Archive for November, 2015

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Following The 40: Prime Directives

November 6th, 2015 by Mike H. | Comments Off on Following The 40: Prime Directives | Filed in Baseball, General, MLB, Phillies

Team President Andy MacPhail, General Manager Matt Klentak, and John Middleton

As expected, the Phillies selected the successor to Ruben Amaro Jr.’s throne. It really seemed like a formality that Team President Andy MacPhail would choose Matt Klentak based off of previous work experience in Baltimore where he served as Director of Baseball Operations. During his introductory statement, Klentak laid forth a set of prime directives that the Phillies would abide by under his watch.

  • Discipline
  • Connectivity
  • Information
  • Culture
  • Winning

Just reading his quotes as to how he will lead this team going forward gives me a sense of hope. Granted a potentially strong base of prospects relatively close to the majors backed by an ownership group with rather deep pockets doesn’t hurt, but talking about discipline, which wasn’t one of his predecessor’s finest qualities, should also let the fans know not to expect the huge splash….yet. What Amaro never learned in his time as General Manager was a lesson he could have learned from Taylor Swift (yes that Taylor Swift). That band aids don’t fix bullet holes. Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence were both reactionary moves that set the franchise back. Both were meant to cover mistakes in getting rid of Cliff Lee and Jayson Werth, but the cost was detrimental in long-term decisions.

Connectivity and Information will work hand in hand as the team re-evaluates how the team is built going forward. The concept of synergy was not a point of strength since Pat Gillick rode off into the sunset, World Series trophy in hand. In fact, it really seemed like one hand didn’t know what the other hand was doing the majority of the time. I’m excited to see what this franchise can become with an analytic weaponry and the payroll to back it up.

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Does Colin Kaepernick provide the Eagles with a “Get Out of Jail Free” Card?

November 6th, 2015 by Ryan Waterman | Comments Off on Does Colin Kaepernick provide the Eagles with a “Get Out of Jail Free” Card? | Filed in Eagles, Football, General, NFL

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Make your voices heard Eagles fans…..

Seven games into the season, and the Eagles are still one of few teams facing uncertainty under center after this season. In fact, the team has been struggling to find consistent production from under center, since the 2010 season. Following the 2009 season, that saw the Eagles season come to an end, courtesy of a 34-14 Wild Card game thrashing at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys, the Birds made some significant offseason moves.

The biggest of those moves, saw the face of the franchise and quarterback for the last decade Donovan McNabb get traded to the division-rival Washington Redskins. That trade, jump-started the revolving door of signal-callers, in the City of Brotherly Love.  Without much more hesitation, let’s get right down to it.

2010 Season- Kevin Kolb (Week 1, Week 4-6) Michael Vick (Week 2-4, Week 7-17)

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TSP Babe of the Year 2012: Kourtney Reppert, an Inside TSP Story

November 6th, 2015 by Leo | Comments Off on TSP Babe of the Year 2012: Kourtney Reppert, an Inside TSP Story | Filed in Eagles, General, Interviews, Philly Babes, TalkSportsPhilly

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Back in 2012 TalkSportsPhilly decided to start its Babe of the Year project and the very beginnings of Philly Babes.  As you can see Kourtney is a very beautiful woman from the Philly area and has a large following on social media among other numerous credits.  As I approached her about it and after she inquired and we talked.  KR (that’s what i call her) decided to accept and we began to work together setting it up.

Since it was the first TSP Babe of Year and playing with the Philly Babes idea, KR and I talked, tossed some ideas around and cross promoted, a win-win situation, what could go wrong?

Well, I put the page together with her approval and links connecting to different outlets you can find KR.  I was promoting on the Philly Babes page, fresh out of the starting gate at the time, and KR was helping to spread the word.

One morning I awoke and went to my computer, I am a professional, so it’s a part of my life.  I went to the Philly Babes page and received a rather disturbing message.

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TSP College Football Bowl Projections: Week 1

November 6th, 2015 by Robert Waterman | Comments Off on TSP College Football Bowl Projections: Week 1 | Filed in College Sports, Football, General, Sports

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Ahhh…….November. The seasons are in transition, the World Series just reached its conclusion (Congratulations to Kansas City) , the NHL and NBA seasons are in just about full swing, and for football…..it’s time to get serious, especially for the College Football scene. So with that, I welcome you to the 1st installment of the TalkSportsPhilly College Football Bowl Projections. During the course of the next 5 weeks, I will be making my projections for the College Football Playoff Games, the “New Year’s Six” games, as well as provide projections for both Temple and Penn State and where they might end up for bowl season, so with that in mind……..Let’s get Started.

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Playoff Picture

So earlier, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee released their first Top 25 poll of the season. This group of 12 individuals ranging from former Athletic Directors, to former Head Coaches, to even former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meet every week in a sequestered room in Grapevine Texas to come up with this poll. So some of you might be saying to yourselves, “What goes into this poll???” or “What does this committee base their decisions on?”

Well, the short answer is in 3 simple parts: Strength of Schedule, Head-to-Head, and Conference Championships. The last one could definitely be the tipping point come that 1st Sunday in December (Just ask TCU and Baylor last year about that). The top 4 teams in that final poll will meet in the College Football Playoff Semifinals on New Year’s Eve at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida and the Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas (Site of last years National Championship Game). The pair of winners will then meet on Monday, January 11th, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona to crown a National Champion. So now that the poll has been explained, here is the 1st Top 25 poll of the playoff season:

College Football Playoff Top 25 as of 11-3-2015
1 Clemson 8-0
2 LSU 7-0
3 Ohio State 8-0
4 Alabama 7-1
5 Notre Dame 7-1
6 Baylor 7-0
7 Michigan State 8-0
8 TCU 8-0
9 Iowa 8-0
10 Florida 7-1
11 Stanford 7-1
12 Utah 7-1
13 Memphis 8-0
14 Oklahoma State 8-0
15 Oklahoma 7-1
16 Florida State 7-1
17 Michigan 6-2
18 Ole Miss 7-2
19 Texas A&M 6-2
20 Mississippi State 6-2
21 Northwestern 6-2
22 Temple 7-1
23 UCLA 6-2
24 Toledo 7-0
25 Houston 8-0

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Flyers Offensive Outage

November 4th, 2015 by Joe Buscemi | Comments Off on Flyers Offensive Outage | Filed in Flyers, General, Hockey, Sports

EDMONTON, AB - DECEMBER 28: Jordan Eberle #14 of the Edmonton Oilers exchanges words with Claude Giroux #28 of the Philadelphia Flyers prior to a face off on December 28, 2013 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Marko Ditkun/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Flyers will stay North of the Border as they head to Edmonton to take on the Oilers tonight at Rexall Place. They are currently on a four game losing skid, and have been outscored 15-6 during this recent slump. They did however put up quite a fight last night to the Canucks for most of the game, especially during the third period where they outshot, out-hit, and had the majority of scoring chances. None of this would matter to Canucks goalie Ryan Miller, who to his credit stood on his head throughout the entire game and kept the most promising of Flyers opportunities from reaching the back of the net.

  • Takeaways: Despite the tough loss, the team’s only highlight came just under three minutes in the second period, where captain Claude Giroux scored a dazzling goal. He muscled through a Canuck defender and just has he approached the net, he went fore-hand, back-hand and flicked the puck top shelf to tie the game at one.

NHL: Edmonton Oilers at Dallas Stars

  • Planning for Connor McDavid: Despite the Oilers slow start, as they are 4-8 on the season, the Flyers defense has to plan carefully for the always dangerous Connor McDavid. Just in case you were living under a rock the past few months, he was the first overall pick in this season’s NHL Draft and has been the talk of the league ever since. The Oilers are currently undergoing a youth movement somewhat similar to the Flyers and are no team to take lightly. The Flyers are going to need to stay solid on defense and absolutely need to start cashing in on scoring opportunities, especially during powerplays as they are only four for thirty-four on the man advantage, if they want to end their current losing streak.

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Kansas City Royals are your 2015 World Champions!

November 2nd, 2015 by Ryan Waterman | Comments Off on Kansas City Royals are your 2015 World Champions! | Filed in Baseball, General, MLB

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The 7+ month journey to the Commissioner’s Trophy is officially over, and after a little more than five games (after factoring in the extra innings), the Kansas City Royals are your 2015 World Champions of Baseball! The Royals accomplished this fact, by knocking off the rather surprising NL pennant winning Mets in five games.

Starting things off with the Royals, they dominated their way to the playoffs.  Finishing 95-67, Kansas City rolled to the top seed in the American League and the fourth best record in baseball (behind the Cubs, Cards, and Pirates).   Behind the arms of their pitching staff, the power of their bats, and the speed of the baserunners, the Royals gritted their way through a pair of grueling series in the ALDS against the Houston Astros (5 Games) and the Toronto Blue Jays (6 games).

In the meanwhile, the Mets took a different road.  Following a emotion-fueled five game thriller with the Dodgers, New York plowed right through the upstart Chicago Cubs in route to their first WS appearance since the 2000 “Subway Series” against the Yankees.   Behind their four studs, and the “Ageless Wonder” Bartolo Colon, the Mets finished 90-72, shocking the baseball world by beating out the Washington Nationals for the NL East Crown.  While both teams took different paths, they had one thing in mind…..a collision course with the trophy in sight.

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Open Letter to Eagles Fans

November 2nd, 2015 by Ryan Waterman | Comments Off on Open Letter to Eagles Fans | Filed in Eagles, Football, General, NFL, Sports

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This is at the exact point I was at after our week two embarrassment against the Cowboys. For the second time in not even a year, I was ready to post an anger-fueled open letter to Eagle fans. Then, they started to win again. The team worked their way back to 3-3, and I guess in my sense, everything was okay, Well, I could not have been more wrong. After the offensive explosion against New Orleans, I anticipated on the team turning a corner. I hoped for much better play. And, I believed that they would finally start living up to the hype, that was building in the preseason. Sunday Night Football in Charlotte provided the Eagles with a great test. That was, until we actually took the field. We sucked. To just put it out there, and not sugar coat it…..we blew! From crippling drops to asinine offensive line play, the Eagles never had a chance from the start.

So, who is to blame at this point of the season? I’m going to break it down for you, in the only way that I can. By not holding back….

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