The Philadelphia Flyers chase for the Stanley Cup hit a major bump in the playoff road Thursday after it was discovered that All-Star defenseman Kimmo Timonen had a blood clot in his left ankle. He could be sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs.
The injury occurred during Game 4 against Montreal, when he was hit with a shot. Timonen, who has six assists in the post season, played through the pain in the deciding Game 5, but on May 8, following an MRI and a visit to vascular surgeon Dr. Ronald M. Fairman, the problem was diagnosed.
“It’s a quite serious thing,” Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren said. “He is on blood thinners and is not going to be available.”
There is no timetable as to when Timonen will be healthy enough to return.
“Well I don’t know if there is any medical procedure other than right now he is going to be taking some anti-coagulant or blood thinners,” Holmgren said. “The doctor’s feeling is that this will resolve itself over a period of time. How long a period of a time remains to be seen.”

Battle of PA
Philadelphia versus Pittsburgh, two cities, one state.
When it comes to the NHL playoffs, rivalries don’t get much better than this. All it takes is a quick flashback to the 2000 season when these same two teams met in the Eastern Conference Finals. Game Four is one hockey fans will never forget as the two teams needed five, yes five overtime periods, to decide a winner. Was anybody awake at 2:35 a.m. when Keith Primeau scored the winning goal?
If you missed it, Comcast SportsNet is replaying this late-night thriller as part of its extensive Flyers coverage. The first airing is May 9 at 3 p.m. with a second showing May 11 afternoon at 4 p.m.
To help build up this highly anticipated best-of-seven series, the network is also presenting “Keystone Clash,” a live playoff special May 7 and May 8 at 7 p.m. The show features Michael Barkann, Steve Coates, Al Morganti and Chris Therien in studio, while Lance Crawford reports live from Pittsburgh. The group will break down the Penguins’ strengths and weaknesses, explore the rivalry between the teams, and analyze what the Flyers need to do in order to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Six of the seven games will be on Versus at 7:30 p.m., while Game Five, if necessary, will be May 18 on NBC10. Complete schedule is below.
NHL Eastern Conference Finals Schedule
Game One: May 9 at Pittsburgh
Game Two: May 11 at Pittsburgh
Game Three: May 13 at Philadelphia
Game Four: May 15 at Philadelphia
Game Five: May 18 at Pittsburgh 3 p.m. NBC10*
Game Six: May 20 at Philadelphia*
Game Seven: May 22 at Pittsburgh*

Tale of the cities
Hockey talk aside, which city is better?
Fan wise, Philadelphia has a national reputation, many times not for good reasons. Some might view it as a diehard passion for their teams. Lets look at some other key categories to determine the winner.
Food:
Philadelphia has it all. We are talking soft pretzels, Tastykakes, cheesesteaks and water ice.
Pittsburgh, believe it or not, produces a few well known food items of their own, such as Heinz Ketchup, Isaly’s Chopped Ham, around since 1933, and Klondike Bars.
Edge: Klondike Bars, especially with all the new flavors, gets Pittsburgh some votes, but Philadelphia wins out on soft pretzels, cheese steaks and Tastykakes.
Landmarks:
Philadelphia played a major role in this country’s history. There is the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, where the US Constitution was signed, the Betsy Ross House, where the first American flag was sewed, and the Philadelphia Zoo, the nation’s first zoo.
Pittsburgh has a lot of bridges, over 1,720 of them, 720 of which are located inside the city limits. The town is also home to the country’s largest inland port.
Edge: Philadelphia takes this one in a landslide.
Sports teams:
The Philadelphia Eagles might have a national following, but they have made two Super Bowl appearances and have no rings to show for them. The Phillies have one World Series title from 1980. The Flyers are of course hoping to end their very, very long championship drought that dates back to the ’74-’75 season. They also made it to the ’96-’97 championship round where they lost to Detroit.
Pittsburgh won back-to-back titles in the early ’90’s. The Steelers have enough Super Bowl rings to fit four fingers and a thumb.
Edge: Pittsburgh takes this one running away.
Famous people:
Philadelphia: Kevin Bacon; Bill Cosby; Tina Fey; Will Smith; Larry Fine; Bob Saget and Sylvestor Stallone.
Pittsburgh: Ted Danson; Jeff Goldblum; Holly Hunter; Michael Keaton; Demi Moore; Fred Rodgers and Sharon Stone.
Edge: The combination of Mr. Rodgers, Sam Malone from Cheers and Demi Moore makes Pittsburgh the winner.
Stadiums/Arenas:
Philadelphia: The Palestra on the University of Pennsylvania campus is one of the best places in the country to watch a college basketball game. Franklin Field is home to the Penn Relays. Citizens Bank Park is one of the nicest in the Major Leagues.
Pittsburgh: Heinz Field, PNC Park and Mellon Arena.
Edge: The combination of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex and the historic Penn arenas puts Philadelphia over the top.
Overall, both cities are close, but Philadelphia takes the title. Like there was any question.

Jimmy Rollins, the reigning National League MVP, has spent the majority of April and early May recovering from a sprained ankle.
Ryan Howard, the 2006 National League MVP, is struggling to find his swing (.169 batting average).
Don’t worry guys, Chase Utley has everything under control. The second baseman was the National League MVP for the month of April after hitting .360 with 11 home runs (tops in the Majors), 23 RBIs and 25 runs scored. It included a string of five straight games (April 17-21) with a home run.
If Utley wasn’t on the team, Pat Burrell, yes that Pat Burrell, might’ve taken home top honors after hitting .330 with nine homers and a team record 28 RBI.
Monday night, the Phillies opened a seven game road trip against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have the league’s best record at 21-10. The National League East leaders showed they can hang with the best as they scattered 17 hits on the way to a 11-4 victory. They did their damage with Rollins still missing from the lineup. There is no question that the Phillies have one of the most dangerous lineups.
It also helps having a bullpen that doesn’t give the coaching staff and fans chest pains late in games. Philadelphia relievers have one more win (10) than the starting staff. New closer Brad Lidge has been a perfect seven-for-seven in save opportunities to go along with a 0.00 ERA.
Now if all the MVPs, including Ryan Howard, do their part, this Phillies team will be tough to beat.

The Philadelphia Soul are no longer perfect.
On the other, the still hold the distinction of being the Arena Football League’s top team with a 9-1 record. Dallas, at 8-1, is the only other squad heading into Week 11 with one defeat that came against Philadelphia. Philadelphia/Dallas, why does that sound familiar?
The nine straight wins by the Soul are a franchise record, while the 9-1 record marks is their best ever start. The 640 points are tops in the league. It also helps having someone nicknamed “Money” to catch touchdowns every week. When talking Arena Football history, Chris “Money” Jackson is one of the best all-time. He is one of three players with 300 career touchdowns and one of five with 900 career receptions. We can’t forget the 12,000-plus receiving yards.
What the Soul need to forget is their 67-55 loss to the Cleveland Gladiators in Week 10. They need to get right back on the winning track May 12 when they face the Georgia Force, 8 p.m. on ESPN2. This is the same Georgia team that knocked Philadelphia out of the 2007 playoffs. Revenge is in the air.
The goal of being ‘08 Arena Bowl champs remains on track.

Some might be disappointed that the Sixers season has come to a close. After taking a two games to one advantage over the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, including Game One on the road, talk of a possible upset started brewing around the Delaware Valley. It stemmed from their 95-75 Game Three victory at home. Was this young Sixers team too quick for the aging Pistons, who have made five straight trips to the Eastern Conference finals? Did the Pistons overlook the Sixers as a serious threat?
Maybe.
In the end, the veteran Detroit squad proved to be better team, stepping up their game in the second half of Game Four, and took complete control of the series. The final nail on the 2007-08 season came in the Sixers 100-77 loss in front of 14,000-plus fans at the Wachovia Center.
But it was the standing ovation by the remaining fans in attendance that told the true story. Nobody expected this Philadelphia team to make the playoffs. The 40 regular season wins combined with two playoff victories also came as a surprise. After all, this was the first full season without Allen Iverson on the roster. His Denver Nuggets were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference quarterfinals.
Getting that post season experience will pay huge dividends for this young Sixers squad with point guard Andre Miller being the lone starter over 30, 32 to be exact. Now that Philadelphia has taken that giant playoff leap forward, the off-season should be dedicated to plugging in the missing pieces via free agency and trade. Add an All-Star caliber player not named Iverson, and these up-and-coming Sixers could be looking at a winning record in 2008-09.
For now, we can all agree that Philadelphia exceeded expectations.

The Flyers are one win away from the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Phillies closed out April with a winning record for the first time since 2003. Their 14-12 record has them tied for second in the National League East with the New York Mets.
Nobody expected the Sixers to still be playing May 1.
We can’t leave out the undefeated Philadelphia Soul, who are an AFL-best 9-0 following their April 28 victory over previously unbeaten Dallas.
These are exciting times to be a Philadelphia sports fan. Not bad for a town suffering through a major world championship void dating back to the 1983 Sixers. As to when the drought will finally end is the question of the day. Hopefully next week Flyers fans will be talking Eastern Conference finals. If they don’t wrap up the series Saturday night in Montreal they will close it out the following night at home. Game Seven will not be necessary.
The Soul, who are the AFL’s only remaining undefeated team, will worry about the playoffs next month.
The Phillies still have way too many games to start having a serious playoff conversation.
These winning times mark a major change from a year ago when the Sixers and Flyers missed the playoffs, and the Phillies had a losing record.