NFC Preview - 09/04/09

Are you ready for some football? We get ready for the 2010 season by covering every division in football. First up is the NFC. Can Brett Favre lead the Vikes to the Superbowl? Can the Eagles make another run? Will the Lions win a game? Whats your take on the NFC?

Raaaaaa-(eeeewwwwwww)lllll

You would imagine that being a Phillies fan is about as easy right now as it has ever been. After all the Phils are 8 games ahead in the NL East with just a month remaining in the season, they feature a rotation that is the league’s best since they acquired Cliff Lee, and let’s not forget they are the defending world champions. Yet anxiety runs rampant through the hearts and minds of the Phillies faithful following. The three biggest concerns are the lack of a bench, the disastrous season of still-closer-for-now Brad Lidge (For more on Lidge and the bench, check out the 8/31 podcast), and the disappearance of top free agent acquisition Raul Ibanez.



Ibanez started the season on a monster tear and quickly won over the fans, for his efforts Raul was rewarded with his first all-star selection. On June 18th, Raul’s hot start was sidetracked by a strained groin and a trip to the DL. Raul would come off of the DL on July 10th just 4 days before the all-star game, which drew speculation that he returned earlier than necessary to ensure he could play in his first mid-summer classic. Ibanez and Coach Charlie Manuel both have said that they do not believe the injury is still an issue, but that speculation has gained steam since Ibanez has been nothing short of terrible since his return. Even more concerning is that Ibanez has traditionally been a superior player in the second half of the year.

Over the last three seasons with Seattle, Raul has hit 30 points higher, slugged 50 points higher, and he has had better HR and RBI rates in the second half. For him to be this off is especially concerning due to his track record and the fact that he has no precedence for this type of fall off. If the injury is still lingering, the Phillies need to sit Ibanez for as long as necessary to get him 100% for October. Heck, maybe the extra playing time for Stairs, Dobbs, and Bruntlett can get one of them into rhythm. If the injury truly isn’t a factor, than the team has a scarier possibility to face, maybe Ibanez is just getting old, and maybe a three-year deal was a bit much.

Ibanez was signed to replace LF Pat Burrell, and was paid $3 million more annually than Burrell got to sign with Tampa. It hardly seems worth it at this point if you compare Burrell’s 2008 with Ibanez’s 2009:

Burrell- .250 avg/ 33 HR’s/ 86 RBI’s
Ibanez- .274 avg/ 27 HR’s/ 79 RBI’s

Now Raul still has a month to play, but if he continues his slide he’ll end up around .260/30/90. So is it worth an extra $16 million in a contract to add .010 to a batting average, and to get a handful more RBI’s? I don’t think so. Remember, the Phillies have Michael Taylor and Dominic Brown lurking in the minors, and Raul is entrenched in LF for two more seasons, so there’s a chance we’ll ship out the younger and more vital Werth and/or Victorino to save money and make room for the youngsters. There’s a chance that Ibanez’s third year becomes an Adam Eaton type albatross. If after the 2010 season we lose Cliff Lee to free agency while not getting value from Ibanez’s $10 million salary, it will be a big issue to fans.

The only criticism I have of this front office is they offer big money to guys with red flags, Tom Gordon was old, Brad Lidge was too hit or miss, Adam Eaton was the league’s worst pitcher, and Raul Ibanez, like Gordon, is old. Also like Tom Gordon, Raul started out doing well for himself, but over time he seems less and less worth the investment. His struggles not only cast doubt over the World Series hopes of the 2009 Phillies, but for the next two seasons as well.

Raul has been consistently a .295/22/105 type of offensive player, and in our park and with our lineup, you should expect better. With that classic Ibanez, the Phillies are the best offensive team in the league, without him they regress to being merely very good. For now I think he needs either a Brad Lidge-type DL stint, or a Jimmy Rollins-style benching, but either way we should try something because it quite literally can’t get any worse than this.

8/31/09 - Heart Attack Lidge

We are back! On this week's podcast, we talk about the inconsistency of Brad Lidge and whether or not a move will be made at the back end of the pen. We also discuss Ryan Howard's annual late season magic and whether or not he has a shot at the NL MVP.

PSP Podcast for April 20, 2009

After a glorious sports Sunday, Greg is on the podcast covering all four major sports, and breaking down the happenings of the week.

LISTEN - Click here to open the player. Be sure to play the Podcast from 4/20/2009

ITUNES - Click here to get The Not Sports Report in Itunes. To get our Weekly Sports Podcast in Itunes, click here.

DOWNLOAD - Click here to download

2009 MLB Preview Podcast

Our 30 part MLB 2009 preview, which you can find here, concludes with a podcast where we name our division winners, Wild Cards, Cy Young and MVP winners. Some topics discussed in this one: Did the Yankees 425 Million spending spree pays off? Can the Padres win the NL West on sweet Camo Uniforms alone? Does a healthy Chris Carpenter make the Cards a NL Favorite?



LISTEN - Click here to launch an external player. Be sure to play the MLB 2009 Preview MP3

DOWNLOAD - Click here to download

ITUNES - Click here to get our podcast in Itunes

Phillies 2009 Opening Night Podcast

The Phillies kicked off their 2009 season last night with a disappointing 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Instead of our normal weekly podcast, we are dedicating the podcast specifically to the Phillies opening night, the hoopla surrounding it and what this loss means in the grand scheme or things. Can the Phils turn it around in the next 161? Can Brett Myers keep the ball in the park? Is it time to panic? I know these are ridiculous questions, but the fan base here is for some reason asking these questions. Have a listen and let us know what you think.



LISTEN - Click here to launch an external player. Be sure to play the Opening Night 2009 mp3

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ITUNES - Click here to get our podcast in Itunes

Weekly Podcast for 3/31/09

We are back today with another podcast. If you listened to the Weekly podcast, you realized there was no Flyers talk, even though we opened the show by saying there was going to be. We ran a little long with that podcast, so we figured instead of giving you 5 minutes of Flyers at the end of the show, why not record another podcast. So, here it is, a full podcast dedicated to the Flyers. Enjoy.






LISTEN - Click here to launch an external player. Be sure to play the Weekly Podcast 3/31/09 mp3

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ITUNES - Click here to get our podcast in Itunes

Weekly Podcast for 3/30/09

On this week's episode, we talk some college hoops and some Eagles...mostly Eagles though. We start off by congratulating Villanova on making it to the Final Four, and discuss whether or not this city will go nuts if they manage to win the whole thing. We then shift our focus to the Eagles, as Paul and Greg get in a heated debate over whether or not the Eagles have done enough to improve their chances of winning the Superbowl. Are we jumping the gun with the Eagles, or should we at least let them draft before making our judgment? There was supposed to be some Flyers talk, but since we ran a bit long, we decided to just add another Podcast for the Flyers, which you can hear tomorrow. That's right, you read that correctly...another podcast tomorrow!



LISTEN - Click here to launch an external player. Be sure to play the Weekly Podcast 3/30/09 mp3

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ITUNES - Click here to get our podcast in Itunes

Greatest Athlete Tournament: The Final Four and Championship

Welcome Back to the PSP and today's conclusion of the Greatest Philadelphia Athlete of the Past 20 Years Tournament. The final four match-ups are as follows:

Broad Bracket

(1) Brain Dawkins vs (1) Allen Iverson

Pattison Bracket

(1) Donovan McNabb vs (2) Jimmy Rollins

After our two semi-final match-ups we take a few moments to mention the handful of guys who just missed the cut for the tournament before returning for the finals.


Click the Play button below to listen, or find the other options at the end of the post.


Click here to launch an external player. Be sure to play the Tournament 4/4 file.
Click here to download

To catch up with the first few rounds you can open the external player and play the other files, or head to their pages.

The first round Broad bracket is here.

The first round Pattison Bracket is here.

The second round of both brackets is here.

Greatest Athlete Tournament Podcast Round 2: The Great Elite 8

Welcome to the Great Elite 8! Today we set the Final 4 in our quest to name Philadelphia's greatest athlete of the past 20 years.

Today's Quarter-Final match-ups include:

Broad St Bracket

(1) Brian Dawkins vs (3) Charles Barkley
(1) Allen Iverson vs (2)Chase Utley

Pattison Ave Bracket

(1) Donovan McNabb vs (2) Eric Lindros
(1) Ryan Howard vs (2) Jimmy Rollins

If you missed any of the first round matchups they can be found here:
Broad Pattison

Click the Play button below to listen, or find the other options at the end of the post.



Come back tomorrow for the conclusion of this exciting tournament. We'll do the Final Four and name the champion tomorrow, as well as stop and take a look at some names the just missed the cut.


Click here to launch an external player. Be sure to play the Tournament 3/4 file.
Click here to download

Greatest Athlete Tournament Podcast - Round 1

Finally, the Philly Sports Post Tournament to find the greatest athlete of the past 20 years gets underway. Check it out by clicking play, or see the other options at the end of the post.



On today's podcast we will run through the Broad Bracket. The Matchups are as follows:

The B-Dawk Bracket
(1) Brian Dawkins vs (4) Tra Thomas
(2) Curt Schilling vs (3) Charles Barkley

The AI Bracket
(1) Allen Iverson vs (4) Andre Igoudala
(2) Chase Utley vs (3) Brian Westbrook

The winners of the B-Dawk bracket and the AI Bracket will face off in the Final Four for a chance to face off against the winner of the Pattison Bracket, which will be posted tomorrow.

Here is a preview of the Pattison Bracket

The D-Mac Bracket
(1) Donovan McNabb vs (4) Ron Hextall
(2) Eric Lindros vs (3) Randall Cunningham

The Ryan Howard Bracket
(1) Ryan Howard vs (4) Mark Recchi
(2) Jimmy Rollins vs (3) Reggie White

Be sure to check back in tomorrow for the Pattison Bracket.


Click here to launch an external player. Be sure to play the Tournament 1/4 file.
Click here to download
Click here to subscribe via Itunes

Philly Sports Post PodCast Now Online

The Philly Sports Post weekly podcast for 03/09/09 is now online. As always, join Greg, Paul and Steve as they discuss all of the pressing issues in Philadelphia sports. This week the trio targets NFL free agency, including Sean Jones signing with the Birds and Terrell Owens landing in Buffalo. They move on to talk about the Flyers lack of aggressiveness at the trade deadline and the limitations caused by the Flyers salary cap issues. Throw in brief discussion on the relevance of the World Baseball Classic, add a splash of listener feedback and some well placed sound bites and PhillySportsPost.com presents you with another quality show.

Click here to listen
Click here to download
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Philly Sports Post PodCast Now Available

The Philly Sports Post weekly Podcast for 3/1/09 is now online. This weeks Podcast includes fall out from B-Dawk signing with the Broncos, other Eagles free agent news and as Spring Training gets into full swing, we preview the NL East. There also may be a mention or two about the Sixers and Flyers. Don't forget, the weekly Philly Sports Post Podcast is updated each and every Monday.

Click here to listen
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Episode 2 (2/22/09)

Episode 2 (2/22/09) Philly Sports post podcast
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Episode 1 (2/16/09)

Episode 1 (2/16/09) Philly Sports post podcast
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