Surgery means Utley could miss start of title defence

Phillies star second baseman Chase Utley, could miss the start of the 2009 season after having surgery on his right hip.

The three-time All Star has been ruled out for four to six months, with the latter meaning he would miss the first few months of the Phillies' title defence.

However a four month recovery could mean Utley will make it back in time for opening day, when the Phillies will host division rivals the Atlanta Braves, on April 5th.

Early signs are that the surgery was successful, but it is still too early to give an accurate return date for the left-hander.

Utley was key to Philadelphia's championship winning season, hitting .321 and knocking in a league-leading 21 homers through the first week of June.

After that he cooled off, going .272 with 12 home runs the rest of the way, with his decreased production costing him a shot at the National League MVP.

The hip injury had supposedly been niggling away at the lefty since spring training, but Utley put up with it all season long and throughout the playoffs, where he hit just .220 but did come up with two big home runs in the World Series.

This video shows every single homer the Phillies hit in their Fall Classic victory over the Rays... just so you can all enjoy them again! See if you can spot Utley's big shots:



His loss would be a big one for the Phils, who need a consistent hitter like Utley to make up for the streaky form of slugger Ryan Howard.

No doubt new GM Ruben Amaro Jr. will be keeping a close eye on his progress, to see whether or not he needs to bring in a temporary replacement through free agency.

On a brighter note for Philly, third baseman Pedro Feliz also had successful surgery on his back and should be ready to go in 2-3 months, meaning the Dominican will be fit for the Phils' opening day date with the Braves.

Crunch time in the NFC East as Eagles and Giants collide

In a few minutes time, the Eagles will get the chance to prove their credentials as they host the reigning champions and currently top team in the NFC, the 7-1 Giants.

The Eagles (5-3) come into tonight on the back of three straight wins against the 49ers, Falcons and Seahawks respectively, but this game is a completely different prospect with so much at stake.

As the second half of the season gets underway, the entire playoff picture in the NFC could be shaped tonight.

If the Eagles win, it means that what many call the toughest division in football is back up for grabs, with Philly showing they could not only make the playoffs, but go all the way to Tampa for Superbowl XLIII.

If the Giants win, they will establish themselves as firm favourites to clinch the NFC East, be the no.1 seed in the conference and ultimately, have the chance to defend their title in February.

For the first time in a long time, the Eagles head into a game almost fully healthy, with only long term casualty Shawn Andrews certain to miss out.

Cornerbacks Lito Sheppard and Joselio Hanson are both listed as questionable, but both participated fully in Friday's practice and should be good to go.

Offensively Philly will have all their weapons ready to go, with everyone needing to do their bit, against against the second best defence in the NFL.

There are four key areas for the Eagles tonight if they are to leave Lincoln Financial field with the win.

Offensively, the line have got to protect Donovan McNabb from a defense that leads the NFC with 30 sacks so far this season.

The Giants won the Superbowl on the back of sacks and the general pressure they exerted on opposition quarterbacks, in particular from pressure up the middle.

Guard Max Jean-Gilles has played well in the absence of Andrews, but tonight he will have the kitchen sink thrown at him by New York's defensive line.

Giants defensive co-ordinator Steve Spagnuolo loves to move his lineman around to create match ups, and with such a talented group of athletes (Justin Tuck, Fred Robbins, Barry Cofield and Mathias Kiwanuka) this isn't difficult.

Certainly the loss of Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan has not affected the Giants ability to get in the faces of quarterbacks and get them on the turf.

If the Eagles offensive line can keep McNabb relatively clean, he has the ability to beat the rest of this New York defense, especially with key injuries to strong safety James Butler, linebacker Gerris Wilkinson and cornerback Kevin Dockery.

Part of keeping McNabb upright is being able to establish the run.

Against Atlanta, Brian Westbrook managed a career high in rushing yards and last week, though unspectacular, he kept the Seahawks defense honest, allowing McNabb to rack up over 300 yards through the air.

It is essential that Philly do the same tonight, otherwise it could be a long and painful night for McNabb.

The second key to Eagles success tonight is converting their opportunities.

Last week against Seattle, the Eagles moved the ball at will until they got to the red zone, having to settle for four field goals in a second half where they could and should have blown their hosts away.

They cannot afford to be so wasteful tonight in a game that could well be very very tight, and they must find a way to punch the ball in on short yardage downs.

Defensively, the Eagles have got to get pressure on Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

Despite handily beating the cowboys last Sunday, Manning was made to look fallible as he was put under pressure all night long, being sacked four times, losing two fumbles, being picked off for a touchdown and throwing for a season low 147 yards.

The Eagles will have to do the same in this game and they have the ability, having collected 27 sacks of their own through the first eight games.

Pressure will lead to takeaways and these could be essential, in a game where the turnover battle could be the decisive factor.

It will also mean that Manning will struggle to find star receiver Plaxico Burress, a man who has been the bane of Philly for many years.

The final area that Andy Reid and his team must look at is stopping the Giants ground game and in particular, Brandon Jacobs.

New York lead the NFL with an average of over 160 rushing yards per game, most of which is down to Jacobs, but their 1-2-3 punch of Jacobs, Ward and Bradshaw is undoubtedly the best in the league, reminiscent of the Eagles Westbrook, Staley and Buckhalter combo of years past.

The Eagles defense has, for the most part, been stingy against the rush this season, only allowing more than 90 yards on two occasions.

Stopping the run tonight is vital for Philly's chances, which will mean tackling low and hard on a guy who is the right weight for a defensive end.

Shut down Jacobs and this will force Manning to try and carry the team, which will give the Eagles their best chance of knocking off the defending champs.

Should the Eagles lose, they will drop to 5-4 and more importantly, 0-3 in the division, which will majorly dent their playoff hopes in such a competitive division.

Win however, and they will send out a statement to the rest of the league, and show the world that this group is capable of bringing Philadelphia their first ever Vince Lombardi trophy.

Briere scores on return but the Flyers get struck by Lightning

Lightning 2 - 1 Flyers

Danny Briere grabbed a goal on his return from injury but it was the Flyers only goal of the game, as they lost at home to the Tampa Bay Lightning: their third straight defeat.

Briere's goal was more than the Flyers deserved, as they piled on the pressure in the first period, compiling 18 shots in the opening session.

But Philly were frustrated for much of the opening 20 minutes, as Lightning goalie Mike Smith produced save after save to keep the hosts at bay, before Briere broke the deadlock late in the period with the Flyers up 5-on-3; Simon Gagne and Mike Richards assisting the centre.

However these missed opportunities proved costly for Philly and despite some good work by Biron in the home net, he couldn't prevent two former Flyers coming back to haunt their old team.

Ex-Philly winger Mark Recchi broke away and set up Jussi Jokinen for Tampa's equaliser, before centre Vaclav Prospal completed the turnaround inside six second period minutes.

Both the goals came off Flyer mistakes but aside from that Philly managed to restrict the Lightning's offensive chances, with new defensive signing Matt Carle playing his way to the game's third star.

But for the second straight game the Flyers offense cooled off, with Tampa limiting them to five shots in the final period, leaving Philly to rue the chances they spurned early in the game.

A lot of credit has to go to Lightning goal-tender Smith, who was the player of the game after saving 34 of the Flyers 35 shots, but this will be little consolation for Philly who can't seem to get things going offensively and defensively in the same game.

The Flyers couldn't even fight properly- Philly's Arron Asham and Tampa's Ryan Craig had two goes at each other but neither could keep their feet for more than 30 seconds:

ROUND 1



ROUND 2



The season may only be 13 games old but already the Flyers are in their second major skid, with only the New York Islanders between them and the bottom of the Atlantic division.

In fact Philly's 4-6-3 record is the third worst in the NHL and with a three game road trip looming, Coach Stevens will need to use all his experience to try and get his side back to winning ways.

Tuesday night may be his best chance to do so, as the Flyers head to New York to take on the Islanders, before two tougher games at Pittsburgh and Montreal.

Things are going to have to change quickly if the team want to avoid a repeat of two years ago, where the Flyers finished with the worst record in the league.