Philly March Madness: (2) Allen Iverson vs. (15) Jeremiah Trotter

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Over the next few weeks at The700Level, we'll be posting pollmatchups as part of our Philly March Madness competition.Examine thecases of the two fine Philadelphia athletes below,andcastyourvote atthe bottom as to which you think shouldadvance tothe nextround. Andas always, feel free to explainyourselectionand/ordebate the choicesin the comments section.


(2) Allen Iverson

"A six-... foot... guard... from Georgetown,"Allen Iverson is without a doubt one of the most exciting athletes towatch in the history of sport. It didn't matter that everybody on thecourt was bigger than him, A.I. was going to the bucket. The firstoverall pick of the NBA Draft in 1996 went on to win four scoring titleswith the Sixers. While, yes, that was a big part of his game, histenacity and desire were what made him so dangerous. Iverson took abeating as a result of his diminutive size and attacking style of play,but he showed up every night, often going the full 48. His career peakedduring the 2000-01 season, winning the league's Most Valuable PlayerAward while carrying a cast of role players into the NBA Finals. Despiteall his success, the front office never managed to surround him withquite enough talent, and eventually attitude problems took their toll oncoaches and the fanbase, so the club shipped the 11-time All Star offto Denver. Iverson would make his triumphant return to Philadelphia lastseason, joining the team mid-season and appearing in 25 games. Thoughclearly not the same player, it was good to have him home. -Kulp


(15) Jeremiah Trotter

If there was a protypical middle linebacker for a JimJohnson defense, it was Jeremiah Trotter. That's probably how the AxeMan wound up spending three stints with the Eagles. Trot was a thirdround pick from little Stephen F. Austin in 1998. When Andy Reid broughtJohnson in to run the defense the following year, Trotter was installedas the starter. His aggressive, downhill style was a perfect fit, andwas crucial to building one of the most stifling defenses in the lastdecade. After a pair of Pro Bowl seasons, the front office couldn'treach an accord with 54, and he departed to Washington for a hugecontract. While it soon became evident he wasn't ideal for their system,it turned out the Birds needed him just as much as he needed them, andhe returned to Philly two years later. He wasn't instantly given his jobback though. A true professional, Trotter played special teams for halfthe 2004 season before replacing Mark Simoneau in the middle. Theswitch paid off, and the defense once again became a strength for theeventual NFC Champions. He was released prior to the '07 season, andwould only play in three games over the next two years before once againrejoining the team as a stopgap in '09. -Kulp

Who should advance to the next round?online survey

Results So Far:

East Bracket:

(1) Julius Erving (91.8%) over (16) Von Hayes (8.2%)
(8) SimonGagne (77.9%) over (9) Seth Joyner (22.1%)
(5) Eric Lindros (70.3%)over (12) Eric Allen (29.7%)
(4) Randall Cunningham (77.6%) over (13)Shane Victorino (23.4%)
(11) Cole Hamels (82.1%) over (6) MarkRecchi (17.9%)
(14) Tug McGraw (51.1%) over (3) Moses Malone (48.9%)
(7)Darren Daulton (74.0%) over (10) Andrew Toney (26.0%)
(2) ChaseUtley (93.5%) over (15) Andre Waters (6.5%)

Midwest Bracket:

(1) Mark Howe (60.2%) over (16) David Akers (39.8%)
(9) RodBrind'Amour (73.6%) over (8) Rick Tocchet (26.4%)
(5) Brian Westbrook(93.3%) over (12) Jayson Werth (6.7%)
(4) Mike Richards (85.1%) over(13) Trent Cole (14.9%)
(6) John LeClair (89.2%) over (11) ClydeSimmons (10.8%)
(3) Jimmy Rollins (75.8%) over (14) John Kruk (24.2%)

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