Something in Common

Rough week at the Pelly household folks. Mom and dad are sick as dogs, and the colds have now hit the babies. It's good to know my twin 7 month old daughters have something in common with Cindy and the rest of the Penguins fans though: they are all whiners!

I have to be honest, in that I watched most of the game in FF mode on the DVR, so this won't be an in-depth post. Still, positive effort by the Orange and Black, except on the Power Play where they went 0 for 5, but you really can't count the last one since it was in the final minute. Biron was pretty sharp except for the floater that almost bounced in off his skates and into the net behind him in the second period.

Most of the usual firepower on the Flyers was absent from this game, with Asham and Giroux picking up goals, but props to Knuble for a nice one to make the final 3-0. Game six is back in Philly on Saturday at 3:00, can the Flyers keep it rolling to force a game seven?

Not Getting It Done

They came out storming and swarming, pushing the puck all around the ice, even generating some good shots (although the high total was overstated in my opinion, several harmless dumps on the net, many up high where no rebounds could be generated, etc...). From Flagstaff at the Buffalo Wild Wings humungo screen, it appeared the place was pretty fired up too.

One word summarizes this game: Fluery.

Another observation: The officials are horrible, although in this particular game, I think they actually favored the Flyers.

I took a quick pit stop at 1-0 to return the water (that my kidnesy filtered out of the beers) to this water-appreciative community, only to find that the second goal was scored. What a bummer. You just can't leave that first period with ZERO goals. I texted that to my bud with 5-10mins left in the period. And things just weren't feeling good by the end of the first. Oh well, 1-3 isn't surmountable, is it? (I'm asking the REAL, NOT-FAKE fans, btw!)

- Real Fan, BDB, purusing the orange and black even on the road at 4pm out here.

OrlanNo

I was this close to just turning off the 76ers. After watching the Flyers and the end of the Phillies, I tuned in to an 11-point deficit with about 7 minutes to go. I actually turned off the TV and was about to go do something else, but every time I do that with the Sixers they come back and win, so I figured i could stick out 7 minutes if it meant not hating myself in the morning. Especially as it was the playoffs.

I can't believe Iguodola hit that rainbow jumper.

They may well get swept out of the playoffs from here on out, but props to the Sixers for capping off a damn good day for Philly sports.

There's a chance

At the end of the first period when Coburn made the inexplicable decision to turn left and try to pin the puck to the wall (when he had Carle to his right for an easy pass) which resulted in him getting drilled and coughing up the puck for a last second Pittsburgh goal I thought he had lost the game right there. And when Pittsburgh scored in the first minute of the second I thought my bad premonition was coming true. But then Giroux stepped up, scored a goal on a great Briere pass and then set up Gagne for a shorthanded goal with a great individual effort. He even handed out a beat down to a punk-ass Penguin whose name wasn't worth me remembering.

Overall the Flyers played well and really physical but still turned it over way too much, took too many penalties, and suffered from ragged and sloppy play. Fortunately the Penguins didn't take advantage on all their opportunities and the Flyers actually got some bounces to go their way for a change.

Game 4 is Tuesday.

Down 0-2

Are they cooked?

Discuss.

There will never be another

I'm not the biggest baseball fan, but I am a huge Harry Kalas fan. If I was flipping around and the Phillies were on and Harry was doing the play by play, I would stop and listen. His voice embodies a mild summer evening of baseball. It was his tone, his cadence, and most importantly his warmth and his pace. The game he loved and the way he called it were matched perfectly.

I am thankful I got to grow up listening to Gene Hart call Flyers games and Harry Kalas call Phillies games. Make sure you enjoy Merrill Reese while you can. All these guys are once in a lifetime.

Matt Stairs, professional hitter

Apparently, Huston Street didn't catch the NLCS last year. Or, more likely, he mistakenly put a fastball in a bad place — belt high and middle in — and pinch hitter Matt Stairs put the pitch over the right-center wall to secure a 7-5 Phillies win over Colorado Sunday.

When you don’t hit the glove bad things happen.

As Omar on The Wire would say, "Indeed."

Playoff Beard Growers of the Delaware Valley Unite

And I'm talking neck beards, none of the sculpted classy stuff. But don't really worry about it, as the effort the Flyers gave tonight leads me (and Wood) to believe it will be a first round exit, so you'll be able to shave in a week or so.

On paper, the Flyers matchup against any team in the NHL with regard to offense: three lines that can really make an opposing team wonder who to send out against them, six players over 25 goals, new linemates Giroux and Briere clicking with chemistry, and Carter's 46 goals. Yet defense and most important, goaltending wins playoff games.

The Flyers went 4 and 6 in their last ten, failed to clinch the 4th seed for home ice in the 1st round by a point (some would argue they could have chased down the Devils for a 3rd place finish if they hit a hot streak like last year before the playoffs started), and really showed no guts and grit except for the wussbag hit on CrAvery in the end of regulation this afternoon. Jones (overpaid) and Parent are banged up, and Biron still has not convinced me and others that he's a number one goaltender.

The Penguins have been on a hot streak since the firing of Therrien, going 19 and 6 under Dan Bylsma. They've also had the Flyers number this year winning the series 4-2. My heart says the Flyers in 6, but my gut tells me the Penguins in 5. Post your predictions (and beard progress) in the comments.

Ring, ring, ring goes the bell

So apparently something happened after the Phils got down 10-3 to the Braves going into the seventh inning Wednesday. Something that sounded like a nutso comeback win while driving with Jeremy down Front Street away from the stadium. Oh dear.

Yes, the Phils had a comeback for the ages — mainly the age of horrible bullpen pitching (courtesy of the Braves) — but it was nice to see, in the words of Jayson Stark (Great Sports Debate represent) the alarm clocks finally go off and the Phillies actually start playing, offensively anyway.

That was a long sentence, in honor of the long, boring stretches of play the Phils offered up for most of their first three games. Let's hope they've snapped out of it.

Bonus question 1: Booing Adam Eaton during the ring ceremony — thoughts, opinions?

Bonus question 2: Are they kidding with $12 parking and $7 bottled beers?

Bonus question 3: Where did I get the idea that attending fans would be getting replica rings? Cause we didn't.

And the winner is...

OBHatesBrierePellyHatesCarter

Congratulations! (Too bad he's a Cowboys fan so he is still a loser to his core.)

The complete standings for 2009:

1. OBHatesBrierePellyHatesCarter - 123
2. bracket FAIL - 121
3. Mama Bock - 105
4. flying hellfish - 103
5. ron_hearts_george_thorogood - 93
6. Big Daddy B - 84
7. ChillyV's Super Duper Picks Yo - 81
8. Jeff's Last Minute Picks - 80
9. thunder_jeans - 77
10. Sheeeeeeeit! - 77
11. Steve - 74
12. ronscrappypicks - 73
13. The Definitive Intergral - 67
14. Fa-Fa-Flunky's Ba-Ba-Brackets - 64
15. jim cramers top picks - 8
16. The Wright Bracket - 0

Wonder if this means Donovan McNabb can enforce that oral agreement to obtain more offensive weapons?

Eagles ownership/management has a new strategy in their on going battle with the city of Philadelphia over Veteran's Stadium luxury box revenue. Apparently the Eagles are claiming they had an oral agreement with John Street to settle their 8 million dollar luxury box revenue debt for a mere 1 million dollars.

The team claims the city's failure to live up to the deal, plus the 2004 lawsuit, caused "the Eagles to expend time, money and legal fees, and perhaps worse of all, exposing the Eagles to precisely the type of negative publicity the Eagles sought to avoid when they insisted on settling the [dispute] as part of the stadium deal."

Now, I do not doubt Street would do something like forgoing 7 million dollars in tax revenue, but only if Street received a 1 million dollar campaign donation from Jeff Lurie. And am I to believe master capalogist Joe Banner did not get this deal in writing? But really if this oral agreement is enforceable, I wish to enforce all oral agreements/pledges made by the Eagles organization to the fans over the past 7 years. Pledges such as "We have to get better at stopping the run/clock management/game preparation", "Our receivers will be competitive with any other team in the league", and of course, "We are the gold standard", among many others. Based on the Eagles lawsuit that the cancellation of the 2001 Ravens preseason game cost the team 8 million dollars, I figure we are owed in the neighborhood of $100 million dollars for these broken pledges. I am beginning to think the Eagles let Brian Dawkins go to distract the fans from this crap.

Yes! and Nova

Final Four, baby. Things are turning up Milhouse for Philly sports teams lately. Let's keep it going.

Tournament Time

Bracket registration closes at tip off of the first game of Round 1 on Thursday, March 19.

Once again I set up "team" willweeverwin over at Yahoo! First go to Yahoo's Tournament Pick'em page and click "Join a Group". If you have a Yahoo account, login. If not, follow the instructions and get one. Once logged in, choose "Join Private".

Group ID#: 71977
Pass: check the first comment of this post

Where it says "Bracket Name" is where you would put your name. I cleverly put "ronscrappypicks". Then make your picks by the first game on Thursday, March 19. To keep track of your picks you can download the custom willweeverwin NCAA bracket PDF.

There are new scoring options this year besides the Yahoo! default. Should I change them?

• Yahoo! Default - Traditional scoring system with a heavier weighting on later rounds. Works well with Seed Difference bonuses.
• Progressive - Slight weighting toward later rounds keeps this game interesting past round one. Try it with Upset Pick bonuses.
• Straight - Correct picks are always worth 1 point. No weightings. May the best bracket win!

The champion receives accolades and some self-satisfaction, but no parades down Broad Street unfortunately.

Globetrotters Defeat Generals!

Fresh from their exhibition game on the roof of the Spectrum, the Harlem Globetrotters defeated the Washington Generals in not one, but two, games today at the Wachovia Center. Here are some highlights Good work and all by the 'Trotters, but why do these guys keep ducking The New Invincibles?

Briere’s salary costs the Flyers another player

Scottie Upshall joins Glen Metropolit and Ossi Vaananen on another NHL team thanks to the money tied up in the Danny "the bust" Briere’s salary. Yesterday the Flyers traded Scottie Upshall for misconduct machine Daniel Carcillo. Carcillo will throw body checks and fight but he is not the player Upshall is. Carcillo is a less disciplined Aaron Asham. The Flyers also traded for “big” Kyle McClaren who is currently in the AHL and/or injured and the most notable thing he has done this year is being checked into the boards by Steve Downie (which triggered yet another Downie suspension). Theoritically McClaren could play a role for the Flyers who, with the exception of Alberts, are smaller and non aggressive on defense, and have little hope of clearing a Milan Lucic or Nik Andropov from in front of the their net. Basically the Flyers traded Upshall to clear cap space as this article explains nicely.

While signing Briere for big money was a bad hockey move, I concede it may have been a good PR move for the Flyers, then coming off one of their worst seasons in team history. The signing energized non thinking fans, but due to the contract and the type of player (good in limited areas of the game- the rush and the powerplay, poor on defense, small and soft) Briere is, it has handicapped the team this year and in years to come. I am willing to bet Holmgren tried to move Lupul instead of Upshall, but his contract made that a no go.

Anyway if Carcillo plays tonight he will surely attempt to get into a fight. Hopefully he can take Dion Phenueff of the ice with him.