Forsberg For MVP

It should be said that personal stat lines aren't the only things that win you most valuable player awards. It's contribution to your team and how valuable you are to it. When Peter Forsberg came back to the Philadelphia Flyer's line up last night an interesting statistic was brought up: The Flyers are 0-13-3 when Forsberg is absent from the line up. While the Flyers aren't exactly the toast of the NHL this year, it should be noted that they can't win without Forsberg playing. Does that not make Forsberg extremely valuable to his team? Is there any other superstar that can claim something similar to what Peter can? I didn't think so.

In fact, it quite oftenly happens that a superstar goes down with an injury and his teammate rally to perform better than when he was in the line up. Bill Simmons calls it the Ewing Theory, stemming from a Knicks playoff run after Patrick Ewing was sidelined. This is apparently not the case with Peter; but then again, the Flyers of 2006-2007 aren't as talented as previous incarnations.

All the glory and trophy talk goes to the players who rack up points (it's not like Forsberg is a slouch in the scoring department) but that's what the Art Ross and Maurice Richard trophies are for. I'm not saying Sid the kid isn't valuable or not worthy, I'm just saying that Peter the great should garner some consideration as long he keeps playing at a high level, of course.

NFL Division Playoff Picks

Seahawks (+8.5) over BEARS

I realize that Seattle was one Tony Romo hold away from watching the playoffs instead of playing this week. I realize that the Bears are playing at home after a week off to rest. I also realize that when these two teams played earlier this year, Chicago straight up jacked the Seahawks. But there is something about Rex Grossman that makes me severely hesitant to bet on him. I suffered through the Grossman rollercoaster all season having him on my fantasy team; believe me when I tell you how bad he can be.

But eight-and-a-half points are far too much to be giving in any intra-NFC game, especially the playoffs. Rex or not.

Pick: Chicago 16, Seattle 10

Patriots (+5) over CHARGERS

This match up has game of the year written all over it. Brady and Belichick are going up against Marty Schottenheimer and Phil Rivers. It's that sentence that makes me think twice about taking the Chargers. Marty is a notoriously bad playoff coach and this is Rivers’ playoff debut. One can argue that LDT can carry his team if Rivers falters, but do you really think that wife-stealing Bill hasn't come up with a game plan to combat that? Either way, I foresee this game coming down to a game-winning attempt, with the Pats losing.

Pick: San Diego 21, New England 20

SAINTS (-5) over Eagles

As much as Philadelphia is on a roll right now and has a ton of momentum, Donovan McNabb will get his wish and the Eagles will be bounced this week. Could you actually imagine what would happen if the Eagles won the Super Bowl with Jeff Garcia at quarterback? Would McNabb be run out of town? Watching him stand on the sidelines is depressing, he may as well be openly routing for a loss. The upside is his beard has come in super strong.

Seriously though, do you really think that Drew Brees, possibly the best pure quarterback in the league this year, can't pick apart a beaten down Eagles secondary? With all-pro Lito Sheppard out, it should be a long day for Philly in the Superdome.

Pick: New Orleans 34, Philadelphia 17

RAVENS (-4) over Colts

Do you really, truly believe that Peyton Manning can win two playoff games in a row? Has he ever actually accomplished that? I can't see it happening. Tack on the fact that Baltimore has assembled one of, if the not the best defense in the NFL. The only way that Indy has a chance would be if their defense plays as well as they did last week (which was more K.C. shooting themselves in the foot then anything) and McNair goes down with some sort of injury (more likely then you think). With their opponent's hopes in the incompetent hands of Kyle Boller, the Colts may come through, but most likely not.

Pick: Baltimore 30, Indianapolis 10

**EDIT**

I'm letting my editor from Tangible Sounds, Alyssa, pick the results for some games. She actually hasn't lost a football bet since I've known her but she has never actually watched a game. Sometimes you don't have to be good to be lucky.

Alyssa's picks are the Ravens and the Saints. Seems like I'm in good company.

The Math Behind Beckham

While many will be distracted by the thrilling MLS SuperDraft today, the biggest news in the history of the league occurred yesterday when David Beckham signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy. What Beckham will do for the league may not be as much as people want, but having a name like Beckham on the pitch will draw more fans then just the soccer die-hards.

His five-year $250M deal will make him the highest paid player in sports but crunching the numbers is where the deal gets really interesting. With the MLS season being 30 games long of 90 minutes a piece, Beckham will earn $308 every second that he plays (or $18518 every minute). This is, of course, assuming that he plays every second of every game for the next 5 years and also discounting the amount of time he will spend in practice and off-field activities. If he should miss time, that per second goes up rather steeply.
I've got the feeling Becks is going to love L.A.

Lesson Learned

For those who didn't watch the Celtics game on Wednesday, Tony Allen is a bonehead. After being fouled on the dribble, Allen decided to flex some muscle and show off for the fans. Driving the lane and attempting a dunk after the whistle turned out to be a bad choice. Allen came down hard and awkwardly bent his knee upon landing. If you called a torn ACL, you're right. The most sensational thing about this turn of events is the fact that he missed the dunk. Play the game right kids.

The youtube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3tKJ5lypzk