Further proof that the WBC doesn't mean dick. Everyone knows all New York Mets choke when it matters.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Proof that the World Baseball Classic Doesn't Matter
You know how I know the World Baseball Classic doesn't mean a damn thing? A Met actually came through in the clutch:
Further proof that the WBC doesn't mean dick. Everyone knows all New York Mets choke when it matters.
Further proof that the WBC doesn't mean dick. Everyone knows all New York Mets choke when it matters.
Still Battling
Penn State failed to make the NCAA tournament thanks in large part to a weak out of conference schedule and the loss to Iowa in the final regular season game — a win would have given the Nittany Lions the 2 seed in the Big 10 Tourney, and most likely, a trip to the big dance.
That's a big letdown for college kids who had visions of dancing, even with the NIT invitation. Oftentimes, teams that just miss out on the big dance have the life and competitive fire sucked out of them, then falter early in the NIT. I wouldn't have been shocked if Penn State rolled over and died in its first-round game with George Mason. I should have known better. This team never stops battling:
Talor Battle simply wasn't going to let Penn State's season end with three straight losses. Not happening. He hit that ridiculous three to send the game to OT, scored 8 more in the extra session, finished with a game-high 24 points and gave the Nittany Lions the 77-73 victory.
"I like to call myself Mr. Big Shot," Battle said. "It's more of a joke but during the games Coach wants me to have the ball in my hands and make a play."
…
"It's not just Jamelle," Battle said. "It's a lot of guys. Willie [Leiner], Stanley [Pringle], Danny [Morrissey], I know they didn't want to play their last game, and I didn't want to play my last game of the season."
It may not be the big dance, but it's better to keep playing than to not play at all.
That's a big letdown for college kids who had visions of dancing, even with the NIT invitation. Oftentimes, teams that just miss out on the big dance have the life and competitive fire sucked out of them, then falter early in the NIT. I wouldn't have been shocked if Penn State rolled over and died in its first-round game with George Mason. I should have known better. This team never stops battling:
Talor Battle simply wasn't going to let Penn State's season end with three straight losses. Not happening. He hit that ridiculous three to send the game to OT, scored 8 more in the extra session, finished with a game-high 24 points and gave the Nittany Lions the 77-73 victory.
"I like to call myself Mr. Big Shot," Battle said. "It's more of a joke but during the games Coach wants me to have the ball in my hands and make a play."
…
"It's not just Jamelle," Battle said. "It's a lot of guys. Willie [Leiner], Stanley [Pringle], Danny [Morrissey], I know they didn't want to play their last game, and I didn't want to play my last game of the season."
It may not be the big dance, but it's better to keep playing than to not play at all.
My Bum is on the Swedish
Contrary to popular belief, the best hockey player in the world does not call Washington home. Or Pittsburgh. Or even Calgary. Not in my eyes anyway.
Sure, you can't go wrong with Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin or Jarome Iginla. They are incredible hockey players. Ovechkin is the most explosive, most physical superstar I've seen since a young Eric Lindros … only with an even better shot. Crosby and Malkin are Lemieux and Jagr reborn. And Iginla is just a flat-out stud. But for my money, the best player in hockey is quite possibly the most consistent two-way player in the sport … a man from Detroit by way of Sweden.
Last year, while the rest of world was (rightfully) slobbering over Ovechkin and Crosby taking the mantle and making runs in the playoffs, I was watching as Zetterberg led the Red Wings right through the league, right through the playoffs and right to the Stanley Cup, declaring him the best player to lace up the skates. I mean, in last year's playoffs, the guy was just unreal, scoring, winning faceoffs, backchecking — doing it all.
And then this year, Ovechkin somehow took his game to an even higher level. The man is going to score well over 50 goals, outshoot the rest of the league by a million shots and carry the Caps to one of the top seeds in the East. I was ready to crown him the king of the ice, just like the rest of the world already has. I had forgotten about Henrik Zetterberg, about the Red Wings really, because, like most of the media, I tend to ignore a lot of hockey played west of Pittsburgh.
Then last night, I watched as the Flyers, even when somehow miraculously up 2-0, were getting completely owned by Detroit, and the lasting image that stands out is this:
Stupid NHL.com doesn't do that play any justice at all. The puck popped loose in Detroit's zone because Zetterberg made a ridiculous backcheck, stole the puck, got it to his teammate and then finished the play off at the other end for the game-winning goal.
And that's the thing about Zetterberg: He plays both ends of the ice each and every shift. Sure, Ovechkin and Crosby show flashes of that, but no one does it as consistently, or as well, as Henrik Zetterberg. I know he doesn't have the outlandish numbers like the other guys, but that's because he doesn't have to. He has players like Franzen, Hossa, Datsyuk and the like to spread the scoring around. But in my opinion, there isn't a more talented two-way player in hockey anywhere.
As for the game itself, the score is incredibly deceiving. The Flyers were completely outplayed by Detroit, evident by Detroit's 48-26 advantage in shots. If it wasn't for Marty Biron, this game would have been a whole hell of a lot uglier. Yeah, the goal he gave up to Pavel Datsyuk was pretty weak, but I'm not faulting a goaltender who stopped 45 shots against the best team in hockey. The Red Wings are just better than the Flyers, plain and simple, and as much as I love guys like Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Kimmo Timonen, Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Lidstrom are better than anyone who wears the Orange and Black. It just doesn't seem fair.
Oh, and I didn't watch a second of the Sixers because I was out drinking and watching the Flyers and then went to sleep. But apparently this happened:
Well done, Andre. Well done.
Sure, you can't go wrong with Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin or Jarome Iginla. They are incredible hockey players. Ovechkin is the most explosive, most physical superstar I've seen since a young Eric Lindros … only with an even better shot. Crosby and Malkin are Lemieux and Jagr reborn. And Iginla is just a flat-out stud. But for my money, the best player in hockey is quite possibly the most consistent two-way player in the sport … a man from Detroit by way of Sweden.
Last year, while the rest of world was (rightfully) slobbering over Ovechkin and Crosby taking the mantle and making runs in the playoffs, I was watching as Zetterberg led the Red Wings right through the league, right through the playoffs and right to the Stanley Cup, declaring him the best player to lace up the skates. I mean, in last year's playoffs, the guy was just unreal, scoring, winning faceoffs, backchecking — doing it all.
And then this year, Ovechkin somehow took his game to an even higher level. The man is going to score well over 50 goals, outshoot the rest of the league by a million shots and carry the Caps to one of the top seeds in the East. I was ready to crown him the king of the ice, just like the rest of the world already has. I had forgotten about Henrik Zetterberg, about the Red Wings really, because, like most of the media, I tend to ignore a lot of hockey played west of Pittsburgh.
Then last night, I watched as the Flyers, even when somehow miraculously up 2-0, were getting completely owned by Detroit, and the lasting image that stands out is this:
Stupid NHL.com doesn't do that play any justice at all. The puck popped loose in Detroit's zone because Zetterberg made a ridiculous backcheck, stole the puck, got it to his teammate and then finished the play off at the other end for the game-winning goal.
And that's the thing about Zetterberg: He plays both ends of the ice each and every shift. Sure, Ovechkin and Crosby show flashes of that, but no one does it as consistently, or as well, as Henrik Zetterberg. I know he doesn't have the outlandish numbers like the other guys, but that's because he doesn't have to. He has players like Franzen, Hossa, Datsyuk and the like to spread the scoring around. But in my opinion, there isn't a more talented two-way player in hockey anywhere.
As for the game itself, the score is incredibly deceiving. The Flyers were completely outplayed by Detroit, evident by Detroit's 48-26 advantage in shots. If it wasn't for Marty Biron, this game would have been a whole hell of a lot uglier. Yeah, the goal he gave up to Pavel Datsyuk was pretty weak, but I'm not faulting a goaltender who stopped 45 shots against the best team in hockey. The Red Wings are just better than the Flyers, plain and simple, and as much as I love guys like Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Kimmo Timonen, Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Lidstrom are better than anyone who wears the Orange and Black. It just doesn't seem fair.
Oh, and I didn't watch a second of the Sixers because I was out drinking and watching the Flyers and then went to sleep. But apparently this happened:
Well done, Andre. Well done.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Achilles Tar Heel
So, in case you haven't turned on ESPN in the past week, there's some big basketball tournament about to take place or something. I'm pretty sure it has to do with March being pretty much the most awesomest month in the history of months.
As a disclaimer, I'd like to state I've never once won an NCAA tournament pool. Not once. And that bothers me because I watch a ton of basketball. I did come incredibly close in 2005. If Arizona would have just held its enormous lead in the semis against Illinois, I would have won with my pick of North Carolina beating Arizona in the final. But that didn't happen. Salim Stoudamire and Deron Williams fucked me.
Now, this year, I again filled out my bracket with dreams of the Tar Heels winning again. But I'd feel a whole lot more confident if this guy was around:
Before the season, North Carolina was touted as the undisputed favorite to win it all. After all, the Tar Heels were coming off a Final Four appearance, returning virtually the entire team and gaining highly touted freshmen along the way. Then, Marcus Ginyard got hurt. Suddenly, UNC was without the services of its best defender, a guy who made a habit of hounding the opposition's top scorer night in and night out.
At first, it looked as though the Heels would be fine. They dominated early on, played up-tempo and looked to be the class of the country. At times, they struggled defensively, but with Ginyard coming back before the end of the year, things looked bright.
I was eagerly anticipating his return to watch an incredible offensive team get its heart and soul on defense back, hopefully elevating the intensity of his teammates on that end of the floor. But Marcus' time on the court didn't last long. He got injured again, this time for the year.
Still, UNC is a No. 1 seed and has played much more great basketball than bad. But with Ginyard in the lineup, I would have very little doubt that this team that was two wins away from a title last year would get it this year.
Unfortunately, that's not the case. The Tar Heels are without their best defender, as they have been all year, and they've never found that one guy who can single-handedly take a great scorer off his game. As a result, Carolina has had trouble being a dominate defensive team. And that could be the reason they fall short again, the reason I may fall short again in my bracket.
It's really a shame this had to happen, because the world deserved to see what a team with Ty Lawson, Danny Green, Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Marcus Ginyard could accomplish with just one more year together. Unfortunately, Ginyard will most likely be going it without any of his teammates mentioned above next year.
As a disclaimer, I'd like to state I've never once won an NCAA tournament pool. Not once. And that bothers me because I watch a ton of basketball. I did come incredibly close in 2005. If Arizona would have just held its enormous lead in the semis against Illinois, I would have won with my pick of North Carolina beating Arizona in the final. But that didn't happen. Salim Stoudamire and Deron Williams fucked me.
Now, this year, I again filled out my bracket with dreams of the Tar Heels winning again. But I'd feel a whole lot more confident if this guy was around:
Before the season, North Carolina was touted as the undisputed favorite to win it all. After all, the Tar Heels were coming off a Final Four appearance, returning virtually the entire team and gaining highly touted freshmen along the way. Then, Marcus Ginyard got hurt. Suddenly, UNC was without the services of its best defender, a guy who made a habit of hounding the opposition's top scorer night in and night out.
At first, it looked as though the Heels would be fine. They dominated early on, played up-tempo and looked to be the class of the country. At times, they struggled defensively, but with Ginyard coming back before the end of the year, things looked bright.
I was eagerly anticipating his return to watch an incredible offensive team get its heart and soul on defense back, hopefully elevating the intensity of his teammates on that end of the floor. But Marcus' time on the court didn't last long. He got injured again, this time for the year.
Still, UNC is a No. 1 seed and has played much more great basketball than bad. But with Ginyard in the lineup, I would have very little doubt that this team that was two wins away from a title last year would get it this year.
Unfortunately, that's not the case. The Tar Heels are without their best defender, as they have been all year, and they've never found that one guy who can single-handedly take a great scorer off his game. As a result, Carolina has had trouble being a dominate defensive team. And that could be the reason they fall short again, the reason I may fall short again in my bracket.
It's really a shame this had to happen, because the world deserved to see what a team with Ty Lawson, Danny Green, Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Marcus Ginyard could accomplish with just one more year together. Unfortunately, Ginyard will most likely be going it without any of his teammates mentioned above next year.
Monday, March 16, 2009
So You Think You Can Link
So on Friday, I turn 25 years old. As recently as a few years ago, I thought 25 was pretty old. I mean, I wasn't so stupid as to think it's really old or anything. A 25-year-old man is still a relatively young man in the big scheme of life. And 25 is a cool number.
But as I sit here on my final days as a 24-year-old, I can't help but think that being a quarter century old seems out of place. I feel absolutely no different, maturity-wise, than when I was 16. Ask the majority of people who know me and they'll tell you the same thing. So yeah, I'm on my last days before the big 2-5, but I'll have the mental capacity of a 16-year-old for another 25 and beyond.
Who am I kidding? I won't make it that long. Onto the links:
-If Bobby Abreu drove you nuts in the outfield, just wait to you see Raul Ibanez:
-Randy Jones got hurt.
-Yes, I agree completely with this.
-Brick Donte Stallworth killed a guy.
Not good.
-Looks like Matt Jones will have all the time in the world to snack on that nose candy.
-Yeah, that's a pretty good dunk:
-That's gotta hurt:
-It's all Ed DeChellis' and Tim Curley's fault Penn State didn't get in. That's one view. Or, you could just blame Iowa.
-Mike Tyson documentary trailer:
-A lot from Zolecki: Bees! My God, the bees!
Oh, and Utley is back and Cole has a sore elbow.
-The Free Darko Bracket is a must-see.
-Wanna read something dumb? Well, this guy says Deron Williams is the best point guard in the league. Chris Paul would like a word with you.
But as I sit here on my final days as a 24-year-old, I can't help but think that being a quarter century old seems out of place. I feel absolutely no different, maturity-wise, than when I was 16. Ask the majority of people who know me and they'll tell you the same thing. So yeah, I'm on my last days before the big 2-5, but I'll have the mental capacity of a 16-year-old for another 25 and beyond.
Who am I kidding? I won't make it that long. Onto the links:
-If Bobby Abreu drove you nuts in the outfield, just wait to you see Raul Ibanez:
-Randy Jones got hurt.
-Yes, I agree completely with this.
-
Not good.
-Looks like Matt Jones will have all the time in the world to snack on that nose candy.
-Yeah, that's a pretty good dunk:
-That's gotta hurt:
-It's all Ed DeChellis' and Tim Curley's fault Penn State didn't get in. That's one view. Or, you could just blame Iowa.
-Mike Tyson documentary trailer:
-A lot from Zolecki: Bees! My God, the bees!
Oh, and Utley is back and Cole has a sore elbow.
-The Free Darko Bracket is a must-see.
-Wanna read something dumb? Well, this guy says Deron Williams is the best point guard in the league. Chris Paul would like a word with you.
Yo, Guy, You Stink
Ah, what a weekend it was in the land of free and the home of the cheesesteak. As promised, I'm here to give you all the rundown of the weekend that was for ye olde Reverend.
It all started on Friday night with the final NBA game in the illustrious life of the Spectrum.
Now, I have to admit, the Sixers started things off on the wrong foot for this game. Excited and anxious for the game Arkansas Fred and silver fox made the trip from Bucks County bright and early. Being the hard worker that I am, I arrived at my office at 7:30 a.m. just so I could leave a little early, meet up with those two idiots and walk around the Spectrum one last time.
Here's the catch: When I arrived at Broad and Pattison to meet up with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum at 5, we were informed the doors weren't opening until 6. What the fuck? I mean, really? In the last true professional sporting event to take place at the Spectrum, no one was allowed in until an hour before tip-off? That's messed up. I was looking forward to walking around the place to check it out one last time, but that plan was completely thwarted. By the time they opened the doors, the fans were flooding it, making it impossible to navigate around in the tight confines of the Spectrum. Not a good way to start.
It was one of the many downs in the up-and-down weekend. We entered, got our free lanyards and posters, took our seats up in the nose bleeds and settled in for what we hoped would be a fun night. Well, turns out, you put a rolled up poster in my hands and I instantly revert back to an elementary school kid. Arkansas Fred, silver fox and I were hitting each other with the posters, using them as bull horns and honestly, if anyone around us happened upon our inane conversations before the ceremonies began, they would swear we were no older than 15 … instead of, you know, in our mid-20s.
Anyway, as game time approached, our experience took a turn for the worst. An older gentleman, probably in his late 50s, early 60s, sat down in front of us with a hoagie in hand. About 30 seconds after he sat down, a stench so vile that even a dog wouldn't go up and attempt to sniff it permeated our section. Immediately, Arkansas Fred covered his nose, made a horrid face and pointed toward the man in front of us. I mean, this smell was awful.
At first, I assumed it must have been his hoagie. Sometimes sandwiches can give off quite an unpleasant odor. But long after this slob had finished feeding, the putrid smell lingered. In fact, every time the man moved, the stench grew stronger. I'm not exaggerating, I'd rather have sat next to a sewage plant than have to be around this fellow. It was that bad. He fucking stank.
Honestly, this guy smelled like a cross between a decaying dead animal, puke, sweat and vinegar. Maybe. I'm really not sure what the smell was to tell the truth, but it was the worst thing ever. All I know is that people who wash themselves do not smell like that. And nothing should smell like that. Really, seeing as he smelled like death anyway, that guy should do the rest of the world a favor and just kill himself.
The good news is that the game and presentations were pretty sweet. The Sixers who were being honored from the 1982-83 championship team were introduced by Joe Conklin in the voice of the famed deceased former Sixers PA announcer Dave Zinkoff, and sporadically throughout the game, Conklin would make timeout announcements and the like in Zink's voice.
Now, what I'm about to say is probably going to upset some of the Philadelphia faithful, but honestly, if Conklin's impersonation of Zinkoff was as spot on as most of his other impersonations are, and if Zinkoff really did always announce like Conklin did in those few instances, I'd have gone completely mad attending Sixers games. Don't get me wrong, I think Matt Cord is fucking hack who, if there is any justice in the world, will have his vocal chords removed and lose any ability to talk in the very, very near future, but honestly, given all the praise I've heard over the years about Zink (from my dad and others), I just don't get it. Hearing that nasally voice go over the top on everything was annoying as hell. Hopefully it was just for the effect on Friday, because I mean no disrespect to a dead man. But for real, the Zink impression was annoying the shit out of me.
What did not annoy me was the good Doctor's speech before tip-off. Dr. J was gracious as always, gave a very heartfelt speech and urged the Sixers to beat the Bulls … which is exactly what they did, albeit in a very close contest.
Although there was certainly some obstructed viewing with the poorly places thick, black rails in our section, it was cool watching the game in the gym atmosphere of the Spectrum. It was a tight contest, and Thaddeus Young was a beast, scoring a career-high 31 points.
He put on quite a performance, much like Derek Rose. If you haven't gotten the opportunity to see Rose play in person, do yourself a favor and make it a priority. The kid is just sick. He got wherever he wanted on the floor virtually all night, opened up many shots for his teammates, and without Rose, the Bulls would have easily lost by 30 points instead of just 3. He's a beast.
But the beastliest player on the court Friday was Young, even though in the fourth quarter his teammates seemed to completely forget that. All game long, Young was dominating, getting to the rim, hitting jumpers, doing it all. Then, after a rest early in the fourth, with the game tight and the Bulls posing a serious threat, Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller refused to even look Thad's way. As a result, the Bulls pulled closer and had a chance to tie at the end of the game. Luckily, the Bulls couldn't make the final shot, and Andre Iguodala did take over at the end, but the stupidity in the fourth quarter of this team drove me nuts.
Which brings to the conclusion, officially, that Tony DiLeo is not a good coach. Shocker, I know. But really, he put his team in some horrible match-up situations in the final quarter, not the least of which was having Reggie Evans attempt to guard Tim Thomas. Evans routinely played off Thomas and doubled off him, leaving a very good three-point shooter open from beyond the arc routinely. And Thomas hit a couple big shots to keep the Bulls close.
Then, DiLeo sat a scorching-hot Thad, then proceeded to allow his team to completely ignore him offensively when he got back in the game. Oh, and he should have had his team foul at the end rather than give the Bulls an opportunity to tie the game with a three. But he didn't because he's not a good coach, which is why the Sixers are still nothing more than a mediocre, inconsistent basketball team. But hey, they won, and it was great.
Almost as great as hearing that Temple beat Xavier to advance to the A-10 finals, which of course they won on Saturday to steal a spot in the dance.
Much like Syracuse seems at home in Madison Square Garden, the Owls love them some AC. I'm pretty pumped that they won again, even if it meant taking the spot that potentially could have gone to Penn State. I'm a Temple basketball fan first, and the Owls deserved to be dancing. Dionte is a stud, and their RPI was way too good to be left out. Now they'll take on a good Arizona State team, but my money's going on the Owls.
Anyway, after the game, we headed back to my house, watched Penn State get killed and relaxed for the remainder of the night. Then on Saturday, silver fox and I decided to head out on the Erin Express.
We made it exactly one stop in, downed a couple beers and some car bombs, and then couldn't get on the bus because it was so packed. So we instead headed to drink at a more comfortable location, watching the Flyers dismantled the Rangers thanks to two goals by Aaron Asham and a nice game by Marty Biron, witness UNC lose to Florida State with no Ty Lawson, and then went back to my house to watch Temple win the A-10 tourney yet again.
Then we headed to Bucks County, drove around a bit and rested up for a 22-round offline fantasy baseball draft yesterday. It was certainly an experience to say the least. The Flyers were getting killed, leading to some responses from the stupid Rangers fans I know and had mocked on Saturday, the Sixers beat the Heat behind the deadly three-point shooting of Donyell Marshall, who Arkansas Fred seems to be in love with, and the draft took roughly 2 and half hours.
It's the baseball draft honey, I got Matsui!
The highlight was certainly the ridiculous spelling of the names by CuzinVin, who is clearly the least informed on baseball and an idiot to boot and was somehow the guy writing the names on the big board, with R. Kinow (Robinson Cano) and A. Lee (Utley) taking the cake.
Then I wrapped up my weekend by watching the selection show on CBS, and I can't really argue with much. There was one issue I had, however, and that had to do with the No. 1 seeds. Now, UNC, Pitt and Louisville deservedly got No. 1s. They all deserved it, earned it. My issue is with UConn getting a No. 1 ahead of Memphis. Yes, I know the Big East was brutal this year and that Conference USA isn't the toughest conference in the world. But, UConn has already proven they don't deserve a No. 1. How? Well, they lost to Pitt. Twice. In the same season. Call me crazy, but a team that loses to the same team twice in one year just doesn't deserve a No. 1 seed in my book when there is another worthy team.
That team is Memphis. The Tigers had fewer losses, and yeah, they play in a pretty bad conference, but I'm pretty sure Memphis proved its worth last year, if I remember correctly. Let me check my memory. Did UConn, or Pitt or Louisville or any other Big East team for that matter, play in the national title game last year? No? You have to be kidding me. Well, then, who was the team that lost to Kansas on that sick shot by Mario Chalmers? The team that should have won if they just hit some damn free throws? Memphis?!? Get the fuck out of here.
What I'm trying to say is, Memphis deserved the No. 1 seed over UConn. They just did. The Tigers were the runners up last year, and even with the departure of Derek Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis cruised through Conference USA, played sick D all year and emerged with just three losses. Still, a No. 2 isn't a slap in the face, but the Big East, as awesome as it was this year, didn't deserve three No. 1s, especially since UConn lost to Pitt twice this year.
That is all.
It all started on Friday night with the final NBA game in the illustrious life of the Spectrum.
Now, I have to admit, the Sixers started things off on the wrong foot for this game. Excited and anxious for the game Arkansas Fred and silver fox made the trip from Bucks County bright and early. Being the hard worker that I am, I arrived at my office at 7:30 a.m. just so I could leave a little early, meet up with those two idiots and walk around the Spectrum one last time.
Here's the catch: When I arrived at Broad and Pattison to meet up with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum at 5, we were informed the doors weren't opening until 6. What the fuck? I mean, really? In the last true professional sporting event to take place at the Spectrum, no one was allowed in until an hour before tip-off? That's messed up. I was looking forward to walking around the place to check it out one last time, but that plan was completely thwarted. By the time they opened the doors, the fans were flooding it, making it impossible to navigate around in the tight confines of the Spectrum. Not a good way to start.
It was one of the many downs in the up-and-down weekend. We entered, got our free lanyards and posters, took our seats up in the nose bleeds and settled in for what we hoped would be a fun night. Well, turns out, you put a rolled up poster in my hands and I instantly revert back to an elementary school kid. Arkansas Fred, silver fox and I were hitting each other with the posters, using them as bull horns and honestly, if anyone around us happened upon our inane conversations before the ceremonies began, they would swear we were no older than 15 … instead of, you know, in our mid-20s.
Anyway, as game time approached, our experience took a turn for the worst. An older gentleman, probably in his late 50s, early 60s, sat down in front of us with a hoagie in hand. About 30 seconds after he sat down, a stench so vile that even a dog wouldn't go up and attempt to sniff it permeated our section. Immediately, Arkansas Fred covered his nose, made a horrid face and pointed toward the man in front of us. I mean, this smell was awful.
At first, I assumed it must have been his hoagie. Sometimes sandwiches can give off quite an unpleasant odor. But long after this slob had finished feeding, the putrid smell lingered. In fact, every time the man moved, the stench grew stronger. I'm not exaggerating, I'd rather have sat next to a sewage plant than have to be around this fellow. It was that bad. He fucking stank.
Honestly, this guy smelled like a cross between a decaying dead animal, puke, sweat and vinegar. Maybe. I'm really not sure what the smell was to tell the truth, but it was the worst thing ever. All I know is that people who wash themselves do not smell like that. And nothing should smell like that. Really, seeing as he smelled like death anyway, that guy should do the rest of the world a favor and just kill himself.
The good news is that the game and presentations were pretty sweet. The Sixers who were being honored from the 1982-83 championship team were introduced by Joe Conklin in the voice of the famed deceased former Sixers PA announcer Dave Zinkoff, and sporadically throughout the game, Conklin would make timeout announcements and the like in Zink's voice.
Now, what I'm about to say is probably going to upset some of the Philadelphia faithful, but honestly, if Conklin's impersonation of Zinkoff was as spot on as most of his other impersonations are, and if Zinkoff really did always announce like Conklin did in those few instances, I'd have gone completely mad attending Sixers games. Don't get me wrong, I think Matt Cord is fucking hack who, if there is any justice in the world, will have his vocal chords removed and lose any ability to talk in the very, very near future, but honestly, given all the praise I've heard over the years about Zink (from my dad and others), I just don't get it. Hearing that nasally voice go over the top on everything was annoying as hell. Hopefully it was just for the effect on Friday, because I mean no disrespect to a dead man. But for real, the Zink impression was annoying the shit out of me.
What did not annoy me was the good Doctor's speech before tip-off. Dr. J was gracious as always, gave a very heartfelt speech and urged the Sixers to beat the Bulls … which is exactly what they did, albeit in a very close contest.
Although there was certainly some obstructed viewing with the poorly places thick, black rails in our section, it was cool watching the game in the gym atmosphere of the Spectrum. It was a tight contest, and Thaddeus Young was a beast, scoring a career-high 31 points.
He put on quite a performance, much like Derek Rose. If you haven't gotten the opportunity to see Rose play in person, do yourself a favor and make it a priority. The kid is just sick. He got wherever he wanted on the floor virtually all night, opened up many shots for his teammates, and without Rose, the Bulls would have easily lost by 30 points instead of just 3. He's a beast.
But the beastliest player on the court Friday was Young, even though in the fourth quarter his teammates seemed to completely forget that. All game long, Young was dominating, getting to the rim, hitting jumpers, doing it all. Then, after a rest early in the fourth, with the game tight and the Bulls posing a serious threat, Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller refused to even look Thad's way. As a result, the Bulls pulled closer and had a chance to tie at the end of the game. Luckily, the Bulls couldn't make the final shot, and Andre Iguodala did take over at the end, but the stupidity in the fourth quarter of this team drove me nuts.
Which brings to the conclusion, officially, that Tony DiLeo is not a good coach. Shocker, I know. But really, he put his team in some horrible match-up situations in the final quarter, not the least of which was having Reggie Evans attempt to guard Tim Thomas. Evans routinely played off Thomas and doubled off him, leaving a very good three-point shooter open from beyond the arc routinely. And Thomas hit a couple big shots to keep the Bulls close.
Then, DiLeo sat a scorching-hot Thad, then proceeded to allow his team to completely ignore him offensively when he got back in the game. Oh, and he should have had his team foul at the end rather than give the Bulls an opportunity to tie the game with a three. But he didn't because he's not a good coach, which is why the Sixers are still nothing more than a mediocre, inconsistent basketball team. But hey, they won, and it was great.
Almost as great as hearing that Temple beat Xavier to advance to the A-10 finals, which of course they won on Saturday to steal a spot in the dance.
Much like Syracuse seems at home in Madison Square Garden, the Owls love them some AC. I'm pretty pumped that they won again, even if it meant taking the spot that potentially could have gone to Penn State. I'm a Temple basketball fan first, and the Owls deserved to be dancing. Dionte is a stud, and their RPI was way too good to be left out. Now they'll take on a good Arizona State team, but my money's going on the Owls.
Anyway, after the game, we headed back to my house, watched Penn State get killed and relaxed for the remainder of the night. Then on Saturday, silver fox and I decided to head out on the Erin Express.
We made it exactly one stop in, downed a couple beers and some car bombs, and then couldn't get on the bus because it was so packed. So we instead headed to drink at a more comfortable location, watching the Flyers dismantled the Rangers thanks to two goals by Aaron Asham and a nice game by Marty Biron, witness UNC lose to Florida State with no Ty Lawson, and then went back to my house to watch Temple win the A-10 tourney yet again.
Then we headed to Bucks County, drove around a bit and rested up for a 22-round offline fantasy baseball draft yesterday. It was certainly an experience to say the least. The Flyers were getting killed, leading to some responses from the stupid Rangers fans I know and had mocked on Saturday, the Sixers beat the Heat behind the deadly three-point shooting of Donyell Marshall, who Arkansas Fred seems to be in love with, and the draft took roughly 2 and half hours.
It's the baseball draft honey, I got Matsui!
The highlight was certainly the ridiculous spelling of the names by CuzinVin, who is clearly the least informed on baseball and an idiot to boot and was somehow the guy writing the names on the big board, with R. Kinow (Robinson Cano) and A. Lee (Utley) taking the cake.
Then I wrapped up my weekend by watching the selection show on CBS, and I can't really argue with much. There was one issue I had, however, and that had to do with the No. 1 seeds. Now, UNC, Pitt and Louisville deservedly got No. 1s. They all deserved it, earned it. My issue is with UConn getting a No. 1 ahead of Memphis. Yes, I know the Big East was brutal this year and that Conference USA isn't the toughest conference in the world. But, UConn has already proven they don't deserve a No. 1. How? Well, they lost to Pitt. Twice. In the same season. Call me crazy, but a team that loses to the same team twice in one year just doesn't deserve a No. 1 seed in my book when there is another worthy team.
That team is Memphis. The Tigers had fewer losses, and yeah, they play in a pretty bad conference, but I'm pretty sure Memphis proved its worth last year, if I remember correctly. Let me check my memory. Did UConn, or Pitt or Louisville or any other Big East team for that matter, play in the national title game last year? No? You have to be kidding me. Well, then, who was the team that lost to Kansas on that sick shot by Mario Chalmers? The team that should have won if they just hit some damn free throws? Memphis?!? Get the fuck out of here.
What I'm trying to say is, Memphis deserved the No. 1 seed over UConn. They just did. The Tigers were the runners up last year, and even with the departure of Derek Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis cruised through Conference USA, played sick D all year and emerged with just three losses. Still, a No. 2 isn't a slap in the face, but the Big East, as awesome as it was this year, didn't deserve three No. 1s, especially since UConn lost to Pitt twice this year.
That is all.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Temporary Hiatus
My apologies. This week has been all sorts of hectic, and that includes today. There have been virtually no posts, and there won't be any today either. Sorry about that.
However, I will be attending the final professional sporting event at the Spectrum tonight, along with going on a wild adventure that is the Erin Express tomorrow, followed by a marathon offline fantasy baseball draft Sunday. And I promise you few loyal readers that I'll chronicle the whole thing for you so you can read about it on Monday. Until then, I'm a slave to the paying job. Which blows. But a man's gotta eat, son. See you all next week.
However, I will be attending the final professional sporting event at the Spectrum tonight, along with going on a wild adventure that is the Erin Express tomorrow, followed by a marathon offline fantasy baseball draft Sunday. And I promise you few loyal readers that I'll chronicle the whole thing for you so you can read about it on Monday. Until then, I'm a slave to the paying job. Which blows. But a man's gotta eat, son. See you all next week.
Monday, March 9, 2009
So Long Sucker … the Weekend that Was
It was quite an interesting weekend around these parts, to say the least. One minute, a trade is getting nullified. The next minute, you wind up at a strip club with a few ladies that may or may not be able to legally drink.
And that was all before Sunday. For starters, let me touch on this Kyle McLaren nonsense. Believe it or not, I consider this an extremely good thing. I know the Flyers were looking for an imposing defenseman to come in and, if nothing else, provide some insurance depth should a blue line body go down. Understandable. Beyond Andrew Alberts, the Flyers don't have a guy back there who's looking to take people out, and considering what transpired last year with the injuries to Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn in the playoffs, insurance is good.
But, let's face the facts: Kyle McLaren is nothing more than Mike Rathje, and we all saw how that worked out for the Flyers. I'd feel infinitely more confident inserting Lasse Kukkonen, a guy who can actually skate a little bit, into the lineup should someone go down than the slow-footed McLaren. And hell, I'd have to think there's at least someone in the Phantoms organization that's a better option than McLaren. Either way, this trade getting nixed is a positive in my eyes.
As far as the Flyers themselves are concerned … Saturday's 4-1 win over Nashville was a nice way to rebound after that embarrassment at the hands of the Flames. Sure, the Predators aren't exactly, you know, good, but it was nice to see the Flyers take care of business. Joffrey Lupul deposited two goals, Mike Richards had another tremendous game and newcomer Daniel Carcillo notched an assist and was a +1. Oh yeah, and he fought, which was nice to see.
But, the story of the game was once again Martin Biron, who is officially stating his case to be the Flyers' man in net for the playoffs.
Following his tremendous display in his two periods against Calgary, Biron was fantastic again on Saturday, stopping 31 of 32 shots including a couple of dandies.
I think it's abundantly clear that Biron is the guy in net. He proved last year he's capable of coming up big when it matters, and suddenly, he looks as though he's getting into that groove again.
That was a nice primer before heading out to the Northeast to take in a little fun. And fun I had.
But unbeknownst to me, my alma mater wasn't having such a great time. Remember on Friday when I said Penn State should be getting their dancing shoes ready following the Nittany Lions' second win against Illinois. Yeah, well, scratch that. Turns out, for the second time this school year, Iowa ruined Penn State's season.
I didn't watch a second of this game, but it seems the Lions choked it up just like they did in football against those mother fucking Hawkeyes, this time with a double-overtime 75-67 loss. Apparently, Talor Battle did all he could, scoring 12 straight points in two minutes to keep the Lions in it, but his 26 points and 10 boards weren't enough to prevent Ed DeChellis from failing yet again.
Now, the Lions have had an excellent season, surpassing pretty much any expectations and bringing Penn State back to respectability. But that has been because of Battle, not DeChellis, who is pretty much as incompetent a coach as there is in the country. Get a decent coach in there with Battle doing his thing, and maybe Penn State would become more consistent. And seriously, someone needs to bomb Iowa to prevent the Hawkeyes from continually screwing us over. I fucking hate Iowa. Worthless state with nothing but dishonest jerks.
Now Penn State's gonna have to make a deep run in the Big 10 tournament and get a little help to make the Big Dance. A sixth seed in the Big 10 just isn't going to cut it on its own, nor should it. You lose to Iowa in your last game, and you don't really deserve to make it. That's just the way it is.
The Sixers, on the other hand, did manage to win on Saturday, albeit by just five points against a struggling Memphis squad. Here's the catch—they followed that up by losing to the Thunder without Kevin Durant. That's, as they say, god-fucking-awful.
As the calendar flipped over to 2009, the Sixers were playing some great ball and everyone, myself included, was saying how much better the Sixers are without Elton Brand. And that was and is true: The Sixers have played much, much better without Brand this season. Here's the thing: Better than bad still isn't good. And the Sixers are not a good basketball team. They're not really an awful team either, as the run in January proves, but losing to Oklahoma City this late in the year, with playoff positioning on the line, is not good. At all.
Andre Iguodala, who has had quite the inconsistent year, played his worst game since early in the season last night, scoring just 9 points on 3-11 from the field and 6 turnovers. That's not good for a guy who's supposed to be the man on this team. And that's the problem with the Sixers. They don't have that guy. They don't have a closer, the man who will put the team on his back and will them to victory. Andre Iguodala is getting paid like that guy, but he just isn't that guy. He does a lot of good things on the basketball court and is without question a player anyone would like to have on their team, but he's not a guy you feel confident will get you that bucket you need when you need it.
Andre Miller is probably the closest thing the Sixers have to that, but even when he's carrying the team and making big shots, it never seems like the Sixers can make it over the hump. With last night's loss, the Sixers dropped a game below .500 again, still in 7th place and two games ahead of Chicago, but they look like nothing more than a mediocre team. And as each day passes, the Sixers get closer and closer to facing either Cleveland, Boston or Orlando in the first round, meaning quite a short stay in the playoffs yet again.
It certainly hasn't turned out to be the year the Sixers had hoped.
Luckily, all was not lost yesterday, at least for me. In a fight of good vs. evil, the caretakers of the universe, North Carolina, topped the appropriately named Blue Devils, preventing Satan's minions from disrupting the balance of the Earth. What I'm trying to say is, as I've said before, when Duke loses, the rest of world wins. And yesterday, for the second time this season, Duke lost to North Carolina, giving UNC the outright regular season ACC championship.
Because this photo never gets old
It's pretty easy to say that North Carolina went 2-0 against Duke this season because UNC is simply better than Duke. And that would be true. But there's more to it than that. The Tar Heels are better for two main reasons: balance and versatility.
Take yesterday's game for instance. North Carolina had five players in double digits: Danny Green (12), Tyler Hansbrough (17), Ty Lawson (13), Deon Thompson (14) and Wayne Ellington (16). Duke had just five players in the entire game score, one of which had a measly two points. Contrast that with North Carolina's seven players who made a basket, and you get the idea.
The other thing is, UNC can beat you in different ways. They have guys who can score inside, guys who can score outside, drivers, slashers, shooters, pounders … and a point guard who should be a lock for ACC Player of the Year and be in the discussion for National Player of the Year (although Blake Griffin in a lock for that). On the other side, Duke has to hit the three ball to win, and that's a recipe for disaster come tournament time. You can't be one-dimensional, but beyond Gerald Henderson, Duke doesn't have another player who can get to the basket. The rest of the Dukies, Kyle Singler included, need to be on point from three to beat the top teams. That dependence on the three has been the reason Duke hasn't done jack shit in the tournament for a decade—and it's the reason they won't do jack shit again this year. This makes me very, very happy.
Now, surprisingly, yesterday's game was the most bored I've been in years watching a Duke-Carolina contest. I'm not exactly sure why, but it was. The game just wasn't very exciting. However, I'd like to give a little love to Philly's own Wayne "The Brain" Ellington for putting on quite an impressive showing (free throws aside) yesterday.
Ellington, who's been notorious over the years for coming up small in big games like yesterday's, scored 16 points and did it in impressive fashion. Known as nothing more than a deadly shooter as a freshman, Ellington has improved his ball-handling and aggressiveness attacking the rim over the past two years, and yesterday he used the whole repertoire to get his 16 points. At one point, he crossed up his former high school teammate Henderson badly, getting to the rim for a layup. On another bucket, he crashed the offensive glass on a beautiful putback. He also made a three, a couple short jumpers and a couple layups to account for his 7-10 shooting.
However, the 80-plus percent free throw shooter did go just 1-5 from the foul line, which was driving me nuts. In fact, the Tar Heels went a combined 17-25 from the line, just 68 percent, which was pretty annoying considering UNC is typically an excellent free throw shooting team. But nonetheless, the Tar Heels won the ACC Championship yesterday, giving Danny Green and Tyler Hansbrough a very nice gift in their senior seasons—not to mention two more wins this year against Duke.
It was a damn fine way to wrap up the weekend. Although Flight of the Conchords was pretty week last night, but I digress …
And that was all before Sunday. For starters, let me touch on this Kyle McLaren nonsense. Believe it or not, I consider this an extremely good thing. I know the Flyers were looking for an imposing defenseman to come in and, if nothing else, provide some insurance depth should a blue line body go down. Understandable. Beyond Andrew Alberts, the Flyers don't have a guy back there who's looking to take people out, and considering what transpired last year with the injuries to Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn in the playoffs, insurance is good.
But, let's face the facts: Kyle McLaren is nothing more than Mike Rathje, and we all saw how that worked out for the Flyers. I'd feel infinitely more confident inserting Lasse Kukkonen, a guy who can actually skate a little bit, into the lineup should someone go down than the slow-footed McLaren. And hell, I'd have to think there's at least someone in the Phantoms organization that's a better option than McLaren. Either way, this trade getting nixed is a positive in my eyes.
As far as the Flyers themselves are concerned … Saturday's 4-1 win over Nashville was a nice way to rebound after that embarrassment at the hands of the Flames. Sure, the Predators aren't exactly, you know, good, but it was nice to see the Flyers take care of business. Joffrey Lupul deposited two goals, Mike Richards had another tremendous game and newcomer Daniel Carcillo notched an assist and was a +1. Oh yeah, and he fought, which was nice to see.
But, the story of the game was once again Martin Biron, who is officially stating his case to be the Flyers' man in net for the playoffs.
Following his tremendous display in his two periods against Calgary, Biron was fantastic again on Saturday, stopping 31 of 32 shots including a couple of dandies.
I think it's abundantly clear that Biron is the guy in net. He proved last year he's capable of coming up big when it matters, and suddenly, he looks as though he's getting into that groove again.
That was a nice primer before heading out to the Northeast to take in a little fun. And fun I had.
But unbeknownst to me, my alma mater wasn't having such a great time. Remember on Friday when I said Penn State should be getting their dancing shoes ready following the Nittany Lions' second win against Illinois. Yeah, well, scratch that. Turns out, for the second time this school year, Iowa ruined Penn State's season.
I didn't watch a second of this game, but it seems the Lions choked it up just like they did in football against those mother fucking Hawkeyes, this time with a double-overtime 75-67 loss. Apparently, Talor Battle did all he could, scoring 12 straight points in two minutes to keep the Lions in it, but his 26 points and 10 boards weren't enough to prevent Ed DeChellis from failing yet again.
Now, the Lions have had an excellent season, surpassing pretty much any expectations and bringing Penn State back to respectability. But that has been because of Battle, not DeChellis, who is pretty much as incompetent a coach as there is in the country. Get a decent coach in there with Battle doing his thing, and maybe Penn State would become more consistent. And seriously, someone needs to bomb Iowa to prevent the Hawkeyes from continually screwing us over. I fucking hate Iowa. Worthless state with nothing but dishonest jerks.
Now Penn State's gonna have to make a deep run in the Big 10 tournament and get a little help to make the Big Dance. A sixth seed in the Big 10 just isn't going to cut it on its own, nor should it. You lose to Iowa in your last game, and you don't really deserve to make it. That's just the way it is.
The Sixers, on the other hand, did manage to win on Saturday, albeit by just five points against a struggling Memphis squad. Here's the catch—they followed that up by losing to the Thunder without Kevin Durant. That's, as they say, god-fucking-awful.
As the calendar flipped over to 2009, the Sixers were playing some great ball and everyone, myself included, was saying how much better the Sixers are without Elton Brand. And that was and is true: The Sixers have played much, much better without Brand this season. Here's the thing: Better than bad still isn't good. And the Sixers are not a good basketball team. They're not really an awful team either, as the run in January proves, but losing to Oklahoma City this late in the year, with playoff positioning on the line, is not good. At all.
Andre Iguodala, who has had quite the inconsistent year, played his worst game since early in the season last night, scoring just 9 points on 3-11 from the field and 6 turnovers. That's not good for a guy who's supposed to be the man on this team. And that's the problem with the Sixers. They don't have that guy. They don't have a closer, the man who will put the team on his back and will them to victory. Andre Iguodala is getting paid like that guy, but he just isn't that guy. He does a lot of good things on the basketball court and is without question a player anyone would like to have on their team, but he's not a guy you feel confident will get you that bucket you need when you need it.
Andre Miller is probably the closest thing the Sixers have to that, but even when he's carrying the team and making big shots, it never seems like the Sixers can make it over the hump. With last night's loss, the Sixers dropped a game below .500 again, still in 7th place and two games ahead of Chicago, but they look like nothing more than a mediocre team. And as each day passes, the Sixers get closer and closer to facing either Cleveland, Boston or Orlando in the first round, meaning quite a short stay in the playoffs yet again.
It certainly hasn't turned out to be the year the Sixers had hoped.
Luckily, all was not lost yesterday, at least for me. In a fight of good vs. evil, the caretakers of the universe, North Carolina, topped the appropriately named Blue Devils, preventing Satan's minions from disrupting the balance of the Earth. What I'm trying to say is, as I've said before, when Duke loses, the rest of world wins. And yesterday, for the second time this season, Duke lost to North Carolina, giving UNC the outright regular season ACC championship.
Because this photo never gets old
It's pretty easy to say that North Carolina went 2-0 against Duke this season because UNC is simply better than Duke. And that would be true. But there's more to it than that. The Tar Heels are better for two main reasons: balance and versatility.
Take yesterday's game for instance. North Carolina had five players in double digits: Danny Green (12), Tyler Hansbrough (17), Ty Lawson (13), Deon Thompson (14) and Wayne Ellington (16). Duke had just five players in the entire game score, one of which had a measly two points. Contrast that with North Carolina's seven players who made a basket, and you get the idea.
The other thing is, UNC can beat you in different ways. They have guys who can score inside, guys who can score outside, drivers, slashers, shooters, pounders … and a point guard who should be a lock for ACC Player of the Year and be in the discussion for National Player of the Year (although Blake Griffin in a lock for that). On the other side, Duke has to hit the three ball to win, and that's a recipe for disaster come tournament time. You can't be one-dimensional, but beyond Gerald Henderson, Duke doesn't have another player who can get to the basket. The rest of the Dukies, Kyle Singler included, need to be on point from three to beat the top teams. That dependence on the three has been the reason Duke hasn't done jack shit in the tournament for a decade—and it's the reason they won't do jack shit again this year. This makes me very, very happy.
Now, surprisingly, yesterday's game was the most bored I've been in years watching a Duke-Carolina contest. I'm not exactly sure why, but it was. The game just wasn't very exciting. However, I'd like to give a little love to Philly's own Wayne "The Brain" Ellington for putting on quite an impressive showing (free throws aside) yesterday.
Ellington, who's been notorious over the years for coming up small in big games like yesterday's, scored 16 points and did it in impressive fashion. Known as nothing more than a deadly shooter as a freshman, Ellington has improved his ball-handling and aggressiveness attacking the rim over the past two years, and yesterday he used the whole repertoire to get his 16 points. At one point, he crossed up his former high school teammate Henderson badly, getting to the rim for a layup. On another bucket, he crashed the offensive glass on a beautiful putback. He also made a three, a couple short jumpers and a couple layups to account for his 7-10 shooting.
However, the 80-plus percent free throw shooter did go just 1-5 from the foul line, which was driving me nuts. In fact, the Tar Heels went a combined 17-25 from the line, just 68 percent, which was pretty annoying considering UNC is typically an excellent free throw shooting team. But nonetheless, the Tar Heels won the ACC Championship yesterday, giving Danny Green and Tyler Hansbrough a very nice gift in their senior seasons—not to mention two more wins this year against Duke.
It was a damn fine way to wrap up the weekend. Although Flight of the Conchords was pretty week last night, but I digress …
Friday, March 6, 2009
I Know Brian Dawkins, and You, My Friend, Are No Brian Dawkins
Apparently, the Eagles have signed Sean Jones, a 27-year-old strong safety who has played all three of his NFL seasons with the Browns.
Yesterday on Daily News Live, Paul Domowitch said Jones is strictly a strong safety, so this officially means Quintin Mikell will be moving to free safety to try and fill the considerable shoes that Brian Dawkins vacated. We all know Mikell is a damn fine football, but what of this Sean Jones character?
Well, for starters, he went to Georgia. Let's hope he's a lot better at his job than Reggie Brown is at his. In all honesty, I don't know dick about Jones, but he did put up impressive numbers his first two season in the league. Rumor has it he had a down year last season because he was coming off an injury, and you know, he played for the fucking Cleveland Browns.
It certainly sounds like a smart move for the Eagles, who definitely needed to secure a starter for this season at safety. Hopefully Mikell will have no problems transitioning to free safety. I suspect he won't.
And while Sean Jones could very well turn out to be a good player for the Eagles, he sure as shit ain't Brian Dawkins. And that's why no one really gives a crap about this. Plus, even with Dawk departing, the Eagles have much, much bigger concerns to address. Like left tackle. You know, the position that is the most vital in protecting the quarterback—a quarterback who just so happens to have a history of getting injured. Oh, and then there's running back. And tight end. And wide receiver. And a pass rusher that can actually play the run as well.
But why bother with that? Let's let an all-time great go, giving us another unnecessary hole to fill, and then fill that first. I mean, who needs a left tackle anyway?
Update: Maybe I should be more excited. A jerk is praising Sean Jones:
Fucking piece of shit ass franchise bitch ass mother fucking cold ass whore, Eagles.
Picking up Sean Fucking Jones. Fuck that. How the hell was this possible? Nobody watches the Browns. How the hell could anyone have known that Sean Jones is a fucking badass safety?
AND WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T MANKOK FUCKING RESIGN FUCKING SEAN FUCKING JONES. FUCK SHIT ASS.
/passes out
Badass safety, huh? Me likes the sound of that.
Yesterday on Daily News Live, Paul Domowitch said Jones is strictly a strong safety, so this officially means Quintin Mikell will be moving to free safety to try and fill the considerable shoes that Brian Dawkins vacated. We all know Mikell is a damn fine football, but what of this Sean Jones character?
Well, for starters, he went to Georgia. Let's hope he's a lot better at his job than Reggie Brown is at his. In all honesty, I don't know dick about Jones, but he did put up impressive numbers his first two season in the league. Rumor has it he had a down year last season because he was coming off an injury, and you know, he played for the fucking Cleveland Browns.
It certainly sounds like a smart move for the Eagles, who definitely needed to secure a starter for this season at safety. Hopefully Mikell will have no problems transitioning to free safety. I suspect he won't.
And while Sean Jones could very well turn out to be a good player for the Eagles, he sure as shit ain't Brian Dawkins. And that's why no one really gives a crap about this. Plus, even with Dawk departing, the Eagles have much, much bigger concerns to address. Like left tackle. You know, the position that is the most vital in protecting the quarterback—a quarterback who just so happens to have a history of getting injured. Oh, and then there's running back. And tight end. And wide receiver. And a pass rusher that can actually play the run as well.
But why bother with that? Let's let an all-time great go, giving us another unnecessary hole to fill, and then fill that first. I mean, who needs a left tackle anyway?
Update: Maybe I should be more excited. A jerk is praising Sean Jones:
Fucking piece of shit ass franchise bitch ass mother fucking cold ass whore, Eagles.
Picking up Sean Fucking Jones. Fuck that. How the hell was this possible? Nobody watches the Browns. How the hell could anyone have known that Sean Jones is a fucking badass safety?
AND WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T MANKOK FUCKING RESIGN FUCKING SEAN FUCKING JONES. FUCK SHIT ASS.
/passes out
Badass safety, huh? Me likes the sound of that.
A Spectrum-Inspired Commercial
Sort of. Check out the new, pretty damn good Vitamin Water commercial:
That's pretty funny. Although, I refuse to post the shot, even though it did happen in the Spectrum, because I hate Duke that much.
That's pretty funny. Although, I refuse to post the shot, even though it did happen in the Spectrum, because I hate Duke that much.
Who Wants to Dance?
Apparently, Penn State does and the Flyers don't.
What a rollercoaster of a night. I was extremely amped up to watch the Flyers in their first game since the questionable deadline deals that rid them of Scottie Upshall and returned a couple of question marks. And then, you know, the game happened. What a fucking disaster that was.
The Flyers did start out with about three good shifts, but those were pretty much the only good shifts of the entire first period. The Flames, who sit firmly in third place in the West, completely owned the Flyers in the opening 20 minutes. They outshot Philadelphia 19-10, and before you know it, the score was 4-0 Calgary. Not good.
It was the Flames' newly formed top line that did most of the damage. Olli Jokinen, a notorious Flyer killer during his days in Florida, was up to his old tricks. It looked as though he and Jarome Iginla had played together for years, not, uh, never. Those two were incredible, especially Jokinen, who scored back-to-back goals in his debut as a Flame.
The Flyers had no answer for Calgary, and even more unnerving, they had no answer for anything. Routinely, they couldn't get the puck out of their own zone, and the turnovers were simply atrocious. Not a single Flyer looked like he gave a damn, with the exception of Antero Niitymaki, but that didn't even last long. Niitty was bombarded with 19 shots, and he made some really great saves, but he also let in two weak goals—the first and the last. The final one, where he was stumbling around to try and stand up in the net, was atrocious.
I honestly have no faith in Niittymaki whatsoever. I know Biron's been inconsistent as hell, but every time in his career when it looks like Niitty is in position to become the man, he starts to fucking blow. Last night, he didn't get any help in front of him, and he did make some nice saves, but Biron came in and simply outplayed Niittymaki. And with his performance in last year's playoffs, I think Biron is definitely the way to go in net. That's just me.
It was an absolutely awful game. The Flyers did pick it up a little bit in the second and third, but it was too little too late. You aren't coming back from a 4-0 hole against Miikka Kiprusoff, and in all honesty, the Flames looked damn good. Jokinen was unreal, and Calgary swarmed to the puck and gave the Flyers no room to work. It was like watching 6th graders dominate 5th graders at recess.
The thing that really pissed me off about last night, more than even getting killed, was how the Flyers responded. After that early, pathetic attempt at a fight between Riley Cote and Andre Roy, there was no rough stuff at all. Daniel Carcillo, known mainly for throwing fists, decided to completely ignore my advice, even after falling behind by not two, not three, but four goals in the first period.
Now, I will say that it looked as though Carcillo tried to get any Flame he could to go on one particular first-period shift, focusing his attention on Curtis Glencross, but no Flame took the bait. And after that, there wasn't even a hint of any desire to fight for any Flyer, even though the score called for it. That's pretty piss-poor if you ask me, especially when getting trounced in your own building. I was supremely disappointed in that. It was the perfect situation for Carcillo to showcase his fisticuffs to the Philadelphia crowd and try to jump-start a dormant Flyers team. But no, he and the rest of the Flyers decided to sit back and take it like a bunch of pansies. Pathetic.
And to top things off, Daniel Briere left the game with a groin injury and given his history, particularly this season, this could be bad. Very bad. Like, out for a while bad. We're not sure about any of that yet, but would you be surprised? At least the Flyers still haveScottie Upshall to pick up the slack Jared Ross to call up. Oh, and on a side note, on a night in which Mike Richards played perhaps his worst game of the season and the Flyers desperately needed someone to give them a spark, the guy who used to do that regularly scored a goal and was named top star of the game as his new team beat the top-seeded Bruins. So, yeah, Upshall played the Bruins twice in three days, scored the first goal for his team each time, and saw his team defeat the best team in the Eastern Conference. Yeah, sounds like a guy I'd like to get rid of. Fuck you, Holmgren. And fuck you, too, Briere. Pussy.
Thankfully, the night wasn't a wash, and the joy came from a surprising place—a Penn State basketball game. Remember when Penn State and Illinois played the worst game in the history of college basketball? Yeah, well, the rematch last night in Happy Valley was the complete opposite of that. Don't believe me? Watch this:
Yeah, Talor Battle was shooting the ball and there was nothing anyone was going to do about it. Make him go through all five Illinois defenders? No problem. He'll just toss it up on the glass and rattle it on it. Wow! I mean, wow! That was pretty awesome.
In prime time, on ESPN, in front of the nation, the Nittany Lions, playing in front of a rare packed Bryce Jordan Center crowd, notched their 21st win of the season and 10th in the Big Ten in dramatic fashion. Now the Lions really can have dreams of dancing.
It was Battle who made the big bucket, but it was Stanley Pringle who allowed Penn State to get there. The masturbating madman was phenomenal, scoring a game-high 20 points on 8-11 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc.
He was in complete control and with Lions down 6 late in the game, it was Pringle who brought them back. And then Battle, who had an awful game prior to that final shot, stepped up when his team needed him. After getting to the rim with ease but failing to finish, then dribbling into an Illini defender and turning it over with just seconds left, Battle took the ball coast-to-coast, weaving through 5 Illinois defenders and hit the shot that may have secured Penn State a spot in the big dance.
Penn State has historically been a laughingstock in the world of college hoops, but as the young man from Albany said after Penn State's huge upset win at Michigan State earlier this year: "I guess we made history, huh?" Battle said. "Coach mentioned that we hadn't won here. But I wasn't on those other Penn State teams. This is the '08-09 team. …"
And this 2008-09 team is getting its dancing shoes ready.
What a rollercoaster of a night. I was extremely amped up to watch the Flyers in their first game since the questionable deadline deals that rid them of Scottie Upshall and returned a couple of question marks. And then, you know, the game happened. What a fucking disaster that was.
The Flyers did start out with about three good shifts, but those were pretty much the only good shifts of the entire first period. The Flames, who sit firmly in third place in the West, completely owned the Flyers in the opening 20 minutes. They outshot Philadelphia 19-10, and before you know it, the score was 4-0 Calgary. Not good.
It was the Flames' newly formed top line that did most of the damage. Olli Jokinen, a notorious Flyer killer during his days in Florida, was up to his old tricks. It looked as though he and Jarome Iginla had played together for years, not, uh, never. Those two were incredible, especially Jokinen, who scored back-to-back goals in his debut as a Flame.
The Flyers had no answer for Calgary, and even more unnerving, they had no answer for anything. Routinely, they couldn't get the puck out of their own zone, and the turnovers were simply atrocious. Not a single Flyer looked like he gave a damn, with the exception of Antero Niitymaki, but that didn't even last long. Niitty was bombarded with 19 shots, and he made some really great saves, but he also let in two weak goals—the first and the last. The final one, where he was stumbling around to try and stand up in the net, was atrocious.
I honestly have no faith in Niittymaki whatsoever. I know Biron's been inconsistent as hell, but every time in his career when it looks like Niitty is in position to become the man, he starts to fucking blow. Last night, he didn't get any help in front of him, and he did make some nice saves, but Biron came in and simply outplayed Niittymaki. And with his performance in last year's playoffs, I think Biron is definitely the way to go in net. That's just me.
It was an absolutely awful game. The Flyers did pick it up a little bit in the second and third, but it was too little too late. You aren't coming back from a 4-0 hole against Miikka Kiprusoff, and in all honesty, the Flames looked damn good. Jokinen was unreal, and Calgary swarmed to the puck and gave the Flyers no room to work. It was like watching 6th graders dominate 5th graders at recess.
The thing that really pissed me off about last night, more than even getting killed, was how the Flyers responded. After that early, pathetic attempt at a fight between Riley Cote and Andre Roy, there was no rough stuff at all. Daniel Carcillo, known mainly for throwing fists, decided to completely ignore my advice, even after falling behind by not two, not three, but four goals in the first period.
Now, I will say that it looked as though Carcillo tried to get any Flame he could to go on one particular first-period shift, focusing his attention on Curtis Glencross, but no Flame took the bait. And after that, there wasn't even a hint of any desire to fight for any Flyer, even though the score called for it. That's pretty piss-poor if you ask me, especially when getting trounced in your own building. I was supremely disappointed in that. It was the perfect situation for Carcillo to showcase his fisticuffs to the Philadelphia crowd and try to jump-start a dormant Flyers team. But no, he and the rest of the Flyers decided to sit back and take it like a bunch of pansies. Pathetic.
And to top things off, Daniel Briere left the game with a groin injury and given his history, particularly this season, this could be bad. Very bad. Like, out for a while bad. We're not sure about any of that yet, but would you be surprised? At least the Flyers still have
Thankfully, the night wasn't a wash, and the joy came from a surprising place—a Penn State basketball game. Remember when Penn State and Illinois played the worst game in the history of college basketball? Yeah, well, the rematch last night in Happy Valley was the complete opposite of that. Don't believe me? Watch this:
Yeah, Talor Battle was shooting the ball and there was nothing anyone was going to do about it. Make him go through all five Illinois defenders? No problem. He'll just toss it up on the glass and rattle it on it. Wow! I mean, wow! That was pretty awesome.
In prime time, on ESPN, in front of the nation, the Nittany Lions, playing in front of a rare packed Bryce Jordan Center crowd, notched their 21st win of the season and 10th in the Big Ten in dramatic fashion. Now the Lions really can have dreams of dancing.
It was Battle who made the big bucket, but it was Stanley Pringle who allowed Penn State to get there. The masturbating madman was phenomenal, scoring a game-high 20 points on 8-11 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc.
He was in complete control and with Lions down 6 late in the game, it was Pringle who brought them back. And then Battle, who had an awful game prior to that final shot, stepped up when his team needed him. After getting to the rim with ease but failing to finish, then dribbling into an Illini defender and turning it over with just seconds left, Battle took the ball coast-to-coast, weaving through 5 Illinois defenders and hit the shot that may have secured Penn State a spot in the big dance.
Penn State has historically been a laughingstock in the world of college hoops, but as the young man from Albany said after Penn State's huge upset win at Michigan State earlier this year: "I guess we made history, huh?" Battle said. "Coach mentioned that we hadn't won here. But I wasn't on those other Penn State teams. This is the '08-09 team. …"
And this 2008-09 team is getting its dancing shoes ready.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
A Suggestion for the Newest Flyer: Come Out Swinging
Admittedly, I was pretty upset yesterday at what transpired during the trade deadline with the Flyers. No one wanted to see Scottie Upshall go, especially Upshall.
Now, I have to admit, I may have used some statistics from this season to degrade Daniel Carcillo a bit, but it was not meant as an attempt to take a shot at Carcillo. It was more about me making the point that maybe right now, Upshall is a better fit for a team trying to win the Stanley Cup. However, I've watched Daniel Carcillo from afar since his rookie season last year, and I have to admit, I freaking love the guy. And it won't take long for Flyers fans to embrace him either.
If you don't know much about Carcillo, let me enlighten you. He's a 6 foot, 205 pound 24-year-old who can hit, fight and, yes, even score. Last year, he notched 13 goals and 11 assists, and his aggressive, physical style suits Philadelphia fans perfectly. He will hit and hit hard. And he will fight and win most of those fights.
But, seeing as many fans are a little upset to see Upshall go, here's my suggestion to Carcillo: Fight. Fight tonight. Do that, and trust me, the Philadelphia faithful will love you.
I mean, don't do it at an inopportune time. The Flyers are trying to position themselves for home ice in the playoffs, after all, and they're taking on a very good Calgary team. But seeing as it's his first game as a Flyer, and it just so happens to be at home, Carcillo is granted a great chance to get things off on the right foot in his new home. There's no better way to do that in Philadelphia than to drop the gloves. Kick some ass. And sooner or later, fans will forget that you're the guy the Flyers shipped off Upshall for. Unless Upshall comes back to haunt the Flyers for years and/or Carcillo becomes Steve Downie, which some people think is a possibility:
Unable to do something significant, the Flyers added a veteran castoff to the blue line and a traded one of their most tenacious and well-liked forwards for a guy who's still trying to figure out if he's Milan Lucic or a less clinically insane Steve Downie.
Let's hope Carcillo is more like Lucic, and also, wish Upshall all the best. Hell, maybe the Flyers can figure out a way to finagle the cap and resign Scottie this summer. Doubtful, but a man can dream.
Now, I have to admit, I may have used some statistics from this season to degrade Daniel Carcillo a bit, but it was not meant as an attempt to take a shot at Carcillo. It was more about me making the point that maybe right now, Upshall is a better fit for a team trying to win the Stanley Cup. However, I've watched Daniel Carcillo from afar since his rookie season last year, and I have to admit, I freaking love the guy. And it won't take long for Flyers fans to embrace him either.
If you don't know much about Carcillo, let me enlighten you. He's a 6 foot, 205 pound 24-year-old who can hit, fight and, yes, even score. Last year, he notched 13 goals and 11 assists, and his aggressive, physical style suits Philadelphia fans perfectly. He will hit and hit hard. And he will fight and win most of those fights.
But, seeing as many fans are a little upset to see Upshall go, here's my suggestion to Carcillo: Fight. Fight tonight. Do that, and trust me, the Philadelphia faithful will love you.
I mean, don't do it at an inopportune time. The Flyers are trying to position themselves for home ice in the playoffs, after all, and they're taking on a very good Calgary team. But seeing as it's his first game as a Flyer, and it just so happens to be at home, Carcillo is granted a great chance to get things off on the right foot in his new home. There's no better way to do that in Philadelphia than to drop the gloves. Kick some ass. And sooner or later, fans will forget that you're the guy the Flyers shipped off Upshall for. Unless Upshall comes back to haunt the Flyers for years and/or Carcillo becomes Steve Downie, which some people think is a possibility:
Unable to do something significant, the Flyers added a veteran castoff to the blue line and a traded one of their most tenacious and well-liked forwards for a guy who's still trying to figure out if he's Milan Lucic or a less clinically insane Steve Downie.
Let's hope Carcillo is more like Lucic, and also, wish Upshall all the best. Hell, maybe the Flyers can figure out a way to finagle the cap and resign Scottie this summer. Doubtful, but a man can dream.
Linking It All Together
I have to admit, I'm a little depressed. In the past week, Philadelphians have lost the greatest safety to ever roam the city, a beloved winger and been forced to witness a former No. 1 overall pick face the Phils in a foreign uniform. These things can be traumatic to the psyche of us fans.
Man, it's been a rough week. Last night, I even took a break from watching sports to get some wings, drink some beer and test my trivia. Then I won two games of NHL '09 after a week hiatus, pissing off two of roommates in the process. It cleared my head momentarily, but in all honesty, I don't have much going on in the old noggin right now, so I link.
-Henry Abbott is a mad man. I mean, actually trying to make sense of the NBA's traveling rules/enforcement? Damn. Check it out here, here, here, here and here. Damn.
-If you don't know, now you know: I'm a huge Ween fan. True story. And seeing Deaner chill with Chris Paul makes me love them even more.
-Some love for Shane Clark.
I hope Clark, along with Dante and Dwayne, can go out with a big bang.
-I agree, Ahmad Nivins is the best college player in Philadelphia.
Hell, I'd argue he's the best player in the A-10.
-Upon news of Terrell Owens' release from the Cowboys, one jerk comes to T.O.'s defense.
-Another jerk doesn't feel the same way.
-A-Roid needs surgery.
-The Bat will be attending the ring ceremony.
-Who's madder: Don Nelson or Shoals?
I'm pretty sure this whole Nellie idea can't work out well.
-Classic:
-Now that's a good prank:
Man, it's been a rough week. Last night, I even took a break from watching sports to get some wings, drink some beer and test my trivia. Then I won two games of NHL '09 after a week hiatus, pissing off two of roommates in the process. It cleared my head momentarily, but in all honesty, I don't have much going on in the old noggin right now, so I link.
-Henry Abbott is a mad man. I mean, actually trying to make sense of the NBA's traveling rules/enforcement? Damn. Check it out here, here, here, here and here. Damn.
-If you don't know, now you know: I'm a huge Ween fan. True story. And seeing Deaner chill with Chris Paul makes me love them even more.
-Some love for Shane Clark.
I hope Clark, along with Dante and Dwayne, can go out with a big bang.
-I agree, Ahmad Nivins is the best college player in Philadelphia.
Hell, I'd argue he's the best player in the A-10.
-Upon news of Terrell Owens' release from the Cowboys, one jerk comes to T.O.'s defense.
-Another jerk doesn't feel the same way.
-A-Roid needs surgery.
-The Bat will be attending the ring ceremony.
-Who's madder: Don Nelson or Shoals?
I'm pretty sure this whole Nellie idea can't work out well.
-Classic:
-Now that's a good prank:
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