We're Back

Some Phillies comments while the Reverend roots for North Carolina in the title game tonight. Me, go Spartans +7.5. 3 Chipotle burritos on that.

You may have heard, there were some boos in the stands last night at Citizens Bank Park.



I laid on a few of them. Granted, they were reserved for Chipper Jones and the paratrooper who missed the stadium (just kidding, hope you made the landing OK man, that was scary). But Brett Myers got booed when he gave up his 3rd homer of the night in the second inning. Not a deep, 44,000-strong chorus, but significant boos nonetheless. This as ole Adam EatShit, sitting next to me in section 102, was screaming at Brett to get back to the minors. In the second inning of the first game of the season, no more than an hour after the championship banner was hoisted. A little extreme, perhaps, given said banner.

Well as many bloggers, radio hosts, prognosticators and pontificators far and wide said today, this was out of hand. How bad are Philly fans that they boo their World Series championship team an hour into their title defense?

The crowd went from getting fired up for a 2 out, 2 strike pitch in the first inning to barely noticing during any of Myers' 6 strikeouts in his 6 innings of work. We were down 4-0 and it felt like 12-0 in a meaningless game in the middle of the season. In true mid-July form, a good half of the seats were empty by the time the top of the ninth rolled around. This in the most anticipated opening day in 28 years. On a national stage, the first baseball game of the season. I must admit, there were some disappointing moments in both the play on the field and the crowd's reaction to it.



Why? There are plenty of reasons. For one, the 50% of the crowd in the under-30 set was flat wasted. The lot had the atmosphere of a rock concert, not a baseball game. Take the chick in front of us who was so shitfaced that she thought some middle-aged man and his 10 year old son stole her championship pennant. To the point she threatened to stab him. This high level intoxication had half the fans out of the game and surely was cause for many early exits.

Rather than making excuses though, I'd like to think there were boos, early exits, drunkenness, and anything else you would have seen at a Phillies game 10 years ago (sans WFC championship celebrations) taking place last night because the game was played in Philadelphia. And in Philadelphia, we boo if you suck, cheer if you do good, and threaten to stab people who take their kids to games and steal giveaways (no seriously, that girl was sloshed and obviously misguided).

I know it's only one title and not the 6 that Boston has won since 2001, but let's hope our recent success after years of suffering won't turn us into the complete bunch of smug assholes that Boston has become. We won't lose our identity. You tuned into a game in Philadelphia last night, and you saw Philly fans being themselves. As it should be.

Only 161 more to go.

Let's go Phils

And Flyers, and Sixers.

Defending Champs on Pace for 0-162 Season

It was not a good weekend for Philadelphia. Sure, things started out well. The Flyers exploded for 8 goals Friday, beating the Leafs 8-5, and the Sixers clinched a playoff birth on Saturday with a 95-90 win against Detroit, but it was all downhill from there.



It began with the Flyers Saturday night. With a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a victory, the Flyers fell back into old habits, falling behind 2-0 to Ottawa and eventually losing in a shootout. They did get a point, meaning the magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to one point with four games to go, but it would have been nice to get that out of the way.

I only saw bits and pieces of the game because I was focused on the Michigan State-UConn game. If you missed it, you missed one hell of a basketball game. Honestly, the Spartans looked damn good. Even with Goran Suton, the MOP for MSU in the tournament before getting to Detroit, struggling, Michigan State turned it on with about 6 minutes left to pull away and get to the final. It's a damn good team with a hell of a coach. And by the way, maybe Penn State should have been in the dance, seeing as they won the NIT AND defeated Michigan State earlier in the year in East Lansing.

Anyway, here were two incredible dunks from the game, the first by Durrell Summers and the second by Stanley Robinson:





For all the shit the Big Ten gets, Michigan State finds itself back in the championship game yet again. Maybe it's not so bad after all.

In the nightcap, the pride of the Main Line took on North Carolina, and right out of the gate, the Tar Heels asserted themselves, building a 17-point lead behind the three-point shooting of Wayne Ellington and the unstoppable speed of Ty Lawson.



Nova hung tough, made a nice run to end the half to get within 9, and even got it as close as 5 to begin the second half, but the Tar Heels were simply too much. Honestly, the Wildcats just didn't have enough depth or talent to hang with North Carolina. UNC was picked as the prohibitive favorite at the beginning of the year, and Saturday the Heels showed why. They simply had too many horses for Villanova to handle.

It was a great run for Nova, a team no one really thought would be able to get to the Final Four heading into the season. Dante Cunningham established himself as a legitimate NBA prospect, and with Scottie Reynolds, Reggie Redding, Anotnio Pena, Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes returning, and one of the nation's top recruiting classes coming in, it's no stretch to think Nova may have another run in them next year. But this year, they just lost to a better team.

I can't say I was upset with the outcome, seeing as I'm a UNC fan and desperately want Danny Green to get a title, but it was sad to see the careers of Dante Cunningham, Shane Clark and Dwayne Anderson end.



I've been a huge fan of Cunningham ever since he broke into the rotation, and I always had high hopes for Shane Clark. I guess you could say Clark was my guy on the Nova squad. And Anderson simply became one of the most underappreciated players this city has ever seen. They will be missed.

The disappointment didn't end there. A day after clinching a playoff spot, the Sixers got trounced by the Nets, 96-67. Wow, not a good way to follow up. I didn't watch much of the game, seeing as the Phillies began at 8, but it was brutal.

Speaking of the Phillies, I was all amped up to watch a professional team from Philadelphia, for the first time in my life, start the season as the defending champs. I got goosebumps when the banner was raised, and I was all set to go. Then Brett Myers decided to get the minor league speculation going early.



He started off all well and good, getting two quick outs, but then a bloop hip by Chipper Jones unraveled him. Myers hung a breaking ball to Brian McCann, and the Phillie killer sent one to the right field upper deck. The next inning, Jeff Francour hit a home run, and then a rookie, in his first major league at-bat, crushed one to the deepest part of the park. The funny thing is, Joe Morgan, Steve Phillips and Jon Miller were talking about how Myers should go after Jordan Schafer because it's his first Major League at-bat and he has no power. Nice scouting guys.

I know it's only one game and the Phils are defending champs and all, but honestly, this game simply reminded me of just how frustrating the Phillies are to watch. All night, they swung early in the count on Derek Lowe, hitting grounder after grounder. Then, after Eric Bruntlett finally gave the Phillies life in the 9th, the same old stupid hitting Phils showed up. Werth did drive in Bruntlett with an RBI single after Jimmy flied out, and Chase had a perfect at-bat, taking a 5-pitch walk to get the tying run to the plate in the form of Ryan Howard with one out.



And that's when I really lost it. Howard did his typical free swinging, chasing awful slider after awful slider, immediately after Chase just walked on 5 pitches mind you, to eventually strike out looking on a fastball right down the middle of the plate. Then, Raul Ibanez, supposedly a professional, smart hitter, worked the count to 3-1, a perfect hitter's count, and swung at a 3-1 slider way out of the zone, then striking out on the next pitch, instead of, you know, locking in to a fastball in his zone at 3-1. Seriously, for the millionth time, make the fucking pitcher throw strikes you fucking idiots! Fuck. Watching baseball is so frustrating.

Obviously, I know it's just one game and the Phils are a notoriously slow-starting team, but World Series be damned, start becoming smart hitters for once, please. Ugh. I may suffer a stroke and/or several heart attacks this season.

Oh, and just for shits and giggles, here's some messages I received from some friends/family during last night's game, beginning with my dad:

Dad: Myers is back to being the old Myers.

My cousin: [Re: Myers] He sucks. He should put the weight back on.

My arch nemesis: Myers refuses to throw a fastball and gives up homers, Howard refuses to lay off the low slider and k's. New season, same annoying crap.

A Red Sox fan: Wow - Myers looks really good tonight!

Arkansas Fred: Unreal. Just unreal.

Adam EatShit: [Re: Myers} He looks for shit.

Red Sox fan: Phillys will NOT even come close to the world series again buddy - sorry, and I have a feeling u know it 2.

The Charles: Send them all back!

Arkansas Fred: [Re: bottom of 3rd] Brett does not bunt. Jimmy pops up. This team is trash and idiots.

Arkansas Fred; Well brett is not getting a hit and carlos is not scoring on a single to right from second.

Arkansas Fred: In case you missed it, Jeff Francour now looks at the pitches with both eyes and his head is turned more. Im not sure anyone pointed that out yet.

Arkansas Fred: Im mad im going tuesday. What a waste.

Arkansas Fred: Thats true. Howard still is an idiot. He gets one pitch right down the middle and he never is ready for it.

Arkansas Fred: And he always looks completely horrible.

Well, that didn't take long.

Also, we really, really, really need FJM back. Last night's telecast was brutal. Morgan and Miller told us about 5 million times about Francour's new stance and the fact that Derek Lowe calls his slider a curveball, not a slider, so for the record, he throws a curveball, not a slider, even though his curveball looks like a slider and GAAHHHH I WANT TO BLUDGEON THOSE TWO TO DEATH WITH A PICK AX. And fucking Steve Phillips. Jesus Christ! Get someone who wasn't one of the worst GMs of all time to inform me on shit.

Oh, and another note to Miller and Morgan, no one cares about players from the 60s and 70s that no one heard of and what they called their pitches. Honestly, no one cares.

This should be a fun season defending the throne.

Remember the Good Times

With all the controversy surrounding Allen Iverson yet again, and as another piece, this one in his defense, on Iverson arises, I'm getting a little tired of hearing about all the negatives.

So instead of a debate on whether Iverson is right or wrong, whether you love or hate him, how about just reminding everyone of the good times, like the game that Allen Iverson gave me the most joy I've ever had watching an NBA game:

Plax Gets the Ax

Holy balls, the Giants released Plaxico Burress!



Wow. Just wow. No matter how you look at it, this is great news for the Eagles. Over the years, the Birds have not been able to cover Plaxico to save their lives. Now, they won't have to worry about it, at least not when they play the Giants. This is just great news.

And, it kinda got me thinking. What if Plaxico gets off without any jail time and just a minimal, if any, suspension from Roger Goodell? Is it at all possible the Eagles, always in need of a big-play, big-bodied receiver to quell their red zone troubles, could give Plax a look? Probably not, but wouldn't that be something. Anyway, good news for the Eagles all around.

Update: Apparently, Gary Sheffield is a Met, so I guess he's not going to be a Phillie.

Watch Your Step

This is what happened last time Villanova took on North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, the infamous "walk" game.



North Carolina went on to win the National Championship. Villanova went on to build a national program under Jay Wright. It was one of those games for Nova fans that had them livid, and wondering what if, had Curtis Sumpter not gotten hurt. It had Carolina fans yelling at the television for Roy Williams to start demanding his team to throw the ball inside to Sean May, seeing as he scored every time he touched it and Nova had no answer for him inside.

Truth be told, Wright completely outcoached Roy in that game. I remember it like it was yesterday. But in the end, with a little helping hand from the refs, Carolina's talent took over and carried the Tar Heels to victory.

Tomorrow night, the Cats get a chance to redeem themselves. While I won't be rooting for Nova to win, I know most of the Delaware Valley will be. I do know, however, I am incredibly anxious to watch this game, and whoever wins, Nova or UNC, I'm hoping will win it all.

Tipoff is slated for 8:47 p.m. tomorrow. Whatever you do, make sure you have an unobstructed view of a television. You won't want to miss this.

And Then There Were Four … Links

The Final Four is tomorrow. Villanova, North Carolina, UConn, Michigan State. Nothing more really needs to be added to that. Oh, and the Phillies start Sunday, so there's that too, and the Bears decide to mortgage their future to get Jay Cutler. Seriously, the Broncos received two first round picks, a third rounder and Kyle Orton. Wow. Now the links.

-Classic, the Norm MacDonald ESPY monologue:



-The Phillies prop bets.

-USC linebackers love the roids.

-Some love for Dante Cunningham.



He'll definitely be a big key, but all of the Wildcats are going to have to play a near perfect game to beat UNC.

-Shoals offers his five non-stories from this year's NBA season. Guess who's mentioned first:

Brand on the Run: Baron Davis' relocation was an unquestioned disaster; Jermaine O'Neal's, a little less cataclysmic, but a major failure that proved he had forever dropped a tier or two. On the bright side, Ron Artest has been absolutely crucial to Houston's late season resurrection, and Corey Maggette has played quite well for a team from outer space.

But perhaps no offseason acquisition was a bigger deal than Elton Brand to the Sixers. Here, a young, uptempo team was getting one of the league's most steady, productive post players. But this ideal pairing never came to fruition. Brand struggled, the Sixers struggled, Brand was hurt, the Sixers went back to their old ways without him, and it was a mercy killing when in February Elton decided to undergo surgery and sit for the year. Now the Sixers are the fifth seed in the East, and Brand is a distant memory who might as well have never happened.

-Joe Juliano talks about Scottie Reynolds' difficulty adjusting to life at Villanova.

-Dick Jerardi had a great piece on Jay Wright earlier in the week.



The best line in the article, however, is delivered by Rick Pitino:

I will never forget Rick Pitino saying at the 1997 Final Four: "If it's not broken, break it," not the old cliché "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

This line came from a man who had won the 1996 title and would lose the 1997 title game in overtime. Stand still, he was saying, and you will get passed.

-NBA scouts should not only be looking at the players on the floor at the Final Four, says Kevin Arnovitz, they should be looking at Jay Wright:

Jay Wright, 47 years old, Head Coach, Villanova
On a team full of marginal pros, the one name from Villanova that NBA fans should be aware of is actually that of their head coach, Jay Wright. Watch the difference in his offense this weekend-chock full of NBA friendly isolation plays, heavily focused on outstanding spacing-compared with that of Michigan State, UConn or North Carolina, and notice the difference. His team doesn't shoot particularly well, and they aren't very big, long or athletic. They lack a true point guard, a real center, any kind of depth at all in the frontcourt, and may not have even a single future NBA player on their roster.

So what are they even doing on this stage?

The answer to that is their head coach: Jay Wright. When NBA GMs go to scout the Final Four this weekend, they'll obviously be taking notes on their star players, Dante Cunningham and Scottie Reynolds. But they should also be keeping tabs on the man running the show from Villanova's bench.

Wright looks like the most likely head coach in the NCAA right now to be able to successfully make the transition to coaching in the NBA. Even though his team runs a traditional 4-out 1-in motion offense, he gives his players an unbelievable amount of freedom to go out and make plays on their own if they feel like they have an advantage. Even if they aren't the most talented group of players, Wright has made them into an extremely disciplined, unselfish bunch who are about as well-prepared a team as you'll find.

Everyone who has been around Wright mentions his charisma and ability to build and maintain relationships as the key to his success. Even if he obviously looks the part, he's much more than just a smooth talker. He knows how to manage his players and get the absolute most out of them, often by making quick changes on the fly, and is not a control freak, an ego-maniac or a disciplinarian, like many other failed college-to-pro experiments. When he asks his team to go out and spit blood in order to get him stops on the defensive end-a huge key to their success-- they do it, because they have a tremendous amount of respect for him. Would NBA players respect his authority in a similar way? There's only one way to figure that out.

-Johan Frazen is Superman:



-Just an absolutely incredible trick shot:



-Here's another one, via MLJ:


EMBED-Amazing Off-the-Wall Bball Swish - Watch more free videos

-It has to be fun having Fred Smoot and Gilbert Arenas in the same town. Check out some brilliant quotes by Smoot and Gilbert from the Bog:

"Fat boys wins my game," he said. "I know football, and in December, in the playoffs, fat boys win. Whoever's got the best fat boys is gonna win, so I'm gonna collect fat boys. I can find Fred Smoots--not a dime a dozen, but I can find cornerbacks that can make plays. I can find that. I can't find a big boy that can push this line for four quarters."

Fred Smoot, if you haven't noticed, is actually pretty smart, underneath all the jibba jabba. So is Gilbert Arenas; his "a broke clock's right twice" line, concerning the sorry Wizards recording two wins this year against the dominant Cavs, was probably the smartest five words anyone uttered about last night's game, and he delivered it spontaneously, without a second's thought.

-Finally, someone is is talking some sense:

Since we're both picking the Phillies to win this division for a third season in a row, can we safely say that we're employing a "fool me once ..." stance toward those Mets?

David Brown: The Mets just ain't that good, 'Duk! Daniel Murphy might be OK in left field. Ryan Church is OK in right. Luis Castillo is barely OK at second. Brian Schneider is OK behind the plate. The starting pitching is OK after Johan Santana. The bullpen will light you on fire just as soon as they pitch, and that includes Francisco Rodriguez. Just start the count 2-1, because K-Rod usually gets there anyway. The Mets have great players at third, at short, in center and on the mound every fifth day. The rest of them make me shrug my shoulders. Heck, can I put the Marlins second?

Exactly.

-Just please, go over to Big Five Post and read all the great work Dom is doing, for instance, a look back at '85, Dante, Dionte and Ahmad receiving All American Honorable Mention honors, and an exhaustive list of Villanova links from the week.

Oh, and it would be nice if the Flyers came out and won 6-0 or something tonight, seeing as they completely shit the bed against Toronto on Wednesday.

It's Friday, Time to Dance

It's the Final Four weekend. I got a basketball jones.



Wow, cartoons were racist in the '70s.

'Who Knew the NIT Would Feel So Good?'

I grew up a die-hard Penn State football fan. In high school, I applied to one school and one school only for college: Penn State. I spent four years at the University Park Campus, missing only one football game due to a funeral in my four years. I graduated from Penn State. I'm a football season-ticket holder. Essentially, I bleed blue and white.



And yet, I've never really gotten into Penn State basketball. Throughout my entire life, Penn State has been the laughing stock of college basketball. Save for a few years with the Crispins and Calvin Booth, they never won anything. At all. Being a Philadelphia boy, I was an avid Temple fan when it came to basketball, and thanks to the incredible dominance and must-watch factor of Michael Jordan, I began to follow North Carolina — who just so happened to have a Philadelphian as one of their best players, Rasheed Wallace. That's not to say I didn't root for Penn State from time to time, especially for the likes of Titus Ivory and Brandon Watkins, but I was more indifferent toward the program.



Honestly, they stunk, and my father, who attended Penn State for a year and graduated from Temple, had the same rooting interests as me (save for UNC). He was a die-hard Penn State football fan and a die-hard Temple basketball fan. But honestly, during my four years at Penn State, I was dying to be at a school with a good basketball program.

As you've probably gathered, I truly love basketball, and I always imagine what it must have been like to be at a school with a decent basketball team. When I was at Penn State, they weren't even decent. They were dreadful. Ben Luber, a player that would have been hard pressed to start on a Division II team, was the starting point guard. Jan Jagla, a 7-footer that made Shawn Bradley look like Shaq, was the center. And beyond Brandon Watkins, there wasn't a single athlete on the team when I arrived.

Of course, Geary Claxton provided a truly talented, athletic and exciting player, but the team was still awful. Jamelle Cornley showed up and offered toughness and skill, but still, the team was awful. I just couldn't get into a team that was so bad and coached by a guy who seemed to have clue what he was doing. The only game I even remember being excited about was when the Dee Brown/Deron Williams Illinois team, then ranked No. 1 in the nation, came to the Bryce Jordan Center and steamrolled Penn State.



I never could foresee Penn State basketball providing much excitement. And then, in January, at the behest of one of my roommates (who had just moved in), I began to follow a Penn State team that he assured me wasn't bad. And lo and behold, as I watched, I noticed how much Stanley Pringle had developed, how incredibly good and underrated Jamelle Cornley is, how exciting Talor Battle plays, and how a bunch of young guys were hustling their tails off to try and turn around the perception of Penn State basketball.

A couple months later, the Nittany Lions found themselves squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble. They had a legitimate argument, defeating Michigan State, a team that is now in the Final Four, in East Lansing. They hung with the top teams in the Big 10, a conference that often gets derided by many, myself included, but a conference that always seems to send numerous teams to the tournament that cause all kinds of problems.

When they were left out, I thought it was a bad break. But in reality, going to the NIT was the best thing that ever happened to this program. Heading into last night, Stanley Pringle, Jamelle Cornley and Danny Morrissey, three seniors who had endured nothing but failure, were given the opportunity to go out as winners, to go out as champions, with just one more victory. Had they gone to the NCAA tournament, they surely wouldn't have had that chance. More than likely, they would have been one and done.







Well, the Nittany Lions took the opportunity in the NIT and ran with it. They made it all the way to the finals, even beating Notre Dame from the big, bad Big East. And last night, with a raucous crowd full of Penn State students and alumni in Madison Square Garden, Penn State did something they've never done in my lifetime: They won a basketball championship, defeating Baylor 69-63.

Sure, it's just the NIT, but the significance really cannot be overstated. First of all, it allowed a warrior like Jamelle Cornley go out on top, and if there ever was a Penn State basketball player that deserved it, it's Jamelle Cornley.



Clearly the heart and soul of this basketball team, Cornley has been a truly terrific player the past four years who has flown under the radar, mostly because Penn State has been nothing more than an afterthought. At his size, he won't get a shot in the NBA, but his game is NBA-ready. Had he been just a little taller, perhaps 6'9" or 6'10", he'd be mentioned among the nation's top power forwards. But, as they say, you can't teach height.

And while he may be undersized for an inside force, he's been a dominant one. Last night, there was no player more dominating. With a chance to finally feel what he never was able to before, Cornley literally put the Nittany Lions on his ailing shoulders and carried them to victory. As Talor Battle struggled with Baylor's zone, Cornley feasted on it. He scored a game-high 18 points on 8-15 shooting, nabbed 7 boards and calmed his teammates down, barking orders, commanding respect. He wouldn't let the Lions lose, even at the end, when it looked as though things may slip away. Jamelle Cornley wouldn't let that happen. He was going out a winner, or he was going to die trying.

And it was great to see Pringle and Morrissey follow their fellow senior's lead, each having a big hand in the victory. Even with a quiet game, Pringle hit big free throws down the stretch to help ice the game, finishing with 10 points. Morrissey, leaving the floor bloody and battered after diving for a loose ball, hit a string of three straight NBA threes that helped propel Penn State to its game-winning run. All nine of his points were vital.

The experience wasn't just a nice sendoff for the seniors either. This experience gave this team, a team full of young players, a taste of winning. Suddenly, a program that they came to with a reputation of losing has become a winning program. Now, after a season toughing it out in the Big 10 and coming away in the upper half, these young Nittany Lions, full of sophomores and freshmen, got to experience postseason basketball. They got to experience a tournament atmosphere. And with 27 wins, and an NIT championship, they now know what it feels like to be a winner. Now they can expect to be winners.

As for the game itself, Penn State showed tremendous grit. Talor Battle, the Nittany Lions' lead guard, struggled mightily against the zone. But he never pressed. He never forced the issue. He never got thrown off his game. He let the game come to him, and when for some reason Scott Drew switched from the very successful zone to man defense, Battle took over, exploding to the hoop, setting up teammates and regaining his confidence.



By the time Drew put his Baylor players back in the zone, it was too late. Battle had his swagger back, and Penn State had the NIT championship all wrapped up. Admittedly, I never really thought I'd get excited for the NIT. Never in a million years. And I never thought I'd get excited about Penn State basketball, at least not any time soon. But this team drew me in. They were exciting. Fun to watch. And as Arkansas Fred said to me via text message: "Who knew the nit would feel so good?"

The excitement was there, and now, this very well could help Penn State in its recruiting. In fact, it already has:

Talor Battle's half-brother, the #37 ranked player for the class of 2010, committed on the team bus after tonight's victory. He picked us over programs such as Maryland, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech.

I have this from MULTIPLE sources close to the Penn State men's basketball program.

What a wonderful evening. Our Nittany Nation student section takes over the Garden and wills this team to a championship, and now this. Truly the biggest night in the history of Penn State basketball.

Make sure to let my man, K. Masenda, know that his Baylor Bears were no match for my Penn State Nittany Lions.

Oh, and here are the highlights:

Listen to the Doctor

Not only is it good for your health, but, just like Enrico said, he's the man that first comes to mind when you hear the word Spectrum.



Don't forget, 7 o'clock, Penn State takes on Baylor in the NIT Championship game at Madison Square Garden. Let's hope Jamelle Cornley and Stanley Pringle can go out champions, even if it is just the NIT.

Your Defense is Offensive

So last night I was all set to get some split-screen action going so I could take in both the Flyers-Maple Leafs game and the McDonald's All-American game. When I went to set it up, all I saw on half the screen was this:



Turns out, our DirecTV satellite is fucked up, so I had to do some channel-flipping between the Flyers and the high school all-star game on the Comcast box. This made me very angry … and it was just the beginning of my anger.

You see, the Flyers are in the middle of a tight playoff race with a week left in the season. They currently sit in 4th place in the Eastern Conference with 92 points, tied with Pittsburgh, and the Flyers still have six games to play. And heading into last night, they entered a stretch where they take on a dreadful Toronto team twice, then Ottawa, Florida, the Islanders and the Rangers twice, starting last night — a very favorable schedule to close out the regular season.

Add in the fact that the Devils, once miles ahead, have been in a free fall, and the Flyers looked to have a golden chance to move into the top three, especially once Pittsburgh blitzed the Devils last night, meaning if the Flyers won, they'd be just four points behind New Jersey for the top spot in the Atlantic.



So what do the Flyers do? They come out and fall behind 1-0 to a terrible Toronto team. Sure, the Maple Leafs have nothing to lose, but the Flyers have been making this a habit of late: falling behind early and having to fight their way back, especially against inferior teams. It's getting pretty sickening, particularly with the playoffs right around the corner.

Yes, they did manage to tie the game up in the first on a nifty pass by Claude Giroux to Arron Asham, which Asham fired right away to catch Curtis Joseph off-guard, but after that, the Flyers were just embarrassing. Following a rash of neutral zone turnovers in the first, the Flyers took that up a notch, failing to connect on any passes and routinely turning the puck over both in their own defensive zone and in the neutral zone in the second period.

The only Flyers who looked like they gave a shit where Daniel Carcillo, Darroll Powe and Andreas Nodl, and even they seemed to care only a little bit. The defensemen were horrible, and not a single Flyer looked like he was trying. To be honest, I was putting more effort into flipping the channel between that game and the McDonald's All-American game than the Flyers were taking on Toronto. When they fell behind 3-1, it made my life a little easier, because I could focus on the basketball game.

Boy was I glad I did. The McDonald's All-American game is always one of my favorite events of the year, because I really like to see some of the future stars before they step foot on a college campus. There is no doubt, Derrick Favors is the most frightening player in the crop of 2009-10 college freshmen.



For his size, Favors had no peer athletically last night. He was the MVP of the game, leading the East to a 113-110 victory over the West, and the Georgia Tech-bound beast was just toying with people. In 18 minutes, he scored 19 points on 9-13 shooting, nabbed 8 boards and had a block. At 6'9", he runs like a gazelle, has soft hands, a great touch and out-of-this-world athleticism.

He'll be tearing up the ACC for sure next year.

While Favors proved he is the most athletic, talented big man in this class, he wasn't the guy who stood out the most, at least not to me. That honor went to the West's Keith Gallon, the 6'9", nearly 300-pounder headed to Oklahoma.



Without question, Gallon could stand to lose a little weight. He is nowhere near as trim as he'll need to be to become a dominant force for an entire college season, but just from watching him, getting in shape won't be a big issue. The guy hustles, and his skill for a big man is other-worldly.

Last night, Gallon led all scorers with 20 points, shooting an efficient 8-11 from the field, including 1-1 from three, made all three of his free throw attempts and nabbed 7 boards. More impressively, he showed tremendous footwork, the ability to run the floor and even a little handle. On one take to the basket, Gallon broke down a much smaller, quicker guard, slammed it home and was fouled.

He certainly isn't Blake Griffin, but Oklahoma is definitely getting another talented power forward to add to its ranks.

Of course, the Nova fans out there were probably most interested in seeing how Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek fared against the nation's tops preps. Well, let's just say no matter what happens in the Final Four, Villanova fans should be excited for the arrival of these two next year.

Wayns, who had the honor of being the East's starting point guard, didn't have a particularly impressive shooting game, going just 2-6 from the field for 5 points, but he showed all the attributes you look for in a point guard.



For starters, his quickness is a key attribute. He didn't have a problem getting where he wanted to on the floor to set up his teammates, and that's something that's key for any point guard, especially in Villanova's system. And his passing? Amazing. He dished out 7 assists, second only to Louisville-bound Peyton Siva, and turned it over just once, extremely impressive considering turnovers are commonplace in all-star games — even more so in high school all-star games. And a few of his assists made me say, "Wow!" On one, he drove to the hoop, seemingly went up for a layup attempt, drew two defenders, both of whom towered over him, who tried to block his shot, and wrapped around a pass to a wide open teammate for the slam.

Later, he threw a bullet cross-court pass for another layup. Villanova fans are going to love this kid.

And Cheek? Well, let's just say the kid from Jersey City can fill it up.



Judging from last night's performance, it's evident this kid is a lethal scorer. One minute, he was nailing a three from three feet behind the NBA line, the next minute he's throwing one down inside. In just 14 minutes, cheek scored 15 points on 6-8 shooting, nailing both his three-point attempts. Honestly, he was the most impressive scorer last night, truly looking like a shooting guard.

His confidence emanated through the TV. This is a guy who isn't afraid to shoot it, and playing under Jay Wright's green-light system for guards, Cheek should flourish. However, for a guy who looks like such a lethal scorer and shooter, Cheek only managed to hit 1 of 5 free throw attempts. He'll have to do better than that to meet Nova's high standard of foul shooting. I'm sure he will.

The three other players that really stood out to me were all on the East: Lance Stephenson, DeMarcus Cousins and Peyton Siva.







Stephenson, who's still undecided but supposedly leaning toward Kansas, is the most NBA ready guard in this class, at least physically. At 6'6", 220, he simply can overpower smaller players, but his quickness doesn't suffer due to his size. He's fast, and that's a scary thing to see, a 6'6" 220-pounder flying down the court at the same rate as speedy point guards.

Stephenson did a little of everything, scoring 12 points, nabbing 4 boards, dishing out 6 assists and swiping 3 steals. And he really stepped his game up in the final few minutes, helping to lead the East to victory. Whoever lands Stephenson will be supremely happy.

DeMarcus Cousins, a 6'11" beast, is also undecided, but trust me, he will make an impact immediately. Cousins scored 14, nabbed 8 boards and added a block, which is something he's known for. In a game that doesn't showcase defense, Cousins was a guy who did alter some shots and completely owned the boards. I was thoroughly impressed.

Just as I was with Siva, who showcased his athleticism with a ridiculous 360 layup. Siva was possibly the quickest and fastest player on the court last night, and he showed his unselfishness, shooting just 5 times in 19 minutes, while handing out a game-high 9 assists. Rick Pitino won't have to worry about his point guard play next season, an achilles heel for the Cardinals this year.

One more player I had my eye on was UNC-bound John Henson, and the skinny 6'10" forward didn't let me down.



Henson looked an awful lot like North Carolina freshman Ed Davis, a tall, lanky power forward that has a silky-smooth game. Henson scored 14 points last night on 7-10 shooting and blocked two shots. Next year, he's going to give Carolina a formidable front court to go along with Davis and Tyler Zeller.

Henson definitely needs to add some weight to his slight frame, but look for him to contribute right away. UNC may be losing Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Green, and most likely Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington as well, but at UNC, they don't rebuild, they reload. Henson is part of that reloading.

The game wasn't just a showcase either. It was exciting. Close throughout, it came down to the wire, with the East holding on for the victory. It was a nice distraction from the Flyers' pathetic effort.

Although, the Flyers did come back in the third, as they've done quite a bit lately, but it was too little too late. They lost 3-2, as Giroux scored on the power play with 3 minutes left to give me some hope, but in the end, Curtis Joseph made too many saves the Flyers played hard for about 25 minutes of the game. They gave up 38 shots, which is something else that's been an unnerving trend for this team. Routinely, they are getting outshot, giving up between 30 and 40 shots on a nightly basis. That's asking an awful lot of your goaltending, and turnovers are a big reason for that. The Flyers desperately need to tighten up defensively, make crisper passes, get some puck control and win some god damn faceoffs. Oh, and forechecking wouldn't kill you every now and then. Jesus.

It was a sorry excuse of effort for a team that's trying to maintain home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. You know it's a sad day when basketball players in an all-star play harder for 40 minutes than the Flyers did at all.

A Black, a Jew and a JoePa Enter a Bar

And the JoePa says …



In an update from an earlier post, HHR nabbed the video, courtesy of Awful Announcing.

I hope he lives another hundred years.

You Are All April Fools

In case you haven't heard, Tyreke Evans is going pro.



Read Shoals' take on the young man out of Chester.

Everybody Hates Allen

When I read this this morning, along with a few other scathing criticism of Allen Iverson's remarks about only playing 18 minutes last night, I got pissed.

I mean, I get it, there are those who hate Allen Iverson and those that love him. You can't sway those opinions on the guy. I happen to love Allen Iverson. I think he's an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime player that I was privileged to witness play for my favorite team most of his career. I understand the critics. He shoots a lot, commands the ball, has a style that is unique and not necessarily the way to a championship. But the amount of heat his haters put on him is ridiculous.

I was going to write a response to the latest attacks on Iverson, but then I came came across this, via The Big Lead, and Dr. Dime said it better than I ever could. Please check it out:

After reading the response in the blogosphere to Allen Iverson’s post-game comments about playing time, after the Detroit Pistons lost a close game to the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, I wonder if anyone actually bothered watching the game.

Allen Iverson played a mere 18 minutes, but scored 11 points on 5-8 shooting. Rip Hamilton played 34 minutes and scored only 13 points on 4-14 shooting. When Iverson was on the floor the Pistons were +2 in the plus/minus, when Hamilton was on the floor the Pistons were -14 in the plus/minus (worst on the team I might add).

…

I’m not really leaning towards either Allen Iverson or Rip Hamilton being more deserving than the other for the starting nod. I think they both are excellent players and bring something a bit different to the table. What I am concerned with is the media and blogosphere response to Allen Iverson. The guy is a future hall of famer, one of the greatest scorers this game has ever seen. Pound for pound he may be the greatest scorer ever. Allen Iverson has always been considered to be a warrior on the court, playing through countless injuries, bumps and bruises, as a result of his fearless, slashing style of play. The guy takes a beating more than probably anyone in the league. Doesn’t he deserve the benefit of the doubt concerning his back injury?

It is a completely disrespectful, short-sighted, and fickle response to question Allen Iverson’s back injury. Instead Detroit fans and analysts should focus more on the fact that Allen Iverson with the recent lengthy time off he’s had (the longest stretch of rest he’s had in years), it may mean he’s finally ready to return to his level of dominance we are used to seeing. But he will need some minutes to do so. And 18 minutes a game, isn’t going to cut it.

…

Allen Iverson is still The Answer, give the guy a chance, I think he’s earned it.

'I Want to Ride Sammy All Game'

It's funny how a simple comment like the one in the headline, which was uttered at the Sixers game last night, can revert me back to a 13-year-old, laughing hysterically as if it is the funniest thing I've ever heard.



Quite a gas indeed. Anyway, onto the game. Now, I'm not sure what the attendance was last night, but considering the Sixers were playing the team that they very well could play in the first round of the playoffs, it's sad to see that very few fans seem to care. The building certainly wasn't full, but I will say that the crowd was into it, which was nice to see. Well, most of the crowd. The guy sitting in front of us did scold Joltin Joe for putting his foot on his friend's arm rest when his friend got up to go to the concourse. That was weird.

The thing is, for all the people in this city who are down on the NBA and the Sixers in particular, they missed a golden opportunity to witness an incredible individual performance by Josh Smith, who rode Sammy his own way:





Smith, the guy I wanted over Brand, put on an incredible offensive performance, scoring a game-high 33 points. He missed just two shots on the night, going 13-15 from the field, 3-3 from three and 4-4 from the line. Oh, and he chipped in 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks for good measure.

There isn't a more athletically gifted player I've seen than Smith, and he's easily one of my favorite players in the NBA. The best part about his 33-point performance though, besides his facial of Sammy, was that the Sixers still won, 98-85. The worst part was Thaddeus Young having to be carried off the floor by Marreese Speights and Theo Ratliff in the first quarter.



We were sitting behind the opposite basket, so I missed what happened to Thad, but at first glance, it looked like he was in big trouble. I was relieved to find out his X-rays were negative, but I don't expect the Sixers' rising star to be back until the playoffs, which sucks bit time.

Even without Thad, who I think has been the best Sixer of late, the Sixers were able to top the 4th-seeded Hawks in impressive fashion. Four Sixers scored at least 15 points, led by Andre Iguodala's 19, along with Andre Miller (18), Speights (16) and Willie Green (15), proving once again just how balanced this team is in the scoring department.

And just as impressive, every player who took the court scored at least one bucket. Reggie Evans had a particularly strong game, scoring 8, Sammy and Thad each had 6, Lou Will and Theo each had 4, and Royal added a deuce. And per usual, the Sixers were led by the Andres. Of course Iguodala had a team-high 19, not to mention 8 assists, 2 steals and 3 rebounds, but he also played tremendous defense, limiting Joe Johnson to just 11 points on 3-9 shooting.



Of course, it was Miller who was running the show, evident by his 10 assists to compliment his 18 points. As Joltin Joe said last night, no matter how much announcers and analysts like to tell us that Kevin Love throws the most incredible outlet passes, there's no doubt that Andre Miller is the best in the business when it comes to outletting his teammates in transition. He threw a full-court outlet, immediately off a rebound, without setting his feet or even gathering his balance, right on the money. It was a thing of beauty. No disrespect to Love, but he can't hold a candle to Miller's outlet passing skills.

It was a good win to bring the Sixers back within a half game of Miami for that 5th spot, and a step closer to taking on Atlanta in the first round. Let's hope they can get there. More importantly, let's hope Thad can recover in time and suffer no ill effects from the dreaded sprained ankle.

After the game, I eagerly headed back home to catch the Penn State-Notre Dame NIT semifinal game. My anticipation grew even stronger when some moron named slingshot sent me this message while I was on the el: "Did u hear what jopa just said bout bball bein a black mans game?" I missed what he said, but I heard it was pretty funny and honestly not offensive. When I walked through my front door, there was about 2 minutes left in the first half and my alma mater was destroying Notre Dame.



They took a 31-18 lead into halftime and looked poised to play Thursday against Baylor. Jamelle Cornley, clearly determined to go out a winner, was completely beasting Luke Harangody, who absolutely did not deserve to be an All-American this year, all night. Jamelle scored 15 points, grabbed 8 boards and clearly frustrated the oafy Irishman. Harangody shot a horrendous 5-16 from the field and was shut down for the majority of the game.

He did, however, managed to get 17 and 10, going off down the stretch to bring the Irish within three. A once huge lead shrunk to a one-possession game late because the Nittany Lions were doing just about everything in their power to give the game away: missing free throws, turnovers, fouling ND, giving up threes.

But they righted the ship, hit some clutch free throws and won 67-59 to play in the NIT championship game Thursday. Penn State played very well. Talor Battle did his thing, scoring 17, and Andrew Jones III had the best game I've seen him play, scoring 16 points, nabbing 15 rebounds and shooting 5-6 from the field and 6-7 from the line.



Stanley Pringle added 10 to give Penn State four players in double figures, while aside from Harangody, the Irish had no one else in double digits. It was a gutty performance that shows this team has no quit in them. Now they get to play one more time.

Update: About that JoePa quote:

During an interview, JoPa spouted about the good old days - when basketball was a Jew sport: "Everyone says it's a black mans game. When I played it was a Jewish mans game." Bill Raftery: "Yeah a city game right?"

Fantastic.