CroJack's weekly rant: Part 1

Let me start off  by saying I love sports, but I also love ranting and raving about issues that bother me. Case and point NFL Vs. NHL, or football vs. hockey. Mainly the players of their respective sports and the people who say football is the toughest, most tiring, and the most dangerous sport. FYI people, football is not the only sport in this country and world for that matter. Football gets way to much attention and people need to open their eyes.

In the NFL players go down all the time. Just this season alone I have seen more flopping than soccer players. Mainly teams that would fake a cramp or injury to slow down the Eagles up tempo offense or another teams up tempo offense. My favorites are the players that get oxygen after running a play for 30 seconds or more and claim to be in top physical shape and also the players that sit out a few plays to get their wind back. Pussies, plain and simple. "OMG, you said a bad word about football players, you are stupid and know nothing about 
it." Individuals who claim football players are the toughest and the sport is the hardest, need to pay more attention. Lastly, when a football player takes a hard hit, most of the time they are looking for the flag, because god forbid they actually get hit playing football. Who would of thought of players taking hits in football? For sham! Football players are a bunch of little babies still sucking on their mothers teet. The players get a week off before they play another game, sure they practice during the week, but still have a week before a competitive game. And players that have back stiffness or an ankle sprain from the game last week miss the following because of it, that's cute.

In the NHL players do not get nearly enough credit. Just the other night, Brayden Schenn of the Flyers, in a freak accident, had the opposing players skate go under his jersey and slice his abdomen. Did Schenn fall over and give up? Did he sit the rest of the game? NO! He showed his pain, like any normal person, but he got his cut super glued up, and did not miss his next shift and played the whole game. Another example would be Jeff Carter, from the Los Angeles Kings. He caught a puck to the face, lost a lot of teeth, blood everywhere and skated off the ice to the locker room. Did he miss the rest of the game? Did he complain after the game that he was hurt and could not really get back into the game? NO! He came back the next period with teeth missing and played the rest of the game. Hockey players get cross checked into the boards, some get up right away, others wait until they hear the whistle. Skate to the bench to recoup and boom, back out there. Hockey players take massive hits in nearly every game. Some hits are worse than a football tackle. Skaters coming at you with a full head of steam to clobber you into next week, but that does not stop them. Hockey players play back to back games in the season, get hurt the night before and are back in the following game.

By no means am I talking about serious injuries to players, like broken bones or concussion. I understand players do get really hurt in both sports and would not expect them to come in a play in those circumstances. Mainly focusing on the minor injuries that occur. Seems to be that more football players complain and sit out dude to a stiff back or an ankle sprain versus the hockey guys.

That is my rant for this week, let's see what happens in the upcoming week for me to rant about. Maybe it will be about the fact that Philly radio can not move on from the Eagles season being over, or the never ending debate of Foles. Whatever it is, I will rant about it.



CroJack

Off to Minnasoooota

Another week, another pivotal game for the Eagles.  The Eagles are heading to Minnesota to take on the Vikings in what could possibly give the Eagles a 2 game lead in the division, pending another wonderful Cowboys loss.

It is going to be cold, VERY COLD in Minnesota, but hey they get to play inside this week and whip out the t-shirts.  And pending no snow breaking through the roof and crashing down on the field, it looks like the eagles won't have to play back to back games in the snow.  The Eagles ended up looking great in the snow but we don't need to go through that again and be at risk of the team being luckier than us.

Some good signs about playing this Vikings team is that AP is most likely out with a foot injury that he suffered last week in the snow and will not be hurting the eagles this week with his crazy good running game.  The QB situation up in MN is also one to chuckle at as they haven't been able to keep one QB on the field this year, oh wait that sounds kind of familiar.

Now is the time us Eagles fans get to see Nick Foles in some big implication games and whether or not he can handle them.  We know he can play in the NFL and win games, but can he win games towards the end of the season that will propel his team into the playoffs.  Next step: Win playoff games, but we'll get there soon enough.

The buzz around this team has been high as there weren't many expectations this year and a lot of fans thought it had to be a rebuilding process.  SURPRISE!  The Eagles are winning and have 1st place in the division and are hot.  You want/need to be that hot team going into the playoffs as that has been the pattern that past few years and in many sports, the norm.

Here's to the Eagles taking a 2-game lead on the Cowboys this week!

And in case you haven't seen the sweet (definitely not unlucky) SI Cover:

Happy Holidays!


Cheers,
ski

See you next week!

RG3PO Coming to Town

Next up for the Eagles...the 3-6 Washington Redskins.  The redskins have been struggling this year and a lot has to do with the main man RG3.  RG3 hasn't been the same this year after he suffered a torn ACL at the end of last season.  The Eagles beat the Redskins in the first game of the season, which was thought to be a great start for the team and everyone thought the offense was going to be unstoppable.  The Eagles came back down to Earth after the first game and are now 5-5.

The Eagles defense this week looks to keep up, as they have been playing very solid over the past few weeks.  This will be a good test as the Redskins have been putting up about 30 points on average the past 4 weeks.  It could come down to a shoot out the way these two offenses have been playing.

Which brings me to Nick Foles, the talk of the town the past couple weeks...but not necessarily in a good way.  Yes Foles has been playing basically lights out, putting up a QB rating of 158.3 and 149.3 over the past two weeks which has never been done in the NFL, EVER.  But even with these performances people still aren't sold on Foles.  Can he play in the NFL? Yes.  Can he start for several NFL teams right now? Yes.  The big questions are whether or not he can be consistent with the games he is putting up or will he revert back to the Foles of the previous Cowboys and Giants games.  It looks like we will be able to get a better gauge on Foles after the season is over since there is no reason why he shouldn't start the rest of the games.  Being able to see Foles in crucial spots (maybe get to the playoffs in this sucky division) and how consistent he is for the rest of the season will let the Eagles know if they have to go out in the draft next year and get a new QB.

How about the Eagles go out Sunday and take back their turf, and finally get a win back at home(0-10, last 10 games) and take first place in the division.

EAGLES > redskins 27-17

GO EAGLES!


ski

And Another One!

The Philadelphia Flyers have won three straight games, as they knocked off the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, 2-1.

Brayden Schenn scored both goals for the Flyers and goalie Ray Emery stopped 30 out of 31 shots he faced. Schenn was interviewed after the game having this to say,

"Obviously, we're working on trying to put some wins together right now and playing pretty sound defensive hockey. We're waiting for our opportunities to score and right now we're scoring when they're there, so we have to keep it going."

Say whatever you want about the Flyers start, which was 1-7. The team is now, 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and have collected points in five of their last six games. Flyers are now, 9-2-1 at Consol Energy Center since the arena has opened. Sean Couturier played shut down defense on both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, which really seemed to frustrate Malkin, as he threw some cheap shots on Couturier's face. Head coach Craig Berube was very pleased with the win,

"I like the fact that we grinded the win out. We played the night before and did a lot of the little things right tonight."

Another little fun fact. Remember the brawl? The one that people said was so disgusting and disrespectful to the game of hockey and the city of Philadelphia. Well the Flyers are now, 4-1-1 since that brawl and it seems it has sparked this team to another level. They are now playing much more sound defense, winning all the puck battles and winning the battles along the boards. To top it all, they have now scored 14 goals since the brawl, which was missing to start the season.

Next up for the orange and black, the Winnipeg Jets. Another tough road game for the boys, but if they go out and execute the way they have been on this winning streak, they will be just fine.


CroJack

Serious question: Marlon Byrd, Really?

No, seriously. I don't get it, I'm really asking here. I've been trying to get a grasp of this signing since it has happened to figure out the plan here but I still just can't wrap my head around it. Obviously we all know that the Phillies need a right-handed power bat, some outfield and pitching help but I don't see this filling any of those needs. 

Ok I know he bags from the right side but the power just isn't there. 24 home runs is his career high for a season, which happened last season after a PED suspension the year prior. Jimmy Rollins has 2 seasons with more than 24 homers, yea "Jimmy Hustle" has more power than Byrd. And at the age of 36 I can't envision his power numbers jumping up for the next two years. 

Speaking of 2 years, it seems like Ruben doesn't have any plans of getting any younger any time soon. With the aging core, why wouldn't you add an aging vet to a squad on the downside of their careers? Of course that doesn't even include the option for the third year that could keep Byrd here til the age of 39. Of course the price doesn't help either, 8 mill per does not sound like the type of money you give to a bench player either.  That's the type of money that you are going to give to a someone who is going to be starting. Unfortunately, Marlon Byrd is not a player that is going to be starting on most playoff teams (yea, I know he did last year but he wasn't completely relied on to be a productive bat and came to the pirates towards the end of the season).

Honestly I would have been ok signing Byrd later in the winter as a bench player after exhausting the rest of your options. Instead as it stands we have a starting outfield with the killer B's (Brown, Ben and Byrd) who doesn't inspire much confidence. Maybe I am missing something with this signing or I am not looking at the whole picture somehow, but I don't get it. If anyone at all knows something about this that I don't please enlighten me because Ruben has lost me with this one. 

Quick side note: If these are the types of signings Ruben has planned for the winter, I don't think he is planning to be the GM much longer. 

Goins

Showing Improvement

The Philadelphia Flyers got their second straight win, beating the Ottawa Senators last night 5-0.

This was a very good win for the orange and black. Ottawa were coming off a 3 game winning streak and got their number one goalie back between the pipes, which ended up being his and their first shutout lose of the season.

Jake Voracek netted 2 goals and goalie Steve Mason got his first shutout victory and recorded 24 saves on the night. Needless to say these two were the Flyers top performers in this game. Matt Read had this to say after the game,

"We got back to the basics," said Reader, who had the Flyers' first goal Tuesday, on a beautiful wrap around. "The first month we tried to do things when we didn't have them and now we're just keeping things simple by getting pucks deep and getting pucks out when we have to and winning puck battles along the boards. "Those little things turn into victories."

Vincent Lecavalier and Brayden Schenn also scored for the Flyers and captain Claude Giroux recorded 2 assists. Goalie Steve Mason was very pleased with the team effort in this game.

"This was an extremely sound effort all around and from a defensive standpoint we didn't give a lot up."

Next up for the Flyguys, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the dreaded rivals. The Flyers will be traveling to Pittsburgh and in recent years the Flyers have played very well on the Penguins home ice. They will look to build off that and the last 2 wins to fuel them into another victory tonight. It will be a tough game no doubt, the Penguins are a good and very sound team.


CroJack

At 7pm on ESPN, Worlds Collide

Both stand 6'8 with 7ft wingspans and phenomenal skill sets. So alike, but couldn't be more different. Andrew Wiggins, the pride of Canada, Maple Jordan, Canadian Lebron. Jabari Parker, Chi-Towns finest, the unassuming star.

The 2014 NBA draft will feature a 1, 2 combination of these two and tonight's tilt between Wiggins' Kansas Jayhawks and Parker's Duke Blue Devils could go a long way in deciding whose name gets called first. 

The scary thing? This game may not include the best pro prospect. At 7pm Tom Izzo's very veteran and very tough Michigan State Spartans take on John Calipari's Mcdonalds All-American all-star team led by another super frosh, Julius Randle, who quite frankly is better than 75% of our beloved Sixers roster right..now. He's a man's man, a bruiser in the paint and gets you 15 and 15 and 4 blocks on a lazy night. 

Goodies on deck folks, get your popcorn ready. 

Zo

Freddy "The Fog" Shero

"Win today, and we walk together forever." One of the most repeated and talked about quotes in sporting history, was thought of by the late and great Fred Shero. He had written this quote on the dressing room blackboard for inspiration to the players heading into game six of the 1973-74 Stanley Cup Finals, which the Philadelphia Flyers ended up winning and thus the series against the Boston Bruins, becoming the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup.

Fred Shero was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame yesterday in Toronto and many believe it was a long time coming and he was very deserving of it. Accepting the award was Ray Shero, Fred's son. Fred passed back in 1990, he was 65 at the time of his death, but his legacy has lived on through the players that he coached and his innovation on the beautiful game of hockey. "Freddy was a genius behind the bench," said former Flyer goalie Bernie Parent. "If Freddy didn't coach, he would have made a good psychologist. He made us believe in ourselves. He made us believe in the system."  Bobby Clarke was also in attendance for Shero's induction, having this to say prior to the ceremony, 

"The only thing I can think of was that people on the committee thought he was responsible for the mayhem that the Flyers caused in those days. He never was. You'd never see much anger in Freddy. 'Take the body. He had that line, 'shortest route to the puck and arrive in ill humor,' but I never heard him ever mention fighting or hitting people or stuff like that. Most of that was brought on ourselves as players, I guess."

Fred Shero will forever be immortalized in the game of hockey and now, the Hall of Fame. "People said he was ahead of his time," his son said. "Maybe he was an innovator. Maybe it was because he was video before most. Or maybe hiring the first assistant coach in 1972, Mr. Mike Nykoluk." Whatever it is, Freddy will always be loved in the city of Philadelphia and loved by fans of the game he loved so much.


CroJack

Who wants a mustache ride?

The Philadelphia Flyers got the offense going on Saturday when they defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 at home.

Claude Giroux, sporting his bright red mustache, played like a madman the whole game and it paid off for him and the team, netting his first goal on the season and his first in 21 games, in the third period. Eric Cartman's nightmare came true because ginger's apparently do have souls and are real, Scott Hartnell also netted a goal during the win at home. He had this to say after the game,

 "It's great," Hartnell said. "We didn't hear a boo all night here at home, first time in a long time. Our efforts haven't been great at home and we wanted a big effort 60-minute game and that's something we did tonight. We have to continue that and carry that forward."

The team played very well together and it seemed they had it all figured out for that game. Granted, the Oilers are not that good of a team, but are a very well disciplined fast paced team and it was good for the Flyers to get a much needed victory. Moving forward Giroux was happy of his play and made clear what is expected,

"It was obviously a lot of relief," Giroux said. "To see all the boys on the bench being happy too, I think that was really fun. But you know what, it's a big win for us. And we go on the road now, and we've got to get on a roll here."

A few side notes before the game started on Saturday. There was a lot of trade rumors flying around on Friday and early Saturday morning between the Oilers and Flyers. Jordan Eberle, 23 year old RW for the Oilers, was mentioned heavily in those rumors. Names attached to the trade rumor on the Flyers side were, Giroux, Simmonds, Coots, and Luke Schenn. Thankfully none of those rumors came to fruition and those players were still in the orange and black come game time. Well, maybe Luke Schenn can go, he has been a turn over machine all season long, and the Flyers do have depth on defense. Lastly, Ilya Bryzgalov made some noise this Saturday, when he signed with the Oilers. Many thought they might start him immediately against his former team, but that did not happen. "I'm not afraid of anything-except bear, but bear in the forest." Yup, that guy.


CroJack

MCW...Point God

Shaquille O'Neal, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Rick Smits (The Flying Dutchmen), Tim Duncan, hell, even Yao Ming in his own right, all dominant big men at one point in their respective careers and pillars for their franchises. That was yesterday's NBA my friends.  

Today there's Derek Rose, Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo, Derron Williams, Steph Curry, Chris Paul, and the list goes on and on. These young men are all tasked with one thing, take their teams to the mountain top. This is a guard's league, you don't need size to win, you need a fearless floor general that gets stops and buckets. 

You need a point guard to be respectable, but a POINT GOD to contend, and eventually win. We got ours. His name is MCW. 

Build with Us...

Zo

My name is a Chooch.

Free agency has started for MLB and the Rockies and Red Sox are wasting no time in trying to get the signature of Carlos Ruiz from the Phillies. Colorado better be careful with Chooch, he has been known to dabble with prescription drugs and consult his own doctor instead of the teams. He may wind up with a medical marijuana card and suspended from the league again.

There are some big name free agent catchers on the list this year and if Chooch parts ways with Philadelphia, look for the Phillies to pursue them. Topping the list we have Brian McCann, but he may be a tough option to sign. He has played his entire career with the Atlanta Braves and may not want to sign with a divisional rival, plus he has been know to express his interest in the American League. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is another good option for the Phils. He is just coming off a World Series victory with the Boston Red Sox and they may look to keep him on their roster, but with interest shown in Ruiz, this may not be the case. Another name on the list is A.J. Pierzynski. Though he is older than Carlos Ruiz and of the others, he provides a much needed bat in this Phillies lineup and could be cheaper than keeping Carlos. He is a 2x All-Star and a World Series Champion.

All in all, Roob the Boob, needs to make something happen during this off-season and during the free agent period, if he wants this team to succeed next year. My guess, he will f*ck this up for the team and city again.


Crojack

What Does Seneca Wallace Look Like????

What does Marcellus Seneca Wallace look like?!  That is the question going around the NFL this week after Packers QB Aaron Rodgers went down on the first drive with a shoulder injury.  It's obvious that the Packers didn't expect Rodgers to go out and have to throw in the backup, especially for 3-4 weeks. But none the less Seneca Wallace has his time to shine, or burn out, or whatever you want to call it.

That all being said, what a sign of relief for the Eagles, they don't have to face the badass QB Aaron Rodgers.  The Eagles are coming off of a historic win in "The Black Hole" versus the Raiders, where Nick Foles threw for an NFL record tying 7 TDs.  This week's matchup versus the Packers went from winnable to should win with one injury.  The Packers have been plagued with injuries this year and another star that is questionable this week is Clay Matthews.  The Eagles have a great shot here to get back to .500 and hopefully be tied for 1st place after the week is over.

The Eagles defense has stepped is up the past few weeks and have been able to shut down some top tier offenses.  This is a good sign for eagles fans; if they can keep up the defense and put on performances like last Sunday against the Raiders, this team could surprise some people and sneak into the playoffs.

Here's to the defense staying strong this week and the offense keeping up the stellar performances!!

Vine of Wallace live in action, his throw looks very familiar:

Source: https://twitter.com/elibretl

ski

Break That Record!

The 76ers are gearing up for what could be their worst season in franchise history...oh wait, that would mean the worst season in NBA history.  After watching some of this preseason there is no doubt that the Sixers are in full tank mode.  There is just not enough talent and years of experience to win any games in this league, they keep cutting/dropping players left and right.  The Sixers just waived Vander Blue, Royce White (the flying got to him), Khalif Wyatt, and Mac Koshwal.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is the right call, as  risky as it might be.  This team has to take the chance to be great again and this is by far the best opportunity to do so.  The Sixers have the chance to get the 1st and 6th (pending the Pelicans place) in the lottery, giving them a 33.1% chance at snagging Wiggins.  It will be fun knowing the Sixers will not be good and going for the big prize.  Not having expectations will make the season some what watchable and who cares if they get the worst record ever.


My predictions is that they don't quite beat out their old record of 9-73, but i think they are going to beat it by 1 game...10-72!  What do you all think??


ski

NBA Is Back!

With the NBA season returning in a week, there are plenty of story lines to go around.  Players are returning from injuries, big time players are moving to different cities, and big time franchises in the same city are battling it out for supremacy.

Derrick Rose is returning to the Bulls this season after tearing his ACL in the playoffs the season before last.  Rose is one of the most electrifying players in the NBA and it will be a welcomed return.  Not only is Rose returning after healing up for a season, he gets matched up with the two time defending champs the Miami Heat.  This will be a great match up to see how Rose responds to being out for a year and also to see two top tier teams from the east battle it out.

Over on the west coast there has been the "battle for LA" which isn't so much on the court as it is off.  Recently the Clippers have covered up some retired jerseys and championship banners in the rafters with banners of the Clippers starting 5 and the 6th/7th man.  Many Lakers fans have been up in arms about this move but it will probably only be during Clippers games and the regular banners will be up all other times.  Having said that, I have read the Staples center has way more of a Clippers feel to it when you walk in the stadium and you can smell the rebuild aroma of the Lakers organization coming.

Back over to the North East you have Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett who will take their final shots at another championship as a part of the Brooklyn Nets.  The two all-stars made their way over to Brooklyn, in the off-season, from Boston.  Nets have a new coach in ex-player Jason Kidd and are looked at as being one of the top teams in the east.  This should being a fun-filled east coast conference.

Finally, there are the teams that made some "roster changes" in the off-season that are hoping to be able to score big in the lottery.  A few teams that have no shot at making the playoffs seem to be unloading mediocre talent to free up some space for the big time players that are coming out of the draft next year and some free agents that will be on the market in a few years.  It should be a interesting season and an even more interesting off-season to come.


Who do you think will win the chip this year??


ski

The Black Mamba

Kobe Bryant, one of the most loved and hated individuals in the NBA. Mostly hated on now by the teenagers who can't remember him destroying everything in his path for the last 17 seasons. To them, they only notice LeBron James, because he is now the face of the league and is shoved in everyone's face by ESPN and others.

Kobe Bryant has accomplished everything you can in the NBA, 5 titles, 2x finals MVP, 2x NBA scoring champ, NBA MVP, 15x All-Star, 9x all defensive team, 2x Olympic Gold medalist and the list goes on and yet he still gets doubted. If anything, the doubting seems to fuel Kobe, who is entering his 18th NBA season and coming off an achilles tendon injury. He seems to improve every year and for someone who is 35, he does not show any signs of letting up. His heart and soul are still driving him to this game. He is 4th on the all time scoring list for the NBA and could very well pass Michael Jordan, who is arguably the best player of all time, for 3rd place this season. He is only 675 points away from doing this, so it does not seem that far off, coming off a season where he scored 2,133 points.

People have always said that he had help in winning his 5 titles and they try to take that away from his talents and what he accomplished in those seasons. But, the same goes for every NBA champion and other greats in history. Jordan had Pippen and Rodman, LeBron has Wade and Bosh, Larry Bird had Parrish and McHale, and Magic had Kareem, so that excuse is irrelevant.

This upcoming season could be Kobe's last or it may not be, but just know he will do everything that his talents allow him in pursuing his 6th title  Whenever he plays this season, he is going to leave it all on the court, as he does every single night. You can not take away from his toughness and his determination and will to win games. He may shoot the ball more than anyone else on his team and sometimes the league, but if you look at his current team, you would too. Call him selfish, a ball hog, old, injury prone, whatever you want, Kobe Bryant will still go down as one of the greatest to ever play the game, and for me and many others, one of the best we have ever witnessed.



CroJack

Down and Out...AGAIN!

Well it seems like we have all seen this story before, the 76ers prized acquisition of the summer will be out for the season with a knee injury. Did I mention it was their center again? The only difference, it was more expected this time than it was last season. As it is being reported the 76ers will be holding Nerlens Noel out of game action for the season to focus on his recovery from a torn ACL that he suffered during a game in college last February. Many people originally believed that Noel would return sometime during the mid point of his rookie season but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

Unlike last year the Sixers knew what they were getting when they traded for Noel during draft night. It was no surprise to anyone, unlike the Bynum injury, that the Sixers were getting damaged goods in the trade. Unlike Bynum, who had a history of knee problems in the past, this is the first major knee injury to Nerlens. Knowing these facts Philly made the calculated risk to invest in Noel's future and hope that he could return to his form prior to the injury.

Like many people I will be upset knowing that our big acquisition will be sitting on the bench all year (again) and will have to wait til the 2014/15 season to see what type of talent he will turn into. With every negative though you need to try to find the positive in the situation and oddly enough I believe there will be a few positives that can come from him missing the year. First and foremost it will give Noel time to put on the extra needed muscle he will need to compete with the big men of the NBA. Anyone who has taken a look at Nerlens knows that he would be moved around pretty easily in the post with his frame. At 6'11, 228 lbs Nerlens isn't the intimidating presence that you want in the center of the lane to defend someone like Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol or Tyson Chandler. Sure he has the height but the body mass isn't there and that is going to be a very important factor in how he plays down low. Secondly, it will give the coaches time to work on his shot and his free throws. In his lone season at Kentucky he was only averaging 10.5 points a night and 52% from the charity stripe, both numbers which should be much higher for a kid with his ability. Everyone saw his defensive game in college, it was always his offensive ability that seemed to be lagging behind. Hopefully with the extra time and practice the coaches can teach him how to work in the post and become more of a scoring threat.

Finally, the team is not going to be good this year so why bring him into a losing culture. Let him watch the games up close and see how different the NBA is from college but don't let him be apart of the blow outs that will happen most nights. Let him grow with the future draft picks we will have and hope that management can build a better team around him next year. It will be good, in my opinion, to give him the year to build up his game and hope that help will be on its way next year, possibly in the form of Andrew Wiggins, with the two lottery picks they will most likely have. Sometimes it is hard to be a Philly fan, but you got to try to make the best of the worst situations.

What do you think? Am I crazy for thinking that the team is making a good call sitting out their big man for the season....again?



Goins



photo:getty images

LeBron James....The future of the 76ers?

Everyone keeps saying the 76ers are a team rebuilding, planning for the future and shouldn't expect to be a contender for the next few years. I say that's all a bunch of crap! If the Sixers lose the right amount of games this year and the ping pong balls bounce in Philly's favor, Andrew Wiggins could be, in my opinion, the beginning of a quick rebuild.

With all of the hype surrounding Andrew Wiggins, every team in the league would be more then happy to be slated to pick first overall and add the young talent to their team. Fortunately for the 76ers, they have a pretty good chance of challenging their own league record for fewest wins in a season with 9. Now as we all know the Sixers traded their All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday during this past draft for Nerlens Noel and a 1st round pick in next years draft (lottery protected 1-5) to further bolster their assets in case they don't get that number 1 pick. But what if all of this is just a set-up and Wiggins isn't the only target for next year? What if Wiggins is just a piece to an even larger plan that Hinkie set in motion the night he traded Jrue?

I think Sam Hinkie might have more to his plan of tanking for Wiggins. All summer Hinkie has been making minor, not including the Holiday trade, moves adding young players with a lot of unproven potential. Im not saying that any of these players are gonna break out and turn into the next great player, but hey they could turn out to be decent role players and worst case after this year they are all gone after their deals expire. In the best scenerio the sixers get double-digit wins but still end up with the top pick and, with the way the Pelicans look, another high lottery pick. All of the sudden the Sixers could have a core of young talented players to build around.

With only Nerlens Noel, Michael Carter-Williams and Thadeus Young under contract for next year ( hoping Jason Richardson doesn't exercise his player option) the team would have a lot of money to throw around in free agency, now this is when it gets interesting. If you add Wiggins and another high lottery pick into that group of players, you have a young core that if they grow and play well together could be good for years to come. With, at minimum (if Richardson decides to screw us out of $6.6 mill), $25 million to play with next summer and a lot of young talent, why not try to make a max offer to LeBron, Carmelo, D-Wade or even Kobe. The young talent to build around will be there, and a coach who is out to prove he is worthy of being a head coach in NBA will be there (because we all know 2013-2014 will not reflect well on him). All you need is to sell one of those players on the team, all of its potential and the chance that they have to lead this young group into greatness and hope one of them decides its worth a try. And just like that you could go from challenging for the worst single season record to challenging the powerhouses for an NBA title. It is a change this city sorely needs, because basketball has been in a state of shambles around this city for years now.

And just like that the 76ers would be good and basketball would be relevant again in the city of brotherly love. Unfortunately a lot of things have to happen in order for all this to fall into place starting with the players deciding to opt-out of their current deals. Also, for all any of us know, Hinkie could be ok with being bad for the next few years and building from the draft and not trying to bring in a superstar. I have hopes he might see the value, since he is all about his analytical analysis, in signing a big name next summer but that is still to be determined. Until then, here's to hoping the Sixers get a new record (albeit a bad one) and get the pick that they need.


Goins


photo: NBA.com

Dominic Brown everyone.

 

This past Sunday evening marked another loss at home for the Philadelphia Eagles, which now totals to nine straight at home. But, it was also time for Dominic Brown, outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, to support the Dallas Cowboys in his Michael Irving or Dez Bryant jersey.

Not only has this pissed off a lot of people on Twitter and on other social media outlets, but it shows that he could care less about what his "fans" think about him. Now, I know what you are thinking, who cares who he roots for? He has the right to cheer for anybody. You are right in saying that, but when you are born and raised in Florida, not Texas, and openly cheer and plaster on Twitter "Go Boys", in front the of the city you represent, there will be some backlash. Most of the reactions were very harsh and in some ways they are right, but some people went way overboard. Some reactions were, "Leave. Philly. Now." "You are a asshole." " I'm starting a #TradeBrown page you got to go!" All comments were from different users on Twitter. Side note, Mike Adams, the Phillies reliever is also in this picture, but he is actually from Texas.

Brown had an answer to all the negativity he has been getting, he tweeted, "Philly doesn't love me. I get boo's almost every night. No big deal use to it." That is mainly because you were a ghost after the all-star break and rarely played a good game, before and after the injury. It seems as though Brown has had it with Philly and the fans and maybe he does not care to be a part of this city anymore. This is not to say he deserves to go because he is a Cowboys fan, but it would be nice for someone who represents Philadelphia to be somewhat quiet of who they cheer for and not be ignorant of his situation in Philadelphia. What happened yesterday just puts a big target on his back for the fans of the Phillies.


CroJack

Back to the future, Again

Today was supposed to be Nick Foles' day to show everyone he is the future of the franchise, the man to lead us for years to come. Instead, Nick played his worst game of his short career and left the game early with what was presumed to be a concussion. Before leaving the game Foles looked very shaky in the pocket holding on to the ball longer than normal and moving around the pocket more than last week. It really makes me wonder what he would have looked like if DeMarcus Ware had been playing today, but it's hard to think he really could have looked worse. Foles just wasn't making the throws we have seen him make before and was missing throws that he should have easily been completing (Jason Avant wide open in the end zone).

All of the hope that fans had built up for the future may have been cut down after watching the game. 11/29 for 80 yds and 0 TD is not the stat line that will give you confidence. All of the blame can't be completely put on Foles' shoulders. The offense just couldn't get anything going all game and the run game, averaging 178 yds, couldn't even manage to break 100 yds in the game. Going against the 30th ranked defense, everyone assumed that the game would be a shoot-out and Foles would be able to rack up the yards against the Cowboys porous defense. Anyone who watched the game knows that wasn't even close to the case today.

To make matters worse, our other young signal caller got a chance to prove his worth in the fourth quarter and couldn't get it done himself. Matt Barkley got the call after the injury, and even though he went 11/20 for 129 yds, he threw 3 interceptions and never really got the offense going. It's not the start he, or any of us fans, wanted to his career. Barkley made the easy passes but tried to force other passes leading to the turnovers. I know he was trying to get the offense going and spark a comeback but in order to do that you need the ball. He has to be more responsible with the ball and make smarter decisions. With the health of the other two QBs up in the air, we might have been watching a preview of what's in store next week against the win-less Giants.

It's time we ask, is Nick Foles the future? With time will Matt Barkley be the quarterback we are searching for? Or should the Eagles try to find their QB of the future in the draft again?


Goins