The700Level.com - Philly Sports & Minutiae

Flyers Take On League's Best in San Jose

2009-11-20T21:15:00-05:00

The Flyers will have their hands full this evening when they take on San Jose out on the left coast. The Sharks are tied for the most wins in the NHL at 14 and stand alone atop the league with 32 points. They've also yet to lose in regulation at home this season going 6-0-2.

The boys in Orange and Black have been playing well as of late and will get Ray Emery back in goal after a solid outing on Wednesday from Brian Boucher. JVR could break an NHL record this evening if he scores a game winner. Should be a good one out west. Game time is 10:00 p.m.

Photo by flickr user exif.lv

Here's video of two guys who know more about hockey than me discussing tonight's action

Sixers Take On Iverson-Free Memphis Squad

2009-11-20T17:29:01-05:00

Just a few weeks ago, Philly fans had tonight's basketball contest with the Memphis Grizzlies highlighted as a game to look forward to due to a certain scorer coming back to face the team he made his bones with for all of those years. Well, the Allen Iverson in Memphis experiment was even more short-lived than any hater A.I. hater could have expected. Instead of welcoming back the Answer to the Wachovia Center this evening, the Philly faithful will get the chance to watch Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, and Pau Gasol's younger brother take on the red hot Sixers team coming off a last second victory over the fierce Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday.

Back to Iverson for a minute, it looks like the Knicks -- the team most people guessed A.I. would end up with -- appear to be passing on bringing Bubba Chuck to New York to entertain their fans for the rest of a season.

“We’re not going to be making additions at this time to our team,” [Donnie Walsh] said. “So I guess that ends the speculation about Allen Iverson. It really has nothing to do with Allen Iverson. It’s just a stage that our team is in right now: what we’ve been trying to do since we got here in building a team for the future. It did get interesting for a while because Allen’s a great player, has always been a great player.

The Iverson watch will surely continue in Philadelphia. Could A.I. be eating at Houlihan's and getting kicked out of the Trop on a regular basis before we know it? Could be interesting.

As for the Sixers, it should be interesting to see how Elton Brand responds to his big game on Wednesday when he saw the court for much more time than he has all season. He didn't just get big minutes, he put up big numbers. Can the million dollar man put in back to back big games?

Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

The McNabb-O-Meter's Inglorious Return

2009-11-20T15:22:58-05:00

We've wound up in a familiar place in this football season, roughly halfway with an apparently middle-of-the-road team and all sorts of obvious problems, yet somehow poised to make another miraculous run. Most people are not amused, and seem to prefer changes. For starters, there's the quarterback who nobody can come to any kind of agreement about whether or not he can win. What should they do with him?

Yep, sounds like it's time for the McNabb-O-Meter.

Kevin Kolb's play in Weeks 2 and 3 didn't prove he's going to be an excellent starting quarterback in the NFL. After a superb first half versus the Saints, a poorly timed interception basically took the Eagles out of the game, and his victory over the Chiefs can hardly be considered impressive. Then again, he showed enough promise that you can't rule him out either. You can say "Well, it was the Chiefs," all you want and point to some hollow numbers from the New Orleans blowout; he was still a lot better than most people imagined.

Does that make Kolb a better option than Donovan McNabb? It's hard to imagine, and impossible to say. What we can't deny are two things: McNabb still tends to play erratically from time to time, and there is a serious youth movement happening here.

On the first subject, we shouldn't be blaming 5 for all of the offense's failures. Some of his shortcomings are overblown to the point where if he threw a few grounders in an Eagles loss, it was all his fault. That said, it's clearer than ever he is missing receivers, and not just with a few of his throws. Gone is the excuse they don't have weapons. Somebody is open on seemingly every play, but we've seen the offense struggle to execute at times the past several weeks. How much should we lay at the feet of the quarterback?

Perhaps the bigger issue is simply the direction of the team. Much has already been made about the youth across the offense. As drives continue to bog down with the veteran QB at the helm, and he becomes increasingly and visibly frustrated directing these kids on where they should line up or where they are supposed to be in their route, does anybody think it's simply the right time to pull the plug and go with youth under center as well? Knowing how the Eagles have done business in the past, you might be inclined to believe yes.

It's all part of the ongoing narrative that is heading toward its predicted finish line, with Donovan either coming or going at this season's conclusion. He still has seven more weeks and perhaps longer, an eternity in the NFL. With all the new pieces, he's still getting a feel for things too. It's entirely possible by the end of this season, the offense has reached it's full potential and McNabb is having one of his most productive stretches.

For right now though, we have to guess that somebody in the front office is pondering some difficult decisions.

* Disclaimer: The McNabb-O-Meter 2010 is meant to be taken as our best objective guess about the direction of the team, not reflect the author's bias, and is prone to wild fluctuation as the season progresses.

Joe Mays Could See Action At MLB This Week

2009-11-20T14:03:10-05:00

After a pretty underwhelming preseason in which he failed to capture a spot in the starting lineup, Joe Mays finally could get another opportunity on Sunday night. With Akeem Jordan expected to be out for the second consecutive week, the Eagles are once again considering a shift in their linebacker unit, and after taking the majority of snaps in practice, Mays could become the fifth player to start in the middle this season.

Mays has only been active in four games so far this year, but actually had a strong afternoon in kick coverage against San Diego, coming up with three tackles of shifty Darren Sproles. That's been about the only good news though. Mays was so uninspiring this summer, he's had to watch as the defense paraded one stopgap after another into a position where some thought he was an obvious fit.

It helps that he could hardly do any worse than Chris Gocong last week. Gocong was generally ineffective at middle linebacker, rarely getting any penetration into the backfield, and out of position several times in coverage. It's not entirely his fault. He's taken very limited snaps in practice from the middle, and it's really not for everyone.

Putting Mays there at least utilizes a player with some sort of experience in that role. It also moves Gocong back to his usual spot, where he's at least adequate, and it gets Moise Fokou off the field. Fokou has looked solid at times and should still see some action, but the dumb rookie penalties have really hurt the team. Will Witherspoon will continue to start at weakside for Jordan.

I was a big supporter of Mays coming into the season following an excellent showing in the 2008 preseason, but he doesn't currently instill much confidence. He seemed to have a natural ability to wreak havoc at the point of attack, but this year looked hesitant and out of position. With Spoon forced outside and Trotter the only other viable option though, it couldn't hurt to give Mays another try.

Today in Philly Sports History: Andre Waters Commits Suicide, 2006

2009-11-20T09:00:00-05:00

Before Brian Dawkins was rocking the #20, the Eagles had Andre Waters patrolling the secondary. Waters was a fixture of Buddy Ryan's Gang Green defense, a tough-as-nails safety who four times led the team in tackles, and received All-Pro honors in 1991. Waters's play was often overshadowed by his perceived shady tactics, as his brutal hits (including a low blow on Rams QB Jim Everett, which led to a rule change about hitting quarterbacks below the waist in the pocket) led him to be deemed "Dirty Waters" by broadcasters and peers--which, naturally, endeared him to Birds fans even more.

Despite Waters being a fan favorite for his hard-hitting stylings, those hard hits took more than their toll on the man himself. Multiple concussions suffered throughout his pro career--before their meaning or consequence were really understood by the powers that be--likely led to a serious depression in Waters's post-playing career. On November 20th, 2006, he shot himself in the head, and was found dead by his girlfriend. He was 44 years old.

"What a devastating piece of news," said Eagles broadcaster Merrill Reese. "Andre was a guy who could light up a room with his personality. As a football player, he came from nothing. But he made himself into a fine player by working hard and dedicating himself to the game." Waters had been working as an assistant football coach at Fort Valley State, after trying and failing to secure a job in the NFL. It was just a couple months into his first season. "It hurts me to know that Andre was in such a deep depression and in so much pain emotionally that he felt that taking his own life was an option," said teammate Eric Allen. "He had so much to live for and I wish he knew there were other options."

When Waters's brain was studied after his death--an effort spearheaded by ex-WWE wrestler Christopher Nowinski, who knew a thing or two about concussions himself--it was found to have degenerated in tissue to something similar to an 85-year-old victim of early-stage Alzheimer's. The little solace friends, family and fans could find in Andre's death was that it helped increase awareness of just how serious it can be when an on-field blow causes your brain to slosh around inside your head--an awareness that continues to inspire new rules and precautions to help prevent cases like the tragic suicide of Andre Waters from happening again.

Video: Wednesday's Sixers Highlights

2009-11-19T19:28:32-05:00

Andrew put together a nice recap of last night's Sixers game earlier in the day, but here's a short highlight of the final sequence of plays. This team may be awful at times, but some solid D during crunch time and a well executed break is always nice to see.

Solid little two-hand slam from Iguodala at the 35 second mark as well.

Jimmy Plus Rollins Equals Balls in Play

2009-11-19T16:15:00-05:00

I'm certainly no SABR geek but I have come to enjoy a good advanced stat once in a while as another tool to evaluate a player's performance. Yahoo!'s Big League Stew is running a series which is basically "Advanced Stats for Dummies" and in today's post on BABIP -- Batting Average on Balls In Play -- they use Jimmy Rollins' numbers to explain the hitting side of the stat. Young James' BABIP was down tremendously in '09, reaching .245 on the year. This can be attributed to a number of things including Jimmy's decline in infield singles, decline in HBPs, and of course some plain bad luck. The post and series are a good primer for people interested in advanced stats but skipped over most of their Calculus homework in college.

It's Funny Because It's Believable

2009-11-19T15:04:10-05:00

The Onion absolutely owns it with their latest article on the Eagles. From the amazingly titled "Eagles Settle for Field Goal After 260-Yard Drive, "At least we came away with three points. Those 120 yards in penalties really hurt our field position, but those conversions on third and 21, third and 64, and the fake punt on fourth and 72 showed that this team never quits."

Quotable: Someone in the Eagles Organization Admits to Someone Else "Probably Being Right"

2009-11-19T14:20:00-05:00

Les Bowen writes, "Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said if quarterback Donovan McNabb yelled over on camera during Sunday's loss to San Diego that the Eagles should have run the ball on third-and-1 from the 7-yard line, 'He was probably right.'"

I just felt like we should note this monumental occasion of Marty Mornhinweg saying McNabb was probably right in his frustrated assertion caught on tape by FOX that the Eagles should run the ball on the goal line. I believe Andy Reid failed to put Marty in a position to call a run play. Or something.

Brand Recognition: Sixers Stave Off Bobcats at Home With Elton's Season-Best Performance

2009-11-19T13:00:00-05:00

Enrico said it best in the comments of the game thread: "Maybe they should threaten to take Brand out of the starting line up every night and then he'll finally put up some numbers." Indeed, the Sixers thought they were getting a 20-10 guy when they inked Elton Brand to an $80 million dollar contract, and last night, he finally showed up, in a Sixers 85-83 victory over the Bobcats. (Well, almost--going for 19 and 11 will have to do for now). And the points and boards weren't even the most important part--Brand's biggest impact of the game was on the defensive end, where his six blocks (!!) and three steals (including the game-sealer, which truth told was more about a crummy in-bounds pass) helped make the difference.

Brand's performance, his best (and only notably good) effort of the early season, came hot on the heels of rumors that he would be yanked from last night's starting lineup in favor of Rodney Carney or Jason Smith. Not only did Brand end up starting, however, but his hustle (deflecting passes, hitting the floor for loose balls, gobbling up offensive boards) earned him his first fourth-quarter minutes in several games as well. It was still far from all being pretty with Elton--his jump-shot was horribly off all night, even on some short-range gimmes--but he made up for his clanks with his work in the post, scoring on tip-ins, dunks, and even a solid drive past Bobcats defender Tyson Chandler. He looked, y'know...like a power forward. Encouraging stuff.

Of course, it's rarely one step forward without at least one step back with this team, so let me temper my praise of one of our starting forwards with worry about the other: What the hell is going on with Thaddeus Young? Thad was an ugly 2-10 last night, and his offensive game couldn't have been much sloppier--tons of drives to the basket in traffic where the ball never even got to the cylinder, even a couple blown fast breaks. I thought this would be a big year for Young, where he took that next step to being an 18-20 point scorer, but he seems to have no idea where he fits in on this offense right now, and he's averaging just 13.5 points a game on 42.4% shooting, looking little like the guy who scored 20 or more in six straight games last season. Here's hoping he gets back on track sooner rather than later.

But this was a win, so back to the good stuff. Props to Lou Williams for one of his better games at the point this season, driving and distributing with impressive focus on his way to 19 points (including the game-winning layup) and six assists. Best of all, I didn't see him once do that horrible move where he shot-fakes late in the clock, fails to get the defender in the air, and gets stuck shooting a highly-contested outside jumper. Similarly good were Rodney Carney, who hit two big threes and provided some solid D off the bench, and of course, Andre Iguodala, who also got a little sloppy driving the ball in the second half, but finished with a nice team-high 25 points on 9-19 shooting, as well as keeping Captain Jack in check for most of the evening.

The boys almost let this one get away late, but a win is a win, and 5-6 is looking a whole lot prettier right now than 4-7. Next up should be a similarly winnable game against the Grizz in Memphis (now entirely divested of the Iverson hoopla) on Friday, before traveling to Cleveland the next night to take on the Cavs. (Gulp.) In any event, after a week of terrible, terrible basketball, it's good to finally have a Sixers performance I don't have to feel entirely shitty about. Hey, we'll take what we can get, right?

(Elton's review of his performance last night, by the way? "That's nothing. I've still got better games to come." We hope so, EB. We really, really hope so.)

Westbrook Update: Doctors Expect Full Recovery

2009-11-19T11:16:19-05:00

What a huge relief. After experiencing his second concussion in less than a month, Brian Westbrook went to Pittsburgh to meet with specialists, and so far the news is good. Doctors released the following statement:

"We are very encouraged by Brian's progress, we believe that he has an excellent prognosis, and we expect a full recovery. We developed a comprehensive physical rehab plan for Brian, and we will repeat the detailed testing in the next two to three weeks."

Obviously we're just happy to hear this news for Westbrook and his family's sake. A lot has been made over the seriousness and long lasting impact of head injuries in sports, particularly football, and there's no doubt it's very real. Nobody wants to see his quality of life deteriorate to such a point after his career that a man is unable to take care of himself.

As far as the football side is concerned, much has been made over when, and more importantly if Brian Westbrook should return. I'm clearly not an expert on the matter, and anything regarding the possible retirement of 36 is really a decision for the player to make, not for me to speculate.

From the Eagles standpoint, they probably won't move very fast to place him on injured reserve. The fact of the matter is they're perilously thin at the position if anything happens to LeSean McCoy, so if there's even a 1% chance Westbrook could play at some point this season, they'll keep him on the roster. I'm not suggesting they should utilize him, but I honestly have no idea what the real recovery time is or should be for this type of injury.

Again, the most important thing is his health, and we continue to wish Westbrook the best in his recovery.

>> Doctors say Westbrook is doing better [Philly.com]

Today in Philly Sports History: Miracle at the Meadowlands, 1978

2009-11-19T09:00:00-05:00

"It's Giants football now, third and two. We thank our producer Bob Rowe, our director Jim Silman, and our CBS crew, spotter and statistician John Mara and Tom McHugh here at Giants Stadium. As the clock winds down on the Philadelphia Eagles, a game they thought would project them into a possible wildcard position, it would bring them 7-5 had they won, but a late interception by the Giants will preserve a Giant victory, an upset win as the Giants lead 17-12, we’re inside 30 seconds, the Eagles have no timeouts. Wait a minute... here's a free b—I don't believe it! The Eagles pick it up and Herman Edwards runs it in for a touchdown! An incredible development!"

(Check the Wikipedia page on this, by the way. It's like a greek tragedy.)

The Kings Is Dead; Flyers In West Coast Action

2009-11-18T22:18:53-05:00

The Flyers begin their first meaningful road trip of the season tonight, a slate of five games that includes a pair of first place Western Conference opponents in San Jose and Colorado. Tonight's appetizer is the Los Angeles Kings, who are off to a very solid start themselves at 13-7-2, good for second place in the Pacific Division, and looking like a legitimate playoff contender for the first time since '02.

The Kings are currently led by 22-year-old Anze Kopitar from Yugoslavia, and he appears poised for a breakout season. He's currently third in the NHL in goals scored with 14, nearly halfway to his career high of 32, which also happens to be his total points so far, currently good for best in the league. Kopitar made it to his first All Star game last season, but the secret is officially out on this guy. They'll need to put a body on him tonight.

Lucky for the Flyers, the defense is really coming into its own. Ray Emery has only allowed two goals in six of their last seven games, not coincidentally picking up the W each time. Emery has been excellent in net, but the guys in front are blocking a ton of shots and have cut down on a lot of the silly turnovers that have come back to bite them so often in the past. Anyway, it will actually be Boucher in goal for just the second time this season, so we hope the D can continue to deflect some of the pressure.

The Flyers split the series against the Kings last season 1-1, with a shootout loss in Philly on January 3, and a 2-0 Martin Biron shutout in LA on February 25.

Overall the trip should serve as a good indicator of where this team actually stands at this early juncture. Besides two impressive victories over the Devils, they've mostly feasted on opponents at home, and were only 5-4-1 prior to their recent run. They'll also face Phoenix before coming back east for a set with the Islanders, so there's reason to believe it will be a successful tour.

Now What? Uncertain Sixers Lineup Hosts Bobcats at Home

2009-11-18T17:15:47-05:00

Remember when I said that the one upside of Marreese Speights going down with a torn MCL was that at least Brand would now definitely get all the minutes he needed to shake off whatever rust he had left from spending the better part of two seasons on the bench? Whoops. Four days after a performance against the Nets where he actually looked...well, un-terrible (5-11 shooting, six rebounds, couple steals), which is actually the nicest thing we can see about Brand's play of late, Jordan now appears ready nonetheless to send Brand back to the bench.

The $80 million dollar man practiced with the team's second unit recently, with swingman Rodney Carney taking his place in the Sixers' starting five. That would move Thad up to the four with Sammy still at the five, in a sort of retro-2007 starting look. Other prognosticators have Dalembert being replaced in the starting five with Jason Smith, and apparently Jordan has also given Brand himself more of a look as the starting center. Such adjustments would maximize the Sixers' running potential and possibly improve their half-court offense, but would likely lead to them getting killed in the post and on the boards.

In any event, no matter what the lineup, tonight's game at home should be a potentially winnable one against the mediocre Bobcats. But Charlotte has been energized recently by the mid-season acquisition of point-forward Stephen Jackson from Golden State, and a Larry Brown team can never be counted out completely. (Michael Wilbon swears the Bobcats are playoff bound, but then again, he also thinks AI would be a good fit in Cleveland). We're going to learn a lot about this team--who belongs, who has the potential to belong, and who, in the words of Mr. Wilbon, gots to go--in the next week or so. Possibly more than we'd like to.

Tip-off at 7:00 from the Wach. Expect a monster game from Primoz Brezec against his old team--I'm thinking 25 and 10, at least.

Commenters See The Future: Eagles Win, Then Lose, Then Win...

2009-11-18T16:55:07-05:00

Sometimes commenters knock it out of the park and that's exactly what Dean did on Kulp's "A Cautiously Optimistic Look At The Birds' Remaining Opponents" on how the Eagles season will unfold:

Most likely scenario?
We win the next two, and irrational exuberance reigns supreme.
Then we lose tough ones back to back against Atlanta and NY, and suddenly Andy Reid can't coach anymore, the team stinks, McNabb stinks, we need to tear it all down and start over again, etc. And nobody's yelling louder or more joyfully about the misery then the idiots in the newspapers who've been trying for years to get Andy fired. Except maybe the idiots on WIP. They might yell even louder yet.

Then we recover, go on a winning streak, we're the hot team going into the playoffs, and irrational exuberance reigns supreme.
Then we lose in the second round of the playoffs - or maybe in the conference final this year, who knows? And suddenly Andy Reid can't coach anymore, the team stinks, McNabb stinks, we need to tear it all down and start over again, etc. And nobody's yelling louder or more joyfully about the misery then the idiots in the newspapers who've been trying for years to get Andy fired. Except maybe the idiots on WIP. They might yell even louder yet.

Loud.