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“View from the Philly Pressbox” Ohio 24 – Penn State 14

In College Football, Penn State Football on September 6, 2012 at 9:40 pm

After watching the season opener of the “new era” of Penn State football one couldn’t think that they saw much good on the field for the Nittany Lions. Ohio University came to Beaver Stadium with a good ball club that was expected to put up a good fight, but this was Ohio University of the MAC Conference not Ohio State University of the Big 10!!

Early in the game it appeared that Matt McGloin may have improved under the coaching of Bill O’Brien as he ran a fairly efficient offense and took PSU to the locker room with a 14-3 halftime lead. As the 2nd half started it was very evident that the losses of Silas Redd and Justin Brown were significant. When starting tailback Bill Benton went down with an ankle injury there no weapons left on the offensive side of the ball. As a result the Penn State offense was limited to 115 yards in the 2nd half. The limited talent on this team was shown early when O’Brien made the decision to use 6-foot-2, 237-pound linebacker Gerald Hodges returning kickoffs and punts. Hodges is an outstanding athlete but has no business returning kicks at Penn State. As a result, he returned one kickoff to the 12 yard line and fumbled a fair catch that led to an Ohio field goal. This is a clear indication of limited talent.  

More importantly was not having Tom Bradley calling the defense in the 2nd half. I’ve seen a few times over the years where the defense was beaten up by better teams, but it wasn’t often. Ted Roof’s defense had no answers for the Ohio offense that rolled up 301 yards in the 2nd half alone, converted 11of 12, 3rd   down conversions, gave up drives of 82, 70, 50 and 93 yards and turned a 14-3 lead in to a 24-14 loss. The front 7 of the Nittany Lions are considered the strength of the team. This group was pushed all over the field in the 2nd half. There are two ways to look at this, either the players were outmatched or the coaches didn’t put them in a position to be successful. Either way, the result was ugly!!

At the end of the day, this coaching staff got severely outcoached by Frank Solich and his Ohio staff. Solich has been around the block and is a quality football coach that’s done a nice job at Ohio. As for Penn State, the importance of having a staff that had been together for so long may have been taken for granted. Very rarely was a Penn State team ever outcoached. It was even more unusual for them to not make the proper adjustments at halftime.

Our analysis of games at the Philly Pressbox is not usually based on stats. Stats can be misleading and often are. After all, the only numbers that matter are the ones on the scoreboard. However, there are always several stats that tell the story of the ball game. Obviously, one is turnovers. Ohio created 3 turnovers, 2 fumbles and 1 interception, and PSU none. Time of Possession is important because it allows teams to wear the opponent down and unless you’re playing against a quick striking high powered offense, if one team has significant time of possession over the other they usually win. Ohio led in time of possession 33:10 to 25:05. This also resulted in Ohio running 88 plays from scrimmage while PSU ran 70. Last is 3rd (and 4th) down efficiency. If the defense can’t get off the field because they can’t stop the opponent in 3rd and 4th down situations they usually lose. Ohio converted 14 of 22 while PSU converted 10 of 19.

As a Penn State supporter this was a very sad day. I was very proud of the fans for their support and for the players for their dedication to the cause. However, as I watched the replay on TV and heard the comments from the ESPN broadcast team that as they worked in State College during the week they found very little indication or recognition of Joe Paterno saddens me to know end.

As far as Penn State football, the feeling here is that this is only the beginning of a slide that will be very difficult to stop. This weeks game at Virginia was going to be difficult with a fully stocked lineup. The players can say that they will be better and that what happened against Ohio won’t happen again but the real question is this; do they have the talent on the field to keep it from happening again?

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2012 Penn State Season Preview

In College Football, Penn State Football on August 30, 2012 at 8:26 pm

With the college football season upon us we asked our friends at College Football Coverage to provide Philly Pressbox with an update preview of the upcoming 2012 season. As usual, they have provided in-depth position player analysis and game by game win-loss predictions. With all of the turmoil of the last year, a new coaching staff and the loss of several key players it looks like rough times ahead for Nittany Lions in 2012.

Feel free to leave your comments below. Also, you can follow all of college football, including weekly breakdowns of the top five games of the week, as well as order a nice college football preview at www.collegefootballcoverage.com. The website is free and the preview is available for only $2.99. The preview doesn’t cost much but it’s full of great information for the college football fan.

CollegeFootballCoverage.com

2012 Preview

Penn State Nittany Lions

 2011 Review

 Last season was a very disappointing year for the wonderful fan base, alumni and of course the storied football program of Penn State. Joe Paterno, the legendary coach of 61 years, was caught up in a very difficult situation that eventually led to his dismissal. With everything going on around the program, the team rallied and fought hard, but it was still another subpar season on the football field for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State finished the season at 9-4 and lost 3 of the last 4 games including a blowout loss to Houston in their bowl game. The offense really struggled in 2011 ranking near the bottom of the FBS in total offense averaging 342 yards per game. They also had a hard time scoring points averaging below 20 point per game. In fact, they were ranked 110 in scoring offense. The running game was really mediocre as well ranking 46th in the FBS with only 165 yards a game. Silas Redd is a very good player, but teams really stacked the box with the inability of the QB’s to distribute the football effectively. The passing offense ranked near the bottom at 96th in the FBS and only generated 177 yards a game. It was a very tough year across the board for the offense and the only positive was the offensive line which only allowed 1 sack a game and ranked 18th nationally in this category.

The defense was very strong in 2011, really driving the Nittany Lions to their 9-4 season. They ranked 5th in scoring defense at just over 16 points a game and 20th in total defense in the FBS. The rush defense wasn’t great ranking 42nd and giving up 165 yards a game, but the pass defense was strong ranking in the top 20 at number 17. They were also able to get pressure on the opposing QB’s ranking 26th in sacks for the season with over 2 sacks a game. The defense was the glue that held things together in this very difficult and tumultuous season for PSU.

Longtime assistant coach Tom Bradley filled in admirably when Paterno was let go, and he provided a glimpse into the kind of head coach he could be, but the Nittany Lions were just not talented enough to overcome their deficiencies on the offensive side of the ball.

 2012 Preview

  Penn State is looking for a fresh start as they embark on the first season without Joe Paterno on the sidelines. There were some people out there, including alumni, that didn’t particularly like the direction that the school went when they hired an outsider with no Penn State ties. Bill O’Brien, a first time head coach, and former offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick in New England, was hired to replace the long time legend in Happy Valley. We at CFC actually feel this was a great move by the school and not just a stopgap to something else in the future. This hire has the potential to be a monumental move and one that could save the program and actually propel it into the new age of college football. It will be tough with the hand that they were dealt by the NCAA, but he has handled himself very well and done a great job holding things together. O’Brien will implement more pro-style elements to the offense, he will develop the QB’s and the smartest thing he did upon being hired, was keep assistant coaches Larry Johnson, one of the best recruiters in the country and LB’s coach Ron Vanderlinden.

Before the sanctions came down, things looked positive for this new staff. They were recruiting well, there was a new buzz around the program and there was true optimism about what the future could hold.

Then came the very unique and uncharacteristic ruling by the NCAA, after the Freeh report was released, hitting the university with major sanctions including a 4 year bowl ban and the loss of scholarships over the next 4 years. This matter has been discussed and covered in this very forum, so we won’t get into the particulars of the validity of the report or the sanctions, but the NCAA was very heavy handed with the sanctions and it changed the entire dynamic for the 2012 season.

With ten players transferring including some of the very best on the roster in Silas Redd, Justin Brown and Khairi Fortt, this left PSU with a huge void in terms of depth and the offense will simply not be very dynamic with loss of such playmakers.

Penn State will now return two starters from last year’s offense that really struggled to be consistent. McGloin will be the starting QB and look for him to play better under the tutelage of O’Brien, but he has a very limited skill set.

The running game will look different with Redd at USC, and look for Bill Belton, Derek Day and freshman Akeel Lynch to get the bulk of the carries. This could be a serviceable group for PSU and Lynch is exciting, and could be the future at the position for the Nittany Lions.

The wide receivers will need to step up with the loss of Smith and Brown in the off season. Players like Shawney Kersey, Alex Kenney and Allen Robinson will have to produce. This is an inexperienced group, but they do have some talent.

The offensive line was pretty good last season, but they only return one starter from that group. Now, they do have some players coming back that have played before, so there is some experience. They will need to be the foundation for the Nittany Lions in 2012, and they have recruited well in this area, so we don’t expect a huge drop-off. This could actually be the best position group for PSU in 2012.

The defense will need to replace four of the front seven and two of the back four, but they have been able to recruit very well on this side of the ball, so we don’t expect a major drop-off in terms of production. A lot of the players that will fill-in next season have played for the Nittany Lions in the past. Players like LB’s Mike Hull and Glenn Carson.

Look for DE Deon Barnes and DE Sean Stanley to have a big years and DE Pete Massaro is back from an injury and he will provide depth. At defensive tackle PSU is pretty healthy with the likes of DaQuan Jones and Jordan Hill playing at the Nose and 3-Technique.

The second level will be solid with the above mentioned Carson stepping in. LB Michael Mauti is back and his leadership will be needed and of course the Nittany Lions return a tremendous player in Gerald Hodges at OLB.

If there is one area of concern for Penn State on defense though, it has to be the secondary, as they don’t have much depth. They will have two new starters pairing up with Stephen Morris and Malcolm Willis, who are back in 2012 for PSU. Corner Back Adrian Amos and Safety Stephen Obeng-Agyapong will have to step up and fill the void of the departing seniors from last season. Unlike up front on the defensive line, they just don’t have the bodies to feel comfortable if any injuries occur.

Overall we expect the defense to still be very good and they will likely keep PSU in a lot of the games in 2012.

 Prediction Time:

 The schedule will be tough on Penn State in 2012, even with 7 home games. There will be some highs and lows, but with us projecting inconsistent QB play again, the Nittany Lions will once again struggle in some of the bigger games. We expect the offense to really struggle with big plays in the pass game and the run game will be more serviceable than explosive. The defense will keep the Nittany Lions in some ball games, but it won’t be enough.

We believe that the Nittany Lions will play inspired ball early in the season, but once the schedule starts to get difficult, the season will turn for the worse and we expect to see a very tough run through late September all the way through the end of the season. Below is our forecast for the season with game predictions.

  Schedule and Prediction for 2012 Season

 CFC predicts that Penn State will go 4-8 in 2012

 9/1 OHIO AT PEN STATE –- WIN

9/8 PENN STATE AT VIRGINIA – LOSS

9/15 NAVY AT PENN STATE — WIN

9/22 TEMPLE AT PENN STATE — WIN

9/29 PENN STATE AT ILLINOIS – Loss

10/6 NORTHWESTERN AT PENN STATE – Loss

10/13 OPEN DATE

10/20 PENN STATE AT IOWA – Loss

10/27 OHIO STATE AT PENN STATE – LOSS

11/3 PENN STATE AT PURDUE– Loss

11/10 PENN STATE AT NEBRASKA — LOSS

11/17 INDIANA AT PENN STATE – WIN

11/24 WISCONSIN AT PENN STATE — LOSS

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Steve Van Buren – The Eagles Legend

In Philadelphia Eagles on August 26, 2012 at 8:42 am

When you think of the history of the Philadelphia Eagles two names stand alone at the top of the list, Steve Van Buren and Chuck Bednarik. There have been several other players that have become Hall of Famers like Pete Pihos, Alex Wojciechowicz, Bert Bell, Tommy McDonald, Sonny Jurgenson, Mike Ditka and Bob Brown but none was as good and well respected as Van Buren. If you took a poll of who’s the greatest Eagle player of all time it would be a split the vote between Van Buren and Bednarik. With that said, the Eagles lost one of their greatest players when Van Buren died on Thursday at the age of 91.

Van Buren was a 1st round draft pick, number 5 overall, of the Eagles in 1944, out of LSU.  Heisman Trophy winner Angelo Bertelli was chosen first from Notre Dame and Otto Graham, consider by many as the greatest quarterback of all time, was number four out of Northwestern. This in itself is impressive considering that Van Buren was cut from his high school football team as a sophomore. Van Buren went on to make the All NFL Team, they didn’t have the Pro Bowl at the time, every season from 1944 through 1950. During that time he led the league the Eagles to two championships in 1948 and 49. He led the league in rushing 4 times, 1945, 47, 48 and 49, rushing for over 1,000 yards twice. He led the league in touchdowns 4 times, rushing yards per game 5 times, total yards from scrimmage twice and total touchdowns in a season twice. He also led the league with the longest kickoff return in a season 3 times, yards per kickoff return twice, and total kickoff return yards once. He also returned two punts for touchdowns in his career. To top it off, Van Buren played defensive back, where he intercepted 9 passes and recovered 14 fumbles in his career.

When it came to the 1948 and 49 championship games Van Buren was the brightest star in leading the Eagles to victory. In the 1948 game against the Chicago Cardinals, Van Buren scored the only touchdown in the Eagles 7-0 victory. He rushed for 98 yards on 25 carries and scored the game’s only touchdown in a blizzard. He followed up that effort in the 1949 game by rushing for 196 yards on 31 carries, leading the Eagles to a 14-0 victory.

When Steve Van Buren retired he was the All Time leading rusher in NFL history with 5,860 yards and scored 77 touchdowns. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965, only the 3rd class inducted to the Canton shrine.

In 1994, he was selected to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary Team as well as the 75th Anniversary All-Two-Way Team and the 1940 All Decade Team. To put this honor in perspective, following are the other running backs selected; halfbacks, Van Buren, Walter Payton, Gale Sayers and OJ Simpson with fullbacks, Jim Brown, Marion Motley and Bronko Nagurski. Obviously, a tremendous group of football players!

At the time of his retirement following the 1951 season Van Buren held the following NFL records:

• [1st] Most Rushing Attempts, Career – 1,320
• [1st] Most Rushing Yards, Career – 5,860
• [1st] Most Rushing Yards, Season – 1,146 (1949)
• [1st] Most Touchdowns, Season – 18 (1945)
• [2nd] Most Rushing Attempts, Season – 263 (1949)
• [2nd] Most Touchdowns, Career – 77
• [Tied for 2nd] Most Rushing Attempts, Game – 35 (vs. N.Y. Bulldogs, Nov. 20, 1949)


Following are the Eagles team records Van Buren held through the 1951 season, his last season with Philadelphia:

• [1st] Most Rushing Yards, Season – 1,146 (1949)
• [1st] Most Rushing Attempts, Season – 263 (1949)
• [1st] Most Touchdowns, Season – 18 (1945)
• [1st] Most Points Scored, Season – 110 (1945)
• [1st] Most Rushing Yards, Game – 205 (vs. Pittsburgh, Nov. 27, 1949)
• [1st] Most Rushing Attempts, Game – 35 (vs. N.Y. Bulldogs, Nov. 20, 1949)
• [1st] Most Rushing Yards, Career – 5,860
• [1st] Most Rushing Attempts, Career – 1,320
• [1st] Most Touchdowns, Career – 77
• [1st] Most Points, Career – 464
• [Tied for 1st] Most Kickoff Returns, Season – 14 (1948)
• [2nd] Most Rushing Yards, Season – 1,008 (1947)
• [2nd] Most Rushing Attempts, Season – 217 (1947)
• [2nd] Most Kickoff Returns, Season – 13 (1947)
• [2nd] Most Rushing Yards, Game – 174 (vs. N.Y. Bulldogs, Nov. 20, 1949)
• [2nd] Most Rushing Attempts, Game – 29 (vs. Washington, Nov. 21. 1948)
• [2nd] Longest Run From Scrimmage – 77 (vs. Brooklyn, Nov. 4, 1944)
• [Tied for 2nd] Most Touchdowns, Game – 3 (vs. Boston, Dec. 9, 1945)
• [3rd] Most Passes Intercepted, Season – 5 (1944)
• [3rd] Longest Run From Scrimmage – 77 (vs. Oct. 14, 1944)
• [3rd] Longest Kickoff Return – 98 (vs. New York, Dec. 2, 1945)

I had an opportunity to meet the man that wrote the early record books of both the NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles several times over the years and found him to be nothing but a fantastic and humble man, so unassuming that you would never know he was a football legend. However, the thing I will remember the most about Steve Van Buren was the respect that the other great Eagles players had for him. I have an Eagles helmet that I’ve been getting signed for nearly 20 years by my favorite Eagles. The first three that signed were Van Buren on one wing, Pihos on the other wing and Bednarik on the side. There are now 34 signatures on the helmet and no one would sign on the wing that was signed by Van Buren. The last signature that I added was another Hall of Famer, Bob Brown. There was no place for his signature to fit along with his HOF inscription. Bob said, “Would it be okay if I signed on this wing next to Mr. Van Buren”? I said, “Sure, if that’s where it will fit best.” His comment back was, “I wanted to be sure, he was the greatest Eagle of all time.”

Pretty much says it all!!!!

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“View from the Philly Pressbox” – Phillies 1st Half Grades

In Philadelphia Phillies on July 13, 2012 at 1:24 pm

With the 2nd half of the season starting tonight in Colorado, for a three game series against the Rockies, the Phillies stand 37-50, 14 games behind the 1st place Washington Nationals, with 75 games to play. Needless to say, every game, not just every series, is critical if the Phils are going to make the playoffs.  Lets assume the three division leaders, Washington, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, hold on to win their respective divisions. That would leave a battle between Atlanta, the Mets, Cincinnati, St. Louis, San Francisco and possibly Arizona for the two Wild Card spots. These teams currently have between 39 and 43 loses. Realistically, the Phillies have to make up 10 games in the standings rather than 14. As we found out last season in baseball with the Cardinals, in football with the Giants, and in hockey with the Kings, it’s about getting to the dance and being hot at the right time.

With that said, every player, coach and the manager, are going to have to step up their game if the Phils are going to win 48 out of the last 75 games that it will likely take to make the playoffs. Hopefully 85 wins will be enough. We’re looking for a big 2nd half of the season, but must see improved play across the board.

Here is our 1st half player reports card:

“A+” – Carlos Ruiz. There’s not much more that can be said about Chooch that hasn’t been said. He’s done it all.

“A” – Jonathan Papelbon. Paps hasn’t been perfect but he’s been pretty close, 18 of 20. He’s lost out on several save opportunities due to the train wreck that is the middle relief.

“A” – Cole Hamels. Hamels has been solid all season. They need to get the contract behind him and turn him loose.  We’re still expecting a 20 win season. (10-4)

“B” – Vance Worley. Although Worley is only 4-5, he was pitching fairly well before he went on the DL and other than a couple rocky outings near the end of the half he’s been the second best starter.

“B” – Juan Pierre. Pierre was a nice Free Agent pickup. He cooled off at the end of the half but still has a .307 average and leads the team with 20 stolen bases.

“B” – Mike Fontenot. Fountenot can play any position and can be productive with the bat. He’s hitting .325 in only 83 at bats. He’s done a nice job in limited action.

 “B-” – Hunter Pence. Pence has been bad with runners in scoring position and has missed more cutoff men then anybody except Shane Victorino. However, in a lineup with no protection Pence is hitting .285 with 16 HR’s and 50 RBI’s. His game will improve in the 2nd half.

 “C+” – Placido Polanco. Polanco is what he is. He’s hitting just below his career average and plays solid defense. To expect anymore from him would be fooling yourself.

“C” – Freddy Galvis. We’re giving Galvis the benefit of the doubt on this. He was thrown in to the starting lineup when he should’ve been in AAA. He played excellent defense, but isn’t ready to hit big league pitching. His back injury and suspension put his future in jeopardy.

“C” – Ty Wigginton. Wigginton is another guy that gets the benefit of the doubt since he was thrown in to a full time starting role. He has hit 9 home runs in the 1st half of the season but has hit only .247. Moving him to 3rd base was a disaster.

“C” – Jake Diekman and Michael Schwimer. These guys have actually done decent work out of the bullpen. They are 1-0 and 0-1 with 3.57 and 3.60 ERA’s in 19 and 20 appearances respectively.

“C” – Raul Valdez. Valdez was pitching well before being sent to the minor leagues. He was given a start when he returned and it blew up his stats.

“C” – Brian Schneider. Like Polanco, Schneider is what he is.

“C” – Roy Halladay. Again, the benefit of the doubt. We’re going to assume Halladay was hurt all season and tried to pitch through it. He needs to be huge in the 2nd half if the Phils are going to make a move.

“D” – Joe Blanton. Blanton doesn’t get an “F” because he’s carried a big load for this pitching staff. He’s managed to win 7 games and has pitched over 100 innings, 2nd on the team to Hamels. It sure hasn’t been pretty.

 “D” – Jimmy Rollins. JRoll gets a “D” because he had a decent month of June and he’s still solid in the field. What appears to be his unwillingness to change his approach at the plate and continuing to hit the ball the air for easy outs is very perplexing. A .310 on-base percentage for a leadoff man is awful.

“D” – Cliff Lee. Lee pitched in to some hard luck early in the season when the Phils didn’t score any runs, but has been bad himself as well. A pitcher that is as good as Lee has to have more than 1 win at the All Star break.

“D” – Jim Thome. Thome is a class act (leadership) and gave us a handful of good inter league games but other than that he didn’t produce. It seems the Phils would’ve done a little more homework regarding his health before they brought him back.

 “D-“ Shane Victorino. Victorino looks like he’s in a world of his own. He hasn’t hit, played as well as he always has in the field, or run the bases like we’re used to. He’s constantly missing cutoff men with his throws. We’ve always been big Shane fans but he’s been a huge disappointment this season.

“D-“ – Kyle Kendrick. It’s hard to figure Kendrick out. He’s just inconsistent. 2-8 with a 4.89 ERA doesn’t cut it.

“D” – Charlie Manuel and his Staff. Our down side regarding Manuel is that the team doesn’t appear to be playing hard. His reluctance to move Rollins from the leadoff spot is frustrating, as well as the fact that they are playing poor fundamental baseball. Those are all ultimately his responsibility. On the positive side, the injuries and under talented bullpen he’s been given to work with can’t be blamed on him. As far as the staff, it’s difficult to tell who’s doing what. For half of the season they didn’t hit and the second half they didn’t pitch. How much of that responsibility goes to Greg Gross and Rich Dubee? Juan Samuel has made some horrible decisions at 3rd base along the way.   

 “F” – John Mayberry. Mayberry was handed the leftfield job and couldn’t handle it. He’s hitting .232 with 6 home runs. Maybe the expectations were too high.

“F” – Chad Qualls. Obviously that experiment didn’t work. He’s gone.

“F” – Antonio Bastardo. Bastardo has lost the strike zone. The Phils hope that he regains his form from most of last season but he’s struggling. His 5.34 ERA as a setup man won’t work. He’s a young guy that may need some time in AAA to get himself back together.

“F” – Joe Savory. We feel Savory has a chance to be a good big league reliever but he’s not ready. Like Bastardo, his 5.87 ERA in 17 appearances doesn’t cut it.

“F” – Jose Contreras. Another experiment that failed. His career is probably over after his 17 games and 5.27 ERA in 2012.

“INCOMPLETE” – Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jason Pridie, Pete Orr, Eric Kratz, Lance Nix, Hector Luna, Michael Martinez, Michael Stutes, David Herndon, BJ Rosenberg, Brian Sanchez, Jeremy Horst

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76ers “Stay or Go” Fan Vote

In Philadelphia 76ers on June 27, 2012 at 11:00 pm

With the NBA Draft less than 24 hours away, and nearly 7000 votes posted on the Philly.com end of season “76ers Stay or Go Fan Vote”, it is apparent that the 76ers fans aren’t happy enough with upsetting the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, and taking the Boston Celtics to 7 games in the second round. The fans are voting for a housecleaning of the current players. The Philly.com end of year tradition allows fans to vote which individual players should “stay” or “go” before next season. These polls are enjoyable because only the rabid fans bother to vote.  When the Eagles voting was completed in January, we broke down the results and shared them with you. Following is the link to that article. https://phillypressbox.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/eagles-stay-or-go-fan-vote/. Interestingly enough the fans wanted Asante Samual gone, and the Eagles have obliged. We recently posted the Flyers “Stay or Go” results and the fans wanted James van Riemsdyk gone, and the Flyers management has obliged. Does team management really pay attention to what the fans want? Following is the link to the Flyers results. https://phillypressbox.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/flyers-stay-or-go-fan-vote/.

Here’s how it works. You go on the site and  vote “stay” or “go” for each player. Once you’ve voted on the player the current vote result is shown.  You can vote as many times as you choose. We were very surprised with the Eagles results and somewhat surprised with the Flyers results, but based on these fan results the 76ers would be close to starting over.

There were a total of 14 players listed plus Head Coach Doug Collins and General Manager Rod Thorn. Using 50% “stay” versus 50% “go” here are the results. The players that will be “staying” are Lavoy Allen with 96.5% “stay” votes, Jrue Holiday with 94.5% “stay” votes, Evan Turner with 89.0% “stay” votes, Thaddeus Young with 84.8% “stay” votes, Nikola Vucevic with 81.0% “stay” votes and Lou Williams with 63.9% “stay” votes. That’s it folks! These are the only players that you voted to stay for next season. This doesn’t look like a team that will advance past the second round of the playoffs by adding a couple draft pick.

Following are the percentage of  “go” votes for the remaining 8 players. The lightening rod, and the only 2011-12 All Star, Andre Iguodala, received 51.7% “go” votes. With the 7000 votes cast, Iggy was the closest to a 50/50 vote of any of the players. The fans are split almost down the middle on keeping the All Star. Spencer Hawes and Jodie Meeks each received 55.3% “go” votes, Sam Young received 68.0% “go” votes, Craig Brackens received 79.7% “go” votes, Xavier Silas received 80.9% “go” votes, Eldon Brand received 82.3% “go” votes and Tony Battle received 86.4% “go” votes. If the 76ers were without all of these players next year they would have no one on the bench and would’ve changed out half of it’s starting line up.

As far as Collins and Thorn the fans are happy. Colllins received 94.0% “stay” votes while Thorn received 66.7% “stay” votes.

There you have it. The Philadelphia 76ers fans have spoken. How will the team help themselves in the draft on Thursday night and will they make moves to unload players that the fans voted to “go”?

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Catching Up with Pete Rose

In Philadelphia Phillies on June 15, 2012 at 9:42 pm

While on our 30th anniversary vacation trip to Las Vegas my wife and I were site seeing through one of the many casinos. As we walked through the mammoth and beautiful Caesars Palace, and its many stores, we saw a store named “Antiquities”. “Antiquities” is a store full of memorabilia of all types. Below the entrance was a large white sign with red lettering that simply said “PETE ROSE HERE”. We decided to walk in and sure enough, about 20 feet inside the store there was the incomparable, how is this possible, 71-year old, Peter Edward Rose. Pete was set up at a table to sign autographs for any takers. If you were interested you were directed to the back of the store where you could purchase Phillies and Reds jerseys, bats, balls, pictures, cards and framing. They also ship anywhere and will provide certificates of authenticity for the items. Each comes at a price. Each purchase also provided you the opportunity to sit with Pete and have your picture taken and talk with him. The workers take your camera and shoot pictures the entire time he’s signing your items so you get about a dozen pictures. The business is a well oiled machine.

 My wife decided that I needed to have the Phillies jersey, which also came with the signed bat, as a Father’s Day present. SHE’S A GREAT WIFE!!! Of course I decided I wanted the Phillies jersey instead of the Reds jersey that had many statistics embroidered in it. I asked if I needed to tell him what to sign and I was told “Pete knows how to hit and Pete knows how to sign”. When they hand you your jersey and bat they are in wrappers that Pete opens for you at the table. The purpose is to keep the item from being damaged in any way. (They’ve pretty much thought of everything). As I walked up the table and sat down the first thing Pete said was, “how are you doing? It’s a great day.” He asked if I wanted the bat personalized to anyone, which I said “no.” He then signed his name, added Hit King and 4256 on the bat. While he was signing we started talking Phillies baseball. Pete is still a huge baseball fan and a huge Phillies fan. We talked about the present state of affairs with the Phils. Like most of the rest of us, he feels the same way we do, Pete stated “until (Jimmy) Rollins and (Shane) Victorino stop thinking they’re power hitters and start hitting for average, and getting on base, the team will struggle.” I think we’ve heard that before!! He also stated, “they should’ve never paid (Ryan) Howard the money they paid him. He struggles in the playoffs because he sees good pitching every game, in the meantime, he’ll hit 40 fastballs out of the park in the regular season.” Spoken like a true Phillies fan. It was very clear that Pete has been paying a lot of attention. All the while, Pete was signing my Limited Edition Phillies jersey. He signed his name with 1980 World Series Champs, “Charlie Hustle” and 4256 on one side and Hit #3631, NL Record, 8/10/81 on the other side. By the way, this is the only place that Pete will sign “Charlie Hustle”. Don’t expect it at a memorabilia show. We bantered back and forth about Pete’s upcoming trip to sign autographs in Philadelphia this weekend, but first there was a trip to Cincinnati to watch the Reds against the Indians, then off to Philly and back to Vegas on Saturday evening. Pete is a busy man trying to stay involved in the game he loves while making money doing it. When everything was signed and the conversation ended Pete puts out his hand and offers a good handshake for the camera.

 

With all of the signing complete you proceed to the final step of the journey. You go back to the desk where you placed your order and turn over any item that you want shipped. I kept the jersey with me and shipped the bat. They added a signed baseball card as part of the deal. The bat arrived at the house before I did in perfect condition.

 

As I left I said to Pete, “I’ll see you Saturday in Philly” and he said, “Great, I’ll be looking for you.”

 

I have to say, even at my age, I was pretty excited to have had the opportunity to sit with the All Time Hit King in a one-on-one situation, even if it was for only 10 minutes and it came at a small price. After all, this was the guy that took the 1980 Phillies over the top. The Phillies would’ve never won that World Series if it wasn’t for Pete Rose.

 It has been a long time since I looked at the amazing numbers Pete put up as a player during his career. Here is a quick summary:

 6 World Series, 3 wins

 4256 hits, 1st All Time. To put this is some perspective Derek Jeter, the most recent 3000 hit man, is still over 1000 hits behind Pete.

 3562 career games played, 1st All Time. 254 ahead of Carl Yastremski.

 14,052 career at-bats, 1st All Time. 1,689 ahead of Hank Aaron.

 15,890 career plate appearances, 1st All Time. 1,898 ahead of Yastremski.

 3,215 singles, 1st All Time. There are 15 members of the 3000 hit club that have less total hits than Pete has singles.

 5,929 career times on base, 1st All Time, 330 ahead of Barry Bonds.

 .303 career batting average

 17 All Star games. Selected as a 2nd baseman, right fielder, left fielder, 3rd baseman and 1st baseman.

 3 Batting Championships – 1968, 1969, 1973

 10 seasons with 200 hits, tied with Ichiro Suzuki

 Rookie of the Year – 1963

 NL MVP – 1973

 World Series MVP – 1975

 2 Gold Gloves – 1969, 1970

 1 Silver Slugger Award – 1981

 Selected to Major League Baseball All Century Team

 Led the NL in Fielding Percentage as a RF once, 1970, as a LF, twice, 1972 and 1974, as a 3rd baseman, once, 1976 and as a 1st baseman, once, 1980.

 It’s a shame that Pete will never be inducted in to the Hall of Fame for his actions after his playing career, because his playing career is as good as anyone that ever put on the uniform and to this day, clearly, truly loves the game.

 It was a lot of fun catching up with Pete Rose!!

 

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5000 VIEWS FOR PHILLY PRESSBOX

In Uncategorized on March 15, 2012 at 8:14 am

We woke up this morning to find out that we had reached our first 5000 views. These are not Facebook views but views on our site https://phillypressbox.wordpress.com. Philly Pressbox would like to thank everyone for taking the time to look at our posts, to leave your comments and to Follow us. We hope to continue putting up Philadelphia sports posts that you enjoy. For those of you that haven’t checked it out, feel free to do so. Once you go to our home page you can click on the front page articles to read them individually, go to the bottom of the page and see our archives by category or by the month they were published. You can also click the FOLLOW button on the bottom right corner to add your e-mail and receive our posts automatically. Las,t please support our sponsor, www.shop.com/BobSullivan by clicking the link on the bottom right of our home page or at the bottom of our srticles.

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Penn State Football All Time Team – Part 7

In Penn State All Time Team, Penn State Football on January 16, 2012 at 5:33 am

PART 7 – THE SUMMARY

All of the positions have been covered in posts 1-6. Below is a summary of those posts in what I consider to be the All Time Joe Paterno Penn State football team. We’ve also added the players that we overlooked that deserve mention with their individual positions. We have put together a list of the GREATEST MOMENTS in PSU Football history. They are sure to bring back some memories young and old. Lastly, we have included a list of outstanding accomplishments by PSU opponents over the years. These are sure to bring back memories if you were at the game or saw it on TV.

We hope that you have enjoyed the series as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together. It’s been a lot of fun and we’ve enjoyed the feedback from our followers. We received a return Tweet from AQ Shipley who checked in and a Retweet of the posts by Jordan Norwood. Thanks to all.

OFFENSE

1ST TEAM                                                                             2nd TEAM

OL – Jeff Hartings                                                         OL – Levi Brown

OL – Steve Wisniewski                                                 OL – Tom Rafferty

OL – Sean Farrell                                                           OL – Marco Rivera

OL – Keith Dorney                                                         OL – Kareem McKenzie

OL – Mike Munchak                                                       OL – AQ Shipley

TE – Ted Kwalick                                                            TE – Kyle Brady

WR – Bobby Engram                                                     WR – Jordan Norwood

WR – Deon Butler                                                            WR – Kenny Jackson

WR – OJ McDuffie

QB – Kerry Collins                                                           QB – Chuck Fusina

RB – Curt Warner                                                            RB – Lydell Mitchell

RB – Ki-Jana Carter                                                        RB – Curtis Enis

RB – John Cappelletti

Honorable Mention:

Irv Pankey, Charlie Getty, Dave Szott, Andre Johnson, Brad Benson, Chris Conlin, Stephon Wisniewski , John Nessell, Dave Joyner,  Bill Dugan, Todd Moules, Rich Ohrnberger, Jack Baiorunos, Rich Buzin, Keith Conlin, bucky Greeley, Troy Drayton, Mike McCloskey, Andrew Quarles, Mickey Schuler Sr., Dan Natale, Tony Stewart, Gregg Garrity, Joe Jurevicious, Scott Fitzkee, Bryant Johnson, Derrick Williams, Freddie Scott, Jack Curry, Ethan Kilmer, Todd Blackledge, Daryll Clark, Zack Mills, Tony Sacca, John Shaffer, Chuck Burkhart, John Hufnagel, Michael Robinson, Larry Johnson, DJ Dozier, Blair Thomas, Evan Royster, Tony Hunt, Matt Suhey, Eric McCoo, Franco Harris, Charlie Pittman

DEFENSE

1St Team                                                                                 2ND TEAM

DL – Courtney Brown                                                  DL – Matt Millen

DL – Bruce Clark                                                           DL – Larry Kubin

DL – Mike Reid                                                               DL – Steve Smear

DL – Devon Still                                                             DL – Randy Crowder

LB – Dennis Onkotz                                                       LB – Dan Connor

LB – Greg Buttle                                                             LB – Paul Posluszny

LB – Shane Conlan                                                        LB – Jack Ham

LB – LaVar Arrington                                                  LB – Andre Collins

DB – Neil Smith                                                              DB – Ray Isom

DB – Pete Harris                                                            DB – Bryan Scott

DB – Mark Robinson                                                     DB – Mike Zordich

DB – Darren Perry                                                        DB – Kim Herring

Honorable Mention:

Mike Hartenstein, Walker Lee Ashley, Tamba Hali, Tim Johnson, Randy Sidler, Lou Benfatti, Anthony Adams, Jimmy Kennedy, Aaron Maybin, Bob White,  Brad Scioli, Jared Odrick, Justin Kurpeikis, Michael Haynes, Jay Alford, Sean Lee, John Skorupan, Brandon Short, Jim Kates, Pete Giftopoulos, Brian Gelzheiser, Trey Bauer, Jim Nelson, Mark D‘Onofrio, Gary Gray, Ed O’Neil, Kurt Allerman, Lance Mehl, Chet Parlavecchio, Scott Radecic, Gerald Filardi, Navarro Bowman, Josh Hull, Charlie Zapiac, Don Graham, Mac Morrison, Jim Rosecrans, Trey Bauer, Brian Chizmar, John Ebersole, Phil Yaboah-Kodie, Jim Laslavic, Doug Allen, Ron Crosby, Rich Milot, Keith Goganious, Rich McKenzie, Reggie Givins, Josh Hull, Tim Shaw, Harry Hamilton, Tony Pittman, Shawn Mayer, Alan Zemaitis, Paul Lankford, Leonard Humphries, Shelly Hammonds, David Macklin, James Boyd, Bhawoh Jue, Calvin Lowry, Justin King, Anthony Scirrotto

Kickers

1ST TEAM                                                                              2ND TEAM

Kevin Kelly                                                                          Travis Forney

Punters

1ST TEAM                                                                              2ND TEAM

Jeremy Kapinos                                                                 Jeremy Boone

Honorable Mention:

Chris Bahr, Matt Bahr, Craig Fayak, Robbie Gould, Massimo Manca, Brett Conway, Nick Gancitano, Herb Menhardt, Brian Franco, Colin Wagner, Ray Tarasi, Ryan Primanti, Ralph Giacomarro, Pat Pidgeon, John Bruno, Doug Helkowski, David Royer, Darrell Kania, Bob Parsons, Brian Masella, George Reynolds

 Honorable Mention Players We Missed:

Bruce Bannen, Tyoka Jackson, Rogers Alexander, Brandon Noble, Todd Atkins, Terry Killins, Bucky Greeley, Lee Rubin, Al Golden, Keith Karpinski, Ken Kelley, Sean McHugh, Jon Whitman, Sam Gash, Steve Smith, Richie Anderson, Tim Manoa, Leo Wisniewski, Derrick (Cameron) Wake, Duffy Cobbs, Brian Chizmar, Mark Markovich, Bill Lenkaitis, Brian Milne, Phil Ostrowski, Floyd Wedderburn, John Gilmore, Vyto Kab

 GREATEST MOMENTS

  • Adam Taliaferro’s return to Beaver Stadium, 9/1/2001
  • “Intercepted Giftopolous” – PSU beats Miami and Vinny Testaverde in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl to win the National Championship
  • “Garrity…..Touchdown” – PSU beats Georgia and Herschel Walker in the 1983 Sugar Bowl to win the National Championship
  • PSU beats Kansas to win the 1969 Orange Bowl 15-14 and finished their 1st undefeated season.
  • PSU beat #1 ranked Notre Dame in 1990 in South Bend on Craig Fayak’s FG in the last minute,24-21
  • 1969 PSU beats Syracuse on the road 15-14 scoring all 14 points in the 4th quarter on the way to the 2nd undefeated season in a row.    
  • Joe Paterno wins #324 at Beaver Stadium vs Ohio State
  • John Cappelletti wins the 1973 Heisman Trophy
  • 2002 Larry Johnson runs for 279 yards versus Michigan State to reach 2000 in a season
  • 1991 PSU amasses 706 yards of total offense versus Cincinnati, 484 rushing.
  • 2000 NFL Draft when Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington were drafted #1 & #2
  • From 1969, 70 and 71 PSU held Pitt to a total of 13 first downs
  • 1978 PSU held Maryland to -32 yards rushing
  • PSU beats Florida State in the 2006 Orange Bowl in 3 overtimes on Kevin Kelly’s FG to finish 11-1. This was last meeting between Paterno and Bowden
  • 2011 – JoePa win #409,  PSU 10 Illinois 7 the final victory!!
  • 2001 – JoePa win #324, PSU 29 Ohio State 27
  • 1995 Rose Bowl to finish undefeated PSU 38 Oregon 20
  • 2010 – JoePa win #400, PSU 35 Northwestern 21
  • 1994 – PSU 35 Illinois 31, come from behind victory on the way to another undefeated season

 GREATEST OPPONENTS

  • Doug Flutie threw for 520 yards in ’82, 380 in ’83 and 447 in ’84 against PSU
  • Drew Brees threw for 361 yards in ’98 and 379 yards in ‘99
  • Jeff Smoker threw for 356 yards in ’01 and 357 yards in ‘03
  • Ted Brown, NC State, rushed for 251 yards in ‘77
  • Michigan State RB’s Sedrick Irvin, 238 yards, and Marc Renaud, 203 yards were the only teammates to rush for more than 200 yards in a game.
  • Pitt’s Tony Dorsett rushed for 224 yards in ‘76
  • Thomas Lewis of Indiana had 285 yards receiving in ‘93
  • Alan Pinckett of Notre Dame scored 4 TD’s in a game twice in ’83 & ‘84
  • Adam Bailey, Minnesota ’97 and Joel Howells, Northwestern ’05, kicked 5 FG’s in a game
  • Gary Homer, Ohio U, kicked a 57 yard FG in ‘73
  • Tim Schade, Minnesota ’93, accounted for 536 yards of total offense
  • Skip Orzulak, Pitt ’68, had 16 receptions
  •  John Paci to Thomas Lewis, Indiana, ’93, completed a 99 yard pass the longest ever against PSU

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