FLYERS: Bourdon Singing Headlines Flurry of Contract Agreements

This past Thursday, the Flyers came to terms with 2008 Third Round Pick, Marc-Andre Bourdon, on an Entry-Level Deal.  Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren was pleased with the move, as Bourdon makes the transition from Junior Hockey to the Professional level.

Bourdon has officially joined the Flyers by signing a Professional Contract

“Marc-Andre turns pro after an outstanding 2008-09 season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he was honored for his play during the regular season and in the playoffs,” Holmgren said.  “We believe Marc-Andre has tremendous potential to develop into a solid defenseman at the next level.”

The nineteen year old Bourdon, who stands on the smaller side for a professional defenseman at 6 feet tall, compensates for his height with his strength and playing ability.  Bourdon weighs 215 pounds, and compiled 60 points as well as 112 penalty minutes between two clubs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and Rimouski Oceanic.  Bourdon played 54 games altogether in 2008-2009.

Along with the agreement concerning Bourdon, the Flyers also came to terms with five Free Agents over the course of the past two weeks.  The Orange and Black inked Lukas Kaspar, Krys Kolanos, Mike Pyorala, Jason Ward, and Joey Mormina all to one year deals.

Of the five players, Kaspar and Kolanos will likely have the best chances of competing for spots on the Flyers’ roster at some point this season.  Kaspar, who

Lukas Kaspar may appear in the Orange and Black this season

was the 22nd overall pick of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, is still only 23 years old, and split time last season with the San Jose Sharks and the team’s AHL Afilliate, the Worcester Sharks.  Krys Kolanos is a bit more seasoned, and the 27 year old has bounced around the NHL and AHL ranks the past five seasons, most notably seeing NHL time with the Phoenix Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers, and Minnesota Wild.

Jason Ward was mentioned on here in an earlier post, and should provide a great deal of leadership on the Phantoms this season.  Mike Pyorala competed on Timra of the Swedish Elite League last season – he’ll be reunited with teammate Johan Backlund on the Phantoms this year  -  and compiled 43 points and 22 goals in 55 regular season games.  Pyorala was the team leader in goals and points for Timra last season, as well.  Joey Mormina was the lone defenseman signed by the Flyers out of the crop of five players, and spent last season with the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Penguins of the American Hockey League, recording 11 points in 70 games played.  He also appeared in 12 playoff games during SWB’s run in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Although these acquisitions certainly will help the Adirondack Phantoms on the upcoming campaign, they will likely have little to no impact on the Philadelphia Flyers roster.  Of the six names mentioned in this post, the only future Flyer is presumably Bourdon, who has NHL stuff already at the young age of nineteen, but the prospects remain of an injury-related call-up for the likes of Kolanos, Kaspar, or even Ward.  The Phantoms, meanwhile, are looking to build on a playoff appearance that lasted only four games last season, as they fell victim to a sweep at the hands of the eventual Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears.

EAGLES: Deep defensive line to pay dividends

Depth is one of the most important aspects to an effective football team. The Eagles have been criticized in the past at positions such as running back when it came to depth, as many saw Brian Westbrook being the only hope lining up behind McNabb. Defensively, the cornerback and safety positions have received glares from columnists for not being able to cover the No. 3, 4, 5 receivers and tight ends.

Trent Cole and Darren Howard make for an explosive 1-2 punch

One position that is in the clear of criticism are the Eagles’ defensive ends. There is no denying it–the Eagles love to blitz. Sometimes it helps them, other times it may come back to bite them. According to an article from the Philadelphia Daily News, the ‘Birds had 48 sacks last season, the most since 2002. Further, the Eagles recorded either a sack or a hurry on 24 percent of the opposing passing plays. While the cornerbacks and safety’s deserve a lot of credit in these numbers, the defensive ends have made the largest impact when rushing the quarterback.

Led by veterans Trent Cole and Darren Howard, the defensive ends recorded a total of 174 tackles and 30 sacks. Cole led the all defensive lineman and was third on the team in tackles (77) and Howard notched the most sacks on the team (10). The next tier of ends features Juqua Parker, Victor Abiamiri and Chris Clemons.

Coming into his tenth year in the league, Parker has a lot of veteran experience to share. He saw action in every game last season, recording 45 tackles and five sacks. His most prominent performance came against the Steelers, where Parker exploded for 2.5 sacks, five tackles, and one forced fumble. Both Abiamiri and Clemons really developed into solid defensive ends toward the end of the season. Abiamiri tallied a sack, three tackles and a safety against the Cardinals in the NFC Championship and Clemons sacked Tony Romo twice in the final game of the regular season.

I think that there is going to be an intense position battle for that No. 3 defensive end position between Parker, Abiamiri, and Clemons. Even though Parker has more experience, I don’t think he can match the speed, versatility and durability of Abiamiri. Of the five sacks recorded by Parker last season, 4.5 of them came during the first half of the season. With Abiamiri out during the first of the season with a wrist injury, Parker had an opportunity to step up. However once Abiamiri returned to the line, he overshadowed Parker’s production. Clemons could also step up to open eyes on Sunday because his 6-foot-2 240 build makes him a threat as a pass rusher.

Looking forward to Sunday to see how everything plays out.

PHILLIES: Halladay Discussions “Heating Up”

So, I was at Hershey Park yesterday, enjoying a four-hour flashback to my childhood, where a buddy of mine who I was with received a phone call saying that it was “inevitable” that the Phillies were going to acquire Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays. 

 

Destined for Philly?

Coming home hours later and immediately jumping into the internet, it was easy to see how the rush to that conclusion was made. The headline on ESPN.com was the exact title of this post, and for good reason. The Blue Jays made a formal offer to the Phillies, a trade that would send Halladay to the Phils for J.A Happ, top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek, and the top overall prospect in the organization, outfielder Dominic Brown.

The consensus is that the Phillies denied that first offer, which likely seems to be the case because a deal is not done yet.  That doesn’t mean that they aren’t discussing a very similar counter-offer, but the overall opinion around baseball circles is that when Toronto made that offer, the Phillies branch thought they would be giving up too much, and declined.

So since the Phillies “denied” the initial offer, does that mean that this trade for Roy Halladay won’t happen?

 

Well, that depends who you ask.

Jon Heyman, a writer from Sports Illustrated who has been following this situation from the time the rumors started spreading about three months ago, believes it will.  Heyman believes that the Phillies will only include one of  J.A Happ or Kyle Drabek instead of both (something that has been rumored for some time now), but that Blue Jays GM J.P Richardi will ultimately pull the trigger on a deal because he realizes that the Phillies give the Blue Jays the best shot to get ultimate value in return for Halladay. That’s why he says that a trade that was once viewed as “50/50″ now has a good shot of getting pulled off.

However, Jayson Stark of ESPN, who reported that the Blue Jays want to much in return for Halladay, believes that the Phillies and Blue Jays are much further away from a deal than some think. Stark reported Saturday that while the Phillies and Blue Jays have narrowed it down to seven or eight names of guys who may be included in a potential deal that Halladay, J.P Richardi,  and the Phillies believe that no deal will be done come the July 28th self-imposed trade deadline made by the Blue Jays.

Personally, I am one who thinks like Heyman, and I believe that there is too much involved in this deal to pull the trigger. The Blue Jays want Happ and Drabek, they’ve said that from the start. The Phillies do not want to give up both Happ and Drabek, they’ve also said that from the start.

Something has got to give, right?

Stay tuned..

SIXERS: Andre Miller to Portland

It looks like Andre Miller will be getting his desired three year deal after all.  Unfortunately, it will not be with the Philadelphia 76ers.  Instead Miller is shipping west to join Brandon Roy and the Portland Trail Blazers.  Earlier today Miller signed a three year deal worth about $21 million.  The Sixers had been trying to resign Miller for a one year deal, but not surprisingly the free agent point guard agreed to leave Philadelphia for a lengthier contract.  Miller should be a good fit for the Trail Blazers, who struggled in the playoffs last year mainly due to poor play from the point guard position.  This will also allow their young star Brandon Roy to play his natural position of shooting guard for the entire game. 

So now that the Sixers can finally prepare for basketball without Miller, they can turn their focus on to their current players at the position.  Both Lou Williams and rookie Jrue Holiday will see significant time at point guard next year, and Willie Green and Andre Iguodala could also get some time at the position next season.  The Sixers will also look to add a free agent point guard for next season.  An article in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer mentioned former Indiana Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley as a possible target for the Sixers.