Eagles sign coveted fullback Leonard Weaver

Who needs a wide receiver when you can sign a fullback! The Eagles have signed free agent fullback Leonard Weaver to a one year deal worth up to 2.5 million dollars. Weaver was being pursued by several teams as he looked for a big money contract, but apparently he wasn't getting the offers he wanted so he settled for a smaller one year deal with a team he felt he fit in with.

Weaver, a Pro Bowler last year, has spent his entire career with the Seattle Seahawks. He is a good blocker and, having caught 60 passes in 46 career games, has good hands out of the backfield. He isn't a great runner but he will certainly be a good option for the Eagles in short yardage situations.

Considering how little the Eagles use a fullback in their offense, it's unclear what the team plans to do with a fullback as good as Weaver. I would expect the Eagles to try to get him involved in the passing game but he will play much fewer snaps than he is used to. At the very least, the signing of Weaver ensures the Eagles that they don't have to start the season with a non-fullback like Tony Hunt at the position.

It will be interesting to see how the Eagles utilize Weaver. It's probably the reason they only offered a one year deal for Weaver considering they may not know what to do with a fullback who can actually block and catch passes. Despite the Eagles being 30+ million dollars under the cap, I think we can safely assume they are done making free agent acquisitions this offseason.

Flyers roll out new lines in practice

Just got a Tweet (follow allthingsphilly on Twitter!) straight from the Philadelphia Flyers about some new line combinations they tried out in practice today:

Gagne - Giroux - Knuble
Carcillo - Richards - Lupul
Hartnell - Carter - Briere
Cote - Powe - Asham

The move was likely made to get Briere back up onto a scoring line since he has been playing on the 4th line as he returns to full health. While initially I don't like the idea of demoting Richards and breaking up the Lupul/Carter/Hartnell line, I do see the logic behind these new lines. The Flyers have incredible balance and scoring depth at forward and these new lines speak to that. In fact, I'm not sure I can even tell which of the lines is the "first line". Each of the top three lines features a goal scorer (Gagne, Lupul, Carter), a playmaker (Giroux, Richards, Briere) and a big bruiser (Knuble, Carcillo, Hartnell), while the fourth line remains the checking/tough guy line.

There is no confirmation yet if the Flyers will use these lines in their next game, but you can expect the Flyers to tinker with their deep group of forwards until they find the best combination.

Video: Iggy beats Lakers at the buzzer!

Wow! What a win! Andre Iguodala hit a game-winning three pointer at the buzzer to knock off the Lakers, 94-93. The shot capped off a Sixers rally that erased a 14 point deficit in the 4th quarter. It was the best moment a Philly team has had against L.A. since Matt Stairs homered against the Dodgers in the NLCS.

The Sixers are now riding a 4 game winning streak and are firmly in position to make the playoffs. They have no chance at advancing to the second round, but that's not the point.

20 years and counting: the Flyers still can't win in Detroit

Don't blame Marty Biron for this one.

The Flyers were seemingly in total control against the Red Wings, leading 2-0 late in the second period and cruising despite being badly outshot by the defending champs. Biron was at his best, stopping everything the Wings threw at him, and eventually made 45 saves on the night. Unfortunately, the Wings ended up with 48 shots, nearly twice as many as the Flyers (26) had, and ended up winning the game 3-2.

A late second period goal started the Red Wing rally, and they later added two more that were 1:30 apart midway through the third period and held on to win. The Flyers showed some fight at the end to try to salvage a point but they couldn't muster the same fire they had earlier in the game.

The Flyers blew a golden opportunity to win for the first time in Detroit since 1988. I looked at this game against the Red Wings as a real measuring stick for the Flyers. They have been sitting in the middle of the Eastern Conference for most of the season and they needed this test to see how far they are from being an elite team. They learned tonight that two quality periods aren't enough, it is going to take a full 60 minutes of maximum effort to beat a team like the Wings. No matter how good the guy is in net, the Flyers also need to stay on the throttle and put teams away. If you let a team as good as the Red Wings hang around, eventually they will make you pay.

Good game, Marty Biron. Hopefully next time the rest of the team will hold up their end.

Sigh of relief: No structural damage for Hamels

Those of you who have been holding your breath for the last 24 hours may now exhale. Cole Hamels went back to Philadelphia to get a sore elbow checked out yesterday and today the results are out and the news is good: doctors found no structural damage in his left elbow.

While this news doesn't necessarily mean that Hamels will be ready for Opening Day, it does mean that he has no serious issues with his arm. In fact, I hope the Phillies take their time with Hamels and don't bother rushing him back for the start of the season. Let him take a few weeks or a month off at the start of the year, the Phils don't need Hamels in April nearly as much as they need him in September. Given his injury history, let King Cole take all the time he needs.

No surprises amongst Phillies first cuts

The Phillies made 12 cuts today as they begin the paring down of the roster for Opening Day. All of the following players were basically sent down to the minor league camp:

Pitchers Antonio Bastardo, Drew Carpenter, Sergio Escalona, Drew Naylor, Blaine Neal and Scott Nestor, Catchers Tuffy Gosewisch and Paul Hoover, Infielders Mike Cervenak, J.J. Furmaniak, Andy Tracy and Jorge Velandia.

A few names are familiar (Cervenak, Tracy), others are not, but none of these players were in competition for a major role on the team so none of them came as a surprise. They will still be a part of the Phillies organization and aren't exposed to other teams. The cutting of four infielders really speaks to the depth of utility players the Phils have in camp this year.