Sixers Select Jrue Holiday

With the 17th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers select….Jrue Holiday of UCLA.  Jrue Holiday was a projected lottery pick, however the Sixers were quite fortunate that he fell to them at pick 17.  John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Inquirer indicates that, “In virtually every scenario, UCLA freshman point guard Jrue Holiday was not going to be there at the 17th pick – many had him going in the top 10. But for whatever reason, Holiday started to fall.”  Holiday was the last player left in the green room at Madison Square Garden, and the 76ers could not have been more happy about that.

Holiday declared for the draft after only one season of college ball, something that is the norm these days in the Association.   Holiday did not receive as much playing time as he expected last season, and as a result his stats were not too impressive.  Jrue stands 6 foot 3, which is fairly large for a point guard, and rebounds the ball well for a guy running the point.  Holiday averaged just under nine points per game, however many believe that he has great upside to become a prolific passer and scorer.

Many believed that with the 17th pick the Sixers would pick up North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson, however Holiday was just too good to pass up.  Chad Ford of ESPN makes note that he really likes what the Sixers did with the position they were in.  Ford says, “I really like what the 76ers did, taking an opportunity to nab a lottery talent who was falling because of injury concerns. Holiday is in a long line of players who slipped when team doctors got nervous, with Danny Granger as a prime example. The Sixers could have gone with a more proven guard like Ty Lawson or Eric Maynor, but Holiday has more upside and could turn into a terrific pick for them.”

Impossible Is Nothing

USA Soccer has done it.  Going into the confederation cup semi finals as absolute underdogs, they came out with a 2-0 victory over world soccer power Spain.  Spain came into this game riding a 35 game winning streak, and had not seen much competition in some time.  There greatest competition would come, not from one of the world soccer powers, but the greatest world power, the United States.
The match began withSpain controlling possession often, and giving the US not much room to work with.  Things were not looking up early as Landon Donovan was booked in the fifth minute after committing a foul.  The pace at this point was quite fast and lively.  What really stood out was the defense of the United States, as they continually kept Spain out of a rhythm.  In the twenty-seventh minute Jozy Altidore received a great feed from Clint Dempsey, while shielding the Spanish defenders, striking it past Casillas for the first goal of the match.  The USA would come close to notching another goal in the 36th minute when Donovan attempted a free kick that was nearly headed in by Dempsey.  Spain would get a few good looks in the remaining minutes of the first half, but Tim Howard was in the way of all of them.

At halftime it seemed clear that although Spain was controlling the majority of the possession, the United States got great looks, but more importantly ,converted when they needed to.  Spain had many missed opportunities, causing them to go into the locker room wondering, “what if?”

The second half began with a flurry of shots from the Spanish attack, however Tim Howard was up to the task of stopping everything that came his way.  Spain was coming at the US with speed and intensity, however, Tim Howard would show everyone watching why he is one of the best keepers in the world.  From the 60th to the 70th minute the United States seemed to have a very good hold on the match.  In the 61st minute Jozy Altidore was robbed of a goal, however this would not be a huge killer because the defense of the red, white, and blue was stellar inside of the 18.  In the 74th minute the US found themselves on a fast break down the pitch, with passes from Dempsey to Donovan, eventually leading to a botched through pass by Donovan that would somehow end up on the foot of Dempsey after being touched by US attack men and Spanish defenders.  Dempsey would pull a half spin move and pound the ball into the back of the net giving the United States a two to nothing lead in the most improbable of situations.

The last 10 minutes would be as good as the first 80. The United States defense held strong and kept Spain out of the net, despite several good looks. After hearing from critcis and analysts all week that they would not stand a chance, the United States came out and proved everyone wrong.  However, the United States does still have one game left to play, and although this win is quite nice, they must keep focused on the task ahead.  Their next game will be against either Brazil or South Africa, the winner of that game will be determined on Friday.  The Confederations Cup championship will take place on Sunday, in what will likely be a true test to see if the United States win over Spain was not just a fluke.  Once again, the United States goal should be to prove everyone wrong.

Just a Quick Follow Up

Kevin Hench of foxsports.com published an article talking about how fans love to hate in sports.  Sort of relates to my Favre piece.  He focuses on Kobe, Favre, and A-Rod.  

Please Brett, Just go away

With the return of Brett Favre appearing inevitable at this point, it is safe to say that national sports media will be flocking to Minnesota for training camp and all other sorts of meaningless, purposeless Favre coverage.  Every time Favre brushes his teeth a breaking news update will flash across ESPN.  At this point, enough is enough.

None of this Favre talk would be such an issue if he wasn’t constantly retiring and un-retiring each season since he whined his way out of Green Bay.  I cannot even fathom how Packer fans will handle a Favre signing with the Vikings.  I am no Packer fan, but if my franchise’s most legendary player left, retired, un-retired, retired again, and then decided to go play with our biggest division rival, I would be furious.  Favre should have just done the logical thing and taken the 25 million dollars that the Packers offered him to sit in Mississippi and do essentially nothing.  Better yet, Favre could have taken a job on any network of his choice talking football for a living.  But no.

Sure Favre brings revenue and hype to Minnesota, but what else does he bring?  A bum shoulder, biceps recovering from surgery, a declining completion percentage, and more frequent interceptions.  Since 2004 Favre has not thrown for more than 28 touchdowns, and he has astoundingly thrown 15 or more interceptions since 1997.  In 2005 Favre really showed that he was on the decline when he tossed 20 touchdowns, and a nice 29 interceptions.  While interceptions should be excepted with the frequent amount of throws in the offenses Favre has played in, it is just getting excessive.

Here is the reality.  Favre will be 40 in October, and at his age he cannot afford to keep taking these contstant beatings week in and week out.  Favre also attracts to much attention, but hey, maybe he has earned it.  Brett needs to just sit back, relax, and take retirement for what it is.  So please Brett, just retire for good.

Check ‘em out

Sports illustrated just released an article/mock draft, showing the best draft picks, based on the slot the players were drafted in.  Magic Johnson takes the number one spot, see who takes the other 29.

A man residing in Sacramento is being sentenced to three years in jail for the theft of a bicycle.  However, this is no ordinary bicycle.  The bike this man stole was that of the most famous cyclist in the world, Lance Armstrong.  This is ridiculous seeing as Donte Stallworth got a mere thirty days for killing a man while driving drunk.

High Stepping Their Way to the Playoffs?

The Philadelphia Eagles are  approaching training camp with a bolstered offense, defense, and special teams.  The last time we saw the Eagles they had just fallen in the NFC Championship game to the Arizona Cardinals.  After a shaky ’08 season which included the benching of a star quarterback, a totally absent running game, a tie to the Bengals, and turmoil between the coach and front office, the Eagles seem poised for a championship run.

The start of the Eagles off season began when they signed Right Guard Stacy Andrews, formerly of Cincinnati, who was signed to fill the void left by Jon Runyan.  Stacy is also the brother of Shawn Andrews, the Eagles other lineman on the right side.  There is speculation that Stacy was brought in to stabilize Shawn, who has had some previous bouts with depression.  However, this signing would be the lone bright for the Eagles until the draft in April.

The fan base was extremely angered and disappointed that the Eagles did not re-sign Free Safety Brian Dawkins, who had been the heart and soul of the Eagles defense for 12 years.  Up until the NFL draft there was a huge lull in free agency, and the Eagles appeared destined for a poor season.

Days before April’s draft the Eagles made a move that would certainly catch the attention of the fans.  The Eagles traded for disgruntled Left Tackle Jason Peters, formerly of Buffalo.  Many speculate that Peters is actually the best Left Tackle in football, and that the Eagles got him at quite a cheap price.   The Eagles traded the 28th overall pick in the 2009 draft, still leaving them with one first round selection at the 21st slot.  Just days later the Eagles would maneuver their way up the draft board into the 19th position, to select speedy Wide Receiver Jeremy Maclin of Missouri.  In the second round, the Eagles would add to their most troubled position, by adding Running Back Lesean McCoy from Pittsburgh.

Newly drafted Eagles Jeremy Maclin (Left) and Lesean McCoy (Right) pose for a picture in the Eagles locker room.

It is amazing to think what a few months can do for a team like the Eagles. In March, there was much angst over how the Eagles could not compete for a division title, much less a conference one.  Now, the feeling in Philadelphia is that anything less than a Super Bowl title will be a failure for this group of players.  It seems that the Eagles are at their best when they can run a balanced offense that pleases the fans, as well as the players.  The Eagles now have a younger team, and the personnel necessary to finally capture the team’s first ever Super Bowl title.  With Donovan McNabb at the helm, Brian Westbrook and Lesean McCoy handling the carries, and speedy receivers Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin on the outside, (not to mention a top 10 defense) this team really seems ready to take off and fly high into the ’09 season.

2009 projected starters

QB- Donovan Mcnabb:  Seasoned Vet, you know what you will get with him (25 TD, 8-10 INT).   However, with the addition of Maclin his numbers could be bolstered.

RB-Brian Westbrook:  Great talent, elusive, however he is injury prone and that is an issue.

WR- Desean Jackson:  Should watch out for potential Sophomore slump that typically plagues Wide Outs.

WR- Kevin Curtis:  Recovering from sports hernia surgery, however, should be good to go by opening day.

WR- Jeremy Maclin:  Speedy receiver out of the spread offense in Missouri, who needs to improve route running in order to be an NFL stud.

TE- Brent Celek:  Will take over the starting job after L.J. Smith left the nest for Baltimore.  Runs hard, and runs nice routes.

LT- Jason Peters:  Big offseason acquisition.  Needs to keep his personal issues aside and just play the game.

LG- Todd Herremans:  Athletic, veteran LG returns for another season.

C- Jamaal Jackson:  Needs to improve his blocking, but is on his way to becoming a great center.

RG- Stacy Andrews:  Coming off ACL surgery, brought in to keep brother Shawn in line.

RT- Shawn Andrews:  If personal issues don’t arise in ’09 he will return to pro bowl form.

Defense

LE- Juqua Parker:  Solid starter, could get beat out by Abiamari in training camp if he doesn’t watch out.

DT- Mike Patterson:  He and Broderick Bunkley bring a fearsome look to the interior of the Eagles defensive line.

DT- Broderick Bunkley:  ’06 draft pick came into his own last season, and really is showing promise.

RE- Trent Cole:  Pro Bowl DE should rack up about 10-13 sacks, the norm for Cole these past few years.

OLB- Chris Gocong:  Underrated Sam linebacker out of Cal Poly, is showing that he belongs in this defense permanently.

MLB- Stewart Bradley:  Showing that he has quite good value for a guy drafted in the third round.

OLB- Omar Gaither/ Akeem Jordan:  Will come down to training camp to decide who should start at the WILL Linebacker.  Both have great speed and field vision.

CB- Asante Sameul:  With the exception of Champ Bailey, he is the best CB in the NFL.

CB- Sheldon Brown:  Annoyed with contract situation, but he has no leverage.  He will tough it out for this year and then re-open contract diccussions in 2010.

FS- Sean Jones:  The former Cleveland Brown is trying to fill the huge void left by legendary FS Brian Dawkins.  Quentin Demps is also in the picture.

SS- Quintin Mikell:  Quickly becoming known as one of the best strong safties in the entire NFL.

A Visit From Dan Steinberg

Three Things Learned

1) In terms of blogging the author should focus on human interest stories that will attract people away from the normal every day stories that they are reading.

2) When writing for a website, focus on appealing to people at work.  People most often check the sites they are interested in during the work day, and Internet traffic is at its peak during the work day.

3)  Be unique in your writing.  Try to write about stories that may focus more on off the court topics, than on on the court topics.  Being able to be creative is necessary when writing for such a wide audience.

Three Articles of Interest

This article is “Monday Morning QB” by Peter King of Sports Illustrated.  Each Monday Peter publishes a general summary of  headlines and  personal opinions based on the happenings in the NFL.

This article is by Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he writes about the Phillies current struggles, and how it will be difficult to repeat as World Champions in 2009.

This article is by Rick Reily of ESPN, telling the story of a “walk-off-back on” homerun at the collegiate level.