The Eastern University Eagles Men’s Basketball team accomplished this year what other teams were not able to achieve in school history: win 11 conference games. Thus, the Eagles were granted the chance to have a playoff game at home for the first time in seven years. The Eagles played host to the Cougars of Misericordia University. During the season, Eastern took the Cougars to overtime in their first meeting back in January in St. Davids; the Eagles pulled away with a 112-107 victory. In their second meeting in front of a rambunctious crowd in Dallas, Pennsylvania the Eagles silenced the Cougars by holding them to 24-percent shooting from beyond the arc to win convincingly, 87-64.

      On Feb. 22, Eastern and Misericordia met in St. Davids in the MAC Freedom Tournament. Although it was close at the half, the Cougars, with the top-scoring offense in the conference, pulled away to an 85-65 victory. Misericordia later went on to beat DeSales for the MAC Conference Championship.

      Meanwhile, the EU Women’s Basketball team was also in a position to make waves in the conference playoffs. For the fifth straight year, the Eagles were vying for a spot in the big dance in NCAA Division III. Eastern went on the road to face FDU-Florham in the MAC Conference Semifinals. The Eagles were considered underdogs to the top-seeded Devils. Just like the Men’s team, the Eagles kept it close to make the opposition nervous throughout. With just 40 seconds left in the game, Eastern was in striking distance to upset FDU-Florham. Then, a steal for the Devils put the game out of reach after sinking some free throws to make it a 66-60 final over the Eagles.

      Both Eastern teams have seniors that are moving on to greater heights, including five from the Men’s and one from the Women’s team. However, both teams have players that will be returning to replicate their success and take it to the next level. These Eastern Eagles have a bright future next year to build and grow together.

     The Philadelphia 76ers certainly had a January to remember. Coming off of three years in the basement of the NBA, the Sixers are showing signs that they are headed in the right direction. This past January marked their first winning month since November 2012. Since that time, the program had fallen to the basement as they finished second-to-last or dead last place all three seasons. In 2015, the Sixers hired a new General Manager named Bryan Colangelo. As someone who has ample experience in the NBA in terms of management, the Sixers made a smart move by hiring him. Since that time, the Sixers have shown great improvement. After starting 8-22 in the first two months of the season, Jan. 2017 offered a chance for the 76ers to make a statement to the rest of the NBA that they are coming back to dominate.

     Players like Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor and Robert Covington are leading the way for the Sixers. Believe it or not, the Sixers still have a chance to reach the playoffs, despite the fact that their record is still below .500. For Philadelphia to have a chance at playoff consideration, they would need to win at least 70 percent of their games between now and the end of the season.

     In my opinion, it would not hurt one bit to make a trade for someone with some height or to sign a free agent to help in their push for the playoffs. The main challenge before the 76ers to make the playoffs is to stay healthy and find opportunities for second-chance points whenever they can. In regards to their hot month in January, Joel Embiid made a statement about the playoffs: “I think we have a chance. We’ve been hot lately. We’ve won three out of four lately, so I look at it, and I think we have a chance, and we’re really figuring things out. We’re starting to learn how to win games. We’re, like, seven or eight games out of the playoffs, so we have a chance.”

     As someone from the City of Brotherly Love, I was shaking my head when I heard Embiid’s statement about his confidence in the Sixers. However, only time will tell how Philadelphia will fare for the rest of the season. The only thing the Sixers can do is to continue their winning ways throughout the rest of the season. If they do that, they will have a good chance of making the NBA playoffs.

     During the weekend of Jan. 14-15, the National Football League (NFL) hosted the second round of the playoffs, known as the Divisional Round. Eight teams from across the country battled it out as another chapter was written to determine which two teams would represent their conferences in the biggest game in the calendar year: the Super Bowl. In the first round of the playoffs, known as Wild Card Weekend, the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers of the NFC and the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans of the AFC defeated their opponents to advance to the Divisional Round. Standing in their way were four of the best teams in all of pro-football during the regular season who proved to be tests for the Wild Card game winners.

     On Saturday, Jan. 14, the first game between the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons saw the Falcons triumphant over the Seahawks, 36-20. MVP candidate Matt Ryan threw for 338 yards with three touchdowns. Devonta Freeman led the Falcons in receiving yards with 80, while Tevin Coleman had 11 carries for 57 yards. The defining moment of the game came in the second quarter when Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson got sacked in the endzone for a Falcons safety, part of a 19-point second quarter for the home team.

     The night cap featured the Houston Texans on the road to face the number one team in the AFC, the New England Patriots. Tom Brady and company were dominant from the first play as they blew out Houston, 34-16. Brady led the team with 287 yards, with Julian Edelman as his primary target that night, finishing with 137 receiving yards. These two games were an appetizer for what was to come on Sunday.

     The first game on Sunday, Jan. 15  featured the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas was led by two rookies at quarterback and running back, Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. However, Dallas soon learned a valuable lesson about the quarterback for the Packers: don’t underestimate how good Aaron Rodgers is in the clutch. With 35 seconds to go in the game, Rodgers drove the Packers to the Dallas 32-yard line in order for their kicker, Mason Crosby, to kick a field goal, which gave Green Bay a 34-31 win over the Cowboys. Rodgers racked up 356 passing yards by the end of the game.

     The night game on Sunday featured the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Over the course of the season Andy Reid, the head coach of the Chiefs, was at his most dominant after he had more time to prepare for a game (one week or more). However, that did not phase the Steelers’ game plan one bit. With kicker Chris Boswell kicking an NFL playoff record of six field goals, Pittsburgh hung on for an 18-16 victory against the Chiefs. Le’veon Bell led the Steelers with 170 rushing yards, while Ben Roethlisberger kept the Chiefs’ defense in check with 224 passing yards. The most remarkable fact about this game was that the Steelers did not need a touchdown to beat the Chiefs.

     On Sunday, Jan. 22, four teams remained to compete for conference championship titles. In the NFC, the Atlanta Falcons dominated the Green Bay Packers, finishing with a final score of 44-21. Atlanta’s Ryan threw for 392 yards and four touchdowns, and wide receiver Julio Jones collected 180 yards receiving. In the AFC Championship, the New England Patriots topped the Pittsburgh Steelers with a final score of 36-17. Brady finished the game with 384 yards passing and three touchdowns.

     On Sunday, Feb. 5 at 6:30 p.m., the Falcons and the Patriots will compete in Super Bowl LI. The game will be played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The Falcons’ first and only other Super Bowl appearance dates back to the 1998 season when they lost to the Denver Broncos. The Patriots, on the other hand, have made eight prior Super Bowl appearances, winning just half of those matches. The Falcons have a chance to collect their first Super Bowl win.

     With the experience behind the duo that is Brady and Head Coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots are favored over the Falcons. However, much of the country is standing behind Ryan and the Falcons to cheer on the underdogs.

     Sources: ESPN.com, NFL.com

     If you have grown up in the Philadelphia area  and enjoy baseball like I do, you may have looked forward to when the Philadelphia Phillies played to try to go for the W. Enjoying the Phillies may not be worthwhile right now due to the team’s recent struggles. Almost a decade ago, the Phillies were having great success, which included winning the elusive World Series title eight years ago. Success does not come easy, especially with the Phillies. With a club that has more than 10,000 career losses in franchise history, one could think that this team was not historically successful. Let me give you reasons that downplay that pessimism and actually name some accomplishments that the team achieved before their recent decline.

     The Philadelphia Phillies came into existence back in 1883. It was not a good first year for them, as they won only 17 games and lost 81. For the better part of two decades, failure seemed to overshadow the success. However, that all changed in 1911 when Grover Cleveland Alexander came to the Phillies and, with his leadership as a pitcher, the Phillies captured their first National League Pennant. They faced the Boston Red Sox that year in the World Series and lost in five games. After 1915, the Phillies would had to wait 35 years to play in the World Series again, this time facing the powerful New York Yankees who swept them in four games. The Phillies would not reach the playoffs again until the mid-‘70s. In 1976, the Phillies achieved the success that they longed for. Every year except 1979 before the turn of the decade, the Eastern Division Championship of the National League belonged to the Phillies, but the Phils failed to reach the Fall Classic all of those years. But then came 1980, the year Phillies fans had been waiting for. After a regular season where they beat out the Montreal Expos for the division title, after the Houston Astros gave Philly their all, the Phillies were back in the World Series for the first time in 30 years. But one thing was still missing: a World Series title. In six games they won their first world title. They would return to the World Series in 1983 and 1993 and lose both series. The success reached a level not felt since 1980, when Philly captured their second World Series title. Then, the drought happened, and the Phillies did not make the playoffs again until 2007.

     Then the fall happened, and here we stand. The big question that is before us is what happened to the Phillies? Well, there are three possible explanations. First, when players get older, they tend to be unreliable and take away from the team rather contributing. A great example of this was pitcher Brad Lidge, who in 2008 was perfect in save opportunities and then the following year had 11 blown saves added to his record, eventually getting traded a couple of years later. Second, the management was changing a lot, and new people had to take positions when a few of them retired. Third, a city like Philadelphia loves a winner, so when the Phillies played below .500 for the first time since 2006, manager Charlie Manuel was fired so a new face could lead the team and change the culture. As the saying goes, “Out with the old, in with the new.” With all of these factors, the Phillies are still not getting the W. Hopefully it is only a matter of time before the Phillies are back on top.

     Sources: baseball-almanac.com, ESPN

     On April 28, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the following words announcing Philadelphia’s first pick in the NFL draft: “With the second pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select Carson Wentz, quarterback, North Dakota State.” The six-foot five-inch 237-pound quarterback had finally made it in professional football. At first, he was unknown to all of us, having grown up in North Carolina, moving to North Dakota at the age of three and playing his college career at North Dakota State University (that’s right, North Dakota State University, an FBS school). After being redshirted his first year, he played all four years after that, winning national championships in all four seasons, including the season he was redshirted. Yet his maturity as a quarterback grew with the years. When it came to NFL draft night, many analysts had him taken only midway through the first round. Then Philly came calling, and the rest was history.

     However, many do not know that Wentz is a devout Christian. In whatever he does, he never forgets the One who allows him to seize the moment.

     “Faith has always been number one in my life,” Wentz says. “I think my faith throughout college made me patient as I waited my turn. It got me through my injury without a doubt. And throughout this process, it helped me to not let this thing blow up and get caught up in it all.”

     Even through the tough times, he stood firm to what God was calling him to do. That was never more relevant than in the days leading up to the NFL draft. Scouts hardly gave him a look when he was still studying at North Dakota State. But, seemingly out of nowhere, Philadelphia became interested and took a risk on the quarterback who had no experience at the FBS level. Wentz stood firm and gave his all for God. On the underside of his right wrist, he has a tattoo that reads, “AO1,” which stands for “Audience of One.” This is Wentz’s reminder to play only for the Lord.

     “It was kind of a motto I picked up early in my career, and I finally put it on my body just to live with the Lord as my audience,” Wentz says. “Whether it was playing football, going to school or whatever I’m doing in my life.”

     After learning about Wentz’s outspoken faith, one might question where he got his faith in God. That came from a fellow football teammate when Wentz was a first-year student at North Dakota State. Dante Perez, who was a senior at the time, asked Wentz about the Bible. This came after a series of questions about what happened at practice that day. Then, out of the blue, Perez asked Wentz if he read the Bible on a daily basis. Wentz told him that they were at a football practice, not a Bible study. But Perez was persistent, and eventually Wentz came to know the Lord through Perez’s testimony. Now, in whatever Wentz does, he makes sure he honors the One who gave him all he has. One of his favorite verses that he looks back to is Mark 9:23, which reads, “‘What do you mean, ‘If I can?’ Jesus asked. ‘Anything is possible if a person believes’” (NLT).

     Carson Wentz, now three games into his NFL career, has put his trust in God to make his professional football dreams come true.

     Sources: denisonforum.org, wday.com