Monmouth Ends Regular Season on High Note

Wow, what a game last night! LIU Brooklyn came to West Long Branch already having clinched the #1 seed in the NEC tournament, but they wanted to win. They played their starters. They lost by 28 points.

The Hawks wanted to beat these guys. They were embarrassed by them earlier in the season at Brooklyn, and they got revenge.

I can't imagine a better way for the Senior class to end their Monmouth careers. Mike Myers Keitt was the game's leading scorer and had the exclamation point dunk to put the Hawks up 30 and nearly explode the roof off of the MAC. Will Campbell scored 14 points and Phill Wait had 6 points and 6 boards.

Freshman Andrew Nicholas, aka Red, is gonna be a stud. Against the best team in the conference, he looked like the most confident player on the court and scored 18 points. He also had a nice drive to the basket and one-handed slam late in the game.

After dominating the top seed in the conference, the Hawks have to feel great going into the tournament. They start up against Robert Morris Thursday in Pennsylvania. Last time the teams met, Monmouth had them beat, lost the lead, and lost in overtime. Velton Jones put RMU on his back and scored 35 points in that game.

Monmouth is the hottest team in the NEC, and have a chance to do something special in King Rice's first season as head coach.

Phillies Preview

Spring Training is almost here. Philadelphia has expected a championship from the Phillies every year since 2007, and this season is no different.

Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels. These three alone give fans a reason to expect 100 wins and a championship ring.

Ryan Howard's injury is going to effect the team, so they went out and got Jim Thome. He's a shell of his former self and can't be an everyday first baseman, but he could be a good bat off the bench.

The core players on the team, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Shane Victorino, are all now at least 31 years old.

The Phillies' championship window is slowly closing.

Fans hope that they have future superstars in young players like Vance Worley, Domonic Brown, and John Mayberry Jr. The jury is still out on these three.

The positive news is, Hunter Pence is just entering his prime. The future of the Phillies falls heavily on Pence being the superstar, and the above three developing into good players.

If the Phillies don't win the World Series this year, it may be a while before they are ready for another one. They will get around 100 wins, the 3 aces will combine for 50 wins, and the city will expect a championship.

It all comes down to that week in October and whether or not Utley, Howard and Pence are able to get it done with the bats. Even if Halladay throws a perfect game, you can't win without scoring.

Peyton Manning to the Redskins?

The last couple of years, Dan Snyder has moved aside in Washington and allowed Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan to fully control the personnel decisions. The Redskins have moved on from signing big named free agents like Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders, Albert Haynesworth, and Jeremiah Trotter. There is a lot of talk about Peyton Manning maybe coming to the 'Skins. I sure hope not.

Allen and Shanahan have started stockpiling picks and making the team much younger. The offense seems to have a couple of talented young skill players with Leonard Hankerson and Roy Helu. The two players the defense relies on the most (other than London Fletcher) are the two young pass rushers, Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan. The 'Skins need to keep adding young talent.


Manning could just be another addition to a list including Adam Archuleta and Brandon Lloyd of players making big money in Washington and being unsuccessful. I'd rather trade up for Robert Griffin III or stay put and add a defensive star.

Adding Peyton Manning would be a huge financial risk. He may not fit into Shanahan's system (McNabb). Also, it'd take money away from other role players the team could look to add. It would set the team's rebuilding process back a couple of years.

76ers - Contender or Pretender?

Lately all the basketball talk has been about the Knicks' point guard Jeremy Lin. How about we talked about the team leading the Atlantic division, 6.5 games ahead of the Knicks, The Philadelphia 76ers.

Doug Collins took over this team a year ago. In 2010-11 they started 3-13, then played well the rest of the season to make the playoffs and lose to the Heat in the first round. This year, they are 20-9, 3rd in the Eastern Conference.

Led by veteran swingman Andre Iguodala, the Sixers are playing team basketball. Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young help give the Sixers one of the best benches in the NBA.

Many experts had believed the Sixers got off to a hot start due to an easy schedule.

The Sixers have beaten the Bulls, Hawks, Lakers, Magic and Pacers this season. All of these teams are currently in the playoffs.

I'm not saying the Sixers are ready to hoist an NBA title, but I do think they are one of the Eastern Conference's best teams.

The Sixers' future lies on the shoulders of young point guard Jrue Holiday. He has the potential to be a superstar.

Giants over Patriots- Deja Vu

It happened in 2008, and it happened again in 2012. The New York Giants and New England Patriots meet in the Super Bowl. The Patriots are favored. Eli Manning makes an incredible play late in the game. New York rejoices.

Manning's pass to Mario Manningham late in the fourth quarter may have been even more spectacular than the pass to David Tyree four years ago. Eli's ability to precisely place to ball between two defenders and the sideline was incredible. Manningham was able to catch the ball, tap both feet in bounds, and take a big hit from a Patriot defender. For me, this is Eli's career defining play.

Tom Brady played a decent game, but made a few mistakes. On the Patriots first play, Brady threw the ball in the middle of nowhere and was flagged for intentional grounding and a safety. The next two mistakes that I am going to point out were in the 4th quarter. Some will blame Brady, some will blame Wes Welker, but the two couldn't connect on a play that would've likely won the game for New England. Welker was forced to twist his body, got both hands on the ball, and couldn't secure it. The Giants got the ball, marched down the field, and took the lead.

Another big mistake by Brady was throwing a pass behind Deion Branch on the Pats final drive. If he hits Branch in stride, Branch likely gets out of bounds and sets New England up with a first down, near midfield, with 45 seconds left and a timeout.

The Pats winded up trying a Hail Mary at the buzzer, and the ball fell to the turf. (One can't help but wonder if a healthy Rob Gronkowski is able to catch the deflection)

Either way, the Giants are Super Bowl champions again. And, again, Eli defeated Brady in the big game.

Super Bowl XLVI

It's finally here. Super Bowl weekend. Every time I see a friend or talk to someone on the phone, the same question keeps coming up, "What're you doing for the game Sunday?"

I can honestly say I'm not even sure yet.

 If the Redskins are ever to make the Super Bowl again in my lifetime I know what I would do. I'm 80% sure my dad, uncle and I would find a way to get to the game. Whether my dad puts his meaningless sports' knowledge to use to win tickets, or we all had to scrap money together, I can almost guarantee we would be there.

If we couldn't find a way to get tickets. We would not go to a Super Bowl party or a bar or anything like that. My uncle would come over, the 3 of us would order some food, and we'd watch in my living room. Unless I have tickets to a game or have to watch at a bar due to the Redskins not being on TV, I hate watching them with a big group of people.

Sadly, the Redskins aren't in the Super Bowl this year. It's actually two teams that I cannot stand.

Living in an area surrounded by Giants' fans. I'm sure I'll find my way to someone's Super Bowl party. As long as there are friends and good food, I'll enjoy the big game.