Philadelphia Review 12/9-12/22

Philadelphia Flyers (8-16-4, 20 points)

5^th in the Atlantic

15^th in the Eastern Conference

28^th in the NHL

Next two weeks:

12/9 vs. WSH

12/12 vs. NYR

12/13 @ PIT

12/16 @ WSH

12/19 vs. CAR

12/21 vs. MON

The Flyers continue to flounder at the bottom of the league. It’s painful to watch these guys. Defensively, they’re just awful. There’s no aggressiveness, it’s almost as if they’re lazy. The Defensemen are too slow, and without the quickness, they can’t challenge passes and shots, but most importantly, they can’t get to the puck, clear it, and spend more time in the offensive zone. There are too many turnovers, particularly in front of the net. They give away goals, and for a team with an up and down offense as they have, they can’t afford to give away games.

Peter Forsberg continues to have problems with the foot. I thought that when he didn’t have to have the second surgery this off-season, things were fine, and we were going to see 75 games of Forsberg this year. That’s not the case. He’s gone from specialist to specialist trying to find a solution to this problem that was supposed to be fixed! I’m still glad he didn’t get the surgery though. Imagine how bad this would be if Forsberg wasn’t playing a few times a week.

In other injury news, Jeff Carter will still miss a couple weeks with his broken ankle, Esche is still out after his surgery, and Gauthier and Rathje won’t be playing for a while. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Right now, the Flyers have to take it one game at a time. Look at the young guys, and try to get an idea of what they might have going into next year. Some teams should be calling about some of the veterans, and it would be wise to bolster a weak farm system.

Philadelphia 76ers (5-13)

T-4^th in the Atlantic

T-13^th in the Eastern Conference

T-27^th in the NBA

Next two weeks:

12/9 @ ORL

12/11 vs. POR

12/13 vs. BOS

12/15 @ DAL

12/16 @ SA

12/20 vs. IND

12/22 @ BOS

What can I say? The Sixers are just bad this year. Everyone assumed they wouldn’t be any better than last year after an off-season in which nothing was, or could be done. This is bad though. The Sixers are close to the bottom of the league, with little to no hope in sight. With bad contracts and an overall lack of young talent, there’s a lot of rebuilding to be done.

Of course, Allen Iverson demanded a trade recently. After missing some practices, some games, a team event, and overall being a pain in the ass to Mo Cheeks this year, both sides have had it. AI is frustrated with the losing atmosphere, and Billy King is frustrated with the antics. It’s time for both sides to move on and get a fresh start. Problem is, there’s no way King can get a fair return for Iverson. I’m already looking forward to complaining about it.

The situation has started off ugly, and it’ll probably get worse. If the Sixers don’t get a trade done immediately, AI is probably just going to be sitting around, not doing anything. The team doesn’t want him around anymore, and like Ron Artest last year, he’s just going to be out of things until he’s traded. Stay tuned, folks.

Philadelphia Phillies

- Traded prospects Gavin Floyd and Giovanny Gonzalez for Freddy Garcia.

- Signed Adam Eaton to a three year contract.

- Signed Wes Helms to a two year contract.

That basically sums up the off-season to date. My thoughts on it, and baseball in general to come next week.

Big Five + One Basketball

Drexel Dragons (5-2, 0-0)

5^th in Colonial Athletic Association

Next two weeks:

12/9 @ VILL

12/19 @ #21 CUSE

12/22 @ TEM

La Salle Explorers (4-2)

7^th in Atlantic 10

Next two weeks:

12/16 @ CCSU

12/20 vs. MORG ST

Pennsylvania Quakers (5-3)

3^rd in Ivy League

Next two weeks:

12/9 vs. FORD

12/21 vs. ILL-CHI

St. Joseph’s Hawks (5-2)

T-5^th in Atlantic 10

Next two weeks:

12/9 @ LOUIS

12/10 @ OHIO

12/19 vs. MARY’S

Temple Owls (3-2)

8^th in Atlantic 10

Next two weeks:

12/9 vs. CIN

12/16 @ TOW

12/19 @ BALL ST

12/22 vs. DREX

Villanova Wildcats (6-1)

T-5^th in Big East

Next two weeks:

12/9 vs. DREX

12/20 vs. RIDER

It’ll be another exciting two weeks in the Big Five + One. Drexel is right in the thick of things, being featured in both City League match-ups and playing the only ranked team on the schedule. This is a huge test for an experienced Dragons team looking to turn around the program.

Penn looks to continue its Ivy League dominance this year and is in pretty good position nearing the end of out of conference play. With Mark Zoller and Ibrahim Jaaber, two of the best players Penn has seen in a while, they’re doing a good job of working in a new coach and continuing the prestige of the program.

In the Atlantic 10, La Salle and Temple are starting over, after they each lost their best player to the NBA and in the case of Temple, also their coach. Both teams are playing well right now, and look to compete with St Joe’s, another young team, for position in the A10.

Villanova got a nice road win at Oklahoma this week. After losing three of the country’s best players to the draft following a disappointing end to the 05-06 season, they look to rebuild with seniors Mike Nardi and Curtis Sumpter providing leadership for an otherwise young team. There are going to be some growing pains this year and the team won’t make much noise in the Big East, but they’re a young team that will return to the top in a year or two.

Look below for my preview of this Sunday’s game between the Eagles and Redskins.