Nova Wins the Holy War

Villanova has won the 2008 Holy War after knocking off Saint Joseph's 59-56 at the Pavilion. Down by 1 late, Scottie Reynolds drove the lane and was fouled. He nailed both free throws to give Nova a 57-56 lead with a little over 4 seconds left. Dante Cunnigham stole the following inbound pass and made two free throws to lock up the win.

From what I was able to hear, Nova allowed far too many layups in the first half, which allowed the Hawks to have a 35-26 lead at the break. Nova's defense stiffened in the second half and they outscored the Hawks 34-21 in the second half.

After losing to Texas on Tuesday night, Villanova needed this win over their rivalry to get their concentration back and ready for the Big East.

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Nova Loses to Texas

The Villanova Wildcats fell to the Texas Longhorns 67-58. It was the nightcap of the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. The 'Cats started out strong, but they were unable to maintain any momentum or find good shots from the field.

While most of the Wildcats were struggling from the field, Dante Cunnigham flourished. Cunnigham was 9-14 from the floor for 23 points and he also added 12 rebounds. Yes, I know Villanova lost, but sometimes a loss against a good team can help them more in the future than a win. This isn't college football. Villanova should make the tournament without an issue and that is what the regular season is all about.

Villanova needs to clean up their help defense. Maybe they started to get tired in the second half, but once Texas figured out how to beat the zone and press, there was pretty much no coming back. They'll go back and look at the tape to see what they need to fix and I'd expect a strong effort on Thursday against St. Joseph's in the Holy War. That game can be seen on ESPN2 at 8pm.

You can be upset with the loss, but I think the game could have gone either way. Texas is a damn good team and one of the best in the country. This loss was their first real test of the season and it'll help them see where they're at on the season. Villanova does need a little more bench production if they want to distinguish themselves as one of the top Big East teams.

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TV Reminder for 12/09

Just a reminder of tonight's TV broadcasts.

- Islanders @ FLYERS on Versus @ 7pm

- Miracle on Broad Street: 2008 Phillies Championship Journey: 9/27/08 - Washington at PHILLIES on CSN @ 7 pm

- Jimmy V Classic at MSG: VILLANOVA against Texas. 9 pm on ESPN

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Your (orange) and Black Friday Update

Wow, I have not been able to write a post in awhile. It's been a bit of a hectic week and I apologize. I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving and if you went out today, it really wasn't too bad. Did anyone head to the arena to get their new alternate Flyers jersey?

- Speaking of the Flyers, they fell in overtime 3-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes. It was the 2nd game of a home and home. The loss snapped their 6 game winning streak, but they have extented their point streak to 9 straight games.

The retro alternates did look amazing, but it is just a shame that they were not able to open up with a win. Jeff Carter and Joffrey Lupul both scored and assisted each other's goals to help the Flyers at least get a point. Also, both goals were on the power play. They Flyers had plenty of opportunities, but just could not finish. Jeff Carter now leads the entire NHL with his 16 goals. He was injured, but returned shortly. His status should be monitored.

- The Phillies added veteran reliever, Mike Koplove. He has only made 7 appearances since 2005. It's a small move that isn't very costly. I'm assuming that he was signed just to give the Phillies some insurance for the bullpen in AAA. It's not often that the bullpen remains relatively healthy for an entire season.

- The Sixers play the Celtics tonight and they're starting to struggle again. They've lost two straight to the Bobcats and Magic and they're going through a rough stretch of their schedule. After their loss in the final seconds to Orlando, they have Boston tonight followed by a home and home with the Bulls, a trip to Detroit, and a home game against the Lakers. Going 1-4, with only a win against the Bulls could be likely. Like the Flyers, the Sixers really need to do a better job of finishing the job.

Don't look, the schedule gets even worse. Two days before Christmas, the Sixers will begin a 6 game road trip and make travels to Boston, Detroit, Utah, the Clippers, Dallas, and San Antonio. Oh, they only return home to face Houston. Thanks NBA schedule makers!

- Nice to see the Eagles offense show up, but all I am going to say is that it is likely too little, too late.

In college basketball, the City 6 is doing alright:
Villanova (4-0)
Temple (3-1) - lost to Clemson 76-72
St. Joes (2-3) - lost to Holy Cross, Texas, and Alabama
La Salle (2-3) - lost to Florida State, UCONN, and Southern Miss
Drexel (1-1) - lost to Georgetown
Penn (1-3) - lost to UNC, Drexel, and Penn State

I hope you enjoy the holiday. Expect regular updates to continue by the weekend. I've been dealing with some things outside of my control.

I am thankful for Erin Andrews being a sideline reporter:

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Villanova's Season Begins in Special Way

Tonight, Villanova will play host to a former coach, in an arena being remembered in it's final year of existence. Tonight is the first of two games the Wildcats will play at the Spectrum as they host former coach, Rollie Massimino and his Northwood University Seahawks.

Villanova will open the season ranked #25 in the AP poll. The coaches felt we were a little better and ranked us at #23. Nova will return not only all of their starters, but every player except for Malcolm Grant who transferred to Miami. The Wildcats are coming off a surprise season in which they made the Sweet 16, only to lose to eventual champion Kansas.

Seniors Dante Cunningham and Shane Clark will likely lead the Wildcats up front and junior Scottie Reynolds will lead a plethora of Villanova guards. Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes are a year older and they should both be much improved off their already impressive freshman seasons. The only other senior, Dwanye Anderson, who saw his production and playing time increase last season should provide good minutes off the bench.

Rollie Massimino's Seahawks are coming off an elite 8 finish in their NAIA Division II tournament. Northwood has been picked to win their Florida Sun Conference and they're ranked #4 in all of NAIA Division II.

This game is special to me because I am a Northwood University alum. I graduated from the school in 2006 and their basketball program began the following fall. In their 2 years, Northwood has won the regular season conference title twice and reached the tournament in both years. Massimino has done a great job down there and they will compete again for the national title.

With that being said, Villanova should roll over Northwood in tonight's exhibition game.

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The News Room: 11/01/08

Wow, after this week, it sort of makes us forget about the rest of the Philadelphia sports community. The boys in red definitely stole the show. However, there is still news to talk about and some of it even includes the beginning of the Fightin' Phils World Champion offseason.

Phillies decline options for So Taguchi and Tom Gordon.
The Phillies have made both Taguchi and Gordon eligible for free agency. To buy them out, it cost the Phillies $150,000 for Taguchi and $1,000,000 for Gordon. Sure, the news came at a bad time, but they both knew they had bad seasons and Gordon was hurt for most of it. Both players celebrated with the rest of their former teammates yesterday during the victory parade.

LJ Smith is out with a concussion. Reggie Brown Expected to return.
LJ is concussed and he will not be activated this week against the Seahawks. He suffered the injury after Lawyer Milloy destroyed him late. The Eagles will be getting Reggie Brown back, but Kevin Curtis and DeSean Jackson will continue to start. [Comcast Sportsnet]

Villanova opens as #23 in the Preseason AP poll.
The Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team has been ranked #23 in this year's preseason poll. Returning all of their players and one year removed from a sweet 16 berth, Villanova will challenge for the Big East conference title.

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College Football Update 10-27

Penn State Wins in Columbus!
Penn State came from behind late in the fourth to beat Ohio State 13-6. I missed the game (downloading the broadcast now) because I was at Game 3 of the World Series. From everything I've seen, it looked like a great defensive battle. Pat Devlin scored the go-ahead touchdown with a little over 6 minutes left and Kevin Kelly later added a field goal to give the Nittany Lions a 7 point lead. With 30 seconds left, Terrell Pryor threw into triple coverage and Lydell Sergeant made a great interception, staying in bounds to secure the win.

It was a huge win for the Nittany Lions who now improved to 9-0 (5-0 Big 10). With the win, Penn State also inched closer to both Texas and Alabama in the BCS standings. After next weeks bye, Penn State will travel to Iowa before hosting Indiana and Michigan State at home. They have a very good opportunity to run the table and if that happens, they might be playing for a National title. They ended the streak against Michigan. They ended the streak in Columbus. Is this their year?
Here is a good article on the Penn State defense by ESPN's Ivan Maisel.

Temple making a bid for the MAC title game.
Sure, they 3-5 overall, but 2-3 in the Mac Standings. Luckily for them, the MAC East division is terrible. Currently, Akron sits on top, 2-2 in the conference. On Tuesday night, Temple scored 14 4th quarter points to knock off Ohio 14-10.

Temple has been the victim of late comeback wins this year, but they finally notched one of their own. Temple has 3 MAC games left and a very good chance to overtake the East Divison. After traveling to Navy, they will travel to Kent State (2-6), and return home for Eastern Michigan (2-7) and Akron (4-4). After all the tough losses, it'll be huge for Temple to finish the season on a roll. With 4 games left, it'll take at least a 3-1 record to be eligible for a bowl (unless they make the MAC title game with a worse record. Akron's schedule is also easy, so it'll be up to whomever can take care of their own business.

A bowl berth for the Owls will be huge for a University lookin to right the ship.

Don't worry Villanova, your league has playoffs!
Villanova suffered a heart-breaking loss on homecoming. #1 ranked James Madison scored on a 35 yard pass with no time left to defeat the Wildcats at home. Villanova had the opportunity to pin James Madison deep in their own zone, but Joe Marcoux's punt went only 14 yards. With the decent field position, James Madison drove down for the game-winning score.

Don't worry Villanova fans, the chance of a national title are not over. Unless the FBS, your league actually has a playoff system. Villanova may drop in the pools, but it won't be mouch. They gave the top team in the country a good fight and were seconds away from winning.

Keep your head up.

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Nova's Tournament Run Ends

Villanova's postseason run ended in the Sweet Sixteen match-up against the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas' depth and experience appeared to outmatch Villanova's youth as Kansas ran away with a 72-57. Kansas nailed 3s early and Nova was never able to close it to within more than 8 points.

"The 3s hurt us early," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "When a team that good is making those kind of shots, it is going to be tough. I didn't think we were that bad defensively in the first half, they are just a very good team that is playing very well right now."

The Wildcats reached the sweet 16 for the third time in four years. For the last team to get an at-large bid in the tournament, things are looking up. Villanova loses nobody through graduation, and their young guards will be a year older. I expect Scottie Reynolds to return to Nova after an up and down year. Also, Villanova is still in the running for top recruit Tyreke Evans who plans to decide between Louisville, Memphis, UConn, and Nova. I expect very good things from Villanova next year especially with a healthier front line. I just hope Reggie Redding gets less and less playing time.

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'Nova is Philly's team this tourny

GAME:
#12 Villanova Wildcats @ #1 Kansas Jayhawks
9:40 PM ET
CBS

After a taking the spot light away from both St. Joe's and Temple, Villanova is Philly's only team left standing in the 2008 NCAA tournament. The #12 seed Wildcats knocked off #5 seed Clemson 75-69 and then #13 seed Siena 84-72, the Wildcats will face their toughest opponent of the tournament and year, #1 seed Kansas.

After losing to Georgetown in the Big East tournament, 'Nova won both games of the first week of March Madness.

'Nova is led by sophomore guard Scottie Reynolds, who is averaging 16.0 points a game. Kansas' four leading scorers, Darrell Arthur, Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, and Darnell Jackson. The Jayhawks is averaging 81.4 points a game, proving a tough task for the Wildcats. The defense will definitely have to step up.

Unlike 'Nova, 11 seed St. Joe's and 12 seed Temple were both early exits in the tournament. After the hype brought up in the A-10 tournaments and 'Nova's early exit in the Big East, no one would have expected 'Nova to even fair well against #5 seed Clemson, who knocked out Duke in the semis of the ACC tournament.

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College Basketball is a Religion in Philadelphia

Thanks to the 700 Level,

Jay Wright points out that basketball is like a religion in Philadelphia. Jay Wright was on yesterdays' 950am morning show talking about the Big 5 and the passion Philadelphia fans have for the game of basketball. Hopefully, the entire city pulls behind the Wildcats this weekend regardless of their alma mater ties.



In other Villanova news, Cats' center Casiem Drummond will miss the rest of the tournament because of a broken ankle. If playing Kansas was not already tough, it just got tougher for a Villanova team that lacks front-line size. It has been a rough year for Drummond who was often injured this season.

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How Sweet It Is!

Villanova defeated Siena 84-72 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. The Wildcats, the last team to make the tournament, were lead by Scottie Reynolds and Corey Stokes who scored 25 and 20 respectively. The Cats survived a foul-ridden game where Siena attempted 39 free-throws, thankfully they only made 26.

Villanova jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as Siena only closed to within 10 points during one possession of the second half. Villanova will have to get off to an extremely fast start against Kansas, their next opponent, if they want to hang with the Jayhawks. It is going to be an extremely tough game Friday night in Detroit.

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The Cats' Comeback

Villanova, down as much as 18 in the first half, came back to beat the Clemson Tigers 75-69. In a day of upsets in Tampa, Villanova assured that all of the lower seeds that played in Tampa won their games to force two 12-13 match-ups in the second round. They also made the NCAA committee proud for giving them the last at-large bid in the tournament.

Villanova guards Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher scored 21 and 17 respectively to lead Nova back in the second-half. Corey Fisher continued drove at Clemson's big men to force them in to foul trouble and he did something Clemson could not do, he hit his free-throws (9-10).

Outscoring Villanova 48-30 in the second half, was a huge confidence builder for the team on the Main Line. Villanova is a very young team with no seniors and the experience this tournament can give them, will be huge for next year as they will likely return to their recent Top 25 standard. Villanova plays the other upset winner, Siena, on Sunday at 12:10 PM. Let's hope this continues to be a positive Easter weekend for Villanova.

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NCAA Tournament Update

Saint Joseph's, Villanova, and Temple are all in the NCAA tournament.

Saint Joseph's is the 11th seed in the East bracket and they will play the 6th seed, Oklahoma.

Villanova is the 12th seed in the Midwest bracket and they will play the 5th seed, Clemson.

Temple is the 12th seed in the South bracket and they will play the 5th seed, Michigan State.

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Temple Makes the Tournament

The Temple Owls are the Atlantic Ten Conference Champions and they have earned an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament. They beat St. Joseph's 69-64. The Owls were down 7 at half-time, but opened the half with a 21-7 run to hold on to the lead for the rest of the game.

Dionte Christmas led the Owls with 22 points, as he shot 5-8 from behind the arc. Mark Tyndale did not shoot that great (1-8 from the field), but he scored 8 points and 9 rebounds and 7 assists. After scoring twelve points in the first half, the Temple defense held Ahmed Nivins to only six points in the second half and one field goal.

A Temple win obviously hurts Saint Joseph's, but it may also put a damper on Villanova's tournament dreams. It really depends on how the Tournament committee looks at things because Villanova beat Temple, but was blown out by St. Joes. Which has more value: the loss to the A-10 runner-up or the victory over the A-10 champion. ESPN analysts feel that Villanova will make it and there is a good chance that the Big 5 may go from have no teams to three teams. If somehow, two or three teams make it, it speaks volumes about Philadelphia college basketball.

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March Madness - Conference Tournaments Semi-Finals

Two big 5 teams advanced today and 1 NCAA Tourney bubble may have been popped.

Big East Tournament
Villanova 63, Georgetown 82 - Villanova really needed the win today to virtually punch their ticket to the tournament, but now they'll have to keep their fingers crossed as they watch Selection Sunday. Will the NCAA give them the pity addition to the tournament because officials blatantly cost them two possible wins?

Atlantic Ten Tournament
Saint Joseph's 61, Richmond 47 - After struggling down the stretch of the regular season, St. Joe's beat Richmond in dominating fashion to advance to Semi-Finals in the A-10 tournament where they'll play a nationally, ranked Xavier team they beat a few weeks ago.

Temple 84, La Salle 75 - Second-seeded Temple will advance to the semi-finals to play the winner of Charlotte and Massachusetts.

Tomorrow's semi-final games will start @ 6:30 in Atlantic City. I am thinking about going down to see the games. If you of anyone giving away tickets or has a way to get them discounted, let me know.

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Villanova Advances

Villanova beat Syracuse 82-63 with 8 second-half three-point shots to advance to the quarterfinals of the Big East Conference Championship.



They will face #1 seed Georgetown tomorrow at noon.

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Villanova Loses to Marquette

It was a tale of two halves. On Senior night (though Senior-less), Villanova fell to Marquette 85-75 at the Wachovia Center. The biggest problem for Villanova was too many turnovers, 23 to be exact, in the game. Another problem has been freshman guard, Corey Fisher's lack of discipline as he tries to attempt terrible shots and undisciplined passes.

This loss extremely puts a dent in their battle back into National Tournament contention, but they're not exactly dead yet. They will have to win their next three games against Louisville, South Florida, and Providence.

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Villanova Pulls Off the Upset

Yesterday, Villanova ended the UConn Huskies 10-game winning streak with a 67-65 victory. The Senior-less Wildcats are really starting to grow up recently and they've credited the loss to Georgetown. Villanova is back to .500 in the Big East and hold a 17-9 overall record. If they can win 3 of their next 4 games and do well in the Big East tournament, they could find themselves possibly receiving an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament even after suffering a 5 game losing streak this season and have 2 losses arguably determined by two horrible calls.

Freshman Corey Stokes and sophomore Scottie Reynolds led the Wildcats with 18 points each as Villanova led for most of the game. Villanova hosts Marquette tomorrow night at the Wachovia Center.

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Philadelphia Sports Update

Sorry, I have been really busy with work lately.

Philadelphia Flyers
- The Flyers have rebounded from a 6 game unbeaten streak (2 points total) to win 5 of their next 6.
- Simon Gagne will likely return to the lineup tomorrow against the New York Rangers, along with Sami Kapanen, Scottie Upshall, and Jason Smith.
- Antero Niittymaki has gone 3-0 in his last 3 starts with a GAA of 1.00 and a save percentage of .975. He has been rewarded with another start against the Rangers.
- Joffrey Lupul will miss significant time with a mild concussion and a spinal-cord injury.
- The Flyers top Forsberg's list if he feels good enough to make a return to the NHL. -- Not sure if it worth ruining the future by trading away someone to free up cap space. Unless that somebody is Derian Hatcher.

Philadelphia 76ers
- The Sixers have lost 4 straight game to fall to seven games under .500. -- Granted 3 of those games were against the West.
- They play tonight in Toronto.
- I expect trade rumors to pick up again regarding Andre Miller because there is no point in keeping him if this team cannot squeeze into the playoffs.

Philadelphia Eagles
- Running back, Brian Westbrook, has been named to the NFL All-Pro team. He, a first teamer, is the only Eagle to make either the first or second team.
- McNabb has asked for help and can you blame him? Brian Westbrook should be right behind him. Though I think Kevin Curtis really came along during the end of the season, they need a play-maker and down-field threat. McNabb also needs to help himself and start worrying about improving his accuracy and release.
- GM (with no final say) Tom Heckert is interviewing for the GM job in Atlanta.
- The Eagles have begun their Season Rewind Section: Week 1 vs. GB

Philadelphia Phillies
- Jayson Werth was signed to a 1 year, $1.7 million contract.
- Other than that, the Phillies have been really quiet lately.
- Ryan Howard will be on the cover of "MLB 08 The Show"

City 6 Updates
- Villanova Wildcats - 11-2 (1-1) in the Big East. Next Game: Saturday @ Cincy
- Rumor has it that top prospect, Tyreke Evans will commit to Nova.
- Temple Owls - 6-6 (0-0) in the A10. Next Game: Tonight vs. Duke
- La Salle Explorers - 4-9 (0-1) in the A10. Next Game: Saturday @ St. Bonaventure
- St. Joes - 7-4 (0-0) in the A10. Next Game: @ UMASS
- Drexel - 8-7 (1-2) in the Colonial. Next Game: Tonight @ Northeastern
- Penn - 5-9 (0-0) in the Ivy League. Next Game: Tuesday vs. La Salle

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