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Laws and Jackson

WOW! What a Philadelphia sports weekend. 4and26sports.com started it off with a bang in Pittsburgh, where a roving gang of Phillies fans drowned out the sorry Pirates fans with "Pat the Bat!" chants and witnessed the Phils defeat the "Buccos" 6-5. Within the next two days, the Sixers and Flyers administered beatdowns to two heavily favored teams in playoff contests. And the draft...

As the picks slowly, painfully escalated to nineteen, a friend of mine joked he wouldn't be satisfied unless the Eagles logo in the upper right corner turned into a Lions or Cardinals logo (signifying a trade for possibly Roy Williams or Anquan Boldin). I said it probably wouldn't happen, and that we'd probably pick a lineman or a receiver. I think I echoed the sentiments of every Eagles fan in the Western Hemisphere when the nineteenth pick flashed TRADE to CAROLINA.
"What the *&^*? STEVE SMITH! STEVE SMITH!"
When I calmed down and actually thought about it, I realized there was absolutely no way in hell we'd get Steve Smith. Too much time reading rumors about what big-name receiver we were going to get conditioned me to believe that we were going to swing for a big trade, but it didn't happen. Fun to dream though. The deal was actually for several more picks, including a first rounder for next year.
    While I applaud the stockpiling of picks, and we did get a lot by the way of deftly trading selections, the whole trading down idea was very anticlimactic. Smart football moves, but it took the drama out of it. At least we're a better team for it. What I wasn't expecting was a DT with our first selection.

    Trevor Laws was (supposedly) a terror at Notre Dame. My skepticism is there because a) Notre Dame was garbage last year and b) why d tackle? We're STACKED at DT. Bunk and Patterson are a fine starting duo. But maybe Andy just went with the best available, which is understandable. And when you look at how all the receivers were were dropping like Romo holding for a gamewinning kick, mixed in with the fact we had another pick minutes away, we were going to get the receiver we wanted anyway.
    4 sacks, 5 pass breakups, and THREE (!) blocked kicks last year. He also led the country in tackles for a DT, and with 112, was the only DT in the nation above 100. He's a player. It may be hard to get PT with our defensive line being the way it is, but it never hurts to have depth and we can rotate our line to keep everyone fresh. So perhaps he was the right pick.
    Last season, the Eagles two biggest weaknesses were unquestionably 1) forcing turnovers and 2) the return game. So what do the Eagles do? Pick up an interception machine in Asaunte Samuel and then draft DeSean Jackson. Jackson turns a that return game weakness into a strength. Fast as lightning and shifty and decisive with his cuts, DeSean will look nice in midnight green. Did I want Sweed? Yes. But the Eagles saw kick return as more important than receiving right now, and I guess I can talk myself into believing it's the right call. DeSean might actually turn out to be a great receiver one day. Despite his size, watching his game film showed some extreme gamebreaking talent. Kind of reminded me of (ironically) Steve Smith.
    Let's hope for a big time day two. We have more picks than we know what to do with.

Eagles Draft Strategy: WR Breakdown

Before we get into the Eagles, 4and26sports.com would like give a big ol' HELL YEAH to the Flyers for stunning the Washington Ovechkins in overtime on game 7 on Tuesday in D.C. And wishing good luck to the Sixers in Detroit tonight; everywhere I go I hear the same thing: "OMG, the Sixers are better than I thought, I thought they'd get one win in the series, but not game one in Detroit!!!1!1! but we all know Detroits gonna pull it out LOLOL!!1" Garbage. Just because the talking heads tell you Detroit's going to win in 5 doesn't mean Detroit's going to win in 5. The Sixers will have to prove themselves yet again. Anyway, onto the birds...

    In case you haven't heard, the NFL College Entry Draft is this this weekend. Actually, I'd be surprised if you haven't, seeing as every football webpage and sports channel has been obsessed by the subject for the past month. As we all know, the Miami Dolphins have selected Michigan tackle Jake Long. After that, who the hell knows? Chris Long, Darren McFadden, Vernon Gholston, Matt Ryan... the draft's always a spectacle. Everybody boos and cheers along with every excruciatingly long (at least they shortened the 15 minute time per pick this year to 10) selection, with the prospects sweating it out as they slide ever farther down the board (I laughed at Brady Quinn for about 3 hours last year), or unexpected picks celebrating as though they've won the lottery. And they pretty much have. NFL fans live for the one day a year Mel Kiper slobbers over young men and makes you wonder what hell he does all year outside of the draft (purchase hair grease). But the most exciting moment comes when your favorite team is on the clock.

    So what of our favorite team? What do they need? Who do they want? Well, any Eagles fan who's been transfixed on GCobb, yardbarker, 610 WIP or some random Eagles blog will tell you a gamebreaking wide receiver is their biggest target. However, most football experts will tell you the Eagles need an OT. As far as I’m concerned, though, no top-tier tackle will fall to 19.

    As far as receivers go, three come to mind as “gamebreaker.” Limas Sweed (6’5’’) of Texas, Devin Thomas (6’2’’) of Michigan State, and James Hardy (6’7’’!! he started on the basketball team) of Indiana. All three are big, dangerous targets that can move well on with the ball in their hands. And I had the personal (dis)pleasure to watch Thomas and Hardy absolutely EMBARRASS Penn State star cornerback Justin King. Now while at the time I wasn’t enjoying watch Hardy go for 14 catches for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns and Thomas go 7 for 139 and 3 against the Nittany Lions, the fact that they could do that against a very good corner lets me know they’re both going to be players in this league. The way they go up for the ball is their greatest trait. However, Thomas may be gone to Buffalo with the 11^th pick, and even if he’s there, the man had one good season and was absolute trash before this year. I like him a lot, but I can’t trust him. And Hardy? He could easily go here. I wouldn’t be upset. But he has a tendency to disappear when his team really needs him. He had 17 yards against Wisconson and 50 yards in his bowl game, which are well below his status quo. Also keep in mind he didn’t play against Michigan or Ohio State this year; they had a very soft Big Ten slate.

I think Sweed’s the man. He has the greatest potential of the trio, his highlights are dazzling and his upside is mind-blowing. The negatives are his injury and lack of production as opposed to Thomas and Hardy. As for his injury, it was just his wrist, not a knee or ankle or back. So it’s a nonfactor. The surgery has already taken place and he’ll be fine. Something I can’t overlook is his relative lack of production to the other two. Hardy’s best year was going 79 for 1260 and 8 touchdowns, and Thomas’s best was 79 for 1125 with 16 TD’s. Sweed’s best was 46 catches for 801 yards, which pales in comparison.

The crazy thing is the sheer amount of touchdowns Sweed produces per catch. 12 touchdowns on 46 catches his junior year? He scored 26 % of his catches! That’s insane; Hardy’s career year was 10%, and Thomas’s was 20%. Why is this relevant, you ask? Well, what was the Eagles biggest weakness last season? The offense was ranked 6^th in ypg, and the defense was ranked 10^th in ypg allowed and 9^th in ppg allowed. What’s missing? Scoring. ANYONE who watched the Eagles last year will tell you the red zone was the biggest area of concern. The Birds scored touchdowns on a woeful 45% mark, good for 24^th in the league. So we don’t need help between the twenties. Curtis, Westbrook, McNabb, Andrews and the gang can navigate that territory with ease.

And as long as Buddy Ryan doesn’t rise from the grave, doing nothing but catching touchdowns will keep Sweed in Philly for a long time.

Sixers Shock Complacent Pistons

    As Andre Iguodala sank the last free throw, the last glimmer of hope drained from the Palace of Auburn Hills on Sunday as the Sixers dropped the Pistons in a stunning upset.
    The Pistons are a far more experienced team, play better defense, have all sorts of chemistry, are deadly midrange shooters, and crash the boards. Why did they lose? The 76ers energy and speed, along with their never-say-die attitude helped them come back from 15 down to defeat the Detroit Pistons 90-86.
    The TV Analysts will tell you that the Pistons are far better than Philadelphia and just had one off game. But look at the game closer- Andre Iguodala, one of our two best players, had a reprehensible first quarter and finished with 4-15 shooting. It took our other star, Andre Miller, until the fourth quarter to get things going. Sammy Dalembert sat a large portion of the game with foul trouble. Thaddeus Young had a smoking start but cooled down and sat during the crucial moments of the game. So for those of you keeping score here, four of our best players were horrendous for almost the whole game, against a supposedly far superior team, on the road... and they won? What does that tell you about how evenly matched the Sixers and Pistons actually are?
    Not only that, they were down 13 at the half and as many as 15 in the third. Aren't these the same Pistons that everyone talks about as being the only team that may unseat Boston in the east, yet they can't put away a 40-42 76ers team with a huge lead in the third?
    Can somebody tell me why you pull three of your starters while an underdog opponent is making a monumental comeback? Flip Saunders needs to reevaluate his strategy, because the Sixers will do this again in game two if he doesn't get his guys in the right mindset.
    They caught the Pistons flat footed at the right times. They got off to a good start, but got blown out in the second quarter and missed 18 out of 20 field goals during one stretch. But the Pistons played uninspired ball and got thrashed 52-35 in the second half. Maybe they get bored with themselves, with how good the media tells them they are, with how good they themselves believe they are. I've never seen a team use one title they won half a decade ago as an excuse to lose to teams they should beat in the playoffs year after year. They had no business losing to Lebron in the Eastern Finals last year, and they had no business losing this game. Chauncey Billups, 2nd best free throw shooter in the league, blew 3 of 4 foul shots in an important stretch near the end. Mr. Big Shot indeed.
    The only Pistons that showed any emotions were Jason Maxiell, who had a double double off the bench, and Rasheed Wallace, who at times looked absolutely unstoppable.
    Game 2 stays in Detroit, where the 76ers will look to shock the basketball world yet again. Too bad it's NOT ON NATIONAL TV, and since 4th and 26 is not in the Philly Area at the present time (No Comcast), looks like we're going to have to rely on the box score.

Blue and White was awesome, I'll have a write up of it tomorrow or maybe the next day.

Eagles, Flyers, Sixers, Phillies 4/18/08

4th and 26 is leaving town to attend the Blue and White Game at University Park this weekend. Back with a report on Monday. In the meantime..

Eagles:
Since the NFC East was one of only two divisions to finish with all records at .500 or above, the Bird's 8-8 was only good enough for last place. I mention this because that means, in the schedule making, that the Eagles play three last place teams to complete the schedule. Playing against the 49ers, Rams and Falcons should provide us with three easy wins. This is especially important because our out of conference opponents, the AFC North (Pitt, Clev., Cinc., Balt.) are no slouches, and the aforementioned NFC East, with the Skins, Cowboys and Giants all making the playoffs, provide us with no gimme games. Throw in an away date in Seattle, and we're going to need those three wins.

Flyers:
Nothing like a good double overtime game to get the blood flowing. Mike Knuble's goal 6 minutes into the 5th period gave the Flyers a 4-3 game four victory. They have the Capitals by the throat- they just have to finish it off within the next two games. A loss in D.C. would give the Capitals the momentum, sure, but it would be overly dramatic to say that it would be crucial to win game five. I would be completely comfortable bringing it back to Philly for game 6. Flyers fans make the Wachovia Center electric; a series-clinching victory on home ice would invigorate the city.

Sixers:
The referees should be crucified for the travesty that occurred last week. In case you didn't see, the Sixers went up by one with a few seconds to go versus the Cavaliers. Devin Brown drove into the lane and may or may not have been fouled by Sammy Dalembert- that's not what makes this absolutely abhorrent. If they would have called a foul on the spot right there, yes, I'd be mad, but he did get a piece of his arm- it would have been okay. What incited the fans was that there was no foul called, no whistle, and the clock ran off and the Sixers celebrated an important victory and left to the locker room. But then the NBA realized that they forgot to give their star (Bron-Bron) special treatment, and CALLED THEM ALL BACK OUT TO GIVE BROWN TWO FREE THROWS. He hit them both. Sixers were cheated out of a win. I love basketball, and I love the Sixers, but I hate the NBA right now. Absolutely appalling. But I digress.

Phillies:
As for the Phillies first few weeks: Middling. That's all there is to say. There's been good (Pat the Bat) and bad  (The  Flyin' Hawaiian). Just remember there's plenty of baseball to be played. It's April- remember the Phillie's last April? Exactly. Never panic too early, never get too excited. Just enjoy the games for what they are. For example, Mets v. Phils, Santana v. Hamels tonight. You won't find a better rivalry or pitching matchup anywhere in the majors. Speaking of the Metropolitans, don't leave any small objects on the diamond at Citizen's Bank Park- the Amazin's have a propensity to choke.

Be back with a report on the Ageless Joe Paterno, Pat Devlin's development, Evan Royster (who is a MONSTER), D- Will and the gang, as well as the state of the defense now that we've lost our best player (Sean Lee) for the season.

Flyers Take Control

    Daniel Briere and the Flyers took a 2-1 lead over the Caps in Philadelphia today. The score of 6-3 is not indicative whatsoever of this game- the Flyers had to work for every inch. Led by Briere's 2 goals and an assist, Philly gets the upper hand in the series in a game with drama at every turn.
    Where to begin? I think Cristobal Huet needs a hug. Not from me, I'm laughing at him. But someone should- he was abused and pushed and hit and pounded from every angle. Although spectacular at times, his efforts just weren't enough. The Flyers took 33 shots as opposed to the Capital's 19, so even though he saved 11 more shots than Marty Biron (congratulations to Biron by the way- his wife gave birth on Monday), he gave up 5 goals. The sixth was an empty netter.
    Briere, Hartnell and Kapanen each scored and gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead in the first, making the Philly faithful believe they could coast to an easy game three victory. But Washington came back strong in the second, spending most of the second period in the Philadelphia zone. They got 5 power play opportunities as well, but could only convert one. For a period they clearly controlled the tempo, but just couldn't put it in the net enough. The third period had the most exciting 15 minutes of scoreless hockey I've seen in a long time, with fighting and checking and near misses left and right. Things really got interesting with 5 minutes to go, though.
    Down 4-2, Brooks Laich of the Capitals fired a goal at Biron that seemed like an easy call for the referees, but some controversy as to whether or not there was contact on Briere and some potential high sticking made it seem as though it may be called back. But the officials in Philadelphia and Toronto upheld the goal, much to the chagrin of the crowd. As the boos rained down from the rafters of the Wachovia Center, the blood pressure of the coaches and players rose- they started to have that eerie feeling of deja vu, as memories of the game one disaster flooded back.
    With three minutes to go, the Flyers needed a spark. And one came, by the name of Mike Richards. As he sped past the defense, he aimed a shot at Huet. But a Capital hooked his leg from behind, launching him into the goaltender. Penalty shot. As the room I was sitting in erupted, a fellow Philly fan sitting nearby remarked "This happens once every ten years!" (I actually checked it out, by the way: the last penalty shot in the playoffs was Chris Pronger in 2006.) Richards struck it through the 5-hole to secure the win. The final goal was an empty netter by Knuble.
    Briere was magnificent; his 3 points gives him 6 for the series. It seems like his big-money contract might be worth it after all. And can somebody put out an all points bulletin for Alexander Ovechkin? We need to find him stat to make this a series. I mean, that imposter wearing number 8 is giving the man a bad name.. what? That's him? Sorry. I just assumed the probable MVP of the league would show up for a playoff game.
    With game four staying in the City of Brotherly Love, the momentum has shifted completely to the Flyers. They should go back to Washington with a 3-1 lead and put the Capitals away in style.

Thoughts on the Eagles, 4/14/08

4and26sports.com provides some weekly commentary on the Philadelphia Eagles.

    To address all the people who come up with absurd rumors on what new, exciting receiver the birds will trade for: cease and desist. Yes, it would be amazing if we got Brandon Marshall or Roy Williams or Anquan Boldin. But just because a receiver has a contract dispute or asks to get traded or just looks like he would be a great addition to the Eagles doesn't mean he's going to get traded. It's all speculation. Would a gamebreaking receiver be nice? Of course. Maybe the Eagles are happy with their current crop of wideouts, and will most likely add in the draft. But hey, maybe they're not and won't. Simply put, we don't know, and seeing as none of us are in the Eagles organization, we won't find out.
    Just because you want a receiver doesn't mean he's being targeted by the Eagles. Stop it. Instead, focus on real possibilities, like the draft. I personally think Devin Thomas of Michigan State would be a great addition. Curtis is a solid receiver, and Brown/Baskett/Avant have their moments. We've gotten deep into the playoffs with the likes FredEx, Na Brown, and Todd Pinkston (and who can forget the legendary Torrence Small).
    And to everyone who immediately says "BUT WITH T.O. YOU GUYS GOT TO THE SUPER BOWL !!!1!1! LOL", we didn't have him when we waxed Randy "Straight Cash, Homey!" Moss and the Vikings. We also didn't have him when we annihilated Mike "insert joke about dogfighting here" Vick and the Falcons. To address your next point, T.O. sympathizers, Mr. "Get Your Popcorn Ready" did play well in the Super Bowl. But did we win? No. Maybe it was partly Donovan's fault, and maybe Andy Reid executed some of the worst clock management in recent memory. But the fact is a marquee receiver did not equate into a championship, whichever way you slice it.
    Eagles + Awesome receiver ≠ guaranteed championship, for those of you playing along at home.
I'm not even going to mention the fact that he absolutely obliterated the team after that and did situps on his lawn because he didn't like his contract, then called out teammates he didn't like, thereby earning himself a yearlong suspension. Hey, you may say that's Donovan's fault too, but did he ever have trouble with anyone else besides T.O.? Just asking.
    So let's quell the annoying "trade rumors" (note the quotations). They are just that: rumors. For all you know, they could have been made up by some guy in his basement. But I digress.

On a completely different note, what the hell happened to Ryan Moats? Does anyone remember his hundred yard performance when B-West and Buck went down?
    Moat's running ability has never been the question. He averaged 5.1 ypc his rookie year and got 114 yards on 11 c arries in a start against the Giants on Dec. 11, 2005. But he hasn't learned the playbook, and he can't pick up the blitz. It's a shame that someone with his talent can't crack the top three of the depth chart. Bizarrely, he got lucky he messed up his ankle last season. If he didn't go on injured reserve, he would have gotten cut. I hope he works out, but the way it looks, he's going to be the odd man out. Westbrook is the best running back in the league, Buckhalter is a solid 3rd down back, and Tony Hunt may develop into a fine back one day. There's really no room for Moats.

    The only possibility I see is perhaps training him to return kicks and punts- he's certainly shifty and fast enough. But he's most likely gone.

Pushed to the Limit

    I'm assuming most of the people who visit 4and26sports.com were, at one point or another, athletes. I was never that amazing at sports, but I played and loved every minute of it. All of you who did participate in sports should remember this feeling.

    You show up in the locker room, you BS with your teammates for awhile. Somebody cracks a joke or rips on one of your friends, and everyone laughs. You would go to war with these guys, and you don't want to let them down. The coach walks by and everybody either shuts up (if it's a strict coach) or greets him warmly (if it's a player's coach). You don't want to let him down either.
    You go through stretching and warmups, running in lines and maybe a jog around the field. You go do some tough drills. Linemen line up 1 foot apart from each other, and bully their friend or teammate until the whistle blows. You always go until the whistle blows. Can't let the coach down. Can't let your teammates down. Receivers and D backs go press coverage on each other in one on one fade drills. You always go hard, you run your fastest, you try to separate yourself, try to prove to everyone that you're good enough. Can't let anyone down. You go all out in position drills and push to the limit. Coaches eyes are on you, teammates eyes are on you. You can't disappoint. You're already tired, already sore, already beat. But practice isn't over.
    It's just begun. Team scrimmage, first vs. scout, or even first vs. first. This is game situation, coaches tell you. Go all out. Someone misses a blocking assignment.
"What the f** are you doing? Are you f**ing stupid? Do you not know anything?" The hard line approach.
Someone drops a pass.
"Dammit, those are the kinds of mistakes we can't afford to make. Do you think the other team's receivers are dropping passes? Get out of there, we got a scout team receiver who's been looking pretty good."
It always seems like there's someone ready to replace you if you're not good enough. I would imagine that feeling amplifies on a D-1 college team, where there are hundreds of kids dying to take your spot.
    The feeling of being so overwhelmingly fatigued has to be put on hold, because after the no-holds barred full contact scrimmage, you have to take your beaten body to the conditioning period. If you're lucky, you'll just have to go to the hill, where you run up and down a steep incline frontwards, backwards, crawling, crawling backwards, sidestep and just old fashioned sprinting time and time again.
    But if you're unlucky, you go to the field. Ladders, suicides, there are lots of names for the same thing. Start on the goal line, run to the five. Touch down, run back to the goal line. Whistle blows. Run to the ten, touch down, run back. Whistle blows. Run to the fifteen, touch down, run back. It goes on.
    This is where the weak get separated from the true warriors. As you slowly, painfully inch your way down the field, where each new sprint is longer than the last, some of the linemen start to wheeze. The more rotund of the group start to slow down.
"What the f** are you doing? Run, (female genitalia)! RUN!"
Someone gets singled out. The coach's look of disappointment runs deep. Everyone feels a twang of terror, knowing it could easily be them. Nobody wants to be That Guy. Because That Guy is not improving his status with the coaches. That Guy doesn't earn the respect of his teammates. The pressure being put on an athlete during sprints is tremendous. You may be so tired that in a normal situation, you can't walk, but in this situation, you're sprinting. Because you think your life depends on it. You don't want to be replaced. You don't want to let the coach down. You don't want to let your teammates down.
    There comes a point where even the most well-conditioned start to slow their pace. Mercifully, you reach the other goal line. Sometimes you have to wind your way back down the field, other times you're free to go. And everyone's look on their face when they know they've finished is priceless. They know they didn't let anyone down and they tried their absolute hardest. It's a good feeling. You don't need to be a star to get all the satisfaction sports rewards on you.
     Usually after sprints, everyone gets to calm down, relax, go home to their family or their friends or their significant other. Maybe go get a lift in or go study. But sometimes, it doesn't happen that way. Sometimes they never get to walk off the field at all.
    A football player from the University of Central Florida died during a conditioning workout in a spring practice. Coaches said that there were no signs, but they might have been trying to cover their tracks. Four teammates said the kid looked extremely fatigued and was not responding, and that the coaches were screaming and cursing at him to finish the workout. Now I'm not going to take sides on this particular situation- I'm not a talking head who makes open and shut cases on things that they know no specifics- but this begs an important question.
    What if, after the grueling practice, you were in sprints, and your teammate suddenly didn't look so good? Would you tell him to suck it up, or would you ask him if he's okay? What if he didn't respond? What if he looked like he might collapse? Would you tell a coach? It's not that easy in sports today. You can't stop in the middle of a sprint; it simply doesn't happen. And it's very rare that someone complains to a coach that they can't do conditioning- it's basically begging to be benched, or even to never get a shot to play. How can you expect players to react? They don't want to step out of line if it's a teammate who is lagging behind, or it may be their head on the guillotine next.
    And what of the coaches? You can't build a successful team without hard work. The players NEED to be conditioned to have any chance in the fourth quarter, third period, overtime, last lap, match point. So you push them. And it's not just physical conditioning. It's mental and emotional conditioning. "We're here not to just build football players, but to build men," I hear coaches say all the time. To build a man, you have to push him to his limit and then push some more. But how hard are you supposed to push? When does being a hardass coach turn into being potentially responsible for death? I'm sure Coach O'Leary never wanted to kill the kid, so I'm not calling him a murderer. He may have just been doing his job.
    But the bottom line is an innocent kid is dead. A son, a friend, a football player, a student. He could have had a family one day. Who is to blame? The system, maybe. The whole masculine culture of sports embraces pushing yourself to the limit. But the coaches were just trying to turn him into a better player, a better man. His teammates probably just assumed he was out of shape, or maybe they were afraid to disrupt practice to say anything.
    Ereck Plancher suffered this fate because he didn't want to let his coaches or his teammates down. He didn't deserve it. Does this call for changes to the entire system? I don't think it does. We don't know the entire story. But I do think this calls for remembrance of Ereck Plancher. Someone who sacrificed his life pushing himself, trying to make himself better. Maybe the right thing to do would be to sit out when he felt woozy, but he didn't. He did what we all tell ourselves, what all our coaches and parents tell us when we're tired of working so hard- don't give up. Keep working hard and it will all pay off.
    It didn't this time. Rest in Peace, Ereck Plancher.

One Last Shot

You're down one, with ten seconds to go, on the road, in game 7 of the Finals. Out of anyone in the NBA, who do you want with the ball in their hands?
    It seems like a simple enough question. But there's really no simple answer.
    Just off the top of my head, Kobe and LeBron come to mind. Anyone who drops 81 in a game and won three titles (yes, i know Shaq was there, the rings count all the same) is a superstar. And if you watched LeBron in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, there need be no explanation as to why he's up here. If you didn't, well, you missed out. Amidst triple teams and one of the most vaunted defenses in the league, he scored 25 STRAIGHT POINTS to win the game. He also had 48 overall. The two are without question the best players in the league. The best individual players, at least.
    With these two, it's a matter of having to score when everyone on the other team knows you're getting the ball. Which is exactly what we're looking for. After them, it's extremely difficult to judge what you want in this situation. Do you want the leader of the team, like the next four? Or do you simply want a shooter?
    Chris Paul is a leader, the best point guard in the league, and may very well win MVP, but is simply not on the level of those two- and i think David West would take the game winner for the Hornets.  Give CP3 (lame nickname by the way) a few years and he'll become the best player in the association, but not yet.
    Tim Duncan is the most accomplished player of our generation (along with Shaquille O'Neal) and quite possibly the most unselfish star in the history of the league, but he's more of a player who fits nicely in with a well built, defensive team. Not to take anything away from that, it wins championships- but it's more impressive to win when you're carrying the team on your back.
    Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard are both terrors on the glass. KG is a stellar defender, and Howard is the best big in the league with no question, but neither of them are getting the rock with seconds left. I think that honor goes to Paul Pierce or Ray Allen on the C's, and Hedo Turkoglu or Rashard Lewis on the Magic.
    So although being a leader gives you confidence with the game on the line, you need to be able to take jumpers or drive with a swarming, collapsing D. So who has the best J in the game? Peja? Kyle Korver? Ray Allen? Listen, nothing against these guys, but if you watched any of them in the playoffs before, escpecially Peja with the Kings, it's clear that they crack under pressure. So what we're looking for is someone who's a leader, unafraid to take the Game Winner, but also has a good enough offensive game to actually hit it. Which leaves me with four people in my mind: LeBron, Kobe, AI, and Baron Davis.
    I may be biased with the Answer, but I grew up watching him hit way too many cold blooded, game winning shots to leave him off of any list like this. And Baron was an absolute assassin in the first round against the top seeded Mavs last year. He couldn't be stopped. But the major problem with my list of four is there's no statistical evidence; it's all anecdotal. So I asked myself, are there stats for scoring in crunch time and game winning shots? Because that way, you can make this argument not based entirely on opinion. Stats don't lie, most of the time.

    So I found some stats. Take the number of points a player scores last five minutes of every game that's within 5, plus any overtime they've been to, and figure out their points per 48 minutes of "clutch time". The top two are, not surprisingly, and backing up popular opinion, are LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, with 57 and 52 points per 48 minutes of clutch time, respectively. Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginobili and Michael Redd round out the top five. Some interesting things on this list: Baron Davis and Allen Iverson both rank behind such names as my boy Andre Iguodala, Hedo Turkoglu, Ben Gordon, and Jamal Tinsley. Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan are actually near the bottom.

    So what does this all mean? Well, some people pick their MVP by who meant the most to their team. And I think, if you measure by that criteria, KG would win. His presence completely bolstered that defense to the extreme. Some people pick their MVP by the best player on the best team. Depending on whom you talk to, that would mean Kobe if the Lakers win the West or Chris Paul if the Hornets pull it out. Some would even contend that the Celtics are the best team, so KG gets another check mark. Some people are even suggesting that because Kobe has had such an illustrious career, he deserves it because he hasn't had an MVP yet.

    I disagree with all of that criteria. Just because a player means a lot to a very good team, like KG, to give it to him for that suggests that Ray Allen or Paul Pierce are useless. We all saw what happened with KG was a one man gang in Minnesota. And best player on best team is just stupid- it's not a superior player's fault if the team he's on isn't good enough to support him. The best player best team method is a cop out. It's the safe pick. Nobody is going to call you out for picking the best player on the best team. But they should. And the lifetime achievement award criterion.. well.. that just cheapens the award. It makes it more of a pity party, and I doubt Kobe would enjoy the award if he knew that the only reason he got it was because everyone felt sorry for him.

    That's why LeBron James is the MVP. He carries a terrible team (KG couldn't do that in Minnesota for the past few years) on his back, he puts up good numbers, and they're making the playoffs ONLY because of him. But that's not why he's the MVP. If you had to bet your life on one player to get the ball with seconds left on the clock, when the game's on the line, who would it be?

The MVP.

Flyers Caps Part 2

On to the Flyers..

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
42-29-11
    The Flyers ran away with the title for most improved team in the NHL, swinging it 39 points in the other direction. After a tumultuous few years with GM Bobby Clarke, they promoted Paul Holmgren to the top front office spot and he immediately made a splash. Donald Briere was the Flyer's prize free agent, having scored 95 points for the Sabres the previous year. Although they cooled down a considerable amount over their red-hot start, they're still a fun team to watch purely for the reason most people watch hockey; they're a roughneck, in your face reincarnation of the 70's Broad Street Bullies. The Flyers will punch you in the mouth and not think twice about it.
    Although Briere had 72 points this year, he had an atrocious -22 plus minus. And their best player from the past few years, Simon Gagne, struggled with injuries. So the team looked to new sources for leadership. Mike Richards (75 points, +22) and RJ Umberger (50 points) really stepped up and showed Philadelphia that they can be counted on. Martin Biron, their Goalie, has a fine 2.59 GAA and will have the unenviable job of trying to stop Alex Ovechkin. To uprade the D, the Flyers added Jason Smith, former Oiler Captain. He's given the defense an identity. He and Derien Hatcher should brutalize the Caps front lines.
    Coach John Stevens has this squad playoff ready. This should be an interesting series.

PREDICTION:
This one should go down to the wire. It's one superstar and his gang against a solid team; whoever prevails will just have to play hard nosed defense the entire series. There's no clear advantage in power play, the Flyers and Caps rank second and seventh, respectively. The big difference is penalty kill, where Philly is top ten and D.C. is bottom five. This, coupled with the team mentality the Flyers bring, should be enough to overcome Washington's goalkeeping advantage and Ovechkin.

Flyers in 7

Flyers Caps

First and foremost, I've spent the last few days doing a major overhaul of the site and how it works. Most importantly, you can reach this website from 4and26sports.com within 24 hours or so, because I bought out the domain name. So go there from now on. Or else. On to hockey..

Eastern Conference Playoff Series Preview, Philadelphia vs. Washington

WASHINGTON CAPITALS:
43-31-8
    The NHL avoided a potential fiasco late in the season with the brawl for the Southeast Division. The Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals, separated by scant inches in the standings, fought it out to the last few days of the season. Although neither would make the wildcard based on record alone, the fact that division champions automatically get playoff berths made their plight relevant. The winner of their battle attained the 3rd seed, and the loser the 9th- which means it was do or die for both. And I'm sure the NHL was pleased with the outcome. 
    For the prospect of persuading ANYONE outside of hockey fans (the few of us left) to watch this series, the NHL desperately needed the Capitals to make the playoffs. Why? So the world gets the chance to see Alexander Ovechkin. Someone with that talent should not be relegated to the Versus network. The man is a scoring champ, record breaking, sure-to-be MVP, marketable, young, All-Star.  The only people unhappy to see him here are the Flyers. His numbers, some of which have not been seen since Gretzky: 112 points (1st in the league), 65 (!) goals (1st), 47 assists (t-29), +28 (7th). He is the best player on the ice in this series, or any series. Bar none. Yes, I'm talking to you Sid and/or Malkin.
    The Caps aren't a one man show, however. Cristobal Huet, a goalie acquired from the Habs at the trade deadline, has been excellent. He has a superb 2.32 GAA and .920 save percentage, good for sixth and tenth in the league. Nicklas Backstrom has been a solid center with 55 assists.
    They're also on fire right now. 37-17-7 since the all star break (best in the league) and 7 straight wins, the Caps have been obliterating the competition a la Quentin Jackson. To fully grasp how far they've come, they were 14th in the Conference at the break- now they've got the 3rd seed.

Flyers and prediction in the next post.