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MY ALL TIME FAVORITE EAGLES!! WHO ARE YOURS?

In Philadelphia Eagles on March 5, 2012 at 10:06 pm

Since we’ve been spending a good bit of time covering the Flyers and the 76ers as they head down the stretch in their respective regular seasons and we’ll be covering March Madness and doing a player-by-player analysis on the Phillies 25 man roster beginning very soon I thought we’d take a quick break and jump back to the E-A-G-L-E-S since they never move too far from the center of our thinking anyway.

Today I have picked my 12 favorite Eagles of all time. Obviously, this is open for great debate. I’ve picked these guys for a number of reasons and some just because I liked them. It was actually tough to get down to just 12. Now as a clarification I never saw Steve Van Buren, Chuck Bednarik, Pete Pihos, Tommy McDonald, or Norm Van Brocklin, all Hall of Famers, that didn’t get included on my list. I do go back to 1965 or so, when I saw my first Eagles game at Franklin Field. We’ll discuss that more later.

My list is not in any particular order after the first two guys. Number one stands alone with no one close – BILL BERGEY. Bergey played in the NFL from 1969 – 1980. He was named to the AFL All Star team as a rookie with Cincinnati in 1969 and was named to 4 Pro Bowls with the Eagles. In my opinion, Bergey is underrated and should be in the HOF. He didn’t get the credit he deserved because he played for lousy teams while good players like Jack Lambert received much more credit because he played for the “Steel Curtain” Steelers. Bergey was just as good. Bill Bergey was “The Baddest Man in the Valley”.

My second favorite is BRIAN DAWKINS. B-Dawk brought leadership with him everywhere he went. You could be sure of two things with Dawkins, he was going to come to play every week and he was going to hit you every time he got a chance. B-Dawk played for the Eagles from 1996-2008 which included 183 games, second only to David Akers. Including his time with Denver he has been to 9 Pro Bowls and was named NFL Man of the Year in 2008.

Following is the remainder of the list. I put them in alphabetic order:

BOB BROWN – “Boomer” played for the Eagles from 1964-68 before moving on to the Rams, the Raiders, 6 Pro Bowls and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Why Bob Brown do you ask? When I was about 7 years old, 1965, my Dad took me to Franklin Field for my first Eagles games. We used to stand in the end zone because we had passes. We were walking in to the stadium one Sunday and there stood Boomer. I have to say two things that I remember very vividly, Brown was probably the first black person I ever remember seeing and he was surely the biggest person I’d ever seen. I saw Boomer at a memorabilia show recently and told him that story and that I had always been a fan of his since. His comment to me was “I hope I didn’t let you down”. A true 1st class guy.

TIMMY BROWN – This is an easy one. On November 6, 1966 we were at Franklin Field when Timmy returned 2 kickoffs, 90 and 93 yards for touchdowns in the same game against the Dallas Cowboys. At that time he was the first player to have ever done it. He still holds the Eagles record with 5 career kickoff returns for touchdowns. Brown played in the NFL from 1959 – 1968, including 1960-67 with the Eagles. He was a member of the World Champion 1960 team. Timmy made 3 Pro Bowls with the Eagles.

WILBERT MONTGOMERY – Wilbert was a 6th round draft pick in 1977 and played 8 season s for the Eagles. As the Eagles became a better team and landed in the Super Bowl in 1980 it was because of Wilbert Montgomery on offense. Wilbert holds many Eagles rushing records. In his career he rushed for 6,789 yards and 57 total touchdowns. He was a 2 time Pro Bowler. Wilbert is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

VINCE PAPALE – Vince is an easy choice as a favorite because of his storybook career and the movie “Invincible”. I’m a fan of those things too but I knew about Vince Papale from the rough touch league in Delaware County long before the Eagles. When we were 12 years old or so and playing on the 95 lb team our coaches played in that rough touch league. We were kids and went to all of the games and ran around the fields while the games were going on. Those were tough games. I’ve had an opportunity to meet Vince several times and he’s an all-around great guy.

KEVIN REILLY – I’m sure this is another guy that has you shaking your head and I have another interesting story. When Kevin was a student at Villanova he was a student teacher at Collingdale High School when we were Junior High students. Of course as football players ourselves we gravitated to where he was. Kevin then played for the Eagles in 1973 and 74. He was a backup linebacker and an excellent kickoff team guy. Kevin later lost his arm to cancer but has overcome. He currently works on Eagles broadcast and is a motivational speaker. Check him out at http://kreilly.com

JERRY SIZEMORE – I like offensive linemen and Sizemore was my favorite. He was a 1st round draft pick, the number 3 pick in 1973 out of Texas. He played with the Eagles until 1984. Jerry’s 12 seasons on the O-Line are the 2nd most seasons played behind Chuck Bednarik. His 156 games ranks 4th among Eagles lineman. Sizemore made 2 Pro Bowls and was a big key to the emergence of Wilbert Montgomery and the run to the Super Bowl. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Sizemore never played a down in the NFL for anyone but the Eagles.

JEREMIAH TROTTER – I think it was the toughness of Trotter that attracted me to him or the 3 different stints he had with the Birds. None the less Trott made 4 Pro Bowls as the Middle Linebacker of the Eagles. Trotter and Dawkins were the leaders of the defense that led the Eagles to 2004 Super Bowl.

HERSCHEL WALKER – I just liked everything about this guy except that he played for the Cowboys and the Giants during his career. He was the ultimate team player with the Eagles between 1992 and 1994. In ’92, he rushed for 1070 yards. In 1994, Herschel became the first NFL player to have gains of 90 or more yards rushing, receiving and on a kick return in the same season. The man could do it all. Walker finished his career with 8,225 yards rushing with 61 TD’s and 4,859 yards receiving with 21 TD’s. He made 2 Pro Bowls. In my mind Herschel is the best college football player I’ve ever seen. He won the 1982 Heisman Trophy and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

ANDRE WATERS – Another #20 who just brought the hammer every time he stepped on the field. Waters was tough! Many thought he earned the nickname “Dirty” Waters but one thing’s for sure the other team knew he was on the field. Andre was undrafted out of Cheyney in 1984 but made the Eagles and played with the team until 1993, before finishing his career with Arizona. He led the Gang Green Defense in tackles 4 years. He was the leading tackler on the 1992 team that was ranked #1 in the NFL in rushing defense, passing defense and total defense. Andre made his only Pro Bowl in 1991.

MIKE ZORDICH – Another tough, hard nose player. Zordich played at Penn State, another good reason to like him.  Mike was a 9th round draft pick who was originally cut by San Diego. He played for the Jets and the Cardinals before playing for the Eagles from 1994-1998. Mike played a total of 185 career games in 12 NFL season. He had 20 interceptions and returned 3 of them for touchdowns. He also had a fumble recovery for a TD for the Eagles.

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The Word of the Day – DOMINATION – Shaw

In The Word of the Day on March 5, 2012 at 10:01 am

DOMINATION

“If you think you’re going to dominate your day, you usually do. If you think your day is going to dominate you, it usually does. I know what about to do!!”

 

Tim Shaw

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CRUNCH WEEK FOR THE FLYERS & 76ERS

In Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Flyers on March 4, 2012 at 11:52 am

It’s pretty safe to say that this is a huge week for both the Flyers and the 76ers. The Flyers are struggling with injuries having lost James van Riesmsdyk for the season with a broken foot. Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn and Andres Meszaros are also banged up on defense. Add these guys to the “normal” aches and pains of being 63 games in to an NHL season and the Flyers could be in some trouble. This week brings four very tough games against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on the road tonight, home against the Western Conference Central 1st Place Detroit Red Wings, home against the Eastern Conference 1st Place Florida Panthers and at Toronto against the Maple Leafs. Washington and Toronto are both in the 3rd place in their divisions and fighting for playoff spots. If the season ended before today’s games both would be out of the playoffs by a couple points so these games are very important. Each game is very important for the Flyers as they try to stay in the playoff hunt. They got better goaltending from Ilya Bryzgalov on the west coast trip but the offense went to sleep. Bryz warming up is a great sign for the Flyers moving down the stretch. Playing good defense also helps with the goaltending. Did you notice that the New York Rangers are running away with the Eastern Conference? The Rangers have only given up 130 goals in 63 games. They are playing solid hockey and lead the Penguins by 10 points and the Flyers by 12. The Flyers on the other hand have given up 191 goals in 63 games. The Flyers need some players to pick up their offensive game down the stretch as well. What has happened to rookie Sean Couturier? Couturier has 1 goal and 0 assists in the last 5 games and Danny Briere has just 13 goals on the season. He needs to heat up!! Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds can’t carry the goal scoring. My thinking is that the Flyers need 6 points this week, 5 at the minimum to hold their ground.

The 76ers also have their hands full this week. They have played solid throughout the season having really only one lull all season. With that said the Boston Celtics are still just 3 games behind and riding a 3 game winning streak right now. The Celtics come to the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night in an important Atlantic Division game. Before Wednesday though, the 76ers have back-to-back games Sunday and Monday against the 1st Place in the Central Division Chicago Bulls (30-8) and at Milwaukee to face the Bucks. Following the Celtics game is another home game against the New Orleans Jazz on Friday night. This is 4 games in 6 nights this week but 3 of the 4 are at home, which will help. The 76ers are ranked #1 in points per game allowed in the NBA, the Bulls are 2nd and the Celtics are 3rd so expect low scoring games against them. The 76ers can probably afford to lose to the Bulls, especially with the Celtics playing the Knicks this afternoon and they could lose. They need to win the games against the lesser teams, Milwaukee and New Orleans, and need to beat Boston. A win against the Celtics would be a two game swing in the standings. Doug Collins will have the team ready to play. They need to stick to their fundamentals of good defense and limiting turnovers while getting contributions from the whole team.

It’s big week for our teams to stand up and be counted!!!  

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WILT CHAMBERLAIN THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME!!!

In Misc Philly Sports, Philadelphia 76ers on March 2, 2012 at 9:45 am

“THE BIG DIPPER”

Tonight the 76ers will honor the greatest single accomplishment in professional basketball when they honor the 50th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlains 100 point game. They are also having the coolest giveaway that I’ve ever heard of for this game. For those of you that don’t know the history of this game it took place in Hershey PA on March 2, 1962. The Philadelphia Warriors beat the New York Knicks 169-147. The game was not on TV and was not video recorded anywhere. There is an audio recording of the game.  Wilt made 36 of 63 shots from the field and 28 of 32 from the foul line for exactly 100 points. 

The floor from that game was recently purchased by the 76ers who have had it cut in to 2”x2” sections which will be given to each fan that attends the game. I don’t know how they will package it but I’m sure there will be a letter of some sort to authenticate it when they hand it out. I think having an opportunity to own a real piece of history is a really cool thing. The remainder of the court will be cut in larger sections and given to the Chamberlain family, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and several other places.

It is great to be celebrating the 100 point game since it’s the 50th anniversary of the event. However this should also be a celebration of the greatest basketball player of all time. Some may argue for Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar but they are wrong. There has never been and will never be another offensive player as dominate as “The Big Dipper”.  Below you see his career statistics and they are mind boggling. Wilt averaged 22.9 rebounds per game, FOR HIS CAREER!!! Not one big season but for a career. His 1961-62 season is one for the ages. Wilt averaged 50.4 points per game and 25.7 rebounds per game. The Big Dipper presently holds 72 NBA records and hasn’t played in 39 years. A few of the many impressive records are as follows: Most games of 50 or more points in a season, 45 in 61-62 and 30 in 62-63. The next closest is Kobe Bryant with 10. Most games with 50 or more points in a career, Wilt has 118, Jordan is 2nd with 31. Most points in a season 4,029 in 61-62, 3586 in 62-63, 3rd on the list is Jordan with 3,041 in 86-87. It’s amazing that as great as Jordan was that in his best season he scored 988 less points than Wilt did in his best season. Of the top five rebounding seasons in history the first, second, third and fifth season belong to Wilt. A couple obscure records are that Wilt never fouled out of a game in his 1,045 game career and in 61-62 he averaged 48.5 minutes per game because he played every minute of every game plus every overtime minute.

For those that didn’t get to see The Big Dipper play you may say that he was just bigger than everyone else and that’s just not true. Back in those days every team had a big, strong powerful and physical center unlike today when the game is much more guard oriented. The record books belong to Wilt.

So today we celebrate Philadelphia native, Overbrook High School graduate, former Philadelphia Warrior and Philadelphia 76er the greatest basketball player in NBA history, Wilton Norman Chamberlain, The Big Dipper.

Following is a summary of Wilts statisctics.

59-60 Phil. –  2707 points – 37.6ppg – 1941 rebounds – 27.0rpg

60-61 Phil. – 3033 points – 38.4ppg – 2149 rebounds – 27.2rpg

61-62 Phil. – 4029 points – 50.4ppg – 2052 rebounds – 25.7rpg

62-63 S.F.  – 3586 points – 44.8ppg – 1946 rebounds – 24.3rpg

63-64 S. F. – 2948 points – 36.9ppg – 1787 rebounds – 22.3rpg

64-65 SF, PHL – 2534 points – 34.7ppg – 1673 rebounds – 22.9rpg

65-66 Phil. – 2649 points – 33.5ppg – 1943 rebounds – 24.6rpg

66-67 Phil. – 1956 points – 24.1ppg – 1957 rebounds – 24.2rpg

67-68 Phil. – 1992 points – 24.3ppg – 1952 rebounds – 23.8rpg

68-89 LA – 1664 points – 20.5ppg – 1712 rebounds – 21.1rpg

69-70 LA – 328 points – 27.3ppg – 221 rebounds – 18.4rpg

70-71 LA – 1696 points – 20.7ppg – 1493 rebounds – 18.2rpg

71-72 LA – 1213 points – 14.8ppg – 1572 rebounds – 19.2rpg

72-73 LA – 1084 points – 13.2ppg – 1526 rebounds – 18.6rpg

Career – 31,419 points – 30.1ppg – 23,924 rebounds – 22.9rpg

 

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The Word of the Day – CHANGE – Rice

In The Word of the Day on March 2, 2012 at 8:47 am

CHANGE

“If you want change, you have to make it. If we want progress we have to drive it” 

Susan Rice

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The Word of the Day – TEAMWORK

In The Word of the Day on March 1, 2012 at 6:10 am

TEAMWORK

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon result”

Anonymous