District basketball madness

This isn’t the first time it happened and it certainly won’t be the last.

Thanks to Mother Nature, Saturday is going to be one interesting day. On top of the three games featuring local teams scheduled for tomorrow, the four teams that were supposed to play today will now be playing tomorrow. So that means I’ll be at three games tomorrow. I’ll be at Pleasant Valley to watch East Stroudsburg South play Freedom in the girls playoffs at 2:30 p.m., race back to the office to write that story and then I’m off to ES South, where I’ll cover both ends of a double header featuring Pocono Mountain West playing Whitehall at 6 p.m. and Mountain Valley Conference champion Pocono Mountain East meeting Freedom at 7:30 p.m. Like I said, it’s going to be interesting.

Perhaps the most intriguing story right now in the district playoffs, is that Pius, which hasn’t lost since the beginning of last month, will be without leading scorer Sean O’Neill when it plays Moravian Academy at 2:30 p.m. at Pocono East. Royals coach A.J. DePue was unsure of whether or not O’Neill, who is averaging 17.7 points per game, would be available in the future, but did confirm that O’Neill will not be in uniform Saturday.

On a good note for Pius, it rolled past the Lions 69-30 in its last game on Feb. 19, but that doesn’t mean the Royals should go into Saturday’s game overconfident.

“(Moravian coach) John Donmoyer is such a great coach so you know as good as we looked he’s going to have some kind of game plan to slow us down,” DePue said. “I’m not overlooking Moravian because as much as we won by they could slow us down. You can never look past a team in the playoffs.”

Helping offset the absence of O’Neill will be sophomore Jay Maletz, who has started the Royals’ past three games and averaged 11.3 points per game in those games.

“Jay has been a great surprise,” DePue said. “He’s only a sophomore and we put the pressure on him as if he were a senior and he has not disappointed. He’s playing some of his best basketball right now. You could argue that he could have started all season. I’m the kind of coach that will reward seniors, but Jay could be starting all season.”

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Remembering Westbrook

This day was inevitable. Ever since he went down with his second concussion in as many games, Eagles fan knew that Brian Westbrook’s days with the Eagles were numbered. A $7.5-million salary for 2010 only cemented that.

Make no mistake, Westbrook was one of the franchise’s best players. Yes, he was a bit surly, and, yes, he wasn’t always the model player (I’ll never be a fan of a player boycotting training camp while his teammates are sweating in the hot sun), but there is no questioning his heart or his production on the field.

As an Eagles season ticket holder, I got to see up close how special of a player Westbrook was. His cuts on a dime, one-handed catches and blitz pickups were second to none during his best years. My responses for predictions about close Eagles games were always the same. “Eagles win with a late Westbrook touchdown sealing the deal.” Since he did that to Buffalo in 2003, that was always how I looked at Westbrook: a game changer every time he touched the ball.

I’ll never forget my most memorable Westbrook play, one I didn’t even see happen.

I was sitting in the press box at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia, covering the 2003 fall race for the local newspaper I worked for. All day I had been following the Eagles-Giants game on my computer and all day I saw the Eagles offense do absolutely nothing. With less than two minutes left, as New York lined up to punt I leaned over to a friend and said, “With how poorly (I probably used a word I won’t write here) the Eagles offense has played, unless Westbrook returns this punt the game is over. He could do it.” A minute later, after I refreshed the page, the message, “Westbrook returns punt 84 yards for touchdown,” scrawled across the page and I let out a cheer that drew all eyes to me. I could care less. Westbrook just won a game the Eagles should have lost.

It’s never an easy thing to watch one of your favorite team’s best players deteriorate before your eyes. Not a player as special and proud as Westbrook. Will he play again? Maybe, but he’ll never be the same. But for his time in green and white, he always brought Eagles fans to the edge of their seat. Even when they were following the game on the Internet.

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Back again

I’ve returned with some quick thoughts. Like always, I’ll start local, with two intriguing matchups in the Mountain Valley Conference boys and girls basketball finals Friday.

The girls game, which tips at 6 p.m. at Pleasant Valley, pits defending MVC champion Pocono Mountain West against East Stroudsburg South, which topped the Panthers in both regular-season meetings albeit by a combined four points. West is coming off a dominant defensive performance in the semifinals, while the Cavaliers admittedly didn’t play their best game. West is a team that plays just about as hard as a coach could ask. The Panthers defend at a high level, use screens well on the offensive end and hit the boards like no tomorrow. South has the MVC’s top player in guard Carly Gallagher and a solid supporting cast led by sharpshooter Tara Steakin and defender extraordinaire Brielle Kessel. My focus is on the free throw line and substitutions. Both teams are streaky at the line, while neither uses their bench much. Those things loom large in championship games.

The matchup everyone hoped for came about in the boys game with rivals Pocono Mountain West and Pocono Mountain East playing for the title at 8 p.m. at PV. This is one is tough to call. Both are such good teams with so much talent and great coaching. Kyheim Hall has been playing the best basketball of his career lately and Tynell Fortune seems to be able to do whatever he wants on the floor, including not letting it take him out the MVC semifinals. Lamont Tillery is a force inside and out for East and a number of players (led by JaQuan Bryant, Keon Scott and Kevin Anema) for West could play pivotal roles in helping the Panthers win their third MVC title in four years. My question for each team is:  who breaks West’s defensive pressure for East and how well can West defend the perimeter?

So the Sixers made a trade today. Some guy named Brezec and Royell Ivey to the Bucks for Jodie Meeks and a dude named Elson. As you may recall, I was against trading Andre Iguodala or Samuel Dalembert (who I’d like to save for next year as an attractive expiring contract). So that really eliminated the Sixers from making any kind of splash today while other big names were flying to here and there and everywhere in between. My question is what does this trade do? I have no clue. Yes, Meeks was a good player at Kentucky who can shoot the ball from deep, a huge problem area for the Sixers, but will he make a difference in the long run? I guess this is what makes the Sixers so frustrating. Why do they do what they do? Who knows? Anybody?

So, thankfully, the Phillies are in Clearwater and I have something to keep my mind off the Sixers. Between now and the season opener you’ll read a lot about Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge and, well, maybe Jayson Werth’s impending free agency, but where’s the suspense? With four fifths of the rotation already settled, headlined by this Halladay fella, the starting eight figured out months ago and the bench spots all but decided, what am I supposed to look for? The fifth spot in the rotation is up for grabs between Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick. Yawn. Placido Polanco’s move to third base is worth tracking. He’ll be fine though. My money is the bullpen where I hope Scott Mathieson, battling back from two Tommy John surgeries, will have the same zip on his fastball that made him such an intriguing prospect three years ago. Ruben Amaro Jr. probably hopes so, too, or this might be the most boring spring in years. Not that that’s a bad thing.

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This and that

With all this wonderful weather (or non-weather I guess) coming in and schedules being juggled I thought this would be a good time to catch up on a few things.

First off, congratulations to East Stroudsburg South’s Carly Gallagher, who etched her name in two more categories Tuesday night. With a season-high 27 points against Pocono Mountain East, Gallagher became the all-time leading scorer in East Stroudsburg School District history. The previous mark was 1,735, held by the late Art Perryman. Gallagher, who now sits at 1,743 career points, is also the all-time leading female scorer in Monroe County history, passing Pocono Mountain’s Jen Nish, who scored 1,742 points. Next up for Gallagher is the all-time county record, held by Pocono Mountain’s Adam Gonzalez, who scored 1,769. Just doing some quick math here, its not out of the question that the Cavaliers could play as many as eight more games. Gallagher hitting 1,900 points isn’t out of the question.

Everyone keeps asking me who is going to win the Super Bowl and I always give the same two answers: No. 1, I don’t care, and, No. 2, the Colts. The first answer stems from me being an Eagles fan and being disgusted at how far away they are from being championship contenders. The second is because Peyton Manning is just too good and the Colts’ defense is very underrated in my eyes. Of course that could change should Dwight Freeney not be able to overcome his ankle injury. The most interesting matchup will be Indy’s receivers against New Orleans’ physical cornerbacks. Whoever wins that battle wins the game.

Quick rant on the Eagles. They go out and hire Phil Savage as a “draft consultant?” The same Phil Savage who is largely responsible for the mess in Cleveland? And I’m fine with Philly bringing in a punter to compete with Sav Rocca, but why wasn’t it East Stroudsburg South and East Stroudsburg University graduate Ken Parrish? Maybe he’s moved on from football, but in the few times I talked to him Parrish seemed far too competitive to do that. Here’s hoping he catches on somewhere and pins the Eagles inside the 5 late in a big game. They’ll deserve it.

Rumors continue to swirl that the Sixers are looking to trade Andre Iguodala. I can’t for the life of me think why. Is he the reason they’re 17-31? Absolutely not. Who is? Ed Stefanski, that’s who. He’s the guy who brought in Eddie Jordan to run the Princeton offense with a bunch of players who flourish in the open court. Stefanski is the same guy who signed Elton Brand, a half-court post player, to play with those same players. He’s the guy who brought back Allen Iverson, saying it would make the team better, when all he was hoping it would do was put more fannies in the seats, which it hasn’t. Now he wants to trade the Sixers’ best and most versatile player? That sounds about right.

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Good news for Pocono East, Pocono West

Liberty, one team that could stand in the way of Pocono Mountain East and Pocono Mountain West in the hunt for the District 11 Class AAAA boys basketball title, took a serious hit to its championship aspirations Thursday.

The Hurricanes learned they will be without standout forward Anthony Gonzalez, who will miss the rest of the season after tearing the meniscus in his right knee. Gonzalez, who will play football at Pittsburgh in the fall, injured the knee earlier this month and received the MRI result after returning from his official visit to Pitt over the weekend. The Cardinals lost to Liberty last month with Gonzalez in the lineup, while Pocono West knocked off the Hurricanes over the weekend without Gonzalez and Jarrod West, who was on his official visit to Stanford, suiting up for Liberty.

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A few quick thoughts

I couldn’t help be impressed by Pocono Mountain West in its win over rival Pocono Mountain East on Tuesday. The Panthers struggled in the first quarter, trailing 17-11, and Brad Pensyl knew it. The veteran coach told his kids they needed to step up their defense or it would be a long night. That’s just what the Panthers did, forcing 17 turnovers over the final three quarters after forcing just one in the opening eight minutes. Not bad for a team that lost its top eight from last year’s district quarterfinalist team.

A few non-basketball items to touch on the East-West game. A fan got thrown out – at halftime of the JV game. Just kept arguing with the security guards which obviously got him nowhere but outside the gym. Then some kid got tossed in the fourth quarter after blowing a whistle all game from the stands. Brilliant. And why do people come to the game only to leave with 2 minutes left? I mean, really. You’ve just seen 30 great minutes of high school basketball and you’re not interested to see the best 2?

So the Bills hired Chan Gailey. Why? Is Buffalo in that much of a hurry to get its offseason started that it couldn’t wait up to three more weeks for Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazer, a one-time Eagles assistant? The Bills haven’t made the playoffs since 1999 and they turn over the reigns to a guy who couldn’t make it at Georgia Tech? Sheesh.

How’s that Allen Iverson signing working out Ed Stefanski? The Sixers were horrible before Iverson and they’ve been just as bad with him, minus an improbable victory in Boston that seems like ages ago. Eddie Jordan was already in trouble and blowing a 20-point lead to Minnesota, the second worst team in the NBA, on Monday didn’t help.

So Rex Ryan looks pretty smart right about now. The Jets rookie coach said his team should be favored in all of their playoff games and that haven’t been favored in one yet they’re in the AFC championship game. Isn’t it amazing what a team that is committed to running the ball and playing good defense can do? What do you think Andy Reid?

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Real quick

I just got back from Pius X’s boys basketball game against Marian Catholic. The Royals fell 40-32, struggling from the floor, but they had the deficit trimmed to one early in the fourth quarter before the Colts pulled away. Look in Friday’s Pocono Record for a boys basketball notebook, where I’ll lead with Pius and standout senior Sean O’Neill.

One final thing, congrats to East Stroudsburg South wide receiver and Pius X quarterback Anthony Casciano for earning spots on the Associated Press All-State first team. Cason, a member of the Class AAAA team, and Casciano, on the Class A squad, both had great senior seasons and deserve all the recognition they’ve gotten. Mike Kuhns talked to Cason and will have a story in Thursday’s paper. I caught up with Casciano at Pius tonight and will have a story on him Friday.

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What now?

I figured I’d let the Eagles’ latest embarrassing loss, a 34-14 whoopin’ from the Cowboys on Saturday, sink in for a few days before I offer my two cents.

It was a pitiful game from the start. Philly let Dallas drive right down the field on the game’s first possession, showing a Swiss cheese defense that has never been worse under Andy Reid. Yes, Stewart Bradley was lost in training camp and several players (Chris Clemons, Chris Gocong and Quintin Mikell to name a few) underperformed, but such is the nature of the football beast. There are serious holes on that side of the ball that I’ll get into in a bit. Only penalties and a sack forced Dallas to punt the football away. That’s when the ugliness began.

The Eagles usually script their first 15 offensive plays. I was asked what I thought they’d do on the first play and I was sure they’d go deep to see if DeSean Jackson could get behind the Cowboys defense like he did last week when Donovan McNabb overthrew him by 5 yards. Nope. Try a 5-yard out to Jeremy Maclin, which McNabb shorthopped to the rookie receiver. That was the best they could come up with? It got worse. A 2-yard run by Leonard Weaver and an incomplete pass gave Dallas the ball back and that was all she wrote from there. Sure, Maclin’s catch-and-run touchdown from Michael Vick (what a waste of money he was and that’s not his fault), tied the score at 7-7 and Sean Jones’ almost interception almost gave Philly the ball right back, but this game was over before it started.

I’m not going to rehash the rubbish that was the rest of the game. Those who saw it know what happened and for those who didn’t, consider yourselves fortunate. What I want to talk about is the future.

Reid has said McNabb will be back for his 12th season as the Eagles quarterback, but that’s just talk to me. The Eagles are littered with young offensive players and a player in Kevin Kolb they’ve invested in to be the quarterback of the future. Kolb showed glimpses earlier this year and it’s time for him to take the reigns. With how poor the defense is, bringing McNabb back for one last go around won’t matter much. Another 10-6 season and maybe a playoff victory is all I see. Let Kolb and the youngsters form some chemistry so that as the team goes forward into this decade they’ll be set for another run at a Super Bowl title.

So, more changes. There should be a lot. After McNabb, Brian Westbrook is unlikely to be back. He’s owed $7.5 million next year and that’s way too much money for someone who is a huge question mark after an injury-marred season that saw him sustain two concussions. It’s LeSean McCoy time. The best thing that could happen to the Eagles is an uncapped year in 2010, which would make underrated receiver Jason Avant and Weaver restricted free agents because they’ll have both only have four years of NFL service time. A new collective bargaining agreement would make them unrestricted free agents and I don’t see Philly giving Weaver the kind of money he’ll want, and probably deserve.

Jamaal Jackson likely won’t be ready until well into next season and Nick Cole isn’t the answer at center. He’s better off at guard, where Max Jean-Gilles is just, well, not good. Time to move on there. The tackles are fine (although for the money Jason Peters is making he should be far more than just fine) and Brent Celek is a future Pro Bowler, but a back-up tight end without the last name of Smith and where’s No. 82 is needed.

Defensively is where it gets trying. Sheldon Brown complained publicly about his contract in the offseason and played pretty well for the first 14 games of the season. The last three were awful and maybe he was hurt, but wow were they bad. Jeremiah Trotter is not a NFL player anymore. The Eagles knew that three years ago so I’m not sure what they thought changed. Trent Cole needs help at defensive end and it can’t be an undersized player (see Smith, Bryan) or an oft-injured one (Abiamiri, Victor) or one who has been moved inside on passing downs because he can’t do the job on the outside (Howard, Darren). Macho Harris should never be a starter in the NFL. Asante Samuel needs to attend a retreat that teaches tackling. Depth at cornerback (heck, in entire the secondary) is scary. Strongside linebacker is a big problem (No Moise Fokou!).

Losing Tom Heckert to Cleveland is no big deal. He didn’t have final say in personnel decisions in Philly and won’t at his new job either. Time to get to work. There is a lot to do.

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So I was wrong….really wrong

Who knew that the Eagles would come out and play their worst game of the season last week in Dallas? And it wasn’t just the players. The offensive and defensive game plan was bland (and that’s being kind) from the first snap and it never got any better (one of my biggest criticisms of Andy Reid during his tenure in Philadelphia are his in-game, or lack their of, adjustments). So all of that made me look quite foolish for my less than stellar prediction of an easy Eagles victory.

But thanks to a variety of variables I get to make amends by picking Dallas over Philly this week, right? Nope. What can I say? I’m a glutton for punishment. Do I think the Eagles can do what they failed to do against the Cowboys twice this season? Sure. Why not? Will they? I don’t know. I’d lean toward no, but I know this team. They usually play their best when nobody gives them a chance. And it’s easy to see why there aren’t many who think the Eagles can win Saturday night.

Who stops Jason Witten? Who stops Marion Barber? Who stops Felix Jones? Who stops, well, you get the idea. As bad as the Eagles’ offense played last week, the defense was absolutely gashed. Only a deflected pass by Asante Samuel (who has to be the most frustrating player in Eagles history) that resulted in an interception for Joselio Hanson offered a glimmer of hope, but that came inside the 10-yard line so letting Dallas drive that far before luck bounced in their favor is not something to boost about.

So how do the Eagles win? How about cashing in on opportunities? An 11-year veteran quarterback can’t miss open receivers down the field or running free across the middle. A sure-handed tight end can’t drop a pass on a key third down just on the outside of field goal range. A Pro Bowl defensive end needs to play like one (and, yes, it’s not fair to call out Trent Cole, but who else is going to step up on that defense?). Basically, the Eagles have to play their best game of the season and not just on offense. Offense wins game, but defenses win championships. Am I predicting the Eagles will do that? Of course not. What I do know is their defense is better than the one that played Sunday afternoon. It better be or next season starts Sunday.

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Eagles-Cowboys keys

Someone told me I’ve been slacking on my blogging (that sounds familiar doesn’t it?) so I figured I once and for all best get my act together. And since this is my blog I have creative control over it and can write about pretty much anything I want. Eagles, Phillies, NASCAR, high school sports, ESU (no Penn State though…I have a blog for that :-) ) You name it and I’ll probably write about it. And at least once a week. Promise (no, seriously, I really do).

The Eagles have a chance to do something I never would have thought possible after a pitiful loss to the Chargers seven weeks ago: win the NFC East and clinch a first-round bye in the playoffs. In that loss to San Diego, Brian Westbrook sustained his second concussion in as many games, the defense couldn’t get off the field and the offense couldn’t get out of its own way.

Now, Philly has won six straight and goes into Dallas today for the biggest regular-season game I can remember since I started rooting for the Eagles back in the late 80s. Going on the road might worry some Iggles fans, but not me. For some reason, the Birds actually play Dallas tougher in the stadium with an intentional hole in the roof (I know this one is new, but it still has a hole in it. One day they’ll learn how to build stadiums in Texas. One day.)

Obviously I’m an Eagles fan so I like the Eagles today. I just see the Cowboys thinking very highly of themselves and I’m not really sure why. Yes, they beat the Saints in New Orleans to end their unbeaten streak, but I watched that game and the Saints lost it more than the Cowboys won it. And wow, beating Washington last week. Now that’s an accomplishment.

So to today’s game. How does Dallas stop DeSean Jackson? And if they do, what about Brent Celek? Or LeSean McCoy? Or Jeremy Maclin? Or…well you get my drift. Who do the Eagles have to stop? Jason Witten, Miles Austin and, um, er, hmm, well, that’s it. Look, Tony Romo is a fine quarterback (a bit goofy as a person, but that’s for another time and another place) and DeMarcus Ware scares the bejeebers out of me. But who else does? Roy Williams? Terrance Newman? Nope and Nope.

The only way I see the Eagles losing is if the Eagles beat themselves. Stupid penalties. Bad turnovers (aren’t they all bad?). Awful play calling. Poor time management. All of those come into play with the Eagles. It’s a right of passage for them. All that considered, I still think the Eagles come out on top. Say 35-24 with a similar drive to the one Philly used to put away the Giants three weeks ago.

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