A2D Radio

The Stanley Cup will be in the building for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. However, we should realize that the Stanley Cup always has company in the awarding process. The Conn Smythe Trophy winner for the Vegas Golden Knights or Florida Panthers is up for debate, and some may say the winner selection is as impactful as the Cup itself. The most valuable player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs always makes for a great discussion, so the guys predict who brings home the hardware. The race remains a crowded field. Where would the Knights be without goalie Adin Hill? Not in the Stanley Cup Final, that’s for sure! In 15 playoff games, Hill has a 2.11 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. The goal-scoring prowess of Jonathan Marchessault can’t be denied. The forward has 13 goals in the past 14 games entering Game 5. Three of his 13 goals have tied the game, and six have given Vegas a lead, including three game-winners. Florida may not win the Cup, but even if they don’t, Matthew Tkachuk has a legit chance at Conn Smythe. The 25-year-old forward has 24 points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, tied for first in points with Marchessault and Roope Hintz of the Dallas Stars. This postseason, he has four game-winning goals, including three in overtime. If Tkachuk wins the Conn Smythe in a losing effort, he would be the first to win it from a losing team since Anaheim Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2003). The Golden Knights lead the Panthers 3-1 in the best-of-7 series and can claim their first championship with a win in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena. Throughout the show, we give our live reactions to the season's biggest game. Also, we look back at this year’s postseason, recapping all the hard-hitting action and providing our full-season overview! What are the biggest surprises and disappointments from the 2022-2023 NHL season? Finally, we wrap with the always fun, often shocking, Shootout segment. This week’s topics cover Hot Takes of the Playoffs, Team with the 2024 Number 1 Overall Will be___, and the 2024 Stanley Cup Champ will be ___ (fill in the blank).

On the fifth episode of The Rob Ellis Show, Rob speaks with longtime Philadelphia sports media member Howard Eskin of 94 WIP. We’ll discuss Howard’s life and career journey. The state of Philadelphia's sports, the future of sports talk radio and sports media in general. Howard’s work ethic, being present at practice and games. After the interview, Rob will give his thoughts on the State of Philadelphia Sports so far in 2023, including the Philadelphia Phillies hot start to June, Philadelphia 76ers approach to aspects of the offseason like free agency and the Philadelphia Eagles upcoming NFL season.

On today’s episode of “Here's The Thing,” Thomas Arnone and Mitch Williams discuss the previous week of Philadelphia Phillies action. The Philadelphia Phillies started the week off strong with a sweep of the Detroit Tigers inside Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies would spend the weekend with the Los Angeles Dodgers and won two out of three games to secure the series win and ended the stretch of home games with a great 5-1 record. Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker, and Zack Wheeler all took no hit bids deep into their last starts against the Tigers. On the other side of the mound, Kyle Schwarber has continued to stay red hot hitting a walk off home run to win Friday’s series opener against the Dodgers. As we look ahead to next week, can the Phillies keep this momentum alive when they return to the road to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks and Oakland Athletics in back to back 3 game series?. Are the Philadelphia Phillies “Back”? Following a rocky start for this MLB team, is it safe to say that they have found their rhythm? So far for the month of June this team is 7-3, which is their hottest start to a month yet following April’s 4-6 and May’s 5-5. How important was this stretch of home games? Was this just what this team needed to get back in sync? Mitch and Tom take a look at the past as we also look towards the future with hopeful eyes given that Jose Alvarado and Alec Bohm have returned and the returns of Darick Hall and Christian Pache are on the horizon. Over the last few years, the Phillies seem to have a problem when they play the Arizona Diamondbacks. Why? What is it about the Diamondbacks that this team just cannot overcome? Can the Phillies, who are playing good baseball, break the streak of bad play against the Diamondbacks? Recently the Atlanta Braves, the Phillies NL East rival, traveled to Oakland and struggled, losing 2 out of the 3 games. Could this be one of the hardest weeks of the year? Will this stop the Phillies dead in their tracks? Or will this be the week that the Phillies remind everyone why they were in the World Series last year? To round things out, Tom Arnone and Mitch Williams are going to have a catch. Not literally…but Tom will be throwing some questions to Mitch who will fire back with some raw thoughts. Join the discussion LIVE!!!

This week on WWE Smackdown Jey Uso had a chance to appease the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns and bring gold back to the Bloodline as he took on Austin Theory for the United States Championship. WWE official Adam Pearce awarded Asuka with a shiny new gold belt in the WWE Women's Championship but before she could truly celebrate the Queen Charlotte Flair made her return to Smackdown to challenge Asuka for the gold. Did the Empress of Tomorrow accept the Queen's challenge? Monday Night RAW saw Seth “Freakin” Rollins defend his title for the first time against Damian Priest. In what was deemed an amazing match who would come out on top as the World Heavyweight Champion? We saw on NXT the following night former NXT Champion Bron Breakker challenged Rollins for the title. Is this the start of consistent title defenses for the World Heavyweight Champion? Since Asuka was presented a shiny new gold belt and deemed the new Women’s Champion, what does this mean for Smackdown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley? Join them as they discuss the possibilities of a new look for Rheas title. Against All Odds saw the Motor City Machine Guns capture gold once again but surprisingly not tag gold. Chris Sabin is now a 9 time X-Division Champion while Alex Shelly shockingly defeated Steve Maclin to capture his first Impact World Title. Against All Odds also saw the debut of the 8-4-1 match to determine the new #1 contender to the Impact World Title. Who came out on top and what the hell is a 8-4-1 match? Find out all this and so much more on the latest episode of In This Very Ring.

Who is the top quarterback in the NFL going into the 2023 season? Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen… someone else? This week the boys of Birds of a Feather are back and they will continue discussing the QB position, but instead of looking in the past they’ll be looking ahead to 2023 and will give their QB Rankings for the 2023 NFL season. Coming off of a near MVP-caliber season, should Jalen Hurts be considered no lower than a top 3 QB in the league already? Or does he need at least another year of high-level play to show consistency? Which QBs would you take above him, or in the same tier? Is there any QB that has made a jump into the top 10 conversations? The guys will debate! To end the show the BOAF panel goes “NO HUDDLE” as they discuss anything and everything else surrounding the NFL, sports, and anything else that we find worth discussing!

Former Philadelphia Eagles players Irving Fryar and Holiis Thomas will discuss the Eagles' offensive and defensive linemen. To conclude the show as always, Hollis gives his history lesson in “History with Hollis.” What will Hollis talk about this week?

The Philadelphia Eagles had their weekly press conferences. Lane Johnson talked about his recovery from his offseason surgery and his contract situation, which keeps him as an Eagle until 2026. Kenneth Gainwell & Boston Scott talk about their roles in the offense in the post-Miles Sanders era in Philadelphia. How will those two benefit with D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny now in the running back room? The new Philadelphia Eagles from Georgia have looked very impressive in OTAs so far. Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, and Kelee Ringo have all been standouts. Preseason is inching closer, will we have an idea on how new defensive coordinator Sean Desai will incorporate the new toys? One player to keep an eye on is Derek Barnett, who is coming off an injury that left him sidelined in 2022. Is this going to be the end of Barnett’s time in Philadelphia? The PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and LIV Golf announced a merger agreement. The merger will create a new, collectively owned, for-profit entity that will oversee all aspects of professional golf worldwide. The reaction has been mixed with some celebrating the news, and others not. What does the merger mean for professional golf’s future?

Phil Sheridan, who covered the Philadelphia Eagles for The Philadelphia Inquirer and ESPN, joins Les Bowen on today’s episode of “Bowen On The Birds.” Les and Phil are both veterans of the beat who have watched it and the NFL change dramatically over the past few decades. They will discuss those changes, and what they’ve meant for fans. Which goes into their poll about how sports media is now driven by “hot takes” and “phony outrage.” Les and Phil will also talk about how this year’s Eagles team seems to be shaping up. Looking into the current running back room, how are veterans Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott going to be into the fold with the recently acquired Rashaad Penny and D’Andre Swift? Will the Eagles experience a Super Bowl hangover? Rounding out today’s episode new linebackers coach DJ Eliot spoke to the media. Eliot made the jump last season from the college ranks, last coaching at Temple. What will Eloit do differently to help out the likes of Nick Morrow and Nakobe Dean?

The Philadelphia Phillies have started the month of June off on the right foot as they are now 4-2 to begin the month with the Phillies winning their series against the Washington Nationals and taking two of four against the Detroit Tigers. The Phillies are off tonight, thanks to air quality issues from the Canadian wildfires, and will play a double header to get the series win against the Tigers before concluding their homestand against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Will the month of June be a key month for the Phillies in order for them to stay in the playoff race? Will Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Bryce Harper's bats get hotter as the month rolls along? Will Aaron Nola & Zack Wheeler get back to their winning ways? Who will step up for the Phillies in June? We will also be giving our thoughts to Game 3 of the NBA finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, who will come out of Game 3 with a 2-1 series lead?

The Philadelphia Flyers are making big moves in the trade market and gearing up for the 2023 NHL Draft! Elliotte Friedman tweeted early on Tuesday morning regarding rumblings of a three-way deal between the Columbus Blue Jackets, Los Angeles Kings, and Flyers. The proposed trade involves defenseman Ivan Provorov (sent initially to LA) to Columbus, goalie Cal Petersen, defensemen Sean Walker & Helge Grans, Columbus’ 2023 first-round pick (22nd overall) & 2024 conditional second-round pick, LA’s 2024 second-round pick to Philly, and forward Hayden Hodgson along with defenseman Kevin Connaughton to Kings while LA retains 30% of Provorov’s deal. This frees up cash for LA to extend Vladislav Gavrikov, who can become a UFA on July 1st. What are the ramifications of this mega deal? The Stanley Cup Finals are two games in, and they have not disappointed between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Florida Panthers. Game 1 consisted of some really strong offensive presence from both teams. The Panthers’ Eric Staal opened up the scoring for Game 1. This is Staal’s third time in the Cup Finals for his career. He won with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006, was there with the Montreal Canadiens in 2021, and is back this season with the Panthers. Game 2 was a very different story. With Staal’s experience, he's gonna have to help figure out a way to lead his Panthers team back into this series down 0-2, starting with Game 3. The Knights are in their second Finals appearance since losing to the Washington Capitals in 2018. This team has looked like they have learned a lot from that loss. The Knights are playing a physical game, but they are also making the Panthers pay for their mistakes and undisciplined play. Goalie Adin Hill has looked strong in the pipes. Will the Knights continue the strong offensive outburst, or will the Panthers answer the bell and avoid being down 0-3? Game 1 was very evenly matched between these two teams. Game 2 was incredibly lopsided in the Golden Knights’ favor. What does Game 3 have in store for the Stanley Cup Finals? The Finals head across the country to Sunrise, Florida, for Game 3 Thursday Night. The Panthers will find themselves back on home ice. If ever there was a must-win for a team in the Stanley Cup Finals, this is a must-win for the Panthers. They had a pretty epic come-from-behind performance against the Boston Bruins in Round 1. There will be a lot of adjustments that need to be made by the Panthers for Game 3, as they got smoked 7-2 in Game 2. Should they not take advantage of Home Ice, they’ll find themselves on the verge of elimination heading into Game 4. Do they have one more comeback in them?