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Ray Emery’s season is over, and there are major questions about whether the Flyers goalie will ever play again.

Emery is suffering from avascular necrosis – a condition in which poor blood supply leads to death of bone tissue – and will have a bone graft to alleviate the hip issue, the Flyers announced. It is the same ailment that ended Bo Jackson’s baseball career.

In a conference call with reporters last night, Emery sounded stunned by the developments and acknowledged that he would have a difficult road back to the NHL.

Emery said doctors have told him the success rate for the surgery is 95 percent, but said that was for “being mobile [again], not playing professional sports.”

The surgery will be performed by David Ruch at Duke University Medical Center.

“It’s something I have to get done, and after that I’ll do my best to get back,” Emery said.

Click here to read the full article – By Philadelphia Inquirer

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When NHL teammates become Olympic opponents, most say there is no special treatment they give each other. No favors.

Asked of his thoughts if he had an opportunity to crunch Timonen into the boards, Pronger replied: “It sucks to be him.”

You can’t change the way you play, or you’ll likely risk an injury, Pronger said, adding that the action is so quick that you don’t have time to pull away from one of your NHL teammates – even if you wanted to.

“To be honest, half the time I’m not looking at who it is,” said Pronger, a four-time Olympian. “The other half, it really doesn’t bother me. We’re playing a game. You’re playing for your country.

“It’s no different than when you’re traded and playing against your former team. You have to go 100 percent or you leave yourself open to injury, so you have to push yourself to play as hard as you can.”

Click here to read the full article – By Philadelphia Inquirer

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Defenseman Oskars Bartulis began the season in the minors, hoping to improve his game and get to The Show.

Latvia’s coaches took notice of his play, and Bartulis, 23, was selected for his first Olympic team.

“This whole season has been really exciting and full of surprises for me,” the 6-foot-2, 184-pound Bartulis said.

Tiny Latvia, which has never finished higher than ninth, is not expected to do much in the Olympics.

“But you never know,” Bartulis said. “We will try to surprise some teams.”

Latvia stunned the U.S. team in a 3-3 tie in the 2006 Olympics in Turin.

Click here to read the full article – By Philadelphia Inquirer

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Dick Jauron is back in the NFL.

The former Bills head coach was hired Wednesday by the Philadelphia Eagles as a senior assistant/defensive backs coach.

“Long before he became a defensive coordinator and head coach in this league, Dick Jauron was considered to be one of, if not the best defensive backs coaches in the game,” Eagles head coach Andy Reid said. “We welcome his experience and knowledge of the game and look forward to adding him to our defensive coaching staff.”

Jauron replaces Brian Stewart, who left after one season to become defensive coordinator at the University of Houston. Jauron was fired by the Bills in November after a 3-6 start. He was 24-33 in Buffalo in three-plus seasons.

Jauron was 35-46 as Chicago’s coach from 1999 to 2003, and 1-4 as Detroit’s interim coach in 2005. Jauron previously worked with Reid in Green Bay on Mike Holmgren’s staff in the early 1990s.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Since returning from a nearly two-month absence caused by abdominal and hernia surgery, Flyers left winger Simon Gagne has shown flashes of last year’s 34-goal form. He scored a hat trick against the New York Rangers on Dec. 30.

Gagne is not alarmed.

“It’s not the first time I’m going through something like this,” he said, “but we’re winning and that’s what’s most important.”

The 29-year-old Gagne entered the game with six goals and 14 assists in 29 games.

“I just have to keep shooting and keep going to the net,” he said. “Maybe get a dirty goal or a lucky goal and that will get the confidence going.”

Missing nearly two months, he conceded, has contributed to his scoring slump.

“At some point, it will catch up with you,” he said. “You need time to get in game shape and get your timing going. The good thing is, I’m getting the chances.”

Click here to read the full article – By Philadelphia Inquirer

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Villanova is 19-1 for the first time in school history.

Maybe reaching its first Final Four in 24 years last season was only a starting point for Wright’s talented team.

Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher each scored 17 points to help No. 3 Villanova beat Notre Dame 90-72 on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats are 19-1 for the first time and are the only Big East team unbeaten in conference play (8-0). Led by Reynolds, Fisher, Antonio Pena and Co., Villanova has won 10 straight games and is in the mix for the top spot next week in The Associated Press poll.

“We’ll spend a lot of time after the season talking about this,” Wright said.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

The Philadelphia Phillies have signed All-Star center fielder Shane Victorino to a three-year contract extension worth $22 million.

The deal, announced by the team on Friday, keeps Victorino under contract with the Phillies through 2012.

Victorino earned his second straight Golden Glove award in 2009 while hitting .292 with 62 RBIs, 10 home runs, 13 triples, 39 doubles, and 25 stolen bases.

The Victorino deal follows Thursday’s announcement that the Phillies had signed 29-year-old right-hander Joe Blanton to a three-year, $24 million extension.

Victorino made $3.125 million in 2009. He asked for $5.8 million in arbitration, and the Phillies had offered $4.75 million.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

While players around him were constantly shuffled in and out, Jamaal Jackson held the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line together.

Jackson will miss the rest of the season after tearing a knee ligament in Sunday’s win over Denver.


“It’s obviously a big loss. He’s a good football player,” coach Andy Reid said Monday.

Jackson made his 71st consecutive start against the Broncos and had been Philadelphia’s only offensive player to play every snap until he got hurt in the first half.

He had an MRI exam on Monday that revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. It’s an injury that sometimes takes a full year for recovery, so Jackson may not be ready for the start of next season.

“I don’t want to take anything away from losing Jamaal,” Reid said. “But at the same time, we’re fortunate enough to have guys that have played in games, and big games, that we can fill in those spots.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Over the course of his last few injury-riddled seasons, the best way to approach Simon Gagne’s timetable on a return to the lineup was with caution.

After his abdominal surgery on Nov. 3 to repair two small tears and strengthen his abdominus rectus muscle, doctors said Gagne should be ready to play in 6 to 8 weeks.

Gagne insisted yesterday – when he returned to practice almost 2 weeks earlier than expected – that he is still a long way from playing in an NHL game.

“I felt pretty good,” Gagne said. “But now I could tell that I am a couple steps behind from game shape and stickhandling and stuff like that. It will be good to have at least another 2 weeks.”

Gagne wore a yellow jersey to single himself out during contact drills and he did not skate on a line with anyone else. He said after yesterday’s heavy skating practice that his body felt normal.

Click here to read the full article – By Philadelphia Daily News

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Philadelphia 76ers coach Eddie Jordan says no one has talked to him about bringing back Allen Iverson.

Jordan downplayed reports Sunday of Iverson possibly returning to the city where he became an NBA superstar, saying he hasn’t spoken to the recently retired guard and added that the Sixers are not seriously looking at any free agents.

“It’s something that’s probably more in the media than it actually is,” Jordan said. “We’re just going about our daily operation of practicing and trying to win a game. But certainly I have not talked to anybody about Allen Iverson.”

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

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