Flyers pull to within 1 game of Sabres

Finally, a playoff win.

After coming so close to winning game 1 in double overtime and a humiliating 8-2 loss in game 2, the Philadelphia Flyers, behind two goals from Peter Forsberg, pulled to within one game of the Buffalo Sabres with a 4-2 victory tonight.

In a must-win game, the Flyers fans were decked out in Orange Crush shirts, and the team responded to the excitement as well as pressure.

The night started with a Kate Smith videotape of her singing God Bless America (the Flyers good luck charm).

Game 4 will be Friday night in Philadelphia.

The Philles stink

Pat Gillick was not kidding when he said the Philadelphia Phillies had room for improvement.

6-12 overall, 2-8 at home. Their ace, Jon Leiber, is 0-4. Could things get any worse?

The fans have already had enough, as shows in the attendance, which is down from last year.

Philadelphia lost to the Marlins, the worste team in the NL tonight.

Let's take a look at the offense - Four starters are hitting over .300, with three more hitting at least .259. But as a team, they have the sixth worste average in the leage at a .257 clip. They also have the fifth lowest run total.

Don't even get me started on how they do with runners in scoring position - .202 average, .29 points below the next worste, Oakland A's.

But the pitching stinks. With a team ERA of 5.78, they are the fourth worste.

Gillick said the Phillies were a player or two away from being a playoff team. May be more than that Mr. Gillick.

Flyers finish 5th in the East

There was good news and bad news for the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

The bad - no Atlantic Division title.

The good - no first round matchup with the New Jersey Devils.

After a Ranger loss, Flyer win, and New Jersey down 3-1 heading into the 4rd period of its game with Montreal, it looked at though Philadelphia had the division wrapped up. However, the Devils scored three third period goals to take the division title and finish 3rd in the Eastern Conference. It was the first time all year a team besides the Rangers and Flyers were in first.

But this is not all bad news for Philadelphia. Buffalo is a quality team, but New Jersy owns the Flyers and they are the hottest team in the league, winners of 12 straight.

Philadelphia will have its hands full with Buffalo's offense, but if it can play the way it did against the Islanders tonight or the Rangers on Saturday, they have a good shot at winning their first round series. If they would have had to play New Jersey, there was a good chance they would have gotten swept.

It's playoff time, the time of the year when Philadelphia fans get their hopes up of a Philly team actually winning a championship. The question is if the next couple of months will bring with it excitement or disappointment. That we do not know.

All we know and are excited about at this point in time, is that we don't have to face New Jersey in the first round.

Fight to the Finish

Fight to the Finish

The New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Flyers have just one game each remaining, and all three will be tomorrow. But the NHL's Atlantic Division race is still up for grabs.

•THE FLYERS (99 points) can win the division only if the Rangers lose their game against Ottawa and the Devils lose their game at Montreal while the Flyers beat the host New York Islanders.

•THE RANGERS (100 points) can win the division by beating visiting Ottawa.

•THE DEVILS (99 points) can win the division if they beat Montreal and the Rangers lose to Ottawa.

Here is how I see this going:

The Flyers will beat the Islanders, the Rangers will lose to Ottawa and the Devils will beat Montreal.

Thus, the Devils and Flyers would be tied but New Jersey would win the division on a tie-breaker (more wins). They would play the Rangers and the Flyers would finish fifth and play Buffalo.

A playoff against New Jersey would mean no Cup for Philly

An early playoff matchup with the New Jersey Devils would mean an early exit for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Each with one game remaining, the Flyers, New York Rangers, or Buffalo Sabres will end up facing the surging Devils, winner of 10 in a row.

Philadelphia, New York, and New Jersey are all battling for the Atlantic Division tite. The Rangers currently lead by one point and hold third place in the Eastern Conference, while the Flyers and Devils are one point behind and tied for fifth place in the Conference.

A win by the Rangers on Tuesday against Ottawa would give them the division tite. But the odds seem to be in the Devils favor. They play Montreal in their final game, while the Flyers play the New York Islanders.

Should it work out that the Flyers have to play the Devils early, New Jersey would hold a big advantage. They have beaten the Flyers twice in the last four days, outscoring them 9-2.

If the Flyers have any hope of advancing far into the playoffs, they must avoid New Jersey, who owns them. Not to mention, they are the hottest team in the league and have Martin Brodeur in net.

Philadelphia must begin to play more consistent hockey if they have any hopes of winning the Stanley Cup.

Bonds will not catch Aaron

Will Barry Bonds catch Hank Aaron to become the best home run hitter of all time? Better yet, will he even catch Babe Ruth, who he currently stands seven home runs behind?

With Bonds' knee ailing and the many distractions he faces on a daily basis, there is a good chance he may not even reach the Great Bambino.

Call me crazy, but he is off to a slow start and does not have any homeruns as of yet. He has bone chips in his elbow, a surgically repaird knee, and pitchers still do not give him many pitches to hit.

It sounds crazy to think Bonds could not hit more than six home runs in one season. After all, steroids or not, he is a power hitter and one of the most feared hitters of all time.

But I could very easily see him getting hurt early this season and then retiring. He is sick and tired of putting up with the constant questions and the constant criticism.

But the real question lies within the fans. Would more people be pleased to see him not catch Aaron or even Ruth?

Just go to a Giants road game and I think that question will answer itself.

Pumped up Flyers move to within one point of first

If today was any indication of how Philadelphia is going to play heading into the playoffs, Flyers fans have a lot to be excited about.

Trailing the New York Rangers by three points, Philadelphia came out with intensity and passion, jumping out to a four goal lead over the Atlantic Division leading Rangers.

The Flyers will travel to New Jersey, winners of nine straight, tomorrow, and then close out the season on Tuesday against the Islanders. The Devils have the Flyers and Canadiens remaining and the Rangers play Ottawa.

The Rangers currently have 100 points, while the Flyers have 99 and the Devils have 97. If Philadelphia controls its own destiny - if they win both of their games, they will win the division.

Their division title hopes and Stanley Cup run may depend a lot on superstar Peter Forsberg. He had missed the previous four games with a groin injury, but his presence on the ice was a major factor in today's game.

The Flyers are desperatly seeking momentum heading into the postseason, after struggling as of late. A win tomorrow over New Jersey would put them in good position heading into the final game of the regular season.

A sold-out crowd in Philadelphia today, the fans were loudly cheering on the Flyers and as the game came to a close, they chanted "Rangers suck."

The need for a championship in Philadelphia can be felt in the air.

2006 - Could it be the year we get a champion?

It has been 23 years since Philadelphia last won a sports championship, the longest drout of any city with four major sports teams. That is a long time.

Hopes are once again up as we close in on the NHL playoffs, where the Flyers could enter anywhere from the 3rd to sixth seed.

But do the Flyers have a chance of winning their first Stanley Cup since 1974? My craving for a title tells me yes. My desire is so strong that I can block out how up-and-down the team has been since January.

But when reality knocks me upside the head, I see a team that comes out flat in games, looks great in some games, but does not even look like a playoff team in others.

Sure, the Flyers have the telent to be one of, if not the best in the Eastern Conference and maybe even NHL. They have arguably the best player in the game in Peter Forsberg.

But their lack of urgency and inability to play well consistently is a big concern. Today will start an important stretch, as the Flyers host the New York Rangers, whom they trail by three points. The red hot Devils (no pun intended) are even with Philadelphia. However, the Flyers hold their own destiny. Win out and the division is theirs.

Philadelphia could begin the playoffs either playing the Rangers, Sabres, or Devils. History shows any round matchup with the Devils would be no good (not to mention they have won nine in a row).

If the Flyers can turn up their play a notch and get hot at the right time, they have as good a chance as anyone to make it to the finals. But if they continue to play up-and-down as they have been, a first round exist is a real possibility.

For the sake of Philadelphia, let's hope the latter does not come to fruition. If it does, only six more months until the World Series.

Eagles need to trade for Javon Walker

Javon Walker, welcome to Philadelphia - hopefully.

While the Eagles have bolstered their offense through free agency, signing Jabbar Gaffney, there is one more move they need to make to put them over the top - trade for the disgruntled Packers wide receiver.

Remember what a star receiver can do for the Eagles offense? Having T.O. made them close to unstoppable. Signing Walker would have a similar affect. While Owens is the better receiver of the two, the Eagles now have up-and-coming Reggie Brown. Brown was nt in Philadelphia two years ago and him and Owens did not get to play much together last year.

Walker and Brown would make one of the best 1-2 punches in the NFL. Not to mention the other offensive weapons the Eagles have in Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, and L.J. Smith. How would a defense plan to stop that array of weapons?

Walker only played in one game last year before he got hurt, but in 2004 he had 89 receptions for over 1,300 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Eagles have a lot of draft picks to play with and Walker would probably cost and 3rd and 4th rounder, or a current player on their roster and 4th rounder. It would make perfect sense for them to make the move. Walker's talents would make him a first rounder (if he were just coming out of college), while a draft pick may or may not pan out.

Most likely, nothing will happen before the draft. But on April 29th, the best thing the Eagles can do is trade for Walker.