BillyV's Blog

5/14/08

It was way overblown.  Ryan Howard’s slump had some fans booing, others saying he should be benched, and still others demanding that he be traded.   All of which is an unfortunate overreaction.  Baseball players have slumps.  Home run hitters especially have slumps.  A player as talented and hard-working as Ryan Howard is eventually going to come out of it.

That’s the part that bothered me most-- people saying that Howard wasn’t working hard.  They assume that, because he won a ten million dollar arbitration award this off-season, he relaxed and stopped working.  It’s just not true.  The folks who are close to the situation tell me Howard is working as hard as ever.  Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson told me the opposite might be true—that Howard was pressing, trying to prove he deserved the money.

Thompson’s been working with Howard on making technical adjustments.  He was opening up his swing too soon.   

The work by Howard and Thompson is paying off.  Howard’s homer tonight was his second in the last four games, and he has had a hit in six straight.  So it appears he has figured things out and is breaking out of the slump.

The bottom line, in my view, is that Howard, despite the occasional slumps, is going to hit more than 500 homers in his career.  I’d rather see him do it in a Phillies uniform that someone else’s.  That’s V’s view—what’s yours?  

5/4/08

On to the conference finals.  The Flyers are a Corvette ZO6, on their way to turning into a Lamborghini, tearing through opponents at an incresingly faster pace.  

When they took a 3-1 lead in their first series with Washington, then lost the next two and had to go to a deciding game 7, people said they didn’t know how to put a team away.  So, after they took a 3-1 lead over Montreal, many in the media kept asking if the Flyers had learned a lesson from the earlier series.  Personally, I didn’t think there was anything to learn.  It’s not like they didn’t try to win games 5 and 6 against Washington, or like they took the Caps for granted. Sometimes the other team just plays well with their backs to the wall.

But maybe I was wrong.  Maybe there was something about the first series that gave the Fl;yers some insight and allowed them to put away Montreal without delay.   I do know that they got tremendous goaltending from Marty Biron in the games where their offense (and their power play) wasn’t very good.  Then, in that last game when Biron let a few go in, the Flyers own offense went into high gear, allowing them to win 6-4. 

I also know that certain players found a great groove in the series with the Canadiens, the most obvious being R.J. Umberger.  After scoring one goal in seven games against the Caps, he broke through for an amazing 8 goals in 5 games against Montreal.  His two goals, plus an assist, were a big part of the win last night that eliminated the Canadiens.

Everything is working for the Flyers right now.  Let’s see if that continues to be the case in the conference finals.  They’ll be playing the Pittsburgh Penguins, who eliminated the New York Rangers this afternoon.   Not to take anything away from the Flyers performance against the top-seeded Canadiens, but the Penguins are, I think, an even better team that Montreal. 

I remember being at that incredible five-overtime game until the wee hours of the morning the last time the Flyers and Penguins met in the postseason in the year 2000.  Should be another exciting series ahead.    

5/6/08 (updated)

The Eagles first post-draft mini-cmp is over.  The rookies will come back again for another session May 21st.   The camp will be all about teaching them, but the process of  bringing them slowly into the system will continue all year.  Andy Reid's not going to play these guys any more than he played rookies Kevin Kolb, Vicotr Abiamiri and Tony Hunt last year.   

Like most fans, I want instant gratification;  I would like to see the Eagles draft to fill their immediate needs and give the team a legitimate shot at a Super Bowl.  But that's not how Andy Reid approaches things.

 If he did, he could have drafted Rashard Mendenhall, the running back from Illinois, who was available.  When I had interviewed Fox NFL football analyst Brian Baldinger a couple of weeks ago, the former Eagle, who watches so much tape of the players, he suggested that Mendenhall would be the ideal pick for the Eagles.  Baldy thought Mendenhall would join with Brian Westbrook to give the Eagles a great 1-2 punch and a lot of flexibility to sometimes use them both at once.  At that time, I thought there was no way Mendenhall would be available, because most mock drafts had him going in the top 10-12 picks. 

But Andy Reid is very consistent.  He doesn’t run the ball, anyway, so why in the world would he use a first-round pick on a running back? 

By the same token, when people argue that a running back could make an immediate impact, they’re forgetting that Reid doesn’t play rookies, anyway.

Why would Reid, the Executive Vice President of Football Operations, draft players that Reid, the coach, won’t use anyway?

So when Andy trades down out of the first round to get a future Number One pick, it’s consistent with the way he goes about doing everything else.  I don’t like the fact that he doesn’t run the ball. I don’t like the fact that he doesn’t play rookies.  But I can’t say he’s not consistent.

Besides, there were a lot of mock drafts that had the Eagles selecting a receiver at #19, and they ended up with a WR who’s probably as good as anyone in the draft, taking DeSean Jackson in the 2nd round.  Granted, most people had Devin Thomas of Michigan State as the top wideout, but Greg Cosell, NFL Films Producer who also looks at tons of tape says Thomas can’t run routes worth a darn.  He feels there was no WR worthy of a first round pick in this draft.

Of course, a guy can learn to run routes, but like so many other receivers, he’s not going to be much of a factor in his first year or two or three.  A look at wide receivers taken in the first round last year proves that.  Two, Calvin Johnson and Dwayne Bowe, had more than 40 catches, but there were four other WR's taken in the first round who didn't. 

But Jackson could have some impact based on pure speed.  He ran the fastest time at the combine for any receiver.

I do wish the Eagles had done more with the bunches of later round picks they acquired; I thought sure, when they kept getting more and more of those picks, that they had some plan to package some of them and get something really good.  Instead, they took a lot of guys in the 6th round that probably won’t even make the team. 

So, there was some good, some bad, in my view.  What’s yours?      

What a time to be a sports fan in Philly.  Sunday, the Sixers shocked Detroit in Game One of the playoffs.  On Monday, a Flyers win would wrap up a playoff series victory over Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.  Saturday night, Philly’s Bernard Hopkins, at age 43, came awfully close to beating the guy I consider the best fighter on the planet. 

Upsets and near-upsets for the Philly guys.

Add to that the fact that the Phillies beat the Mets Sunday night.  Eric Bruntlett made a great play to get the final out, which was especially nice considering he will continue to be the shortstop for the next couple of weeks, since Jimmy Rollins was put on the 15-day disabled list.

Also on the injury front, the Flyers found out they will be without Mike Knuble for the rest of their playoff series.  Knuble suffered a torn hamstring in the loss to the Caps Saturday.  What a comedown from Thursday night when Knuble scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime.  I was standing outside the Flyers locker room when they came out for the second overtime period, watching as Braydon Coburn and Mike Richards lined the hallway and exhorted and pumped up each teammate as they came out of the room.  I was still nearby when they came streaking back in, whooping and hollering after Knuble’s goal.  Now, they’ll have to find a way to get pumped up again Monday without Knuble around.

The Sixers continue to surprise people who don’t understand the value of their team-oriented play.  Sure, Detroit had the second-best record in the conference and they have a lot of weapons, but they often fall into the habit of taking turns playing one on one, instead of making sure everyone touches the ball.  The Sixers will continue to play them tough.

As for Hopkins, I honestly didn’t think he’d be able to beat Joe Calzaghe.  Most people haven’t seen much of Calzaghe, since he’s from Wales, but I think he’s the best fighter in the world at any weight; Hopkins, though, made him look ordinary.  Calzaghe usually throws over 1000 punches in a 12-round fight, but only 707 against Hopkins because Bernard is so crafty.  My bet is that Hopkins, who is from North Philly and Germantown, or even Mt. Airy if you listen to his old high school teacher, will fight again rather than retire.

It’s been five years—half a decade—since the Sixers and Flyers both made the playoffs.  Now, if the Sixers are fortunate, they’ll follow the Flyers lead by winning some crucial games and setting themselves up for a match against one of the best players in the game. 

Yes, it would be a good thing to face one of the best players, because winning is a team thing, even though many folks in the media still seem to think it’s all about individual stars. 

In the Flyers case, they did themselves a favor by winning their final game to set up a series against Washington.  The Capitals' Alex Ovechkin is, according to the Flyers themselves, the best player in the NHL.  He led the league in goals scored and in overall points; those two things may seem like they go hand in hand, but only 6 players in the last 37 years have done it.  Ovechkin is sure to win the MVP award.  But other than him, the Caps don’t have that much; they’re not as good as Pittsburgh, whom the Flyers would have faced if they hadn’t won that final regular season game.

In the same way, the Sixers would like to move up and face Cleveland, because even though LeBron James is a great player, the team overall is not as good as Orlando or Detroit, the Sixers other possible playoff opponents.  The Sixers players may not say it publicly, but privately they feel that if they can contain LeBron, the other Cavs won’t pick up the slack.  (It is true, though, that the last time they played Cleveland, former St. Joe’s star Delonte West had a big game for the Cavs with 17 points.)

At any rate, I picked the Sixers to make the playoffs before the season started when everyone else said they wouldn’t, because as I pointed out in a blog at that time, that they had a winning record after Andre Miller joined the team in December of ’06.  Then they added Reggie Evans in the off-season, and he’s been a big contributor, too.  He only averages 5 and half points a game, but his rebounding, defense, energy, work ethic and leadership have been valuable to this team.  Both guys prove that there is so much more to basketball than scoring points.

Still, I keep hearing the same talk show hosts who said the Sixers wouldn’t make the playoffs now saying they won’t go far because they don’t have a “star player to take the big shot at the end of the game.”  When will they learn?  This team keeps proving that it’s not about stats or stars; it’s about playing as a team.  As former coach Larry Brown used to say, “Play hard every day, play the right way.”

3/30/08

Tomorrow, they start playing games for real.  The question is, are the Phillies for real?  Can they repeat as NL East champs?

I don’t especially want to bust everyone’s bubble.  But I keep reading where Manager Charlie Manuel and everyone else associated with the Phillies says it’s a foregone conclusion that the team will score a lot of runs.  I even read one newspaper article about how this year’s Phillies might break the team record for runs scored set back in 1930.

I doubt it.  First of all, they let Aaron Rowand go and they brought in Geoff Jenkins.  Rowand hit.309 and Jenkins .255 last year.  That’s a loss of more than 50 points of batting average in a critical spot in your lineup.  Jenkins might be able to match Rowand’s 27 homers from last year—he hit 21 himself.   But at the same time, I’m a little tired of hearing the Phillies say that Jenkins, and Pedro Feliz, who hit 20 with San Francisco, will hit 30 or more thanks to Citizens Bank Park.  (More homers were hit in CBP last year than any other park in the league.)  The park helps opposing hitters just as much as it helps thePhillies. Whenever they get a new pitcher, you don’t hear the Phils say, “Hey, he gave up 20 homers last year, so he should give up 30 in our park.”  So it’s a little disingenuous to mention it with regard to their hitters, but ignore the fact that it also helps opposing hitters against their pitchers. 

The area of concern, again, is not power, it’s average.  Jenkins and the other three guys in the second half of the lineup are all .250 hitters. You put the pitcher up at the end of that lineup and you have five straight guys, more than half your hitters, who are .250 hitters or worse.

I do expect Carlos Ruiz to significantly increase his average, though.  But Jenkins, Feliz, and Pat Burrell have been around a long time, and there’s no reason to expect a sudden increase in their averages. 

As far as the pitching, I think Brett Myers and Cole Hamels give them a solid one-two punch at the top of the rotation.  Kyle Kendrick, an extremely pleasant surprise after being called up from AA ball and going 10-4, needs to prove it was no fluke.   We old heads remember how similar Bruce Ruffin was in 1986 when he came up from AA (to replace the legendary Steve Carlton) and went 9-4.  He had a losing record the rest of his career.

At the back of the rotation, Adam Eaton should be improved over last year.  It’s virtually impossible not to improve on his sickly season, in which he had an ERA of 6.29.

The bullpen is a big concern. 

Much as I despise the New York Mets, they once again did what the Phillies didn’t do—they targeted a big name in the off-season.  They’ll pay Johan Santana 23 million a year, and he’ll return the favor by leading them to a division championship.  Unfortunately, Phillies fans will once again have to go back to settling for second place,  just as the Phillies settled for second-tier free agents in the off-season.

3/21/08

Allen Iverson says it seems like he never left, what with seeing old faces and getting a tremendous ovation from the crowd.   A.I.'s first visit to Philly since being traded to Denver 15 months ago was a success in every way, except one.  He didn't win the game.  And that's the whole story in a nutshell: Iverson is exciting to watch, he scores a lot of points but that doesn't always add up to victory.

A.I.  got all the attention, but Andre Miller, who came here in the trade for Iverson, was even better last night.  A.I. had 32 points and 8 assists and Miller had 28 with 12 assists, meaning he actually accounted for more points.  What's more, Miller's a guy who does more of the little things that don't show up in a box score. 

A sellout crowd of over 20-thousand turned out for this game because of Iverson.  The stands were full of people wearing his number 3 jersey.  I didn't see anyone wearing Miller's No. 7, and the stands will probably be half empty again  when they play again, which is a shame bcause they are winning and developing into a good team.  It's time for this city to take notice of Miller, because all he does is win. 

When they traded A.I., the Sixers were dismal.   They had lost 11 straight games and their overall record was 5-18.  People said it was because A.I. didn't have good players around him, but after the trade,  Miller came in an won with those same players.  The Sixers actually had a winning record in their games last year after the trade.  And as of today, they have a winning record overall since the trade.

What's more, they are getting better every day, with Miller leading the way.  The win over Iverson's Nuggets was the Sixers 8th win in 9 games.  They are on their way to a possible playoff berth that almost no one gave them a chance of winning.

It's time for everyone to realize that it really should be about t-e-a-m,  not individual performance and accolades.  That winning should be exciting enough in and of itself, even when it  comes in unspectacular style.  In other words, it's Miller Time.

3/18/08

The fact that Philly has three basketball teams in the NCAA tournament is testimony itself as to the quality of the coaches we have in this town.  And Temple’s Fran Dunphy is certainly among the best.  

Temple, along with Villanova and St. Joe’s, is in the Big Dance.

I had an interesting perspective during the Atlantic Ten tournament in Atlantic City, because I sat right behind the benches of the local teams.  The coaches each have their own style.  St. Joe’s Phil Martelli, who is a brilliant man on and off the court, is somewhat crazed as he stands (never sitting down) on the sidelines.  La Salle’s John Giannini is even more manic, going berserk at times.  Fran Dunphy?  Calm and collected at all times.

Giannini is another good coach, whose team performed well late in the year and came close to beating Temple in the A-10 tournament.  I heard Giannini scream at his players, at one point getting so emotional that he punched his clipboard.  Martelli, when he was unhappy with his players, would scream and yank them out of the game but he did wait until he had calmed down before going over to talk to them.

I could hear exactly what they were screaming.  But when I sat behind Temple’s bench, I could never hear a word Dunphy said because he didn’t scream.   Barely raised his voice.  (“I get into them later, back at the hotel,” he told me.)

When Dunphy was chosen to replace the retiring John Chaney as Temple’s coach, many alumni questioned the decision.  Not me.  (I am an alumni—I didn’t question the choice.) That Dunph is a great coach should’ve been obvious from the job he did at Penn, when his teams went to the NCAA tournament 9 times.    

He took over the remnant of what Chaney had left; a team that hadn’t made the NCAA’s since 2001.  Having re-worked the team into one that gradually came together, finishing with 7 straight wins and an A-10 championship, Dunphy and his Owls left for Denver and the NCAA’s today. 

Great job.  Good luck. Go Owls.

3/11/08

The Eagles won’t get Larry Fitzgerald, and it’s starting to look more and more like they won’t get any impact receiver this year.  Fitzgerald was thought to be possibly available for trade because his solid play—100 catches last year and 10 touchdowns—caused incentives in his contract to kick in.  As a result, Arizona would’ve had to pay him 14 ½ million this year and 17 mil next season.  But the Cardinals said all along they wouldn’t trade Fitzgerald, and today they reached agreement on a deal to restructure his contract.  According to what a Cardinals spokesman told Fox 29, Fitzgerald was on his way to vacation in Chile, but signed the paperwork while he was in the airport. 

I also don’t see much basis for the rumors that the Eagles will get Roy Williams from Detroit in a trade.  Williams had a lot of games when he was a non-factor this year, but every now and then he flashes his enormous potential—including the game against the Eagles when he had 9 catches for 204 yards.  So why would Detroit trade him?

At least the Eagles did make a play for Randy Moss, right? Well, not exactly.  Like most everyone else, I was originally impressed that they made an offer.  But then I learned from a source close to team President Joe Banner that the Eagles offer was really just for show.  They knew he was going to re-sign with the Patriots.  They offered him slightly more than New England did, but really not enough to pry him away from the tremendous tradition the Patriots have.  The Eagles offer helped Moss, in that it gave him more leverage to use in negotiations with the Pats, and it helped the Eagles in that they could now tell their fan base, “Hey, we tried.”

Think about it: Do you remember another time when the Eagles publicly commented about an offer to a player that was rejected?  I don’t.

Besides, when he did comment, Andy Reid pretty much said that Moss was never going to leave the Patriots.   So the Eagles offer was really more of a P.R. move than anything.  Now they need to find a way to make a real move if they’re going to improve their receiving corps.

3/8/08

The Wachovia Center is usually half-empty when they play, so almost no one has noticed, but the 76ers have won 11 of their last 14 games. 

And some of those fans who do show up are actually rooting for the Sixers to lose, on the basis that they'll get a higher draft pick.   But the Sixers players are only concerned about winning, which is at it should be.  Andre Miller continues to play the game the way it should be played: unselfishly.    I don't even care that he makes himself scarce after the game because he apparently doesn't like dealing with the media, apparently doesn't want the publicity.  I just care that he "plays the right way" (to borrow a phrase so often repeated by former Sixers coach Larry Brown. )

But a lot of credit for the Sixers winning ways also should go to Billy King.  I wrote in a blog last year that King was a lot smarter and more savvy than most fans think.  These players who are winning now are all King's guys.  That includes rookie Thaddeus Young, even though everyone, including me, said "What the heck?" when King took him in the first round of the draft.   Young is not only a tremendous athlete, but he has a lot of basketball savvy despite being a 19-year old rookie.

But it's too late to help King, who should never have been fired in the first place.

New G.M. Ed Stefanski has made only one move, trading away Kyle Korver.  It is possible that move helped the Sixers, because they are now free to run, run, run, which is what they do best.   And Stefanski did make the decision to bring Mo Cheeks back for another year as coach.   A lot of people didn't think Mo was a good coach, but he, Young and the rest of the Sixers are answering the doubters, even if there aren't a lot of people taking notice.

Word of advice to the Phillies: “A house divided against itself cannot stand. “ And while we’re using house analogies:  any real estate expert will tell you that to improve the value of your house you “put the money into the kitchens and bathrooms.”  What’s any of that got to do with the Phillies?  Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels are your kitchens and bathrooms, the outstanding young players that you should spend money on.  Instead, the Phillies have created potential for clubhouse dissension by angering them both.

Their legendary cheapness is creating dissatisfaction in their clubhouse.  Their decision to exercise their right to renew Cole Hamels at $500,000 after being unable to work out an agreement has angered Hamels greatly.  Right now, because of his youth and lack of service time, Hamels doesn’t have any options,  but he’s made it clear that he’ll remember this later in his career when he has more options: “That will affect down the line certain things that come up,” Hamels said.  “You can’t  just all of a sudden throw everything out at (a player) at the last second and think that’s really going to make him happy, because you still have checkmarks for what (the team) didn’t do in the years before.”

Some people think Hamels should just accept the fact that, in baseball, you just have to wait until it’s your time.  And I will say, even though Major League Baseball is behind the curve in many ways compared to other pro leagues, they are better in one area: players don’t get paid big bucks until they’ve proven themselves, unlike the NFL and NBA where guys get multi-million dollar deals as soon as they’re drafted.    But this also gives the Phillies a chance to really establish a relationship with their good young players by saying, “Hey, we don’t have to pay you this much, but we’re doing it.”  Hamels wanted $700,000, so if the Phils gave him $200,000 more, he would’ve been happy.  But the Phillies continue to be tightwads, angering Hamels just as they angered Ryan Howard a couple weeks earlier by taking him to arbitration. 

Granted,  Howard didn’t spout off like Hamels.  He said all the right things.  But there’s no way anyone, least of all a guy who’s worked as hard as Howard, is going to sit in a room and listen to the team present reasons why he shouldn’t get the money he wants--he strikes out too much, his defense isn’t great—and not have it affect him.  The fact that the arbitrator ruled in Howard’s favor means the Phillies lost twice—they angered the player and they still have to pay him anyway.

The Phillies will try to counter their cheap image by saying they’re payroll is now well over $100 million.  I would counter by pointing out that they could have made Hamels happy by paying $200,000 more, which amounts to 2/10 of one percent of their payroll.  (That’s .002%)

The Phils can save money elsewhere in their dealings with other players, like a contractor who uses cheaper materials in the living room, but spends lavishly on those kitchens and bathrooms.  Hamels might not like being referred to as a bathroom, but give him a couple hundred thousand extra dollars, and he’ll be okay with that, too. 

3/1/08

You have to give the Eagles credit. They jumped into the (free agent) pool and made a big splash.  On the first day of free agency, they signed the player they (and many others) considered the top player available, CB Asante Samuel. 

Today’s signing, the second in two days, is a lesser name; DE Chris Clemons, who wasn’t even a starter for Oakland last year.  Then again, the fact that he managed eight sacks in a reserve role makes the Eagles think he can help improve their pass rush significantly. 

Andy Reid didn’t seem especially happy at the news conference announcing Clemons’ signing. Maybe he was thinking about the many other players who signed with other teams today. Players like Chicago receiver Bernard Berrian, who is headed to Minnesota or former Eagle Donte Stallworth who left New England for Cleveland.  If Reid agrees with the rest of us that the Eagles need an upgrade at WR, then he’s got to be disappointed that the two best free agents are now gone.  (Not that there’s any indication that the Eagles were actually targeting either one, or that Reid does agree they need one.) 

Keep in mind, though, Javon Walker was just cut by Denver, and Randy Moss still hasn’t re-upped with the Patriots and, according to the Boston Globe, is now going to start listening to offers from other teams.  The Eagles, though, will likely never sign a potential problem child like Moss after their experiences with T.O.

But back to the players they did sign.  I think Clemons is a good move, because they need more of a pass rush, but they didn't have to get a superstar because they already have a decent left defensive end in Juqua Thomas, who gives you lots of hustle, and they have 2nd round pick Victor Abiamiri, who could be a stud. (We don’t know, because Reid didn’t play him—even when the Eagles were 5-8 and out of the running.)  Andy intends to use them all, saying "if we can get four good [guys] in there, cranking it up and going, then that’s what we want."

As for Samuel, obviously, he is a great player, but with free safety Brian Dawkins about to turn 35, I think the Eagles needed a safety much more than a cornerback.  Speculation is they may  1)move Sheldon Brown to safety, which I think would be a mistake or  2)try to trade Lito Sheppard.  We’ll have to see what they do before we really know how to judge the Samuel signing.  I can't think of a possible third choice, because Giants' safety Gibril Wilson signed with Oakland, Cincinnati's Madieu Williams signed with the Vikings and beyond that, the crop of free agent safeties is not very good.  

But Samuel's signing does show that the Eagles are serious about making moves after an 8-8 season.  They got the top guy they targeted, and they're paying him $57 million over 6 years. After what the Phillies did this off season, targeting second-tier players as usual, over-the-hill guys like Geoff Jenkins and never-reached-the-hill guys like Chad Durbin, while letting one of their best players, Aaron Rowand, walk away, the Eagles can’t help but look good by comparison. 

2/24/08

When Fox 29 broadcast the boys and girls Public league Championship games today, we expected double drama; both the boys and girls championship games figured to be close, exciting matches. As it turned out, the girls match was a blowout, but, in a sense, we still got our double drama, as the boys game went to double-overtime.

Communications Tech and Frankford were all knotted up at the end of regulation, and at the end of overtime, as well. Finally, in the second OT, Comm Tech was able to pull away and finish strong, winning the Public League Title.

Comm Tech typifies a great team. They’re star player; “Scootie” Randall (who will announce tomorrow that he is going to attend Temple) did not have a particularly great game, but still ended up with a team-high 18 points. But teammate Manny Jordan used his wide body to create underneath, (he was named MVP of the game) and then Antonio Monroe played great for the Phoenix late in the game, before fouling out in overtime. After that, Chris Jones stepped up big in the second overtime, and Coach Lou Beister and his Comm Tech players finally had themselves a championship, 77-73.

In the girls game, Engineering and Science, which had lost to Central in the title game the last three years straight, finally broke through—and in a big way. Led by Keisha Hampton.

Hampton’s 20 points, the Engineers blew out Central by the incredible score of 63-29. E and S’s team is comprised mostly of seniors who were tired of losing to Central, (as was Coach Joe Ryan) although it was a freshman, Brittany Hrynko, who was named co-MVP with Hampton.

For me, this is always a special day, doing play-by-play on the girls game, and I know Tolly feels the same about announcing the boys match up. I think the folks behind the scenes also do a great job, even though it’s something we only do once a year.

It’s also something the kids will always remember. (Temple senior Mark Tyndale still thanks me every time I see him, because we broadcast the game when his Simon Gratz team won it.) Congrats to the winners and to the two teams that didn’t win, too: Frankford gave it a great effort in the boy’s game and Central, a young team, will probably be back in the girl’s title game again next year.

I need your help.  I need your suggestions.  I need a hero.

To quote from a song by Bonnie Tyler:

I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ’til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight

In the world of sports, we hear so much today about players and coaches cheating on the field, and getting into all sorts of problems with the law off of it.  Just today, I listened to the Congressional hearings on accusations that Roger Clemens used steroids and HGH.  On the wire there’s a story that University of  Indiana basketball coach Kelvin Sampson is being accused by the NCAA of violating recruiting restrictions—restrictions that had been imposed after Sampson was found to have violated rules when he was coach at Oklahoma.  And on and on it goes. 

So I’d like to bring back a feature I’ve done from time to time: identifying local heroes in the world of sports and profiling them on the Fox 29 News.  If you know of a player or coach at any level—high school, college, jayvee, Pop Warner—who is doing something special, overcoming obstacles or helping others in a special way, please let me know.  Just add a comment to this blog.  Or email me at bill.vargus@foxtv.com. 

The last hero I profiled was Herb McGee, coach at Philadelphia University; not only did Herb become the all-time leader in coaching victories at the small college level when he won his 829th career game, but he’s won them all at Philly U, resisting offers to go to a major college or even to the pros.  And he’s always holding basketball clinics, tutoring kids. 

We’ve often done profiles of athletes who are, to use today’s terminology, handi-capable—competing in marathons while wearing prosthesis to replace a severed leg. 

These are the type of people I want you to tell me about.  Please make sure you include information on where they work (play) and how they can be contacted.  

Thanks for your help in finding today’s heroes and reporting on the positive side of sports.    

Sorry for being repetitive.  In my last post, I wrote about how the Green Bay Packers completely abandoned the running game, resulting in a loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship.  Now I'm going to say the same thing about the New England Patriots.  In the second half of the Super Bowl, they ran just 6 times, and threw the ball 34.   No wonder Tom Brady got hammered, harried and hurried every time he went back to pass.  As I've tried to say so many times in relation to Andy Reid and the Eagles, if the other team doesn't have to worry about you running the ball, they're going to pin their ears back and give you a relentless pass rush, and they're going to beat you.

I know the Patriots have been a pass-heavy offense all year.  In fact, whenever someone has disputed my argument about the importance of running a balanced offense, the Pats are the team they've pointed to.  But New England usually had some semblance of a running game with Laurence Maroney, and they knew when and how to use it.   But the Giants shut down Maroney in the first half, and then pinned back those ears as Bill Bellichick played right into their hands by giving up on the run.  

Giving up on the running game is just giving up on winning.  You can go away from it for awhile, but at some point, you have to come back, keep the defense honest.   A smart defensive coordinator, such as Steve Spagnuolo of the Giants, will not let you get away with passing every down.  A good pass rusher--and the Giants have several--will make you pay for passing every down.

That's true even against a New England team with a passer like Tom Brady throwing to Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth.   It's certainly true of the Eagles, who had an injured Donovan McNabb throwing to an unimpressive corps of receivers this year.  Again, I hope Andy Reid was paying attention to the lesson to be learned from the Super Bowl, the conference championship, and the other playoff games.  No matter how good you may think you are, you still have to run the ball and keep the defense honest.