Extras: Remember Robin Roberts

Matt Carle writes in his playoff blog about being no stranger to finding his club in an 0-3 hole, having been there with the Sharks in '08. It's an unfortunate situation, but gotta win tomorrow before you can talk about anything else. [Daily News]

Whether you realized it or not, the Sixers' coaching search continues. Here's a set of not entirely unforeseen circumstances that might complicating matters: some candidates are inclined to turn the position down. Fromer NBA point guard Mark Jackson declined to interview for the position, with his agent adding, "It's just not the right situation for him at this time." Buddy, it's not the right situation for anybody at this time. [Philly.com]

Ryan Madson joined a club he's wishing he hadn't when he injured his toe in an incident away from the diamond. He's not the first—and probably won't be the last—to hurt himself kicking an inanimate object out of disgust. That's still not nearly as bad as concussing yourself in celebration, like former Redskin quarterback Gus Frerotte, or leaping out of your ACL like kicker Martin Gramatica. Do these players deserve our ridicule though, or should we stand in appreciation of their passion? [Wall Street Journal]

More on the passing of Phillies great Robin Roberts from Todd Zolecki. Zo shared an excerpt from his book The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly on his blog about the five greatest pitchers in franchise history, which of course included Roberts. Willie Mays called him "the top pitcher at that time," quite an honor bestowed by one of the best hitters ever. [Zo Zone]

Another sportswriter's Robin Roberts anecdote. [Joe Posnanski]

An in-depth review on how offensive philosophy changed during Kevin Kolb's two starts reveals the Eagles attempted roughly 15% more passes from 0-10 yards than while Donovan McNabb was in the game. Not surprisingly, the study shows Kolb to be more accurate from that range by close to 10%. However, he was also more accurate from the 10-20 yard distance as well, this time by an even wider margin. It's admittedly a small sample size, but what we can glean from the numbers suggests while the deep ball won't be quite as effective, the Eagles should experience more success in the short and intermediate passing game. Does that in any way diminish DeSean Jackson though? Believe it or not, DeSean actually saw his targets increase on average compared to when McNabb was under center. [McNabb or Kolb]

If that sort of information excites you, maybe you better jump on the Kolb bandwagon now. According to the NFL, it's filling up quickly. Kevin Kolb jerseys ranked 12th in sales for the month of April. To put that in perspective, Donovan McNabb's jersey didn't crack the top 25 last season, even being outpaced by Michael Vick. [NFL.com]

Meanwhile, Ellis Hobbs is currently slated to start for the Birds at right cornerback in place of Sheldon Brown, but he'll likely face competition. One player throwing his name into the hat is nickel corner Joselio Hanson. “For my position, I’m trying to go in and to actually try to start for this team.” Hanson seemed to have a down year last season, but that's not actually the greatest concern. Listed at just 5'9", his size is a great concern when lined up against bigger receivers, some of whom are nearly a foot taller. I like the feisty Hanson in the nickel and maybe some spot starts, but believe he would be exploited in an extended role. [Eagle Eye]

Comments

[Adam B]

From Madson to Milton Bradley, from Gramatica to Roethlisburger, all the way up to our beloved Pelle Lindbergh, dumb fucking injuries (and worse) are still dumb fucking injuries.

[Jason R.]

jersey sales are tainted (I said taint, hehe) numbers, of course rooks out sell everyone else, I've had my mcnabb, I mean dawkins, I mean westbrook..... fuck, I need a new jersey.

[will]

funniest injury ever, might have been david segui but not positive, 15 day DL for sunburn from a tanning bed.

[Scott B]

Who the hell is out there buying Vick jerseys?