Suck it, Spankees! Suck, it!

Four straight NL East Division titles,.....2 straight NL Pennants,...and a World Series.  What do you Bronx Bums like to call that?  Oh, yeah,..that's right:  A DYNASTY!!!

Goodbye, Godspeed, Farewell and Good Luck!

Oswalt goes to Phils for Happ, two prospects
Ace waives no-trade clause; set to pitch for Philly on Friday

HOUSTON -- Roy Oswalt, one of the greatest pitchers to wear an Astros uniform, is headed to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Astros and Phillies finalized a deal on Thursday that sent Oswalt to the two-time National League champions in exchange for left-hander J.A. Happ, Minor League outfielder Anthony Gose and Minor League shortstop Jonathan Villar.

"It's exciting for sure," Oswalt said. "I think it works out for both of us. Houston's getting good prospects and another pitcher, and I'm getting to go to a great team. I'm happy for both sides. From the very beginning, I said I wouldn't accept it unless it worked out for both of us, and I think it worked out."

Oswalt cleaned out his locker at Minute Maid Park on Thursday afternoon and was scheduled to fly to Philadelphia later in the day and will start for the Phillies on Friday in Washington against the Nationals.

J.A. Happ was a good kid caught up in some bad luck and a numbers crunch. Here's hoping for a long career ahead of him.

Riding the So-o-o-oul Train!!

Philadelphia Soul return to AFL

DAN GELSTON
The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Soul are set for an encore in the AFL.

This time, they'll be back without their headline act.

The former league champions are returning to the Arena Football League for the 2011 season without their famous former co-owner, Jon Bon Jovi.

Former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski and businessman Craig Spencer are the new majority owners.

"To a certain extent, we never left," Spencer said. "We always wanted to continue and play Arena Football."

The Soul shut down after beating the San Jose SaberCats 59-56 to win the ArenaBowl championship in 2008.

The AFL canceled its season in 2009 after a 22-year run and returned this year with 15 teams under new leadership and economic model. The season runs from April to July.

"The AFL is pleased to welcome the Philadelphia Soul back to the Arena Football family," commissioner Jerry Kurz said. "The passionate fans of Philadelphia and the surrounding area as well as the tremendous ownership group epitomize Arena Football and the league's continued commitment to the communities we serve."

Jaworski was team president in the Soul's first incarnation. Pete Ciarrocchi, owner of the Philadelphia sports bar Chickie's and Pete's, and Cosmo DeNicola are also part of the new ownership group.

Spencer said a salary cap with nonnegotiable, slotted salaries will help ease some of the financial burden that ended the original AFL. He said all players have one-year contracts, meaning the Soul will have their pick of free agents at the end of the season. There is no "expansion" draft.

Spencer said he hopes to have a coach soon, possibly by the end of the month.

The Soul will play their home games at the Wachovia Center.

Proud to Be An Orange-Shirted Orangutan!

Unlike these two well-behaved Canadiens!!




More diaper unloading from the Great White North:

MONTREAL – Here is all you need to know about this exercise in tedium between the Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers:


Through the first four games, the most compelling narrative by far has been the saga of Pat Hickey's Honda Accord, vandalized in Philadelphia even as it nears the 600,000-kilometre mark – presumably by one of those orange-shirted orangutans you see banging on the glass at the Wachovia Centre.


The fate of Pat's Honda is a yarn worth following. The Habs-Flyers series has been so stultifying it wouldn't be worth mentioning, except that the winner gets a berth in the Stanley Cup final.

Bruins in Ruins!!

Phil Sheridan: Team embraces the impossible

BOSTON - Impossible wasn't tough enough for them. The Flyers had to stack a three-goal deficit on top of the three-games-to-none mountain they'd already climbed, just to see if they could overcome that, too.

Stunningly, they did just that. The Flyers finished the Ultimate Comeback in this playoff series with a spectacular comeback in a hypertensive Game 7 Friday night.

"This is like a storybook," said Ed Snider, the man who brought hockey to Philadelphia. "How can you go down, 3-0, in their barn and come back and beat them, 4-3? How can you come back from 0-3 in games and beat them 4-3? These guys are unbelievable. They just won't quit. They're incredible."

It happened because, down 3-0, coach Peter Laviolette called a time-out and settled his players down.

"After the time-out," Leighton said, "he said to me, 'Leights, settle down. Shut the door. We're going to score some goals.' "

Play Ball!

Phillies head into home opener on roll
Another National League pennant to be raised Monday

(Something that won't happen @ S**ti Field any time soon!)

By Todd Zolecki / MLB.com

04/12/10 12:15 AM ET

HOUSTON -- The Phillies returned to Philadelphia on Sunday night already in a pretty good routine.

It could help them Monday.

They are 5-1, which is their best start since they started 7-1 in 1993. Roy Halladay has delivered in two starts. Everybody in the offense seems to be hitting. The bullpen has shown promise. It has been a good first week on the road.

Now it's time to play at home.

"We have a good feel on our team right now," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "I think we're ready to go get 'em."

The Phillies play their home opener Monday afternoon against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park, and Manuel said he believes his team is ready to handle the festivities. That wasn't the case last season when he thought the 2008 World Series championship celebrations became a distraction, contributing to their 6-8 start.

Dat's Who!

Note to Fat Andy Reid - BALLS! TAKE CHANCES! REAL QB LEADERSHIP!

Saints make Colts look unprepared

MIAMI -- Reggie Wayne couldn't bring himself to admit he admired Sean Payton's intrepid call for an onside kick to open the second half of Super Bowl XLIV.

"I'm the one that's over here with my lip puffed out," Wayne said Sunday night in a tent outside Sun Life Stadium. "So apparently it was a good call."

Wayne and the rest of the Indianapolis Colts' offense were left standing on the sideline when the New Orleans Saints pulled off the big gamble.

Experience was supposed to be the difference-maker for the Colts. They'd been on this grand stage before. The Saints had not.

Yet, the Colts were caught unprepared.

The Saints recovered the kick and, six plays later, established themselves as an underdog on paper only. The Saints went on to win 31-17, and leave the Colts wondering about all the plays that got away.

"I didn't see it coming," Colts right tackle Ryan Diem said. "At that point in the game, I didn't expect them to do anything like that. The element of surprise got us."

And the Class Act Award Goes To,...

Phillies claim NL East crown
By Bob Ford

Inquirer Sports Columnist

As with everything else about the 2009 season, it wasn't easy or predictable as the Phillies clinched the National League East title last night with a 10-3 win over the Houston Astros.

If that description seems too dramatic for a season in which the Phils led the division since late May and secured their third consecutive title with a cushion of four games to play, you weren't paying attention.

Even though their division championships in 2007 and 2008 weren't assured until the final weekend and required them to catch and overtake a front-runner, this title might have been even more of a struggle.

And the class acts?

- Other then the automatic bragging rights that come with winning the World Series, no posturing from the players this year.

- Charlie Manuel showing his faith in Brad Lidge by bringing him in for the last out of the game

- The team spraying the "HK" sign in the outfield with champagne in memory of Harry Kalas

PHINALLY!!!!!!

PHILADELPHIA -- They warmed themselves by sheer numbers, ignoring the clouds that formed with each frozen scream. They added to the chilly night by waving white towels.

The City of Brotherly Love waited two days longer than expected, but after a wait that had entered its 28th year, what's another few days? After a weather delay announced at "an even 46 hours," the electrified crowd began simmering with celebratory dreams as the suspended Game 5 of the 2008 World Series began.

The Phillies delivered the long-awaited goods with a 4-3 win over the Rays on a 44-degree Wednesday night, completing a five-game triumph to earn the franchise the second World Series championship in its 125-year history. It started a baseball celebration not seen since Oct. 21, 1980, when Tug McGraw struck out Kansas City's Willie Wilson and leapt into Mike Schmidt's arms.

"I always thought we could win the World Series," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel told the national television audience and the fans at Citizens Bank Park as the World Series trophy was presented to the club after the game. "I knew we could beat anybody in our league. I look at what I see in our guys, I see chemistry and our attitude and our makeup and how much we like to play and how much the Philadelphia fans back us, I know we can win the World Series.

"This is for Philadelphia. This is for our fans. Hey, I look around here and who's the world champions? I thank you."

5 Moves to Building the Team to Beat

The Phillies didn't become "The Team to Beat" overnight.

Let's look at some of the moves that brought the Phillies to where they are today:

1. Jim Thome - he's not with the team anymore, but he left behind a legacy to our burgeoning infield that hard work and a team mentality wins the day. 2 League MVPs have emerged since his time with us
2. Ryan Howard - Thome's successor at first. How do you explain a player who hits .250, strikes out all too frequently, yet gets 50 HRs and a tremendous amount of RBIs?
3. Jason Werth. OK...I'll say it too: Werth every penny. Almost makes you miss Aaron Rowand.
4. Brad Lidge - "Lights Out," indeed. And proof that Ed Wade still has a great eye for talent down there in Houston (/snark).
5. Jamie Moyer - ostensibly brought in to tutor fellow change-up lefty Cole Hamels (and now J. A. Happ), he's become the true ace of a schizophrenic starting staff.

Old. Guys. Rule!!!!!!!

Phillies repeat as NL East champions
For second consecutive year, Moyer wins clinching game

PHILADELPHIA -- When Pat Burrell lofted a sacrifice fly own the right-field line in the fourth inning, scoring Chase Utley with run No. 1, the crowd stirred.

When Carlos Ruiz sent another sacrifice fly to right three batters later, the buzz grew louder. Jayson Werth's homer in the fifth produced a crescendo.

But when closer Brad Lidge sealed Saturday's 4-3 Phillies win over the Nationals and capture a second straight National League East title -- Philadelphia's first back-to-back division championships since taking three in a row in 1976-78 -- it was downright euphoric at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies are going to the playoffs again.

Before the game, Jimmy Rollins grooved while singing along with Rick James' "Superfreak." Later, the lyrics "Celebrate good times" piped through large speakers.

A few hours later, the 45,177 fans at Citizens Bank joined the party.

Since the Mets declined to comply by winning earlier in the day, the Phillies sealed the division by beating the Nationals in Game 161. They clinched a day earlier than in 2007, when it went down to the final day.

White rally towels waved furiously as the game continued, punctuating a playoff atmosphere. After the game, the Phils doused themselves with champagne and shared the moment with fans.

For the second straight season, the Phillies chased down the Mets in the NL East. The Phils trailed by a season-high 3 1/2 games on Sept. 11, but rallied to claim first place for good on Sept. 20. In its best month, Philadelphia went 16-8 with one game remaining.

The Phillies await either the Dodgers or Brewers in the NL Division Series, which begins Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park. Cole Hamels likely won't pitch on Sunday and will be rested for Game 1.