MVN: Most Valuable Network

Welcome to the first Weekly web wrap, a summary of sports stories on the web for Philly fans. We hope you had a great Thanksgiving. The Eagles capped off the day by beating the Cardinals at the Linc. Let's check out the scene around the Internet...

FLYERS

BuyNHLjerseys.com asks, "Just how hot is Jeff Carter right now?" With his league-leading 16 goals, including three game winners, the Flyers have turned things around with clutch performances from Carter and Simon Gagne. They won six in a row before losing to the Canes on Friday. A Flyers jersey makes a great holiday gift, especially with free shipping until December 1st. 

Philly Sports Pride answered the question, saying "Jeff Carter is hot like fire..." Yes, but how hot is that? PSP explains, "Every time he gets it he is firing at the net and its nice to see a forward on this team not afraid to let it rip."

You know you're hot when an entire site is dedicated to getting you to the all-star game. Vote Jeff Carter is doing just that. Keep tabs on the race by checking out the site, and don't forget to VOTE!

Flyers Goal Scored By says that Carter is playing so well, that "Bill Meltzer's going to have to set fire to all his pre-written posts about how streaky Jeff Carter is." There's also an appearance by the ever popular Sign Man.


-Sign Man says "That's How It's Done!", photo via mjkmjk's flickr photostream Creative Commons License

SIXERS

While the veterans have underachieved to this point, youngsters Thaddeus Young and Mo Speights have been impressive. Jordan from Liberty Ballers collected a few impressed opinions from around SB Nation and ESPN - including John Hollinger and David Thorpe. Young and Speights are the future and hopefully not in somebody else's uniform. 

While Young and Speights are the future, the present is Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala. With long-term deals signed this summer, they are also in the long-term picture. Matthew Harvey of All Headline News calls Iguodala an all-around threat, although his scoring ability has not shown itself that much so far this season. He's finding other ways to contribute with rebounds, assists and steals. Meanwhile, Hoopsvibe's John Nguyen lays the same criticism to Elton Brand that Andre Iguodala heard last year. Namely, that Brand is not a huge difference maker and is better served to being a number two option instead.

While Brand and Iguodala are the focal points of the present, Andre Miller is really in the now because of his contract status. He will be a free agent this summer. With the personnel of the Sixers though and the team's biggest need, Miller finds himself hoisting more three pointers this year than in the entire season last year. Much ado about his flatfooted shot has been made, but Miller is a guy who always does what the team needs. ESPN listed him as the 10th most valuable expiring contract, but Pacers Digest considers it unlikely that Miller would be traded.

Brian from Depressed Fan is killing it like always. His analysis of the Sixers woes is spot on when he concludes that the problem is not that the Sixers can't defend the pick and roll. He says, "The problems are on the offensive side of the ball and that's what they need to get squared away before everyone starts pointing fingers at the defense."

SLAM might have uncovered the problem with Sam Dalembert. After hanging out with Grimace and the Hamburgler, Slammin' Sammy was found posing with Ronald McDonald. Finally, the secret of why he got kicked off Team Canada this summer is out.

After Friday's blowout loss in Boston, the Sixers are left looking for answers. Daily News writer Phil Jasner looked into it and while Iguodala put it on himself, Coach Cheeks challenged the players in no uncertain terms.

Meanwhile, the x-factor so far this season has been sixth man Willie Green. When he scores in double figures, he's made the difference so far this year. Recently, Willie stopped by to answer ten questions in a segment on Sixers.com.

PHILLIES

World Champions! Those two words never sounded so good. The Good Phight's David Cohen shared his Thanksgiving list of the top 10 things he's thankful for. Chase Utley summed it up in three words.

The Good Phight's MattS has detailed player projections for the upcoming season, in case you're into WHIP, VORP and whatever else your sabremetric heart desires. The analysis is excellent, but will Charlie Manuel use it? He's an old school manager who goes with his gut. On paper, the Phillies probably shouldn't have won the title last year. However, as our good friend Ed Stefanski says, paper don't play. The fact that Manuel's style helped direct the Phillies to the second World Series title in franchise history makes me want to just throw statistics out the window anyway. Nevertheless, baseball is a game of numbers, so here they are, thanks to Matt.

Charlie's Manuel has more player by player sabermetric analysis to prepare you for the coming season. Carlos Ruiz was evaluated on Monday. If you're in to this sort of thing, you can compare their work to Matt's and decide for yourself how you project the players for next season. If you ask me, I say the Phils still win the division, the Mets still collapse, and all remains right in the world. Take that, Howard Eskin!

Matt Stairs takes the time off this winter by coaching hockey in his native Maine. The 40-year old outfielder is still planning to come back next season. The Shibe Times has the story. 

EAGLES

Coming in to the Thanksgiving Day game, the Eagles were really struggling. Things were so bad for banged up tailback Brian Westbrook, that teams were even tackling him by the jockstrap. Witness this outrageous photo from UniWatch's flickr photostream. 

The Bulletin's Drew Silverman put blame at the feet of Andy Reid. He details position by position the personnel mistakes Reid made that led to problems this season. When you make errors in personnel decisions, those mistakes can catch up to you in a hurry.

The Iggles blog debates the talent question as well and concludes that this team defines mediocre. While rookies DeSean Jackson and Quintin Demps shined at times, there's not enough elite players for the Eagles to take the next step to compete for a championship. 

Meanwhile, Sports Complex defends Brian Dawkins as a stand-up guy. That quality cannot be underestimated in a world where athletes play the blame game rather than accept responsibility. Dawkins is the emotional leader of the team and a good candidate to enter the Hall-of-Fame when his career is over. 

COLLEGE HOOPS

In bonus college hoops coverage, the St. Joe's Hawks played in Maui. The Inquirer's Tom Noie noted that the experience was a wake up call for Martelli's squad. In the concluding game against Alabama, Ahmad Nivins and Tasheed Carr drew the attention of scouts and experts alike as the players to watch for the Hawks this season. JTM's basketball blog covered the consolation game.  NBA Noise's Stu Holdren was there scouting the players and he evaluated the bigs, including Nivins. His conclusion was that Nivins is a player with pro potential who should find his way on to an NBA roster next season. 

Rivals.com's Andrew Skwara answered his mailbag with a question about the Big5 picture. Villanova is the ONE of the Big 5 who can play against anybody, but whether they can run the table in the tough city series remains to be seen. Skwara evaluated their chances.

Temple sophomore forward Lavoy Allen has a broken thumb. Fran Dunphy called it a small crack. Allen didn't travel to Buffalo with the team for this weekend's game.

Finally, Jameer Nelson is contributing to the Fieldhouse renovation at his alma mater, St. Joe's. Nelson contributed to the locker room renovations and they will be named in his honor. It's good to see a local product giving back. Nelson remains a part of the local community, even though his pro career has been spent entirely in Orlando, Florida.  Dick Jerardi and Kate Fagan had the report.

That's all for now. Enjoy your weekend and tune in to Passion and Pride Sunday night at 6pm for the Passion and Pride: Pulse radio show. We should have it up and running, so join us then!