This is probably my last article
here at the old Centurion, and
among the festive cheers and celebration
for my departure, I
would like to leave you with
what each Philadelphia team
would need to win their sports
respective championships, along
with what it would take for the
Phillies to repeat as World Series
Champions.
Philadelphia Eagles: As of
press time, the Birds are 7-5-1,
and somehow are only a half
game out of the playoffs. They
play the moribund Cleveland
Browns next, whose franchise is
currently as pathetic as Charlie
Brown trying to kick a football.
McNabb and Company should
win against the Browns and their
depleted squad of outcasts and
miscreants, and are then forced
to end the season with two divisional
rivals, travelling to the
nation’s capital to face the
Washington Redskins, and then
ending the season with a somehow-
meaningful and epic
matchup against the Dallas
Cowboys, quite possibly the
most hated team to come into
Philadelphia since the Russians
were turned aside by the Cup –
winning Flyers in the mid 70’s.
The Eagles need to win out and
suddenly, this team could make
the NFL playoffs for the first
time since the Jeff Garcia-led
squad made it in 2006. The
offense needs to play as well and
as consistently as they did
against the Giants to have a shot,
and with Westbrook finally
healthy and basically carrying
this team on his 5-foot-8 back,
anything can happen. The
Eagles would then probably play
the 3rd best division winner on
the road. Keeping in mind that
the Giants have almost already
wrapped the first-round bye up,
you can count them out of that
first-round matchup. The NFC
South has two teams that have
won nine games or more, so
again, you can count them out of
it. That leaves the matchups of
Minnesota and Arizona.
Arizona might belong to the
most pathetically terrible division
in all of the history of the
NFL, and have feasted on their
divisional foes like a roasted and
stuffed Cornish game hen by
going 5-0 in their division. The
Eagles laid that squad to waste in
their first matchup, so if you are
an Eagles fan, you like that possibility.
The Vikings, with a
defense that is one of the premier
run-stoppers in the league,
should worry you more. So, if
the Eagles make the playoffs as
the last wild card team, look for a
matchup with either the
Cardinals or the Vikings, which
should turn into an easy Eagles
victory. Then, it would be off to
New York again to face the
Giants, which, of course, would
be no easy task, but a possible
Eagles victory if Dec. 7 showed
us anything. If we continue with
that NFC South scenario, that
would lead the Tampa Bay Bucs
or the Carolina Panthers headed
to the Conference Championship
game as well, and although I like
Jeff Garcia and his tenacious
demeanor, I don’t see the Bucs
winning against this tough, ball
hawking defense that makes its
home in Philadelphia. So given
that the Eagles will then probably
face the NFC South team if
(and that’s a big if) they make it
to the Conference game, they
have a good shot to win and go
to the Super Bowl. Who do I like
to come out of the AFC? I would
lean toward the New York Jets.
You have to love Brett Favre and
his squad, but again, you have to
like the Eagles’ chances in that
Super Bowl showdown.
All of this is an assumption,
and I do not think it is going to
happen, by any means, but it’s
rather what would likely happen
IF the Eagles get in the playoffs
and win the Super Bowl. So if
you are an Eagles fan and start to
see the playoffs align like the
way I just described, don’t put all
of your Eagles eggs in one championship
basket. The Eagles
have a tendency to collapse
under the pressure of big games.
Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers
are not looking like the team
many people had envisioned to
at least make a run at going far in
the 2009 NBA playoffs. What is
hurting this team is not Elton
Brand or any other player, but a
lack of a 3-point scorer who can
stretch the opposing defense and
give other players open looks.
The Sixers rely on out-jumping
and out-dunking the other team
on fast breaks, and while this
might work against the
Oklahoma City Thunder it won’t
against the Celtics. What they
have to do is give more looks for
Brand to get easy baskets, and
take the shots that Andre
Iguodala is airballing and give
them to a more competent and
efficient shooter, like possibly
Thaddeus Young or Lou
Williams. Iguodala just cannot
shoot and it is killing the team’s
half-court efficiency. What also
hurts is wasted shots by Willie
Green. He cannot shoot as well
as he needs to be an accomplished
shooting guard.
Simply put, the Sixers are hurt
from having a lack of good
shooters and not enough shooting
defense, as you saw by
squads draining three after three
in the faces of Sixer defenders.
Right now, this title isn’t looking
good or possible, although it
should get a lot better than what
we have seen.
Philadelphia Flyers: The
Flyers started slowly but lately
have picked up a steamboat load
of steam in the last month. The
emergence of center Jeff Carter
has helped tremendously, if his
19 goals are any indication.
Simon Gagne, returning this year
after sitting most of last season
with a severe head injury, has led
the team in assists, points, and
plus minus. Mike Richards has
shown leadership and grit to a
team that sorely needed it, as he
has garnered a reputation as
never taking a shift off. He and
Gagne have also turned shorthanded
opportunities into a benefit,
each scoring 4 shorthanded
goals already this season.
What has to improve on the
offense is the play of skilled
wingers Scottie Upshall and
Joffrey Lupul. They have a history
of not showing up from time
to time, and the team expects
more out of both if they are
going to go anywhere in the
Stanley Cup playoffs.
What has also hurt is the puck
handling of Marty Biron. Earlier
in the year, playing against the
cellar-dwelling Tampa Bay
Lightning, the Flyers’ goalie had
a 3-2 lead with 5 minutes
remaining in the third period.
Apparently, Biron prefers the
game tied, because after a slow
dribbling puck that a blind man
could handle was haphazardly
coughed up in front of his net,
the newly acquired Lightning
player Steve Downie was able to
tie it up easily with his first goal
of the season. The Flyers would
still go on to win this game in
overtime, but nonetheless, it is
plays like these that must be
stopped if they are to hoist a Cup
in June.
Philadelphia Phillies: The
Phillies are still trying to sign
Jamie Moyer and Pat Burrell to
keep intact the squad that was
the best in the baseball world in
2008.
They have a great starting rotation
and a top 5 starting pitcher
in Cole Hamels, but keeping
Jamie Moyer will be important to
solidify the back end of the rotation.
If Moyer and Burrell don’t
sign, the Phillies would need
some help elsewhere or pay the
consequences of not making the
playoffs. They have contacted
Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett, but
with cash-burning franchises like
the Yankees and Red Sox out
there, there is almost no possible
way of the Phillies landing either
one of them. There have been
talks about signing Raul Ibanez
as a Burrell replacement as well,
but even though the left-hander
hits left- handed pitching well,
the team would still be smart to
look into more right-handed hitters
to fill the power hitter’s
spiked shoes.
What should negatively effect
the Phils is whether or not the
New York Mets acquire some
competent relief pitching, which
it looks like they will, as talks are
being finalized that would bring
Francisco Rodriguez to the Mets’
much maligned bullpen.
What Happens In Reality: The
Eagles make the playoffs, but
don’t get past the Giants in the
divisional round of the playoffs.
The Sixers get in the playoffs but
lose to the Celtics in the
Conference finals.
The Flyers make the playoffs
and march to the Stanley Cup
Finals, only to be decimated by
an absolutely stacked Detroit
Red Wings team in four games.
The Phillies, if they find adequate
replacements for both
Moyer and Burrell, repeat and
give Philadelphia another reason
to celebrate. That would put yet
another Cole in a New York
Mets’ fan stocking.