Bring Back the Thunder!; Honoring Darryl Dawkins

Over the years the 76ers have had their fair share of great and exciting players. Coming to mind are Allen Iverson, Dr. J, Charles Barkley, and, what the hell, we'll throw in Manute Bol. But one of my favorite players to watch on highlight reels is Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins, who ran ball in Philly from 1976, when he was drafted out of high school, until he was traded to NJ in 1982.

This 6' 11", 251 lb. hulk of a man played a vintage power game, with crushing dunks, authoritative blocked shots, and hard fouls to anybody who came into the lane. (In fact he has the record for the most personal fouls in a season with 386 in 81 games, or 4.76 per game.) But he also had a flair for fun, gamesmanship, and marketing by giving his dunks humorous names like the "In Your Face Disgrace" dunk, the "Earthquaker Shaker", and my personal favorite, "The Chocolate-Thunder-Flying, Robizine-Crying, Teeth-Shaking, Glass-Breaking, Rump Roasting, Bun-Toasting, Wham-Bam-Glass-Breaker-I-Am-Jam". This last dunk name was initiated upon his breaking two backboards within 23 days, the first in Kansas City, the second at the Spectrum. His glass shattering ability actually resulted in a backboard-design change featuring a collapsible rim so that long delays after a broken backboard were a thing of the past.

To honor Mr. Dawkins, I scoured around the internet for some highlights for your enjoyment. Grab some popcorn, settle in, and enjoy the Thunder...

• Video from YouTube: Two and half minutes of dunks, blocked shots, and racy rap music
• Quick, humorous anecdote about a sponsorship decision
  
• Hilarious and honest interview from SI

Take THAT to the hole, dear reader.

Izel Jenkins: A "Toast-able" Character from Eagles Past

Yesterday I reveled in yet another Eagles' victory, this time over the dismal Atlanta Falcons. I was thrilled by the win and their claiming of the NFC East crown. But I couldn't get past the name "Jenkins" that I saw on a Falcon's jersey. This jersey belonged to Michael Jenkins, a number 3 receiver, but I was brought back to the "glory days" of Eagles football in the early 90's when the team was lead by its formidable "Gang Green" defense, which included cornerback Izel Jenkins.

Drafted in the 11th round in 1988 out of NC State, Jenkins played side by side with the likes of Eric Allen, Andre Watters, Wes Hopkins, Reggie White, Jerome Brown, and more. However, Jenkins has gone down in history as being "Toast"-- as in, frequently getting burnt, as this blunt Wikipedia reference page puts it. I've also heard "Human Crouton", but that's besides the point.

Any Eagles fan of Buddy Ryan/Rich Kotite era will recall Izel Jenkins' presence on the field. If ever there was a deep completion by the opposing team, he was generally considered to be at fault for bad coverage. He had a poor reputation with the media and the fans, but perhaps this was unjustified, as this article from the Eagles' website points out. Maybe he was unfairly picked on by the media and fans because he played opposite of Eric Allen who played lockdown defense, thus causing opposing teams' offenses to throw to the other side. Or maybe he came back from a hamstring injury too early, as the aforementioned article reveals. Or maybe it was the coaches' fault for coming up with incomplete defensive schemes. Well, you get the picture.

Not being a coach, nor having the luxury of viewing tapes from these games, I am not in a position to say whether he truly deserved the reputation of getting frequently burnt, so I'll leave that up to you to decide. Whatever the case, #46 will go down in Philly history as one of the many memorable characters on that truly memorable team. That's a good thing or a bad thing depending on your point of view. But maybe with the New Year having arrived, we should let bygones be bygones and cheer on Izel's son, Izel Jenkins III, who is now a Wofford Terrier. Who knows-- he could one day be the toast of the town...