Andy Reid speaks……

So Andy Reid took time from his busy schedule attending Sixers game to actually speak to the media (Apologies to Matt Chord).  He announced that Todd Bowles would become the secondary coach replacing Johnny Lynn who was fired.  Bowles went 2-1 as the interim head coach for the Miami Dolphins this year. Bowles went to Temple and played for three teams in his NFL career.  He’s been a coach since 1995 mostly as a secondary coach. 

Andy said he took all this time to speak to the media because he had to reflect on how the season went (poorly), what he needed to do (get better on game days) and how the team was going to go about free agency and the draft (linebacker please).  He also stated that Steve Spagnolo was offered a job, but apparently didn’t get into specifics about a job title.  Even though he did that, Reid said he never was serious about replacing Castillo and that Spags and Castillo would be dynamite together.  Andy also stated that he’s looking forward to quarterback Mike Vick’s first full off-season as the starter.

My thoughts: There’s no way that Andy Reid actually believe that by not offering Spags the defensive coordinator job that Spags would come here.  The fact of the matter is that if Reid really wanted Spags here, he would be the defensive coordinator for the Eagles.  If Andy really believes that Castillo is the guy for the job, that’s fine, I knew that was going to happen the second after the Eagles defeated the Redskins for the 4th straight win.  Jeff Lurie made the Castillo move a certainty when he basically said Reid has one more chance. Why would Reid change coordinators and  schemes when his job is on the line?  Don’t get me wrong, was the defense great? No. Was it awful as some of Philadelphia thinks it was? Consider this..the Eagles defense was second in the NFC in total yards given up,  second in passing yards given up and third in points per game.   People forget that the offense turn the ball over 35 times which was #1 in the league.  The offense, for all the gaudy numbers, scored 3 points in the five blown fourth quarter leads.  If this team expects to ever win a Super Bowl, it begins and ultimately ends with the quarterback. 

 

Phillies sign Chad Qualls, Sports with Balls writers not happy.

 Chad Qualls is not a bad pitcher nor a great one. He went 6-8  in 77 games last year with a 3.51 ERA. A one year deal for 1.15 million dollars is a nice deal for the Phillies as Qualls has the most appearances by any active relievers since 2005.  However Qualls was dreadful in 2010 with an ERA north of 7 and was apart of one of the worst bullpens in baseball history (2010 Diamonbacks). In 2011, Phillies fans remember him as the guy that gave up three home runs in one inning.   He also had 5.05 ERA away from Petco. I and Mike O have never been big fans of Qualls, but to be honest, he’s probably than Lidge at this point in their careers.  Qualls and Stutes will likely battle for the 7th inning slot in the bullpen.

Previous Sports With Balls Posts on Chad Qualls
Chad Qualls Stinks, July 23rd

 

NBA Power Rankings

1. Miami Heat 16-5- Jump over the Bulls with the win Sunday afternoon.  Lebron goes for 22,11, and 8.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder 16-3- 8-2 road record is best in the league.

3. Chicago Bulls 18-5- 1-1 on a 9 game road trip. Trips to Philadelphia and Milwaukee up next.

4. Denver Nuggets 14-6- Number 1 in the league in scoring, not bad for a team without a star.

5. Dallas Mavericks 14-8- Have won 6 out of 7 since losing to both LA Teams.

6. Philadelphia 76ers 15-6- Beat Orlando, but have Chicago, Miami and Atlanta this week.

7. Los Angeles Clippers 11-6- Nice two game winning streak against Memphis and Denver.

8.  Indiana Pacers 13-6-  Went 2-1 on the three game road trip which included wins over Chicago and Orlando.  Derrick Rose was not happy with how the Pacers celebrated beating the Bulls either.

9. Atlanta Hawks 15-6- Jeff Teague had 24 in the win over New Orleans.  He’s averaging 13 points and 5 assists as the starter and has seen his field goal and three-point percentage jump to career highs this year.

10.  Houston Rockets 12-9- Team lost 5 out of 6 to start the month, won 7 in a row, and then ended the up and down month with a bad loss to Minnesota.

11. San Antonio Spurs 13-9- Would be ranked higher, but blew a 9 point lead with 5:30 to go in Dallas.

12. Los Angeles Lakers 12-9- 2-4 in their last six games against teams with a record over .500.

13. Utah Jazz 12-7- 3-4 against teams with winning records, play two of the next three against the LA teams.

14. Portland Trailblazers 12-9- 5-7 to end the month, but February starts with Charlotte and Sacramento.

15. Orlando Magic 12-9- They’ve looked awful in their four game losing streak. Blew a 27 point lead in Boston, got blown out by the worst team in the Western Conference, lost by 21 in Indiana and then scored 69 points in a loss against Philadelphia.

16.  Minnesota Timberwolves 10-11- Finished the month 6-4 including wins over San Antonio,  Houston, Dallas, and the Clippers.

17. Memphis Grizzles 10-10- Started 3-6, won 7 in a row, and now have lost 4 in a row.

18. Cleveland Cavs 8-11- Kyrie Irving is averaging 17.9 points per game and scored the game winner against Boston.

19. Boston Celtics 9-10- With games against Cleveland, Toronto,  New York, and Memphis coming, the Celtics can start to see their way out of the mess they made.

20. Milwaukee Bucks 9-11- Wins over the Heat, Rockets, Lakers give Bucks fans a glimmer of hope.

21. Toronto Raptors 7-14- Have won three out of four, only a half game behind the Knicks.

22. New Jersey Nets 7-14- Williams, Humphries, and Lopez are nice pieces, but it won’t be worth anything if they can’t keep Deron Williams this summer.

23.  New York Knicks 7-13- Have lost 9 out of 10 and now whispers are swirling that they are shopping Amare.

24.  Phoenix Suns 7-13- Nash is averaging almost a double double, 14.3 points and 9.9 assists.

25. Golden State Warriors 6-12- Friday’s loss to the Thunder (120-101) shows how far away they are.

26.  Sacramento Kings 6-14- Dead last in defense. This team is still a mess.

27. Detroit Pistons 4-18- Dead last in offense, rebounds, and 26th in assists per game.

28.  New Orleans Hornets 4-17- At least they beat Orlando!

29.  Washington Wizards 4-17- They still suck.

30- Charlotte Bobcats 3-18- Lost to the Wizards to give them the new title of the worst team in basketball.

Scotty B’s All Ugly NBA Team

If you were ever watching an NBA game and thought that one of the players was hideous, this team is for you.

PG – Sam Cassell (Played from 1993-2008 for Rockets, Suns, Mavericks, Nets, Bucks, Timberwolves, Clippers and Celtics)

Any resemblance?

SG – Delonte West (Was drafted in 2004 by Celtics, has played for Sonics, Cavaliers and currently playing with the Mavericks)

Only a face Lebron's mom could love.

SF – Ronald “Popeye” Jones (Played from 1993-2004 for Mavericks, Raptors, Celtics, Nuggets, Wizards and Warriors)

Gets good hang time with those ears.

PF – Tyrone Hill (Played from 1990-2003 for Warriors, Cavaliers, Bucks, 76ers and Heat)

They called him Skeletor, enough said.

C – Gheorghe Muresan (Played from 1993-2000 for the Wizards and Nets)

Billy Crystal had to look at the mug everyday, poor guy.

Bench

C – Joakim Noah (Drafted by the Bulls in 2007 and still currently playing for them)

Was taunted by UCLA cheerleaders during the NCAA tourney for being the ugliest guy they had ever cheered against.

C – Chris Kaman (Drafted by Clippers in 2003, currently playing for the Hornets)

Rebounding is so easy a caveman can do it.

PF – Shelden Williams (Drafted by the Hawks in 2006, currently playing for the Nets)

What does Candace Parker see in him?

SF – Michael Ruffin (Played from 1999-2009 for Bulls, 76ers, Jazz, Wizards, Bucks and Blazers)

Not much to say, other than very goofy looking.

SG – DeMar DeRozan (Drafted by Toronto in 2009 and still currently on the team)

Thank goodness he is in Canada.

Head Coach – Eddie Jordan (Coached from 1997-2010 for Kings, Wizards and 76ers)

Adult with braces is kinda weird.

Schiano New Bucs Coach

Greg Schiano is the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach. Schiano has been the Rutgers Head Coach since 2001 where he went 68-67. He also coached with the Bears and University of Miami as Defensive Backs Coach and Defensive Coordinator.

Schiano won 68 games in 11 seasons at Rutgers.

Schiano meets the Tampa press for the first time.

Former Phillie Pat Burrell Retires

After playing 12 seasons with 3 major league teams, 35-year old Pat Burrell has retired from baseball.

Burrell blasted 292 career home runs over 12 big league seasons, 251 of which were hit in a Phillies uniform which ranks fourth in club history.

Pat Burrell was selected with the 1st overall pick in the 1998 amateur draft by Philadelphia.

After an up and down Phillies career Burrell became a fan favorite as a member of the 2008 world champion squad.

Following his 9-year Phillies career, Burrell headed to Tampa Bay for a 2-season stint before being released due to poor performance.

The 2010 San Francisco Giants signed Burrell to minor league deal during the 2010 season where he had an opportunity to win a second world series.

Burrell played in 2 World Series (2008, 2010) where he had 1 hit in 27 at-bats netting himself 2 World Series rings.

Career Profile & Statistics

Phillies 2000-2008

Rays 2009-2010

 

Giants 2010-2011

 

Giants Super Bowl Champions per Madden ’12

Madden 2012, the premiere NFL video game has completed its simulation of the upcoming Super Bowl XLVI.

The results were similar to those of Super Bowl XLII when the Giants narrowly defeated the previously 18-0 Patriots by a 17-14 score.

This years simulation resulted in a 27-24 Giants victory on a Lawrence Tynes last second field goal.  Eli Manning was named the games MVP.

Simulation Celebration

 

Super Bowl XLVI – Giants vs. Patriots Madden Simulation Box score

 

Video Highlights

Super Bowl XLVI waiting game

The Giants & Patriots are set to face off in Super Bowl XLVI from Indianapolis in 1 week…still 7 more days of analysis & predictions before the unofficial American holiday known as Super Bowl Sunday finally arrives.  While many are looking forward to parties, commercials and even the half time show, some are looking forward to football.  Patriots & Giants fans are looking to kill time…literally there is no concrete reason for this post outside of killing a few minutes in what could be a very long week.

Hakeem Nicks

Wes Welker

Eli Manning

 

 

January Jones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlize Theron

AFC tops NFC in Pro Bowl

The AFC defeated the NFC in the 2011 NFL Pro Bowl by a 59-41 score.  The AFC outscored the NFC 21-6 in the 4th quarter to pull away with the victory lead by Pro Bowl MVP Dolphins WR Brandon Marshall (6 catches, 176 yards, 4 TD’s).

 

 

The all time Pro Bowl series is now tied at 21 victories per conference.

Pro Bowl Boxscore

Pagano New Colts Coach

Chuck Pagano is the new Indianapolis Colts head coach. Pagano has been on the Baltimore Ravens staff as Secondary Coach and Defensive Coordinator since 2008. He also coached at USC, Miami, Boise State, East Carolina, UNLV, North Carolina, the Browns and Raiders.

Pagano served as the Cleveland Browns Secondary Coach from 2001-2004.

He was the Defensive Coordinator for the Ravens in 2011.