It’s been a rough week. I chose not to write during the NLDS, and now, I really regret my decision. I thought I would jinx the Phillies on their path to victory, and although I’m a terribly superstitious person, I probably did the exact opposite. Instead, I blame an infamous squirrel. A damn squirrel??

Games 1 through 4 were exciting, nail-biting, thrilling displays of baseball. We lost Game 5, however, in a dull, boring, anxious, disappointing, uncomfortable defeat. Our bats were silent. Our players looked like they were attending a funeral.

It might have been the most anti-climatic ending in Phillies post-season history. Game 5 was excruciating to sit through. Our pitching staff lived up to every expectation. Our bullpen was solid. Our hitting, again, was dismal. Ryan Howard effigies are being burned as we speak.

The way we ended Game 5 was fitting of a greek tragedy; a long power struggle ending with our star player grounding out and injuring himself in the process. The photograph of Ryan Howard laying on the ground grasping his ankle as St. Louis celebrates will forever be burned into my brain. It was depressing to say the least.

Say what you want about Ryan Howard’s 2-19 NLDS, but as I said before, I shall sayeth again…. he led our team in almost every offensive category, by a lot, and you don’t get 102 wins without those numbers. He’s a great player, offensively and defensively.

Little side story about Game 5 : I was anxiously watching the game at my friend’s house, and during the 7th inning, he gets a knock on his door. It’s a young fellow who was man enough to face the music and admit that he had backed into my car with his Ford F-150. I had just finished exchanging insurance information when I returned to watching the game, Ryan Howard grounds out and goes down, game over. Fun day!

So who do I turn to when baseball has let me down? Football. Good ol’ Amurrrican football.

Oh wait, the Eagles are garbage right now. Maybe putting the O-line coordinator in charge of the defense wasn’t such a great idea after all?

We have one of the most talented cornerbacks looking like a fool in coverage. Asante and Nnamdi tackle like friggin’ girls. Clay Matthews might as well be the offensive coordinator for the opposing team, because the whole offense runs through him!

The Panthers are 1-4 and the Eagles are 1-4, and I gotta tell you, I feel a whooooole lot better about the Panthers right now. The only thing I see the Eagles have going for them is their division.

The Cowboys are 2-2, the Giants are 3-2, and at the top, the Redskins are 3-1. Tim Hightower, a man who recently lost his running back job (and a man I predicted to have a break-out season, lol) just predicted the Redskins would make the playoffs. If it were today, that would be true, but do I think ‘Sexy Rexy’ and the ‘Skins are going to be at the top in Week 16? No. The division is still up for grabs in my eyes.

I just want to touch on the Tebow matter for a moment. Sometimes, I really don’t understand sports. Cam Newton was bashed constantly for his mechanics and ability prior to the NFL Draft. Sure, it’s miraculous he has put up the numbers he has, but this is a man who was completely unproven and was immediately given a starting job in his rookie season.

Tim Tebow, however, has had more than 3 years to hear the same criticism and he’s already played some games. Look at his 2010 stats :

9 games, some starting, most not. 50% completion rate. 654 yards, 5 TDs, 3 Interceptions. He also had 227 rushing yards and 6 rushing TDs. Nothing to really sneeze at. Not great, but I’ve seen praised quarterbacks put up much worse.

I just don’t understand how you can criticize a man who’s already had experience. They talk about him as if he hadn’t played yet. He’s already put up decent numbers, had a healthy amount of game time, and the fans scream for him. The team sucks, you used your first draft pick on him. Just play the kid. John Fox should have started him Game 1. He knew his team sucked.

If baseball is over, and Philly football is garbage, at least I have the PHILADELPHIA SEVENTEEE SI- what?

What’s this?? David Stern cancelled the first 2 weeks of the season because of the NBA-Labor lock-out??

I’m obviously not the most informed gentlemen on the subject, but from what I’ve read, the biggest dispute the players and owners are having is the percentage of revenue that is distributed. Basically, the players want around 53-55% of the total revenue distributed to them, the NBA and owners want that number to be around 50%. Now, that’s millions and millions of dollars, but I’m distraught that 10 meetings and countless lawyers can’t come to an agreement about that.

Truth be told, the players probably deserve much more than that, but when players are making an absurd amount of guaranteed money as some franchise’s are in the red, you’ve got a problem. It’s a bad business structure from the get-go.

All I’m saying is Roger Goodell should have taken a page out of David Stern’s book. Stern is clearly fighting for the owners, isn’t budging in any of the negotiations, and there’s almost no bad PR for him! The fans and employees of the NBA are losing games and no one is giving David Stern any crap for prolonging these negotiations? Do you remember the NFL Draft? Remember how many boos Goodell got? How is David Stern above all of this?

Times are tough, guys. We have a long, sad football season ahead of us, we have a 6-month long wound left by the Phillies that won’t even begin to heal until Spring, and who knows if the 76ers will even take the court this season. Stay strong, Philadelphia.

Well the Flyers won yesterday, advancing to the 2nd round of the playoffs. The Sixers… well… they have a lot more work cut out for them if they hope to reach the same accomplishment.

Last Sunday, the Sixers were able to something they haven’t done all year… beat the Miami Heat. Tonight, Philly fans are hoping they accomplish another goal not yet achieved… win in Miami.

If they do win tonight, the flood gates will open up. The lashing the Heat received from the media after their Game 4 loss probably irritated them, so if Philadelphia actually does manage to win, look for it to get even worse. On the flip side of that, Miami has had 72 hours to basically stir their emotions into something productive. They are probably going to come out very aggressive tonight and keep the 76ers on their toes the entire game.

The 76ers need nothing short of a miracle again. The younger players that received praise for Philly’s victory last Sunday are going to have to produce better stats. Not to say they weren’t deserving of said praise; I’m saying they need to play even better to handle a team that’s going to play with much more determination.

I’m hoping Turner and Iguodala get almost identical minutes. Evan Turner was the breakout star in Game 4, and in contrast, Iguodala became the villain (more-so than ever.) You’re looking at a veteran with 7 years experience who has never won a playoff series attempting to lead a team without averaging more than 10 points a game. People just aren’t buying it. His defense is great, his assists are amazing, but people are fed up with the somewhat lethargic offense he produces. He’s a vital factor to this team’s chances of staying afloat, but he shouldn’t be the main factor. It’s hard to believe that Iggy is only 27 years old.

I’m looking forward to Spencer Hawes, Elton Brand, and Tony Battie establishing some presence in the paint. In order for the Sixers to have any chance, they need to equal or out-rebound the Heat throughout the game. We need the big boys to step up, and maybe while they’re at it, start some shit talking as well.

Tip-off starts at 7pm ET at American Airlines Arena. This can be our greatest accomplishment of the season or a humbling experience for our youthful team to grow on. It’s going to be a tough game for sure. Here’s hoping the best 76ers show up. Bring the king…. mother fucker.

Man it feels good to be writing this post. The Philadelphia Phillies swept the San Diego Padres in 4 games. The Flyers somehow brought the Sabres to OT and won, forcing a game 7. Aaaaaand….

After 7 very long, very strenuous games with the Miami Heat this season, the Philadelphia 76ers have finally walked away with a victory. Every game was within reach and followed the exact same pattern, except this one.

Typically, the 76ers start the game off well and outscore the Heat. Then, through fouls and amazing shots, the Heat climb back in and make a final push in the 4th quarter. Every game it seemed like the “Big 3″ were demoralizing the efforts of our younger players and it was keeping the game out of reach. It would happen on cue with about 5 minutes left in the game. You could set your watch to it.

Here’s some of the differences I saw in this game :

1) Altercations. For 6 games you could see the Sixers deflate after Lebron James and Dwayne Wade put on a spectacle. For game 4 of this playoff series, you finally saw the 76ers show some teeth. Thaddeus Young and Evan Turner both got in the face of Jones in the 2nd quarter, and it had to be broken up. Spencer Hawes wrapped up Lebron James during a drive and he was livid. And Spencer Hawes got right back at him. You could finally see some anger when we used to just see despair. It showed resilience.

2) Fouls and points in the paint. We all know the insane amount of calls the Heat were getting nearly every time they drove in the paint. The Sixers weren’t getting those calls, but that’s mostly due to the fact that they weren’t even driving to the basket. Lou Williams, Evan Turner, and Jrue Holiday all drove in the paint consistently in the 4th and kept pushing to keep the intensity up. Yes, most of those got blocked, but it’s more the principle at that point. For the previous 3 games in this series when the lead would get out of hand, the Sixers fell back on making poor jumpers from outside, and a miss would result in an immediate rebound and score for the Heat. Driving helped keep the rebounds alive for us and established some presence where it hadn’t been before.

3) Miracles. Two back to back 3-pointers in the final 40 seconds of the game really made the difference. We finished the game 10-0 which is an absurd stat. The end-of-game stats were also much more favorable for the 76ers (which means they were actually even.) Team fouls were practically tied at 17 (MIA) and 18 (PHI.) Offensive rebounds, the stat that destroyed the Sixers, were dead even at 9 a piece. We actually out-rebounded them as a whole 18-16.

Even if we lost this game, I still would walk away with a great sense of accomplishment. We had 14 more wins than last year. We have a solid young core of great basketball players led by an amazing coach. The upcoming years in Philadelphia are going to be great.

It’s a great day to be in Philly. Happy Easter everybody.