An abbreviated post today with just a few links and then my playoff picks…

North Carolina continues to be a must watch for college basketball fans.  Their last couple games they seemed to be the NCAA hoops equivalent to the New England Patriots, with every opponent giving them their best game and doing everything but putting a hit out on Tyler Hansbrough.  The unbeaten Tar Heel talk was a bit over the top, but they had escaped against Clemson in double OT, and outlasted Georgia Tech the other night.  Unlike the Pats (at least in the regular season) they won’t make it out unbeaten, falling to Maryland 82-80.  This of course was quickly followed by my brother Dan (a junior at American University) stating a case for AU as the best team in college basketball based on the fact that American beat Maryland earlier this season.  I know, I know, but give the kid a break, he’s a Dolphins fan, it’s been a rough year.

St. Joe’s destroyed Penn

Syracuse couldn’t overcome its foul trouble, and Villanova got a good road win at the Carrier Dome.

Alright Playoff picks….I still can’t imagine why you would give a team that has thrived on any sort of motivation any more material.  But the Chargers did just that and not that it will change the outcome but just kind of seals the deal. Two TD’s is a lot for a playoff game so I’ll take the points with the Bolts, but the Pats move on to the Super Bowl.

Chargers +14

Are we buying Eli Manning yet Eagles fans?  Not a chance.  He’s done a good job of not screwing up, but he hasn’t been asked to do much either.  On the other side of the ball, Ryan Grant will make that Giants pass rush slow down just a bit if the snowy conditions don’t.  Plus Brett Farve vs Brady and the Pats is just a much better story line.

Packers - 7

Last night’s North Carolina - Georgia Tech game was the game of the year so far. I didn’t see Carolina escape against Clemson in OT a few weeks ago but last night’s Tar Heel 83-82 win had everything. Both teams were running up and down the court and beating the hell out of each other physically. By the end of the game Tyler Hansbrough looked like he had just gone five rounds in the ring instead of 40 minutes on the hardwood. He’s not one of those guys who has that tough guy look to him but after the punch in the face in last year’s Duke game, and the abuse he took last night and coming out with 27 points (13-15 free throws) and 11 rebounds, I’m more than convinced.

Bob Knight passed another coaching milestone as Texas Tech upset #9 Texas A&M.

BIG 5 HOOPS

Temple exploded in the second half and ran away from 20th-ranked Xavier in the second half to win 78-59. Dionte Christmas dropped 23 points but watching the game, Sergio Olmos was the unsung hero. Every time I looked up Olmos was either blocking a shot or pulling down a board.

Villanova overcame a nine point halftime deficit, and avoided a second loss to DePaul.

St. Joe’s mounted a comeback in Charlotte but came up short

Big 5 stepchild Drexel got a much needed win over Georgia State.

NFL

Trent Cole is taking a well deserved trip to the Pro Bowl.

It looks like Eagles fans shouldn’t get their hopes up about landing Chad Johnson

The exodus of Cowboys coaches has begun with Tony Sparano named Dolphins head coach. But it looks like Jerry Jones made coveted offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and offer he couldn’t refuse to stay in Dallas.

WHY?! Why after destroying everyone who has antagonized them would you talk smack on the Patriots? San Diego Chargers defensive end Igor Olshansky did his best Anthony Smith impression following the Chargers’ win over the Colts. Lucky for him the Pats can’t throw the ball right over his head for two TD’s but still why would you do this to your team? You just went from having no shot, to having less than no shot.

MLB

Check out this MLB.com feature on the top double play combo in the game. Here’s a hint: they play at Citizens Bank Park.

Get out the check books, Ryan Howard is one of four Phillies who filed for salary arbitration.

Pat Burrell is looking forward to the 2008 season.

NHL

The Flyers creep closer to the top of the Atlantic Division.

Make sure to check out part two of the Philly Forum focused on the Phillies upcoming 2008 season and off season moves. John Infanti of Philscast and I also toss around who might have the best chance to end the now 25-year Philadelphia championship drought.

Phil Sheridan hopes the Eagles are paying attention to the playoffs. A few calculated moves and it could be the Birds playing for the George Halas trophy next year.

The Sixers kept it close against the World Champs but came up short. Not only did Ed Stefanski clear $10 million of cap space for the summer with the Kyle Korver trade and get a #1 draft pick from the Jazz but that trade combined with his youth movement has resulted in a seven game losing streak that has kept the Sixers very much alive in the hunt for a lottery pick. This more advanced form of tanking can’t draw any criticism because a game like last night shows the team has been competitive while coming up short, and he’s developing the young talent without having to deal with the “morality” debate of whether or not tanking is the right thing to do to try and grab a top draft pick. Those Delco boys sure are sharp.

Sticking with the NBA - any PR people out there want a dream job? Taking on a new challenge is one thing but this would be straight-up career suicide.  Best of luck to whoever tries to improve that franchise’s image.

Pitt shocked #5 Georgetown 69-60 with an 8-man rotation. If the Panthers finish towards the top of the Big East after losing starters Levance Fields and Mike Cook to injuries, it’ll be one of the stories of the year. It’ll also help out a Villanova team that sandwiched a win against the Panthers with two not so good losses to DePaul and Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Casiem Drummond will return to practice on a limited basis for the Wildcats.

TO crying after Sunday’s loss will never, ever get old. Someone should seriously consider putting a laugh track behind this clip.

Pac Man Jones is unbelievable. Alcohol and drug addictions are one thing and supposedly sex addictions are pretty serious, but a strip club addiction? They can be fun and all, but something you can’t live without? I think I’d manage.

Make sure to check out the latest episode of Eaglescast. In part 1 of the Philly Forum, John Infanti of Philscast and I take a look back at the Eagles and see if they can put it together for one last run next year. Part 2 will be up Monday where we take a look at the Phillies offseason and a look ahead at the ‘08 campaign.

Ashley Fox of the Philadelphia Inquirer and William C. Rhoden of the New York Times are the latest to disapprove of Tony Romo’s bye week getaway with Jessica Simpson to Mexico. Can we all get over this? Romo made his own bed if he doesn’t play well Sunday and he’ll never hear the end of it. But is it the worst thing in the world that he’s young and successful and having fun? Enough already. If the Cowboys weren’t the arch nemesis of the Eagles and if I wouldn’t risk alienating the entire Philadelphia fan base I’d almost root for Romo to have a good game so everyone would just shut up with this No Fun League attitude. Almost.

Tom Heckert isn’t going anywhere

The Sixers are trying to hang tough during a rough stretch

To get a preview of my thoughts on the Phillies offseason, which you’ll hear more of in part 2 of the Philly Forum, check out Philly Dugout.

Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds did all he could to try and pull out a W against Cincinnati but as Joe Juliano writes, it wasn’t enough

St. Joe’s got a big night from Ahmad Nivins the other night at UMass. Last night it was Rob Ferguson’s turn against Richmond.

Temple came up just short against Charlotte

LaSalle rebounded against the Bonnies after a tough triple OT loss to Richmond.

Drexel continues to struggle

Get all your thoughts/reaction/comments or links you want to share in at host@eaglescast.com

“He’s never had a quality receiver besides T.O. They run the ball more when Donovan McNabb isn’t in the game. He hasn’t gotten any protection from the O-line.” All of these have been used as defenses and excuses for #5 when he has struggled, and they’ve all been heard this season. But they all went out the window after last night’s 31-28 loss to the now 11-0 Patriots. A.J. Feely completed 27 of 42 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns and kept the Eagles in the game until the end. He also threw three interceptions, two of which proved critical and ultimately cost Philly the game.

But let’s face it, the Birds aren’t even in the game if McNabb is under center the way he’s played this year. There is not one shred of evidence from #5’s 2007 portfolio to suggest otherwise. Those who want to cite the Detroit game, let’s be realistic: that Lions defense is horrible and the Birds blew them out by throwing deep to wide open receivers. Against New England, Feely consistently hit receivers in the middle of the field, with touch that Donovan hasn’t shown since the beginning of last season. McNabb doesn’t have the confidence in his receivers to put the ball out there and let them make plays. How many times has he immediately gone to his check down receiver? Feely spread the ball around to eight different receivers including Greg Lewis who was heard from for the first time since Super Bowl XXXIX catching two touchdown passes. As for the running game, Brian Westbrook only ran the ball 17 times, no more than he has with McNabb in the game, and Feely got sacked only twice. Winston Justice killed McNabb in that Giants’ game, but Donovan hasn’t been getting rid of the ball, and he doesn’t have the get-away speed that he used to that would make up for it.

The offensive line played their best game of the season but Feely also got rid of the ball quickly and efficiently throughout the game. Andy Reid said at his news conference today that McNabb has to be 100% to play Sunday. That’s a bit of a step back from his post game comments 12 hours earlier that he expected Donovan to be ready to go and to start against the Seahawks. Furthermore, McNabb doesn’t seem to be in any rush to get back. He rushed back from his ACL injury to start this season and that hasn’t worked out well for anyone involved. He appears to be coming to terms with the fact that he won’t be in Philly next season and why not fully recover, make himself attractive to another team as a starter for 2008. I’ve been saying for a few weeks that Donovan is done in Philadelphia.

Feely is not a better quarterback than McNabb and to suggest as much is idiotic. But the bottom line is that here and now he gives this Philadelphia Eagles team, still very much alive in the wild card hunt, a better chance to win and make a run at the playoffs.

“He’s someone this team cannot afford to lose,” said Fox analyst Darryl Johnston about Redskins’ wide receiver James Thrash as he left the field with an ankle injury late in the fourth quarter. Coming into Sunday’s game, of all the things that could have been said about the former Eagle, the odds of hearing that were somewhere in the 200 million to 1 range. Through three plus quarters James “Trash” had his way with his former team to the tune of five catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns. That tells you all you need to know about the Birds’ recent secondary struggles, but when it came to crunch time, the Philadelphia defense held on for a win.

Following a Donovan McNabb fumble that mirrored the first play of last week’s Cowboys’ game, the Redskins had six snaps inside the Eagles’ ten yard line. Leading 22-20 with seven minutes to play, a touchdown would have sealed the victory for Washington, and officially ended Philly’s season. A defensive holding penalty put the ‘Skins at the 3-yard line, but the Birds held Clinton Portis out of the end zone on three straight plays and forced a field goal.

On the ensuing drive, McNabb hit Westbrook on a screen and the playmaking tailback made some moves and followed his blockers for a 57-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up by one following a missed two point conversion. Without their sidelined stud receiver, Washington couldn’t answer, and Philly escaped with a 32-25 win and a sliver of hope remaining for the season.

Looking ahead at the next two weeks, they might as well simulate the games like it’s a Madden season. Write it down, the Eagles will be 5-6 after the next two games. The Birds have a about as much of a chance of losing to the Dolphins as they do of beating the Patriots. Slim.

Philly will find itself with the same record they had after week 12 last year, but with a much tougher end of the season. The Eagles will have to beat the Seahawks and Giants at home, the Cowboys in Dallas, the Saints in New Orleans and close the season out at home against the Bills. The NFC East is gone. But, looking for something to hold onto, the Giants, Lions and any other playoff contenders in the NFC are very capable of falling apart. There’s a chance the Birds could back into the playoffs at 9-7, but even that will be a tall order over the final month of the season.

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The Philadelphia Sportscast Network is happy to announce the debut of our brand new Philadelphia Eagles podcast, Eaglescast, hosted by Paul Aspan and Sean Fitzpatrick. For the rest of the 2007 season and beyond, Eaglescast will bring you fresh, free commentary from die-hard Eagles fans up to several times a week.

Stay tuned for all the latest on the Eagles in the hunt for the NFC crown from the perspective of a lifelong, die-hard fans.