Eagles Training Camp: 11 vs. 11 Drills

Went to Eagles Training Camp yesterday and it was the first time fans got to the see Chip Kelly's offense. Overall I think that the offense is going to be fun to watch. Based on what we saw yesterday the offense is based on speed and match ups. Its going to be a fun and frustrating year.

First look at this years Eagles

Today we headed up to see Chip Kelly's Eagles first hand and there were a couple of things that stood out.

Here are some quick thoughts:
1. The tempo of training camp is incredible. So fast.
2. It's all about match ups. Shady lining up in the slot. DJ10 in the slot. Both Brown and McCoy in the game at the same time. Flexed out tight ends. You name it Chip is thinking of it.
3. A QB doesn't make a move without Kelly seeing it. Kelly watches the qbs like a hawk.

More to come to tomorrow.

Prospects Plus: Carlos Tocci

NAME: Carlos Tocci
POSITION: Outfielder
TEAM: Lakewood BlueClaws
PROSPECT STATUS: Tenth ranked prospect in Phillies organization.
FRIDAY VS. GREENVILLE: 1 for 4 with a run scored.

POSITIVES:  I've waited for a couple of months before I decided to run the rule over Tocci. I've watched him a bunch of times and have come away impressed each time. Tocci should be either finishing up his junior or senior year of high school right now.  He has more advanced baseball instincts than any high school player in the 2013 draft.  He may not be as physically mature as his counterparts, but he is still younger than most draftees, and with a year of full season ball. Tocci is a plus plus runner, it allows him to cover large amounts of ground in CF. Last year, Tocci signed one of the largest deals the Phillies have ever given to an international player, a reported $750,000. Scouts have projected Tocci as a five-tool player with a real emphasis on his speed. His upside is there and it shows, every time I've seen him he has improved.

NEGATIVES: At times Tocci seems to be a little over matched at the plate, that could be a product of his youth and lack of strength. One of the biggest concerns that I have is does Tocci confidence struggle if he struggles at the plate.

The Land of Terrible Football Players

The Canadian Football League is a lot of fun to watch, but just looking down the rosters its like a list of players that had trouble playing in college or had their own personal troubles. Players like Jonathan Crompton, yes the same player that could not lead the Tennessee Volunteers are collecting paychecks. 

Here is a list of some of the terrible players in the league to our north:

• Brian Brohm, QB, Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Once watched him get chewed out by his brother when he was at Louisville.
• Noel Devine, RB, Montreal: yes the same West Virginia running back that used to a huge weapon in Morgantown.
• Pat Watkins, CB, Toranto: the former Florida State cornerback has found a home in Canada. I wonder why he was not a player in the NFL.
• Bo Levi Mitchell, QB, Calgary: The former 1-AA National Championship QB has found a home in Canada. I love looking at these rosters it like a trip down memory lane. 
• Jonathan Crompton, QB, Edmonton: need a I say more. 
• Tino Sunseri, QB, Saskatchewan: Wow just when you thought that it could not be worst in CFL, the name Tino Sunseri pops up. You can make the argument that Tino was a terrible QB at Pitt and to see him getting paid to play, is just unthinkable.

Maybe my son has too many Eagles jerseys

My three year old has a vast collection of Philadelphia Eagles jerseys already maybe people need to stop buying them for him.

It's finally mine

It may have taken 10 days but NCAA Football is finally mine. Thank god. Love it so far.

The new Billionaires Derby: PSG vs. Monaco

Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Barcelona move over cause your money means nothing any more. Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain enter French football arms race as they chase Champions League. The two French clubs are selling out $90 millions for players left and right. From Falcao to Cavani, no player is too expense for these two clubs. For the season to come, football fans will be watching France to see if these team gel and see if they become global force that they hope to.

Prospects Plus: Lewis Brinson

NAME: Lewis Brinson
POSITION: Outfielder
TEAM: Hickory Crawdads
PROSPECT STATUS: 12th ranked prospect in Rangers system.
FRIDAY VS. LAKEWOOD: 0-3

POSITIVES: The Rangers picked Brinson in the first round of 2012 MLB Draft and talked him out of a scholarship to the University of Florida by giving him a $1.625 million bonus. A scouting report from ESPN.com Keith Law on the improvements that Brinson made during the Arizona Fall League: "I was blown away by the changes Lewis Brinson made to his swing over the summer, setting up his hands a little lower and further back while shortening his stride, significantly improving his bat speed through the zone without any loss of power." These comments show that Brinson is able to make changes to make himself a better player." 

Brinson is a long, lean player with excellent range and a strong arm in the outfield. At this point, defense is undoubtedly his strength, and he could reasonably project to play all three outfield positions at an above-average level down the road. Offensively, Brinson has solid power that could develop into a plus tool as he gets stronger. During the game on Friday night, he made an outstanding diving catch showing his ability to cover large amounts of ground. He also showed off a good arm on a couple of throws.

NEGATIVES: The big question is and always has been his ability to make consistent contact. Improving his contact rates and strike zone judgment are going to be the keys to getting him to the major leagues. On Friday he strike out a couple of times and showed why he is still considered a long term prospect. There’s no doubt that Brinson’s a boom-or-bust prospect. He’s got an ultra-high ceiling, but there’s also a very real possibility that he fizzles in double-A if he can’t corral his strikeouts.

Prospects Plus: Severnio Gonzalez

NAME: Severino Gonzalez
POSITION: right-handed pitcher
TEAM: Lakewood BlueClaws
PROSPECT STATUS: not ranked by Baseball America in the Phillies top 30 prospect list
STATS VS. HICKORY FRIDAY NIGHT: six innings pitched, three hits allowed, two walks, 11 strikeouts and zero runs allowed.

POSITIVES:  Totally overpowered hitters during his six innings of works. The prospect rich Crawdads could do nothing with him. Gonzalez sat between 87-90 miles per hour on his fast ball, while showing a variety of off speed pitches. Gonzalez has shown a great ability to pound the strike zone. Some have said that he is a right hand version of Phillies top prospect Jesse Biddle. In four starts for the Blueclaws Gonzalez has strike out 31 hitters in 21 innings. During that time he has allowed 10 hits and four earned runs.

NEGATIVES: While having good stuff, Gonzalez does not have that overpowering fastball that you would like to see. In his three four starts in Lakewood, Gonzalez has little to show the need for a plus fastball.

Prospects Plus: Your Future Game Primer

One of my favorite events is baseball is just about here. Sunday is the MLB Future game and here is a preview of the event. OTWT will be posting a notebook late Sunday night.

Happy Fourth of July.

Rocking my Landon Donovan shirt as a way of honoring the Fourth of July.

The ball is here, so the EPL season is near

NHL Draft Notebook

Here are some thoughts on the recently completed NHL Draft.

1. The Devils know how to make an impact when they are hosting. Wow never say that coming. 

2. If you have a top defenseman available you have to take him, they are harder to find than forwards so Avalanche fans beware on passing on Jones. 

3. How good a junior team was the Halifax Moosehead, very few teams could match up with the that team.

4. Is it me that its weird to be watching the draft late on Sunday after, the last affect of the lockout. 

5. By the way the Dallas Stars new logo is as bad as it gets. That is what happens when you have a team in Dallas.

6. The so Flyers finally get their defenseman. I think that I might pass out after hearing they drafted a d-man in the first round. Don't worry they will probably trade him before he makes it to the NHL. 

7.This tweet sums up how the Flyers have to handle its newest defenseman: "@TheOrangeNBlack: The key to Morin? Patience. Hopefully the Flyers have learned their lesson and let him develop. Will be a player in time."

8. You start to get to the middle of the first round and the estimated arrival time for these players goes from 13-14 to 15-16 to 16-17. That means that most of these kids are projects and need times. 

9. I think that I might fall over, the Flyers used their first two picks on defensemen. 

Sometimes recruiting experts are wrong

In 2003, high school quarterbacks Anthony Morelli and Chad Henne where the talk of football recruiters. Fast forward a decade later and it's laughable that these two where the top of any list. Shows how many misses there are in recruiting.

Professinal Tailgating: I go to too many games

It's one thing to be a Level 1 badge on Foursquare, its another to be a Level 6. Being a Level 6 basically means that you are nut job. So last week during the travels, I became a Level 6 ESPN Foam Finger. Over the years, I've been to numerous Eagles, Rutgers, Phillies, Nationals, and BlueClaws games and my Foursquare check ins show that.

The badge is given for badge given for people who follow ESPN and then check in at sporting venues around the country. To break this down, it means that I may go to too many games. Maybe I should slow down.

Professional Tailgating: All Rain Game

Last night, I headed to the South Atlantic League All Star Game and boy was I disappointed. Got there at 7 and left at 830 because the game was delayed by rain. So here are some rain photos of a fun night in Lakewood.

Professional Tailgating: One Down One To Go

Last night, I headed to Citizens Bank Park to see my Nationals drop a heart breaker to the Phillies. But on the bright side it was dollar dog night and I saw a big running around the outfield. 

Two days of baseball fun

Nationals at Phillies tonight. South Atlantic League All Star Game in Lakewood tomorrow night. Not a bad two days of baseball.

More meaningless soccer games?

With club league games, club domestic cup games, club European games, international friendlies, international qualifiers; a soccer players season can be a little long. Now clubs are looking at taking their teams on tour after the season, how much is too much. Now Rupert Murdoch wants global summer football tournament. This could only be a bad thing, players need time to rest and right now that time is really limited. So please no.

Prospects Plus: Did the Nationals get first round value in Ward

The Nationals theory of drafting high upside players was shown again in the third round of this years draft. In the third round, the Nationals drafted Oklahoma high school third baseman Drew Ward. So what, you say.

Up until a month ago, many thought that Ward would be a member of the 2014 draft. But that all changed after Drew, who is committed to Oklahoma, graduated early from high school and petitioned to be part of this years draft. After MLB ruled in favor of the Drew, many scouts scurried to see what he was about. 

According to Baseball America,  Ward has a big, strong frame and has a sweet swing from the left side. He plays shortstop for his high school, but fits best at a corner position because of his below-average speed.

Many in the scouting community, had Ward pegged as a 2014 first rounder. The Bleacher Report pegged him as the 13th overall pick to the Padres in a really early mock 2014 draft. 

While the season may not be going as planned, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo always takes the player with the best upside and it looks like he may have gotten a future first rounder for the prices of the third rounder. Now that is good business.

Is Porto really the best run club in Europe

They win trophies, they make a profit on most transfers. Could Porto be the best run club in Europe. You really can make that point and the people at Smash Report make that exact point . 

"The method is very simple to follow,'' the story says. "They scout young talent, sign them at a good reasonable price, develop them and finally sell them at a huge sum of amount. It more like seems an easy procedure but has a lot of problems which can go against their favor as well."

Who could lie with them. Besides making a profit with the selling of players the Portuguese power have also made 15 million euros by letting managers move on. They are printing money and trophies. 

Prospects Plus: West Virginia's Stetson Allie

Name: Stetson Allie
Position: First Baseman
Team: West Virginia
Prospects Status: Unranked in Baseball American list of top prospects in the Pirates organization. Was listed as ninth best in 2012, when he pitched.
Stats vs. Lakewood on Friday night: 1 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBIs

Positives: Big strong powerful looking player. At six foot two inches and a 220 pounds, Allie looks more like a linebacker than a first baseman. During the game he an approximately 430 foot home run to center field. Last year, Allie was a pitcher last year but struggled with control and the moved to first base.

Negative: Allie was a huge bonus baby coming out of high school. The Pirates signed him for $2.25 bonus to keep him from his commitment from North Carolina. He has raw power but still learning to be a professional hitter. He is a couple of years away.

Prospects Plus: OTWT MOCK DRAFT

It's almost time for the MLB Draft and the scouting staff at OTWT has been busy breaking down film on these propects. Here is our mock first round (hopefully, it will be better than last years):

•  1. Houston Astros: Mark Appel, P, Stanford
• 2. Chicago Cubs: Jonathan Gray, P, Oklahoma
• 3. Colorado Rockies: Colin Moran, 3B/1B, UNC
• 4. Minnesota Twins: Kohl Steward, P, Texas HS (pictured right)
• 5. Cleveland Indians: Kris Bryant, 3B, San Diego
• 6. Miami Marlins:Hunter Renfroe, OF, Mississippi State
• 7. Boston Red Sox: Clint Frazier, OF, Georgia HS
• 8. Kansas City Royals: Austin Meadows, OF, Geogria HS
• 9. Pittsburgh Pirates (M. Appel - unsigned): Braden Shipley, P, Nevada
• 10. Toronto Blue Jays: Trey Ball, P, Indina HS
• 11. New York Mets: Austin Wilson, OF, Stanford
• 12. Seattle Mariners: Dominic Smith, 1B, California HS
• 13. San Diego Padres:JP Crawford, SS, California HS
• 14. Pittsburgh Pirates: Nick Ciuffo, C, South Carolina HS
• 15. Arizona Diamondbacks:Ryne Stanek, P, Arkansas
• 16. Philadelphia Phillies:Robert Kaminsky, P, New Jersey HS
• 17. Chicago White Sox: Jonathan Denney, C, Oklahoma HS
• 18. Los Angeles Dodgers: Sean Manaea, P, Indiana State
• 19. St. Louis Cardinals: Reese McGuire, C, Washington HS
• 20. Detroit Tigers: Billy McKinney, OF, Texas HS
• 21. Tampa Bay Rays: Bobby Wahl, P, Ole Miss
• 22. Baltimore Orioles: Aaron Judge, OF, Fresno State
• 23. Texas Rangers: Ian Clarkin, P, California HS
• 24. Oakland Athletics: Jonathan Crawford, P, Florida
• 25. San Francisco Giants: Chris Anderson, P, Jacksonville

Prospects Plus: West Virginia Josh Bell

Name: Josh Bell
Position: Outfielder
Team: West Virginia Power
Prospect Status: Sixth ranked prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Former second round pick.
Stats vs. Lakewood on Friday night: 1 for 4 with two strikeouts

Positives: Bell looks the part of the a major league player. Bell stands six foot four inches call and looks like he has an amazing left handed swing. During an at bat during the game on Friday night, Bell found out approximately 10 pitches before striking out. Bell has great patience.

Negatives: Since Bell was in high school he has been under scouts scrutiny. During the 2011 draft, Bell sent out a letter to all 30 teams telling them not to draft him because he was committed to University of Texas. During the draft the Pirates drafted him in the second round and paid him $5 million to sign. That amount has always put a target on his back. There are not many negatives to his game but he is going to take time for him to develop. He is currently spending his second year in South Atlantic League, which is never good.

Prospects Plus: Going Retro Bryce Harper

Hey who is this former College of Southern Nevada star.Bryce Harper looks so young in this photo.

You don't know what got till its gone

For the last decade and a half Fox Soccer has been the voice of the Barclays Premier League in this country and that ended on Sunday. It's going to be sad not to have the EPL on FSC. While FSC has made it's mistakes over the years if it was not for them the EPL would not have the footprint that it has in this country.

I remember the days of the premier league having one match a week on pay per view I remember having to watch the games on my girl friend fathers chipped box and that was less than a decade ago. The one game that I remember from that pay per view era was the game that Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira getting into their tunnel bust up at Highbury. That seems like a lifetime ago at this point.

On the last Sunday of the season, you could watch every game that played. That just seemed like a dream 10 years ago. 

Next year the Premier League will be on NBC Sports.The plan is to show every game on a bunch of devices. So good luck to them next year, but lets not forget what FSC has done for soccer in this country and the impact that they have had on Premier League in this country. Because of them names like Rooney, Terry, Wenger, are as well known as James, Brady and Kane.

Overkill on Golden Balls

So yesterday David Beckham said goodbye to soccer. This morning I woke up and checked the beIn sports app to see what the soccer schedule was this weekend and to my surprise the first four stories where tied to Golden Balls. I'm for covering his retirement but don't you think, that is a little overkill.

Maybe Gus Johnson is not that bad; I'm just a Euro Snob

Its been three months Fox unveiled Gus Johnson as its voice of soccer and it has come with mixed reviews. Some say he is ok, while other say he is terrible. I think that I sit somewhere in the middle between disaster and good start.

Here is my question, is the issue with Gus Johnson tied to the fact that most American soccer fans are Euro Snobs and I include my self in that. Will any American voice be treated with the respect that we give people like Ian Darke or Martin Tyler. The answer is simply no. Hey look the voice of American soccer is Ian Darke, not exactly your typical American. American soccer fans don't want Dick Vitale on the call and that is exactly what Gus is doing. We like announcers to take it slow and allow the game to breath because most American soccer fans are just Euro Snobs.

I listened to Gus's call of Ben Watson 91st minute winner in the FA Cup final vs Manchester City and it was a good call. It was not your typical English call with flowing pros, it was a call full of emotion and gave you an idea of how much of an upset it was.

While Gus has some work to do, he is getting better. Maybe us Euro Snobs who love European soccer should maybe give Gus a chance.

Cover Story: Maple Leafs Collapse

The Maple Leaf looked like they where heading to the conference semi-finals and then the roof fell in and the Bruins stormed back. Today papers in Toronto are as depressing as they can be.

A drink for every game

The gang over at College Crosse has done lacrosse fans a favor and put together Drink Pairings. The pairings put together adult beverages and this weekends first round games. A must have list for any fan.

It's tourney time

After months of waiting the NCAA Lacrosse tournament is set to start. Here are our picks for the opening round of the tournament:

• Lehigh (12-4) at No. 5 North Carolina (12-3): North Carolina 
• Yale (11-4) at No. 8 Penn State (12-4):  Yale 
• Detroit (5-9) at No. 2 Notre Dame (10-4): Notre Dame
• Albany (13-4) at No. 4 Denver (12-4): Albany  
• Towson (10-7) at No. 3 Ohio State (12-3): Ohio State 
• Loyola (Md.) (11-4) at No. 7 Duke (12-5): Loyola 
• Bryant (8-10) at No. 1 Syracuse (13-3): Cuse 
• Cornell (12-3) at No. 6 Maryland (10-3): Cornell  

The Cover Story: Fergie Says Goodbye

Around England, there is only one story this morning and that is the retirement of Sir Alex as manager at Manchester United. Its not just a big in England, its huge news all over the world. Here is a sampling of the front pages from around United Kingdom.

Thank You Sir Alex

 Last night, I went to bed to thinking that Sir Alex would still be the manager of Manchester United when I woke up. These rumors have been around for years and you never thought that they were true. When I woke up this morning, the unthinkable had happened Sir Alex had announced that he was stepping down.

For the last two and a half decades, Sir Alex is the only leader that I have know. His passion for the club, his love of the game, and his energy where qualities that I respected. Fergie remembered the club history and held it close to his heart. He was not a here today, gone type of "Special One".

United was his home. He said he was going to do thing and he did them. Remember there was a time when the idea of United having more league titles than Liverpool, was some kind of sick joke. Now Liverpool are the joke.

On Sunday, Sir Alex will stand in the technical area at Old Trafford for the final time. At the end of the game he will pick  up his final medal and hold the Premier Trophy for the final time. I'm sure I will shed a tear watching from New Jersey and hopefully my 3-year old son will sit with to see the end of era.

Sunday will be the end of the era, but the end of the our club.

Prospects Plus: Charleston's Cito Culver

Name: Cito Culver
Position: Shortstop
Team: Charleston RiverDogs
Prospect Status: 28th ranked prospect in Yankees organization
Stats vs. Lakewood: 3 for 5 with a home run and 2 RBIs

Positives: Showed some good power during the game, seems to be an ok glove and showed flashes of good footwork. He is still the number one ranked prospect in the organization. Despite his struggles still has youth on his side, he is still only 20 years old, despite it being his third year of professional baseball.

Negatives: repeating low A for a second straight year. It has take the former first round draft pick a while to develop. At this point it looks like he is going to be no more than a bit player. Last year he posted the fifth lowest OPS among South Atlantic League regulars. The Yankees knew that Culver would take time but this is still behind where they expected him to be, according to the Baseball America.

Quick Thoughts NCAA Lacrosse Tournament

Here are so quick thoughts on the field of 16 for the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament.
• Surprised Syracuse Number 1 overall seed, thought it would be North Carolina.
• Seems the committee valued Penn State a national seed despite dropping CAA title game.
• How is North Carolina a 5 seed nationally despite being ranked first in both media polls. Don't get it.
• Denver/Albany sign me up now for if. First one to 20 goals wins. Glad they paired two offensive teams up like this best thing for fans.
• I know Dick Vitale is smiling somewhere when he saw Detroit vs. Notre Dame.

Propsects Plus: Charleston's Rafael DePaula

Name: Rafael DePaula
Position: starting pitcher
Team: Charleston RiverDogs
Prospect Status: 10th ranked prospects in Yankees organization
Friday Stats vs. Lakewood: 5 innings, 3 hits, zero earned, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts.

Positives: Threw a nice heavy ball, sounded like he broke a couple of bats during his stint in the game. DePaula sat between 88 and 87 most of the games, according to the stadium guns (which could be a couple of mphs slow). He seemed to top out around 91. He has a plus curve ball but does not use at much because his other stuff is so good. So far this season he has DePaula has whiffed 46 in 27.1 innings.

Negatives: Has a checkered pass including a year long suspension by Major League Baseball for using different versions of his name and age. He is your classic boom bust type of prospect. Has as much ceiling as any other prospect in the system but also is the biggest X-Factor

Professional Tailgating: The BlueClaws are not good.

It's a Friday night and it can mean only one thing for the OTWT Tailgating Crew: Lakewood BlueClaws and fireworks. Here are sites from another BlueClaws loss.

Professional Tailgating: Panoramic Views of Rutgers Stadium

Some panoramic views of Rutgers Stadium, I took during the Spring Game on Saturday.

Cover Story: New York Loves Geno

So this is a slow time in New York City sports. The city's baseball teams are not yet playing well and the NBA and NHL playoffs are still early on. Leave it to the Jets to supply the story line. Draft Geno Smith and the front pages and stories are sure to flow.

Professional Tailgating: Spring Game Fun

Yesterday the OTWT Crew headed to one of our favorite events: the Rutgers Spring Game. The event was fun and event had some controversy with supporters of former AD Tim Pernetti rallying.

2013 NFL DRAFT

Cover Story: #champions2013

The race for the Barclays Premier League title is over and the title is coming home as Manchester United cliched its 20th league title. Here is how papers in England covered it.