The700Level (featured blog 1/8 - 1/22/06)

With most of our Flyers discussion centering on losses and coaching changes and captaincy controversy, I think most of us are ready to just see some hockey players get on the ice and do some hitting and scoring. We'll have more on that a bit later, with the newish-look Flyers set to take on the Ovechkin-less Caps tonight, but for now, a little reminder of something we can all look forward to.  ... Read the rest of "And Now For a Much-Needed Commercial Break"

When your quarterback gets pulled in favor of a 33-year-old Koy Detmer haflway through a game, chances are better than not that you're going to lose that game 42-0. The Eagles found that one out the hard way on December 5th, 2005, when the Seattle Seahawks came to the Linc and very rudely thrashed their guests to the titular six-TD+PAT tune. Awash in the TO fallout and missing QB1 Donovan McNabb for the remainder of the seaosn, the game was the worst of a very bad season, dropping the Eagles to 5-7 and basically ensuring their absence from a fifth straight NFC Championship game. Oddly f... Read the rest of "Today in Philly Sports History: Eagles Blanked 42-0 by Seahawks, 2005"

Tim Panaccio is reporting on Daily News Live that the Flyers will hire Peter Laviolette to succeed John Stevens as the next head coach of the team. He'll be joined by Kevin McCarthy, who will leave the Hurricanes to be an assistant for the Flyers, according to Darren Dreger. The American-born Laviolette is a change of pace for the Flyers in that he's not someone who has played or coached within the organization before, and they often like to stay in-house. However, Laviolette does have ties to Paul Holmgren, with bot... Read the rest of "The Peter Laviolette Era Begins in Philadelphia"

After being shut out for 8 straight periods and going on a long losing streak that sees the team currently sitting outside of the Eastern Conference's top 8 seedings, the Flyers have fired head coach John Stevens.  There is no definitive word yet on his successor, but names like Peter Laviolette and Craig Berube had been mentioned earlier in the week. Update: TSN says Laviolette will make his debut behind the Flyers bench on Saturday against the Capitals. No confirmation from the Philly beats yet, but consider... Read the rest of "Flyers Coach John Stevens Fired"

Like most Philadelphians, I love the Phanatic so much I'm starting to think it may be time to have that conversation with my therapist. Knowing that, you can guess how excited I was to learn that this weekend will be the Phillies annual holiday sale and tree lighting ceremony where all fans can get their photo with the hairiest Santa since Santa Claus The Movie.From the Phillies press release, "The two-day event will be highlighted by a holiday tree and ballpark lighting ceremony (Saturday only), complete with carolers, Phillies Ballgirls, Pho... Read the rest of "Phanta Claus Comes Early Once Again"

The Atlanta Falcons are an easy team to take for granted this Sunday. QB Matt Ryan was ruled out at the beginning of the week with a toe injury (seriously?), and it's suspected RB Michael Turner will also miss the game with a high ankle sprain, or at the very least won't be 100%. Their defense stinks too, entering this week ranked 27th against the pass.Nothing's come easily for the Eagles in recent weeks though. While we've seen basically the same explosive yet inconsistent offense pull off consecutive come-from-behind victories, twice their battered defense failed to get off the field in the final minutes of games. Some believe Sean McDermott's unit officially has become a cau... Read the rest of "Tackling the Birds Defensive Issues"

Just when you think you've seen it all... Sixers Charities, through NBA Auctions, have offered up the *official* pen that Allen Iverson used to ink his new contract with the Sixers. The item listing describes it as such "The pen itself is a Cross ball point pen and the inside of the pen box is signed by Iverson." Glad they let Allen use the cross. I wonder how many times A.I. has practiced that signature. Get it? Get it?!? Okay, sorr... Read the rest of "Bid on Allen Iverson's Writing Utensil"

With a little time to reflect now on the likely consequences of re-signing one of the greatest players in Sixers history, we see that as with many things in this life, there are two (and possibly three, somehow) sides to this coin. We won't know until at least Monday--and in reality, likely far later than that--whether the signing will turn out to be a prudent one for a flailing Philly team. But we can certainly look at the factors that went into the decision, and the good, the bad, and the questionable elements of the deal that brought back the now-disgraced one-time legend to the... Read the rest of "The Good, The Bad & The Questionable: Breaking Down the Ins and Outs of the AI Signing"

If Eric Lindros was to spend his career fighting accusations of prissiness and divadom, than the accusations levied against him on December 4th, 1992, in his first season as a Philadelphia Flyer, were likely something of a bad omen. Bar brawls are about as inextricable a part of the NHL fabric as trophy urination and flying octopuses, but Lindros erred slightly by (allegedly) brawling with a woman at Ontario bar Koo Koo Banans, rather than the more traditional sparring partner of the drunk hick. Lindros was accused of elbowing the woman and spitting beer on her--not the kind of PR move gua... Read the rest of "Today in Philly Sports History: Lindros Accused of Assault, 1992"

Fresh off an emotional press conference welcoming Allen Iverson back to Philly, the building still belongs to the Flyers tonight. The Orange & Black host the Canucks, and they have a few huge questions of their own to answer. The team slid down the points column into December, and after a long layoff, they're ready to start another treacherous stretch of games with short breaks in between. Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we should see if they truly are contenders, or if we're in for another postseason of early golf. Here's a very brief look at the big-picture questions that will define the course of the season. First, who's the boss?... Read the rest of "Time for the Flyers to Come Up With Some Answers of Their Own"

In a surprisingly raw press conference, Allen Iverson was overcome with emotions when talking about his career's progressions and specifically when talking about the city of Philadelphia. "I have fans all over the world... I appreciate them in Memphis, Detroit, Denver, but the relationship I have with these fans [in Philadelphia] is like no other.""People here watched me grow as a basketball player. They came in and cheered for me night in and night out, gave me everything that they had. That's why it was easy to give them everything I had.""This is one of the realest places in the world. They're pas... Read the rest of "Allen Iverson Gets Emotional at Welcome Back Presser"

Since it is the holiday season we thought we'd point you to a familiar story of grinchy type of guy who often comes off a bit cold and a bit robotic. But in this tale, when the great Hall of Fame scribe Ray Didinger opens up about the passing of his mother, the typically stoic head football coach for the Eagles shows his human side. Didinger was a guest on Dan Levy's podcast this week talking about everything but the kitchen sink. Levy directs the conversation t... Read the rest of "There's a Joke About the Size of His Heart Somewhere in Here"

In a fight that didn't create much buzz even in Philadelphia, Bernard Hopkins defeated Mexico's Enrique Ornelas last night at Temple's Liacouras Center. The bout was supposed to be B-Hop's tune-up for a rematch with Roy Jones Jr., but as ESPN writes that may not be happening. But hey! Look who made it to the fight. Michael Vick! Very interesting given Bernard's known dislike for the starting quarterback of... Read the rest of "Caption This: Talkin' B-Hop, More Like a Michael Vick"

Matt Mervine, the Phillies fan who allegedly stole World Series rings from Citizens Bank Park, failed to show up for his preliminary hearing this morning. Of course he did. There's been a warrant issued for his arrest. [6 ABC]Previously: The Story of the Kid Who Stole the World Series Rings is Amazing (also a mention of him ... Read the rest of "Shocker: Alleged World Series Ring Thief Skips Hearing"

The Phillies are close to coming to terms on a 3-year, $18 million deal with former Phillie Placido Polanco to move from second base and man the hot corner at Citizens Bank Park. Todd Zolecki says the deal is pending a physical.Polanco performed extremely well at second base after departing to make room for Chase Utley, but Placido will have to adjust to playing third base once again. This will obviously be an issue many Phillies fans will question -- why not sign someone who has been playing third? My answer to that is to trust in Ruben Amaro Jr. and his staff. They have much better intel then we do. Clearly, Rube and his boys think Polanco is capable of making the switch and that he'll be able to do it well. In a lineup of guys who too often go long-ball or walk-back-to-the-dugout, a flat out contact hitter could be... Read the rest of "Phillies Close to 3-Year, $18 Million Deal with Placido Polanco"

Donovan McNabb is likely the most criticized man in Philadelphia over the past decade, so when he's playing well, he should be credited with doing so. After the "he can't win the big games" criticism and maybe a close third to the "balls at the feet" complaint, "he can't finish games" is one of the most common rips on Five. If you look at the numbers in the second halves of the loss to the Chargers as well as the Bears and Redskins victories, McNabb played rather well late. Eagles beat reporter Geoff Mosher put together this statistic to bring the haters down a peg: Remember three weeks ago, when McNabb was a bad late-game quarterback? He's 43-of-64 for 546 yards in the second halves of last 3 games. 67% completion. ... Read the rest of "McNabb Not So Bad Late, Eh? And Shocking Onside Kick Related Item"

Amidst all the injuries to key players (Lou Williams, Elton Brand, Marreese Speights) and the controversy about making a move to sign Allen Iverson (Kate Fagan thinks they shouldn't, I think they probably should), it's important to remember that the Sixers still have to occasionally play basketball games. After a brief layover at the Wachovia Center to lose to the Hawks on Friday, the Liberty Ballers resume their trying road schedule tonight against t... Read the rest of "It Never Ends: Sixers vs. Spurs in San Antonio"

For the second consecutive week, Donovan McNabb and the Eagles came from behind in the fourth quarter to win a close game, this time defeating a division rival 27-24. After a fast start, the offense slowed and allowed the Redskins to get back into the driver's seat, taking a seemingly commanding eight point lead. They might be starting to like this winning thing though, as their critical final drives went 90 yards for a touchdown with two-point conversion, and 66 yards to set up the deciding field goal.The coaches started off the afternoon with a series of questionable calls, beginning with the onside kick to open the contest. Surprise onside kicks actually are recovered by the kicking team with a fair degree of frequency, and the Redskins were fooled by the development, so the call itself wasn't necessarily the problem. However choosing to attempt the play against a team that has struggled to put points on the board probably wasn't worth the risk. The result: possession at t... Read the rest of "Eagles Come From Behind Again, Improve to 7-4"

The last time these two teams met, the Eagles sort of cruised to a 27-17 victory despite not having Donovan McNabb's best performance. At the time, we made the case that the game wasn't even really that close. They jumped out to a 17-0 lead and led 27-10 at halftime against a team that averages just 14.6 points per game. In fact the Redskins have eclipsed 17 points just once all season, so it's reasonable to expect if the Birds can just score at least that many, they will win again today.On the flip side, the Eagles have scored fewer than 16 only once themselves, and they face a defense missing some key players. DT Albert Haynesworth is inactive, which should help the offensive creat... Read the rest of "Big Game, Little Opponent: Skins in Town"

Coming over in a trade with the Canadiens for Mark Recchi in 1995, John LeClair quickly helped soften the blow of losing the regular 100-point scorer. Quickly finding chemistry with linemates Mikael Renberg and Eric Lindros--collectively known as the Legion of Doom--LeClair had three consecutive fifty-goal seasons in the second half of the decade, becoming the first American-born player in league history to accomplish the feat. Perhaps LeClair's greatest individual game as a Flyer came on November 29th, 1998, when John scored a hat trick and then some against the Vancouver Canucks. <... Read the rest of "Today in Philly Sports History: Four for LeClair, 1998"