There seems to be this predominant sense that the Flyers have to upgrade at the trade deadline.
Another embarrassing loss to the Rangers underscored that notion for a lot of people. But it's wrong, and it would be counterproductive.
What do we know about the Flyers this season? Well, we know the rookies have been outstanding. We know that Chris Pronger isn't coming back. And we know that Ilya Bryzgalov isn't as good as was advertised.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
An Open Letter to the City of New York
Dear New York,
Fuck you.
As I sit here watching the final few minutes of the latest
Rangers ass kicking of the Flyers I can’t help but be reminded over how much I
fucking hate you.
In a quick rundown of my least favorite teams in no
particular order you will see a recurring pattern:
Cowboys, Giants, Braves, Mets, Rangers, Devils, Sabers,
Penguins, Buccaneers/Lightning, Cardinals/Yankees/Red Sox
Almost 50% of my sports hatred is dedicated to your sports
teams (Bills, Islanders you’re cool).
Friday, February 10, 2012
One more argument against Plax: The red zone (in)efficiency myth
I promise this is my last Plax-related post (unless we actually--and stupidly--sign him), but I had to respond to Aaron's post.
Really the only argument to be made for signing Burress is that he would be a credible red zone threat. Let's go ahead and dispel a couple of myths here using the magic of statistics.
First of all, there's some debate about whether red zone efficiency is a myth. How much does it contribute to win probability?
Really the only argument to be made for signing Burress is that he would be a credible red zone threat. Let's go ahead and dispel a couple of myths here using the magic of statistics.
First of all, there's some debate about whether red zone efficiency is a myth. How much does it contribute to win probability?
Iguodala Deserves All-Star Spot
For the first time since a gentleman by the name of Iverson bulldogged his way to the top of the NBA scoring charts, the Philadelphia 76ers have an All-Star to call their own. And let me be the next (or first?) to say that this AI is more than deserving.
Look, we’re all aware of the clichés used to chronicle the 2011-12 Sixers’ sudden ascendance: tough defense, unselfish play, spread-the-wealth scoring, a general whatever-it-takes attitude for 48 minutes. Sometimes, however, clichés serve a purpose. And on a Sixers squad equally devoid of superstars and lush with youth and athleticism, nobody exemplifies the tried and true coachspeak quite like Iguodala, whose propensity to rack up rebounds, assists and steals as well as points has led to more wins after 26 games than anyone had expected.
We’ll leave the off-balance jump shots and critical missed free throws out of the equation, though, since, well, since I don’t want to harp on the negative.
The Sixers are currently 18-8, have a 3.5-game lead over the Celtics in the Atlantic Division and are undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the NBA season. Iguodala, for his part, is averaging 13 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists a game, in addition to stifling some of the NBA’s best shooting
guards and small forwards on a nightly basis. But really? Since when did 13-7-5 get you an All-Star nod? Well, sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
Like all NBA teams, the are playing 66 games in 120 days this season. Personally, I, as a fan becoming progressively more involved in the team, love it. Gone are the days of 2 games in a week, all but curtailing any chance of momentum and flow within a team. In this abbreviated season, however, we’re seeing Iguodala’s myriad talents on display nightly.
Not only is he the team’s best all-around player, he’s also the leader. He’s the one all the young guys—Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday, Jodie Meeks—look up to. Has he been in the league as long as Elton Brand or Tony Battie? No. But players in all sports look up to those who play similar positions, and last time I checked Brand and Battie weren’t playing airtight perimeter defense on Kobe and Carmelo.
Iggy’s ability to bring it every night—three, four, even five times in a given week—sets the tone for the rest of the squad, and for that he deserves every accolade he receives this year.
Look, we’re all aware of the clichés used to chronicle the 2011-12 Sixers’ sudden ascendance: tough defense, unselfish play, spread-the-wealth scoring, a general whatever-it-takes attitude for 48 minutes. Sometimes, however, clichés serve a purpose. And on a Sixers squad equally devoid of superstars and lush with youth and athleticism, nobody exemplifies the tried and true coachspeak quite like Iguodala, whose propensity to rack up rebounds, assists and steals as well as points has led to more wins after 26 games than anyone had expected.
We’ll leave the off-balance jump shots and critical missed free throws out of the equation, though, since, well, since I don’t want to harp on the negative.
The Sixers are currently 18-8, have a 3.5-game lead over the Celtics in the Atlantic Division and are undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the NBA season. Iguodala, for his part, is averaging 13 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists a game, in addition to stifling some of the NBA’s best shooting
guards and small forwards on a nightly basis. But really? Since when did 13-7-5 get you an All-Star nod? Well, sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
Like all NBA teams, the are playing 66 games in 120 days this season. Personally, I, as a fan becoming progressively more involved in the team, love it. Gone are the days of 2 games in a week, all but curtailing any chance of momentum and flow within a team. In this abbreviated season, however, we’re seeing Iguodala’s myriad talents on display nightly.
Not only is he the team’s best all-around player, he’s also the leader. He’s the one all the young guys—Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday, Jodie Meeks—look up to. Has he been in the league as long as Elton Brand or Tony Battie? No. But players in all sports look up to those who play similar positions, and last time I checked Brand and Battie weren’t playing airtight perimeter defense on Kobe and Carmelo.
Iggy’s ability to bring it every night—three, four, even five times in a given week—sets the tone for the rest of the squad, and for that he deserves every accolade he receives this year.
Plax wants to play with the Eagles? Hell yea!
Plaxico Burress is reportedly interested in flying with the birds next season, and I couldn’t want it more. It’s not often you can get a 6’5 reciever who should have been the Super Bowl MVP for nothing. Think about it a two year deal worth what, call it 8 mill tops and that’s including incentives, that is a risk worth taking.
As my esteemed colleague Haas has pointed out Plax is 34 coming off a prison sentence for shooting himself in the leg, proving that God has a great sense of irony, and the worst season of his career. But who cares. Vick came out of prison, sucked his first year back and then won the comeback player of the year and had an outside chance of winning MVP. Plax won’t do that. But what he can do is give us a reliable red zone threat something we haven’t had since my boy Chad Lewis left. He gives us size which is critical when you have a quarterback who is as fond of overthrowing as Donovan McNabb was at under throwing.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
How I Saved Baseball
Scene: July 17 2009. The air is sticky as the fans aren’t rotating fast or hard enough. There are too many people squeezed inside this small Grishamish courtroom. A media firestorm has been set off with the murder of longtime Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. Reporters and cameramen have been allowed inside and the whole back half of the room is stuffed with men in nice suites, cameramen in jeans and mustard stained tee shirts and Erin Andrews who seemingly brought her own equipment.
The trial of the century Aaron Kaplan V. Baseball is about to begin.
The Judge stares down at the defendants table where a stoic, serene man is sitting visibly enjoying the attention he has caused.
“In light of the damning video tape evidence against you Mr. Kaplan how do you plead?”
The defendant rises. He is wearing a crisp black suit with a starched white shirt and Kanye West sunglasses, looking baller as hell, not even sweating despite the oppressive heat. He has decided to forgo his right to an attorney and defend himself. “I plead NOT GUILTY on the grounds that this was a crime of self defense!”
Cameras flash and the sound of the fans are drowned out by the cries of the spectators and Selig’s lawyers. Erin Andrews subtly unbuttons the top of her blouse.
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