By Thomas Alan McGlinchey Lion's Eye Sports Editor tam5160@psu.edu The Philadelphia Phillies have done it once again, clinching the National League (NL) East division in the last weekend of the regular season. After a short lived post-season in 2007, the Phightins were back to repeat. The Phillies ended the hopes of the New York Mets, who tried to pull a Phillie, when they defeated the Washington Nationals 4-3 on Sat- urday 27, 2008. The Phillies were the front runner to win the division again. With the help of the hot bat from Ryan Howard, who has had a stellar September, the Phillies clinched the division with a two game lead on the surging Mets. With the Mets winning their game, the Phillies knew that they had to win theirs. Jamie Moyer, the final starter in last years come from behind miracle, was the starter in the clincher this year. : The season had been a see-saw with the New York Mets, let’s take you back to the beginning of the sea- son. The Phillies fell behind the Mets and the Marlins, in the early going. With the help of Chase Utley, who owned the National League in the first month of the season, with his monster power, and his stellar glove work at second base, the Phillies made their way up to the top spot in the NL East. : In the following months the Phillies had the lead The Lion’s Eye in the division because of Utley’s power play. Utley had 25 home runs, a many RBI’s going the middle of the season. He was a front runner for the National League MVP, which would be a first in the majors; for a three peat in that cat- egory. Howard and shortstop Jimmy Rollins were the winners in the last two seasons. Going into the All-Star break, the Phillies had the lead in the NL East. Though it was slim it was be than last season. Two of the. Phillies were on the All-Star team. Chase Utley was voted to the starting line-up and the closer Brad Lidge, who was spectacular in the first half was called on to join Utley. Although, the National League lost, many people attribute the lost to the amount of pitches that Lidge threw before he was called on to finish the game. Coming out of the break, the Phillies were play- ing amazing baseball, and widening the lead that they had on the division. As the season was coming to a close, the Phil- lies lead was dwindling to a few games. By the month of August the Mets were in striking distance or on top of the division. This meant that the Phillies need to have a strong finish. The beginning of September looked promising, they were closing in'on the lead that the Mets had, and shaved October 8, 2008 The Phils Fly High After Capturing Pennant. (photo courtesy Thomas Alan McGlinchey) the lead to three and a half games with only a few weeks left in the season. The Phillies bucked up and went on a rampage. The reigning NL East champs went an astound- ing 10-2 in the last 12 games going into the final weekend. The Phillies had regained the lead on September 20 and never looked back. They won most of the games in the final week, including a sweep of the Washington Nationals to close the regular season out. The team closed the door a game less than last year, so on the final day they rested the starters and let the bench players play, and the bench players even beat the Nationals 8-3. This is the year, the team is in the playoffs for the second year in a row, and many fans feel that there is no excuse to lose to the Milwaukee Brewers. Eagles Offense Takes A Beating Eagles’ Jackson Bids for Offensive Rookie of the Year By Sean O’Connor Lion's Eye Staff Writer By Sean O’Connor smo5084@psu.edu VLions Eye Staff Writer The Philadelphia Eagles are not be described smoS5084@psu.edu the same team without Brian Westbrook. as average. Onn toa whise oilbhsive Westbrook is the team’s offensive catalyst. The Eagles’ In their first two games, with Westbrook healthy, the Eagles averaged 37.5 points per game. In the last three games, in which Westbrook has been injured, the Eagles scored a combined 35 points. This offense is simply destroyed when he is not on the field. In the Pittsburgh game, the Eagles’ defense performed fantastically, sacking quarterback Ben Roethlisberger eight times and hurry- ing him several more. Due to this defensive pressure, the offense was afforded numerous opportunities to score, yet only managed 15 points. This 1s understandable, as the Steel- ers have one of the top three defenses in the league. But the game against the Bears is a different story. The Bears.came in with the 16th best defense i in the NFL, which is can - points, and field, would should have been able to score more than 20 with West- brook on the have con- Eagles runningback Brian Westbrook. verted (photo courtesy of the Associated Press) several more opportunities, including the game- losing drive that featured four plays inside the five yard line. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that Westbrook be on the field for the game this week against the San Francisco 49ers. fplayers are filling their own hospital . fward, DeSean Jackson has become a bright spot for the Philadelphia Eagles. The 2nd round pick out of California is performing phenomenally in his first season. He has emerged as a leading contender for the league’s Of- fensive Rookie of the Year award. In 4 games, he has already caught 22 passes for 327 yards and a touchdown. This puts Jackson on pace for 88 catches and 1308 receiving yards, almost unheard of numbers for a rookie. He also provides a tremendous spark to an otherwise bland punt return team. This early in the season, he is already outshining the rest of the class of 2008 as the best player in the class. With Brian Westbrook hopping around on one good ankle, Jackson is the team’s best playmaker and should continue to shine for the Eagles for years to come. Vantec Flyers Say Goodbye to Spectrum By Thomas Alan McGlinchey ~ Lion's Eye Sports Editor tam5 160@psu.edu As the Spectrum is on its way out of Philadelphia, fans young and old make new memories and reminisce about old ones. The Flyers have had two Stanley Cup championships in the Philadelphia land- mark, as well as many other championships. Before the game started there was a ovation to the captains of the past. Many of the captains of old are Philadelphia house- hold names. Names like Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, Eric Lindros (who was absent from the festivities), and many more. The new captain of the current team was crowned. Mike Richards, the new captain seemed to be ‘proud of being added to line of great Flyers .in history. The game had begun and the Fly- ers jumped on the lead against the Carolina Hurricanes, with a 1-0 lead within the first six minutes of play. The goal was scored by Braydon Coburn for his first goal of the pre- ‘season. Fivé minutes later, the Flyers scored once again, this time from Joffrey Lupul. The third goal of the period for the Fly Guys was scored by new crowned captain Mike Richards (third of the pre-season), with sec- onds to go in the period. The ‘Canes were on the board with .02 second left in 1st, by Matt Murley. The second period was dormant compared to the first. The only goal that was scored in the second period was a ‘Canes goal by Patrick Eaves. The third period was as dormant as the second, but the Flyers were the ones with the only goal of the period. Mike Richards scored his second of the game and fourth of his pre-season. The goal was the last of the scoring and with the final goal by Richards, the Flyers shut the door on a spectacular game in their first home. And with this win, saytheir good-byes to a home that has had so much history to the franchise. SIR Ne PSU Brandywine Women Interested 1n Sports The Athletic Department needs your help! Penn State Brandywine has a proud athletic tradition through our intercollegiate, club and intra- mural sports programs. We want to expand the opportunities that we offer particularly to our female students. We currently offer basket- ball, volleyball, coed soccer and coed tennis for our female athletes. Unfortunately, we often find ourselves not attracting athletes that we know are part our student body. Volleyball and tennis are always looking for additional players. If we are currently not offering sports you want to play, please let me know what sports would get you motivated to participate. We would love to have softball, soccer, lacrosse, cross country and golf for our female population. Are these sports that interest you? We can add varsity teams, clubs or intramurals specifically for our female students. We can tailor programs to meet your time schedules and skill level. Sports can add an entirely new dimension to your college experience and the friends you make you will keep for life. We are committed to enhancing your experience and meeting your needs. Stop by my office on the first floor of the Commons Building or email me with your ideas You can also go to our website and fill out a prospective athlete form at http://www.bw.psu.edu/FacultyStaff/ prospective_athlete.htm Just fill in your name, email and use the comments section to tell us what you would like to do. For more information contact Coach/Athletic Director Jim Gastner 610-892= 1331 office 610-368-6460 cell J1g257@psu.edu
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