* Fun at the Flyers game yesterday afternoon. It was warmer in the chilly hockey arena than outside. Love the matinee Saturday games- the morning bustling, home by 5:00. No traffic on the Expressway on the way down.
Always good to see the Orange and Black win. For the second straight game, the Flyers scored six goals, beating the St. Louis Blues 6-3. The Flyers played excellent defense,e specially in the first two periods. St. Louis didn't have a really great chance at Flyer goalie Brian Elliot until the final stanza.
The Blues are a good team, in second place in their division. They seemed to come out lackluster, as the Flyers took it to them early.
Philadelphia plays another home 1:00 game today against Buffalo. They play the Devils and Rangers on the road after today's game vs the Sabres.
As always, the Wells Fargo Event Staff were great. There was a mini- altercation between a young Flyers fan and a 20-something Blues fan, each decked out in team gear, a shouting match a few rows apart. Security handled it with class, warning both before the Blues fan got obnoxious and stupidly got in one Event Staffer's face, a sure way to get yourself thrown out of the building, which is exactly what happened.
What's with the stepford Flyers fans "wooooo-ing" like Ric Flair during the games? It's stupid. I enjoy attending Flyers games, but find their fans to be the dumbest.
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* I correctly picked the Falcon's upset of the Rams in the wild-card game last night. Everything has been falling into place this year for the Eagles. Most media people think the best match-up for the Birds next Saturday night is Atlanta. Well, Atlanta will come to the Linc on January 13.
As predicted, the playoff spotlight was too big for the young Rams. They played tight and inexperienced. Meanwhile, the Falcons stepped up and played like the defending NFC champions that they are. Their defense proved big against Los Angeles and vaulted themselves into the second round of the NFC playoffs.
Atlanta has never played well in Philadelphia, going way back to 2004. They must travel back across the country and venture from a dome, then a warm weather city, to Philly.
The forecast is for mild weather on Saturday, highs around 52, far better then the bitter cold of this week in the area. A snowy, icy day would've been an advantage for the Eagles, but seeing how the Birds played last Sunday against Dallas in frigid conditions, maybe it wouldn't be such an advantage after all.
The real home field advantage will come from the fans. 67,000 frenzied fans must bring it next Saturday, making life tough for Falcon QB Matt Ryan and the Atlanta offense.
The Falcons have a hard time scoring TDs. If the Eagle defense can limit Atlanta to 17 or fewer points, the Birds can win.
I'll pick the game later in the week. The winner of the NFC playoff game today, Panthers at Saints, will travel to Minnesota next weekend to take on the Vikings. Atlanta has a weeks' worth of rest coming up, whereas New Orleans or Carolina would've only had six days to prepare.
The Eagles and their fans got what they wanted. Atlanta is actually the road favorite so far. It should be a fun week to hype up the big game.
* Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs blew an 18-point lead to the Tennessee Titans, losing 22-21.That marks the sixth playoff home game in a row that the Chiefs have lost. Andy Reid just can't seem to get over the hump. Reid has now lost 7 out of his last 8 postseason games.
KC started the season off 5-0, with thoughts of Super bowl in their minds. Losing at home, to a Titan team that barely made it into the playoffs, at Arrowhead Stadium, after being up 21-3 going into halftime, is the worst. Chief fans have got to be going crazy.
Is Reid's job safe? Probably. But now Jon Gruden takes over at Oakland, with a team not far form contention. Is the reign of the Chiefs over?
Reid had the league's leading rusher, yet only ran him 11 times the whole game.When the KC defense needed to step up and force the Titans to punt, they allowed Tennessee to pick up a first down and ice the game.
Reid's West Coast dink-and-dunk offense works during the regular season, but defense and a ground game win playoff games.
Tennessee will watch the Buffalo- Jacksonville game today to see where they play next weekend, New England or Pittsburgh. Either way, they will get knocked out. Kansas City goes home and ponders the devastating loss and the future of the Chiefs.
As most predicted, i had Kansas City winning big. So, I'm 1-1 so far in the NFL playoffs.
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