Fill Up With Phillip: Volume 4

Today’s column will be different than the other ones. Today’s is a Fact or Fiction featuring myself, Popsicle, Da H Train24 (Hector), and Hansen. Let’s get to it.

The hiring of the Lenny Wilkins will solve the New York Knicks problems.

Popsicle: Fiction, It will help them be better, but there’s no way it will solve all of their problems. First of all, they have no inside game so they have to depend on the perimeter. Their problem is not short-term it is long-term. They have way too many big contracts with people that don’t do anything basically. Some of their Big Contracts that shouldn’t have them are Keith Van Horn and Anfernee Hardaway.

Da H Train24: Fiction– The Knicks need a tough Pat Reilly type not a soft and fuzzy bunny like Wilkins. He is a great x’s and o’s guy but is known for being soft on the players. There is a reason his last championship was in 1979 with Seattle. Times change and the Knicks needed Mike Fratello a no nonsense kinda guy, they should have followed the Giants and hired a tough guy.

Phillip: I do not believe this was the best hire for the Knicks so I am going with Fiction also. Wilkins was also hired under Thomas back in Toronto, and he didn’t win anything there. This Knicks team isn’t terrible by any means. I believe they WILL make the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference. However, Wilkins is not the answer. It was good to get rid of the old GM. It was a good thing to hire Isaiah Thomas. It was a good thing to bring in Stephon Marbury. Allen Houston is the best player there, besides Marbury. This team has TOO MANY LONG TERM CONTRACTS! They got rid of the one player that could’ve made the difference in New York in Latrell Sprewell. Like him or not, Sprewell was the heart and the soul of that team. Until those contracts run out, the Knicks will not be great.

Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the NFL.

Hansen: Fiction. Although Favre threw that nasty duck last game to lose it, they actually lost it on that 4th and short attempt. Favre is still the best QB in the game, and he’ll be back next season. Until he retires, I’m pretty sure he’s safe.

Popsicle: Fact. He is a great passer. His stats this season were 67% Completion rating, 4267 Yards with 29 touchdowns and 10 INTs. And that’s just the season, in the playoffs he has been near perfect with a 156.9 passer rating, he is 44 of 56 for 681 yards w/ 8 touchdown passes. He is phenomenal, and it doesn’t hurt that he has one of the top receivers with him in Marvin Harrison. He is an extremely smart quarterback and can confuse defenses with his audibles at the line.

Da H Train24: Fiction– I love Peyton but the quarterback job has one job that is more important that all of the other things he must do. Just win baby. Tom Brady has won the Super Bowl and has a 38-12 record as a starter. That is the second best record in NFL history after Kurt Warner for winning percentage after 50 starts. Plus Brady doesn’t have Harrison and James, he has Antowain Smith and David Patten. Plus you have to look at Steve McNair and Donavan McNabb. I list 1. Brady 2. McNair 3. McNabb and 4. Manning. Stats don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that ring.

Phillip: There are many great quarterbacks in the NFL, and I do not think Donovan McNabb is one of them. Sorry to all of you Eagles fans out there. If you call what happened last week on that 4 and 26 pass good, then you are out of your mind. Fact, Peyton Manning is by far the greatest quarterback in the league. His stats this year are unbelievable. It’s like he was shot out of a rocket with these last two games. Awesome performances, and definitely gets the nod from me.

The New England Patriots will win the Superbowl.

Hansen: Fiction. Although he isn’t the best in the NFL, Manning is the best in the playoffs, and he’s been really hot lately. Like, come on, what has he thrown? 8 TD’s in 2 games?! Along with Marvin Harrison, he will take the Colts to the promise land. But even if the Colts somehow choke in the Division finals, it will be an AFC Superbowl victory.

Popsicle: I think that the winner of the Colts-Pats match-up will Win the Superbowl but the reasons that this question is hard is that the Pats-Colts Match-up is so hard to predict. Peyton Manning has been on fire this postseason but NE’s defense has been terrific. Colts defense is bad, Brady was throwing all over them in their match-up earlier this season but threw two costly interceptions that led to a Colts comeback from a 24-10 halftime lead. The colts are extremely weak up the middle and I think that Antowain Smith will be able to tire them easily. So I say Fact, the Pats will win the Superbowl.

Da H Train24: Fiction– Everyone I know is gonna hate to hear me say this but the Philadelphia Eagles look the team to beat. McNabb has had a fire under him since Rush Limbaugh made his infamous comments on NFL countdown. I have heard the arguments against McNabb… he doesn’t throw for alot of yards, he was 21st in TD passes, they lost Westbrook. I hope I’m wrong but I see the Eagles going all the way.

Phillip: If you know me, you know I hate the New England Patriots. Ever since that botched call in the AFC Championship game against the Raiders that got them to the Superbowl, I have HATED THEM. I still cheer for any team that goes against them. That’s why the Indianapolis Colts are winning the 2004 Superbowl. They have the best offense in the NFL, and showed earlier this year against the Patriots that they CAN beat them (Yes, I know New England won, but it took a goal line stand with 30 seconds left mixed with bad calling on the goal line by the Colts). I believe the Patriots “great” defense will not be able to stop Peyton and the Colts. This is Fiction

Lebron James is the best player in the Eastern Conference.

Popsicle: Fiction, He is the best Rookie but T-Mac, Baron Davis, Vince Carter, and Jason Kidd are better than him right now.

Da H Train24: Fiction– I know his team sucks but Tracy McGrady is a better player than James and believe it or not so is Baron Davis. There is a list of people that I feel are better players in the east. But I will say this, James is 19! His numbers for the season are almost identical to Kobe’s and he is vastly improving. So he might not be the best right now but that doesn’t mean he won’t be the best tomorrow.

Phillip: You could actually make a really good argument for Lebron being the best player in the Eastern Conference, as it lacks the talent THIS YEAR. Of course, McGrady normally would be the best player in the East, but when your team holds the worst record in the NBA (Magic are 9-29), it’s kind of hard to be the best. I will say Fiction though. Vince Carter is the best player in the East, and is again the leading vote-getter for the All-Star game.

The New Jersey Devils will repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

Hansen: Fiction. Oh how I hate the Devils. As much as I hate to say it, because I hate them with a deep passion, the Avalanche will take the Cup. Three words, Selanne, Kariya, Sakic. And they still have Foresberg and Tanguay on forward! My Wings will win next year though, with youngsters like Datsyuk and Zetterberg, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Da H Train24: Fiction– Look i have been on the band wagon all year. Colorado is not just the NHL’s answer to the Yankees. They are more than just a traveling all star team. this team has 57 points (4th most in the league) and they have been without Kariya and Foresburg for most of the season. AV’S all the way.

Phillip: I’m going with Fact. They aren’t that far out of first place, and have one of the best goalies in the NHL in Martin Brodeur. Even though they are on a mid-season slump, they still have the talent to take the Cup back to Jersey.

Brian Boucher has emerged as the best goalie in the NHL this season.

Hansen: Fact. For sure, the guys on the damn Coyotes, and look at his numbers this year! I think he’s like tied for second in shutouts, and they were all in a row. No question, he’s going to be a force.

Da H Train24: Fiction– ARE YOU SERIOUS!!! He has played 15 games. He is 6-3-5 in those games. He may have been the best story for a while but this guy wasn’t even listed as his teams #1 goalie at the beginning of the season! Brodeur has already won more games than this guy has played in, need I remind you that this is the kid who got lit up every night in Philly, nice streak but best goalie? All i can say is Brodeur has more shutouts than he has wins, next question.

Phillip: I think he’ll be very good eventually. Now, without a doubt Brodeur is the best goalie in the NHL with Hasek coming in second. He just needs to keep up the solid work, but this is Fiction.

Losing Andy Pettite, Roger Clemens, and David Wells will murder the Yankees starting rotation next year.

Popsicle: Fiction– It will not MURDER their rotation because they still have a good starting rotation. Their starting rotation for next year is looking to be Mike Mussina, Kevin Brown, Jose Contreras, Jon Lieber and Javier Vazquez. This looks like a very formidable rotation (With the exception of Kevin Brown because he gets injured way too easily)

Da H Train24: Faction– You cant lose those players and be better off but im going to do something here you wont ever see me do. I’m going to argue in their favor. Their rotation will look something like this. Mussina, Brown, Vazquez, Lieber, and Contreras. That is still a great rotation. where it is going to hurt the most is if one of them goes down with an injury. Kevin Brown is not only the best pitcher on their staff but he is one of the 10 best pitchers in the game. Why has he fallen off the map? He keeps gettin hurt. His record was only 14-9 last year, which is ok but not great. But if you dig a little closer it was because the Dodgers offense was down right offensive. His ERA was 2.39. If he can start the same 32 games this year as he did last year, him and Vazquez are better now than Clemens and Petitte.

Phillip: Fact. The Yankees will be lucky to make the playoffs this year. Petitte has been the Yankees crutch for the last however many years. Andy and Whitey Ford are the two greatest left-handed pitchers in the illustrious history of the Yankees. Clemens was the Yankees intimidator. He won many big games for the Yanks and it’s a tremendous loss. I think the Red Sox will WIN the division and the Yankees will be struggling to get a wildcard place in the playoffs with the powerful division in the American League West (Angels, Athletics, and Mariners).

Pete Rose should be allowed in the Hall of Fame despite controversy.

Popsicle: This is hard too… He deserves to be in because of his stats but that bullshit he pulled (admitting that he lied just because his Hall of Fame eligibilty was going to be up) might keep him out of it… I’m gonna go Fiction because I hate the guy.

Da H Train24: Fact– Pete Rose should be allowed in because being a a good person isnt a requirement. Mickey Mantle was a mean drunk, Ty Cobb may have been a murderer. How many chances has Daryl Strawberry or Steve Howe been given to come back to baseball and they are drug addicts. Pete Rose is what, a liar? He has more hits than anyone, ever. And he played the game with things you don’t see too much anymore. Heart and passion. I love Pete Rose the player… I can’t judge Pete Rose the man because I don’t know him.

Phillip: Pete Rose definitely should be in the Hall of Fame, and this is a Fact. No one has more hits than he does. The closest active player is Ricky Henderson. You gotta like Ricky Henderson, but he needs 1000+ hits to break Pete’s record. There are drunks, rapists, and murderers in the Hall of Fame. Pete lied about gambling so he could continue be around the thing he loved most — Baseball.

Thanks for reading this column. I hope you enjoyed reading, because we enjoyed doing it.