Change is coming

Change. It is something that every professional sports franchise experiences. Whether it is change in the offseason or mid-season, it is something pro athletes and coaches have to deal with.

There have been some major changes in the city of Philadelphia in the past week. The first of which was the re-signing of former 76er all-star Allen Iverson. The second was the firing of Flyers head coach John Stevens.

Let’s take a look at Iverson first. As I previously wrote, Iverson got a second chance from the organization that drafted him out of Georgetown in 1996. A.I., also known as the Answer, held an emotional press conference late last week as he began to cry said he “felt at home in Philadelphia.”

Plenty of emotion also flowed at the beginning of last night’s game against the Denver Nuggets, one of the three teams Iverson played for since leaving Philadelphia in 2006. Prior to the game A.I. danced on the Sixers logo at mid-court and bowed to the packed house all wearing No. 3. Iverson dropped 11 points.

Unfortunately for the 76ers, the Answer wasn’t enough as the Sixers fell to the Nuggets. That is the tenth straight loss for Philadelphia. Andre Iguodala showed that this slumping Sixers team was still his as he dropped 31 in the losing effort.

Now that the Sixers have their star back and they finally got some fans to attend a game, let’s take a look at another slumping team. The Flyers as I mentioned above, fired head coach John Stevens this past Friday. They immediately hired a replacement in Peter Laviolette. Laviolette led the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006.

Under Stevens, the Flyers made it to the Conference Championship 2007 and 2008. Recently however, the Flyers had lost six of their last seven, two were shutouts. Since the replacement, many of the players took the blame for the firing. Danny Briere claimed that as a team needed to “play with more passion.”
That passion has yet to hit the Flyers as the team has dropped two in a row under their new head coach. In Laviolette debut the Flyers lost 8-2 to Washington and then again last night to Montreal with a final score of 3-1.

So far the changes that have been made over the past week have yet to have a positive outcome. Iverson says the Sixers will, “get it together.” What about the Flyers? One thing is sure for both teams, change is upon us. It is still pretty early in both seasons and there is a lot of improvement that needs to be done at Wachovia Center.

Weekend Wrap-up

Happy December! I am going to use this chance to do a little wrap-up of some events that took place over the Thanksgiving Holiday.


We’re talking ‘bout Practice!

The Sixers are going to sign Allen Iverson. Oh wait… no they aren’t. Now they are again! The Philadelphia Sixers organization has flip-flopped multiple times in the past week regarding the former franchise star, who will forever be remembered for his “Practice” rant just before he left the City of Brotherly Love.

After a deal falling through with the Knicks, Iverson announced his retirement last week. Since the 5-12 Sixers have held meetings with Iverson and his agent and a deal seems imminent. While the Sixers need the boost, there is a cause for concern about how Iverson’s attitude will affect the young players on the team (Thaddeus Young, Marreese Speights, and Jrue Holiday).

More injuries

The Eagles were able to pull out a fourth quarter comeback behind the arm of Donovan McNabb as they took on their division rival Washington Redskins. After a failed onside kick attempt to start the game, the Eagles struggled on special teams as well as on third down (on both side of the ball).

McNabb sparked two scoring drives in the fourth quarter. McNabb hit rookie Jeremy Maclin for 35 yards which set up David Akers to hit a 35 yard game winning field goal as the Birds knocked off the Redskins with a final score of 27-24. With the win, they remain in 2nd place in the NFC East with a record of 7-4.

DeSean Jackson left the game with concussion like symptoms and his status for next week’s game against the Atlanta Falcons is still unknown. Jackson joins a long list of Eagles injuries that have helped make the team inconsistent all season.


Epic Performance? Or Epic Fail?

With great anticipation, the undefeated New Orleans Saints took on the New England Patriots last night in what was supposed to be the most epic game of the season. Unfortunately (or fortunately whichever way you look at it), the game turned into an epic fail for New England’s defense.

Drew Brees was almost perfect through the air as he amassed 371 yards and five touchdowns in the contest hitting five different receivers for a touchdown. The Saints went on to win the game with a final score of 38-17. They will look to stay unbeaten next week when they take on the Washington Redskins.

Are the Titans for real?

Are the Tennessee Titans for real? It is too early to tell, but I think the answer to this question is yes. Since Vince Young took over for Kerry Collins, the Titans have won 5 straight going from 0-6 to 5-6. On top of Vince Young’s maturity in the quarterback position, other skill players have stepped it up.

One of those players is 2nd year running back Chris Johnson. Johnson is making quite a bid for his shot at MVP. Johnson has now rushed for at least 125 yards in six straight games. This matches a record that is held by Earl Campbell and Eric Dickerson.

So is this team for real? We’ll find out when they take on the undefeated Indianapolis Colts next week.