Monday Morning Mehta 12/28/04

Edition # 99
December 28, 2004

We've had a lot of requests on what to do for our Special 100th anniversary edition. Some said that Edition # 99 should be the Jerome Brown edition. Some said there should be a parade down Broad St. But as we approach Edition 100 we can't help but think about and thank the many writers that have helped make Monday Morning Mehta the Pulitzer Prize winning world renown article it has become. So in preparation of our 100th anniversary celebration that will take place midnight Friday, we've got Doug Morgan who covered college football last year back to talk about the upcoming Bowl Games and the BCS.

By the way, for all you hoops fans, Derreck Sura is on vacation and will return January 10th.

NFL/Eagles

Eagles lose their 2nd game of the year in an absolute yawner. I really don't put too much stock into this game so I won't spend too much time dissecting it.

Game Positives:

a. The fact that there was a Sixers game on also. If it wasn't for being able to flip over to the Sixers, this would have been painful.

b. Resting Brian Westbrook. Reid made the absolute right call in resting Westbrook. John Madden on the broadcast said multiple times how he didn't like the idea of resting starters with 2 games left. I generally don't mind Madden but the comments were absolutely asinine. This is a veteran Eagles team which doesn't need a few more reps. They'll be rusty because of a week off anyway.

c. No Freddie celebration. Freddie Mitchell said before the game the "People's Champ Belt" and the "It's About Time" have been shelved until at least the Championship game. Thank God.

d. Dorsey Levens. I do like the way Dorsey Levens is running and think he can play a key role in the offense in the playoffs. If Levens can excel in short yardage situations as he has most of the year, the Eagles will be in decent shape to make the Super Bowl.

Game Negatives:

a. Koy Detmer & Jeff Blake. Koy Detmer was absolutely asleep for this game. Neither of Billy McMullen or Greg Lewis had a good game, but with the 2 QB's playing as poorly as they did it was hard to tell if they're any good or not. McMullen did look a little lost.

b. Dexter Wynn. The Rams attempted a fake FG on 4th and short from about the Eagles 45. Instead of just batting the ball down and getting much better field position, Wynn decided to try and intercept the ball and nearly decapitates Lito Sheppard.

I refuse to put much stock into the fact that the Eagles starting run defense was shredded on the first drive of the game. When your coach announces that Westbrook & Jevon Kearse aren't playing, and your star QB is playing one drive, the intensity in the game just isn't there.

This is the first MMM since the Terrell Owens announcement. Owens is done for the NFC playoffs and might be able to play in the Super Bowl, but likely not be 100%. I think the Eagles are still by far the best team in the NFC. They should win the NFC but we've said that the past two years.

Around the League

This time of year is my favorite because I absolutely love going through every single little scenario about teams making the playoffs. This year it's been somewhat easy. Let's breakdown each conference.

NFC: The top 4 seeds are just about locked. Phila, Atlanta, GB and Seattle. Seattle could still jump into the # 3 seed with a win and a GB loss. This effects who the Eagles will play.

AFC: The top 4 seeds are locked. Pitts, NE, Indy and SD. What's interesting about each of the seeds is that the higher seed has beaten the next lower seed in all three games (ex: #1 Pitt beat #2 NE...#2 NE beat #3 Indy...#3 Indy beat #4 SD). This is where is gets interesting. The Jets and the Broncos are in the drivers seat. Win and they're in. No questions asked. Buffalo needs to win and one of those teams to lose in order to get in. Jax and Baltimore need all the above to lose. Balty needs Jax to lose also.

After hearing about his shredding in MMM, Jim Haslett and his Saints have gone on to win 3 in a row and now face an opportunity to make a playoff spot if they win in Carolina and get some help. This is the Game of the Week this weekend. The Rams win last night really muddied the NFC playoff race. St. Louis can actually still win the division but can also not make the playoffs despite winning next week.

2nd Game of the Week is the Jets at the Rams. What a contrast in styles this is going to be. If the Jets don't win this one you are going to hear some serious screaming from the New York media for Paul Hackett's (offensive coordinator) head.

Buffalo remains the hottest team in the NFL. It would be a shame if the Bills did not get into the playoffs but that is exactly what a Denver and NYJ victory would do. First year head coach Mike Mularkey deserves a lot of credit and if not for Marty Schotenheimer, would be Coach of the Year.

On a sad note, as everyone has heard by now Reggie White died over the weekend due to respiratory failure. Reggie White was an Eagle. He should've never donned another teams jersey. It's a shame it got to that point but Norman Braman was an idiot, what can you say. I hope the Eagles do the right thing and retire his number sometime next year.

NHL Week in Review By: Ed Wasser

- The NHL's board of governors will meet on January 14th to decide the fate of the season. Some are saying that the threat of canceling the season on that day will put pressure on the players to cave in and accept the salary cap. Others are saying the meeting is just to confirm the inevitable end of the season announcement. Neither will happen. It didn't dawn on me until last week, and then I read confirmation last Sunday, that if the owners announce that the season is cancelled they have to return all season ticket money. Those are checks that the owners will wait until the last possible second to write. Plus, as soon as the season is officially history, the players can start putting on exhibition games, etc. without consulting the owners.

As far as the salary cap is concerned the players association is more committed than ever that it won't happen. Two weeks ago the players presented the owners with a good faith CBA proposal meant to spur negotiations; along with the proposal the players extended a theoretical olive branch. The owners returned the players' proposal like a snowball to the face from point blank range. That really pissed off and united the players. Right now the NHL season is on death row, the phone in the lethal injection room is busted and the governor is George W. Bush. It ain't good.

- So Terrell Owens got hurt in the Dallas game and he may be out for the remainder of the year. I know we're all hoping and praying that Owens gets well in time for the Pro Bowl in Hawaii but it's not looking good. Quick observation about Philadelphia's reaction to this situation.....if you believe that the Eagles are still a good team and will make it to the Super Bowl despite the loss of Owens then I can respect your opinion. If you believe that the Eagles will have trouble in the playoffs because Owens is gone then I can respect that opinion too. If you believe, like I heard two people say on WIP and their calls were actually listened to, that the Eagles are BETTER OFF without Owens then the authorities should be alerted and you should have your doors broken down and be forcibly sterilized because anyone with an IQ so low that Sir Isaac Newton couldn't chart the number should not be allowed to produce offspring.

- Line of the week (that occurred 2 weeks ago) Frank DeFord on 'The Dennis Miller Show' regarding the steroid controversy in MLB. "Somewhere around 7 to 10% of major league baseball players failed the last steroid test.....and the players knew the test was coming. THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN AN IQ TEST!!!!"

- The recent death of Reggie White has brought back a flood of memories from the days when he was an Eagle. Not all of those memories are good. Here's my most vivid memory from those days. Back story...from 1989 until 1995 I lived in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and from 1986 until 1995 the Eagles were owned by Satan, who took human form in those years and went by the name Norman Braman. Braman made the lion share of his money in South Florida as a used car salesman and as we know most used car salesmen share a level in hell right above child molesters. As the years under Braman's ownership wore on the Eagles amassed a massive amount of talent, especially on defense. Most of the years between 1989 and 1994 it seemed like the Eagles were one player (ONE PLAYER!!!) away from winning the Super Bowl but alas....you'll sooner see William Hung perform 'The Phantom of the Opera' at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts then see Norman Braman not fleece the public for every possible nickel he can squeeze from them. Don't forget, it's impossible to lose money in the NFL so I'm not talking about Braman losing money, I'm talking about him making a little less money. So instead of getting that one player the Eagles waved goodbye to, in their primes, Keith Jackson, Eric Allen, Seth Joyner, Ron Heller, Andre Waters, Keith Byars, Clyde Simmons, and of course Reggie White. But this is what really, really, REALLY, got under my skin....when you live in South Florida it seems like every car has a Braman logo on it. Braman Honda, Braman Toyota, Braman Chrysler, Braman Lexus, Braman Saturn, Braman Dodge, Braman Ford, Braman BMW and everytime I would see a Braman car I would want to pull it over and scream "HOW COULD BUY A CAR FROM THAT EVIL BASTARD!!!! ARE YOU INSANE!!!!" Anyway, rest in peace Reggie!!

- And now please welcome the Baltimore Ravens nominee for the 2004 Walter Payton Award for NFL Man of the Year given to acknowlege off the field community service....MR. RAY LEWIS!! (Wait! Huh? Is that the.......? That can not be the....... Is this for real? The Ravens must have a back up punter with the name Ray Lewis that pushed a kid out of the way of a speeding train because there is NO WAY they can be talking about thee Ray Lewis.) Yes, they're talking about thee Ray Lewis. The same Ray Lewis that was once charged with double murder, a crime so nice they charged him twice. The same Ray Lewis that was convicted of obstruction of justice for said murders. The same Ray Lewis that turned states evidence during the murder trial, sorry...murder trialS, I don't want to sell Lewis short, and ratted on his friends. From Sports Pickle.com "maybe if Lewis wins this award (the Ravens) should take him to do his trademark dance on Walter Payton's grave".

- Is there a bigger blow out in pop culture history then "Do They Know It's Christmas?" vs. "We Are The World"? When was the last time you heard "We Are The World" on the radio?

- I went to a morning work out at Philadelphia Park last week and who do I see....Harry Vega, the jockey that screwed Fairway Miss in her last race. Vega sees me and starts running away like the dock worker that owed Gazzo money when he saw Rocky coming after him. I chased after him and managed to catch up to him; I slammed him up against the barn wall and put my hand over his mouth. "Why you running? Huh? You know Vega, I'm usually a reasonable person but unfortunately for you my boss is not. He needs some answers. Why did you box in Fairway Miss?" I take away my hand to let Vega talk. "AYE!! JESUS CHRISTO!! TU ERES EL DIABLO!!!" I slam him up against the wall again and put my hand back over his mouth. "Nah, I'm not the devil but I'll tell you this Harry...it took you long enough but you finally (bleeped) with the wroooooooooong mother (BLEEPER)!! I don't know whether I should do you like the cop in 'Reservoir Dogs' and cut off your ear or if I should do you like Eric Roberts in the 'Pope of Greenwich Village' and cut off a thumb. What do you think Harry?" I take my hand off his mouth. "LO SIENTO!! LO SIENTO!!!" "Sorry ain't going to cut it punk!!" I grabbed a metal lid off a trash can and slammed Vega's head with it. "You did us dirty you little bastard!!" Then I kicked him the gut. As he was wiggling on the ground I grabbed him by the leg and drug him to the manure pile and tossed him in it. Then I spit on him and said "good thing you caught on a day I was in a good mood!!!!" OK, that's not exactly the way it happened. I did see Vega but I didn't say anything. I did go to the workouts though!

- Here we go......Fairway Miss will next be running on New Year's Eve in the 7th race. The race goes off around 2:45 PM eastern time. She'll be running out of the 5th position in a 9 horse race. Everybody is invited. Here's the intrigue....Fairway will have a new jockey, a guy named Ryan Barber. Our last jockey, Frankie Pennington, will be riding a horse called My Favorite Miss in the race. Pennington has ridden My Favorite Miss a few times in the past so you can't blame him for opting to ride that horse. David Mello, a 2 time winner on Fairway, was asked to ride her but his agent hemmed and hawed about it. The reason? He was waiting to see if a better mount would become available. Specifically Mello's agent was waiting to see if a horse named Weber's Drive In, a horse that beat Fairway twice, would be in the race. Fairway's trainer is as ornery as a wolverine so this really pissed him off. Fairway's trainer just figured the hell with Mello and gave the mount to Ryan Barber. Mello's agent wound up screwing himself and Mello because Weber's Drive In isn't in the race so they have no mount at all. So Ryan Barber it is. I've met Barber a few times and he's really a nice guy. Plus he has 3 kids and his girlfriend, who is Fairway's exercise rider, told me she wants breast implants so I know he's money motivated. I'll have a full break down of the race in next week's MMM.

College Bowls - by Doug Morgan

The year that college football lost its fan base. Thanks to the BCS and some head coaches’ college football will never be the same. The BCS had to deal with 5 undefeated teams for the first time in decades and it completely dropped the ball. Auburn was left out of the national championship game because they started the season ranked 17. All they did was win the SEC and have 4 wins against top 15 teams and beat Tennessee twice in Tennessee. The best they can hope for is a split national title, which probably won’t happen this year because both Oklahoma and USC are ranked above them in both the AP and Coaches poll. Utah and Boise St. also ended undefeated, but neither played a ranked team during the regular season.

With so many undefeated teams this year, this is the best year for the skeptics of the BCS to call for a playoff in NCAA division 1 football. Of course, it will not happen because of all the money involved. Which leads me to the Texas football coach, Mack Brown, whining about his Texas team deserves to be in a BCS bowl game. The following week California beats a bowl team, Southern Miss, by less then people would have liked and lose some votes and fall one spot, which puts Texas into the Rose Bowl. What did this do for Texas and the Big 12? It gave Texas coach a $50,000 bonus and the Big 12 a payday of an extra $300,000 per team. Coaches and schools don’t care about a national championship, all they care about is money and it is going to cost them in the long run. Now to the top four bowl games that most people are not going to care enough about to watch.

Rose Bowl
Michigan (9-2) vs Texas (10-1)

Michigan: offense 30.3 rank 31 defense 21.9 rank 36
Texas: offense 38.5 rank 6 defense 16.2 rank 14

While Texas is on offense look for Cedric Benson and some more Cedric Benson. Cedric had the 6th most rushing yards this year in football. The only game Benson had under 140 yards was in the loss to Oklahoma. If Michigan can force Texas to get away from running Benson, look for this to be a long day for Texas.

While Michigan is on offense look for Freshman QB Chad Henne to be handing the ball off to Freshman Mike Hart or passing to Braylon Edwards. Henne and Hart have not been playing like freshman, but if Texas can rattle Henne early Michigan could have problems moving the ball. I expect Edwards to have a monster day against Texas. In my opinion Edwards was the best receiver in college football this year. He should be the second receiver taken after Mike Williams the USC receiver who did not play this year to a NCAA ruling.
The point spread as of 12/26/04 has Texas as a 5.5 point favorite. I have watched Texas play in their last few bowl games and they usually don’t show up until the second half if at all. I expect more of the same this year. I pick Michigan to win this game by the score of 38-27.

Fiesta Bowl
Utah (11-0) vs Pitt (8-3)

Utah: offense 46.3 rank 3 defense 20.6 rank 30
Pitt: offense 28.9 rank 45 defense 23.0 rank 42

While Utah is on offense look for the most important player, on any team this year, Alex Smith to prove to voters why he deserved the Heisman trophy. In my opinion Alex was the most important player on any team this year. Without Smith, Utah is not much better then a .500 team and would be lucky to make a bowl game, but instead they are heading to the Fiesta Bowl against the Big East champ Pitt. Utah is one of the most well balance teams in the nation this year. Smith has two receivers with over 60 receptions and 800 yards receiving. Then he has Marty Johnson or Quinton Ganther to hand the ball off too. Plus, Utah runs a little option and Smith can just run the ball himself. I just don’t see Pitt being able to stop this high-octane offense.

While Pitt is on offense look for Tyler Palko to pass the ball to Greg Lee and his secondary target Joe DelSardo. I don’t know how Pitt is in a BCS bowl game. Their three losses are against Connecticut, Nebraska, and Syracuse. None of them are tough football schools. Nebraska finished 5-6, Connecticut 7-4 and Syracuse 6-5. This is the weakest Big East Champ in a long time.
The point spread as of 12/26/04 has Utah as a 15.5 point favorite. Pitt just doesn’t have enough offense to keep up with Utah. I pick Utah to win this game by the score of 52-24.

Sugar Bowl
Auburn (12-0) vs Va Tech (10-2)

Auburn: offense 33.4 rank 18 defense 11.2 rank 1
Va Tech: offense 32.3 rank 22 defense 12.6 rank 3

While Auburn is on offense look for Jason Campbell to hand the ball off to Carnell Williams or Ronnie Brown. With Williams and Brown to run the ball Jason has not had to look to throw the ball that much, but he has an impressive QB rating of 172.7. Auburn is not an exciting offensive team to watch, but they make very few mistakes and score when they have too.
While Va Tech is on offense look for Bryan Randell to hand the ball off to Mike Imoh, Cedric Humes or run it himself. Va Tech offense is nice and safe and it doesn’t force Randell to make difficult passes. Va Tech has three receivers with over 20 catches, but nobody with over 500 yards receiving. Va Tech won games with their defense and will have to rely heavily on it for them to stay in this game with Auburn.

The point spread as of 12/26/04 has Auburn as a 6.5 point favorite. Auburn has too much to prove to the nation to let Va Tech win this game. I pick Auburn to win this game by the score of 34-28.

Orange Bowl
USC (12-0) vs Oklahoma (12-0)

USC: offense 36.8 rank 7 defense 12.5 rank 2
Oklahoma: offense 36.1 rank 9 defense 13.7 rank 6

While USC has the ball look for Matt Leinhart to get the ball to Reggie Bush. Bush is the best all around athlete in college football. He will be the next Marshall Faulk when he goes to the NFL. Bush has been "the spark that lights the fire"* for the USC offense. When Bush is dominating, USC is dominating. Leinhart will also hand the ball off to LenDale White, the leading rusher for USC. When not running the ball, Leinhart will be passing the ball to freshman Dwayne Jarrett or sophomore Steve Smith. The only weakness with the USC team is that they toy around with the opposing team for the first half and don’t step it up until the second half in some games. I have seen about half of the USC games and they are the most dominating college football team I have seen in a long time.

*Copyrighted quote from Dan Wasser aka "Spark"

While Oklahoma has the ball look for Jason White to hand the ball to Adrian Peterson. This year if Jason White comes hobbling out with a hurt ankle, Oklahoma fans don’t have to worry as much, because of Peterson. Peterson is a big part of the offense and White doesn’t have to do as much for Oklahoma to win this year. White’s numbers are still impressive 2900 yards, 33 TD’s and only 6 INT’s. Oklahoma’s top two receivers are Mark Clayton and Travis Wilson.
This is the match up everybody has been waiting for all year. The first time in history two Heisman trophy winners will play each other. These teams are just about mirror images of each other. Both use the running game to open up the passing game and both teams have defenses that don’t give up many yards or points. Having seen a few Oklahoma games, I would have to give the edge to USC. It might be my Pac-10 bias, but USC is just the better team. The point spread as of 12/26/04 has USC as a 2.5 favorite. I think USC is going to pull this game out in the second half and win 35-17.

Monday Morning Mehta 12/20/04

Edition # 98
December 20, 2004

Reminder: Next week's MMM will be brought to you on Tuesday because of the Eagles/Rams Monday Night tilt.

Also, if you have any comments, please scroll below and tell us what you think.

The Eagles move to 13-1 after an ugly, uninspired, 12-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles clinched home field throughout the NFC playoffs and are two wins from the Super Bowl. Not two wins on December 27th & January 2nd, but two wins on January 15/16th and 23rd.

Game Positives (Live from Lincoln Financial Field):

a. Darwin Walker, Corey Simon & Sam Rayburn. Julius Jones has been tearing up the league the past 3 weeks but he was held in check mainly because of the play of the middle of the D-Line. Very good to see as the playoffs approach.

b. Offensive Line. McNabb had plenty of time for the most part.

Game Negatives:

a. Todd Pinkston. Philadelphia fans need somebody to boo. Remember Juan Bell from an otherwise loved 1993 Phillies team? It's just in our nature to hate someone even when all is well. But this guy is over the top. That's 4 straight games with alligator body. Enough is enough, you cannot let him continue to kill you in big spots.

b. Terrell Owens injury. These last few games are about getting ready for January. The injury to Owens is 'just a sprain'. An MRI is scheduled for today and every Eagles fan is holding their breath. There are some leaks that Owens "heard a pop" and the doctors believe he has a slight tear, but those are unconfirmed reports. My prediction is we'll hear the coaches & trainers be very vague and not give a definitive date for Owens return.

c. Anything on offense. Even when Owens was in the game, since the Packers game this offense has been struggling. I am not worried at all because these truly are meaningless games at this point and I don't expect the Eagles to have the same intensity as they will in the playoffs.

Overall, a terrible game by Donovan McNabb. I know they had some dropped passes but McNabb's decisions until the final game winning drive were awful. The middle of the field was wide open just about every play. On one of his interceptions he could have ran for about 25 yards up the middle. He even had a terrible intentional grounding while

God I hope Terrell Owens is OK. I prayed to Ganisha last night that Owens would have a speedy recovery.

I think the Eagles should do the following for the last two games. The starters should play one half next week on Monday Night. Then on January 2nd they should all sit. There is no reason to keep playing these guys especially with all these injuries. These next two game are absolutely meaningless.

What I took out of this game that I liked the most is after Lito's interception inside 2 minutes left, the Eagles had the ball (Cowboys had 2 timeouts left) the Eagles ran the clock out with a first down. With Owens hurting we are going to need to run the ball! RUN THE BALL!

Around the NFL

Once again the AFC goes 4-0 against the NFC to raise their year to date record to 39-19. What is more disturbing is the actual games. For instance, the Packers who were thought of as the 2nd best NFC team, lost at home to an AFC borderline wild card team yesterday in the Jaguars.

Who will take the last remaining NFC playoff spot? Phila, Atlanta, Green Bay, Minnesota and Seattle (2 home games left, probably need 1 win) seem to have the edge for the first 5 spots. Right now, 6-8 is in the NFC playoffs (tied between Rams, Carolina, New Orleans). A surprise team has emerged in the NFC in the Saints. Right now St. Louis has the edge in conference record but not all conference games have been played yet so a lot can change.

The last AFC spot is also going to be a battle between 4 8-6 teams (Buffalo, Ravens, Broncos, Jaguars). The hottest team in the NFL may be the Buffalo Bills. They continue to blitzkrieg teams.

"I don't know if I've ever seen a smarter athlete in sports" Mike Patrick of ESPN last night regarding Peyton Manning. At this point in the game Manning had put up exactly 6 points in 2 and a half quarters. Seriously people, get off this guy's jock. I used to actually be able to stand the Sunday Night ESPN crew, but they've become unlistenable. Enough already with the stupid 48 TD record. If he doesn't make the Super Bowl it's all irrelevant.

VCR Alert! Next week's Sunday Night game is the Browns visiting the Dolphins.

Baseball - MMM

All kinds of action heating up in baseball. Not much with the Phillies though.The biggest moves of the week were the A's dumping two of their three stud pitchers. The Braves get Tim Hudson while the Cards get Mark Mulder. They pretty much gave up B-level prospects to get them (Dan Haren who went in the Mulder deal is probably an A-level prospect). Both pitchers should enjoy great success at pitchers parks. If the Phillies had an opportunity to get these guys and blew it because they didn't want to part with Gavin Floyd or Ryan Madson, that is a disgrace.

In what could be the dumbest & biggest head scratching Phillies move of the off season, Placido Polanco accepted the Phillies bid for arbitration. What that means is that Polanco will be guaranteed to earn at least 80% of the $3.95 million he made last season, and likely much more. The Phillies did this because just like last season with Kevin Millwood, they thought they'd be smarter than everyone else. They'd offer the player arbitration, and when another team signs them, the Phils get compensation. Both times it has appeared to backfire. If Ed Wade really did want Polanco back, I ask in the famous words of Mr. Costanza, "Why the hell didn't you trade Chase Utley?". Another year of Utley and Polanco would be a disaster in my mind. There's no need to pay $6 million for that position when Utley could just play everyday for less than a $1 million.

Right now the Phillies appear to be a middle of the pack, 84-86 win team again.

Carlos Beltran is the next big name free agent who will sign. He probably won't sign until after the January 8th deadline to decline arbitration bids. The Yankees and the Astros are the clear favorites at this point. I would not be surprised if a dark horse team like the White Sox, Tigers or Cubs emerged as a player in this derby before it's all over.


NBA - Derreck Sura

On Friday Vince Carter was traded to the New Jersey Nets for Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, Alonzo Mourning, and 2 first round draft picks. This trade is puzzling on a few levels, but I'd say the Nets come out slightly ahead. New Jersey loses their starting SF in Eric Williams, but not much else. Zo has been out recently while he recovers from a few aches and pains, and word has it that he's in Miami having some more "tests" done. Aaron Williams had fallen into coach Lawrence Frank's dog house, and had been pouting for a while now. I can't figure out why owner Bruce Ratner would give the go ahead to make the deal for VC (makes 12.6 million this year, signed through '07-08), but not match the contract offer for Kenyon Martin (11 mil this, through '10-11). I know that's a lot more years, but the Nets had a much better chance of winning with K-Mart then they do with Vince. If this trade is enough to convince Jason Kidd to stay, then New Jersey will have a shot to make the playoffs. However, VC is still out with a strained left achilles tendon, and the length of time until his return is unknown. Combine that with Kidd working his way back into shape after an injury, 2 new starters in Brian Scalabrine and Rodney Buford, and the Nets have to be careful not to fall too far behind. It also remains to be seen if Carter will return to his old form, or continue his slide into mediocrity.

As far as the Raptors go, I have to wonder if rookie GM Rob Babcock chose the best deal out there for VC. I understand that Toronto was not going to get a star in return for Vince anymore, but 2 first round draft picks (Philadelphia (top 8 protected) & Denver's this year) and some role players doesn't seem like enough in return to me. If it was addition by subtraction, fine, but Babcock should've dealt VC in the summer then, when his value was higher right after he asked to be traded. Coach Sam Mitchell wanted more of "his" type of guys on the roster, and he got them in Eric and Aaron Williams. Both players can be counted on to give solid minutes backing up as many 4 total positions. I don't expect Zo to ever don a Raptor's uniform. If he doesn't retire (c'mon already Zo), look for him to end his career in Miami as Shaquille O'Neal's backup. There is a lot of talk about Babcock maybe moving a combination of Jalen Rose, and Zo or Donyell Marshall to the Heat for Eddie Jones, Wesley Person, Dorell Wright, and Malik Allen. Stay tuned.

- Since this will be my last MMM for 2 weeks (back on 1/10), I thought I'd get a little more in depth on what I think the Sixers' rotation should be before they head out on their longest road trip (8 games) of the season. Philly went 2-1 this week (10-13 overall, 3rd in the Atlantic), but the one loss was to New York where the Sixers just found a way to lose. That makes Philly 0-2 against the Knicks so far this year, meaning the Sixers will have to win the final 2 games against New York (2/14 & @2/24) because the first division tie breaker is head to head record. Philly's schedule over the next 3 weeks looks like this: Utah, @Indiana, @Portland & @Seattle (back to back), @Denver, @Clippers & @Golden State (b2b), @Utah, @Minnesota. If coach Jim O'Brien sticks to my plan, the Sixers should learn something about their players, while remaining competitive (by Eastern Conference standards anyway).

STARTERS (+/- rating)

PG Allen Iverson (+1.2) If he keeps everyone involved throughout the game, he can take every single shot in the last 4 minutes. The team usually is very competitive when he has 8 or more assists . AI ranks 2nd in the NBA in points (27.2 ppg), 4th in steals (2.23 spg), 5th in minutes (41.1 mpg), 6th in assists (7.3 apg), but is also 3rd in turnovers (4.3 topg).

SG Willie Green (-6.3) This team needs to be about defense first, and Wil G gives the Sixers another above average athlete in their starting lineup. I'm really starting to lose my confidence in Willie, but he is a free agent (FA) after the season, so it's time to see if he's really going to be an NBA player or not. The only thing guaranteed to him should be to start each half, and if he isn't producing or playing smart, send to the pine for the rest of the game.

SF Andre Iguodala (-2.9) As Philly's most athletic player, the rook needs to be out there, . AI2 does hoist some bad shots, but like any rookie, you have to take the good with the bad. AI2 is 1st among rookies in steals (1.7 spg, 10th overall), 3rd in rebounds (5.3 rpg) and minutes (30.8 mpg), 4th in assists (2.4 apg), and 6th in points (8.5). I'd say he's a keeper.

PF Kenny Thomas (-11.8) He's starter because his contract is so long (signed through '09-10) that he constantly needs to be showcased to the rest of the league in hopes that another GM will take enough of a liking to him that his deal won't be a deterrent. KT is another player that should be on a very short leash because Obie has enough other options at his position, and KT can disappear out there at times.

C Samuel Dalembert (+3.3) After AI, Sammy D is the biggest difference maker the Sixers have. Sam does lack consistency, but Philly doesn't have anyone else with his shot blocking or rebounding capabilities. It's been rather obvious that Obie is not a fan of Sam D, and wants him traded, but I've heard it's GM Billy King that has been pushing Obie to play him more recently. Whether it be to showcase him or not, the Sixers would be wise not to do anything rash with Sammy. The best option may be to hold on to Sam D, let him play out his contract, become a restricted FA at the end of the year, tender him a qualifying offer (gives Philly the right to match any other team's offer), and wait and see what his market value is. This protects BK from himself, and allows the Sixers to turn down any deal that could potentially make their cap situation worse.

ROTATION PLAYERS

6TH MAN Kyle Korver (+16) Should be the first swing man off the bench. I like him to back up the 2 primarily, but he can play some 3 as well. KK is too much of liability on defense to be a regular starter, but his 3 point shooting is such a weapon (61 made 3 pointers, 2nd overall) that he needs to play some every night. Even though KK has proven he can do some other things, if his shot isn't falling, he shouldn't be out there. KK is a FA after the season, so a decision will have to be made on him too.

Marc Jackson (+3.3) Should be the first big man off the bench. I think he can play PF with Sam D at C when Obie wants to go "big". In fact, I'd like to see the Sixers play those two together a little more often against some of the taller teams in the league. At the very least, M Jax has earned his minutes, and proven his value to the organization.

Corliss Williamson (+5.6) Should be the 2nd big man off the bench, and play extended minutes when KT can't buy a bucket. Corliss actually has some post moves down low, as opposed to KT who gets most of his points off broken plays, put backs, and open J's (that someone else created for him). While CW is a little past his prime, and shouldn't be counted on to play big minutes every night, he is a nice insurance policy for when KT goes in the tank.

John Salmons (-8.2) For the 9 mpg that AI is on the bench, JS should be the Sixers' backup PG. He can also backup the 2 and 3 when KK and Wil G don't have it going. I'm still not sure, but I think that Salmons' best position is SF. Either way, he is well suited to play short minutes as a kind of jack-of-all-trades at 3 different positions.

DEEP BENCH

Aaron McKie (+4.4) He doesn't seem to have much gas left in the tank, and should only be used in spot duty if Wil G, KK, and JS are all having troubles.

Brian Skinner (-8.0) BK probably catches flack for this signing, but I like B Skins as an injury fill in for any of KT, Sam D, M Jax, or Corliss. He shouldn't get regular minutes, but if one of those guys goes down, Skinner is a valuable guy to have around that brings toughness to the 4 or 5 position.

Kevin Ollie (-9.2) Garbage time minutes only.

INJURED LIST

Glenn Robinson (-) The offers will get better at the trading deadline (2/24) for his expiring 12 million dollar contract. BK making the right trade for Big Dog is the X-factor for Philly's season.

Josh Davis (+10.5) Can shoot it a little bit, but not likely to be around next year.

Kedrick Brown (-68.3) I Hope he's enjoying his last season in the NBA.

The Sixers' best 5-man unit per 82games.com is: AI, Wil G, AI2, Corliss, & Sam D at +22.
Their next best is: AI, KK, Salmons, Corliss, & M Jax at +21.

- I know the World Champs play a slow down defense first style of ball, but I think I've spotted a new trend developing around the NBA. Even though it flies in the face of the conventional "copycatting" that usually goes on around the league after something different is successful, I think being an up tempo team is becoming en vogue once again. I know that may be hard to believe, but of the top 10 scoring teams in the NBA, only #8 Miami (99.3 ppg) is not what I'd consider a "running" team. A "running" team being a club that thrives by playing the game fast. Phoenix is setting the league on fire and is tops in scoring at 109.5 ppg. Sacramento is next (101.6), and they've been doing it for years. Orlando (101.6), Washington (101.4), and Boston (101.2) are the evidence that I offer up for my theory. All three of these squads make it a point to get out on the break and fire away, and are pretty good at it too. Seattle (100.7) has been one of my favorite teams to watch the past 2 years because of their relentless 3 point shooting. #7 Minnesota (100.6) and #9 Dallas (98.6) are not newcomers to sharing the ball while pushing the pace, but the #10 Lakers (98.5) are. That's 10 teams that average within 1.5 points of 100. I don't know about you, but I'm excited! What I like the most is that the trend is spreading to the Eastern Conference finally. The trade New Jersey just made to get Vince Carter further backs up my theory. Nets' GM Rod Thorn saw what was going on around the NBA, and thought his team could become one the premier fast break teams in the league. Jason Kidd leading the break with VC and Richard Jefferson on the wings? To quote Dick Enberg, "Oh my!". The numbers may not back it up, but teams like Toronto, Cleveland, Denver, and even San Antonio at least make the effort to play up tempo every night. There are some bad squads (Milwaukee & Golden State), and even some of the dregs (Atlanta & New Orleans), that try and push it, but don't have the personnel to make it work. I think the Olympics this summer had something to with it. Some NBA coaches must've thought that if "inferior" European talent could give some of the best the NBA had to offer problems, that style of play could probably work state side as well. Lo and behold, I think it's actually happening. Now that's not to say plodding defensive teams will become a thing of the past (never happen with coaches like Larry Brown and Jeff Van Gundy still around), and Championship contenders will always need a legitimate post presence to be taken seriously, but after all the hits the NBA has taken for boring play, this can be considered a positive sign, and the first step in the right direction.

- If you hadn't already figured it out yet, my new favorite statistic is the +/- rating. A close second is rebounding percentage (REB%). REB% is defined as the percentage of rebounds you grab as a team. So if there were 10 missed shots, and your team grabbed 7 defensive boards, that would equal a 70% defensive REB%. Likewise, if your team grabbed 3 offensive rebounds on 10 misses, that would be a 30% offensive REB%. Thusly a teams total REB% would be the total number of boards divided by the total number of rebound opportunities. I think this is a much better gauge of a club's actual rebounding ability, then the raw numbers are. So I wanted to let everyone in on this wonderful stat, before I started using it regularly.

O REB%
1. Seattle- 32.5% (17th raw total per game)
2. Utah- 32.4% (11th)
3. Orlando- 31.7% (3rd)
4. Charlotte- 31.5% (2nd)
5. Portland-31.5% (7th)

D REB%
1. San Antonio- 73.7% (9th)
2. Detroit- 73.7% (12th)
3. Miami- 73.3% (1st)
4. Milwaukee- 73% (14th)
5. Denver- 72.8% (16th)

TOTAL REB%
1. San Antonio- 52.2% (13th)
2. Utah 52.2% (25th)
3. Detroit- 52.1% (12th)
4. Minnesota- 52% (3rd)
5. Seattle- 51.8% (30th)

*All statistical data does not include Sunday's games.

NHL Week in Review By: Ed Wasser

- The owners rejected the player's CBA proposal.

NHL
Born: 1917
Died: 2004

Here lies the National Hockey League, taken from us all too soon by a self inflicted wound brought on by ego and money. Most people die THEN have others fighting for their money. The NHL had people gnawing on it's carcass as it was still struggling for life. So goodbye dear NHL, we had some great times together. (Cue the song 'Memories')

- Great line from "The Curse of the Bambino" an HBO special filmed before the Red Sox won the last World Series. Matt Wilson: "(the Sox) are like watching The Wizard of Oz but instead Dorothy dies in the end; she gets ripped apart by the flying monkeys and then Toto eats her remains. Thee end, credits roll".

- I think it's becoming clearer by the minute to the players and owners in the NHL that most people's lives roll along quite nicely without a particular sport. This is not just an NHL thing...I believe if any other sport were on strike people would be equally uncaring. I'm not saying people wouldn't miss a sport, especially NFL football, but I doubt there would be a deafening cry for it's return. I believe sports is an interesting thing to argue about and read about but in all honesty for 97% of the people in this country sports is just a way to help kill the time in between when you get home from work and when you go to bed.

- About 10 years ago I was listening to ex-Miami Dolphins great Jimmy Cefalo doing his radio show on WQAM in Miami. He was talking about....I forget who, it's not important....but he made a very interesting point. Cefalo said the general public would be absolutely shocked at how much professional athletes know about how much money their colleagues make and how well they stack up with said colleagues financially, statistically, and athletically. The point he was trying to make was athletes obviously know when they're underpaid but the also know full well when they're overpaid. The overpaid athletes are the quiet ones. Because of the constant public attention paid toward sports salaries athletes tend to be keenly aware of their worth. That brings me to this....what do you think went through Pedro Martinez's head when the Mets offered him $53 million? (Thick Spanish accent) "Day must be free-king cray-zee". Pedro knows he's not worth it. But I don't blame Pedro at all for taking the dough. I don't even think the Sox fans blame him, it's just that Pedro must have been STUNNED when he asked for 4 years/$53 million and the Mets said "OK!!"

- I was watching TV late last night and I came across an Evangelical healer preaching to 35,000 people. A little girl came to the stage in a wheel chair and with one touch of the healer's hand she got up started dancing like Michael Flatley in 'Riverdance'. Then a blind dude went up to the stage and after the healer touched his eyes he could see like an eagle. The formally blind guy excitedly turned to the preacher and said "thank you miracle worker!! Are you Jesus?!?" The preacher said "no sir, I'm not Jesus. I'm Curt Schilling!"

- OK...the last thing was a SLIGHT exaggeration but you have to admit, Curt Schilling is out of control. Did you see him on Barbara Walters? 'I didn't think I could pitch in game 6 of the ALCS but I saw all these signs wishing me luck while I was driving to the stadium and....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....I CAN'T EVEN FINISH THAT PARAPHRASE!!!! Just shut up Curt!!! SHUT UP!!! SERENITY NOW!! SERENITY NOW!! Schilling's attempt at deifying himself is based on one thing, getting into the Hall of Fame. Schilling has a tight grasp on baseball history and it is very, VERY important to him. He named his son Gerhig for crying out loud!! Right now Schilling has 184 career wins, not exactly first ballot numbers. Say nothing of the fact that Schilling has committed the one unforgivable Hall of Fame sin....he's played for 5 different teams. There's a chance, good chance as a matter a fact, that Schilling would have wound up in the Hall of Fame no matter what but why leave anything to chance? Am I the only one that remembers that Schilling mentioned winning a championship and the subsequent chance at immortality it would include as one of the reasons that he accepted the trade to Boston in the first place? Now it's done but he seems to want to keep reminding everyone that the Red Sox won and he was a major part of it. Get over yourself Curt!! The Sox won, we watched it, we remember it, you pitched well, and you will probably, eventually, wind up in the Hall of Fame. Now SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!

- Actress Natalie Portman got in trouble last week because she mentioned that she read some author in college and because of it she said she now knows what it's like to be a black person. Personally, I believe every Ivy League educated, Israeli born millionairess knows exactly what it's like to live in Harlem...but that's just me. In that vein, because I'm a fan of the Phillies, I know exactly what it's like to go through a divorce. The 1980 World Series victory was like a great old traditional wedding...like when Melissa Etheridge married Tammy Lynn Michaels. I was a spry young 9 year old and all was right with the world. We all thought we were the luckiest fans on the face of the Earth. The 1983 World Series loss was like a second honeymoon/vacation to South Beach....fun, cool, but it's not all that great and ultimately disappointing. From 1984 on to 1988 were the worst years of your life but you have to stay together because you're not quite sure if the spark will ever come back. Players like Gross, Samuel, Parrish were supposed to provide that spark. They never did. The years in the late 80's and early 90's proved the whole love affair was over. I mean over. More over then if you got caught sleeping with your wife's sister in the bathroom during a funeral. LA Clippers fans felt bad for Phillies fans. Then 1993 came. 1993 was like seeing the wife you've been separated from at a bar, then getting drunk together, and having the greatest night together since 1980. You start thinking maybe, just maybe we can rebuild it....bigger, stronger, faster. Then Ed Wade arrived. Wade is like a divorce lawyer, Yankees fan, Amway salesman, dentist, and a parking meter cop all rolled into one person. No positive can come out of being even fringely associated with the guy. He's a mush for every aspect of life. Nothing can overcome his ineptitude. So the Phillies and I are now divorced. The Phillies will hence forth be my team with benefits. I won't deal with their everyday crap but when nothing else is going on I might give them call and a one night look but that's it. Goodbye Phillies you heartless wench!!!

- From the 'Pardon The Interruption' episode from Friday, December 17th....my birthday. "Happy 32nd Birthday to Warren Sapp. Actually his birthday is Sunday but today's birthdays STINK!" Sometimes I don't know why I bother. PS....isn't it amazing that 'Around the Horn' and 'Pardon the Interruption' air back to back with very similar premises yet one show is great and one show is unwatchable?

- So Fairway Miss ran in the 9th race at Philadelphia Park last Monday. Again, as always, she broke out of the gate close to last place. As the race went on I was expecting her patented late break toward the finish line; after the turn I saw Fairway break WAY to the outside and turn on the gas. It was a little too late. She finished 4th by about 4 inches. I was standing by the finish line while the race was going on and afterward, when I went inside to see the Fairway Miss powers that be, I noticed that the trainer was visibly upset. When we watched the replay of the race I saw why. Fairway was boxed in against the rail by a horse called It's True It's True ridden by a jockey named Harry Vega. As Fairway broke to the outside It's True It's True drifted to push her further outside. It was ridiculous. The trainer thinks it may have been personal. Here's the intrigue....jockey Harry Vega used to ride Fairway Miss when she started out. When my old man got Fairway Vega was not asked to ride her, his rival David Mello was. David Mello was not available for the last race because he rode a horse named Weber's Drive In (he finished 3rd) so we needed another jockey. I couldn't ride her because I had to work so we hired a 17 year old kid named Frankie Pennington. Again Harry Vega was snubbed. The trainer thinks that Vega may have realized It's True It's True was a loser early on so he made it his mission to screw us. The trainer was going to confront Vega about it, certain that Vega would use the old 'my horse didn't do what I wanted it to' excuse. I wanted to confront Vega too, not only for trying to screw us but because it's easy to seem like a bad ass when your confronting someone that's 5'1", 107 lbs. At any rate, I went to the morning workouts on Thursday and asked the trainer if he had said something to Vega. He said he hadn't seen him but he looked at the tape of the race again and he said that Pennington made a lot of mistakes too. One was he didn't make his moves early enough which, the more I learn about all this, making the correct moves at the correct point in the race seems to be the key to being a good jockey. So Fairway Miss will probably run again on New Year's Eve. I'll keep you up to date.

Monday Morning Mehta 12/13/04

Edition # 97
December 13, 2004

Eagles/NFL

As we've said here many times before, a win is a win in the NFL. The Eagles won an ugly, sloppy, defensive struggle 17-14 over the Redskins in a game which Washington pretty much handed the Eagles the game. The Eagles now stand 12-1, one NFC victory away from clinching home field throughout the playoffs.

Game Positives:

a. Hard hitting game. One thing that pisses me off (for no legit reason) is when other teams and announcers portray the Eagles as a 'soft' team. That is why I really enjoy it when the Eagles win a game like yesterday. Although the Redskins offense is awful, their defense is formidable. Hence seeing the Eagles tough out a W is a good thing. This team can play smash mouth with the best of them.

b. That hit by Josh Parry. Shawn Springs was knocked out cold. Great, clean hit by Parry (for the most part. Actually, I think his feet left the ground which is a no-no). Parry had a couple of other nice hits earlier in the game also.

c. Javon Kearse. Did Kearse get hurt on every single play? Either way, he seemed to come back and disrupt many plays.

d. Offensive Line. Donovan McNabb had all kinds of time.

e. Sean Taylor. As I said last week, I don't like to put other teams notes in +'s and -'s, but safety Sean Taylor is going to be amazing. Every single Eagle player knew where he was on the field at all times.

Negatives:

a. That "Alligator Body" play by Todd Pinkston. This man cannot be on this team next year. Please. Just the sight of him makes me sick. I don't want to hear about the 80 yard bomb he caught either. Any other WR on the planet with legs that weren't sticks would've regained his balanced and scored. 2 plays later the Eagles turned the ball over so Pinky's falling ended up costing the Eagles.

b. No flow on offense. There was very little flow on offense especially in the fourth quarter. The Eagles seemed out of sync all game. A couple of 3 & outs in the 4th quarter kept the Redskins in the game.

c. Injuries. What is going on with this team? Last week I said that having 4 interior D Lineman rotating had been a positive. If Simon and Hollis Thomas miss any significant time it is going to be a huge blow to the defense.

Overall, probably one of McNabb's worst games of the year. He threw some uncharacteristically bad passes and probably should've been picked 2 or 3 times. I really think McNabb purposely throws the ball into the ground when he sees Freddie Mitchell open. Also, why was I happy when Freddie caught his only pass of the game, and the refs said it wasn't a first down. Freddie jumped up like a jackarse after what he thought was a 4 yard catch and celebrated a first down. He was wrong, it was a 2 yard catch and no first down. Freddie is absolutely just like that Leon guy on the Bud commercials.

Brian Westbrook's health is my main concern in every game here on out. I say get him 5-8 touches for the next two games and rest him the final week.

The Redskins really lost that game last night because the didn't go downfield at all. Jim Johnson actually took it easy on Patrick Ramsey as he didn't blitz all the time. The Eagles dropped back into zone coverage many times and Ramsey should've had time to find open WR's downfield. Credit to Kearse and the line for making Ramsey get rid of the ball.

Eagles now face the hated Cowboys in what could be the last remotely meaningful game until January 15th.

Around the NFL

The team in the NFC that scares me the most as an Eagles fan is the Atlanta Falcons. Not just because of Michael Vick, but because of how they beat the Raiders yesterday. T.J. Duckett and Warrick Dunn are becoming a great one-two punch with speed and power. If the Eagles continue to have DL issues, this could be a bad match up.

The team that doesn't scare me at all is the Minnesota Vikings. I got on Daunte Culpepper's case last week and he lost again yesterday this time at home to the struggling Seahawks. Culpepper didn't have a stellar game but this one wasn't his all his fault. What in the world is Mike Tice thinking with just over two minutes left, having Randy Moss throw an end around option pass?? Moss was picked off essentially killing any hopes of a victory. The Vikings had one more chance very late but Culpepper was sacked at the Seahawks 25 yard line. The Vikings better be careful; At 7-6 and a 4-5 conference record they're no lock to make the playoffs.

Two young running backs that could be future greats: Willis McGahee & Julius Jones. Nobody watches the Bills but McGahee has been awesome so far this year, and word is he's not even 100% healthy. Bill Parcells looks determined to prove Julius Jones was the steal of the draft in the second round this year. I would throw local boy Kevin Jones into the mix but it may still be a bit early.

Speaking of the Cowboys, a terrible loss which almost buries any playoff hopes for them. Losing to the Saints is unacceptable. The Saints are talented but Jim Haslett is a moron and should have been fired years ago.

As far as Buffalo is concerned, their season is on the line next week at Cincy. Should be a shootout if Carson Palmer is healthy and is able to suit up (Palmer sprained his ankle Sunday).

My favorite in a long time quote from last week was when Ricky Manning Jr. was asked about Rams QB Chris Chandler who was starting for the injured Marc Bulger: "I probably just played with him on Tecmo Bowl or something, one of those video games," the Carolina cornerback said, "and if y'all don't know Tecmo Bowl, it was one of the first Nintendo games."

The hottest non 12-1 team in football may be the Carolina Panthers. At 6-7 they are in prime position to land a Wild Card berth in the NFC. Two tough tests for the Panthers in the next two weeks. Next week at home versus Atlanta and on the road versus Tampa. If they come out of that 1-1 they should be fine for a playoff spot (finish the year at home vs. the Saints)

The San Diego Chargers continue their impressive charge with a 31-24 win over the Bucs. Once again, when needed the defense stepped up.

In probably the most boring game of the weekend, the Steelers continue to roll as the beat the Jets 17-6. There is something wrong with Chad Pennington's shoulder. Chad never had the strongest arm, but there were multiple throws on Sunday where he just didn't have any zip on the ball. The Jets are definitely hiding something there.

The Colts had their lowest output of the season only scoring 23 points versus the Texans. I think the Colts rip apart an overrated Ravens pass defense next week on Sunday night.

What a barnburner tonight two 4-8 teams pit against each other. KC and Tennessee may have seemed like a great match up in June, but today it looks like bad ratings for ABC.

Baseball - MMM

Tons of action around baseball. Phillies make a marginal pickup by signing Jon Lieber to a 3 year contract. I like Lieber but the rotation still needs someone at the top of the rotation. The pitcher the Phillies should be going after is Tim Hudson. Hudson is only 28 & has the makings of an ace, or at least a consistent 18 game winner.

As of right now, Tim Hidson is being sought by up to 8 teams. He is only under contract for one more year, then can become a free agent. The closest pursuer at the moment is the LA Dodgers who are dangling their potential stud ace Edwin Jackson.

Other player moves of note:

Seattle is looking to sign every offensive player under the sun. Richie Sexson may be signed today and Adrian Beltre may be next. Beltre wants Scott Boras money though. Incidentally, I think Richie Sexson will be a far better value/signing than Troy Glaus.

The Braves continue to shuffle their roster as they acquire closer Danny Kolb from the Brewers. Why would they acquire a closer you ask if they already have John Smoltz? Well, Smoltz will be returning to the rotation with the losses of Russ Ortiz and Jaret Wright. Look for the Braves to also try to sign Kevin Millwood.

Not much movement on Carlos Beltran. Boras is waiting for some other players to sign so that the market can be set for Beltran. As with Carl Pavano, who is likely heading to the Yankees, I think Beltran will land with them as well, pushing their payroll to about $225-250 million...

The next hottest rumor is the Red Sox are possibly looking to move Manny Ramirez and his enormous contract.

The Florida Marlins are also looking to deal A.J. Burnett. While Burnett has been injury prone he may end up being a great pickup by a team

NBA - Derreck Sura

The Sixers (8-12) sit in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division after a 2-2 week. They recovered nicely on the weekend from 2 embarrassing losses early in the week to Minnesota (acceptable) and Atlanta (totally unacceptable). Coach Jim O'Brien finally broke down and put Samuel Dalembert in the starting lineup for the first time all year on Friday night, and Sammy D responded with a great game (13 points, 14 rebounds, & 6 blocks in 35 minutes). It has come to my attention that people in Philly have been getting on Obie for not using Sam D more. Well maybe, just maybe, Obie was trying to send a message to Sam D, much the same as he was when he benched Kenny Thomas earlier in the year. Remember, everybody learns at a different pace, and if that's what it took for Obie to get his message across to those two, then I'm all for it. This week brings the Sixers: Denver, New York, @Milwaukee. 2-1 would be great, but beating the Knicks on Friday night is a must.

-The Los Angeles Lakers sent SG Kareem Rush to the Charlotte Bobcats for 2nd round draft picks in 2005 and 2008. I think this trade works well for both teams. Rush had been sulking ever since GM Mitch Kupchak decided not to pick up the 4th year option on his rookie contract before the season. He said publicly that is was a good thing, but his play in L.A. didn't suggest he was happy to be there anymore. Kareem should be a starter in Charlotte after he learns their system, and he will get enough minutes and touches to either sink or swim. The Lakers were most likely going to let Rush walk after the season anyway, so Kupchak getting 2 picks for him was a quality move. Especially since the Bobcats' 2005 pick should come relatively early on in the 2nd round.

-The most embarrassing loss of the season happened Friday night in Detroit, where the World Champs lost to the hapless Atlanta Hawks 72-88. Rasheed Wallace did not play, but that is no excuse be down by as many as 29 points, on your home floor, to the Hawks. The Pistons shot 30.7% from the field for the game, while allowing Atlanta to shoot a robust 55.1%. Detroit also set a franchise record for fewest points scored in a home game. Nothing like the pride of a champion!

-Most teams around the NBA have played 20 games now (give or take), so it's time for the first annual 'Quarter Pole Review'. Things aren't set in stone after 20 games by any means, but the unpredictability of the early season will soon be a distant memory, for a few reasons. First, all of the significant players around the league are in game shape, unless they have been injured. Next, coaches have settled on what they want their player rotation's to be (there are some exceptions). Those two factors lead to teams finding their groove, as everyone, coaches and players alike, know their roles. That is why you can expect to see the cream rise to the top, and the crap fall to the bottom over the next 20 games. I'll try and keep these brief because my mid-season review/preview will be more in depth.

ATLANTIC

New York (10-10) - I do my best to avoid watching this team. There's no real reason, except maybe payback for all those years of boring playoff basketball. Anyway, the Knicks have performed on par with what I expected, but GM Isiah Thomas is getting that itchy trigger finger again, so stay tuned.

Boston (8-11) - I've caught a few of their games while tuning in to watch their opponent. The Celtics can be exciting at times, and awful at others. Coach Doc Rivers moving Ricky Davis from the starting lineup to the 6th man "instant offense" role has improved their overall team chemistry.

Philadelphia (8-12) - I always do my best to remain objective in MMM, but I may have been guilty of drinking the Dr. Jack Ramsay poured Kool-Aid when I evaluated the Sixers before the season. I still have faith in coach Jim O'Brien's ability to get this team achieve the absolute most it's capable off. It's just that those capabilities might not be as substantial as what I originally thought.

New Jersey (7-13) - Even though Jason Kidd has only been playing 21.5 mpg, his return from knee surgery has given his teammates a major confidence boost that has the Nets playing like a different team. New Jersey has a chance to make the playoffs if Kidd isn't traded, but I still see Kidd being moved once he proves he's healthy.

Toronto (7-16) - Things have been as ugly for new head coach Sam Mitchell, as they have been for new GM Rob Babcock, and I don't see them getting better any time soon. I really don't like to watch many Raptor games, mainly because their announcers are terrible, eh.

CENTRAL

Cleveland (12-8) - The Cavaliers are in first place more so because the teams below them are
struggling, rather then their own stellar play. If you've missed all the other times I've said it, LeBron James is the real deal, and the sole reason I watch Cleveland play most nights.

Indiana (10-10) - The Pacers have hit the skids a bit recently (lost 7 in a row), but I'm not worried. As long as they can stay within striking distance of .500 until Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson come back, they should be fine.

Detroit (10-10) - The Pistons have got to be one of the most disappointing teams at the 'Quarter Pole'. Granted, they've had some issues to deal with, but they do not look like the defending NBA champions on a lot of nights. Coach Larry Brown has broken down and given Darko Milicic some meaningful minutes lately, which is reason enough for me to tune in.

Milwaukee (6-12) - Coach Terry Porter still has his team playing hard and competing every night, but the Bucks don't have the depth to sustain the injuries they've had. I don't watch this team that much, but Milwaukee is the type of club that nobody wants to play because if you take the night off, they'll beat you.

Chicago (4-14) - More of the same. The Bulls just don't know how to win. Sure they have a few young players worth watching, but that doesn't mean I do. The only story worth following with this team is what GM John Paxson decides to do with Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler.

SOUTHEAST

Miami (15-7) - Coach Stan Van Gundy inserting Damon Jones into the starting lineup has given the Heat offense more fire power, but it has also removed the spark Damon provided off the bench. Miami's performance thus far has been pretty much what I expected, that's why I hardly, if ever, watch them.

Washington (12-6) - This is by far my favorite team to watch in the East. The Wizards are a very dangerous team on offense, but they haven't figured out how to win close games quite yet. When Etan Thomas returns from his abdominal injury, he'll provide Washington with another banger down low to go along with Brendan Haywood.

Orlando (13-7) - When I evaluated the Magic in the pre-season I didn't think they had enough rebounding to be competitive. What I didn't count on was 19 year old rookie Dwight Howard putting up double digit rebounds most nights. I'll admit, I haven't watched this team play near enough, but it's on my to do list.

Charlotte (4-14) - Believe it or not, the Bobcats are not that bad to watch for an expansion team. C Primoz Brezec and PF Emeka Okafor have developed a nice chemistry, and actually form a quality big man tandem. They still have no go to guy, but GM/coach Bernie Bickerstaff has Charlotte headed in the right direction.

Atlanta (4-16) - The Hawks annoy me too much to watch. They are just plain dreadful, an abomination to the NBA landscape. I don't know what I can say that's positive, except that there's only 62 more games until the off season begins.

SOUTHWEST

San Antonio (17-5) - Even though much lauded free agent signing Brent Barry has given them nothing so far, the Spurs are the best team in the league at the 'Quarter Pole'. Only a significant injury will keep this group from winning their division.
Dallas (14-8) - The Mavericks have improved their team defense, but finding a replacement for PG Steve Nash has proved difficult. Rookie Devin Harris beat out Jason Terry in training camp, but GM Donnie Nelson still felt compelled to deal for veteran Darrell Armstrong. Injuries have slowed the development of team chemistry, but Dallas has enough depth and scoring to always be competitive.

Houston (9-12) - Another nominee for the most disappointing team at the 'Quarter Pole'. I like to see Yao Ming's development as a player, which I why I watch the Rockets as much as I do, but coach Jeff Van Gundy has made me alter my viewing habits. They are just so damn boring that I can't stand to watch them play Eastern Conference ball in the West anymore.
Memphis (9-13) - The Grizzlies are 4-2 under new coach Mike Fratello, but it remains to be seen how the players that are receiving reduced minutes in his new rotation are going to handle their limited role's long term. Look for GM Jerry West to move Jason Williams and Bonzi Wells by the trading deadline

New Orleans (1-18) - Injuries have killed the Hornets, plain and simple, but it's not like they were going to make the playoffs in the West anyway. I say we end the suspense and move them to St. Louis or Kansas City already.

NORTHWEST

Seattle (17-4) - I think it's safe to say the Sonics are for real. Top of the Western Conference for real? I'm not ready to go that far, but they will be in hunt for a playoff spot all year. I watch this team a lot, and the main difference from last year is that the attitude that Danny Fortson plays with has rubbed off on the entire roster, so they no longer get pushed around by teams with superior size.

Minnesota (13-7) - I get the feeling that the Timbewolves have lost their appetite for the regular season. Kevin Garnett still comes to play every night, but I can't say the same for some of his 'mates. It really doesn't matter as far as I'm concerned because Minnesota is still the deepest team in the league, and will be ready come playoff time.

Denver (12-8) - After a slow start the Nuggets have really turned things around and seem to be hitting their stride. Their lack of consistent outside shooting is going to keep them from becoming an elite team, but their front court depth should be enough to get them in the playoffs.
Portland (10-9) - It's the same old same old for the Trail Blazers. They still play to the level of their competition (up or down) nightly. I'm hoping that owner Paul Allen fires GM John Nash and team President Steve Patterson sooner rather then later, then makes the move for Detroit's assistant GM John Hammond, because I'm so sick and tired of watching this bad mix of players.

Utah (9-12) - News that All-Star SF Andrei Kirilenko may miss an addition month while his right knee heals, is not what the Jazz wanted to hear, at all. I still believe this is one of the best teams in the West when healthy, but I worry about them falling too far behind in playoff race while AK-47 is out.

PACIFIC

Phoenix (17-3) - The Suns are the most entertaining team to watch in the entire NBA. They put at least one huge run on every team they play, usually in the 2nd half. I'm concerned with the amount of minutes their starters are averaging though, because with the pace Phoenix plays at, they can't afford to have Steve Nash or Amare Stoudemire break down.

Sacramento (14-6) - The Kings are still a very dangerous club that beats all the teams they should. However, because they do lack depth, their starters have to play so many minutes during the game, that they don't have enough energy down the stretch to close out the elite teams in the West anymore.

Lakers (12-8) - Kobe Bryant has been doing what everyone said he wouldn't, which is share the ball with lesser teammates. L.A. is still working on team chemistry, and when Vlade Divac gets in shape, they will have yet another adjustment to make. It's hard to tell if this is a playoff team or not, but one thing that is certain, these Lakers play hard every night, which is a very welcome sight to my eyes.

Clippers (11-8) - This is the most surprising team in the league for my money. I'm very interested to see how L.A. performs after Kerry Kittles and Chris Kaman are worked back in to the regular rotation. If Corey Maggette can develop into a legitimate crunch time go to guy, the Clips will continue to surprise.

Golden State (6-14) - Coach Mike Montgomery has had a pretty rough transition to the NBA so far. Whether it be managing game situations, or settling on a rotation, Monty has seemed a little clueless to the ways of the pro game at times. Then again, look at the Warriors' roster. Maybe he's actually doing a good job?

-Have I not been giving your team enough run? Then shoot me an email. I'll watch your club for a week, and report what I see in the following MMM.

NHL Week in Review By: Ed Wasser

- The NHL players association gave a CBA proposal to the owners. They're currently mulling it over. We'll see. Oh..by the way, if the NHL goes through with the 25 game, jackass season that some are proposing and the Flyers won the Stanley Cup I wouldn't even care. It would be such a stupid waste of time.

- The moment you've all been waiting for....the answer to the 'Caddyshack' controversy. For the record I received more e-mails about last week's little 'Caddyshack' blurb then about any other thing I've ever written in this space combined. I got 2 e-mails. One guy called me a baboon HE THINKS I'M HIS WIFE!! Sorry, I was channeling the ghost of Rodney Dangerfield (God rest his soul). Seriously, I received about 7 e-mails and I appreciated the feedback very much. Most contained the type of compliments guys give other guys. You know like..that article wasn't the WORST thing I've ever read..so that was pretty cool. Anyhow, all the e-mails centered around one of two things or both, the revision to the bet Al Czervick yelled to the Judge right before Danny Noonan putted and/or the fact that Ty Webb tells Noonan "if you miss it...we lose" right before he putts. Now it's true no matter what that if Noonan missed the putt Czervick and Webb would have lost the bet. If the new bet was for the one putt obviously they lose if Noonan misses; if the new bet was still for the entire match then Noonan/Webb/Czervick would have lost on a two putt. Got it? Good. So I got 'Caddyshack' from On Demand and fast forwarded to the end. That's right, I paid $4.99 for a movie to hear one sentence. No, no, no...please put your checkbooks away, I don't need you to send me any donations although I appreciate the offers. And before you ask the answer is yes...I stopped fast forwarding to watch the Lacy Underall/Danny Noonan scene when they're in the Judge's bed. I didn't want to do it....but I felt I OWED it to them. Sorry, just channeling a little Ted Knight (God bless his soul too). Anyhow, this is the way the scene in question plays out EXACTLY. Al Czervick's exact quote to the Judge was "hey Judge, double or nothing HE MAKES IT, 80 thousand". To which the Judge replies "YOU'RE ON!! YOU'RE ON!!" So it's over, the bet went from the complete match to just that putt in one sentence. The controversy is dead. But the Judge still had a beef. A major beef if you ask me. As MMM subscriber Mark Voelcker pointed out the USGA rules clearly state that the time a golfer has to get to his ball after a stroke is "the time it takes to arrive at the ball walking at a normal pace". A player can be penalized two strokes for slow play. Anybody even fringely familiar with that movie knows that Danny Noonan did not approach his ball at all, let alone at a "normal walking pace" so the Judge had a legit gripe because Noonan's time should have been up while the explosions were going off. Moral of the story....never play a golf match for a lot of dough without a sanctioned PGA or USGA official on hand.

- Quick comment on the Denny Neagle soliciting a prostitute thing. Look, I'm not against a guy trying to get a little action even after receiving the "2001 Colorado Rockies Good Guy Award". And I'm not against a guy paying for a little action, not that I ever would, you know, being a famous author and all. Hell, I'm not even against a guy cheating on his wife....after all what do I care? What I'm against is a multi-million dollar athlete paying for a $40 street whore that's uglier then a mule's ass. Did you see that hooker that got arrested with Neagle? She looked like the host of 'Tales From The Crypt' after a 6 week Cuervo 1800 bender in Tijuana. And Neagle looked at her and thought $40 was acceptable? Good Grief!!! In a few weeks when Barry Bonds gets called on the carpet for his less than believable story about taking a steroid "cream" without any clue of what it was he should bring that hooker's mug shot to the hearing and point to it and say "this proves that pro athletes put their bodies in harm's way without knowing what the hell they're doing all the time!!"

- PS...any person commenting on the Denny Neagle arrest and saying "no girl in the world is worth losing the remainder of a $19 million contract" is obviously not familiar with MTV VJ Vanessa Mannillo. She'd be worth cutting off my left thumb.

- Urban Meyer rejected Notre Dame. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! (Slapping my knee with vigor) Once more, WITH FEELING!!!! Urban Meyer rejected Notre Dame! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! (Clapping my hands like a mechanical monkey slamming cymbals) Oh boy...(wiping away tears)...that's good stuff!! Here's what it is....Notre Dame is like Raquel Welch. 30 years ago she was really something, quite fetching as a matter of fact and the hottest thing in show business. But father time is a terribly cruel master. Unfortunately Notre Dame, like Raquel, was the last to know that the sheen had worn off that apple a long time ago. Urban Meyer is like Brad Pitt. He can have anybody he wants....ANYBODY he wants. There's no reason for him to settle for some old, plastic surgery hag. In fact, Raquel would have to have a lot of guts to even pursue Pitt. 20 years ago maybe but now? Is she kidding?!?! Sure, you and I would be into Notre Welch but that's because we can't get a job at the University of Jennifer Aniston so we have to take what we can get, even though Welch is 64 years old. OK...this analogy is out of control. It's over.

- Terrell Owens made a bet with Eagles coach Andy Reid that if he scored 15 touchdowns this season he would wear a skin tight cat suit to practice. Owens has 14 touchdowns so one more and Reid has to wear the cat suit. The reason I know this is because the national media has mentioned it 17,276 times since last Friday and the local Philadelphia media has mentioned it 121,770 times since yesterday. WE GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- If you took everything that I know about today's NBA it wouldn't fit on the head of a pin. But being ignorant of something has never made me shy away from having a, bang my fist on the desk, opinion about it. What Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets did, scoring 13 points in like 54 seconds to beat the Spurs last Thursday night, was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen in sports. WOW!!!!

- (Associated Press) Latrell Sprewell of the Minnesota Timberwolves was suspended for last Tuesday's Mavericks game for yelling at a female fan during a game two Saturdays ago to "Suck my 'shama lama ding dong!!" Of course being a female fan of the NBA the woman took Sprewell up on his offer in the team bus later that night. The remark was fully audible on KTLA television but fortunately since it was during a Clippers game nobody in Los Angeles heard it. The problem was compounded by the fact that when NBA commissioner David Stern was informed of the incident he was overheard saying in a disbelieving tone 'you gotta be 'bleeping' kidding me!!'

- The University of Illinois hired Ron Zook as their new football coach and he immediately pissed off almost every citizen of the state when he referred to the school as the "University of Ill - a - Noise" at the press conference. You know....I knew I would rue the day that I sold my website FIRERONZOOK.com. Dammit!! Oh well, at least I'll have FIRECHARLIEMANUEL.com and FIREJIMOBRIEN.com up and running soon.

- Just to show you what a Mickey Mouse organization the Phillies are there's this. They trade for Kenny Lofton to patrol centerfield which is great....if this were 1996. Back in those days Lofton could make from first base to home quicker than Brian Urlacher on his first date with Paris Hilton. Now Lofton will probably platoon with...I can't believe I'm going to write this...Jason Michaels. Oh my God...I GOTTA GO!!!.................OK, I'm back...I just had to go vomit; I'll be OK. Then the Phillies sign Jon Lieber which I guess is a good signing, I mean he pitched well when it counted for the Yanks last year, but Lieber is like the Ashley Simpson to Carl Pavano's Jessica Simpson. Sure, you wouldn't kick Ashley out of bed but she's junior varsity, as is Lieber, at least in terms of marquis value. But this is why the Phillies are the longest running joke in this city's history. Back story for those on the West Coast....in Philadelphia every stadium, old and new, that houses the major sports teams are within, I'd say, a one square quarter mile radius of each other. You could see the Phillies, Sixers, and Eagles in one day and spend more time walking to get beer from the concession stands then you'd spend walking to each stadium... and that's not even a slight exaggeration. So Veterans Stadium was imploded back in March and the job of hiring a company to take away the debris and create a very much needed new parking lot fell on the Phillies. The job was supposed to be done before this year's Eagles season started. For those of you that don't follow sports all that closely I'll just let you know that Eagles' season has already started. And as for the much needed parking lot the Phillies were supposed to provide 13 weeks ago? Well, it's not even close to completion. It's not even close to being close. I'm hearing scuttlebutt that I can not 100% confirm that the Phillies have determined that paying the fine from city for dragging their feet is cheaper than actually cleaning up the crap. Besides, what do they care that there's a disgusting pile of fenced in dirt and concrete next to all the stadiums? Baseball season doesn't start until April and they couldn't care less about an eye sore in the city. This something the Philadelphia Soul, our arena football representative, wouldn't let happen. Ri "BLEEPING" diculous.

- My Dad's horse, Fairway Miss, is running in the 9th race today at Philadelphia Park. The race goes off around 3:45 PM Eastern Time. As of this writing on Sunday she's going off with 8 -1 odds. The thing that gets me is she will have a new jockey because her usual jockey, David Mello, will be riding another horse in the same race. This is after he told the trainer that he wanted to ride Fairway Miss because she was a better horse. In short...we got shafted. That's cool though. The new jockey is a 17 year old kid named Frankie Pennington who quit high school to be a jockey and is now driving around Philadelphia in a BMW 740i and thus far this year has won about $175,000. Good move kid!! A full break down of the race will be in next weeks MMM.

Monday Morning Mehta 12/6/04

Edition # 96
December 6, 2004

Eagles/NFL

Two words come to mind when thinking of the impact of this game on the NFC: Any Questions? After the drubbing put on by the Eagles, there seems to be nothing that can stop the Eagles on January 15th/16th and 23rd. Unfortunately that is still 6 weeks away.

Game Positives (I could list almost every player here this week):

1a. Jeremiah Trotter, Darwin Walker, Sam Rayburn, Corey Simon and Hollis Thomas. I think these 5 guys up the middle have played incredible the past 3 weeks. This is the first week they had a true test against a great offensive line and running game, and they stepped up from play one. The penetration from the middle bothered Favre all day.

1b. Donovan McNabb. The best game of his career. McNabb was as accurate as he's ever been the whole meat of the game (started off 14 of 14 with the 15th a catchable pass) . 5 TD's is his career best and his 5th 4+ TD game of the year. He's using multiple receivers and making a strong play for league MVP. Yes, the impact of Terrell Owens has been huge but McNabb's play has been sensational.

2. Brian Westbrook. Donovan may win the league MVP but Westbrook could be the team's MVP. The offense is just on another level when Westbrook is healthy and on the field. I can't help but think if Westbrook is on that field last year versus the Packers and Panthers, we would've waltzed into the Super Bowl. Forget Duce Staley, this guy has a real impact on our offense.

3. Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown. I've said this before and I'll say it again: What impresses me about these two is their tackling ability. Sheldon Brown may already be a better tackler than the sure tackling Troy Vincent was. To me, Brown is the better CB at this point. His tackle on the end around to Donald Driver in the first quarter on a 3rd down was important early in the game.

Game Negatives:

1. Freddie Mitchell is out of control. McNabb was in the midst of his greatest game as a pro as he was hitting multiple receivers, the Eagles are up 35-3, and Mitchell is complaining that it's about time he got the ball. News Flash!: Hey Fred-ex, you are not important to this teams success. Get it through your skull. You mean nothing stop acting as if you do.

2. Andy Reid not pulling the starters earlier. I realize the Eagles are going to have about 3 meaningless games coming soon and these guys will need to stay sharp, but get 'em outta there early. I thought Aikman and Collingsworth were going to go onto the field and smack Reid.

Game Notes:

Did you notice that the first play from scrimmage was a run by Ahman Green which was stuffed. Why is this relevant? Hollis Thomas totally blew the play up with penetration into the backfield. He actually bulled the O-lineman into Green. D'hani Jones basically falls on Green, gets credit for a tackle which he really had little to do with, then begins his guitar celebration. Enough!!

The game stats say the Eagles sacked the Packers 5 times (3 times they got Favre) but the pressure by the Eagles defense was very good and very consistent. Against what is generally considered, with the Colts, as the best offensive line in the NFL, this marks a great sign for the Eagles moving forward.

How many animals died to make that coat Terrell Owens was wearing at the post game press conference?

I thought some of the catches made by the Eagles in the first half were awesome. It was a complete 180 degree change from last year.

The Packers pass defense is absolutely atrocious. How bad is it when your best corner is Al Harris? Someone please inform Al Harris what the score of yesterday's game was. I swear he thought the Packers had won the game.

Around the NFL

One thing I've noticed about the Baltimore Ravens defense the past 3 years since their Super Bowl victory is that they are overrated and they are pretty fraudulent when it comes to winning big games. The defense in their Super Bowl year was awesome. The version that plays these days is more hype than substance. Yes they'll return the occasional pick for a TD, but when it comes to stopping the pass consistently they just can't do it.

Another thing I've noticed is Michael Vick gets killed by Tampa Bay. (Thanks Einstein). The Bucs make Vick look like a high schooler.

The San Diego Chargers remain one of the biggest surprises. I kept an eye on this game as the Eagles game was a blowout, and the Chargers defense is impressive as advertised. They came up with big play after big play when needed. A mid 4th Quarter pick in the endzone of Jake Plummer as the Broncos had drove inside the 10 was the big play of the game.

Oh, I forgot it's December. That means it's time for the annual Daunte Culpepper choke on road games to begin. I've said it before in this column, anybody who thinks Culpepper is a top 5 QB just doesn't watch football.

Gotta give a shout out for Mike Fafalios to local boy made good, Chester native Kevin Jones of the Detroit Lions who has really stepped up the past few weeks. Now if they could just find him a QB...

Who the heck woke Clinton Portis up? Joe Gibbs that's who. Gibbs threatened to bench Portis earlier in the week and that tactic worked like a charm.

I am on record as saying the Eli Manning move was the right move for the Giants. It may turn out to be as he's going through a natural learning process. But Giants fans have to wonder if they could've made the playoffs with Kurt Warner.

The AFC playoffs are starting to shape up nicely. 5 teams have more than 9 wins already and are "seemingly" in. A lot will happen in 4 weeks but right now the Patriots, Jets, Colts, Steelers, and Chargers all look safe for playoff spots. The last spot will be fought between the struggling Ravens and Broncos at 7 wins, the struggling Jaguars at 6 wins, and two red hot teams in the Bills and Bengals also at 6 wins. Suddenly the Week 15 tilt between the Bengals and Bills is huge.

There are some very interesting games next week: Tampa at San Diego; Rams at Carolina; Jets at Steelers; Seahawks at Vikings; and Bengals at Patriots.

A great NFL argument is ranking the top QB's in the NFL. I think I'm going to do a weekly top list for the rest of the season. I'm curious to see how my list changes after the playoffs, which I 100% admit, will change. Playoff wins mean a lot on my list. Please feel free to send me yours and I'll publish it.

Here's my top 10:
1. Tom Brady
2. Donovan McNabb ***
3. Michael Vick ***
4. Peyton Manning
5. Steve McNair
6. Chad Pennington
7. Daunte Culpepper
One good year, not enough to make the big list:
Ben Roethlisberger
Drew Brees
Matt Hasselbeck

Note: Brett Favre is in another list. He gets ranked with the all time top 15 best QB's.

*** Note 2: I know some of you in another forum will say I flip - flopped Vick & McNabb, well, I did. A five TD performance against a big rival will do that. Vick vs. McNabb is an argument I truly struggle with and I've admitted that before. I think Vick is awesome I will not back down from that. "I admit" I was swayed by this weekend's performance.

Phils/Baseball - MMM

Phillies make a major off season move that will shake the foundation of the NL by acquiring Kenny Lofton & $1.525 Million for Felix Rodriguez. OK, maybe it's not that big of a deal, but...

1. Did the Phils improve their CF position? Yes.
2. Did the Phils improve their lineup? Yes.
3. Did they improve their defense? No. Lofton has a terrible arm.
4. Did they hurt their bullpen? A big resounding YES.

If anyone is actually out there reading me, they should know by now I'm all about pitching. Why in the world the Phillies deplete their bullpen with this move is beyond me. They have an already aging bullpen (Cormier who likely will be re-signed will turn 38 in April, Tim Worrell turns 38 in July). If you watch any postseason baseball you know you need 3 setup men and a closer. I think this trade is a clear indication Ryan Madson will be their top setup man if Worrell falters.

Bottom line is this. The Phils would rather have Kenny Lofton at $2 million than F-Rod at $3.5 million. It's all about the money on this deal, don't let the Phils spin this one. After setting attendance records, the Phils are clearly in watch your spending mode again. This isn't a good sign for the Phils in 2005.

Here's a tell all quote from Kenny Lofton: "I'm just glad to have the opportunity to play. That's what I'm all about". A clear indication that he'd rather play than WIN! Well Kenny, looks like your wish will be granted.

December 7th is the arbitration deadline. You'll know a lot more about free agents after that day.

Steroid Issue - MMM

I've been on record as saying steroids don't mean as much as people think they do. I don't go as crazy as some people. During the home run craze of 1996-2001 guys like Jay Bell who are the poster child for scrawny geeky nerds around the country (I should know) hit 38 homers. If Jay Bell can hit 38 homers something must have been going on with juiced balls or whatever (Mike Schmidt only passed that mark 3 times).

But I'll say this, it is going to get ugly, real ugly. Any way you slice it, taking steroids is cheating. Cheating, period. I don't care if Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield knew or did not know (puh lease) what they were taking. Ignorance is no excuse with the law. I can't drive 103 mph on I-95 and when a cop pulls me over say, "Officer, I had no idea the speed limit was 55".

What punishment should they be given? I think it would be difficult to impose any sort of real punishment since steroids really wasn't illegal according to the baseball laws when they admitted taking them. I would say any player in Grand Jury documents that took steroids (Bonds, Sheffield, Giambi, etc) should have to take drug tests every 2 weeks of the MLB season. If nothing, it embarrasses the players. Sure they find ways around those tests, but I'm looking at this from the humiliation stand point. I'd love to see the players union fight that.

NBA - Derreck Sura

-The Sixers (6-10) fell to 3rd in the Atlantic Division by going 0-3 this week. Philly has lost 4 in a row overall, is 3-7 in their last 10, and 1-7 on the road for the season. The Sixers had 4 chances to steal one with :09 seconds left in Houston Saturday night, but they couldn't convert, and lost 76-77. If there is a big man tandem that misses more lay ups then Marc Jackson and Kenny Thomas, I'm not aware of it. GM Billy King has been burning up the phone lines recently in an effort to jump start his floundering team. Philly has been rumored to be after everyone from Shareef Abdur-Rahim (more on this at a later date) to Vince Carter. If I could give BK one piece of advice, it would be to stay away from Vince. I don't see how Allen Iverson and Vince's games, or personalities, would mesh on the court. I think acquiring Carter would be counter productive to developing the chemistry the Sixers need to succeed. I get the feeling that Samuel Dalembert, who has been stuck in coach Jim O'Brien's dog house, is going to be used as bait for another team to absorb one of Philly's bad contracts. One fresh rumor that I think would benefit the Sixers is KT (5 years, 32 million left after this year) and Sam D (restricted free agent) to the Bulls for Tyson Chandler (restricted FA) and Othella Harrington (unrestricted FA). Chicago is in pretty good salary cap shape, and could handle KT's relatively low annual salary. The trade would be a change of scenery for Tyson and Sam D, and would allow Philly to get out from under KT's ridiculous deal. This week brings the Sixers @Atlanta, Minnesota, @Chicago, Milwaukee. 3-1 should be expected, and would give them some much needed momentum at the quarter pole. Anything less then 2 wins, and the shake up may be on.

-The Los Angeles Clippers are tied for the 3rd in the Pacific Division at 10-7, and I'm starting to think they are for real. L.A. is the top shooting team in the league at 48.3%. They are also 1st in assists per game (24.5), 2nd in assist differential (+5.1), 3rd in opponents rebounds per game (38.6), 5th in point differential (+4.6), 6th in turnover differential (+1.6), and 7th in both free throw shooting (77.6%) & points allowed (92.5). Coach Mike Dunleavy has been without his projected starting C (Chris Kaman) and SG (Kerry Kittles), but he deserves much of the credit for getting his team to believe. Chris Wilcox has shown that he can play in the NBA while filing in for Kaman by averaging career highs in minutes (29.1), points (12.7), and rebounds (6.3), and Elton Brand and Corey Maggette have been solid. However, Bobby Simmons and Marko Jaric are the two players that have made the biggest difference for the Clips. Simmons, Kittles' replacement, is averaging 37.4 mpg, 16.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.4 apg, and 1.5 spg while shooting 55.3% from the field (5th overall). All of which are career highs. I don't know if the selection of high schooler Shaun Livingston (4th overall) had anything to do with it, but Jaric has finally started to live up to his potential. Marko's improved play, more then anything, has had the largest impact on L.A.'s success. He is averaging career highs in minutes (35.1), points (12.1), assists (6.5, 13th overall), steals (2, 5th), shooting (42.2%), 3 point shooting (43.9%), and free throw shooting (79.1%). I've been so impressed with how Jaric has been playing lately, I decided to copy his hair style. I still don't think the Clips are the best team in L.A., but the West is looking like it's one team deeper then I originally thought.

-Michael Redd averages 39.9 minutes, 21.8 points, and 2.5 turnovers per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. In the Bucks' only 2 games against the Lakers this season Redd went for 7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 5.5 topg in 34.5 mpg, while shooting 19% from the field (4-21). You see, Redd was being guarded by Kobe Bryant, who averaged 25 ppg, 8 apg, 6.5 rpg, and 2 spg, in 43.5 mpg on 40.5% shooting. I hope NBA GM's keep those statistics in mind when offering Redd a contract this summer. Sorry to say Laker haters, but Kobe has been playing some serious "team" ball this year, to go along with his always stellar defense. Bryant is currently riding a streak of 3 straight double digit assist games, and is 9th in the league (6.8 apg) overall. He also leads the league in triple-doubles (2), free throws made (9.3) & attempted (11.5) per game, minutes (42.8 mpg), and is 2nd in scoring (26.8 ppg). Since the Shaquille O'Neal led Miami Heat are 11-7 (1-5 vs. the West), and the Lakers are 10-7, and playing in the tougher conference, I'd have to say Kobe is much closer to the MVP then Shaq is right now.

-After starting out 4-1, the Toronto Raptors (7-12) have hit the skids and gone 3-11. GM Rob Babcock has been trying to package Jalen Rose with Vince Carter to as many as 7 teams around the league because both players have become a distraction in the locker room. The sticking point being that no one wants the 3 years 47 million left on Jalen's contract. Coach Sam Mitchell probably thought things couldn't get any worse after Wednesday's 129-108 loss in Orlando, where Toronto was out rebounded 61-32, and let the Magic shoot 57.3% from the field for the game. He would've been wrong. During the 3rd quarter Friday in Boston, Mitchell benched both starting C Loren Woods and starting PG Rafer Alston for the rest of the game (Raptors lost 89-91) after they both were hit with technical fouls. "We could have used them both, but I wasn't going to let either one of them back in the game," Mitchell said. "These guys cannot conduct themselves like that in front of 19,000 people and get rewarded by playing. You cannot do your coaches and teammates like that." Woods' reply, "I let the emotions get the best of me. I lost it, and I lost the game for us." Alston went off the deep end saying, "It's tough right now for me. I'm going to talk to Sam and [Babcock]. I think it's time. I'm tired of getting into it with my teammates and my coaches. I don't know if I'm a good fit for this team and I don't know if I'm a good fit for this league. I'm going to take some time off. I might not even play the rest of the season." Mitchell held both of them out of starting lineup Saturday in Cleveland, with Woods chipping in 4 points and 6 rebounds in 13 minutes. Rafer did end up playing again, and had 20 points, 10 assists, and 4 steals in 37 minutes off the pine. Things are obviously getting ugly North of the Border, and with team numbers as low as 26th in opponents FG% (45.9%), 29th in both points allowed (100.4) & opponents rebounds per game (46.6), and dead last in rebound differential (-5.2), I don't see them improving any time soon.

-If you want to talk about a team that can't buy a break, you need look no further then the New Orleans Hornets (1-14). On Saturday All-Star C Jamaal Magloire was placed on the injured list with a dislocated right ring finger, and will be out for 3 months. Big Cat joins Baron Davis (since 11/18), Rodney Rogers (since 11/12), and Jamal Mashburn (since 11/1) on the injured list. With all these injuries (the league even gave them a special injury exception to allow 4 players on the IL), GM Allan Bristow made a curious trade when he dealt Darrell Armstrong to Dallas for Dan Dickau. Armstrong has never been a star, and his best years are definitely behind him, but Darrell is an 11 year veteran, that knows how to run a team, plays hard, and can hit an open 3. Dickau is not even a legitimate NBA player, and looks scared most of the time he has the ball. Maybe it was a money move (Dan D makes 893K vs. D.A.'s 2.275 mil), because New Orleans owner George Shinn is notoriously cheap, but with both player's contracts ending after the season, I just don't see how Dickau is going to help the Hornets' cause at all. Armstrong will add more depth to the Mavericks roster, and is a nice insurance policy for rookie PG Devin Harris.

-Utah's Andrei Kirilenko was placed on the injured list Tuesday with grade 2 sprain of his right MCL, and will miss 4-6 weeks. I've learned my lesson, and won't be mentioning one of favorite players in the hallowed page of MMM ever again.

NHL Week in Review By: Ed Wasser

- Good news/Bad news...the good news is Forbes magazine printed an article about the NHL owners lying about their financial losses and their revenue streams. Revenue streams like, I don't know, owning the minor league affiliate that plays across the street from the NHL franchise or owning three "Skate Zone!!" skating rinks in the Delaware Valley that are busy morning, noon, and night containing the nickname of your franchise in their title. Lying like that? Anyway, Forbes came right out and said Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz is flat out hiding all the luxury box revenues from his books. Forbes also implied that revenue sharing would never work amongst NHL owners because they're so exceptionally good at hiding revenues (a.k.a. - screwing people) that a true read of the books is impossible. So the players are feeling great after reading this. Sweet vindication!!

But now the bad news. Forbes showed just how much they know about the game of hockey by including this poll question in the article......"Which NHL player do you miss the most? A.) Joe Sakic B.) Ilya Kovalchuk (ahhh....OK) or C.) Marek Malik (WHO?!?). He deserves two (WHO?!? WHO?!?). Turns out he lead the league in plus/minus and Forbes just printed his name from a list of league leaders. Also, Forbes printed that the Nashville Predators got to the second round of last year's playoffs. Huh? That's funny because the team that advanced looked EXACTLY like the Detroit Red Wings to me.

- Even with the lock out there is one NHL player still scoring; according to the NY Post Anaheim Mighty Duck forward Sergei Federov is dating actress/whore galore Tara Reid. First Sergei wins the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward, then back to back Stanley Cups, then he has a quiet affair with an under age Anna Kornakova, then another Stanley Cup, then he signs a gigantic free agent contract with the Ducks, and now he's taking care of business with Tara Reid. That's what I call a career! If he could just cut out all the time he's wasting on hockey he could be in the same league as Scott Baio.

- Is there a bigger bunch of phonies than the Notre Dame athletic department? Tyrone Willingham shows up in South Bend after the school fires George O'Leary after 5 days for lying on his resume. Lies that were very difficult to uncover, you know, with no phones or computers on the Notre Dame campus and all. So the press conference ensues with the Golden Dome higher ups trying to act like they wanted Willingham all along. Whatever. Of course the Notre Dame hierarchy spews all their well rehearsed rhetoric about Notre Dame being an academic institution and a religious institution that doesn't really care about athletic success as much as they care about having character people on their teams and graduating excellent students yada, yada, yada. Notre Dame is above the fray; there's, you see, is a higher calling. Right......and George Steinbrenner doesn't care whether the Yankees win or lose, it's how they play the game!!! So anyway, Willingham has a great first year, a not so good second year, and he has an average, yet above .500, third year with a couple of huge wins against Tennessee and Michigan and an Insight Bowl berth. More importantly, according to the moral authority at Notre Dame, the school graduated a record percentage of football players and had zero, zilch, nada, off the field crap. In short, Willingham took over a failing program 5 days after the school fired some lying clown yet, even though he was stuck with players he did not recruit, he starts to make strides in making the program respectable again while starting to bring in the players he really wants. All the while Willingham adds (ADDS!!!!!) class to the program. Obviously he needed to go.

- This is something that has literally bothered me for 20 years. If I'm missing something let me know because I need your help to figure this out. So at that end of 'Caddyshack' the Brian Doyle Murray character announces "the match is all tied up. Dr. Beeper is away". The Dr. puts his putt past the hole then sinks the come back putt. So the Dr. and the Judge are +2. Judge Smails grabs 'Billy Bareau' and sinks his putt. That puts the Judge and the Dr. at +3. Follow me? Good. Ty Webb steps up and leaves his putt short then sinks his second putt. Now the Judge and the Dr. are +1. Am I crazy here? The best Ty Webb and Danny Noonan can do at this point is tie the match. Right? And that's only if Noonan one putts. Danny Noonan leaves his putt about a centimeter short, the ball is left hanging on the lip of the cup. The Dr. and the Judge think they've won. Not so fast. Explosions go off as Carl Spackler tries to kill the gopher and the ball eventually drops in the hole. Ty Webb, Al Czervick, Lacy Underall, and everyone else start celebrating. But Noonan's ball going in makes it a one putt and that would only re-tie the match. Both teams took three putts each!! I never remember hearing anything about giving strokes to anybody. THE MATCH WAS TIED!!! I don't blame the Judge for not paying up! THE MATCH WAS TIED!!!! They still have another hole to play DAMMIT!!!!

- This is...it's just...ahhh...let me just start from circa the first week of October. The Phillies fire Larry Bowa but keep on Ed Wade making him the longest tenured general manager to have never made the playoffs. Actually he may be tied in years with the GM in Tampa....it doesn't matter, they both suck. Anyhow, this starts a very real sense of unease among the fans. The Phillies proceed to put on a charade of wanting another manager other than Charlie Manuel marching in candidate after candidate all of whom had no chance of ever getting the job. (Wasn't it cool how I said 'whom' like a real live writer!) I hope at least the pretend managerial candidates got a free dinner out of the deal. At any rate, the Phillies start to put out press releases that are about as real as Madonna's English accent. 'The Phillies contact Carlos Beltran!! The Phillies contact Carl Pavano!! The Phillies contact Steve Finley!!' According to WIP's Howard Eskin, by way of MMM subscriber John Miller, a baseball insider said the Phillies' offers to Beltran and Pavano were two years shorter then everyone else's. In other words...the offers were embarrassing. But they resigned Cory Lidle! (Who?!?) Now the Phillies faithful have just about had enough. But just to make sure everyone in Phillies land is sufficiently furious and ready to grab torches and pitch forks and storm Citizens Bank Park a la 'Frankenstein' the Phillies announce they ARE RAISING TICKET PRICES!!!! RAISING 'BLEEPING' TICKET PRICES!!!!! Are you kidding me!! Lowering payroll but increasing ticket prices!! Keep in mind that the Eagles, who have been the winningest franchise in city over the last four years, haven't raised ticket prices in two years. The Phillies are a complete and total joke.

- I'm not going argue about Barry Bonds or his records and asterisks or Jason Giambi and what he said or Balco or whatever, I just want to know one thing....how the hell did baseball let this steroid thing get so out of control for so long? Think about it...it was 13 years ago that a David Banner-esque looking Lenny Dykstra left the Phillies for the winter of 1991 and showed up for spring training 1992 looking like the Incredible Hulk. Huh? People had suspicions but it never went beyond that. A few years later Brady Anderson leaves the Orioles for the winter looking like a spry young gibbon and returns looking like a silver back gorilla. What the.....? Again, suspicions yet no action. So here we are all these years later and not one thing has changed. Two collective bargaining agreements have come and went and nothing has changed. By the way, as I've heard many people point out, the NFL had a WAY worse steroid problem in the 70's and 80's. It actually cost some former players their lives. Now the problem is all but history. The problem may still exist sporadically in the NFL but it's not even close to what it was. Just ask Ron Solt, Tony Mandarich, Brian Bosworth, or any other NFL player that deflated like a whoppi cushion after the first steroid infraction started carrying a 4 game, without pay, suspension. Funny what get tough owners and a willing accomplice as the player union chief (Gene Upshaw) can accomplish.

- The NHL owners and the NHL Players Associations have agreed to meet next week to try and negotiate. We'll see.

- By popular demand.......my father has a friend that is a horse trainer at Philadelphia Park. A few months ago my Dad says to him 'you know...I have no real hobbies, nothing to occupy my time. If you come across a decent, cheap horse let me know and maybe I'll buy it'. So 5 weeks goes by and the trainer calls my Dad and tells him there is a horse that he saw running a race. She (she's a filly) would have won but the horse in front of her fell and threw her jockey and broke her leg. Even with all that she managed to avoid it all to finish second. That's the horse that the trainer believed could be, COULD be something decent. Of course she could be a milk runner too......nobody knows. The next race she runs was a claiming race which basically means if a certified trainer puts in a bid for the horse, and you give him the dough, and nobody else wants the horse, after the race you own that horse. So my Dad figures he's going to go for it and claims the horse. PS...just so everyone knows, horses that run in claiming races aren't exactly Seabiscuit. They're in these races because they're not fast enough or they don't have the track record (literally) or don't have the pedigree for stakes races (a.k.a. - BIG money races). What we're doing here is the horse racing version of single A baseball. Anyhow, in the claiming race the horse finished fourth and afterward we got ourselves a horse. Her name is Fairway Miss. Fairway's first race as my Dad's horse was Nov. 16 and it was a maiden race (a race for horses that have never won before).

I go to Philadelphia Park to watch the race. The first race of the day to be exact. I'm sitting in the Paddock before the race as the horses arrive from the barn and the jockeys come out of the locker room. I'm watching the jockeys come down the steps and I see a jockey walking down wearing white silks with flouresant orange sleeves and 'BADA BING!!' written on the back. I turn around to my Dad, "you have GOT to be kidding me? Is this our guy?" "Sure is!!" I didn't think it was possible to make a race track more white trash on a Tuesday afternoon but we did it. The trainer tells the jockey, a 19 year old kid named David Mello, to stay back and be patient, don't make a move until the turn because Fairway has a lot of late speed. The race starts and with a quickness Fairway is second to last in an 11 horse field. It's not looking good. It's like watching your 7 year old nephew about to strike out in his first ever baseball game. But just like a movie the horse makes the turn and steps on the gas. She starts making her move around the turn and takes off like a bullet. She won by 5 and 3/4 lengths. The second race Fairway Miss ran was Nov. 27 and she was up against WAY stiffer competition. Quite frankly I was worried. This time she was running a race with better horses for more money...this race was no joke. The race starts and she is way behind. I mean way, WAY behind. We were all like 'ohhhhh crap!!' When we watched the replay of the race on the race track TV she was so far behind when she hit the turn she was out of the camera frame. All of a sudden I saw the white silks pick up 4 positions in a flash. I'm thinking 'this is not happening!!' She broke wide coming down the stretch and won by a legnth. I'll just say this...I've played sports and I've been to some of the biggest sporting events you can think of; playoff games in hockey, hockey in Montréal, the first ever game played by the Florida Marlins, the Belmont Stakes, the Preakness Stakes, Army/Navy game, the Eagles/Cowboys game when "THEY STOPPED HIM AGAIN!!" twice on fourth down on the same play, but I've never, ever, EVER experienced a thrill like having a vested interest in a horse, especially an underdog horse, and watching her come from behind and win. Twice. It's incredible.

- A few horse racing observations.....I've never been up close to a race horse before but they all have one thing in common, they're very jittery. You can't make any fast moves around them or they'll rear up or try and run away. And judging by the MMM subscribers that I've met the average race horse would out weigh you guys by at least 50 lbs. so it can be scary. And they're mean!! They'll bite your finger off if you don't know what you're doing. Also, I was at the barn and I saw David Mello, our jockey. I told him how I thought he ran two great races on Fairway Miss yada, yada, yada...then it dawns on me as I see this distant look in his eyes; not only does Mello not remember me, he has no idea what races or even what horse I'm even talking about. All the jockeys know is they are riding the number X horse in the X race. They go to the Paddock, jump on their horse, and away they go. Also, Smarty Jones' trainer John Servis has a barn next to Fairway's trainer. That barn is home to Rockport Harbor which is supposed to be Servis' next Smarty Jones. I asked our trainer if I could "meet" Rockport Harbor. That request went over like a clown at a funeral. I guess I understand, they don't know me or my affiliations (like if I'm in P.E.T.A.) and that horse is a potential $40 million standing there. The only time you go into other people's stables is by invite only. PERIOD! The stables are an odd place. The people that own the horses generally have a few bucks, as do the trainers and the established jockeys. The grooms, exercise riders, and hot walkers are poverty stricken. They make peanut money and are riddled with problems. Most of them live on the Philadelphia Park grounds in these one room shacks with no TV's and dirt floors. They keep chickens and roosters for eggs, meat, and the secret late night past time that everybody knows about....cock fights. Drug abuse is rampant among them. The appeal of the job is it's cash and you can work 7 days a week if you want. It's a real shame. My Dad and the trainer are trying to get Fairway a race on Dec. 13th. I'll keep everyone informed.