Phillies NL East Clinching Live Blog Part 1

Hopefully this is part 1 of 1!

Song Of The Day: "What Lies Beneath" By Breaking Benjamin

I just downloaded the new album yesterday and this is one of my favorites off of it. Enjoy it!

THE MAGIC NUMBER'S DOWN TO 1!!!

Phillies 7, Astros 4
Marlins 5, Braves 4

HELLZ YEAH, BITCHES!!!!

Possible live blog tomorrow of the potential NL East clincher. I have a paper due on Friday, hence the word possible. If I can get my ass working on it a bit despite my 5 clases, then I'll be satisfied enough to do the blog.

Your 2009 NFL Week 4 Schedule

I am hoping for a change. Please, CBS, please! I am utterly begging you. Switch KYW Philadelphia, PA or WYOU Scranton, PA from Jets-Saints to Ravens-Patriots. Please, please, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS MY SANITY, PLEASE SWITCH JUST ONE AND ONLY ONE OF THOSE AFFILIATES TO RAVENS-PATS!!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you that are confused, the following will explain all.......(all times eastern)

Map of who gets what CBS games

Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots 1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars 1:00 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Oakland Raiders @ Houston Texans 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland Browns 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)

New York Jets @ New Orleans Saints 4:05 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins 4:05 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)

Map of who will get what early games on Fox

New York Giants @ Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
Seattle Seahawks @ Indianapolis Colts 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Charles Davis)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Washington Redskins 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)

Map of who will get what late games on Fox

Dallas Cowboys @ Denver Broncos 4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
St. Louis Rams @ San Francisco 49ers 4:15 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)

Sunday Night Football
San Diego Chargers @ Pittsburgh Steelers 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football
Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings 8:30 (ESPN - MIke Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

Now do you see why I want the change? The only early game I have is the New York Giants and the Kansas City Quitters. Ugh. Just shoot me now. That has unentertaining blowout written all over it whereas Patriots and Ravens has the makings of being one of the games of the week.

Lastly, my deepest sympathies to you, Mookie. No one deserves this kind of punishment.....

Husky Barks: Bloomsburg 28, C.W. Post 14

I know, I know, it's been a while but with road games there is no video to embed and that's over half of the reason I do these posts. Anyway, after a long, agonizing, wait, the highlights of BU's 28-14 win over C.W. post has finally been posted in the throes of YouTube and here it is for you all to see. And remember, I was at this game!



Poor Roongo. He can't catch a break. When the opponent scores, he loses a little life, but when the Huskies score, he does pushups with the cheerleaders based on the total number of points the Huskies have to that point.

On the plus side, the Huskies are the #5 ranked team in the nation and are still unbeaten. Their next game is another home game this Saturday at 5 against Millersville. Chances are, I'll be there!*

*unless it is really rainy. This would be the first night football game I've ever been to in my life, so I'm excited about that and I hope the weather holds out.

For The 3rd Time, Welcome Jeremiah Trotter To The Philadelphia Eagles!

It's out with the old and in with the older in Philadelphia as the Eagles have waived Jeff Garcia in order to make room for beloved Eagle The Axe Man, Jeremiah Trotter. Via CSN Philly

Believe it or not, latter also has come true. The Eagles on Tuesday signed Trotter to a one-year deal and released quarterback Jeff Garcia.

Trotter, 32, last played in 2007 for Tampa Bay after being ceremoniously released by the Eagles. He worked out for the team last Thursday after being called by head coach Andy Reid that morning.

Trotter had clean-out surgery on his right knee following the 2007 season, and Reid – given the Eagles’ precarious situation at middle linebacker – feels he can help a run defense that suffered a major loss when Stewart Bradley was lost for the season in training camp.

“Jeremiah Trotter has always been one of my favorite players,” head coach Andy Reid said in a statement released by the team. “He has worked very hard to keep himself in shape and we are pleased with where he is physically. We are excited to give him an opportunity to contribute to our football team.”

In the offseason Trotter trained with former Eagles teammates Quintin Mikell, Sheldon Brown and David Akers.

“He looked like he can still move. He looked like he’s been working on it – his footwork and his speed and all that stuff,” Mikell said. “That’s one thing we were working on together with our trainer.”

Well then! I'm not quite sure what's been the biggest acquisition this year. Between the Eagles signing Michael Vick, Jeff Garcia (again), and Jeremiah Trotter, it's been a bevy of unexpected moves. I talked about this with Vick, but there is a difference between being in shape and football shape, and while Trotter may still look good and be in good shape, his football shape certainly has to be questioned. After all, he has not played since 2007. How long will it take for him to re-adjust to the speed of the game and can he still be as effective as he was his last 2 go-arounds with the Eagles?

The Axe Man is back in Philly!

Welcome Back Arena Football League! Sort Of....

There have been many victims of this latest recession, with one of the more talked about and noted ones in the sports world being that of the collapse of the Arena Football League. They went from cancelling the season to folding completely over the past year, but now, rising from the ashes is a brand new Arena Football League, to be named Arena Football League 1, and it will feature some of the same teams as the old AFL! Via ESPN.com

Officials from what will be known as Arena Football 1 said Monday that they will have at least 16 teams ready to play in 2010, including four in former Arena Football League markets: Salt Lake City, Chicago, Phoenix and Orlando, Fla. The Arizona Rattlers and Orlando Predators played in the old AFL, but the new league's Chicago and Salt Lake City teams did not.

The league will also have teams from the AFL offshoot arenafootball2, as well as at least one team from another indoor league. It will be based in Tulsa. Commissioner Jerry Kurz said it would be a "brand-new league" not connected with the AFL or af2.

"There has been arena football before," said Kurz, a former af2 commissioner. "It's been done well but not as good as it's going to be done this time."

Kurz said more details of the league's business structure -- including what the players might be paid -- will be announced during the coming weeks. He said the league would use a schedule similar to that used by the AFL and af2, with games starting in late March or early April and running through the summer.

Dan Newman, the owner of the Bossier-Shreveport (La.) BattleWings -- who are moving from the af2 to the new league- said Arena Football 1 will use a rule book identical to those used by the AFL and af2.

"This is arena football," Newman said.

Arena Football 1 said its markets also will include Little Rock, Ark.; Fresno, Calif.; Des Moines, Iowa; Jacksonville, Fla.; Lexington, Ky.; Milwaukee; Oklahoma City; Spokane, Wash.; Huntsville, Ala.; Kennewick, Wash.; and Tulsa.

The new league said eight more teams have submitted membership applications. Newman said the league is negotiating with seven other former AFL franchises, including those in Tampa and San Jose.

Hank Stern, vice president of the San Jose SaberCats, said Monday that while that team was "looking to bring arena football back to San Jose," he wouldn't comment about the new league "until things become clearer."

Kurz said other franchises will be considered for inclusion in the league through Oct. 9.

"We'll grow as it fits us in a smooth economic model," he said. "Other leagues in many different sports have just grown to grow and we don't want to do that. We want to make sure we go into markets that want us."

Now this sounds like a much better idea than the UFL! And while arena football may not be up there with the NFL and other major professional sports, it nonetheless did develop a strong following in it's over 20 years of existence. And while we are learning more and more about how failed the old system was behind the scenes, to make this new league succeed, they don't need to re-invent the wheel, just a new way of getting it to go and that appears to be scenario.

I must say, though, I am quite depressed that my Bon Jovi-Ron Jaworski ran Philadelphia Soul won't be back. Oh well, welcome to the world, Arena Football League 1!

The Phillies Better Not Be Turning Into The '07 Mets

This is pathetic. And to think that I thought the Phillies had this division wrapped up too early. Now it appears as if there is a chance that it might not be wrapped up, period. The Braves are flat-out not losing and the Phillies can't beat the Houston Fucking Astros for the life of them. And to think that the offense could only muster 2 hits against a pitcher whose ERA looked more like a good QB rating than a good pitcher's ERA. It's pathetic, it's embarrassing, and it is getting to the point where I am really starting to wonder whether or not this team can clince the NL East.

The good news for the Phillies is that all of their games are home from here on out, and they are against a team that's eliminated from playoff contention (Astros) and another that is one loss or one Rockies win away from suffering the same fate (Marlins). Surely....surely.....with a magic number of 3 and 6 games to spare, they can just end this fucking thing so they can set their rotation for the playoffs, where at this rate, they could very well end up facing the red hot Cardinals. And there's another advantage to winning. I think a lot of Phillies fans will tell you they want the Rockies in the NLDS, well if the Phillies keep losing games like this, the taks will be a lot harder than that as I'm sure a lot of people will tell you that no one, NO ONE wants to play the Cardinals.

I mentioned the Phillies schedule, now let's take a look at the Atlanta Braves schedule. They have 2 more games against the Marlins and they end with a 4-game series against the Washington Nationals. Folks, the Braves can easily run this table. They damn sure are not going to lose 3 of those games. The Phillies need to step up against the Astros in a big time way. Win, win, win. Let's take the last 3 games of this series so that way we can be assured that regardless of what the Braves do that we can set our rotation for the NLDS. Who gives a fuck if Kyle Kendrick and Jamie Moyer start a game a piece in a useless series against the Marlins?

Any Phillies fan right now will tell you that they would like to see that, but at this rate, the Phillies might just be lucky to see the playoffs. This is getting beyond pathetic and beyond absurd. There is no damn fucking way that this division should still be up in the air. Kudos to the Braves for hanging in there and getting hot at the exact right time, but the Phillies need to start winning in a more consistent basis otherwise even if they do survive the season, there ain't a chance in hell that they will win any playoff games against anyone, let alone a whole series, playing like they've been. The offense has to step up. The starting pitching has to step up. The bullpen has to step up. Or else, despite all of the mocking we've done to the Mets, there is a chance that they might have the last laugh after all this year....

My Week 3 Reaction

What an exciting Week 3. And while Vick's return was everything but eventful (0 for 2 passing and 1 carry for 7 yards), some promise was shown. He did not make any big mistakes, and I really like that last number. His only carry was a scramble and it went for 7 yards. Just his presence on the field is enough for defenses to scramble and panic, even if all he does is hand it off. Aspeaking of handing it off, how about Shady McCoy! The Eagles have found themselves a pure running back for the first time since Duce Staley. And as far as the Chiefs go, they all but gave up on life in that one. Even though they ran a couple of trick plays, the players on the field showed one thing and that is they did not care about that game. Constantly they were handing it off on 3rd and long and throwing short passes that was just depressing to watch. If I were a Chiefs fan, I'd be ashamed of my team after that one. For more thoughts, check out my vlog entry below!



What I need to start doing is let it overrun a minute and publish the video like that and if there is a few seconds of dead air of me not doing anything then so be it. Basically all I talked about in the last minute was the Bengals beating the Steelers and how incredible it was. It appears as if I'm hosting the blog next week so I will definitley see you there! I'll get the schedule and links to the maps up as soon as the506 makes them available.

"FAVRE DID IT!"

Un-fucking-believeable.

Brett Favre does it again.

And you'll never believe who the receiver was.



Greg Fucking Lewis!!!!! Yes, that's the same Greg Lewis that's a former Eagle! Yes, that's the same Greg Lewis that despite his amazing ability to drop every football thrown to him, found his way into the starting rotation for the Eagles a few years ago. Yes, that's the same Greg Lewis who was cut by the Patriots earlier this year. Yes, that's the guy who just caught that game-winning touchdown. GREG FUCKING LEWIS!!!!!!!!!!!

Un-fucking-believeable.

My Eyes!!! They Burn!!!

(Disclaimer: JFein is not responsible for any damage the following image may do to your computer screen)

Week 3 Live Blog

.......was over here at Keith's Sports Journal.

Sorry I could not get it up earlier, but basically, I forgot to put up the link this morning.

For those looking for the Sunday Night Football live blog, it's over here at AA and 12StepDrop

Today Is A Somber, Somber Day In The Sports World....

.....St. Timmy of Florida is in the hospital after being knocked out of the game on a Taylor Wyndham sack that caused Tebow's head to bounce off the knee of his own offensive linemen knocking him unconscious. Here's the sad, sad video. I hope you have a hankey handy....



NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! Didn't Taylor Wyndham realize the dangers of what he might be doing when he heinously put a hit on poor St. Timmy when he was not paying attention. How dare he!!!! How dare he!!!!!! What a cruel heartless bastard!!!!!

And not only that, look at what has happened to Gary Danielson and Thom Brennaman!! Brennaman has lost the will to live and Gary Danielson has drinken 10 bottles of whiskey, in the past 30 minutes in an effort to erase his sorrows from this sad, sad day.

The good news Gator fans, many many Florida fans are lining up at the hospital willing to donate their skulls in order to save St. Timmy of Florida. It may be his only hope......However, even if his life is saved, Wyndham's hit as sadly knocked all of the superhumanness out of him. Instead of The Second Coming of Christ, I am sad to report that most religious experts are willing to concede that Tim Tebow is now the Second Coming of Jonathan Crompton.

It Looks Like Philly Has Made A Decision: We Embrace Vick

When Vick was signed by the Eagles, there was a complete firestorm of media controversy surrounding the signing in Philadelphia. Some, like me, liked the idea. Others, like my blogging buddy, JamesCraven, completely loathed the sheer thought that Vick was an Eagle. But now it's 6 weeks later and while at the time you would not believe it, it seems that the majority of fans have cooled their anger and are in support of Mike Vick. Via Fox Sports.com

Move over, Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook. Black Philadelphia Eagles jerseys bearing Vick's name and his trademark No. 7 are the showcase items for two sports clothing stores inside Concourse C [at the Philadelphia International Airport]

"For real? That's awesome, man," Vick said Friday when told of the displays in front of both shops. "From what I hear, they're going like hotcakes."

Six weeks ago, the thought of Vick jerseys being burned in effigy wasn't far-fetched.

Vick arrived in Philadelphia last month amid a maelstrom of controversy because of his dog-fighting past. Protestors gathered outside team headquarters with graphic posters decrying his signing. Bigger demonstrations from animal-rights activists were expected outside Eagles home games. If Vick made one misstep, his signing would have heaped even more negative attention on a franchise already under enough pressure to win its first Super Bowl title.

"The locker room could have been turned upside-down," Eagles center Jamaal Jackson said.

But Vick's NFL return couldn't have gone more smoothly. The only crowd outside NovaCare Complex on Friday was autograph seekers. The mass protests never happened and aren't expected Sunday when Vick plays in a regular-season game against visiting Kansas City for the first time since December 2006.

Say what you will about Reid's penchant for pass-heavy offensive game plans. He couldn't have scripted Vick's return any better.

Eagles brass did a masterful job on two fronts: helping Vick become re-acclimated to football while providing off-field assistance as he put his personal affairs in order following bankruptcy and 18-month prison term. Vick also was welcomed by his new teammates without a hint of dissent.

"The key was me being willing to come into this type of team atmosphere and wanting to make it about the team and not about myself," Vick told FOXSports.com. "That made the transition a lot easier."

Vick's willingness to accept blame for animal cruelty and promise repentance swayed Eagles fans hesitant to grant a second chance. Everything went so well that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell shortened Vick's regular-season suspension by three games in early September.

"It's a team effort on that," Reid said. "Obviously, it starts with Michael first. When he came out of being incarcerated, he handled things the right way. He's been getting great guidance and support. And he's got the will to do things right. With that, everything else is possible as long as it's a day-by-day process."

Vick is keeping that in mind. Although he has taken major strides and played in the preseason, Vick's comeback is far from complete.

First, he still has community obligations to fulfill. Vick has made several local appearances decrying his involvement in staging fights by pit bulls. His talks are aimed largely at children, many of whom could be at risk of being drawn into that same inhumane activity as Vick was in his youth.

"I'm just reaching out and trying to connect with them," Vick said. "It's something I never did before, but I'm starting to enjoy it and I like doing it."

Vick plans to continue his outreach even after no longer being obliged by the Eagles and NFL.

"All the publicity will fade away," he said. "Then I'll be able to do this without such a big media circus. But that doesn't bother me at all. I just focus on the task at hand, which is getting my message across."

It really was only a matter of time for the majority of fans to come around on this one. And the crowd will surely be full of Vick supporters tomorrow as Vick makes his official debut of the Philadelphia Eagles. I can't wait to see it and I, for one, really hopes that he makes some big plays and really gets the crowd excited about him. You'll see, once he starts making plans, those that initially started hating but have gone to a begrudging acceptance, will then be going nuts for him as well.

A.J. Daulerio at Deadspin put it best at the first announcement of the Vick signing, and while it is a completely gross exageration, makes the point about Vick in Philadelphia better than anyone has yet when he said: "if Michael Vick brings Philadelphia to the playoffs or, gasp, WINS a Super Bowl, well he could set a dozen baby poodles on fire in the middle of Broad Street and he'll still be a hero for life."

Like I said, it's a gross exageration, but if Vick can make the plays that lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl, he'll be as beloved as some of the all time Philly sports greats.

My Week 3 Picks

I was busy hanging out tonight so I did this rather hastily without much rehearsal so prepare for some more awkwardness as well as another awkward early cutoff. I must be doing something wrong, now if only I could figure out what....



And for those too lazy or in a rush and don't have time and/or don't remember everything I said in that video, here ya go!

Philadelphia
Green Bay
Minnesota
Tennessee
Atlanta
Houston
New York Giants
Detroit
Baltimore
Chicago
New Orleans
San Diego
Denver
Pittsburgh
Indianapolis
Dallas

I'm heading to the BU Football game tomorrow at noon, so I won't be around until 3-3:30 or so for the KSJ open thread and the Pammies. We're ranked #4 in the nation and we are taking on CW Post at home at BU's very own Redman Stadium, so I'm pumped about that.

Jerry Jones Does Not Care About The Safety Of The Cowboys Fans

If there is one thing that all of America outside of Dallas, Texas can agree on, it is this: Jerry Jones is one of, if not the biggest douche bags in all of sports.

Say hi to Mike. Mike was at the grand opening of JerryLand on Sunday night and was not happy with his experience in the party pass area (a.k.a. the portion of the staduim that is standing room only). Mike wrote to the Cowboys expressing his disapproval and requested a refund. This is the response that Mike got back from the Dallas Cowboys. Via The Blue Star Blog

I sincerely apologize for the problematic experience you and your family endured on Sunday. In order to help make the situation right, we can offer you a refund or comp party passes to another game this season.

If you would like a refund, Ticketmaster will issue the refund for your party pass purchase. Please contact them at 1-800-653-8000. We have communicated with Ticketmaster, and they are aware of the refund process for this event.

If it helps at all, the only reason so many party passes were sold for Sunday's game was to break the attendance record. I can assure you that only 1/3 of that amount of party passes will be sold for each game going forward...10,000 max instead of 30,000. That was a one-time deal for the grand opening of the stadium.

Why am I not surprised?

Not only does selling so many tickets like that create for unpleasant experiecnes, but it can also be a real danger especially when you are dealing with standing room only. It only takes one big Cowboys play for a bunch of drunken idiots in that SRO section to go nuts and start something that could result in the fatality of an innocent fan (although one does have to question how innocent they really are if they like the Cowboys of all teams).

The Cowboys are denying that they put that last paragraph in the letter. I don't know if that means that they are denying that there was not 30,000 there or if they are denying that every other game will have 10,000 there. Whatever it is, it is supreme idiocy at its very finest and I hope that one day Ol' Plastic Face will get what is coming to him (i.e. a reality check).

MY INTERNET'S BACK!!!

Great news, folks! As of right now, my internet is back up and running. W00T! W00T!

With that being said, though, I've got a $1000 political fundraiser (the tickets literally fell into my lap yesterday), a geography test to study for, and a shitload of sleep to catch up on tonight, so chances are this is the last you'll hear of me today (I wasn't lying or exaggerating when I said I had 10,000 extra-curricular committments today).

Internet is back (for now, at least, you really do never know with these people); that's the news of the day and I'll have my picks among other things for you tomorrow.

Peace!

It Gives Me No Pleasure In Telling You Guys This....

....but the internet in all of the dorms across Bloomsburg University is down. The internet was lost at around 1 in the morning last night and has been down ever since. Right now, I have found a working lab with the internet, however, until the problem has been fixed, I don't know what to tell you other than I obviously won't be live blogging anything as there is no TV in the lab and I don't get internet on my cell phone. Now the problem could be fixed in a couple hours, or in a week. If you think that the latter option sounds utterly crazy, last year in September the internet was down for a week, so it's a good possibility that by no fault of my own, I won't be around next week for the Pammies, 49er16's open thread, and the live blog. They claim that they are working on the problem, but I just talked to my CA (most of you know them better as RAs), and he said that that is code for "oh shit, we have a massive problem".

All I know I have told you above and while I might be able to get on these university computers once or twice a day (tomorrow I have about 10,000 committments so I probably won't be doing much blogging until late at night at best regardless of internet or not). Until then, and knowing the people that we are dealing with, I would assume the worst and hope for the best. I'd like to say I will be around this weekend, but if my CA is even remotely close to the size of the problem, then the answer is most likely a whopping hell no as to whether I'll be live blogging this weekend.

Thanks for your continued patronage and I'll have a post up when all is well in the dorms. Until then, enjoy this video of a (most likely) drunk fan climbing the goal posts at a CFL game (hat tip to kt1000).

Your 2009 NFL Week 3 Schedule

As if all of the injuries to the Seattle Seahawks were not bad enough, all you Seahawks fans now have the pleasure nightmare of listening to Dick Stockton and Charles Davis for 3 hours! I do feel bad for you, Mookie, really, I do. For the second straight week, it's CBS that has the doubleheader. Ready for the rest of your Week 3 maps and schedule? Here you go! (all times eastern; bold games indicate games I get).

Map of who gets what Fox games

Atlanta Falcons @ New England Patriots 1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
New York Giants @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
San Francisco 49ers @ Minnesota Vikings 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
Washington Redskins @ Detroit Lions 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
Green Bay Packers @ St. Loius Rams 1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Trent Green)

Chicago Bears @ Seattle Seahawks 4:05 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Charles Davis)
New Orleans Saints @ Buffalo Bills 4:05 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)

Map of who gets what early games on CBS

Tennessee Titans @ New York Jets 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Kansas City Chiefs @ Philadelphia Eagles 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Houston Texans 1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein)

Map of who gets what late games on CBS

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals 4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Miami Dolphins @ San Diego Chargers 4:15 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Denver Broncos @ Oakland Raiders 4:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)

Sunday Night Football
Indianapolis Colts @ Arizona Cardinals 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football
Carolina Panthers @ Dallas Cowboys 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

For the 2nd straight week, both the Colts and the Cowboys play a primetime game, respectively, although the actual game they play in is not the one they played in week 2. And poor, poor GuJo. He goes from announcing the thrilling Texans-Titans game to now announcing what is sure to be a dull Browns-Ravens game. And by dull, I mean a big Ravens blowout. Should be a fun weekend of football and from the looks of things, even though there is some overlap, once again, the variety looks to be quite a good one once again. And (unless things change), my Fox game is different from the one in Philly!*

*Eagles game is on CBS at that time though......

Andy Reid Vs. The Media, Part 282

It's one of the reasons why we all love and love to hate Andy Reid. His dealings with the media are comical at best and downright atrocious at worse. Well, here's another instance of a classic non-callout callout on the part of Andy Reid, this time directed toward Peter King of Sports Illustrated. Via the Philly Inquirer

there was a report by sportswriter Peter King at halftime of the Sunday night game that he was doubtful for Week 3 against the Chiefs. King said he had spoken to Reid.

"I don't know where that report came from," Reid said. "I thought I was reporting here. There's a chance [McNabb plays]. I can't tell you that he can take a hit today. I don't feel that way about it right now."

Ah, good stuff! I also doubt that McNabb is going to play as well, but I'm pretty sure that Andy Reid is trying to do every little thing possible to keep the Chiefs off-balance. And it's not that I necessarily blame him, I just think that until McNabb walks out and takes snaps on the practice field, there's not a person in the league that is going to buy what Reid is trying to sell.

Kevin Kolb Is Hungry For A Second Chance

For all the Kevin Kolb bashing that goes on around here, it must be said that the kid really is a good guy who does everything right and does what he is told. That being said, even though Reid has said that McNabb might play on Sunday (more on that in just a bit), there's a darn good chance that Kolb will be under center next Sunday. And Kolb is very hungry for a second chance, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

McNabb gave a vague update of his condition yesterday through the team's media relations department, saying he "felt better than" he did a week ago, but he didn't know if he'd be ready for the game against the Chiefs.

"I wish I had an answer, but I don't," McNabb said. "Hopefully, things will continue to get better and I'll have one for you later. Hopefully, it will be quicker than later. I'm looking forward to being back out on the field."

So is Kolb, especially after crash-landing on the wrong end of a lopsided loss to quarterback Drew Brees and the high-powered New Orleans Saints' offense Sunday at the Linc. Some of Kolb's numbers – 391 passing yards and two touchdowns – looked good, but he was still beating himself up yesterday for throwing three interceptions.

"It hacks you off that there's this negative attitude, and you realize that maybe there is eight plays in there, and if we just do one little thing different, the game could have been different," Kolb said.

Being 9 yards shy of becoming the fifth quarterback in franchise history to throw for 400 yards in a game was no consolation to Kolb.

"When you're in our complex and this circle, it's all wins and losses," Kolb said. "That's what it all boils down to."

Kolb was still thinking about the turnovers, especially the interceptions. During his senior season at the University of Houston, he threw 30 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He always said he felt ball security was the strength of his game.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but after his performance in the Saints game, I'd be willing to give him a second chance, especially considering the opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs. It's not like we are throwing him in against the Steelers or the Ravens or anything. When McNabb went down, my first thought was, okay, let's not pull a massive choke away this big lead to these Panthers (mission accomplished) and then take at least 1 of the next 2 against the Saints and the Chiefs and then re-group during the Week 4 bye-week. I had no expectations against the Saints, so while it was initially depressing to see the Eagles getting shallacked like that, it was mostly what I expected, and the fact that the ass-raping did not come until the 2nd half was somewhat of a pleasant surprise (although with the way Kolb played, I expected better from our defense). This KC game is the big game, and not just because of the return of Vick. I fully expect us to win this game and will be much more disappointed if we don't than I was a couple of days ago.

Stephen A. Smith Goes On The Mark Levin Show; Claims There's A Government Takeover And Racism Is A Good Thing

Oh, Stephen, we have missed your inane rants!



At least SAS managed to make some sense with the Mike Vick comments. Other than that, I'm pretty sure he now needs surgery to get Mark Levin's head out of his rectum (yeah, it was that far up there).

Oh, and I would like to hear those positive qualities to racism of which he speaks. Incredible idiocy.

LOL DALLAS!!!

'Twas a long and miserable day of football for me. Sure the Pats lost to the Jets and the Phillies reduced their magic number to 6, but all of those seemed small or minor in comparision to the poor play by the Eagles defense and special teams and their lack of discipline, despite the fact that Kolb played fairly decent (2 of his 3 INTs came in garbage time in the 4th quarter). But watching the Sunday night game between the Giants and the Cowboys made everything better. Sure I'm an Eagles fan and I'll regret cheering for the team that will probably finish the season with a better record, but there I really could not help myself. The Giants, while rivals of the Eagles, do have some respect from me. They are a classy organization, have an excellent defense, and I do have a lot of respect for Eli Manning. Sure most of it came during Super Bowl XLII, but nonetheless, he and that team earned my respect and appreciation and it has since lasted. It does not mean I necessarily like them or cheer for them on a weekly basis. It does not mean I'm a fan. But I can respect a decent rival as is the case with the Giants. Same with Tom Coughlan and that coaching staff. The same, however, cannot be said about Dallas. Jerry Jones is a compete media whore and a douche bag, Tony Romo is way overrated and his 3 INTs, albeit one was a complete fluke off of Witten's shoe (at the same time, it can be said that he never should have thrown a ball to Witten at his shoe), they signed TO and Pacman just for attention, and Wade Phillips is completely incompetent (although, as an Eagles fan, that's not such a bad thing). I don't like them and I don't respect them. Which is why, on a day where nothing seemed to be going right, this video puts a huge smile on my face.



Fuck JerryLand, Fuck The Cowboys, Fuck Tony Homo, and Fuck The King of Plastic himself, Jerry Jones. Good for you Lawrence Tynes, cherish this victory and remember it for the rest of your life.

Surely I'll regret my celebratory remarks when the Eagles lose out on the NFC East title by 1 game and the Cowboys finish an abysmal 5-11, but with both teams sitting at 1-0 to start the game and a result that is currently of utter irrelevence to the Eagles woh are yet to play any divisional games, I could not be more happier.

Chad Ochocinco Does The Lambeau Leap; Packer Fans Think He's Number 1

He said he would do the Lambeau Leap if he got a touchdown, and he delivered on that promise. And as you can see from the above pic, Packer fans think it's the best damn Lambeau Leap they've ever seen in their lives.



That certainly gave me a good laugh after seeing Kolb and the offense play decent while special teams and defense completely crapped the bed all the way around. I'm hoping that things will change next week against Kansas City, a much weaker foe than the Saints. Unless McNabb is healthy and ready to go, Kolb will most likely get the start in this one. The play-calling was quite creative. Joe Buck said it best when he compared Reid's play-calling to Boise State's, something that while it was not overly effective, it did not really backfire on them either. The big mistakes did not come on the trick plays, but at the same time, no trick play was broken for a big gain. The one difference for the Eagles next Sunday will be the addition of Michael Vick, something that I can't wait to see.

NFL Week 2 Live Blog

All right! Let's do this! Week 2! Join Mookie, 49er16 (maybe), kt1000 (for parts), and James Craven (maybe) as we live blog all of the NFL regional action throughout the day (or a good part of it, at least). As always, feel free to leave comments unless of course you are a troll named Nathan and/or any other person who wants to troll/spam.

The Drama That Was Week 3 In College Football

Washington upset USC, and Virginia Tech had one hell of a dramatic final drive to win the game for the Hokies. Thanks to the peoples at YouTube, here are those 2 incredible finishes. Enjoy!





Wow. Simply amazing. And a big congratulations to Washington, who went from 0-12 and being the undisputed winners (or losers, depending on how you look at it) of last year's Toilet Bowl come back this year to defeat USC and are off to a 2-1 start to their year. Steve Sarkisian definitley has that team going in the right direction and Jake Locker may very well be a star in the making.

And if you were ever curious as to why I love Sean McDonough, watch that Neb-VT game and listen to that call. He is the man.

Is It Really Normal For A Weatherman To Fuck A Chicken In New York?

I have no words for what you are about to see.....



"Keep fucking that chicken"

Ah yes, nothing like a good cock-a-doodle-do to get you ready for a weather report. Mookie was not kidding last week when he said that bestiality is more common than I thought. But alas, the only thing funnier than that slip up, was the reaction of Anasto's co-anchor. It appears as if she was the only one that knew what was said.....

If you're not laughing right now, then I'm not quite sure what to tell you. Too funny, too too funny. Good times at the Fox 5 news desk..........gooooooooooood times.

Ryan Howard Is A History Making Beast

For all the critics that Howard has about his plethora of strikeouts, the guy sure can smack around a baseball and he now has the numbers and the company to prove it. Check out these numbers from compiled by CSN Philly's John Finger in his blog, Finger Food

Friday night’s pair of homers made Howard the first Phillie ever to bash 40 in four different seasons. And not only did Howard hit his 40th homer for the fourth season, but he did it with panache.

For Howard it’s 40 homers AND 120 RBIs in four straight seasons. Not only hasn’t a Phillie ever pulled off such a feat, but very few Major Leaguers have accomplished it. In fact, Howard became just the fourth member of the club on Friday night at Turner Field.

The Big Piece joins Babe Ruth, Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa as the only sluggers in Major League Baseball history to slug 40 homers and drive in at least 120 RBIs in four straight seasons. That’s it.

But get this, only one other hitter accomplished the 40-120 trick in more than four straight seasons and that was The Sultan of Swat himself. The Babe did it in seven straight.

Here’s the amazing stat for Howard – in 717 career games, he has 620 RBIs. That comes to an average of 140 RBIs per 162 games, which is the career high of Hall of Famers Harmon Killebrew and Jim Rice.

And that’s Howard’s average.

There’s more to consider, too. Howard doesn’t turn 30 until November 19, he never drove in more than 149 RBIs in a season which points to his uncanny consistency. However, the numbers that really stand out are the splits from August, September (and October) from the Big Piece.

Check this out: 91 of Howard’s 217 career homers have come in the last two months of the season. Additionally, 254 of his 620 career RBIs have come in the last months, too. That means Howard feasts on pitching late in the season when the games take on added significance.

Wow, whether you are a Phillies fan or not, you have to respect what Ryan Howard has been able to do to baseball. His weakness may be that he strikes out a lot, but as long as he keeps getting that kind of production, I'll take those strikeouts any day of the week. If he can keep this up throughout the rest of his career, there is no doubt in my mind that Ryan Howard will end up in Cooperstown right next to The Babe, himself.

Apparently Someone Is Not A FARN! Fan....

I hate to overshadow my YouTube video debut like this (see below post) but apparently there is a hater or 2 out there. Either that or someone just desparate for an odd story did a "Fire Andy Reid" search, clicked on my link which comes up 3rd, and paste it as a bad site without actually perusing what I've done.
Yes, that "Fire Andy Reid" line is a link that leads right to the front page of this blog. But hey, thanks for the link guys! You know what they say, any and all publicity is good publicity!

Rise and shine --- on the 'net (Delaware County Times Blog)

My Week 2 Picks

I am trying out a new style for this, vlogging via YouTube! For the first time ever (if you did not search my name on Facebook) who will see my beautiful shining voice as well as these wonderfully dolcet tones. My apologies in advance for the awkward cut off at the end. I'm not quite sure what happened, but I was not about to re-make this just because my last remarks about the Colts-Dolphins and my closing comments were cut off at the very end.

Anyway, enjoy and in case the MLB sticklers decide to delete the video because I had the Phillies game on in the background, (to them the vague audio that might have been picked up may be a violation of copyright and what not and my video may get deleted), I have my picks re-stated below the video.



In the future, I'll try to make these shorter as I was not aware how long I was until I was finished. Anyway, I was about to say the person who decided to make this a Monday night game should be fired or shot or something. That was followed by a few closing comments where I basically re-stated my point about the Saints-Eagles games and signed off by saying "peace". I couldn't think of anything else. The cutoff at the end notwithstanding, let me know what you think? Like it? Hate it? And be honest, if you think that fucking sucked, then please let me know, as I won't do it again. Thanks and I hope you enjoyed it!

Update: If you don't want to get through that, here are my picks below. I had originally planned on putting this in here, but I guess I just forgot or something. Oh well....

Atlanta
Minnesota
Green Bay
Arizona
Kansas city
New England
New Orleans
Tennessee
Washington
Buffalo
Seattle
Pittsburgh
Denver
San Diego
New York Giants
Indianapolis

Today In Douche Bag Radio Interviews: Taylor Swift Goes On The MJ In The Morning Show

My NFL picks for this week are coming up later tonight (and a big surprise along with it), but for now, enjoy this interview from the MJ In The Morning Show where MJ tortures Taylor Swift about the Kanye West incident after polite requests not to talk about it, followed by a hilariously pathetic sequence where he tries to play the victim and goes on an inane rant about the whole ordeal.

"Do you think Kanye West has a mental problem?"

And MJ wonders why Taylor Swift and her publicist hung up......

Eagles Still Not Ruling Out McNabb For Sunday's Game

Oh man. You know how I said last Sunday that we would know more about McNabb's status for New Orleans on Monday, well, it is now late Thursday night and either Andy Reid is channeling his inner Mangini and just hiding his cards to keep the Saints off-balance for Kolb, or there really is a chance that Donovan McNabb could play in this Sunday's home-opener against the Saints. Via The Associated Press.

The Eagles aren't giving up hope of having Donovan McNabb on the field when they play their home opener Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.

McNabb made a brief appearance on the practice field Thursday afternoon but did not take part in any drills, after fracturing his rib on a touchdown run late in Philadelphia's 38-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers last weekend.

"Donovan is working very hard," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said. "You know Donovan, he's doing everything in his power to get back out there, make it to this game. He's played with a broken ankle, a broken sternum and all these things. Donovan is a very tough man."

Given the way that Kolb has played in his brief appearances this year and last year, if this is just a smoke screen, you really can't blame Reid. After all, Kolb has struggled and if he can keep the Saints guessing and off balance, then advantage Eagles. If McNabb does play, it certainly is not the lack of practice time that I worry about. As far as him playing goes, I'm more concerned about how effective he'll be throwing the ball given the fact that he will be throwing with a broken rib, something that while he can play with (Westbrook played a lot of the season with 2 broken ribs last year), is very painful to do and certainly throwing the ball and taking body shots like McNabb has a tendency of doing will not do much to alleviate his pain.

Quarterback For Sale

I love Craigslist

"FOR SALE BY CONTRACT - Jake Delhomme, NFL QB. 11 Years. 6'2" 215 lbs. Age 34. 15 TDs in 2008, 12 INTs. Loyal. Needs a Loving Home. Serious Offers, Please. Trades Accepted. Contact: John Fox @ 800 South Mint St, Charlotte, NC (704) 358 7000."

Too funny! Maybe Jake can find the loving home that he is looking for and get his career back on track. After all, one should never underestimate the power of a hug....

Famous Phillies Fan And Daughter Receive Odd, Unexpected Surprise

Sorry that I could not get this to you sooner, but even though I only have one class today, I have been helping out with Constitution Day all day and really this is the first time that I've been able to breakaway, if only for a few minutes.

I mentioned yesterday, that I would try to find the video of the famous Phillies fan and daughter who threw away her daddy's first ever foul ball. Well, here it is.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I figured that someone had recovered that ball and turned it in. Oh well, it still is cute to watch and is something that I'm sure neither Steve nor Emily will ever forget.

If Only We Saw More Stories Like This In Baseball

For all the chastising of general idiocy that goes on around here, sometimes it's nice and rather refreshing to post something a little on the heart-warming side such as this video. Such is the case with this story making national headlines of the Phillies fans the other night. In the bottom of the 5th inning of Tuesday night's game against the Nationals, Jayson Werth hit a foul ball that was caught in the stands by a lifelong Phillies fan named Steve Monforto who was attending the game with his 3-year old daughter. Monforto did what any normal fan would do after making a foul grab and he gave the ball to his little girl to hold. Only she did not exactly do that. Instead, she threw the ball away over the railing, thinking she was innocently playing a game of catch. Afterward, instead of yelling at his daughter for throwing the foul ball away (Monforto has been going to Phillies games all his life and this was his first foul ball), he had a smile on his face and gave her a big hug, and all of a sudden, he is now relishing 15 minutes of fame. Here's the link to the original video from CSN Philly courtesy of MLB.com and below is an interview Monforto did with MSNBC earlier today.



So great and fun to see, it really truly is. Both Steve and Emily will be appearing on the Today Show tomorrow, September 17, where supposedly both Steve and his daughter, Emily, will receive some sort of surprise. If it is posted online, I'll try to get the video of that up as soon as I possibly can.

The Big 20

It's official. Today is September 16 which means it's my birthday! YAY ME!!!

And frankly, I can't think of a better way to spend it then by doing stat homework at 12:30 in the morning while my roommate and his "friend" are sleeping in the bed across from me. Oh, and by the way, this "friend" is setting my roommate's alarm at 7:30 in the morning! Great. Robbed of 30 minutes sleep on the busiest day of my week, which this time around just so happens to be my birthday. And by busy, I mean that I have 5 classes tomorrow plus the important weekly meeting for my job.

Truse me, college life is not as glamorous as it might seem......

On the plus side though, I'M NO LONGER A TEENAGER!!! HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!!!!

Blue Jays-Yankees Brawl FTW!

There's something so great about a bench-clearing brawl that is just so fun to watch. Watch as what starts as a little love top from Carlson to Jose Posada turns into an all out bench clearing brawl!



Good times! I love how one nudge like that can start a whole bench-clearing brawl filled with players going at each others throats. It always fascinates me what on earth can cause classy, grown, and mature men to rise up from the benches and start ripping and tearing and going after other people like that. Good times over in the Bronx......goooooooood times.

Your 2009 NFL Week 2 Schedule

CBS gets the doubleheader this week and for the first time this season, Joe Buck is in Philadelphia and doing an Eagles game. Are you ready to see who will be calling your team's game? Without further ado, here is your Week 2 NFL Announcing Schedule! (games in bold indicate the games I get; all times eastern)

Map of who gets what Fox games

New Orleans Saints @ Philadelphia Eagles 1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
St. Louis Rams @ Washington Redskins 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Charles Davis)
Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions 1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)
Arizona Cardinals @ Jacksonville Jaguars 1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Trent Green)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Buffalo Bills 4:05 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
Seattle @ San Francisco 4:05 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)

Map of who will get what early games on CBS

New England Patriots @ New York Jets 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Oakland Raiders @ Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Houston Texans @ Tennessee Titans 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Cincinnati Bengals @ Green Bay Packers 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)

Map of who will get what late games on CBS

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Chicago Bears 4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Baltimore Ravens @ San Diego Chargers 4:15 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Cleveland Browns @ Denver Broncos 4:15 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein)

Sunday Night Football
New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football
Indianapolis Colts @ Miami Dolphins 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

It appears as if this is one of those weeks where I get all of the marquee games. I've got the Fox marquee game, the early CBS one, and the late CBS one. Plus we've got the can't miss event that is the opening of JerryLand in primetime on Sunday Night Football. I hope that you will be able to join us for the live blogs and while there is a bit of an overlap with some of the CBS games, it still appears like there should be a lot of variety and a lot of fun.

Phillies 2010 Schedule Released......Already.

Wow. Um, I had a feeling that I would be incredibly busy with the blogging today what with the fallout of MNF and Kanye on Leno and what not, but never did I think that I would be giving you this news today. The Phillies schedule has been released and this is what it looks like with special thanks to James Craven of The O Files for compiling it into one nice, easy to read list.

April
5, 7, 8 - at Washington
9, 10, 11 - at Houston
12, 14, 15 - Washington
16, 17, 18 - Florida
20, 21, 22 - at Atlanta
23, 24, 25 - at Arizona
26, 27, 28 - at San Francisco
30 - NY Mets

May
1, 2 - NY Mets
3, 4, 5, 6, - St. Louis
7, 8, 9 - Atlanta
10, 11, 12 - at Colorado
14, 15, 16 - at Milwaukee
17, 18 - Pittsburgh
19, 20 - at Chicago Cubs
21, 22, 23 - Boston
25, 26, 27 - at NY Mets
28, 29, 30 - at Florida
31 - at Atlanta

June
1, 2 - at Atlanta
4, 5, 6, 7 - San Diego
8, 9, 10 - Florida
11, 12, 13 - at Boston
15, 16, 17 - at NY Yankees
18, 19, 20 - Minnesota
22, 23, 24 - Cleveland
25, 26, 27 - at Toronto
28, 29, 30 - at Cincinnati

July
1, 2, 3, 4 - at Pittsburgh
5, 6, 7 - Atlanta
8, 9, 10, 11 - Cincinnati
15, 16, 17, 18 - at Chicago Cubs
19, 20, 21, 22 - at St. Louis
23, 24, 25, 26 - Colorado
27, 28, 29 - Arizona
30, 31 - at Washington

August
1 - at Washington
3, 4, 5 - at Florida
6, 7, 8 - NY Mets
10, 11, 12 - LA Dodgers
13, 14, 15 - at NY Mets
17, 18, 19 - San Francisco
20, 21, 22 - Washington
23, 24, 25, 26 - Houston
27, 28, 29 - at San Diego
30, 31 - at LA Dodgers

September
1 - at LA Dodgers
3, 4, 5 - Milwaukee
6, 7, 8 - Florida
10, 11, 12 - at NY Mets
13, 14, 15 - at Florida
17, 18, 19 - Washington
20, 21, 22 - Atlanta
24, 25, 26 - NY Mets
27, 28, 29 - at Washington

October
1, 2, 3 - at Atlanta

Really, MLB? We open the 2010 season on the road against the Washington Fucking Natinals? Oy ve. Just what all of baseball needs, the Nationals taking a 3-game lead over the Phillies in the NL East to start the year. Other than that, there really is not much to say other than why on earth does MLB release the schedule for 2010 in the middle of the home stretch for the 2009 season? This really can't wait until a day after the World Series ends? Whatever, I guess.

Wait, one other thing. If it was possible for any of you to have a nickel for everytime I call the upcoming year/season "0 ten" instead of "ten" or "twenty-ten", you'll be a certified trillionaire before you know it. I'm trying to catch myself, but I'm 0 for 2 thus far today...

BREAKING NEWS: I Spoke Too Soon; Vick Activated Means Goodbye Kendra!!!

I said in the comments section in the Shawn Andrews post, that I would have the Phillies schedule up after my special comment/rant of the day. Well, it appears as if some big time breaking news will trump that. I guess there's only one to say it.....KENDRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE'LL MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA Today reports....

The Philadelphia Eagles have elevated Michael Vick (FSY) to the team's 53-man roster.
The Eagles released receiver Hank Baskett (FSY) to make room for Vick, who is eligible to play on Sept. 27 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The team said on its website that Vick, who had been on the exempt list, will begin practicing with the team on Wednesday, though he cannot play in Sunday's home opener against the New Orleans Saints.

Baskett was one of seven receivers the Eagles carried on their 53-man roster through Week 1. He became expendable after Philadelphia selected Jeremy Maclin (FSY) in the first round of April's draft and added Brandon Gibson (FSY) in the sixth round.

NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! KENDRA!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T LEAVE US LIKE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'LL MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh well, at least we still have Heidi!

Now to the actual football relevence of this, and it is an interesting move to say the least. I was not expecting this until this coming Monday or something. Then again, maybe Reid wanted that last pre-game public outcry over week in advance of his debut. But the Eagles do have too many receivers and sadly, this means the end of Hank and Kendra's time in Philly. And while I would much rather the Eagles discard of Reggie Brown, this might actually give the rookie Brandon Gibson a chance to step into the role or 5th wide receiver and I really liked what I saw from him in pre-season. As far as Vick goes, while he is still suspended, it will be interesting to see what Reid does with him now that McNabb is hurt. It seems to me like Reid has absolutely no intention of ever having Michael Vick play quarterback full time should something happen to Kolb and/or Garcia.

But alas, it must be said, as far as the loss of Hank Baskett III goes. I weep. Hank weeps. Kendra weeps. Lil Hank weeps. I think we all weep this sad day of loss in Philadelphia.

(Hat tip to James Craven!)

John Clayton Is An Assclown Who Knows Nothing About Football

I swear, ESPN hires some of the stupidest people in the world. This time, it's John Clayton, who know, that one ESPN reporter who is lost in the mix with Ed Werder, Mort, and now Adam Schefter. Yeah, well, there's a reason he is lost in the crowd and this is it. Just read this incredibly idiotic observation he wrote on Monday on McNabb's injury.

McNabb's injury could have been avoided: Eagles coach Andy Reid wouldn't lift his foot off the accelerator with a 21-point, third-quarter lead, and as a result, he might not have QB Donovan McNabb for next Sunday's potential shootout against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. Eagles QB Donovan McNabb padded a commanding lead, but he paid a price.

With 6:59 left in the third quarter of a 38-10 win over the Panthers, McNabb suffered a fractured rib in the left side of his back as he scrambled into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown. That touchdown gave the Eagles a 38-10 lead in a game that was over in the middle of the second quarter. X-rays revealed one fracture. McNabb's a competitor, but there was no need for him to risk injury with that big of a lead. It's too early to determine McNabb's status, but he's more doubtful than questionable

Has John Clayton ever watched a football game in his life? I swear, this is one of the most idiotic things I have ever read. Let me break it down for you so you know what I mean.

First of all, the Eagles were only up by 21 points before the McNabb touchdown/injury. Clayton tries to paint is as they were up 4 touchdowns and they were pulling a Bill Belichick circa 2007. That would be if the Eagles were up by 38 in the 4th quarter and they were still running all of their starters and gadgets to purposefully score more points. Scoring another touchdown when you are up 21, is at ramming the game down an opponent's throat and that is not the time to take your foot off the accelerator. Not in the 3rd quarter, at least. After all, the Eagles scored 3 touchdowns in the 2nd quarter in a period under 5 minutes with mainly defense and special teams. Who is to say that the Panthers could not have done the same thing with their defense and special teams?

And also, the Eagles were not doing anything tricky or trying to be fancy schmancy with that drive. They were establishing rhythm on offense after being totally out of sync during the pre-season. There was not anything fancy that said we want to shove this game down your throats. It was the Eagles offense running the Eagles offense. It's not the Eagles fault that the Panthers were unable to stop the Eagles' basic offensive scheme. Something that John Clayton knows nothing about.

And as far as the actual play itself and Donovan McNabb himself, it was a typical play. Nothing wrong, nothing over-the-top. He dropped back to pass, looked for a receiver, saw that no one was open, saw a potential running lane for the endzone and did what McNabb does back and take off and run for it. Now I can argue that the hit that fractured the rib was a late hit, but that's not really the point. The guy was trying to make the play. It may have been a tad late, but it was by no means egregious like it was in the 04 NFC Title game. Not that John Clayton would know anything about that, mind you.

But back to comebacks, not only have we seen 21 point comebacks in football games, if we think back to a several years ago on Monday Night Football (and the infamous Leaping game), Peyton Manning led a 21-point comeback with less than 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter! Sure Delhomme was stinking it up by then, but as mentioned earlier, who is to say that the Panthers could not have had a special teams/defense explosion. And while this was written before the game, who is to say that something like yesterday's Bills-Pats game could have happened. Of course, I'm sure John Clayton was quite surprised, shocked, stunned, and amazed all at once when he woke up this morning and saw that the Patriots won 25-24. Surely he had gone to bed when the Bills scored that touchdown that make it 24-13. After all, there has NEVER been an 11-point comeback with 3 minutes left in NFL history. After all, there have never been any halftime comebacks of 21-points or more. What we saw last night was truly unprecedented and chances are, we will never see anything like that again in our lives.

Like I mentioned before, I would be truly amazed if John Clayton has ever seen a football game in his life. What a complete ass and an utter moron.

FIRE JOHN CLAYTON NOW!

Brady is Back. Did Federer Give Up Against Del Potro? NBC Is The Clippers & Why John Clayton Is So Wrong. (On the DL Podcast)

BREAKING NEWS: Eagles Place Shawn Andrews On IR; Kendra Can Breath A Sigh Of Relief!

With the Eagles needing to clear up a roster spot so they can add Jeff Garcia, it was all but a foregone conclusion that they would trade one of their 7 wide receivers, most likely Hank Baskett or Reggie Brown as they were at the bottom of the totem pole. And with no takers on Reggie Brown (not that I blame them), it was all but a foregone conclusion that Hank, Kendra, and the lil bun in the oven, Hank Baskett IV, would be finding a new city to build their family in. But that won't be the case as the Eagles have just decided that to clear up that roster spot, they will place Shawn Andrews on IR. Via The AP.

The Philadelphia Eagles placed Andrews on injured reserve Tuesday, ending the two-time Pro Bowl lineman's season. Andrews missed the entire preseason and season opener with a back injury. He briefly returned to practice, but his surgically repaired back flared up again.

"It's disappointing to lose any player for the entire season, but we have full confidence in the other lineman we have on this roster to help this team succeed," coach Andy Reid said. "We wish Shawn all the best as he recovers and rehabilitates from this injury."

Quarterback Jeff Garcia took Andrews' spot on the roster. Garcia was signed to provide insurance because Donovan McNabb has a cracked rib and is uncertain to play this week.

Philadelphia revamped its offensive line in the offseason, replacing longtime bookend tackles Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan. The Eagles signed Andrews' brother, Stacy Andrews, and acquired his college roommate, Jason Peters. They were counting on Andrews moving from right guard to anchor the right tackle spot.

Winston Justice replaced him in the starting lineup. Runyan remains unsigned and worked out with the team last week.

The eccentric Andrews missed all of training camp in 2008 with depression. He returned for the season opener, but went down in Week 2 with a herniated disc.

Andrews practiced early last week in preparation for Philadelphia's game against Carolina. He called himself a "beast" and seemed excited about trying to block Julius Peppers. But Andrews tweaked his back Wednesday, sat out the next two days and couldn't play.

Well, that's one way to get rid of that useless piece of garbage. I was thinking for sure it would be a WR being traded, but hey, I'll take this. This will most likely mean that Winston Justice will be playing right tackle, unless the Eagles decide to re-sign Jon Runyan, who worked out with the Eagles last week. And while Justice is now infamous for allowing 6 of the 12 sacks on McNabb during that SNF game against New York 2 years ago, he really seems to be improving and leaps and bounds and he played quite all right against Carolina Sunday.

Besides, any day that the Eagles can get rid of a Sanjaya Malakar wannabe is a good day for Eagles fans. He'll be back next year in training camp, but if I were a betting man, I would bet that he will suffer the same fate that Alex Mortensen suffered this pre-season.

Today In Awkward On-Air Apologies: Kanye West Apologizes To Taylor Swift On Leno

After being advertised and advertised and advertised over and over and over again by NBC, Jay Leno's primetime show finally premiered last night. And while I have not seen the ratings yet, I can tell you that there will most likely be a 150% decrease by the end of the week. I'm sure you all know what happened between Kanye West and Taylor Swift at the VMAs Sunday night, but if you live under a rock, you can view the video here (and Beyonce making it up to Taylor here). So Kanye West (for the first time in his life, mind you) decided to have an ounce of class an publically apologize to Taylor Swift on the Jay Leno show and for a few short moments, the show ceased to be the Jay Leno Show and turned into an impromtu edition of Dr. Phil.



Awkward. If this is how the Jay Leno Show is going to be from here on out, then I'm pretty sure it will end up in the trash quicker than Pirate Master did for CBS. I don'k know if Kanye was taken aback by the question about his mother (why a grown man would seriously ask another grown man about how his mother what his mother would think of her son's rude actions is still beyond me) or what, but that was one incredibly awkward and unnerving moment of television.

Week 1 Monday Night Choke Job Part 2

The Oakland Raiders had the San Diego Chargers right where they wanted them, but then, the Chargers marched down the field in the final minutes to win the game. This truly was a typical week 1 game. Horribly boring game, worse announcers, and a fantastic finish. Here are your highlights, oh, and I guess I should warn you that this video is over 6 minutes of Mike, Mike, and Steve. I can't just surprise my readers out of nowhere with such annoying, awful announcers.



Even though the refs did have a few big time calls in the game, the Raiders deserved to lose it. Russell needs to play better at QB and they need to avoid stupid penalties. They may have a star in McFadden, but JaMarcus Russell is proving time and time that he was not worth the 1st round draft pick.

Week 1 Monday Night Choke Job Part 1

I'd add commentary, but it's 1:49 AM and I'm practically dead. So just enjoy the last 3 minutes of the Bills-Pats game and I'll try to get something up tomorrow morning for the 2nd MNF choke job (a.k.a. Raiders-Chargers).



The Bills just find new ways to lose Monday Night Football games and break my heart in the process. First Dallas, now New England (both by a score of 25-24, mind you), could they at least play the Eagles or San Diego, or another team I decently like/respect and choke to them. When he left the Eagles, I never thought I would openly cheer for T.O. again when the game had no impact on the Eagles. Well, I was wrong, and look what happened.

Kendra Will Soon Weep...

The Eagles have to make room for the Garcia signing, and it looks like in all likelihood that Kendra's hubby will be out of a job. From ESPN's Sal Paolantonio via Rotoworld.

According to ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, the Eagles have placed WR Hank Baskett on the trade block.

The Eagles need to make room for Jeff Garcia, so they have to cut or trade someone. They'd like to get rid of Reggie Brown, but nobody is making an offer. The Eagles have a slew of young receivers and can afford to move.

I'm pretty sure that says more about Reggie Brown than it does Hank Baskett. Let's see, Reggie Brown is a 2nd round draft pick and nobody is willing to take him, yet Hank Baskett came into the Eagles as an undrafted wide receiver previously signed and traded by the Vikings for Billy McMullen (we all know who got the better end of deal), and he is more valuable to most teams than Brown is. Incredible. I would miss Baskett, though, and not just for Kendra and those stories. With all of the smaller, faster receivers the Eagles have, Baskett is a tall guy that can run a fade route in the endzone and while he's not great, that's something that aside from him they don't have. Please, if there is any takers, any, even if it is for only a 7th round draft pick, PLEASE TRADE REGGIE BROWN!

Eagles Sign Jeff Garcia

I'm shocked. Despite the way that Eagles management treated Jeff Garcia after his playoff run a few years ago, he has amazingly enough re-signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. From CSN Philly

Donovan McNabb is injured at Carolina. Minutes later, the Eagles knock out Panthers backup Josh McCown, who suffers a knee injury. A day later, Carolina signs A.J. Feeley, who played two separate stints with the Eagles before being released a week before this season’s opener.

So the Eagles decide to bring back Jeff Garcia, who in 2006 led them to an unforgettable run to the playoffs. Garcia agreed to a one-year deal Monday evening.

Really.

“It was either Jeff or A.J. A.J. ended up going to Carolina, and signed with them. That’s a long-term deal for him, and Jeff’s going to come on board with us for who knows how long,” head coach Andy Reid said Monday on his weekly radio show on 610 WIP-AM. “It’s a unique situation because Michael [Vick] is suspended for a week and Donovan’s banged up. We don’t know how long Donovan’s going to be. At the same time, we need a second quarterback in there, if needed, for this weekend.”

And go figure this out. McNabb also injured his ribs in 2004 against Carolina in the NFC Championship (and again a cheap shot).

You really can't make this stuff up.

And wait??? If McNabb can't go, the Eagles are actually going to go with Kevin Kolb over Jeff Garcia? Seriously? I understand Garcia just re-signed with the Eagles, but he probably knows the Eagles offense just as well, if not even better, than Kolb. It's the offense he had success with in San Francisco and his playoff run in Philadelphia.

And despite the fact that the Panthers knocked McNabb out with a cheap shot, it appears that the Eagles have gotten the last laugh in the end. After all, the Eagles have Pro Bowl quarterback Jeff Garcia, and the Panthers end up with pathetic A.J. Feeley. Like I mentioned at the AA Live Blog, the only way any of this makes sense is if Jeff Garcia is completely desparate for any job period, and the Panthers want to set the all-time NFL record for most interceptions for a season...

130 Pitches, 8 Innings, 1 Unbelieveable Performance

For all the talk and the hoopla over McNabb, the Eagles, Stokley, and football season in general, in the 2nd game of a day-night doubleheader, the Phillies managed to come up with one their season highlights and maybe even one for the all-time reel. Against the team that all but left him for dead, hall of fame pitcher Pedro Martinez threw 8 innings for the 1st time since 2006 and 130 pitches for the first time since he turned 30. And may I remind you that Pedro Martinez is 38-years old. Via MLB.com, here is the link to the video of Pedro's highlights for the day capped off with the unbelieveable pick off play by Ruiz to end the 8th inning with a great call by Jon Miller.

http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=6637183&c_id=phi

And with that loss, the Mets are now officially eliminated from playoff contention. Oh, the joys and ironies and lovelies of that! And aspeaking of the playoffs, thanks to The O Files and Metsmagicnumber.com, I can tell you that the Magic number for the Philadelphia Phillies is currently at 14. Any combination of 14 Phillies wins and losses from any team in 2nd place will equate to the Phillies being National League East champions for the 3rd consecutive year. For your viewing pleasure, I will add a counter to the sidebar so that way, you can always know how close the Fightin Phils are to the playoffs. Go Phillies!!!

Brandon Stokley And Gus Johnson Are Each The Recipient Of A Miracle

22 hours later and I still can't believe this play. And I also can't believe that Gus Johnson is still alive. Check out the video with the GuJo audio.



What a play. And what a call by Johnson. It was a bit over-the-top, yes, but that's not really a bad thing. I greatly enjoy his enthusiasm, even if it his over-the-top. And if Brandon Stokley's catch is any indication as to how the Broncos's season is going to go and/or is a momentum and confidence booster to them, then I'm pretty sure Seattle fans everywhere are feeling a dagger in their hearts despite shutting the Rams out 28-0.

McNabb Is "Week-To-Week" With A Fractured Rib

First of all, LOL @ Jake Delhomme and the Carolina Panthers for that completely craptastic performance. It was all Jake Delhomme, McCown, and Moore. They screwed up on their own. The fact that the pressure the Eagles defense put on them had absolutely nothing to do with that. Impossible. Because that never happens, right?

Trust me, as an Eagles fan, you get used to everybody calling the other side bad and credit is never given where credit is due. Then again, I guess it's not a bad thing as it keeps us under the radar, which ain't bad at all. But on to the more important news at hand: Donovan McNabb. Here's the latest from NFL.com

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is week to week after fracturing a rib during Sunday's 38-10 season-opening rout of the Carolina Panthers, a source with knowledge of the situation told NFL Network's Jason La Canfora.

According to the source, McNabb's status depends on his pain threshold and whether anything aggravates the injury. Returning for next week's home game against the New Orleans Saints might be ambitious, but McNabb will be evaluated throughout the week.

"He's sore right now. He's got a broken rib," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "We'll just see how he does over the next little bit."

Philadelphia's dominant performance at Carolina was tempered by concerns about McNabb, who cracked the rib during the third quarter when several defenders hit him on his 3-yard touchdown run. McNabb didn't immediately get up after the touchdown, and Eagles trainers attended to the quarterback before he eventually left the field on his own.

"Don is very resilient," said Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, who caught one of McNabb's two touchdown passes. "He heals fast"

The Eagles are in big time trouble next week. Despite how well they played today, the Saints and Drew Brees are a different animal and a injured McNabb is about as bad as Kevin Kolb/A.J. Feeley. It also does not help that, while playable, a broken rib is a very painful injury. McNabb does not fare well in pain, as we have seen numerous times in the pass. And while the Eagles defense was great today, surely the Saints will find away to score some points and if the Eagles can't score at all, then it will be trouble. I'm a little more hopeful for Week 3 as they face an easier opponent in Kansas City and that's Mike Vick's return, and even though Andy Reid is constantly vowing that he won't be the starter, that will add a different dimension to the offense. I know Eagles back-ups have had success in the past (see Detmer, Koy, Feeley version 1.0, and Garcia, Jeff), but Kevin Kolb once again proved today that he is a completely inept quarterback. Jay Glazer and Fox Sports reported that the Eagles might re-track down the recently cut Feeley and Jeff Garcia, but with only 6 days to prepare and get re-acquainted with the team, you have to wonder how effective that will be. And after Eagles management all but kicked him out of town, I'd be shocked if Garcia would even give a return to the Eagles a passing thought, even if it is the only job available.

Let's put it this way: I'll be completely giddy if the Eagles can win 1 of their next 2 games before their Week 4 bye week.

I'll try to have an update or 2 on McNabb tomorrow afternoon as I'm sure there will be some.

Our Week 1 Live Blog Is Not Here.....

....so head on over to Keith's Sports Journal for epic fun, laughs, our GuJo certified CAPS when our teams do something incredible (or incredibly stupid) and an all-around good time (assuming our teams win, that is.) See you there!

And for a live blog of SNF...head on over to 12StepDrop!

My Week 1 Picks

So here ya go. And just so you know, there is a basic rule for this if you want to make money. Pick the opposite team that I pick and go to Las Vegas with that pick. Easiest way ever to make a fortune.

Pittsburgh over Tennessee (1 for 1! Yeay-yah!)

Atlanta over Miami (Both won't be as good as last year. Miami is more of a 1 hit wonder though than Atlanta).

Baltimore over Kansas City (Yawn.....)

Philadelphia over Carolina (They've got a dangerous combo at RB.........and that's about it. Have I ever mentioned how happy I am that Macho Harris is B-Dawk's replacement at free safety?)

Cincinnati over Denver (Look, I'm not saying the Bengals are going to be any good this year, I'm just saying that the Broncos are going to suck epicly)

Minnesota over Cleveland (If they stay healthy, the Vikes will be really good. The same can't be said about the Browns)

Houston over New York Jets (Mark my words, Mark Sanchez will suck)

Indianapolis over Jacksonville (Peyton Manning could be surrounded by 10 high schoolers and the Colts would still win this game).

New Orleans over Detroit (New Lions uniforms FTW!)

Dallas over Tampa Bay (Both teams won't be any good. However, Tampa will rival Detroit, Denver, and Oakland as the worst in the NFL this year).

San Francisco over Arizona (I'm feeling the upset here).

New York Giants over Washington (Let the soon-to-be failed Haynesworth experiment in Washington begin!)

Seattle over St. Louis (Seattle will be so much better this year it's not even funny. Remember, the Seahawks were above all else a victim of the injury bug last year).

Green Bay over Chicago (Have I ever mentioned how overrated Jay Cutler and the Bears are this year? And to that point, the Packers are vastly underrated in my view. Watch out for the Pack this year. Just saying).

New England over Buffalo (I love watching 42-3 MNF games!)

San Diego over Oakland (See New England over Buffalo)

I'll be keeping track of my wins and losses as we go through the season, something that I will probably soon regret. I think I'm looking pretty good this week, but a big part of that is the fact that I don't think many games will be that competitive this week.

Most. Dramatic. Jersey Unveiling. Ever

This video is every bit of awesome as Simon Gagne, Danny Briere, and Braydon Coburn unveil the Flyers jersies for the 2010 Winter Classic.



Personally, I think that the retro Flyers jersies are one of, if not the, best jersies in Philly sports (aside from that homage by the Eagles to Team Sweden, of course). Last year, they debuted the orange version of these as an alternate jersey and will be using them as their home jersies for this coming year, but the white ones have not been worn in this era until now. Thanks to Puck Daddy, here are a couple pics.


Puck Daddy does not like them, but as a Flyers fan, I think they are every bit of epic win!

Service Electric Cable Knows How To Irritate Me Greatly

For the most part, I really like my cable outlet up at Bloom. I get NFL-N, ESPN Classic, and several different affiliates from different cities from New York, Philly, and Scranton/Northeast PA and so on and so forth. Well anyway, Service Electric Cable does not have MyPHL 17, the cable network that normally carries Phillies games on weekends and other select days. But up to this point, that had not been a problem as the Scranton/NEPA affiliate always carried the Phils when they were on MyPHL. Well, high school football is on that affiliate tonight and that's a problem. Naturally, if the Phils were playing any team other than the Mets, I would be completely shit out of luck. But it's the Mets and I just so happen to get the CW NY, the network affiliate that carries the Mets on weekends and select other games. So in case you are yet to figure out where this is going, I, a big Phillies fan, am currently watching the Mets-Phillies game with the Mets broadcast and being thankful that by some miracle I get the game period.

On the plus side, at least I don't have to deal with Sarge for 3 innings!