Philadelphia Still on Santa’s Naughty List

As the height of the baseball off-season begins, big questions arise on what the Phillies will do to return to the playoffs, and this time, give their opponent some competition. The Phillies have had a recent habit of neglecting to spend money on stars to keep them in contention. You can blame the owners for not wanting to spend money, you can blame the general managers for not making smart decisions, or you can blame Santa Claus for not getting over the incident with Philadelphia fans booing him and throwing snowballs at him during a halftime show at an Eagles game, and thus depriving Philadelphia fans of star athletes.

The Phillies went into the off-season with several issues to address. Their list of free agents included SP Freddy Garcia, SP Kyle Lohse, RP J.C. Romero, RP Antonio Alfonseca, RP Jose Mesa, CF Aaron Rowand, 3B Abraham Nunez, and C Rod Barajas. This leaves needs to address, namely at least one starting pitcher, two relief pitchers, a center fielder, and a third basemen.

General Manager Pat Gillick mentioned going into the off-season that the Phillies would concentrate on pitching rather than position players. The problem is that this year, the market is very weak for starting pitching. Besides pitching ace Cole Hamels, other guys in the rotation include Brett Myers, who moved to closer last year due to injuries in their relief staff. With the signing of Brad Lidge, Myers will move back to starter but is a huge question mark. Kyle Kendrick is a great young pitcher who had a 3.87 ERA this past season, and J.D. Durbin may be a surprise with future experience as he has shined on occasion in the past. It is not very wise for the Phillies to rely on Scott Mathieson, 23 years old, after he sat out all season from Tommy John surgery; it is known that it takes two years to fully recover from that kind of surgery. Both Adam Eaton and Jamie Moyer stink and relief pitching maybe in their futures. Both guys allowed just three earned runs in the first two innings of their last five games. This amounts to a 2.7 ERA, which is pretty good for a reliever. It will be intriguing to see if manager Charlie Manuel pulls the trigger on this move as the season unfolds in 2008.

As far as available pitchers, the best option seems to be Carlos Silva who will not be cheap. Silva, 28 years old, can make his return to Philadelphia and will be pretty reliable; he had a 4.19 ERA in a very strong AL Central division. Another option can be former ace Bartolo Colon who hasn’t been himself since suffering from an injury back in 2006. Coming to the National League maybe just the right thing Colon needs to return to greatness; that and a badly needed Jenny Craig plan. Other options include Randy Wolf, Kris Benson coming off of a shoulder injury, and Hiroki Kurodu from Japan, who looks as if he will be a total bust.

As far as relief pitching is concerned, as I mentioned earlier, the Phillies made a big move in acquiring Brad Lidge from the Houston Astros. Lidge was an excellent closer at one time, but ever since he was dominated in the 2005 NLCS, he has been a shadow of his former self. The Phillies seem to have confidence in him as he is still fairly young in his career. A really great move the Phillies did was to resign J.C. Romero who had a 1.92 ERA this past season with both the Red Sox and the Phillies. Ryan Madson is a decent reliever, but after that, the list gets worse including guys such as Tom Gordon, Kane Davis, and Francisco Rosario. Yoel Hernandez and Mike Zagurski can be options for the Phillies to use in the future as they are both fairly young. Hernandez had a 5.28 ERA but had 9 appearances out of 14 without an earned run. Zagurski had a 5.91 ERA and had 16 appearances of 25 without an earned run. Options for the Phillies in the free agency market include Ron Mahay, Shawn Chacon, Jeremy Affeldt, Eric Gagne, and Octavio Dotel.

As for the positions players, Japan’s Kosuke Fukudome is an option for the Phillies as has he a great career in Japan prompting many to compare him to former Philly, Bobby Abreu; seems like a perfect fit right? Third base will likely be Greg Dobbs’ to keep this season unless the Phillies try and trade for Joe Crede, Scott Rolen, or Brandon Inge. Also, do not overlook Miguel Tejada although it is a stretch. The problem with trading for these guys is that the Phillies have no pieces to trade with a weak bench and farm system in the minor leagues.

Looking at the Philadelphia Phillies’ past and what they have available this season, it does not look as if the Phillies will make a big move to help themselves out for the next season. The biggest move they can make is signing Carlos Silva, but they must be able to open their wallets a little wider. They do have the right mind state in terms needs and pursuit, but their options are limited and they must learn to execute deals if they want to repeat as National League East Champions.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

With the Red Sox winning the World Series, all is well in the city of Boston. The Patriots look like the best team in NFL history, the Celtics acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Pierce this season in the NBA and dominate the Eastern Conference, the Bruins are doing better than expected in the NHL, and even Boston College has had an incredible year so much so, that they have been ranked as high as second in the NCAA football rankings. Boston fans are having the time of their lives right now basking in the glory of winning. The complete domination by this city in the world of sports reminds us of the only other time a city has enjoyed this much success. That year was the year of 1980 in the city of Philadelphia.

The glory year of 1980 for Philadelphia has been the only time in history where all four major sports teams reached the championship game in their respective league in the same year. The Phillies won the World Series, the Eagles were in the Super Bowl, the 76ers were in the NBA Finals, and the Flyers were in the Stanley Cup Finals. In order to relive this past, I needed a little help from someone who remembered this year like it was yesterday, a native Philadelphian who is loyal to his hometown sports teams; this person is Philadelphia University’s own Professor Stephen Katz.

I sat down with Professor Katz as he explained to me what Philadelphia was like in 1980 and how the media kept up with the championship frenzy that year. Although Philadelphia is known as a football city, it was the Phillies who received the most attention that year. This was partially because it was their first championship in franchise history and partially because although all four sports teams made it to the championship games, the Phillies were the only ones who won it. The excitement was so high in Philadelphia that over one million people came to the Phillies parade to celebrate the championship on Broad Street.

The Eagles also received a lot of attention that year especially in the NFC Championship game. The Eagles faced off against the city’s most hated team, the Dallas Cowboys. Both teams finished the season 12-4 that year, and the Eagles were looking for revenge after losing the last game of the season to the Cowboys. The media attention was high and the atmosphere was tense. The Eagles did go onto defeat the Cowboys 20-7 but lost in the Super Bowl to the Oakland Raiders. Professor Katz pointed out that this was a very disappointing finish to the Eagles’ season because they had played the Raiders in the regular season and had defeated them.

Although the Flyers had been embraced by the city, they received the least amount of attention in the public. When Professor Katz ranked the Flyers’ season fourth among the four teams in terms of popularity, I was somewhat surprised. The Flyers had accomplished something that no other NHL team has ever done to this day; they won a record 35 straight games. Professor Katz pointed out that although this was amazing, the team accomplished the feat at the wrong time of the season. He went onto mention that their record breaking streak that took place early in the season, was not only overshadowed by the Eagles’ Super Bowl run at the time, but it ultimately cost the Flyers the championship. Professor Katz believes that the team was too tired by playoff time and that if the streak occurred later in the season, it would have helped the Flyers’ momentum during the playoffs and lead to a championship.

I asked Professor Katz that of all of the superstars in Philadelphia that year, who was the most beloved by the fans? The list of stars includes Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton of the Phillies, Ron Jaworski of the Eagles, Julius Erving and Darryl Dawkins of the 76ers, and Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, and Ken Linseman of the Flyers. Although the choice was very difficult, Professor Katz stated that it was probably either Bobby Clarke or Julius Erving; he later settled on the fact that it was indeed Bobby Clarke: “Popular was Bobby Clarke, because he had that very scrappy aggressive style. He was dirty and he would hide it. The fans loved Bobby Clarke.” Confused, I asked him why Mike Schmidt, the best player on the champion Phillies, was not mentioned. Professor Katz explained that Schmidt did not have a good reputation with the fans because of his attitude and therefore was never too popular.

As I mentioned in my last article, Philadelphia’s professional teams have not brought a championship to the city since 1983. I asked Professor Katz why that was. He replied, “I like to blame it on management. I don’t think that we’ve had very good owners and intelligent coaches and managers here.” I asked him to further explain and he named a few of Philadelphia’s general managers who have not made great decisions. This included former Phillies GM Ed Wade, best known for trading away pitching ace Curt Schilling and giving a young Pat Burrell a contract extension with a full no-trade clause; current Phillies GM Pat Gillick, who signed underachieving pitcher Adam Eaton to a three-year, $24 million contract and signing pitcher Freddy Garcia to a one year deal of $10 million who sat out the season with a bad shoulder; and current 76ers GM Billy King, who has made so many bad decisions that it’s impossible to keep track. Professor Katz is also not happy with Eagles coach Andy Reid who is also the Eagles’ GM. He called Reid stubborn and a bad judge of talent. This could explain why the Eagles have underachieved over the past several years and why Donovan McNabb’s supporting cast has been fairly weak with the exception of former wide receivers Terrell Owens and Donte Stallworth.

Professor Katz claimed that the worst decision made by a Philadelphia GM during this time, was one made by former 76ers GM Jim Lynam. In the 1993 NBA Draft, the Sixers had the second overall pick with a chance to draft players such as Penny Hardaway, Jamal Mashburn, Allan Houston, and Sam Cassell. Instead, Lynam elected to draft Brigham Young power forward, Shawn Bradley. Yes, the same Shawn Bradley who has a highlight reel on Youtube of all the times he has been dunked on.

1980 was indeed a glorious year in Philadelphia. Many stories have been told of the time of great legends who brought the city a sense of invisibility. Success was high, and the level of excitement, even higher. Since then, this feeling has diminished into the dark ages of sports in Philadelphia. However, the streak of bad luck has to end sometime soon, right? When I asked Professor Katz what he thought about Philadelphia’s chances of winning a championship in the near future, he simply replied, “not too good”. These three simple words are the same words that could sum up the past twenty-four years of professional sports in the city of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Nightmare to Begin... On Halloween Night

Before I get into the main topic of the article, let me take a moment to complain about the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies finished the season 13-4 and won the NL East title, but then got swept in the first round! They scored the most runs in the NL during the regular season, but they couldn’t average more than 2.7 runs against a Colorado Rockies pitching staff that stinks. They couldn’t even last long enough so that my article, explaining how awesome the Phillies could be, would be released in time of their postseason presence. A lesson then comes to mind, and that is that it’s okay to underestimate Philadelphia sports teams. I mean, they have been letting the city down since 1983, so what makes 2007 so special? Nothing. I have learned that lesson though, and I will apply it to the Philadelphia 76ers’ upcoming season. Unfortunately for Sixers fans, it’s not very difficult to figure out that the team will be awful this upcoming season.

The Philadelphia 76ers were in the media a lot last year as they traded away superstar Allen Iverson and bought out Chris Webber’s contract. They were one of the worst teams in the NBA and there didn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The Sixers could have tanked the season to increase their chances of winning the lottery, but instead they did what most other teams would never do, play to win every remaining game even with the season in the toilet. The Sixers did just that and ended their season winning 17 of their last 26 games. If the NBA awarded the team with the best karma, the Sixers would no doubt receive the honor, unfortunately, that’s not how things work.

Despite how good they were finishing their season, it will not translate into wins this season. The Sixers were 26th in the league in points per game. It’s not that they can’t shoot, (they were 15th in the league in field goal percentage) it’s just that they don’t shoot enough (22nd in the league in field goals attempted). The team had several big holes to fill in their roster and for some reason they did little to fix this problem in the off season. It maybe because they were trying to get the taste of Iverson and Webber out of their mouths before spending more money on other players, or it could be because of the free agency frenzy that might occur at the end of the 2008 season (Elton Brand, Gilbert Arenas, Shawn Marion, Jermaine O’Neal, Baron Davis, Corey Maggette, and Ron Artest can all opt out of their contracts next year becoming free agents).

Whatever it is, it will ultimately mean that the team and the city suffer this season. They have SG Kyle Korver and PF Reggie Evans starting for them who are at best, backups. Korver is a great 6th man that can shoot but the problem is that the Sixers have him listed as a starter. Reggie Evans is a great rebounder, and he is exactly what the Sixers needed finishing 25th in the league in defensive rebounds. The problem is, he can’t score. The fact that the Sixers neglected to resign PF Joe Smith is very puzzling to me. He was a big factor in why the Sixers went on the 17-6 run at the end of last season averaging 10.6 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game in that stretch. Center Samuel Dalembert isn’t something to brag about either. Not only is he an average player, but he is also hurt. He suffered a stress fracture in his foot during the off season, which will not keep him out of the game, but will definitely slow him down. Playing with this kind of injury may result in the problem getting worse as the season moves on.

The Sixers do have a silver lining on their team and he is SF Andre Iguodala. Iguodala is one of the most athletic players in the NBA meaning he can move around the court, play multiple positions, defend, and also score. He can very well make the All-Star team this year now that Iverson is out of the equation. The problem is that teams will recognize that Iguodala is the only one that can hurt them and all they have to do is double-team him, thus making him irrelevant. Andre Miller, a veteran point guard, will do everything to try and stop this from happening. A true point guard, Miller is an excellent piece to the team who can create plays and pass the ball very well which means everything to Iguodala’s productivity. Miller averaged 13.6 points per game and 7.3 assists per game with Philadelphia last season.

The Sixers are relying on their draft picks to have an impact on the game as well, which is a problem in itself. Their first selection, Thaddeus Young, is a lot like Andre Iguodala, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. The fact that you have two young athletic small forwards who are almost exact replicas is a problem. The Atlanta Hawks tried to do this with their team and haven’t won more than 30 games in the past four seasons. The team also drafted PF Jason Smith which was a horrible decision as he will most likely be a bust. The fact that he’s a 7-foot tall shooter who’s too skinny and can’t rebound puts up many red flags. This is a kid that couldn’t help his team win in college playing for the Colorado State Rams (17-13 record, 6th place finish) in a weak Mountain West Conference. Does Sixers general manager Billy King, really think Smith can make a difference in a professional league? Not a very smart pick-up in my opinion, especially considering the fact that the Sixers traded away SG Daequan Cook, a great scorer, to get him.

Not only did Philadelphia not do enough to compete, but the rest of the Atlantic Division grew stronger as well; the Boston Celtics acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, the New Jersey Nets resigned Vince Carter, the New York Knicks traded for Zach Randolph, and the Toronto Raptors were great already gaining one more year of experience.

76ers fans have a long season ahead of them because there is no way the Sixers are finishing better than last in the Atlantic Division barring opponent injuries. Statistics speak for themselves and the team did little to improve themselves based on the numbers. With little scoring capabilities, lack of 3-point shooting, and an insufficient presence at the post, this season will truly be a nightmare for Philadelphia basketball. It’s very appropriate that the season starts on Halloween night at Toronto, but at the end of a storm, the sun always shines… O.J. Mayo or Michael Beasley in 2008!!!

Sports Moment of the Week

Rob Bironas had the game of his life on Sunday against Houston when he went 8 for 8 on field goal attempts setting a new NFL record. He also set the record for most points by a kicker. His last field goal won the game for Tennessee with two seconds left as Tennessee blew a 25-point lead in the 4th quarter.

This is a tremendous achievement for a guy like Bironas as he has not been so successful in the past. Bironas transferred from Auburn (D-I) to Georgia Southern (D-IAA) during his college years. He was out of football in '01 and '02 working sales and marketing with his father. He kicked for the AFL team, the Carolina Cobras and worked at Best Buy before being cut from training camp with the Packers in '02, the Bucs in '03, and the Steelers in '04. He made the Titans team in '05 and was the team's leading scorer that year; but he continued to stay at an extended stay hotel the entire year because of the fear tht he might lose his job.

10,000-Loss Winners

Many people give the example of the Chicago Cubs when discussing baseball franchises who have suffered over a long period of time. While the Cubs haven’t won a championship in 99 years, it is in fact the Philadelphia Phillies who are the most suffering team in baseball history. In their 125-year existence, the Phillies organization has won only one title, the 1980 World Series defeating the Kansas City Royals. Twenty-seven years have passed since the last Phillies championship and fourteen years have passed since the Phillies have made the postseason. The pain for Philadelphia had to end sometime, and what better way to do so with a dramatic come-from-behind surge to grab the National League East title from their most hated rivals, the New York Mets.

After much of the 2007 season spent hobbling along trying to stay within contention of the NL Wild Card, the Philadelphia Phillies surged in the final month of the season determined not to go down without a fight. As of August 26, the Phillies were 6 games out of the NL East and ready to face the rival New York Mets in a 4-game battle. The Phillies down 6 games to 5 to the Mets at that point in the season were determined to gain the respect of New York and they did so, sweeping the Mets and cutting the NL East lead to 2 games. With another series sweep of the Mets in mid-September, the idea of winning the NL East sounded a lot sweeter than pursuing the Wild Card. The Phillies surged ahead winning 13 of their last 17 games of the season, while the Mets collapsed, losing 12 of their last 17.

The Phillies organization can relate very well to what the Mets are feeling right now as they suffered a similar collapse in 1964. The Phillies at the time had a commanding 6.5 game lead in the National League with 12 games left on the schedule. They lost 10 straight games including a series sweep to the St. Louis Cardinals who went onto win both the NL pennant and the World Series that year. The Phillies fell one game short of the lead to what was considered then, the greatest collapse in baseball history.

Another sad realization that occurred this year was when the Phillies, in front of a national audience, endured their 10,000th loss in franchise history; the most losses a team has suffered in any major sport. Ironically, the noise coming from Citizens Bank Park stands sounded a lot more like cheers instead of boos as fans didn’t seem to be very disappointed by this fact, embracing the “honor”.

Now, the only thing that matters is what waits ahead. The Phillies are in the playoffs and they are in pursuit of their second World Series championship. Can the Phillies do it? They certainly have the right stuff. The Phillies offense is one of the most powerful offenses in the league led by Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Aaron Rowand, and Pat Burrell. As great as these players are, none will probably win the NL MVP award, which is actually a good thing. The last time someone hoisted both the MVP trophy as well as the World Series trophy was 19 years ago when Kirk Gibson did it with the Los Angeles Dodgers; call it an MVP Jinx if you will. That said, the Phillies rank second in the majors in most runs scored behind the New York Yankees and second in the majors with the most homeruns hit behind the Milwaukee Brewers. If the Phillies want to win the championship this year, they need to get it done with their bats.

That’s not to say that the Phillies’ pitching won’t be of any help; contrary to popular belief, the Phillies pitching isn’t all that bad. The Phillies will not need to use all five of their starting pitchers in the playoffs due to the spread out schedule. That means Cole Hamels (3.39 ERA), Kyle Kendrick (3.87 ERA), and Kyle Lohse (4.62 ERA) will be the starters throughout most of the playoffs with Jamie Moyer (5.15 ERA) used only when necessary. A pitching staff like that can keep the team in the game and allow their offense to win the games for them. The bullpen has been criticized worse than the starting pitching has and rightfully so. They have 21 blown saves this season which is tied for 11th worse in the majors. However, the Phillies’ new closer, Brett Myers, has only been responsible for three of those blown saves. The rest of the bullpen has to perform in the playoffs as the team has never lost in the month of September when the bullpen did not give up any runs. More importantly, five of those times, the Phillies won the game in later innings.

Jimmy Rollins stated in the beginning of the season that the Phillies were the team to beat in the NL East. After everyone finished laughing at him, the Phillies went onto live up to his words playing with great teamwork and heart down the stretch. With the playoffs ahead of them, the team will continue to play their best to keep their storybook finish alive and turn a year, which was supposed to be remembered for its 10,000th franchise loss, to a year remembered for their second franchise championship. The Philadelphia Phillies are comprised of great players with a bright future ahead of them. Maybe now, we won’t have to hear disrespectful “E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!” chants in the stands of Citizens Bank Park but rather well-deserved “Let’s Go Phillies!” chants.

Sports Moment of the Week

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals on Sunday to complete one of the greatest upsets in baseball history, grabbing the NL East crown from the New York Mets.

Suicide Watch in Effect for City of Portland

My NFL playoff predictions article will be cancelled simply because I don't feel like writing anymore NFL preview articles. I have the Baltimore Ravens over the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl. The following article is set to appear in my school's newspaper.

The 2007 NBA Draft involved two names, Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. The lucky winner of the lottery would have there chance to select either future superstar; that lucky team was the Portland Trailblazers. On the night of June 28th, Portland decided to select center Greg Oden over small forward Kevin Durant simply because it is so hard to come by a 7-foot big man these days. Oden’s skill has been compared to the great Shaquille O’Neal since his high school days, and his likeability has been compared to… well… Shaquille O’Neal. The city of Portland was in heaven as a trio of young stars was set to dominant the NBA for the next 10-15 years. Greg Oden would take up the center role, 2006 2nd overall pick LaMarcus Aldridge would take up the power forward spot, and 2006 6th overall pick and NBA Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy would take up the shooting guard spot.

The citizens of Portland’s dreams quickly turned into nightmares of past when it was announced that Oden underwent microfracture surgery after cartilage damage was found in the knee on September 13th, and as a result will most likely miss the entire 2007-2008 season. Portland’s heavenly dream ended abruptly as Oden’s fragile body betrayed him once again. While attended Ohio State University, Oden missed the first seven games of the season because of a wrist injury. He returned to the court with a brace and shot left-handed. Even with the brace, Oden’s dominance was felt throughout the college basketball world as he averaged 15.7 points per game, 9.6 rebounds per game, and 3.3 blocks per game. Now, this all doesn’t seem to matter as Oden will sit on the bench and watch his team get thrown into the lion den that is the Western Conference.

This feeling isn’t very new to Portland. The team that is known for making the biggest draft mistake in the history of the NBA, once again made their fans suffer in 1984 when they decided to draft Sam Bowie, a center out of the University of Kentucky over a young man named Michael Jordan out of the University of North Carolina. Sam Bowie was a 7’1” center that averaged 13.4 points per game, 8.8 rebounds per game, and 2.3 blocks per game in his five years at Kentucky. Why five years? Bowie missed two entire seasons due to leg injuries. Apparently this didn’t scare the Trailblazers too much into settling for Michael Jordan, and it was understood at the time. The previous year the Trailblazers selected shooting guard and hall-of-famer Clyde Drexler in the first round; the need for another shooting guard was unnecessary. The selection haunted Trailblazer fans for the next 14 years as Jordan went on to win six championships with the Chicago Bulls and Bowie managed to stay in Portland for a total of four years playing only 139 games out of a possible 328 games.

Perhaps Oden’s injury problems should have been taken into consideration more as 7-footer’s throughout history have had their fair share of run-in’s with injuries. To list a few examples, there’s Wilt Chamberlain (knee), Vlade Divac (back), Patrick Ewing (Achilles, wrist), Pau Gasol (foot), Dikembe Mutombo (wrist), Shaquille O’Neal (ankle, foot, and knee to name a few), David Robinson (back, foot, wrist), Arvydas Sabonis (Achilles, knee), Rik Smits (foot), and Yao Ming (foot). All of these guys have had injuries that have caused them to miss significant portions of a season; sometimes seasons where their team was favored to win the championship.

With Greg Oden not having played one NBA game yet, his future looks as grim as Sam Bowie’s. Portland fans are in grief as they read headlines and will go to games only to see Oden sitting on the bench sulking. Maybe this injury isn’t a big deal and Oden will comeback in the 2008-2009 season. Maybe he will dominate opposing teams with spectacular dunks and block shots with authority. Maybe he will lead his team to go on and win multiple championships the way Shaq has done. Maybe he will go down as one of the greatest centers of all time and get inducted into the hall-of-fame. But maybe, he doesn’t. Maybe his career with Portland is cut short as he is traded to another team willing to give him a second chance. Maybe Portland is haunted by another Sam Bowie. Worst of all, maybe Kevin Durant becomes the next Michael Jordan. Maybe the Portland Trailblazers’ history with bad luck never ends. Time will tell as citizens of Portland pray to see Greg Oden’s cheerful smile in front of cameras once again.

Sports Moment of the Week

The Denver Broncos had one of the greatest finishes to their game as they defeated the Buffalo Bills 15-14. Down 14-12 with no timeouts and 14 seconds left on the clock, the Broncos kicking team rushed out on the field and successfully kicked the field goal as time winded down. Normally it takes a kicking team 20 seconds to get setup for a field goal kick.

Useless NFL Predictions Surely Changing Mid-Season: AFC

After a one week hiatus due to school, my NFL predications continue with the AFC. As mentioned last time, it will be somewhat whacky or as I would like to call it, “ballsy”, so brace yourself for a make-your-face-red-from-frustration feeling.

AFC East:

New England Patriots: 14-2, 4-2
Key Wins: San Diego, Indianapolis, Baltimore
Key Losses: @New York/A, @Miami

Miami Dolphins: 10-6, 4-2
Key Wins: Dallas, New England, @Philadelphia
Key Losses: @New York/A, @Houston, New York/N

New York Jets: 8-8, 3-3
Key Wins: New England, Miami, Pittsburgh
Key Losses: @Buffalo, Kansas City

Buffalo Bills: 4-12, 1-5
Key Wins: @Pittsburgh, New York/A, Cincinnati
Key Losses: Denver, @Cleveland, New York/N

There’s no arguing that the New England Patriots are the best team in the league. They are loaded all over due to off-season acquisitions and should not lose too many games. Although they have a tough schedule, look for them to cruise through the season without too many problems.

Surprise, surprise… The Miami Dolphins are going to the playoffs! After a disappointing season despite a great defense (ranked fourth), the Dolphins are in for a great year. With the Ricky Williams and Nick Saban problems behind them, the team will look to take off this year. Another interesting statistic: the first full year the last two “washed up” veteran quarterbacks played on their new teams (Mark Brunell and Steve McNair), those teams went onto the playoffs; expect that to happen to Trent Green.

As far as the Jets are concerned, with a tough schedule ahead of them, I don’t like them that much this year. And with the Bills, I’m never sold on them, especially this year as they pulled a “Boston Celtics” and dumped a good portion of their team in the off-season.

AFC North:

Baltimore Ravens: 12-4, 4-2
Key Wins: Cincinnati, Indianapolis, @Seattle
Key Losses: @Cincinnati, Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7, 4-2
Key Wins: Miami, Jacksonville, @Baltimore
Key Losses: Buffalo, San Francisco, Cleveland

Cincinnati Bengals: 8-8, 3-3
Key Wins: Baltimore, @Seattle, St. Louis
Key Losses: @Kansas City, @Buffalo, Arizona

Cleveland Browns: 3-13, 1-5
Key Wins: @Pittsburgh, @Arizona
Key Losses: @Oakland, Houston, San Francisco

The Baltimore Ravens were great last year and that was without a good running game (ranked 25th). The passing game was pretty good despite popular opinion, ranked 11th in the league. With the acquisition of Willis McGahee and the most powerful defense in the league, look for the Ravens to have an outstanding year.

Between the Steelers and the Bengals, the season is pretty much a toss up. It can go either way which will probably end up with both teams having mediocre seasons. The Steelers actually had a great second half last season winning 6 of their last 8 games. However, during this stretch, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger still didn’t play like a Super Bowl quarterback throwing 11 touchdown passes and 9 interceptions; one has to wonder whether he will return to form this season. The Bengals have one of the best offenses in the league and they will score plenty this season, but so will opposing teams. Their defense was ranked 30th in the league last season and they did little to improve it this season. I don’t think they can outscore their opponents into the playoffs.

As far as the Browns go, they’re in a rebuilding phase that will continue into upcoming seasons. They will be a threat in the future, especially with Brady Quinn as their eventual starter; they just need a few years to grab key pieces and for younger guys to mature.

AFC South:

Jacksonville Jaguars: 11-5, 4-2
Key Wins: @New Orleans, San Diego, @Indianapolis
Key Losses: Carolina, @Houston

Indianapolis Colts: 10-6, 3-3
Key Wins: New Orleans, Denver, @Jacksonville
Key Losses: @Tennessee, @Houston, New England

Houston Texans: 6-10, 3-3
Key Wins: Indianapolis, Miami, Jacksonville
Key Losses: @Atlanta, @Oakland, @Tennessee

Tennessee Titans: 4-12, 2-4
Key Wins: Indianapolis, Houston
Key Losses: @Jacksonville, @Tampa Bay, @Houston

Another surprise here as the Indianapolis Colts fall off the AFC South throne. Their Super Bowl journey wasn’t very convincing besides a great victory against New England; the last time that happened was two years ago and the Steelers went onto miss the playoffs. I’m not prepared to count the Colts out of the playoffs, but they will certainly take a step back as they lost many key pieces on defense in the off-season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars look better than ever this season propelling them to win the AFC South. With the second best defense in the league and a great young running-back in Maurice Jones-Drew, the Jaguars are a real threat this season. The weak piece: the passing (ranked 24th last season); and with Byron Leftwich gone and head coach Jack Del Rio’s full confidence in David Garrard, look for him to have a career year. Garrard’s problems in the past were throwing into double coverage’s; with experience and a great group of mature wide receivers, look for Garrard to keep this problem minimal. Also, the threat of Jones-Drew will keep safeties off of receivers and in the box.

The Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans will not have great years despite promising quarterbacks. The Titans’ defense is horrible and they have no receiving core. That coupled with Vince Young’s inevitable injury due to the Madden Jinx will have them finish last in the division. The Texans made good acquisitions in the off-season, but they neglected to solve their main problem, the offensive line and running game; and no, Ahman Green and Ron Dayne do not count as solutions.

AFC West:

San Diego Chargers: 12-4, 5-1
Key Wins: Chicago, Indianapolis, Baltimore
Key Losses: Detroit, Denver

Denver Broncos: 9-7, 3-3
Key Wins: Jacksonville, @Chicago, @San Diego
Key Losses: @Detroit, @Kansas City, Kansas City, Minnesota

Kansas City Chiefs: 8-8, 3-3
Key Wins: Cincinnati, Denver, @Denver
Key Losses: @Oakland, Green Bay, @Detroit

Oakland Raiders: 4-12, 1-5
Key Wins: Kansas City, Houston
Key Losses: Detroit, @Kansas City, @Green Bay

A lot of people are critical of San Diego’s new head coach, Norv Turner. If you look at his history, you really can’t complain too much. Turner has never made a team worse than they were before he got the job. In fact, with the Washington Redskins, he actually made them better for a short while. In 1993, the year before Turner arrived, the Redskins were 4-12. Three years into the job, the Redskins were 9-7; six years into the job, the Redskins were 10-6 and playoff bound. With Oakland, he again didn’t make the team any worse than they were prior to his arrival; he just failed to make them better. So what exactly makes everyone think he’s going to cause the crash of the San Diego franchise? San Diego will be fine with Turner, finishing the season as one of the strongest teams in the league.

The Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs are another Steelers/Bengals situation. Although both teams look promising with new key additions, the season could sway either way for both teams. Denver’s running game is the thing to watch this season with the acquisition of Travis Henry. It will be interesting if Denver’s running strategy will falter due to the offensive line under close watch for illegal blocking this season; something that was made the Denver running game unlike anything else in the league. The Chiefs have a great but old quarterback in Damon Huard leading the way. Larry Johnson’s productivity this year is a huge question mark for me as he had 416 rushing attempts last season. You really have to think long and hard whether he will be able to carry that load for two consecutive seasons. I’m more pessimistic about this than others.

The Oakland Raiders are another team that played terrible last year, went into the off-season looking to improve, and then failed to upgrade at their weakest area: their offensive line. Daunte Culpepper is a perfect fit in Oakland as he will tutor Oakland’s future quarterback, JaMarcus Russell. However, this won’t translate into wins for the team this season.

Stayed tuned for my playoff predictions next week. Yes, I know they will be ready after the season starts, but I already have my teams selected as far as who makes the postseason. One weekend of football doesn’t change Super Bowl predictions.

Sports Moment of the Week

Division I-AA Appalachian State upset #5 ranked Michigan on Saturday 34-32. The game came down to one last play when all Michigan had to do was kick a game-ending 37-yard field goal. Corey Lynch of App. St. blocked the field goal securing the victory.

The Heavens Haven’t Been Too Friendly With the Yankees

The New York Yankees have had their rivals throughout the years. You’d have to have a lot of teams that hate you when you consistently win year after year. Whether it was the Mariners, the Indians, the Rangers, the Braves, the A’s, or of course, the Red Sox; the Yankees have had heated games against all of them, including in the postseason. In the end, the Yankees won their fair share, earning the respect of all of the teams; not so much their fans. With all of those power houses that gave the Yankees a hard time, who do they have the most trouble with? How about none of them. Going back ten years, the Yankees have a record above .500 against all of the mentioned teams and have beaten them in the playoffs at least once. The Yankees are unbeatable right? Wrong. Who is this almighty team that has crushed the Yankees for the past ten years? The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. That’s right, the same team that has only made the playoffs six times and has won only one championship in their franchise history.

It might come as a shock to some that the Angels have constantly harassed the Yankees over time, however, consider the numbers. Here are the series standings involving the Yankees and Angels from the past ten years.

2007: 6-3, Angels
2006: 6-4, Angels
2005: 6-4, Angels
2004: 5-4, Angels
2003: 6-3, Yankees
2002: 4-3, Yankees
2001: 4-3, Angels
2000: 5-5, Tie
1999: 6-4, Angels
1998: 6-5, Angels

The most important statistic that’s not including in those numbers? The playoffs… The Yankees have never beaten the Angels in the postseason. The two times the teams faced off, in 2002 the Angels defeated the Yankees 3-1 in the ALDS and in 2005 the Angels again defeated the Yankees 3-2 in the ALDS. Including those numbers, in the past ten years, the Yankees have had only one winning season against the Angels, ONE!

Here’s another mind blowing statistic. In 1998, the New York Yankees finished the season with the most wins in franchise history, 114. That year, the Yankees played .500 baseball or better against every single team that year, except one. You guessed it; that team was none other than the Angels.

Fast-forwarding to today, since that’s what really matters most, the Yankees just finished their final regular season series of the year against the Angels and once again, lost the series. The Yankees have been on a hot streak since the All-Star break; they were 27-11, having lost just two series out of eleven (both to Baltimore). They were gaining serious ground in the AL East and Wild Card race, which they needed really badly after an embarrassing first half. Then came the Angels… Going into the series, the Yankees were confident as they defeated the Angels right before the All-Star break 2-1 (Earlier, in the first series of the season, the Angels swept the Yankees 3-0). With a series victory here, they could have had their first season series victory over Anaheim since 2003. It didn’t turn out that way as the Yankees went on to lose the first game 6-7 in the 10th inning. The second game was only more embarrassing; the Yankees were rocked 18-9. At this point, the Yankees lost two games on the AL East lead (6 games back) and two games on the Wild Card lead (2.5 games back). They did manage to bounce back in game 3 to avoid the sweep 8-2. The series loss was the forth straight season series loss to the Angels.

The problem the Yankees face doesn’t seem to be that big because the Yankees and Angels aren’t in the same division, but fans should now be paying attention to these showdowns more than ever. Both teams have recently made the playoffs numerous times and by looking at their rosters, they can stay in playoff contention for a very long time. It will only take a few more defeats for people to start taking notice that the bad guy, self-embraced Evil Empire, has been beaten pretty badly by the good guy, Halos of the Heavens.

Useless NFL Predictions Surely Changing Mid-Season: NFC

It’s that time of year; the NFL Preseason is well underway and everyone starts making their predictions about who will be this year’s champions, surprises, and disappointments. Of course, 98% of these predictions end up totally wrong and change mid-season after progress is shown and injuries take place. I’m no different; and with that point, I present my NFC predictions surely to change mid-season.

NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys: 10-6, 4-2
Key Wins: @Chicago, @Philadelphia
Key Losses: St. Louis, New England, Washington

Philadelphia Eagles: 10-6, 3-3
Key Wins: Seattle, @Dallas, @New Orleans
Key Losses: Washington, @New York/N

Washington Redskins: 8-8, 3-3
Key Wins: @Philadelphia, @Dallas, Chicago
Key Losses: @Green Bay, @Tampa Bay, Buffalo

New York Giants: 6-10, 2-4
Key Wins: Green Bay, Philadelphia
Key Losses: New York/A, San Francisco, Minnesota

The NFC East should see a significant shake up this year. There are a significant amount of roster changes that will affect how each team will play. With the Cowboys, QB Tony Romo and head coach Wade Phillips took over the team; the Eagles, RB Brian Westbrook will reshape the entire Eagles offense; the Redskins, the era of QB Jason Campbell reigns; the Giants, the absence of RB, and once team leader, Tiki Barber will change the entire atmosphere of the team.

The battle to concentrate on in this division is between the bitter rivals of Dallas and Philadelphia. Both are very strong well rounded teams that have similar schedules. Each team will take one victory from another and lose stupid games that will keep the race going until the very last week. Of course this is all assuming QB Donovan McNabb stays healthy.

I really like the Redskins’ defense despite their embarrassing 31st ranking. I think the defense will bounce back in a big way keeping the Redskins in the race for a good portion of the season. Jason Campbell will mature but play just good enough to not lose games for the team. As far as the Giants go, I think this is no doubt head coach Tom Coughlin’s last year. After a projected 4-2 start, the Giants will tire under Coughlin’s military-style practices and lose 8 of the 10 remaining games.

NFC North:

Chicago Bears: 9-7, 5-1
Key Wins: Kansas City, @Philadelphia
Key Losses: @Seattle, @Washington, @Minnesota

Minnesota Vikings: 6-10, 3-3
Key Wins: @Green Bay, @San Francisco, Chicago
Key Losses: @Detroit, Green Bay, Washington

Green Bay Packers: 6-10, 3-3
Key Wins: @Kansas City, Detroit
Key Losses: Minnesota, @Chicago

Detroit Lions: 5-11, 1-5
Key Wins: Denver, @San Diego, Kansas City
Key Losses: Chicago, Tampa Bay, @Arizona

This year the Chicago Bears should endlessly be thanking the Seattle Seahawks for breaking the trend of playoff absences following a Super Bowl loss. The Bears will win the division due to playing in the weakest division in football, however they will finish with a very mediocre record.

Despite it being the weakest division, I do like the rest of the teams as far as their futures go. I love the Vikings defense (8th ranked overall) as well as their running-back tandem of Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson. Although I do have the Vikings losing their first 8 games to become the laughing stock of the league before QB Tarvaris Jackson becomes comfortable leading the game in his first year starting in the NFL. I think he will learn a lot about football this year and we will learn a lot about him and his future with the Vikings.

With the Packers, I like their defense as well which seems to be improving year after year. Also, QB Aaron Rodgers has been sitting on the bench observing the game for 3 years. After Favre retires this season due to a bad year, I think Rodgers will shine. As far as the Lions are concerned, their entire offense is great with the exception of a quarterback; they have a great running-back tandem of Kevin Jones and Tatum Bell as well as an excellent receiving core. I believe they really need to consider drafting a quarterback as their final piece in order to turn their franchise around. I see Brian Brohm as their future, but who knows with Matt Millen running the show.

NFC South:

New Orleans Saints: 11-5, 5-1
Key Wins: Carolina, @Seattle, @Chicago
Key Losses: @Indianapolis, St. Louis

Carolina Panthers: 10-6, 4-2
Key Wins: @Arizona, New Orleans, @Jacksonville
Key Losses: Houston, Tampa Bay, @New Orleans

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7-9, 2-4
Key Wins: St. Louis, @Carolina
Key Losses: Arizona, Atlanta

Atlanta Falcons: 5-11, 1-5
Key Wins: @Minnesota, San Francisco
Key Losses: @Tennessee, New York/N

The Saints were incredible last year. With many inexperienced players and an inexperience coach, they managed to reach the NFC Conference Championship game losing to the Chicago Bears. On the offensive side of the ball, there is no visible weakness present. On the defensive side of the ball, they’ve been great as well contrary to popular belief. They were ranked 11th in total defense and 3rd in passing defense. Their running defense needs to improve, but with off-season additions to beef up the depth of the box, they should do well too.

The thing working against the Saints is a tough schedule and the emergence of the Carolina Panthers. The Saints must face Indianapolis, Carolina, Seattle, San Francisco, Jacksonville, St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The thing is, the Panthers have an equally tough schedule against similar opponents. With the Panthers, the season will start terrible. They will lose 4 of their first 5 games, provoking head coach Rick Fox to make the change at quarterback. David Carr will lead the team to win 8 of their last 9 games, making the playoffs.

Tampa Bay and Atlanta will not play much of a factor as both teams have question marks all over the team. Everyone knows the deal with Atlanta, but with Tampa Bay, the defense is consistently getting worse every year with no significant improvements, and the quarterback situation is up in the air. While I like Jeff Garcia in head coach Jon Gruden’s system, if mistakes are made, the trigger will be pulled to get a new guy in. This means constant pressure to perform well by Garcia. On top of all that, RB Carnell “Ford” Williams, was a disappointment last year. Whether he will bounce back is one of the many questions regarding the Buccaneers.

NFC West:

St. Louis Rams: 9-7, 3-3
Key Wins: @Dallas, @New Orleans, @San Francisco, Seattle
Key Losses: @Tampa Bay, Arizona, @Cincinnati

San Francisco 49ers: 8-8, 4-2
Key Wins: @St. Louis, @Pittsburgh, Seattle, @Seattle
Key Losses: Arizona, @Atlanta, St. Louis

Seattle Seahawks: 8-8, 2-4
Key Wins: Chicago, @Carolina
Key Losses: @San Francisco, San Francisco, Arizona, Baltimore

Arizona Cardinals: 6-10, 3-3
Key Wins: @San Francisco, @Cincinnati, @Seattle
Key Losses: @Washington, Cleveland, Atlanta

Welcome to the toughest division in the NFL. The NFC West is going to be another gigantic battle just like last season. This time, the results will come out different. I really like the Rams this year and let me begin by saying why before I say why the Seahawks won’t win. The Rams have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Marc Bulger is a highly underrated QB that is perhaps one of the most if not THE most accurate QB in the NFL. Here are some stats: 7th in the league in QB rating, 4th in TD passes, 4th in least interceptions thrown (The three guys ahead of him didn’t play full seasons [Brunell, McNabb, & Huard]), and 3rd in passing yards. No wonder he got a huge $65 million contract. That, coupled with one of the best receiving tandems in the league as well as one of the best running-backs in the league makes this offense almost unstoppable. The reason why they don’t runaway with the division is mainly due to their 23rd ranked defense and one of the tougher schedules in the NFL playing against the Panthers, 49ers, Cowboys, Ravens, Seahawks, Saints, Bengals, and Steelers.

Now for the reasons that the Seahawks will not win the division. QB Matt Hasselbeck is one of the more overrated quarterbacks in the league. At 30 years old, he finished 2006 with a disappointing 76 QB Rating, 19th in the league. He’s now one year older, one year slower, and one year less aware of what’s going on around him. You really think he’s going to do a good job surveying the field with 4 potential WR’s to throw to? Didn’t work too well for him last year: 8th most INT’s thrown, 15, while missing 4 games. RB Shaun Alexander is also 31 this year, and is on the decline of his 2005 peak year. Because he was injured thanks to the Madden Jinx, and was out for 6 games, doesn’t make it fair to judge him on his yards and TD totals (896 yards, 7 TD’s). What is fair, is judging him on his average yards per carry, a horrific 3.6 average, 41st in the NFL, more importantly, LAST! He can’t be that bad this year, but you can count on him not being good enough to lead the team to the NFC West title. Here’s a bonus reason: 19th defensively, but more importantly 22nd in rushing yards allowed. Steven Jackson, Frank Gore, and James/Arrington tandem anyone?

As for the 49ers and the Cardinals, these are two teams that I really like this year due to great offenses. For the 49ers, Alex Smith has significantly gotten better (2005: 40.8 QB Rating, 1-11 TD-INT ratio; 2006: 74.8 QB Rating, 1-1 TD-INT ratio). Also Frank Gore is going to be huge in that division partially due to the division’s horrible rushing defense. I don’t like the move of picking up Nate Clements in the off-season. I think he’s overrated and a flashy CB that tries to grab the interception rather than knocking the ball down when the game is on the line which ultimately results in him tipping the ball into the opposing receiver’s hands (see Buffalo-Jacksonville game in 2006). With the Cardinals, I also love Matt Leinart and the best WR tandem in the league with Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. Also, don’t sleep on RB J.J. Arrington; with Edgerrin James suffering year after year, look for Arrington to shine against the rushing defenses of the AFC West.

Stayed tuned next week for the more ballsy-er and controversial AFC predictions, as well as Super Bowl predictions.

Sports Moment of the Week

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb extended his scoreless inning streaks on Friday to 42 inning pitching without an earned run against the Atlanta Braves. Friday was also Webb's third consecutive complete game pitched.

Now or Never for the Eagles?

The following article is a spinoff from the article, Questions Regarding the Top 10 NFL Stories. This article is a solely concentrated on the Philadelphia Eagles as it is set to appear in my Philadelphia-based school's newspaper.

The Philadelphia Eagles, one year removed from the Terrell Owens debacle, went into the season with expectations to bounce back. The Eagles got off to a hot start with a 4-1 record. Things took a turn for the worst when they went 1-3 the next four games, topped by a freakish injury to Donovan McNabb during a week 11 game against the Tennessee Titans. Just when all hope was lost, backup quarterback Jeff Garcia stepped up and led the team to a 10-6 record winning the NFC East. With Garcia gone and clean slate for the 2007 Philadelphia Eagles, will this season be one for the ages? Let’s take a look at the top five questions concerning the midnight green and silver this season.

5. Will the defense show a significant improvement from the past two seasons?

The 2006 Eagles defense was ranked 15th in the league. While not bad, the defense could certainly use improvement from last year. In order to improve this, the Eagles made a few off-season moves, most notably acquiring LB Takeo Spikes from Buffalo. Spikes, coming off Achilles heel injury two years ago and a quad injury last year, is a question mark just as the rest of the line-backing corps. LB Jeremiah Trotter, age 30, is now practically playing without cartilage in his knees, and strong-side linebacker, Chris Gocong, is an inexperienced young defensive tackle turned linebacker.

With a 4-3 defense that loves to blitz, the bigger issue the Eagles have is the defensive line. The team was ranked 26th in rushing yards allowed last season. The ACL injury that kept DE Jevon Kearse out for most of the season, is a definitely a contributing factor, however the rest of the guys, namely fellow DE Darren Howard and the departed DT Darwin Walker, failed to step up as well. This year, the Eagles are counting on sophomore DT Brodrick Bunkley to help bring pressure on opposing quarterbacks and running-backs. Bunkley was the Eagles’ first round draft pick last year, but due to a camp hold-out, Bunkley never became comfortable with the Eagles’ system. With a year of experience on the field and at training camp, look for Bunkley to become an important part of the Eagles’ defense this season.

Another issue with the defense is depth in the secondary. In the off-season, the Eagles lost SS Michael Lewis and CB Roderick Hood to free agency. Sean Considine will take Lewis’ spot this season and has shown that he can play the position well. FS Brian Dawkins is the heart of the Eagles defense but is aging at 33 years old. Should his current Achilles heel injury prove to be a problem, the only guy to back him up is 5th round pick, C.J. Gaddis out of Clemson. As far as the cornerbacks go, after Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown, there isn’t much depth. CB William James has shown that he maybe able to start this season, but he is not quick enough to keep up with better receivers.

4. Can McNabb stay consistent this season?

After suffering two injuries the past two seasons, QB Donovan McNabb has become unreliable. So much so that it provoked the Eagles organization to draft quarterback Kevin Kolb with their first pick this past draft. McNabb is no doubt the face of the franchise and the Eagles will need him to stay healthy if they want to compete for the championship this season.

Not only does McNabb have to stay healthy, but he must also be more consistent. In the first five games last season, McNabb threw 11 touchdown passes while throwing only one interception posting a quarterback rating of 107.78. In the next five games, McNabb threw 7 touchdown passes while throwing five interceptions posting a quarterback rating of 76.32. McNabb cannot be this inconsistent if he wants to bring a championship to Philadelphia. At times McNabb can be considered one of the best quarterbacks in the league; at other times he looks like a backup trying to become familiar with the system.

3. Who is the #1 option at receiver?

One of the biggest losses for the Eagles in the off-season was #1 option WR Donte’ Stallworth. With Stallworth gone, McNabb will have to find a new #1 option. WR Todd Pinkston, who was a key part of the team when the Eagles made the NFC Championship game three years in a row, is now with the Washington Redskins. Many have big hopes for third-year WR Reggie Brown. He has shown great improvement over the past couple of years; last season he led the team with 816 receiving yards and 8 touchdown catches. He will most likely be the favorite target however, do not count out sleeper WR Hank Baskett. Now in his sophomore year, Baskett did not put up big numbers last season, (464 yards, 2 touchdowns) but he has made some incredible plays at times and was a big part of the reason why the Eagles won games last season against the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons.

TE L.J. Smith was also a favorite to help McNabb out this season but due to multiple injuries, including the most recent aggravated sports hernia he suffered during camp, in which he had surgery for earlier in the off-season, he will not likely be available for most of the season. With his timetable unknown, backups Matt Schoebel and rookie Brent Celek will have to pick up the slack. A side note to the receiving team, head coach Andy Reid loves to run the screen, so RB Brian Westbrook may get a lot of receiving yards as well.

2. What will be the key contributing factor to the Eagles offense?

Last season, RB Brian Westbrook finally broke 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career due to head coach Andy Reid’s deferral of play calling to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and their willingness to let Westbrook rush the ball far more often than he had in the past (240 attempts in 2006, 156 attempts in 2005). What does this mean to the Eagle’s offense in 2007? Look for Westbrook to play the biggest role in the offense this year, not McNabb.

Westbrook has become a reliable back that can run the ball through holes in the line and around the line, catch the ball, and block. This, along with one of the league’s best offensive lines, will result in Westbrook to post up big numbers this season at the prime of his career. Reid allowing Westbrook to run the ball more often will also help McNabb’s durability as he will not have to take as many hits as in the past. Defenses will also be confused by the improved running game when concentrating their efforts on McNabb.

1. How will the Eagles fare this season?

Perhaps the most important question regarding the Philadelphia Eagles is obvious; how will they do? They have both the schedule and weapons to be great. For the first time in McNabb’s career, the Eagles have a well balanced attack with a great passing game, running game, defense, and most importantly, experience. Key games against the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, and New Orleans Saints will show everyone how serious the Eagles are this season.

With McNabb at the age of 31 in November, it is widely accepted that he only has a few years left in him. A Vince Lombardi Trophy for the city is well overdue after failed attempts in late 70’s and early 80’s, late 80’s and early 90’s, and throughout the new decade. One has to wonder whether this season is now or never for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Sports Moment of the Week

Barry Bonds hit his 756th career homerun against the Washington Nationals, breaking the most hallowed record in all of sports previously held by Hank Aaron.

Who Better to Give Up a Sleazeball the Record, Than Another Sleazeball?

By now, there has been much reaction to Barry Bonds’ record breaking night last night. Some people enjoyed it, some, not so much. This is not a piece on Barry and his record hitting 756th homerun, but rather ‘the other guy’.

His name is Mike Bacsik. This Washington Nationals pitcher has been in the majors for five years now playing for four different teams. With about 30 games started in his entire career in the majors, not much is known about Bacsik. Frankly, no one cared who he was, until last night. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Mike Bacsik gave up the record breaking homerun to Barry Bonds forever writing his name in the history books.

The average person would not want this achievement, especially the average athlete. Most athletes would rather be the one that struck out Bonds on his quest for 756. The thought that someone went out of his way to be that guy, is almost unbelievable and a completely insane thought to think. Not so fast; Bacsik knew what he was doing and he did it on purpose.

Mike Bacsik’s contributions to the historic night were major. He did everything possible to be the guy that allowed Bond’s 756th homerun. Looking at the statistics, Barry Bonds went 3 for 3 last night with no walks. This was the first time during the entire season that Bonds hit 1.000 with no walks. In the second inning on Bonds’ first at-bat, Bacsik threw two consecutive strikes and then three consecutive walks. Everyone knows that hitting the ball on a 3-2 count is a lot easier than other counts because you’re almost certain the pitcher will try and throw into the strike zone so he doesn’t draw the walk. On Bacsik’s 6th pitch to Bonds, Bonds doubled to deep right center field. Mission failed… for now. On Bonds’ second at-bat in the 3rd inning, Bacsik threw the first pitch for a strike and then threw his second pitch in the strike zone again. This time Bonds hit it for a single. Again, mission failed.

With time running out for Bacsik, in the 5th inning, Bacsik made the most of the opportunity. On another 3-2 count allowing Bonds to chase the ball, Bascik threw an 84 mph pitch down the center of the plate for Bonds to smash it into the right field stands. Mission accomplished! An 84 mph pitch on a full count is a very weak pitch that is easy to hit, especially for guys like Bonds. What makes it worse is that during his post-game press conference, Bacsik says that he was trying to throw a fastball down and away for a strike. Really Bacsik? Are you really that bad that you ended up throwing an 84 mph pitch right down the strike zone? He stated “I wanted to go after him; I was trying to get him out. I threw a pitch that he really likes to hit and he did it.” Well if Bonds really likes to hit those pitches, and you know that for a fact, then why are you trying to strike him out with that pitch? Wouldn’t logic dictate that you throw a pitch he doesn’t like?

Bacsik was no doubt very excited for the moment. You’re probably asking yourself why this would make sense and that there is no way he did this intentionally. Well consider these facts. Coming up to the historic moment, there were many discussions and interviews around the league on whether ball players would want to give up the historic homerun. Not surprisingly, everyone said they wouldn’t. Discussions talked about how people would rather want to be the ones that struck Bonds out during his run. Well let me ask everyone this. Do you know even one pitcher that struck out Hank Aaron during his run? Do you even know who the last pitcher that struck out Bonds was? No one knows and your feat will not be recognized if you did.

The guy that gives up the homerun though, is set for life. Now, Mike Bacsik joins the company of Al Downing, the pitcher that gave up the 715th homerun to Hank Aaron, as the people set for life by the moment. It was found out, before Bacsik stepped on the mound, that Downing and Aaron would go to autograph sessions and card shows together to sign memorabilia for fans. Also noted, is that Downing made just as much money for the autograph sessions as Aaron. Bacsik knew that he was just another guy until the end of the 5th inning last night. He was a below average player in the prime of his career with a 4.47 ERA. He is so average that in the beginning of the year, he was in the minors for the Nationals. His baseball career isn’t going anywhere and he knew that. Now that he gave up the famous homerun? His baseball career is extended by 50 years. He and Bonds will go onto do the same thing Aaron and Downing have done during their retirement and get paid very well.

Bacsik didn’t hold his emotions after the game. Although he held his feelings inside on the mound, in the post-game press conference, he was ecstatic. One reporter even pointed out, “You seem genuinely tickled by this whole thing.” Bacsik replied, “Yea I’m excited, we won the game and I got to see history.” He went on to say the following, “You either have to be a really special player to be remembered in this game or be a part of a special moment” and “I didn’t want to give up the homerun but I’m lucky enough to be apart of a very special moment in sports history.” Bacsik knew what he was doing and did everything in his power to make sure he was the one that gave up the homerun. After the celebration, Bacsik then tried to become Bonds’ best friend by congratulating him; he stated that he told Bonds “He’s the best I’ve ever faced and probably the best of all time.” Let’s face it, Bonds is a jerk; unless you make the effort to become his friend, there’s no way he’s doing autograph sessions with you. No autograph sessions, no money…

Barry Bonds would have eventually hit number 756 barring an unlikely injury during the next week or so. However, the fact that a pitcher actually helped him out just so he could make money off of it is disgusting. Bacsik said, “Giving it up to Barry Bonds is nothing to be ashamed of.” Maybe so, but trying to be that pitcher that gives up 756 is something certainly to be ashamed of. Mike Bacsik is a sleezball that doesn’t deserve any profit from his ability to play poorly. He should not be linked to Barry Bonds, but rather as a guy with no integrity and no self respect.

Questions Regarding the Top 10 NFL Stories

10. How will the Eagles' offense be run?

The Philadelphia Eagles had an interesting year last season after the departure of Terrell Owens. The Eagles got off to a hot start with a 4-1 record. Things took a turn for the worst when they went 1-3 the next four games topped by a freakish injury to Donovan McNabb during a week 11 game against the Tennessee Titans. Just when hopes were lost, backup quarterback Jeff Garcia stepped up and led the team to a 10-6 record winning the NFC East. That year, running back Brian Westbrook finally broke 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career due to head coach Andy Reid’s willingness to let him rush the ball far more often than he had in the past (240 attempts in 2006, 156 attempts in 2005).

What does this mean to the Eagle’s offense in 2007? Look for Brian Westbrook to play the biggest role in the offense this year, not McNabb. Reid allowing Westbrook to run the ball more often will definitely help McNabb’s durability and confuse defenses. Another significant change in the offense this year is the change at wide receiver. 2006 #1 option, Donte Stallworth is gone along with former #1 option Todd Pinkston, which means McNabb needs to find a new #1 option. A lot of people are looking at Reggie Brown to take over the role but do not count out my sleeper, Hank Baskett. Baskett, now 24 years old, has looked great at times during the 2006 season and has made huge plays. He still has a while to go but in these next couple of years, look for him to mature and learn the game to eventually become the #1 option. A side note to the receiving team, Reid loves to run the screen, so Westbrook may get a lot of receiving yards to go along with his rushing yards.

9. What does Michael Vick's absence from the Falcons mean for the team?

It’s pretty widely accepted that Vick will not play for the Falcons this season. This is a huge change for the Falcons as it reshapes their entire offense. Joey Harrington will assume the starting position but he might not be able to hold onto it for too long. Who can take his place? How about D.J. Shockley? Everyone forgot about this Georgia star when he went down to injury his final year in college. He’s an upgraded version of Vick who’s only problem is that he is not durable. He is extremely mobile and has a strong arm for the long passes to newly acquired wide receiver Joe Horn. If he is given a fair chance, look for him to be a future stud.

Also, watch out for Jerious Norwood. Last year, at the age of 23, Norwood averaged 6.4 yards per carry finishing off the season with 633 yards and 2 touchdowns. With Warrick Dunn down, Norwood will be the starting running back. Expect him to get a lot of carries this year as the quarterback situation is up in the air.

8. How will the Carolina quarterback situation play out?

Jake Delhomme is still miraculously riding the train of success from his one really good game in the Super Bowl. Since then, he’s been nothing close to that greatness. He doesn’t perform well down the stretch and gives away crucial interceptions trying to force the ball after waiting too long in the pocket. He hasn’t been replaced permanently yet partially due to his past success and hope that he may perform great once again and partially due to the fact that the Panthers never had a reliable backup. That all changes this year. The Panthers have shown that they are not happy with Delhomme’s performance by grabbing David Carr as a backup. If the Panthers don’t see immediate results with Delhomme, look for them to fire their itchy trigger finger and bring in David Carr who has never had a legitimate chance to shine in the NFL. Give it until after week 5 when they play the New Orleans Saints for the quarterback switch.

7. Just how good/bad are the Lions?

The NFL is great. Why? Because anyone can win at any given time. Just ask the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers who were once a joke of the league quickly turning their franchise around is less than two seasons. A lot of people believe that this year, it will be the Lions. Quarterback Jon Kitna said the team will win ten games this year. The promised ten wins will most likely allow them to advance to the postseason.

Ten wins can be achievable for the Lions for a few reasons. One, they play in the NFC North; their only real competition is the Chicago Bears. Two, in 2006, the Lions lost a lot of close games including games against the Bears, the Patriots, the 49ers, the Seahawks, and the Rams. With a little more experience they can have a shot at closing these games out. Three, the running game for Detroit is a lot stronger. With Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams as two potential top notch receivers, defenses will concentrate on them, allowing running backs Kevin Jones and Tatum Bell more room to pick up yards.

The reason ten wins is a stupid prediction however, and the Lions will not contend this year is because of Kitna. His 21 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions are not very good stats if you want to contend with teams like Seattle, St. Louis, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Carolina. His quarterback rating was 79.9 last year and was well below 70 in crucial games the Lions needed to win. Also, Detroit’s offense and defense are one of the worst ranked in the league. The offense, achieving just 309.3 yards per game ranks 22nd in the league while the defense, allowing 345.6 yards per game ranks 28th in the league.

6. Who will have more snaps as the Jacksonville quarterback?

Jacksonville’s quarterback situation has been by far the messiest in the league. They have two quarterbacks that can essentially take that starting role in Byron Leftwich and David Garrard. Both are very inconsistent and Leftwich is injury prone. They both need to learn how to cut down on interceptions; Garrard needs to stop throwing into heavy coverage, and Leftwich needs to get rid of the ball quicker and capitalize on his strength: short passes. This will also help his body as he will not take so many hits allowing him to finish out seasons. Leftwich is slightly better because he stays in the pocket and makes better decisions than Garrard. A potential success to having both of these guys, is switching to a two-quarterback system the way more and more colleges are doing every year. I don’t think it will happen anytime soon but it would be very interesting to watch the amount of success or failure it can deliver to an NFL team.

5. Will Tony Romo & Wade Phillips be successful?

The Cowboys have finally left the era of old school quarterbacks and the Big Tuna. The question is, will the new system work? Tony Romo has shown some great stuff in his first year but he has also shown that he can go through a slump much like his NFC East rivals. His confidence doesn’t seem to be shaken from last year’s heart breaking loss to Seattle in the playoffs, so it could mean good times ahead. The biggest factor of a new quarterback and a new coach in Wade Phillips, is the Terrell Owens factor. Romo has shown that he is his favorite target and Phillips doesn’t seem to have a problem with Owens. He has mentioned him by name in news conferences and has allowed him to stick around the training room while he’s injured instead of forcing him to step out on the practice field.

The negatives are as I mentioned, Romo went through a slump near the end of the season costing the Cowboys the division title. After starting 5-1, the Cowboys fell off losing 3 of their last 4 games including a game against their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.

All is not Romo’s fault however. The defense stopped responding to Bill Parcells and defensive coordinator, Don Zimmer down the stretch. The Cowboys gave up 33 points per game during their 4 game slump including 31 points to the atrocious Detroit Lions. This was the reason behind the hiring of 3-4 defensive genius Wade Phillips. He will no doubt get that defense in top shape for the new season as he did for the San Diego Chargers last season (The Chargers ranked 10th in the league in total yards allowed and 7th in rushing yards allowed last season). However, with every plus, there’s a minus; throughout Phillips’ coaching career, he has never won a playoff game. This is certainly discouraging for Cowboys fans and it is something to carefully consider if Dallas makes the postseason.

4. Can the Chargers' passing game keep the team in the hunt?

The Chargers finished last season with the best record in the league, 14-2. A lot of the credit goes to LaDainian Tomlinson (1,815 yards rushing, 28 TD’s), but don’t discount quarterback Philip River’s contribution to it as well. River’s 92 passer rating (8th in the league) along with his 22 TD’s and 9 INT’s, kept defenses aware of the passing attack allowing LDT to run for more yards. This year, the receiving core is one year more mature but with one less player, Keenan McCardell. Although McCardell didn’t have many yards, his intangibles of taking a DE off of the younger guys helped the team out a lot.

This year, wide receiver Vincent Jackson needs to step up in order for the Chargers to pursue a championship. With Eric Parker out for the year, no other wide receiver has enough experience to be considered the #2 option so pay attention to a potential Marques Colston in San Diego this year. If these guys don’t step up, figuring out the Chargers offense will be a walk in the park by putting 9 guys in the box to slow down LDT and sticking two guys on Antonio Gates. Will the offense be a problem? No, not in my opinion, but it still remains to be seen if Jackson can carry the load.

3. Will the Steelers bounce back this year?

The Steelers fell off the map fast after winning their fifth Super Bowl two years ago. After injuries to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the team crumbled. Pittsburgh finished the season with a disappointing 8-8 record, missing the playoffs. The silver lining to last year was that the Steelers won 6 of their last 8 games; granted the teams down the stretch weren’t very good but none-the-less, a win is a win. Roethlisberger never looked like a great quarterback since the 2005 AFC Championship game however. Even during last year’s stretch, he threw too many interceptions (23 total for the year). In order for the Steelers to bounce back this season, Roethlisberger has to play like he used to, meaning making better decisions and surveying the field better. Stop staring at Hines Ward throughout the whole play and glance over at Heath Miller and Santonio Holmes. This will confuse defenses and allow Roethlisberger to throw into single coverage’s.

2. How good is the all new Broncos team?

The starting roster of key players for the 2006 Broncos looked like this:

QB: Jake Plummer
RB: Tatum Bell
WR: Javon Walker
WR: Rod Smith
TE: Tony Scheffler

In 2007, here’s how it looks:

QB: Jay Cutler
RB: Travis Henry
WR: Javon Walker
WR: Brandon Stokley
TE: Daniel Graham

The entire offensive side of the ball has changed with the exception of Javon Walker. More changes have been made as well including G Montrae Holland, CB Dre Bly, DT Alvin McKinley, DT Sam Adams, and LB D.D. Lewis; not to mention a few backups they received as well. They completely changed almost the entire roster even after making it to the Conference Championships two years prior.

The new roster does look promising however. Cutler posted up a QB rating of 88.5 in the 5 games he played last season. The acquisition of Travis Henry also gives the team a proven starter on a team run by Mike Shanahan (a running back’s best friend). The receiving core is better too with a much younger Brandon Stokley as Cutler’s second option and a more experienced TE in Graham. They’ll need these receivers to help out as the AFC West was one of the hardest divisions in the league as far as passing yards allowed is concerned. As far as the defense goes, the Broncos now have the best CB tandem in the entire league. Dre Bly paired with Champ Bailey will give opposing offenses a hard time trying to get their passing game going. This Bronco team is definitely more impressive and the changes needed to take place. Cutler is too young however, and he will make mistakes that will cost the Broncos to miss out on the postseason this year.

1. How can anyone stop the Patriots?

Getting to the top story of the 2007 NFL season, the New England Patriots look immortal. With a whole new set of wide receivers including Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Kelley Washington, and Wes Welker, quarterback Tom Brady has many options in the pocket. This receiving core will also allow the field to open up giving more room for running back Laurence Maroney to run around in. A lot of people have written off Maroney because of the absence of Corey Dillon and the belief in the sophomore slump. He will succeed this year, solely because of this point. Safeties will be forced to stand back picking up wide receiver coverage’s, especially if head coach Bill Belichick decides to run the four wide receiver option every play (which he should). Seriously, how do you stop a four wide receiver option with Tom Brady having to choose between Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, and Troy Brown? You can’t! It’d be like trying to catch four chicken’s running around a barn. It’s hard enough catching one, but catching four? Forget it people, you’re not stopping the Patriots offense.

There has to be an answer; these guys are human after all. This isn’t Zeus and his divine cavalry we’re talking about. There is an option of simply outscoring the Patriots. Obviously, this isn’t very easy either. The Patriots defense was ranked 6th last year in total yards allowed, 294.4. In rushing yards allowed, it was ranked 5th, but in passing yards allowed it was ranked 12th. We have a weakness! Not a very strong weakness, but a weakness none-the-less. What makes this more of a problem is that the Patriots’ shutdown corner, Asante Samuel isn’t very happy with the team for franchising him and refusing to sign a long term contract with him. To this day, Samuel and the Patriots have not reached a deal and Samuel continues to hold out. He may take the option of not playing for the first 10 games of the season. Worse, another CB, Chad Scott is out for the year with a knee injury. He probably wasn’t going to replace Samuel in the lineup but he would’ve been an important bench player. This will be a huge blow to the Patriots secondary. Rodney Harrison, the team’s starting Strong Safety is another old player prone to injury. Also, Eugene Wilson, the team’s starting Free Safety is coming off an injury that kept him out of most of the 2006 season. This leaves rookie Brandon Meriweather and 23 year old, James Sanders at the safety positions if these two should go down.

Luckily for the rest of the AFC, outscoring the Patriots maybe doable. The list of teams that can accomplish this task include, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Indianapolis Colts, the San Diego Chargers, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Best of all, all of these teams have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs; perhaps an upset waiting to happen? It certainly is possible.

References: ESPN.com, Pro-Football-Reference.com

Sports Moment of the Week

In the 'Oh My God, did you just see that?!' moment this week, Washington Nationals second baseman Ronnie Belliard, had an incredible play when he flipped the ball to shortstop Felipe Lopez on August 1st against the Cincinnati Reds to throw out outfielder Ryan Freel. There is no way to describe how awesome this play was, you're just going to have to watch it yourself.

Gagne to the Yankees Spells Trouble

Although it hasn't been officially announced yet, the Yankees are very close to landing the Texas Rangers closer, Eric Gagne. The Yankees are one of the three teams chasing him right now with less than 24 hours remaining until the trade deadline; the others being the Mets and the Red Sox. However, Eric Gagne has a partial no-trade clause that blocks trades toward specific teams. The team that is blocked by this clause out of the three? The Boston Red Sox. This opens the door for the Yankees and Mets to duel it out throughout these last few hours to grab the all-star closer. Yankee fans can pretty much smell Gagne's odor at this point just like they smelt Abreu's odor last year.

The question then comes, is this a good move for the Yankees? Before we get into what Gagne can bring to the table for the Yankees, let's look at what the Yankees will possibly lose in the trade. The positive is that the Yankees have made it perfectly clear to Texas that there is no way they are parting with pitchers Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. Texas has moved down the line of prospects to ask for the next two guys, Ian Kennedy and Alan Horne. The Yankees are again hesitant to give up these guys as well. Horne has an ERA lower than 3 with the AA Trenton Thunder and Kennedy has recently been promoted to the AAA Scranton Yankees after posting a 5-1 record with a 2.59 ERA in AA Trenton. Kennedy is clearly the prize prospect that the Rangers are looking at and with Kennedy's ceiling higher than the ceiling of Yankee Stadium, it seems like the Yankees will give up too much.

To give a little background, Eric Gagne has been a dominant closer since his move to the spot with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2002. His best season perhaps was 2003 when he recorded 55 saves with a 1.20 ERA; he won the NL Cy Young Award that year. In 2005, Gagne's career took a turn for the worst when he suffered a sprained ligament in his right elbow. He had to undergo Tommy John surgery once again which ended his season (His first Tommy John surgery was back in 1997 before he made it to the majors). When the problem seemed to be fixed, in spring training the following year, it was decided that he would undergo a second surgery in less than a year. He made his way back later that year only to once again get injured after just two games. This time it was his back when doctors stated that Gagne had two herniated discs. The Dodgers decided paying Gagne wasn't worth it just two years following a 2004 season where he saved 45 games posting a 2.19 ERA. Gagne's injuries did not hold back the Texas Rangers who signed the free agent in the 2007 off-season. They were partially right, although Gagne was injured again in 2007, he has come back with a 2.16 ERA and 16 saves so far.

This takes us to his possible arrival to the Yankees. If this trade takes place, what will become of Gagne and the Yankees bullpen? There is no question Gagne will have an immediate impact that will help the Yankees' struggling bullpen. Gagne will most likely be used as the setup man to Mariano Rivera for the rest of the season giving the Yankees a pretty much guarenteed scoreless 8th and 9th innings. This is huge for a team who is expected to make the playoffs every year.

Those are the positives. As far the future, this is exactly what the Yankees shouldn't be involved in... more drama and more uncertainity. Gagne has made it clear that he only wants to be a closer and anything else will not leave him satisfied. The current Yankee closer, Mariano Rivera, is in his last season of his contract. Although he is 37 years old, Rivera has done more for the Yankees than any other player in over 20 years. Of course, baseball is a business, and Rivera has not been as dominate as he has in the past. Furthermore, the Yankees weren't expected to resign him after the season anyway. Rivera's factor in this potential mess is only immediate. Who knows whether this could mean locker room drama for the next two months. Gagne will not be happy setting up for Rivera and the Yankees will most likely refuse to take Rivera out of the closer spot. Can tempers heat up in the locker room or even worse, the dugout? It's certainly a possibility. Rivera is known to speak his mind and if he senses tension between himself and Gagne, he will no doubt confront him. The Yankees' chances of making the postseason will become slimmer and the 2007 season will be one the worst of recent memory.

Success this year, is more important to the Yankees than it has been for the past few years. There can be many changes in the off-season this year including Alex Rodriguez's status, Rivera's contract up, Jorge Posada's contract up, and manager Joe Torre's contract up. Success can be a selling point for these guys to return to the team as well as a higher interest in the Yankees managerial job. Not that that job is unwanted, most managers would kill to manage the Yankees, but you can't deny it would be so much sweeter if the team was coming off of a championship.

As for Gagne himself, he will assume the closer's role for the long term starting in 2008. The Yankees will believe the postion to be filled and will not seek other players for that role. How is this bad? The question is more like, how is this good? With Gagne's injuries, he is as reliable as a Ford with more than 25,000 miles on it. If the Yankees put their confidence in Gagne for the next 5 or 6 years and Gagne goes down to injury, who will be the closer? There are no potential suiters for the job currently. The Yankees will be forced into making a desperate move to grab a closer via trade and probably trade some high quality prospects in the process. Worse, when Gagne comes back from the injury, what will happen then? No doubt Gagne will be the one to go and teams will be turned off by his injury history and give the Yankees peanuts for the former Cy Young winner.

If, if not when, Gagne is traded to the Yankees tomorrow, it will definitely raise the spirits of Yankee fans everywhere. The problem is, the future consequences will be far greater setting the Yankees back a few more years in their quest for 27. Gagne's arrival will spell trouble for the Yankees which is why Yankee fans everywhere should pray that the Mets push just alittle bit harder to grab the injury prone former Cy Young winner.

Sports Moment of the Week

Carlos Zambrano won his 14th game on Sunday taking the lead in wins in the majors. He has won 8 of the last 10 games he started and has turned his season around after the Cubs went 1-4 in his first 5 starts.

Trade DEAD-line

With the MLB Trade Deadline less than five days away, little buzz is being generated about potential deals that can affect the rest of the season. There are a number of reasons for this; one being, the contract extension of Mark Buehrle. Before the White Sox could work out this deal, Buehrle’s name was the most talked about because of his great season and the White Sox’ awful season. Everyone was sure he was going to be traded until the Sox decided to keep him. Another pitcher, Dontrelle Willis fell out of trade talks for the complete opposite reason. No one wants him due to his awful season, a 7-10 record with a 5.15 ERA. Another reason the deadline buzz is sluggish is because big market teams are playing well at the point of the deadline to where they don’t need to make big moves to be contenders for the postseason including the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs. With all of these events taking place before the deadline, it seems like it will be a boring next few days. There are some intriguing talks none-the-less, involving a few players that can heighten the deadline buzz.


Mark Teixeira 1B

Here is the premiere player that can single handedly save the trade deadline headlines. The Texas Rangers have stated that they will trade Teixeira before the deadline. His .299 BA, 13 HR, and 49 RBI make him a highly pursued player among teams right now, but the catch is that he can opt out of his contract after the 2008 season meaning only teams that can win a championship now will pursue him.

Of the teams interested in Teixeira, the Atlanta Braves look like the most logical choice. They have a hole to fill in the first basemen slot which is currently filled in by young backup catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Teixeira will not only fill this hole but he will also help the Braves significantly decrease the gap between them and division leader, New York; this will also help the Braves pull away in the tight wild card race.

Another possibility is the Yankees, however that looks dead due to New York’s unwillingness to give up young prospects Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. Also, Andy Phillips has been filling in the role quite nicely as of late. Other possibilities that seem unlikely are the Red Sox who already have Kevin Youkilis, the Angels who already have Casey Kotchman, the Padres who already have Adrian Gonzalez, and the Dodgers who have stated they are comfortable with James Loney.

The Yankees and Red Sox Bullpen

Although both the Red Sox and Yankees are doing quite well right now with no huge holes to fill in their roster, they are both looking for relief pitching that can help them out, especially with their older starting pitchers. The bullpen proved to be an important role in last year’s postseason race when the Yankees swept the Sox 5-0 in the battle of the bullpens. The Yankees’ bullpen is worse than the Red Sox’ this season, however the Sox don’t want to give the Yankees the oppurtunity to grab a big name reliever to use against them when the season comes to a close.
A few possible names that are being tossed around are Texas’ Eric Gagne, Kansas City’s Octavio Dotel, Washington’s Chad Cordero, Cincinnati’s David Weathers, Pittsburgh’s Salomon Torres, Pittsburgh’s Damaso Marte, Colorado’s Brian Fuentes, Houston’s Brad Lidge, Houston’s Chad Qualls, and Houston’s Dan Wheeler.

The other factor that plays a role in the Yankees’ and Red Sox’ pursuit of a better bullpen is that they both have guys in the farm that can come out and help them in August and September, so they do not need to go out of their way to make a deal. The Yankees are very high on Joba Chamberlain and they also have Ross Ohlendorf who looks great when he’s healthy.

The Red Sox farm is equally as good as they have brought up Manny Delcarmen and he has looked very promising this season. Clay Buchholz may also join Manny in the bullpen later on this season. The big question with the Sox is which starter will be axed once Curt Schilling comes back? Longtime Red Sox pitcher, Tim Wakefield has not been great this season, so he might be a possibility. Both Kason Gabbard and Jon Lester have come up from the minors and have been great. It will be interesting to see how Boston handles this situation.

Eric Gagne RP

As mentioned above, Gagne is being pursued as he is having a great season with 16 saves and a 2.16 ERA. However, the Yankees and Red Sox aren’t the only teams looking at Gagne. In fact, the list of interested teams is quite long including the Tigers, Braves, Dodgers, Rockies, and Indians.

The only catch to pursuing Gagne is that Gagne has a no-trade clause and has stated that he wants to be a closer not a setup man, which rules out a lot of teams that want to use him as a setup man.

Jose Contreras SP

Despite his horrible performance this season, 5-13 with a 6.22 ERA, teams around the league are willing to take a chance on Contreras hoping to bring him back to his dominant form of the first half of last season. The good thing about this is that Contreras’ price will be low making it easier to grab him for next to nothing. Interested teams include the Cubs, Braves, Mariners, Marlins, Indians, Phillies, and Mets.

Phillies Pitching & Pat Burrell OF

The Phillies’ problems are as clear as a sunny day. Their offense is ranked third in the majors with runs scored and OPS. Their team pitching however, is ranked 27th in the majors in ERA. Their starting pitching besides Cole Hamels is awful and their bullpen is nothing to brag about either. If the Phillies don’t get help as far as pitching is concerned in the next four days, you can count them out of the playoffs.

The good news is that the Phillies have a huge trading token in Pat Burrell who is having an off year. Since the Phillies don’t need help from Burrell, and Burrell has shown some great stuff in the past, they can trade him for some quality pitching. Possible players include Oakland’s Joe Kennedy, Chicago’s Jose Contreras, San Fransisco’s Matt Morris, Florida’s Dontrelle Willis, Cincinnati’s Kyle Lohse, and Houston’s Jason Jennings.

Seattle Pitching

The Mariners are another team that has major pitching issues. Although lately the Mariners have been losing, they had made a nice run to stay 3.5 games back from the division leading Angels. If they want to make another run, they need help in their pitching rotation. Any of the pitchers mentioned above can be likely options for Seattle.

Padres Hitting

The Padres have the opposite problem. The Padres pitching is one of, if not the best pitching staff in the league. The problem is that they have little to no offense. The Padres are ranked 28th in the majors in runs scored and 27th in the majors in OPS. They did acquire outfielder Milton Bradley recently but he will not be enough. The Padres look to be seriously considering Tampa Bay’s Ty Wigginton, Chicago’s Jermaine Dye, and Cincinnati’s Adam Dunn.


This season’s trade deadline seems to be taking a backseat in the headlines. The dark ages for commissioners have something to do with that but even without that, there’s not enough on the table to be seriously excited over. It is very likely that any of the deadline deals done will have little impact on the postseason race. As everyone counts on the Texas Rangers to save the day by trading Mark Teixeira, we all sit and wait for a potential blockbuster deal. Will it happen? Probably not. But where there are storm clouds, the sunshine awaits above in the off-season.

References: Baseball-Reference.com

Sports Moment of the Week

The Yankees defeated the Devil Rays 3-1 over the weekend scoring a combined 38 runs on them. This is the 2nd most in franchise history.