Before the Phillies won the World Series last October, Philadelphia had 25 well-documented years of futility. Throughout that time, each of the four major teams had their share of ups, downs, and near-miss heartbreak.

In the last 25 years, however, the only team that gave it all and went for broke each and every season was the Flyers, and this year is no different. Whether it was trading for Eric Lindros, or bringing in Peter Forsberg and Derian Hatcher, or adding Danny Briere, Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell in the same offseason, the Flyers always have a “win now” approach, and adding Chris Pronger to the defense definitely says the Flyers are trying to win it all this year.

All season, the Flyers could score goals in bunches, but stopping the puck from finding the back of the net was a problem. Part of that dilemma was that Martin Biron lacked the fundamentals necessary to be a consistent goalie (I promise a future column completely ripping on fired goaltender coach Reggie Lemelin), and part of the problem was a defense that lacked a powerful, front-of-the-net defenseman.

Pronger, despite his advanced age of 34, steps in as the Flyers best defensemen. Timonen is still the best open-ice defensemen, but in front of the net, and especially on the penalty kill, there’s no one better than Pronger at clearing out some room for the goaltender to see what’s coming.

More importantly, how many times last season did a rebound end up in the back of the net because our defensemen didn’t move whoever set up camp in front of the goalie? This year, when guys like Evgeni Malkin and others try to make their home in front of the crease, Pronger will be there to make them pay for it. And hopefully some of that work effort and gritty play will rub off on Braydon Coburn, who regressed last year. With the right teaching and motivation, Coburn could be the next Chris Pronger.

Switching sports, the day before the Flyers went all-in by essentially trading a 25-goal scorer and three first-round picks for Pronger, the Sixers told their fan base that the 2009-10 season will not be championship season.

I honestly don’t think there was any player in the NBA draft who could lift the Sixers to greatness, but picking Jrue Holiday over Ty Lawson says that the Sixers are packing it in before the season even starts. But, as someone pointed out to me, with the Cavaliers getting Shaquille O’Neal, and the Magic trading for Vince Carter, can you really blame the Sixers for not thinking that this is going to be their year?

Looking at Holiday, he could be an amazing talent in a few years, but if the Sixers, who have made the playoffs a stunning two seasons in a row, wanted to compete this year, Lawson should have been the pick.

Lawson averaged more than 16 points and six assists per game while leading North Carolina to the National Championship. In comparison, Holiday played one season at UCLA, and averaged eight points and three assists per game, all while not even playing point guard because Darren Collison was better than him. By the way, Lawson shot 47 percent from three point range, while Holiday shot 31 percent. Couldn’t the Sixers have used a guy who can actually shoot the ball?

This pick is the exact reason why first round picks are merely add-ons in cost-saving trades in the NBA. Too many teams try for a home run with an over-hyped, flashy player who turns out to be worthless, instead of a player that they know will contribute.

Instead of picking Lawson, who will be a solid point guard in the NBA and could immediately help the Sixers this season at the point and from beyond the arc, they went with Holiday, who couldn’t even start at point guard for his college team, all because after a few years of experience and nurturing in the NBA, he MIGHT turn into a top point guard. Or he might be worthless like more than half of the first round picks this decade (I looked back, and found numerous first rounders who are averaging just 10 points per game for their careers).

Since the Flyers last raised it, 33 teams have gotten their hands on Lord Stanley’s Cup, but with Pronger and a little maturity from Jeff Carter, Mike Richards and the rest of the party bunch, this year could be the Flyers’ year. In contrast, it has been 26 years since the Sixers triumphantly held up the NBA title, and drafting Jrue Holiday means that the coming season definitely will be year number 27.

After dropping six straight games, and eight of their last nine home games, the Phillies are only better than the lowly Washington Nationals when playing at home.

This homestand did not have to be one of the worst in franchise history, but without a healthy Brad Lidge coming out of the bullpen in the ninth inning, the Phillies watched three games slip out of the hands Lidge’s temporary replacement, Ryan Madson.

In a stretch of five games, Madson pitched three times, and each time, the Phillies were worse off than when they started the inning.

I don’t know why I am so surprised that Madson isn’t thriving in the closer role. I guess the fan in me only looked at his recent performance as the Phillies’ dominating setup man.

I even ignored the fact that I wrote this before World Series Game 5, part II last year: “On the mound, I would start with J.C. Romero against the Rays’ 6-7-8 hitters. Then bring in Ryan Madson in the 8th. I want no part of Madson starting a game, regardless of what inning the scoreboard says it is.” Madson promptly gave up the tying run, and if not for Chase Utley’s amazing throw home, he would have given up the go-ahead run as well.

While Madson has been great in the eighth inning since taking over for the injured Tom Gordon midseason last year, he is a player who has failed each time the Phillies gave him any chance to be “The Man.”

Throughout his time in the minor leagues, Madson was a highly touted prospect as a starting pitcher, but found himself in a middle relief role in 2004. That year, he was given a chance to make an emergency start, but gave up three homers to the Chicago White Sox and was mercifully yanked from the game after recording just two outs, while surrendering six runs.

Then, after a year and a half in obscurity as a middle reliever, Madson made 17 starts in 2006. I remember being excited that he was finally getting a chance in the rotation, and while he pitched effectively at times, giving up two runs or less in six of those starts, he also gave up five runs or more in seven of those starts, and was sent back to the bullpen.

Since the middle of last season, Madson had been one of the best setup relievers in the league, but he always knew that Lidge was there to come in when the game was on the line.

Now, in the closer role, the pitcher who gave up runs in just three of his first 33 appearances, has given up runs in each of his last three outings, all losses by the Phillies.

Everyone knows that the ninth inning is like an entirely different ballgame compared to any of the other eight innings, and Madson doesn’t have the mental toughness to cut it in the ninth.

Not every reliever has the ability to go from pitching the seventh or eighth inning to being the last guy on the mound. Some pitchers love the spotlight. Those pitchers - starters and closers - love knowing that the game is in their hands. Starters want the ball every fifth day and go out to the mound confident that they are going to win the game.

Closers love having 45,000 people on their feet when the bullpen door opens, and they know that there is no one else warming up to take their place. Win or lose, the game ends with the closer (except when it goes to extra innings after a blown save), and closers love knowing that the outcome is in their hands.

Madson has always had the talent to be a top starter or a top closer, but he isn’t able to go out there each day with the fire and determination necessary to succeed when the game is on the line. Luckily, Lidge is coming back to the Phillies after a stint on the disabled list, and hopefully his knee is healthy.

I just hope that the last two weeks of Madson closing out games didn’t mess with his fragile psyche, and, for the rest of the season, he can go back to dominating the eighth inning as part of the “Bridge to Lidge.”

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Like the “On the Edge” blog? Hear more of my opinions about Philadelphia sports every Friday at 3:30 p.m. on WBCB 1490 AM during the Coffee with Kahuna show. This week, we’ll talk about the Sixers’ draft moves, and why the Phillies can’t seem to win a game with us cheering for them.

I’m sure everyone was as shocked as I was to hear that the Eagles essentially gave away more than $5 million to a player already under contract, without gaining any extra years of commitment.

After an offseason of begging and pleading with the Eagles to find him legitimate weapons on offense, Donovan McNabb now has a little more security and peace of mind about his final two years under contract with the Eagles.

A few months ago, the Phillies essentially made the same goodwill gesture to Cole Hamels and Ryan Howard, locking in those two superstars for the remainder of their arbitration years. The Phillies just wanted to be done with the annual monetary battle that they would have with Hamels and Howard.

In the Eagles’ case, they bring McNabb into the upper echelon of quarterbacks in terms of annual salary, and they no longer have to answer the question of who will be under center until 2011 at the earliest. When 2011 comes around, if McNabb is still among the top quarterbacks in the league, the front office could always slap the franchise tag on him or work on a contract extension to keep him in Eagle-green for the rest of his career.

When news of this extension came out, I was quite surprised to hear the reactions from a lot of the “talk radio” fans.

From what I observed, there wasn’t a lot of anger toward it like we would have seen two years ago, or even in November. Maybe this is a sign that McNabb might finally be appreciated for carrying this team for the last decade. Or maybe it is a sign that the die-hard fans are not looking forward to the Kevin Kolb era, as he has thrown two touchdown passes in his career, and neither player – Ed Reed and Brandon McDonald – was wearing green at the time.

Honestly, I would probably only take a healthy Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, and Drew Brees over McNabb for one season. Granted, I would take young guys like Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, or Jay Cutler in a straight-up trade for McNabb to help secure the future of the quarterback position on the Eagles, but in 2009, McNabb is one of only a handful of quarterbacks who could give any team a legitimate chance to win the Super Bowl.

I know that I am in the minority on this, but I wouldn’t trade McNabb for Peyton Manning taking into account how many times Manning has choked in the playoffs, despite having more talent on offense than McNabb ever has had.

My second thought when I heard about this reworked deal was that the Eagles know that McNabb has a lot left in the tank, because they are very quick and deliberate in letting go of players who are past their prime. And, most importantly, the Eagles are almost always right in this regard. Fans may not like who the Eagles bring in, but there are rarely regrets after sending someone packing.

Thinking back over the Andy Reid era, the only starter that was let go by the Eagles who went on to play at a high level was defensive end Derrick Burgess, who has registered 38.5 sacks in the four seasons since signing with the Oakland Raiders. The other star players – Troy Vincent, Duce Staley, Bobby Taylor, Hugh Douglas (twice), Jeremiah Trotter (twice) – did almost nothing in the NFL after being told they were too old to be on the Eagles.

To me, this means that the Birds have faith in McNabb to put up big numbers on a team that has two new offensive tackles, a new speedy wide receiver and two new compliments to Brian Westbrook in the backfield.In an offseason where several aging veterans – Brian Dawkins, Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan – were sent packing, the Eagles made sure that the last of their leaders from the start of the Andy Reid era has their full support. With the potential salary cap consequences of cutting McNabb at any point in the next two seasons, the Eagles are essentially putting their money where their mouth is when they say how important McNabb is to the Eagles’ success.

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Like the “On the Edge” blog? Hear more of my opinions about Philadelphia sports every Friday at 3:30 p.m. on WBCB 1490 AM during the Coffee with Kahuna show.

It wouldn’t be Phillies baseball if pitching concerns weren’t the topic on everyone’s lips.

The Phillies bullpen, which struggled at the beginning of the season, appears on the verge of returning to its dominant form from 2008.

After a very shaky “Heathcliff Slocumb-esque” start to the season, Brad Lidge is finally looking healthy and trusting his fastball, allowing only two baserunners in his last five save chances.

In addition to Lidge’s revival, J.C. Romero returns to the bullpen this week, providing the Phillies with a desperately needed situational lefty that actually can get hitters out. Combine Lidge and Romero with Ryan Madson, Scott Eyre, Clay Condrey and Chan Ho Park (in his correct role as a middle reliever), and the Phillies once again are primed to turn games into six-inning affairs.

With innings seven through nine well accounted for, the Phillies find themselves in a strange situation regarding the hurlers of the first six innings. Just as Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton find themselves breaking out of their early season slumps, Brett Myers’ hip injury puts the Phillies in a very unenviable position.

With Park having flamed out as a starter, the Phillies already used their first rotation insurance policy by moving J.A. Happ out of the bullpen, which means Myers’ replacement had to come from someone outside of the 25-man roster.

Luckily for the Phillies, the farm system has not been depleted of talent in the typical “trade three top prospects for a below average and overpaid starting pitcher” way that peppered the Ed Wade era.Getting first crack at the job is 23-year-old Antonio Bastardo, who better be awesome, because with a name like that, he might wind up on the receiving end of the most profanity-filled taunts in Philadelphia history.

Bastardo, a young fireballer from the Dominican Republic, tore up the minors, posting ERAs of 2.14, 2.95, and 1.90 in the last three seasons, while receiving midseason promotions each year, including a move from Reading to Lehigh Valley in May.

While Bastardo’s ERAs have been impressive, and his strikeouts have always been above one batter per inning, the reason he is getting the call is that his walks are way down this season. Bastardo has finally gained command of all of his pitches, walking just 10 batters in 47 innings of work. The previous two seasons, he was averaging more than four walks per nine innings, but this season, he has cut that number in half.

If Bastardo isn’t getting the job done after the first few starts, the Phillies could bring up either Kyle Kendrick, who still can’t control his new changeup, or Carlos Carrasco, who is winless in nine starts with the Iron Pigs.

While neither of those options seem ideal at the moment, the final internal option for the Phillies is 2006 first round pick Kyle Drabek, who was just promoted to Reading. Drabek is raw and missed a season due to Tommy John surgery, but could be a surprise candidate to make the jump to the majors. The hard-throwing Drabek has a 2.91 ERA in nine games with Clearwater, and struck out 67 batters in 52 innings.

While it would be great to see Bastardo thrive in the rotation, the odds of that happening as a rookie are small, which means that by mid-June, the Phillies could be on the phone searching for a retread to round out the rotation.

The Phillies don’t have enough talent in the upper levels of the minor leagues to get someone like Jake Peavy from the Padres, but with some creativity, they could get Roy Oswalt from Astros. The only problem with either Peavy or Oswalt is that Shane Victorino and either Drabek or Bastardo would be the main pieces of any trade package, and I don’t believe that the Phillies are ready to part with the Flyin’ Hawaiian just yet. They might consider moving Victorino next year when Michael Taylor or Dominic Brown are closer to the majors, but not yet.

Honestly, I think that Bastardo will have his rookie bumps, but will ultimately do well in the rotation, and combined with Happ, the Phillies will have two solid young starters developing behind Cole Hamels for the future.

Of course, knowing the Phillies, next week, I could be right back here complaining about how they didn’t give Bastardo a legitimate opportunity, while groaning over the fact that Jason Marquis, Brad Penny, or Jarrod Washburn is wearing red pinstripes.

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Like the “On the Edge” blog? Hear more of my opinions about Philadelphia sports every Friday at 3:30 p.m. on WBCB 1490 AM during the Coffee with Kahuna show, where this week, we’ll talk about Brad Lidge’s sudden return to form, and how the starting rotation is coping without Myers.

If you have been paying attention for the last two years, you will notice that I have not written a single column about the NBA. It’s not because there haven’t been potential topics to write about, it’s because the league generally bores me more than any other professional sport.

I love playing basketball, and I am a die-hard Maryland Terrapins college basketball fan, but there is something about the NBA that makes me change the channel.

When I was younger, I used to love the Sixers, and lived and died with every blown lottery pick. I didn’t care that Philly kept choosing worthless stiffs like Sharone Wright or Shawn Bradley, I liked watching professional basketball.But then came the 1999 playoffs.

With the knowledge that Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were not going to win the NBA title, I was more excited than ever for the 1998-99 season. However, that season was a display of some of the worst basketball I had ever seen in my life.

Somehow, Jordan retired and everyone forgot how to score!

In the finals that year, the San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks in five games, neither team managed to top 100 points in the series. In fact, the losing team didn’t even break 80 points in three of the five games, and neither team reached 80 points in the deciding game of the series!

I was so disgusted with the league that I really just stopped watching. I wasn’t even that interested when Allen Iverson was leading the Sixers on an improbable run to the NBA finals in 2001.

Maybe it is because the Flyers bowed out early from the NHL playoffs, or the fact that the Phillies are defending—instead of chasing—the World Series trophy, but for the first time in a decade, I am actually watching the NBA playoffs. And I could not have picked a better time to come back into the fold.

While watching TV, I randomly flipped to game two of the first round series between Boston and Chicago, and I haven’t been able to look away since. Boston was playing without superstar Kevin Garnett, and the Bulls were playing with a bunch of future superstars, including Ben Gordon and rookie point guard Derrick Rose.

With Ray Allen and Ben Gordon exchanging clutch shots back and forth, and Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose showing that they are destined to become the best point guards in the league, I was hooked for the rest of that spectacular series, which included seven overtime periods.

Now, in the conference finals, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant are slugging it out for the right to play for the NBA title. These are four of the best players in the game, and they are coming up as clutch as possible when it matters most.

Between the Magic battling back from a 15-point halftime deficit to win game one, and James’ game-winning buzzer-beating fadeaway three-pointer in game two, the Eastern Conference Finals has drama and intrigue written all over it. Over in the Western Conference, Bryant and Anthony are exchanging 30-point nights as Denver and L.A. are playing one of the roughest, yet highest scoring playoffs series in recent memory.

Don’t get me wrong, I still wish that traveling was called every so often, and that referees actually watched the play unfold before assuming that a foul occurred, and that NBA Commissioner David Stern wasn’t the cockiest and most oblivious person on the planet, but I’m not ashamed to admit that the last six weeks of basketball has turned me back into a fan.

Of course, now that the NBA has finally gotten my attention, the finals are bound to be a boring sweep.

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Like the “On the Edge” blog? Hear more of my opinions about Philadelphia sports every Friday at 3:30 p.m. on WBCB 1490 AM during the Coffee with Kahuna show.

I want to start out by writing that I wish Jim Johnson the best in his battle against cancer, but because this is a sports column (and I get queasy just by talking about medical issues), I’m going to focus on the football side of Johnson’s indefinite leave of absence from the Eagles.

As productive as this offseason has been for the Eagles, the one part of the team that has been largely neglected is the defense. The Eagles have upgraded their offense with the additions of Jason Peters, Stacey Andrews, Leonard Weaver, Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy and Cornelius Ingram, but other than the draft day trade for Ellis Hobbs, the defense has gone mostly ignored.

Now with the defensive coordinator on an indefinite leave, the worst case scenario for the third-ranked unit from last season is unfolding.

Despite the very lofty ranking in 2008, the Eagles’ defense is mostly devoid of difference-making talent in the front seven. The unit only succeeded in registering 48 sacks, 15 interceptions and 22 forced fumbles because of Johnson’s creativity and a talented secondary that knew how to cover for an underwhelming group of linemen and linebackers.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, neither of those two keys to the defense’s success will be at the organized team activities this week, which could spell doom for the 2009 season.

Because of the talent level on defense, the Eagles already would have had an uphill battle repeating the success of 2008, and that was before the loss of Dawkins, and the contract dispute involving Sheldon Brown, but what happens if Johnson’s leave of absence extends into training camp and the regular season?

Looking at the personnel on the roster, which player in the front seven can take over a game or strike fear into the heart of an offensive coordinator if the secondary is sub-par and Johnson isn’t coming up with brilliant schemes from week to week? The answer is none of them, with Trent Cole having the ability to cause minor indigestion, but certainly not fear. The front seven is full of solid players that were able to excel as a unit only because Johnson had the ability to get the most out of them. He had the ability to devise a scheme that played to their strengths and almost always put them in position to make a play.

While Dawkins’ departure for Denver is not a huge loss in terms of Xs and Os, he did call out the assignments for the secondary, and was the emotional leader on the sidelines. When he signed with the Broncos, I didn’t think the loss would be that devastating, but that was when Sheldon Brown was happy and Johnson wasn’t expected to miss any time.

If Johnson isn’t healthy enough to coach during the season, how far will the defense fall in 2009, and more importantly, who will step up and lead the group onto the field when a big stop is needed?

Right now, the longest tenured players on defense are guys like Quentin Mikell, Trent Cole and Mike Patterson. Are these guys ready to become vocal leaders and make sure the offense gets the ball back in its hands to win the game?

What about Stewart Bradley and the rest of the young linebackers? What will happen to their growth process if they are suddenly forced to be playmakers and don’t have the comfort of Johnson’s schemes to protect their shortcomings?

It’s only May, but the third-ranked defense from 2008 already has a lot of question marks. I guess it’s a good thing that the offense received some serious upgrades because the Eagles will be engaged in quite a few USFL-style shootouts in 2009.

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Like the “On the Edge” blog? Hear more of my opinions about Philadelphia sports every Friday at 3:30 p.m. on WBCB 1490 AM during the Coffee with Kahuna show.

What is it with New York players trying to be like Jimmy Rollins?

It seems like New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs is taking a page out of Carlos Beltran’s and Francisco Rodriguez’s books. Those two New York Mets made Rollins-esque predictions the last two offseasons—Beltran was wrong in 2008, and K-Rod will be wrong in 2009—and now Jacobs is predicting 13 wins for his team in 2009.

J-Roll was dead on about his Phillies being the team to beat in the National League East in 2007, and then again in 2008 when he predicted 100 wins for our Fightins.

So for those keeping score, Rollins has been right twice, Beltran has been wrong once, and we have two predictions coming from New York players that are incomplete.

I’ve written before that K-Rod will be wrong about his “team to beat” prediction, and I’m sure I will address it again later this season, but what about Jacobs’ very optimistic prediction?

For starters, the Giants did finish 12-4 last year, so Jacobs is really only predicting one extra win in 2009, which means that on the surface, he’s not making a completely outlandish claim.

When we delve a little deeper into his premonition though, Jacobs is probably three games off, as his Giants are, at best, a 10-6 team, which would leave the NFC East wide open for the Eagles and the always-awesome-from-September-through Thanksgiving Dallas Cowboys.

So why do I take a far different view than the 1,000-yard rusher? Simply put, the Giants lost two very key pieces from last year’s team, and neither were adequately replaced.

Starting with the obvious offseason loss, the Giants finally cut loose star wide receiver and terrible marksman Plaxico Burress.In 2008, Burress missed a total of seven games, including a 23-11 loss in the playoffs to the Eagles. The Giants won just three of those seven games, and in the process, Eli Manning tossed just five touchdowns and five interceptions, struggling to move the ball, as he had zero 200-yard passing days in December or January.

Without Burress, Manning loses his top red zone target, and the man who draws double coverage and extra eyes on most plays, leaving him with Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon and Hakeem Nicks as his only targets.

While losing Burress is a big blow to Manning and the passing game, the move that I think will really hurt the Giants this year is not re-signing Derrick Ward.

Going into the offseason, I would have guessed that if Burress wasn’t coming back, the Giants would have done everything possible to maintain their top-notch rushing attack, but they chose to let a 228-pound, 1,000-yard rusher walk away.

In addition to rushing for 1,028 yards in 2008, Ward played the role of keeping Jacobs fresh and filling in for the bruising back when his annual injury occurs, but Ward’s most important role was catching passes out of the backfield. With 41 catches and 384 yards in 2008, Ward was more productive in the passing game than Jacobs has been in his entire four-year career.

As an Eagles fan, I know the importance of having a guy who can catch passes out of the backfield, and it is even more important when the wide receivers only require single coverage. Without Burress, defenses were already going to play closer to the line of scrimmage against the Giants, and now without Ward, Manning won’t have his go-to-guy out of the backfield to pick up positive yardage when the pressure comes.

Heading into this season, Giants fans better hope that rookie Hakeem Nicks is an immediate Pro Bowl wideout, or else Manning will be the below average quarterback that we saw in December and January, and he won’t even have his safety valve in Ward out of the backfield. That means the New York offense will be riddled with stalled drives and field goal attempts instead of touchdowns, and even more of the load will be placed on the oft-injured Jacobs.

Of course, I predicted the Giants would go 8-8 last season, and they still could trade for Braylon Edwards or Anquan Boldin, so maybe Jacobs is on to something. But then again, Edwards and Boldin don’t look like they are going anywhere, so unless Osi Umenyiora comes back from his knee injury and catches touchdown passes, Jacobs will be eating his words, just like Beltran did.

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Like the “On the Edge” blog? Hear more of my opinions about Philadelphia sports every Friday at 3:30 p.m. on WBCB 1490 AM during the Coffee with Kahuna show, where this week we will discuss what is wrong with Jimmy Rollins, along with some NBA and NHL playoff talk.