Hey The Sixers Have A New Coach!

The Sixers have agreed to terms with their seventh head coach since the end of the Larry Brown era - Doug Collins has reportedly agreed to a 4 year deal with financials still unknown.

The Sixers and GM Ed Stefanski interviewed quite a few candidates in their search, but ended up settling on the guy they pretty much wanted from the start.  Since the firing of Eddie Jordan, it's been widely considered that Collins was the front runner for the position.

The Cubbies Come to Town

There aren't many teams over the last 100 years that have been less successful than the Phillies. 10,000 losses is pretty hard to compare to. But know this, if you asked a Cubs fan to trade the Cubs history for the Phillies history, I bet they'd say yes. Two World Series titles since 1980 looks like millions when compared to none since 1908. (But at least they aren't Cleveland, right?)

Tonight the Phillies start a quick two-game set with the Cubbies, before they get ready for the Sox this weekend. While the Cubs have struggled mightly this year, the Phillies would do best not to look past them. There are still some dangerous hitters in that lineup, even if most of them have been slumping all year. Plus, we'll face their best pitcher (Ryan Dempster) tomorrow. Here are the matchups:

Tonight: Moyer (5-2, 4.57 ERA) v. Gorzelanny (1-4, 3.60 ERA)
Tomorrow: Blanton (1-2, 5.49 ERA) v. Dempster (2-4, 3.49 ERA)

Gorzelanny is a lefty who has actually pitched rather well this year. His K/9 rate is higher than it has ever been and he's only had one start with more than 3 ER allowed (albeit his last one). Considering the Phillies can struggle against lefties they don't see often (they haven't faced him since 2007), it could be a tough matchup. Especially since Chase Utley may miss a third straight game with flu-like symptoms.

I do, however, expect the Phillies to bomb the hell out of Ryan Dempster tomorrow. Why? Because he's on my fantasy team, no other reason. I see a line of 5 IP, 7 ER, 2 HR allowed. Mark it down, it's a mortal lock.

Go Phils.

2-0. Series Lead. Nice.

There is no way around it...the Flyers are the hottest team on the planet. Pick a sport, any sport, it doesn't matter. There isn't a team anywhere playing better than these guys. Maybe there is a girls high school softball team somewhere in Iowa playing better, but who the fuck cares about them?

Right now, Philadelphia is in a frenzy as the Flyers sit just two wins away from their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 13 years. Yet again, Michael Leighton and the Flyers defense allowed the Canadiens to score the same amount of goals as this girl has boyfriends. That amount, in case you don't know, is zero. The Flyers have absolutely silenced a Canadien team that came in playing with a ton of confidence. With Gagne and Briere both scoring at will (or so it seems) this team just looks good. I mean, they've scored 13 consecutive goals without allowing any. That's just silly.

To put it simply, things are very good in Flyer land right now. Hopefully, in 48 hours, we're discussing a 3-0 series lead.

Go Flyers.

Holy Shit... Evan Turner!!

Get your Evan Turner jersey ready - the Philadelphia 76ers triumphed over mathematics and won the 2nd overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. While it's been no secret John Wall has been locked into the #1 overall selection since he was in high school, the Sixers are getting a pretty friggin awesome consolation prize in Turner.

Andy Reid Luvs Da Kids

While never a beacon for successful parenting, Fat Andy has always been good with the (contractual) visiting of area children's hospitals. While I'm not sold on the positive impact the presence of a 400lb football coach can have on a 7 year-old cancer patient, I honestly do commend his efforts.

And with that, I will now make fun of him in a series of doctored photographs. Blogs!

Phillies - Brewers: Series Preview

Tonight, our Phillies begin a weekend series with those pesky Milwaukee Brewers, a team that took the season series last year 4-3. The book on the Brewers is simple, they will score a ton (186 runs, best in the NL) but can't keep the opponent from scoring more (188, third worst in the NL). Even without Halladay pitching in the series, the Phillies should have the better pitcher on the mound two out of the three games. Here's your matchups:

Friday: Moyer (4-2, 4.38 ERA) vs. Wolf (3-2, 3.95)
Saturday: Blanton (0-2, 4.97 ERA) vs. Narveson (3-0, 5.06 ERA)
Sunday: Hamels (3-2, 4.53 ERA) vs. Davis (1-4, 7.56 ERA)

Normally when facing the Brew Crew all you'd have to do is handle Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder (easier said than done, I know) and you'd be ok. However, this year you also have to keep an eye on third baseman Casey McGehee. The dude has 2 HR's and 9 RBI's over his last five games AND is hitting .357 this month. I have a sneaky feeling we're going to see a lot of runs this weekend.

Either way, it would be great to see the Phils pull out two of three and head back home with some momentum, especially with the Red Sox coming to town next week (a series that is never easy).

Go Phils!

So How Aboot That Game Tonight, Eh?

Facebook has told me two things -

1. My identity is now property of the United States Government.
2. There is some type of hoc-key match tonight.

Thank God We're Not Cleveland

As a Philadelphia fan since birth, I know sports heartache. For 24 years, I either watched my teams get close only to rip my heart out with some tremendously terrible way to lose or watched them suck so bad that it left you wondering how the hell a team could suck so bad. When it comes to sports misery, I've had more than my fair share. But nothing, absolutely nothing, that we've gone through as Philadelphia fans compares to what those poor Cleveland sports fans have been (and are being) put through. As a fan of another "cursed" sports city, I just can't help but feel bad for them.

TheWizWit Wallpaper Wednesday!

As our friends over at The700Level have pointed out, voting for the 2010 MLB All-Star team is now underway and our boy Carlos "Chooch" Ruiz needs to be in there like swimwear. Why? Well, because he's playing stupid, dumb, retarded, mentally-challenged, down-syndrome, slobbering-on-himself baseball right now.

All the big-name Phils will most likely make their way onto the NL All-Star roster either as a starter or bench player, so Charlie Manuel will basically be coaching the Phillies against the AL All-Stars. However, because Chooch's name isn't as famous as your Halladay's, Howard's, or Utley's...he is a likely All-Star snub. For a guy leading the Phillies (and much of the NL) in most statistical categories, this makes my mindgrapes supersad.

You want stats?

Overall in the NL, Carlos Ruiz leads all Catchers in AVG with .354 and is 3rd overall in the NL. Closest to him is Chicago's Geovany Soto, who is batting a solid .325. In OBP Ruiz shows a whopping .481 and leads the entire NL (although Soto again is closest with .476). In SLG Ruiz takes a small dip behind Soto with .488 compared to .525...but seriously, who cares about the Cubs? Ruiz also has 21 BB, which is tied for 9th in the NL (Pujols). He’s hitting .368 with runners on, currently showing a 1.000 Fielding Percentage, and has 178 Putouts in 2010 already. Sure, Chooch only has a couple ding-dong kaboom's so far this season, but after taking into account every other offensive and defensive stat, there is no reason why this man should not be an All-Star.

With all that said, I (with great pride) present...Chooch: So Hot Right Now!

An Analysis of Mr. Ding-Dong Kaboom

*For your pleasure courtesy of The Onion.

For the record, the phrase 'ding-dong kaboom' IS cool in my book.

Friday is here; enjoy your weekend. The Phillies have a weekend series with the Braves, while the Flyers will win tonight just to prolong the inevitable.

This turned out to be a slow sports week. Our lack of new posts had nothing to do with laziness. Nope. Not one bit.

We'll do better next week. (Probably).