Upsets aplenty

WOW. What a day of basketball it has been so far, and the first day isnt even over yet! We saw Murray state take down 4th seeded Vanderbilt with Danero Thomas doing his best Bryce Drew imitation, Ohio dominating Georgetown, Old Dominion take down a veteran Notre Damn team and a bevy of top seeds exposed (Villanova). You cant script this stuff. My brackets are not in shambles yet, but they look to be headed that way. This is why the first 2 rounds of the NCAA tournament are the best 4 days of sports in the entire year.

Philly sports update

So its been a week since my last post, and quite a bit has happened in Philly sports over this time. Eagles continue to disappoint in free agency, despite signing Marlin Jackson (who I actually really like) to a 2 year deal this morning. This team is still nowhere near competing for a championship which is really all we care about. The Phillies have looked decent during their spring training, and Roy Halladay is as good as advertised, maybe better. The Flyers, winners of 7 of 9, are back looking like the team we thought they would be at the beginning of the season and are back in the mix of Stanley Cup contenders. Then there are the Sixers....well the Sixers in an attempt to make this team even worse, rumors of an Eddie Jordan firing could be near. This would actually be very detrimental as this team might actually try to prove something and win a few games. At least let this team hit rock bottom and get a good pick in the draft, THEN fire him! Stefanski to while they are at it. Finally, with only 4 days left for Villanova to make their case for at a minimum, a number 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, their game with Marquette this afternoon will be a good measuring stick to see if they can move past their recent slide.

Philadelphia Phillies have proven willing to spend in last five years

Philadelphia Phillies have proven willing to spend in last five years

Cinderella's year?

Finally! March is here and with that, comes my favorite time of the year. Sure you will hear me say that a lot, however the first 2 rounds of the NCAA tournament actually ARE my favorite sporting event of the year (other then perhaps the Masters but we will get to that in April). Obviously we don't know exactly what the brackets will look like this year, but we do know one thing, there will be no clear favorite to win it all. In fact, this will probably be the shakiest group of no.1 seeds in a very long time. Just a few days removed from the top 3 seeds losing, Syracuse has claimed the top spot for the first time in 20 years. Personally, I still don't think they are that good and I could foresee an early round (3rd or 4th) upset of the Orangemen. Moreover, I dont think that any team is a "Lock" for a Final Four appearance. I would say that Kentucky, despite some of their recent troubles, is still the best team in college basketball.

Below are my Top 3 sleepers, frauds and teams you would not expect to win the tournament, but I believe have a legitimate shot.

Sleepers: In no particular order(5-16 seed who could win at least 2 games)
1. Cornell
2. Xavier
3. Saint Mary's

Frauds: In no particular order (1-4 seed who will not win 2-3 games)
1. Purdue
2. Pittsburgh
3. Duke

Unexpected teams who can win: (any seed 1-16 who have a chance of winning)
1. Ohio State
2. West Virgina
3. Tennessee

Best Philly movie

Here is my top 10 list of best movies shot in Philadelphia. Let me know what you think. Give me your top 10.

1.Trading Places (1983)
2.Rocky (1976)
3.Best In Show (2000)
4.Philadelphia (1993)
5.Se7en (1995)
6.Twelve Monkeys (1995)
7.Sixth Sense (1999)
8.The Philadelphia Story (1940)
9.Baby Mama (2008)
10.Invincible (2006)

Still a football city?

I am pretty sure had anyone but Sidney Crosby scored that winning goal yesterday, I would be talking about an Olympic Hockey game for the ages. Sydney Crosby becomes even more hated around the league and in the Philadelphia area and hockey (for me at least) slips back into irrelevancy. It's a shame to, cause had the U.S.A won yesterday, I could see a huge surge in Hockey fans...for the next few months at a minimum. Now, on to more important things. March is here, and spring training is just around the bend, which got me thinkin about how lucky we are to have a team like the Phillies in this city. A team willing to spend the money and take the risks (keeping Cliff Lee aside) needed in order to be on top. That is pretty much all we ask for in this city. Yet this notion seems to have specifically passed the Eagles by. This is because Jeffrey Lurie is content with putting a team out there each year that is good enough to give us hope at a championship, but that's really all it is, hope. Lurie's motto, why spend more money to win a Superbowl, if its not going to yield him anymore money? This is and has been the Eagles philosophy for too long. This is basically a lack of respect for the fans that spend their hard earned money each week on absurdly priced tickets. I have been an Eagles fan since birth and that's never gonna change. During my lifetime, Philly has always been a football town, however if our front office doesn't wake up and realize that the this city is quickly changing into a baseball city...the Eagles (who are already clearly jealous of the Phillies success) will lose their grasp they have had for so long.

Villanova falling....Temple best in Philly?

A pathetic, halfhearted effort was put forth today by the Villanova Wildcats against the Orange Men of Syracuse, far and away the Big East's best team. The Wildcats have now lost 4 of 7 and are quickly sliding into the realm of irrelevancy. So what has gone wrong? A lot. Poor shooting, poor defense, not such great coaching either. Are they even the best team in Philadelphia anymore? Temple took the Big 5 crown today by easily defeating a depleted LaSalle team 65-53, and you can make a legit argument that they deserve to be labeled the best team in philly. I don't agree. I still think it's the Wildcats who have the best chance to make a run in the NCAA tournament, do not discount the Owls from winning a game or two...maybe more.