Welcome back, Patch readers! Let's breakdown the Eagles first game of the season, and then jump to baseball as the magic number steadily drops to zero. Eagles 31 - Rams 13 The Eagles got off to nice start to their season with an 18-point road victory over the St. Louis Rams, who many consider to be a dark-horse candidate for the playoffs this year. Passing Offense:  B- Vick's completion percentage was rubbish, but the Rams have a solid front-four, and their coach is known for his blitzing scheme.  Vick's ability to scramble effectively stopped the first-half blitz craze, and accounted for …

Fan Interference? It was a tough weekend for the Phillies, watching David Herdon give up homerun after homerun on Saturday night, only to watch the Fightin’s lose again on Sunday in 14 innings. Still, Herdon's struggles and the series loss to the lowly fish have seemingly taken a backseat to a questionable fan-interference call by umpire Joe West during Sunday's series finale in south Florida. At issue is the use of instant replay to overturn a Hunter Pence double in the sixth inning of Sunday's loss. According to the official MLB rules, instant replay may only be used in determining a home …

Welcome back, Patch readers! It’s been an unprecedented week of player movement and acquisitions, with the Eagles picking up five new Pro Bowlers and the Phillies finally getting that coveted right handed bat. For the moment, Philadelphia has become the center of the sports world, with talk radio and ESPN seemingly talking Phillies and Eagles round the clock, so this week, we’re going to take a look back at some of the major moves and evaluate their potential impact on their teams. Championship! Hunter Pence It’s always a lovely sight when someone calls their shot, and ends up being correct. …

Welcome to part two of our special edition of Phour for Phour! With the NFL lockout officially over, nearly five months of trades, acquisitions, and training are now being condensed into a period of a few weeks.  Training camp at Lehigh begins tomorrow, and even though free agents can't officially sign contracts with new teams until Friday at 6 p.m., that hasn't stopped anyone from conditionally agreeing to terms in the mean time. It's going to be a wild ride until week one of the regular season, so let's take a look at what has already been accomplished, important milestones and dates, and …

Welcome to a special two-part edition of Phour for Phour! With the NFL lockout officially over and the MLB trade deadline rapidly approaching, we’ve decided to break our weekly column into two parts.  Since NFL player movement won’t begin until tomorrow, let’s take a look at some of the wild trade rumors that surround the Phillies as they close in on Sunday’s trade deadline. Batter up! Brown and Worley There’s been a bunch of speculation revolving around possibly moving Domonic Brown or Vance Worley in a trade for a right-handed bat. I’m here to tell you that moving either player would be a a…

This week, Phour for Phour will take a look at the four Phillies All-Stars, another four-win week for the Fightin Phils and the signing of a 39-year-old has-been by the Flyers. You'll also have a shot at a free pair of Phillies tickets. The Good Three Aces and a Third Baseman The Phillies will be well represented in the 2011 All-Star Game, with pitchers Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee all being selected to the Midsummer Classic.  Also joining the trio of starting pitchers is third baseman Placido Polanco and possibly Shane Victorino, who currently leads the fan vote for the final All-…

Welcome back to another round of Phour for Phour! This week, we'll look at a Phillies team that just keeps winning, a late inning blunder by Charlie Manuel and the Joe Buck hate being censored during a national broadcast by Fox. We'll also announce the lucky winner of two tickets to see the Union host Chivas USA, but before we do that, let's break down some baseball. Batter up! The Good Winning! Despite the injuries, the offensive woes and the recently poor defense, the Phillies continue to win. Two weeks into June, the Phillies are the first team to 40 wins with a league-leading record of 40…

Welcome back for another round of Phour for Phour. This week, we’ll talk about Plaxico Burress donning a Phillies cap, the Phillies issues with PNC Park, Hamels and Halladay and Michael Vick being Finally Free. We’re also serving up a pair of tickets to see the Philadelphia Union battle Chivas USA at PPL Park on June 25. That’s right, soccer fans. I’m a lover, not a fighter. Let’s begin! The Good The Halladay Effect After the 2009 season, which ended with regrettable comments and multiple poor performances by Cole Hamels, the Phillies traded to acquire Roy Halladay.  Seamheads across the …

Welcome back, Patch readers! Hopefully you had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend, feasting on hamburgers, hot dogs, and the occasional adult beverage (assuming you're not a prom-goer at Methacton High School). This week at Phour for Phour, we'll take a look at a startling turnaround for the Phillies offense, the possibility of Plaxico Burress becoming an Eagle, and we'll answer a few user-submitted questions about soccer. We're also going to announce the winner of last week's Phillies contest, but you'll have to read on, because if I have to answer questions about soccer, you have to read …

Doesn't it feel a bit like "Groundhog Day?" In our 6th week of Phour for Phour, we're still talking about a Phillies offense which has gone from sluggish to slump to historically bad. It doesn't help that the Phills are facing a steady stream of playoff teams during this 20-games-in-20-days stretch. Should we panic and pick out our favorite spot on the Walt Whitman? Probably not, but there is legitimate cause for concern. This week we'll take a look at Utley's return, how the Phillies are dropping the ball in their management of Brown and some questionable decision making by the team in …

This week in Phour for Phour, we’ll take a look at an anemic Phillies offense turned monstrous, then turned anemic again; the new birds in the Eagles' nest; an embarrassing series opener for the Flyers; and a final look at the Sixers 2010-2011 campaign. Before we begin, we would like to announce the winner of last week’s free Phillies ticket giveaway. Being the first person to get all five questions correct and correctly guess that Ryan Howard would have two hits, the winner is … Jeremy Lieberman.  Congratulations!   For the hundreds of Philly faithfuls who didn’t have their name called, rest…

Resurrection was the theme on Sunday, as both the Flyers and Sixers gained new life in their respective playoff series. Meanwhile, the Phillies broke out the brooms as Halladay struck out 14 hitters in the finale of a four game sweep of the Padres. In this week’s edition of Phour for Phour, we’ll take an in-depth look at a rollercoaster week of Philadelphia sports, as well as give one lucky reader a free pair of Phillies tickets. The Good - Ville-delphia! After back to back losses to the Sabres, one of which was a heartbreaking overtime loss, the Flyers found themselves facing elimination on …

Welcome to Phour for Phour, a weekly sports column that takes a look at all things Phillies, Eagles, Flyers and Sixers. In this week's column, we'll take a look at dominant pitching performances by the Four Aces, a rough start for the Sixers in their return to the playoffs, and the Flyers first round match-up with the Sabres. Let's begin ... The Good The Philadelphia Phillies continued their hot start to the season, going 4-2 over the past week, with wins against the Braves, Nationals and Marlins. Credit has to go to the pitching staff, especially when considering the Phillies have scored …