http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/PESCblog/home Recent PESCblog Posts en-us                          Last season, the 76ers squeezed all they could out of an athletic lineup and decided to make big changes by shipping their lone All-Star, Andre Iguodala in exchange for Andrew Bynum. They switched gears and created a new offensive framework, one that will be designed to win in the playoffs. Most of the 2011's early season success came from hustle, good defense and smart play. The 76ers took very good care of the ball. They ranked first in turnovers/game, over a full 2 turnovers less than the second place Clippers (11.2 to 13.3). They played fantastic defense. They ranked 3rd in the NBA in scoring defense and FG% against. Their play was clearly a by-product of Doug Collins' defense-first mentality and it allowed them to jump out to a lead in the Atlantic. They played tons of home games and by mid February they were an impressive 20-9. Then they came back to earth. By mid-April they were 30-31 and in danger of blowing an opportunity at the playoffs. So what we Wed, 31 Oct 2012 11:14:34 -0400 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/regardless_of_risk_sixers_needed_bynum/12098359 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/regardless_of_risk_sixers_needed_bynum/12098359 Regardless of risk, Sixers needed Bynum http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/regardless_of_risk_sixers_needed_bynum/12098359 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png People these days is an occasional column filled with random thoughts. When can I expect another season of Curb Your Enthusiasm? Michael Turner has a bad Monday night. He proves to the world that he’s all-but done as an NFL running back and that he doesn’t know any car-service numbers. iOS 6 makes Safari blazing-fast. I feel like I’m using Chrome on a high-end laptop. It was also a much faster update than in the past. The entire update took under an hour. Fantasy Football causes NFL fans to make sweeping judgements, week to week. One week, you can feel like you have pristine RB1 depth, the next week you have no one. Things are not looking good for the NHL lockout. Looking like fans will be going without hockey in ‘12-‘13. Miggy Cabrera gets my vote for AL MVP if the season ended today, although its amazing that Mike Trout is even in the conversation. Redskins fans make death threats at Josh Morgan, and barely anyone talks about it. If this happened in Philly, all I’d hear is A) about snowba Thu, 20 Sep 2012 09:39:08 -0400 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/people_these_days_ii/11763520 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/people_these_days_ii/11763520 People These Days II http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/people_these_days_ii/11763520 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png The 2012-13 season has begun! In a game full of fantasy significance, let's delve right into some key players' performances. Hakeem Nicks - Nicks looked strong on a few tough catches. While his overall effect was way below expectations, he fought for the ball well on a couple of occasions. While it didn't do much good for owners in Week 1, its a good sign that Nicks is rounding back into form. Victor Cruz - Cruz had a few terrible drops last night. While he had a few big drops last season, this amount was out of the ordinary. The Giants pass game was pretty rusty overall so I would worry too much about his poor production in Week 1. Still an every-week-start regardless of match-up. Eli Manning - See above. The Giants weren't able to move the ball at all during the first half. His receivers did little to help him and DeMarcus Ware was a bother all night, racking up 2.5 sacks on his own. I still think Manning will be a decent second tier fantasy QB with all of his weapons. Ahmad Bradshaw - B Thu, 06 Sep 2012 14:33:44 -0400 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/fantasy_thoughts_from_opening_night/11644516 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/fantasy_thoughts_from_opening_night/11644516 Fantasy Thoughts From Opening Night http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/fantasy_thoughts_from_opening_night/11644516 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png The Fantasy naming process is an important one. Every team owner must craft a humorous, unique and creative headline for the squad he will go to battle with each week. What people don't realize, however, is that fantasy team names aren't very different in the end. Each fall under a specific category. Let's take a look at each category and examine what it says about its owner. 1. The Inside Joke That ≤ 1 Person Gets We get it. Someone said something funny one time. You saw a funny thing somewhere with someone. You watch or listen to a funny show that no one else does. These owners want to share their joke with the rest of the league, while also showing that they have their own unique brand of humor and taste. It always backfires. Everyone in the league either has to look it up on Google or more likely, just ignore it altogether. 2. The Obscure Movie Reference We've all seen this guy before. The owner who likes to impress the league with their deep knowledge of useless ****. They Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:43:36 -0400 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/the_etymology_of_a_fantasy_team_name/11595694 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/the_etymology_of_a_fantasy_team_name/11595694 The Etymology of a Fantasy Team Name http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/the_etymology_of_a_fantasy_team_name/11595694 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png I find the opening ceremony to be boring. The initial pageantry is visually stimulating, but watching athletes walking and waving to the crowd makes me wish they would let the games begin. How does Ichiro still need a full-time translator. He's been playing in the United States of America for over 10 years. Its not a good example to other immigrants, who should learn the official language of their new countries. The Sixers have had a disappointing offseason. Their roster is currently less talented than the one that lucked out during last season's playoffs. Its surreal to see Penn State, a team I grew up idolizing because of its simple, black shoes, white socks, plain uniform approach, in shambles because of its unconscionable obsession over maintaining their pristine brand. I tried watching Howard Stern on AGT. I found out that I still just can't stand judge shows. The pitching, hitting, bullpen and fielding have all killed the Phillies at various points in the season, but most of all, it was Fri, 27 Jul 2012 11:05:19 -0400 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/people_these_days/11312086 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/people_these_days/11312086 People These Days... http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/people_these_days/11312086 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png Quick, besides 2010's Lakers-Celtics series, what is the last NBA Finals to go seven games? Surprised to learn that it was all the way back in 1994 when the New York Knicks bowed to Hakeem Olajuwon's Houston Rockets? Well clear your schedule for Tuesday, June 26th, because that's when the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat will be playing Game 7 of the 2012 NBA Finals. For much of the last 20 years, the NBA Finals were an after-thought. The series were generally decided before either team stepped on the floor. Whether it was Jordan's 6 title runs, Kobe's 5 or Duncan's four, what was supposed to be a struggle became more of a elongated coronation ceremony. Lambs like the Pacers, Nets, and others were simply trotted out to be sacrificed. But we are at the dawn of a new era. In the 90s it was the Bulls and in the 00s it was West. The league is more evenly distributed now and we as fans are left to reap the rewards. Big 3 vs. Big 3. Who's better? The easy and quick answe Mon, 11 Jun 2012 10:09:49 -0400 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/2012_nba_finals_preview/10986074 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/2012_nba_finals_preview/10986074 2012 NBA Finals Preview http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/2012_nba_finals_preview/10986074 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png During The 2012 NBA Playoffs run, the worst possible thing happened for Philadelphia basketball fans: The Sixers won a round. Not long ago, Philadelphia basketball fans were watching one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory. The team had blown all the excitement it generated early in the season and sputtered to an 8th place finish in a weak Eastern Conference. They were set to face a Chicago Bulls team with the NBA's best record and the reigning league MVP. After getting bullied throughout the entirety of Game 1 by the Bulls, Derrick Rose blew out his ACL and caused a revolutionary shift in the future of the 76ers. But wasn't that a good thing? Wasn't it beneficial for the Sixers to have more playoff games to gain experience with? Simply, no. The problem with the Sixers success is that their executive team and their fans began to believe that this was actually a good team with a future. Its not. Its an awful mix of undersized power forwards, brick-laying swingmen and defensel Tue, 22 May 2012 15:00:54 -0400 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/dont_get_confused_sixers_arent_good/10849508 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/dont_get_confused_sixers_arent_good/10849508 Don't Get Confused, Sixers Aren't Good http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/dont_get_confused_sixers_arent_good/10849508 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png On Thursday, Van Halen canceled 31 dates on their summer tour without any statement from the band or from promoter Live Nation, including their July 11th show at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, a concert that I was eagerly awaiting, ticket in-hand. The initial reaction was that the tenuous relationship between Diamond Dave and the Van Halen family had already broken down. This was supported by a report from Rolling Stone that said the band members "hate each other" and "are fighting". I attended the March show in Philadelphia and found that Eddie was rejuvenated. Having battled cancer and alcoholism during Van Halen's 14 year hiatus from the studio, he was smiling and enjoying himself while succinctly speaking through his screeching EVH Wolfgang. It wasn't exactly the same old Van Halen from '78-'84, but Dave and Eddie seemed to get along well enough to play a tight, two-hour set of classic songs. That's why it didn't make sense that they would can 31 bi Fri, 18 May 2012 19:19:15 -0400 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/update_why_van_halen_postponed_tour/10824764 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/update_why_van_halen_postponed_tour/10824764 UPDATE: Why Van Halen Postponed Tour http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/update_why_van_halen_postponed_tour/10824764 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png They played each game like it was their last. Little did they realize, it soon would be. Iverson flying to the basket, scooping in another acrobatic finger-roll between the giants, and slamming into the hardwood floor sections of the First Union Center. Utley, running out another routine ground ball as if he were stealing home. These are the memories we all share when we think of two of Philadelphia's most beloved sports stars. Alas, all we have now are memories. Allen Iverson was fearless and mercurial. His speed, quickness and jumping ability provided him with unprecedented penetrating ability. No one 6 feet tall or under had ever possessed this ability to get to the rim. As AI matured and continued to succeed, teams would try to take advantage of his small stature and bang him around at every opportunity. During the 2001 NBA Playoffs, Iverson had been through a war, his body looking like a road map of pain and suffering. Iverson, unlike Utley, never seemed to take care of himself or his athlet Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:06:35 -0400 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/iverson_utleys_parallel_obstinance/10632238 http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/iverson_utleys_parallel_obstinance/10632238 Iverson & Utley's Parallel Obstinance http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/pescblog/article/iverson_utleys_parallel_obstinance/10632238 http://www.yardbarker.com/images/yb_logo_square_grey.png