Sixers Burned By Heat

This has been a very up and down season for the Sixers so far. They have looked like one of the top teams in the East in blow out wins vs the Kings and Knicks. But on their off nights, they sure can look bad.

Last nights contect between the Miami Heat and Sixers was not even close. Right out of the gate, the Sixers fell behind. Down 7 at the end of the first quarter, that balloned to 21 points by the end of the first half. They made a brief run, pulling to within 9 with only 2 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, but they could not get any closer. The final score was Heat 106, Sixers 83. The lose dropped the Sixers record to 2-3, and the Heat reached the .500 mark, at 2-2.

Dwyane Wade killed the Sixers last night, to the tune of 29 points, 5 steals, 6 assists and 7 rebounds. Many people coming into the season (except yours truley) doubted that he would be able to bounce back various injuries. But he has answered all the haters, with season averages of 24 points, 6 assists and 7 rebounds.

Going into the season, many people saw a glaring hole at the point guard position for the Heat. But rookie Mario Chalmers has answered those questions, averaging 8 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. He also plays good defense, with 9 steals agaisnt the Sixers last night.

While the Heat have had a promising start to their season, the Sixers have been a dissapointment so far. Elton Brand has been good, but not great, with averages of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Andre Igoudala looks nothing like the player he was last season, averging only 10 points, and 5 assists and rebounds.

The lone bright spot for the Sixers has been the play of second year forward Thaddeus Young. He has added a 3 point shot to his game, and has carried the Sixers offense at times. He is averging 16 points at 5 rebounds while shooting almost .600 from the floor.

The Sixers don't get much time to figure things out, as they roll in Orlando tonight in a game agaisnt the Magic. The Magic are 2-2 this seaspn, lead by Dwaight Howard, who is averaging 22 points and 15 rebounds.

Breaking News: Raiders to Release Hall

Hall Out of Black Hole

Things sure are a mess in Oakland. Just 8 games into this season, the Raiders are expected to release CB Deangelo Hall, according to ESPN. Hall was there big pickup of the off season, making him the highest paid cornerback in the league. But after winning only 2 of their first 8 games, they decided it was not worth to pay him almost 1 million dollers a game. He would finish his brief career as a Raider with 3 interceptions in 8 games. 

Why now? Why not. The Raiders are going no where. They have already fired there coach, and are not going to be good any time soon. They managed only 10 passing yards- thats right, 10- agaisnt the Falcons this weekend. They also have Nnamdi Asomugha, who many regard better then Hall anyway, due for a new contract. So while this is admitting that they made a mistake by signing him, at least they are doing it now, and not another 8 million dollers later. 

Where will Hall end up? Well for a team to pick him up off waivers, they would have to pay him his full salary. Look for Dallas to be a serious contender to get his services, with their season fading fast, and owner Jerry Jones showing he is going for it this year. Also teams in the need of a cornerback, like New England and Washington, could make a play. 

Remember, his release is not official, but I'd be surprised if tommorw at this time Hall was still a Raider. 

NFL Week 10 Power Rankings

Each week, I'm going to release my NFL Power Rankings. These rankings will be a combination of record, schedule, and if I think they could beat all the teams below them. For example, while the Panthers are 6-2, I think that if they played the Eagles (5-3), they would lose. So the Eagles will be above the Panthers. 

Here are my rankings after Week 9:

1) New York Giants (7-1)

2) Tennesse Titans (8-0)

3) Philadelphia Eagles (5-3)

4) Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)

5) Washington Redskins (6-3)

6) Carolina Panthers (6-2)

7)New England Patriots (5-3)

8) Tampa Bay Bucaneers (6-3)

9) Atlanta Falcons (5-3)

10) New York Jets (5-3)

11) Arizona Cardinals (5-3)

12) Chicago Bears (5-3)

13) Green Bay Packers (4-4)

14) Indianapolis Colts (4-4)

15) Buffalo Bills (5-3)

16) New Orleans Saints (4-4)

17) San Diego Chargers (3-5)

18) Dallas Cowboys (5-4)

19) Minnesota Vikings ( 4-4)

20) Denver Broncos (4-4)

21) Jacksonville Jaguars (3-5)

22) Baltimore Ravens (5-3)

23) Miami Dolphins (4-4)

24) Cleveland Browns (3-5)

25) Houston Texans (3-5)

26) St Louis Rams (2-6)

27) San Fransisco 49ers (2-6)

28) Cincinatti Bengals (1-8)

29)Detroit Lions (0-8)

30) Seattle Seahawks (2-6)

31) Kansas City Chiefs (1-7)

32) Oakland Raiders (2-6)

Sixers 125, Kings 91

Sixers Overtake the Kings

Philadelphia, PA- 

A night after letting one get away against Atlanta, the Sixers left no doubt about this won. The Sixers won every quarter, up 20 at halftime, and went on to win by 34 points. The win improves the Sixers record to 2-2, and drops the Kings to 0-4. So while this was not a win agaisnt a quailty team, it is still a win, and early in the season, that is all that matters. 

Thaddeus Young led the way with 18 points, with Elton Brand chipping in 15. The Sixers also got good production off there bench, with 4 players scoring in double digits, led by Louis Williams, who had 17. The Sixers were able to shoot almost 60 percent from the floor, and a whoping 77 percent from beyond the arc. The Kings on the other hand, had only 4 shots from three point land. The Sixers Donyell Marshall had that many all by himself. 

We will know alot more about these Sixers soon, who play 4 out of their next 5 on the road, starting with the Miami Heat on Wed. Night. They then go to Orlando, home agaisnt the Jazz, then to Toronto (who already beat the Sixers), then to Indiana. This is a huge stretch for the Sixers, who cannot fall behind to far this early in the season. While non of those games are a given, if the Sixers want to be among the elite this season, they must win at lest 3 of the 5. 

Iverson to Detriot

The Answer in Mo Town?

Allen Iverson is on the move again. After a season and a half with the Denver Nuggets, Iverson has been shipped to the Detroit Pistons for  point guard Chauncy Billups and power forward Antonio McDyse. This trade means alot of different things for everybody involved, and tells you about the direction that each team is going. 

First of all, for Iverson, this trade could mean that by this time next year, he will be playing for his third team. The Detriot Pistons made it clear today when they gave Richard Hamilton a year extension worth 34 million that he is their shooting guard. They also only moved Chauncy Billups to make room for their budding star Rodney Stuckey. 

Where does this leave Iverson? In all likely hood, a free agent. His 20 million dollar contract runs up at the end of this season, and he almost certainly won't be back in Detroit. In fact, he might not even be there at the end of this season. Don't be surprised to see him moved to a team that wants salary cap space at the end of the season. 

Its a shame to see this happen to Iverson. After being one of the faces of the NBA for so long, a hero in Philly, and a league MVP, he is now bouncing from team to team after being jettisoned from Philly. In his time at Denver, he averaged around 24 points and 7 assists. While those are good numbers, the big number is zero. That is the amount of playoff games he and Carmelo Anthony were able to win in their time together. At the end of the day, the Nuggets had to make a change. And they were not going to pick Iverson over Anthony. That is why they made the move.

For Chauncy Billups, this move is going to be big for him. He now gets to run a team that has Anthony, J.R. Smith and other weapons. He is not a pass first point guard, but is much more of a true point guard then Iverson, who we all know is really a 2 guard. He should put up big numbers in a new city. After much success in Detroit, a new enviroment will be good for him. 

I think this move makes alot of sense for the Nuggets. First of all, it makes Anthony the primary player once again. He is a 24 year old, Olympic gold medalist who needs be the the franchise player. While Iverson was allways the numbr 2 option, Iverson did take away shots from Anthony. He and Billups will be able to work off each other better then him and Iverson did, because Billups has more of an outside shot then Iverson, and also is more of a distributer then Iverson. Billups is also a better defender then Iverson, and will help them agaisnt other Western Conference point guards like Steve Nash, Tony Parker and Chris Paul. I think they will ultimitly have more success with Billups, but I think a trip to the second round at best is how far they can go. 

For the Pistons, the move was waiting to happen. After losing to Boston last year, GM Joe Dumars promised moves would be made. And with the emergence of Rodney Stuckey, Billups was the logical choice for them. How does Iverson fit in? He will start at point guard for now, with Richard Hamilton at the 2. That gives them a solid 4 of Iverson, Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace. That is a group with a ton of playoff experience. 

When Iverson was at his best- league MVP and a trip to the finals- he was surrounded by hard working, defensive role players. While calling Hamilton, Prince and Wallace role players is a stretch, they do play hard defense, and they will not require the ball like Anthony did. But they now do have a end of the game closer. Iverson might be older, but he is a way more dominant one on one, end of the game player then Billups. He is a superstar. And in the NBA, more then any other league, superstars win games. 

Last year, the Pistons lost to the Celtics in the Eastern Confernce Championship. With the addition of Iverson, I think they can get back there. Iverson can take over a playoff series, and they should be a top 4 seed. And once you get in a playoff series, who knows what can happen. Who is going to guard Iverson on the Celtics? What if he gets hott and averages over 30 for the series like hes done in the past? That has a chance of happening. With the Billups lead Pistons, we knew what would happen. A lose to the Celtics.

Plus, if Iverson dosn't work out, he is a valuable trade piece. Like I said earlier, don't be surprised if he is moved again this season if things don't work out. He makes 20 million a year, and can still sell out arenas. That would give the pistons 20 million in cap space to sign a free agent like Carlos Boozer, or wait a year and try for players like Lebron James, Dwanye Wade and Chris Bosh. 

Overall, I think the Pistons got the better of the trade. While the Nuggets did get a true point guard, they also commited to 4 years of Billups, who is getting up there. The Pistons got a chance to maybe make a deep playoff run in a weak East, and if it dosn't work, they get a 20 million doller trading piece. If it dosn't work for the Nuggets, they are stuck with Billups. So overall, I think the Pistons got the better of the deal. 

NFL Week 9

Here are some high lights from week 9:

Jaguars 19, Bengals 21

With T.J. Houshmanzadeh promising to walk over 30 miles if the Bengals went undefeated, the Bengals finally got that first win. Chad Johnson Ocho Cinco had two touchdown catches versus the fading Jaguars, who many people picked to be a super bowl team this year. Any team that lets Ryan Fitzpatrick throw for 2 touchdowns is no contender.

Ravens 37, Browns 27

Where is Brady Quinn? The Browns, another popular Super Bowl pick, are in need of a spark. Derek Anderson threw for only 219 yards on 33 attempts. Joe Flacco, a rookie, threw for almost 50 more yards on 5 less attempts. With the talent on the Browns, they should be better. How much worse could Quinn do? I think its time to put him in.

Lions 23, Bears 27

The Lions remained the only winless team in the league by allowing the back up quarterback of the Bears to lead to the come from behind win. 

Packers 16, Titans 19

Could the Titans go undefeated? They have games at Chicago, Jacksonville and Colts, but they should be favored in all of those. And the Colts game is the last one of the season. They also have Pittsburgh at home, which could be a huge game. They won today by a field goal in overtime by Rob Bironas. Rookie Chris Johnson continued to impress, with 89 yards and a touchdown agaisnt a strong Packers defense. 

Cardinals 34, Rams 13

With all of the talent on the Cardinals, everyone knew it was a matter of time until they would the division. But no one thought it would be like this. With their win today, the Cardinals moved to 5-3, and every other team in the division is now 2-6. Kurt Warner lit the Rams up for 342 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Giants 35, Cowboys 14

Somebody save Dallas. After being hyped up to a boiling point earlier in the season, they have officially fallen from first to worst. With loses in 4 of their last 5 games agaisnt teams like the Rams, changes could be coming. And not changes like the awful trade for Roy Williams, who has made no impact. Tony Romo is due to come back after the bye week, but he will only help so much. Dallas was taken out back and beaten by the Giants today. Eli Manning threw for 3 touchdowns, and Brandon Jacobs rushed for 117 yards. Dallas could make a run when Romo comes back, but they now face an up hill battle with trips to Washington and Philly still to come. 

Eagles v Seahawks

Eagles Move Ahead of Cowboys with Win

In the aftermath of the Phillies championship this week, the Eagles would have had to came out and scored 100 points to take the city back from the Phillies. They would have to sack the Seattle QB Seneca Wallace every time he dropped back. Return the opening kickoff for a TD. And then have Andy Reid do a stand up comedy show when for his press conference. Simply put, the Eagles would not be able to look impressive in the eyes of Philly fans today no matter what. 

At the beginning, they did everything they could to make sure they lead more people to buy a Ryan Howard jersey. First defensive play, a 90 yard touchdown pass from Seneca Wallace to Koren Robinson. First three possessions, 3 and out. Then on their 4th possession, they finally got a drive going, only to have Donovan McNabb throw an interception in the end zone. 

But thank God they were playing the Seattle Seahawks. Their season ravaged by injuries, they have won only 2 of their first 8 games. Today they showed why. Despite the Eagles doing everything they could to lose the game at first, the Seahawks let them right back in it. 

First, they let Reggie Brown, who has done nothing all year, score a 22 yard touchdown. They let Brett Celek bake them all afternoon. And they let McNabb make 16 consecutive throws at one point. And finally, they let the Eagles run off 26 consecutive points to walk away with a 26-7 win. There was alot to like about this game, and some things not to like. 

Things I Liked:

1) Omar Gaither: It seems like every time the Eagles defense dominates, he is at the center of it. Agaisnt Chicago when they defense did everything they could to help the team win, he was the heart of it. Today, he had a team high 6 tackles, and was in the Seattle backfield all day. Last year, he played great as the MLB, and has transitioned smoothly over to the outside. 

2) Brent Celek: The second year tight end had his coming out party today, to the tune of 6 catches for 131 yards, including 1 for 44. With L.J. Smith out with a concussion, and due to be a free agent at the end of the year, don't be surprised if Celek takes over sooner then expected. He is big, strong, and deceptively fast. On a day when the offense was struggling, he pulled us thru. It shows what a reliable option in the middle underneath can do for this offense. 

3) Todd Herremans: Finally, an answer to our red zone offense. Our offensive line can't block on the yard one line, but they sure can catch by it. Herremans did a great job selling the play, then held on to the ball. His touchdown put the Eagles up for good in a game we had to win. 

4) Donovan McNabb: Todays game pretty much summed up his time with the Eagles. Frustrating to no end at times, but brilliant at others. He started out looking awful for the second game in the row, throwing an interception in the end zone and having a few other balls that could have been picked off. But he pulled it together and picked Seattle pick (not that thats saying much). There will allways be McNabb haters, and sometimes he deserves it, but we are lucky to have a QB like him. Just look at Dallas. 

Things I Didn't Like:

1) Andy Reid: What an awful way to come out for a game that they needed to win. Maybe Reid wanted to give the game to his best friend Mike Holmgren. The offensive looked offensive to start the game, and with the quick start by Seattle, this game could have got out of hand. It was Reid that scripted the first 20 plays of the game, and they were awful. If they come out this way agaisnt the New York Giants next week, they won't have a chance to get back in the game. 

2) Lito Sheppard: That first play when he bit on the slant route by Koreon Robinson was awful. I understand that alot is going on with him this season, and it must be hard to concentrate. But if you want to start, play like it. Starting corner backs don't get burned like that agaisnt journey man players like Robinson. It started the game off on an awful note.

3) Brian Westbrook: I know he is the best player on the Eagles. And I he had a great year last year, and a great game agaisnt Atlanta last week. But today, he had 61 yards rushing and 35 yards catching. That gives him only 361 yards rushing on the season. Thats less then the other running backs in the NFC East. While he does have 6 touchdowns, he dosn't seem like the player he was last year. He seems to get caught from behind more then he used to. And for a player then demanded a new contract in the off season, his production should be going up, not going down.