Things to think about on a Thursday

Sorry for the lack of new postings yesterday but a 100 degree fever makes it hard to type.  No worries though – it seems to have been a one day thing.  My thoughts for today:

• FLYERS 6, MAPLE LEAFS 2 – Great start to finish victory for the boys last night.  They came out and jumped all over the Leafs (which is as it should be considering the Leafs are the worst team in the Eastern Conference right now).  The game was highlighted by more solid goaltending from Michael Leighton (Brian Boucher you are officially a backup again), Danny Briere getting his 500th NHL point, Danny Syvret scoring his 2nd NHL goal (& first one indoors) and Dan Carcillo’s beautiful solo effort on his 2nd period goal.  Considering the Flyers play most of their January games at home, last night’s win will be crucial if they’re to continue to climb the Eastern Conference standings.  They’ve only been a .500 hockey team at the Wachovia Center so far this season so wins like last night should also go a long way to restoring their confidence hopefully increasing their home ice advantage.
• FLYERS V. PENGUINS ROUND 4 – Last night’s win against the Leafs should also be a great way to head into tonight’s game against Cindy Crosby and the hated cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins.  The Penguins have won all 3 games so far this season including a 6-1 blowout last month in Pittsburgh.  Though tonight’s game is the 2nd one of a back-to-back (which traditionally doesn’t favor the Flyers), the team might be catching the Penguins at the right time.  The Flyers of course are 5-1-1 in their last 7 whereas the Penguins have actually hit a bump in the road having only one once in their last 6 games.  The Penguins are rested and ready but the Flyers are probably playing their best hockey of the year and certainly haven’t forgotten the beatdown they received last month.  Expect lots of fireworks and a playoff type atmosphere at the Igloo tonight!!
• MANGINI SURVIVES – Earlier today Cleveland Browns Head of Football Operations Mike Holmgren released a statement saying that Head Coach Eric Mangini will retain his job for the upcoming 2010-2011 season.  After weeks of speculation that Holmgren would not retain him, Mangini appears to have saved his job based on the fact that the team won 4 straight games to finish the season and looked pretty good in doing it.  Now that Mangini is no longer involved in making personnel decisions, he’ll be able to focus solely on coaching.   Their defense played very well down the stretch and Jerome Harrison is a STUD.  He looks to be a phenomenal running back to build around.  I expect Holmgren to be VERY involved when it comes to choosing the quarterback to lead the franchise and wouldn’t be surprised if he gets rid of Brady Quinn AND Derek Anderson and starts from scratch.  The future suddenly looks promising for the Browns…(*****Of course as soon as I started writing this post I read online that Josh Cribbs, the Browns’ all-everything kick returner/wide receiver/sometimes quarterback has told friends & Browns employees that due to his contract situation [he is WOEFULLY underpaid] he thinks he’s played his last game in a Browns uniform.  So maybe we should withold judgement for a bit…******)

I would post more but I’m sure I’ll have a lot to cover tomorrow, so that’s all for now folks!

Should Brian Westbrook be Finished as an Eagle?

Okay so this is the post I’ve been alluding to since yesterday.  I firmly believe that when Westbrook plays Andy Reid’s offensive philosophy completely changes.  What worked during the 6 game winning streak were simple runs with Shady & The Weave either up the gut or off tackle.  The Eagles averaged over 100 yards rushing in each game during the streak and the offense was successful because of its unpredictability and balance.  The run/pass ratio for the Eagles during the streak was 55-45 in favor of the pass.  Unheard of numbers based on previous seasons.  Not surprisingly, teams didn’t know quite how to prepare for the Eagles and as a result, the offense exploded.  Reid & Mornhinweg stuck with the run, even when it didn’t always work early in the game, and the results paid off in the 4th quarter (i’m reminded of The Weave’s 12 yard scamper for a first down late in the Giants game to help keep the big drive going). 

But since Westbrook’s return, the Eagles offense has managed 10 points in its last 6 quarters.  I think this is largely because Andy Reid simply can’t help himself when Westbrook is in the game.  He remembers what Westbrook used to do and how he used to drive defenses nuts and he tries to game plan that way.  Sadly, Westbrook’s injuries have finally begun to catch up with him.  He seems a step slow and even if his knee & ankle are healthy, there is simply no way he’s in “game shape” at this point in the season, having only played about 4 games.  From the 2nd half of the Denver game through the entire Dallas game, Reid refused to pound the football and turned The Weave into nothing more than a glorified O-lineman (which is a shame because he’s truly become a DOMINANT WEAPON).  What made the running game successful during the streak was its simplicity.  Whether because of Shady being a rookie, The Weave being new to the system, or the flux in the O-line, the running game was pretty straightforward.  Pound the ball.  Off tackle or behind Jackson, it was mostly downhill.  Now that Westbrook has returned, all of that went out the window.  Sunday’s game against the Cowboys saw a 75%-25% pass/run ratio and there was no attempt to pound the ball.  Instead, the “running game” consisted of screen passes, passes into the flat, & pitches out wide (I say “running game” because Reid is on record as saying he considers those types of passes to be runs.  NEWS FLASH: THEY ARE NOT RUNS!)

Look…I love Westbrook as much as anybody.  His game-winning punt return TD against the Giants years ago turned the franchise around and really laid the foundation for the success of the Andy Reid/Donovan McNabb era.  That was just one of many memorable Westbrook moments over the years (the screen pass TD against the Vikings last year in the playoffs and the big run against the Giants early last season where he left Antonio Pierce in the dust are 2 more).  If I thought that Reid could utilize him in a different fashion, I’d LOVE Westbrook to retire as an Eagle.  If Reid kept him around as a 3rd down back and a guy you could put in the slot from time to time or pop into the game to spell Shady, I’d absolutely be THRILLED (sort of like what happened to Tiki Barber & Warrick Dunn in their last couple years).  But I just don’t think Reid is capable of that and have seen no evidence to the contrary.  When Westbrook plays, the Eagles’ offense gets predictable and becomes very easy to stop.  Just look at what the Cowboys did – they didn’t bring an extra guy into the box to stop the run (because they knew Westbrook wasn’t gonna run), they doubled DeSean (because they didn’t need the extra guy on the line of scrimmage) and they blitzed the hell out of McNabb (because they knew he was gonna pass on almost every down).  Is this Westbrook’s fault?  NOT AT ALL.  He just does what he’s told.

I don’t want to see Brian Westbrook leave the Eagles until he’s ready to retire.  I really don’t.  But if the Eagles’ offense is to really fly again, he may need to go sooner rather than later.  That has nothing to do with him but EVERYTHING to do with Andy Reid’s stubborn refusal to stick to the game plan that was so successful for 6 straight games.   Reid has definitely surprised us all with some of the successes he’s had this year.  Here’s hoping he surprises us one more time, sticks to the run on Saturday night, and that the Eagles celebrate a victory over the Cowboys with 150+ yards rushing and rushing TD’s for Shady, The Weave, AND Westbrook.  I can think of no sweeter victory.

A Mournful Monday…

I suppose “mourning” is a tough word to use, but after the way the Eagles and Flyers played yesterday, it seems appropriate.  I’ve already given my thoughts on the Eagles’ disaster and I have a subsequent post for either tonight or tomorrow about what I think needs to change (we’ll see how motivated I get in the next few hours).  In the meantime, here are some miscellaneous thoughts about the weekend:

• SENATORS 7, FLYERS 4 – A Flyers game that was an exact microcosm of their entire season so far.  Fresh off the Winter Classic the Flyers head up to Ottawa and get an early 1st period goal from none other than Ian Laperriere (which I spelled right on the first try – go me) who broke something like a personal 38 game goal scoring drought.  I’m thinking this bodes well but in the blink of an eye, the Sens score twice in 7 shots and chase Michael Leighton from the game.  Brian Boucher comes in and promptly gives up 2 goals on 9 shots including the first one he faces and the period ends with the score 4-1.  Way to go Flyers.  But then they come out for the 2nd period, get 2 quick goals from Darrol Powe and Arron Asham and chase Ottawa’s goalie Pascal Leclaire.  They fight and claw and eventually end up with a 5-on-3 Power Play for about 1:30.  After Mike Richards breaks not one but TWO sticks on the shift, he eventually takes a beautiful drop pass from Kimmo Timonen & buries the shot top shelf tying the score at 4.  They head into the 3rd period and I’m quite excited by the Flyers’ chances at pulling out a victory.  They then proceed to give up 3 more goals in the third and lose 7-4.  As I said above, a snapshot of their entire season so far.  Up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down.  The Flyers may have just gone 4-1-1 on their 6 game road trip but they still have a lot of issues.  Turnovers were a HUGE problem in this game and continue to plague the team.  Brian Boucher’s rebound control was a MESS yesterday and if he doesn’t fix that quickly, he can expect to be relegated back to the bench until Ray Emery returns.  If the Flyers are to contend for a spot in the playoffs, they NEED to start playing more consistently not just from game to game but from period to period.  One good period in three will not get it done. 
• BRONCOS FOLD – The only NFL fan base that should be as upset and devastated as Eagles fans are Broncos fans.  Early last week coach Josh McDaniels deactivated starting WR Brandon Marshall and TE Tony Scheffler for what he said were “accountability” issues.  Apparently, Marshall was overreacting to his hamstring injury (MRI showed no damage) and was late for a treatment session on it while Scheffler’s transgressions were never truly defined.  As I understand it, McDaniels even met with team leaders Brian Dawkins, Champ Bailey, and Kyle Orton asking for their advice.  They responded that he should crack the whip and require everyone to be equally accountable (kudos to them for standing up and telling rogue teammates to get in line).  Besides, the Broncos only needed to beat the 3-12 Kansas City Chiefs (at home no less) to clinch a playoff berth.  Sadly, the Broncos managed to get BLOWN OUT 44-24.  The loss was marred by not one but TWO interceptions returned for TD’s by Chiefs LINEBACKER Derrick Johnson.   For a team to start out 6-0 but finish 2-8, something must be severely wrong.  The team certainly has plenty of talent (Knowshon Moreno, Elvis Dumervil, Bailey, Dawkins, etc.) and should’ve been able to beat the Chiefs.  Considering that both Marshall and Scheffler will probably not be back next year (their contracts make them restricted free agents and I think it’s safe to say that the Broncos DON’T really want them), the Broncos may have a more unified team in year 2 of the McDaniels era, but at what cost?  And, should the team go in the tank again late in the season, will McDaniels even have a year 3?  Probably not.
• BOWL SEASON CONTINUES – Yeah, apparently college football bowl games start the week before Christmas & continue all the way thru the end of this week.  Anybody else feel like that’s sort of anti-climactic?  Not to mention that the ones left this week aren’t all that exciting or important (except for the BCS championship game).  Tonight has Boise State playing TCU in the only matchup of unbeatens in a bowl this year and thanks to the BCS the outcome really means nothing.  Instead of these two teams getting a chance to play a power conference team (like Iowa or Georgia Tech) springing an upset, and really giving the viewers something to watch, they’re forced to play each other in a rematch of the Humanitarian Poinsettia Bowl from last year.  Meanwhile tomorrow night has the Iowa-Georgia Tech matchup that NOBODY seems to care about except the people directly involved in the game.  I don’t know about you guys, but I think i’m over bowl season even though the “National Champion” will be crowned on Thursday (and I use quotes because until there’s a playoff, how can any team say they are truly National Champions?)
• BOWL SEASON HIGHLIGHTS – Even though I’m kind of over bowl season, not everyone is.  To be honest, though I think the highlights of bowl season so far have been few and far between.  Tebow’s monster performance in his last game at Florida, Bowden winning his final game in charge of Florida State, and Paterno winning 10 games again (a couple years after he was thought to be done) are probably the “lasting” memories so far.  The 2 best games: IDAHO 43, BOWLING GREEN 42 (Idaho wins on a 2 pt. conversion with no time remaining because their coach decided, “Screw it, we’re here to win” and was rewarded) and AUBURN 38, NORTHWESTERN 35, OT (Auburn blows a 21-7 lead only to win it in OT when Northwestern’s attempt at the old “fumblerooskie” play fails).  Those were both great games but for the most part bowl season has been very unmemorable so far (and not even a fantastic BCS championship game will change that). 
• TOMORROW’S POST – The “controversial” one I was gonna post tonight I’ve decided to put off until tomorrow.  I call it controversial because some of you out there will DEFINITELY think I’m crazy for what I’m saying.  Hopefully, the post will at least spark some debate.  Until tomorrow night…

COWBOYS 24, EAGLES 0

DEFECATION IN DALLAS –  Now I could say yesterday’s game was a disastrous debacle that dampened the Eagles’ Super Bowl dreams and defenestrated (look it up) their hopes of hosting 2 playoff games.  And I realize last week I went all classy with the Dickens references.  But not this week.  Defecation is the perfect word to describe what the Eagles did yesterday in Dallas.  They took the field in Jerry Jones’ billion dollar behemoth of a stadium simply needing a win to lock up the #2 seed in the NFC and a first-round playoff bye and laid a giant steaming turd.  I apologize for the graphic imagery but there’s no better way to describe what transpired yesterday.  As a lifelong Eagles fan I’ve certainly seen my share of horrible and confounding losses, stupid playcalling, and general malaise emanating from the players on the field.  Last year’s loss in Baltimore, the NFC Championship loss in Arizona, and this year’s putrid performance in Oakland were all upsetting and disgusting for various reasons.  But for my money they all pale in comparison to yesterday’s performance.  I’m so angry, hurt, frustrated, and confused that I’m actually numb – I had no visceral reaction at all.  The worst part about it is that I have absolutely no idea what it means for next week.  Let’s just get on with the review:

THE GOOD:

• Thinking….
• Still Thinking…..
• Um…
• I got nothing.
• Seriously.
• I can’t think of a single thing that was good about yesterday. 
• Okay, Brent Celek had 7 catches for 96 yards.  Yay.

 

THE BAD – Holy Lord where do I begin?  There was so much that was bad yesterday I could go on for about 3000 words.  But I’ll try and spare you that and stick with the lowest of the low:

• The team showed no heart.  For the first time since the Oakland game, the players just didn’t show up.  It was like watching the Eagles play in the preseason.  Considering the magnitude of the game and everything that was riding on the outcome, that’s simply inexcusable.  I blame Andy Reid most of all but Donovan McNabb, Sheldon Brown, Jeremiah Trotter and the other “leaders” of the locker room are all equally culpable. 
• ZERO POINTS.  The highest scoring team in franchise history scored a whopping ZERO points in its most important game of the season. 
• The Defensive line got so beat up and pushed around they looked like a junior high football team playing against the Varsity.  Dallas did whatever it wanted, whenever it wanted, and however it wanted.  They ran the ball right down the Eagles’ throats (funny because going into yesterday Dallas’ offense had been struggling to run the football), Tony Romo passed for over 300 yards and the Eagles’ only turnover was on a deflected ball.  Was there a single member of the D-Line that didn’t get obliterated by the Dallas O-line yesterday?  I couldn’t find one. 
• 36 passes, 12 rushes.  I realize they were behind early but that’s like 75% passes.  Are you f-ing kidding me? 
• “The Weave” had 1 carry for 2 yards and Shady McCoy had 1 carry for 4 yards.  Well done, Andy.
• In previous games against Tony Romo, the Eagles have blitzed the living hell out of him and caused him a lot of problems.  So yesterday they spend most of the day in their “Nickel” package and rarely blitz.  Huh?
• The wide receivers dropped at least half a dozen balls.
• The Eagles burned a timeout on a punt formation deep in Dallas territory.  Rather than take a 5 yard penalty for delay of game (which would’ve given Sav Rocca more room to pin Dallas inside the 10 yard line), the Eagles instead chose to burn a timeout.  Reid said later he wanted to make sure they had the right personnel on the field.  Not surprisingly, the Eagles could’ve used that timeout in their final drive of the half as they desperately tried to march up the field for a field goal. 
• Down 17-0 in the 3rd quarter, Andy Reid inexplicably decides to kick a 53 YARD FIELD GOAL on 4th and 2.  For starters, when’s the last time Akers hit one from beyond 50?  But more importantly, at that point in the game, with NOTHING working on offense OR defense, trying to kick that FG says to your team you don’t think they have the “stones” to keep pushing forward.  Reid said later he thought it was important to try and get some points.  I don’t totally disagree but NOT FROM 53 FREAKING YARDS!!!  AND NOT WHEN YOU HAVE “THE WEAVE” JUST SITTING THERE!!!  Had Reid gone for it and gotten it, who knows?  Maybe the team fights back late and makes the game interesting.  Even if they had gotten the first down and ultimately settled for a FG it would’ve at least showed the team that Reid still believed in them.  As it was, Reid mailed it in from that point on and so did the rest of the team.

 

THE VERDICT – A disgusting display all around.  To come out so flat and uninspired in the biggest game of the year against a hated division rival is simply astounding.  There is no word that adequately expresses the disappointment, disgust, and general alarm anyone who’s a fan of this team is feeling today.  I suggested to my friends that the team shouldn’t be allowed to return to Philadelphia this week.  Whenever the charter tries to land in Philly the air traffic controllers should simply say, “Sorry.  We don’t know who you are.  You certainly don’t represent our city when you play like you did yesterday so please go back to Dallas.”  Seriously.  I wish the team had to stay in Dallas all week so they could listen to everyone & their mother talk about how great the Cowboys are, what a HUGE win yesterday was for them, and how they’re now the favorites to make it back to the Super Bowl.  Maybe a week spent listening to that garbage would piss off the guys on the team enough to come out and obliterate the Cowboys next weekend.  I feel so disheartened by watching the game yesterday that I don’t think a single player on the team DESERVES to wear Eagle green.   When you represent the city of Philadelphia as a member of the Eagles, your team’s supposed to be about pride, hard-work, determination, and never backing down against anyone.  NONE, I repeat, NONE of those traits were on display yesterday.  It was the worst feeling I think I’ve ever had watching the Eagles.  Losing I can handle.  But coming  out so flat, so uninterested, and simply looking like they didn’t care about the BIGGEST game of the season is something that I don’t understand and no amount of explanation or justification will ever suffice.  I was ashamed.  I don’t know if it was because of the team’s collective youth or inexperience or the fact that they hadn’t really been tested much this season, but things had better change quickly.  Every single player on the team needs to look themselves in the mirror and do whatever is necessary this week to ensure things turn out differently next Saturday.

UP NEXT: THE DALLAS COWBOYS – Round 3.  Right back where they were yesterday, only this time, the loser’s season ends.  Which Eagles team will show up? The one that was barely treading water at 5-4 or the one that ripped off a 6 game winning streak?  I have no idea.  I think that’s what bothers me the most.  Last year I KNEW they were beating Minnesota and I KNEW they were beating the Giants.  This year?  I really couldn’t begin to say.  Could they come out and repeat yesterday?  Absolutely.  Could they come out and hang 47 on Dallas? Without a doubt.  Because I’m really not sure, I’ll leave you guys with some numerology.

• The Eagles are now 8-3 under Andy Reid in the second Dallas game of the season.
• The Cowboys won their last game of the season yesterday for the first time in 9 years. 
• The Cowboys have not won a playoff game in 13 YEARS (12/28/96).
• In NFL history, there have been 19 instances where one team has had an opportunity to go for a 3 game sweep against another.  12 times out of 19 has the feat been accomplished.
• Despite that, the Cowboys are 0-2 when trying to beat a team for a third time in one season (In ’98 the Cardinals [at the time they still played in the NFC East] led by none other than Jake Plummer went into Dallas and upset them in the wild card round.  In ’07 the Giants went into Dallas and upset them in the Divisional Round).
• The Eagles have not lost a first round playoff game under Andy Reid.

I expect that streak to continue on Saturday.

New Post for the New Year

I probably should’ve written this yesterday but the fact is that I wasn’t getting up off my couch for anything but food.  Okay, so my computer is about 5 feet from said couch but who cares?  You, my 12 regular readers of the blog, will just have to deal with it.  Plus, with another day passing I have a few thoughts I couldn’t add yesterday.  So here goes:

• TEBOW GOES OUT A WINNER – QB Tim Tebow had one of the best games of his illustrious career in his final game as a Florida Gator in the Sugar Bowl last night.  His numbers were Madden-esque: 31 of 35 for 482 yards and 3 TD’s and 14 rushes for 51 yards and a TD.  The guy’s a stud.  Period.  Cincinatti was just overmatched in this game and really didn’t have the athletes to compete with a supremely motivated Florida Gators squad.  Say what you want about Tebow but he owns a RIDICULOUS amount of Florida, SEC, and NCAA records and will definitely go down in history as one of the best players to EVER play college football.  I’ll be very interested to see what happens to him at the pro level.  He clearly has the leadership skills and intangibles (humility, coachability, etc) to be a QB on the next level.  But his throwing motion and his lack of experience running a pro-style offense will hurt him.  If he goes to a team where he can be a backup/wildcat hybrid QB his first 2 years and learn from someone who knows what they’re doing, I have no doubt that he has the drive and the athleticism to be a successful QB one day in the future.  He won’t ever have a “textbook” delivery or be the second coming of Joe Montana.  But the way the game is evolving with the NFL becoming more of a passing league, Tebow definitely has the arm strength and the athleticism to succeed in the NFL and give defensive coordinators fits.  He seeems to be a really good kid too, so here’s hoping he ends up on a stable franchise that will allow him to develop appropriately. 
• THE CITRUS BOWL STADIUM IN ORLANDO – WHERE GOOD FOOTBALL GOES TO DIE – Memo to the brilliant minds at the NCAA: Just because you have a stadium to fill and bowls to be played doesn’t mean that you should play 2 DIFFERENT BOWLS IN ONE STADIUM IN THE SAME 3 DAYS!!  Anybody who saw Miami play Wisconsin earlier in the week in the Champps Sports Bowl saw a messy field with several turnovers and lots of shoddy play (not to mention a couple of horrid injuries).  As if that wasn’t bad enough, yesterday saw LSU play Penn State in the Capital One Bowl ON THE SAME FIELD!!  Anybody who saw even a minute of that game saw a sloppy, mistake filled back and forth affair that literally looked like it was being played in a mud pit in the back yard of somebody’s house.  I’ve seen many a High School field in WAY better shape than that.  AND THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A MAJOR BOWL?! Are you kidding me?  I heard that the grounds crew replaced the sod on the field about a month ago.  But in that time there have been 8 HS championship games played on that field in addition to the 2 Bowl Games I previously mentioned.  This is an ABSOLUTE DISASTER for the NCAA and makes them look incredibly inept.  But nobody seems to think this is that big a deal.  Why is that?  I know LSU and Penn State officials have to be pretty pissed off today with the conditions that they’re schools were forced to play in.  Here’s hoping somebody somewhere keeps this from happening again next year. 
• SPORTING NEWS HILARITY – I subscribe to a free daily email edition of the Sporting News.  I usually skim through a lot of it but I always read the NFL and NHL sections in their entirety.  The writing is top notch and usually very insightful.  They even have a section later in the week that has observations and notes from a group of scouts around the league which is always really interesting.  BUT, today’s edition made me laugh.  In one section they talked about how vanilla this weekend’s game between the Packers and the Cardinals will be because those two teams are most likely to play each other again next week in Round 1 of the playoffs.  Later in the issue, though, it said to beware the Cardinals & the Packers as the playoffs approach because both teams have explosive offenses and aggressive defenses.  So i’m supposed to beware of BOTH of those teams even though one of them most likely won’t be playing beyond next weekend?  I find that funny even if nobody else does.
• A NOTE ON THE 76ers – Yeah, you read that right.  I’m gonna talk about professional basketball for a minute.  I don’t follow the 76ers nearly as much as I used to because a)the Eagles, Phillies, and Flyers sort of take most of my energy and b)the team has kind of sucked for a while and shows no signs of moving in a new direction.  But I’ve been following a little more closely this season because I was hoping that a new coach might start to turn things around.  Well the team is currently 9-22 so that hasn’t exactly happened.  But maybe there are signs of life.  I LOVED bringing Allen Iverson back home and into the fold if for no other reason than people will start going to games a little bit more than they used to.  I also know that because of the NBA’s screwed up luxury tax system, it’s very hard for a team like the Sixers (who are inundated with some very bad contracts) to blow up and start over because other teams are just not willing to take on salary.  So the only way you can really rebuild an NBA team these days is to pick a couple of young guys to build around and then trade EVERY AVAILABLE ASSET for other teams’ expiring contracts and/or draft picks.  Then you get to clear the EC’s and hope you hit your draft picks.  I mention this because it’s time for Ed Stefanski, the Sixers GM, to do this.  Andre Iguodala is our most tradeable asset and it’s high time we moved him.  Iggy will never be “the guy” on a championship team.  He simply doesn’t have the skill set.  HOWEVER, he can be a VERY GOOD 2nd or 3rd guy in a championship team’s rotation.  He definitely has the skills for that.  So, Mr. Stefanski, please package Iggy and Dalembert to Houston for Tracy McGrady.  You’ll continue to generate buzz about the team for the rest of the season and then we clear McGrady’s 23 million dollar contract after the season.  Maybe then we can finally start to rebuild around Thad Young, Lou Williams, and Jrue Holliday.

Winter Classic Round-Up

BRUINS 2, FLYERS 1, OT – Where do I begin?  I’ll start with the game itself and then get into some other stuff down below.  Unfortunately the Flyers lost.  It was particularly frustrating because they controlled just about every facet of the game until the very end.  What could have been a great day for the Flyers will ultimately be marred by controversial and crappy refereeing in the game’s waning moments.  I’ll be getting back to that.  As far as the overall experience, though, I loved it.  A huge KUDOS goes out to the Flyers fans in attendance at the game.  I had the volume turned way up and more often than not the small contingent of Flyers fans were louder than the vast majority of Bruins fans.  Dueling “LET’S GO FLYERS” and “LET’S GO BRUINS” chants could be heard throughout the game and I was impressed that try as they might, the Bruins fans could simply not drown out the Flyers fans. So the cheering gave the game a college-like atmosphere in the stands and the weather cooperated beautifully.  The best thing for me at the end was seeing the players playing in twilight with their shadows all over the ice as dusk fell on Boston.  The NHL markets the Winter Classic as a “return to your roots” kind of deal and watching the guys play as darkness fell had to make even the most hard-hearted person feel like they were watching a bunch of kids playing in a backyard.  A nice and unexpected surprise. 

However, in my mind the game & the telecast itself had a few GLARING issues (& one other cool thing).  They were:

• GARBAGE CALL #1 – What pisses me off most about the game was that the referees screwed the Flyers.  Now I maintain that this is an ongoing problem whenever I watch Flyers games.  The Flyers always seem to be the most penalized team and they always seem to pay the penalty for some very questionable officiating.  That’s not to say that they’re saints & don’t take plenty of stupid penalties (yeah, i’m talking to you Scott Hartnell), but to me it frequently seems that the refs are out to get the Flyers.  Maybe it’s because of their reputation or history, I don’t know.  But yesterday, despite the pomp & circumstance, was no different.  The Bruins’ power play that resulted in Mark Recchi’s game-tying goal was an ABSOLUTE HORSESH*T CALL!  Kimmo Timonen was whistled for tripping a Bruins player which was funny b/c Kimmo was FLAT ON HIS STOMACH and the Bruins player was skating backward.  Naturally he tripped & fell to the ice.  BUT HOW THE HELL CAN YOU CALL THAT?? Timonen made no attempt to actually trip him and i’m not even sure he saw the guy to begin with.  It was a pathetically weak call in a very tight game but provided the NHL with late-game drama that would help the home team and inevitably boost the game’s profile on all the late-night shows so who cares if it was a sh*t call?
• GARBAGE CALL #2 – This one was actually a NON-CALL.  If you watched the game you noticed that when Marco Sturm scored the game winner THERE WERE 5 BRUINS SKATERS ON THE ICE CELEBRATING. This is funny b/c there ARE ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE 4 SKATERS A SIDE IN OVERTIME!!  How the hell did the refs not call that? The Bruins had the textbook definition of a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty but the NHL needed wanted LOVED  is glad that the game ended with the home team winning in overtime.  Not only was this the first home team to actually win the Winter Classic but it provided great highlights for all the sports shows at night.  Who cares if it COMPLETELY SCREWS OVER THE INTEGRITY OF THE GAME!?!?  This would be like a team winning the Super Bowl on a TD pass with 12 men on the field.  The national uproar over something like that would be insane.  But b/c of the way Gary Bettman has run the NHL almost all the way into the ground nobody except Flyers fans really seem to care.  I know it’s only one game in the standings but if the NHL is gonna treat it like its own mini-Super Bowl, it needs to ensure that the game isn’t ruined for half the viewing audience because of stupid awaful *&%#@ refereeing. 
• NBC MARKETING SUCKS – Note to the peacock network: If you market the game as starting at 1pm but don’t drop the puck until 1:40pm YOU’RE GOING TO LOSE SOME OF YOUR AUDIENCE!!  I love hockey and I love the Winter Classic but even I was bored out of my mind waiting for the game to start.  You knew with all the pre-game stuff the puck wasn’t dropping for at least 30 minutes so you should have called the first half-hour exactly what it was: a pre-game show.  That way, people who otherwise wouldn’t be interested in the game know to turn on at 1:30 if they wanna check it out.  There’s no way to be sure but I’d bet they lost a bunch of viewers who tuned in between 1 & 1:30 waiting for it to start but gave up when it didn’t and went back to watching football. 
• NBC MARKETING SUCKS, PART 2 – Another note to the geniuses at NBC.  All week long you marketed live musical performances by James Taylor and Boston’s very own Dropkick Murphys as part of the Winter Classic experience.  Now even a Philly lover like myself finds the Dropkick Murphys song “Shipping off to Boston” kind of awesome so I was super excited that i’d finally get to see them perform it live on TV.  Of course it made a lot of sense, too, seeing as the game was in Fenway Park.  So imagine how annoyed I was when they finally cut to the performance AND THE SONG IS HALF OVER!!  That’s right, even though the idiots at the network spent time hyping the performance, they couldn’t coordinate things efficiently enough to show the whole performance and the viewers at home got SCREWED.  While the band took the stage and started performing, NBC WAS SHOWING COMMERCIALS!!  And they didn’t even cut the commerical break short – THEY JOINED THE PERFORMANCE IN MID-SONG!!!  How freaking ridiculous is this?!?!?  Seriously.  If you were watching at home and didn’t know who they were, you had no idea what the hell was going on.  Because NBC cut to them mid-song there was no announcement about who the band was or what their connection to Boston is.  Now the NFL subjects us to a full hour’s worth of music BEFORE the Super Bowl and we never miss a minute.  But NBC and the NHL couldn’t figure out how to get ONE MUSICAL NUMBER on TV in its entirety? Way to go geniuses.  If i’m the Dropkick Murphys I AM PISSED!!!  (Oh but don’t worry – we heard every last bar of O, Canada)
• THUMBS UP TO BOBBY CLARKE & BOBBY ORR – One of the few things the NHL got right yesterday was bringing out Clarke & Orr for the ceremonial puck drop.  These guys had some of the fiercest battles hockey has ever seen back in the 70’s so to see the two of them start things off was a nice touch.  There was also a good amount of back-story that accompanied them so viewers who didn’t know much about the sport could learn a little something.

THE VERDICT – Another pretty good job by the NHL.  Everything i’ve read says it was the best Winter Classic yet, and as far as weather, attendance, and drama I suppose it probably was.  I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed things a little bit more had the Flyers not been on the wrong end of the scoreline.  I’ve watched all three of the Winter Classics and the NHL really seems to be on to something here.  Having an outdoor game on New Year’s Day, so as long as the league continues to be overprotective when it comes to when/where/who’s involved, should remain a viewing staple for many years to come.  I heard at the end of the broadcast that the NHL is encouraging owners and teams to think outside the box when it comes to proposing ideas for the Winter Classic and I think this is very smart.  One proposal that’s already been floated (and will hopefully come to fruition one day) is Flyers v. Penguins from Happy Valley (Penn State’s Football stadium).  That would be a PHENOMENAL event  (“THE BATTLE OF PENNSYLVANIA”) but is definitely a few years away because both teams have already played in a Winter Classic.  About the only thing you can count on for next year is that Alexander Ovechkin and his Washington Capitals will be involved.  He’s the league’s second-most (if not most) recognizable superstar and there’s no way they won’t have him involved in next year’s Classic.  His opponent and the location of the game will remain a mystery for the time being but I can promise you this: I’ll be watching.

LATE-NIGHT THOUGHTS

On the penultimate evening of 2009, here’s what I’m pondering:

• FLYERS 6, RANGERS 0 – Way to keep the streak alive boys!! 4 straight wins heading into the Winter Classic.  A complete destruction/humiliation of a division rival with a Simon Gagne hat-trick thrown in to boot.  Richards and Carter both added 2 assists and Michael Leighton got the 4th shutout of his career.  Apparently getting on the road was exactly what the team needed.  They came out, jumped all over the Rangers early, and never looked back (they were up 3-0 after 13 minutes of play).  I think the shutout is actually more impressive than the 6 goals because the Flyers haven’t been the best at holding leads so far this season. Fun fact #1: This was the first Flyers shutout of the Rangers since “Silent” Bob Esche did it in 2004.  Fun Fact #2: This was the first Flyers shutout of the Rangers at MSG since John “Beezer” Vanbiesbrouck did it in 1999.  Dare I say it?  LOOK OUT EASTERN CONFERENCE, HERE COME THE FLYERS… 
• 5 (MAYBE 6) FLYERS ARE OLYMPIANS – Team Canada announced its Olympic Roster earlier today and both Mike Richards and Chris Pronger were selected to the team.  Pronger was also named an assistant captain.  They join teammates Kimmo Timonen (Finland), Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (Norway), and Oskars Bartulis (Latvia) on their countries’ respective Olympic Rosters.  Team USA announces its roster on Friday and should Matt Carle be selected, the Flyers will have 5 of their top 7 defensemen playing in the Olympics.  What that will mean come playoff time is anybody’s guess but it’s a great honor for all those guys.  Congratulations and good luck!! 
• TEXAS TECH FIRES MIKE LEACH – I believe I called this one last night.  Again, no real idea if we’ll ever get all the facts about what exactly happened and whether the firing was truly justified.  It sounds as though Leach will be suing TT for a variety of things and that this story will get nastier before it gets resolved.  Still, there’s no denying his talent as a football coach and the fun & excitement his teams brought to college football.  I have a sneaking suspicion that Texas Tech could be in for some rocky seasons ahead.
• SHOWTIME’S INSIDE THE NFL – Caught this week’s episode earlier tonight and I found it rather watchable.  To be honest, I haven’t watched it since it moved to Showtime, but the panel of James Brown, Warren Sapp, Phil Simms, and Cris Collinsworth stuck mostly to analysis.  There was still too much laughing and giggling going on for my taste but it was better than I thought it would be.  2 major problems: 1) their “all-decade” team was comprised ENTIRELY of AFC players and 2)they lead off with Eagles’ highlights and then never talked about them.  It was all about the Saints and Vikings.  Still, i’ll probably watch again next week (if for no other reason than to hopefully see Warren Sapp mock Simms and Collinsworth for picking the Cowboys to beat the Eagles).
• THE BOOK OF BASKETBALL – Most of you know that I don’t care much for pro basketball.  But many of you also know that i’m a huge Bill Simmons fan.  He’s the only person on the planet who could make me think about purchasing a basketball bookl.  His 700 page opus with the above title was daunting but purchase it I did.  I’m enjoying very much and I highly recommend it.  Even if you’re not crazy about the sport his knowledge is impressive and the personal anecdotes are hilarious.  Not to mention you can pick it up and put it down quite often without ever losing track of what’s going on. 
• LOOK OUT NFL, HERE COMES NDAMUKONG SUH – Nebraska just finished off destroying Arizona 33-0.  That’s right, in his final game at the collegiate level, Ndamukong Suh played every snap and helped his defense pitch a shutout.  An impressive feat in its own right, the win caps off one hell of a Senior year for the Nebraska defensive tackle.  If i’m a St. Louis Rams fan, i’m PRAYING we lose on Sunday so that we can draft him.  This guys is going to be a MONSTER in the NFL. 
• MANCHESTER UNITED 5, WIGAN 0 – Another impressive beatdown by my boys on the other side of the pond.  Wayne Rooney was again at his absolute best scoring the first goal, helping set up another, and narrowly missing 2 more goals by hitting both a post and the crossbar.  Valencia had a huge game as well against his former club with 3 assists.  Man. U is now 2 points behind Chelsea and right where they wanna be with Chelsea set to lose several players to the African Nations Cup later this month.  Should be a GREAT second half of the season…
• HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! – I dunno about you guys, but 2009 kind of sucked so I’m definitely ready to turn the page and start over.  I wish you all a SAFE, WONDERFUL, and VERY VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

PRO BOWL ROSTERS ANNOUNCED!!

and the EAGLES are represented nicely.  Congratulations to the following:

• LT JASON PETERS
• DE TRENT COLE
• CB ASANTE SAMUEL
• K DAVID AKERS
• FB LEONARD “THE WEAVE” WEAVER
• WR/KR DESEAN JACKSON

Peters was somewhat of a surprise, but the NFC is kind of thin at LT and overall, he’s had a decent season.  Cole, Akers, and Asante were all expected and they’ve had great years so their honors are well deserved.  GOTTA LOVE THE WEAVE!!!  So happy he made it so that he can unleash his general awesomeness on the NFC Pro Bowl roster.

A special note of Congratulations goes out to Mr. Jackson.  He’s done something that nobody else ever has.  HE WAS ELECTED AS A STARTER AT 2 POSITIONS!!!  That’s right.  In the history of the Pro Bowl no player has ever been elected to start at multiple positions.  But little #10 is not only the starting WR opposite none other than Larry Fitzgerald, he is also the starting Kick Returner.  A fantastic season for DeSean has truly been recognized.  Congratulations!!

Snubs:

• CB SHELDON BROWN –  Much as I knock him for his lack of height and somewhat limited coverage ability, the man has had maybe his best season to date.  He’s fought through various injuries, hasn’t missed a game, and his leadership definitely helped fill the void left by Brian Dawkins, Stewart Bradley, and Jim Johnson.  The NFC screwed him over.  But considering how well he’s played in light of his contract situation, maybe this will just piss him off more. 
• LB TRACY WHITE – Amazing special teams player who has had to step up and play major minutes in the base defense.  Week in and week out, he’s constantly around the football and seen making tackle after tackle after tackle.  Tough break.

Congratulations to all the guys, and sorry to Sheldon and Tracy.  My sincerest hope is that NONE of you wind up playing in the Pro Bowl because you will be too busy preparing to play in the Super Bowl…

Miscellaneous Tuesday

BEARS 36, VIKINGS 30 – Hell of a game to close out Monday Night Football for the year.  The Bears controlled the first half, but Brett Favre rallied the Vikings in the second half.  The Vikings’ special teams repeatedly failed them and allowed the Bears to have great field position throughout the game.  Jay Cutler threw 4 TD’s and only 1 INT and finally looked like the guy the Bears thought they were getting at the beginning of the year.  I was impressed with his performance especially because he didn’t have Devin Hester and lost Johnny Knox early on.  Game MVP has to go to Bears WR Devin Aromashodu who had 7 catches for 150 yards and the game winning TD catch in OT.  It seemed like every time Cutler needed a big play Aromashodu made it.  The Vikings came out pretty flat and though they looked good in the second half, seem to be headed in the wrong direction as the playoffs approach.  Their loss allowed New Orleans to clinch the NFC’s #1 seed and means they no longer control their own destiny for the #2 seed.

EAGLES NOW CONTROL THEIR OWN DESTINY – Thanks to the Bears victory mentioned above, the EAGLES are now in the driver’s seat for the #2 seed in the NFC and the bye that comes with it.  All that stands in their way is a game against the loathed and despised Dallas Cowgirls.  Win that game and the Eagles are the #2 seed, lose it and they could fall to #6.  I’ll be posting more about this later in the week, but man this game just got even bigger. 

TEXAS TECH MAY NEED A NEW HEAD COACH – Tech’s head coach Mike Leach was suspended last night by the university for its upcoming bowl game because of allegations that he mistreated one of his players (who was later revealed to be the son of ESPN’s Craig James).  The James family accuses Leach of severe mistreatment of their son (who had suffered a concussion).  Leach’s lawyer counters that while James’ son was sequestered from the team, he was not at all mistreated.  Today Leach’s lawyer filed a motion that would grant a restraining order that would allow him to coach the bowl game.  I have no idea how this story will shake out but the writing seems to be on the wall for Mike Leach.  Given the somewhat nasty divorce between Kansas and former head coach Mark Mangino due to allegations of player misconduct, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Texas Tech and Mike Leach parting company soon. 

This raises a somewhat broader issue for me though.  Over the last few years we’ve seen coaches all over college sports get fired or resign due to allegations of “mistreatment” of their players.  I put mistreatment in quotes b/c it seems to me that when a program is flourishing, all kinds of behavior is overlooked, allowed, and probably even rewarded.  But when that program goes south or suffers a few years of mediocre results, all of a sudden several players come forth and talk about all the bad things their coach did to them (Bob Knight anyone?).  I AM IN NO WAY EXCUSING PHYSICAL ABUSE OR NEGLECT BY COACHES.  Please don’t think that.  There certainly has to be a level of respect that the coaches must maintain towards their players (who we all forget are actually COLLEGE STUDENTS).  And if that bond of trust is  severely and repeatedly broken then the coaches absolutely MUST pay the penalty, no questions asked.

But there’s a fine line between lots of yelling, challenging a player’s manhood from time to time, and forced extra workouts or conditioning, and physically abusing a player.  I continue to be fascinated by the debate over what constitutes motivation v. what constitutes abuse when it comes to success in college sports these days.  Some of the toughest and most brutal coaches of yesteryear wouldn’t survive very long in this day and age.  Names like Lombardi and Halas and Bryant and Hayes and Schembechler would never have lasted long enough to make their marks on a program if they were coaching nowadays (and yes I know some of those guys coached in the pros).  Having never played sports on a collegiate level I wonder what those types of coaches really think about this issue.  Are players today too coddled and wimpy as a result or are the coaches are taking the stresses of their jobs out on their players and crossing lines?  The debate continues…

METS SIGN JASON BAY – Guess Omar Minaya read the blog last night and saw me making fun of him for the Escobar signing.  So today he made the widely expected “splash” of signing free agent OF Jason Bay for 4 years and about $66 million.  Bay immediately becomes the Mets’ starting leftfielder and David Wright’s new protection in the lineup.  I look forward to seeing Bay’s HR’s turned into doubles by his new home ballpark, Citi Field.  Way to do your homework Omar – I’m sure he’s going to make your lineup lethal. 

GO SEE AVATAR – It’s freakin’ amazing.  But don’t cheap out either.  SEE IT IN IMAX 3D.  There’s really no point in seeing it any other way.  I would bet that seeing it that way will one day be compared to seeing the original Star Wars in the theatre when it first came out.  Nicely done, Mr. Cameron.

Monday Musings

Things I’m thinking about on a Monday evening…

• SHAME ON YOU INDY – You pulled Peyton Manning and your starters in the middle of the 3rd quarter in a game you were winning.  Why not at least let them finish the game?  Your team contends every year, but how often do you get the chance to do something truly historic?  Shame on you, Bill Polian for forcing this decision down Jim Caldwell’s throat.  Peyton was pissed and so was Reggie Wayne.  Mark my words: This will come back to haunt them.  Rolling into the playoffs having lost 2 straight (assuming Buffalo beats their B squad next week) and with a week off does not bode well.  Whether New England comes to Indy and gets its revenge or whether San Diego comes to town and sends you home again, you won’t be making the Super Bowl. 
• PANTHERS 41, GIANTS 9 – In the FINAL Giants game EVER at Giants Stadium, the Giants scored a whopping 9 points against a Panthers team playing for nothing but pride and with backups at both QB and RB.  Yeah, I enjoyed that one a whole lot. 
• CONGRATULATIONS BENGALS – You guys won yesterday and clinched the AFC North.  I don’t know how far you’ll get in the playoffs, but I’ve been watching you all season since HARD KNOCKS on HBO this summer and I am rootin’ for ya.
• URBAN MEYER, HUH? – You’re retiring.  You’re not retiring.  You’re taking a leave.  But you’re gonna coach again next season.  What exactly is going on here?  When you announced you were retiring because of your health and your wish to devote yourself to your family, people hailed you and commended you for putting real life ahead of football. But 24 hours later you said you’re only gonna take a leave of absence and will most likely coach the team next year.  Not only does this seem a little shady to me, but you erased a lot of good will along the way.  URBAN: IT’S ONLY FOOTBALL – IT’S NOT WORTH YOUR LIFE.  If you really do have heart problems, I think this is a mistake.  Of course you’re great for college football, but it’s just a game.  Nothing more.  You claim family and faith are the 2 most important things in your life, but now it appears coaching college football is more important.  I hate to demean someone who may or may not have serious health issues, but dude, taking a few years off to be with your family is a GOOD IDEA.  Lord knows you don’t need the money and your golden boy Tim Tebow is graduating anyway.  If five years from now, you really miss coaching and your doctors are okay with you returning, you’ll be able to pick any job you want.  TAKE SOME TIME OFF, MAN!!!
• FLYERS WIN 3 STRAIGHT GAMES – I don’t wanna talk about it too much for fear it might go away.  But you read that right.  The Flyers have won 3 straight games and that even includes a shootout!!  Most impressive is that all 3 wins have come with fresh-off-Carolina’s-scrap-heap Michael Leighton in goal.  Maybe the ship is finally righting itself?  Who knows.  But I love that Richards (4 pts) and Carter (3 pts) have been leading the way during the streak.  Next up are the Rangers Wednesday night (another win and the teams are tied in the standings) before the WINTER CLASSIC AGAINST BOSTON FROM FENWAY PARK ON NEW YEAR’S DAY (nothing like High Definition Outdoor Hockey Games with a 50% chance of snow)!!!
• MANCHESTER UNITED 3, HULL CITY 1 – A good bounce back win by the Red Devils.  Wayne Rooney had a great first goal and then almost became the goat by gifting Hull the equalizer.  But he quickly bounced back, forced the 2nd goal (an own-goal by Hull) and had a BEAUTIFUL assist on Berbatov’s game-ender.  They stay 5 pts. behind Chelsea (with a game in hand) and are finally beginning to get healthy along the back line.  The second half of the season looks promising for my defending champions!!
• THE METS SIGN A FREE AGENT – Kelvim Escobar agreed to a one year contract to set up closer Francisco Rodriguez.  The Phillies and the rest of the National League are sure to be frightened by this incredible move.  Keep up the good work, Mr. Minaya.