Congratulations to the winner

UPDATE: I messed up bigtime. Apparently when I ran the Scenario Generator tool Yahoo wasn't done updating everyone's points and the results I got were inaccurate. So TJMC can "keep hope alive" because if Louisville and North Carolina are the finalists and North Carolina wins, he wins. Any other outcome and Netstrodamus wins.

According to Yahoo's nifty little Scenario Generator tool Netstrodamus has wrapped up willweeverwin's Tournament Pool, redeeming himself after last year's performance with a very un-Philadelphia-like worst to first turnaround. He can partially thank some big time Arizona choking and an atrocious traveling call for his victory. Seriously, how can the refs make that call? Anyway, it doesn't matter who makes the finals or who wins it all, no one else can earn enough points. The last four spots are also locked up going to GoodGrief, The Control Group, BigDaddyB, and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. The remaining games however will determine the standings for 2nd to 6th place.

NCAA Tournament Time

It's been a couple boring sports weeks since the Super Bowl but the Tournament has arrived to sustain us until the NFL draft. (I'd rather be saying the NHL playoffs.) Once again I set up "team" willweeverwin over at Yahoo! so everyone can embarrass themselves again this year.

First go to Yahoo's Tournament Pick'em page. If you have a Yahoo ID, login. If not follow the instructions and get one. Once logged in fill out your individual info for your pick'em bracket then click the "Create or Join Group" button then choose "Join an existing group" then choose "Join a private group". When prompted, enter the following information:

Group ID#: 49583
Pass: probablynot

The willweeverwin winner will receive very limited accolades and not much else. At least that's what I got last year. Don't know if Yahoo is giving anything away. Don't forget to download the custom willweeverwin bracket gif!

Another One Bites The Dust

Per ESPN, Burgess agreed to terms with the Raiders. For a guy who missed the previous two seasons (and even a few games down the stretch this year), sounds like the guy got a huge contract. No idea if the $6MM of "bonuses" is all guaranteed money (or incentives / tbd roster bonuses), but man... if it is guaranteed, that is absurd and the Raiders are high rolling it here. Didn't the guy miss a chunk of last year and the entire two previous seasons? Unreal. Wish I could show up to work that frequently and get a big contract.

After Reese, Mayberry, and now Burgess... who's next? Oh, and now do the birds wait another year to see what McDougal really has in him or do they draft another DE this year (one of their favorite positions)?

Trotter signs with the Eagles

From the Eagles website:

The Jeremiah Trotter saga ended Friday afternoon with the linebacker agreeing to terms on a five-year contract with the team. "Philadelphia is my home and the Eagles are the team I want to be with," Trotter told PhiladelphiaEagles.com as he returns to town after visits in Kansas City and Cincinnati.

Word is he took less money to stay with the Eagles and will get a roster bonus in the second year if he remains healthy. Will they still look at Kendrel Bell now?

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Ok, I hadn't boo-ed in a while, so there it went. The Eagles signed BDB's buddy, Buckhalter, to a 2 yr deal to open the 2005 FA season. Not as big a splash (cough, cough) as last year's first day, but there you have it... Assuming he makes it back on the playing field and doesn't fall over again, the blog will have to listen for two more years to BDB's complaining about Bucky's general idiocy and inept blocking. Long sigh.

I was prepared to deal with a boring opening to free agency, but Buckhalter being the sole headline of the day... that is salt in the wound.

Big Daddy B

I Just Wanna Buy A Jersey

Ron knows this, but the rest of you might not. I have a passion for collecting hockey jerseys. I don't just have Flyers jerseys but teams from around the world and even one from the Rangers. I'll get a Devils when they sign Satan. I own some real gems like an autographed Maurice Richard replica old school knitted Canadiens and some not-so-gems like an autographed Eric Lindros All Star. I use that one to line the bottom of my puppy's cage. He seems to like peeing on it and I don't blame him.

Anyway, since the NHL is self destructing I can't bring myself to buy any more hockey jerseys. So to get my fix I thought a nice new football jersey would satiate my cravings for meshed polyester and really big numbers. I figured it would be cool to buy a Patriot's jersey with some funny name on the back, but for some reason my order keeps being rejected. It turns out the same thing happened to my friend Bert Balls.

King Strikes a Deal With the Kings

There hasn't been a lot of Sixers interest here at WWEW, but that all about to change now that AI is getting a little help, little as in Chris Webber kinda little.

Last night, King, the 76ers' president/general manager, acquired the 6-10 Webber, 6-7 forward Matt Barnes and 6-10 former Villanova star Michael Bradley from Sacramento in return for Kenny Thomas, Corliss Williamson and Brian Skinner.

Alan Iverson has stepped up his game lately, a new career high in points a few games back and another All-Star MVP, now add a little extra help and sounds like we're ready for a playoff run. My prediction they'll make it to the championship and break our hearts at the last minute. Philly.com has the scoop.

Update: Wait there's more, news is coming in that they just finished another deal. This time it Glen "Big Dog" Robinson going to New Orleans in return for Jamal Mashburn and Rodney Rogers. The 411.

Flyers seem to have a hand in resolving the NHL mess

In about 30 minutes I guess we'll find out if the NHL has a future or not. And according to this article if the NHL season is partially saved several Flyers are among those to thank.

According to several players and news reports, the group included Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames, Chris Pronger of the St. Louis Blues and Jeremy Roenick and Robert Esche of the Philadelphia Flyers. They explored the willingness of players to accept a cap, and their effort gained momentum after several players met last weekend in Philadelphia with Ed Snider, the owner of the Flyers.

Of course some players don't like the thought of other players trying to make things actually work.

Referring to the splinter group, Peca said, "The steps a few guys made behind their backs to go and lobby other players on accepting a salary cap and going to the league is very disrespectful and unprofessional, and I can't believe it happened."

Peca is an idiot. The NHL has made its share of bad decisions like expansion but it seems obvious that player salaries were the main culprit bankrupting the league and without any restraints the rich, corporate backed teams could continue to burn through money and the poor teams were ruining themselves trying to keep up. With the players making a tremendous concession by accepting a cap AND still offering the across the board salary reduction for a year they are now the good guys. And with the owners not accepting their $49 million cap number they look like the greedy bastards they are. However this turns out in the end I think the players have at least won back the favor of the fans.

UPDATE: They cancelled the season and of course blamed it on the union.

Pro Bowl Thoughts on The Eagles

Ok, so at least Andy Reid didn't make his fourth consecutive appearance in Honolulu. However, there was plenty of Eagle representation there this year. And, while many probably can't bear the idea of watching, I am half way watching so far and am utterly unimpressed by the Eagles there so far. DMac looked miserable and many of the WR's dropped his balls (Mushin included). Dawk got burned on the first AFC TD by Harrison. BWest looks decent.

Your thoughts?

Corey Simon - FRANCHISED!

Whamo! Just like that, the Eagles placed the old franchise tag on Simon. While BDB is concerned about the DT position for next year (I was last year if you recall), I was somewhat surprised to see that label get placed on Simon. He missed some of training camp due to "personal" reasons and battled a few injuries this year. If he doesn't get a larger offer somewhere else (that the Eagles don't match), this tag puts him in the top 5 salary range for DT's in the league, something BDB thinks is too high of a price. Perhaps the Birds will lift the tag later and are just waiting to see if a team goes for him, leaving Philly with two first rounders.

Meanwhile, the clock needs to be rolled back, cuz it ain't 11 anymore, Toto.

Big Daddy B

Post mortem

In a game which everyone said needed to be almost error free the Eagles were far from it yet they still could have won the game. The 2 prime elements of the team that had to play great, McNabb and the defense, only played OK. McNabb was inconsistent all game. While he had brilliant TD throws to Smith, Westbrook, and Lewis he had horrid throws scattered in between them. And his 2 meaningful interceptions were brutal and brutaller, if that's a word. Neither were the result of pressure or good defense, they were just plain ol' horrible throws.

Even though the offense sputtered, they sorta played how I expected them to. The defense to me was the most disappointing. The stretch from the end of the first half to the beginning of the 4th quarter was terrible. I think the Patriots scored on 4 of 5 possessions and scored relatively easily. Defense did their standard giving up a score at the end of the half but worse they then easily let the Patriots score a TD on their first possession of the 2nd. But even more damaging was after the Eagles tied it up at 14 the Patriots way too easily retook the lead. That's where the game was lost. Or maybe it was lost in the 1st quarter when the Eagles didn't jump all over the sleepwalking Patriots, or maybe it was lost when the Eagles wasted so much time during their somnambulant 4th quarter "comeback". Did they even know they had to score twice? Fans and media pooh-poohed the Eagles end of the 1st half brain freeze vs the Vikings because they won the game. Apparently the Eagles players and coaching staff did too.

Kudos to Pinkston, Westbrook, Greg Lewis, and especially Terrell Owens. They all came to play. Owens' performance was amazing and his comeback amazing. He simply played great with a leg held together with screws. He played every bit as good as the Super Bowl MVP, Deion Branch. Middle finger to the following no class Patriots - #80, #50, and #37. What's with the mocking of Terrell Owens? He played with more guts and heart than your entire team and you can't even show a modicum of respect or the limited creativity it takes to come up with a non-mocking celebration? If #37 had brains instead of rocks in his skull he would have mocked FraudEx, the people's chump, which would have been appropriate but that's what you get from someone with no class.

Buy your tickets for Detriot!

Fake Fans on Parade

Contrary to popular wisdom and cultivated persona, it is not hard to be a Philadelphia sports fan. With the possible exception of the Phillies, the players and ownership always try hard and our teams make the playoffs frequently. It is hard to be, for example, an Arizona Cardinal or Chicago Blackhawks fan, where ownership is content giving the fan the absolute minimum value for their time and money.

The one thing that frustrates me with Philadelphia fans is their manic depressive attitude. It's either the greatest or the worst. Listening to the callers on WIP this morning the Eagles went from being a team of destiny to a bunch of bums, lead by Donavan Mcnabb and "idiot" Andy Reid. Come on!!! Take time and savor the season that the Eagles had (sixteen- 16!!! - happy Sundays out of 19). And if an Eagles fan's life is somehow not complete without a Superbowl victory then the fan needs to reassess their priorities.

Game face

Two hours to kickoff and my cat is ready. What are you doing?

How Will It Break Down?

Ok, I took the entire last week off from looking at the game. In fact, even up 'til now I haven't done much homework and have spent much more time controlling my excitment and getting fired up emotionally.

But, I have a few things I think we should look for. 1) Defense. Eagles D steps it up and shows they're for real even vs. an "AFC" team. 2) Special teams return game. Ray Diddy first highlighted this, but the more I look at it I agree all the more. BWest could break open a punt return and absolutely should be the top man exploiting this NEP weakness. The more he has the ball in his hands, the better. 3) DMac to dash all worries (esp of past playoff big game struggles) and play the game of his life. I think there's a decent chance he finds TO in the end zone, but I'm thinking his legs may come out on Sunday.

I've grown more confident about this game as the time has passed... not sure if that is for legitimate reasons or if it is more a result of being able to convince yourself of anything if you play the rationalizations over and over again in your mind. I think there's a lot of legitimacy to it and find the 7pt spread to be way overdone. I think this is gonna be a close one with Akers and Vin both being important. I like the Birdies 27-23.

Big Daddy B

Team of Destiny

I spent most of yesterday afternoon sick, laying in bed and listening to WIP. After about 4 straight hours of that I am now convinced the Eagles will win on Sunday. "This is their time, I can feel it, the Eagles are a team of destiny" etc. All very persuasive arguments. And then Owens announces that God is his doctor and has cleared him to play. And if you still aren't convinced what do you have to say about the Lucky Omen Philadelphia Eagles Apple Jacks Super Bowl?

How can there still be any doubters?