The Scoop - Whiz Wit Sports

Monday Morning Grind: Everybody (On Both Sides) Relax about Tim Tebow

10/31/2011

In the near past I cannot think of a quarterback that America has had a stranger relationship with than Tim Tebow. Tebow has received an odd mixture of doubt and national attention. For example: his NFL combine was highly televised and covered, while analysts insisted he did not have a future as an NFL quarterback.

Again after yesterday’s 45-10 loss to the Lions, the Tebow haters were at it. They very well may have a point. Tebow might never amount to a solid NFL quarterback and if he ever does it will be through untraditional methods. Sure he can run and after Michael Vick may be the best running QB in the league, but he does not possess Vick’s arm.

Thus far Tebow is not having great success as a passer. His completion percentage is right below 50% and his passer rating is below 80.0. While those numbers aren’t inspiring to the Bronco’s management, Tebow has thrown for 9 touchdowns as opposed to 4 interceptions. Additionally, Tebow has run for 7 touchdowns.

View from Broad & Pattison: Shut up, Asante

10/29/2011

The man plays defense in the NFL. The man cannot tackle. The man cannot press a wide receiver. The man is getting paid $5.9 million this year and $8.4 million next year. And the man is still complaining. If you couldn’t guess who the man is by the hints in the beginning, we are talking about Eagles’ cornerback Asante Samuel. Samuel is unhappy about the recent trade rumors and everyone else is unhappy with Samuel.

Steak and Eggs: 10-28

10/28/2011

Wild night in sports last night. Let's take a look at some of the top stories in your Friday morning Steak and Eggs.

The Flyers were losing 6-2 to the Winnepeg Jets last night but were able to wipe out thedeficit only to lose 9-8 to bring their once 4-0-1 recordto 5-4-1. After the game, goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was at a loss for words. More here...

If you didn't watch the World Series Game 6 last night, you missed a good one. The Cardinals were able to crawl back into the game 5 times before David Freese hit a walk off home run to dead center field in the bottom of the 11th to win the game 10-9 and send the World Series into a Game 7 tonight on FOX. More here...

Earlier this week, Eagles CB Asante Samuel was very critical of the Eagles front office for the rumors that he was being used as trade bait around the NFL trade deadline. He is now saying that that was not the smart thing to do and emotions got the best of him. More here...

University of Houston QB Case Keenum broke the Football Bowl Subdivision record for carreer scoring passes last night after an unbelievable performance against conference foe Rice. Keenum threw for 534 yards and 9 TDs in a 73-34 smack down. Keenum has led the Houston Cougars to the #18 ranking heading into this game and an 8-0 record. More here...

Video of the Day: Moves Like Jagr

So, this video is all highlights of Jagr in a Penguins jersey. But it's still hilarious. And he's on the Flyers now.

-Mike Higgins

Flyers vs. Jets Game Preview

10/27/2011

The Flyers take on the Winnipeg jets for the first time since 1996 when the Jets played at the CoreStates Center. Yeah, that long ago. The Flyers are 5-3-1 and second in the Atlantic Division trailing hated-rival Pittsburgh. The Jets, formerly the Atlanta Thrashers, enter tonight’s contest at 2-5-1 and in last place in the Southeast Division.

The Jets enter Philadelphia about to kick off a seven game road trip. They suffered a tough 2-1 defeat against the Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist stood on his head to get the win for New York. The Jets are looking for their first road win of the year as they are 0-3-1 away outside of Winnipeg.

The Flyers have lost seven of their last eight games against the former Atlanta Thrashers now-Winnipeg Jets after they were unbeaten in their previous fourteen contests. The Flyers got smoked by the Montreal Canadiens last night a Montreal exploded for five goals in their first home win of the year. The Flyers played a great first period before giving up the game tying goal with 2.6 seconds left in the first. With the game tied at one, Ilya Bryzgalov allowed four more goals as the Flyers fell 5-1. Bryzgalov has allowed 17 goals in his last four games, all of them were losses. Sergei Bobrovsky has played well in both his starts this year, earning two wins.

Puck drops at 7pm at the Wells Fargo Center.

-Steve Dolan

Hump Day Hot Button: Helmet to Helmet Hits

10/26/2011

On Monday Night Football this week, Ravens Safety Bernard Pollard was flagged for a 15 yard illegal hit penalty on Jacksonville WR Deji Karim. Pollard was called for a penalty on a third and seven at a crucial time in the game. This was an absolutely ridiculous call and the NFL needs to realize that they are taking something extrememely important in football out of the game.

The Home Stretch: Athletes and Twitter

10/21/2011

Writing for this website, twitter is a very important tool. News in sports is constantly changing and most beat writers and national media personalities use twitter to share stories with their followers. Not only do writers use twitter, but athletes across all sports are becoming notorious for their twitter accounts. Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco has the most followers out of any professional athlete. He occasionally stages meet and greets with any of his followers who want to come out and meet him. He once treated a number of people to dinner in Cincinnati all through a tweet. There are many Philadelphia athletes with twitters. Jimmy Rollins, Mike Vick, Evan Turner, JVR, just to name a few. Although recently, a new Philadelphia has made his way to twitter, and lets just say, I really wish he didn't.

Steak and Eggs: 10-21

10/21/2011

Here it is, your Friday helping of steak and eggs! Let's get you caught up with what happened in the world of sports last night...

The Texas Rangers scored 2 runs in the top of the ninth to come back and beat the Cardinals 2-1 last night. The win ties up the series at 1-1. With no outs in the ninth, Cards closer Jason Motte put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Two sacrifice flies by Josh Hamilton and Michael Young scored the winning runs. More here.

Same story, different day for the NBA. Once again talks ended with nothing accomplished. More and more games are looking to be cut. More here.

Last night Arizona demolished UCLA 48-12. During the game, UCLA players, obviously frustrated losing to Arizona, who had not had a lead for nearly 300 minutes before the game last night, got into things with some Arizona players, leading to a huge brawl. Video here.

Video of the Day:

View from Broad & Pattison: Harrison Trade a Life-Saver

10/20/2011

There are many grateful former Eagles. Brian Dawkins comes to mind. Brian Westbrook comes to mind. If you think hard, A.J. Feeley might have been the most grateful because he made a ton of money thanks to the Eagles drafting him then trading him to Miami. There are many more Eagles who are grateful to the organization but I think the most grateful is former Eagles running back Jerome Harrison.

You might remember Harrison from last year. Harrison played in eight games for the Eagles with 40 carries and 239 yards and a touchdown. I remember him running 50 yards down the field for his only touchdown with the Eagles against the Redskins on Monday Night Football in route to the Eagles 59-28 victory. This offseason the Eagles let Harrison walk and he signed with the Lions as a free agent. The Eagles responded by signing former Pro Bowl running back Ronnie Brown.

Well, things did not go as planned (like Ronnie Brown throwing the ball backwards into a crowd of 49ers on the goal line for a fumble) and the Eagles decided they wanted their ex-RB back. The Eagles completed a deal with Detroit in which the Lions would get Brown and the Eagles would receive Harrison and a seventh round draft pick (which Reid would use on a LB and then start him at MLB and tell us there is nothing to worry about). The deal was pending a physical and thank God for physicals.

Harrison failed his physical and was sent back to Detroit along with the draft pick. Brown was returned to the Eagles. End of story, right? Wrong. This trade could have saved Jerome Harrison’s life. Harrison failed a physical because, after an MRI, Eagles team doctors discovered a brain tumor. Harrison is out for the rest of the year but, because it was detected early, Harrison is believed to be alright moving forward after getting treatment.

Many times in sports we, as fans, forget that these guys that we watch are people too. They are guys with families and friends. Many of us take sports to heart and are emotionally invested in the outcome of the game as if it is life and death. The good news is, win or lose, the games are not life and death. When something happens like the death of an athlete (i.e. Dan Wheldon) we all get brought back to reality and remember that it is just a game and that life goes on. It often takes a tragedy to remind us that it is just a game and to cherish life outside of sports but, luckily for Harrison, it did not take a tragedy to reminder us how fragile life really is. This story, as scary as it is, is a reminder that it isn’t life or death on the field/court/ice.

But, with that being said, it is still normal to be emotionally attached to teams. Look at the four of us here at Whiz Wit Sports. Our moods are determined by the outcomes of games our teams play (i.e. Flyers v. Capitals tonight at 7:00pm). We just try not to lose sight of the fact that they are just games and there is more to life than just sports.

-Steve Dolan

Steak and Eggs 10-20

10/20/2011

Not too much happening in the Philly sports world now that the Phillies are done, the Eagles have a bye week, and the Sixers are in a lockout, but nonetheless we give you your breakfast!

The Philadelphia Flyers are calling up a player who is talked about as being one of the NHL's next superstars. The Flyers are putting forward Brayden Schenn on their roster for tonight's game vs. the Washington Capitals. More here...

The Eagles made a trade on Tuesday with the Detroit Lions sending RB Ronnie Brown to Detroit for RB Jerome Harrison and a draft pick. However, Harrison failed the physical and voided the trade. More here...

The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers in game 1 of the 2011 World Series last night by a score of 3-2. Chris Carpenter got the win and becomes the pitcher with the most post season wins among active pitchers. More here...

The Philadelphia Union have a the biggest game of the franchise's short history tonight vs. the NY Red Bulls. With a win the Union can win 1st place in the Eastern Conference and knock the rival Red Bulls out of the playoffs. You can watch at 8pm on ESPN2. More here...

Video of the Day - Philadelphia Union Open Video

Hump Day Hot Button: The Sixers

10/19/2011

The Philadelphia 76ers were sold by Comcast Specatacor and new owners, led by Joshua Harris were introduced at a press conference on Tuesday. Harris has a tough task ahead of him trying to make the once beloved 76ers relevant as they are seemingly the least popular of the 4 Philadelphia sports teams. However, he is off to a great start.