First, let’s remove some obvious pretenders. Detroit is gone, other than the Red Wings the only thing consistent in Motor

The way I see it, this should be like a short tournament.  I’ll seed 4 cities and then weigh their merits against each other to determine scientifically who moves on. What cities will be in the final four? I’ll tell you. Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Now, before you get up in arms about my choices, allow me to explain my reasoning to you. 

(1)    New York - Hard to ignore the most championship victories in all major sports.

(2)    Boston - No longer the lovable losers, winning championships is a routine thing in Beantown now.

(3)    Chicago - 8 sports championships since 1985. And a good baseball and football teams recently make them a contender.

(4)    Los Angeles - Seemingly outgunned, the only thing they really have going for them is Basketball, and Boston has them beat in that.  Maybe their potential can lift them over the top.

So let’s break this down in a bracket style:

(1)    New York  VS. (4) Los Angeles -  L.A. has actually won more Titles than New York since 2000.  But before that things were way different.

New York has won at least one championship in every major sport since 1980.  The only thing

L.A. has over N.Y. is Basketball, and that’s not even close to enough to swing the upset.  Maybe next time L.A. but for now, it’s still

New York’s show.

(2)    Boston  VS. (3) Chicago - I’d say Chicago needs a better body of work to support their bid here. 

Boston has 3 Super Bowls, 2 World Series and an NBA championship all since 2001. 

Chicago has a World Series victory since then.  That’s 6-1 over the last 8 years in favor of

Boston.  Chicago won a lot of NBA titles with

Jordan in the 90’s and a Super Bowl in ’85.  But that’s ancient history in sports terms.  Winner:

Boston.

And now what you’ve all been waiting for.  You knew it would come down to this, as it does frequently in the sporting world.  The biggest Sports-City rivalry of all time!

(1)    New York VS. (2) Boston- Da Da Da DUMMMMMM. Lots of memories here, the 2004 ALCS when Boston came back from 3-0 to beat the Yankees and go on to win their first W.S. in 86 years.  Super Bowl XLII when the heavy underdog Giants stopped the Undefeated Patriots in their tracks.  This is Tom Brady vs. Lawrence Taylor, Ted Williams vs. Babe Ruth, Larry Byrd Vs. Patrick Ewing.  Legendary players played in these cities, men that transcended their games.  You couldn’t fit all those trophies in a two car garage.  We are going to have to break this one down.

• World Series since 1900:  New York hands-down.  The Yankees have 26 The Red Sox a mere 6.  But the Sox have won 2 of the past 4 and the Yanks haven’t won it since 2000. Edge- New York

• Super Bowls: The Giants and Patriots are tied at 3 apiece.  The Giants Defeated the Patriots in the head to head matchup in Super Bowl XLII.  But the Pats won 3 of 4 from 2001-04.  The Patriots also have more conference championships to their credit.  Edge-Even

• NBA Finals:  Boston wins this one easy.  The Celtics have won 17 NBA championships.  Including the most recent 2008 Finals.  The Knicks have won 2.  Edge-Boston

• Stanley Cups Since 1927: The New York Rangers won it first in 1927.  Followed the Next year By the Boston Bruins.  Overall the Rangers have won 4 and the Bruins have won 5.  Slight Edge- Boston

In the interest of fairness, I took away three teams from New York, all the less-winning franchises.  The bastard children, if you will.  The Jets, Islanders and Mets were all left off this list to level the playing field.  By the tally, it appears to be 2-1-1 Boston.  But it’s hard to overlook 26 championships in a single sport.  The Yankees are doing their part in keeping N.Y. Titletown hopes alive.  Then again, the Celtics championships greatly outnumber the Knicks.  So that kind of nullifies the Yankees efforts.  This is a close one; let’s look at recent history for the clincher.  Since 2000,

The latest version of DWTS will begin Monday, March 17th @ 8 pm ET on ABC.

Sports is an outlet for many people to voice their opinions of players and teams, debate with friends over who is the best player in the history of a specific sport, or which team is the greatest of all time. This is a blog designed partly for the reasons listed above. Now its time for me to put my two cents in regarding a debate that has become pretty heated within the past couple of seasons in the NBA; Lebron vs. Kobe. Not head to head in a game, but head to head in talent, skills, leadership, and career numbers. Lebron vs. Kobe: Who will be remembered more for their accomplishments? Who will be the most successful NBA player out of the two?

In this his 12th season in the league, Bryant has surpassed many of the expectations that fans and his franchise dreamed of when he was drafted right out of Lower Merion High School by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick. Bryant never played a game for the Hornets, who traded him to the Lakers for Vlade Divac, the then starting center for Los Angeles. Bryant was also the first guard in league history to be drafted into the NBA right out of high school.

Since his arrival in L.A., Byrant has won three NBA titles, in 2001, 2002, and 2003. To go along with the titles he has many other accomplishments on his mantle:

• In 1997 he won the slam dunk contest.
• In the 1997-1998 season he was the runner-up for the league’s sixth man of the year award while also becoming the league’s youngest all-star starter.
• He has been named the league’s All-Star Game MVP twice (2002, 2007).
• He is a two-time scoring champion (2006, 2007).
• He is a 10-time NBA All-Star (all starts and all consecutive).
• He is also the youngest player in league history to reach 20,000 career points.

Not bad for only an example of some of his accolades .

Here are some of Kobe’s career numbers:

• He has a career average of 24.6 PPG.
• He has a career average of 23.3 PPG in the playoffs (131 Games Played). The team, since Kobe’s arrival, has missed the playoffs in only one season (2004-2005).
• As a guard he has a career average of 5.2 RPG.

NBA records:

• Most three-point field goals made in one game (12-shared with Donyell Marshall).
• Most three-point field goals made in one half: 8.
• Most consecutive three-point field goals made in one game: 9 (shared with Latrell Sprewell and Ben Gordon).
• Most free throws made in one quarter: 14 (shared with five players).
• Most free throws attempted in one quarter: 16 (shared with six players).

Bryant also holds or shares 26 Lakers franchise records. Here is a small list of those achievements:

• Points in a season: 2,832 (2005-06).
• Points in a game: 81 (January 22, 2006 vs. Raptors).
• Most three-pointers attempted in a season: 518 (2005-06).
• Steals in a half: 6 (tied with three players).
• Games scoring 50 points or more in a season: 10 (2006-07).
• Games scoring 50 points or more all-time: 21.
• Consecutive games of 50 points or more: 4.
• Games scoring 40 points or more all-time: 88 (shared with Elgin Baylor).
• Games scoring 40 points or more in a season: 27 (2005-06).

Yet again, those numbers really don’t get any better than that.

Now that we have looked at only some of Kobe’s accomplishments and accolades (and I can’t stress enough that they are only SOME of his achievements), let’s now take a look at “The King,” Lebron James.

James was drafted out of high school in 2003 with the first pick overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his first NBA game, against the Kings, he recorded 25 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds. He was the youngest player in league history to ever record 40+ points in a game, when he had 41 in a game versus the Nets that same season.

Here are James’ accolades:

• Named ROY for 2003-2004. (only third player in history alongside Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson to average at least 20 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds per game in their rookie season).
• Youngest ROY in league history.
• First Cavalier to receive ROY Award.
• NBA All-Star Game MVP in 2006
• Averaged 31.4 PPG in 2005-06.
• Returned Cavalier franchise to glory with the club’s first-ever appearance in the NBA Finals in 2006-07, with a loss to the Spurs.
• He has four All-Star game appearances, including this season, which are consecutive.

This list, compared to Kobe’s, is significantly smaller. You do have to look at the fact that this is only James’ 5th year in the league and it is Kobe’s 12th, but you also have to look at everything Kobe has accomplished very early in his career. His first title, in 2000, came in his 4th year in the league. That’s impressive. Even though James and the Cavaliers have had back-to-back playoff appearances; his career, compared to Kobe’s at this time, pales in comparison. I think its safe to say that Bryant is the better player of the two and will go down in history as one of the greatest to ever play the game. Will Lebron? Maybe. But he has a lot of work to do if he wants to be held in the same breath as Kobe Bryant.

Now don’t get me wrong folks, I am not writing this article as a fan of either of the two players mentioned within. I am writing this article as a unbiased onlooker. I do not root for either team, never have, never will. Sadly, I am a Sixers fan, and always have been. I simply decided to write this article because many people ask me who is the better player and I just wanted to confirm my stance that it is Bryant over James based on sheer accomplishments, records, and championships. Bryant holds numerous scoring records for a season and game; James, none. Bryant won a title in his fourth season in the league; James in his fourth season was swept in four games by the Spurs in the NBA Finals. Kobe is the better of the two and will remain to be. James will never reach Kobe’s status in records or championships, period.

Since I am a Philadelphia fan, I knew that this debate would come up sooner than I had hoped. The Phillies and slugging first baseman Ryan Howard are 3 million dollars apart from where either would like to be regarding contract status. Let’s not worry yet, Howard is still a handful of years away from free agency (He can’t test the market until 2012). But here is where the worrying comes into play, if the two sides go to arbitration, will GM Pat Gillick ‘hurt’ the former NL ROY and NL MVP’s feelings by not giving in to his wishes? Let’s hope not.

In my opinion, Howard deserves the price that he is asking, which to me seems lower than he really deserves. Howard is asking for 10 million, the Phillies are offering 7 million. They are lucky he isn’t asking for the price that he truly deserves, 15 million. He has done so much for this franchise in terms of building an incredible fan base and putting on a show in the 2006 home run derby (he finished with 23 and the title in Pittsburgh).

Here are Howard’s credentials as to why he deserves the 10 million and maybe more:

• He is only the second player in Major League Baseball history alongside Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. to win Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in back-to-back seasons.
• In his first extended stint in the majors, 2005 (Thome on DL), Howard finished with 22 home runs and 63 RBIs in only 88 games. He added a .288 average too.
• In 2006, Howard’s first full season in the majors; he put up 58 round trippers and 149 RBIs to lead the league. He also turned in a .313 average to go along with a .659 slugging percentage.
• In 2007, Howard’s numbers declined a bit because of a stint on the disabled list, but he still finished strong. He picked up 47 long balls and 136 RBIs to go along with a .268 average.
• For his career, which spans 410 games, Howard has a .291 average, 129 home runs, 353 RBIs and a .610 slugging percentage.

Howard’s presence in the Phillies lineup, especially at home, has bred success throughout the 1-8 hitters. From top to bottom, the Phillies lineup has been one of the most potent lineups in baseball over the past four seasons. The homegrown talent with the bat has been stellar; the hits keep coming from 2007 MVP Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Pat Burrell (when he is on his game) to go along with Howard.

Howard has provided a much needed left handed power hitter in the lineup to go with a solid glove at first base. He is the anchor of a young, talented group of homegrown infielder for the franchise. His presence in the lineup is felt even as he waits in the on-deck circle or at the top of the dugout steps.

The Phillies would be wrong to let this case go to arbitration, the first since Travis Lee went in 2001 with the team. The arbiter might rule in Howard’s favor, in the Phillies favor, or pick a number somewhere in the middle ground. Yet again, in my mind Howard deserves 15 million, five more than the 10 million he is requesting. Hopefully the two sides can settle before heading to arbitration on February 20th.

For quite some time I could tell that the cheap sunglasses I had been wearing were not quality. My wife was nice enough to buy me a new pair this summer after another $10 pair broke, and while I liked the thin, wire-framed look, the lenses were off. There was a distortion in one lens that caused me to have to hold my head at an angle to see straight; they were a waste of our time and money.

After pondering the whle “should I spend $100 for a pair of sunglasses” issue I finally made the decision to do it. I broke down and spent the money on a new pair of Oakley sunglasses, specifically the Straight Jacket. Not only do my black Straight Jackets have a stylish look, but there’s something about the quality of how well I can see with these lenses that has reminded me of the quality that Oakley provides. The nice thing about this company is that they no longer limit themselves to sunglasses, and even with eyewear they are innovative leaders. From mp3 player sunglasses, boots & watches to Oakley women’s sunglasses & clothing, the quality you can expect from a name like Oakley carries into all of their fine products.

Well thanks Roger, you got it right and it only took 15 weeks to do so. The biggest game of the regular season, even though both teams have playoff spots secured, will be played Saturday night the 29th. It is…the 15-0 Patriots at the New York Giants. That’s why its a big game, the Pats are looking for 16-0. But in Roger’s eyes, no big deal, we will wait until three days beforehand to announce that the game will be simulcast on three different networks.

The game was set to air only on the NFL Network, which most of the country is without, including this fan. Goodell announced Wednesday that the game would be simulcast on NBC and CBS along with the NFL Network. Wow Roger, thanks for the Christmas gift. Here’s a better idea, stop leaving the public ugly games to watch on Sunday and Monday Night Football. How about you let us see some of the games you scheduled for the network on those aforementioned nights.

I wonder who had to convince our fine commissioner to move the game to simulcast? Is he really that blind to not see how important this game is, even though the Giants are going to have almost five NFL records broken and then reset at their expense. The Giants will put up a fight, during the opening kickoff, and from that point on it is going to be a debacle, but I’m not complaining. I can’t wait to see this team get lit like a bonfire. They deserve it, for once again limping into the playoffs.

The selection of games aired on Sunday and Monday Night Football have been less than stellar. Remember that tackle football game from only a few weeks ago between Chicago and Minnesota? Brutal; even though I was happy to see the Bears eliminated it was still a difficult game to watch. All the turnovers and horrendous quarterbacking. What has gotten into the league this year? It is in complete shambles regarding ‘key’ matchups.

One of the best Sunday night games was Eagles v. Patriots in Foxborough midway through the season. Why? Because the Eagles were the first team to truly play well against the Pats, catching them completely off-guard, and giving them a game for four quarters. No other team up until that point could boast that type of accomplishment. And to be honest with you, no team has been able to do so since.

The Patriots are the talk of the league and for a good reason, 15-0, and on the verge of possibly the greatest run for a football team the league has ever seen. They have broken record after record and have a few more in their sights Saturday night: most points scored in a season, largest point differential for a season between them and their opponents, most touchdown passes in a season, and most touchdown receptions in a season.

What took you so long Roger? The Wednesday before the game the announcement for simulcast is announced. You’ve got to be kidding me. You had to have known, at least when the Pats got to 10-0, that this game might be meaningful come week 16, that they might be playing for a perfect regular season. But, I guess not. I guess I was wrong for expecting more out of the league’s commissioner. My mistake. Give the fans a break Roger. We support the league; we pay money to go to the games, to buy the memorabilia, and to enjoy a piece of tradition. At least let us see some decent games on Sunday and Monday nights next year. That’s all we ask as fans, that’s it.

So, in case everyone lives under a rock, the Mitchell report on steroid use in baseball is due out tomorrow around 2p.m. The league has already reviewed a copy of the report but Commissioner Allen H. (Bud) Selig will not be in attendance for Mitchell’s press conference.

The list, which has been compiled based on the results of an investigation headed by former Senate majority leader, George Mitchell, includes 60-80 names of former and current players who have used steroids. This list could damage not only the reputation of former players but could also destroy the image and reputation of current ones.

The big question surrounding this report is whether or not Selig and his discipline committee will offer up any suspensions or life-time bans for steroid use stemming from Mitchell’s assessment. One problem with this report is that it is based on an investigation of drug companies and former player’s testimonies. It remains to be seen how many of the names on this list have actually tested positive for HGH or any other banned substance in MLB. In my opinion, the only way Selig could suspend active players would be if they had previously tested positive for steroid use.

The press conference, which will be aired on ESPN and ESPNnews, will be followed by a press conference from Selig two and a half hours later. SportsCenter will also have special coverage of the day’s events from 1p.m. to 6p.m.

The release of this report comes only days from one of the biggest holiday seasons of the year. It is interesting to see how many players’ holiday plans will be affected by this document or if they could really even care less. Mitchell’s report, once released, will not even come close to resolving the problem that is steroid use in baseball. It might not even help to weed out the major contributors who supply the drugs to the players. But this could be completely wrong.

Let’s not forget what it was that grabbed America’s attention in the summer and fall of 1998. It was the home-run race between Mark McGwire of the Cardinals and Sammy Sosa of the Cubs. When those two began to inch closer and closer to former Yankee Roger Maris’ all-time record of dingers in a season, the nation and the world paid close attention to every pitch of every at-bat they had.

That summer, MLB experienced fandom that it hadn’t seen since before the player strike in 1994. Fans were finally back into baseball. They were finally believing again in America’s past-time. Who had any reason to doubt that the sport was not back to being one of the nation’s most loved.

Well, the Mitchell report might just drop baseball back down to where it once was before that magical 1998 season. If it does so, it might take the league a lot longer to regroup and regain the trust of its fan-base.

One question fans will be asking themselves come 4p.m. Thursday is where does this list end? Were there players left off of the list for unknown reason? What kind of repercussions will these players face from the league?

The Mitchell report will send shock waves throughout MLB and it might not be the end of name dropping as we know it in the sport.

Over the past three months, the Philadelphia Flyers have given their fans much to cheer about. For starters, they sit in second place in the Atlantic Division as of this article, behind only the New Jersey Devils. They have also brought back fleeting memories of the Broad Street Bullies from yesteryear.

The talk throughout the NHL began in preseason, when Flyers prospect Steve Downie leveled former Flyer and current Ottawa Senator Dean McAmmond into the boards in what was considered a dirty hit. He was awarded a five minute major and a game misconduct, subsequently leading to a league suspension of 20 games, one of the highest in history for the sport.

Following the Downie hit, new Flyer Jesse Boulerice was suspended 25 games (the longest single-season suspension in league history) for slapping Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler across the face with his stick.

Despite the two, 20-plus game suspensions, the Flyers did not back away from their aggressive style of play as defenseman Randy Jones was suspended for two games following a hit on Boston’s Patrice Bergeron on October 27. Jones threw Bergeron face-first into the boards. Bergeron suffered a concussion, some minor lacerations to the face, and a broken nose as a result.

The list keeps on growing as Scott Hartnell was suspended for two games following a check to the head of Bruin defenseman Andrew Alberts. Following that suspension, the Flyers added another to their list as Riley Cote became the fifth different Flyer to garner a suspension from the league this season. He was forced to sit three games stemming from an elbow used to throw Dallas’ Matt Niskanen into the boards.

As a result of the five suspensions handed down to the Flyers, the organization was reprimanded by the Commissioner’s office, warning them to stop playing dirty and eliminate their cheap hits on their opponents.

The suspensions have garnered the Flyers the utmost attention of their league-wide opponents since Downie was first reprimanded. Many teams are crying foul as well are the fans. They feel that this year’s Flyers are the Broad Street Bullies from the 1970’s. I tend to disagree. That team was loaded with tough guys (not to say that this team doesn’t have them).

The Flyers team that takes the ice each night during the 2007-2008 season is not the same from the 1970’s. They are faster, more skilled, and have somewhat better discipline than that team. But then again you look at last night’s debacle in Philadelphia and start to second guess yourself. The Flyers roughed up the Pittsburgh Penguins in more ways than one.

In an 8-2 romp of their in-state rivals, the Flyers fought four times, recorded two misconduct penalties and one game misconduct (Hartnell). Is this team losing focus of their goals? I don’t tend to think so. Every now and then it is nice to watch a hockey game and see fighting, scrums in front of the net, and an 8-2 victory, no matter what teams are playing. Those are the golden days of hockey, until the lockout arrived in 2004-2005 and the commish, Gary Bettman, decided to change around the game and limit fighting and roughing in front of the net.

To really answer the question that is this article’s title check back with me at the end of the season. I think it is still too early to tell whether or not the Flyers are returning to their roots of the 1970’s, when the Broad Street Bullies roamed the Spectrum and were one of the most feared teams in the league.