Blew away hitters in the 90's

OR

Blew tons of coke in the 80's

Phillies fans…I know our starting pitching has been highly mediocre–much like the above jheri curls–for the majority of the season. And while Rodrigo Lopez was excellent on Friday, there’s not much of a chance he solves our problems long term.

Which brings us to Pedro. As I type this, Charley Kerfeld is in the DR watching Pedro throw a simulated game, hopefully for our sake on a Wii. Timmy Kurkjian mentioned on SportsCenter this morning that scouts were raving about Pedro’s stuff at the World Baseball Classic. And while a very hittable 87-MPH fastball doesn’t exactly strike fear into the eyes of Major League hitters, one could argue our competition in the NL East doesn’t exactly strike fear into the eyes of a Major League pitcher. Especially one who thinks he is better than he is.

SO…Phillies fans…let your voice be heard. Pedro Martinez in Philly. Yay or Nay?

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This must be unfamiliar territory for Allen Iverson.

The diminutive, veteran point guard not only finds himself without a home, but without any real suitors for his unique talent. To be clear, it’s not a stretch to say that AI’s value has begun to take a precipitous decline as he ages not-so-gracefully. His run-ins with authority figures have been well documented and despite his maturation over the years, there is still league-wide hesitancy about his ability to mesh with those in his locker room or at the craps table.

Yet despite the inherent risks in adding a player with his baggage, Iverson is still a prominent personality the a league and he can still bring fans to fill seats. While it’s apparent a Philadelphia reunion isn’t in the cards (nor would it make sense), it’s hard to envision Iverson not latching on somewhere before the season kicks off in the fall.

With that being said, PhillyPhaithful and the Phaithful Forum wanted to bring you back to the good old days when Iverson was (not) practicing with the 76ers, Dikembe Mutumbo was finger-wagging at the Wachovia Center (and creating hilarious soundbites) and Pat Croce was part motivator, part leader, all goatee.

Check out our tribute video to Allen Iverson here

PHILLY SPORTS QUICK HITS

• Chris Pronger was introduced today as the newest member of the Orange and Black and made it clear that he’s open to sign an extension that would see him end his career in Philly. In a sign of things to come, Pronger also cross-checked at least four members of the media in the face
• The Phillies have engaged in internal conversations about bringing Pedro Martinez into the fold. Apparently these conversations were serious enough to warrant sending a scout to watch Pedro in the DR. While this might not appeal to the Philly Phaithful, it’s also not near a given that Pedro will be donning a Phils cap anytime soon.
• It’s from Saturday, but still a nice little recap of the long road taken by Rodrigo Lopez to get back to the majors.

…with the addition of the best hockey nose Philly has seen since Roddy Brind’Amour.

Despite the signings of Ian Laperriere and the pride of Woonsocket, Rhode Island Brian Boucher, Flyers fans will focus (and rightfully so) on the end of Mike Knuble’s tenure in the Orange and Black. As our first new face of the post-lockout team, Knuble brought consistency on and off the ice and was well respected by his teammates and fans alike. One of the more thoughtful interviews in the sport, it’s hard not to respect Knuble’s role and the attributes he brought.

But despite all the positives, hockey is a business just like any other sport. Plain and simple. And when the Flyers added Chris Pronger, you knew someones salary was coming off the books. Seeing the Flyers cap management last season was like watching Lindsay Lohan from afar. At times both teetering perilously close to disaster and giving hope of emerging unscathed, when the dam broke, it broke big time.  Having to trade Scottie Upshall and a 2nd round pick for Dan Carcillo (still makes you cringe just saying it out loud) was the hockey equivalent of watching Lohan sneak into the bathroom, emerge wiping her nose, hop into a car and run over a paparazzo. For all the good that Paul Holmgren has done to assemble this team–and he’s done a WONDERFUL job considering where we were just two full seasons ago–his financial acumen left something to be desired and that deal was a microcosm of our cap shortcomings last season. Considering the haircut that dude has, it’s a wonder he’s able to talk to GM’s coherently without them laughing in his face. That’s a doo you can set your watch to.

So Knuble was a cap casualty. And because it’s hard not to love Mike Knuble (the game winner in double OT against Washington in 2008 was the high-point of his tenure in my opinion, thoughts?), the loss stings a bit more. But let’s analyze what we really lost in #22.

PROS: Willingness to go to net and sacrifice body, selfless team-first player, doesn’t miss games, good for 20+ goals

CONS: Turns 37 this Saturday, took more mindless lazy penalties than anyone else on the team besides Hartnell–who at least makes up for it by being consistently hilarious–has absorbed a beating in front of net for many years and could miss time in the future, would cost near $3 million a year over 2 years.

By letting Knuble walk, Holmgren sold high so to speak, without really selling anything if you get my drift. This is an open invitation to one James van Riemsdyk to step up his game and make the team out of camp. Additionally, it almost ensures Claude Giroux a top-6 forward position which is something he is undoubtedly ready for and something we had trouble giving him regularly last season with a glut of forwards in front of him on the depth chart.

While he’ll never be confused for Alex Ovechkin, Laperriere brings a ton of positive attributes to this team.

• Absolutely HATES losing, and he’s done an awful lot of it playing with Colorado and Los Angeles. When things went bad for the team last year, nobody in the locker room was able to stem the tide. I love Richie, but when you’re getting waxed by the Maple Leafs in April in games you need to win, you don’t act as if it’s not a big deal. Light a fire under someones ass. Lappy will do that
• Plays physical but not stupid. How many times did the Flyers take a stupid penalty trying to make a play when a solid body check would have done the trick? This guy knows the rules and is a pest to play against
• He is an excellent penalty killer. Our stars spent far too much time on the kill last year, draining their energy unnecessarily. Part of this is the team cutting down on stupid penalties, but it’s also having a good roster of penalty killers.
• Watch this video

It’s also important to note that the signing of Laperriere can not be viewed as the direct replacement for Knuble. As is the case with any offseason, you need to view the body of work in its entirety before passing judgment. Like when you see this isolated, you probably think ’skank’. But when you know who it’s on, you probably think, ’skank I’d like to take out to a nice seafood dinner and never call again’.

On the whole, the Flyers have done what all successful teams do: build out from the goal. They’ve added a goalie in Ray Emery who, when not fighting his teammates or his trainer (not his fault?), has taken an otherwise average Senators team to the Stanley Cup Finals (go ahead, tell me they had anyone besides the Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson line). They’ve added a no-nonsense, first ballot Hall of Fame defenseman who makes everyone better in Chris Pronger. And they brought back BOOOOOOSH, who is as popular as Knuble.

And at the end of the day, it’s just another guy who can punch this hoser in the face.

…do you know where your pitching is?

Frankly, the statistics are nauseating. A team ERA of 4.80, ranked 15th of 16 teams in the NL, ahead of only a comically bad Nationals staff–a team run so poorly it wouldn’t half surprise you to see them go the open tryout route. Opponents are batting .274 against Fightin’s pitching, again 15th out of 16 NL squads. Perhaps most embarrassing is the ungodly number of home runs allowed by the Phils staff, 107 round-trippers in only 73 games, a number that hurts even more when you consider the next closest total is Milwaukee (In fact, pronounced ‘mill-e-wah-que’ which is Algonquin for ‘the good land’) with 92. Even the Houston Astros, who currently employ stalwarts Russ Ortiz–yep, that Russ Ortiz–Mike Hampton and Geoff Geary have only given up 91 playing half of their games in the field formerly known as Enron.

Due almost entirely to unparalleled ineptness from our closest rivals, the Phillies have lost 11 of 15 yet have somehow managed to hold onto a 1.5 game lead in the NL East. Despite their foes capitulating on a near-nightly basis, the pitching situation is undoubtedly approaching a breaking point. With Jamie Moyer looking more and more like Harris from Major League–seriously, can’t you see him in the locker room teaching young Tony Bastard the ins and outs of applying Crisco for some extra break on his slow stuff?–no Brett Myers and no 5th starter for the foreseable future, Ruben Amaro has his work cut out for him.

Since the advent of the Wild Card, teams generally stay ‘buyers’ until later in the summer, hoping to catch fire and make a run into the playoffs (see Rockies, Colorado circa 2007). While this limits the options available to Amaro, he has a wealth of chips at his disposal and the support of a Philadelphia fan base still not sure what to make of a winning team. Do we boo now? How bout now? I want a Schmitter. Honestly, very few of the widely discussed ‘available’ names are appealing so with the goal of keeping things interesting, we’ve come up with a list of pitchers we would love to see in World Champion Red before the month is out, and what we think it would take to get them. Feel free to weigh in with your feedback.

Roy Halladay

WHY HE FITS: Are you serious? That’s like asking why the cheesesteak is delicious. The dude is a horse, he’s not afraid of facial hair and he makes life easy on the bullpen by averaging 14 innings per start. If Field of Dreams did a remake in 40 years, my money is on Roy “Doc” Halladay walking out of the cornfield and playing catch with Shia LaBeouf. Would you bet against that? By the way, I hate you Shia LaBeouf.

WHAT IT WOULD COST: Well, let’s start with Jayson Werth and/or Shane Victorino, throw in Kyle Drabek and Lou Marson and we can talk. He’s signed through 2010 at the very reasonable cost of $15.75 million. Reasonable if we add back those few rows of seats in left field. I’m sure he’d be down.

LIKELIHOOD (1-5 Gillicks, with 5 Gillicks mean the trade is highly probable): I’d give it 2 Gillicks, primarily because taking a peak at the Jays upcoming schedule (YIKES, turn to the 2nd half too) shows the rough road they have ahead. A prolonged losing streak doesn’t necessitate a deal because the public in Toronto is likely more concerned about the Leafs offseason moves than the Jays on-season, but it can’t be ignored when weighing the factors of a possible deal. That and the cost might be prohibitive for Amaro to make.

Aaron Harang

WHY HE FITS: Look at the guy. Can you imagine the damage he and Matt Stairs could do to a keg post-game? Also, if Joe Blanton is an innings-eater, Harang is Kirstie Alley. A lot of people jumped off his train after a rough 2008 campaign (6-17, 4.79 ERA) but he has rebounded nicely in ‘09 and has posted sub-4 ERA’s in three of the past four seasons. Also he throws righthanded, thereby keeping the rotation more evenly balanced.

WHAT IT WOULD COST: One would assume the Reds would want another young arm to compliment their impressive stable of up-and-coming pitchers (Volquez, Cueto, Bailey if he cuts his hair), so the conversation would likely start with Drabek, but could include Carlos Carrasco, Joe Savery or this dude who came out of the blue in yesterday’s paper. With a manageable $12.5 million number in 2010 and a club option (with $2 million buyout) for 2011, the risk would be minimal and the upside tangible.

LIKELIHOOD:  3 Gillicks. Without any knowledge whatsoever of the club’s interest in Harang, he would fit the mold of an established starter who might come just a bit cheaper than a more well-known name, a la Roy Oswalt. Aside from that, it’s pure speculation.

MATT CAIN

WHY HE FITS: A young flamethrower with an incredibly high-ceiling, every Major League team wants a Matt Cain. A Hamels-Cain combination would rank as one of the top 1-2 punches in the league and give the Phillies a dynamic lefty-righty at the head of the rotation. He is also controlled contractually thru 2011 as part of a 4-year, $9 million deal he signed in 2007. Plus, look at that grip. Trademark that 2-seamer, she’s a beaut!

WHAT IT WOULD COST: OK Phils fans. Hear me out on this one. The Giants are in DIRE need of bats. When Aaron Rowand/Bengie Molina are your 3-4 hitters for the better part of two seasons, you have clear issues. The Giants have an incredibly deep farm system, with impact prospects at a number of positions. And since Tim Lincecum already has a Cy Young but needs a contract and Barry Zito is making an obscene amount of loot for surfing and playing accoustic guitar, one would surmise that Cain could be expendable for the right package. While the following deal wouldn’t likely be feasible until the conclusion  of the 2009 season, isn’t it intriguing?

What if the Phillies were to offer Bay Area native Jimmy Rollins (he of the .204 batting average but gregarious personality) along with a couple of top prospects for Cain? Would San Francisco bite, knowing the difficulty to be able to sign two young pitchers? Intriguing.

LIKELIHOOD: 2 Gillicks. While I can’t fathom trading J-Roll midseason, as if it were even possible the way he’s playing, a veteran leader like Rollins would be a wonderful addition to an up-and-coming Giants team. And Cain is filthy. So even though it’s not likely to happen, a man can dream, no?

And hey, at the end of the day, isn’t ANYTHING better than this? We like whaaaaaa?

Sarge goin in headfirst

Turn up the volume and ignore the wonderful, JV camera phone quality (you wanna buy me an iPhone?). Listen to the end when Sarge comes back on camera…

…Am I wrong or did Sarge just call Wheels Muff? First ‘Rock Around the Cock’ and now this. Phillies baseball is definitely trending towards NC-17. Just please leave Mrs. Phanatic out of this.

He's been there

I can just imagine the scenario now…

Paul Holmgren waking up the morning after a long weekend ice-fishing trout and drinking moonshine in the Canadian wilderness with the boys, finding himself on the floor of his cabin, looking at his outgoing call list, seeing 27 calls with Ray Emery’s agent–and some mispelled text messages–popping two aspirin, calling the league to verify the fact that yes, you did just bring back that Ray Emery from Russia to be the “answer” to an almost 15-year old problem that has haunted this franchise, gathering his affairs and saying “holy shit I need someone in front of the net if I want to keep my job.

While I can’t speak for Homer’s future job security, Ray Emery’s job is now 6′6″, 220lb of ass-kicking defenseman easier. After taking time to think about it, it is true we paid a kings ransom to get him and YES, we did give up Luca Sbisa who looks like he could be special. I also hear the moans about him being unsigned beyond this season, but regardless of these circumstances getting Pronger is a HUGE addition for this team. It is truly is one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to add a legitimate surefire first ballot Hall of Famer with plenty of juice in his legs. Think about all the positive effects…

• Pronger himself is an absolute BEAST. Like not only crosscheck-you-in-the-back but eat your first-born child kind of beast. He plays with a constant mean streak, runs the power play and has a wicked hahd slappah. He’ll play 30 minutes against Crosby and Malkin and then ride the bike in the locker room afterwards watching video of him slashing their knees. There’s a Chuck Norris reference in there somewhere, but I’ll stop short of seeing it through.
• He makes every single other defenseman on this team take a DEEP breath. No disrespect to Kimmo Timonen–a fantastic all around defenseman in his own right–but Pronger immediately assumes top dog role and makes everyone’s life easier. Timonen can do more, Coburn can do more, and I bet Matt Carle becomes a more impactful player this season with decreased responsibilities on the defensive end. Sidenote, I wonder where Jiri Dopita is. Anyways, perhaps most importantly, getting Pronger relegates Randy Jones to the short bus  and 3rd line minutes. Great hockey hair, mediocre hockey player.
• This team was SORELY missing a leader in the locker room last year. Even though I didn’t see him having this much effect on the scoresheet, Billy Guerin would have been a superb voice and a proven winner in the locker room. He kind of reminds me of the guy from the Just for Men commercial where the daughters give their divorced father a pep talk and a carton of the company’s headline product. Then the character goes out and has a hot cougar laughing over braised lamb shank and merlot. Kind of like Guerin going from Long Island spending Friday night in with the girls to Guerin pulling chicks with Maxime Talbot and Pascal Dupuis (Cindy isn’t allowed out past 11 at Mario’s house). Hell, Guerin’s girls were even in the crowd for every home game on TV with signs for their daddy! What Pronger brings on and off the ice every night in terms of leadership and intensity will rub off on everyone and imagine this…it could make Mike Richards an even more focused and well-rounded captain, if not player. Scary

Sure, it stinks to lose Sbisa, but this is a move that they had to make.

Other Saturday afternoon sporting notes…

Can Jayson Werth pretend everyone else is a Blue Jay pitcher? Do you think his sheer domination on Rogers Centre (goofy Canadians forgetting how to spell!) turf would have translated to the Vet concrete? I say yes.

What if that team meeting last night serves as the galvanizing wakeup call to this team and they kick it into gear. J-Roll starts tomorrow, hits a leadoff bomb and Moyer throws 8 scoreless before disappearing into a cornfield in Iowa? We won the World Series, a Phils fan can hope.

I really kind of wish Jrue Holiday was pronounced as it looks, if for no other reason than to hear old white men across the tri-state region struggle to fiure out how to say it.

No more mock drafts. No more awkward green room interviews. And no more Mel Kiper. Hallelujah.

Even though the Sheldon Brown saga is far from resolved, the roster we see right now could be the one that opens the season in the fall of 2009. Regardless of whether Brown gets the Lito treatment and sees more pine than playing field, the Eagles seem to have made some very impressive pickups that have the notoriously fickle Birds fans remarkably uniform in their approval. Perhaps even more remarkable is that the additions have come in the wake of the departure of some long-tenured and tremendously adored franchise pillars in Brian Dawkins, Tra Thomas and (likely) Jon Runyan.

JASON PETERS (OT) Acquired for 1st round pick (28th overall) and 4th round pick in 2009 draft, as well as undisclosed pick in 2010…described by Andy Reid as “the best left tackle in football”, Peters fills a major need as the beast protecting Donovan’s blind side. For those grumbling about trading down in the 2008 draft and acquiring a low 1st round pick from Carolina, that extra pick allowed the Eagles to let an aging vet in Thomas walk and bring in Peters. Give Andy Reid credit: for all his play-calling woes, the man knows you win football games in the trenches and he is never afraid to solidify his lines before moving onto other personnel issues. Peters is also Shawn Andrews’ former college roommate at Arkansas, and his arrival (combined with Andrews’ older brother Stacy, see below) will hopefully help rejuvenate the former Pro Bowler who missed the majority of last season due to injury and depression.

STACY ANDREWS: Signed as a free agent in February…the addition of Andrews looks even better considering the other moves made to solidify the line. Andrews should slide into the right tackle spot vacated by the still-as-unsigned Jon Runyan, giving the Eagles massive bookend blockers still in the prime of their careers. The opportunity to play alongside younger brother Shawn will hopefully motivate both Andrews’ to perform at the high level at which they have shown to be more than capable of doing. There was some concern about his  right knee problems, as he had offseason surgery to repair a torn MCL and ACL, but those have largely been quieted in reports from the team thus far.

LEONARD WEAVER: Signing a fullback doesn’t generally make waves in most NFL cities, but those who watched the Birds stubbornly refuse to employ a legitimate professional at that position last season were legitimately excited to have someone of Weaver’s caliber on the roster. Granted, his initial interviews were less than enthusiastic (Weaver seemed to openly designate Philadelphia as his second choice behind returning to Seattle) but his diverse skill set should quickly enamor him to the Phaithful. Weaver is not only a strong blocker but an above-average pass catching fullback, a major plus in Reid’s West Coast offense. If nothing else, between Peters, Andrews and Weaver, Brian Westbrook should be able to convert those third and less than a yard plays that were such a bugaboo to the team in 2008.

ELLIS HOBBS: Acquired for two 5th round picks during 2009 draft…Though Big Red hasn’t said as much, Hobbs was ostenibly acquired to replace Sheldon Brown. With Asante Samuel locking down one corner spot and Joselio Hanson signing a contract extension during the winter, Hobbs likely wasn’t brought in to be a 4th CB. While the team would have preferred to keep a happy Sheldon Brown, the situation looks bleak for his future in green. Hobbs is a servicable corner who has started 16 games in each of the last two seasons for New England and is signed for one more season at a very reasonable cap number of just north of $2 million.

JEREMY MACLIN/LESEAN MCCOY: On paper, the Eagles’s top two draft picks look like excellent selections. Maclin was rated as the top WR in the draft on the draft boards of 18 teams and McCoy was a borderline 1st round pick on a number of mock drafts, not to mention an explosive performer in college at Pitt. Though the two rookies are extremely talented, they won’t be asked to carry the team this season, which should help their development significantly. Despite the continued questioning of the Eagles WR corps, Kevin Curtis, DeSean Jackson and Jason Avant form an above-average trio in my mind. Provided Maclin comes as advertised, he should take some of the burden off both Curtis and Jackson and add some skill to the return game as well. The additional benefit of that aspect of his game is that it should limit the pounding the fragile Jackson takes in special teams situations. McCoy should be an excellent back to spell Brian Westbrook and provides insurance should Westbrook’s balky body not allow him to go the full 16, something that has proven elusive over his time in green. McCoy is also an excellent pass-catching back, which as mentioned above, is of utmost importance in Reid’s offense. Both will be asked to contribute, but neither should need to be Pro Bowl caliber to make an impact this season.

THE BEST OF THE REST: I may be in the minority, but I think Sean Jones will be a solid addition to this team. Jones has the unenviable task as being viewed as the safety that comes in to replace Brian Dawkins, but in reality, that isn’t quite true. The Eagles may go with a rotation of  Quintin Demps, Jones and fellow free agent Rashad Baker opposite of Quintin Mikell and that trio will hopefully be enough to hold the fort. Though they will miss Sean Considine in special teams, anyone with a pulse and a tendency to cover the opponent will be an upgrade at safety. Cornelius Ingram is an intriguing pick in the 5th round. An athletic tight end for Florida in college, Ingram missed all of his senior season with a knee injury. Despite the injury, he was still rated as the 2nd best TE in the draft by a number of scouting services and if he is healthy, he could provide Donovan McNabb with another pass catching weapon. There is some concern about Ingram’s blocking ability, however, I think this is largely due to the offense he featured in while at Florida. Regardless, Brent Celek will hold down the starting spot until further notice. CB Victor “Macho” Harris was selected in the 5th round out of VA Tech and though he had decent college numbers, may be outsized in the NFL. I’m more intrigued by 2008 4th round pick Jack Ikegwuono (triple word score baby!), a CB from Wisconsin who spent all of last season on the IR. Before his injury, Ikegwuono was a 1st round prospect that slipped to the Birds on the second day. If healthy, he could be the dark horse of the group. But that’s a big if.

Either way Birds fans, there will be a lot of new faces when the team lines up for the first time in 2009. On paper, there are weapons for Donovan, some fat linemen for Andy and some nice small pieces to plus holes. Most importantly, Cincinnati isn’t on the schedule.

Dan

…to a HUGE weekend of sports in the City of Brotherly Love.

Where to begin? How bout hoops?

The 76ers nearly did what they did all season; namely blow a seemingly comfortable lead and lose at the buzzer. Thankfully, a wonderfully designed in-bounds play (thanks Tony DiLeo!) was called to confuse the Magic by nearly getting called for a 5-second violation worked to perfection, as Thaddeus Young was able to get the baseline and put in the game winning bucket. In the regular season, Rashard Lewis’ half-court heave would have drawn nothing but net, but thankfully Devin Harris is playing golf or wearing board shorts. Neither of which sound particularly unappealing.

Despite Dwight Howard’s monster night (36 and 11) and the 76ers best attempt to give away the game by missing seven of eleven free throws down the stretch, they find themselves in the driver’s seat up 2-1, with Game 4 Sunday evening at the Wachovia Center. Though the building wasn’t full, the atmosphere was impressive for a joint that hasn’t exactly been rockin’ most of the season. Here’s hoping for a solid turnout to help inspire the guys to a commanding series lead.

Down in South FLA, the Fightins spent a good 8 1/3 innings trying to give Uncle Charlie an ulcer. After watching Dave Bush nearly no-hit his team on an assortment of average fastballs and below average breaking stuff, Manuel must have been fuming when his team failed to even make solid contact for the first 8 innings. Granted, Josh Johnson is  a horse. But this lineup is too good to be scuffling this badly right now.

Thankfully, Matt Lindstrom’s wildness allowed the Phils to keep their useless bats tucked away on their shoulders until fan-favorite Shane Victorino got his shot with two down and the sacks jacked. While it wasn’t as memorable as his NLCS salami off the hefty lefty from Milwaukee, Victorino’s slam could serve as a much-needed kick in the pantalones to a listless Phillies offense. It will be interesting to see how they respond tomorrow.

SATURDAY’S EVENTS

While I will be at the Flyers game tomorrow, it’s not going to be a bad day to be a couch potato. The Orange and Black kick things off with a massive Game 6 against the Pens at 3pm in Philly. Just the thought of the electricity in the building has me jumping. If the Flyers can get on the board early, it will greatly increase their chances of forcing a Game 7 back in the ‘burgh. For one, the aforementioned crowd might blow the roof off the Wachovia Center. Secondly, it won’t allow them a chance to let MAF get in their heads. Thirdly, they’ll be coming out hard in the first period and if the Pens can withstand the early pressure, they will gain confidence the longer they stay in the game. My guess is that the Flyers win the game tomorrow but after that, all bets are off.

For those not interested in the happenings on the ice, 4pm brings us the NFL Draft. Since there is generally very little coverage and speculation leading up to the actual selection process, many Eagles fans are likely completely in the dark as to who the team likes.

Yeah right.

It seems as if every publication on the face of the earth has the Eagles selecting Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno. He supposedly would fit in nicely with Andy Reid’s throw every down, er, West Coast offense. Rather than attempt to tell you what you have likely already heard, my guess is the Eagles trade their first round pick to move up a few spots and grab a guy none of us have ever heard of. Only time will tell.

Once the interesting part of the draft is over, the night cap is at 7pm, when the Phils face the Fish with Chan Ho Park taking the mound, attempting to prevent relegation back to the bullpen which he so desperately tried to avoid in the first place. His first couple starts left a lot to be desired, mainly innings on the mound, but many of you will likely be too drunk from the earlier part of the day to care.

On that note, enjoy the day and the weather. Here’s hoping to another perfect sports day tomorrow!

Dan

Well that went a lot better than last year, huh?

Just over 11 months ago, the Flyers went out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a whimper, getting bum-rushed 6-0 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Pittsburgh. The 2008-09 squad fared a good deal better, with a convincing 3-0 win over the Pens Thursday night.

After weathering the storm in a first period that saw them outshot 15-5, the Flyers responded with the lone goal of the second, coming from noted sniper Aaron Asham. Yeah, exactly. But to win playoff games, you need contributions from all four lines and two days after he scored the lone goal in the 2-1 loss, Dan Carcillo made a nifty little drop pass to the oncoming Asham who rifled one top shelf past Marc-Andre Fleury for a CRUCIAL 1-0 lead. If you predicted that combo creating the offense for the first goal, hit me up. We’re going to Vegas.

Perhaps even more impressive was the way the Orange and Black jumped out in the 3rd period. Moments after missing a chance to double their lead on the power play (after ANOTHER marvelous sliding save by Fleury), the Flyers ramped up the intensity and were able to get the all-important second goal. What can I say about Claude Giroux that hasn’t been said by Jim Jackson already (JJ has a man-crush on the little playmaker for sure), but for a rookie to step up and get that goal in that situation, it’s speaks volumes about the type of player he is and is going to be. By the time Mike Knuble remembered what end to score on (seriously, WHERE has this guy been for four games??), the Flyers were well on their way to an impressive victory on the road that sees them breathe new life into the series.

Lastly, is there any coincidence that Marty Biron puts on a Cryin’ Crosby shirt from PhillyPhaithful and responds with a shutout? You know the answer. Without his stellar goaltending in the first period, the Flyers are likely behind the 8-ball, making a difficult challenge all that moreso. Way to be Marty!

PhillyPhaithful will be out in force at Game 6. Come find me beforehand!

LET’S GO FLYERS!!!!

Dan

76ers: Somewhat surprisingly, the team that stumbled to a 1-6 record down the stretch has taken a 1-0 series lead on the road over the favored Orlando Magic. This is the second year running an underdog 76ers squad has opened the playoffs on the road with a win, but few outside the area probably give them much of a shot to win the series. While the Magic did manage an impressive 20-9 mark after acquiring Skip-to-My-Lou, aka Rafer Alston, the loss of the dynamic point guard–and Chester native–Jameer Nelson gives the 76ers an edge at the 1. For all of Andre Miller’s strengths, speed and quickness have never been his fortay. While Alston is known for his impressive repetoire of playground moves, at age 32, his first step isn’t nearly on the same page as the explosive Nelson. Advantage, Philadelphia. If the 76ers can find a way to contain Dwight Howard better than they did in Game 1 and Sammy Dalembert can rake him across the face a couple more times–how bout that, Sammy D making an impact!–the underdog could find itself sitting pretty coming home for Game 3.

Flyers: Nobody in their right mind should be satisfied as the Flyers find themselves down 3-1 in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series with the Pens, but those among the Philly Phaithful calling out the officiating or the play of goaltender Martin Biron are barking up the wrong tree. After laying a complete stinker in Game 1 that was remisicent of their efforts in the final weeks of the season, the team has responded with three impressive performances and is legitimately unfortunate to find themselves in a 3-1 hole. Granted, solid effort in the playoffs shouldn’t be rewarded with praise if it doesn’t result in a win, but how many times did the Flyers find themselves outshooting their opponents this season by a nearly 2-1 margin AND end up on the losing end? While this series isn’t over, the Flyers will need to find a way to win three in a row, including two in the Igloo; a truly daunting challenge.  For the Flyers to be successful, they need another solid 60 minute effort and they have to find a way to get in the crease around Marc-Andre Fleury and unsettle the effeminate Penguins goaltender.  Flyers in 7.

Phillies: Because it’s still quite early in the season, I don’t manage to quite as worked up about the results in the first few weeks of April. I’ve always adhered to the saying that while you can’t win the title in the early going, you can lose it. Essentially, as long as the Phils are in the hunt early on, they clearly have more than enough talent to play a major role in the pennant chase moving forward. If Cole Hamels is 0-4 in early May, talk to me then. If J-Roll continues to roll over every pitch and ground out to first base for another few weeks, come find me then. But there are more than enough positives in the early going–Pedro Feliz adding a bat to his sterling glovework, Chase Utley looking even better post-hip surgery, Eric Bruntlett’s beard in Stanley Cup form–to prevent me from worrying. And remember, the first at-bat by a visiting player at Bailout Ballpark in Queens was a home run. Ah the Mutts.

Eagles: Because Mel Kiper’s hair in HD makes me nauseated, let’s leave the draft talk on the back burner until we actually know who the Eagles have traded down three rounds to select. Kevin Kolb needs a backup. Get on that Andy.

My thoughts on the Sheldon Brown situation are somewhat undeveloped, but I can honestly see where both sides are coming from. It’s easy to jump on the “let’s-hate-Eagles-management-bandwagon” because they have done so many things in the Gold Standard Era to anger the fan base. But unless I’m missing something, Sheldon Brown doesn’t really have much leverage here. Sure, you’re underpaid by the standards of today’s NFL. You’re certainly better than the 33rd highest-paid corner in the league. But instead of opening your mouth and going public, why not try this novel idea? Make some plays on the field and earn a new contract. My biggest concern as an Eagles fan is that by yapping off to the media, Brown will enjoy a similar fate enjoyed by Lito Sheppard last year: a multi-million dollar clipboard holder. Do we really have the depth at the position to afford that luxury?

Thanks as always for your support of PhillyPhaithful and the Forum.

For your viewing pleasure…Tyronn Lue. Yikes.

Dan