Phillies sign Ryan Howard to 3 year deal

Your 2009 Phillies are now ready to defend their championship.

After a flurry of players avoided arbitration in the last few weeks, the Phillies had just one player left to sign: Ryan Howard. The Phils were set to go to arbitration with their big slugger and it figured to be a dicey situation since the two sides were 4 million apart in their thinking.

All of that goes out the window now as the Phillies have signed Howard to a 3 year, 54 million dollar contract. The contract averages out to 18 million a year, the exact number that Howard wanted in arbitration. The three year contract buys out Howard's remaining years of arbitration, making him a free agent in 2011.

Some may look at this as the Phillies caving into the demands of their big slugger because he got the exact amount he wanted but they also will be saving money because you have to figure that Howard would have asked for more and more every year. You have to give Howard some credit for settling for a shorter contract than he probably would have liked as speculation had been circulating that he wanted something like 5 to 6 years and upwards of 100 million.

18 million a year is a lot for any player but I think a perennial MVP candidate like Howard deserves it. The Phillies also made a smart move in not giving him too long of a deal. The big man figures to be at his peak for the next 3 years and then he will look to cash in as a free agent in 2011. At that point the Phillies will probably let him go rather than shell out big bucks for someone on the tail end of their career.

The Phillies 2009 roster is now set. It looks a lot like their World Series team with the exception of Raul Ibanez swapped in for Pat Burrell. With everyone happy and under contract, you have to like their chances at repeating.

Flash Gordon signs with the D-backs

At least he got himself a ring.

Former Phillies closer Flash Gordon signed a one year, $500,000 deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Gordon, a 20 year veteran, spent the last 3 seasons with the Phillies and racked up 42 saves. Gordon signed on to be the Phillies closer back in 2006 and put together one good season followed by a pair of injury-riddled mediocre years. He finished last season with a 5.16 ERA.

I wish I could say that we will miss Gordon, but I'm glad to see him go. He was a forgotten man last year after he went down with injury; few fans even remembered he was on the team at all in 2008 despite starting the season as the closer and pitching nearly 30 innings. The only memory fans likely have of Gordon in 2008 is his pathetic effort on Opening Day.

With the emergence of Brad Lidge as a dominating closer and the bullpen locking games down late, it's a new era in the Phillies pen. Enjoy Arizona, Flash, the Phillies can't wait to face you.

Money well spent: Elton Brand out for the year

I guess 80 million dollars doesn't buy what it used to.

Elton Brand, the Sixers big free agent acquisition in the off-season, has been in and out of the line-up all year, playing 29 of 47 games. After missing an entire month due to an ailing shoulder, a month in which the Sixers played their best basketball of the season, Brand has been slowly worked back into the line-up, coming off the bench and getting limited opportunities. He hasn't looked at all like a player worth the huge contract the Sixers gave him.

Now his contract looks even worse. News came out today that Brand will miss the rest of the season after he has shoulder surgery on his right shoulder. At least now the Sixers can get back to playing their preferred run and gun style and don't have to worry about easing Brand back into the fold.

So Brand's worst season as a professional basketball player has come to an end. He finishes averaging 13.8 points per game and 8.8 boards per game, numbers that are way below his career average of 20 and 10. The hope for the Sixers is that Brand has the surgery and can come back next season ready to finish out the remaining 4 years of his contract. If he can't play much better than he did this season then the signing that looked like the Sixers were taking the next step could hold back the franchise for years.

Elton Brand better come back strong next season or GM Ed Stefanski is going to need to get his resume together.

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.

Flyers send Sbisa back to juniors

19 year-old Flyers defenseman Luca Sbisa made the team out of training camp because the Flyers was decimated by injuries. He stayed with the club because he proved he belonged. Unfortunately, as the injured players got healthy and returned to the ice, Sbisa saw his playing time dwindle until he found himself a healthy scratch on a regular basis.

Determing that the young defenseman is better of getting lots of ice team than rotting away on the bench, the Flyers sent Sbisa back to his junior club, the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League, a move that ends his NHL season. Sbisa's final stats don't look all that impressive as he notched 7 points, all assists, in 39 games and had a plus/minus of -6. The mere fact that he was in the NHL at all this season is the real story with Sbisa. He was drafted 19th overall by the Flyers in the 2008 draft and seized an opportunity to make the NHL after injuries to defensemen Randy Jones and Ryan Parent left a roster spot open.

Sbisa still has plenty to work on before he can be considered a top 4 defenseman. He is excellent with the puck and can make solid passes but he needs to work on being stronger both with and without the puck. There were many instances where Sbisa simply got pushed aside but luckily he's only a kid and the strength should come in due time.

The Flyers made the right choice in sending Sbisa down and letting him get some much needed ice time. He will truly be a man among boys in the juniors so at the very least he will gain a ton of confidence heading into the 2009 Flyers training camp where he will be a lock to make the team.

Good luck in the WHL, Sbisa, we can't wait to see you back with the big club.

Pittsburgh 6, Philadelphia 0

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

All seems right in the NFL.

The Cardinals did their best to pull off an upset with a late charge but the Steelers orchestrated a flawless drive to ensure that the NFL wouldn't be turned on its head by an unlikely Super Bowl winner. I'm not sure the world was ready for the World Champion Arizona Cardinals.

It was the 6th Super Bowl victory for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the most titles for any team in the Super Bowl era. As an Eagles fan, watching our cross-state rival have all the glory is depressing. We all live and die with every play hoping that the Birds can have just one championship season, we have no idea what it would feel like to climb to the top of the mountain six times. At least Arizona, a team that had been so bad for so long, didn't win their first Super Bowl in their first try. That might have been more depressing for Eagles fans.

Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers. While Philadelphia owns New York, Pittsburgh has proven once again that it has ownership over Philly in two major sports. Thank goodness for the Pirates.