fan. The Eagles offense and McNabb were weak and anemic once again except for 2 big plays that went for touchdowns thanks to DeSean Jackson. The Eagles offense barely sustained any drives, did nothing with turnovers except hold onto the ball for Akers' fieldgoals, and did absolutely nothing in the second half. (Of course this didn't stop the ESPN crew from lauding McNabb in the 4th quarter as if they game in front of them wasn't happening.)

The biggest factor in the Eagles victory was how much the Redskins thoroughly sucked. Redskins generously gave the Eagles 13 points via turnovers and when they made a play a penalty would be called to negate it. When they had momentum they'd destroy it with a terrible turnover or a costly sack. If the Redskins didn't really, really suck this game would have been a lot different.

Other notes:

• Wow, two runs to start the game, a third down conversion, and an end around that worked. End arounds should not work against a pro defense like that.
• Witherspoon made an immediate impact, at least in the first half.
• In the 1st quarter Gruden nicely regurgitated the conventional wisdom about Reid, McNabb and the Eagles, which of course is what somebody that doesn't watch the Eagles every week would say. And I don't care how many games Reid and McNabb have won at this point, what's their record in the biggest games?
• Reggie Brown played in this game, believe it or not.
• Weaver got a touch! I'm sure glad we signed him and are fully utilizing his talents.
• Once again Celek pretty much disappears with McNabb at QB.
• McNabb and Campbell both missed a bunch of plays in the first half.
• I watched some of the new Jay Leno show for the first time during the half. It's actually more unfunny than Saturday Night Live and less entertaining than this game.
• DeSean Jackson probably got a bunch of votes for the Pro Bowl from this game.
• Lots of Eagles penalties still, but none that costly.
• Suzy Kolber is starting to look old. Her hair looked like a wig.
• Trent Cole was good when he wasn't jumping offsides and giving the Redskins first downs.
• Another middling tightend (and a backup at that) had a good game vs. the Eagles.
• The Eagles got a lot of pressure and a lot of sacks, but how much of that was the Redskins?
• Jason Campbell has really gone downhill. I almost felt sorry for him watching this game - bad coaches, no good receivers, Cooley went down, Portis is cooked, and his offensive line is terrible.
• People still dress up as the hogs? Why?
• Four for fifteen on third down conversions. Good work, offense.
• That meaningless touchdown the Redskins scored at the end put the game over the total.
• Vick still sucks.

Hopefully this time next week New York will be crying in their beer like DC is now.

Mid-Game Notes

Totally unexcited for this game all day, and I'm still quite unexcited about it, but I'm watching it and having all these thoughts.... Ron will be cleaning it all up for us in the end, but....

Flyers win 5-1

Briere scored twice, Gagne got his first of the year and James van Riemsdyk got his first of his career. But the big story in the game is Richards hitting David Booth in the head and knocking him out.



I think Richards should be suspended for as many as 10 games because I think the NHL needs to eliminate all hits to the head. I also think all hits to the head are dirty. It's laughable that an elbow to the head is "dirty," but the a shoulder with the full force and weight of a players body behind it is "clean." And of course any stick to the head, even if it's a tap, has a good chance of receiving a suspension.

We've seen Lindros's career end because of hits to the head and Primeau's too. And almost every week now a new report showing the long term damage from head injuries in sports is released. Here are 2 articles just from this week in the New York Times:

N.F.L. Data Reinforces Dementia Links
Concussion Trauma Risk Seen in Amateur Athlete

Monday Night Mediocrities

10/26 8:30 PM ET	Opening	betED	Bodog	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Philadelphia @ Washington	38.5 6.5	37.5 7	37.5 7	37.5 7.5	38 7

Matchup • Expanded Odds • Line History

Bonus Question: Can someone take away the play calling from Andy Reid too?

Delaware Parlay Play Picks for Week 7

Pick 3 games in the comments to win! Get the odds from the Delaware Park 1/2 Point Parlay Card HERE.

World Series: Once again it's on

Maybe it's because I didn't catch the first inning (in which Hamels gave up a homer), but this game never seemed in jeopardy as the Phillies closed out the Dodgers and the NLCS.

Hamels seemed to settle down after a while, but still couldn't get out through the fifth. This was kind of par for the course for Hamels this season, but it didn't matter as the bats were hot, and the Dodgers pitchers just didn't have it tonight. That meant more home runs for the Phillies, particularly Jayson Werth who had two.

So it's on to the World Series, and a likely meeting with the New York Yankees.

Notes:
• Ryan Howard had a hit and a run, but his RBI streak ended.
• With the early closeout of the Dodgers, the Phillies will have their rotaion set up for the World Series. Meaning Cliff Lee goes in game 1, and who knows beyond that.
• I didn't see the Manny hit in the first, but the Phillies pitchers just pounded him inside with fastballs the rest of the night and he could do nothing with them. Hit the showers, Manny.
• Do we want the Yankees to finish off the Angels tomorrow, and get the Series started? Or do we want the ALCS to go 7? I say bring on the Series ASAP, but either option has its advantages.

Ooooooooh!

As EMF once sang and Ron Wood once tweeted, the Phillies were (once again) unbelievable tonight in rallying for the win in the ninth. With two on and two outs, Jimmy Rollins smoked a double to the wall in right-center, and Carlos Ruiz rounded from first for the winning run.

They did all this against the Dodgers' fireballer closer Jonathan Broxton who, having retired Werth as the last out in the eighth, looked off his game in the ninth, inexplicably walking Matt Stairs with one out, then hitting Ruiz with a pitch before retiring Greg Dobbs on a humpbacker to third. Broxton was hitting 100 on the radar gun, and went right after Rollins, but J-Roll was able to pull the ball to the gap and that was that.

Stairs homered off Broxton to take game 4 of the 2008 NLCS, and his walk tonight felt just as big. Not sure what Broxton was thinking — did he prefer to just go after Ruiz and the probable pinch-hitter Dobbs? — but he was nowhere close to the plate. I don't think coming in the eighth helped him, as he never goes more than one inning.

NOTES:
• The Ryan Howard legend ascension watch continues. Another homer makes it six this postseason — tying Mike Schmidt for the club record. He's got 14 RBIs, with at least one in eight straight games to tie some old Yankee's record.
• I wouldn't want to be a pitcher tonight, as that ump had a super-small strike zone. He was randomly inconsistent too, and it must be said the Phillies seemed to get more of the breaks on the calls.
• The Phillies bullpen was pretty good tonight, even if it seemed like everyone let at least one guy reach base. Lidge got the win.
• MLB.com = breaking news FAIL.
• I didn't see what he was wearing tonight, but Craig Sager had a burgundy velvet jacket on last night. Pimp.


Hamels against Padilla Wednesday night. If Hamels wants to step it up, this would be a good time.

Easy peasy LEEsy

As Dire Straits once sang, "That's the way you do it."

If you don't want to worry about the back end of your bullpen blowing up — and Uncle Charlie helping it blow up — then the best thing to do is jump all over the rusty opposing starter, and have Cliff Lee throw eight fairly effortless shutout innings. Done and done, and the Phils lead 2-1.

Not much to say about this one, except the Phillies were pretty awesome in an 11-0 win. Aside from Lee's dominant, 10-strikeout performance, the batters were hitting and driving in runs up and down the lineup, with the lone exception of Raul Ibanez. Even Lee got himself a single.

If the series gets back to Dodger Hideki Kuroda's spot in the rotation, you'd have to believe L.A. might go with Chad Billingsley instead, as he was solid in relief, and Kuroda got lit up. But that's Joe Torre's problem.

Joe Blanton against Randy Wolf tomorrow.

Jokeland, ha ha

Seemingly full of themselves after beating powerhouses like the Chiefs and the Buccaneers the Eagles, not the Raiders, were the joke today. A sad, pathetic joke, especially the McNabb and Reid run offense. So while we all laughed it up because Dallass had to go to OT to beat the Chiefs, the Eagles did them one better by losing in 60 minutes to the Raiders.

All the Eagles offense had today was a few big plays and nothing else. And the big plays did not score TDs so the Eagles lost. This of course is a complete indictment of Reid and his concept of how offenses should work. I have no hope that Reid will ever learn the lesson that a running game is important and so is a normal, non-gimmicky offense that can just simply grind things out.

Let's look back at the last 5 minutes of the first half as a distillation of the Eagles ineptitude and stupidity.

McNabb tosses it to Westbrook who takes it 34 yards to the Oakland 27. That's followed by an incomplete pass to McCoy and then a timeout. The next play is an incomplete pass to Celek and then another timeout, their last of the half. Then the next play McNabb takes an 8 yard sack and in the process takes the Eagles out of field goal range, which went completely unnoted by the terrible Fox announcers. Then Rocca brilliantly punts it into the endzone.

A couple plays later Russell throws a stupid pass that's picked by Mikell who returns it to the Oakland 40. There is 1:53 left on the clock. McNabb passes to Celek for 14 which is followed by a dumb pass to Weaver for 3 yards. Westbrook then runs it for 4 with 1:04 left. The next play, a pass to Jackson for 4 yards starts with 35 seconds left. Classic McNabb/Reid time management. But at least on this play Jackson gets out of bounds to stop the clock. So what does Reid do?

For some insane reason Reid thought it would be a great idea to run out a wildcat play with Vick. Turns out McNabb's now racing and panicky brain couldn't handle this, and decided to do a Chris Webber and call a timeout that didn't exist. The 5 yard delay of game penalty was then followed by a 5 yard sack where half the team didn't seem to know what the play count was. Then with 12 seconds left McNabb spikes it on 3rd down and out comes Akers to kick one of the field goals he didn't miss.

Horrible. And it was like that ALL day.

Other notes:

• Is the Trotter experiment over yet?
• Great effort by Hobbs on the Raiders TD. Gee, I wonder if Dawkins would have made that play.
• Did the refs not feel like calling obvious penalties against the Raiders because they felt sorry for them or something? (I'm not blaming the refs in any way for this loss though.)
• Looks like the the straw landed on the offensive line's back this game.
• Is the wildcat experiment over yet? It better be. P.S. Vick SUCKS.
• So I compliment Akers last week, this week he sucks.
• McNabb was terrible.
• Tackling was pretty bad today.
• How many times are you going to pass (and get sacked) when it's 2nd and 2?
• Didn't the Giants run all over the Raiders last week?
• Did anyone on the Eagles have a good game?
• I'm glad Fox can spot a stupid pigeon on the field and feature it in its coverage, but can't tell the difference between DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin.

I sure hope those contract extension negotiations with Reid go well.

The Dumb World Champ

I'm glad we got a Championship last year after 80 some sports seasons with nothing. And, Uncle Charlie is forever enthroned in Philly as a "good guy." So, he's special to me, and he deserves some slack. But, good gracious, he sure is stoopid.

While I know the guy doesn't have a lot of bullpen options and will be forced to manage situationally, playing matchups, etc.... I have no idea why after doing so (fairly well) in the NLDS he has suddenly switched back into "autopilot" mode as if he has a sound 7-8-9th inning standard pitcher routine, particularly when Pedro was pitching GREAT.

Memo to Charlie: When you get a shutout (two hits?) outing from Pedro and are up by one run, DO NOT remove him from the game, especially for Dobbs as a ph. Memo to Charlie: Happ was your best consistent starter all season, he is NOT a short reliever, in case you didn't realize that in game 1 (or after seeing all those pitches he threw in the first three innings in his last start of the playoffs). Memo to Charlie: if you need a lefty in the 8th inning, it's ok to use Eyre! Memo to Charlie: Madson doesn't have it this year, even in the eight inning, and he regularly gives up a walk to the first batter. Just last night he blew his relief appearance. Memo to Charlie: You just lost to an ex-Philly scrub. This is your second HORRIBLY managed game w.r.t. pitching - glad we won last night off of the HRs.

Clutch and hold on

Way to start off the NLCS: clutch hitting and clutch pitching under pressure, though there were some shaky moments. But the Phillies take the 1-0 series lead.

• Ruiz and Howard, clutch again in knocking Kershaw out of the game. Supposedly great manager Joe Torre never should have let Kersahw pitch to Howard. He was clearly done, further evidenced by previous batter Utley. Torre may have wanted to not waste a reliever, as the pitcher was due up second in the bottom of the inning, but he should have not wanted to give up runs even more.

• Hamels started off inconsistent, but then really got into a groove locating his fastball and changeup. What I feared happened though, when he had a long rest with the Phillies scoring 5 in the fifth, he was a little off. Still, he should have been out of the inning with only one run surrendered, but Rollins screwed up a double play not getting the ball out of his glove fast enough. Hamels then screwed up by not challenging Manny with a fastball — which he hadn’t gotten around on all night. He was sitting on changeup and homered.

• Didn’t end up mattering, but no way should the Dodgers have that much time to put in a pinch runner in the sixth. Ridiculous.

• Chan Ho Park — added to the roster for the NLCS — was brilliant in the seventh after Bastardo allowed a leadoff double.

• You wouldn’t think you’d be happy to see Manny come to the plate, but he was a guaranteed out if challenged with well-placed fastballs.

• Ibanez seals the game (as we now know) with a big three-run homer.

• Madson. Shaky dude. But then, there’s been at least one shaky relief performance in almost every playoff game so far.

• Lidge threw a bad 0-2 fastball that Kemp roped for a single, and shouldn’t have walked Loney. Other than that he pitched very well, aided by a double play that should have been routine, and was. They'd already botched the earlier one though, so nothing was automatic at this point. But they converted it easily.

Pedro tomorrow. Who knows what we’ll get, but I liked the call to start him when it was announced. Not sure if he wouldn’t be better off at night, though.

Jokeland

10/18 4:05 PM ET	Opening	betED	Bodog	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Philadelphia @ Oakland	41.5 14	40.5 14	40.5 14.5	40.5 15	41 14.5

Matchup • Expanded Odds • Line History

Bonus Question: Will a wildcat play gain over 3 yards this game?

Delaware Parlay Play Picks for Week 6

Pick 3 games in the comments to win! Get the odds from USA Today (make up half point spreads if there are none).

Epic fail win

Well, what can you really say about a game like that? Simply epic.

You go from feeling gutted, and loathing the prospect of a game 5 with a shaky Hamels on the mound, to watching a monster rally for the lead, and Brad Lidge closing out the series with a K. If we hadn't seen this group do it before, it might have been unbelievable. But they continue to play with supreme confidence in the face of doom, even while they're whiffing on tosses to second base and missing third base while trying to score in the ninth.

A summation of what went down cannot do it justice. Suffice it to say it was the supremely confident, clutch performance of a champion, the kind of thing only dreamed of for our Philly teams when this blog was created, and which hopefully makes Joe Banner and Andy Reid shed tears of envious bitterness.

Notes:
• I actually wouldn't have taken Lee out when Charlie did. Maybe he gives up a homer to Tulowitzki, yeah, but he'd been getting a lot of ground balls which is what the Phils needed at that point. They brought Madsen in and he got hit around. Hopefully it's out of his system now.
• Ben Francisco comes off the bench cold as a defensive replacement and makes a great diving catch.
• Rollins and Victorino — the kind of players whose heads you want to rip off one inning, and who are playing incredibly clutch the next.
• Ryan Howard, the legend grows. Would you have walked him were you managing the Rockies?
• Jayson Werth, great bit of hitting for the game-winning RBI.
• For extra stress points, Lidge just had to get into that game, didn't he? Five straight sliders to Tulowitzki for the K.
• Suck it, Torrealba.
• Next? NLCS.

Late Night with Brad Lidge

It's late and I want to go watch Mad Men, so some quick hitters:

• Great, close baseball game.
• Scott Eyre, not a great athlete.
• There's going to be a lot of discussion of the umpiring in this game — or at least there would be if they weren't playing again at 6 p.m. today — but I'll say this for the balls and strikes: with one exception, the home plate ump was very consistent with his tight strike zone. "Tight" meaning he was actually calling stuff off the plate a ball. Happ was pretty accurate tonight, but he wasn't getting calls just off the plate, and it hurt him.
• The exception on the calling of the strikezone was the top of the 8th, at which point the ump decided Rafael Betancourt should get a plate twice as wide as any other pitcher. This screwed up Stairs in his pinch-hitting AB with two on base. The ump's strike zone returned to normal in the 9th.
• Chad Durbin got the win, and deserved it as he had a clutch 1-2-3 inning when every other reliever was letting people on base.
• Calos Ruiz, clutch playoff performer. Except maybe for that K against Betancourt when a sac fly would have done, but no one's perfect. He's been good.
• In the 9th, that ball definitely hit Utley, and should have been a foul ball. I saw it the first time, no idea how the ump didn't. And then the throw to first — I've seen it a few times now and I think Helton was on the bag. Close, yes, but that's what it looked like to me.
• In case you threw something through your TV when he let two guys on, Brad Lidge got the save, FYI.
• Howard got the sac fly, game-winning RBI. And overall the Phils have been really good in this series plating runners in scoring position with less than two outs, hitting with guys on base, and not relying too much on home runs.
• It looked hella cold in that stadium. Nothing like the sunshine state of Denver I'd heard about.
• What happened to Frank Caliendo and the delightfully omnipresent advertisements for Frank TV? Foul play? I'm looking at you, George Lopez.


Lee's on the mound later today. Close it out Cliff.

Buccaneers crushed, 33-14

(Sorry for the late post, family dinner to go to.)

Tampa Bay is a team that shot itself in the foot over and over again today. They were sort of in the game in the first half at least. But every time they had momentum on their side, something bad would usually happen - a turnover, a bad drop, or stupid coaching decision. The Eagles also helped them early with stupid penalites, but the Eagles quick strike offense eventually eliminated what little chance Tampa had. By the second half the game was in the Eagles control and it was run out the clock time by the 4th quarter. Tampa did keep on playing though, unlike the Chiefs.

Other notes:

• Maclin had some really nice catches today, especially the adjustment on TD #2.
• Special teams was a dumb penalty machine again.
• Bucs receivers (except Winslow) suck, especially Bryant.
• Has anyone ever heard of Dimitri Patterson before?
• Is Akers on steroids this season? Nice kickoffs to the back of the endzones.
• The run game was pretty bad this game. The one nice blocking job was on Westbrook's TD.
• Anyone else notice that this country's decline has coincided with the NFL's drive to treat the QB as if he was made of sugar glass?
• The wildcat plays all sucked. I am happy the fans were booing.
• I hate Jimmy Football.
• Is it coincidence that Celek didn't have the same production with McNabb as QB?
• Rocca nailed the coffin corner when it really mattered today with 1:42 left on the clock. Eagles did get a safety because of it though.
• Rhonde Barber did not return an interception for a TD this game.

What's everybody doing on the bye week?

They'rrre baaack!

10/11 1:00 PM ET	Opening	betED	Bodog	5Dimes	SPORTSBETTING
Tampa Bay @ Philadelphia	43 -15.5	43 -16	43 -15	42.5 -16	43 -15.5

Matchup • Expanded Odds • Line History

Bonus Question: With Trotter, McNabb, and Westbrook all returning to the lineup, how many years did the average age of the team increase?

Delaware Parlay Play Picks for Week 5

Pick 3 games in the comments to win! Get the odds from USA Today (make up half point spreads if there are none).

World F'n Champions Part II begins

Make predicitons, discuss issues, and comment on Game 1 here.

No Eagles Game, McNabb Thoughts Persist Though

Too funny: Read this.

Pretty funny closing comments about what Gannon would have had to do to really pull of a #5!!!

Goldie, update us on the marathon?

That Time of Year Again

I'm telling you, I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. Since I'm a teacher, it usually means that the honeymoon period with my students has worn off and they are bouncing off the walls. I end up getting a cold from all the germy snot floating around in my room and teacher politics start coming into play with the Regular Education staff not offering me support (I teach students with Autism), so I'm constantly arguing about the fact that my students can and should be included. It's no fun, I get pissed, bring it all home, argue with the wife, and then don't sleep because I tend to start thinking of all the problems the next day will bring.

My only saving grace (besides haunted houses and Halloween movies) is the fact that hockey season starts in October. There's something about a dude getting KO'd during a fight or a nice kick save, ala Hextall, that makes me forget the drama at work, thus setting me up to be good to go until June. Yes, hockey season. And what better way to get started for yet another run at Lord Stanley's cup, then by looking at the current roster Homer and Co. have assembled for our boys in Orange and Black?

Key offseason pickups include D-man Chris Pronger via a trade with the Ducks and signing of hothead exiled Goaltender Ray Emery from the KHL. Both moves had some scratching their heads, as people feel the Flyers may have given up a little too much for the elder Pronger and many think Emery is a risk not worth taking. Regarding the latter, I'm one of a few people that actually watched/listened to every preseason game, and Emery looked focused and determined to prove the doubters wrong (with a 1.78 GAA).

On paper, the team looks pretty stacked. Carter is coming off a career year and Claude Giroux looks like he may indeed be a playmaker, making the Flyers scouts look like geniuses in the process. Gagne seems to be healthy and pending any fallout from the double shoulder surgery he underwent this off season, Mike Richards will be sure to lead. The most exciting news might be that Ron's boy Danny Briere suddenly showed up, realizing that he's costing this team a ton of money with his outrageous contract. He had a jump in preseason fans had not seen since his days with the Sabres.

Other notable storylines on offense are newcomers James van Riemsdyk (I'll never call him JVR, as it's a stupid nickname) and Mika Pyorala. Pyorala is a dude I like, as he's an older Finn whose been around the game, but this will be his first season in the NHL. He netted three goals in the preseason, earning a spot with the big boys instead of Adirondack (RIP Philadelphia Phantoms). Rounding out the rest are grinders Ian Laperriere, who should bring experience and grit, along with Blair Betts who can actually win faceoffs and kill penalties, all the while resting Carter and Richards when they need it.

For once, the Flyers defense looks pretty good as well. Timonen and Pronger are arguably the best one two defensemen in the Eastern Conference, and maybe Coburn can rekindle the season he had two years ago. Matt Carle, with the help of Pronger on the other side, should be able to carry his own weight, but that all depends on if he spent the summer in the cardio room, as he's sure to log a ton of minutes since Pronger always gets 20+ a game. Parent should be able to hold the 3rd pairing together with Syvret (who many did not pick to even make the team, but also played well in preseason). My favorite thing about the defense this year though is the absence of Randy Jones. Dude never lived up to his contract and he was waived last week allowing the Flyers to sign the people they needed to. Good riddance (then again, he might be back when someone gets injured if he clears).

Guys I didn't mention include Carcillo, who is still a douchebag lacking discipline and Scott Hartnell, who still needs a haircut. Asham, Cote, and Powe will all rotate in and out of the lineup depending who the Flyers face that particular night and they all should preform pretty much like they did last year (I'm glad they kept Cote up, as he's just a hardworking player who knows his role with the club). You also have eternal waterboy Boucher backing up Emery, although he's hurt right now and won't join the team until next week.

Key factors will be the depth that this team hopefully has, along with the heart. I don't think Emery will be amazing, but I don't think he'll be sub-par either. And it doesn't matter, as Detroit has proven that you don't need a shutdown goalie, but you need to have depth from the blueline on out. Heart is something Laperriere and Betts bring, as most of the younger dudes (Richards, Carter, etc.) just didn't have any last season (just think back to the Penguins series). Most important of all though is, can the Flyers play with discipline and stay out of the box? This will be a huge telltale sign of how far they can go in the postseason.

The season starts tomorrow night against the Hurricanes and then you have Cindy and Co. along with the Caveman coming to Philadelphia all in the first week of play. The Eagles have a bye this week and the Phils already clinched the postseason, so do yourself a favor and get stoked for another year of Flyers hockey! The Hockey News and this jerk both picked the Flyers to win it all. What are your thoughts?

PS Buy this book

3 straight

It's nice that the Phillies pretty much cruised to a 3rd straight NL East title with no real heart attack moments. Now just imagine when they would have clinched if they had last year's bullpen's record.

Also, Mets suck.

Delaware Parlay Play Picks for Week 4

Pick 3 games in the comments to win! Get the odds from USA Today (make up half point spreads if there are none).