Picture Of The Day

Picture Of The Day
Flyers Stanley Cup Champions Parade From The '70s

Friday, January 1, 2010

The Decade In Philadelphia Sports Part 9: 2007

After clinching the NFC East on the final day of 2006, the Eagles were primed and ready to go into the postseason against division rival New York. The Giants were led by Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress and a solid defensive line. The Eagles were riding their hopes on backup quarterback Jeff Garcia, running back Brian Westbrook, wide receiver Donte Stallworth and a another strong defense.

In the Wild Card round against New York, the Eagles took a 20-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter. It looked like they could just cruise to a victory. That was quite the contrary. The Giants came back to tie the game. However, with the Eagles having the ball last, David Akers had a chance to kick the Eagles to the next round.



In the Divisional Round in New Orleans against the Saints, the Eagles were underdogs, but favorable ones at best. There was no reason they could not win this game. To tell you the truth, after one of the Saints early offensive plays, we all thought they were going to win.



However, due to good clock management by the Saints, questionable decisions by the Eagles and penalties, the Eagles lost 27-24, ending their impressive run.

FLYERS: Will the Real Orange and Black Please Stand Up


Despite the Flyers lack of Stanley Cup Championships since the 1970s, one thing always stood true with this team–they were a team that competed in the top ranks every year and made the playoffs with a chance to go all the way.

The 2006-07 season was quite the contrary.

After a disastrous start, Ken Hitchcock was relieved of his duties as head coach and replaced by John Stevens. Also, Paul Holmgren took over for Bob Clarke as general manager. Peter Forsberg was now the captain, but he was on the injured list a lot. By mid-season, the Flyers dealt him to Nashville for Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent and draft picks.

At other points in the season, the Flyers traded for Braydon Coburn, Lasse Kukkonen and Marty Biron.

One positive point of the season as the play of Simon Gagne, netting 41 goals and collecting 68 points.

But in the end, the Flyers finished 22-48-12, good for worst record in the NHL and worst in franchise history.

In the off-season, Holmgren would make several moves to improve the roster and change the team's struggling fortunes of 2007.

76ERS: No More Answer...Just a Load of Future Questions

To be frank, the 76ers did not have a good second season under Maurice Cheeks. They finished 35-47 and missing the playoffs.

But the most significant thing that happened this season, occurred in the 2006 part. In December, constant fueding with Allen Iverson forced the Sixers to deal him to the Denver Nuggets.





The Sixers also dealt Ivan McFarlin in the deal. In return, they received Andre Miller and Joe Smith.



This season also marked the end of Chris Webber's 76ers career. In January, his over $20 million contract was bought out. Clearly, the franchise was going in a transition period. The question was, would it be one for the good?

PHILLIES: "The Team to Beat"

The 2007 campaign was looking like another one of "those years" with the Phillies coming up just short of a postseason birth.

But, this season would be different. Despite losing their 10,000th franchise game in July, Jimmy Rollins made a bold statement in the off-season prior saying the Phillies were "the team to beat" in the National League East.

This set off a bitter rival with the New York Mets and a sensational last two months of the season between the two squads. The Mets had a seven game lead in the division with 17 games to play. It looked like they could just ease their way to a second straight division title and the Phils would have to go for the Wild Card.

Yet, the Mets began to collapse and the Phillies continued to win down the stretch in September. In a season dedicated to the late John Vukovich, the Phils and Mets were tied for first place in the division on the last day of the season.



On September 30, the Phils were hosting the Washington Nationals and the Mets the Florida Marlins. If both teams won, there would be a one game playoff in Philadelphia the next day. If one won and the other lost, the team that would win would be the champs. If both lost, there would be a one game playoff.

The Mets lost 8-1.

With hometown native Jamie Moyer on the mound for the Phightin' Phils, the Nationals stood no chance. The Phils won the game 6-1 and were headed to the postseason for the first time since 1993.







Although the Phils lost in the NLDS to the eventual National Champion Colorado Rockies in three games, that didn't take away from the season Jimmy Rollins had. He finished witha a sensational line of .296 batting average with 212 hits, 30 homeruns, 94 RBIs, 41 stolen bases, 38 doubles and 20 triples, putting in him in the 20-20-20-20 club for home runs, stolen bases, doubles and triples. Only three other players in major league history have accomplished such a mark. His stats and his demeanor of "the team to beat" awarded him the 2007 National League MVP Award.







EAGLES: 75th Season of Eagles Football and Westbrook Shines



To make it clear, although it was the 75th season in franchise history, the 2007 Philadelphia Eagles struggled. With Donte Stallworth now gone, newly acquired Kevin Curtis was now considered one of the go to guys for Donovan McNabb on the offensive side of the football.

Not to mention, for one game, they wore possibly one of the ugliest throwback jerseys ever created.





However, although Curtis had over 1,000 yards receiving and Brian Westbrook had the best statistical season of his career with 2104 yards from scrimmage, the Eagles finished 8-8.

It was a frustrating season and left fans wondering what was in store for this team in the future.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It will be great to watch Washington Nationals, i have bought tickets from
http://ticketfront.com/event/Washington_Nationals-tickets looking forward to it.