The700Level.com - Philly Sports & Minutiae

Adrian Peterson Almost Broke My Hand

I had the opportunity yesterday to cover a two part NFL Players event yesterday in D.C. First I went to watch a number of players including Warrick Dunn, James Thrash, Braylon Edwards, and a half dozen others play with Special Olympic Athletes from D.C. Later in the evening I was at the media portion of the 2008 NFL Player's Gala featuring the JB Awards. I snapped this photo of Adrian Peterson's lovely watch after he almost broke my hand. Read about both events at FanHouse.

 

Eagles Mock Draft

Here's a chance for you guys to play GM.  If the draft board looks like the following, who do the Eagles take at 19?

Win, Win, Win. Utley's Two Homers Cap Great Night Of Philly Sports

The Flyers started the night off by clinching a playoff birth with a win over the Devils, the Sixers made it even sweeter by clinching a playoff birth of their own, and then Chase Utley showed up to cap off the evening with a Phillies victory.  Utley went 2-4 with 2 HRs, 3 Rs, and a walk.  Pat Burrell got in on the long ball action by launching a BLAST deep into the Cincinnati night.  Kyle Kendrick looked OK. Not great, not horrid, just okay. But it was good enough for his first win of the season to pull the Phils back up to .500 ball after the first four games of 2008.

The bullpen was again used more than Charlie would have liked. J.C. Romero's arm may fall off by mid July. Romero has appeared in all four games this season and has not allowed a run. Thankfully, Brad Lidge can come off the DL on Saturday and take some much needed innings for the pen.

It's not often that we can bask in this kind of success for all of our teams. Granted the Phils have a lot of baseball to play but the Sixers and Flyers have both made the playoffs in improbable fashion. There's nothing like a little playoff action to kick start your April.

Gary Papa runs through the highlights after the jump.

PLAYOFFS! Sixers Lock Up First Postseason Appearance Since 2005

Just a few months ago, the discussions surrounding the 76ers focused on how they should spend their lottery pick in this year's draft. But tonight, they turned in another solid performance and won their 20th in their last 27 games. I won't front like I was watching anything but the Flyers dramatic win over the Devils for most of the night, but that game ended in time for me to see Andre Iguodala running the show in Atlanta despite some girl screaming bloody murder in the stands (seriously, did you guys hear that?). One thing I'll never like about the NBA is that the closer the game, the slower the ending. Just walk the floor, foul, repeat. And this dumb broad was screaming no matter which team was shooting. But I digress.

The Andres led the way, with Iguodala putting up 30 points and 10 assists while Miller had 23, 6, and 5 for a 109-104 victory. This was a club pretty much no one outside the locker room believed in, but with the run they've been on since February, the Sixers are a team not even a high seed will want to face. These were Billy King's players, and he deserves much of the credit, but with Ed Stefanski came accountability, and the players showed up almost every night like they had something to lose. Mo Cheeks was thought by many to be a lame duck coach, if he even made it through the season, but he may have bought himself some more time, as well as some consideration for Coach of the Year honors.

PLAYOFFS! Flyers Chase Brodeur From Net, Clinch Postseason Berth

Needing either two wins to close out the season, or a win and a Carolina loss tonight, the Flyers did their part to start the weekend, pummeling the Devils 3-0 in front of a raucous crowd at home. The Hurricanes did theirs as well, losing to the Panthers.

Sitting on a 1-0 lead nearing the midway point of the third period, the Flyers looked to be having a little trouble gaining the zone, but did a good job protecting Marty Biron. Then they flipped a switch, with Scottie Upshall scoring a 4 on 4 goal, and Joffrey Lupul netting his 20th less than a minute later. Martin Brodeur, arguably the greatest goalie in the history of the game and a long-time owner of the Flyers, was lifted for Kevin Weekes, who sees so little time he may not have even brought his own stick to the game.

Pens' Laraque Says Riley Cote Is NHL's Toughest Pound for Pound

When George Laraque of the Penguins and the Flyers' Riley Cote mixed it up again on Wednesday, the disparity in their size was evident, with Laraque outweighing Cote by at least 50 pounds and standing a good couple inches taller. But Cote didn't back down, just as he hasn't all season, despite being one of the league's smaller enforcers.

Laraque, who is generally considered one of the top two fighters in either conference, paid Cote a huge compliment after the fight, telling the Post-Gazette that Cote is "pound-for-pound ... the toughest guy in the NHL."

Never Gonna Give You Up

The Mets fans are planning on "taking over" CBP later this month but someone has devised an even better way to screw with the Mets faithful at Shea. Rick Roll those suckers.

Select "other" and write in "Never Gonna Give You Up - Rick Astley"

Quotable: Bernard Hopkins On White Boys

Philly's own Bernard Hopkins, who isn't retired at the moment, has a fight on April 19th against Joe Calzaghe.  Mr. Calzaghe is of Caucasian decent.  B-Hop had this to say:

"I would never let a white boy beat me. I couldn't go back to the projects if I let a white boy beat me."

Calzaghe said Hopkins comments were stupid. Yep.

Your DVR/Remote Will Be Busy Tonight

A packed television lineup this evening for the Philadelphia sports fan. Kyle Kendrick will take the mound for the Phillies against the Reds in Cincy while Andre Iguodala and co. battle the Hawks in Atlanta.  But the Flyers, who could be without Danny Briere, are fighting for their playoff lives in the most important match up of the evening. The hated Devils, who have taken 6 of 7 from our boys, are in town and with the way the Capitals keep winning, the Flyers are in a must win. The game likely has some meaning for the Devils who are fighting for home ice advantage.

My eyes will likely be focused on the Phils with rapid flipping between pitches to the hockey/hoops. Let's hope Killer K doesn't get, well, killed.

Where Lito Could End Up?

When asked about the future of corner Lito Sheppard the other day at the NFL owners meetings, Andy Reid answered with a typical Andyism, "Lito is on the team. I look at it as Lito is part of the group, and we have a pretty good secondary." There you have it. Lito is on the team... TODAY. But could very well be dealt in the not too distant future.

TMantz over at FanHouse speculates that a deal with the Saints, swapping first rounders, could make sense for both sides.

After failing to swap Lito for a high-end receiver, word is that they're looking to move up in the first with an eye on one of three rising offensive linemen -- Chris Williams, Jeff Otah, or Branden Albert. Moving to 10 would guarantee the Eagles of getting one of them, with maybe all three available.

The Saints could still use help at corner and will get a surer (albeit more injury-prone) thing than any of the top corners in the draft, who all draw mixed opinions. Moving to 19 allows them to pick someone like linebacker Jerod Mayo, tackle Gosder Cherilus, tight end Dustin Keller or defensive end Philip Merling, all of whom would immediately contribute at a cheaper price.

It's an interesting idea, but I think the Eagles will want something in addition to simply moving up 9 spots. Perhaps this swap as well as a later round pick might make it a bit more enticing.

Sixers Take On Hawks In Atlanta

The Sixers are hitting the stretch run of their season and every game from here on out will matter in terms of where they fall in the Eastern playoff seeding. Tonight they take on the Hawks down in Atlanta. The Sixers currently have the up in the win column over Atlanta but with two games in a row with the Hawks anything is possible. I did a quick Q&A about my thoughts on this Sixers team over at NBA.com.

Lidge Should Be Ready for Saturday... But...

Phillies closer Brad Lidge made his final rehab appearance yesterday, and he's set to join the Phillies in Cinci tonight with hopes of being ready to pitch as early as tomorrow. However, Lidge was somewhat less than stellar (although not quite Gordonian) in his inning of work, facing six batters and allowing two hits (one of which went over the fence) and a walk. He did strike out two, which is a good sign that he's ready to miss a few bats when he faces the Reds in their bandbox park.

We try not to make it a habit of reading too much into spring training and tune-up appearances, but this isn't exaclty the domination we were hoping for. We have our doubts about Lidge's ability to be a reliable closer for this team, picturing him waking up at 2am in a cold sweat, watching the Pujols homer sail over his head. Coming to Philadelphia on crutches and requiring a spring training knee scope haven't helped in that regard. But anything is an improvement over what we saw from the back end on opening day, so we'll be glad to see him take the hill in the 9th.

Dykstra's Media Blitz Continues

The latest Dude video to surface features Lenny calling the car washes he used to own "Taj Mahals" and admitting to spitting on umpires. There's nothing like the new Lenny Dykstra. This clip is from a FOX and Friends show on FOX News.  These news analysts may rival EPSN guys in terms of annoying the hell out of you. Impressively, FOX somehow got the Dude to go 4 minutes without dropping one F bomb.

Phils Get First Win! Walk Off Walk!

Well that was quite the exhausting game but worth it to see the Phils get their first win of the season. Big time props to J-Roll for the aggressive base running skills to put the Phils in position to win the game in the bottom of the tenth.

Tom Gordon almost blew another tie game for the Phils but somehow was able to eek out a scoreless inning.

Holy shit does 1-2 feel immensely better than 0-3. Video of Jimmy's base running after the jump.

Day Game Thread: Someone Call Pedro Cerrano

In today's business person special, Jamie Moyer takes the hill for the Phillies, who will try to avoid being embarrassingly swept at home by the Nationals. Washington counters with Jason Bergmann, who struggled against the Phillies last year but improved down the stretch. After last night's display of only a single hit by Pedro Feliz, maybe the Phillies should turn to the voodoo of another Pedro—Pedro Cerrano.

So let's get out the snakes, cigars, and black powder and get this thing turned around, but remember, "Is very bad to steal Jobu's rum. Very bad."

Mo Cheeks: Good Dude AND Good Coach

As we all read earlier today, it's not a bad time to be Jason Smith or any other member of the Sixers squad. They're only inches away from locking up a playoff birth. ESPN's Henry Abbott spent some time with the team earlier in the week and has a great article about where this team came from and how they were shaped into what they've become. I'm glad Mo Cheeks has had the opportunity to turn this team around. [via Deadspin]

Phillies Fans Cope With Being 1-Hit by the Nats in Less Than Sanitary Fashion

After a rocky top of the first, Cole Hamels settled in and limited the Nationals to just one run over 8 innings on Wednesday night. But despite their vaunted offense and the bandbox dimensions of their home park, the Phillies could only manage a single hit.

(That's all we got? Just one goddamn hit? /Uecker)

Unfortunately, the hit didn't clear the outfield wall, and the Phils lost 1-0. How did the South Philly faithful react? By littering the field with debris, of course! After an unprecedented second straight loss to start the season, a few fans felt the need to artfully construct a street installation of sorts to symbolize their protestations for Phillies management. We're sure that will get the Teflonics' attention, and rather than further reducing promotions aimed at college-aged fans (such as last night's Dollar Dog Night), they'll probably sign a previously unknown top-tier free agent third basemen and tonight's power outage will be nothing more than a laughable memory come playoff time.

At least a Mets fan got tossed out with the trash.

Priceless... A Mets fan gets tossed (out and on) in Philly, originally uploaded by stksave27.

The object of Mary Carey's affection?

Yesterday, Page Six reported that porn star/Celebrity Rehabber Mary Carey "joined a table of Philadelphia 76ers" at New York club Butter on Monday Night.  She wound up taking a liking to one Sixer in particular; with whom she cornered, wrapped her legs around, and made out with in front of clubgoers.

Today, the on-top-of-things Danny Gross informs us as to who that 76er is:

JASON SMITH!!

Congrats, Jason. 

Now, as the great Kool Moe Dee once said, "it's three days later, go see the doctorrrrr."

>> Dan Gross: Mary Carey: Sixer Jason Smith's a kisser [Daily News]
>> Still Major Fun [Page Six]

Flyers Lose Battle in Pittsburgh, Fall to 8th Seed in East

True to this season's form, the Flyers and Penguins got rough early and often tonight in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, the Penguins prevailed, 4-2. Both teams were out for blood, and as is often the case when Sidney Crosby is on the ice, the refs decided to take a night off on calling it even. The Penguins' potent powerplay capitalized on the extra opportunities, scoring three four goals on the man-up.

Neither team wasted any time trying to establish a physical presence. Less than 3 minutes in, Riley Cote and George Laraque were both on the ice, which can only mean one thing.

True he didn't go all Andre Roy on Laraque, touted by many as the league's best fighter, but he held his own, and Cote's really improved as a fighter over this season and seems to have no fear when the gloves are dropped.

Phils Try to Rebound As Cole Takes The Mound

The Phillies are back in action tonight against the undefeated Washington Nationals. With Cole Hamels on the mound for the Phils we're expecting a win.

We are told there is also a hockey game against the Pens with playoff implications. Discuss here.

Stanley Pringle Accused Of Masturbating In The Library

Stanley Pringle -- Pringle, Stanley! -- has been accused of pulling on his Jeff Cooper.  According to a Penn State newspaper, Pringle "sat behind the victim in the stacks section of the library, attempted to start a conversation with the woman and began masturbating."

In other news, Pringle's myspace page says his favorite movie is The Squid and the Whale.*

>>Basketball Player Rubs One Off In The Stacks [PSU OTR]

Wes Helms Sent Packing, Seanez Deal Offical

The Phillies have finalized a contract with Rudy Seanez reported to be a one year deal. To make room for the reliever, the Phils have designated Wes Helms for asignment. What this means: "the Phillies have 10 days to dispose of Helms' contract. They can trade him. They can release him. But if they release him, they'd be on the hook for most of the $2.9 million left on his contract. Any team that signs Helms as a free agent after the Phillies release him would be responsible for paying him only the major-league minimum salary, $390,000."

Pedro Feliz didn't exactly look like Michael Jack at the plate on Monday afternoon, but his fielding will certainly be needed this season. Wes Helms, who was pretty much a big disappointment as a Phillie, will not be missed.

Why Would He Cheer For The Eagles If We Really Hurt His Feelings With The Boos?

The brilliance of the Internet archives brings us this 1981 clip of Action News' opening segment. It features Santa Claus AND King Kong cheering for the Eagles. This obviously puts to rest all that garbage about how we once booed him. Either that or his bowl full of jelly provides some extra thick skin. Via Philly Will Do.

FOX: Phillies Payroll Is $98.2 Million

According to a FOX Sports posting, the Phillies payroll is far from the top tier of MLB franchises. With a payroll of $98.26 million, the Phillies rank 13th in terms of money spent. These numbers seem to be a bit lower than previous reports of the Phillies spending well over the $100 million mark. In related news, A-Rod makes significantly more money than the ENTIRE Marlins team. Sick.

WATN: Good Old Larry Bowa

On opening day we were discussing the former Phillies manager and ESPN analyst, wondering what he was up to these days. Turns out he followed Joe Torre to the Dodgers and still has some fire in that belly of his as demonstrated in this impressive freak out. Only thing missing is a good ball or bat toss onto the field and some dirt-mound formations on home plate.

video via FH

Barack Obama Would Rather Be Dr. J Than President, and He Shared in Our Super Bowl Misery

After the windfall that came from presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama's last appearance on 610 WIP's morning show, we were surprised to tune in and hear him talking hoops with Angelo & Co. this morning. Obama didn't say anything politically charged this time around, but he did talk about idolizing Dr. J when he was growing up. Audio and some Eagles stumping after the jump.

Phillies 2008 Opening Day Video

Monday wasn't exactly the glorious return of baseball to Philadelphia we were all hoping for but it was an enjoyable game nonetheless. Sure Tom Gordon threw away any chances we had of seeing a win on opening day but Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley reminded us of how much fun these guys can be to watch.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself down in South Philly. From the freezing wet parking lot, to the extra long opening day lines, it was all good because baseball is back.  The following is a video we threw together, our second ever attempt with iMovie. Let me know what you think.

Pedro Hurts His Hammy In Debut

Take solace Phillies fans. Pedro Martinez left today's game with what's being reported as a strained hamstring. Hopefully this is just the first in a series of setbacks the Mets will face this season. The one inclination I had before this season started is that the Mets would be battered with the injury bug. So far, after two games, it's not the best start for the Mets health-wise.

A.J. Feeley Is Always Wanted

The Packers, in search of Aaron Rodgers' back up, are said to be showing interest in on-again-off-again Eagles clip boarder A.J. Feeley: "Among the rumors circulating at the meetings was the Packers' apparent interest in veteran quarterbacks A.J. Feeley of the Philadelphia Eagles and J.P. Losman of the Buffalo Bills. Both are under contract, but have been the subject of trade rumors." [Packers News]

With Kevin Kolb on the bench, it would make sense for the Birds to try and get something for Feeley. Then we can bring back Koy Detmer to be the third stringer. Bring back Neck Beard!

What If Hugh Douglas Called You Names?

One former Delaware County Times beat reporter's tale of Hugh Douglas calling him a "motherfucking asshole." Classy! And absolutely frightening. [Deadspin]

Samuel Dalembert: A 'Glue Guy'

The fine people of Empty The Bench -- despite their continual use of the horrid nickname "Bert" for Sammy D. -- have compiled a nice list of the NBA's best "glue guys."  What's a glue guy you ask?

First, players who are among their team’s top two scorers were not considered. Those are the team’s stars. Second, the glue player must be solid defensively, so no three-point specialists or instant offense guys have been included. Third, this award is about generally unsung heroes whose play leads to team success, so only the guys on playoff-caliber teams are included

Samuel Dalembert makes the list and is among solid company such as former Sixer Raja Bell as well as defensive nightmare Bruce Bowen.

>>Quiet Heroics: The NBA's Best Glue Players [Empty the Bench]

FredEx Sighting! With Buttonless Babe

Via Last Night's Party we get this fine image of Freddie Mitchell and the best catch he's made since 4th and 26.  I'm told the photos are from a party in Vegas and that his Dolce and Gabbana shirt goes for about $2,000 while his hat likely costs even more than that. It's hard being The Peoples Champ.

Citizens Bank Park in Legos

Via Home Run Derby, a replica the Phillies Citizens Bank Park built out of legos. Lego Yankee Stadium is also impressive.

ESPN Ranks Sixers Higher Than Mavs

ESPN's Marc Stein has the Sixers ranked 12th in his power rankings, higher than teams like the Wizards and Mavericks.  He also thinks Mo Cheeks is a legitimate coach of the year candidate. [ESPN]

Phils Waste No Time, Sign Seanez to Bolster Bullpen

After Tom Gordon's ERA ballooned to 135.00 when he gave up 5 runs in a third of the 9th inning yesterday, Pat Gillick moved swiftly to bring in reinforcements. The LA Times reports that the Phillies have signed right-hander Rudy Seanez, who was released by the Dodgers last week, and the reliever will be activated before tomorrow night's game with the Nats. An experienced (old) and well-traveled reliever who still has a live arm, Seanez is the kind of pitcher the Phillies bullpen needed, although the unit is still far from dependable.

In 76 innings last season, Seanez was 6-3 with a save, 73 Ks, and a 3.79 ERA. [Via Beerleaguer]

"But hey, it's only one game."

Phillies Opening Day - March 31, 2008, originally uploaded by jnestore

It wouldn't be the brand of Phillies baseball we've come to love if they actually started off on the right foot. The weather was gloomy but the rain couldn't dampen the spirits of the sold out crowd. That task was left up to Tom Gordon.

The Phillies season is now one day old and the grumbling will surely start the second Angelo and company take the airwaves this morning. The only problem is, whatever they're going to complain about regarding Flash is likely justified.

Nutter Not Much Better Than Flash

Everybody's favorite mayor got in on the first pitch action yesterday at Citizens Bank Park. He didn't quite bring the heat like George W. Bush did on Sunday night, and he was sporting a horribly tucked-into-jeans Phillies jersey, but it was at least in the vicinity of the strike zone. Hell, Nutter could probably close better than Tom Gordon. Video of Nutter's pitch and Rollins blast after the jump.

Game One: Nats at Phils Open Thread

Opening Day, Philadelphia 2005, originally uploaded by Maria*PA

It's Brett Myers against Matt Chico in the Phillies season opener. We're down at the ball park for the festivities. For those stuck at work, feel free to comment along in this post.

For those down at the game today, be sure to add your photos to The 700 Level's flickr group this evening.

2008 Phillies: Defending New Ground

Mr. Chase Utley, originally uploaded by Fen Branklin

There's a reason I think fans aren't as bullish on the Phillies this year. The Fightins come into 2008 as the reigning National League East Champions. That's a position none of us are used to. We're more accustomed to getting behind a team playing the role of underdog, with their sights set on the Braves. This defending the East thing doesn't quite fit right just yet.

But that doesn't mean we're not confident in our boys. One of the things I like about all of the predictions by national media types, who love the Mets and Braves, is that the Phillies aren't the favorites despite having won the division last year. I bet that doesn't sit real well with Chase and Jimmy.

Video: Stark On Utley For MVP In '08

Baseball fans in Philadelphia have extremely high hopes for Chase Utley in 2008. I believe it's with good reason. The National media seems to be catching on to the spectacular second basemen as well.  In talks I've had with baseball fans outside of Philadelphia, however, the average fans aren't as sold on two-six as we are. I'm going to enjoy watching prove them wrong in 2008.

Jayson Stark put together this ESPN video focusing on Utley's role on the Phillies and potential as an MVP candidate.  Shane Victorino's tale of Utley giving him "the look" is pure gold.  Utley is the leader who has to keep the fun-loving Victorino in line.

What's Utley's take on all this MVP chatter? "Trendy pick. Just talk."

ESPN Experts Aren't Strong On Phils

ESPN has summarized their MLB expert picks into one nifty page: 2 of 19 writers picked the Phils to win the NL East while another 4 picked Philly for the Wild Card. The Mets and Braves seem to be the popular pick this year and for good reason.  Chase Utley appears to be the second most popular pick for NL MVP with the Mets David Wright being the popular choice.  I'll have my guess on season outcomes later this morning.

Thanks to reader Keith for the link. We encourage all readers to pass along everything Phillies related the next few days (and always).

Cira Centre Ready For Opening Day

Go Phillies! B 2008.03.29, originally uploaded by JPMcCoy73 RU

An amazing shot of the Philly skyline from over the weekend.  Much like the lighting display on 30th street's Cira Centre, we're ready for Opening Day.