Author: Vin

Vin is a Philly boy who shouldn't be invited into your house because he'll judge you on your book and music collection. He owns Dawkins, Utley, Iverson, and Lindros jerseys, which is all you really need to know about him. He can be reached at [email protected].

Categories
NHL General

Crashing the Zamboni: Islander Injured


1. Alexei Y”ouch”in
New York Islanders captain Alexei Yashin could be out for up to a month, thanks to a sprained knee suffered in Saturday’s game against Washington. This has to be some disgusting news for Isles fans, especially when you consider Alexei’s numbers so far this year: 10 goals, 18 assists, and 28 total points for a +10 rating. He’s the team leader in assists and points, so a big chunk of New York’s offense has just been forced off the ice (the set timetable for his return is officially 2-4 weeks). This was a very untimely injury, seeing that the Islanders are just beginning to heat up–winners of six of the last eight games, they look to be alive and kicking in the Eastern Conference.

2. Devils Deteriorating
New Jersey remained in a bit of a funk after last night’s contest with the Los Angeles Kings, dropping their fourth straight game. L.A. pulled it out in shootouts, with Alexander Frolov scoring the game-winning goal for the 3-2 Kings victory. New Jersey held the lead in the Atlantic Division not long ago, but the significant play of both New York teams has dropped the Devils down to third. For Los Angeles, it was their second consecutive victory (but we’re not too sure that it would even be worth it to explain their chances in the Pacific). All regulation scoring in this game came in the 2nd period, when the Devils and Kings each scored twice. Despite the loss Martin Brodeur played well, stopping 26 shots.

3. Wings Unlock The Secret…
…to winning again. What is it? Simple: Just play the entire game shorthanded, and chances are they’ll come out as victorious. Detroit got a pair of 3rd period shorthanded goals en route to a 2-1 victory over the Dallas stars. Kris Draper and Mathieu Schneider were both able to beat Marty Turco while playing with the disadvantage. Dominik Hasek ensured that the two goals would be enough for the win, ending up with 20 saves on the night. It ended a five-game losing streak for Detroit, who had a nine-game winning streak snapped to begin the slump. For the Stars, their three-game win streak ended–thanks in large part to Detroit’s penalty kill, who held Dallas to 0-5 on the power play while tallying the two decisive shorthanded goals.

Check It Out
Darren Eliot reports that the NHL’s new rules have stripped the game of its physical component. Just based off of observation, the increase in penalties has been clear since the introduction of the new rulebook. It truly does take some flow from the game– knowing that roughly a quarter to a half of the contest will be played with one team shorthanded.

Game of the Night: Anaheim at Edmonton
Chris Pronger returns to Rexall Place–this time as a member of the Ducks

The Last Shot
Monday was arguably the best day of Trent Yawney’s life, while Denis Savard is left to wonder: “Why me?”

Categories
NFL General

Nov 28 in Sports History: Ernie Nevers scores 40 points


In 1929: In a feat that would be almost impossible to accomplish today, Ernie Nevers of the Chicago Cardinals scored all 40 of his teams points in a 40-6 victory over the Chicago Bears. Nevers, a 6’4” 200 pound fullback, scored six touchdowns and kicked four extra points (he missed two). A current player would have to score seven touchdowns in a game, and nobody has scored six in a game since Gale Sayers did it for the Bears as a rookie in 1965. Dare we say it will Nevers be done again? (sorry…)

In 1981: Paul “Bear” Bryant’s Alabama Crimson Tide defeated rival Auburn for his 315th career victory, then an all-time record for college football. Bryant, wearing his signature checkered hat, passed Amos Alonzo Stagg. Bryant (1913-1983) coached Division I football for 37 years at Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Alabama (where he played) and led the Tide to six national championships. He finished with 323 victories and died in 1983. He was eventually passed on the all-time list by Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden. (bryantmuseum.ua.edu)

In 1982: If mom and dad wouldn’t be proud enough if one of their sons made it to a professional league, how about six of their seven sons playing in the NHL at the same time? When Ron Sutter played his first NHL game as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, he helped the family set an all-time record with five brothers in the league (his twin brother Rich signed with Pittsburgh the following season to make it an even half dozen). Although the Hockey Sutter’s played for many teams, at that time Ron was with the Flyers, Brian played for the Blues, Darryl played for the Blackhawks, and Duane and Brett played for the Islanders. Gary Sutter was the only brother to never make it to the NHL. (The Northern Iowan)

Categories
Atlanta Falcons

Michael Vick has a message for the fans


That love affair Atlanta has with Michael Vick might be coming to an end soon. You can pretty much do anything you want as a professional athlete as long as it doesn’t involve a live boy or a dead girl. Murder accessory to murder of two people? Use your cell phone to sell some drugs? Kill someone while driving drunk? Fans are willing to forget all that. But you cannot flip the fans off.

Fans can call your mother a whore and your wife a disease infested stripper (she probably is a stripper anyway), but you cannot retaliate. So when Michael Vick flipped the bird to some hecklers on his way off the field (after Atlanta’s fourth loss in a row, by the way), he got himself into a whole mess of trouble. Now, Atlanta isn’t the most passionate of sports towns but we have to imagine that running this photo over and over won’t help Vick’s current on the field struggles.

Vick did issue a statement apologizing to the fans:


First and foremost, I would like to apologize for my inappropriate actions with fans today. I was frustrated and upset at how the game was going for my team, and that frustration came out the wrong way. That’s not what I’m about. That’s not what the Atlanta Falcons are about. I simply lost my cool in the heat of the moment. I apologize and look forward to putting this incident behind me.

“That’s not what I’m about”? Hmmm… and Kramer isn’t a racist. We always knew Michael Vick was overrated, we just didn’t know he was a punk too.

Links:
[AJC.com]: Vick apologizes for obscene gesture

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Chicag-Oh, No!



Seemed like a good idea

1. Wallowing Wallace
Ben Wallace is usually a hard working, no-nonsense kind of guy, but it seems like something has been bugging him since joining the Bulls. His numbers aren’t career lows but they are down across the board from what he averaged during his time in Detroit. He is averaging lows in minutes (33.9), points (5.5), rebounds, (9.2) and blocks (1.5). Wallace is currently tied for 17th in the league in rebounding, sandwiched right between Andris Biedrins of Golden State and Chris Wilcox of Seattle. Not the usually company that Wallace keeps. And in 13 games, Wallace has posted three games of only five rebounds, one of seven and one of eight. Oh, and he had the worst night of his career as a starter in Philadelphia on Friday when he failed to record a single point, rebound, block or steal in only 20 minutes of play. Throw in a 4-9 record that includes a recent six game losing streak and the benching of Wallace by coach Scott Skiles for refusing to remove his headband during Saturday’s win over the Knicks, and Chicago might be starting to regret their $60 million off-season decision.

2. Suns Rise
It took the Suns nearly a month, but for the first time this season Phoenix has a winning record after they went to Portland and defeated the Blazers 119-101. With the win, Phoenix moves to 7-6 on the season and the team has now won six out of seven, including their current four game winning streak. The team chemistry is finally developing now that Amare Stoudemire is close to 100 percent and beginning to return to his All-Star form. The byproduct is that the team is able to pull out the close games they were losing earlier this season, in fact all but two of the Suns games this year have been decided by ten points or less. Having a winning record is a long awaited accomplishment for the team, but they are still sitting at fourth in a very tight Pacific division. Phoenix is off until Wednesday when they begin a three game home stand against the Rockets. However, after that the team will head to the east coast for a grueling road trip consisting of five games in seven days.

3. Coach Cassell
Sam Cassell has expressed great interest in becoming a head coach once his playing days are over and he could only hope to replicate his career as a player. The alien-faced point guard has been a winner everywhere he’s played; he won championships in Houston, took Milwaukee to the Eastern Conference Finals, took Minnesota to the Western Conference Finals and has been instrumental in turning around a once floundering Clippers franchise. The 37 year old veteran signed a two-year, $13 million contract with the Clippers this past summer and says his playing future is uncertain after that. It’s obvious that Cassell knows the game, and his experience would prove valuable to any team. He’s basically a coach on the floor right now and he has absolutely no problem getting into the face of any teammate that isn’t pulling their weight. Cassell possesses all of the tools needed to become a great leader on the sidelines. If it’s any indication, point guards have faired pretty well as head coaches. Current PG’s turned HC’s, Isiah Thomas, Doc Rivers, Avery Johnson, Scott Skiles and Maurice Cheeks have all taken teams to the playoffs at some point in their coaching careers, unfortunately they have a combined record of 45-63 in the post season.

4. Who He?
There have been several players to emerge from nowhere for their teams this season but none more so than Monta Ellis and Kevin Martin. Ellis was drafter 40th overall by the Warriors and only played in 49 games during his rookie year, starting three. In his sophomore campaign, he is averaging 17.6 points, 3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He also posted back-to-back 31 point games earlier in the month. Division opponent Sacramento has their own relatively unheard of guard. Martin began to make his presence felt in the league last season when he averaged 10.8 points and had an impressive run in the first round of the playoffs against San Antonio. This year, Martin leads the Kings in scoring at 24.9 points per game. That’s good enough for 14th in the league, ahead of names like Kobe Bryant (23.8), Tim Duncan (22.8), Kevin Garnett (21.5), Tracy McGrady (19.2) and Jermaine O’Neal (18.2). Not too shabby for a kid that averaged 6.9 points over his first two seasons.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Raja Bell @ Portland 41 min, 30 pts (FG: 10-19, 3FG: 7-12, FT: 3-3), 2 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl

Monday’s Game to Watch: Orlando (10-4) @ Utah (12-2) It’s a clash between the conferences two best teams. Orlando is only 3-3 on the road but is currently riding a three game winning streak behind the defensive prowess of Dwight Howard and the back court production of Grant Hill and Jameer Nelson. Utah is a perfect 7-0 at home and will be looking to bounce back from a road loss to Golden State. It’s going to be a battle of young studs when double-double machines Howard and Carlos Boozer match up in the paint.

Categories
NHL General

Crashing the Zamboni: Chicago fires coach Yawney

1. Blackhawks fire Trent Yawney
You think going back to work today was tough for you?  Consider Trent Yawney, fired today by the Chicago Blackhawks who have lost 12 of the last 15 games.  He was replaced by assistant Denis Savard.   No word on whether Yawney said during Thanksgiving dinner, “I am thankful for my job as head coach of the Blackhawks.”

2. Lighting Up The Sens
Tampa Bay goalie Johan Holmqvist chalked up 22 saves on Sunday night in a 3-1 win over a somewhat mysterious Ottawa Senators team. Holmqvist is hot, now having won a miraculous eight of his last nine starts to lead the Lightning back into the thick of things in a crowded Southeast Division. It prompts this question: why even have goaltender Marc Denis on the roster (this year, new Denis is 5-7-1, while Holmqvist is 8-3-0). Holmie’s terrific performance in net snapped a four game winning streak for a second-to-last Sens team, and also ended a seven game point streak for Ottawa sniper Daniel Alfredsson. Offensivley for Tampa, Brad Richards had an impressive night with a goal and an assist–helping the Bolts to their fourth win in the last six games.

3. Kari Goes Krazy
Thrashers’ netminder Kari Lehtonen produced one of the best performances thus far in the NHL season, leading Atlanta to a 1-0 win on Saturday night. He stopped all 37 shots that came his way from the sticks of the Florida Panthers, paving the way for his third shutout of the year. Florida has had no answer for the boys from “Blueland” this year, now dropping to 0-4 against Atlanta. This can be credited in large part to Atlanta’s penalty kill against Florida, who has been shut down to the tune of 1-for-23 in the four meetings between the teams. Ilya Kovalchuck increased his team lead in goals on Saturday, tallying the lone score for Atlanta.

4. BIZZARO NEWS BREAK: Columbus Wins
In an event that can only be considered bizarre, the Columbus Blue Jackets actually showed up to play on Saturday night against the Minnesota Wild. They walked off of the ice as a 5-3 winner in the contest, which is probably the most amazing thing to happen in the NHL in recent memory. Sergei Fedorov had a productive performance for the Blue Jackets, scoring two goals and adding two assists. Still, with only five goals and seven assists on the year, he has to be considered an underachiever (but it is tough to blame him completely, when he’s usually the only Columbus player awake on the ice). The win ended an abysmal stretch of eight straight losses for the Blue Jackets, and also gave new coach Ken Hitchcock his first victory behind the bench. For Minnesota, who is tied for first in the Northwest, it was not the first time they have lost to a last-place team. The Wild dropped a 4-3 decision to the Phoenix Coyotes on November 14th.

Check It Out
In an interesting story from The New York Times, this edition of NHL Notebook discuses the impact of Bo Schembechler’s loss in the NHL. It revolves around Rangers’ defenseman Aaron Ward, who has roots in Ann Arbor. Stories like these just cushion the stories we’ve all heard about Schembechler as not only a coach, but a man.

Game of the Night: Dallas at Detroit, 7:00PM ET
The Red Wings have lost five straight after winning nine in a row

The Last Shot
SI.com’s Brian Cazeneuve releases his thoughts on a crowded Western Conference, as well as other notes from around the NHL. Brian tends to agree with us in thinking that Anaheim holds Western Conference supremacy.

Categories
College Football

Sports History: Thanksgiving Leftovers edition

Thanksgiving weekend is one of the best and most extended sports weekends of the year. Four full days of food, football, family, more football and more food, sprinkled with plenty of basketball (college and pro) and a dash of hockey make for a grand feast of sports gluttony not matched until the middle of March (some say Bowl Season, but we here at Sportscolumn blog are against whatever Shit Bag bowl 6-6 Pitt is going to be invited to, so no). Since we were so busy over the weekend ingesting all of this, and the Monday after is always one of the slowest days, not much happens (unless you count the dominance that is Hunters vs. Bears). So we offer you a healthy cornucopia (I love that word and this is the only time of year I can use it, so shoo) of sports history leftovers. Enjoy!

On November 23, 1984: In one of the most remarkable college football plays ever, Doug Flutie hit receiver Gerard Phelan with a “Hail Mary” pass with no time on the clock to help Boston College upset defending national champion Miami at the Orange Bowl, 47-45. After the Hurricanes took the lead 45-41 on a Melvin Bratton touchdown with 28 seconds remaining, the Eagles got the ball to the Miami 48 with six seconds left. On the last play, Flutie scrambled right and heaved the ball towards a cluster of players near the goal line. The ball miraculously eluded the outstretched hands of Hurricane defenders and found Phelan, who cradled it “like a newborn baby” as he fell into the end zone with zeroes on the clock. Flutie’s miracle pass capped off an amazing Heisman Trophy campaign for the diminutive QB from Natick, MA. He ended up with 472 yards passing that day, using the Hail Mary to edge Bernie Kosar’s 445 yards in the air.  (espn.com)

On Nov. 24, 1960: Here’s an amazing feat in NBA history that will never be duplicated: Wilt Chamberlain pulled down 55 rebounds in a game (Feel free to insert your joke here about the 20,000 women being a better record). Which undersized wusshole did Chamberlain dominate to set a record which still stands today? It was only his chief rival and nemesis, hall of famer Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics. The game was a microcosm of the two center’s careers, as Chamberlain dominated on the stat sheet (he added 34 points and four assists), while Russell and the Celtics won the game, 132-129. We also know that Chamberlain’s 100 points in a game seems unattainable, but we’re pretty sure Kobe will huck up 150 shots one of these days to challenge it. (www.hoophall.com)

On Nov. 26, 1990: The Houston Oilers defeated the Buffalo Bills 27-24 in a Monday Night matchup. The Bills’ loss capped off a weekend in which all six first-place teams lost in the same week, the latest ever occurrence in a season. The Bengals fell into a tie for first with Pittsburgh and Houston in the AFC Central after being upset by the Colts 34-20, the Chiefs inched to within a game in the AFC West by beating the Raiders 27-24, the Giants lost to Philadelphia 31-13 in the NFC East, the Bears were clobbered by Minnesota 41-13 in the Central, and in the NFC West, the 49ers were shocked by the Rams at home, 28-17.  Each team held on to win their division, however. Also, the losses by the Giants and 49ers took a little luster off a showdown against each other the following week in which both teams would’ve been undefeated had they not lost. (The 2006 ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia)

Categories
General Sports

Nov 22 episode of Poor Man’s PTI

Welcome to another episode of Poor Man’s PTI. We’re back after a couple of weeks off. Did you miss us?

You can download this week’s podcast directly (running time 30 mins) or subscribe to the feed.  

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

This week’s topics include:

  • Ohio State – Michigan and the BCS
  • Tony Romo – Jessica Simpson rumor
  • If we talked about OJ Simpson, here’s how we’d do it
  • Free Agent talk: Matsuzaka, Soriano, Bonds
  • NBA Hoops
  • What we’re watching on TV

Hope you guys enjoy the podcast.  If you did enjoy it, please give us a good rating below so we can rise up in the rankings. If you didn’t, send us an email ([email protected]) and give us some suggestions. Thanks for listening.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Cleaning the Glass


1. 20-20 Vision
At the tender age of 20, Orlando’s Dwight Howard is working hard to break some of the most impressive feats by the league’s best big men. When the Magic host the Pacers tonight, Howard will look to become the first player in 15 years to record three consecutive games of 20 points and 20 rebounds. On Saturday versus Charlotte Howard posted 24 points and 21 rebounds, he followed that effort up with a 24 point, 23 rebound game at Memphis on Monday. Tim Duncan was the last player to have back-to-back game of 20 and 20 in 2002-03. Shaquille O’Neal had nine 20/20 games in 1999-00, the most by anyone in the past ten years. Kevin Willis posted 12 in 1991-92, the most by any player in the last 20 years. Howard currently has three such games this season alone. He posted 21 points and 22 rebounds earlier in the season at Minnesota. While the records by O’Neal and Willis might be in reach for the kid this year, the true record is far out of reach. Moses Malone recorded 31 games of 20 points and 20 rebounds in 1978-79. Furthermore, Howard is trying to become the youngest player in NBA history to win a rebounding title; he currently leads the league with 14.1 per game.

2. Texas Heat Wave
Despite all the criticism Dallas received for starting slow and dropping their first four, the team is now riding high as they sit at 7-4 after pulling off a seven game winning streak. What’s more impressive is that they have done so without their talented small forward Josh Howard. Even with their current winning streak, the team still sits behind San Antonio, New Orleans and Houston in the southwest division. Much of the team’s success can be attributed to their scoring output, and more recently, an improved defense. Over the first four games of the season, Dallas averaged 89 points per game; in the next seven their total scoring increased to 105.3. In their last three contests, the Mavs have given up an average of 83 points to their opponents. MVP candidate, Dirk Nowitzki, has lead the team in scoring in every contest since their seven game winning streak began. Over that span, Nowitzki has averaged 23.7 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Dallas takes their win streak on the road to San Antonio on Friday where the team will play a tough Spurs team for the second time this month.

3. Block Party
While the Charlotte Bobcats might not exactly be a ferocious franchise just yet, they definitely have found a defender that guards they rim with a fury. In his third season, Emeka Okafor is has suddenly become a defensive force to be reckoned with. After averaging a respectable 1.8 blocks per game over his first two seasons, Okafor has increased his rejections to over four a game, 4.1 to be exact. Okafor leads the NBA in blocks this season and during his ten games, he has recorded at least two blocks in nine of them. Okafor has one game with two blocks, three with three blocks, one with four, one with five, one with six, one with seven and one with eight. And he’s not just blocking shots out there. At 24, Okafor leads his team in minutes (38.4), points (20.1), field goal percentage (57.5), offensive rebounds (4.0), defensive rebounds (8.0) and total rebounds (12.0). He also ranks third in steals (1.2) and fourth in assist (1.7). If this guy doesn’t remind you of a young David Robinson, both on and off the court, then nobody will.

4. R.I.P.
After 15 years of pick and rolls, made famous by the classic connection of John Stockton to Karl Malone, the Utah organization will soon play in a newly named area. That’s because the Jazz have sold the naming rights of the building to a radioactive waste disposal facility 75 miles west of Salt Lake City. EnergySolutions purchased the rights to the building known as the Delta Center and on Monday there were huge EnergySolutions banners waving outside the building and inside, on the court, was a new logo that read “EnergySolutions Arena.” CEO Steve Creamer hopes that people can look past the stigma that is associated with nuclear waste. Good luck with that Steve. Why not just call it the “Chernobyl Center”?

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant vs. Los Angeles Clippers 38 min, 40 pts (FG: 12-23, 3FG: 1-1, FT: 15-18), 5 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Miami (4-6) @ San Antonio (9-2) This game lost some sizzle when Shaq went down but it is still a match-up between the last two NBA champions. Tim Duncan leads a solid Spurs team who, while perfect on the road, has struggled to win on their home court where they are 3-2. Dwyane Wade is still adjusting to life without Shaq as the double teaming has become more frequent. But he continues to thrive; however, the team is only 1-3 since the surgery on O’Neal’s knee.

Categories
Philadelphia Phillies

Ron Howard can direct and he’s MVP!


Philly sure does know how to celebrate its heroes. After winning the MVP, Phillies 1B Ryan Howard got a giant banner on city hall, a Liberty Bell statue and a mayoral proclamation. Problem is that Mayor Street is a moron.


We are enormously pleased and we are very, very proud of our Phillies, and we are certainly proud of Ron Howard and his great achievements. We have somebody who we can really say, ‘It’s all right to be like Ron.’

….
for us, Ron Howard is a symbol of freedom that we’re going to have when we bring a world championship right down, you hear me? We are going to be free.

After a while, someone finally stepped to his side and whispered to Street that Ryan was the one with 58 homers and 149 RBI. But we’re sure Opie is very proub to be a symbol of freedom and world championship.

Links:
[Philly.com]: Cheers for whatzisname

[Philly.com]: Ryan toast of the town as NL MVP winner
[Answers.com]: Ryan Howard info

Categories
Boxing

Nov 22 in Sports History: Before Mike Tyson went insane



Devil on his shoulder

In 1986: Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 20 years old after he knocked out Trevor Berbick. Tyson, like he did to many fighters early in his career, made quick work of Berbick (who in an odd piece of trivia was Muhammed Ali’s last opponent), knocking him out in the second round. After winning the WBC title from Berbick, Tyson went on to become the undisputed heavyweight champion the following year by claiming the rest of the alphabet soup titles. Berbick, sadly, quickly declined after the Tyson fight and was recently murdered in Jamaica. (nytimes.com)

In 1917: The National Hockey League was formed as a result of the disbanding of the National Hockey Association. Charter members included the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Arenas and Quebec Bulldogs. It didn’t get off to a great start, as the Bulldogs dropped out of the league before playing a game; while the Wanderers played six games before their home arena burnt down. The Arenas won the Stanley Cup after defeating the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey League. The next season was tougher on the fledgling NHL, as only three clubs fielded teams and the Stanley Cup Finals were cancelled after five games due to an influenza outbreak that killed Canadiens defenseman Joe Hall. (nhl.com/history)

In 2003: The Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers played the first outdoor game in NHL history. The game was played at the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos’ Commonwealth Stadium. 57,167 fans braved the well-below zero temperatures to witness two historical games. First, an exhibition called the Mega Stars game featured Oilers versus Canadiens greats, including Wayne Gretzky (who suited up in blue and orange for the first time since being traded in 1988) and Mark Messier for Edmonton. In the night cap, the NHL squads played an official game, with the Canadiens prevailing 4-3 on a late Richard Zednik goal. It was so cold that most players had to wear thermal underwear and ski caps under their equipment. (cbc.com)