I am running on a minimal amount of sleep from this weekend, so bear with me as I try to compile my thoughts on games and moves by our teams.
- My weekend began when I witnessed the huge upset by the Temple Owls over #8 Tennessee. It was such an awesome game to be at. The crowd was so into it for an early weekend game and it was definitely a huge boost that it was on ESPN. Dionte Christmas went absolutely nuts going 6-7 from three-point land in the second half. At the game, they handed out "Merry Christmas" signs and he must have taken noticed.
It was the first time that I've been able to attend a college basketball game where the home team pulled off a big enough upset to storm the court. It was definitely an amazing sight to see live.
- The Flyers? How about the fucking Flyers! Currently, the Flyers are one of the hottest teams in hockey and they continued their good play with a burying of the Pittsburgh Penguins this weekend. They are currently only 4 points behind the New York Rangers, but the Rangers have played four more games than the Flyers. The Flyers are 16-4-3 since starting the season without a win and they dramatically climbed the standings. Mostly lead by great Special Team play, the Flyers are finding ways to win even if they play most of the game poorly. Let's just hope it continues.
- Maurice Cheeks was fired. I think Cheeks became the scapegoat more or less and the Sixers really just needed to make a change. It is not Cheeks fault that the team's perimeter defense gets lazy and they cannot shoot consistently.
Anyway, the Sixers won their first game with new head coach Tony DiLeo. They beat the Washington Wizards 104-89. Hopefully DiLeo finds a way to develop cohesion between Elton Brand and the rest of the team. I think a lot of fans are beginning to second guess the choice of Brand of Josh Smith, but it is still too early to tell. They're only 10-14 and they have plenty of time to rebound in a weak conference. Even with that record, they only 1 1/2 games outside the final playoff seed.
- The acquistion of Chan Ho Park. I do not think this is a bad move at all if the Phillies use Park in the bullpen. If they really do plan to use him in the rotation, it really makes me question their rotation coming into the season. The only sure things are probably Hamels and Blanton, the two guys who have had the most consistent careers. Brett Myers is extremely good or extremely bad with little in between. Jamie Moyer's success really depends on the home plate umpire and the team's defense. Well, we've become somehow worse defensively in left field, so hopefully that does not hurt Moyer's numbers. I still would have really preferred for the team to add at least another top end of the rotation guy because it is unlikely that the Phillies will use their new revenue and money they've saved from expired contracts on extensions for their core.
- Speaking of Moyer, he'll retire a Phillie. The Phillies have brought Jamie Moyer back for two more years and the rumored amount was for about 2 years, $15 million. Truthfully, it is not a bad contract at all for backend of the rotation veteran; however, you really must be a homer if you do not have any question marks regarding Moyer's age. It was worth the risk and because of Moyer's great shape and lack of need for velocity, should be good enough for at least a 13-15 win season and an era of 4.70 or less. If somehow he is able to reproduce last season, than more power to him, but I would not expect it. There are far too many variable that go into Moyer's success to really be able to predict his seasonal success.
I am running on about 15 hours of sleep in the last four days, so I am going get a nap before the game tonight. Check back in tomorrow for a review of the Eagles game.
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