The 5th Down

Gotta Have Heart

Written By: Rich MacLeod

To start off, this article is about the sports teams in my life, the one’s that I’m a fan of so if you don’t feel like reading about teams that don’t concern you, close this window now. Still here? Okay, let’s begin.

I’m a fan of the New York Jets, Mets, Knicks, Rangers and UConn Huskies. All but one (Rangers) pretty much stink right now. That said, certain teams are more likable and I’ll tell you why: Heart. If my team is struggling, it sucks, obviously, but if they have that competitive fire than at least you know that these players actually give a you know what. The New York Mets have unfortunately become one of the bigger laughing stocks in Major League Baseball after two straight collapses which were then followed by now three consecutive seasons under .500. But this team has something the other ones don’t. What is it? Take a guess… Heart. This past season they had constant comeback attempts, some failed, some successful and any game they lost, they admitted how truly awful that feeling was. I don’t get that with some of these teams.

The UConn Huskies Men’s Basketball team were ranked #4 in the country to start the season. In the past week they’ve lost four straight games, three to unranked opponents. They now find themselves unranked, under .500 in the Big East and quite possibly in jeopardy of missing the NCAA Tournament for the 2nd time in the last three seasons. While the team’s struggles hurt, the lack of passion is what bothers me the most. There’s no leadership on this team, which is an issue. Not to mention during the game you look at the faces of players like Jeremy Lamb and Alex Oriakhi and when something bad happens (or when anything happens at all) they have zero reaction to it. Most of the time Lamb just seems to be either bored or moping and I think that type of attitude and effort can spread throughout that locker room. When the team is struggling, I want to know that the players care, that it hurts them even more that it hurts the fan base. As the losses continue to pile up, no changes seem to happen in performance or emotion and after each game I seem to like this team a little bit less than I normally would. The feeling in Storrs is eerily similar to the one in the 2009-2010 season with a roster of uncaring players like Stanley Robinson and Gavin Edwards. Do they have time to turn it around? Absolutely, but if this team doesn’t change something, they may very well lose their ticket to March Madness.

The Jets’ situation is a mess, I could literally write for hours about it so I’ll just leave it at that.

The Knicks, who also had a terrible month of January, continue to struggle. The team’s stars (Amar’e and Melo) don’t seem to care too much when the team’s struggling and they’ll continue to take shots they probably shouldn’t (mostly Carmelo) but there is some faint heartbeat on the team. Rookies Iman Shumpert and Josh Harrelson have shown that not only can they play, but they play hard. Add in Tyson Chandler who is fired up on a game-to-game basis and that alone is encouraging. BUT, having heart or not having heart doesn’t necessarily fix any or all issues. Yes, this team does seem to play differently when the rookies are on the floor but that alone doesn’t consistently lead to wins, at least not normally. The team struggles on defense because of player mindsets and an offensive minded coach, they struggle on offense because they lack a real point guard and most of the time Carmelo Anthony refuses to pass the ball and will throw up just about any shot. Heart can affect certain teams performances, will it affect the Knicks? That is yet to be known. That said, eventually, the wins DO need to start coming.

Look, losing sucks. That said, if the team is at least TRYING and seems like they care, I will be much more patient and sympathetic with them. The one’s who don’t? Well, they just seem less likable. In certain situations, heart can actually make a difference but it can’t always solve issues. Teams like UConn will struggle on offense whether they have heart or not because they can’t distribute the ball. That said, heart and fire and passion can lead to things like effort. Would you rather have the guy who makes a half-hearted attempt to get a lose ball or the one who will leap, dive and do anything to get that possession? Heart is big. Does it solve all issues? Of course not. But it makes a difference, especially with how fans feel about their teams.

Old Men River

Written By: Rich MacLeod

As Ryan Howard laid on the field to a chorus of boos in Citizens Bank Park, the St. Louis Cardinals celebrated as they upset the heavily favored Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series. To add insult to injury, Ryan Howard tore his Achilles tendon while running out of the batters box on the game’s final play. As I watched Howard limp off of the field, the fans leave in droves and the rest of the Phillies players slowly disappear into the offseason I noticed another thing… That this team’s window just closed a little more.

There is no question that over the past few years that the Philadelphia Phillies have been a great team and they continue to have great players on their roster but, to say it bluntly, this team is old. An offense that was once a juggernaut has transformed into nothing short of pedestrian with Chase Utley who’s lost power, Ryan Howard who may be towards the end of his prime, an aging singles hitter in Placido Polanco and already deteriorating Jimmy Rollins. The pitching staff is phenomenal but that said, they’re not immune to age either. Roy Halladay will be 35 this year, Cliff Lee’s going on 33 and as great as they are, age will soon affect their performances.

You would figure that with such an aging team that the Phillies would be bringing up minor league prospects or signing young talented players but that has not happened. Their minor league system has been ravaged by trading for big name pitcher after big name pitcher after big name pitcher and they don’t have the money to sign any big names. So what have they done instead? They’ve actually gotten older. So far this offseason the Phillies have signed Jim Thome (41), Dontrelle Willis (30), Laynce Nix (31), Ty Wigginton (34), Dave Bush (35), Joel Piniero (33), Jonathan Papelbon (31) and not to mention they’re now interested in Juan Pierre (34). That’s 8 players with an average age of 33.5.

Philadelphia enters the season with 4-1 odds, which are the best of any team, to win the World Series. While that may happen, I personally don’t see it. And yes, everyone is well aware that I have no love loss for the Phillies but with a lot of the teams up and coming in the division, the defending champion Cardinals, the pitching loaded Giants and stacked teams in the American League like the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Rangers and now Tigers, I find it very hard to believe that this franchise will win another championship any time soon.

NBA Coaches on Short Leash

Written By: Ryan Marcone

The Wizards fired Head Coach Flip Saunders Tuesday, after the team’s 2-15 start to the season. The Sacramento Kings fired coach Paul Westphal just four games into the lockout shortened season. So what does this mean for coaches? It means that Owners and GM’s aren’t taking the shortened season as an excuse. In fact, it seems like the seats under coaches are getting even hotter because of the condensed schedule. Is this fair? Probably not. Did the management of the Kings know the season was doomed a mere four games in? Probably, but that has much more to do with the fact that their team isn’t very good. Let’s be honest with ourselves, the Wizards are not 2-15 because of some failure on the coaching end, the Wizards are 2-15 because they flat out stink. But somebody has to take the fall for it right? It just seems like team management is always quick to act so that they can make sure that blame doesn’t fall on them for not assembling a good team.

So what does this mean for coaches of underachieving teams like the New York Knicks? Despite gouging the teams cap space and sending all the talent they already had away to acquire Stoudamire and Anthony, nobody seems to want to blame management. Despite the fact that the Knicks may not have a 1st Round Draft Pick until I’m a senior citizen, nobody wants to think something may be awry with how the team is being run, not just how the team is being coached.

The question is, when does some of the responsibility fall on the players?  Is it Flip Saunder’s fault that only one of his starters is shooting over 40% from the floor? Is it his fault that John Wall, who gets to the FT line more than anybody on his team, doesn’t even knock down 80% of them? Is it Mike D’Antoni’s fault that Landry Fields seems to have forgotten how to play the sport? Or that Carmelo Anthony can start any given night shooting 0-10 and still have no problem jacking up 3’s from five feet behind the arc? No, it isn’t. Coaches cannot make players make open shots. Coaches cannot force players to pass the ball, make free throws, or shoot less. A coach can only put a player in the best position to succeed. A coach can teach his team how to get a player a wide open look, but he can’t make that player knock it down. A coach can teach a player how to get to the line, but he can’t MAKE him hit free throws.

It’s time for some of the pressure get put on the guys assembling the teams, or (Heaven FORBID!) the guys actually wearing jerseys, instead of always scapegoating the poor guys in suits on the sideline.

NBA Power Rankings (1/24)

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Prince Fielder Signs With Tigers

According to reports, Prince Fielder, one of the biggest free agents on the market, has signed a 9 year, $214 million deal with the Detroit Tigers. Miguel Cabrera says he is willing to move to 3rd base, his original position.

Can you say Wow?