Monday Morning Mehta 9/25/06

Edition #177
September 20, 2006

http://www.mondaymorningmehta.blogspot.com/

Next week's MMM will be a Tuesday edition. Eagles/Packers review as well as the Baseball playoffs starting.

Phillies

As a part of my "I don't care about the Eagles until Nov. 26th" declaration, let's start with the Wild Card leading Phillies today.

The Phillies go an impressive 5-1 on the week to open up a half game lead in the Wild Card standings as we go into the final week of the season. How are they doing it? Answers below.

- Cole Hamels. I can't name a better pitcher in the NL since the all star break. When you have an ace, and he has been just that, things become so much easier.

- Consistent starting pitching. Jon Lieber has been solid since early August. Jamie Moyer has given stability instead of whatever that was we got from Scott Mathieson. Brett Myers has made Philadelphians forget his incident from earlier in the year. Incidentally, doesn't that seem like years ago?

- Pitching Pitching Pitching. The bullpen has been strong. I know as soon as I say this, I'll regret it, but here goes: Geoff Geary has been very good this year. Gotta give credit. Tom Gordon's return has also helped. The loss of Arthur Rhodes is also huge (Note: This is meant in a positive - we lose Arthur Rhodes and the bullpen is BETTER).

- Ryan Howard continues to come up with clutch hits. If he's not MVP I'm not the greatest sports writer in the world (or in my own mind).

- Jimmy Rollins has been doing his Mickey Mantle impersonation hitting homers from both sides of the plate. There's two guys on this list who probably expect me to retract everything bad ever written in this space about J Roll, but that's about all I can muster at this time.

- Resurgence of Chase Utley. He's looking like Utley again after a bad month. Maybe his girlfriend has something to do with it (see below).

- You can't argue with his results, but there's something about Joe Girardi's managing style I just don't like. I'm sure any coach would love to get that young talented team if the rumors are correct that he's on his way out.

The Phillies have a makeup game today against the Astros which will make up the half game difference. Every game from here on out is obviously a must win game, but the difference between being tied with 6 games left, and up 1 game in the standings is huge. (Insert Thanks Einstein here)

The Phils will face Washington and Florida on the road to end the season. The advantage I see the Phils having here is not only are these teams struggling, but the home crowd won't be a factor. It's been Halloween all year in Florida, and I would expect a ton of Phillies fans at the dump known as RFK.

Dodgers and Padres are also on the road this week. Dodgers have @ Col and @ SF while the Padres are @ StL and @ Ariz for 4.

What happens on a three way tie? The Padres/Dodgers would play a one game playoff for the division, the loser playing the Phillies on Tuesday for the wildcard. This is a crazy scenario which seems to always have a chance every year, but never does. Note: This wasn't the rule before 2004

Prediction? One game playoff vs. the Dodgers at CB Park next Monday. Phillies/Dodgers Monday at 3pm, followed by Eagles/Packers across the street at night.

Around the League

Playoff picture is set in the AL with the formalities of clinching games and seeding left. It looks like the Tigers & Twins will make the playoffs and battle for the AL Central. The Yanks and A's have the other two divisions. Home field is still up the air also.

A very disappointing last two weeks by the White Sox. A terrible stretch of games (1-7) killed any chance they have of getting into the postseason.

The worst playoff team is going to be the St. Louis Cardinals. The pitching is a mess for the most part, and their closer Jason Isringhausen is out for the season (he blew 10 saves this year but still had a decent ERA). Braden Looper is the closer right now and he's already blown his only opportunity. Astros fans, it's a pipe dream I hope the Phillies put you out of your misery today!

Anyone see the Padres win yesterday? Trevor Hoffman got the save and now holds the all time save lead. You would've thought the Padres won the World Series the way they celebrated breaking a record of a guy not even in the Hall of Fame (Lee Arthur Smith).

EAGLES

The Eagles start out strong and defeat the 49ers 38-24. Let's break this one down.

Game Positives:

- Brian Westbrook. A huge game by the most important non McNabb Eagles offensive player. Now I expect Westbrook to go into a hyperbaric chamber the rest of the week. Oh wait, we play the Packers next? Why even play em??

- Mike Patterson. Any defensive lineman that runs 98 yards and still looks pretty refreshed deserves a game ball.

- Reggie Brown. You like to see Brown step up with Donte Stallworth on the sidelines, and Brown did with his first 100 yard game.

- Bounce back win. Even though it's the 49ers, it was nice to see the Eagles come out of the gates firing again after last weeks abysmal loss.

Game Negatives:

- Anybody directly responsible for pass coverage. Cornerbacks, safeties, linebackers, whatever. I thought a decent front four pass rush was supposed to solve this?

- The Lewis brothers. Greg Lewis for his fumble in the first half and Michael Lewis overall. I hate to pat myself in the back, mainly because I do it so much, but I nailed this Michael Lewis player from day one. He's constantly out of position and wants to be a big hitter more than a big player. The Eagles have so much talent on defense that he's able to freelance some, but he's also exposed often.

- Dhani Jones. A staple in this section for the last few years, Dhani continues to make exactly one semi decent play in a game, while making multiple semi terrible/bonehead plays.

Overall a win is a win is a win in the NFL. The Eagles move to 2-1 and sole possession of first place in the NFC East. The first half of the Eagles schedule is a cakewalk and is looking like it just got a bit easier with Chris Simms going down in Tampa. They need to be 6-2 after the first 8 to be in decent shape for a playoff push.

People from all over have been asking me, "Why do the Eagles break out to these big leads, then seem to let up?". Even in the Texans game the Eagles didn't put away Houston. The Eagles have heard all offseason about how they were a .500 team, not really a contender, too many weaknesses, etc. This is a team that believes it's a Super Bowl team. They are so eager to prove to everyone they are and say, "Look, I told you so we're back" that they play well in the beginning, and then start believing the can just cruise. "Look at the score, I told you we're great". In the NFL, you can't let up even for a minute.

Another more obvious reason is the lack of commitment to a running game and running the ball 25 times in the 2nd half. I think Westbrook has the ability to be a 25 rush back, but is Andy Reid willing to risk that with his fragile back? I say the Eagles just suck it up, give the Steelers a 5th or 6th round pick, and get Duce Staley back here. He's doing nothing in Pittsburgh and could certainly be the 2nd half run the clock out back the Eagles need.

Around the NFL

Best Game: Steelers/Bengals. The Steelers lost this one because of Ben Roethlisberger and Bill Cowher. Cowher could've won this game with Roethlisberger throwing the ball about 4 times. The Bengals can't and couldn't stop the Steelers running game. But Cowher got pass happy and this led to turnovers.

Worst Game: I think I'm just going to leave the Dolphins in this column the whole year, with the Titans as my backup. As it were, they played each other yesterday. There's also something annoying about watching football on what you think it grass, then turns into dirt around the 30 yard line (the Marlins field)

Jags/Colts: The Jags showed me they can play with Indy even on their fast track. December 10th is the rematch in Jax.

Overrated award: I guess the Ravens have got to get credit for winning but they really aren't this good, are they? This defense will be exposed against good offenses again.

They should be 0-3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Giants get utterly killed by the Seahawks (despite the late garbage points) and fall to 1-2, and should be 0-3. Jeremy Shockey after the game: "We got outplayed and outcoached. Write that down," Shockey said. "They were in different defenses than we thought they were going to be in. They did different things that we haven't seen." Plaxico Burress was benched for the 2nd half after not trying hard. What a mess. This was a major explosion waiting to happen, as it was clear they were dogging it for the most part last week against the Eagles.

Is that the Eagles? Carolina comes close to blowing a 20-7 lead to Chris Simms and the Bucs only to pull it out on a last second Jon Kasay FG. Simms had his spleen removed after the game. You don't hear that often. Definite new found respect for Simms who played through internal bleeding and such.

It's time to panic in New England. They haven't played well so far this year and they're getting beat off both sides of the ball. The offensive and defensive lines don't look very good, and that has been a staple of the Patriots success. Can anybody in that division beat them though?

Da Bears move to 3-0 with an impressive road win against their division rival Vikings. The Bears are already 3-0 in the division and will probably cruise to the division title. Rex Grossman has been terrific and led the Bears on an impressive TD drive in the final minutes of the game.


Ryder Cup

The US gets trampled by the Europeans once again and pretty much embarrassed as they lose the Ryder Cup. Tiger Woods was a so-so 3-2 and had the most points on the US squad. Phil Mickleson was an absolute disaster and has not played well at all since his meltdown at Winged Foot and the US Open.

Anyway, there's about 600 theories as to why the US doesn't play well, and here's my top reasons in order of importance (most important first)

1. The Europeans have better players. Why is that so hard to understand? David Toms is either the 4th or 5th best player on the US team. I would take every single Euro player plus Ian Poulter and Miguel Angel Jimenez over Toms. Why is Poulter & Jimenez relevant? Well these guys who are very good golfers couldn't even make the European team. The Europeans were stacked this year.

2. They use a whole continent to get players, not just one country. This was a fair fight when it was Britain vs. US. Now that all of Europe is open, the field of good players has grown dramatically for the Europeans.

3. The "having fun" rule. Scott Verplank said it the best yesterday. He said in his match with Zach Johnson that he played poorly himself, but pretty much just played cheerleader to Johnson, kept him loose, made jokes, had fun, and Johnson and Verplank won their match. Lehman only played Verplank, probably the best "team" guy on the US squad once in fourballs.

I'm exhausted. That's a lot of writing. Read Ed's stuff now....

NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser

OK before I get back to the NHL preview let me set the record straight on one very important topic. Yes I do think that Phillies second baseman Chase Utley's fiancé is cute and yes I would date her but this is Chase Utley we're talking about here; we're not talking about some two bit wanna be writer. Utley's overcoming his slug like personality to be the king of Philadelphia. Right now Utley could look at the Eagles cheerleader calendar like it was a menu. I'm just saying take your time before walking down the isle Chase, there's plenty of fish in the sea. Back to the preview....

Detroit Red Wings.....This could be an off year for the Wings. Of course an "off year" for the Red Wings means they'll still make the playoffs and have stretches of complete dominance. They lost Brendan Shanahan, Steve Yzerman retired, and they re-signed Dominic Hasek who was on his way from his hospital bed to the old age home. But they are still the Red Wings. Their defense is unrivaled, Pavel Datsyuk is the most underrated player in the league, and they have the coolest chant in all of sports (when goalie Chris Osgood makes a big save the crowd chants OZ-ZY!!!) So I guess I pretty much destroyed my own off year argument. Sorry.

Edmonton Oilers.....The NHL and Stanley Cup Finals loser hang overs go together like Flavor Flav and a gold grill. Washington (1998), Buffalo (1999), Carolina (2002), and Anaheim (2003) all died the year after their near misses. This should be no exception, especially after losing Chris Pronger, Michael Peca, and Sergei Samsonov.

Florida Panthers.....I was always told that if you don't have anything nice to say to not say anything at all. OK, one little thing. This team will suck. Goalie Roberto Loungo was the only reason that the Panthers had any respectability last year at all and now he's gone. Oh, and don't forget that their front office is a mess too.

Los Angeles Kings.....The Kings had a pathetic power play last year plus they had the worst penalty killing percentage in the league. That's rough. Plus they have a lack of overall talent at every position. At least the Kings have some young talent coming up so they should be competitive in a few years.

Minnesota Wild.....I hate this team. I hate their boring defensive style of play, I hate their coach (Jacques Lemaire) who invented the neutral zone trap, and I especially hate their ridiculous uniforms. They picked up Mark Parrish, a decent player who has played for the Panthers, the Islanders, and now the Wild, the three levels of NHL hell. They may clutch and grab and otherwise cheat their way into the playoffs but they don't have the talent to make a serious run.

Montréal Canadiens.....I don't know why but I like this team. Last year they were inconsistent, especially the scoring, and this year they have a coach (Guy Carbonneau) who has zero head coaching experience on any level. But they got Sergei Samsonov for offense and this kid Cristobal Huet is starting to become a real star in goal. Me thinks they're on the right track and they could surprise people.

Nashville Predators.....They were the first team to really understand the new NHL. They have more speed then a Hell's Angels bar, Tomas Vokoun is a solid goalie who is rarely out of position, and now they picked up Jason Arnott. This is going to be a strange year when the damn Predators and the Ducks have a very serious chance to win it all.

New Jersey Devils.....This team is like a cockroach, they just never die. There was no reason for them to make it to the second round of the playoffs last year, none....but they did. They had a coach quit in the middle of the season (Larry Robinson), Patrick Elias had hepatitis A, defenseman Dan McGillis and Alexander Mogilny turned out to be complete free agent busts and they were even sent to the minors, Scott Stevens retired, Scott Niedermayer went to Anaheim, and yet they still had a 15 game winning streak and almost beat the Canes in the playoffs. So it would make sense for them to have an off year but these are the Devils...never, EVER bet against them.

New York Islanders.....What can I say? This team is total and complete chaos from top to bottom. The only thing, and I mean ONLY thing, they have going for them is Miroslav Satan who is a solid scorer and a lights out shootout guy. Other then that the Islanders are a total disaster. And they once had a ton of rabid fans but last year they had the worst attendance in the league and it should get worse this year.

New York Rangers.....So they surprised a lot of people last year by making the playoffs and that line starts here. The new rules helped Jaromir Jagr immensely and goalie Henrik Lundqvist came up big by helping to cover up for their crappy defense. Lundqvist also came up big covering up for players like Darius Kasparaitis Michael Rozsival who LOVE to take stupid penalties. Jagr had a big year last year but he's carrying way too much of the offensive load for the Rangers. Jagr played all 82 games last year, if he goes down this year they're in big trouble.

Monday Morning Mehta 9/18/06

Edition # 176
September 18, 2006

Eagles

I have absolutely no idea where to start. Normally we do our "Game Negatives" after losses, but after this loss, I don't feel as though we need to single any specific players out. So, I'm just giving it to you straight up.

- I blame Andy Reid. When you blow a 17 point 4th quarter lead at home, the buck stops with the coach. Bad play calls, mental errors,

- The cornerbacks are just bad. I don't care about the injuries to Lito Sheppard and Rod Hood. All we heard last year is how the poor pass rush was thus exposing the cornerbacks. After two games there probably isn't a better pass rush in the NFL than the Eagles front four and the cornerbacks have stunk. I can give # 22 a pass, but not Sheldon Brown. On deep balls he often looks lost.

# 5? Sure, McNabb looked great for the most part. His numbers are fierce. But the QB is generally an extension of the coach. He needed to manage that game much better than he did yesterday.

By about 3:45pm it didn't even matter if the Eagles won the game. I was already sick and pissed.

Westbrook's fumble? Yeah, that way key but there were probably about 22 plays were the Eagles could have put this game away even with that play.

"It's week two, relax MMM!!!!" – No, I refuse to. I've been sucked down this path way too many times. There aren't many bigger apologists on this list than me. But this time, I gotta break an ankle for jumping off the bandwagon. I've bought into the "It's early, wait til the games mean something in December, they'll grow from this game, blah blah blah". How many times do you have to see the same mistakes to realize this is just a playoff team again and not a championship team? I'm rescinding my Super Bowl pick!

In all seriousness, here's my deal. I was an optimist until about 3:45pm yesterday. Now, I've got November 26th circled. If they can beat Indy in Indy, I'll be back on the optimistic side. Beating SF, GB, Dallas, New Orleans, Tampa, Washington, or even Jacksonville won't make me happy. They need a big win against a bigtime team to wash this taste from my mouth.

Any positives? Seriously, how can there be? McNabb played well but didn't get it done in the 4 th. Westbrook was awesome, but the fumble. Stallworth was great, but had a key drop. Ditto on LJ Smith. The defensive line was spectacular, but I can't overlook Trent Cole's stupid penalty late in regulation.

What in God's name was David Akers thinking on the first play? Akers should seriously stop thinking of himself as a football player. You're a kicker David.

Akers maybe the 2nd best kicker in the NFL, but it's a distant 2nd. And if you look around, there's plenty of kickers just as solid. Akers is in the 2nd thru 13th best mix.
Eagles face the mighty 49ers next week. This isn't the crappy 49ers of the last few years. This team can play. If the Eagles think they can coast to a bounceback victory they got something coming to them.

What is the deal with the bad first defensive possessions? Two TD's on the first drives. Defense needs to wake up early and late.

Around the NFL

In what I thought was one of the worst weeks for interesting games in a long time, we still had some very interesting games (this is non- Eagles of course).

Biggest Win: Atlanta. The Falcons always have trouble against the fast defense of Tampa, but their defense proved to be the difference. The Falcons are going to be a force this year.

Worst Loss: Carolina. I understand they don't have Steve Smith. But that team just looks putrid. They face a must win game early in the season next week.

Best Eagles Impersonation: New England Patriots. I wouldn't start printing those AFC East champion shirts just yet in Foxboro. Like we said last week, the Jets are going to be underrated good, but almost blowing a 24-0 lead is pathetic. A valiant effort by the Pats at being Eaglesque.

Terrible-est performance: I had to invent a category and a word for Daunte Culpepper. He looked absolutely horrific. Dolphin fans are clamoring for the days of Jay Fielder. You ever make a prediction knowing you're predicting a player you've always disliked? I've never been a Culpepper fan and I have no idea why I picked them to win the AFC East. Nick Saban is the best coach ever, well, at least he's supposed to be.

Worst Game: Broncos/Chiefs. Mike Shanahan claims Jay Cutler isn't ready yet for NFL action. Jake the Mistake is ready for a retirement home.

Worst Team Ever: Oakland Raiders. The Andrew Walter Era begins!

Worst 2-0 team: Saints.

Phils/Baseball

The Phillies have an excellent week, going 5-1 to pull to within 1 game of the wildcard lead right now held by the Dodgers.

- The Phils pitching remains superb and consistent. Led by Brett Myers and Cole Hamels going deep into games, Jon Lieber, Randy Wolf and Jamie Moyer have given the Phillies solid innings the last month.

- The bullpen has been shaky at times, but whose middle relief hasn't been shaky? The return of Tom Gordon has really calmed things down in the pen.

- Pat Burrell has found the right time to start hitting. Burrell went 5 for 14 last week with a couple of big hits including a grand slam (only Phils runs in a win Friday). Now if we could find a way to get Dellucci going...

- Chase Utley's fade continues as he's struggled since his long hit streak.

- It was nice putting the Astros out of their misery this weekend. That offense on the Astros is awful.

- Cubs and Marlins in town for the final home games of the season (including a makeup game at home vs. the Astros).

- If the Phils win out, and the Mets lose out, the Phils can still tie for the NL East crown!

Around the League

The AL playoff picture has taken shape after the A's three game sweep of the White Sox. The White Sox aren't dead, but they're certainly on life support. 3 games behind a hot Twins team with 2 weeks left to play. They have 3 games at the end of the year in Minnesota which they might need to sweep at this point.

- The Tigers, Twins, A's and Yanks make up the AL playoffs right now. The Twins are hurting at starting pitching with the losses of Francisco Liriano and Brad Radke (Radke may be ready to pitch Friday).

- Frank Thomas for AL MVP is catching steam, I'm starting to lean towards Derek Jeter.

- The White Sox season boils down to the huge series starting tonight vs. the Tigers.

NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser

- How can a person explain what a sunset looks like to a person who has been blind their entire life? How can a person explain what a symphony sounds like to a person who has been deaf their entire life? And how can a person explain what sex feels like to a fantasy football manager? It's impossible. So how can I be expected to explain the absolute lunacy the Islanders have displayed by giving goalie Rick DiPietro a 15 year contract when nobody has ever experienced that level of sports ignorance before? It's an unprecedented level of stupidity, an epic level if you will. We all know why it's stupid....he's completely untradable, unreleasable, totally ungetridofable. Plus, and this is the most important point, he's not that good. But let this drift through your head for a minute....most people who read this column who are about my age will be either at or damn close to the age in which you can join A.A.R.P. when DiPietro's contract expires.

So now the Islanders have Alexei Yashin under contract until 2011 and Rick DiPietro under contract until 2021. The reason I'm mentioning this is because I, as a fan of Philadelphia sports, live under the constant hope that maybe one of our teams will catch lightning in a bottle one year and eventually win a championship. Now what if God came down and said to everyone in Philadelphia "you heard it from here, and I'm a pretty reputable source, that your teams will not win a championship until 2022 at the earliest". I'm guessing that would be fairly demoralizing and hope crushing to the fan base. That's what the Islanders did to their fans. The Islanders slashed their ability to sign free agents, resign the players they already have, and make the all important trade deadline deals. And they did all that in order to keep one mediocre player. And they've done it for 15 years. The Islanders passed NHL laughing stock 10 exits ago...now they're just sad.

- Allright, allright, allright.....NHL season preview time!!! I got my publications for information, my websites for stats, and my Coor's Light for inspiration. 10 teams this week, 10 teams next week, and 10 teams the week after that. So here we go...

- Anaheim (Don't call us mighty!!!) Ducks.....Say this out loud, "The Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks". It rolls off the tongue about as easy as "Academy Award winning actor Corey Feldman". But it could happen. The Ducks have all the ingredients...great defense (the picked up Chris Pronger and I've always liked Scott Niedermayer), proven goaltending ( J.S. Giguere already lead a far inferior Duck team to the 7th game of the Cup Finals), and good scoring (Teemu Selanne's career got defibulated in La La Land, 40 goals last year). They could really surprise, that's all I'm saying.

- Atlanta Thrashers.....The Thrash will most likely stink this year but they're on the right track. They have a bunch of over the hill guys like 62 year old Scott Mellanby and Bobby Holik of the scar across the head fame who are pretty much just keeping the bench warm until their young players are ready. When the trade deadline rolls around they'll unload the geriatric set and load up with draft picks and young players. If this team makes the playoffs I'd seriously wonder if the NHL was fixed.

- Boston Bruins.....They fired GM Mike O'Connell which saved the Boston courts some money because a Bruin fan was most likely going to kill him once a chance came up, so that was nice. They signed defenseman Zdeno Chara which was a good move, they signed Marc Savard away from the Thrashers which was also a good move and...wait, I just mentioned the Bruins followed by 3 solid moves in a row. (Wiping away tears) I always dreamed this day would come!!! Ohh, hold on...they still have Tim Thomas and Hannu (Hann-WHO?) Toivonen as their goaltending tandem. Forget it.

- Buffalo Sabres.....The Sabres came pretty close to making it to the Stanley Cup Finals, losing by a whisker to the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals. So this off season they did the logical thing...they totally pissed off their fans by firing their entire scouting department, they let solid contributor Mike Greir walk, they walked away from the salary arbitration award for J.P. Dumont, and they were actively trying to get rid of one of their best players (Daniel Briere). But then again, nobody thought they would do anything last year and they destroyed the Flyers in the playoffs. So who knows?

- Calgary Flames.....I LOVE the make up of this team. And since a Flame run to the Cup Finals would garner NHL ratings lower then a censored airing of "Showgirls" on network TV I'm pretty sure they'll make it. Nothing right can happen to the NHL, not even by accident, it's the law. At any rate the Flames are solid from top to bottom and they're home to who I believe is the best goalie in the league in Miikki Kiprusoff. And Dion Phaneuf is an amazing young defenseman. Keep your eyes on this team.

- Flyer Keith Primeau retired last week prompting the hockey world to let out a collective, "didn't he retire 3 years ago?"

- Carolina Hurricanes.....What can I say? The defending Stanley Cup champs are bringing back pretty much everyone. They're a great team, and they play as a team, but I hope they have a Stanley Cup hang over. I do like Rod Brind'Amour but the people in Raleigh couldn't care less about the team. I hope they crash and burn. Oh by the way...the Canes have a nice record of drafting so this team will be good for a while.

- Chicago Blackhawks.....On the road to respectability the Blackhawks got drunk, crashed into a ditch, staggered onto the road, and got ran over by an 18 wheeler. Other then that they should be OK. Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has been a tremendous free agent bust, they had the second worst offense in the league, their power play was a circus, and their season ticket base is now down to a measly 5000. Whenever you read a preseason review of a team and the best that most NHL people can say is "they could be better then last year" after a team only won 26 games then it's generally not a good sign.

- Kudos to the citizens of Detroit for not rioting or turning over cars after the Detroit Shock won the WNBA championship. In fact the citizens of Detroit were so mellow after the victory it was almost like they didn't care.

- Colorado Avalanche.....They had a nice season last year but this off season they lost winger Alex Tanguay, defenseman Rob Blake, and defenseman Dan Hinote and replaced them with...ahhhhh, hold on a second (flipping through my NHL Preview Guide)...well they got Ken Klee, at least I've heard of him, that's gotta be a good sign. The worst part is Lanche GM Pierre Lacroix promised their fans that they would be really active in the free agent market. I haven't seen a master of suspense like that since Alfred Hitchcock because the fans are still waiting for Lacroix to sign someone, anyone.

- Columbus Blue Jackets.....They have tons of talent in their system and scored an A+ in The Hockey News for their farm system so come 2008 - 2009 they should be a real force. This year, not so much. The Jackets have a great first line with Rick Nash, Sergei Federov, and David Yvborny and then...well Nash, Federov, and Yvborny better catch their breath quick and then get back out there because lines 2 through 4 stink. They may squeak into the playoffs but like I said, their farm system is LOADED so it's only a matter of time.

- Dallas Stars.....They had a surprising season last year and became a chic pick to win it all early in the season. They signed Eric Lindros in the off season which you may expect me to bash but considering the contract they gave him is the NHL equivalent to working hourly for minimum wage it was worth a shot. But there are 3 certainties in life...death, nerds playing Dungeons and Dragons, and the Stars having goalie issues. Marty Turco is so inconsistent it's maddening but since they owe him something like $14 million he'll be around for a while. And age may catch up with them too.

Monday Morning Mehta 9/11/06

Edition # 175
September 11, 2006

www.mondaymorningmehta.blogspot.com

Eagles begin their 2006 season with a 24-10 win on the road vs. the Houston Texans. We have a lot to cover today let's get right into the action.

Game Positives:

a. THEY RAN THE BALL! 30 runs vs. 35 passes is a perfect balance. Correll Buckhalter's presence really changes the dynamic of this offense as Reid isn't afraid to run the ball when Westbrook is being spelled. How long will the balance last? How long will C-Buck remain healthy? Hopefully long enough to make MMM's pre-season predictions come true.

b. The hurry up offense at the end of the first half. This has been somewhat of a sore point for the Eagles the last few years. The inconsistency in this area is worrisome. They looked very sharp yesterday.

c. Donte Stallworth. It's only a matter of time until I hear a WIP caller saying he's better than Terrell Owens on the field. But Stallworth was great, now lets see if he's gotten over the inconsistency bug that has plagued his career.

d. The play on 3rd down. For the most part I consider football stats for fantasy geeks (I being one) and rather meaningless when it comes to wins and losses. But as my close friend R Diddy likes to point out, one stat that is very telling is 3rd down efficiency (I think the two biggest are that & turnovers). The Eagles were an impressive 8 of 13 on 3rd downs, while limiting the Texans to 3 of 11 on 3rd downs.

Game Negatives

a. Secondary. Even on the first drive, pre-Lito Sheppard injury, the Eagles secondary looked suspect. Andre Johnson and Eric Moulds are excellent WR's though so maybe they deserve a pass?

b. Time management in the 2nd half. Slow to get plays in, lots of mis-communication with players being shuffled, and using all three timeouts at the start of the 4th quarter is bad.


Other game notes:

I came close to giving the pass rush a game positive but I need to see it a little bit more consistently to become a true believer. I'm drinking the punch just not drunk yet. Look, they played the Texans, I'm not going to freak out over beating a bad team with a completely revamped coaching staff.

Matt McCoy had a nice game too.

A solid game by Donovan McNabb overall. The play action fake TD to Stallworth was an absolute beauty and the Texans secondary bit on that play big time. You also saw McNabb scramble a bit more yesterday, find time, and locate his targets. This could be a 2004 type year for Donny.

The Texans could really use a play maker in the backfield. Maybe a Reggie Bush type.

Eagles fans should hold their breath as Lito Sheppard gets an MRI today. I'm worried this is going to be bad. Just a bad feeling. They may regret cutting Matt Ware who was quickly snagged by the Cardinals.

Jim Johnson had mentioned it often in the preseason, and he wasn't lying. Brian Dawkins played as a linebacker type many times on 3rd downs and blitzed numerous times. It looked like the package has some bugs to work out but Sean Considine looked comfortable as a safety while Dawkins was roaming all over.

Big early season test versus the Giants next week. Eli Manning still looked inconsistent last night but the Giants should be a solid team all year. The Giants running game has to be one of the best in the NFC and we'll see how improved the Eagles defensive line and linebackers really are.

Around the League

Biggest Win: Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons thoroughly dominated the Panthers and ran for 252 yards on the preseason Super Bowl favorite of many. The Panthers have a history of clunkers once in a while and they played without Steve Smith, so while they shouldn't be too worried, the Falcons were impressive. Michael Vick detractors can bitch about his sub .500 completion percentage, but if you watched that game Vick was awesome.

Biggest Loss: Tie - The battle of the bays/pigs, Tampa & Green Bay. Was this 1986 again? These two team combined for zero points. We've said it 1,000 times in this space and now national media types are finally joining in, it's over for Favre. It's been over for years, but it's so clear the guy doesn't want to take a hit and just protect his consecutive games streak it's sickening. The 1996 Brett Favre stood in the pocket and took a hit. The 2003-6 version throws the ball up in the air at the mere sight of a defensive player. As for Tampa? I have no idea what happened. Inexplicable. I don't think the Ravens are that good, but maybe I just don't want them to be. There still isn't a more boring team in the NFL. I'd rather watch Cleveland.

Best game: Dallas/Jacksonville. I thought this game had a playoff feel to it. Jacksonville is on the verge of having an injury decimated season as they lost another key defensive player (Reggie Hayward) yesterday but played very well after the first quarter and beat the Cowboys relatively soundly after that. The playoff feel was made even more evident as Drew Bledsoe threw some terrible passes late in the game.

Worst non-Bay game: Seattle/Detroit. What the heck was this all about? Just a sloppy, unproductive, ugly game. So much for Mike Martz energizing the offense right away.

Herm Edwards is an awful coach. I'm sorry, he gets his players to play hard but at some point you need to know X's and O's. He turned an explosive offensive team into a bland team in the matter of 1 game and this was before the injury to Trent Green. Put a fork in the Chiefs.

Carson Palmer is back and looks to be close to 100%.

Very impressed with the way Chad Pennington threw the ball. It looked like he had all his strength back. The Jets have plenty of talent, they may be a spoiler this year.

The Patriots really got lucky to win yesterday. Bonehead coaching decision of the day had to be Dirk Jaroun. With the Bills up 17-7, and the Patriots reeling, no momentum, and 4th and 1 from the 8 yard line, he goes for it, they don't get it and all the momentum shifted from that moment on. Look, I'm not into conservative coaching, but it was clear the Pats had no excitement. Why give them a chance for life. Just put the points up and let sleeping giants lie. Especially on the road. TAKE THE POINTS!!

A good game last night between the Colts and Giants. The Colts running game is non existant and they better fix it soon.

Jake Plummer stinks.

There isn't a better WR duo in the league than Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. The 49ers didn't look too bad, but I'm wondering about this Cardinals pick I made last week.

MLB

Phillies have a typical Phillies week going 3-3 to fall to a three way tie for 2nd place in the Wild Card standings, 2.5 games off the pace set by San Diego.

- When watching a Phillies loss, I feel as though I'm watching the same game I've watched 400 times the last 5 years.

- Oh no! Arthur Rhodes is out for the season! What now?? (dripping with sarcasm)

- I expect Ryan Madson's arm to fall off sometime around September 23rd.

- Ryan Howard's amazing hot streak continued this week as he hit 4 more homers in 6 games this week. He's pretty much making himself the favorite for the MVP even if the Phillies don't make the playoffs at this point.

- This is a great time for sports. Saturday through Monday you have football, and sprinkle in key baseball races throughout the week. Phils at a struggling Braves and big series vs. Houston this week. A bad week this week could knock the Phils out of the race for good.

- It's amazing the confidence I have when Jeff Conine is at the plate. I thought his days were over but the guy seems to have a knack for the big hit. Well, at least he swings lets put it that way. That other righty outfielder is just comical at this point.

- Charlie Manuel has once again been the difference as far as I'm concerned. I think Manuel thinks it's illegal for a pitcher to pitch 9 innings.

- Possibly the hottest team in baseball the last month is the Giants.

- The biggest around the league news has to be the Tigers fall. Their lead in the Central is at a mere 2 games over the Twins after losing 3/4 to Minny. And the White Sox are only 3.5 behind.

- Johan Santana is 39-3 with an ERA of 2 after the all star break since 2003. The best pitcher in baseball conversation begins and ends with Santana.

NHL Week in Review By : Ed Wasser

- Next week I'm going to start my pre-season...well, not predictions. I'm not doing full out predictions anymore. I did predictions last year and I haven't seen something blow up in someone's face that bad since the last time Jenna Jameson worked with Peter North. So I'm just going to give my opinion of how I believe the season will unfold for each team. I'm going to do it alphabetically because...well, that's the way most NHL publications and websites do it and it makes it easier for me to do my usual felony level plagiarism. As for now I just have a few notes and news from around the league.

- Before I forget...I saw Columbus Blue Jacket GM Doug Maclean at the Ft. Lauderdale airport last Tuesday. He was so mobbed by NHL fans he could barely move!! Sorry, that was joke, nobody knew who he was beside me. Anyway, I knew he was teetering on the edge of getting fired and since it's easier to find a virgin at the AVN Awards then it is to find information about the NHL in the summer I couldn't remember if he had gotten canned or not so I left him alone. I didn't want to say "hey Doug, how are the Blue Jackets looking this year?" "HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW, I GOT FIRED!!!!" Anyway it turns out that he still has a job with the Blue Jackets.

- The Buffalo Sabres and cheapness go together like midgets and big heads but they've really out done themselves now. First of all they were actively trying to unload Daniel Briere, who was on his way to a career year last season before he got injured, rather then go to arbitration with him. He won a one year, $5 million contract. Then they walked away from J.P. Dumont, a very good physical 2 way player, after he won a $2.9 million arbitration contract; he signed with the Predators. And now, in order to save more money, they've fired just about their entire scouting department and they are going to rely on "video scouting". First of all hockey doesn't translate to TV at all, children know that. And how can you see what's going on behind the play? Plus I'm sure it'll be a breeze getting footage of teams playing just south of Siberia and teams in the Czech Republic or even Finland. If I was a Sabre season ticket holder I'd be furious.

- If Forsberg gets the captaincy of the Flyers then 20% of all the NHL captains will be Swedish. Wow.

- Mike Keenan was fired as GM of the Panthers. Oh I know they said he resigned but believe me he was fired. Supposedly Keenan was not so subtly pushed out the door by Panther coach and former Keenan best friend Jacques Martin who also replaced him as GM. The roster Keenan was putting together was a joke. That roster is old. (Oh, you mean old like 33, 34 years old?) No, how about old like Joe Nieuwendyk (40), Gary Roberts (40), Martin Gelinas (36), and Eddie Belfour (41). Plus Keenan couldn't sign Roberto Luongo so he had to trade him to the Canucks. Apparently the relationship between Martin and Keenan became unbearable and ended with both guys yelling a two word phrase to each other that starts with F and ends with YOU so one of them had to go. Keenan will resurface somewhere in his attempt to eventually work for every team in the NHL.

Monday Morning Mehta 9/5/06

Edition # 174
September 5, 2006

http://www.mondaymorningmehta.blogspot.com/

Two days away from footnall's kickoff, so even though the Phils are in the thick of the wildcard race, the NFL gets center stage.

NFC Preview - Don't look now, but this could be the year the balance of power shifts to the NFC. A lot of strong teams developing.
NFC East
1. Philadelphia Eagles 11-5A staple in the #1 slot this years Eagles team comes into the season without the national media hype it's received in years past. But looking at it on paper this team is one of the most balanced on paper in the NFC. The defense is stacked this year. The defensive line could be one of the best in the NFC. The acquisition of Darren Howard MMM called for a year ago, and his versatility is going to amaze fans. Mike Patterson & Broderick Bunkley should form a formidable defensive tackle unit for years to come. Jeremiah Trotter is one of the games best middle linebackers, and the defensive backs will have a bounce back year.

As usual the questions for the Eagles come when the offense is on the field. Don't discount the injury to Donovan McNabb in last years first game. That set the tone for the whole year. I think McNabb is still the best QB in this league and has a chip on his shoulder this year. I look for Donovan to post huge numbers and even run a bit more than the last few years. The offensive line will be able to run block very well, but pass protection remains the question mark. If Todd Herremans, Tra, I mean William Thomas and Jamaal Jackson have good years, this is a Super Bowl team. As far as the WR's, the acquisition of Donte Stallworth should be big for Reggie Brown. I expect him to be the consistently best Eagle WR this year. Expect a good year from Stallworth but his resume has historically been very inconsistent. One week you'll see 110 yards and a TD, the next you'll see one catch for 17 yards. It comes with the territory of being a speed WR. LJ Smith is the key on the receiving corp. He needs to step it up, not fumble so much, and also be a red zone target for McNabb.

Running backs? This is the part of the preview that's made of glass. Handle with care. Brian Westbrook should be put into a hyperbaric chamber between games. Correll Buckhalter I love, but counting on him is a recipe for disaster. I still expect the Eagles to sign Najeh Davenport or one other RB, but nonetheless [Insert broken record] the Eagles have to run the ball more this year. Last year the Eagles were close to 70/30 pass run ration. I'll take a 60/40 ratio at this point.

2. New York Giants 10-6
This team has the ability to jump up and be one of the favorites in the NFC if Eli Manning plays like he did in the first half of last year. The defense is solid but the secondary is a concern (I am not a Sam Madison fan) and I just sense a Plaxico Burress explosion waiting to happen (in a Terrell Owens kind of way). Tiki Barber and Brandon Jacobs make up one of the best 1-2 punches in the NFL so all signs point towards a reappearance of meaningful January games for Tom Coughlin.

4. Dallas Cowboys 8-8
I just can't get excited about a team with Drew Bledsoe as the QB. I am a huge Bill Parcells fan and his history the year after not making the playoffs is phenomenal, but there's just not enough on this team to call it a contender just yet. Too many holes on the offensive line, and while the defense can be spectacular at times, it can also look bad too many times. I tried to get through a whole Dallas preview without mentioning Terrell Owens, but I just can't. That situation is bound to get ugly sooner rather than later.

4. Washington Redskins 6-10
There's plenty about this team not to like. Mark Brunell as the QB is on top of that list. His fragile nature and increasing age make him a sure bet to get for an extended period of time this year. The backups are Todd Collins and Jason Campbell which is downright scary. The secondary is thin at best and an injury to Shawn Springs is going to hamper this team early in the year. I'm not a fan of Adam Archuleta but definitely respect Greg Williams the defensive coordinator. This one could bite me, but I'll have the Redskins as a big disappointment this year.

NFC North
1. Chicago Bears 9-7
Do I have to pick a winner in this division? This division doesn't even deserve a preview. Bears by default - Rex Grossman vs. Brian Griese, talk about a battle!!

2. Minnesota Vikings 8-8
I like this team because I expect Chester Taylor to have a very nice year. But I could also see new coach and Andy Reid disciple Brad Childress pulling a Reid and getting pass happy, which would mean Brad Johnson's bound to get pounded.

3. Detroit Lions 7-9
Finally the Joey Harrington era ends and Lions fans can move onto the bigger problems, Matt Millen. He has to have pictures of the Ford family driving Toyota's or something. Expect this to be an exciting team with Mike Martz running the offense.

4. Green Bay Packers 4-12
Brett Favre will lead the league in unjust praise from announcers as well as ridiculous throws.

NFC South - Toughest division in football
1. Atlanta Falcons - 11-5
There's two tiebreakers I use if teams are close to determine who I pick to win a division. The Quarterback and the defense. The QB is a tough call in this division (although I think Vick is great), but the defense is clearly very strong in Atlanta. John Abraham and Patrick Kearny form a tremendous tandem at DE. The LB's are fast and DeAngelo Hall should break out this year. As for Vick, his second year in this offense should make him a better player. Vick's got a lot to prove to a lot of people this year and I'm not about to jump off the bandwagon.

2. Carolina Panthers 10-6
Just look at the Panthers play and you immediately realize this is just a solid team overall. Solid QB play, solid defensive play, solid coaching. Solid. Very solid. I don't know I've used the word solid 38 times in this preview already. Anyway, this team seems like a team that could struggle to stay focused in the season, and deadly in January.

3. Tampa Bay Bucs 10-6
Cadillac left, Cadillac right, Cadillac up the middle will have some extra throwing this year you can bank on that. I'm looking for a very good year from Chris Simms as Jon Gruden loves to throw the ball and now that Simms has some experience under his belt, he'll be able to do so.

4. New Orleans Saints 6-10
First year coach Sean Payton takes on a rebuilding team with some excitement surrounding it with the drafting of Reggie Bush and the free agent signing of Drew Brees. But way too many problems with the offensive and defensive lines on this team. Not a fan of Payton either.

NFC West
1. Arizona Cardinals 10-6
To keep with my theme of going out on a limb, we've selected the Arizona Cardinals as the NFC West Champs. Kind of reminds me of when I picked the Mets a few years back and was 3 or 4 years too early, but I'm a trend setter. Love this offense with (Warner/Leinart), Edge James, Anquan Boldin & Larry Fitzgerald. The defense has a lot of talent but hasn't shown much yet. Why not, I hate the rest of the division this year.

2. Seattle Seahawks 7-9
The Super Bowl loser jinx strikes again? Although the last time Mike Holmgren lost the Super Bowl he went 11-5 the next year. Is it too late to change that last pick??

3. St. Louis Rams 6-10
The Scott Linehan era begins as Mike Martz is finally out of town. It'll take time for this team to gel but it's a team that will be in just about every game.

4. San Francisco 49ers 4-12
Alex Smith's development is the only thing to watch here.

AFC Playoffs
Miami, Cincy, Jacksonville and Denver are the division winners. Indy and NE will be my wild cards, as I'll have Pittsburgh watching from home. I just can't seem to get away from Jacksonville and I'll pick them to advance to Miami.

NFC Playoffs
So Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta and Arizona are the division winners. Leaving the Giants and Carolina as my two other playoff teams with Tampa losing out on a tiebreaker. I think this could be Atlanta's year, but just don't have enough evidence to pick them over the Eagles. So for me it comes down to the Eagles and Carolina. Hey, this is a Philadelphia blog, if you don't like me picking the Eagles, SCREW YOU!! Eagles return to the Super Bowl this time winning the forkin thing!!

MLB/Phillies

Phillies go 5-4 since last week and remain 1.5 games out of first place San Diego for the Wild Card. The Reds are falling quickly out of the race and teams like the Giants and surprising Marlins are charging up the standings.

Ryan Howard for MVP is now getting full national attention as he's really becoming the favorite. He is on a tear the past few months and these aren't your Pat Burrell 11-2 tack on homers, Howards have been meaningful hits.

After an August (mainly the last 2/3 weeks) to forget about, Chase Utley is heating up again. He's already got 3 home runs in 5 games this month and while everything still doesn't seem as it was during his long hitting streak, Utley's walk off last night should hopefully get him back on track.

I'd highly doubt there's been a better pitcher since in the NL since July 29th than Cole Hamels. I'd look it up but that football preview took a lot of me. I write this stuff Monday Morning and it's getting close to afternoon so I need to hurry up I have some great information left to write still.

Thank God Tom Gordon is back. His history is definitely scary in the clutch but Rhodes, Madson, Geary was too much to handle.

I think the Randall Simon pick up is going to pay some dividends. Somewhere this month I think he gets a key hit. Just got a feeling.

Around the League

The Detroit Tigers continue to play mediocre baseball and have let the White Sox and Twins creep back into the race for the central division.

The revitalized SF Giants and the suddenly hot Barry Bonds are making a push towards the top of the WC standings. Matt Cain and Noah Lowry are going to make an exceptional 1-2 punch for years to come. Remember those names as the Yankees will be trying to get them in 4 years.

The Padres picked up David Wells last week, in what could be an underrated move. Wells seems to always pitch well in the clutch.

The team playing the best baseball the last month in the AL could be the Oakland A's. Quietly they've opened up a big lead in the West as all the attention has been on the Yankees and Tigers.

How does the owner of the Marlins actually want to fire Joe Girardi? I can't believe that team is in the race. And the young pitching they have is exceptional.

Mets. Just wanted to bring them up.

With a month to go: Howard NL MVP, Ortiz AL MVP (with Jeter closing in quickly), Santana and Webb the Cy Youngs. NL Cy is up in the air though a hot September by Penny, Carpenter, or even a rookie like Josh Johnson wins it.