Nakey Time: Reliving Tuesday
Every so often, Matt Nakey will give us his time.
December 14th, 2010. What does that mean to you? A blistering cold Philadelphia day, a day when you learned that the Phillies did the unthinkable and brought back the beloved Clifton Phifer Lee.
Think big picture.
Not only did the Phillies hijack the national headlines; but the Eagles were just coming off a national beatdown of the hated Cowboys, in which Desean Jackson embarrassed the city of Dallas by doing this. The Flyers beat the Penguins to take over first place, not only in the Atlantic Division, not only in the Eastern Conference, but in the entire NHL.
Let’s do this in chronological order: The Eagles went into Sunday Night's game tied with the New York Giants. Even at 4-8, you can never overlook the Cowboys. Michael Vick had his usual productive game, DeSean had the most four-catch yards of any receiver in NFL history, and Shady McCoy finished the game off NFC East style by running the ball down the Cowboys throat. All in all- a good night. Now it's Giants Week, with first place on the line.
On Monday night, the Delaware Valley started to buzz about something so unthinkable it was simply glossed over (nationally and locally) as just a rumor. But as the night moved on, we heard that the Yankees were not going to sign Cliff Lee. Then it was reported that Phifer chose the Phillies over the Rangers, forming one of the best rotations in Major League Baseball history. Cliff Lee will join Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels on the Phils. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? Thank you, Ruben Amaro. Merry Cliffmas to you too.
The nightcap then pitted the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Flyers, with 1st place on the line (not to mention the Penguins 12 game win streak). Sidney Crosby was the hottest he has been in his young career and the Pens got star Evgeni Malkin back for the game. It wasn’t enough. Claude Giroux started the scoring and Scott Hartnell finished it, as the Flyers won 3-2 and jumped the Penguins in the standings. The Flyers are now 3-1 this year in “The Battle of Pennsylvania.”
Heck, even the Sixers won (and Drexel!!??!).
What a great time it is to be a Philadelphia sports fan. The Eagles look like a formidable team, one that could have a Super Bowl appearance in their future. The Flyers have the most points in the NHL and are primed to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Phillies have pieced together a rotation that has four possible 20 game winners. Who knows what will happen from here; but if those things transpire, December 14th, 2010 will be the date to remember.
