Forenregeln » take responsibility for that loss. ... I can

CHICAGO -- Ryne Sandberg loves the way Chase Utley plays the game. The Phillies manager says the second baseman reminds him of the way he used to play during Hall of Fame career. So of course Utley delivered on a blustery day at Wrigley Field. Utley hit a two-run homer and an RBI single, helping Philadelphia beat the Chicago Cubs 7-2 on Friday in a historic home opener at the majors second oldest ballpark. "It was cold out there and the wind was blowing. It made it even colder," Utley said. "But I thought overall we swung the bats pretty well." John Mayberry Jr. also had a two-run drive for his fourth career pinch-hit homer as Philadelphia bounced back after dropping the last two games of its opening series in Texas. Ben Revere and Domonic Brown had three hits apiece, and Brown also drove in two runs. The Phillies also got a strong outing from Roberto Hernandez, who pitched into the sixth inning in his first game after signing a $4.5 million, one-year contract with Philadelphia in the off-season. "He did his job today. He looked good," Sandberg said. "Really liked his two-seam fastball, action on it was going down pretty good." Welington Castillo hit a solo homer for the Cubs, who have dropped four consecutive home openers for the first time since 1991-94. Travis Wood (0-1) struck out eight in 6 1-3 innings, but was charged with four runs, three earned, and six hits. "Id like to have a couple pitches back," Wood said. "The one to Utley, the one there at the end to Revere that ended up chasing me from the ballgame." Wrigley Field was all dressed up for the first game of its 100th anniversary season. There were big blue banners on each side of the red sign that welcomes visitors to the beloved ballpark, and fans headed to the outfield bleachers strolled past historical pictures from the Cubs longtime home. The crowd of 38,283, wearing jackets and winter hats for the chilly afternoon, roared when Sandberg joined fellow Cubs Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins and Billy Williams on the mound for a ceremonial first pitch. Banks, Jenkins and Williams drew more cheers when they sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch. "Its a special day for me to be here, just for the festivities and the memories of opening days here," said Sandberg, who spent 15 seasons in Chicago. "The fan base and the excitement opening day brought every year with the optimism that this is going to be the year. I thought that every single year." The Cubs are still waiting for that year. They last won the World Series in 1908, and many of their fans are more interested in the prospects in Chicagos touted farm system than the players on the major league roster. Hours before the home opener, one fan held up a sign near the Cubs dugout that read: "Theres Always Next Year." Chicago got off to a nice start when Castillo went deep in the second inning and Starlin Castro singled home a run in the third, but that was it for the Cubs offence. Utleys first homer of the season, a drive to right-centre in the fifth, gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead. He also singled in Ben Revere in the seventh. It was more than enough for Hernandez (1-0), who allowed two runs and three hits while throwing only 73 pitches in 5 1-3 innings. Sandberg said Hernandez hadnt pitched to hitters for nine days because of a weather-related backup, and he pulled the right-hander when his velocity dipped in the sixth. "We had some balls that just missed," rookie Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "They ended up hitting some balls that carried a little bit more. But I think all in all, we did not go in there and have a very good plan of attack in general so it kind of cost us." NOTES: The game-time temperature was 38 degrees with a wind chill that made it feel like 28. ... Phillies LHP Cliff Lee (1-0, 14.40 ERA) faces Cubs RHP Jeff Samardzija (0-0, 0.00 ERA) on Saturday ... Renteria said the team is still deciding whether RHP Carlos Villanueva will start the series finale against the Phillies. Villanueva got the loss in Chicagos first two games of the season. Air Jordan 4 Nz Online .C. -- North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried said his team had a "golden" opportunity to help its NCAA tournament chances. Authentic Jordans Shoes Wholesale . Jovanovski, the 2012 champ seeded fifth, will meet surprise Japanese qualifier Misa Eguchi on Friday. Eguchi, ranked 183rd, qualified for her first WTA main draw this week, then beat No. http://www.airjordan4nz.com/ . Obasi chested the ball past one defender, prodded it past another and then rounded the keeper before scoring from a tight angle in the 16th minute. Seconds after the restart, Obasi set up Klaas Jan Huntelaar for the Dutchmans 11th goal from 13 games this season. Cheap Air Jordan 4 Nz . - Alex Dostie scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Gatineau Olympiques to a 5-3 victory over the Drummondville Voltigeurs in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action on Sunday. Air Jordan 4 Nz . As a follow-up, TSN.ca offers you the opportunity to chime in on all the big issues with our insiders. Read up on all the questions and answers, and put in your own two cents on our popular Your Call feature.SUNRISE, Fla. -- The Philadelphia Flyers are ready for the playoffs. Claude Giroux scored two goals and the Flyers clinched a Stanley Cup playoff berth by beating the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Tuesday. Tye McGinn, Sean Couturier and Vincent Lecavalier also scored for the Flyers and Steve Mason made 38 saves. The Flyers won their second consecutive game after losing the four previous games and after a 1-7 start to the season, making the playoffs is a big relief. "From the start we got, from the first (eight) games, weve got to be proud of what weve done," Lecavalier said. "Obviously we have to finish strong and make sure that were ready and confident for that first round." Jonathan Huberdeau and Erik Gudbranson scored goals for Florida and Dan Ellis stopped 22 shots. Ellis substituted for Roberto Luongo, a late scratch with an upper-body injury. After the game, Panthers coach Peter Horachek said Luongos injury was muscular soreness and not serious. The Panthers didnt go easily. Trailing 4-0, they scored two goals early in the third period to close to 4-2 and make the Flyers nervous. "We kind of took our foot off the gas," Giroux said. "We only have three games to kind of work on our game and be ready for the playoffs." The Flyers scored four goals in the second period, including three on their first four shots. The Flyers took a 1-0 lead when Lecavalier found a loose puck in the slot and wristed it between Ellis pads at 2:02 for his 20th goal of the season. The Flyers have seven 20-goal scorers. Philadelphia went ahead 2-0 when Giroux fired a shot from the top of the right circle that got cleanly by Ellis at 6:29. The Flyers stretched their lead to 3-0 a few minutes later on Girouxs second goal. Mark Streit dropped a pass to Giroux in the slot and his wrist shot beat Ellis at 8:50.dddddddddddd "Just a couple of shots where I?was able to get open and shoot it on net," Giroux said. "Obviously those goals were huge for us to get the lead." Philadelphia went ahead 4-0 with 4:57 left in the second when Couturier wristed in a rebound from the right side. It was his first goal in 18 games. The Panthers have lost six of their past seven games and Ellis has lost all five starts with the Panthers since being acquired from Dallas on March 5. "It was a good start (in the first) but in the second period I just let in four bad goals," Ellis said. "I take responsibility for that loss. ... I cant let two pucks go right through me." Gudbranson scored 1:14 into the third when he fired a shot from just inside the blue line that got past Mason to make the score 4-1. Huberdeau pulled the Panthers to 4-2 when he poked the puck between Masons pads at 5:38 of the third. It was the first goal for Huberdeau since Jan. 20 at Pittsburgh, a span of 19 games. "Obviously, we made it closer than it should have been," said Flyers coach Craig Berube, who was happy the team clinched a spot in the playoffs. "They went through a lot and they battled hard all year. Theyre a good group of guys, good character, and they deserve a lot of credit for making the playoffs." The Flyers made it 5-2 when McGinn took a pass from Lecavalier from behind the net and poked the puck past Ellis with 4:54 left in the third. NOTES: Flyers R Steve Downie returned to the lineup after missing eight games with an upper-body injury. ... Huberdeau returned after missing 11 games with a lower-body injury. ... The Panthers recalled centre Drew Shore from AHL San Antonio and reassigned forward Bobby Butler to the Rampage. ' ' '