Your Monday Morning Roundup: Foles, Mitch and Lenny, Emery and MCW
There are things in this world which sometimes we can’t explain. Many of those things happened this weekend.
Take, for example, this image of Nick Foles, tweeted out by Nike yesterday. Unleash speed. Imagine the horror of a shocked Marcus Vick when he learned that Napoleon Dynamite, not his brother Michael, was the new face of Nike football and speed. Nick Foles. Speed. I’m not sure if they were just having some fun or if the 22-year-old graphic designer working at Nike at 7 p.m. on a Sunday knows that Foles is slow. Whatever the case, his name is now in the record book as having thrown the most TDs ever in a game. Foles had one of the greatest games ever for a quarterback yesterday in the history of all-time ever.
Let’s turn to the literal source of such information, Reuben Frank, for a full breakdown of the records Foles and the Eagles set yesterday:
Foles completed 79 percent of his passes, becoming the first QB in NFL history to throw seven touchdowns and also complete at least 70 percent of his passes.
Foles also threw for a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating, making him only the second Eagle to ever do it. Donovan McNabb went 21 for 26 for 381 yards, four touchdowns and a perfect rating against the Lions in 2007.
Foles is the second quarterback in NFL history with 13 or more touchdowns and no interceptions nine weeks into a season. Milt Plum, a Woodbury, N.J., native had 13 and none nine weeks into the 1960 season for the Browns.
Only one other quarterback in NFL history had ever completed at least 75 percent of his passes while throwing for 400 yards and five touchdowns. That was one-time Eagle Kelly Holcomb, who was 30 for 39 (77 percent) for 413 yards and five TDs (with two interceptions) for the Browns in a game against the Bengals in 2004. Foles is the only one to post those numbers with more than five touchdowns.
Foles is now also the only QB in NFL history to throw for 400 yards in a game and have more TDs (seven) than incompletions (six).
As I said, there are things in this world which sometimes we can’t explain.
And then there are the Sixers, who are the best team in the NBA. They beat Wizards and Bulls this weekend, coming back from a 18-point deficit to do the latter. I’m not sure at what point we start rooting for them instead of against them. Don’t get me wrong, this is insanely fun right now given the current Philly sports landscape. But, it’s hard to imagine the Sixers making the playoffs, let alone being good enough to do anything once they got there. As much as I want to see Michael Carter-Williams throw more behind-the-back passes to Spencer Hawes and Hawes drain jumpers to win games, I’d much prefer that, two years from now, MCW and Andrew Wiggins take over Game 6 in some second round series and advance the Sixers to the Conference Finals.
Hinkie has made it all but known that he doesn’t have future plans in together building for Evan Turner and Hawes. So, if that’s the case, them helping the Sixers to a mediocre season and an 8-seed does nobody any good this year.
Of course, there’s a chance that MCW is the second-coming and will single-handedly carry the Sixers to the title in his first year in the NBA and win all the awards that go with such a thing despite the fact that he only had three remaining NBA teammates after Hawes’ back fell off and Turner wound up in a straightjacket. TOGETHER WE BUILD.
Finally, the Flyers. Ray Emery assaulted Braden Holtby on Friday night. The Flyers lost 7-0. They embarrassed themselves. Steve Downie broke his face. Vincent Lecavalier sort of did too. Emery didn’t get suspended. And then, the next night, he shut out the Devils.
I can’t explain our world. And maybe that’s how it’s meant to be.
Let’s hit it!
But first, a word from our sponsors:
Hulk. MEET HULK HOGAN. He’ll be signing autographs at the Sports Vault in the King of Prussia Mall on Friday, November 8 from 7 – 9 p.m. Details and tickets here.
T-shirts. New from Philly Phaithful– Rivalry Wear.
Together building. The Sixers are the hot ticket in town right now(!). Plenty of good seats for the Warriors game tonight.
The roundup:
I actually did work this weekend. Lots of good stuff going on. Here’s what you may have missed:
Ray Emery assaulting Braden Holtby.
Roberto Luongo is rightfully afraid of Emery.
Steve Downie went to the hospital.
Tim Saunder and Chris Therien call the fracas.
Capitals announcer destroys Flyers.
Mitch Williams confronted and cursed at Lenny Dykstra at an autograph signing. The initial accounts were slightly exaggerated, but we obtained video and Williams did indeed F bomb Lenny in front of dozens of fans.
…
This is going around the web today:
Pretty much sums up the game from an Oakland standpoint:
pic via (@kylegarzia)
ANALysts:
pic via (@DjFlowe)
Legit mic flag on the left:
Meanwhile, in the nation’s capital, PENIS:
pic via (@Libtronic19)
Emery wasn’t suspended because the league couldn’t find anything suspendable. I wonder if the police could find anything illegal.
Gary Kubiak collapsed on the sideline last night, didn’t have a heart attack.
The Sixers are number one in the Yahoo power rankings.
Bill Raftery will join Gus Johnson calling Big East games on FOX Sports 1. I’m in love with that collection of words.
Riley Cooper, three months later. And why his success has nothing to do with what happened.
Terry Richardson, the guy who takes pictures of Kate Upton and Miley Cyrus barely clothed, is a real sick puppy. But if pulling his penis out and ejaculating on women in trash cans is what it takes to produce the images he does… well, then by all means, carry on, Mr. Richardson.
Neil Hartman shouldn’t blog. He wrote basically the same Go Screw, Boston post that I did. Only it wasn’t good.
Eric Goldwein of ESPN.com explaining why the Sixers should further blow up the team:
Every game the Sixers win, though, is a major blow to their most valuable asset: their 2014 first-round pick. Keep the roster together, and they could land in the middle of the pack. That’s not the ideal place to finish with the Andrew Wiggins sweepstakes looming.
Given the strength of the 2014 draft class, waving the white flag and blowing up this already blown-up team might be the best path.
That means trading away Turner, who is finally producing like a No. 2 overall pick, but on the final year of his contract. The same goes for Hawes, whose deal also expires after this season. He’s playing defense, hitting 3-pointers, and playing some of the best basketball of his career. And lastly, there’s Thaddeus Young. He was Philadelphia’s most efficient scorer last season and now that he’s added a 3-point shot to his arsenal, he’s all the more attractive to potential trading partners.
I know that, somewhere, my friend Anita is fuming angry at this proposition.
You best #shitmaliksays moment of the weekend:
MCW! MCW! MCW!
