JUST 7 SPORTS: Phlying Phillies, Flying Patriots, and Soaring Angels

HEADLINER

The Philadelphia Phillies are back in the World Series looking for a repeat - a feat even more rare for NL teams than winning the All-Star Game. Ryan Howard was crowned the NLCS MVP, as he smashed, hustled, and willed his team to victory. Not to be forgotten, however, is Jayson Werth, who drove ball after ball out of the park, including two dingers in the clincher. And Cliff Lee wasn't too shabby either, validating the Phillies' front office's decision to drop the midseason push for Roy Halladay. How significant is it that Lee will have plenty of rest before presumably kicking off the World Series on Wednesday? The reigning AL Cy Young winner has been practically unhittable, posting a 0.74 ERA and 0.70 WHIP during the postseason.


DELICIOUS DIGIT

16. That's the number of consecutive games the New England Patriots have won against NFC teams, part of a 29-4 run. Now, there's no doubt that the Patriots have been one of the premier teams in the NFL in the past several years. But 16 straight games? It makes you wonder whether it's really better to be American instead of... National. At least for this week, though, the Patriots will be returning to Old England to take on the winless Bucs in London. So it will be 17, I suppose.


THE 7

1. The Halos are still circling. Seemingly saved by an angel, Anaheim managed to eke out a 7-6 victory against the Bronx Bombers despite allowing 6 runs in an inning to give up a 4-0 lead that John Lackey had so beautifully preserved. Manager Mike Scioscia did his best to let the Yankees back in the game, pulling Lackey with two outs and the bases loaded in the 7th before Darren Oliver put forth his best Eric Gagne impression. And then an intentional walk to Alex Rodriguez in the 9th almost led Brian Fuentes to blow another save. Nevertheless, Scioscia did have one move that worked out well: handing the ball to Jered Weaver for the 8th. As good a starter as Weaver he is, he would sure make for one mean closer.

2. Speaking of managers, much was made of Joe Girardi's over-managing in Game 3, with the former catcher running out to the mound and making strange decisions time after time to the confusion of his players, the in-game commentators, and most of the country. But Girardi's obsessive-compulsive behavior did illustrate one little-known rule: in the AL, making a defensive replacement during the middle of an requires the team to forfeit its designated hitter. Makes you want to bring Roger Clemens back and then make a mid-inning defensive replacement, doesn't it?

3. If you needed yet another reason to wonder if John Calipari can taint every program he's associated with, here's an arrow for your arsenal: Kentucky's top recruit John Wall is being investigated due to eligibility issues. Okay, it's not really Calipari's fault - the kid's former coach was an agent. But the Wildcats may not be SEC favorites anymore if Wall has to sit out part or all of the season. Amateurs.

4. Jim Zorn is safe for the rest of the season, a Redskins bigwig told the media. Okay, fine. But he no longer has his play-calling duties. What's the point of dragging this thing out? The Redskins take on the rival Eagles on MNF, with Philadelphia trying to recover from an embarrassing loss to the Raiders. Time to trade those Eagles season tickets in for World Series passes, methinks.

5. No. 13 Penn State travels to the Big House tomorrow looking for its first victory in Ann Arbor since 1996. Michigan has been anything but consistent, but the Wolverines are as dangerous as any team when their offense is clicking. Another (and perhaps more surprising) candidate for an upset: No. 6 Iowa at Michigan State, as predicted by AccuScore. And you thought only the SEC and the Big 12 were exciting!

6. Chris Chelios is back on the ice, signing a deal with the Thrashers' AHL affiliate in Chicago. The Windy City native says he's not looking for an NHL call-up, just trying to prove he still has some of what made him a three-time Norris Trophy winner. But if Atlanta can make a postseason run, they might look to add the veteran to the roster like the Sharks did with Claude Lemieux last season. Let's just hope for better results - Lemieux posted just one assist and finished -5 in 18 games in the final run of his career.

7. Trent Edwards is out for the Bills against the Panthers due to a concussion, ceding the starting QB spot to Harvard alum Ryan Fitzpatrick. Although the former Crimson signal-caller has been a backup throughout his career, he has continued to benefit from injuries to the players ahead of him - Marc Bulger went down for a few games in his rookie season, and in 2008-09, Fitzpatrick appeared in 13 games for Cincinnati as Carson Palmer sat out most of the year. Which makes every NFL GM wonder, "Ryan Fitzpatrick: worse than the Sports Illustrated curse?"


HORIZON

The NBA regular season kicks off on Tuesday with Boston vs. Cleveland, one of four games that evening. Tune into TNT at 7:30 PM so you can catch Shaq in his first action as a Cavalier. Did all his "cross-training" during Shaq Vs. prepare him to face Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett? 'Tis a contest to be watched.


THE Q

As mentioned above, we learned about one weird rule in baseball during Game 3 of the ALCS. What is the craziest, most unknown rule in a sport that you have heard of? Leave your comments below.


Tune in next week for your Just 7 Sports briefing.