Good Times in Cheesesteakville

Man, I am pumped! Yes, I have lived my 22+ years championshipless in this town, but there have been great stretches along the generally heartbreaking road. We are in one such stretch now. Last night’s thrilling Flyers win in overtime was the latest in what has become an incredible streak of positive events in Philly sports. On Sunday, Phils beat the Mets, and more importantly, the Sixers win game 1 against the heavily favored Pistons. The Phils continued the streak into the week where they won 2 against Colorado, the second in dramatic, come-from-behind-in the 9^th inning fashion. Brad Lidge is looking really dominant in the closer role, a position which has been a point of inconsistency for the Phitins’ in recent years. Pat “the Bat” Burrell is living up to his nickname and is not only driving in runs, but more importantly hitting in the clutch as we saw last night.

Contrary to the public’s beliefs going into the game, the Flyers looked really sharp, even coming off the ugly game 6 loss on home ice. Our defensemen (specifically Coburn and Timonen) played great yesterday and all throughout the series, continually hounding Ovechkin, while also making a strong showing in the offensive zone. Marty Biron looked unbelievable in net, stopping 39 of 41 shots that he saw. You just can’t say enough about how he’s played this series. Everyone made a fuss about Marty being 0-5 in the tail end of back-to-back games, but Cristobal Huet was actually 1-6 himself, and the fact mattered little as both goalies made some spectacular saves. The series as a whole did not follow any “normal” ebb and flow, and momentum shifts followed no rhyme or reason either. The exciting game 7 capped a series that, for both groups of fans (and I use that term very loosely when speaking of those frauds down in Washington), was an emotional seesaw. Bring on Montreal!

I’ll throw a few picks in, since I have been hot lately…

Jon Garland and the Angels are in Fenway tonight, attempting to hit Dice-K for the first time. Well, Torii Hunter actually had 4 ABs against him. Of those for, he struck out twice and grounded into a double play. I’ll take the leagues best team, with Beantown’s favorite Japanese immigrant on the mound.

RED SOX (-1.5) over Angels

Phillies and Brewers in Milwaukee. Dave Bush vs. Cole Hamels. I’ll take the Phils to stay hot against a pitcher who has had his share of problems with their lineup. Bush is having a rocky start to his 2008 season as well, and Cole is still, simply put, the balls.

Phillies (-1.5) over Brewers

Fausto Carmona and the rest of the Tribe are in K.C. to take on Tomko and the Royals. Last night, Sabathia found his stride, and the Indians smoked the Royals. I could see this being a completely one-sided series, so I’ll definitely take the Tribe tonight.

Indians (-1.5) over ROYALS

In the NBA, Boston and Atlanta will play game 2, of a completely mismatched series. Boston should put up 110-120 points and run away with the game. Maybe I’m wrong, but the Hawks are going to have to get some sort of miracle to have a snowball’s chance in hell in this series.

CELTICS (-15) over Hawks

CELTICS/Hawks Over 119

Picking Record: 10-6