Staff Blog
Morning Rounds, November 21st
Last night the Pittsburgh Steelers,
playing with an injured running back and a banged up offensive line, took down the
Cincinnati Bengals. They didn’t have a
good night running the ball – they gained only 121 yards – but they committed
to the run, putting the ball in the hands of their backs 37 times. The end result? A 27-10 blowout victory, one
in which Pittsburgh
held the ball for over 35 minutes.
 |
“I’m sick of athletes turning out to be phonies, and I guess I was begging for Elton to be real…And I guess I was wrong.” – Bill Plachke
Three lines on their world:
- John Beilein’s Michigan team knocked off #4 ranked UCLA
- Kobe and the Lakers dominated Shaq and the Suns
- and Pittsburgh cruised over the Bengals in Thursday Night Football
Three lines on ours:
- Chase Utley will miss the next 4-6 months as he recovers from hip surgery
- 18,000 runners are expected to run in Sunday’s Philadelphia Marathon
- and tonight Elton Brand takes on the team he spurned to become a Sixer
Phillies, Birds, Sixers, Flyers and what everybody is talking about, after the jump
EAGLES
Bob Ford reports that, behind closed doors, Andy Reid in on the warpath. READ
John Gonzalez admonishes Donovan McNabb for not knowing how to handle a controversy and fondly remembers some of the better quotes Philadelphia athletes have given. His premise ‘look at all the times athletes have said dumb things’ may not work – Chase calling the Phils “World Fucking Champions” didn’t exactly draw the wrath of the city, for example, but it always fun to look back at the Barkley era. READ
Paul Domowitch points out that fans have called for McNabb’s head before, and McNabb has responded on the field. He then enjoyably goes aroud the league. READ
Les Bowen guesses at what role the Eagles’ run game will play in their offense this week. SKIP
Ray Parrillo talks with the Birds’ d-lineman about facing a big QB, and a rookie QB. SKIP
Ed Barkowitz mocks Andy Reid for always taking the blame. SKIP
Les Bowen says the Birds aren’t thinking about fines. SKIP
Reuben Frank breaks down the nickle package, and why Sheldon Brown isn’t a part of it. READ
Reuben Frank tries to figure out why a productive Correll Buckhalter can’t get on the field. READ
SIXERS
Phil Jasner explains some of the history between Elton Brand and the Clippers. READ
Kevin Tatum says the Sixers watched game tape and drops an ominous end note about the possibility of a lockout. SKIP
Kate Fagan reports that Elton Brand is saying that tonight will just be another game. SKIP
PHILLIES
Todd Zolecki explains the Utley injury. READ
David Murphy reports that Pedro Feliz is going under the knife as well, and guesses at what the Utley injury might mean for the roster. SKIP
In the wake of the injury, Bill Conlin credits Chase Utley’s toughness for the Phillies’ World Fucking Championship. READ
David Murphy reports on John Mayberry Jr., the power hitting rightfielder who the Phillies just traded Greg Golson for. READ
Randy Millers says that Mayberry is supposed to be Pat Burrell’s eventual replacement. SKIP
FLYERS
Ed Moran looks at all the Flyer/Phantom roster shuffling. READ
Sam Carchidi introduces Jon Kalinski, the latest newest Flyer. READ
TODAY and MORE
Between the Philadelphia Marathon; Penn St. trying to hang onto a BCS bowl bid; Elton Brand facing his old team and then the team who he refused a more lucrative offer from; and the the Birds playing for their playoff lives it’s a packed weekend for Philadelphia sports.
We’ll try to get to as many of the events as possible, starting with the Sixers tonight. Expect NFL picks before we take off.
As always, feel free to email with
any questions, suggestions, comments or complaints.
