Utley Out Until June

World Champion second baseman Chase Utley will require surgery on his right hip, according to ESPN.

The injury is expected to take around 3-4 months to heal, at which point he can begin baseball activities. That would leave his return possible for Opening Day. While it would obviously hurt to have Utley out of the line up, baseball is a marathon and not a sprint. The Phillies need to hold Utley out until he is without question 100%. If they want to repeat as champions, they will need him in the lineup. It is better he misses games at the beginning then the end, since the Phillies never start off good anyway.

ESPN says this could mean the resigning of Tadahito Iguchi, who has played with the Phillies over the last two seasons. They also could make prospect Jason Donald, a shortstop, a second basemen.

Team USA Members Still Golden

While the season is still young, the results from the members of team USA have been impressive. For the brief period when USA was not on top of the basketball world, the reasons were debated by everyone. They said that we needed to go back to college players. We needed to have the team practice harder. We needed to build a team, not an All-Star team.

But one of the real reasons that USA suffered was because the key players in the NBA did not want to give up their summer to play more basketball and risk injury. Many teams also did not want their athletes to play because of the risk of injury.

So when Phoenix GM Jerry Colangelo took over responsibility of rebuilding the team, he required all team members to make a 2 year commitment. Many people thought this would scare the NBA players away, but players like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Carmelo Anthony signed up to help the USA reclaim gold.

The results were impressive. Team USA cruised through group play, winning their games by an average of 32 points. They went on to claim the Gold medal, beating Spain in the championship game by 11 poins, 118-107. But the true test was still to come. Would the members of Team USA suffer in the upcoming NBA season, making them unlikely to resign up in 2012?

So far, the results have been impressive. Chris Bosh was on team USA, and is having a career year. This season, he is averaging 27 points, 11 rebounds and 1 block. Compare that to last season, and he has improved in every category. Tayshaun Prince has increased his scoring by 4 points and his rebounds by 5. Dwight Howard had his first career triple double, and other key members like Jason Kidd, Lebron James, Chris Paul and Carlos Boozer have maintained there level of play despite playing all summer.

But no one benefited more from the Olympics then Dwyane Wade. He was coming off a season that ended on the injured reserve, and was facing questions about his durability. Despite that, he suited up for Team USA anyway, and had a great summer. He was their best offensive player, and he had taken that momentum and brought it to the NBA. 

This season, he is averaging 27 points, 3 steals, 8 assists, and and 5 rebounds. That is an improvement in every single category from last year. But most importantly, after watching him this summer, people were saying that Wade was back. Playing in the Olympics allowed him to get back his confidence, and prove to himself he was healthy. Without it, who knows how his season would be going so far?

The results from the members of team USA have been almost as impressive as they were over the summer. Hopefully now players will notice that team members were able to still be sucessful despite their participation in the Olympics, and USA will be able to remain on top. 

NFL Week 11 Power Rankings

After a one week hiatus, my NFL Power Rankings are back. The top of the order has seen a major shift, with the Eagles falling from 3rd all the way to 12th, and the Jets making a run to the top with an impressive win in New England. 

Biggest Increase: Indianapolis Colts (From 14 to 7)

Biggest Drop: Philadelphia Eagles (From 3 to 12)

Here are my rankings after Week 11:

1) New York Giants (8-1)

2) Tennessee Titans (10-0)

3) Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3)

4) New York Jets (7-3)

5) Carolina Panthers (7-3)

6) New England Patriots (6-4)

7) Indianapolis Colts (6-4)

8) Washington Redskins (6-4)

9) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3)

10) Arizona Cardinals (7-3)

11) Atlanta Hawks (6-4)

12) Philadelphia Eagles (5-4-1)

13) Green Pay Packers (5-5)

14) Chicago Bears (5-5)

15) Dallas Cowboys (6-4)

16) Baltimore Ravens (6-4)

17) Miami Dolphins (6-4)

18) Denver Broncos (6-4)

19) New Orleans Saints (5-5)

20) San Diego Chargers (4-6)

21) Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6)

22) Minnesota Vikings (5-5)

23) Cleveland Browns (3-6)

24) Buffalo Bills (5-4)

25) Houston Texans (3-7)

26) San Fransico 49ers (3-7)

27) Detroit Lions (0-10)

28) Cincinnati Bengals (1-8-1)

29) St Louis Rams (2-8)

30) Seattle Seahawks (2-8)

31) Kansas City Chiefs (1-9)

32) Oakland Raiders (2-8)

Sixers Coming On

While one Philadelphia team is falling from grace, another one has managed to save its season with a nice run of victiories.

I am talking of course about the 76ers, who after losing 3 straight to fall to 2-5, have bounced back in a major way. First, they went beyond the border to Canada to get revenege on the Raptors, who handed them a season opening loss. They managed to win that one by 10 points.

The next game was the big one. Facing the Pacers in Indiana, the Sixers came out flat, falling behind by 25 points in the opening fram. But they manged to make almost all of that up in the second quarter alone, outscoring the Pacers by 17 in the second quarter to enter half time down only 8. This one was a nail bitter down to the very end, but the Sixers, behind Thaddeus Young's 25 points, held on to get a key road win by 2 points, 94 to 92.

Feeding off the emotional come from behind win, the Sixers got the gift of facing the 1-8 Oklahoma City Thunder at the Wachovia Center for their next game. This one was never really a contest, and the Sixers cruised to a 110-85 win. This capped off a three game win streak, to bring the Sixers record back to .500, at 5-5.

The Sixers have been a team that has gotten their points from all around this season. Young leads them in scoring with an average of 16 points per game. But Elton Brand is right behind him with 15, and point guard Andre Miller has also contributed 15 per game.

An promising sign for the Sixers has been the play of Andre Iguodala. Even though he has scoring, he has found ways to contribute. He has season averages of 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

The Sixers should be able to continue their winning ways, with games agaisnt the lowley Minnestoa Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clipper and Charloette Bobcats on the horizon.

Why Can's Us?

Look, after Sundays debacle in Ohio, there is no reason for any body to be optimistic. All of the talk in Philadelphia has been anything but.

Andy Reid had to go. This is Donovan McNabbs last season. Westbrook isn't himself.

The season is over.

All of those arguments have merit. Reid probaly should be fired after how his team plays on Sunday. In all likely hood, these are the last 6 games of the McNabb era in Philadelphia. And as disscussed on this site earlier, Westbrook has not been the same Westbrook all year.

But all of that being said, despite how bleek it looks, the Eagles are still alive. There are 6 whole weeks left in the season. Thats almost 2 months. Alot can happen in 2 months. Look at all that has happened in the last 6 weeks:

1) Dallas Cowboys went from the NFC Favorite to border line playoff tea

2) The Miami Dolphins have won 4 in a row

3) The Tennesse Titans have still not lost

While non of this gives you any reason to hope that McNabb will all of the sudden remember how to throw, it does give you this reason to hope: anything can happen.

When Jeff Garcia led the Eagles into the playoffs, who saw that coming? That season, the Eagles were 5-4 when McNabb went down. There had already lost 3 games in a row that season after starting 4-1, and looked like a team going no where.

Then, behind Garica, they won their final 5 games of the season. They went into Dallas and beat a favored Cowboys team. They beat the Giants in New York and the Redskins in Washington two weeks in a row. But most importanlty, they rallied at the end of the season to advance into the playoffs.

Could that happen this year? Well, after the tie on Sunday, the Eagles stand at 5-4-1. They are gamd and a half back of the Buccaneers, who are 7-3. They are a half game behind the Cowboys, Redskins and Falcons, who are all 6-4. They are a game ahead of the Packers and Vikings at 5-5.

But that is not that bad of a position to be in. They own the tiebreaker over the Falcons, because they beat them previously. They get a chance to make up the half game on both the Redskins and the Cowboys, who they still have to play. There other remaining oppenents? The Ravens, Cardinals, and Browns. Those are all winnable games, with the trip to Baltimore next week being the hardest. It will require other teams to do their part and lose, but who would have thought the Cowboys would be 5-4 at this point? Or that the Eagles would tie the Bengals? Strange things happen in the NFL, and any given sunday means just that.

Like I said, this is an opptimistic view of the season. But who would have thought that the Phillies would be world series champions? Maybe the curse is finally broken, and William Penn will shine down some luck on Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb.

So while a playoff berth will require near perfection down the road, the question I ask you is:

Why Can't Us?

Eagles Blow It

Wow. 

If any game has ever summed up a season for a team, yesterday was it.

A week after losing a heartbreaker to the New York Giants, this game was a must win. at 5-4, the chance of getting in the playoffs was a long shot. The Eagles needed a win, and there couldnt have been a better set up. 

They were facing the 1-8 Cincinatti Bengals. Worst defense in the league. Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback. 

And they blew. 

Right off the bat, it was bad. The Eagles offense went three and out on their first three drives, not getting it until into the second quarter. They totaled -3 yards in the first quarter. While the defense played strong, the offense also managed to give the Bengals the ball on the 1 yard line after a fumble by McNabb. 

The defense was able to pull off a goal line stand, making the score 3-0. This was a big stop by the Eagles defense because after the awful play of the offense and that huge turnover, the stop was able to give the momentum back to the Birds.

On their next drive, the Eagles were able to answer, getting a 42 yard field goal after a 44 yard screen pass to Correll Buckhalter. But that tie would not last long, as 2 drives later, the Bengals finally broke thru, hitting T.J. Housmenzadah for a 26 year touchdown. It was a beautiful throw by Ryan Fitzpatrick. For some reason the Eagles had Joselio Hanson matched up with the Bengals best wide receiver on the play. 

The Eagles offense played bad all day, but down 13-3, McNabb managed to put together a nice drive. He hit Hank Baskett on a short route, who stiff armed a Bengal and shot up the field for a 51 yard gain. On the next play, McNabb found L.J. Smith for a touchdown to pull the Eagles to within 3. 

With 8 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, down 3, and their season on the line, the Eagles offense took the field for the 12th time, needing a field goal. The Eagles slowly moved the ball down the field, but on a key 3rd and 6 play near the Bengals endzone, the Birds came up 1 yard short. They had already converted a 4th down try earlier in the drive, but Reid decided to kick he field goal. 

In the next 20 minutes of football, including overtime, the Eagles managed to get nothing going. Even with the Bengals practically trying to give the game away, the Eagles couldn't take it. They coulnd't convert short yard plays. Rocca all of the sudden forgot how to punt. They had 3 penaltys on the offense in overtime- in 1 series.

What this all adds up to is an embarrising 13-13 tie. This moved the Eagles record to 5-4-1. With the Cowboys winning last night, this dropped them to last place in the division. 

McNabb played his worst game as a pro. He threw 3 interceptions and lost a fumbel. He threw the ball 50 times and completed only 20. He didn't hurry up the offense at all towards the end of the game, leading to a delay of game penalty. For all of the times I defend him on this blog, he lost the game for the Eagles yesterday. 

This game was a picture of what the season for the Eagles has been like. Close, but not close enough. Could have won, but didn't. Played bad, they were still in it. All season, Eagles fans have pointed to close losses by the team, saying they can play with teams like the Giants. But at what point do we just say the Eagles are not a good team? They are talented, but there just not good. They can't win close games, don't make big plays, and can't convert simple plays. Their poorly coached and can't run. 

And watching yesterdays game, it was hard to tell who was 5-4 and who was 1-8.

Eagles v Bengals Preview

Simply put, if the Eagles have any hope or prayer of making a success out of this season, it has to start tommorw. The Eagles have an up hill battle as it is to make the playoffs, so these are the type of games that must go down in the win column. 

Why The Eagles Will Win:

1) There the Bengals Again: After a few years of being a playoff team, an offensive force, and a team that was no longer an automatic win, the Bengals are back. A combination of injuries and bad play have led the Bengals to a  1-8 record. In almost every statistical category on offense, they are in the bottom 3 of the league. After facing a great running team last week in the Giants, the Eagles defense should excel this week agaisnt a Bengals team that averages only 86 rushing yards a game. The misery dosn't end there. They average only 13 points a game, 151 passing yards, and are last in total yards a game. 

2) Ryan Fitzpatrick: When the Bengals offense take the field on Sunday, Carson Palmer will not be under center for them. That is good news for the Eagles, who should feast on backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. In his 5 games played since Palmer got hurt, Fitzpatrick only have 4 touchdowns. His longest pass has been for only 22 yards. He has never thrown for over 200 yards in a game, and has 6 interceptions. Him being at quarterback negates the two pro bowl wide receivers that the Bengals have in Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmanzada. Asante Samuel, Sheldon Brown and Lito Shepppard should have a field day with this guy under center.

3) Just Loss: The Eagles are coming off a huge loss to the Giants, and will be ready to get back in the win column. There season is still very much alive, but a loss here would probaly be the end of any playoff hopes. Simply put, the Eagles are the better team, need it more, and the pressure is on them to win. If they don't, there is no need to be excited about the rest of the season.

Why The Eagles Will Lose: 

1) Bengals Defense: Nothing on the Bengals is good. You don't get to be 1-8 by excelling in something. But if you had to pick a strength, it would be the defense. And the best part of the defense is the secondary. They are 10th in the league in passing yards allowed. That could be a jaded statistic, as most teams have been up on the Bengals and run the ball. But still, the strength of the Eagles offense is the running game, and if somehow the Bengals an hold the Eagles to 151 yards passing (what they average allowed), then this game could be a lot harder.

2) Close Loses: While they are 1-8, and Bengals have played teams close. They brought the Giants to overtime in New York, and almost beat the Cowboys in Dallas. Granted, that was with Carson Palmer at quarterback, but it still shows that this team might be better then its record shows. The Bengals are also coming off a Bye Week, and won their last game played against a good Jacksonville Jaguars team. 

3) Nothing to Lose: At 1-8, the Bengals season is over. Their head coach, Marvin Lewis, probaly won't be back next year. They have nothing to lose, and no pressure is on them. Also, coming off of  a win, their confidence could be coming back. If there was one week to not want to play the Bengals, this is it. 

Prediction: Despite that fact that Bengals did just win a game, and are coming off a bye, I don't see Ryan Fitzpatrick beating the Eagles. Hopefully, the Eagles put this one away early, play hard, and don't look ahead till next week. 

Pick: Eagles 28 Bengals 13