A 3-1 lead with 20 minutes to play turned into a 4-3 loss, no overtime necessary. That's what happened last night at the Wachovia Center, and it's an inexcusable loss at this point in the season. The Flyers, after falling behind 1-0 due to the insane speed of Evander Kane and a complete lack of coverage in front of the net — not to mention an indefensibly horrible missed open net by Scott Hartnell — rallied in the second period, completely dominating, especially my favorite Flyer of them all, Claude Giroux, who scored the first goal on a ridiculously awesome individual sequence.
Minutes later, he found himself on a 2-on-1 with Arron Asham, fed him a perfect pass and Asham buried it to give the Flyers the lead. In a matter of a few shifts, Giroux's brilliance led the Flyers back to take the lead, and he was looking like the hero of the night. Everything was on about his game. Everything. In the opening period, he showcased his immense skill as well with an absurd toe drag into a shot that Johan Hedberg somehow saved. It was Claude's night. That much was clear.
Though the birthday boy wasn't about to be left out. Yesterday was Dan Carcillo's 25th birthday, and the fan favorite did not disappoint. No, he didn't drop the gloves or even lay a big open-ice hit. Instead, he just continued his transformation from goon to goal scorer, netting his seventh of the year on sheer hustle and determination. Ian Laperriere threw the puck toward the net as Carcillo was driving hard toward Hedberg. The birthday boy beat the goaltender and defender to the puck, poked it up and into the net. 3-1 Flyers, one period left to play. Things were looking good. The Flyers hadn't lost all season in regulation when leading after 2. They had owned the Thrashers in their history and had only lost once ever at home against Atlanta in regulation. With a two-goal lead and a strong defense, this was two points in the bag.
Then someone stole the bag … or the Flyers gave it away. Not sure which is more appropriate. It began with a lackadaisical effort off a defensive zone draw just 29 seconds into the final period. Mike Richards won the faceoff back to Matt Carle, but Carle couldn't control. The puck found its way right to Ilya Kovalchuk's stick, all alone with a down and out Ray Emery. Kovalchuk buries that 100 times out of 100, no matter who's in net. 3-2. Here's the problem I have with the play — why wasn't Blair Betts out there to take that faceoff? I know Mike Richards won it, and won it fairly cleanly, but he also didn't do Carle or Emery any favors by drawing it back toward the goal. He should have pulled it back the opposite way, clear from harm's way. Plus, Richards is an OK faceoff guy, but he's certainly not the team's best. Hell he's not even the second best. Check out the numbers. Blair Betts is the best faceoff guy for the Flyers, winning 53.2 percent, and Jeff Carter is second at 51.6. Richards is at 50.5 percent.
If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: Faceoffs are extremely important. That's why I urged the Flyers to go out and get a dominate guy in the faceoff circle this offseason. They didn't get anyone on my list, but they did get Betts, who is very good at it.
With a two-goal lead and just 20 minutes left to play — and some extremely important points on the line in a jam-packed Eastern Conference — it's absolutely necessary to win defensive zone draws. Back when Ken Hitchcock was coach, he used to send Keith Primeau out for every single defensive zone draw in the final period of important games, especially with a lead, because Primeau was the team's best faceoff guy. As a result, the Flyers rarely lost those draws and rarely blew leads. Peter Laviolette should be doing the same thing, and in a game like last night's, with vital points on the line, he should have had Betts out there to take every defensive zone draw in the third period. Regardless, it was a poor job by Carle mixed with some bad luck, having the puck go right to Kovalchuk. It also didn't help that Simon Gagne didn't take Ilya out of the play, like he's supposed to. All around piss-poor job.
But the goal to tie it was exponentially worse. With a one-goal lead in the final period, it's a mortal sin for a defenseman to let a player leak behind him. Yet there we were, just a few minutes after Kovalchuk made it a 3-2 game, with Oskars Bartulis and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen allowing Rich Peverley to sneak between and behind both of them. Caught off-guard, Pavel Kubina sent a ridiculous outlet pass from his own zone right to the tape of Peverley, springing him for the breakaway, and Peverley made no mistake, beating Emery five-hole. Honestly, it was one of the greatest outlet passes I've ever seen a defenseman make. And that's coming from a guy who gets to watch Chris Pronger spring transition plays with tremendous outlets every game. Kubina's was the best I've seen since Eric Lindros threw a pop fly to Kevin Haller at the opposition's blue line.
Great pass, but horrific coverage and awareness by Bartulis and Tollefsen. It was so egregious that I would honestly healthy scratch one of them the next game. Well, I would if Danny Syvret and Ryan Parent weren't still hurt. That's how bad of a breakdown that was. And I wouldn't mind Emery coming up with a big save there. Now, in all fairness, that goal — in fact every goal — was not Emery's fault. He was left out to dry on a breakaway. But my roommate said it best … when was the last time Emery came up with a huge, absurd, game-changing save? When's the last time he stopped a breakaway? When's the last time the Flyers have had a goaltender that can stand on his head any given night? Sure, there have been isolated games for Flyers goalies over the years in which they stole a victory here or there. Brian Boucher had a great run as a rookie. Robert Esche had his good days. Roman Chechmanek too (in the regular season, dude SUCKED in the playoffs). Even Marty Biron and Antero Niittymaki had great moments. But when's the last time the Flyers have had a goalie that you can expect to win you some games, expect to make some outstanding, ridiculous saves he has no business making? It's been a while. A long while. As in a young Ron Hextall while. That's a problem. Now I'm not saying Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo or Ryan Miller would have made that save on Peverley last night. But you almost would have expected them to, expected them to keep their teams on top with an awesome save when they needed it most. With Emery, I didn't have that feeling, and honestly, I haven't had that feeling with a Flyers goaltender in a long, long while. That's extremely irritating.
But not as irritating as watching the Flyers completely self-destruct in the third period. After scoring three unanswered in the 2nd period themselves, they allowed three unanswered by Atlanta. And the most maddening part is that the man who was the hero heading into the third turned into the goat by game's end. Claude made a few brilliant plays in the first two periods. Then in the third, he turned the puck over at Atlanta's blue line, leading to a breakout by the blazing fast Evander Kane, who then recreated the exact same score from the first period, using his ridiculous speed to race around the defense, around the net and feed the puck out front to — you guessed it — a wide-open Jim Slater to bang it home and put the Flyers away. I mean, it was an exact replica of the first goal:
Notice how no one covered Slater yet again, showing the Flyers had not learned their lesson whatsoever. And notice Giroux, trying to make up for his deadly turnover, getting out of position and weakly trying to lay down in front the passing lane … instead of marking Slater or Colby Armstrong like he's supposed to. It certainly didn't help that Matt Carle skated right into Emery, taking him out of the play, and then couldn't recover to get back in position and nullify Slater either. Again, all around terrible play.
As a result, the Flyers went from distancing themselves a little bit from the bottom playoff half stack, pulling to 57 points and closing in on fifth-place Ottawa, to dropping down to 7th, as the Thrashers leaped Philadelphia to take hold of the 6th spot. Pathetic. Completely and utterly pathetic. And inexcusable. In such a tight race and just 30 games remaining, you can't afford to piss away points. But that's exactly what the Flyers did last night. It was disgraceful, and every single player on that ice should be ashamed of themselves.
I'm certainly not a fan who looks at the teams he roots for with rose-colored eyes. I'm a realist. I try to see things for how they are. Does my fandom sometimes get in the way of true objectivity? Absolutely. But I like to believe I'm more than fair most of the time and just call things as I see them.
With that said, not even the most pessimistic Philadelphia 76ers fan could have seen this season coming. The Sixers had just come off back-to-back playoff appearances in which they gave vastly superior teams a scare, and this young core was supposed to be one more year older, which one would expect means one more year better. Sure, the loss of veteran point guard Andre Miller, who was arguably the team's best player over the past two seasons (yes, even better than Iguodala, arguably), would hurt and perhaps drop the team a bit, but the progression of Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Marreese Speights and Louis Williams was supposed to offset that a bit, not to mention the return of a healthy Elton Brand and healthy Jason Smith, along with the acquisition of the missing three-point threat in Jason Kapono. Basically, everyone expected the Sixers to remain right about where they've been the past few seasons, somewhere around 5th-8th in the East.
As we all know, that hasn't happened. The Sixers have struggled all season long, and even now, after playing some much better basketball, the Sixers sit at 12th in the East, still 5.5 games behind the Chicago Bulls, who currently hold the 8th spot. No one saw quite that far of a fall coming. Perhaps we underestimated just how much Andre Miller meant to this team. Perhaps the leftover pieces aren't as talented as we thought. Perhaps the coach really is that bad. Whatever the case may be, the 76ers aren't who we thought they were, at least heading into the season.
But a funny thing happened over this weekend. In the 42nd game of the season, Eddie Jordan finally made his first big lineup change since removing Elton Brand from the starting lineup way back when. Seemingly out of left field, Jordan reshuffled his starters, putting Thaddeus Young and Louis Williams back on the bench and inserting Jrue Holiday and Elton Brand in their starting spots, going with a starting lineup of Allen Iverson, Jrue Holiday, Samuel Dalembert, Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand. And wouldn't you know it, the move benefitted all parties involved, and the Sixers wound up defeating a very good Dallas Mavericks team 92-81.
For starters, the new lineup gave the Sixers a far superior defensive starting 5. Iverson and Williams can't guard anyone, and opposing guards were feasting on the Sixers from the onset with that duo in the backcourt. With Holiday, an excellent on-the-ball perimeter defender, replacing Lou Will, the backcourt instantly goes from defenseless to tough, with Holiday locking down one of the guards and the back line making up for Iverson's gambles and defensive breakdowns. And removing Young, an inadequate defender at best, with Brand, the Sixers get another shot-blocking presence and tougher physicality underneath.
Add to that the fact that Lou Will has shown he is a fine scorer but not much else this season, and it makes even more sense to have him come off the bench. The past few years, Williams has thrived as a scoring punch off the bench, and that's the role he's best suited for, not starting point guard. Then take a look at what happened to Thad. Seemingly with a newfound confidence, Thad was the player of the game on Friday night, scoring a game-high 22 points on 9-12 shooting, 2-4 from three and most importantly, being a factor from start to finish, something he's failed to do all season long. The whole situation worked out so well for the Sixers that they repeated it on Saturday, defeating the Pacers 107-97 and again, all parties benefitting from the lineup move.
Elton Brand scored a game-high 23 points, hauled in 8 rebounds and had one of his best all-around games as a Sixers with four assists and a steal to boot. Thad looked more comfortable coming off the bench again, scoring 22 point and nabbing 10 boards, and showing an aggressiveness he's lacked throughout the season with 16 shots. Clearly, both Brand and Thad looked better, more confident and more aggressive over the weekend after the switch, and Lou Will is in his rightful place coming off the bench. This brings about two vital questions: 1. What took so long to make a move like this when nothing else was working? 2. Why the hell would you do this now?
I just don't understand how a team that was only better than the Nets and Timberwolves for so long wouldn't shake things up like this sooner. Unless the goal was to tank the season and hope for John Wall, which is a conclusion I came to officially last week. But then, if that is the case, why make this move now? Why try to stir the pot and do something that could potentially lead to more wins and even inch the Sixers toward a playoff berth? It makes no sense. The Sixers aren't going anywhere. Even if they manage to reel off a hot streak and make the playoffs, they're going to face one of the top three seeds and get trounced. Why not just accept your fate and try to garner as many ping pong balls as possible? I just don't get it. I really don't. Either you're tanking or you're not. At this point, I have no idea what the Sixers are doing, besides giving me a headache. I'm not entirely sure they even know what they're doing anymore.
Luckily, other teams around here are doing just fine. Specifically two college basketball squads. Temple continued its march toward the top 15 by taking care of business against Fordham 62-45, and Villanova stayed atop the Big East with a tough 81-71 victory against St. John's at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm battled and scrapped all game long, giving the Wildcats a scare, but once again, Scottie Reynolds simply wouldn't let Villanova lose.
I've been one of Reynolds' harshest critics over the years, I'll admit. That's not to say Reynolds hasn't been a player I'd love to have on my team, but there have been moments where I've expected so much out of him that perhaps it wasn't fair. This season, however, Reynolds has been beyond fantastic. He's been everything you could want out of a player, and he's become not just a leader, but the leader of this team. Saturday, with the Red Storm giving Nova fits, Scottie simply wouldn't let the Wildcats lose. Reynolds awoke a dormant Nova offense at the end of the first half with a spurt to bring the Wildcats within one at halftime, and then he simply took over in the second half, refusing to let St. John's knock off his squad. He scored a game-high 19 points, played under control throughout, hoisted just 12 shots, went perfect from the free throw line, and came up with three crucial steals.
He played so well in the game, has played so well all season long, that Dave Pasch and Doris Burke were discussing how he's not just the leading candidate right now for Big East Player of the Year, but also a candidate for the Naismith, as in the overall college Player of the Year. When you really think about it, his name has to be up there with the likes of John Wall and Sherron Collins. He really has been that good. And his fine play has been rubbing off on his Villanova teammates.
Corey Fisher leant a helping hand Saturday, scoring 18 points himself, and it's evident that Reynolds has been in the ear of freshman Maalik Wayns. The point guard out of Roman Catholic scored 16 points himself on Saturday, and each and every game he looks better and better. It's no wonder that Wayns was such a coveted, prized recruit. From day one, he's shown no fear out on the court, supremely confident in his abilities that he belongs playing among college basketball's elite. He's showing the poise and confidence that Reynolds did his freshman season, Kyle Lowry did before him, like Jameer Nelson did at St. Joe's and Raymond Felton and Ty Lawson did at North Carolina. Wayns just has that it factor, that indescribable thing that the ones who belong have. From the start, he's shown he's ready to handle the pressure of big-time college basketball. And as the the season progresses, he's getting more playing time, being entrusted with big minutes in huge spots by Jay Wright, and all he's doing is coming up with huge plays, attacking the rim and never backing down to help Nova get back to where it wants to be in Reynolds' final season.
At the very least, Wayns is proving that Nova will be in fine hands when Reynolds finishes up his final season and graduates. He is a bona fide stud. As he gets more and more seasoned and Reynolds continues to lead this team the way he has, Villanova is becoming a better team each and every time it takes the court. Something tells me Reynolds is saving his best for last, just as he's saved his best season-long performance for his final year on campus.
Another team that's been putting its best foot forward of late is the Flyers. They kept things going Saturday with a 4-2 victory over Carolina, their third straight win, and have propelled themselves into 6th place in the Eastern Conference. After their nice victory Saturday coupled with the Nova and Temple wins and a win by the Sixers, I headed out to silver fox's house to drink the night away with silver fox, Toonces and some others.
When I got to silver fox's house, there was no street parking in sight, so I decided to make a lap around the block. In doing so, I turned the wrong way down a one-way street unbeknownst to me. Now, I was only going the wrong way down said street for literally less than 100 yards, but just my luck, at the first stop sign I saw, there's a cop. As I turned on silver fox's street, on went the officer's lights. I pulled over knowing full well what I had done after seeing all the cars parked facing the opposite direction. This night was about to be off to a bad start. Or so I thought.
The officer was actually very nice, and seeing as I had had absolutely nothing to drink (yet!) and was very accommodating, explaining that I didn't know it was a one-way street and I was just heading down the block to my friend's house, the cop took my information, went back to his car and then came back, issuing me just a warning, letting me off with no ticket. Points and fine averted. But it wasn't the last driving incident of the night.
See, everyone was drinking and partying and having a good time. Then silver fox, Toonces and I stepped outside for a few minutes. That's when a second crisis situation couldn't be averted. In an instant, a girl (who I just met for the first time that night) came storming out of the house crying, marching straight to her car. Shortly after, a few of her friends went running after her. The girl was clearly upset and my guess was probably drunk, but her friends looked to have a handle on the situation. Only they didn't, as she somehow wrestles herself away, got in her car, threw it in reverse and nailed the car directly behind her. I mean hard. Her friends then did manage to get her out of the car and steal away her keys, but the damage had been done. No one was hurt, but the cars were damaged. It was about that time I decided I should go inside, sober up and get the hell out of there.
That's what I did, getting a nice night's sleep before waking up in time to witness the Flyers-Pens game. A regulation victory would have been huge for the Flyers, bringing them within three points of fifth-place Ottawa and six points within fourth-place PIttsburgh. Things started out well, as the Flyers dominated early on and took a 1-0 lead on a power play goal by Jeff Carter.
Carter is another guy that I've been perhaps overly critical of over the years much in the way I have been on Reynolds. But over the past few weeks, Carter has been without question the best forward for the Flyers. He's scoring goals at a rapid pace again, getting chances every time on the ice, backchecking with relentless determination, playing sound defense, throwing checks and even winning a large portion of his faceoffs. Basically, he's doing everything. And yesterday, he got the Flyers off on the right foot.
And it looked like the Flyers were going to take complete control when Mike Richards buried a loose puck past Brent Johnson, but the goal was waved off. Why? Because Simon Gagne committed the single biggest boneheaded of play of his career. For no reason whatsoever, Gagne, after getting hit on a clean check by Evgeni Malkin, decided to go after Malkin, throwing him in a bear hug and getting his stick up in his face, as the Flyers had the puck in the zone and would have scored. Instead, when Richards touched the puck that wound up in the back of the net, play was halted because of the penalty. Gagne's selfish, stupid act, something he absolutely never does, cost the Flyers a goal AND put the Pens on the power play. Of course, the Penguins on the ensuing power play, making it 1-1. So basically, Gagne's retarded penalty cost the Flyers two goals. Instead of being up 2-0, as they should have been, they were tied 1-1. All because Gagne did something he never, ever does — take a stupid penalty for trying to go after another player. It was easily the worst decision, the worst play Simon Gagne has ever made in his career.
Ultimately, it proved costly, changing the entire complexion of the game. With newfound energy and suddenly a tie game, the Pens dominated the scoring chances in the second and eventually tallied a power play goal with less than two minutes remaining in the 3rd after Kimmo Timonen also made a boneheaded play, clearing the puck out of play without touching glass in his own zone. Essentially, the Flyers surrendered two points to the Pens because the two least likely players to make horrible mistakes made horrible mistakes. Of course, going just 1-of-9 on the power play didn't help either, but if you had told me two Flyers would take backbreaking penalties to cost them the game yesterday, Kimmo Timonen and Simon Gagne would have been the last two players I would have guessed. Such is sport, I guess. Expect the unexpected. Still, the Flyers are going well, competing hard again with Pittsburgh and jumping up to the six spot. Not bad.
Oh, and for all the talk about resting players and struggling down the stretch, here we are, right where everybody thought we'd be 13 games into the season: the Colts and Saints in the Super Bowl. A whole lot of uproar for nothing. Should be an extremely entertaining game.
And your highlight of the weekend:
As Flyers president and COO of Comcast-Spectacor Peter Luukko said:
“[John] Tortorella’s got it all wrong,” said Flyers president Peter Luukko between periods. “[Marian] Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player.”
Finally, Jose Contreras is a Phillie and the Phils have Chooch for three more years minimum. Works for me.
That's the text message I sent to two Rangers fans immediately after verifying that the final shot by the Rangers did not, in fact, cross the goal line before time ran out. It elicited these responses:
U dick
And, after also following up with, "Ps what the hell was gaborik doing?" this:
Carcillo is still the biggest wet pussy on a team loaded with them. I heard u and ur old man were still in therapy after the eagles got utterly ass raped by the gayboys twice in a row
They seem a bit bitter. But I love it. 8 and 0, of course, signifies the amount of goals the Flyers have scored (8) and the amount of goals the Rangers have scored (0) in the teams' last two meetings. The first was a 6-0 trouncing, and last night, the Flyers played suffocating defense in a 2-0 victory. It's always nice to have the upper hand in the smack talk, though really, they could just come back with, "How did that World Series pan out?" Still, it's always fun to beat New York, especially when it really is a heated rivalry like the Flyers and Rangers.
If you didn't watch last night's game, first of all, kill yourself. Secondly, you missed a truly awesome defensive performance from the Flyers. They held the red-hot Rangers to just 24 shots, with Ray Emery stopping all 24 (though to me, he still looked jittery back there and had trouble controlling rebounds), hounded every player that dared enter the Flyers zone, blocked a trillion shots, and cleared any rebound that may have been in harm's way. New York's leading goal scorer and the fifth-leading goal scorer in the NHL, Marian Gaborik, was completely invisible, putting up a goose egg in terms of shots. Well, completely invisible with the exception of this:
That's what you call a K.O. What in the hell was Gaborik thinking right there? Honestly, I'd like to know. Later in the game, with a slew of players in the penalty box, you could see Sean Avery yapping at Carcillo, calling him a fucking pussy for jumping Gaborik. Watch what happened again. Carcillo didn't do anything of the sorts. In an act of insanity, Gaborik provoked Carcillo and actually dropped the gloves first. As in, New York's best offensive player and one of the best snipers in the game decided to take on a player who makes a living by fighting. And he paid the price. Big time. Add to that the fact that the Flyers had to be without the services of a fourth-line winger, albeit a very good one, for five minutes while the Rangers lost their best offensive weapon for five minutes and it makes it even more insane. Marian Gaborik done lost his damn mind there. There's no other explanation. He never stood a chance in that fight, and right then, even with the score just 1-0 at the time, I knew the Flyers were going to win. They were in New York's head.
That point was driven home when head scumbag coach John Tortorella went into another one of his asshole tirades, walking down the Rangers bench toward the Flyers and literally screaming at Philadelphia players, all while making the yapping motion with his hands — even going so far as to call some Flyers pussies. Here's the thing about that: The Flyers are full of players that go out there, hit anything that moves and drop the gloves routinely, which is to say, hardly pussies. Meanwhile, Tortorella does this sort of thing several times throughout a season, acting all tough and attacking opposing players verbally from the safety of the bench, which is to say, the definition of a pussy. As much as I hate Sean Avery just like everyone else, at least he has to go out on the ice and prove his manhood, which he does, rarely shying away from a fight. John Tortorella simply tries to call out opposing players from his safe little world on the bench. What I'm trying to say is, John Tortorella is the biggest asshole on the face of the earth. If there is one person in hockey that I would LOVE to run over in my car if I saw him on the side of the road, it's John Tortorella. I hated him in Tampa. I hate him New York. And I'll hate him wherever he goes next after the organization tires of his dickish ways. I hate John Tortorella more than anyone I've ever come across in hockey. Anyone. More than Matthew Barnaby. More than Tie Domi. More than Lindy Ruff. More than Martin Brodeur. More than anyone. He is a scumbag to the core. I hope something horrible happens to him.
Of course, Tortorella wasn't only the one running his mouth on the Rangers. Sean Avery wouldn't shut the hell up, and he got destroyed by Scott Hartnell for it:
The best part about that is Avery is such a fucking moron that he let Hartnell bait him into the dropping the gloves WHILE THE RANGERS HAD THE PUCK IN THE FLYERS ZONE! We'll take that every time, especially when it results in Avery getting taken to the ice on two punches. Thanks, Sean. And of course, with a game that featured four fights (the other two were Carcillo-Avery (not much happened, though Avery did land more blows) and Voros-Asham (again, not much happened)) there was plenty of smack talk going on. Brandon Dubinsky, who didn't do a single thing in the game besides march to the penalty box, was throwing out "fucking pussy" rants toward Flyers all night long, yet he's the one who earned a roughing minor to taking a cheap shot, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for berating a referee and, uh, that's about it. You can call the Flyers pussies all night long if you want, but they were the aggressors, the ones throwing the big checks and playing impenetrable defense, and yeah, winning. You know, by actually scoring goals. Like James van Riemsdyk's beauty goal off his own rebound thanks to an insanely awesome outlet pass from Chris Pronger and Mike Richards' back-breaking power play goal with less than 3 seconds remaining in the 2nd period.
Offensively, the Flyers didn't get all that many more chances than New York, only registering 27 shots themselves, but the Flyers definitely controlled the play. The Asham-Giroux-JVR line has picked up right where it left off when they were playing together earlier in the season. JVR and Giroux look like they know where each other is at all times; there's just a chemistry there that's uncanny. Those two have made so many incredible passes to one another over the last two games that it just seems silly to ever break them up again. The Carter-Briere-Hartnell line continued to do its thing, Betts-Carcillo-Laperriere line played ridiculous awesome defense and the Richards-Gagne-Powe line did just about everything. Richards had that look right from the start that he was going to have a big game, and he sure did. It started with a big hit on the giant Brian Boyle, peaked with his power play goal and ended with him telling Avery just how stupid he is at the end of the game, or so I imagine. The two were exchanging some words as the game was ending.
But the most impressive thing about that game last night was the play of the Flyers defensemen. Chris Pronger has simply continued to be everything the Flyers had hoped he'd be. In today's fast-paced game, it wouldn't be surprising if a guy like Chris Pronger struggled to keep up. We already saw that before in Derian Hatcher, who took a long time to adjust to the new NHL before ultimately doing so and playing pretty well. But Pronger has had no such troubles. The man is the definition of a shutdown defenseman. He always takes the right angle to the puck, uses his long strides and insane reach to get to every puck and takes out players with the best of them. He stands up at the blue line, pokes pucks away from dangerous spots and frankly, I've never seen a defenseman spring the team in transition any better than Pronger. It's a shocker when he doesn't hit the tape on an outlet pass. Just look at JVR's goal as an example. Last night, he was simply awesome again.
As was Kimmo Timonen, who continues to be the most underrated defenseman in the entire NHL. Timonen and Pronger were absolutely the best two players on the ice last night. Every time Gaborik stepped on the ice, either Timonen or Pronger was there to meet him. And they combined to blank the potent sniper. As in zero shots and zero chances. Timonen does so many of the little, subtle things, which is precisely why he is so overlooked on a grander scale. You really have to watch this guy night in and night out to understand just how awesome he is. Whether it's getting the puck to a fellow defenseman, wedging a player off the puck, cutting down angles on shots/passes, blocking shots, sweeping the puck out of harm's way, cutting off skating angles, whatever, Kimmo is a master at it. Defensively, you'd be hard-pressed to find another defenseman in the Eastern Conference that is so good at everything as Kimmo. Last night, he shut down everything the Rangers attempted when he was on the ice. Everything. Add in the sound, solid hockey that Braydon Coburn and Matt Carle played alongside Pronger and Timonen, and it's easy to see why the Rangers had so much trouble generating any offense. The Flyers got to every loose puck, secured every rebound and moved out of their zone with relative ease all night.
Plus, the Flyers got excellent minutes from their third defense pairing as well. I thought last night was the best game Oskars Bartulis has played as a Flyer. Over the past month-plus, Bartulis has been asked to play a bigger role with Ryan Parent and Danny Syvret shelved with injuries. And with more burden to carry, he's elevated his game, steadily improving each and every time out there on the ice. Well, last night, I think he was at his best yet. I don't remember Bartulis making a single mistake last night. Not a one. He nullified every Ranger he marked, won puck battles and always seemed to make the right play. I don't think he was beat to a single puck all night. When you add in the effort oft-injured Ole-Kristian Tollefsen brought, I never once felt unsafe with that duo on the ice. Even though OK Tollefsen hasn't seen the ice much this season due to injury, he played very well against the Blue Jackets the other night, and last night, seemed in sync with everything Bartulis was doing. Those two looked like they had been playing together all season long instead of just a few games. They were always there to support one another and had great communication all night. As did all of the Flyers defensemen, and all the forwards who did a tremendous job backchecking.
It very well may have been the best defensive effort of the season for the Flyers. The Rangers really never threatened save for one little flurry. That was it. The Flyers shut all doors from then on. I think Peter Laviolette's aggressive, neutral-zone lock defensive system is really benefitting these defensemen. They're encouraged to pinch in the offensive zone and join the rush, keeping them heavily involved on both ends of the ice. As a result, it looks as though they're even more focused and never caught on their heels defensively, resulting in suffocating efforts like last night. Any time you can limit the Rangers like that, especially with a world class goaltender at the other end, it's big.
If the Flyers can come away from this home stand with a couple more victories, they may just finally be able to make a push toward the fifth, maybe even fourth spot in the conference. Because now, after a very tough adjustment period, the Flyers are looking completely comfortable and excited in Laviolette's system, both offensively and defensively. And we all know the Flyers have the talent to play with the best of them. Now they just might have the formula too.
Jeff Carter is a very good hockey player. Last year, he had a breakout season, scoring 46 goals, becoming an All-Star and growing into a very good penalty killer to boot. When he's on his game, he can be downright awesome. But there have been times over the past two seasons, early in this one especially, where Carter seems timid, disinterested or just plain off. Almost underachieving to a degree.
That was actually the book on Carter heading into the 2007-08 season. In his 2005-06 rookie campaign, Carter showed a ton of promise, scoring 23 goals, including six on the power play and two short-handed, and notching 19 assists all while finishing as a +10. He was part of a young Flyers core that had come up through the ranks together — Carter, Mike Richards, R.J. Umberger, Scottie Upshall — winning a Calder Cup with the Phantoms and bursting onto the scene. But then, in the Flyers' disastrous 2006-07 campaign, Carter epitomized the team's struggles. In 62 games, he finished with 14 goals and 23 assists, only five points less than in his rookie season in far fewer games, but he was also a -17 and failed to take the next logical step for a player who displayed so much talent.
And that carried over into 2007-08, the year the Flyers rebounded and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference finals. Early in the year, Richards regained his form and carried a club with the help of some key additions: Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, Joffrey Lupul, to name a few. The Flyers looked like the real deal, but Carter was cast more in the background than to the forefront, as the Flyers had expected. That is, until Mike Richards went down to injury late in the season. Then, suddenly, Carter turned into the best player on the team, taking his game to a new level. He won faceoffs, scored big goals, helped defend the opposition's top line and basically did everything the Flyers were asking of Mike Richards at the time. Jeff Carter became a bona fide NHL star-in-the-making.
After the season was over, the Flyers had to make a choice between keeping Carter or Umberger, who had a phenomenal playoff run but had been in and out of then-coach John Stevens' doghouse all season long. Really, if you looked at the season as a whole and at what Carter had done in Richards' absence, it was a no-brainer. The Flyers had to keep Carter, and they did. He validated that with a tremendous 2008-09 season … but at times, Carter didn't look like the same player who was without question a man on a mission the year before. He shied away from contact, cruised through some games and really faltered down the stretch with the rest of the Flyers. Sure, he had an excellent season and scored a ton of goals, but he didn't look as determined on a nightly basis as he did in that late run the year before. Some nights, he looked like the best player on the ice, no matter the opponent. Others, he was arguably the worst skater out there. Again, he sort of epitomized the Flyers last season: up and down, inconsistent.
Admittedly, even during the Flyers' struggles this year, Carter has been really good more times than not. Often, he's been the Flyers' best player. But I still haven't really seen the same guy from two seasons ago, the guy who would completely dominate a game from start to finish, both offensively and defensively. The guy who almost singlehandedly held the Flyers together before Richards returned and the team made an unexpected run to the Eastern Conference finals. That is, until last night.
Against the Blue Jackets with his old buddy R.J. Umberger in town, Carter turned his game up to another level. He was all over the place. Each time he stepped on the ice, he stood out. He made plays. He dominated. It was on par with watching the likes of Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk, any of the game's greats. When they step on the ice, they just stand out above the rest. Carter has shown flashes of that before, but never was it more noticeable than last night. And he wasted no time to announce he was ready to play.
Just 58 seconds in, on his first shift of the game, Carter stole the puck away from a group of three Blue Jackets, darted behind them and buried a nasty backhander to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead.
From there, all he did was play his best hockey of the season and stand out as the best player on the ice each and every shift. Every time he was on the ice, something good happened for the Flyers. He created scoring chances, scored two goals, added an assist and caused Columbus all sorts of problems. But even more impressively, the thing that made this performance stand out above the rest was the fact that Jeff Carter, notoriously a player who has shied away from the rough stuff, from the physical play, was laying hits, jumping into scrums and showing a mean streak many Flyers fans weren't sure he even had. He played with an edge. He played with a swagger. And he played his best hockey in two years … and that includes last season.
It was more reminiscent of the guy who carried the load when Richards was injured two seasons ago. He was doing the dirty work, sticking up for himself. He looked determined, relentless, angry even. If he can find a way to play that way every night, this Flyers team becomes that much better. If he can truly add that physical, almost mean component to his game and go out with that same intensity on a nightly basis — the way the Ovechkins and Crosbys and even Richards do — then we have on our hands a star and a team that can do some serious damage. Carter was doing everything last night — winning faceoffs, throwing checks, scoring goals. Hell, he even broke out an Eric Lindros staple, shooting the puck right off a faceoff to score his second goal.
Now all he has to do is find a way to play like that, with that same intensity, desire and mean streak, every single night, instead of just doing it some of the time. Because that Jeff Carter is an unstoppable force, the kind of player the Flyers expect him to be, and the kind of player that can transform a mediocre team fighting for a playoff spot to a team that can do some serious damage in the postseason.
Last night was a good start. Now all he has to do is keep it up, night in and night out.
A few more notes from last night …
-How much motivation is it for R.J. Umberger taking on his former team? He was one of the lone bright spots for Columbus last night, scoring their first two goals and almost netting a hat trick. It kind of makes you long for the days before the salary cap, when the Flyers wouldn't have blinked twice about spending the money to keep him and Carter.
-Claude Giroux is just filthy. His blind, backhanded pass right to Arron Asham's tape on Asham's goal was just ridiculous. Human beings shouldn't be able to do that. Makes sense, because I'm pretty sure Claude isn't human. It's nice to have him on a line with Richards and Gagne, but as he showed last night, he's much more comfortable and capable as a center. Flipping him and Powe is a seamless transition. Powe fits well with his aggressive forechecking on the Richards-Gagne line, and with Claude centering JVR and Asham, he's bound to wrack up the assists, as his great playmaking skills come to the forefront more from the center position.
-Danny Carcillo is good. Real good. I know many a Flyers fan was upset when Paul Holmgren traded Scottie Upshall for Daniel Carcillo, myself included, but I have to tell you, that deal is turning out quite nicely for the Flyers. Yes, Carcillo can at times fly off the handle and do something crazy, but he has been, for the most part, awesome for the Flyers. This season, he's done much more to draw penalties than to put the Flyers shorthanded, does a great job as an enforcer/agitator, quickly has won the fans over and shown some incredible skill. It's why some people compared his talent to the likes of Milan Lucic as the two were coming up. And here's the thing … as much as I and damn near every fan loved Scottie Upshall and the energy he brought, Daniel Carcillo may actually be a more skilled, more complete, better player.
I know that sounds weird, because when you think Upshall, you think speed and skill, and when you think Carcillo, you think, to an extent, goon. But I watched Scottie Upshall damn near every game he played as a Flyer. He was good, aggressive, fast and made plays. But he wasn't the most skilled player in the world, and believe it or not, he took his fair share of dumb penalties too. Now I've watched damn near every game Carcillo has played as a Flyer, and I have to say, while nowhere near as fast, Carcillo has a much better shot, many more offensive moves and just as good if not better vision on the ice than Upshall did. Basically, he's more skilled … plus bigger, stronger and able to throw down. This is not to put down Upshall in any way. I loved that guy and was sad to see him go. But Carcillo is the better player. He just is. And he's fitting in just fine here in Philadelphia. Well done, Holmgren.
-Seriously, Jeff Carter needs to play like that every night. He was amazing last night.
It's no secret that the Flyers have vastly underachieved this season. The trade for Chris Pronger was the move that was supposed to help put a talented, young slew a forwards over the top to be on par with the Pittsburghs and Detroits of the world. Yet here we are, one coaching change and 42 games in, and the Flyers still sit dead last in the Atlantic Division and 10th in the Eastern Conference.
Yet over the past two weeks, something seems to have clicked for the Flyers. Perhaps they are just now getting accustomed to and comfortable with new coach Peter Laviolette's system. Maybe the players realize there isn't a ton of time left to turn this thing around. Or maybe the Flyers simply have caught a few more breaks, gained some confidence and are finally becoming the team we all expected they would be. It's still just a little too early to tell. But the fact of the matter is, the Flyers are playing much better hockey of late. In their last seven games, they've gone 5-1-1, winning four straight by taking care of some unspectacular teams on the road, fighting valiantly at Boston in the Winter Classic and earning a point, and then dominating a struggling Toronto team last night. Yes, there was that 7-4 clunker to the Senators on Sunday, but if the Flyers can have 5-1-1 seven-game stretches routinely, they'll certainly be in good shape.
Of course, that seven-game stretch has come against mainly favorable opponents. But the thing about that is, when the Flyers were at their lowest, those were the type of teams they weren't beating. Good teams take care of business against bad teams. All the sudden, the Flyers are doing just that. Last night was simply another example.
From the drop of the puck to the final horn, the Flyers were in control last night. Now, besides the 6-2 score, the stats aren't overwhelmingly in the Flyers' favor. The final shot total reads 32-32, faceoffs read 33-29 Philadelphia, and even the power play chances were pretty even, with the Flyers getting six and the Leafs getting four. But trust me, throughout the Flyers controlled the game and the tempo. There was never a moment that it felt like Toronto was tilting the ice in its favor. Not once. This was a dominating performance by the Flyers.
Every player who took the ice played well. Chris Pronger continued to show his worth, playing outstanding defense and notching three assists. Danny Briere continued his breakout, lighting the lamp twice, scoring the first goal of the game and and then answering just 40 seconds after Toronto finally got on the board with a beauty of a shot. It was a great way to get his 500th NHL point. And the Flyers got contributions from everyone, evident by the 12 players who registered at least one point. Oh, and Michael Leighton made one hell of a spectacular save early on on a perfectly executed pass for a tip by the Leafs, just getting his arm on it before Matt Carle swatted it out of mid-air and out of harm's way.
To me, three players really stood out in that game: Dan Carcillo, James van Riemsdyk and Danny Syvret.
On any given night, you can watch a Flyers game and notice that Dan Carcillo is having a great time out there on the ice. As much fun as he seems to have every game, last night he was really in his element. The Maple Leafs were doing a lot of barking, taking a lot of cheap shots, specifically Colton Orr and Jamal Mayers. That's the stuff Carcillo lives for. So naturally, he was jawing right back, irritating the Leafs to no end. He helped the Flyers draw penalties from the Leafs with his yapping, infuriated Orr with the fact that he wouldn't drop the gloves with him, and even gave Mayers a goose egg on his forehead in a fight. It was classic Carcillo.
To top things off, Carcillo scored a filthy goal, embarrassing the Leafs in the process. Then he put the icing on the cake with an exaggerated, awesome celebration, followed by a nice long skate down the Leafs' bench and signaling Colton Orr, who had crosschecked him earlier on the shift and had tried to get Carcillo to rumble all night. It was fucking fantastic.
The Flyers certainly know how to get under Colton Orr's skin. The tough guy from the Leafs wanted nothing more than to rumble with someone, anyone, but the Flyers wouldn't take the bait. Even after he took cheap shot after cheap shot, which he did all night long, including a run at captain Mike Richards, the Flyers wouldn't entertain him. They defended their teammates, sure, but wouldn't drop the gloves with Orr, which is exactly what he wanted. Instead, Carcillo and company kept antagonizing him, and then Carcillo rubbed some salt in the wound by very clearly skating over to him after his highlight-reel goal. Gotta love it.
You also have to love what Danny Syvret showed last night. In my opinion, last night was Syvret's best game as a Flyer. He looked confident on the ice, played sound, fundamental defense, and definitely displayed the offensive talent that allowed him to make the roster this year. His goal was a picture-perfect laser, placing right below the elbow. Gustavsson never had a shot at stopping it. His goal in the winter classic seems to have given the young defenseman confidence. At least, it seemed to last night. By far his best showing of the season.
And then there is JVR. Van Riemsdyk didn't take long to make his presence felt in the NHL, and he's played very all season long. But lately, the fast-starting rookie has been in a bit of scoring slump. He got off the schnide last night, deflecting home a goal on a textbook redirection, planted right in front of the net on the power play. (By the way, the Flyers went 3 for 6 on the man advantage last night.) And his best shift of the game came on Danny Syvret's beautiful goal. Riemer was the shining example of what Peter Laviolette looks for in his forecheckers on that shift, never relenting, hounding the puck, causing the Toronto defense to turn it over, controlling the puck, cycling, hitting, and then, eventually, leading to a goal. It was perhaps the best shift of James van Riemsdyk's young career. Excellent game overall for the rookie.
That line of Darroll Powe, Arron Asham and JVR looks like it was tailor-made to play for Laviolette. If ever there was a line on this team built for an aggressive forecheck, it's that trio. Powe goes 100 miles per hour every shift, and he's never seen a defenseman he hasn't wanted to charge at full-blast on a dump-in. Asham isn't a shy one at laying a hard hit and retrieving the puck either. And JVR is simply a beast along the boards, using his size and strength (which will only increase as he matures) to dig out pucks and work the cycle. That line has been playing the most consistent hockey during this 7-game stretch.
As I stated earlier, it's still a little too early to tell if the Flyers really are turning the corner on the season. After all, this mini streak has come against some pretty poor teams. But we'll get a better feel tonight, when the Flyers head west to take on the defending Stanley Cup champions. A win in Pittsburgh would surely do wonders for a team that is starting to look the way it's supposed to.
Holy calamity! That was one awesome sports weekend, especially considering there really wasn't anything on worth your time on Friday. But boy, did Friday start off with a bang. Or should I say, an ax?
On Friday, I almost wrote about Stevens, yet again stating my case that he should be fired. To my surprise, as I was walking out of my office around 5 p.m., I received a jubilant phone call from Adam EatShit proclaiming that "they finally did it. We got what we wanted." I had no idea what he was talking about, so I asked for some clarification. "They fired Stevens," he responded. I was stunned. Even though it was abundantly clear that the Flyers were never going to gain any consistency under the guy and the grumblings for his head were finally starting to swirl, he has had plenty of success in a short period of time and seemed to be backed by the organization. I didn't see him getting axed before the new year, if at all.
But boy was I glad when I heard the news. When I got home later, I heard he was being replaced by Peter Lavliolette. It was sort of a "meh" reaction, but definitely not upset about it. The guy does have a Cup. The important thing was that Stevens is out. This called for a celebration of the highest order. Instead I just got drunk with silver fox at the bar down the street as we watched LeBron and Kobe each lead their team to victory, LeBron in easy fashion and Kobe in dramatic fashion.
I'm not sure if you heard, but Kobe and LeBron are pretty good.
That set the stage for a beautiful Saturday afternoon of college football championship games, some de facto championship games, like Cincinnati-Pitt, and others actually championship games, like Florida-Alabama and Texas-Nebraska. It was honestly one of the most exciting Saturdays I've ever seen in college football, and it didn't take long for the excitement to get going.
If you didn't watch the Pitt-Cincinnati game, you are a bad person. Simple as that. And Adam EatShit, a friend of ours and I watched that shit in style. To really enjoy the festivities of the day, you have to have some good eating, so the three of us ventured down to Paesano's right near 2nd and Girard. If you haven't been, make it a priority, because that place has the best god damn sandwiches on earth. No joke. We then returned to kick back and watch the undefeated Bearcats take on Pitt in the de facto Big East championship game … and to watch Kentucky play UNC in Lexington. I love having two TVs.
Truth be told, I was focusing more on the Kentucky-UNC game early on for one simple reason: I couldn't take my eyes off John Wall.
North Carolina jumped out to an early 9-2 lead, making it look like the Wildcats would be in for a long day on their home floor. Then Kentucky went on a 16-0 run, which turned into a 28-2 run, due to one man. That man was John Wall. In that 8 and half minute stretch that saw the Wildcats go from 7 down to up 19, Wall looked every bit like the No. 1 ranked player coming out of high school he was proclaimed to be. He looked every bit like the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. He was head and shoulders above anyone else on the court … in a game between Kentucky and North Carolina. Every single player on each team is a stud recruit, some of the most talented college players on the planet. And Wall was way better than every single one of them.
It was the first time I got to see Wall play from start to finish, and to say I was impressed would be the understatement of the century. His speed in the open court was appalling. His explosiveness to the rim and finishing ability were ridiculous. And his decision making was nearly flawless. Everything about his game looked effortless, fluid, impressive. It was amazing to watch. He has everything you could possibly ask for in a point guard: size, speed, ridiculous handle, tremendous court vision, great decision making, an excellent ability to create, and a lethal scoring touch. He was flat out embarrassing anyone and everyone North Carolina put on him, and he was dominating even when he wasn't scoring the basketball. That's the sign of a truly great point guard.
Of course, that 19-point lead for Kentucky all but vanished in the second half when Wall was limited due to dehydration issues. UNC took advantage and made their run, showing this team has no quit and won't back down. But Kentucky and Wall were just a little too much. The freshman hit two clutch free throws to ice the game and cap of his impressive game: 16 points, 5 boards and 7 assists. Watch him while you can, Wildcat fans, because Wall won't be sticking around in Lexington that long. In just his second month in a college uniform, the guy is already a superstar.
Superstar would be a good word to describe Mardy Gilyard of Cincinnati. Or maybe quiet superstar would be more appropriate.
Pitt played a tremendous game, had a tremendous season, but even the talented Panthers couldn't contain Cincinnati's star senior receiver. Just as Wall stood out above all the rest on the court Saturday, Gilyard was far and away the most dynamic, most explosive player on the field in Pittsburgh. No question about it. He was completely terrifying in the return game — which Pitt already knew, evident by their refusal to kick to him on punts — just annihilating the Panthers on kick returns. He touched the ball seven times off kickoffs, once thanks to some smart placement by Brian Kelly, aware Pitt was trying to kick away from him, torching Pitt for 256 return yards, highlighted by his 99-yard touchdown. Read that again: 256 yards on kick returns. With a 36.6 average. That's frightening. Especially considering he added another 118 yards receiving including a 68-yard touchdown.
Add in the 7 yards he got on the one punt he was actually given an opportunity to return and his stat line is even more absurd: 381 total yards and two touchdowns on 13 touches. That's just stupid. Almost as stupid as Matt Millen.
Listen, Dion Lewis is a stud of a running back — a completely awesome find for Pitt. He was a monster again Saturday, tearing up the Bearcats for 194 yards and three touchdowns on 47 — 47! — carries. His touchdown with 2:24 to go put the Panthers up 44-38 and looked to give them the Big East title. He's a phenomenal player, especially for a lightly recruited freshman. But to continually compare him to Barry Sanders, arguably the greatest running back who ever lived and unarguably one of the three best running backs to ever take the field, is simply absurd. Yes, Lewis is tough to tackle and an elusive runner, but to equate him to the greatest elusive back of all time, one with track star burning speed, and to do it all game long is going more than a bit overboard. Dion Lewis, with the exception of being short and playing running back, does not resemble Barry Sanders one bit. You know why? Not because he's not as fast or as talented, which are both true, taking nothing away from how incredibly talented he is. No, he doesn't resemble Barry because no one resembles Barry Sanders. No one.
I don't recall Dion Lewis doing anything like that. Again, Lewis is incredible. He's had an insane freshman season, breaking Ironhead Heyward's school record of 42 carries in a game Saturday and now just 46 yards shy of Tony Dorsett's freshman record of 1,686 yards, which you have to think he'll break in Pitt's bowl game. But Barry Sanders he is not. Because no one is Barry Sanders except Barry Sanders. Matt Millen is an idiot, and I'm ashamed that he went to Penn State.
Anyway, Matt Millen's stupidity aside, this was quite possibly the most entertaining game of the weekend. Not only was it a shootout that came down to the final moments, not only did each team's stars rise to the occasion, not only were there big plays galore, but most importantly, Pitt lost and Pitt lost by a point while botching their final extra point attempt of the game. That is awesome.
Every bit as awesome as that final throw by Tony Pike, hitting a wide open Armon Binns perfectly in stride on one of the most beautifully thrown passes I've ever seen. Pike had a rough game, completing just 50 percent of his passes and throwing three picks, but he came through when it mattered most, leading his team 61 yards right down the field in just four plays after getting the ball with 1:30 left to go and down my six. Pike was masterful on the drive, getting the Bearcats in the end zone in just 33 seconds. It was a drive for the ages, and it removed any hope Pitt had of reaching a BCS bowl. Great game.
In fact, it was a much better game than the one everyone was anticipating as the marquee matchup of the day between No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Alabama in the SEC Championship game. But that was far from a good game. Bama stomped all over the Gators in blowout fashion, trouncing the Tebows 32-13 and driving college football's golden boy to tears. For some reason, this made me smile.
I have to admit, Bama looked like the best team in the country from start to finish. Greg McElroy was impressive under center, proving he is a prime-time QB ready to lead the hallowed Crimson Tide. The defense was suffocating, intense and delivered bone-crushing blow after bone-crushing blow. Rolando McClain was flying all over the field, Terrence Cody was his mountainous self, and the Tide controlled the game thanks to Mark Ingram, who probably cemented his Heisman Trophy with 113 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries to go along with two caches for 76 yards.
The Tide rolled all over Florida, and it was nice to see the Gators dropped down a peg. But the game was actually pretty boring, and after a wild Cincy-Pitt game and thrilling UNC-Kentucky battle, it was sort of a letdown of a game. I needed more excitement back in my life. Thankfully, the night games offered me plenty of that.
It all started with a punch. A lethal punch at that. In their first game since John Stevens was fired Friday, the first game with Peter Lavliolette at the helm, the Flyers once again fell behind 1-0 to Washington. But finally, mercifully, the Flyers scored to tie it up, breaking an 8-plus period goal-less streak. The game was tied, and the Flyers were showing some fight for their new coach. Then they showed a little too much fight. At least, Dan Carcillo did:
For one reason or another, Carcillo took exception to Bradley's hit and unleashed. He earned a cross check, evident on the replay, a roughing minor, a fighting major and a game misconduct. 19 29 minutes of penalty time, a 9-minute power play for Washington. Not a smart move by Carcillo at all, and one that certainly cost the Flyers. The Caps scored three goals on the resulting penalties to go up 4-1 and never looked back. As a fan, it was an awesome thing to watch Carcillo completely knock out Bradley in one punch, gashing Bradley's face on the lethal blow, but it was something that completely cost the team and let the game get away from the Flyers. Nine minutes of power play time is asking an awful lot from the penalty kill unit. And for his actions, Carcillo was suspended four games, putting the ailing Flyers down another man for four more contests.
Now, Bradley should have gotten a fighting major in my opinion for dropping his gloves, but Carcillo deserved every penalty minute he got. He wailed on Bradley before the guy was even remotely ready, a no-no in fighting. Bradley was left defenseless. Then so were the Flyers, who lost 8-2 after unraveling from the penalty. Ray Emery was pulled. Brian Boucher wasn't any better. And the Flyers continued to struggle. Instead of coming out and proving a point to their new coach, they showed this team has along way to go to get back to the team everyone was expecting to compete with Pittsburgh for a Stanley Cup.
The Sixers were equally pathetic Saturday night. Spending most of our time watching the Flyers and the football games on, we flipped over to the Sixers just in time to see the utter debacle that was the final minute of play. Up by a point with less than a minute left to play, the Sixers gave up a layup to Boris Diaw with 17 seconds to fall behind 104-103. A layup. With the final moments winding down and the team up a point. That's just sad. But wait, it gets worse.
On their ensuing possession, the Sixers got bailed out. With 13 seconds left, Andre Iguodala was fouled. He went to the line and calmly sank both, putting the Sixers back up 105-104. All they needed was a stop and the game was theirs, losing streak over. Instead, they gave up another layup, this one to Raymond Felton, to go down 106-105 with four seconds left. The Sixers gave up two layups in the final 17 seconds to lose by a point. Not two baskets. Not two contested jump shots. Not two three pointers. Two fucking layups, each coming when the Sixers held a one-point lead. Iggy took a ridiculous fadeaway that never even had a chance to go in at the buzzer, and the Sixers lost yet again, their 9th straight loss. This team is pathetic. Thank god Allen Iverson is returning tonight.
With the Sixers and Flyers both embarrassing themselves, I was able to spend the majority of my time focused on two more insanely awesome football games: Texas-Nebraska in the Big XII Championship game and Clemson-Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game. Now, seeing as Colt McCoy led the Longhorns on the winning drive and that Mark Ingram went bonkers against Florida, one of those two is probably going to win the Heisman, most likely Ingram because his performance against the Gators was epic. Regardless, Ingram and McCoy will finish 1-2 in the voting. No doubt about that. But the best players in the country were two guys who have not gotten nearly enough love from the nation this year, two guys who played for the losing sides in those night championship games. That's right, Ndamukong Suh and C.J. Spiller are the best two players in the country.
I've gotten to see Jared Odrick play football the past four years and completely dominate for Penn State. I couldn't image any defensive lineman, especially a tackle, as dominant as him. That is until Ndamukong Suh came along. Ladies and gentlemen, if you haven't seen Suh play this season, then you haven't seen the best player in the nation. He is, hands down, the most impressive defensive lineman to hit college football in decades. He's a 6'4", 300-lb. defensive tackle who LEADS HIS TEAM IN TACKLES. He is a defensive tackle. A god damn defensive tackle. And he leads his team in tackles. That's not unheard of. That's impossible. Defensive tackles aren't typically measured by stats because they typically don't put up huge stats. They get penetration, eat up blockers and let their teammates clean up the mess. Well, Suh does all of that AND makes more plays than anyone else on his team. And his team has one of the best, most suffocating defenses in the nation. Yet somehow, Suh leads the Cornhuskers with 50 solo tackles — 10 more than safety Larry Asante and linebacker Phillip Dillard — and leads them in total tackles with 82 — six more than Asante and Dillard. He has 23 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and three blocked kicks. He is not human.
And Saturday, he was the best player on the field in the Big XII championship game. Better than Colt McCoy. Better than Jordan Shipley. Better than anyone. All game long he was absolutely killing any and all Texas linemen who had the unfortunate assignment of trying to block him. I honestly don't think he lost a battle on more than a play or two. He led everyone on the field with 10 solo tackles and 12 total. He sacked McCoy four and half times and notched seven tackles for loss. He was terrifying just how awesome he played against the No. 3 ranked team in the nation. If Ndamukong Suh isn't the first pick in the draft, something is terribly, horribly wrong.
Just like something is terribly, horribly wrong with America for the simple fact that C.J. Spiller is not considered the favorite to win the Heisman. Suh I can understand. He's a defensive player, and we all know defensive players aren't allowed to win the Heisman ever since Charles Woodson did. Since then, there's some stupid unspoken ban on allowing a defender to win it even if he is the most outstanding player in the country, which is exactly what Suh is. But if Suh can't win it, then it should unquestionably go to C.J. Spiller.
Yes, Toby Gerhart has more yards and more touchdowns, but Spiller is the best back I've watched all season in my book, and he saved his best for last, even if it wasn't enough. Laying it all on the line, Spiller, even though he has been hampered with an injury for a while now, exploded for 233 and four touchdowns on 20 carries. 233, four TDs. He added another 63 yards on three kick returns. He was the sole reason the Tigers even had a shot at defeating Georgia Tech, ripping off two electrifying scoring runs, one for 41 yards and the other for 36.
That guy is amazing. While all the talk all year has been focused on Tebow, McCoy and Ingram for Heisman, Ndamukong Suh and C.J. Spiller are really the most deserving candidates. Too bad their teammates aren't as good as the players on Texas, Bama and Florida. Heisman voters are stupid.
Oh, and seriously, what in the hell were Mack Brown and Colt McCoy doing at the end of that game? They knew they had a timeout left, right? What the hell is going on with teams and end-of-game scenarios? Texas was lucky as shit that time didn't run out. Andy Reid's time management "skills" are scarily trickling down to the college ranks.
Speaking of Andy Reid, wouldn't you know it but the Eagles ran the ball 26 times yesterday and threw it 27, remaining balanced and efficient most of the game, and the Eagles easily won 34-7 in Atlanta, giving the Falcons their first home loss of the season. Amazing how that works.
The defense played phenomenal and Jeremy Maclin showcased his blazing speed, but the biggest stories of the game were unquestionably Mike Vick's return to Atlanta and Leonard Weaver going nuts.
It had to feel good for Vick to get his first two touchdowns since being released from prison and to do it in Atlanta. Frankly, I don't give a shit about his return, but I was happy that the Eagles finally actually used him with a purpose. His rushing touchdown proved he can be effective in the red zone and add a wrinkle to an offense that has struggled to get touchdowns at times inside the 20, and his throwing touchdown to Brent Celek gave me some crucial fantasy points. Congrats, Mike.
To me, the most impressive thing was one Leonard Weaver, who made play after play, averaging 7.4 yards per carry, catching a touchdown pass and hauling in another grab in ridiculous fashion and barreling 59 yards with it.
My only gripe with the offense was not getting LeSean McCoy enough touches. The guy is good. Not sure if you heard. But still, solid performance. As far as the defense goes, yes, it was a task made much easier by the fact that the Falcons were missing their starting quarterback, starting running back, a starting wide receiver and two starting offensive linemen, but for what it's worth, I think that was the best game Sean McDermott has called all season long. He didn't just blindly blitz on every passing down, he mixed things up very well and his defenders were well-prepared, getting their hands up in the throwing lanes against Chris Redmond, containing Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White, and just having a tremendous game all around. Very impressive stuff.
And Asante even made some tackles, and impressive ones at that. In fact, I don't remember him even missing one all game. The one that it looked like he missed on Tony Gonzalez, he was actually going for the pick, clearly seen on the replay. Other than that, he was flawless in his tackling. Looks like someone was reading the press clippings griping about his flimsy attempts at bringing down ball carriers and took it personally. Well done, Asante. Now start doing it on the regular.
Oh, and is it just me or do Moose and Goose somehow manage to get even worse each and every time out? I used to think Daryl Johnston was a pretty good announcer. I don't know what I was thinking, because now I can't stand him. I think hanging around Goose has made him dumber.
All in all, excellent weekend in the world of sports. And the capper comes tonight, as Allen Iverson comes home. I'll be there, and frankly, I cannot wait.
Update: Two things I forgot to mention about the Texas-Nebraska game that I meant to. First, the interception by Dejon Gomes in the fourth quarter was absolutely absurd. I have no idea how he managed to do that, but it was one of the most impressive defensive plays I've ever seen. Watch it here (2:00 in, and watch the Suh highlights too):
Second, when the broadcast started, ABC showed highlights of the Florida-Bama game and ended it with Tim Tebow bawling like a little girl on the sidelines. Brent Musburger actually said that you gotta feel sorry for Tebow failing in his quest for a third SEC championship. Well guess what Brent, no, no I don't. You wanna know why, asshole? Because Tebow already has two of them. And two national championships. And a Heisman. And four years as the quarterback of the Florida Gators, one of the most high-profile positions in the nation, three of which he was the starter. And he's about to graduate, go the NFL to earn millions of dollars and no one ever has a bad thing to say about him. So no, Brent, I don't have to feel sorry for him. In fact, no one should feel sorry for him. He's had a great life and still has a great life. Get off your god damn high horse Musburger and get a grasp on reality.
Another wild weekend for Philadelphia. Things started out well enough on Friday, as I was in attendance at the Wachovia Center to watch the Sixers defeat the Magic thanks to the game-winner by Thaddeus Young, and the Phillies won thanks to a grand slam by Shane Vicotrino in the ninth that propelled the Phils from a 3-0 deficit in the final inning to a 7-3 victory.
Unfortunately for me, I didn't get to see a single second of the Phillies' comeback, but as I said, I was in the 12th row at the Sixers game, so I was doing all right. Although, I had no idea that would be the case when I headed down to the game with two of my roommates, silver fox and uncle jellyfish, especially on our way there. Honestly, if you headed down to the sports complex area in south Philly Friday, you know there was absolutely no traffic at all. None. We made it down there easily, and the parking lot even looked empty at the Wachovia Center.
I became disheartened and fearful that the building would be nearly empty. Turns out, I was wrong. The place filled up quickly, and the crowd was into from the start. And my section was fantastic. Now, I generally don't like people. Truly, honestly, I'm just not a fan of them, and I typically don't enjoy when strangers try talking to me, unless of course they are attractive females. So when I sat down in my seat and this older gentleman began to chat me up, I was annoyed. Being my standoffish self, I didn't really respond much, but the guy knew basketball and was really into the game, so I quickly began to enjoy his presence. But not as much as the guy in front of me.
This guy was pretty tuned up, and he was all sorts of into the game. He was griping like Sammy Dalembert after a foul call, and every time Dwight Howard touched the ball, he'd scream, "HE TRAVELED! THAT'S A TRAVEL!" Every time. I swear. He was great.
Of course, Thad was the hero at the end, but it was Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller who carried the load, as they have really all season for the Sixers.
The game was tremendous, but it was also infuriating to watch. It was the antithesis of games 1 and 2, where the Sixers fell behind by 18 both games and made a comeback, one that succeeded, the other that came up short. Well, on Friday, it was the Sixers who built a 17-point lead in the 3rd, only to see Orlando, led by Dwight Howard's beastly night (36 and 11), come storming back. Thanks to some horrific free throw shooting by the Sixers (18-26), especially by Louis Williams (2-5) and Andre Iguodala (9-13), it took a last-second bucket from Thad to win the game.
The thing that pissed me off was that it was the scorers who were missing free throws, a guard and a small forward who shot 79 and 72 percent from the foul line this year, respecitvely. Meanwhile, Howard, who was a dismal 59 percent free throw shooter this year, went 12-14. That's inexcusable for Philadelphia's guard/small forward to be that much worse than Dwight Howard. But hey, the Sixers won, we got a celebratory cheesesteak, and the Phils' victory made the night a complete success.
And then there was Saturday. At the crack of 3, the Flyers came out and looked determined to send the series back to Pittsburgh for a deciding game 7. After holding off an aggressive Pittsburgh start, the Flyers scored twice late in the first, first on a goal by Mike Knuble, then on a beautiful shot by Joffrey Lupul on a great pass from Claude Giroux.
The Flyers continued to roll, scoring a beautiful power play setup as Simon Gagne hit Danny Briere in stride, and Briere buried it to make it 3-0. I was thoroughly enjoying myself as Arkansas Fred, The Charles and myself ate a ton of candy, pizza and hoagie at our friend's house, watching the Flyers on the high def and the draft on the smaller TV.
And to make things even better, Daniel Carcillo took down Max Talbot seconds after Briere's goal, and the place was roaring:
Now, as you can hear, Eddie Olczyk thought Carcillo took the bait and made a huge mistake by fighting Talbot immediately after going up 3-0 in an elimination game, giving Pittsburgh a little jolt, even if he did win the fight. At the time, I thought Enzo was out of his mind, especially with the way Carcillo handled Talbot and the fans roaring.
Turns out, Olczyk was absolutely right. Fourteen seconds after Carcillo and Talbot went to the box, former Flyer Ruslan Fedotenko scored, and the Penguins got the shot of life they were looking for. I guess that's why Enzo gets paid the big bucks and I just watch. Mark Eaton and Sidney Crosby each scored to tie the game, then Sergei Gonchar put Pittsburgh ahead in the third, and Crosby's empty-netter ended the Flyers' season. It sucked.
Coughing up a 3-0 lead at home in an elimination game, and doing it by surrendering five straight goals, is simply and utterly inexcusable. Heads should roll. A team that had six 25-goal scorers, a team that made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, a team that had all the talent in the world, lost in the first round, two of the losses coming by coughing up leads. Clearly, the players aren't going anywhere, with the exception of perhaps the goaltender, and I have to say, Marty Biron didn't play all that bad in the series, but he was awful Saturday.
There's no excuse for him not to have covered the puck on Fedetenko's goal, and even though it was deflected, he should have caught the puck that he got his glove on before Crosby's first goal. And the goal by Gonchar, while definitely an impressive shot, should have been stopped. You can't give up goals from that far out when your team is grasping for its life. It was pretty pathetic that both Ryan Parent and Kimmo Timonen backed off Gonchar, but Biron had an unobstructed view of Gonchar and the puck. He simply couldn't stop it. We may have seen the last of Marty Biron as a Flyer. Then again, maybe not, seeing as there are no goaltenders out there at all.
Anyway, one guy who should be gone is John Stevens. To allow his team to play terrible down the stretch, lose home ice advantage, watch the once potent power play fall apart, come out flat in game 1 of the playoffs, choke away two leads, continually fail to play good defense, see no improvement from the beginning of the year to end in the faceoff circle and just basically underachieve, the guy should be fired. A first-round exit isn't good enough. At all. Get a coach in there that will use Claude Giroux on the man advantage, a guy who can motivate Jeff Carter in the playoffs, and a guy who can, you know, actually coach up his players to teach them defense and winning faceoffs.
It was a terrible thing to witness, and there are things that have to change. The Flyers' centers should work all damn offseason on winning faceoffs, because they were dreadful at them this year and it cost them big time in the playoffs. Pittsburgh manhandled the Flyers in faceoffs and controlled the puck much more as a result. Also, the Flyers should target a lethal faceoff guy, a guy that can be trotted out there to win every important faceoff the way Keith Primeau did for the Flyers.
And some guys should really look at themselves in the mirror. Jeff Carter had a fabulous season, but he was terrible in this series. He came up small, missed some golden opportunities, and really, just got taken off his game by getting roughed around a little. He needs to find a way to use his big frame a little more aggressively. Scott Hartnell needs to harness his agitator status and take a lot less penalties next season. Players like Braydon Coburn and Matt Carle need to communicate better on defense, and as a whole, the Flyers have to become better with the puck, stop turning it over and get crisper on their passes. The first course of action is to fire John Stevens. I hope it's the step the Flyers take.
Luckily, the Phillies came from behind again and won, and Chan Ho Park did this:
In all honesty, I was consumed more by the draft, and I was completely underwhelmed with the Birds trading up two spots to get Jeremy Maclin. My line of thinking was they needed a running back more, and if you were going to get a receiver, why not just trade the pick for Boldin? But as the Eagles' draft unfolded, I have to say, I like it, especially the more I think about it.
Maclin is a stud, and he'll definitely make the Eagles better. And I loved the pick for LeSean McCoy. Seeing as the Broncos took the guy I wanted more than anyone else real early, McCoy was the next back I wanted. Donald Brown wasn't doing it for me, but McCoy, I've seen him play and he's exactly what the Eagles look for in a back. Add in the Cornelius Ingram pick, and I'm pretty pumped now. Ingram is a huge target that could solve the Eagles' red zone problem, assuming he is healthy. And with the trade for Ellis Hobbs, it leads me to believe the Eagles still may not be done.
In all honesty, I'd be shocked if they didn't trade Sheldon Brown now. May I suggest shipping off a future pick, Kevin Curtis and Brown, perhaps, for Boldin? Or how about making a play for Julius Peppers? Braylon Edwards? Probably not, but I would think the Eagles are going to try and move Brown somewhere. Either that, or make his trade value completely deteriorate by making him ride the pine like they did with Lito. That would suck.
Either way, I'm cool with the Eagles' offseason, except for, you know, completely being dicks to Dawkins. But getting Peters, Andrews, Sean Jones, Weaver, Hobbs and the draft, it looks like a hell of an offseason. Which may or may not be done.
Eventful Saturday either way, and it culminated with getting very, very drunk.
Yesterday was very nice in the afternoon. For the first time all year, a Phillies starter didn't give up a home run, as Jamie Moyer continued his dominance against the Marlins.
The Phils exploded for 13 runs, and the game was never in question. Hell, they were in such command that the Marlins brought in Cody Ross to pitch the ninth. That was fun. The sweep brought the Phils to 9-8 and a game and half within Florida for the division lead. And with Park's home run and Moyer's 1-for-1 with a walk and HBP, the Phillies pitchers are hitting better than Jimmy Rollins. Someone wake Jimmy up please.
The Phils provided some relaxing relief early, but there'd be none of that late. The Sixers decided to go back to that strategy of falling behind and coming back, which they did thanks to Andre Miller just taking over in the 4th, but, as has happened so many times this year, the Sixers lost on a heartbreaking shot at the end of the game, this time by the Turkish assassin.
I have to be honest with you, I have no idea how the Sixers are staying with Orlando. I thought this was going to be a 4-1 Orlando win, but the Magic had to use everything they had to even the series 2-2. I still don't think the Sixers will win, but they are doing a hell of job staying in every game. Iguodala didn't have a very good shooting game last night, but he's becoming a legit threat, and if Orlando can't straighten out its three-point shooting, the Sixers can stay in this series.
I never thought I'd say this this season, but the Sixers have a chance now to win more playoff games in 2009 than the Flyers. Who would have guessed that two months ago?
