Jaromir Jagr's 1st Goal As A Flyer

This is almost surreal.  Amazingly, surreal.



As I am watching early regular season games, I don't scream frequently.  As soon as the puck went in, I screamed.  And then the salute afterwards.  Beautiful.

Re-live September 28, 2011 In One Awesome 12-Minute Video

Has there ever been a more dramatic, chaotic, and improbable 20 minutes in the history of sports?  There have been classic games in the past, but what happened last night, was not just one classic game.  It was the finale of a 162-game season like no finale ever before.  The chaos of last night was more than just one game, it was the frantic switching back and forth between stations ultimately culminating with two historic collapses coming complete in the span of twenty minutes and two walkoffs literally separated by three minutes.  There are few times where it feels like time just stops.  Last night was one of those nights.

Last night was an Fredi Gonzalez incredibly allowing Scott Linebrink to pitch to Hunter Pence who would ultimately hit the game-winning RBI with Michael Martinez on deck.  Last night was a last place Baltimore Orioles going nowhere way too fast celebrating like they won the World Series.  Last night was Dan Johnson, he of the .119/.187/.202 slash line in 31 games in 2011 hitting the game-tying home run with the Rays down to their last out and their last strike.  Last night was Evan Longoria.  Last night was the mathematically improbable coming to fruition.

And this is last night, condensed into one 12-minute, 5-second video.



Given the numbers in the above link, to say this was the most improbable night in sports history is not that much of a stretch.  In fact, it may be a reality.  For the Cardinals and the Rays, it is a comeback they will always remember.  And for the Braves and the Red Sox, it is a collapse they will never be able to forget.

Phillies Clinch 5th Straight NL East Title In The Grandest Of Ways

Even though the Phillies had seemingly an insurmountable lead on the NL East and clinching the title was all but an inevitability for at least the past month or so, tonight's events were no less exciting or fulfilling because of it.  Up 5-2 in the bottom of the 8th, the Phillies seemed to be poised to take the title, but in the inning prior, the Cardinals had gotten two runs back and would have certainly wanted more in the 9th as they tried to keep pace with the Braves.  But, those dreams were soon dashed when on came Raul Ibanez to ensure the quickest NL East clinch in Phillies history.  And with the home fans looking on, Ibanez delivered a grand slam heard round Philadelphia.

Those would prove to be the last runs of the game.  The Phillies won 9-2 and are officially 2011 National League East Champions.  I remember September 30, 2007 like it was yesterday.  How did we get here?

Cliff Lee Can Do It All, Part 2

Eight innings of shut out baseball, ten strikeouts, two walks, four hits, a game-winning solo home run.

Just another ho-hum night on the mound for Cliff Lee. Move along. Nothing to see here.

I Wish I Got CBC On My TV

During the pre-game of yesterday's Bruins-Canucks Game 5, NBC viewers got Dan Patrick feigning excitement for 15 minutes. CBC got this bit of awesomeness.



Even more fitting considering the game that followed. For those wondering, the song used here is "Weapon" by Matthew Good.

CBC's Awesome Pre-Series Montage

While American viewers had to deal with NBC cross-promoting The Green Lantern in their pre-series montage, CBC viewers got treated to something way more awesome. Instead of making hockey second fiddle to a lame movie, CBC gave their viewers a montage illustrating the passion, excitement, and awesomeness of this year's post-season to one of today's biggest international hit songs. Put another way, it is really, really awesome.



Just how lame was NBC's Green Lantern montage in comparison to that? Well, unfortunately, I cannot show you because no one felt it was worthwhile to upload to YouTube.

The Game Winning RBI Hours After Wilson Valdez Became A Winning Pitcher

As luck would have it, the game scheduled after a 19-inning marathon was a 1:00 day game. Also as luck would have it, hours after utility infielder Wilson Valdez picked up a win as a pitcher, Cliff Lee would pitch 8-innings...........and bat in the game-winning RBIs.

Phillies went on to win 10-4.

The first 16 hours of May 26, 2011 are 16 hours that the Phillies and Phillies fans won't forget any time soon.

A Year Ago Today

What I remember most about this game (other than one of the greatest goals I've ever seen): Jumping up and down in my mother's arms with tears in my eyes after Jeff Carter notched home the game-clinching empty net goal.

365 days later, the Canucks, a team who has gone a longer time since their last Stanley Cup Finals appearance, have a chance to re-live the same experience.

Good Sunday: 76ers And Flyers Stay Alive In The Playoffs With Thrilling Victories

I am pretty sure this Easter Sunday took 30 years off my life. At least it certainly felt like it. The team to play first today was the Sixers, who were just hoping to force a Game 5 and not get swept by the more talented Miami Heat.



In the final 8.1 seconds, LeBron missed a shot and Evan Turner made 2 FTs to give the 76ers a 4-point win.

Then it was the Flyers trying to stave off elimination. They started Michael Leighton in goal. That did not go so well. Leighton gave up 3 soft goals (Boucher replaced him in the 2nd) and the Flyer had to rally. The Flyers rallied down 2-0, down 3-1, and down 4-3 to tie the game at 4. They sent it to overtime tied at 4 whereupon Ville Leino scored the game-winner to force a Game 7.



Game 7, Tuesday night. Wells Fargo Center. Sabres at Flyers. It will come down to one game.

But if those moments were not good enough, Shane Victorino hit an inside-the-park home run en route to the Phillies beating the San Diego Padres 3-0 and completing the 4-game road sweep of the Padres.

Sergei Bobrovsky Has Learned Quite A Bit About American Culture In 8 Months

Just check out his new playoff mask.

Your eyes are not deceiving you.  The right side of Sergei Bobrovsky's playoff mask is in fact Rocky draping the American flag over his shoulders while the left side of the mask does in fact feature the face of Sideshow Bob. Bob may very well be the greatest Russian in the history of history.

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The Gus Johnson Sound Alike Contest

Having Gus Johnson as "the voice of Big Ten basketball" certainly has some benefits, including the ability to have Gus Johnson star in some odd promotional events. This one, though, features Gus taking a backseat as three kids do Gus Johnson impersonations while calling three exciting moments in Big Ten basketball. It's as entertaining as it sounds.



Given that this occurred at the Indiana-Penn State game, I would say this was probably the most exciting portion of the night for everyone at Conseco Fieldhouse. As far as who had the most realistic Gus Johnson scream, I would say that honor goes to the third guy who went. He even managed to get in a few Gus quotes there. Nice work to all three of them, and may I express my supreme jealousy that they got to stand next to Gus Johnson on a basketball court while impersonating him. Lucky bastards.

(hat tip to kt1000 in the live blog.)

Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United: I Can't Stop Smiling

In all likelihood, Chelsea are not winning the English Premier League. Chelsea have a mountain to climb if they want to win the Champions' League. Chelsea are out of the FA Cup and the Carling Cup. But, despite all that, there is no better feeling than watching what happened today when Chelsea came back from a 1-0 half time deficit to beat Manchester United 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. After a strike by Rooney put Man U up 1-0 in the 1st half, Chelsea responded in the 2nd half with a brilliant volley by Essien to Ivanovic to newly acquired central defender David Luiz who looked more like a veteran striker in tying the game at 1. Then with 10 minutes left in the game, substitute Yuri Zhirkov carried the ball into the box only to be tripped up and drew the penalty. The penalty, taken by Frank Lampard, was a beautiful. Edwin van der Sar, knowing that Lampard likes to shoot to the goalkeeper's right, dove there, and for a change of pace, Lampard slotted it top shelf, ensuing van der Sar never had a chance. 2-1, and after 10+ agonizing minutes which featured more offensive chances for Chelsea than Manchester United, the home side were able to hang on and preserve the 2-1 victory. If you want to see the awesomeness for yourself, here are the goal highlights (watch ASAP because they will surely be down 15 seconds after I hit publish).



Manchester United fans will likely be upset at the referee of the match for not giving David Luiz a 2nd yellow after two questionable fouls after he earned his first yellow card. To them, I say tough luck. Manchester United have seen plenty of calls go their way, including Wayne Rooney avoiding a red card for elbowing Wigan's Jamie McCarthy last Saturday.

Enough talking about Manchester United, though. For me, this was the best win for a team I support since Roy Halladay's post-season no-hitter in October. Fantastic stuff from the Blues and a huge win that not only has them back in the race for the 2011-2012 UEFA Champions League, but has also blown the 2011 English Premier League title race wide open again with Arsenal only 4 points behind and holding a game in hand over league-leading Manchester United.

The New March Madness Schedule Is.....AWESOME!

I grew a few inches when I first saw this.

The exact times that games will be broadcast during this year's NCAA Tournament have been released, and I am officially pumped for March Madness. Not only are all games going to be on national TV, but the start times have been spread out (especially in the 2nd round 3rd round, meaning you won't be constantly pressing buttons on your remote as much as you initially thought you would. Here is how the times break down for you, from SI's Richard Deitsch.

First Four

Tuesday, March 15
6:30 (truTV)
approx. 9:00 (truTV)

Wednesday, March 16
6:30 (truTV)
approx. 9:00 (truTV)

Second Round

Thursday, March 17

1st Set
12:00 (CBS)
12:30 (truTV)
1:30 (TBS)
2:00 (TNT)

2nd Set
approx. 2:30 (CBS)
approx. 3:00 (truTV)
approx. 4:00 (TBS)
approx. 4:30 (TNT)

3rd set
6:45 (TBS)
7:00 (CBS)
7:15 (TNT)
7:15 (truTV)

4th set
approx. 9:15 (TBS)
approx. 9:30 (CBS)
approx. 9:45 (TNT)
approx. 9:55 (truTV)

Friday, March 18

1st Set
12:00 (CBS)
12:30 (truTV)
1:30 (TBS)
2:00 (TNT)

2nd Set
approx. 2:30 (CBS)
approx. 3:00 (truTV)
approx. 4:00 (TBS)
approx. 4:30 (TNT)

3rd set
6:45 (TBS)
7:00 (CBS)
7:15 (TNT)
7:15 (truTV)

4th set
approx. 9:15 (TBS)
approx. 9:30 (CBS)
approx. 9:45 (TNT)
approx. 9:55 (truTV)

Third Round

Saturday, March 19

12:00 (CBS)
approx. 2:30 (CBS)
5:00 (CBS)
6:00 (TNT)
7:00 (TBS)
approx. 7:30 (CBS)
approx. 8:00 (TNT)
approx. 9:30 (TBS)

Sunday, March 20

12:00 (CBS)
approx. 2:30 (CBS)
5:00 (CBS)
6:00 (TNT)
7:00 (TBS)
approx. 7:30 (truTV)
approx. 8:00 (TNT)
approx. 9:30 (TBS)

Sweet Sixteen

Thursday, March 24

1st Set
7:00 (CBS)
7:15 (TBS)

2nd Set
approx. 9:30 (CBS)
approx. 9:55 (TBS)

Friday, March 25

1st Set
7:00 (CBS)
7:15 (TBS)

2nd Set
approx. 9:30 (CBS)
approx. 9:55 (TBS)

Elite 8

Saturday, March 26
4:20 (CBS)
6:55 (CBS)

Sunday, March 27
2:10 (CBS)
4:55 (CBS)

Final 4

Saturday, April 2
6:00 (CBS)
approx. 8:30 (CBS)

National Championship Game

Monday, April 1
9:00 (CBS)

Of course, chances are these are not the precise tip-off times, but rather the scheduled (or approximately scheduled), but rather the time Jim Nantz says "Hello friends" and whatever it is other announcers use to sign on to broadcasts with. Also, I know right at noon on the Thursday and Friday of what was then known as the first round (now known as the second round) of the NCAA Tournament, a 10-minute local news clip aired before we got sent to the studios with Greg Gumbel. Who knows if they will do that again. So yeah, there are a lot of variables going on and some of these times could be changed by a few minutes or so. But yeah, I love what the NCAA is doing with the staggered start times. If you want a different opinion of this from me, get back to me next year this time when I am student teaching.

(For a break down of the announcers for the tournament, click here)

Fernando Torres And David Luiz! Fernando Torres And David Luiz! Fernando Torres And David Luiz!

David Luiz had to be pulled back from his flight in order to sign paperwork with Benfica, but the deal is done. David Luiz, the young Brazilian central defender and Fernando Torres, the superstar Spanish striker, are on their way to Stamford Bridge. With this, Chelsea have gotten a central defender for the future (who could probably start today) and a future replacement for Didier Drogba, who could very well be on his way out this summer.

Torres and Luiz! Chelsea are all of a sudden back in the thick of things in the English Premier League, with both of their fixtures against Manchester United yet to be played.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have a sticky mess in my pants that needs cleaning up.

Greatest Pro Bowl Touchdown Ever? Greatest Pro Bowl Touchdown Ever

That, and this idiot made that Pro Bowl entirely worth while. Oh, and the NFC dominating the AFC for once was a refreshing change of pace that made the game more enjoyable than normal.

From now on, whenever Thom Brennaman announces a game, teams should try lateral plays in the final 2 minutes of the game. It is a guaranteed touchdown. Really.

Did The Eagles Ensure The Giants Were Unprepared For The Onsides Kick?

There have been lots of talk about how the Giants were seemingly unprepared for the onside kick recovered by Riley Cooper and how Tom Coughlin and Giants special teams coordinator Tom Quinn were completely unprepared. Even though they inexplicably did not have their hands team out, some credit has to go to the Eagles for distracting the Giants. Actually a lot. Much more than initially meets the eye. None of this was captured on TV by Fox, but reports from the game and footage of the actual onside kick verify this astounding genius coaching move by Bobby April: The Eagles had 10 men on the field for the onside kick. While some may see that and think the Eagles got lucky from a mistake, the reports seem to verify that what you see pictured above was in fact a ploy intended to distract the Giants. A ploy that however dumb it might sound at first, sparked the greatest comeback in Philadelphia Eagles history. Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News initially reported the details on what the Eagles did, how it worked, and how it caused the Giants to forget Tom Coughlin's warning of an onside kick.

Just before the kickoff an Eagles player came running off the field, leaving them with only 10 men on the kickoff team. And that apparently caused some momentary confusion for the Giants, who then forgot that Coughlin had just warned them to watch for the onside kick.

"They did something good," Blackburn said. "They ran a guy off right in front of everybody and they're all looking at each other saying, 'We've (only) got 10.' So we're doing the same thing, trying to recount. And then you forget about that 'alert' a little bit. That's kind of what happened."

Coughlin admitted his players were caught looking by the "well-disguised" ploy, but he also said, "That should not have been any kind of distraction." But it was and the Eagles converted it into a touchdown that cut their deficit to 31-24, en route to their 38-31 come-from-behind win.

You can say that no matter ho you do it, having 10-men on the field for an onside kick is dumb and that there is no way to smartly do it, but like Vacchiano did, the Eagles did it and it distracted the Giants. They forgot about the warning for a moment, and in that moment, Akers kicked the ball and Riley Cooper recovered it before the Giants had knew what hit them. Even though the Eagles had some questionable special teams play earlier in the season, there is a reason that you bring in Bobby April to coach your teams special teams, and this is exactly why. This simple ploy worked, ensured the Eagles recovered the onside kick, and the rest is history.

VIDEO OF EPICNESS: Merrill Reese Calls The Miracle At The New Meadowlands

Treat your ears to a piece of football heaven. Joe Buck had a real good call, but this is amazing.



NFL Network will be re-airing this game in its entirety tomorrow night at 8 PM. You can bet your bottom dollar I'll be setting my DVR. This one's a keeper.

Update: Courtesy of The 700 Level, you can now hear Merrill Reese and Mike Quick call the entire final 7:41 of the game. It's as awesome as it sounds.

Eagles Week 15 Recap: Miracle At The New Meadowlands

The perfect Christmas card for Giants fans.

On to the bullet points of one of the greatest comebacks I've ever seen in football.

• That just happened.
• Joe Pisarcik/Herm Edwards.  Jeff Feagles/Brian Westbrook.  Matt Dodge/DeSean Jackson.  The last of the three may be the most improbable of all.
• But for all the talk about the Jackson punt return, the Eagles were trailing 24-10 in the 4th quarter when DeSean Jackson caught a pass and took it to the 40 yard line.  After being touched by Goff, Jackson fell down, the ground caused a fumble, and the Giants recovered.  Clearly, Goff had touched Jackson and before he hit the ground and the ball came out after Jackson hit the ground, but for reasons of pure idiocy, Andy Reid did not challenge.  The Giants proceed to drive down the field for a touchdown.  8 minutes left, 31-10 Eagles.  Game over, right?
• Wrong.  Next drive, Vick to Celek.  One of the best onside kicks ever executed.  Vick making plays with his legs.  QB draw.  QB touchdown.  Just like that it's 31-24 with the Giants having never touched the ball.  Giants get the ball.  Eagles get a stop.  With the ball at their own 88 yard line, Vick makes plays with his legs and his feet again.  Eventually, inside the Giants 20 Vick finds Maclin who breaks a tackle and scores a TD to incredibly tie the game with less than 2 minutes left.  Giants get the ball back.  They go 3 and out.  The last play of the drive was a sack.  Clock ticking.  Giants call timeout with 12 seconds left, right before the play clock expired.  Then Matt Dodge punted the ball.  DeSean Jackson bobbled it, picked it up, and the rest is history.
• So, how did this happen?  How does a team that is completely dominated for 52 minutes, come back and win the game in 8 minutes?  And how does a team up 21 with 52 minutes left completely collapse in the last 8?  I'll give my take on the Jackson return in a second, but the comeback in general was started because of one man, Michael Vick.  All game long the Giants had been blitzing and getting to Vick, largely taken advantage of the astoundingly awful King Dunlap.  To counter said blitz, you need two things:  a).  a screen game.  Or b). an athletic QB who can run.  The Eagles opted for option b.  For the first 52 minutes, no QB draws were called and for the most part, Vick was not taking off and running with the ball.  In the final 8 minutes, that changed.  Vick eluded pressure and took off when he saw daylight in front of him.  Outside of make shift scrambles, QB draws were called as well.  Vick had 94 rushing yards in the 4th quarter!  There were other factors, but if you are searching for an anatomy of this comeback, it was Mike Vick running the ball.  That's what changed.  The Giants never adjusted.  And that's how the Eagles scored 21 points in 7 minutes.
•  To the 8th minute and the final 7 points.  I may have a screen-by-screen breakdown later, but for now, I'll just describe what happened and what I saw.  Tom Coughin reportedly told Matt Dodge to punt it out of bounds, the smart move.  It would not kill all 12 seconds, but it would force either a hail mary attempt or the Eagles would just take a knee, satisfied to take it into overtime.  Instead, the snap was high, Dodge believed that because of that, he did not have enough time to angle his punt out of bounds as needed.  His hurried punt forced a line drive that went right to DeSean Jackson.  What happened next was the key to everything.  DeSean Jackson bobbled the punt.  While an accident, this allowed for two things to happen.  The Giants defense collapsed around Jackson and the Eagles special teams unit were given 1 or 2 more seconds to set up their blocks, including Omar Gaither blocking a Giant into two other Giants causing a domino effect taking them all out.  This allowed Jackson to find a seam up the middle.  A block from Jason Avant at the 45 cemented the return from the speedy Jackson.
• Before Jackson crossed the goalline, he ran diagonal into the endzone, in what was a feeble effort to kill the clock.  I say feeble because the clock had already expired, but Jackson may not have been aware of it as he was reading the defense and running full speed on a game-winning punt return touchdown, the first ever in NFL history.  Because of the unnecessary nature of the extra running, many will see what DeSean Jackson did as show-boating.  But trust me, when DeSean Jackson showboats (a.k.a. last Sunday in Dallas), you know it.  That was intended as a heads-up football play that ultimately was not needed.
• Most media outlets have already named this the "Miracle At The New Meadowlands."  Seeing as it's the last Sunday before Christmas, I was hoping someone would name it after the street New Meadowlands Stadium is on, a la Miracle On 34th Street.   But good luck with "Miracle On New Jersey Route 120" ever catching on.
• Not to be a Debbie Downer now, but 52 other minutes were played in this game.  And during those minutes, the Eagles lost 2nd round draft pick Nate Allen to a petallar tendon injury, effectively ending his season.  And in the span of less than a week, the Eagles have lost their top 2 draft picks from the 2010 draft.  Your starting full safety will now be 7th round draft pick Kurt Coleman.
• BREAKING NEWS:  King Dunlap is terrible.
• Dimitri Patterson had a nightmare.  Eli Manning picked on him all game long.  The re-addition of Samuel was a boost, but it can only help so much if other QBs continually pick apart Patterson like Manning did today.
• Enough negative nancy shit, that was one of the greatest comebacks in Philadelphia Eagles history, and perhaps even one of the top 10 in NFL history.  Seriously, amazing.  The Miracle At The New Meadowlands.  And Giant fans thought Herm Edwards and Brian Westbrook were bad.  And this was less than a week after the Phillies came out of nowhere to sign Cliff Lee out from under the noses of the New York Yankees, and a day removed from the Flyers putting a solid 4-1 beatdown of the New York Rangers.  Now not every Yankee fan is a Giants and/or Rangers fan, but to steal and modify a joke Grant from McCovery Chronicles made on Twitter a month or so ago when FC Dallas lost the MLS Cup off the heals of the Rangers losing the World Series:  there must be some guy in the New York metropolitan area who is a Yankees, Giants, and Rangers fan.  And he's in a dark, dark place right now.
• At the end of the game, Tom Coughlin went haywire on his punter Matt Dodge.  While Dodge had no business ever kicking that to Jackson regardless of how high the snap was, Matt Dodge did not blow a 21-point lead with 8 minutes left.  That burden should belong to Perry Fewell and Tom Coughlin for not making adjustments, and for the Giants players for being out of position and/or whiffing while trying to tackle Vick.
• I am working all day tomorrow, so either tomorrow night or Tuesday, I will have more on this game and this comeback.  
• Lastly, the epic win probability graph. (advancednflstats.com)

An Epic Win Streak Will Face A Tough Test Tonight

On Saturday night, December 11, near the hour of 10:00, St. Joe's lost to Creighton. Why is that event in any way remarkable? It's the last time a Philadelphia team lost when facing a team outside of Philadelphia (that footnote is needed because on Sunday Villanova faced La Salle; that game is not counted in the series of events I am about to present.) Since that seemingly unremarkable moment, no Philadelphia sports team has lost. Professional, college, it does not matter. The city of Philadelphia is currently riding an 8-game win streak. Since Saint Joseph's lost to Creighton on December 11, all Philadelphia sports teams, including college basketball and college football, are a remarkable 8-0 in actual games with 1 epic Cliff Lee deal to boot. Here is a break down of what has happened since then, and what the future may hold tonight.

Sunday, December 12
Sixers 88, Hornets 70
Villanova 84, La Salle 81 (a win for the team I support, though it does not count toward the streak as both teams are Philadelphia schools)
Temple 82, Akron 47
Eagles 30, Cowboys 27

Monday, December 13, minutes before the stroke of midnight
Clifton Phifer Lee

Tuesday, December 14
Flyers 3, Penguins 2
Sixers 82, Nets 77
Drexel 52, Louisville 46

Wednesday, December 15
Sixers 105, Clippers 91
Flyers 5, Canadiens 3

There were no games or big acquisitions on Thursday, but this epic streak will face one hell of a test tonight. Three teams are in action, and two of them are facing extremely tough competition. Here is tonight's schedule.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. 76ERS 7:00
Bucknell vs. LA SALLE 7:00
FCS Semifinals: VILLANOVA vs. Eastern Washington 8:00

If all 3 prevail, the Sixers will have beaten one of the best in basketball, La Salle will have added a win heading into A-10 conference play, and Villanova will be playing for a Division I football championship.

(Hat tip to Philadelphia Sports Daily.)