The Greatest Pitcher Ever

One would truly be making a bold statement with an article entitled “The Greatest Pitcher Ever”. There were so many legendary pitchers in the game of baseball, to pick the best one seems as hard as finding a needle in a haystack. The problem is, in this case, the needle is not in the haystack at all, but rather in the most obvious place one would never think to look; it’s hanging by the front door of the barn. The greatest pitcher ever did not have eye-catching numbers in Major League Baseball. It wasn’t Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Sandy Koufax, Roger Clemens, Warren Spahn, Steve Carlton, or the immortal 511 game-winner Cy Young. The greatest pitcher ever, rather started in the majors only 26 times; he was Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige.

The question then arises, how is a pitcher who has less starts in his entire major league career than an average pitcher’s amount of starts in one season, the greatest pitcher ever? Simple, Satchel Paige played in more than six different leagues in his career. Paige was born 40 years before the first black baseball player was signed to a major league contract. Since the majors were the only baseball league that was financially stable, Paige had to make do with moving from team to team in several different leagues. Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige received his nickname when he tried to steal a railroad passenger’s bag. Ironically, getting into trouble for stealing sent him to reform school where he learned how to play baseball.

Satchel Paige’s legend includes remarkable stories that would easily top all highlight reels today. Early in his career, in a game where he was struggling during a tie game, the crowd began to boo him when he allowed multiple runners to reach base. He was so angry that he called in all of his outfielders and told them to sit down in the infield. He then proceeded to strike out the rest of the lineup eventually winning the game. Paige was known for his two most famous pitches; they were the hesitation pitch and a pitch where the ball would curve up instead of downward. The upwardly-curving pitch puzzled players so much that Hall of Famer Buck Leonard, who was referred to as the black Lou Gehrig, actually demanded the ball be changed after witnessing it in action. Needless to say, it was not the ball that was making it curve upward.

Although he was not allowed to play in the majors due to the color of his skin, Paige did pitch to several different legends on barnstorming trips including Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Fox, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Rogers Hornsby, Johnny Mize, and Gil Hodges. In one barnstorming game, it was reported that Paige struck out twenty-two major leaguers. After Joe DiMaggio went one for four against Paige barely getting a hit at his last at-bat, he claimed that Paige was the greatest pitcher he had ever battled against. Regarding the integration of baseball, Paige was not really an advocate. He believed that the majors should put entire black teams together rather than just a few guys playing with the white players. His fear was that Negro players would not be able to stay or eat with the white players off the field. When asked about white baseball owners advocating integration, Paige said, “All the nice statements in the world from both sides aren’t going to knock out Jim Crow.”

Despite his views on integration, Satchel Paige was deeply hurt when Jackie Robinson signed the first deal with a major league ball club. Most believed at the time that Jackie was not even one of the best in the Negro leagues. Paige always wanted to play for the majors and his wish was granted when he signed to the Cleveland Indians making him the first American League Negro pitcher and the seventh Negro big leaguer overall on July 7th, 1948; his 42nd birthday. Once Paige was signed to the Indians, it was more comforting to other Negro leaguers. They felt now that Paige was in the majors, the gap was bridged because while Jackie was the first Negro player, Satchel was the best. Paige’s impact was immediately felt in the big leagues at his old age. He boosted the Indians during the final stretch of the regular season going 6-1 with a 2.48 ERA, striking out 45 players with two shut-out games. The Indians barely passed the Boston Red Sox that year allowing them to win the American League pennant for the first time in 28 years. He was so good that in 1952, Paige became the first black pitcher to join an All Star team; keep in mind he was 46 years old.

Satchel Paige’s contribution to the integration of baseball did not stop with just numbers and statistics. In 1952, a catcher by the name of Clint Courtney became a teammate of Paige. Courtney was a true redneck raised on an Alabama farm. When he arrived on the team, he refused to talk to Satchel or catch for him. Paige was not bothered by this at all and one day walked up to Courtney and asked him if he had a home plate in his pocket. With Courtney confused, Satchel picked up a gum wrapper and laid it in front of Courtney. He then began to pitch to Courtney using the gum wrapper as a plate. Courtney recalled to have caught 40-50 of Satchel’s pitches all within one inch of the gum wrapper. The two became friends soon after. Courtney once said “My daddy is coming up when we get back to St. Louis. He’s gonna see me sitting in the bullpen talking to this Paige and he’s gonna jump right over the fence and try to give me a whupping. But Satch and I have it figured out that the two of us can whup him no matter what happens.”

Satchel Paige ended his major league career making one last appearance in 1965 allowing just one hit and no runs in three innings. He was 59 years old making him the oldest person ever to play in a major league game. Paige finished his major league career with a 28-31 record, 3.29 ERA, and 288 strikeouts. Unfortunately, statistics were not kept in the Negro leagues, barnstorming tours, or international leagues so we will never know Satchel’s career statistics. Paige claimed that he won 2,000 games in his life (winning 104 of his 105 games in 1934) with a few hundred shutouts, while playing for 250 teams. While Paige was known to stretch the truth at times, just a fraction of those numbers would still be quite remarkable. He was also the most durable pitcher ever and he proved this when he pitched 29 games in a month for a white semi-pro team. At one point, he did fall to injury in 1938 when he injured his arm. He lied to his coach that day claiming that he was feeling fine and pitched a scoreless game into the seventh inning before being taken out after going through excruciating pain. The injury was so bad that many believed it would be his last game ever. After fourteen months of not being able to pitch, he came back and pitched another seven scoreless innings before the game was called due to nightfall. Name a player from any sport who could do that. Satchel Paige was indeed baseball’s best pitcher and his legend far exceeds any other player with the injustice he faced during the height of racism and the absence of integration.

2007: Best of the Best, Worst of the Worst

This past year was indeed one of the most magnificent years we've witnessed in our lifetimes in the world of sports. In each of the three major sports, we saw some of the most amazing things ever take place, and we also saw some of the most horrible things take place. It was a year of the good and bad, and the good was extra good, and the bad was extra bad.

Kicking off the new year, we all witnessed the game of the year on the first day of 2007: Oklahoma vs. Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Everyone remembers the 'statue-of-liberty' play in overtime that allowed Boise State to take home the title 43-42, but few remember that the game was filled with dramatic comebacks and amazing plays, including four lead changes in the final two minutes of the game (including an un-timed overtime).

Things only began to get interesting from there. In basketball, we witnessed LeBron James transform from a young kid with lots of expectations into a divine figure in the NBA. The incredible 4th quarter and overtime performance in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals left our jaws dropping to the floor in disbelief. This was the good; the bad was something we all fear: referees fixing games. Tim Donaghy was discovered to have bet on basketball games including ones he refereed. One of the most atrocious displays of refereeing a game took place in Game 3 of the Suns-Spurs series where the Suns were legitimately screwed out of a chance to compete for a national championship.

In baseball, we witnessed historical moments including two comeback upsets by the Philadelphia Phillies and the Colorado Rockies, allowing them to advance to the playoffs. We observed the Texas Rangers putting up 30 points against the Baltimore Orioles, Jim Thome hitting his 500th career homerun as a walk-off homerun to win the game for his Chicago White Sox, and a truly amazing play by Washington Nationals second basemen Ronnie Belliard. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, search "Ronnie Belliard's flip play" in Google Videos. Absolutely amazing…) We also witnessed something we should have all been proud of, the crowning of a new homerun king. Unfortunately we did not all agree on this with the dark cloud of steroids hanging over Barry Bonds. Bonds was later indicted that year for perjury. The Mitchell Report left a bad taste in our mouths when it connected numerous high profile players to steroids and ruined the name of the greatest pitcher of the modern era in Roger Clemens.

In football, we once again witnessed historical moment after historical moment with the New England Patriots. The Patriots completed their perfect 16-0 season and while doing so, Tom Brady set a new record for most touchdown passes in a season and Randy Moss the most touchdown receptions in a season. Brett Favre jumped on the 'breaking records' bandwagon as well when he broke the record for most wins by a quarterback, most career touchdown passes, most career passing attempts, most career passing yards, and most career interceptions. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the most exciting show on the field, Michael Vick, was sentenced to jail during the prime of his career on dog fighting allegations.

The best of the best and the worst of the worst also applies to two certain cities in the world of sports. Boston somehow managed to make the Red Sox, Celtics, and Patriots dominant all in the same year. The Red Sox have already won the championship. The Patriots haven't lost a game all season, and the Celtics added enough superstars on the team to create a team that may break the record for most season wins by an NBA team. Even Boston College joined the fun when they were ranked as high as second in college football at one point. What Boston is to filet mignon, Miami is to Hamburger Helper. Miami was absolutely awful as the Dolphins managed to squeeze out one victory the entire season, the Florida Marlins once again failed to make the playoffs and gave up their two best players in the off-season, and most surprisingly, the Miami Heat have disappointed many and proved experts wrong who believed they would be legitimate title contenders. With superstars Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O'Neal, they are in last place of their division. Not to mention the University of Miami, who has fallen completely off the map in college football after being contenders for the championship season after season.

In 2007, there were plenty of terrible stories in the sports world and many deaths, including that of Washington Redskins FS Sean Taylor, Denver Broncos CB Darrent Williams and RB Damien Nash, legendary 49ers coach Bill Walsh, and let's not forgot the tragic day of April 16 when 33 students and teachers lost their lives on the campus of Virginia Tech. These losses will always be remembered, but so will the good times. The feel-good story of the Virginia Tech football team winning the ACC title this year and the Washington Redskins winning their last four games to barely advance to the playoffs have some sort of magic behind them. And that's exactly how this year in sports felt overall, magical. Do you need more proof? Just ask Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning, Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson, Tennessee Titans K Rob Bironas, American swimmer Michael Phelps, Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, American tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, golfers Zach Johnson, Angel Cabrera, and Padraig Harrington, competitive eater Joey Chestnut, or the Appalachian State, Stanford, Naval Academy, and D-III Trinity football teams.

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.