Ridiculous: Gagne the latest Flyer injured

Add Simon Gagne to the growing list of Flyers players who are injured. Gagne was hit hard just seconds into tonight's game against the Canucks and did not return to the game. There was no penalty called on the play but Mike Richards proved once again why he is the captain as he fought Kevin Bieksa, the Canuck that made the hit. See the video below for highlights of the hit, plus the rest of the game, which the Flyers won 3-2.

It seems like every post I have been doing lately about the Flyers deals with an injury. Gagne has fought back from numerous concussions but, luckily, this hit looks like he hurt his shoulder rather than his head. I would expect Gagne to miss several games as he recovers, leaving the Flyers without two of their top line players, Gagne and Danny Briere. Briere may be getting close to returning, unfortunately it looks like the team won't be at full strength for quite a while.

Contest Reminder: All Things Philly Sports' Holiday Giveaway

The Prize:
With the holiday season upon us, it's a good time for All Things Philly Sports to have its first Holiday Giveaway! I will be giving away a new book that celebrates our World Champions, "101 Reasons to Love the Phillies," by Roy Green Jr. The book features all the reasons we love the Phillies in a compact hardcover book. It was published after the World Series victory so it includes a few celebration photos!

The Contest:
The book can be yours simply by telling All Things Philly Sports what your wish is for our sports teams in the coming year. Pick one team or pick them all and list your wishes in the comment section of this post or via email at allthingsphillysports@gmail.com. Creativity counts so simply saying you wish that everyone wins a championship isn't good enough!

The Deadline:
All entries must be received by midnight on December 31st. So far I have gotten a few emails and just the one comment in this post so you still have a great chance to win. Winners will be announced on January 1st, good luck to all that enter!

Re-living the magic: Video Highlights of the Cowboy Massacre

I can watch this clip over and over again:

Hat tip to whoever uploaded this to YouTube.

NFL First Round Playoff Schedule: Eagles vs. Vikings on Sunday

I still can't believe the Birds made the playoffs. Here is the schedule for the first round of playoff action:

Saturday:
(5) Falcons @ (4) Cardinals, 4:30 pm (NBC)
(5) Colts @ (4) Chargers, 8:00 pm (NBC)

Sunday:
(6) Ravens @ (3) Dolphins, 1:00 pm (CBS)
(6) Eagles @ (3) Vikings, 4:30 pm (FOX)

It should be a great Wild Card weekend. Not that I'm looking ahead, but since the Eagles are the lowest seed in the NFC, if they beat the Vikings they would play the Giants in the second round. What a game that would be! Of course, let's worry about the Vikings first.

Unreal: The Birds are playoff bound after destroying the Cowboys!

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

No Eagles fan could have asked for anything more today. The early games shaped up perfectly, with the Raiders beating the Bucs and the Texans beating the Bears, and set up a win-or-go-home match-up between the Eagles and Cowboys. From there, the Eagles took care of business in dominating Dallas 44-6 and now a season that seemed lost has new life.

After a tense first quarter, it looked like we were headed towards another low-scoring NFC East defensive battle. With the score knotted at 3-3 early in the second quarter, Donovan McNabb connected on a short pass to Correll Buckhalter that Buck took for 59 yards all the way down to the 6 yard line. That play led the Eagles to a 24 point second quarter outburst and from there they never looked back.

The offense was the story of the second quarter as McNabb connected on several big passing plays to DeSean Jackson and Reggie Brown. The Eagles actually had a balanced offensive attack, mixing in runs by Brian Westbrook and Buckhalter with their usual array of passes.

The third quarter of the game belonged to the Eagles defense. The Cowboys marched down the field twice in the third quarter only to get the ball stripped twice by Brian Dawkins and have it returned for a pair of touchdowns to completely blow the game open. Dawkins created one of the strips while sacking Tony Romo and the other on Marion Barber after he caught a pass. One of the fumbles was returned 73 yards by Chris Clemons and the other was returned 96 yards by Joselio Hansen and the rout was on. Anyone want to question whether BDawk deserves to be a Pro Bowler?

From there the Eagles simply ran the ball and melted the clock away. Inexplicably, while down 44-3, the Cowboys kicked a field goal late in the 4th quarter to pull themselves within 5 touchdowns. I guess they needed a moral victory to take with them into the offseason.

The Eagles were given yet another chance to resurrect their season and they did so in an eye-popping fashion today. After being left for dead by many, including myself, following their tie with the Cincinnati Bengals, they fought their way back into the playoff picture. After falling a foot short against the Redskins, it appeared that the Eagles were once again done as they needed a miracle combination of losses to have a shot. The miracle happened, and the Birds capitalized.

Also making today's victory doubly great for Eagles fans is that the Cowboys were denied a spot in the playoffs. Once again, "America's Team" has proven they can't win when it matters most. They might be one of the most talented teams in the NFL but they clearly don't have what it takes to win in December. It will be fun to see what changes happen in Dallas because it's clear they can't continue with the same personnel. Whether it's the coach, the quarterback or the receiver, somebody has to go.

But enough about the Cowboys, it's time to celebrate the Eagles and their Wild Card berth. They will now face the Vikings in Minnesota next weekend. The Vikings aren't a particularly scary opponent for the Eagles since their defense can be thrown on. Stopping Adrian Peterson will be priority number one but the Minnesota offense doesn't have much else.

The NFC playoffs are wide open. Besides the Carolina Panthers, none of the other teams in the NFC are really better than the Eagles. The Birds have already beaten the Giants, Falcons and Cardinals this season so they definitely have a shot at making a deep playoff run. After last week I never thought I would be saying this but the Eagles are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. As the Giants proved last season, getting hot at the right time can carry you a long way.

Congrats, Eagles, you proved all the doubters wrong. While you aren't a perfect team, you had an opportunity today and you seized it. Celebrate your win today but get yourselves ready to extend this season beyond just the first round.

Go BIRDS!!

It's on: Eagles vs. Cowboys for the last playoff spot

Entering today, here were the Eagles two playoff scenarios:

1. Beat Dallas PLUS a Bucs loss to the Raiders PLUS a Vikings loss to the Giants

2. Beat Dallas PLUS a Bucs loss to the Raiders PLUS a Bears loss to the Texans

The Vikings beat the Giants so scenario #1 is out. For scenario #2, not only have the Bears lost to the Texans but, shockingly, the Raiders have beaten the Bucs. So the Eagles have gotten the help they needed and it sets up a HUGE showdown between the Eagles and Cowboys. The winner is in, the loser is out.

Eagles vs. Cowboys with the playoffs on the line. Could you ask for anything more?

Click here for the inactives for the Eagles/Cowboys game