With just under eight minutes left to last night's 114-89 elimination loss to Orlando, the courtside illuminaries were dialing up the next chapter in their lives.

On the far end of the court, Jimmy Rollins, in a green Phillies warmup, was talking on his cell. Former Sixers President and GM Billy King pulled out his blackberry for a quick look, maybe a score, maybe a salient observation from a supporter.

Flyers center Mike Richards was also in the house, and if he was as relieved as disappointed, well who could blame him. Because as bad as the stinker he captained last Saturday -- coughing up a three-goal lead at home -- well this was worse.

Wasn't it?

At home, with Orlando's star center Dwight Howard suspended and versatile guard Courtney Lee in the hospital having surgery on his broken nose, the Sixexrs managed to lose by 25 points. Worse, they trailed by double digits for much of the game, shot 40.8 percent for the game.

"No I wouldn't say it was embarrassing,'' said Thaddeus Young after scoring eight points in over 41 minutes of play.

Well, then...

Maybe that's part of the problem, no?

The other day Peter Luukko, who oversees both arena sports, said it would be folly to panic over the Flyers first-round exit. Despite a season of almost seeking a level of mediocrity, Luukko proclaimed the team to be close to the elite, proclaimed to still be excited about their core group.

Well, how ‘bout them Sixers? Should we or should we dismiss their feistiness against the third seed with a superstar center as simply a bad matchup for the favorite, the equivalent of a southpaw in boxing?

After last night’s 91-78 loss to Orlando the Sixers head back home for Game 6 – the same spot they were eliminated by the Pistons last year. Thus far the formula has been the same, the Sixers stunning the higher seed by taking a 2-1 lead, dooming themselves via mistakes and perhaps, makeup.
 

Are they any closer this year or last? Or on standby? Will Lou Williams, still just 22, rise past his inconsistencies? Or is this it, or close to it? Andre Iguodala is a star. Do we know if this will all work much better next year at this time with Elton Brand in the mix? And will we have to wait out an uneven regular season to find out?
 

The Sixers are not done. But last night’s game reflected what you thought you were going to see this whole series – Dwight Howard doing pretty much anything he wanted to, dropping 24 and grabbing 24 rebounds.
 

And yet…
 

There the Sixers were, down by six with plenty of time left on the clock last night.
 

Closer than last year? On standby?
 

If nothing else, maybe Game 6 will tell us that.
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In last year’s playoffs, the beginning of the end to the Sixers Disney-esue ride against Detroit came in the third quarter of the fourth game, when the Pistons erased a 10-point Sixers lead by doing what they do best —defending.

For the Magic, doing what they do best is dropping it into big man Dwight Howard, and dropping rain from the 3-point line. But the Magic have no NBA titles to lean on, no muscle memory. So an 11-point fourth quarter lead once again dissolved for them under the Sixers frenetic defense, and once again, the Sixers had an opportunity to win a game they had no business being in.

Hedo Turkoglu’s tough 3-point shot over Thaddeus Young prevented that and tied the series at 2. It also returned the home-court advantage to the higher seed, but this series suddenly has none of the feel last year’s did against Detroit.

This smells like a seven-game series, all the way.

Game 4 had a more of a Philly flavor than the previous games. Which is a kind way of saying some ugly basketball was played out there at times, especially in the second quarter.

After three quarters of play the Sixers were shooting just 36 percent. And yet they trailed by only nine.

From an official timeout with 4:45 left until the half, two points were scored by each team. Incredibly, Howard was on the court for all of it!

He was 2-for-6 at the stripe in the first half, and was frustrated enough to hack away at Reggie Evans, who couldn’t buy a foul. When Howard was finally called for one, it was a dubious over-the-back call on the offensive glass.

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Survive and advance. Among the oddities of this series, one that stands out is this: Some of the most dominating periods have also been the most fruitless.

Take tonight’s 3-0 Flyers victory in Game 5 in Pittsburgh. Looking to bury their cross-state antagonizers, Pittsburgh fired 15 first-period shots at Marty Biron, created all kinds of turnovers in the offensive zone – and came up with nada.

The Flyers survived thanks to Marty Biron and some lucky breaks. Biron, who deserved a better fate in his 46-save effort of Game 2, stoned Evgeni Malkin twice and Sidney Crosby once close range in that first period – each after a Flyers giveaway. He also had a little luck. Tyler Kennedy botched a wraparound into a wide open net, hitting the post.

With the Penguins on a power play midway through the third, the puck bounced off Biron’s back pad, hovered endlessly in the crease, and was finally covered.

The second period had none of that early intensity, and the game began to even out. The Flyers in fact, held an early 6-1 shot advantage when Arron Asham blasted a slapshot over the left shoulder of Marc Andre Fleury at 6:32, giving the Flyers the first goal and a huge shot of confidence.

Malkin momentarily tied it a few minutes later, but a replay clearly showed he had kicked it into the net. Mike Knuble had the Flyers best chance of that period after that, trying to settle a bouncing puck as he swerved towards the middle of the crease, but he couldn’t muster anything on the shot.

The Flyers outshot the Penguins 11-5 in the second. Knuble had four of those shots, six over the first two periods. Malkin, who had three great chances in the first period, was held to one shot in the second period. Crosby, who had two shots in the first period, did not register one in the second.

Well another early summer seems imminent for the Flyers after last night’s loss to the Penguins, which of course implies several things.

A cry for a Bernie-Parent-like goalie.

A cry about the NHL’s daffy officiating.

I’d hate to be those guys. Every time they memorize the rule book, it changes. Every time the fans get accustomed to it, it changes. This causes some friction between the two, especially fans of the team that loses. In case you haven’t noticed.

Take For example Sidney Crosby’s first goal last night, which was allowed to stand even though he went feet first into the net without being pushed. The ruling: Because the puck hit his stick first – while both it and both of Sid’s feet were in the blue – the goal was allowed.

You probably recall that this was once illegal in this league. Now it’s not. Later, with the Flyers at the start of a power play, Mike Richards made a great effort to avoid a defenseman and get to the puck. His skate did or did not clip Marc-Andre Fleury’s skate, but replays showed Fleury in full balance – until he tried to back towards his net. Then he flopped and Richards went off the ice for a trip.

Even later Scott Hartnell went hard and off-balanced on his backhand towards the net, seemingly intent on doing one of two things: Scoring one of those Crosby type goals, or taking out Fleury. He fell, the arm went up, and kapow, just like that, the Flyers had themselves a powerplay.

So this is no wail about the officials having it in for the Flyers. The orange and black had a ton of chances to score in this game, had a ton of power plays, and Fleury was absolutely brilliant. The Flyers put together their best first period of this series and had nothing to show for it. In fact, had it not been for Biron diving to rescue a puck behind him, or Randy Jones thwarting Petr Sykora’s power play shot with a wide open net, the Flyers might have even faced a deficit.

The shots finished 13-12 Pittsburgh in that period, but Fleury had the better saves. He stopped Jeff Carter alone in the slot, and made a skate save on Claude Giroux’s wrister from 12 feet out. Fleury even looked behind on that one, but he got enough of the puck to deaden it under his pads. The Flyers recorded the game’s first three shots. Carter also hit the crossbar in that span.

Carter, who has one goal after four games, has been snakebit. He’s had plenty of chances, had a chance to put Game 3 away early. If such a thing was charted, he may even be on pace to break a record for iron hit in a playoff series.

But that won’t be remembered around here. It will be all about the rules and the calls. Until next season, when there will new rules.

Oh, and getting another goalie.
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The Flyers may still be losing this series, but after today’s 6-3 Game 3 victory Marty Biron is outplaying Pittsburgh’s Marc Andre-Fleury. At least statistically.

He’s made more saves, allowed fewer goals and really, was within a late power play goal Friday of stealing Game 2 in Pittsburgh.

So why does he get so little love? Beats me. Unlike so many of the guys who have come between him and Bernie Parent, Biron is technically sound, playoff-tested and a really great teammate. But he’s not that other Marty and his last name isn’t Parent, so until he’s holding that Cup over his head, he better keep standing on it.

A recurring Flyers complaint is that the P on their jersey invites a raised hand by referees. Two great pieces of evidence were successive calls on Mike Richards against Evgeni Malkin in the second period. First Richards was called for a holding call as he hounded Malkin down the left boards.

Replays showed Richards tried but failed to get either hands or stick on him. Later, as Malkin wheeled from Richards in his own zone, he caught an edge and slipped momentarily. Again, Richards was called, this time for a slash.

As bad as the penalties themselves, the descriptions made no sense. Richards was lurching forward on both calls. He didn’t have enough balance left to hold or to slash. Or to foul really.

Later in the period, Jeff Carter was called for a slash that also never occurred. C’mon Zebras. They may not be named Malkin or Sidney Crosby, but these two are not hacks. They should be treated like stars too.

PITTSBURGH -- You can look at this 3-2 overtime loss two ways. One is that the Flyers were thisclose to tying this series and gaining home-ice advantage. The other is that the Flyers were thisclose to tying this series and gaining home-ice advantage.

It was an opportunity missed. It was a confidence builder.

Really it all depends on how the next two games play out.

The Flyers’ third-period lead hinged on two shots: One that should not have been stopped and another that should have been. Matt Cooke’s cross-slot pass found Jordan Staal with a whole net in front of him. Hounded by Braydon Coburn, he pushed the puck back towards Biron’s sliding skate. Moments later, on a bouncing-puck rush, Cluadde Giroux nudged a puck onto the stick of Darren Powe, who found the net from a wide angle inside of the right faceoff circle.

It was an uncharacteristically soft goal surrendered by Fleury, who later in the period stopped both Joffrey Lupul and then Jeff Carter on a 2-on-1 that would have all but sealed the win.

Despite the low goal total, much of the game was played at a breakneck pace, and this time the Flyers kept up. The game’s first stoppage did not come until seven minutes had elapsed. There were times when an entire set of players on both sides hit the ice between whistles.

Biron was spectacular throughout, using his glove to snap point blank shots from above the circle. The alleged shakiness of Game 1 was not present, at least partly because the Pens didn’t get to set up camp in the Flyers zone with anywhere near the frequency of Game 1.

The Penguins didn’t come out with near the intensity of their first period Wednesday, and the Flyers played possibly their most determined first period since swamping Toronto with five early goals on April 3. Stylistically though, it more resembled their 3-1 victory here on March 22, clogging the middle of the ice, chipping pucks and measuring risk. Two big saves by Marc-Andre Fleury on Jeff Carter and Arron Asham kept the Flyers from expanding that lead.

Two first-period numbers stood out. They were penalized once, scored on one of their power plays, and applied great pressure on the other. And they won nine of 17 faceoffs.

That flipped the following period, especially early, as the Penguins swamped Philadelphia in the early going, but could not crack Biron. When they finally did, it began as an innocent breakout play, but finished with Evgeni Malkin running a puck through Simon Gagne to Bill Guerin, he wrested into the high corner over Biron’s blocker shoulder.

Game 3 is Sunday at the Wachovia Center.

PITTSBURGH – The Flyers thought they had figured out how to play Pittsburgh after that 3-1 nationally televised victory here a few Sunday afternoons ago. Get your sticks busy, play positional, patient hockey, and wait for the Penguins to become needy.

Pittsburgh played along that day, trying to be too pretty, making one pass too many. Tonight, not so much. Save a small second period window when the Flyers actually outchanced them, this was as dominating a victory as 4-1 can be.

It bore little resemblance to the game played March 22.

It looked a whole lot more like the 6-0 Game 5 dud here last May, when the Flyers, ragged and undermanned after two tough playoff rounds, simply could not put up much of a fight.

From the start, Pittsburgh’s speed seemed to startle the Flyers. Which is strange, given this was the 21st meeting between the two teams over the last two seasons. That speed led to three first period power plays and truth be told, could have led to more if either referee had seen Matt Carle’s stick open a cut in the mouth of Matt Cooke.

The chippiness started early, the offshoot of the Penguins getting some early licks on Marty Biron and the Flyers later snowing Marc-Andre Fleury. That the Flyers were only down one goal after one period was a testament to both their penalty killing and Pittsburgh’s quest for that perfect play.

The Flyers were guilty of this at times, too. During their only power play, Jeff Carter held the puck so long down in one corner that he knocked it off his own stick, resulting in a clear. Late in the third, on a tight 2-on-1, Mike Richards tried to slide a pass across the slot rather than shooting it, and the puck was smothered by a Pens defenseman.

Moments later, Scott Hartnell ran Fleury, extending his arms, pushing the net off its moorings, and assuring the Penguins third power play of the period.

Hartnell missed a lot of ice time after that but returned early in the final period and picked up another penalty, this time for tripping Kristopher Letang.

Are the Flyers this bad? That tired? Or is this matchup, in a playoff setting, as ill-fated as Frazier-Foreman?

We’ll know more Thursday. But they gave you little to base hope on tonight.

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The Phillies' stumbling start has obscured another stumbling start:

Ours.

At least ye who vacated your much sought after seats before the final pitch this week. You know who you are.

Sure there was not much offense and not much to cheer about over the first 2 ½ games. And if you left early Wednesday because it was 10-3 and dinner time, well, OK.

But as they showed in those final three innings, and throughout September and October, four runs is insufficient reason to bail. Especially if you were one of those cornering me all winter with your wistful stories, or one of those who vowed to cut them some slack, to stick with them thick and thin.

To those who stayed til the end in any or all of those games, a pat on the back. For you others, there are 78 games left to seek redemption.

Bobby Cox said he had never before seen a game like Wednesday’s before, and maybe that’s true. But he saw one that was damn close, against the same team, two seasons ago.

Sept. 5, 2007, Turner Field. Perhaps you remember. The Phillies led 8-2 entering the eighth as Tom Gordon took the mound. Chipper Jones doubled, three singles followed that, and when Phillies closer Brett Myers took the mound with one out, the score was 8-3.

Myers uncorked a wild pitch, walked Yunel Escobar, allowed an RBI single, walked another batter and the Braves pulled to within 8-6 before the fire died – temporarily. The Braves completed the 9-8 comeback victory with three runs in the ninth as Myers surrendered a bases-loaded one-out triple to Matt Diaz.

Another reason to love Brad Lidge: Staked to an insurance run in the eighth inning Wednesday, he challenged Matt Diaz on a 1-1 count rather than fall behind him. With a two-run lead, in a game that had already swung dramatically via walks, it’s one of the subtle attributes of Lidge. He’s about the game more than the numbers.

Diaz hit a home run. Lidge then used some October sliders to retire rookie Jordan Schafer on a ground out and strike out the free swinging Garrett Anderson to end the game.

Sad but true: A South Jersey high school pitcher threw 189 pitches in a game Wednesday. Penns Grove senior Don Haines, who walked 10 batters in a 15-8 victory over Woodstown, said he struggled with command of the strike zone.

Clearly Penns Grove coach Jim Halter struggled with command of his senses.

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, THIS IS A REALLY BAD IDEA!!!!

Under any circumstances.

Haines is headed to Rowan University. How would you like to be the head baseball coach there, and read that?

The coach explained to a reporter that he had a reliever ready in the sixth inning, but the kid didn’t want to leave the mound. What that tells me is that the kid is a gamer. He should have plenty of years to prove that in college and if reports of his high 80s velocity are true, maybe even as a pro.

Again, stating the obvious, this episode should never be repeated again. By any high school coach. Or college coach.

Or any coach.

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