I went to the SmackDown/ECW show in Philly on Tuesday night and it was amazing! I sat in the seats on the side of the stage. Good view of the ring. They had black canopies set up to shield the wrestlers, but at the end, you can see through to them. The wrestlers I saw “backstage” were Tommy Dreamer, Matt Hardy (brushing his hair), Finlay, Michelle McCool, Curt Hawkins or Zach Ryder, and Bam Neely. Before they launched the pyro, you can see a bunch of pyrotechnicians huddled up in one corner off camera holding their ears. I guess when you see hem doing that, it’s wise to hold your ears as well. Believe me, that’s some loud fireworks action.

In other news, the Phillies lost first place to the Mets. That sucks

October

11 vs Rangers

13 vs Canadiens

14 @ Penguins

16 @ Avalanche

18 @ Sharks

22 vs Sharks

24 @ Devils

25 vs Devils

28 @ Thrashers

30 vs Islanders

November

2 vs Oilers

6 @ Senators

8 vs Lightning

11 @ Islanders

13 @ Penguins

15 @ Canadiens

16 vs Thrashers

21 @ Sabres

22 vs Coyotes

24 vs Stars

26 @ Hurricanes

28 vs Hurricanes

29 @ Maple Leafs

December

2 vs Lightning

4 vs Devils

6 @ Hurricanes

9 vs Islanders

11 vs Hurricanes

13 vs Penguins

16 vs Avalanche

18 @ Canadiens

20 vs Capitals

21 @ Devils

23 vs Senators

26 @ Blackhawks

27 @ Blue Jackets

30 @ Canucks

January

2 @ Ducks

3 @ Kings

6 @ Capitals

8 vs Wild

10 vs Maple Leafs

13 vs Penguins

15 @ Lightning

16 @ Panthers

21 vs Thrashers

25 All-Star Game @ Montreal

27 @ Panthers

30 @ Lightning

31 @ Blues

February

4 vs Bruins

7 @ Bruins

8 @ Thrashers

12 vs Senators

14 vs Islanders

15 @ Rangers

19 vs Sabres

21 vs Penguins

24 @ Capitals

25 vs Kings

27 vs Canadiens

March

1 @ Devils

3 @ Bruins

5 vs Flames

7 vs Predators

10 vs Sabres

12 vs Capitals

14 vs Rangers

15 @ Rangers

17 @ Red Wings

20 @ Sabres

22 @ Penguins

23 vs Devils

26 vs Panthers

28 @ Islanders

29 vs Bruins

April

1 @ Maple Leafs

3 vs Maple Leafs

4 @ Senators

7 vs Panthers

9 @ Rangers

11 @ Islanders

12 vs Rangers

The performances from last night’s All-Star thriller:

Chase Utley went 1 for 3 with a single. The single advanced Hanley Ramirez of Florida to 3rd base. Ramirez later scored on a sacrifice fly by Huston’s Lance Berkman.

Brad Lidge came in to pitch relief in the 15th inning. He loaded the bases, and Justin Morneau of Minnesota  scored on a sac fly by Texas’ Micheal Young. Lidge recorded the loss.

I can’t blame Lidge for having an abnormal inning of relief. He was warming up on 7 different occasions in the bullpen, throwing over 100 pitches. He has only thrown 40 pitches this entire season! What’s done is done, and there’s nothing I can do.

As you might know, Chase Utley hit 5 home runs in the opening round of last night’s Derby. He was 1 away from Dan Uggla of Florida and Grady Sizemore of Cleveland, who each failed to advance. He was also 23 away from the winner, Josh Hamilton of Texas (so close, yet so far away).

Despite Utley’s 5 home runs and not moving along to the next rounds, I am actually happy about it. Why? Flash back to Bobby Abreu winning in 2005. The first half of the year, he had a decent swing, got plenty of hits. The second half of his year was disastrous, and did not record as many hits. The same went for Ryan Howard when he won in 2006. Why did it happen? Believe it or not, the Home Run Derby messes with your swing. You’re swinging for the fences, the pitches aren’t as hard, and the longer you last in the Derby, the worse it is. Not only did Utley not last very long, he didn’t hit nearly as many home runs as the guys who moved on. I’m not saying Utley’s numbers after the All-Star break will be like how they were before the break because he didn’t last long, but it’s a thought. We’ll have to see.

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All in all, it was a good weekend in Philly Sports. The Phillies took 2 out of 3 from Arizona, one coming from a walk-off single by Jason “For All That It’s” Werth on Friday night, and the other coming off of back-to-back home runs by Pat Burrell (3 runs) and Pedro Feliz (1 run) on Sunday. On Saturday, Phillies starter Adam Eaton had a rough outing going for 3.2 innings, and letting up 8 runs on 7 hits.

Despite the Phil’s loss, Saturday still proved to be a good day in Philly. The 1st-seeded Soul defeated the Cleveland Gladiators 70-35 to advance to ArenaBowl 22. One memorable play came in the 3rd quarter, when Mike brown of the Soul was returning a kickoff. Cleveland’s kicker Jason Ball dove to stop Mike Brown, but he hurdled over him and scored a touchdown. This is the first time the Soul won the division, the conference, and hopefully, the ArenaBowl.