Just a few weeks ago most people, including myself were beginning to wonder if any of the Big 5 teams would make the NCAA Tourny.
What a difference a few weeks make. The surprise of the three has to be Villanova, who while having a tough schedule, didn't exactly help their case any down the stretch by laying an egg against Georgetown in the Big East tournament.
St. Joe's and Temple played each other in the A-10 final, and that secured their spots in March Madness.
Here are the match-ups for all three in the first round:
Nova plays Clemson.
St. Joe's plays Oklahoma.
Temple plays Michigan State.
All three teams are beatable, but the odds are we won't see all three teams advance. Nova and St. Joe's are 11th seeds and Temple is a 12th seed, but at least one of them should advance. I'm putting my money on Temple. I'm a little biased though because I am a Temple alum and rooting for them.
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Free-falling Flyers fall to Penguins 7-1
The latest train wreck in Philadelphia sports, the Flyers have lost 4 in a row now. It's safe to say that the players are quitting on John Stevens, who should've never been hired in the first place. In fact, Ken Hitchcock should still be the coach.
This team is deader than a victim on CSI. They had a 10-game losing streak and are now back to their losing ways, with a 4-game swoon that began with a pair of meltdowns against Toronto, a meltdown on Saturday, and a blowout yesterday.
There are 9 games remaining on the season, but it looks to be too late. The Flyers should do what the Devils did a few years back (when Devils GM Lou Lamoriello coached in the playoffs) and fire John Stevens and install Paul Holmgren as the coach to finish out the season.
And, then maybe they can get an NHL coach in there next year, because Stevens just doesn't cut it.
Judging by Paul Holmgren's comments, he may just cut the cord on Stevens any day now.
"This time of year, it [falls] on the coaches, and it's got to come down to the players themselves," he said. "They're the ones who are going out there and playing. We're all in this together. We haven't done very well here lately. . . . We're not getting the push we need to put us over the hump right now, for whatever reason."
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New Eagles assistant should be a huge addition
There are many ways an NFL team can improve these days. Via free agency (not as much with many elites getting franchised), through the draft, trades, and hiring of coaches.
One guy who could really make an impact on offense won't even set foot on the field and that's offensive assistant Mark Whipple.
Mark Eckel gives the low-down in the Trenton Times today on this former Steelers offensive coach and Whipple is an offensive guru. Just look what he did for Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger.
This up and coming coach could become the next Jon Gruden as he has a great pedigree and could be the future offensive coordinator for the Eagles. It's all about reloading in the NFL in all facets of the game and the Eagles have taken a hit in recent years on their coaching staff. Whipple will help them tremendously.
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