"From mansion to trailer park"

Being from the Midwest, I've grown accustomed to shockingly quick changes in the weather. One October afternoon I'm outside in shorts raking leaves. The next day I'm still doing outdoor work - but with a snow shovel.

The same can be said for the fortunes of a sports team (which is not to say there's any way the Knicks or Celtics will make the playoffs this year - there are, after all, exceptions). One day a team is on top of the world. Everyone's playing exceptional. Everyone gets along - even the team managers hang out with the boys. Everything is bliss.

But then something sudden happens - the sky clouds over - and thanks to that one tiny instant, nothing is the same any longer. There is tension in the locker room. There are fights over meaningless things. Everyone starts playing for themselves instead of the team.

And it all happened so quickly.

Of course this pattern works in the other direction as well. A team can go from a trailer park to the seaside mansion. But that's never as easy. Right now, when looking at the major sports leagues, it's much easier to find instances of the mansion-to-trailer park story.

Let's start in the unpredictable NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles began the season 4-1. Donovan McNabb was arguably the best QB in the NFL. No one in the City of Brotherly Love cared anymore about the whole TO disaster. There was renewed talk about the Eagles making a run in the playoffs. Then they lost three close games, falling to 4-4. But after a 27-3 pasting of Washington, Philly’s hard-to-please fans were still optimistic. After all, McNabb wasn’t just winning games – he was the fantasy football owner’s dream QB.

Then disaster struck. The perfect storm hit Philly and wiped out all hope. And just like with any perfect storm, there was no buildup. The water was calm – except that Philly trailed Tennessee at home on Nov. 19, but, c’mon, this was the Titans, who feature a rookie quarterback. Everything would work out. But then McNabb rolled out to the right on a play from midfield and after not finding a receiver downfield scampered out of bounds. He wasn’t hit, but somehow on that single play he tore his ACL.

Done for the season. Might not even be ready for 2007. And after two losses, the 5-6 Eagles’ 2006 season is all but cooked.

Let’s stay in the NFL but swing over to the AFC and the Rocky Mountains where things are, well, pretty rocky for the Denver Broncos. Just two weeks ago Denver was 7-2 and sitting in a tie for first in the AFC West with the San Diego Chargers. But after back-to-back losses (and two more San Diego wins), the Broncos still have work to do to make the playoffs and they’ll be starting a rookie quarterback against Seattle in a primetime game this Sunday.

Who knows? Maybe the Broncos will salvage their season. But there’s no way I see Jay Cutler leading them to the Super Bowl. Expectations in Denver are a mile lower now than they were a few weeks ago.

All right, let’s move to the hardwood, where the season is still early, but a couple playoff teams from last season are atrophying quicker than a dog can gobble up a left-out piece of chicken.

Just a couple weeks ago the Los Angeles Clippers, at 6-2, were the toast of LA – the city’s best team. That is now hard to believe. The Clippers have dropped five games in a row, they’re 0-6 in road games and… they’re starting to look like the old Clippers. And most of their losses haven’t even been close. Since a 105-101 loss to the Lakers, three of the Clippers’ four defeats have been by double digits.

This is difficult to make sense of, considering the talent on their roster. But as the Knicks will tell you, talent doesn’t mean a damn thing when it comes to success. When Chris Kaman is playing like a dude with a new contract (no passion whatsoever); when Sam Cassell might be finally feeling his age (he missed the team’s loss to Sacramento last night with an ankle sprain); when role players such as Quinton Ross aren’t performing like they did last May… things can change quickly.

Suddenly the Clippers are back to being the Clippers. While the Lakers are back on their pedestal.

Finally, how better to segue from LA than to follow Shaquille O’Neal's tracks to Miami? Despite consecutive wins for the first time this year (over powerhouses Charlotte and Philly) the Heat are still 6-8 and without the injured O’Neal for at least a few more weeks – maybe even until 2007. The only thing the defending champs have going for them is Dwyane Wade, who is carrying them like a father carries his tired son.

Let me put it simply: Wade’s teammates are not inspired like they were last year. Gary Payton, who got his first ring last June, is averaging a paltry 6.9 points and 2.2 assists a game. Antoine Walker, who also got his ring, is playing uninspired. Right now he should be the team's second scoring option, but instead he's averaging just 10.3 points a game on 39 percent shooting, including 21 percent from downtown.
We all know the Heat only care about making the playoffs and then taking work seriously - that's the luxury of playing in the Eastern Conference - but the players better check themselves at some point before April, otherwise they may not be able to find that same magic in the postseason.

Yes, winter has arrived, snow has fallen, and some teams' dispositions have quickly changed from sunny to slushy.