Hectic Thoughts from Finals Week and the First Days of Summer

Here is an incoherent post put together over the past week - finals and now the sweet taste of summer.

- Mel Kiper Jr. has become a cross between Wolverine and John Travolta. The hair just seems to grow "bigger" and more poofy, while his mouth is somewhere around the Rosie O'Donnell level. He needs to take some Tylenol PM before every argument with Todd McShay.

- Speaking of Kiper and McShay, thank the lord that the NFL draft is over. Every year I wish there was more on ESPN about the NHL playoffs and less on the draft. There has been exactly one hyped player that is any good in the past few years: Matt Ryan. Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Vince Young, Alex Smith all stink. There are a few great ones out there, but most of the time the analysts miss them. I would like all of the time back in my life for watching PTI talk about Reggie Bush. And I would like to make a prediction and another plea for my wasted time back - Mark Sanchez and Matthew Stafford will both stink. I think Stafford will be worse than Sanchez because 1. He is playing for a horrible organization that drafts offensive players such as Calvin Johnson and Brandon Pettigrew to "protect their franchise QB" instead of the actual protection - an offensive line and 2. Have you seen the Lions "new" logo? They sketched in an additional 7 lines to make it look, ah... fiercer? I'm predicting another miserable season, albeit not 0-16 if that is where team management thinks this bunch needs the most work. New logo and new quarterback = 2-14. 

- On the other hand, this draft has the potential to be the best ever for the Andy Reid era. Drafting two playmakers in the first two rounds? One of which I was schoolmate of, no, sophomore with, no, um... watched on the football field for Pitt. Shady McCoy is the real deal, a replica of Westbrook and not even the image of a snarling Drew Rosenhaus standing beside him as he donned his Eagles hat for the first time could sour my day. What could sour my day however was...

- The Flyers stinking up the ice. Although I must admit (and shove in everyone's face) that I was no where near surprised. Shocked by the turn of events during the game? Yes. Surprised, no. I have maintained since the all-star break that this team is merely a collection of talent with no team aspects. Jeff Carter hasn't played defense since February, Mike Richards has been so obviously hurt, Joffrey Lupol has disappeared, Danny Briere - well I won't get started on him. I don't think I have ever seen such talent translate into a such a mediocre team. Last year we suffered a 10 game losing streak and still managed 97 points. This year? A team coming off a Conference Finals run with six 25 goal scorers and much more steady goaltending managed just 99 points, 2 more than the year before. For the past two years I have given Marty Biron a hard time and I am now at peace with him. Of all the goalies on the free agent market, he is the one that makes our team the best. My targets in the offseason are...

- Get rid of Joffrey Lupol

- Make it so I never have to hear the words "Flyers" and "Randy Jones" in the same sentence again.

- I know they won't do this now, but fire John Stevens. I don't think he is a bad coach but he is in no way the coach for this team. We need a mean coach to go along with our mean style of play. Some may say that it is hard to argue that a 99 point season is a disappointment, but I've never seen a worse "good" season from the orange and black.

- It used to be that the other organizations were compared to the Flyers. When the Phillies, Eagles, or Sixers lost, people said, "can't they learn anything from the Flyers?" They most competitive team, constantly signing the biggest stars... are now being compared to the Phillies. After the elimination I wondered aloud, "Haven't they learned anything from the Phillies? Any of their heart?" Looks like we have officially passed into another realm...

- WIP smartly pointed out that this draft could not have come on a better day. Any time the Flyers are eliminated from the playoffs the city is in a pretty bad mood. Luckily Jeremy Maclin was picked 10 minutes later and Shady a few hours after that. Mix in a Phillies 9th inning comeback and it turned out to be not such a bad sports day. I'm not completely over the Flyers...

- My Flyers playoff beard is still holding up pretty strong. 3 weeks and counting and I just can't let it go. The players shaved theirs after the game. Eventually...

Moving on...

- As pointed out by my cousin, Raul Ibanez does share a striking resemblance Harry's archnemisis and everyone's favorite dark lord. As long as he keeps playing like he wants to take over baseball, I'm fine with any spell he is doing (as long as steroids is not involved).

- Jimmy Rollins predicted a .400 month for his batting average in the next month. Last time he predicted this he went on what would be the start of a 38 game hitting streak while batting over .400. Thanks to Philly.com for this - not my original idea. Just want to let it be known.

- Theo Ratliff is averaging almost 18 minutes per game in the playoffs. The man formerly known as "the expiring contract" has been a better defender and a better player on the court than "Slammy" Dalembert who is making 10 times as much. But hey, on the bright side, they are both much more productive than Elton Brand, who is making more than both of them combined.

- I am now embarrassed to be associated with Lenny Dykstra. The man is millions of dollars in debt, bought Wayne Gretzky's house for 18.5 million, can't sell it, and claims that everyone owes him money. In reality he owes everyone money and has 24 lawsuits filed against him. It's not light reading but it's worth knowing who represents your franchise.

- OMG! The Marlins lost 7 games in a row! They are suddenly no longer ESPN's main story, on the ESPN "slash" commercials, and everyone's pick to win the World Series. Apparently two weeks of baseball in April really isn't enough time to judge your contenders from your pretenders. Who woulda' thunk it?

- An argument about Cole Hamels. Is he a pussy? No. Is he a 24-year-old kid from California? Yes. He emulates diva in the same way that Peter Forsberg did. He is a little hurt and comes out of games. Hamels, however, put the team on his back and won the World Series for Philadelphia. Forsberg ate our money and moved the Flyers towards their worst season in franchise history. Right now Hamels is just going through a string of bad luck. I'd rather the Phillies take him out of these games and leave it up to the bullpen. In the end - it saves Hamels' arm for later in the season when many pitchers burn out.

- I have played 1 and a half full seasons of Tiger Woods Golf and have made exactly 2 cuts. Hooray for video game expertise.

**Check out the new poll**

Catch you on the flip side.

A Fond Season

This is for my mental wellness. This is for my sanity. This is for the ability to move on. When Scottie Reynolds convulsed himself to within 12 feet of the basket and threw up an off-balance desperation shot, he sank more than the basket – he sank my heart.

I am in unfamiliar territory as a sports fan – not in the sense of losing; as a Jewish Philadelphian I have tasted the Passover bitter herb countless times in the form of sports. The unfamiliarity I am dealing with at the present is as a college sports fanatic. Sure, I watched the big games throughout the year on a Tuesday or Wednesday when the Phillies, Flyers, or Sixers weren’t on. I filled out my March Madness bracket(s) with every intention of winning, reciting smart facts and tid-bits presented to sports nation by Andy Katz and Doug Gotlieb on ESPN. Villanova won my allegiance pretty early on, but the passion I held for them was practically nothing compared to my affinity for our professional sports teams. That all officially changed when my collegiate sports cherry popped, no burst, around 10:00 PM on Saturday, March 28, 2008.

Let us rewind to November of 2007, my first PITT basketball game. I unknowingly donned my gray Pitt Basketball shirt, unaware that I was about to enter a zoo of gold – The Oakland Zoo. At halftime I was part of the Zoo, another 6^th man of the basketball team that has guided the team to an unprecedented 110-10 record in our home stadium, the Petersen Events Center, since it opened in ’02. One Big East Championship later and a freshman year wiser – I was completely prepared for the 2008-2009 season. All year long I jumped, screamed, and continued to wait in line for games. Add two number-one-rankings and two defeats of number-one UConn, and we were on our way to the best season in Pitt basketball history.

After many heart palpatations in the first round against East Tennessee State, I made the decision to embark on a four hour road trip to Dayton, Ohio for our second round matchup with the Oklahoma State Cowboys with my friend Bird. Many thanks to my parents who graciously dished out the cash to treat us to a night in the Holiday Inn, which might as well have been the Ritz-Carlton of Dayton. The hotel bartender gave us the number of a man with tickets and an hour later, albeit 120 dollars lighter in the wallet, Bird and I held shiny tickets to the games the following day.

More late game heroics from Levance Fields and another career game from Sam Young led to a win and a sweet 16 berth, and a much calmed down heart. Levance took care of business down the stretch against Xavier and marched us into elite status, the Elite 8 that is. And who should we be playing but my old favorite team, the Wildcats of Villanova.

After a game of lead changes and up-and-down performances by both teams, the season was over. Levance finally made two free throws when it counted most, yet our defense couldn’t hold them off. Ironically, the one time Philadelphia defeated Pittsburgh when it mattered, I was completely miserable.

That night, I couldn’t sleep. I woke up at 730 – something I haven’t done since I had a summer job. I drove myself into Squirrel Hill, a little Jewish town reminiscent of the Main Line. I bought a book, ordered a fish platter and matzo ball soup at a Jewish Deli and read. After that I made my way back across the street to Barnes & Noble and read some more. After unnecessarily feeding the parking meter (free on Sundays) I treated myself to a matinee viewing of The Reader. Some nude Kate Winslet to brighten my day. This day of mourning came to a close. I was at peace with the end of the Sam Young, Levance Fields, and Tyrell Biggs era in Pitt basketball and I was damn proud of them. Watching the student athletes on and off the court as they succeeded and failed and received more attention than any normal college student filled me with pride. Levance Fields is a 5 foot 10, chubby point guard with the purest passing and dribbling ability and leadership that can be found. He has not been mentioned in any NBA draft talks. He worked and played hard and will go down as the greatest point guard in the school’s history. Watching the work ethic of this team along with Coach Jamie Dixon’s heavy heart of a lost sister and a forced end to his surprising playing career added yet another spot in my heart for sports.

My dad said, “…pot of gold…how you get there…” and it spoke to me. We will win a National Championship one day. I am sure of it. And until that time, I will continue to watch, support, and emotionally invest in this team. However, I’m hoping to not make this Jewish Deli trip an annual event.