* As predicted, Arizona beat Colorado last night in the National league Wild Card game. The Diamondbacks move on to face the LA Dodgers.
The Dodgers led baseball with 104 wins an dominated the league for most of the summer. At one stretch late in the year, the Dodgers lost 15 of 16 games nad limped into the playoffs.
The D-Backs, on the other hand, made a late surge in NL West and cruised into the wild card game. They are the hot team. Wild card teams have not only advanced in the playoffs but have won the World Series several times (The Cards and Giants are recent examples of wild card teams winning the world championship).
I picked Los Angeles to win the whole thing back in spring training. I just thought the famed Dodgers had been out of the Series way too long. They have a nice mix of veterans (Chase Utley) a solid ace pitcher (Clayton Kershaw) and young stars( Cory Seeger( to make a serious run.
I still feel that way, but Arizona is going to give them fits in this series. They handled the Dodgers in the regular season.
The Dodgers are the rested team, with Kershaw pitching the opener. LA has home field advantage and experience. But don't be surprised if the Diamondbacks pull the upset and move on to the NL Championship Series.
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The Flyers got off to a good start last nigh tin their opener, beating the Sharks in San Jose, 5-3. Wayne Simmonds, who I still think is underrated, scored the first-ever Flyers hat trick in an opening game.
It's a difficult beginning for Philly, playing four road games out of the gate. San Jose, the Kings, the Ducks and the Stanley Cup runner-up Nashville Predators are a real challenge. Coming home with 6 out of a possible 8 points would be great.
The Flyers are young, with five rookies, and exciting. The emphasis in sports now is young and fast. Speed kills. And the Flyers have both- youth and speed.
It's a long season, but these first four games will tell us a lot about this Flyers squad and the prospects of the upcoming season.
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Thursday night football tonight, featuring the New England Patriots visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.The Pats are in danger of dropping below .500 for the first time in a long time. The Bucs are a trendy pick to compete with Atlanta in NFC South. They hope to shine in prime-time tonight.
Dropping to 2-3 would not only put Tom Brady and New England behind Buffalo in AFC East, but give them 3 losses already for the year, which is going to hurt at the end of the year when and if the Pats make the playoffs and need home field advantage.
Somehow, someway, I think New England steps up tonight and wins.
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It's looking like CB Sidney Jones, the Eagles' 2nd-round draft pick last spring, who is on injured reserved, may play during the second half of the year. Team Jones with Ronald Darby, the corner from Buffalo who is also injured, and the Birds suddenly have a young duo in the secondary who can not only shine this season, but for seasons to come.
Fletcher Cox did not practice yesterday, a sign that he won't play this Sunday vs. Arizona.The defensive line did a solid job last week against Phillip Rivers and the Chargers. They will need another consistent pass rush this Sunday on Cards QB Carson Palmer. If Palmer has time, he will burn the Birds' depleted secondary with wide-outs Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown.
Ray Didinger picks the Eagles this week, beating Arizona, 28-17. I respect his opinion. I hope he is right.
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