247 Thoughts on 24/7: Part 1

First of all, we’re exaggerating. There will not be 247 full thoughts on this story so don’t get your hopes too high, but it should be fun anyway.

1. John Tortorella is a hard-ass. We’re shocked.

Every time a NY Ranger is questioned or asked about their coach there just seems to be a common theme. He is an ‘in your face’ kind of guy that tells you exactly how it is. Multiple Rangers’ players answered questions about him and gave the very typical, very professional answer that he is hard on them, but he cares and they like his approach. All of them are clearly, secretly wishing the Rangers would get rid of him so that he gets off of their asses (let’s be real honest).

He’s in the players’ and referees’ faces (AND THE FANS). He has been rubbing people in the hockey world the wrong way for years now. We can still remember hating him as a coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning for 100 years.

Not that it is a solid place for facts all of the time, but below is an excerpt from his Wikipedia page. Again, we’re shocked.

‘Tortorella is known for his outspoken nature—which has included criticizing his own players—and for his unusual system of regularly rotating goaltending duties.’

All we can say is that we’re happy he went to the Rangers. If he had magically ended up as the Flyers’ coach, we might have had to actually start rooting for him.

2. Madison Square Garden vs. The Wells Fargo Center

The 24/7 show did a little bit of a look at some history of the two teams’ stadiums and history. Now, of course, you would be nuts not to love our blue-class, blue collar approach to hockey. With that being said, MSG is a hockey cathedral. Looking at the back-end entrances of the two stadiums is like looking at two very different cultures and dynamics.

Madison Square Garden displays names of players and pictures of past performances and teams etched in stone in a very classy homage to its history. Watching Callahan go through the halls creates a few goosebumps if you’re a true hockey fan (regrettably). WF Center has old-school plywood charts displaying names of past heroes of the Broad Street Bullies. Again, this is a great way to display our blue-collar hockey approach, but it just doesn’t look as impressive. In all fairness, Wells Fargo Center doesn’t have the history that MSG does either – it really isn’t the Spectrum.

Both represent their cities well, but MSG was a thing of beauty (just an observation that caught us off-guard).

3. Ilya is way off of his Czech Rocker.

Maybe this is truly the perfect goalie. The man seemed completely out of it. There were people talking about him having his own reality show, but maybe he would be better off in a mental hospital?

Listening to this guy talk about the vastness of our universe and how Chinese law is that they will kill anyone that kills tigers – you had to think to yourself ,”Is this guy serious?” The other thought that immediately came to us was maybe he’s perfect. In a town that is given so much scrutiny for how it critiques its goaltending, maybe he would be able to block it all out. Hell, is he even going to hear any of it?

He struggled early and proclaimed that he was having issues mentally adjusting, but maybe, just maybe, he can keep focusing on the universe just long enough to keep it all together.

4. Let ‘em in, Let ‘em in

We know it was only on the show for maybe a minute, but if you didn’t notice, the Flyers’ locker room song after a win is ‘Knock Knock’ by: Mac Miller. If you haven’t listened to it yet, we highly recommend it. It really is a good ‘get jacked up’ song.

It also really speaks to this young Flyers team… (sort of)

“1,2,3,4 some crazy-ass kids come and knocked up on your door so

let em in, let em in, let em in”

More to come. Get ready for Part 2 on Wednesday night as we get ready for the Winter Classic in the Bank…

Turkeys and Things to be Thankful for this NFL Season as an Eagles’ Fan

Turkeys:

After this year, these guys should be cooked. (Funny)

           Juan Castillo

Yeah, we've been scratching our heads, too.

This should come as no surprise to most of you because everyone (as always) is in an uproar about the Eagles. This time it just happens to be about the defense. Normally, the blogging twins are very patient about our coaches and personnel, but this time we are a little tired of this coach. Now, don’t get us wrong, we don’t blame Juan for everything…

Should Andy have named him defensive coordinator? Probably not.

Are the players on the defensive side of the ball playing to the best of their capabilities? No way.

We understand the guy’s passion and enthusiasm for coaching, and that is all fantastic, but he could have done that with the offensive line. It is just clear that the guy is in over his head, and maybe he shouldn’t be the one tweaking the defensive schemes of a good number of over-priced, big-headed defensive players that are struggling to find their way.

You have to know that there is a problem with where a team is headed defensively if a head coach (who just put a whole heap of faith in making you his defensive coordinator) is talking about hiring a ‘defensive consultant’ a few weeks into a season for help. Andy basically created a new position to fill a gaping void.

Yes, the defense has definitely played better over the past few weeks, but can we really say that this is scheming or is it finally just top quality defensive players playing up to their paychecks?

A big test will be this Sunday against a Patriots’ offense that will require more than just talent to stop. It’s going to require a good game plan, and we’re going to see if we’re going to get it.

            Kurt Coleman

Weird, it looks like he knew how to tackle in college... Wonder what happened?

Is anyone seeing a trend here on the defensive side of the ball for the Eagles?

Listing Kurt Coleman here should get one of two reactions.

1.     Kurt Coleman, why? He is in no way important enough to get a turkey distinction.

2.     Now that I think about it, he has been pretty awful.

Our thought process is following number two in the above reactions.

Go back through the Eagles’ games this year… How many times do you remember yelling at the TV (maybe the yelling part is just in our house) about how Kurt Coleman took a bad angle to a ball carrier, or couldn’t wrap up a tackle, or blew pass coverage and had you ripping your hair out? Our bet is that even if you didn’t realize it before –you are realizing it now.

This was even more apparent earlier in the year when backs like Michael Turner, Stephen Jackson, and Frank Gore were running free in the secondary with no one around to wrap anyone up.

For a guy that went to THE Ohio State University, shouldn’t we expect a little bit more?

Michael Vick/ Darryl Tapp

We really have nothing to complain about with these two guys. Michael Vick has not played as amazing as he did last year, but its not exactly easy to play an MVP caliber season every year. He was bound to ‘disappoint’ some people this year because it is hard to duplicate the year that he had in 2010.

Darryl Tapp has also been highly productive for Jim Washburn’s defensive line this year. He has 2.5 sacks in a reserve role and has a total of 17 tackles (11 solo). Since coming over in a trade from Seattle, he has proven to be a valuable asset for depth at the defensive end position.

So you may be asking yourself… why are they turkeys? HOKIES BABY! In case you are unfamiliar, these two played their college ball at our Alma Mater “Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University” which is more often called Virginia Tech. They have to be turkeys… that is what they were in college. Go Hokies! (#5 BCS)

Things to be Thankful for:

Brian Rolle

Such a handsome young man.

We bet you didn’t see this coming… A defensive player on the ‘Thankful for’ list?

This is one Ohio Stater that has lived up to his school’s billing.

Brian Rolle came into the outside linebacker role a bit later than he probably should have this year, but he has been a big part of turning around a defense that was hurting big time. He has been a factor in the running game which has solidified itself after the early going, and he has definitely been an impressive option for shutting down a pesky TE or two in the passing game that has plagued the Eagles in the past. We really haven’t had too many games this year where Brian Rolle was in charge in which the TEs went crazy against the Eagles.

Brian has had 33 tackles this year, 8 assts, 3 passes defended, and 25 solo tackles. While these numbers aren’t staggering in themselves, there are no stats for the amount of times he has been in the right spot to stop a runner or occupy a blocker – allowing someone else to be freed up for a tackle. He has been a pleasant surprise for a team that came into the year assuming that Casey Matthews was going to be its starting linebacker.

Not to mention that Brian is still very young. He is 23 years old and still has time to develop to become even better. Even if you’re sitting there saying that this season is over (which we don’t buy yet), there is still something to look forward to with this defense – we still have young players to build on.

Thank you, Brian. The city of Philadelphia should gather around their Thanksgiving day tables and say thanks for you.

Andy Reid

You Beautifully Jovial Man

Stop right there. We are sure that there are a bunch of smart comments coming out of everyone’s mouths about how crazy we are and how Reid needs to go.

If you’ve read this blog before, you know we completely disagree.

Andy has been a great thing for the city of Philadelphia and its beloved Eagles.

Don’t use the argument that we haven’t won a Superbowl under his tenure as our head coach because we can play that game too. There are plenty teams in the NFL that haven’t won a Superbowl under their current head coach’s tenure.

You know what else we can do?

We can name a bunch of teams that have turned over coaches year after year and have not been nearly as competitive or as well run as the Eagles. The Birds have been perennial favorites to win the division for years and have had Chris Berman pick them to win the Superbowl almost every year for the past 6 or 7 years.

The reason is the stability that Andy has brought into Philadelphia.

We’ve made this argument before, but the players love Big Red. Even when he has to hand out orders (for example, benching Desean Jackson), he has kept a great rapport with the players and they want to perform for him.

Can things be said about his inability to manage a clock? Sure.

Can things be said about his penchant for throwing the ball too much? Yup.

Is it possible that we need a change at the head coach position? Sure.

But right now, he IS the head coach of this team, and his contribution to our team over his tenure is immeasurable. So, sit back and give thanks for Big Red and just enjoy.

The Washington Redskins

We admit, on the surface, this looks like an odd addition to the ‘Thankful for’ list.

But think about it.

No matter how disappointing our year has been – our little buddies to the south always outdo us with disappointment. They started with such a bang this year and then slowly but surely declined to their old forms in the NFC East (actually, it was a pretty sharp decline right as they played the Eagles and we embarrassed Sexy Rexy).

It’s nice to have the stability and familiarity of those Redskins being awful.

Not to mention, we are almost assuredly going to be heavy favorites against the Redskins on Sunday, January 1^st at 1 PM on Fox (even if we are still lower than them in the basement of the NFC East).

Thank you, Washington. Your consistency in stormy weather has been a lifeboat for this football town. 

Jason Babin to the Rescue

 Before we set the scene and explain our thought, let us just say that by this we mean “Jason Babin to the Rescue… For Juan Castillo”.

I was worth the money. Thats for sure, Nnamdi...

Let’s set the scene appropriately here.

The Eagles just finished an 18 play, 80 yard drive that spanned 8 minutes and 51 seconds for a go ahead touchdown strike from Vince Young to the unlikeliest of heroes, Riley Cooper. A once maligned defense was coming back on the field to try and do what they had not been able to do so many times the rest of this disappointing season: hold a 4^th quarter lead. However, on this day, there seemed to be a different feeling in Philadelphia. After the way the midnight green defenders had flown around the field for the last 47 minutes and 15 seconds of game time, the fans held on to a thread of hope that the defense could come through where they had failed so many times before. After a couple of completed passes by Manning, the Giants faced a third and 3 from their own 32, and this is where the dream evening almost became a nightmare. After the Eagles pass rush had generated a lot of pressure on Manning and his subpar offensive line all evening, Juan Castillo made an almost fatal mistake. He decided to try and catch the Giants off guard with a cornerback blitz from Manning’s left. Instead of surprising him, the only thing that happened was he exposed our defense and left Victor Cruz wide open. He took that pass 47 yards to the Philadelphia 21, and put the Giants in prime position for the tying touchdown. The next play Superman, AKA Jason Babin, saved the game for the Birds and Juan Castillo by doing what he has done so well all year, never stop hustling. The rest, as they say, is history. The Eagles rode the legs of their workhorse, Lesean “Shady” McCoy to another victory without Jeremy Maclin or Michael Vick.

Now that the scene has been set, lets break down the problem with this scenario: the blitz. It has been a play that has been largely forgotten because of the heroic effort of Jason Babin on the very next play. But what if Jason Babin hadn’t made that play and the Eagles had lost? We would have been questioning that call up and down, but the final result should not blind us from the call that almost cost us a victory. Up to that point in the game, the defense had pressured Manning and really shut down the entire Giants’ offense. Aside from the abysmal 29 yards rushing they had given up, the ferocious front four held Sheli to just 18/35 for 249 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. Along with this, our boys had recorded 2 sacks and 10 QB hits. Those numbers are impressive considering how well the G-Men have played offensively this year. So with all of this defensive success, why did Juan Castillo go against what had made us successful and decided to blitz? We’re not even sure that he knows why. He took a chance that should never have been made and could have cost us the game. He chose to put us in a bad position and it cost us in a big way, but because of the talent that surrounds him, Jason Babin and the Eagles defense saved him (Of course we shouldn’t forget the solid coverage downfield that made him hold the ball and have to scramble).

This brings up two questions:

1.     Does he really know what he is doing or is he just guessing?

The second one which may be even more heart wrenching and important is this:

2.     What may this season have looked like if we had a different defensive coordinator leading our group of talented defensive backs and lineman into the season?

We may never know the answer to either of these questions, but it does not stop the intrigue that goes into these questions. The season may never be regained, and because of that reason, we may be left wondering the universal questions until 2012: What if?

Phillies Christmas List Part II

1. Grady Sizemore

Him, Cole, and Chase could increase women attendance at the games three fold. 

Now this guy is a name that a lot of you could be questioning significantly, but could be a big help anyway. He has been plagued by injuries a lot over the past several years and that has really affected his productivity. He is a CF by trade, but for right now would be a solid platoon player with John Mayberry in LF due to the leftie/rightie matchups. If one of them starts heavily outplaying the other than we can go with the Charlie Manuel special and ride the hot hand. The last full season Sizemore had free of injury was 2008 when he hit .268 with 33 HRs, 39 doubles AND he stole 38 bases. The most telling indication there is that he has speed and WE NEED THAT. For a team who is struggling to hit, if you can get a guy on base (walk, single, HBP, etc…) and he can steal a bag for you, it may help a team to play some small ball. Also, if a guy is out there stealing a lot of bags, it may get into the head of the pitcher who may make a couple of mistakes. All that Rhino, Chase, or Pence need is one mistake to make a close game a blowout. Grady is also only 29 years of age, which could be a little bit of youth to help an aging lineup get some energy and with all of his recent injuries he could be a cheap pickup. Also, he shows some power. If what we understand about the achilles injury to Howard is correct, he may not have the power right away that he has had in the past and a guy capable of 39 HRs may be what we need to jumpstart this offense again. Obviously Cuddyer is our main focus right now, but if he doesn’t work out, Sizemore could end up on our radar as the next best thing available. (To our best knowledge he hasn't officially re-signed with the Indians yet)

2.     Aramis Ramirez

This could be the biggest help to the Phillies overall, but maybe the hardest to get. Aramis would be the class bat that we need to put us back over the top. Not many people realize how good he actually was for an awful Chicago Cubs’ team last year in which he hit .306 with 26 HRs. He posted the most hits of any season in his entire career with 173 and he was doing it in a lineup where aside from Starlin Castro, he is the only decent offensive player. He is not the youngest player around, but in the closing window that the Phillies currently have, we can’t put too much emphasis on age at this point. He also plays third base and that is a position that we need help with because it is hard to rely on Polly as an everyday player at this stage of his career. Aramis could be a potential player for this club, but there is one factor that may be against the Phillies here: the pricetag. This may be the one guy that could desperately help, but may be the most expensive as well. His amount of years and salary could be something we are not willing to open the coin purse on especially with a Cole Hamels free agency pending next offseason. If we can get Aramis Ramirez at the right price though, this may be a signing that would make sense for the Phillies.

Phillies Christmas List

Its getting close to that time of year again. There is holiday buzz all around every department store and toy store in the country. It is still a week away from Thanksgiving, and we already hear Christmas music and see ads with Christmas trees and Santa Claus and reindeer and everything else that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. With this in mind, we decided to do a week long series of guys that would be on the Philadelphia Phillies’ Christmas wish list this year. Now remember, we have been good boys and girls this year so we are hoping that Santa Claus can bring us the presents we have behaved so well for (By this we mean sell out the stadium every game, buy ridiculous amounts of Phillies gear, all the stuff that a GM and its board look for in a fan base). So each night this week look for some of the players that we would put down on our Christmas list this year, and if Santa Claus thinks we were good enough maybe he will bring us a present when he does almost every year… December 14^th.

Now before we get started, these aren’t deals that are necessarily GOING to happen, but they could make some sense for the Phillies as low cost - high production types of free agents. Here is a couple free agents that could potentially be on our Christmas list this year.

1.     Michael Cuddyer

IM SO HAPPY TO BE IN THE BIG LEAGUES! I COULDN'T STAND THE MINNESOTA ACCENTS ANYMORE!

This is a guy right now who would make the most sense for the Phillies. Michael is not a free agent that is going to haul in a big contract, which is something the Phillies really can’t afford anyway, and yet he would be a great fit. One of the biggest reasons he is a great fit is that he is another right handed bat. As you may have noticed, we have a lot of left handers in our lineup and adding another solid righty would always help our matchups especially in late game situations. He hit lefties at a .311 clip last year with 10 homeruns. That kind of production is something that our offense could use, and do not forget that he did that mostly hitting in Target field versus AL pitching. If you put him in CBP with some good ole fashioned NL pitching, we could see .330 with 15 HRs versus lefties. Also, he did hit for a good average last year at .284 overall and even though he is a career .272 hitter, if you can put him in a lineup with some serious power like the Phillies CAN provide (we realize they don’t always provide it), we can see the same kind of production from him going forward. Finally, our last argument for Cuddyer is that he is a swiss army knife in the field. He can play first with Thome while Howard recovers, he can play some third with Polly to give Polanco the much needed rest that he needs, and we can play him at a corner outfield position if need be. Considering center field and right field are locked in, we can always use him out in left just in case something goes awfully wrong with Johnny Mayberry to start off the season. He has even played some second, so in case something happens to Chase, WE GOT IT COVERED. Cuddyer could be invaluable to an aging lineup that throughout the course of a year may have a lot of holes to fill due to injury. 

A Living Legend...

Joseph Paterno was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1926. He graduated from Brown University where he played quarterback and cornerback. In 1950, right out of college, Joe accepted a job as an assistant football college at the Pennsylvania State University underneath his college football coach Rip Engle. After his time as an assistant ran its course, Joe stayed put and accepted a position as the head coach of “Penn State” in 1966. From that day forward, history would be made. From 1966 up until Saturday, Joe has a career record of 409-136-3 and a Bowl Game record of 24-12-1, both of which are FBS (Formerly known as Division I-A) records for wins. In that span, he has 5 undefeated, untied season and two National championships (1982,1986). He is the only coach in the history of the FBS to win all four of the current Major Bowl  games (Orange, Sugar, Rose, and Fiesta) and in 1986 was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year. Joe Paterno was the head coach of the New England Patriots for three weeks before backing out and preferring to stay at Penn State in 1972. His other potential employers over the years were the Pittsburgh Steelers in ’69 (Instead Chuck Noll was hired), the Michigan Wolverines in ’69 (Bo Schembechler was hired), or anytime in the 1970’s or 1980’s when the Giants were struggling, but instead he decided to stay and become the rock on which Penn State is built. In 2007, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

JoePa, as is he lovingly called, infused a philosophy in his program that is often times forgotten or ignored in other school campuses all across the country: academics and athletics go hand in hand. The young men on his football team have become better men, better fathers, and sometimes even better football players because of his teachings and his philosophies. In a 2008 study of his program, it was discovered that his successful graduation rate of his students was 78% which is well beyond the average 67% for most FBS schools. He and his wife have donated over $4,000,000 to that school and through good times and bad, he has always been willing to help the Pennsylvania State University in any way that he can. He has given more of himself to that school and that community and to college football on a greater scale, than he will ever get back. He has become a living legend to the world of college football, to his peers, to his players, and most importantly to the worldwide population of Penn State students and alumni. He has become a staple of importance for phrases like, “Act like you’ve been there before,” and his statue in Happy Valley will be there until it is eroded.

Suddenly, none of this matters.

After the allegations that came out on the day that will live in infamy: Monday November 7, 2011, nothing that JoePa has done in football will ever make up for what he is accused of doing. To some people, his sterling college record, his numerous bowl wins, national championships and his countless hours of teaching and molding young minds at his university will be forgotten and thrown aside. They will instead be replaced with horrible image of a scandal in which an old man swept a despicable act under the rug. A scandal that saw a man go from being one of the most beloved heroes in college football to a man surrounded by lies and evil. A scandal that saw a college football program go from one of the cornerstone programs in the nation into its deepest darkest hour in which they may never fully recover.

The program has already started its “clean slate” process and rightfully so. After Paterno announced his retirement this afternoon, this program is going to need brand new leadership from the top down. Right now, the new leadership for the football team is the last thing to worry about. The most important thing is finding out what happened and giving out the punishment fairly to those who were involved. That is actually one of the main points of this post: Give the blame fairly. Joe Paterno’s name is all that is talked about on ESPN, ESPN2, CSN, CNN, and every other major news network in the country, but why? Why is this great man’s name the only one that is being tarnished and ripped apart? Joe Paterno did not do these awful things. It is true that he did nothing to stop it or bring it to the proper authorities and that is completely understood, but Jerry Sandusky is the one who deserves the blame here. Jerry Sandusky is the one who did these despicable, unforgiveable acts, and he is the one that will be rightfully punished in the court systems along with the other higher ups at Penn State. Jerry Sandusky is the person that deserves to be punished to the harshest extent of the law because he took something from these children that he will never be able to give back. He did one of the most heinous inexcusable things that an adult can do short of murder, and he will get the thrash of the justice system.  After Sandusky gets the punishment he deserves, there will undoubtedly be punishment given to Tim Curley and he will get what is coming to him for not taking this matter to the police immediately. What does Joe Paterno deserve though? In retrospect, he did bring it to Curley’s attention who then chose to do nothing with it, but he should have done more and he has admitted that. In this whole scenario, Joe Paterno is the only one who did anything, and although it was not enough, he did something. So again, what is fair punishment for Joe Paterno?

Joseph Paterno is getting the worst punishment possible. He is getting the one thing that he loves most, Penn State Football, taken away from him. He was not ready to retire, and he was not ready to go home each day and watch old cowboy westerns, but now he has to do so. This is the greatest punishment that can be put upon a man of his age because one of the things that is so dear and special to him is going to be stripped away. The honor, importance, and integrity that he feels getting out of bed each morning putting on his rolled up khakis white collared shirt, Penn State jacket and black sneakers will no longer be a joy that is given to him. JoePa had the most to lose of any of the offenders here, and he has lost it all. Even though he is not the actual sexual offender, Joe Paterno lost more at this stage in his life than that sexual offender will lose for the rest of his. To some degrees that is fair punishment, fitting of a man who should have done more, but that is the only punishment that Paterno, or his family, should suffer.

The one thing that should never be taken away from Joseph Paterno though is his legacy. Paterno should forever be remembered for all of the amazing and wonderful things that he did in his life. He should be remembered for his numerous football victories, his gifts to his players and most importantly, his gifts to HIS school. He should be remembered as the man who led his team out of the tunnel every Saturday without exception, and the same man who was hoisted by his team on numerous occasions after numerous victories. Without that man, the school would not be what it is today. Simply put, Joe Paterno is Penn State. So do what you want to him right now, take away football, take away Penn State, take away his joy, but do not take away his legacy. He is the one man that has done so much and in the end has asked for so little. He has earned the right to always be remembered for the person he was and the accomplishments he has made instead of the horrible acts that someone else has committed. He has earned the right to walk away from his program knowing that he may not have the job or power that he used to have, but he will still get the respect and legacy he has built up. Do not take this away from a man who has lost enough. When he has left and gone and all that remains in Happy Valley is the statue of the man that once was, he should be remembered as a legend of college football, a legend of the Pennsylvania State University, and a legend of life. 

If At All Possible, Philadelphia Just Got Classier...

 OK, so it wasn’t a midnight fly-by-night Cliff Lee signing that shocked the sports world, but Big Rube made a good, solid deal on Friday.

As if we need to even tell you, Gentleman Jim Thome is back in town.

Yeah Jim, Power to the People.

Let us tell you really quickly why this is a great move…

1.     Your Opening Day Roster Needs Him.

We know you’ve tried to block it out but let’s go back to that final out of our season where Ryan Howard grounded out but never made it all of the way down the first base line…. Hmmm… Why not? Oh, that’s right, he tore his Achilles tendon. From what we’ve heard about recovering from this surgery, it’s not pleasant and it won’t be short. The very early estimation was 6-8 months. That puts us anywhere from April to June. Pull out your calendars because if you haven’t put two and two together yet, the season is well in full swing at this point. Jim, at the ripe old age of 41 yrs old, is going to need to fill in our need at first in some capacity. Will he be our opening day first baseman? It’s unlikely, but possible (especially with the Phillies heavily looking into Michael Cuddyer).

2.     Congratulations, You’ve Just Signed a Player/Manager, Ruben

Ruben just made one of the deals of his lifetime for one big reason: He basically just got a 2-for-1 deal for a measly $1.25 million (reportedly). Even when Ryan comes back and is ready and able to go, you’re still getting a well-seasoned and successful veteran. This vet may need to help a team that will be looking to start bringing up farm talent to fill in spots and to ‘see what they have waiting’ for a team that is aging (no surprise there). Anyone (not just rookies) is going to listen to Jim Thome. How many other guys in that locker room are able to say they’ve hit 604 homers in the MLB? My guess is none of them. Not to mention the guy that taught him how to swing the lumber to the extent that he is was Uncle Charlie. Everything Charlie preaches will be echoed by Jim and pounded into the heads of the guys that are in slumps or just need a little help. Not to mention that if the Phillies can hang onto Ryne Sandberg, and he becomes the bench coach, then you’ve got the best coaching staff in the league – without question. One of the top three won’t even be considered a coach and can still even swing the bat and help out in a game. Don’t underestimate this aspect.

3.     Bottom 9, 2 on, 2 outs, you need three runs quick… Gload or Thome?

Everyone got fed up quickly this year with Ross Gload’s lack of production. Albeit, the guy did have a bad hip and did his fair share of work, but we never really had that guy that everyone was confident in off of the bench. In years past, we had Dobbsy, Stairs, Valdez or the GREAT Tomas Perez. But this year we really never had that guy that came up in the 9^th and had everyone saying, ‘Everyone chill out – he’s got this.’ Mayberry took the role early, but he wasn’t that guy. Jim could easily become this guy that we look for a homer out of in a clutch situation. We especially needed this in the left-handed variety.

Aside for all of these points, the city got another great man and great ballplayer that WANTED to be back here. This is also a man that is only surpassed in home run total by 7 other men in the history of baseball. This should continue to add to the mystique and legendary status of an already fun team to watch. Whether or not this is another move to add another piece to a World Series-caliber team is something that can only be measured 11 months from now – in October. 

Union Playoff Post: Part Deux

Robertson Stadium - Future home of Union Domination

Most of us do know what happened  on Sunday for the Philadelphia Union. If you don’t, to put it quite simply, the Union outplayed the Dynamo for most of the game and came up short 2-1. In the first playoff game at PPL Park, the field seemed to be tilted in favor of the Union though. The Union outshot their opponents 16 to 11 and 12 of the Union’s shots were on net opposed to the Dynamo’s  5 shots on net. A reason for the lopsided shots may have been the corner kick advantage that the Union also held, 7 to 4. As we have stated on here previously, we are no soccer experts, but here are a couple tidbits to look for on Thursday night in Houston at 8:30 PM EST.

Le Toux looks like less of a girl. Translation? Union are primed for the win.

The first thing is… How do the Union even win in a two game series if they have already lost Game One? Good question, the MLS playoff guidelines decide the winner in three parts. First, if the Union lose or tie, they automatically lose the series no ifs ands or buts about it. The second way is AG or aggregate goal, which simply means that if each team wins a game in the playoffs, but the Dynamo win by one goal and the Union win by 2 goals, the Union would win the series. So, since the Dynamo won the first game 2-1, that gives them a +1 goal differential. If the Union win Thursday night in Houston by a score of 2-0 or 3-1 then the Union would win because they had scored more goals. However, the last outcome would be if the Union won on Thursday by a +1 goal differential. Whether it was 2-1, 3-2, 4-3, or just 1-0, if the Union win by one goal, then we have an aggregate goal tie and must then move onto the tiebreaker. The tiebreaker would mean that at the end of Thursdays game, if all goals are even, there would then be two 15 minutes halves played to determine the winner. It is not a ‘golden goal’ format like in a hockey OT, so the two full 15 minute halves would be played no matter what. If no one scores ibn them, then we would go to the “greatest spectacle in sports”, as some may call it, the shootout. Of course, we all know how shootouts go. Obviously of these three choices, we definitely don’t want the first option, either of the other two is winable for our highly talented side.

The second thing to watch out for is the offensive pace of the Union. The Union did have good ball possession throughout most of the game, but it seemed like in the final third, they forgot what to do with it. They either tried a highly risky, unsuccessful pass into the box or one man tried to do too much with it until it was taken by the opposition. The build up was never enough to get solid scoring chances. Some of the solid chances that came in this game were off of corners. The boys in blue possessed the ball for a good amount of time, but it is time to make smarter passes in the final third and generate good passes into scoring opportunities. One place the Union might be able to get this is from is the veteran, Sebastien Le Toux. He is an electric scorer, but he is also a smart player, look for him to do the little things to help the team succeed tomorrow night. If this can't happen, second half fire plug Roger Torres may be able to come on and spark the boys for a couple late goals anyway.  We need these things to happen or the second game should turn out the exact same way as the first, except this time it will be the end of the season.

The one expectation that we have of this game is that some of the veteran leaders will have everyone in the locker room ready to play. Mondragon, Le Toux, and Califf are not playing in their first important game so they will have some of the lesser experienced Union players poised to play. The boys in blue have to win the possession battle and pick their spots on offense and we can still see the Union, led by Peter Nowak, in the next round of the playoffs.

The Only Two Certainties are Death and Taxes... And Eagles Winning after Bye Weeks

Uncle Sam is ready to shoot if you say one more bad word about Andy Reid... or America.

This is now the 13^th season in Andy Reid’s career and he has received a lot of criticism over that time, some of it was warranted, but a lot of it has been uninformed fans who do not look at the bigger picture. However, through all of this, one thing has remained certain: Andy Reid will always win after a bye week. Like “Death” and “Taxes”, this has become an absolute certainty that you could very well stake on the life of your first unborn child. We’re not sure exactly what it is, but Andy has the antidote for what ails his players and no matter rain or shine, they come out after a bye week playing their best football of the season. This year was no exception as our boys came out and lit up the Cowgirls 34-7 and those 7 points came at a time when the outcome had already been decided. Let’s look at the certainties from this Eagles’ team that can now go along with “Death and Taxes”.

1.     Andy Reid’s Team will win after a bye week.

Still dominating all these years later.

 Okay, we already stated it once, but we just thought that we would emphasize this for you. Reid’s Eagles are now an unbelievable 13-0 after a bye week in the regular season. If you add his postseason resume onto that, he is a sterling 16-0 after a bye week. He takes the opportunity and gives his players one of the most important things that are needed during a grueling 17 week season and that is rest. Rest from the wear and tear of hitting every day, rest from all the media questions, and most importantly just rest from football is exactly what the players need. Even though the players love playing football on a daily basis, just the chance to not think about it for a short period of time is welcomed and appreciated. They have a week to have a life outside of football and recharge their batteries both mentally and physically. No matter how much criticism Big Red gets, he is a players’ coach and after the week long break, the players love him even more.

2.     Lesean McCoy is one of the best RBs in the NFL

'Nuff Said.

You can argue with us all you want, but this is another unquestionable truth. Lesean has gone from a borderline second round draft pick in 2009 to a superstar in this league in a matter of 2 short years. He is leading the league in yds/attempt at 5.6 (And yes, this does not included hacks like Demarco Murray who have less than half of the attempts Shady has had this season), second in the NFL in TDs and Rushing yards to only Adrian Peterson who by the way has not had his bye week yet. Shady only trails AP in TDs by 1 (Shady: 8 AP: 9) and in yards rushing by 44 (Shady: 754 AP: 798). So as long as McCoy doesn’t quit football this week for some odd reason, he’ll be your leader in both categories after our game Monday night vs. the Bears. He may not be the best receiving RB in the game (Matt Forte with 419 yards WOW), but he still holds his own with 138 yards (Note: Why would we need to throw it to him when we have amazing receivers, an underrated/underused tight end and he is so effective running the ball. The Bears have no receivers or tight ends so it is more warranted). Finally, the biggest thing here is that even though he handles the ball like a fake Kardashian/Humphries marriage (No care at all, haha topical humor), he has no fumbles on the year. As much as he does for the team, he doesn’t hurt them, and as the Eagles have learned this year (Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant) that can sometimes be more important. Shady McCoy has cemented himself in as the most important part of this team and not only one of the biggest weapons at runningback, but in the ENTIRE NFL at ANY position. 

3.     The Philadelphia Eagles really can be THIS good.

You’re right, this is not a great certainty, but it is a true statement so accept it anyway. After weeks of playing opossum, the Philadelphia Eagles are starting to mold into the form that we hoped they would be at all year long. The missed OTAs and training camps did set them behind a great deal with new schemes to implement, new FAs that were added, a couple key rookies being put into the mix, and three new coaches one of which was taking on a defensive coordinator role for the first time. Now with all this extra time to absorb the material, the team showed up and played one of its most complete football games since the thrashing of the Redskins last year, and even then our defense didn’t play that well. Anytime you beat a team 34-7 and outgain them in yards 495 to 267 AND beat them in time of possession 42:09 to 17:5, you can call that a good ole fashion beatin’. Throw on top of this that the Eagles’ were not projected to be that much better AND that this was the in-divisional rival Cowboys and you can see how impressive this win is. If this team can continue this from week to week, we can’t wait to see what they do to the turnover friendly Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. This game could be over in the first quarter! All that being said, it was nice to hear things after the game from veterans like Nnamdi Asomugha that the defense is finally “feeling comfortable” giving the sense that we can expect performances like that for many weeks to come not that everything has been situated. As we have seen in the past, many times it is not how you start a season, but how you finish it, and this team has a lot of those characteristics. A team with a lot of hype that cracks at the beginning of the season, but after breaking down the colts, they can get built back up into strong powerful clydesdales (sorry for the awful analogy but you get the picture). The bad beginning may actually help them to stay more focused, stay hungry, and have the long, sustaining playoff run that we all hope they can have.

This may not be a certainty, but we just want to throw in there how good the linebacking corps has looked after a couple slight alterations to the lineup and the defensive alignment. There have been some things that have helped, but Jamar Chaney is really starting to look good and comfortable at that middle linebacker position. He went out against Dallas on Sunday night and recorded 7 tackles and one pass defended, this is good for a lot of players, but especially good when we are talking about the Eagles’ linebackers. Every game that goes by he gets more comfortable and looks as though he can become a solid playmaker out there for the defense. They are not perfect yet, but they keep getting better.

We kind of feel bad for beating them after seeing this... We didn't realize... you know

The Eagles look like they are hitting their stride as we reach the midway point of the season. Make no mistake about it, the Eagles’ schedule is still tough and there is no guarantee that this team is making the playoffs, but we now have hope. We have hope that if this team can continue to play like this for the rest of the season, we may actually be able to win most of those games, make the playoffs and maybe go a little bit farther, which is a lot more than we have been able to say over the past 7 weeks. So enjoy what we have right now because at the end of this season, like so many others, hope may be the only thing we have left.