NFL:
Phil Sheridan writes in today’s Inquirer that the success of the Giants and the Packers shows that the Eagles may not be that far off from getting ‘back to the top’. He argues that coming into the season, no one would have put either team in the NFC Championship Game and that if the Giants can do it with Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin, then surely the Birds have a
chance with Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid. In one sense, I think he’s right. I don’t think the Giants were substantially better than the Eagles this season. But I think Sheridan is ignoring one key aspect of this discussion: the weakness of the NFC. Sure, the Eagles may be close, as currently assembled, to getting back to the NFC Championship Game or even the Super Bowl, but are they close to competing with the likes of New England, Indy, or San Diego? As far as I know, the ‘top’ means winning a championship. The Eagles have plenty of needs to fill if they’re going to get there.
Speaking of which, Cal WR DeSean Jackson declared for the draft today. I wonder if Reid noticed?
College Hoops:
Last week it was argued on this site that the Atlantic-1o is not a ‘mid-major’. That debate hit the mainstream this week, when Xavier turned down Rivals.com’s award to guard Drew Lavender for ‘Mid-Major Player of the Week’, contending that there is nothing ‘mid’ about their program. In support of the decision, A-10 commissioner Linda Bruno suggested that Rivals.com not give the award to any A-10 players in the future.
As a long time A-10 fan, I’ve never considered the conference a ‘mid-major’, but it definitely isn’t on the level of the Big 6 confernces either, so it’s a tricky debate. Sometimes there’s a desire to put a label on everything and have concrete categories, but it’s not always that simple. The Xavier AD makes a convincing argument for his program, but if Xavier is truly a ‘major’, then why did former coaches Skip Prosser and Thad Matta jump to basically mid-level ACC and Big Ten jobs? Xavier deserves tons of credit for pumping resources into their basketball program and hiring numerous outstanding head coaches, but in the end they’re not quite a major and not quite ‘mid’, just somewhere in between. The A-10 as a whole is right there with them.
As for the big boys of the sport, it’s looking right now like the NCAA Tourey Selection Commitee may have a very easy time of placing the four #1-seeds when Selection Sunday rolls around. North Carolina, Memphis, and Kansas are all undefeated and UCLA, with one loss, proved they are still a definite title contender with their rather easy win over previously undefeated Washington St. this past weekend. It even shapes up easily for the committee as far as which bracket to put each in, with UNC in the East, Memphis in the Southeast, Kansas in the Midwest, and UCLA in the West. Of course, there’s still a lot of games to be played.
NBA:
The Sixers lost their seventh straight game last night, with an 89-82 loss in San Antonio. Rumors continue to circulate 
about if or when Ed Stefanski will move Andre Miller. I think Miller will get traded but probably not until next month. Obviously, they’re going to trade him to free up salary for the off-season, but there’s no point in trading him until they have to, which would be by the February 22 trade deadline. Until then, it’s nice to have an experienced point guard to run the offense while all the young kids learn the ropes.
