Archive for February, 2010

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The Eagles Season of Change & How They Must Rearrange!

February 27th, 2010 by | 5 Comments | Filed in Eagles, Football, General

The Time Has Come

Okay folks, it is time to turn it over and see some MAJOR changes for these “same old song and dance” Eagles.

The first mistake Lurie made was giving Reid too much power, adding the GM position to the taxing job of coach.  Bad move.  Rarely have I seen one man wear two hats in the NFL and succeed. It was ridiculous and plain stupid of Lurie to do so.  How can you do two jobs well and keep focus?  Answer: You can’t in the NFL.  Many have tried and failed!  So Lurie has gone out and hired a GM to help offset some of Reid’s burden, which is a good thing.

Some may argue that Reid is a great coach, but I believe he is a good coach at best, who comes up short in big games and repeats his mistakes over and over.  That being said, unfortunately I don’t see Lurie going out and getting a coach like Cowher who believes in offensive balance. Reid’s tendency to pass way too much and not build a sustained running game has worn out OUR OWN defenses, which this year was absolutely on dead legs by the end of the year.

Take a look at our time of possession. Yes, we scored points, but in quick bursts. Passing often will actually win you a Super Bowl once in a blue moon with a Montana, Brady or Manning at the helm, who were incredibly accurate, but where McNabb is NOT! Still with Manning, look what the Saints did to him in the Super Bowl anticipating the pass!

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Johnny G’s 2010 NBA Power Rankings

February 24th, 2010 by Johnny G | 23 Comments | Filed in Basketball, General

2010 NBA Power Rankings

1. Los Angeles Lakers- With an overall record of 43-14, the Lakers are clearly the class of the NBA right now. With the injuries to Kobe Bryant, the boys in LA have also proven they can survive without their star for a period of time if necessary. The overall length of this roster provides a lot of problems for their opponents to address. Gasol, Bynum, and Odom down low are very difficult to handle on the boards and create mismatches all over the floor.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers- The Cavs made the biggest splash at the deadline, acquiring Antawn Jamison to take some of the pressure off of Lebron. James has proven he can do it all himself in the past but with Shaq and Jamison on board now, his task should be a lot easier. After the trade Big Z is expected to return to the Cavs through one of the ridiculous loopholes in the NBA bargaining agreement. This team is the favorite to come out of the East at this point.

3. Denver Nuggets- Sitting at 37-19, the Nuggets did not do much at the deadline, but did they really need to? Chauncey Billups playing at a career level, Carmelo Anthony taking over games by himself, K-Mart at the 4, and Nene in the middle, this roster is very dangerous. J.R. Smith coming off the bench is a pure scorer who can put the ball in the basket in bunches and the bird man is a defensive force. Watch out for this team in a crowded Western Conference. Thoughts and prayers go out to George Karl, who is in another bout with cancer.

4. Utah Jazz- On January 9th, this team was on the outside looking in at the playoff picture, sitting in the 10th seed. Since then all they have done is run off 17 wins in 19 games, pushing their record to 36-19. Jerry Sloan, the NBA’s longest tenured coach and recently inducted Hall of Famer is doing wonders with this group led by Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. This team will go as far as Williams can take them.

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Leave Tiger Alone?

February 20th, 2010 by Christian | 19 Comments | Filed in General, TalkSportsPhilly, Twitter

I was enjoying dinner with friends last night, when inevitably the Tiger Woods subject came up. By the end of the discussion, I was (surprisingly) alone in my opinion that this isn’t just Tiger’s business. I was amazed that three of my friends and my wife held the position that this should be between Tiger and his wife, and the media is blowing things out of proportion. People shouldn’t be this interested in this guy’s sex life, they argued.

While I respect their opinions, I think that’s total BS. Tiger Woods is currently the most famous athlete in the world. He has presented himself for over a decade as the perfect athlete, who wins through conditioning, preparation, and being mentally tougher than his opponents. He was invincible, with no apparent flaws in his game. He also projected an image of domestic bliss, with a beautiful blonde, model-esque wife, and two adorable children. The picture was carefully crafted, and perfect.

To say that image has been shattered is the understatement of the century.

If Tiger had simply cheated on his wife, and had, say one or two mistresses, people would understand. He just made a mistake. And if he and his wife reconciled in private, that would be the end of it. Hey, men and women cheat on their spouses sometimes. Everyone knows that. It would not be the spectacle it is becoming.

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Johnny G’s 2010 MLB Power Rankings

February 17th, 2010 by Johnny G | 44 Comments | Filed in Baseball, General

2010 MLB Power Rankings

1. New York Yankees – Defending World Champs have not lost much besides Matsui and Damon. Added Granderson and Javier Vazquez. The Yankees are the front runners again this season. With a rotation of Sabathia, Burnett, Pettite, Vazquez, and Joba they are very tough to beat with the lineup they put out there.
Questions: How will Pettite bounce back after the heavy workload of 2009 at the age of 38?
Who wins the job in Left field? Gardner, Winn, or Thames?

2. Boston Red Sox– Possibly the deepest roster in the MLB. Added John Lackey to an already phenomenal rotation. Mike Cameron solidifies Centerfield defensively and moves Ellsbury to left. Beltre now mans the hot corner, Marco Scutaro is at short and this is hands down the best defensive team in the MLB. With a defense like that behind Lackey, Lester, Beckett, Dice-k, and Bucholz, this is an extremely dangerous team.
Questions: Is Big Papi done?
Can Dice-k return to his 2008 dominance?

3. Philadelphia Phillies– The Phils were clearly the class of the National League before any additions were made. They added Placido Polanco, who is an upgrade over Pedro Feliz and added arguably the best pitcher in the game in Roy Halladay. Losing Cliff Lee will hurt but the Phillies also posses one of the best offenses in the MLB. They should have no problem taking the NL East.
Questions: Will Brad Lidge bounce back from a horrendous 2009?
Can Cole Hamels regain his 2008 form?
Will Ibanez rebound from a sub-par second half last season?

4. Tampa Bay Rays– Very young and talented roster throughout with a deep starting rotation of Shields, Garza, Niemann , Price, and the young Wade Davis. With the addition of Rafael Soriano to the bullpen, it should prevent the burnout the Rays’ bullpen experienced last season. With a deep young lineup containing Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, BJ Upton, and Pat Burrell this team could compete for the division crown.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Questions: Can Pat Burrell rebound with his usual .250 30 and 100 season?
Who will win the battle for the catching position between Shoppach and Navarro?

5. Colorado Rockies – Extremely young and talented offensive lineup that could explode this season without Garret Atkins blocking the power hitting Ian Stewart and Chris Ianneta regaining the starting job behind the plate. Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook, and Jorge De la rosa are a solid top 3 in the rotation and with Jeff Francis returning, this team has a very good chance to go deep into the playoffs.
Question: How will Jeff Francis fare after not pitching for more than a year?

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Phillies: Flashback; Flashforward

February 16th, 2010 by | 4 Comments | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies

Phillies New Ace Roy Halladay

Looking back on the Philadelphia Phillies last season, I am absolutely impressed that the team won 93 games, especially considering the horrendous seasons from starter Cole Hamels and closer Brad Lidge, along with the long suspension and injury to mid-reliever J.C. Romero.

Add to that the mounting injuries to the bullpen, an ailing Raul Ibanez (secretly for half the season), an overplayed and underrested Chase Utley, a slumping/streaky/benched JimmyRollins, and an down year at the plate from a departed Pedro Feliz, the Phils really impressed me with their resiliency!

Just think if the closer combo of Lidge and Madson were effective – they would have won 100 games easily!  I am not blaming Madson, he was taken out of his bridge to Lidge role, and didn’t thrive as the stopper.

If not for the dissappearing act of Ryan Howard and the implosion of the bullpen in the World Series, the Phillies could have beaten the mighty, A-roid led Yankees.  Let’s be objective here.  Games 2, 3 and 4 of the World Series were all up for grabs and the Phils failed to nab at least one or two of them!  And the made-up-on-the-spot-by-the-umpires homerun that was gifted to A-roid was the turning point in the series.

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Sixers Win 5 in a Row

February 10th, 2010 by Johnny G | 10 Comments | Filed in Basketball, General, Sixers

Go Ahead, I dare ya to try and take it!

That’s right you heard it here first. The 76ers have won five games in a row. Don’t look now but the once cellar-dwelling Sixers are now 20-31, leaving them just 4.5 games out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. Before this recent hot streak the Sixers were well on their way to a lottery selection in the upcoming draft at 15-31, with only the New Jersey Nets behind them in the standings.

If you look further into the winning streak the Sixers have beaten the lowly Nets with a record of 4-47, then traveled to New Orleans and beat the Hornets without superstar point guard Chris Paul. Next was their most impressive victory of the streak when they came back from an 11 point second half deficit to beat the surging Houston Rockets. Finally, just last night they trounced the horrendous Minnesota Timberwolves by 22.

The talent level of the teams they have beaten in this recent run is not the best, but for a team of the Sixers caliber, a five game win streak is impressive nonetheless. This recent win streak also causes an issue for many Sixers fan that did not exist just a week ago. Do you continue rooting for the Sixers to lose in pursuit of a lottery pick and the draft rights to Kentucky star point guard John Wall? Or do you root for the Sixers to win and capture that final playoff spot, even though they will certainly be eliminated in the first round after facing Cleveland or Orlando?

The obvious answer is to root for the lottery selection but it is not always that easy. Naturally you want to root for your team to win and for the opportunity to see them succeed, or at least for the Sixers sake, participate in the playoffs.

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Johnny G’s Super Bowl Pick

February 6th, 2010 by Johnny G | 11 Comments | Filed in Football, General, Twitter

Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints

Indianapolis Colts (-4.5) over New Orleans Saints/ Sunday 6:25pm on CBS

We have been spoiled by the last several Super Bowls that have come down to last minute heroics. That won’t be necessary this year. Peyton Manning is attempting to win the second Super Bowl of his career and Drew Brees and the Saints are attempting to win their first. As much as I’d like to believe the Saints have a chance in this game because of the great story line it would be and the trials and tribulations of the city of New Orleans, I just don’t see how they win this game.

Let’s break it down simply. If you watched the NFC Championship game it is fairly evident that the best team is not representing the NFC in this game. The Minnesota Vikings and 40 year old Brett Favre sliced this Saints defense to death. The Vikings outgained the Saints by 220 yards in the game, compiled 15 more first downs, and dominated the time of possession. The only reason we are not looking at a Favre Manning matchup is because of 5 fumbles by the Vikings, 3 of which they lost. Favre also threw 2 interceptions, one of which should have been called back on a roughing the passer penalty, as the NFL admitted just last week. Don’t get me wrong, the Vikings have a prolific offense, but when you compare the Vikings and Colts it is not close. Peyton Manning, the best QB of this era, and possibly ever leads an offense that just embarrassed the #1 defense in the NFL. The Jets defense was shredded so badly in the 2nd half in the AFC Championship; they had to stop blitzing completely, which is their signature.

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