Reid’s ‘Dream Team’ gets off to winning start
The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene.
EAGLES OPEN WITH
IMPRESSIVE WIN
Shouldered with massive media buzz and coined the “Dream Team” after a busy offseason of bringing in top-flight free agents, the Philadelphia Eagles, under the guise of longtime Coach Andy Reid, kicked off their 2011 season on Sunday with a 31-13 win over the host St. Louis Rams.
“Wins are hard to get in the National Football League, I think you see that when you check out how things are around the league,” Reid said in a postgame press conference. “On the other side of that, there are plenty things that we need to work on. Obviously, we are not satisfied with today, we can play a lot better. My hat is off to [Rams Coach] Steve Spagnuolo and his football team; they went down today like crazy with quite a few injuries out there. That is a tough deal. He sure has done a nice job, along with his coaches and front office. He has a pretty good football team.”
The game featured plenty of high-octane offense, which has been a characterization of Reid’s team as of late.
Quarterback Michael Vick threw for 187 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 97 yards, while running back Lesean McCoy topped 100 yards rushing and added two total scores and receiver Desean Jackson hauled in a score and also topped the 100-yard barrier.
Reid’s Eagles, the defending NFC East champions, have now won three of their last four season openers. Week Two action will see Philadelphia travel to Atlanta to play the Falcons on NBC’s Sunday night game.
BATTLE BRINGS
TOP-10 HYPE
The annual “Battle for Foothill Boulevard” takes place on Friday at St. Francis High between the host Golden Knights and Crescenta Valley.
And after both teams opened up their seasons with wins, both enter the showdown ranked in their respective.
The Falcons defeated Santa Paula, 40-32, and were rewarded with the No. 10 spot in the latest CIF Southern Section Southeast Division rankings, which were released Monday afternoon. St. Francis, meanwhile, came back to defeat Arcadia, 31-28, and held strong at No. 6 in the Western Division.
Cross-country offers up the highest-ranked locals.
Flintridge Prep’s girls’ team is slotted at No. 2 in Division V, just behind Prep League-rival Chadwick. Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy is the No. 4 team in Division IV and Flintridge Prep’s boys’ team is the No. 4 squad in Division V.
In Division V boys’ water polo, Glendale sits in the No. 5 spot, while Crescenta Valley and Hoover find themselves tied at the No. 9 position.
PALADINI, FIRE
COMING DOWN STRETCH
With just seven games remaining in the Major League Soccer season, the final stretch is upon St. Francis High graduate Daniel Paladini and his Chicago Fire squad.
Paladini, a midfielder, came off the bench in the Fire’s last win, a 2-0 victory against the Colorado Rapids, but didn’t see any playing time on Saturday when the Fire lost to the San Jose Earthquakes, 2-0.
Chicago’s slated to take on Chivas USA in a Saturday home match in its next MLS match.
On the season, Chicago, which had previously set a league standard for ties in a season, sits at 4-8-15 for 27 points and seventh place in the Eastern Conference. The New York Red Bulls now also have a record 15 ties.
Paladini is still searching for his first point of the season.
He’s played in 17 games with 13 starts, having tallied 1,177 minutes, but has no goals or assists to show for it yet. He’s taken 32 shots with 11 on goal.
QUARTERBACK CLUB SET TO OPEN NEW SEASON
The Glendale YMCA Quarterback Club will hold its first meeting of the year at 11:30 a.m. today at The Elk’s Lodge, 120 E. Colorado St., Glendale.
The club, which is in its 69th year, is geared to support the Crescenta Valley, Glendale, Hoover and St. Francis high football teams and the Glendale Community College football program.