Poor Man’s PTI is back!  After a brief mid-winter hiatus, Ryan and Vin are back running down the biggest and dumbest stories for the week in sports. This week we’re also launching the Stat Boy half-hour where Burton aka Stat Boy is all growns up and is doing his own show with Tony Kornheiser Mike Ciccarone.

This episode, as always, is rated R so potentially NSFW.

You can download this week’s podcast directly (running time 120 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

This week’s topics include:

• Canada wins hockey gold. Was it ok to root for them?
• Other Olympic stories including media whores, fellating a medal, curling
• Tiger Woods
• NBA Talk: Lebron’s just trying to sell more jerseys than Kobe
• NFL Talk: Potential change in OT rules
• Miscellaneous: Hank Gathers, womens basketball (yes, that’s correct) and the perils of chatroullete
• We finally joined twitter: http://twitter.com/poormanspti

Hope you guys enjoy the podcast. If you did enjoy it, please give us a good rating on itunes so we can rise up in the rankings. If you didn’t, send us an email (editor@sportscolumn.com) and give us some suggestions. Thanks for listening.

It was right there for the taking. Or the shaking, if you will. The Sixers, the fans, the organization — so close to shedding the dead weight of Samuel Dalembert and Andre Iguodala’s contracts — and Ed Stefanski let it get away.

There is no guarantee the deal was in place and that Houston would have pulled the trigger, but there certainly was every indication that the Rockets were seriously considering taking Iguodala and Dalembert in exchange for McGrady and trade filler. No matter what it took, this deal should have been made. But Stefanski in his stubbornness (or is it lame-duckness) refused to trade for anything other than players to improve the team this year.

In the end, this last obstinate stroke will be the final nail in the Stefanski era in Philadelphia, one mired in mediocrity and miscalculation.  Unlike most,  I don’t fault Stefanski for the Elton Brand deal. But his refusal to own up to his mistakes and wipe the slate clean for the organization, whether for himself or the next GM, will be what ultimately makes his tenure one that is, and this is hard to fathom, worse than the one helmed by Billy King. Continued

By Ryan McGowan

February is the dark month in the sports calendar.  The Super Bowl is over, baseball hasn’t started yet (unless you count “Truck Day”), the NBA is just going through the motions until the home stretch, and the NHL is shut down for two weeks.  We didn’t even have the Pro Bowl this February to kick around.  I don’t consider Daytona to be a sport.  February is the sports equivalent of a six-month hookup dry spell which can only be cured by a visit from a certified slump buster.
Continued

By Diane M. Grassi

In 2006, this reporter shed light on the seemingly unfair labor practices taking place in the Central American country of Costa Rica, in a factory operated by the Rawlings Sporting Goods Co., Inc., and now a subsidiary of the multi-national corporation, Jarden Corp. As we embark upon the 2010 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, let us take another look back on this important issue regarding free trade and on that which has transpired since. Continued

Nothing speaks to us sports fans like accomplishments that go into the record books. When a running back breaks his school’s rushing records or a basketball guard sets the mark for the number of assists in a season we sit up and take notice, but how often are these new records based on an uneven playing field?

This issue was brought back to my attention while watching the Pittsburgh – Cincinnati Big East Game which is the 12th game of their season. The announcers were going on about Dion Lewis, whose 1,640 yards are 46 shy of Dorsett’s freshman season total of 1,686 yards in 1973. However, Tony Dorsett had 1 less game to get those yards.
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We break down Super Bowl XLIV, talk commercials, and wrap up the 2009/2010 NFL Season.

You can download the podcast directly (running time 90 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

Ahhhh the Super Bowl. Despite all the hype, the 8 hour pregame show, and the 48 minute halftime, it’s still one of the best spectacles of the year. We break down the Super Bowl matchup and have some fun with prop bets.

You can download the podcast directly (running time 90 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

Here are are the latest Super Bowl Prop Bets and Super Bowl Odds.

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Here’s the Second Annual “All You Need to Know About National Signing Day” recruiting analysis. I have rated the 25 best-named recruits in the country plus the five classes with the coolest names.

While there were no Shavodrick Beavers this year to pick from, there were a lot of solid names, some of which sadly missed the cut (Gifford Timothy, Fidel Montgomery, and Matt Pelesasa to name a few).

Anyway, here are the 25 coolest names for the College Football Class of 2014:

25. Forrest Hightower – San Jose State
24. Rowdy Harper – Houston
23. Jackson Kaka – New Mexico State
22. Johnathan Ragoo – Minnesota
21. Dwellie Striggles – Buffalo
20. King Holder – San Diego State
19. Kalafitoni Pole – Washington State
18. Chi Chi Ariguzo – Northwestern
17. Furious Bradley – Southern Miss
16. Munchie Legaux – Cincinnati
15. B.J. Chitty – Troy
14. Matangi Tonga – Houston
13. Deveon Dinwiddle – Kansas State
12. Storm Johnson – Miami (Fla.)
11. Happy Iona – Oregon State
10. Ace Sanders – South Carolina
9. Carrington Byndom – Texas
8. Braxton Deaver – Duke
7. Sharrod Golightly – South Carolina
6. Mike Bizzarro – Akron
5. Jaqwaylin Arps – Kansas
4. Tank Sessions – Florida State
3. Jose Jose – UCF
2. Mister Jones – Texas A&M
1. Wave Ryder – Utah State

Continued

If you are a hardcore football fan, Super Bowl Sunday creates a dilemma: do you watch the game per your usual routine (either alone or with a small group of knowledgeable football fans) or do you join the hoi polloi for a Super Bowl Party?

If your team is playing in the Super Bowl, you must maintain your usual routine. There’s no excuse for breaking it now. If your team loses, it’s most likely your fault. This is not the time to be messing around with parties and not wearing your lucky underwear. The Lombardi is at stake.

For the rest of you, if you make the decision to host or attend a Super Bowl party, here are the rules you must adhere to. If you’re attending a party, print out this column for the host and other guests and let me be the jerk in your stead.

Continued