Thursday, February 5, 2009

Ugh, Boston owns Philly

I guess we should just be happy owning New York.

With a pair of Boston teams coming to town the last two days, the Sixers and Flyers had a chance help Philadelphia stake claim over another city in the Northeast. Unfortunately, both came up short against a pair of juggernaut teams.

The Sixers loss, as I am sure you have heard about, was the more dramatic game. Philly appeared to have the game in hand after Andre Iguodala hit a shot with 6.8 seconds left to give the Sixers a two point lead. All the Sixers had to do was D up and not allow a three point shot and they were guaranteed at least overtime against the Celtics. Unfortunately, and unbelievably, three point ace Ray Allen found a way to get open and helped the Celtics win their 12th straight game:


The Flyers took the ice on Wednesday night looking to get revenge against the Bruins, a team who is far and away the best in the Eastern Conference. Philly was forced to play without Mike Richards, Scottie Upshall and Braydon Coburn, all of whom were battling the flu. Despite the short-handed line-up, the Flyers played the Bruins tough for two periods until Boston pulled away in the 3rd period and won 3-1. It was a well-played game with nothing coming easy for either team. None of the Bruins goals was of the "pretty" variety as they scored on deflections and bounces. The Flyers play the Bruins again in Boston on Saturday afternoon. If they can get some of the sick guys back, that game should be much different.

Both Boston teams sit atop the Eastern Conferences of their respective leagues and look down (way down for the Celtics) at their Philly counterparts. While Philadelphia was riding a bit of a high after the Phillies title and the Eagles playoff run we still can't come close to comparing to the recent success of the Boston sports scene. Championships have been a dime a dozen up there and it doesn't appear that their grip over our city, and really every other city, will loosen any time soon.

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