Pheeling Phor Philly

With the Philadelphia Phillies on the brink of winning the World Series, I just wanted to congratulate the people of Philly.

This will be their first major professional championship since 1983. That year, the Sixers swept the Lakers for the NBA title. Since then, the Phillies lost the 1993 World Series, the Flyers lost the 1987 and 1998 Stanley Cup Finals, the Sixers lost the 2001 NBA Finals and the Eagles lost Super Bowl XXIX.

The Villanova Wildcats did win the NCAA Tournament in 1985.

The Phillies have been extra sad. In 125 seasons of Phillies baseball, their only World Series title came in 1980. Last year, they became the first franchise to lose 10,000 games.

When Boston fans were feeling cursed, I defended the city of Philly but citing their woes. Now you will get back to the big time.

Redskins Mid-season Report Card

QUARTERBACK: A. Jason Campbell has done an outstanding job learning Jim Zorn's West Coast Offense. We have broken a team record for pass attempts without an interception. Seriously, how amazing is it that any quarterback has started eight games and not throw a pick? Now how much more amazing is it that it is a guy who is learning his seventh system in eight years? His fumbling has returned, which worries me.

RUNNING BACK: A+ I was worried that WCO would mean less Redskins Offense. Run. Run. Run. Big play. Turns out that Zorn has dedicated himself to the run and Clinton Portis is having an MVP season. Portis leads the NFL in rushing and has tied O.J. Simpson's record for five straight games with at least 120 yards rushing. The Ladell Betts injury sucks and Shaun Alexander is showing me nothing.

WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END: B Santana Moss started off with a bang, cooled off, and has now reasserted himself. Teams are scared to let him get going. Antwaan Randle El is having a pretty good year too, albeit nothing outstanding. Chris Cooley is as solid as they come. Rookies Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly have done nothing.

OFFENSIVE LINE: B I am satisfied with the line, though Campbell has been seeing a lot of pressure. Injuries at tackle have hurt. Still, this unit is blocking for the NFL's leading rusher.

DEFENSIVE LINE: C- They are doing a nice job stuffing the run, but do they know what a quarterback looks like? We still can't sack anybody unless they hold onto the ball for an hour.

LINEBACKERS: B London Fletcher is freakin' amazing. Rocky McIntosh and Marcus Washington are better than solid.

SECONDARY: A That grade is a bit inflated, but this unit has done an outstanding job despite all the injuries they've had to deal with. This secondary has held down the Giants, Saints, Cowboys, Eagles, Cardinals and Browns passing attacks. Chris Horton is an absolute steal!

KICKING: D. Scott Suisham is nice, but our punting still sucks.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C- We've allowed a couple of kick returns for TDs and Antwaan Randle El just isn't getting it done as a punt returner.

COACHING: B I must admit that I wasn't sold on Jim Zorn. Oddly, it was how he handled the loss to the winless Rams that sold me. I wanted to see him handle some adversity and he really kept his "stay medium" attitude.

Mike Singletary Is the Best Coach to Ever Hold a Whistle

Mike Singletary is my favorite coach to ever coach anything!

Why haven't we had a coach walk right into a job and completely call out a player before? And this wasn't something where a coach was out of line by placing blame on a player (coaches usually shoulder the blame publically).

How would you like to be Vernon Davis right about now?

By the way, I'm getting ready to run through a wall for Coach Singletary.

Where Have You Gone, Zubaz Man?

Why was this ever in style??? And why did I have some UNC Zubaz shorts back in the day? Ugh!!!

Phillies Need to Bring Back the Pinstripes

Congrats to the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays for getting to the World Series.

One request: the Phillies need to change their jerseys back to the days of their 1980 World Series championsip.

We need these jerseys back in our lives!

Sportz' NFL 7/17 Mark Review

With the NFL season 7/17 (or 41%) over, it seems like a good time to look at what we've seen. BTW, I have no idea who that guy is in the picture:

NFC EAST

Surprise: Washington Redskins. The Redskins have to be the division's biggest surprise. Who had them at 5-2 and leading the wildcard standings?

Disappointment: Dallas Cowboys. The Boys were supposed to be dominate. A record of 4-3 and getting spanked by the Rams say otherwise.

Who's gonna win: New York Giants. Of all the teams in the division, the G-men seem to be the most consistent. Yeah, we can point to that Browns game last week but I think they've shown to be the division's top team.

NFC SOUTH

Surprise: Atlanta Falcons. Rookie quarterbacks aren't supposed to lead a 4-2 team. Michael Turner and Roddy White have turned into top tier players.

Disappointment: New Orleans Saints. Those Saints have had all kinds of injuries that they haven't had a chance. Still, it is surprising to see them deep in the division basement.

Who's gonna win: Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Carolina is a very good team but Tampa seems to be putting it all together right now. As long as Jeff Garcia can stay happy and healthy, they are the team to beat.

NFC NORTH

Surprise: Chicago Bears. Not a huge surprise, but who knew that they'd look like the favorite to win the division? With Kyle Orton at QB no less?

Disappointment: Minnesota Vikings. They were the darkhorse to win the NFC this year and have really been inconsistent. That vaunted defense has just looked horrible this year.

Who's gonna win: Chicago Bears. The Packers have fought back with a couple of wins ... but I trust the Bears defense a bit more.

NFC WEST

Surprise: St. Louis Rams. Yeah, that 2-4 record isn't a surprise ... but beating the Redskins and Cowboys in successive weeks sure is!

Disappointment: Seattle Seahawks. Look, this team has been decimated by injuries and is a sad way for Mike Holmgren to leave the Pacific Northwest.

Who's gonna win: Arizona Cardinals. They are the only team in this division worth a crap.

AFC EAST

Surprise: Buffalo Bills. They aren't pretty; they just get the job done.

Disappointment: New England Patriots. They can't help it that Tom Brady is lost for the year. But how does this record setting offense only muster 89 points this season (only the Chiefs have scored less).

Who's gonna win: Buffalo Bills. I need to see them against New England.

AFC SOUTH

Surprise: Tennessee Titans. Who had the Titans as the NFL's last undefeated team? Anyone?

Disappointment: Indianapolis Colts. I hate the "they could be" line ... but the Colts could be 1-5 right now. Two wild comebacks against the Vikes and Texans have them at an ugly 3-3.

Who's gonna win: Tennessee Titans. It's been a long time since I've seen a team with both an offensive and defensive line that was so dominant.

AFC NORTH

Surprise: Baltimore Ravens. Not some huge surprise (they are only 3-3). Who else in this division is doing anything unexpected?

Disappointment: Cleveland Browns. How in the world did this offense look good last season?

Who's gonna win: Pittsburgh Steelers. And they should wrap this thing up in a few weeks.

AFC WEST

Surprise: Denver Broncos. Teams with defenses this bad shouldn't hold division leads.

Disappointment: San Diego Chargers. The Bolts are following the Colts example of a disappointment. Can somebody wake up LaDainian Tomlinson?

Who's gonna win: San Diego Chargers. I'm banking on someone waking him up.

That Miami-Florida State Experiment Didn't Work ... So Let's Realign the ACC

The ACC has the worst division setup ever. For football, they split into two six-team divisions to set up a conference championship game.

Instead of geography, the ACC decided to just divide the teams in no real manner ... aside from trying to have nothing but Miami-Florida State title tilts. That hasn't happened once since the league expanded and doesn't look as if it will happen anytime soon.

So why not just screw the idea and make the divisions better? The fact that the four North Carolina schools aren't in the same division is just stupid.

Sure, the ACC doesn't have an easy geographical divide. If you did a true "North" and "South" division it would split up the four NC teams. The league doesn't really have an East or West either.

So let's just put the four NC schools together ... add in Clemson (since they are in South Carolina) ... then add in Georgia Tech. The other six schools can all go to the other division.

ATLANTIC: Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, NC State, North Carolina, Wake Forest
COASTAL: Boston College, Florida State, Maryland, Miami, Virginia, Virginia Tech

Unless you want to have a North and South, but that will split up the NC schools

NORTH: Boston College, Maryland, NC State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

SOUTH: Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina

How about the East/West?

EAST: Boston College, Maryland, Miami, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

WEST: Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, NC State, North Carolina

Sucks To Be the Cowboys!

As a Redskins fan, my heart goes out to the Dallas Cowboys.

It sucks that we beat them in their yard. And then they barely beat the 0-6 Cincinnati Bengals. And then they lose to the Arizona Cardinals.

It sucks that Tony Romo will be out for a month and that 400-year old Brad Johnson will take his place. It sucks that Felix Jones and Terence Newman are also hurt.

It sucks that they will play the Buccaneers and Giants while Romo is out.

It sucks that Terrell Owens is bitching. It sucks that Greg Ellis is too.

It sucks that Pacman Jones is now out at least a month after being suspended by the NFL. It sucks that Jerry Jones' investigation came up as "all good!"

Man, I am hurting!

Workin' For a Rays-Phillies World Series

FOX Sports would love to see a Red Sox-Dodgers series. So would Major League Baseball. So would advertisers. And I'm guessing, so would you.

Not me. I want the Phillies-Rays in the World Series.

It is a matter of comfort. I don't hate Phillies fans. I don't hate the small amount of Rays fans. I have grown tired of Boston fans over the past couple years (and call it being a "hater" if you want). I really don't hate Dodger fans, but they seem to come out of the woodwork right now.I mean, we just got rid of Chicago fans.Since my Reds suck, I've hitched onto the Tampa Bay bandwagon. Who wouldn't love to see this team come from no where to the World Series?

I also have no hard feelings against Philly and feel sorry that they have just that one championship in 100+ years of baseball.

Week 2 Predictions!

Last week, I went 11-5.  This week, I hope to a bit better.

PACKERS AT LIONS:  Detroit will give Green Bay a game.  Why?  The Chewbacca Theory:  It just doesn't make sense.  Still, G-Bay takes it.  PACKERS WIN!

RAIDERS AT CHIEFS:  Did any team look worse than Oakland last week?  The Chiefs suck, too, but they did a decent job against New England last week.  CHIEFS WIN!

GIANTS AT RAMS:  Man, there are some bad teams to start off the picks, eh?  Plaxico Burress goes off on the Lambs.  GIANTS WIN!

COLTS AT VIKINGS:  The Colts are the better team and all of that ... but I think Minnesota pulls this one out.  If Matt Forte blew up Indy's defensive line, what will Adrian Peterson do?  VIKINGS WIN!

TITANS AT BENGALS:  Same thing here.  Bengals couldn't block the Ravens defensive front.  Now they get to face a better one.  TITANS WIN!

SAINTS AT REDSKINS:  I love my boys ... but how can I pick them after that horrible showing last Thursday!?!?!  SAINTS WIN!

BEARS AT PANTHERS:  This should be a close game (not a great one).  I think Carolina gets the win here.  Amazing that they could end up 2-0 without Steve Smith.  PANTHERS WIN!

BILLS AT JAGUARS:  There are a lot of people on the Buffalo bandwagon.  I'm not one of them.  JAGS WIN!

NINERS AT SEAHAWKS:  Seattle looked really bad against those Bills last week.  But the Niners aren't good enough to expose it.  SEAHAWKS WIN!

FALCONS AT BUCCANEERS:  Tampa's defense isn't what it once was ... but it is quite good enough to mess with Matt Ryan.  BUCS WIN!

PATRIOTS AT JETS:  I wanna pick New England in this one ... but I just can't.  I just don't want those Favre Fanatics to keep barking about ol' Brett.  JETS WIN!

DOLPHINS AT CARDINALS:  Miami has lost 20 of 22.  How can you pick them with odds like that?  CARDS WIN!

CHARGERS AT BRONCOS:  I do think San Diego will be itching to make a statement this week.  I also think that Denver is good enough to deal with it.  BRONCOS WIN!

STEELERS AT BROWNS:  Pittsburgh looked just as good as the Dallas Cowboys did last week.  Now they get to face Dallas' opponent.  STEELERS WIN!

EAGLES AT COWBOYS:  Philly usually plays the Cowboys tough, no matter where the game is held.  The final PHI-DAL game at Texas Stadium will end with a win for the home guys.  COWBOYS WIN!

 

Sportz Assassin's Week 1 Picks

Alright, Week 1 of the NFL season is upon us.  So, without delay ... here we go with my picks:

Redskins-Giants:  Both teams have injury issues.  The last time these two met, Washington cruised to a win.  Since then, Eli Manning has surged.  I just think this is too much for Washington right now.  GIANTS WIN.

Bengals-Ravens:  Both teams suck.  At least the Bengals are starting an Pro Bowler with a broken beak.  Ravens are starting the new fish.  BENGALS WIN.

Jets-Dolphins.  I think this will be a darn good game.  I know the Jets made some nice offseason moves, but they won just three more games than the NFL-worst Dolphins.  Still, Favre will find a way to pull this out.  JETS WIN

Chiefs-Patriots.  Are you kidding me?  PATRIOTS WIN

Texans-Steelers.  Houston is everyone's trendy darkhorse.  Yeah, I look for teams without a starting running back and a QB tandem of Matt Schaub and Sage Rosenfelds as my buzz-worthy pick.  STEELERS WIN.

Jaguars-Titans.  Interesting game.  The only thing is that David Garrard has more toys than Vince Young.  The boy with the most toys wins.  JAGS WIN

Lions-Falcons.  Why do we care?  LIONS WIN

Seahawks-Bills.  This is a game that makes us care about the Bills again.  Well, no.  But Seattle just has too much going against it right now.  BILLS WIN

Buccaneers-Saints.  Tampa should upset N'Awlins in this one.  I mean, the Saints have been in Indy practicing and not knowing what is going on with Hurricane Gustav.  I just won't bet against them right now.  SAINTS WIN.

Rams-Eagles.  The Eagles are focused ... while the Rams are just, well, not.  EAGLES WIN

Cowboys-Browns.  I'm not on the Cleveland bandwagon.  How could anyone?  COWBOYS WIN

Panthers-Chargers.  No Steve Smith for Kakalaka.  No win.  CHARGERS WIN

Cardinals-Niners.  This game is usually good in a morbid way.  Who would've thunk we'd be seeing Kurt Warner vs JT O'Sullivan?  CARDINALS WIN

Bears-Colts.  So what if the Colts will be rusty?  COLTS WIN

Vikings-Packers.  I may be one of the few people rooting for Aaron Rodgers to do well.  With all that Brett Favre mess going on, he really showed a lot by trying his best to stay out of it.  I want Green Bay to shine on Monday night.  PACKERS WIN

Broncos-Raiders.  Denver is my sleeper pick.  Oakland is still Oakland.  BRONCOS WIN

Oklahoma City Thunder ... THUNDER?

                       

The Oklahoma City Thunder.  Really?

Really?

So far, I am unimpressed.  Sure, there is already going to be some hatred from me since I don't think Seattle should have lost their SuperSonics.  But, you have to move on.

But the Thunder?

First off, guys don't like professional franchises that don't end in an "s".  I mean, we don't like the MLS or WNBA, do we?  See, they have those weird non-s-ending names.

Not to say the NBA doesn't have that (Jazz, Magic), but those names aren't horrid.  The "Thunder" sounds like a Roller Derby team.

I can already see NBA writers with their "And The Thunder Rolls ... ", "Thunder Boom", "Bringin' the Thunder", "Thunder-ous" and all the other easy headlines this name makes.  I mean, what is Thunder but a noise?  Quick hot air. 

The other is this logo.  I mean, c'mon.  I know they are all strapped for time ... but you'd think they could come up with something better than a cross between the Nets and Bobcats logos.  We all know how awesome those logos sell.

Maybe we have just run out of names for our sports teams. 

Goodbye, Junior

                     

Let me just say that this is a good deal for the Reds ... and I am sad to see Griffey go.

Despite the fact that he never brought his greatness with him, I liked the Ken Griffey Jr era in Cincinnati.  I didn't love it because we never made the playoffs, barely even sniffed being in a race and we didn't get what we thought we were.

Since his first season here, he has never been near the top of the stats in home runs, RBIs or average.  We didn't get a steady dose of his gold glove.  He was more Grumpy than Griffey.

All that was evident in his final week in town ... as he was warming up at the plate as well as getting into it with announcer Jeff Brantley.  That's a sad way to part ways.

Still, Griffey was a star (albeit a dimmed one) on a franchise that needed one.

Having said that, the Reds did the right thing by moving him.  Sure, they are paying his salary for the rest of the season ($4 million), but they are getting a couple of pitching prospects for a guy that wouldn't be here after a season where the Reds are out of contention.

I'm also happy for Griffey, who is at the end of his career.  Sure, he may have a few years left of DHing and some outfield duty somewhere ... but his chances to play in a World Series are almost gone.  He is going to the AL Central leading White Sox, who's biggest move could be watching Manny Ramirez traded from Boston (it could happen).

This could be the first in a line of moves for the Reds.  Adam Dunn's name is being bandied about Tampa Bay;  Josh Fogg is rumored to be heading back to Colorado.  Griffey's trade is ... for some, FINALLY ... the first move in an attempt to transition from the Griffey-Dunn Era to the Bruce-Votto Era. 

As I'm sad to see you go, good luck in Chicago, Junior!  I'll be rooting for you.

What If the NFL Divisions Weren't Realigned?

When the Houston Texans joined our little NFL club back in 2002, the NFL decided it was time to realign into four divisions in two conferences (good move).

Still, it is always fun to go back and see how things would shape up had the NFL decided to keep the three division format (and, for arguments sake, putting the Texans in the NFC West).

AFC EAST:  Buffalo, Indianapolis, Miami, New England, NY Jets.
Now this is a division!  The Colts and Pats have been two of the most successful and photogenic teams ... so imagine if they (a) were fighting for a division title every year and (b) we got two games between them ... or maybe three!  Aside from that, everything would look the same ... except for some sad faces in Buffalo, Miami and NYC.

AFC CENTRAL:  Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Tennessee
This was the only division with six teams and it had quite a run.  This is essentially the new AFC North with the Jags and Titans thrown in there ... two teams that were very successful right before realignment.  This would be one heck of a division with the Steelers trying to fend off the Jags and Titans (I love that Pitt-Jax rivalry!!!!) ... with Cleveland not too far behind.  Cincinnati and Baltimore both have talent ... but it isn't enough.

AFC WEST:  Denver, Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego, Seattle.
Remember that Seattle was an AFC team ... and judging what's been going on, they'd dominate their West division too.  Would it be any solace to Seahawks fans that if not for realignment ... they wouldn't have had to see their team get screwed over in Super Bowl XL?

NFC EAST:  Arizona, Dallas, NY Giants, Philadelphia, Washington.
The only addition is the Cardinals, who were then ... and still would be ... always trying to be a somebody in this division (or any division).  Still, Cards fans would love seeing the Cowboys come by every year.

NFC CENTRAL:  Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota, Tampa Bay.
Again, the only change is adding the Bucs, who sadly didn't get to strut their stuff as an Black-N-Blue Division beast.  Still, it would be a nice race with the Packers, Bucs and Vikings fighting for the division title.

NFC WEST:  Atlanta, Carolina, Houston, New Orleans, San Francisco, St. Louis
This division had the most changes since, well, most of its teams weren't in the west.  On paper this year, this would be the weakest division.  The Rams have stunk, the Falcons will stink and the Niners have been stinking.  Houston hasn't ever made the playoffs.  The Panthers and Saints are the most likely to have success, but neither can be trusted to do so.

R.I.P. Seattle SuperSonics

               

The city of Seattle is the latest place to get screwed by an owner with an agenda.

No more SuperSonics ... oh, unless another team magically shows up in a few years.  As we've seen in Charlotte, that isn't always a good thing to replace an old franchise with a new one immediately.  And cities like Kansas City, San Diego, Vancouver, Cincinnati and Buffalo haven't seen the NBA come back.

It seems that every time something like this happens, it is the team wanting new digs and the city not wanting to pay for it (or know that their consituents will be mad if they make them).  Forget that smaller market, crap ... Los Angeles lost two NFL teams in the same year. 

I do feel bad for Seattle.  I've seen the Charlotte thing up close and this is one of those heart wrenching things a city can have happen.  These Sonics have been to the Finals and have a NBA Championship, so their mark has been made.