I’m officially done mourning the end of the Flyers season. I’m ready to watch the rest of the Stanley Cup Finals, because it is all the hockey I’m going to get ’til September. I’ve already tried to help Andy Reid land a big wide receiver, now I will offer my “fantasy” GM skills to the real General Manager, Paul Holmgren. Homer doesn’t necessarily need the help after the wizardry he used last year to produce one of the four best teams in the NHL this year from a team that was the worst in franchise history the year before, but I’ll offer it anyway. There is still a bit of a bad, lingering, aftertaste from the Flyers recent exit from the playoffs that leaves us thinking the Flyers are maybe a piece or two away from sipping from the Stanley Cup.

According to NHL Numbers the Flyers have $49.5 million committed to the cap next year. Holmgren has already made it known that he has every intention of keeping Jeff Carter, who had a career year, and R.J. Umberger, who was one of the Flyers leading scorers in the playoffs. Toronto has shown interest in Carter in the past. Rumors had the Flyers shipping Carter to Toronto at the trade deadline this year. Before Toronto can make an offer, the Flyers want to lock him down. Carter will probably get somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 million. Umberger won’t get quite that much, maybe $3 million. They won’t have to break the bank on defenseman Randy Jones although he was impressive in the playoffs. He’ll probably get $1 million or so.

Defenseman Derian Hatcher might retire after fracturing his leg late in the year and playing on bad knees in the playoffs. If he does, it will free up $3.5 million in what would have been the last year of his contract. Hatcher had a pretty good year, and with the off-season to recover, I would like to see him play it out just one more year, but with a hefty contract the Flyers may do without him.

Mike Knuble could be traded at the draft for a pick or two, to free up some cap space. He is due to make $2.8 million in 2008-09, the last year of his deal. With a influx of young talent ready to take the reigns, the Flyers could have cheaper, younger options up front.

This year’s playoffs it was apparent that the Flyers were missing at least one piece on defense. Captain Jason Smith has probably played his last game as a Flyer, and Jaroslav Modry won’t be returning either. An option that might be available is Brian Campbell. Many Philadelphia fans remember Campbell for his hit on R.J. Umberger two years ago in the playoffs. But he is more than that. Campbell had 62 points this season, splitting his time between Buffalo and San Jose. He plays a lot like Kimmo Timonen, with a bit more physicality. He made $1.75 million in 2007-08 and is due for a raise. I see the Flyers willing to go as high as $3 million to get him. Some have rumored that the Flyers could be interested in Wade Redden, but he made $6.5 million this season and surely wouldn’t take a huge pay cut to come to Philadelphia.

The Flyers are potentially losing their entire fourth line in Jim Dowd, Riley Cote (both unrestricted free agents), and Patrick Thoresen (restricted free agent). Dowd is turning 40 in December, and Cote was never much to brag about with the puck. Thoresen, although score-less as his time as a Flyer, was good. They’ll probably re-sign him for under $1 million.

Aside from a good defenseman in Campbell, the Flyers are pretty much set to make another run at the cup. They have a good offense, and another year left on Biron’s contract. Paul Holmgren said he wanted to keep this core group together and I think that puts him in excellent position for the future. With a few moves, here’s how the Flyers could look on opening night of the 2008-09 season.

Gagne (A) Briere Hartnell
5,250,000 6,500,000 4,200,000

Lupul Richards (A) Giroux
2,311,667 5,750,000 850,000

Umberger Carter Upshall
2,500,000* 3,500,000* 1,225,000

Kapanen Thoresen Downie
1,250,000 750,000* 821,667

Timonen (C)  Coburn
6,333,333 1,300,000

Parent Campbell
855,000 3,000,000*

Jones Kukkonen
1,000,000* 875,000

Biron Niittymaki
3,500,000 1,225,000

* Dave’s Prediction

With this plan, the Flyers combined salary would be $49,846,667. The cap is expected to rise next season, although it isn’t clear yet as to how much higher it will go. In 2007-08 the cap was $50,300,000.

Photos courtesy: AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr, flyers.nhl.com

1. Detroit Red Wings versus 2. Pittsburgh Penguins

Dave: Whenever I watch Eastern Conference teams play Western Conference teams I am blown away by how different their games can be. The West is traditionally a more finesse, speed game that keeps defense on their toes. The Penguins play a very similar style with Cry Crosby, Malkin, and Staal, but if this series comes down to the defense, Pittsburgh is at a serious disadvantage. They have a good defenseman in Sergei Gonchar, a few young up-and-comers in Letang, Whitney, and Scuderi. But, Detroit has more experience and has been pitching in from the blue line. Rafalski, Kronwall and Lidstrom (who could very well win the Norris, again) have combined for 32 points. You also have to give Chris Osgood the advantage in net, seeing as he’s been to the promise land twice already. As a Philly fan I hate both teams in this finals match-up and hope that maybe the NHL will at least get some good publicity from this and spark a little more interest in my favorite sport.

IN 6

Jeff: This is going to be the match-up the NHL desperately wanted and needed. The NHL needed this type of matchup to get people re-interested in the sport. It will be a match-up of star talent: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marian Hossa, and Marc-Andre Fleury will face off against Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Niklas Lidstrom, and Chris Osgood. How Pittsburgh’s and Detroit’s star players perform will be the decider in this series. One key match-up I am excited for is the Penguins defense against the score-happy Red Wings offense. If Pittsburgh is able to contain Zetterberg and Datsyuk, I think Pittsburgh will win their first cup since 1992. If the Red Wings do not keep Pittsburgh in games, like they let Dallas back into their Conference Finals series, or if they are able to contain the best team they have faced all year, the Wings will undoubtedly win their first Cup without Stevie Y. I think that, right now, no team is hotter than the Pittsburgh Penguins. With a 12-2 record (8-0 at home) in the playoffs, they are undoubtedly carrying more momentum of the two. I see Mario Lemieux lacing up the skates again, not in uniform, but in a suit, taking Lord Stanley’s Cup for a lap when it is all said and done, in the city that he saved from losing their hockey team.

IN 6

Aaron: Last round I picked the Penguins because I said they have the luxury of one too many offensive weapons for the Flyers; the Red Wings on the other hand, are a completely different story. This team is an offensive juggernaut, they haven’t slowed down one pace since their remarkable regular season. Zetteberg has played out of his mind and this team can score on every line on any given game night. Plus they’re getting goals from guys who aren’t household names in the slightest like Jiri Hudler. If you look at defense, I again take nothing away from Pittsburgh, they were fantastic against Philadelphia. But I’ll gladly take a back line with Nick Lidstrom any day of the week, best defenseman in hockey. Finally, when you look at goaltending, Osgood has it rolling right now. Fleury has been good and will be for years to come, but what happens when he lets a few goals in and faces 40-50 shots a night? He hasn’t seen that this entire playoffs. I like the Red Wings in all aspects of this series. IN 6

ADD SHOW CONSENSUS:

This is not for the weak of heart. Seriously. Sports Illustrated has outlined 100 demoralizing seasons in Philadelphia without a championship. Click to view it, if you’re strong enough.

As if it wasn’t enough, there’s nothing but Phillies baseball to carry us to Eagles training camp in August. YAY Adam Eaton!

Kobe Bryant. Dwayne Wade. Shaquille O’Neal. All flashy players, all recent NBA champions. Petyon Manning. Tom Brady. Ray Lewis. Michael Strahan. All flashy players. All in commercials and tabloids, all recent Super Bowl champions. David Ortiz. Derek Jeter. Josh Beckett…well, you get the idea by now. Despite the sport, the champions of the past number of years have had big, big personalities. You see players on magazine covers, in photo spreads, and in an insane number of commercials. You hear players shouting or bragging after a title, guaranteeing a win, and other absurd acts of that nature. Now the question: have you ever heard of a San Antonio Spurs player doing…anything? Hell, did you know the Spurs are closing in on their 5th title in 9 years? Let’s take a broader look at things for a second.

In times of free agency and mega blockbuster trades and contracts handed out worth over $150 million every off-season, it has become the most difficult time to establish a dynasty. But there were some of course, in all of the 4 major sports during our generation the past few years. The NBA had Kobe and Shaq’s Lakers in 2000, 2001, and 2002. The NFL had Brady’s Patriots in 2002, 2004, and 2005. The MLB had the Yankees in 1998, 1999, and 2000 and even more recently, the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007. And in the NHL, since 1996 the Avalanche, Red Wings, and Devils have won it all a combined 7 times in 12 years. Every team with a story to tell, and every story was heard from every angle. There is no doubt that these teams deserved their respective rings as champions of their sport, but what about the Spurs? Have NBA fans and sports fans as a whole forgotten? Do we simply discard them to the side because they aren’t harassed by paparazzi and don the cover of magazine after magazine? It’s been said their “boring” style of play is terrible to watch, thus causing fans to grow tired of them.

Let’s make this understood: The San Antonio Spurs are not only the greatest NBA team of our generation, but the greatest team in all of sports. They have 4 championships since 1999 and are working on a 5th as we speak. But you won’t hear about them, no. If they do win a 5th, it’ll be popular for a few days and quickly fade away. No TV specials, no ESPN specials, nothing like that. If you’ve ignored the Spurs I suggest you tune in to their Western Conference Finals against L.A. starting Wednesday. Tim Duncan isn’t getting any younger and people need to fully appreciate this team before they ride into the sunset in a few years when other teams are able to climb to the top.

Let’s start with 1999 when the Spurs won their first of the four before mentioned titles, this one against the Knicks. The regular season was shortened by a lockout but the Spurs went 37-13 anyway. Tim Duncan was MVP and was part of the “Twin Towers” with David Robinson. But let’s say you remember those 2 big guys, they’re both fantastic. But what about everyone else? Sean Elliot? Jaren jackson? Antonio Daniels? Steve Kerr? Malik Rose? Those don’t exactly shout Wheaties box kind of players. But what made it work was their chemistry and high basketball IQ. Steve Kerr knew he was on the back end of his career, and knew the deep threat was his role. Sean Elliot is probably only remembered because he came back from stomach surgery, but he played his role of sniper like shooter and good defender. This team gelled under coach Gregg Popovich. They say the best defenses win championships. Take a look at these numbers: 77, 67, 81, 89, 77. That’s how many points the Knicks scored in each of the 5 games. That’s simply mind boggling.

Fast forward to the 2003 Finals when the Spurs won their second title. This was first time in 4 years the Lakers wouldn’t be playing for the trophy as San Antonio had knocked them out. Want to know how? Remember that defense? How about these numbers: 89, 87, 79, 77, 83, 77. That’s New Jersey’s point totals in all 6 games. Sure, Jersey pushed them to 6 games, but did the Spurs get nervous? Please. This team

doesn’t get rattled. After losing game 4 which evened the series at 2-2, they held the Nets to 83 points in their own building and went on to win that game and the clincher back home. Again..the role players: youngsters Parker and Ginobli, old timers like Kevin Willis and Danny Ferry. But each player knew if they played outside their game or outside their potential, they had former Navy man/head coach Gregg Popovich to explain to. Half court basketball. Slow the game down. Feed it into Duncan. It’s like a broken record, and it worked every time. You think it’s boring? Then beat them. If you can’t, shut up and respect this talent.

Again in 2005 the Spurs reached the Finals when they weren’t expected to, and again, fans tried to tune out the defensive minded Spurs. But they were playing the Pistons who were a carbon copy, but not nearly as talented. These finals were the NBA’s worst nightmare, the viewership was hitting all time lows. Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Chauncy Billups: all fantastic stars that were shut down for the most part. By who? Well this time it was guys like Nazr Mohammed, Brent Barry, and Robert Horry. Horry, already 28-time champion, became Mr. Big Shot. Mohammed ruled the glass in his bench minutes and scored at the most crucial of times when Duncan could not in the paint. Brent Barry, how old was this guy, 90? Age doesn’t effect his ability to jump off the bunch (or slowly walk off it) and drain 3’s like nobody’s business. Title number 3 was in the books.

Everyone knows what happened last year against the Cavaliers. LeBron James was a 1-man show who carried the Cavs on his back past the Pistons and into the finals. But that kind of offense doesn’t work against the now seasoned, shut-down Spurs defense. They clogged the lane, rotated defender after defender on him, and their role players were superior to the Cavs role players. LeBron’s highest output of the sweep? 25 points. That’s called knowing who your opponent is and neutralizing the attack. Their offense didn’t change either. Slow the game down. Make the extra pass. Dump it into Duncan. Get to the line. This was Spurs basketball. Whether you liked it or not, they just won their 4th ring.

So entering tonight’s game against the fast paced Hornets in New Orleans, was there any doubt the Spurs would find a way? They played a good first half, but it was close. Then they outscored the Hornets in the 3rd quarter 20-14 to build a lead that went as high as 17. They did it by driving to the hoop and dishing out to the open man. They held Chris Paul to 18 points. When Parker and Duncan couldn’t buy a bucket, Ginobili bailed them out, finishing with 26. The role players now are Kurt Thomas who was big on the glass, Michael Finley who had timely shots, and Ime Udoka (who?) who chipped in 8 points, 4 boards, and 2 dimes in limited time, including a key basket in the 4th.

You hate the Spurs, don’t you? You find them disgustingly boring. You’re tired of Tim Duncan shooting his jumper off the window. You hate seeing games that end in scores of 80-75. You’re tired of seeing them win. This team isn’t just good at what they do, they’re one of the best teams of all time in sports. It’s not going out on a limb saying they’ll win their 5th title in 9 years this year. But even if they fail, you know they’ll be back next year knocking on the door. They find the right people to play every position. They use their bench better than any team in the league.

They’ve flown under the radar of most sports fans for years now. No commercials, no endorsements, no holdouts, no trade demands, etc. This is just an old school basketball team that knows the game and knows how to play defense. You may hate the way they play but you have to respect their ability to win. Don’t like em? Beat em. Doesn’t look like anyone can. And don’t think that their run is ending any time soon.

Don’t be surprised if this “boring” big man gets his 5th ring this year

photos from flickr.com, viewimages.com, lonelypinoy.blogspot, and aperionedge.com

There were no positives to come from game 5’s massacre blowout for the Flyers. Nothing to look forward to but Saturday morning’s tee time and not even a goal to stand for all the accomplishments of the 2007-08 season. The Flyers were blown out 6-0 Sunday evening, and blown out of playoff contention, as the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Eastern Conference Finals and await their opponent in the Stanley Cup Finals.

There was no one single thing that the Flyers could have done Sunday to keep their season alive. Aside from having Marty Biron play like he did in the first two series, and a multitude of goals by the orange and black, their future looked bleak heading into game 5. Not even the return of leader Kimmo Timonen could help the club. Timonen picked up where he led off, leading all Flyers in ice time with 21:43, but he alone could not jumpstart this team. No one could.

It only took the Penguins 2:30 to grab the lead, as Sidney Crosby’s pass accidentally tipped off the foot of forward Ryan Malone, who could not touch the puck with his stick, past Biron for the first goal of the game. That would eventually prove to be the game winner, despite five more Penguin goals, and no answer by the Flyers. There was a chance of a Flyers goal in the waning seconds of the second period, but the officials ruled, somehow, that Patrick Thoresen impeded Marc-Andre Fleury’s ability to stop the puck that did actually find the twine behind him. The official’s ruling preserved Fleury’s shutout, as the Flyers weren’t able to muster a goal in the third period.

No passes worked. No breakout theory worked. No power play scheme worked. No shots found the net, and no hard work paid off. The Flyers were abysmal all series, and although the Pittsburgh Penguins deserve credit for winning this series, the Flyers not once played a complete game in the Eastern Conference Finals. For the first two periods of game four they seemed to really “get it”. They planted a man in front of the net. They fore-checked. They played tight defense and always knew where the Penguins were, but they did none of that for the remaining 13 periods of hockey they were forced to play.

Only Mike Richards really showed up this series, delivering his part to the Flyers physical effort, and netting three goals in the series. Danny Briere cooled off in the Montréal series and only scored one goal in the Conference Finals throw-down, and Vinny Prospal went missing after game 7 in Washington. After his effort in the latter rounds of the post-season, Prospal will almost certainly not be re-signed by the Flyers. Richards’ drive in the playoffs may have won him the captaincy next year, with Jason Smith’s departure imminent.

To be blown out 6-0 in the playoffs is utterly pathetic. Going into this series, the Flyers had knocked off the number three and one seeds, in that order. Yes, the Penguins were the better team. Yes, they were undefeated on home ice (and remain that way). But that is no excuse to leave months of accomplishment hanging in the rear view mirror without even putting up a fight. Last season the Flyers could only muster a league worst, and franchise worst 56 points. This year they rebounded all the way to the sixth seed in the playoffs, and eventually the Eastern Conference Finals. But the effort put forth in that Finals series was utterly pitiful and did no justice to the accomplishments made throughout the season.

Obviously after the 2006-07 season, the players had a bitter taste in their mouths from the worst season in the history of the 41-year-old club. This off-season, the taste should be just as bitter, if not more, after the atrocious effort and performance they put forth in every game this series, which will no doubt be highlighted by the six-goal proverbial nail in the coffin. Their embarrassing loss on Sunday poorly represents the much improved regular season from a year ago. Flyers fans searched for stability with the 07-08 bunch, and never really found it. The Flyers slogan all season long had to “vengeance”. They will need to have more of that next season to avenge their disappointing Eastern Conference Finals performance.

Dave’s 3 Stars of the Game

1. Marc-Andre Fleury - 21 saves
2. Marian Hossa - 1 goal, 3 assists

Photo courtesy: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

After taking a three game break, the Flyers decided to show up for a home game Thursday, when they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 to force a game five. The first three contests were really no contest, as the Flyers let the Penguins do pretty much whatever they wished. But in game four the Flyers had a change of heart; in that they decided to play with heart.

Now that the Flyers have forced a game 5, they could get a ton of help on their blue line for that Sunday matinée. Reports say injured defensemen Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn could return to the lineup. If that is indeed the case, this series could get very, very interesting.

A strong start for the Flyers game 4 contest didn’t necessarily mean anything, as they started with the same kind of start in game three and ultimately lost. Eventually, at 8:27, Joffery Lupul opened up the scoring and gave the Flyers only their second lead of the series with his slap-shot entering the Pittsburgh zone. Danny Briere finally came to life with a strong power play goal as he had to fight in front to put the rebound home at 11:48. With a two goal lead, the Flyers looked like the team that got them to the playoffs, the team that won two rounds.

The team did all the things they didn’t do in the first three contests. They pressured Pittsburgh’s defense and forced them to make awkward breakout passes. When a team has to do that, they’re bound to cough the puck up, and the Penguins did that 18 times. No one had more giveaways than captain Sidney Crosby with five. They crowded the net in front of Fleury, who looked flustered when he had company in his crease. The blue line for the orange and black played a great game as they didn’t cough up the puck nearly as much and came out of their own zone much easier than their game three massacre. Perhaps the biggest feat for the Flyers Thursday night went gone un-noticed. They shut down the Penguins best player, Evgeni Malkin. He was -1 with no points.

The Flyers continued to win the physical game, outhitting the Penguins 23-18. At the end of the game the Penguins frustration showed as they scrapped with the Flyers a few times. Ryan Malone barely got a shot in against Derian Hatcher, who hammered him. Minutes later Sidney Crosby got ambitious and tried to go with Mike Richards, but once Brian Murphy recognized the mis-match he came to the aid of “Sid the Kid” and stepped in before he could get hurt. Usually the officials protect the young Pittsburgh team by assessing penalties, but late in this contest stopped them from getting beaten up.

Goaltending in this game was good, but not stellar. Marc-Andre Fleury wasn’t why the Penguins lost. He made a huge windmill save when he was his team was down 3-0. Marty Biron has very good when he had to be. He made 36 saves on 38 shots and controlled rebounds and pucks at the side of the net well with the exception of the Penguins first goal that bounced past his right leg.

If the Flyers can continue to play like this, they could make this an interesting series. After watching all four games this series it was very evident that the Flyers only took this game seriously. If they play with the same intensity, put the same pressure on Fleury and keep up the discipline on defense, the series may not be over on Sunday.

Dave’s 3 Stars of the Game

1. Joffery Lupul - 2 goals
2. Jordan Staal - 2 goals
3. Marty Biron - 36 saves

Photo courtesy: Len Redkoles/Getty Images

From starter to bullpen and back again, Brett Myers has pitched in every scenario you can think of. After spending last year in the bullpen, and converting 21 of 24 save opportunities, the team needed another arm in the starting rotation. Back to the 5-man rotation was the 29 year old Myers who’s last year as a starter was in the 2006 season, in which he finished 12-7 with a 3.91 ERA. But make no mistake about it, this year’s opening day starter hasn’t found his stuff at all just yet. The pitcher from 2005 and 2006, in which he tallied 25 combined wins, is not the pitcher that lost again tonight against Atlanta.

Baseball is an complicated and confusing game at points. The Phillies are a perfect example of stats that just make you scratch your head and leave you speechless. Last year in 2007 the bullpen was a work in progress for most of the entire year (things finally got figured out in September; good timing). People shuffled in and out and the starting 5, led by Hamels 15 wins, got the job done for the most part. This year it’s the bullpen that’s turning heads, leading the league in bullpen ERA. The starters however, Myers included, have struggled. Myers is off to a slow start to put it nicely and if this team wants to contend into October again, they’re going to need their number 1 starter to turn it around in a hurry.

Myers entered tonight’s game with a 2-3 record, but to find out what’s gone wrong let’s back up a bit to his first few starts. The very first game of the season was March 31st against the Washington Nationals. Obviously, the Phillies entered the game with sky high expectations after they had won their first division crown in more than a decade. Myers pitched well for 4 innings and threw most of his pitches for strikes, but he didn’t go far enough. He allowed 4 runs in the 5th and was yanked before recording an out in the 6th and had allowed another run. His night ended with a line of 5 IP - 5 H - 4 R - 2 SO. As noted, he was pitching a lot of strikes, finishing up with a good ratio of 59 strikes to just 27 balls. But his fastball wasn’t as effective as we had seen it in the past. The location was a problem as it was consistently right down the middle, and the gas wasn’t all there.

Fast forward a few days to Cincinnati where Brett made his second start of the year. This time you didn’t have to wait for the 5th inning for things to go bad, as the Reds scored 2 runs in the bottom frame of the 1st. Again, he went just 5 innings and again he gave up 4 runs. Another good thing was the strike to ball ratio: good again at 59 to 36. But his fastball was still giving him problems and that’s his out pitch. But this game foreshadowed what we saw tonight against Atlanta: giving up the home run ball. In that start in Cincinnati he allowed 2 round trippers, and after a few more tonight he’s up to a league leading 15 allowed; certainly cause for concern.

It’s not as is Brett Myers is lost, not at all. This guy knows how to pitch and we saw it from his rookie debut against Mark Prior back in 2002 all the way up until his stint last year in the pen. But there are a lot of concerns about his ability, or lack there of thus far, to command a game or go deep at all. You can’t say enough about the damage of giving up home runs does to a pitcher’s psyche. And right now there’s nobody who lets more people stroll around the bases than Myers. He’s leaving balls over the plate and his fastball is flat and practically being served up for batters to hack at right down the middle. Just for comparison’s sake, in 2005 he allowed 31 home runs and 29 in 2006. As mentioned, he’s already let 15 leave the yard and if you do the math over a projected season, well…it’s not pretty. Another few things to worry about if you’re Charlie Manuel or Rich Dubee are the spots where he’s putting balls and the jams he can’t get out of. Starting with the location: his off speed stuff has gotten a lot better over his major league career, but his fastball has always been that out pitch. That isn’t the case this year. His fastball is the one that maybe he’s throwing too much or is too predictable when he does throw it. Hitters lock into it and control what used to be a very hard pitch to handle. His fastball was never a ridiculous speed like 99 or so, but even while it topped out in the low to mid 90’s, the location was key. Maybe a bit more mixing up of his fastball will help the predictability and lower his career high 5.91 ERA.

The second thing there that could pose a problem is the inability to get out of a jam. As mentioned, this year has been a parallel world to last year’s Phillies club. The bullpen is coming up huge. Just last week Flash Gordon inherited the bases loaded with nobody out and got out of it unscathed. This year the bullpen has had to be on top of their game because of the mediocre starting pitching in front of them. Myers hasn’t shown the ability to go deep and that’s greatly attributed to high pitch counts in the 90’s and consistently being unable to get that last out. In those games I looked at, against Washington and Cincinnati, he went just 5 innings each outing. Tonight against Atlanta was more of the same as he finished just 4 1/3 innings. The Phillies bullpen has been outstanding as a group this year but you can’t be happy relying on them to save you come September and October.

Adam Eaton went over a month without a decision. Kyle Kendrick started 0-2 and had people wondering how he ever got it done last year. Even Cole Hamels struggled early. The starting pitching hasn’t been there for the Phillies and their opening day starter Brett Myers is one of those guys who’s struggling. After tonight, he’s 2-4 with an ERA near 6. Make no mistake, there’s nobody who’s angrier than Myers himself. This guy wears his emotions on his sleeve and will watch tape and work with Rich Dubee to figure out what’s gone wrong with his mechanics in 2008. The Phillies expected more than this and Myers wants to give them that winning pitching he was accustomed to in the past. But if the Phillies want to stay right there in the suddenly wild National League East race, they’re going to need the big guy to find his pitching, find his fastball, and get better with each and every start from here on out.

photo from The Zo Zone at PhillyNews.com

The Flyers have packed it in. Following a 4-1 loss to the Penguins in game 3, there are no positives to take from the third straight loss for the orange and black. At times in the past with these two teams, the Flyers difficulties were not for a lack of effort, but the NHL’s new marketing plan to have Sidney Crosby win his first cup. That wasn’t the case tonight as the Flyers clearly didn’t want it. There was one clear advantage the Flyers had going into this series, and that was heart, but after three demoralizing losses, it’s clear the Flyers left their hearts in Montréal.

Until tonight, the Flyers suffered only one loss at home. When the series venue switched to Philadelphia there was a sense in this city that the momentum would change. Anyone who has seen a Flyers game in Philadelphia knows the effect the fans have on the game. The Philly fans were even voted most intimidating by a SI poll of NHL players. But the Wachovia Center ice treated the Flyers no differently. It looked as though the officiating would have an impact early as Kevin Pollock and co. spotted 4 infractions in the first 10 minutes of play. Included in the flurry of “penalties” was another atrocious hooking call on Derian Hatcher which even the ridiculously poor Versus commentating crew of Joe Beninati and Derren Eliot, agreed was “soft”. Once again the penalty led to a Penguins goal. For a change the Penguins got a lucky bounce. The Ryan Whitney offering went off the rear end of Jason Smith past a sliding Marty Biron, who was the only Flyer that improved from game 2.

The Flyers couldn’t get anything going. After Marian Hossa danced his way into the Flyers zone, he toyed with Lasse Kukkonen and shot the puck through his legs and past Biron for the second goal of the game not three minutes after Whitney’s first tally. The Flyers couldn’t forecheck, couldn’t stop giving the puck up, and couldn’t stop making blind passes that made for easy pickin’s for the Pens. The orange and black did manage one goal as R.J. Umberger netted his tenth of the playoffs when he barely touched the puck that was thrown in front of the net by Vinny Prospal who was otherwise invisible. Other than that the Flyers looked terrible. They looked like the worst team in franchise history, like they were last year. Their power play (when it got a chance) was anemic, never getting any kind of scheme set up and constantly unable to keep the puck in the zone.

The most frustrating thing about the Flyers inability to get anything going offensively was that Marc-Andre Fleury was apparently bored enough to ask for some action. The Penguins goaltender was once again terrible at handling the puck, turning it over three times in the contest. The Flyers came close on a couple of those chances but could never capitalize. Once Mike Knuble missed a wide open net, something he’s done on multiple occasions in the past two series. Another time Joffery Lupul looked flustered and couldn’t get a shot past the tight Pittsburgh defense.Every time the Flyers were out there they looked tired, frustrated, and defeated.

The Flyers now face elimination and a potential sweep. The future looks bleak for the Flyers, as only two teams have overcome 0-3 deficits in playoff series. One of those teams was the 1975 New York Islanders who came back to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins. That last glimmer of hope seems to be all the Flyers have left, unless they can somehow figure out how to A. forecheck B. plant a guy in front of Fleury C. stop turning the puck over and D. improve their power play all by Thursday night. It’s not impossible, but certainly not likely.

Dave’s 3 Stars of the Game

1. Marian Hossa - 2 goals
2. Sidney Crosby - 2 assists
3. Sergei Gonchar - 1 assist, 24:41 ice time

Photos courtesy: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

As I was doing my daily Google search of “hate+pittsburgh penguins” to see if someone had doctored photos of the face of Sidney Crosby on a crying infant’s body so I didn’t have to, I stumbled upon this laughable list of “justifiable” reasons Pittsburgh has to hate Philadelphia.

They’re still unable to get over, and I wasn’t aware they even cared about hockey before Crosby entered the league, a goal they scored on themselves in 1979 to help the Flyers continue their epic 35-game winning streak. Honestly this list is pretty weak. As Philadelphia fans, we’re experts on displeasure. So allow me to try and help you out Pittsburgh with a list of my own.

5 Actual Reasons for Pittsburgh to hate Pittsburgh

1. Your own quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, nearly killed himself in the off-season while riding his motorcycle without a helmet.
2. You paid Big Ben to stick around for 8 more years drunk pictures and motorcycle accidents for a cool price of $102 million.
3. The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t even been a .500 team since…wait for it…1992.
4. Your hockey team, and city were featured in a ridiculous rip off of Die Hard.
5. The Penguins are 0-3 against the Flyers in playoff series. By the way the last time the Penguins went up 2-0 on the Flyers, this happened…
   

Photos courtesy: NY Times, thewavemag.com,

With the Flyers already down their best defenseman in Kimmo Timonen, they got what they could ill afford early on; an injury to another defenseman. Braydon Coburn, Timonen’s defensive partner, went down early in the period when he was hit in the face with a puck that deflected off the stick of Evgeni Malkin. The defensemen struggled to keep up and not give as many turnovers to the Penguins who will usually capitalize on the opportunity. Although they didn’t look up to their usual par, the Flyers were light-years better than they were in game 1.

The Penguins controlled the puck for the majority of the first period and kept the Flyers on their heels. With Pittsburgh already on the man advantage, the Flyers were penalized once again when Mike Knuble was sent off for cross checking at 10:40. Just as Jeff Carter emerged from the sin bin, Sidney Crosby’s centering pass took a bounce off the skate of Lasse Kukkonen and snuck by the left foot of Marty Biron for the first goal of the game. Although the goal was from an unfortunate bounce, replays showed that Biron left a little room between his foot and the post. That room proved to be enough. Had Biron hugged the post, he may have kept the game scoreless.

The Penguins and their faithful in Mellon Arena thought they had the advantage early when Sidney Crosby put the puck at the left post and it couldn’t put it past Biron on multiple attempts. Replays showed that the puck may have actually crossed the line despite his inability to ram it home, but the evidence was not conclusive and the play stood as no goal. Jeff Carter picked up a team that looked lifeless to the point of his goal at 5:46 on a power play. He got a great feed from Joffery Lupul with an empty net to shoot at. With his goal, the Flyers looked to have some life which meant it was time for the officials to step in and put an end to that. In the second, the officiating that Flyers fans expected to see, finally emerged. The target of two of the calls was Derian Hatcher, one of the Flyers few remaining defensemen. First Hatcher was called for hooking at 13:34 when he manned up on Malkin who was making his way into the zone. The call was evidently because Hatcher’s stick was in between the legs of Malkin, but the reason for that was incidental contact. Malkin turned his body 90˚ and made it look purposeful to sell the call. Marian Hossa tallied on the ensuing man advantage only seconds into the power play to put the Penguins up 2-1. The play should never have been called a penalty, so look to see the scoresheet changed and an assist given to number 13, Dan O’Halloran, the official who made the call. Hatcher was called again at 18:17. This time for cross-checking, but the Flyers were able to kill the man advantage.

The Flyers took criticism in the regular season for not being able to close out the period, but that they did in the second stanza when Mike Richards picked up a bad Penguins cross-ice pass and took it coast-to-coast and roofed it over Marc-Andre Fleury to tie the game with under a minute left and on the penalty kill.

The third period featured more questionable officiating when a blatant horse-collar on Richards went uncalled under a minute into the period. The physical play, which elevated from the game one match-up, continued, but the next goal would not come as a result of a call for that physical play. A rare even strength goal was scored by Max Talbot at 8:51 as he got a nice backhand pass from Gary Roberts from behind the goalline. The physical battles continued, but little in terms of offensive pressure for Philadelphia. They spent the majority of the time in their own zone trying to recover from turnovers that they could have prevented. They did a little better than they did in game one, but they lost another defenseman in the process. When they had control of the puck, the Flyers weren’t bad. They lost the shots battle 38-32. Marty Biron was okay, but not the same goalie he was in the first two series. He insists on playing the puck in this series and has been one of the downfalls of this team. In the third he nearly did it again, attempting to clear the zone only to have the puck picked off by Sidney Crosby. Crosby skated around a mass of players but an outstretched Biron grabbed his shot attempt.

If the Flyers are going to get back in this series they will really have to take both games at home. They have confidence in their own building that seems to be missing. They are having trouble breaking out of their own zone, and not getting quality chances. Fleury didn’t have to be all that great for the Penguins, and he didn’t make any really outstanding saves in the contest Sunday night. The defensive game has to get better for Philadelphia if they want to see the light of day in this series. With only five defensemen in game 2, the blue-line should have a little more energy in game 3, but who will be that sixth defenseman is yet to be seen.

It is an uphill battle from here on out for the Flyers who haven’t been down 2-0 in a series yet this year, but a return is still possible. The Penguins have holes defensively and the Flyers need to get puck possession in order to expose them. Sergei Gonchar is easily Pittsburgh’s best defensive player and he is a veteran who has been in the league for quite a while so his speed is not quite what it used to be. The rest of Pittsburgh’s defensive core is not much faster. If the Flyers can use speed to get chances they will have a much better shot at winning. Look for the Flyers to focus on defense and breakouts in practice before Tuesday’s game 3. This team did not come from last place last season to just die in the Conference Finals, so expect a much more emotional game from the orange and black when the puck drops next at 7:30 on Tuesday.

Dave’s 3 Stars of the Game

1. Dan O’Halloran - 2 bad calls, numerous non-calls, 1 assist on Hossa goal
2. Mike Richards - 1 goal, 4 hits
3. Sergei Gonchar - 2 assists

Photo Courtesy: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images