Philly Sports Week in Review

For the most part, it’s been a dull year in Philadelphia sports. The Sixers have…well, sucked for a third straight year, the Eagles played very poorly and wound up missing the playoffs for the second-straight season, and the Phillies are just getting started. In the matter of a week though, sports has become the talk of Philadelphia. Dull no more, the city is buzzing with talk of all major sports teams. To get a better idea of just how much has changed in a week, let’s take a look at the week in review for Philly sports.

Monday

–#2 Villanova Wildcats def. #1 North Carolina Tar Heels 77-74 to win the NCAA Championship

There’s really no better way to start the week, than by seeing a hometown team win a championship. The Wildcats shocked the nation, by knocking off the powerhouse Tar Heels to win their first National Title in 31 years. Things got a little dicey at the end, but Kris Jenkins hit the shot that will live in NCAA, Philadelphia, and Basketball history forever. While it may not have been the Phillies, Flyers, Sixers, or Eagles…the ‘Cats still sent Philadelphia into a frenzy as soon as that shot dropped.

–Peter King of The MMQB reports that there’s a 50% chance the Titans trade #1 overall pick

This type of report always shows up at this time of year. The draft is a little less than three weeks away, and there hasn’t been as much talk about the 1st overall pick as in other years. To just make matters worse (or better..depending on your view), King later suggested that the Eagles could be a team in play for the top pick. It’s not the first time that the Eagles have been linked to a trade for #1, as multiple reports have linked them to having interest in Carson Wentz with the top pick. Adam Schefter, who appeared on 97.5 The Fanatic this week, gave an idea of what it would take to move up saying “I think you’re looking at a 1 this year, [a] 1 next year, and another pick, like a 3 or a 4.” Whether the Eagles decide to do that or not remains to be seen, but it’s important to note that they have both Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel under contract for at least two years. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle those two, if they draft a quarterback in the first round. 

–Phillies drop season-opener in heartbreaking fashion

Entering the season, there wasn’t much excitement surrounding the Phillies. Nonetheless, Jeremy Hellickson put together one hell of an outing on Monday, allowing one run over six innings. That all went to waste, as the bullpen collapsed allowing the Reds to score five times in the eighth inning, locking up their first loss of the season.

Tuesday

–Reports surface claiming that Doug Pederson “loves” Carson Wentz, and wants to trade up for him. 

Again, these rumors surface all the time around this time of year. It’s almost impossible to believe any rumors prior to the draft, because there are so many. I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened, but I also wouldn’t be shocked if it didn’t. We won’t know anything until April 28th.

Wednesday

–Another day, another blown lead

On Monday, the Phillies blew a one-run lead late in the game because of the bullpen. Coincidentally enough, they did the exact same thing on Wednesday night. The Phillies-Reds were nationally broadcasted on ESPN 2, and they seemed to be on their way to a win. Clinging to a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, Dalier Hinojosa allowed the Reds to win the game by way of a walk-off two-run double. Sad days are ahead, Phillies fans.

–The Flyers fumble an opportunity to increase their playoff chances

The Orange and Black traveled to “Hockeytown” to do battle with the Detroit Red Wings on NBCSN. Unfortunately, things didn’t play out like the Flyers had hoped. They looked out of it right from the start, unable to muster any sort of offense. Detroit took advantage of the zombie-like Flyers shutting them out 3-0, also closing the gap in the playoff race.

–Sam Hinkie resigns as Sixers GM

ESPN sources say Sam Hinkie has stepped down from his posts in Philadelphia

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) April 7, 2016

The most shocking news of the week came late Wednesday night, as ESPN’s Marc Stein broke the news that Sam Hinkie had stepped down as general manager of the Sixers. Hinkie was hired back in 2013, and immediately blew everything up. He traded Jrue Holiday to New Orleans for Nerlens Noel, and that started everything. Since then, the Sixers have gone 47-196 in three seasons, securing at least one “cornerstone” piece in each draft. Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, and Dario Saric are all viewed as the future of Sixers basketball. With potentially four first-round picks in this year’s draft, there was a ton of pressure to get things right this offseason. Ownership brought into basketball legend Jerry Colangelo back in December to help run things, which didn’t seem to sit well with Hinkie. Fast forward four months, and Hinkie is out. Reports have stated that Bryan Colangelo will be replacing Hinkie as GM. It’s unclear what the future holds for the Sixers, but an already important offseason just became the most important in franchise history.

Thursday

Jake Gardiner capitalizes on the power play and blasts home a @SUBWAYCanada OT winner for the Maple Leafs.https://t.co/qAUUESXPke

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 8, 2016

–Flyers blow another chance to extended lead in playoff race

Having already lost two in a row to Detroit and Pittsburgh, there’s no way the Flyers could lose to the Maple Leafs. Well, they did just that. The Flyers were down 2-0 after the first period, and 3-1 after two frames. Out of pure desperation, the team was able to find the back of the net twice to at least secure one point, with the hopes of still gaining two. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen as Jake Gardiner scored the game-winning goal for Toronto. With the loss, the Flyers had fallen behind both the Bruins and Red Wings for the final playoff spots in the East. Things are getting to be a bit stressful in Philly.

–Phillies blow another lead, but lose big

Remarkably, the Phillies found a way to blow a lead for the third straight game against the Cincinnati Reds. Thankfully, it wasn’t a late lead this time. Entering the bottom of the fourth inning, the Phils led 2-1. By the time we reached the top of the fifth inning, they trailed 9-2. The Reds erupted for eight runs in the fourth inning, and never looked back en route to a 10-6 win of the Phillies. Three games in, three losses. Not looking good, Phillies….not looking good.

Friday

–Philly celebrates Villanova

The team that shocked the city on Monday brought us the first parade we’ve had since the 2008 Phillies won the World Series. It was held at City Hall, and was kept short, sweet, and to the point. Nonetheless, it was still an amazing sight to watch, and will always be a piece of Philadelphia history.

–Phillies lose fourth straight

I swear, I’m really going to get tired of writing this headline. This time though, it was against the Mets (much worse than the Reds!). Jacob deGrom toed the mound for the Mets, matching up against Jared Eickhoff. For the first six innings of the game, it was a pretty evenly matched duel. Tied at 2 entering the seventh inning, James Russell added to his already horrendous season by surrendering four runs in one-third of an inning. This one doesn’t hurt as much since it’s not a blown lead, but it’s become blatantly obvious that the bullpen is going to kill us this year. 

–The Eagles have inquired about moving up to 1st overall

Once again, we have the Eagles rumors. I’ve already addressed this specific rumor earlier on in this post, so I’m going to refer you to the Monday portion of the post for my thoughts. I’m only going to say that we won’t know anything until April 28th. 

-Union win thriller in 90th minute

The Union have started the season on a roller coaster. They opened up with a 2-0 loss to FC Dallas, but followed up with a pair of victories against the Columbus Crew and New England Revolution. Chicago knocked them off 1-0 on April 2nd, and that’s where they stood entering Friday. With a 2-2 record, the Union entered a battle for first place with Orlando City SC. C.J. Sapong opened up the scoring by finding the back of the net in the second minute. Adrian Winter landed the equalizer for Orlando just before halftime, in the 43rd minute. Just when it looked like the two teams were headed for a tie, Tranquillo Barnetta stunned Orlando by finding the top right corner of the net, giving the Union a thrilling 2-1 victory and put them atop the Eastern Conference.

Saturday

The Flyers take the lead with Simmer’s second! #FlyersTalkhttps://t.co/xia5gdGeZk

— Comcast SportsNet (@CSNPhilly) April 9, 2016

–The Flyers clinch a playoff berth

The orange and black are back in the postseason, baby! As seen in the video above, the Flyers ended their three-game losing streak in the sweetest way possible- by beating their hated rival Pittsburgh Penguins and clinching a playoff spot. This team was never even considered for a playoff berth when the season began, and they really surprised many folks. Questions started to arise when the team dropped three straight earlier this week, but they silenced critics this week by taking care of business today, clinching a postseason berth. As the Kings showed back in 2012, all you have to do is get in and the rest will take care of itself. 

–Phillies finally win!

It was long overdue after the horrendous start to the season, but the Phillies finally picked up their first victory of the year. Vincent Velasquez to the mound against the Mets, brilliantly pitching six shutout innings. In a total contrast of their first four games, the bullpen came in and finished the shutout. The Phillies were able to slightly edge the Mets thanks to a Ryan Howard home run in the fifth inning. Hopefully this is a sign of more to come. 

Sunday

#Phillies clave en la Win d hoy el venezolano Odubel Herrera, pego su 1er HR d la season y fue vs Matt Harvey. pic.twitter.com/8YZPwLgfQI

— MeGustanLosDeportes (@PalillitoArnold) April 11, 2016

–Phillies win second straight

After an 0-4 start, the Phillies have bounced back by knocking off of the Mets in their last two games. On Saturday, Vince Velasquez out-dueled Bartolo Colon, and Ryan Howard took Colon deep en route to a 1-0 Phillies win. Sunday’s game couldn’t have played out any differently, as the Phillies handily knocked off the Mets 5-2. Behind another solid outing from Jeremy Hellickson, the Phillies tagged Matt Harvey for three runs over six innings, including a Odubel Herrera home run (seen above) in the sixth inning. 

–Flyers cruise to a season-ending victory

The final game of the year became borderline meaningless on Saturday when the Flyers beat the Penguins. It appears the team didn’t get that message, as they strolled into the Barclays Center last night and handled the Islanders 5-2. Behind the solid goaltending of Michael Neuvirth, the Flyers received contributions from their supporting cast. Definitely a good sign, entering the playoffs. 

–Sixers lose heartbreaker in OT

The team was down by 17 at halftime, by managed to claw their way back to force overtime. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as they lost by one. Give the team credit for fighting back, but the soft spot in last night’s game was their 3-point shooting. Between Robert Covington, Nik Stauskas, and Hollis Thompson, they shot just about 25% from beyond the arc. As a team, they shot 28%. Not exactly a recipe for success. With two more games to go, the Sixers already have the statistically best shot at landing the top pick locked up. The NBA Draft can’t get here soon enough. 

There you have it folks, your Philadelphia Sports Week in Review.

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