Author Archive

Blame Playcalling for Eagles’ Pathetic Outing vs. Cowboys

Posted: 4th January 2010 by Bryan Toporek in NFL
When reviewing the Eagles' 24-0 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, two stats jump off the page more than any other. Eagles pass attempts: 36á (With four sacks, that number moves up to 40.) Eagles rushing attempts: 10 Game. áOver. In a game where Andy Reid's team chose to blitz far less than average (after coming into the game averaging nearly 50 percent of its defensive snaps blitzing), and the defense allowed the ...

NFL Dropped The Ball By Flexing Bengals/Jets Instead Of Eagles/Cowboys

Posted: 28th December 2009 by Bryan Toporek in NFL
This upcoming Sunday, two playoff spots and one division title are up for grabs. Instead of choosing the Eagles/Cowboys game, where the winner will be the clear-cut division champion of the NFC East, NBC decided to move the Cincinnati Bengals/New York Jets game to the 8:15 night slot on Sunday . While the network may be deterred because the Cowboys were just on Sunday night (in a 17-0 blowout of the embarrassing ...

Sixers Must Set a Rotation To Turn Their Lackluster Season Around

Posted: 28th December 2009 by Bryan Toporek in NBA
The Sixers face their second game of a five-game West Coast road trip tonight against Portland, hoping to quickly turn their season's fortunes around. But, until coach Eddie Jordan sets a regular rotation for the Sixers, they will continue on their merry ways of losing in every game situation imaginable. Injuries have forced the Sixers to play Russian Roulette with their lineup lately.á After two of their young stars (Lou Williams and ...

The Top 10 Philadelphia 76ers of the Decade

Posted: 27th December 2009 by Bryan Toporek in NBA
For a once proud Sixers team that saw Wilt Chamberlain, Dr. Julius Erving, Moses Malone and Charles Barkley wear its colors in the 1980s and 1990s, the 2000s will likely be a decade to forget. Besides one NBA Finals appearance and one MVP who the city will likely never forget, the other Sixers have done nothing to inspire the memories of greatness past. The Sixers started off the decade promisingly enough, with ...

How Will Elton Brand Handle the Move to the Sixers’ Bench?

Posted: 23rd December 2009 by Bryan Toporek in NBA
Traditionally, NBA teams try to avoid spending $80 million on a bench player. ThatÆs the very situation the Philadelphia 76ers find themselves in, as their biggest free agent acquisition this decade, Elton Brand, lost his spot in the SixersÆ starting lineup last Monday to rookie guard Jrue Holiday. Holiday retained his starting spot last Wednesday, and from the sound of it, BrandÆs spot on the bench may become a permanent fixture in ...

Iverson Move Pays Off In Dividends As Sixers Actually Win A Game

Posted: 15th December 2009 by Bryan Toporek in NBA
Stop the presses.  After a three-week, 12-game losing streak, the sun finally rose for the Philadelphia 76ers this morning, as they snapped their dubious streak with a blowout win over the Golden State Warriors last night. With the win, one thing became immediately clear; their surprisingly controversial decision to sign Allen Iverson has already begun to pay off in dividends. The Sixers approached the Iverson deal from two very different standpoints: the playing ...

Princeton Report: Sixers’ Offense Slumping Before A.I.’s Arrival

Posted: 14th December 2009 by Bryan Toporek in NBA
With Allen Iverson's triumphant return to a Sixers uniform coming just one week ago from tonight, I wanted to take a minute to break down the good and the bad of the Sixers' offense in the first quarter of the season, pre-Iverson. In case media opinion of Iverson quickly sours in Philadelphia... just remember, the team certainly wasn't on a long winning streak when he signed with the team. The Sixers took ...

Why Risk Bringing Brian Westbrook Back This Season?

Posted: 9th December 2009 by Bryan Toporek in NFL
Brian Westbrook hopes to play this weekend in the Eagles' game against the New York Giants, despite suffering two concussions in a three-week span earlier this season. This news comes with Westbrook expressing concern this week about the permanent damage he could be doing to his brain by returning to the field this year. It all leaves me left to wonder...why risk it, Brian?   Use your brain.  While you still can.  And shut yourself ...
One of the current top 10  players in the NBA will become a free agent on July 1, 2010, and his name is not LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh. Who's left in that top 10 list? The Hawks' Joe Johnson, a man who has assumed leadership of the early season's biggest surprise out of the East. Before this season started, NBA talking heads pegged Boston, Orlando, and Cleveland as the ...
So, theáSixers finally decided upon bringing back Allen Iverson on Wednesday, ending nearly a week of speculation and impassioned pleas from Philly fans. Now, with Iverson signed to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal, it's time to turn to the most important question facing the Sixers in these upcoming weeks: How does Iverson fit into the Sixers' offense? To answer the first question that should pop up into everyone's mind immediately: Yes, ...