2010 NFL Season Week 8 Live Blog/MLB Playoffs Day 20 World Series

Happy Halloween! Join the ghoulish gang for what promises to be a record setting day in sports. As always don't be a troll....unless you are dressed as one. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Game 4: Giants vs. Rangers 8:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 19 Live Blog

Game 3: Giants vs. Rangers 6:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LIVE BLOG

Mike Richards Does What Every Hockey Fan Dreams Of

And that is beating the carcass of renowned dirty player Matt Cooke.



This was just the start of a stretch of 3 minutes and 59 seconds that saw 11 penalties called, only 4 of which were for fighting, including the two here to Richards and Cooke. Granted the shots at the end that Richards got in were while Cooke was on a knee and thus not the cleanest beatdowns you'll see, it must be considered that the player getting beaten down is Matt Cooke, therefore, some leeway will be provided. Following the last meeting between the Flyers and the Penguins this season, Mike Richards made some rather unflattering comments about the Pens that probably drew some ire. It is good to see that unlike some people probably would, Mike Richards did not hide from his words and the captain of the Flyers fought the Penguins biggest goon. Now if only we could have gotten Sidney Crosby to fight Dan Carcillo.....

2 Years Ago Today....

One strike away; nothing-and-two, the count to Hinske. Fans on the their feet; rally towels are being waved. Brad Lidge stretches. The 0-2 pitch — swing and a miss, struck him out! The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 World Champions of baseball! Brad Lidge does it again, and stays perfect for the 2008 season! 48-for-48 in save opportunities, and let the city celebrate! Don't let the 48-hour wait diminish the euphoria of this moment, and the celebration. And it has been 28 years since the Phillies have enjoyed a World Championship; 25 years in this city that a team that has enjoyed a World Championship, and the fans are ready to celebrate. What a night!

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 18 Live Blog

Game 2: Rangers vs. Giants 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

A Very Soul-ful Return

Try the veal, everyone!

In the dire straits of the mid to late 2000s before the 2008 World Series when Philadelphia was starved for a championship, I turned to a team I thought that had a chance of winning one. A team with a young, enthusiastic head coach, a star QB, and a lot of promise as a future champion. That team, the Philadelphia Soul, finally won a championship in the summer of 2008 just before the league shut down for a year and went bankrupt. Well for the unaware, Arena Football returned earlier this year and next year, also returning will be the Philadelphia Soul! From Philly.com

The baptism of the reborn Philadelphia Soul will begin near the nexus of three rivers - in Pittsburgh.

On March 11, the local Arena Football League franchise will take to the indoor carpet for the first time since winning the league title in July 2008, according to the team's newly released schedule.

George W. Bush was still president back then.

Jersey rocker Jon Bon Jovi was still one of the Soul's co-owners.

Then the league tanked worse than the American economy, taking a year off, and then going bankrupt, before re-emerging with a mix of old and new teams for this year's season.

But without a Soul.

In June, the franchise announced that ex-Eagles quarterback / ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski would be back as one of four co-owners of a resurrected franchise - but that Bon Jovi and bandmate Richie Sambora were giving up the gig.

The team has a new head coach and a new quarterback. Former player Mike Hohensee is one of the league's winningest coaches, and just a couple of weeks ago, the Soul signed 6-foot-2, 240-pound Justin Allgood, who threw a league-high 109 touchdown passes with Tulsa Talons in 2010. Also signed is Donovan Morgan, who caught 52 of Allgood's TDs with Tulsa.

Mike Hohensee was the head coach of the Chicago Rush in the pre-bankrupt days while Justin Allgood was one of the best QBs last season in the AFL, playing for the Tulsa Talons. For those wondering where he comes from, Allgood played for Division II University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) Bronchos (yes, "Bronchos" is the right spelling here).

And now for a flashback to the last time the Soul were on an Arena Football field. The Phillies may be the ones who officially ended the championship drought in 2008, but the Soul were the ones who started the year of greatness.



"The New Orleans Arena in New Orleans." - Bob Wischusen

Never would have figured that one out, Bob. Anyways, a little post-script on this team. Bret Munsey, then the head coach of the Philadelphia Soul, is now the director of player personnel for the Florida Tuskers. The original starting QB for the Soul that season (and then highest paid player in the league), Tony Graziani, is now out of football. The back-up QB (who coincidentally was once a starter for Mike Hohensee's Chicago Rush only to be released before being picked-up by the Soul as the back-up), Matt D'Orazio signed a contract with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL in February 2009. He was released a few months later. The star wide receiver of that Soul team, Chris Jackson with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL in 2009, but was released a month and a half later and is out of football as far as I can tell. The defensive player of the game for the Philadelphia Soul, Gabe Nyenhuis, spent some time in the CFL before returning to the AFL where he still has a job playing football with the Tulsa Talons.

The Legend Of Pat Burrell Continues To Grow

For those that have not been following the awesomeness of Brian Wilson, he has been referencing a character known as The Machine for a good part of the season. These verbal references came in a post-game interview after the NLCS and in an interview with Jim Rome. Then, The Machine literally made an appearance while Brian Wilson was being interviewed by Cheap Seats. So the big question is, who is this guy? Well, thanks to some top-notch sleuthing, meech.one of The Fightins has uncovered the answer.

After narrowing down the suspects, [Deadspin] decided that the culprit was more than likely Pat Burrell, former left-fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies and Wilson’s current teammate. Now that’s some mighty fine investigative work by the Deadspin boys, because for the last couple of years, I have been sitting on a picture of Pat Burrell in all his gimp-outiftted glory, but never ran it because the guy who gave me the picture didn’t want to get caught.

Well, that was a few years ago when Pat Burrell was a Phillie, and since he’s now with the SF Giants, and it’s basically public knowledge anyway, I’m gonna go ahead and share the picture with everyone…

I don’t really want to go into detail about how I acquired this picture, but it was taken at Pat Burrell’s house in Arizona during a Christmas party in (I believe) December of ’04 (possibly ’05). According to my picture-taking accomplice, every year during his Christmas party — which is attended by a veritable who’s who of baseballers who spend their winters out in AZ — Pat wanders upstairs and slips into his assless-chapped gimp outfit to entertain his party guests while making them feel extremely uncomfortable all at the same time.

Please excuse the bare-assedness of the following photo taken 5 years ago of The Machine.

In his post-NLCS interview linked to above, when talking about C.J. Wilson's trash talk on Twitter, Brian Wilson mentioned that "I think The Machine will say all he needs to say when he makes an appearance again," thus sort of referencing the fact that he might be a Giant. Add that on to Meech's evidence and the fact that The Machine is built like Pat Burrell, and I think it is safe to say we have a match.

Pat The Bat is The Machine. Oddly enough, I can't say I'm at all surprised.

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 17 Live Blog

Game 1: Rangers vs. Giants 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LIVE BLOG

Bengie Molina Plans On Accepting A World Series Ring Regardless

One of the most interesting stories in this 2010 World Series is that of Bengie Molina. For those unaware, Molina started the season as the starting catcher for the San Francisco Giants. A month after the Giants finally got wise and called-up Buster Posey, Molina was traded to the Rangers where he became the starting catcher there (even hitting for the cycle once!) While Molina is now a Ranger, the question that remains is whether or not Bengie would accept a ring if he was on the losing team of the World Series? Would he accept a Giants ring? In his MLBlog, Behind The Mask, Bengie Molina addressed this unique situation.

It's amazing to think that no matter who wins, I'll have my second World Series ring. If this is my last year in baseball, what better ending than to have contributed to both teams in the World Series? I couldn't ask for anything more.

OK, I could ask for one more thing.

Another rush to the pitcher's mound, another stadium filled with flashing cameras and a scoreboard ablaze with the words, "World Series Champion Texas Rangers!''

Now who knows how feelings could change once the series has planned out, but it looks like as of now, Bengie Molina plans on accepting a Giants World Series ring. If he does do so, I would not blame him. He may not be on the Giants team now, but he did play a part in the season and helped Posey in his smooth transition to the bigs. I'm not sure if Ranger fans would feel the same way in regards to Milina, but this is a great way for Bengie to go out a winner regardless, should he choose to not comeback to baseball next season.

NFL Week 8 Schedule

Eagles are on a bye this week so I'm literally at the mercy of the scheduling gods as to what games I get. Luckily, the 2 different CBS affiliates I get are showing 2 different games at the 1:00 timeslot in addition to the game I get on Fox. The bad news, I am stuck with "America's Game Of The Week" on Fox in the late afternoon (random aside: CBS is so much better than Fox in every facet of sports coverage that it's not even funny). (all times ET; games I get are in bold)

Map of who gets what CBS game.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Dallas Cowboys 1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Denver Broncos vs. San Francisco 49ers (game to be played in London) 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Miami Dolphins vs. Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)

Tennessee Titans vs. San Diego Chargers 4:05 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)

Map of who gets what Fox early game.

Green Bay Packers vs. New York Jets 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
Carolina Panthers vs. St. Louis Rams 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton, Charles Davis, and Jim Mora, Jr.)
Washington Redskins vs. Detroit Lions 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)

Map of who gets what Fox late game.

Minnesota Vikings vs. New England Patriots 4:15 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Troy Aikman)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Arizona Cardinals 4:15 (Fox - Chris Myers and Brian Billick)
Seattle Seahawks vs. Oakland Raiders 4:15 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)

Sunday Night Football

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New Orleans Saints 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football

Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

2010 World Series Schedule

Okay this is seriously the most painful schedule I've ever had to type. (all times ET)

World Series

NL West: San Francisco Giants vs. AL West: Texas Rangers

Game 1: October 27: Rangers vs. Giants 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)
Game 2: October 28: Rangers vs. Giants 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)
Game 3: October 30: Giants vs. Rangers 6:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)
Game 4: October 31: Giants vs. Rangers 8:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)
Game 5: November 1: Giants vs. Rangers 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)
Game 6: November 3: Rangers vs. Giants 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)
Game 7: November 4: Rangers vs. Giants 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

Either myself, Keith, or James Craven will have a live blog up for each of these games. If Game 4 of this series is not the lowest rated game in World Series history, I'll be very very shocked.

Fox Sports Has A Weird Way of Describing The Texas Rangers

Somehow the fact that the franchise (initially the Washington Senators) was founded in 1961 (49 years ago) and played their 1st season in Texas in 1972 (38 years ago) is not the most disturbing part of that headline.

Eagles Week 7 Recap: I Cut Kenny

From my fantasy team.

It's late, during FNIA when I normally write these recaps, I was writing about baseball instead, so sorry for the shortness of this recap. Onto the bullets.

• Last week I praised Kevin Kolb's development, this week, we were reminded why Kevin Kolb should be getting playing time.  Today's game was probably the worst start of his career.  If you don't want to see the Eagles do well next season, you will want to see Andy Reid give Kevin Kolb more starts this season.
• Andy Reid has already named Michael Vick the starter for 2 weeks from now.  I guess he is going on a "win now" merit based system.  Bleh.
• I can't sit here and tell you that in the playing time, Kevin Kolb has drastically out-performed Vick, he has not, but you want a guy who you are planning on playing QB next season to be getting some regular season reps this season.  Of course, for all I know, the Eagles Front Office are targeting Vick as that man.
• I want to go to the brothel with Riley Cooper.
• David Akers redeemed himself rather nicely.  He was 4/4 on FGs.
• The Eagles secondary was absolutely, positively, 100%, without a shadow of a doubt, completely and utterly horrendous.  The only one whose game was worth a damn in that secondary was Quintin Mikell.  Everyone else, including my beloved Nate Allen, was past useless and into the category of harmful.  How on earth is Kenny Britt so open so many times?  It was ridiculous the pitch and catch that Kerry Collins was able to play with him.  I could have been QB and Britt would have ended the game with the exact same numbers.
• The shame of the secondary's letdown, the Eagles' front 7 had a good game.  Chris Johnson was held to 66 yards.  I will take that any day of the week.
• The Tennessee Titans might not be the team everyone talks about, but this is going to be a team  that will be in the playoff race at the end of the season.  Consider them the Jags of a few years ago, when the Jags were good and underrated.
• Can I confess that I have replayed Chooch's 8th inning line drive double play in my mind over and over and over again today?  Luck is a bitch, I tell you.
• I am glad I can look back at the 2008 World Series to hold me and keep me comfy.
• Hockey season has just slapped me right across the face.
• Eagles-Titans win probability chart. (advancednflstats.com)

Further Dispelling The Myth That Ryan Howard Is The Phillies NLCS "Goat"

(Originally posted at The Good Phight)

I understand this post is going to be preaching to the choir for the most part, but the insanity of some reactions by both fans and media have compelled me to break down Ryan Howard's post-season performance. He is not the reason they lost, and if you do think he is, then you have not seen any of the numbers of the post-season. People will be quick to point to RBIs as the reason Howard is the goat, because, what kind of clean-up hitter has 0 RBIs in a 6 game post-season series? But if you know anything about RBIs, you know that it is a meaningless stat in judging whether or not a player is good or not.

If one is going to determine how good a player performed in a post-season series, the last place you should look is RBIs (something that will be painfully obvious in a short while, if it isn't already). Let's look at the important offensive percentages for each the Phillies in the 2010 NLCS, excluding pitchers. Important: I know the sample size is a 6-game series, but I am not using this to say that Player X is better/more valuable than Player Y overall. The sole purpose of this post is to dispel the myth that Ryan Howard's $125MM bat "disappeared" during the NLCS.

While not the best stat there is, batting average is at least better than RBIs, so we'll start with this one and move on to more complex and more telling metrics, such as OPS, as we go on.

Batting average in the 2010 NLCS

Ryan Howard: .318
Jimmy Rollins: .261
Placido Polanco: .250
Jayson Werth: .222
Phillies Team Average: .216
Raul Ibanez: .211
Sahne Victorino: .208
Chase Utley: .182
Ben Francisco: .167
Carlos Ruiz: .167

On-Base Percentage in the 2010 NLCS

Ryan Howard: .400
Jayson Werth: .375
Placido Polanco: .360
Chase Utley: .333
Jimmy Rollins: .320
Carlos Ruiz: .318
Phillies Team Average: .314
Sahen Victorino: .296
Raul Ibanez: .250
Ben Francisco: .167

Slugging percentage

Jayson Werth: .611
Ryan Howard: .500
Placido Polanco: .350
Carlos Ruiz: .333
Phillies Team Average: .321
Jimmy Rollins: .304
Raul Ibanez: .263
Shane Victorino: .250
Chase Utley: .227
Ben Francisco: .167

OPS

Jayson Werth: .986
Ryan Howard: .900
Placido Polanco: .710
Carlos Ruiz: .652
Phillies Team Average: .635
Jimmy Rollins: .624
Chase Ultey: .561
Shane Victorino: .546
Raul Ibanez: .513
Ben Francisco: .333

The fact that people want to lay the blame on someone who led the team in on-base percentage, was 2nd in number of bases/AB, and 2nd in OPS is completely senseless. People want to find a goat, and because Ryan Howard got the big contract extension, he is the easy target when he is not hitting grand slams in every at-bat. Now, these more telling numbers aside, people will still point to the RBIs as to why Howard was not "clutch," and why he "lost his bat in the playoffs," and on and so forth. So why the discrepancy? Here is where it comes from.

Number of doubles hit in the NLCS

Ryan Howard: 4
Placido Polanco: 2
Raul Ibanez: 1
Shane Victorino: 1
Chase Utley: 1
Jimmy Rollins: 1
Jayson Werth: 1
Everyone else: 0

Ryan Howard hit 4 doubles in the NLCS and still has 0 RBIs. He was mashing the ball with the best of them in this series and yet he still had 0 RBIs. The factors that influenced that are all things beyond Ryan Howard's control. He has no control over the number of people on base and where they are located each AB. Nor does he have any control over whether or not any runner on 1st can score with the double. He can't just put a turbo boost into Jimmy Rollins to make him run like The Flash so he can beat the throw from Edgar Renteria to give the Phillies more runs in Game 6 of the NLCS. Ryan Howard had more hits than any Phillie in the NLCS. The fact Howard had 0 RBIs is a matter of circumstance and luck, not a reflection of "how bad he is," "the disappearance of his bat," or his "lack of clutchness," never mind that a hitter being "clutch" is a ridiculous and absurd notion to begin with.

If you want to be mad and blame someone? Blame the team as a whole. You win as a team and you lose as a team, and whether people like it or not, the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies lost as a team in the NLCS. As much as people in the media and some fans like to have a goat they can be angry at, there is no goat here to be had, and that goat damn sure is not the guy who was one of team's best players in the NLCS. A .635 OPS will do a team in, not the guy leading the team in hits, doubles, batting average, on-base percentage, and 2nd on the team in slugging percentage and OPS.

2010 NFL Season Week 7 Live Blog

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LIVE BLOG

A Slightly More Rational Post-Game Recap

Phillies 20, Giants 19.

Giants 4, Phillies 2.

That's baseball in a nutshell. It is why the game can be both beautiful and maddingly frustrating at the same time. In a NLCS where the San Francisco Giants won 4 games to 2, the Philadelphia Phillies scored 20 runs while the San Francisco Giants plated only 19. Does it mean that the Phillies were the better team? Given the numerous mistakes they made, no, I can't say that the Phillies should be going to the World Series. But are the Giants that flukey team that have no business being there? I can't say that either.

Say what you will about how they blooped and flared their way to runs in the past week, but they have some mighty fine starting pitching. Lincecum is up there with Halladay as one of the best in the game, Jonathan Sanchez is wildly effective for the most part (tonight was the exception, not the rule), and Matt Cain is vastly underrated with a ridiculous BABIP and ability to limit home runs throughout his entire career. Like seriously. When people talk about exceptions to SABR-pitching metrics and what they tell us about pitching, Matt Cain is that guy.

As far as my rooting interests go in the 2010 World Series, I'm gonna give it to you straight. I am Switzerland. Seriously. I could not be any more neutral. If the Giants win, I will be happy for most of the team and nauseous at the site of Cody Ross getting a World Series ring. If the Rangers win, I will be happy for most of the team and nauseous at the site of Jeff Francoeur with a World Series ring. My World Series bold prediction: Bengie Molina gets a World Series ring.

Enough of my take on the World Series and more on my take on the Phillies.

TO THOSE OF YOU WHO THINK RYAN HOWARD IS THE GOAT......

Don't let Joe Buck and his love of RBIs fool you. Phillies post-season triple slash line: .215/.309/.304. Ryan Howard's post-season triple slash line: .303/.395/.424. He did more for this team than most. He may not have gotten the RBIs, but next to Werth, he was the Phillies best hitter in the post-season.

TO THOSE OF YOU WHO THINK THE UMPIRING WAS ATROCIOUS......

I agree. But it is not the reason the series turned out the way it was. The umps fucked both teams in the ass more times than I would care to count.

TO THOSE OF YOU WHO THINK THE 2010 SEASON IS A FAILURE.......

Don't let your irrationally raised expectations deceive you. For 162 games in the regular season, the Phillies overcame injury after injury after injury after injury after injury after injury and finished the season with the best record in all baseball. And now because of some bad luck in October, this season is a complete failure? That notion is absolute horseshit that only Yankee fans can come up with. The winners in the playoffs are the teams that get the glory and the celebrations, but don't that deceive you. 162 > 9. The playoffs are a crapshoot where the best team rarely wins. It's the way it is. It's what makes sports, especially baseball, agonizing and amazing all at once. It's why teams like the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers, 2 teams that while very good, were not the best in the regular season, are now in the World Series competing for immortality. Deal with it.

Giants Advance To The World Series On Ball 4

Disgusting

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 16 Live Blog

Game 6: Giants vs. Phillies 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LIVE BLOG

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 15 Live Blog

Yankees vs. Rangers 8:00 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

Do San Francisco Schools Teach Math At All These Days?

Uh, sir with the broom, you were attending Game 5 of the NLCS. That means that both teams must have won at least 1 game in the series. Therefore, it is technically impossible for the game to be a sweep.

Now for what the guy was most likely going for, the arbitrary 3-game sweep of the games in San Francisco. It's still just as dumb. Seriously. Talk to any baseball fan. How many people were saying that the Giants fans should bring out the brooms because they have a chance to sweep their home part of the series? I reckon not many. And those that did, well, they are just as dumb as this guy apparently is.

Roy Halladay: Warrior

Roy Halladay, everyone. If the Phillies go on to win this NLCS, Halladay's performance tonight will become legendary. The series is now going back to Philadelphia with Roy Oswalt on the mound for the Phillies in Game 6. The Giants will counter with Jonathan Sanchez. In order to win the 2010 NLCS, all the Phillies need to do now is win 2 consecutive home games. It's not over yet, folks. And until it is, do not count the Fightin Phils out.

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 14 Live Blog

Game 5: Phillies vs. Giants 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

To All You Fuckers Giving Up On The Philadelphia Phillies....

6 teams have comeback from a 3-1 series deficit in the LCS to win the series: 1985 Royals, 1986 Red Sox, 1996 Braves, 2003 Marlins, 2004 Red Sox and 2007 Red Sox.

What about the Philadelphia Flyers? They were down 3-0 in a playoff hockey series. No hockey team since 1975 came back to win such a series when faced with that deficit. Yet the Flyers did it. Even after the Bruins defense drew circles around them in Game 3, they overcame adversity, and they won the series. Bigger comebacks have happened. The Phillies have won 3 in a row plenty of times this season. In fact, the Phillies won 3 in a row twice with Halladay, Hamels, and Oswalt starting consecutive games since the acquisition of Oswalt. If you don’t think the Phillies can comeback and win this thing then you just don't know anything about sports. Good night all.

NFL Week 7 Schedule

The Eagles will be spend Week 7 traveling down to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans and will be followed by Kenny, Moose, and Goose, who worked the Eagles game last week. CBS has the doubleheader, so without further ado, here is your NFL Week 7 schedule! (all times ET; games I get are in bold

Map of who gets what Fox game

Washington Redskins vs. Chicago Bears 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Troy Aikman)
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Tennessee Titans 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
St. Louis Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton, Charles Davis, and Jim Mora, Jr.)
San Francisco 49ers vs. Carolina Panthers 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)

Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks 4:05 (Fox - Chris Myers and Brian Billick)

Map of who gets what CBS early game

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Miami Dolphins 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Cleveland Browns vs. New Orleans Saints 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Atlanta Falcons 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Rich Gannon)
Buffalo Bills vs. Baltimore Ravens 1:00 (CBS - Don Criqui and Steve Beuerlein)

Map of who gets what CBS late game

New England Patriots vs. San Diego Chargers 4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos 4:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)

Sunday Night Football

Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football

New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

MLB Playoffs Day 13 Live Blog

Game 5: Rangers vs. Yankees 4:00 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

Game 4: Phillies vs. Giants 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

MLB Playoffs Day 12 Live Blog

Game 3: Phillies vs. Giants 4:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

Game 4: Rangers vs. Yankees 8:00 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

Take This Short Quiz And Find Out How Your Favorite NFL Team Will End The Season!

6 weeks have passed in the NFL season, and it seems like there would not be any more parity. Every team in the NFC has at least 2 losses and no team in the AFC has emerged as a Super Bowl favorite juggernaut either.

But why carry on with nervous tensions throughout the next 3.5 months when you can find out how your team will finish the rest of the season. This short quiz, you can find out first your hand if your team has what it takes to go all the way and win the Super Bowl. So grab a pencil, and take this short 10 question quiz. Let 5 minutes save you from 3.5 months of agony!

1. What do ESPN analysts say immediately after discussing your team's Super Bowl chances?
a). "But really, this is all stating the obvious."
b). "If they can avoid injuries, they will be right in the thick of things in January."
c). And if you actually believe the Lions are Super Bowl contenders, you are a delusional moron who is better off living on Mars."
d). "Mars is such a pretty planet to live on."

2. Which of the following will your coach say at the team's end of season press conference?
a). "I've never been more proud of a group of players in my life
b). "We faced numerous obstacles, so just getting to the point we got to is a real accomplishment."
c). "Working with the Cleveland Browns has been a.....different experience."
d). "Ask that question to someone who will be employed here next season."

3. What was hanging from the locker room ceiling after last Sunday's game?
a). A championship banner from last year
b). Inspirational quotes
c). Streamers, balloons, and a sign saying, "CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING A TACKLE!"
d). The starting quarterback.

4. What do fans want to see in the future in terms of your team's starting QB?
a). Continuation of a superstar's career, like Drew Brees.
b). Commencement of a hyped prospect's career, like Kevin Kolb.
c). A future 1st round draft pick.
d). David Carr

5. Now that we are 5-6 games into the season, what comparisons are people now drawing about your team's most prized draft pick from the 2010 Draft?
a). Brett Favre without the interceptions
b). DeSean Jackson with more size
c). Mike Bell without the power
d). Brian Russell without the grit

6. What is your head coach's biggest inspiration?
a). Sean Payton's success at a young age
b). Bill Belichick's creativeness
c). Andy Reid's play-calling
d). Anything involving Norv Turner

7. How often do referees penalize your team?
a). Almost never. Your team is a well disciplined machine that takes very few penalties.
b). Occasionally. Your team is young and still learning the ropes of the NFL.
c). Frequently. Your team has problems with complex concepts such as "twelve", "holding", and the location of the line of scrimmage.
d). Never. Your team sucks so much that the league has deemed penalizing the them only creates an unfair disadvantage.

8. What did your owner spend the most money on last off-season?
a). Free agency's biggest prize
b). Filling the team's holes by signing cheaper yet effective alternatives
c). A useless veteran that everyone has forgotten except Dan Snyder.
d). Plastic surgery

9. What is your team's best wide receiver's biggest concern?
a). Performing even better than last week's career performance
b). Having a successful return from injury
c). A reality TV show on Versus
d). Jake Delhomme is on his team

10. Your quarterback's girl is most comparable to whom?
a). A hot celebrity, like Gisele Bundchen
b). A non-famous pretty, plain and innocent girl, like Abby Manning
c). That slut who works at the convenience store
d). Brenda Warner

Now tally up your answers to find out what your team can be looking forward to in the next 3.5 months!
Mostly A's: A parade!
Mostly B's: An up and down season culminating in an inspiring playoff appearance with a heart-breaking playoff loss
Mostly C's: A top 5 pick in the 2011 Draft.
Mostly D's: A top 5 pick in the 2012 Draft.

(Inspired by Down Goes Brown)

MLB Playoffs Day 11 Live Blog

Game 3: Rangers vs. Yankees 8:00 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

Eagles Week 6 Recap: Injuries, Historically Bad Day For Akers, And Falcons No Match For Eagles

 Onto the bullet points.

• Trade Vick.  Trade Vick now.  Kevin Kolb is finally getting into a rhythm and establishing himself as a real NFL QB.  Stick with Kolb and trade Vick.  Vick's value has never been higher than it is now, and it will probably never be this high again.  Naming Vick the starter in the 1st place was a a dumb idea, and Reid needs to recognize it, even if he is still contending that Vick is his QB if he is able to go next week.
• As far as back-up QB goes, the Eagles can always pick up washed up veteran on the scrap heap (so long as his name is not JaMarcus) to play ahead of future back-up Mike Kafka.  But the fact of the matter is, the Eagles picked Vick up out of prison, transformed him back into a starting caliber QB, and can reap the benefits while sticking with the guy who should be QBing this team, Kevin Kolb.  Trade Michael Vick.
• DeSean Jackson is the next Eagle to go down with a concussion after taking an awful and dirty hit from Dunta Robinson.  For those that disagree about its dirtiness, watch this and listen to this.  It's a textbook illegal hit.
• The Eagles played the entire 2nd half with only 3 eligible WRs: Jeremy Maclin (who had a career day), Jason Avant, and Chad Hall, a rookie out of Air Force who was put on the practice squad to start the season.  Seeing as Jackson is unlikely to play next week given the NFL's strict concussion recovery program in place, I would be willing to bet that someone is getting added to the squad this week.
• Matt Ryan was a local boy returning home.  He'll be glad when he leaves.  The Eagles defense ate him alive today.
• Trent Cole and Darryl Tapp are beasts.  That is all.
• Shady McCoy did not have a great game, 21 carries for only 64 yards.  Jerome Harrison was inactive, as it takes more than 48 hours to learn an offense.
• David Akers missed his 1st 3 field goals of the game before connecting on the 4th.  This marks the 1st time in his great career that Akers missed 3 field goals in one day.  I guess if ever there is a good game to miss 3 field goals, it is a game where your team wins 31-17 where the game is even more of a blowout than the score indicates.
• Andy Reid takes a lot of heat from me with his play-calling, but he had a great game today.  No egregious timeout mismanagement, no dumb challenge, no bad clock management, and further more, the scheme both offensively and defensively was very successful and worked like a charm for a full 60 minutes of football.  You can't ask for anything more than that.
• Writing these recaps is a lot harder in an easy blowout win and there is not a whole heck of a lot to complain about.
• Jeremy Maclin's numbers:  7 receptions, 159 yards, 2 TDs.  I've mentioned this numerous times, but I loved watching Maclin at Mizzou, and I am loving him more and more as a NFL WR.  The guy is the real deal and will likely be around for quite some time in this league.
• Michael Turner's numbers:  15 carries, 45 yards.  Yeah.
• Lastly, the win probability graph. (advancednflstats.com)

A Lesson To Those Who Think They Can't Make An Impact On The Internet

May I present the power of having a few Twitter followers who have a bajillion more followers than I do.

In a fit of rage on Twitter, someone types the now deleted tweet: "Hey Philly, screw you and your homophobic, battery-throwing, smoke-bomb tossing, Santa Claus-booing fans," minutes after tweeting yet another now deleted tweet about how satisfied she would be: "If some sort of hilarious, season ending illness befell every Phillie," I respond to her with a "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA" and a snide "All Philly fans in a nutshell," and the next thing I know, practically ever Philly sports fan I follow is completely bashing her into smitherines. Read at your own risk. (FYI, this is the smoke-bomb incident she was referring to)

What had happened was after I tweeted it, someone with a lot of followers who follows me also retweeted it, which prompted more retweeting from people with followers and the next thing you know, some reasonably anonymous NoCal and USC fan is a trending topic in Philadelphia. While I obviously had no intention of it becoming a huge deal square in the middle of Game 2 of the NLCS, I can't say that I did not revel in the hilarity of it. If you are going to go on a place like Twitter and spew out the tired generalizations about Philly fans that everyone and their mother is sick and tired of (never mind that the Santa Claus booing was over 40 years ago) on top of calling us homophobes (never mind that Philadelphia is for the most part a politically liberal city), and I am going to re-tweet it to point out the patheticness of it, and if it gets picked up by people with more followers than I have, then be prepared to feel the wrath of your stupidity. To her credit, she did not fire back with thousands of insults, she did apologize, over and over again, and she did seem to take it in stride (although she did delete her controversial tweets), but suffice to say, I think the lesson has been learned.

Now for those wondering how on earth I got to be following said Giants fan, well, she is 49er16's friend and a year or so ago he told me to follow her.

/DUCKS

Think you can't make an impact on the internet? Think again.

2010 NFL Season Week 6 Live Blog/MLB Playoffs Day 10 Live Blog

Game 2: Giants vs. Phillies 8:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 9 Live Blog

Game 2: Yankees vs. Rangers 4:00 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

Game 1: Giants vs. Phillies 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LIVE BLOG

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 8 Live Blog

Game 1: Yankees vs. Rangers 8:00 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

Top 10 Calls In Philadelphia Sports History

Yesterday, Joe Posnanski of Sports Illustrated put up a post listing what he felt were the 32 best calls by announcers in the history of sports. Now something like that is very difficult to do and the list is purely subjective (though I don't think many people will doubt Al Michael's call of the Miracle on Ice as #1), but something from that list was missing. No Philadelphia team's accomplishment/announcer cracked the list of 32. Sure Christian Laettner shot to beat Kentucky happened in the Spectrum, and Joe Carter's HR in the 1993 World Series had the Phillies on the wrong end of it (I have no recollection of 1993, so I can listen to the call without going into deep depression), but there was no Philadelphia announcer nor was any Philadelphia team actually accomplishing something (unless you count losing the World Series on a walk off HR an accomplishment). So without further ado, here is my list of the top 10 calls in the history of Philadelphia sports. Now let me warn you, I am a 21-year old college student who has no personal memory of anything before 1993. Sure I know some history, but I can't say I know every great call. If you feel something is missing, feel free to mention it in the comments and link to the video and/or audio of the call. The list is on the other side of the jump.

2010 LCS Schedule

Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees. In just over 3 weeks time, one of these teams will be calling themselves Champions. (all times ET)

National League Championship Series

NL East: Philadelphia Phillies vs. NL West: San Franisco Giants

Game 1: October 16: Giants vs. Phillies 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)
Game 2: October 17: Giants vs. Phillies 8:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)
Game 3: October 19: Phillies vs. Giants 4:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)
Game 4: October 20: Phillies vs. Giants 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)
Game 5: October 21: Phillies vs. Giants 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)
Game 6: October 23: Giants vs. Phillies 3:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)
Game 7: October 24: Giants vs. Phillies 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

American League Championship Series

Al West: Texas Rangers vs. AL Wildcard: New York Yankees

Game 1: October 15: Yankees vs. Rangers 8:00 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)
Game 2: October 16: Yankees vs. Rangers 4:00 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)
Game 3: October 18: Rangers vs. Yankees 8:00 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)
Game 4: October 19: Rangers vs. Yankees 8:00 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)
Game 5: October 20: Rangers vs. Yankees 4:00 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)
Game 6: October 22: Yankees vs. Rangers 8:00 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)
Game 7: October 23: Yankees vs. Rangers 8:00 (TBS - Ernie johnson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

If the Yankees and Rangers series does not go 7 games, Game 6 of the NLCS will be pushed back to night time.

I Want To Go To The Flea Market With Howie Roseman

At the expense of Mike Bell and only Mike Bell, the Eagles have traded for RB Jerome Harrison of the Cleveland Browns. Remember him? He only did this last year.



Okay, so he lost the job to Peyton Hilis and found in himself in Eric Mangini's doghouse, the fact of the matter is, the guy who had the above performance last year is now the back up running back of the Philadelphia Eagles. I'm hard.

NLCS Q&A With A Giants Fan

With the 2010 NLCS looming between the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants, Phillies fan JFein and Giants fan 49er16 thought it would be a good idea to exchange questions about each other's team. Below are 49er16's answers to JFein's questions about the Giants. For JFein's answers to 49er16's about the Giants, click here

Q.  No secret:  The San Francisco Giants have not been known for great offense the past few years.  No secret:  The San Francisco Giants have one of the best line-up of pitchers, both starting and bullpen, in the NL.  But just how good are the Giants defensively?

On paper this team looks like they should be one of the worst defensive teams in the majors. Then you look at the numbers and they are actually one of the best defensive teams in the majors. They committed the fourth fewest errors on the year and this is with clunkers like Pat Burrell, Aubrey Huff, and Pablo Sandoval out in the field. Then you look at the advance stats and see they have one of the best UZR ratings, one of the best ErrR which compares how many errors a team makes compared to other teams, and one of the best RngR which surprisingly says the Giants do have range in the field.

Now do all these numbers rate so high because of the ballpark the Giants play in? Probably. Nonetheless though those are some pretty surprising numbers considering that Burrell and Huff played the majority of the year in corner outfield spots and Sandoval is at third base.

Q.  What’s the deal with Matt Cain?  The numbers say he is unlucky with run support, but his BABIP is below the league average and his HR/FB ratio is unusually low as well.  Everybody knows about how great Tim Lincecum is, but is Matt Cain someone the Phillies should fear?

Matt Cain might be the most unluckiest pitcher in the major leagues. It's been a running joke on McCovey Chronicles for at least two years that Matt Cain doesn't know how to win. I don't know what is it with the Giants offense when Cain is pitching. It's like they go into hibernation mode and forget how to provide him runs. And if the Giants do score runs for Cain, the bullpen blows the lead (See: Game 2 of the 2010 NLDS). 

As for Cain, yes the Phillies should fear him. He's actually more like Halladay than Lincecum. He won't strike people out at such a high rate like Lincecum, but he stays in the zone better and doesn't walk as many people. He'll also eat innings at a higher frequency than Lincecum. His best pitches are his changeup and slider and when he's locating both pitches, he can become unhittable. Cain as of now, is expected to start game 3 at home where he's a better pitcher.

Q.  Who is the x-factor on this Giants team?

Buster Posey without question. The offense revolves around his hitting and his ability to get on base. If the table setters like Torres and Sanchez get on base, he needs to drive them in. Posey also needs to reach base for guys like Burrell and Uribe. His defense is also very important for the Giants. Lincecum isn't exactly the best at holding people at 1st base so Posey's ability to throw people out at 2nd. The Giants will only go as far on offense as far as Posey takes them.

Q.  Brian Wilson’s beard is fake, right?

A. Fake, no. Dyed, yes. Admit it. You have to love a guy who rocks a beard like that and pulls out a gimp mask on a ESPN talk show.

Q.  Timothy Leroy Lincecum or Harry Leroy Halladay III?  Okay, so your answer to that one is obvious.  Giants bullpen question:  Brian Wilson is a very good closer, but although solid through the end of the season, the Giants bullpen looked shaky in the NLDS against Atlanta.  Is this a concern for you or Giants fans?

I'm more concerned about Sergio Romo than Wilson. Brian Wilson should have never entered the game during the game 2 Giants implosion and last night was the norm for Wilson. He walks the tight wire, but normally gets out of those situations. Romo is the pitcher I'm worried about. If the Giants had the lead in the 8th inning the past month, the game was over with Romo setting up Wilson in the eighth inning. 

The rest of the Giants bullpen has been solid. Javier Lopez is their left-handed specialist who's been unhittable facing left-handed batters. Jairo Casilla impressed against the Braves in relief. Guillermo Mota and Jeremy Affeldt are both solid. If the Giants have a lead late in the game and they go to their bullpen, I'm usually pretty confident the Giants will win the game. 

Q.  Last year Pablo Sandoval was a stud rookie.  This year he is benched and not even the 1^st off the bench to pinch hit.  For goodness sakes, Aaron Rowand and Edgar Renteria got in Monday’s Game 5 against the Braves while Kung Fu Panda did not.  What happened to Sandoval this year?

Sandoval is a mystery to everyone. There has been a million excuses made for the guy. He's overweight, his divorce is weighing on him (no pun intended), he's worried about custody of his daughter. While I do think his weight is a problem in his declining defense at third base. (He was never spectacular at third, but serviceable.)

His plate discipline is what has worried me the most. He's always been a hacker, but this season has been over the top wildly swinging at pitches over his head. Last season Sandoval was a hacker, but he would at least work the count and occasionally draw a walk. I have a crazy conspiracy theory about his lack of plate discipline. He bought into his own hype. He bought into the hype last season that he could hit pitches over his head. Which clearly isn't the case. Pitchers this year don't even throw strikes at Sandoval because they know he swings at everything. Why throw Sandoval a strike when he will swing at everything?

Q.  Brooks Conrad has been ruled out of the NLCS with a broken spirit.  How will this impact the Giants?

A. The Giants will become lost and somehow end up in a swamp in Jersey.

The Wells Fargo Center Has A New Banner Hanging From The Rafters

Simon Gagne or no Simon Gagne, watching this pre-banner unveiling montage from Monday night gives me chills.



Meet the 2009-10 Eastern Conference Championship banner!



From shootout on the last day of the season just to get into the playoffs, to 2010 Eastern Conference Champions and getting a new Wells Fargo Center banner. Awesomeness personified.

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 7 Live Blog

Game 5: Rangers @ Rays 8:07 (TBS - Don Orsillo, Buck Martinez, and Ron Darling, SR: Marc Fein)

NFL Week 6 Schedule

Week 6 already? Damn, the NFL season flies by when Favre is outed for possibly revealing too much of himself and Andy Reid is claiming out right that so-and-so is his starting QB for the foreseeable future even though that may or may not actually be the case. (all times eastern; games I get are in bold)

Map of who gets what CBS game.

Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots 1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Miami Dolphins vs. Green Bay Packers 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
San Diego Chargers vs. St. Louis Rams 1:00 (CBS - Don Criqui and Steve Beuerlein)

New York Jets vs. Denver Broncos 4:05 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Oakland Raiders vs. San Francisco 49ers 4:05 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Rich Gannon)

Map of who gets what Fox early game.

Atlanta Falcons vs. Philadelphia Eagles 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
Detroit Lions vs. New York Giants 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Charles Davis)
Seattle Seahawks vs. Chicago Bears 1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Brian Billick)
New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)

Map of who gets the Fox late game.

Dallas Cowboys vs. Minnesota Vikings 4:15 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Troy Aikman)

Sunday Night Football

Indianapolis Colts vs. Washington Redskins 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football

Tennessee Titans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

Expect lots of comments about Awful Announcing during this Sunday's live blog.........

Eagles Week 5 Recap: "We Want Carr!"

A belated recap because I needed to finish a project after the games last night and a shortened recap because I only saw half the game and it is 24 hours removed from said game.

•  Alex Smith is so bad that 49er fans actually wanted David Carr in the game.
• Is there really anything else that needs to be said?  Alex Smith is a bad NFL QB.  He has flashes of brilliance, but that is always followed up with the dumbest throw you have ever seen.
• On 2nd and long and needing to get a 1st down to end the game, Shady McCoy inexplicably slid 2 yards short of the marker.  Andy Reid followed that up by throwing the ball.  The play did not work.  All around idiocy that could only be made funnier by playing the Tennessee-LSU debacle in the background.
• 49er fans chanted for David Carr.
• Kevin Kolb did play well in this game and he was not afraid to go pass the ball more than 5 yards down the field.  That's what I like to see.
• The Cowboys season saving win they had 2 weeks ago is no longer the season saver.  They are 1-3.
• The Redskins beat the Cowboys, Eagles, and Packers but lost to the Rams and Texans?  Who are these people?
• People in this country were hoping for David Carr to play QB for their team.

And lastly, a new feature for the recap starting this week, the win probability graph! (advancednflstats.com)

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 6 Live Blog

Giants @ Braves 7:37 (TBS - Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly, SR: Tom Verducci)

Results Of The All Important Philadelphia Ratings Battle: Eagles Pull Great Numbers; Phillies Triumph Anyway

A fun sub-plot of last night's Philadelphia games was who would win the local TV ratings. For fans of both teams, it was something to discuss and debate. Well, the results are win and the results are surprising. NBC football game versus a Phillies playoff game that's not must win, on some cable channel. Not only did the Phillies surprisingly edge out the Eagles, but both pulled some overwhelmingly amazing numbers. From myfoxphilly.com

But the big x-factor is the number of people who constantly used a remote control to watch both games, or had access to several TV sets.

Many people we talked to found a way to watch both games, which started in the 8 o’clock hour for Philadelphia viewers.
In preliminary numbers, which will be updated later Monday, the Phillies had 834,000 viewers of all ages while the Eagles had 741,000 viewers.

The majority of TV sets in the Philadelphia viewing area were watching one of the two games Sunday night.

In the key demographic group of adults 25 to 54 targeted by advertisers, the Phillies had a rating of 19.7 compared with an 18.1 for the Eagles.

Helping matters was the fact that both games were close and the Eagles ratings went up 6 points after the final out in the Phillies game.

Both the Eagles and the Phillies did stunningly well last night, with the Phillies doing slightly better than the Eagles. Think about this fact: More people watched Sunday Night Football last night more in Philadelphia than in any other individual city, and yet, it still was not the highest rated program in the city! While another story completely, Sunday Night Football killed nationally, beating the Phillies game by 200%.

If this proves anything about Philadelphia, it is this. Today, Philadelphia is not a baseball town. Philadelphia is not a football town. Philadelphia is a sports town.

Roy Oswalt Makes Funny Faces

http://www.twitvid.com/ABEUL

Due to my college obligations, I won't have any recap up tonight. Enjoy this video for the laugh and I will try to have something up by tomorrow night. Apologies for the lack of work on this blog in the past week, but between watching and live blogging the playoffs and hanging out with my family this past weekend, there really has been much time for me to write a quality piece.

2010 NFL Season Week 5 Live Blog/2010 MLB Playoffs Day 5 Live Blog

Game 4: Rays @ Rangers 1:07 (TBS - Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez, SR: Marc Fein)

Game 3: Giants @ Braves 4:37 (TBS - Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly, SR: Tom Verducci)

Game 3: Phillies @ Reds 8:07 (TBS - Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson, SR: David Aldridge)

LIVE BLOG OVER HERE

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 4 Live Blog

Game 3: Rays @ Rangers 5:07 (TBS - Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez, SR: Marc Fein)

Game 3: Twins @ Yankees 8:37 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

LIVE BLOG OVER HERE

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 3 Live Blog

Game 2: Reds @ Phillies 6:07 (TBS - Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson, SR: David Aldridge)

Game 2: Braves @ Giants 9:37 (TBS - Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly, SR: Tom Verducci)

I'll be at Citizens Bank Part cheering on the Fightin Phils (pssssst, look for me on TBS), but that should not stop you from commenting on the LIVE BLOG OVER HERE

NFL Week 5 Schedule

Apologies for the lateness. Baseball playoffs had me forgetting all about getting this up.

Cincinnati politicians are the worst. Because they only have one parking lot for Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ballpark, the 2 essentially cannot host events at the same time or anywhere near it. Thus, Game 3 of the NLDS will be going head to head with the Eagles on Sunday Night Football. Yay for my remote control's "Jump" button! (all times ET; I'll be home with my NFL Sunday Ticket for the 1st part of Sunday before leaving on time to get back for the Sunday Night Football And Baseball).

Map of who gets what Fox game.

Green Bay Packers vs. Washington Redskins 1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
New York Giants vs. Houston Texans 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
Atlanta Falcons vs. Cleveland Browns 1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Charles Davis)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
Chicago Bears vs. Carolina Panthers 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
St. Louis Rams vs. Detroit Lions 1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)

New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals 4:05 (Fox - Chris Rose and Kurt Warner)

Map of who gets what CBS early game

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Indianapolis Colts 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Denver Broncos vs. Baltimore Ravens 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills 1:00 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)

Map of who gets what CBS late game

Tennessee Titans vs. Dallas Cowboys 4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
San Diego Chargers vs. Oakland Raiders 4:15 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)

Sunday Night Football

Philadelphia Eagles vs. San Francisco 49ers 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football

Minnesota Vikings vs. New York Jets 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 2 Live Blog

Game 2: Rangers @ Rays 2:37 (TBS - Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez, SR: Marc Fein)

Game 2: Yankees @ Twins 6:07 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

Game 1: Braves @ Giants 9:37 (TBS - Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly, SR: Tom Verducci)

Live blog is over here.

Larsen And Halladay

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE HISTORIC FINAL OUT OVER AND OVER AGAIN

2010 MLB Playoffs Day 1 Live Blog

Game 1: Rangers @ Rays 1:37 (TBS - Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez, SR: Marc Fein)

Game 1: Reds @ Phillies 5:07 (TBS - Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson, SR: David Aldridge)

Game 1: Yankees @ Twins 8:37 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

Phillies 2010 NLDS Roster Set

Last week, I decided to get in the head of Charlie Manuel and projected the Phillies post-season roster. Now granted, most are obvious, but as far as the ones that were not obvious, well, I did not too shabby. Unfortunately I was not perfect, but hey, who is, right?

Anyway here is the actual post-season roster the Phillies will be going with to start the NLDS.

Catchers (2)
Carlos Ruiz
Brian Schneider

Infielders (8)
Ryan Howard
Chase Utley
Placido Polanco
Jimmy Rollins
Mike Sweeney
Ross Gload
Wilson Valdez
Greg Dobbs

Outfielders (5)
Raul Ibanez
Shane Victorino
Jayson Werth
Ben Francisco
Domonic Brown

Pitchers (10)
Roy Halladay
Roy Oswalt
Cole Hamels
Brad Lidge
Ryan Madson
Chad Durbin
Jose Contreras
Joe Blanton
J.C. Romero
Antonio Bastardo

Outside of having Ross Gload as an outfielder instead of an infielder (Gload plays 1B as well as all outfield positions), the only projection I got wrong was having an extra pitcher, Kyle Kendrick, on the roster instead of an extra outfielder, Domonic Brown. If he is only coming in to pinch hit, I guess I am okay with that, but under no circumstance should he be in the starting line up. If an outfielder gets injured, start Francisco before Brown.

The playoffs start tomorrow. I will be live blogging the entire day of baseball, starting with Rangers-Rays at 1:30. Join me and the rest of the cast of normal characters for what should be a fun day of baseball on TBS. Chip Caray might be gone from TBS, but we'll be sure to bring the fisting to the live blog anyway!

A Rundown Of The Play Clock Controversy And Why The Officials Are Entirely At Fault

Here is in more detailed, precise, and clearer terms a run down of what happened with yesterday's end of 1st half play clock controversy between the Eagles and the Redskins and why the sole blame of what happened lies directly on the officials.

1. Shady McCoy is tackled at the proverbial 1 inch line.

2. Referee Alberto Riveron goes upstairs for a booth review to see if Shady McCoy got in.

3. Despite replays being at best inconclusive and at worst short of the goalline, the review takes upwards of 5 minutes.

4. Riveron comes back and rules, "play stands as called."

5. Riveron then goes back and spots the ball at the 1-yard line, something that should not be happening if the play really did stay as called, otherwise, the play would not stand as called.

6. Having heard "play stands," Andy Reid calls a QB sneak to run on 4th and goal from the proverbial 1-inch line.

7. Seeing that the ball had been moved to the 1-yard line, Andy Reid calls timeout, and calls the official over to talk about it because while a good play call from the initial spot, a QB sneak is not so good from a whole yard out and he needs to get things straightened out.

8. All the while Andy Reid is trying to figure out the referee's ruling and why the ball was moved back, Alberto Riveron and his crew inexplicably start running the play clock after the 30-second timeout, even though normal officiating practices dictate that you do not run the play clock while the coach is conversing with the official and trying to figure out a call.

9. Because Andy Reid is talking to the official, he can't relay a different play to Kevin Kolb in time.

10. The play clock inexplicably winds down and because the Eagles just called timeout, they cannot call another one before a play is run and are forced to take a delay of game penalty.

11. That moves the ball back to the 6-yard line and the Eagles have no choice but to kick a field goal before the half.

12. Had the ball been spotted as Alberto Riveron dictated it should have been, the Eagles would have run the planned QB sneak and in all likelihood Kevin Kolb would have found his way in for a touchdown.

As he always does when something goes wrong, Andy Reid claimed it was his fault, but as you can clearly see by the outline of the events above, absolutely none of it was his fault. It is on the referees to not only be honest when they are ruling that a play stands as called, but to not run the play clock without at least alerting someone while a head coach is trying to sort out the controversy, especially after he called a timeout.

All in all it is excuseless piss poor officiating that played a big role in the Eagles losing yesterday's game. Now I am not saying the officials are the only reason the Eagles lost, other factors such as the Eagles shooting themselves in the foot by missing tackles contributed, but to say the officials played no part in the outcome last night is to say that pigs have wings and can fly. It is said that if an official does a good job, no one will notice or talk about him. Well, here is a whole blog post on Alberto Riveron in addition to the mention he got in last night's recap where I outlined some of the other blunders of him and his crew.

2010 LDS Schedule

Welcome Mormons!

JFein, ladies and gentlemen! He'll be here all night. Tip your waitresses, why don't you?

Now that my bad jokes are out of the way, here is the TBS' schedule along with announcing assignments for the 2010 NLDS and ALDS! (all times PM ET)

National League Division Series

NL Central: Cincinnati Reds vs. NL East: Philadelphia Phillies

Game 1: October 6: Reds @ Phillies 5:07 (TBS - Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson, SR: David Aldridge)
Game 2: October 8: Reds @ Phillies 6:07 (TBS - Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson, SR: David Aldridge)
Game 3: October 10: Phillies @ Reds TBA (TBS - Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson, SR: David Aldridge)
Game 4: October 11: Phillies @ Reds TBA (TBS - Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson, SR: David Aldridge)
Game 5: October 13: Reds @ Phillies TBA (TBS - Brian Anderson and Joe Simpson, SR: David Aldridge)

NL Wildcard: Atlanta Braves vs. NL West: San Francisco Giants

Game 1: October 7: Braves @ Giants 9:37 (TBS - Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly, SR: Tom Verducci)
Game 2: October 8: Braves @ Giants 9:37 (TBS - Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly, SR: Tom Verducci)
Game 3: October 10: Giants @ Braves TBA (TBS - Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly, SR: Tom Verducci)
Game 4: October 11: Giants @ Braves TBA (TBS - Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly, SR: Tom Verducci)
Game 5: October 13: Braves @ Giants TBA (TBS - Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly, SR: Tom Verducci)

American League Division Series

AL West: Texas Rangers vs. AL East: Tampa Bay Rays

Game 1: October 6: Rangers @ Rays 1:37 (TBS - Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez, SR: Marc Fein)
Game 2: October 7: Rangers @ Rays 2:37 (TBS - Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez, SR: Marc Fein)
Game 3: October 9: Rays @ Rangers 5:07 (TBS - Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez, SR: Marc Fein)
Game 4: October 10: Rays @ Rangers TBA (TBS - Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez, SR: Marc Fein)
Game 5: October 12: Rangers @ Rays TBA (TBS - Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez, SR: Marc Fein)

AL Wildcard: New York Yankees vs. AL Central: Minnesota Twins

Game 1: October 6: Yankees @ Twins 8:37 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)
Game 2: October 7: Yankees @ Twins 6:07 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)
Game 3: October 9: Twins @ Yankees 8:37 (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)
Game 4: October 10: Twins @ Yankees TBA (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)
Game 5: October 12: Yankees @ Twins TBA (TBS - Ernie Johnson, Ron Darling, John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

For the 3rd year in a row, Brian Anderson is announcing the Phillies NLDS series. For the 4th year in a row, Joe Simpson is announcing the Phillies NLDS series. In 2007, Simpson with partnered with Don Orsillo.

It is my hope to have a live blog up for most of, if not all of these playoffs. I say most of because I am going to Game 2 on Friday and I may not be around for a lot of the weekend until Sunday night. Regardless, I have every intention of a live blog on Wednesday, and unlike last year, I won't have to leave in the middle of the game for class!

Eagles Week 4 Recap: Cluster****

• Jason Avant is one of the most sure handed receivers the Eagles have had since the Andy Reid era started.  How he managed to drop this pass to clinch the game for the Redskins is something I will never know.
• Another Eagles late afternoon game called by Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, another Eagles starting QB is hurt.  Vick went down with a chest/rib injury.  X-rays were negative, an MRI is set for tomorrow, but no one really knows for sure what is wrong with him or how long he'll be out.
• The officiating was horrible.  No, scratch that.  The officiating in this game was the most atrociously officiated game since anything Scott Barry last umpired.  Awful awful awful.  Of the most notable blunders:  1).  3 missed illegal blocks in the back on the opening kickoff.   2.)  Missed pass interference on Brent Celek that would have given the Eagles a first down.  3).  Mishandling the play clock following a booth review and an Andy Reid timeout resulting somehow in an Eagles penalty, ensuring the Eagles could not score a touchdown on that drive and settling for a FG instead, something that proved to be the difference in the game because the Eagles would not have been forced to go for 2 on their 4th quarter TD, thus the 4-points the refs took away ultimately proved to be the final margin of victory for Washington.  4).  Not calling intentional grounding when Donovan McNabb threw a worm ball that did not reach the line of scrimmage.  5.) The number of flags thrown for a hold after a play was over was greatly disturbing.  The refs picked up the flag saying "#47 was in the area."  Fox showed a wide angle replay.  Chris Cooley was not in the shot.  No eligible receiver was in the area.  All around, Alberto Riveron and his crew were an embarrassment to football tonight.
• Kevin Kolb was not prepared to come in the game, and when he did, he was clearly gun shy.  He had wide open wide receivers down the field throughout the game and did not throw the ball to them, instead constantly settling for the check down.  I can't say he played awful (especially now that I watch Chicago and New York) but he was not great.  If he plays next week and has a week of practice, I would expect a lot more.
• If Andy Reid is truly going on a merit-based system of who should be QB this year, Kevin Kolb did not do enough to take the job away from a healthy Michael Vick.
• I still think Kolb should be starting to get him meaningful playing time and to help him develop.
• Donovan McNabb was a non-factor in McNabb Bowl I.  McNabb was 8/19 for 125 and 1 INT along with plenty of dead Philadelphia worms.
• McNabb was intercepted by Nate Allen.  The Redskins gave the Eagles a 2nd round draft pick in the trade, known as the McNabb Pick.  That guy drafted was Nate Allen, September's NFC Defensive Rookie of the Month and a guy who now has 3 career NFL INTs in 4 games.  Not too shabby.
• Riley Cooper and Asante Samuel are the latest Eagles to be concussed.
• The Eagles run defense was next to atrocious.  Stewart Bradley was not on his game and it showed, as some guy named Torrain and Clinton Portis ran rampant on the Eagles defense.
• Donovan McNabb got a standing ovation when introduced at Lincoln Financial Field.  Surprising?  If you listened to ESPN, yes.  But if you are a Philly fan who actually lives in the area, not surprising at all.  Once McNabb took the field as the QB looking to beat the hometown Eagles, he was booed, as most opposing QBs are or should be.  When everyone talks about Philly fans, this much hyped moment will be forgotten, but Santa Clause and people living in retirement homes as well as Angelo Cataldi's band of 15 idiots who were booing any 1st Round Draft Pick In 1999 Not Named Ricky Williams will be remembered.
• As bad as McNabb Bowl was, the Bears and Giants somehow topped that game in overall suckiness.
• Next week the Eagles play the hapless Niners on Sunday Night Football.  After saying the Eagles should have no problems with the Redskins, I'm not going to even bother trying to make a prediction.

2010 NFL Season Week 4 Live Blog: Today

"Today is the greatest Day I've ever known."

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE LIVE BLOG!

When Dumber And Dumberer Are Opposing Coaches In A Football Game...

...This is how it ends.



I did not think it was humanly possible for Les Miles to be out-stupided, but Derek Dooley and the Tennessee Volunteers accomplished that task with flying colors. Oy ve.

So You Are A Phillies Fan And You Don't Know Who To Root For On Sunday.....

Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day in sports. There could be some strange bedfellows, awkward celebrations, and utter heartbreak for a baseball team who could possibly lose out on the playoffs on the 163rd day, after holding a massive lead in the division 2 months ago. Before I go into about what Phillies fans should be hoping for, here is a list of the scenarios based on the results of tomorrow's games. The Phillies/Braves game starts at 1:35 whereas the Padres/Giants game does not get underway until 4:05.

1). Phillies win, Giants win: Giants win NL West, Padres travel to Atlanta to play Braves in a wildcard tie-breaker on Monday.
2). Phillies win, Padres win: Padres win NL West, Giants win wildcard, Braves are eliminated.
3). Braves win, Giants win: Giants win NL West, Braves win wildcard, Padres are eliminated.
4). Braves win, Padres win: 3-way tie. Giants and Padres will travel to San Diego for NL West tiebreaker game on Monday, the loser of the NL West tiebreaker will travel to Atlanta to play the Braves in a wildcard tiebreaker on Tuesday.

Now who the Phillies play on Wednesday and what team I will be inches away from at Citizens Bank Park on Friday is not yet determined. Using the same numbers for the scenarios, here is what each of them would result in for the Phillies in terms of their NLDS opponent.

1). Phillies opponent will be based on the tiebreaker results. If the Padres win, the Phillies will play the Padres. If the Braves win, the Phillies will play the Reds, who are starting Edinson Volquez in Game 1.
2). Phillies will play the Giants and a rested Tim Lincecum will be pitching Game 1.
3). Phillies will play the Padres..
4). Phillies opponent will be based on the tiebreaker results. If Giants win/Padres win, Phillies will play the Padres. If Giants win/Braves win, Phillies will play the Reds. If Padres win/Giants win, Phillies will play the Giants. If Padres win/Braves win, Phillies will play the Reds.

As hard as it is to believe, the worst case scenario would be the scenario where the Phillies win and the Padres win, the same result those who have enjoyed the schadenfreude have rooted for the past couple of days. As mentioned above, the Phillies would face a rested Tim Lincecum in Game 1, who would also be able to pitch in Game 4, if necessary, at AT&T Park. And while anything can happen in the playoffs and anyone can beat anyone on any day, this is as close to a disaster as you could possibly imagine for the Phillies. But the counter to that is the LDS series are mathematically speaking the most luck driven series of the playoffs because it is only best-of-5 instead of best-of-7. In other words, it can better to play the toughest opponent in the shorter series, where luck can play a bigger factor.

Perhaps the best scenario for the Phillies would be a scenario where the Braves win. Of course, its counterpart would be having the Padres win and us having a 3-way tiebreaker. And while this does involve the chance of playing the Giants, it would be without Lincecum starting Game 1. The Giants being in a tiebreaker means Tim Lincecum pitches in said tiebreaker. While that certainly gives the Giants a leg up in that game, it leaves them bare and exposed in the NLDS. But because I can't in good faith root for the Braves to beat the Phillies, I'll settle for the Phillies winning and the Giants winning, resulting in a Padres/Braves tiebreaker where the Phillies would either play the Padres or the Reds.

Any scenario where the Phillies play the Reds is fine with me, same with any scenario where the Phillies play the Padres. I am well aware that nobody is a guaranteed victory and I will not be celebrating an NLCS berth before this Wednesday, but I will certainly feel like the Phillies chances to advance will be higher by avoiding a series where Tim Lincecum pitches on Wednesday after a week of rest and in Game 4 in San Francisco on normal rest, even with the prospect of luck, because the Giants could very easily lose out and the Phillies can avoid their strongest adversary this year all together.