Top 10 Philadelphia Sports Games In 2011

Last year, I debuted my now annual end of year Top 10 list for best Philadelphia sports games of the year.  Even though there was so much less excitement and great games this year, the list is back this year, anyway!  Last year, I felt the ordering of the games, including what was the number one game, was very clear cut.  This year, not so much.  But I will make an attempt at it anyway.  With all the sadness, scandal, and shame this year has wrought on many a people in the area, perhaps looking back at the year's higher moments will be a plus for everyone involved and a good way to end a shitty year on a high note.  Just like last year, I will start with some honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions

Union comeback verse New England Revolution:  Usually I try to only post wins on here.  After all, what is worth celebrating about a game that is not a win?  Well, in soccer there are draws, and when you have a 3-goal comeback in dramatic fashion, even if the match ends in a 4-4 draw, it is still pretty noteworthy.  And thus was the exact case when the Philadelphia Union hosted the New England Revolution on September 7, 2011.  New England Revolution 4, Philadelphia Union 4



The Kids Are Alright: Following a 2nd round playoff exit to Boston that saw numerous goalie changes, Ed Snider demanded a ridiculously overpay for a position not worth a ridiculous overpay.  In order to fit that overpay in, Paul Holmgren had no choice but to blow up the team, trading the previous faces of the franchise away for youth and draft picks.  Low and behold, the Flyers first game of the season immediately followed a 15-hour banner raising at Boston.  With many fearing a rocky year, the kids played a great game and the Flyers defeated the Bruins. Flyers 2, Bruins 1



Someone From Philadelphia Wins A Trophy!:  The New Mexico Bowl.  Yes, this is the kind of year that was.  A boring New Mexico Bowl makes the list. Temple 37, Wyoming 15.

NFL Week 17 Schedule

It's the last week of what can only be described as an infuriating NFL Season on so many levels.  This is one season I will not miss any time soon.  I will probably have some sort of lengthy end of year reflection on the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles, but for now, here is the Week 17 Schedule.  There is nothing more depressing than on Week 17 turning on the TV to watch your team's last game of the season and hearing the words "Along with my partner Charles Davis, I'm Ron Pitts."

Maps of who gets what Sunday afternoon games

CBS early games

New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins  1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans  1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker)
Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars  1:00 (CBS - Spero Dedes and Steve Beuerlein)
Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots  1:00 (CBS - Don Criqui and Randy Cross)

Fox early games

Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints  1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers  1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)
San Francisco 49ers vs. St. Louis Rams  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)
Washington Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles  1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and Charles Davis)

CBS late games

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos  4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals  4:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
San Diego Chargers vs. Oakland Raiders  4:15 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns  4:15 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)

Fox late games

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Atlanta Falcons  4:15 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)
Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals  4:15 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Chad Pennington)

Sunday Night Football

Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

NFL Week 16 Live Blog

It is Christmas Eve and for the Eagles, it will be the most tension filled afternoon of the season.  If the Jets could make an emergency trade for Michael Bush, I'd appreciate it greatly.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO LIVE BLOG!*

*If you got an email from me, please disregard it.  As I am sure you have seen, both Mookie and I sent live blog emails at around the exact same time.  Even creepier, we then notified each other that we both sent live blogs at the same time at the exact same time.  After one of us finally got a word in edgewise without the other repeating the same thought verbatim at the same time, it was agreed that Mookie would host this live blog.  If you clicked my live blog first and got worried because I deleted it, please, do not worry.  Just click on Mookie's invitation and go over there.  If you did not get an email and want to comment, click the above link and follow Mookie's instructions.  

NFL Week 16 Schedule

The Eagles need to beat the Cowboys.  The Jets need to beat the Giants.  If one of these things do not happen, the Eagles will be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

Thursday Night Football

Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts  8:20 (NFL Network - Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan

Maps of who gets what Saturday afternoon games

CBS games

Denver Broncos vs. Buffalo Bills  1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots  1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens  1:00 (CBS - Spero Dedes and Rich Gannon)
Oakland Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans  1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker)

San Diego Chargers vs. Detroit Lions  4:05 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)

Fox early games

New York Giants vs. New York Jets  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnson, SA: Tony Siragusa)
St. Louis Rams vs. Pittsburgh Steelers  1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)
Arizona Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Bengals  1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)
Minnesota Vikings vs. Washington Redskins  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers  1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Chad Pennington)

America's Game Of The Week and other Fox late games

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys  4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks  4:15 (Fox - Ron Pitts and Charles Davis)

Sunday Night Football

Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Some Person)

NFL Week 15 Live Blog

The Eagles 2011 Season is now in the hands of the Redskins and the Raiders.  This can't end well.

NFL Week 15 Schedule

Nothing left to do now but hope that by the time 4:15 rolls around on Sunday afternoon, the Eagles still have a chance.  Go Buccaneers!  Go Redskins!  In case one of the Sunday afternoon games is a blowout, hurray for me being home for the next month and hurray my brother being a Vikings fan and forcing my family to shell out way too much money for Sunday Ticket!

Thursday Night Football

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Atlanta Falcons  8:20 (NFL Network - Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)

A Special Saturday Night Edition Of Thursday Night Football

Dallas Cowboys vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers  8:20 (NFL Network - Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)

Maps of who gets what Sunday afternoon games

Fox games

Washington Redskins vs. New York Giants  1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)

Green Bay Packers vs. Kansas City Chiefs  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)

New Orleans Saints vs. Minnesota Vikings  1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)

Seattle Seahawks vs. Chicago Bears  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)

Carolina Panthers vs. Houston Texans  1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and Charles Davis)

Detroit Lions vs. Oakland Raiders  4:05 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)

CBS early games

Cincinnati Bengals vs. St. Louis Rams  1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)

Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts  1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)

Miami Dolphins vs. Buffalo Bills  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)

America's Game Of The Week and other CBS late games

New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos  4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)

New York Jets vs. Philadelphia Eagles  4:15 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)

Cleveland Browns vs. Arizona Cardinals  4:15 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker)

Sunday Night Football

Baltimore Ravens vs. San Diego Chargers  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. San Francisco 49ers  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: John Sutcliffe)

Fun With NFC East Pythagenport Records

(Originally published, for better or worse, at Bleeding Green Nation)

Those who are familiar with baseball and The Good Phight are no doubt familiar with the concept known as Pythagorean records. In short, it is a formula invented by Bill James serving as a means of predicting a baseball team's record based off runs scored and runs allowed. A few years ago, a writer at Baseball Prospectus named Clay Davenport figured out that because the offensive environment of the league changes with time, the exponent used in the formula should be changed as well to reflect that. Hence the name in the title, Pythagenport records. And if one seeks to be even more accurate, one can derive an exponent for each individual team as each individual team plays in a slightly different offensive environment. While Baseball Prospectus calls this Pythagenpat records, in their Week 13 DVOA column from which this little exercise is derived from, Football Outsiders continue to use the term Pythagenport. For the sake of consistency, I will use the term "Pythagenport" throughout the rest of this column.

The same principles invented by Bill James can also be applied to NFL football. Now I know the question of how this is relevant will eventually come up, so I will answer it before we get into the numbers, so you understand right away what you are looking at. Football Outsiders did the math on this in the above linked column, and on a scale of 1 to -1 with 1 being the two variables are a perfect positive relationship on each other, 0 being the variables are completely independent of each other, and -1 being a perfect negative relationship, the correlation between Pythagenport wins and actual wins from 1990-2010, according to Football Outsiders, is .9134. This is a very strong correlation and the numbers that you are about to see below are relevant and will tell us about the 4-teams in the NFC East.

The formulas used in this column are as follows.

Exponent = 1.5*log ((Points scored + Points allowed) / number of games)
Pythagenport win percentage = Points scored^exponent / (Points scored^exponent + Points allowed^exponent)

As a baseline, here is each NFC East team's actual win percentage rounded to the nearest thousandth.

New York Giants: .538
Dallas Cowboys: .538
Philadelphia Eagles: .385
Washington Redskins: .308

And now each team's Pythagenport win percentage:

Dallas Cowboys: .575
Philadelphia Eagles: .511
New York Giants: .452
Washington Redskins: .284

What Does This Mean?

First of all, in case you have not yet figured it out, the NFC East is a bumbling pile of mediocrity plus the abysmal Washington Redskins. The best team in the division, the Dallas Cowboys, are somewhere between a 7-6 team and an 8-5 team when you convert the three-digit percentage number into actual wins.

Perhaps what may be startling to some but less so to folks who have been paying attention close attention to the Eagles' point differential, the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles are not all that bad of a football team. Certainly not as bad as their 5-8 record would lead you to believe. Now a record hovering around .500 is certainly not what many people, Eagles fans included expected out of the Eagles coming into the 2011 campaign, but it is certainly better than the Eagles' actual 5-8 record and enough to have the Eagles right in the middle of the NFC East title race without having to rely on some sort of miracle as they currently do.

So why is there a such a discrepancy between the Eagles' actual win percentage and Pythagenport win percentage?

A very good question, and the answer probably is not what people want to hear and/or believe, although it is true. In one word: luck. In two words: bad luck*.

*Addendum: In this context, I am attributing luck to the reasons why the Eagles are 5-8 and not hovering around .500. I am not suggesting luck is the reason the Eagles are not 10-3 or better and right in the midst of a race for a 1st round bye with San Francisco and New Orleans. This is also not to say the Eagles do not have flaws. Clearly, this is not a perfect team. However, they are not as bad as a 5-8 record (.385 win percentage) would suggest.

A basic theory of football is there is the ability to win close football games (with close football game being defined as games where the final margin of victory is 7 points or less) is not an actual ability. Some might define this perceived ability as being "clutch." But alas, no coach/QB/team hold an ability to consistently win/lose close football games. Over the course of a season, teams will tend to hover around the .500 league median. In his article last Friday, Bill Barnwell elaborates on this general point further with Tim Tebow's performance being the subject of the post. To go back to the Eagles, the Eagles are 2-5 this season in games where the final margin of victory is 7 points or less. The bad luck the Eagles have seen in these close games is a major reason why the Eagles' actual win percentage is as far below the Eagles' Pythagenport win percentage as it is. The fact that over 50% of the Eagles games have been decided by a touchdown or less is part of the reason their Pythagenport win percentage hovers around the .500 mark.

Conclusion

Barring a near miraculous final three weeks of the season, the narrative of the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles will be written as followed: "A team with all sorts of talent but no heart and a coach that lost the locker room. (Insert bad Dream Team pun here)." Unfortunately for many in the media, that narrative does not match with the reality. Barring a drastic turn of events in the final three games of the season, the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles were a team whose actual record fell well below that of what it should have been, according to Pythagenport win percentage, a metric whose that correlates very strongly (.9134) with actual win percentage. The Eagles Pythagenport win percentage (.511) is by no means great, however, in a watered down NFC East where mediocrity reigns supreme, is good enough to have the Eagles in line to contend for the division title. However, thanks to a couple unfortunate losses early in the season, the Eagles are only hanging on by a thread and would need everything to fall just perfectly into place in the final three weeks of the season to have a chance at winning an NFC East championship.

NFL Week 14 Live Blog

Because the question of whether or not the Eagles fans are rooting for a win tomorrow, my answer tomorrow is yes, I am rooting for the Eagles to defeat the Miami Dolphins.  I understand the logic of wanting a better possible draft pick, and a loss against a team they are "competing" against would help them in landing a better pick, but the Eagles are not yet mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.  And even though the odds are hovering around 1% that they will make the playoffs, I just can't bring myself to root against them when the Eagles still have a chance, no matter how slim it may be.  Until the Eagles are mathematically eliminated, I can't find it in my heart to root for them to lose and I won't root for them to lose.

NFL Week 14 Schedule

Thanks to some rather hilarious ineptitude on the part of the Cowboys and Giants, the 4-8 Eagles still have a path to the playoffs that does not involve back-breaking mathematics.  If in their last four games, the Eagles go 4-0, the Cowboys 1-3, and the Giants 2-2, the Eagles will (incredibly) be the 4-seed.  Now mind you, the probability this actually happens is somewhere around 1%, but hey, on September 1, the Tampa Bay Rays had a .3% chance of winning the AL East.  The point: This would not be the most statistically improbable comeback of the year.  So on that desperate note, here is your Week 14 NFL Schedule! (all times ET; games I get are in bold)

Thursday Night Football

Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers  8:20 (NFL Network - Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)

Maps of who gets what Sunday afternoon games

Fox games

New Orleans Saints  vs. Tennessee Titans  1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions  1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Miami Dolphins  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)
Atlanta Falcons vs. Carolina Panthers  1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and Jim Mora, Jr.)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars  1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Chad Pennington)

Chicago Bears vs. Denver Broncos  4:05 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals  4:05 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)

CBS early games

New England Patriots vs. Washington Redskins  1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Kansas City Chiefs vs. New York Jets  1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Houston Texans vs. Cincinnati Bengals  1:00 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)
Indianapolis Colts vs. Baltimore Ravens  1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker)

America's Game Of The Week and other CBS late games

Oakland Raiders vs. Green Bay Packers  4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Buffalo Bills vs. San Diego Chargers  4:15 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)

Sunday Night Football

New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

St. Louis Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Rachel Nichols)

2011-12 FBS Bowl Schedule

As much as I do not like college football's ridiculous BCS system, or how some teams like Western Kentucky were not invited to a bowl game despite being eligible and as much as this whole thing is corruption and picking teams that best fill hotel rooms and the dollar pockets of rich executives, I still watch these bowl games with enjoyment anyway.  I have no will power to create meaningful change as I won't be negatively impacting their ratings.  So anyway, here is your schedule (complete with announcers already) for the Bowl games.  Enjoy! (all times ET)

December 17
New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, NM):  Wyoming vs. Temple  2:00 (ESPN - Clay Matvick and Brian Griese, SR: Jessica Mendoza)
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, ID):  Utah State vs. Ohio  5:30 (ESPN - Dave Flemming and Mike Bellotti, SR: Heather Cox)
New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, LA):  Louisiana-Lafayette vs. San Diego State  9:00 (ESPN - Carter Blackburn and Brock Huard, SR: Shelley Smith)

December 20
Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl (St. Petersburg, FL):  Florida International vs. Marshall  8:00 (ESPN - Mike Patrick and Danny Kanell, SR: Jeannine Edwards)

December 21
Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego, CA):  TCU vs. Louisiana Tech  8:00 (ESPN - Joe Tessitore, Mark May, and Lou Holtz, SR: Samantha Steele)

December 22
Maaco Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, NV):  Boise State vs. Arizona State  8:00 (ESPN - Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, SR: Tom Rinaldi)

December 24
Hawaii Bowl (Honolulu, HI):  Southern Mississippi vs. Nevada  8:00 (ESPN - Mark Jones and Ed Cunningham, SR: Jessica Mendoza)

December 26
Independence Bowl (Shreveport, LA):  Missouri vs. North Carolina  5:00 (ESPN2 - Rob Stone and Danny Kanell, SR: Allison Williams)

December 27
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (Detroit, MI):  Purdue vs. Western Michigan  4:30 (ESPN - Beth Mowins and Mike Bellotti, SR: Eamon McAnaney)
Belk Bowl (Charlotte, NC):  North Carolina State vs. Louisville  8:00 (ESPN - Bob Wischusen and Brian Griese, SR: Shannon Spake)

December 28
Military Bowl (Washington, D.C.):  Air Force vs. Toledo  4:30 (ESPN - Pam Ward and Dan Hawkins, SR: Jeannine Edwards)
Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA):  Texas vs. California  8:00 (ESPN - Rece Davis and Jesse Palmer, SR: Jenn Brown)

December 29
Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, FL):  Florida State vs. Notre Dame  5:30 (ESPN - Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore, SR: Holly Rowe)
Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX):  Baylor vs. Washington  9:00 (ESPN - Dave Pasch and Chris Spielman, SR: Quint Kessenich)

December 30
Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas, TX):  BYU vs. Tulsa  12:00 (ESPN - Dave Neal and Andre Ware, SR: Cara Capuano)
Pinstripe Bowl (New York City, NY):  Rutgers vs. Iowa State  3:20 (ESPN - Chris Fowler and Jesse Palmer, SR: Tom Rinaldi)
Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN):  Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State  6:40 (ESPN - Mark Jones and Ed Cunningham, SR: Jeannine Edwards)
Insight Bowl (Tempe, AZ):  Oklahoma vs. Iowa  10:00 (ESPN - Sean McDonough and Matt Millen, SR: Heather Cox)

December 31
Meineke Car Care Bowl Of Texas (Houston, TX):  Texas A&M vs. Northwestern  12:00 (ESPN - Bob Wischusen and Brian Griese, SR: Eamon McAnaney)
Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX):  Georgia Tech vs. Utah  2:00 (CBS - Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson, SR: Tracy Wolfson)
Liberty Bowl (Memphis, TN):  Vanderbilt vs. Cincinnati  3:30 (ABC - Dave Lamont and Ray Bentley, SR: Quint Kessenich)
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (San Francisco, CA):  UCLA vs. Illinois  3:30 (ESPN - Carter Blackburn and Brock Huard, SR: Shelley Smith)
Chick-fil-A Bowl (Atlanta, GA):  Virginia vs. Auburn  7:30 (ESPN - Brad Nessler and Todd Blackledge, SR: Holly Rowe)

January 2
TicketCity Bowl (Dallas, TX):  Penn State vs. Houston  12:00 (ESPNU - Clay Matvick and Danny Kanell, SR: Allison Williams)
Outback Bowl (Tampa, FL):  Georgia vs. Michigan State  1:00 (ABC - Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden, SR: Lisa Salters)
Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL):  Ohio State vs. Florida  1:00 (ESPN2 - Mike Patrick and Ed Cunningham, SR: Jeannine Edwards)
Capital One Bowl (Orlando, FL):  Nebraska vs. South Carolina  1:00 (ESPN - Joe Tessitore and Rod Gilmore, SR: Quint Kessenich)
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA):  Oregon vs. Wisconsin  5:00 (ESPN - Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit, SR: Erin Andrews)
Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ):  Oklahoma State vs. Stanford  8:30 (ESPN - Sean McDonough and Matt Millen, SR: Heather Cox)

January 3
Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA):  Michigan vs. Virginia Tech  8:30 (ESPN - Brad Nessler and Todd Blackledge, SR: Holly Rowe)

January 4
Orange Bowl (Miami, FL):  Clemson vs. West Virginia  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Lisa Salters)

January 6
Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX):  Kansas State vs. Arkansas  8:00 (Fox - Gus Johnson and Charles Davis, SA: Tim Brewster)

January 7
BBVA Compass Bowl (Birmingham, AL):  Pittsburgh vs. SMU  1:00 (ESPN - Mike Gleason and John Congemi, SR: Eamon McAnaney)

January 8
GoDaddy.com Bowl (Mobile, AL):  Northern Illinois vs. Arkansas State  9:00 (ESPN - Rob Stone and Danny Kanell, SR: Cara Capuano)

January 9
BCS Championship Game (New Orleans, LA):  LSU vs. Alabama  8:30 (ESPN - Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit, SR: Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi)

NFL Week 13 Live Blog

If tonight goes I think tonight is going to go, this is going to be one fucked up night of sports.

I Push My Fingers Into My Eyes

NFL Week 13 Live Blog

Eagles.  Seahawks.  Thursday Night Football.  Mediocrity at its finest.  Join us, why don't you?

CLICK HERE TO GO TO LIVE BLOG

Why The Seattle Seahawks Will Beat The Philadelphia Eagles....And Why The Philadelphia Eagles Will Beat The Seattle Seahawks

As incredible as it may seem, tomorrow night will be the first time since I started blogging* that my Philadelphia Eagles will play my internet friend Mookie's Seattle Seahawks.  Earlier this week, Mookie reached out to me via email to ask if I wanted to join him in doing a series of posts, with me saying some words on why the Seahawks will beat the Eagles, and him writing a few words on why the Eagles will beat the Seahawks.  The results of that are as follows.

*I started blogging after what is still the latest tie in the NFL.  The Eagles last played the Seahawks a few weeks prior to that infamous game.  I have no visual recollection of that Eagles win at Seattle in 2008.  No amount of hard alcohol has been able to wash away the memories of the two Seahawks-Eagles games prior to that one.


Why the Seahawks will beat the Eagles, by Justin F.

The Eagles Defensive Coordinator is their old offensive line coach:  The Eagles Defensive coordinator is their offensive line coach.  It as worked out about as well as most imagined.  It's imbarrassing.  As much as I (and the Eagles players themselves) did not like Sean McDermott, the Eagles defense put up a respectable -11.0% DVOA last season.  This season, the Eagles defensive DVOA (DVOA explained) is a sub-par 2.8% (in case you do not know or have not yet figured out, in terms of defense, a negative DVOA is better than a positive DVOA).  That's right.  The Eagles defense has actually regressed from last season.

NFL Week 13 Schedule

Mookie and I have a surprise for you that should be up Wednesday night or Thursday morning, but until then, have fun and enjoy the Week 13 schedule.

Thursday Night Football

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Seattle Seahawks  8:20 (NFL Network - Brad Nessler  and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)

Map of who gets what Sunday afternoon games

CBS games

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers  1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Oakland Raiders vs. Miami Dolphins  1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
New York Jets vs. Washington Redskins  1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots  1:00 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Tennessee Titans vs. Buffalo Bills  1:00 (CBS - Spero Dedes and Steve Beuerlein)

Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns  4:05 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker)

Fox early games

Atlanta Falcons vs. Houston Texans  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
Denver Broncos vs. Minnesota Vikings  1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)
Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers  1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts  and Jim Mora, Jr.)

America's Game Of The Week and Fox late games

Green Bay Packers vs. New York Giants  4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
Dallas Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals  4:15 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)
St. Louis Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers  4:15 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)

Sunday Night Football

Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

San Diego Chargers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Suzy Kolber)

ESPN: The World Wide Leader In Hypocrisy

Hey, remember when a bunch of ESPN talking heads, including Michelle Beadle, Kirk Herbstreit, Jay Bilas, and Colin Cowherd went on a moral crusade against Joe Paterno for not doing more upon learning that Mike McQueary witnessed Jerry Sandusky in the shower behaving beyond inappropriately with a boy in the shower?  Good times, wasn't it?  Now, in a cruel twist of irony, the shoe is on the other foot, and then some.  While we do not know what Jim Boeheim did or did not know in terms of the Bernie Fine allegations at Syracuse, but we do know who did know of these allegations back in 2003.  That's right.  The Worldwide Leader, themselves.  ESPN knew.

ESPN did nothing.

What am I talking about, exactly?  It goes back to the Syracuse allegations against Bernie Fine.  Released today on Outside The Lines, a recorded telephone conversation former Syracuse ball boy Bobby Davis had with Bernie Fine's wife, Laurie in regards to Bernie Fine's behavior.  Due to the disturbing nature of this conversation, I will not post any quotes here, but if you want to read it so you have, click here to read excerpts of the conversation between Davis and Laurie Fine.

One slightly major issue.  The conversation in that transcript took place in 2002.  ESPN obtained a copy of the audiotape of that conversation in 2003.  Sporting News summarizes what ESPN did with the conversations (bold emphasis mine).

Davis, now 39, shared the tape with Syracuse police after Outside the Lines reported that allegations Nov. 17. He had given ESPN the tape of the recorded conversation in 2003, but ESPN did not report that accusations because it didn’t have enough information to back up Davis’ allegations.

 At least Joe Paterno went to the AD and the head of police, even though all he had to off of was hearsay.  ESPN had tapes from Bernie Fine's wife essentially implicating him in child molestation.  ESPN sat on these tapes.  They claim there was not enough evidence to go public, but they did not turn over the conversation to authorities for further investigation.  Is this beginning to sound familiar to anyone?

Now this is likely something that Michelle Beadle, Kirk Herbstreit, and other ESPN talking heads knew nothing about, but, it is worth pointing out that they are not directing anger at their own company.  Shocking.  Beadle has turned from mud-flinging at Paterno to "Monsters are everywhere," and "Focus on cleaning up" abuse at universities.  Amazing.  I know.

But instead of continuing on my moral high horse on the hypocrisy of some at ESPN, I'll just ask one question.

Is this too a conspiracy of cowards?

NFL Week 12 Live Blog

The only question I have is how bad is New English going to demolish a suddenly injury plagued Eagles team?

NFL Week 12 Schedule

Thanksgiving week!  This year the games are.......actually quite good.  This is certainly one of the better Thanksgiving slates of games I can remember in quite awhile, namely because the Lions are not the laughing stock of the NFL.  But still, instead of the hapless Colts, they have been given the unbeaten Packers.  Eagles host the Patriots in a game where I reckon the first team to 50 will win. (all times ET; games I get are in bold)

Thanksgiving games

Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions  12:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
Miami Dolphins vs. Dallas Cowboys  4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens  8:20 (NFL Network - Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)

Maps of who gets what Sunday afternoon games

Fox games

Minnesota Vikings vs. Atlanta Falcons  1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Tennessee Titans  1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)
Carolina Panthers vs. Indianapolis Colts  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)
Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Cardinals  1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Chad Pennington)

Chicago Bears vs. Oakland Raiders  4:05 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
Washington Redskins vs. Seattle Seahawks  4:05 (Fox - Ron Pitts and Jim Mora, Jr.)

CBS early games

Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets  1:00 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)
Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals  1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker)

America's Game Of The Week and other CBS late games

New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles  4:15 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Denver Broncos vs. San Diego Chargers  4:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)

Sunday Night Football

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Kansas City Chiefs  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

New York Giants vs. New Orleans Saints  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Wendi Nix)

NFL Week 11/MLS Cup Final Live Blog

I'm watching the Eagles game tonight.  Against the Giants.  With Vince Young starting for the Eagles.  Yes, I am a masochist.

Fire Andy Reid? (A Link To) A Debate With Brian Solomon

After posting my rebuttal to Phil Sheridan on Sunday night, Philadelphia Eagles blogger Brian Solomon sent me an email asking to debate him on whether or not Andy Reid should be fired.  Having a great respect for Brian's wanting a chance to engage him in a fun debate, I accepted.  You can read the debate for yourself at his site, McNabb Or Kolb.

The debate was his idea and for his blog, so I will not takeaway his pageviews by doing a straight re-post, but if you want to read the debate, you can CLICK HERE AND READ IT.

I thank Brian very much for this opportunity and hope all you will read his blog and follow him on Twitter.

Hypocrisy By Brooks

Sometimes I feel like it is best to take a deep breath and just ignore Sports By Brooks.  After all, he is nothing more than a sleazy sports gossip writer with about as much dignity as the people that feel the need to follow Lady Gaga everywhere she goes, including stalking the drainage system she empties her bodily waste in to examine her poop to see if the feces reveal anything about a sex scandal.  And then sometimes it is best to stoop to that very level of depravity yourself just because, well, actually it is not for the best it is fun for me to expose how much of a hypocrite someone is.

I am not going to link any tweets, but if you take a look at Sports by Brooks's timeline you will see the sports gossip columnist has ceased to be a sports gossip columnist and has turned into a full time Penn State gossip columnist since the Penn State flattery.  In this timeline, you will see a bunch of tweets about rumors, speculation that Jerry Sandusky will be acquitted by a jury of his peers in Centre County (?), and several tweets perched atop his moral high horse as he uses mental gymnastics of the amazing kind to equate a vote in support of Joe Paterno and Joe Paterno's legacy as a vote in support of child molestation and this tweet of what can only be described as pure insanity.  Even if Sandusky does shockingly get acquitted, to suggest something of the nature this early on in the process is nothing short of insanity.

Here is the graphic, 23-page, grand jury report.  This is what is known, both in terms of what Sandusky did and what McQueary and Paterno knew and did.  You can try make heads or tails of comments and actions from the early 2000s to try and infer more about what was known and who knew it, but I won't get into that.  If you choose to believe the interview Sandusky gave last night and the interview Mike McQueary is giving tonight then we know that too.  But outside of that, everything else is opinion disguised as fact, or moral high horse rantings disguised as opinion.  Rumors/reports from a gossip columnist are unfounded at best and trolling for followers/pageviews at worst.

But, SbB is indeed that.  I said as much above, and I think Brooks might even say as much.  It is his job to do this.  But I am writing a post because there is a catch.  The point of this post is not to chide someone for having an opinion.  You do not need me to tell you that this Penn State scandal has elicited some violent opinions.  Brooks is not the first person to espouse such opinions on this issue and he damn sure will not be the last.  But what makes Brooks a special case is that everytime he tweets something from his moral high horse on the Penn State scandal, he is setting in a glass house, trying to throw stones.  Now as far as we know, Brooks does not have a history of pedophilia, but I can confirm he has a perverted history of ephebophilia.  Behold, the hypocrisy of Sports by Brooks!

Yes.  You saw that link correctly.  That is Brooks.  Unabashedly ogling at a 17-year old's breasts.

The patron saint of Morality, everyone!

(h/t @AvalonBryan and the essential @zoowithroy)

NFL Week 11 Schedule

I am working on something big that will hopefully appear later this week, but until then, here is your Week 11 schedule.  Yes, I actually remembered to post this on Tuesday for once.  I am as impressed as you are. (all times ET; games I get are in bold)

Thursday Night Football

New York Jets vs. Denver Broncos  8:20 (NFL Network - Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)

Map of who gets what Sunday afternoon games

Fox games

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Green Bay Packers  1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
Carolina Panthers vs. Detroit Lions  1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)

Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers  4:05 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)
Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams  4:05 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)

CBS early games

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens  1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins  1:00 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)
Oakland Raiders vs. Minnesota Vikings  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harland and Solomon Wilcots)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Cleveland Browns  1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker)

America's Game Of The Week and other CBS late games

San Diego Chargers vs. Chicago Bears  4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Tennessee Titans vs. Atlanta Falcons  4:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)

Sunday Night Football

Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Giants  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

Kansas City Chiefs vs. New England Patriots  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Suzy Kolber)

Phil Sheridan's Latest Column Is Slightly Mis-Informed

There are some people that absolutely despite Phil Sheridan.  Personally, I think there are worse columnists in the Philadelphia sports media than him (*cough*cough*Jack McCaffery *cough*cough*), but the column he wrote after the Eagles loss to the Cardinals is by far and away one of the most ridiculous pieces of writing I have ever written.  Not that I am intentionally getting away from directly talking about the Eagles, okay, never mind, I am, I am intentionally getting away from directly talking about the Eagles second real all-round poor performance of the season, but as poor as the Eagles were today, this column from Phil Sheridan is worse.  After the jump, a FJM style breakdown (Sheridan's words in italics).

NFL Week 10 Live Blog

Week 10 already?  Wow.  Season flies when your team struggles.  Or something.

NFL Week 10 Schedule

So I guess I should have gotten this up before Thursday Night Football started, eh? (games I get are in bold; all times ET)

Thursday Night Football

Oakland Raiders vs. San Diego Chargers  8:20 (NFL Network - Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)

Map of who gets what Sunday afternoon games

CBS games

Buffalo Bills vs. Dallas Cowboys  1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals  1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Houston Texans vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers  1:00 (CBS  - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)
Tennessee Titans vs. Carolina Panthers  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs  1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts  1:00 (CBS - Spero Dedes and Steve Beuerlein)

Baltimore Ravens vs. Seattle Seahawks  4:05 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)

Fox early games

New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Darly Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
Arizona Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles  1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)
Washington Redskins vs. Miami Dolphins  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)
St. Louis Rams vs. Cleveland Browns  1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and Jim Mora, Jr.)

America's Game Of The Week and Fox late games

New York Giants vs. San Francisco 49ers  4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears  4:15 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SA: Laura Okmin)

Sunday Night Football

New England Patriots vs. New York Jets  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Suzy Kolber)

The Flyers' Way To Combat Tampa's 1-3-1: Troll The High Hell Out Of It

It sucked that the Flyers ultimately lost to the Lightning in overtime today, but this from the Flyers today should forever be remembered as one of the greatest troll jobs in hockey history.  Behold, the Flyers attack of a 1-3-1  where the forward remains in the neutral zone!



Awesome. Amazing. Orgasmic. Hilarious. All adequate words to describe an effective trolling job. And yes, the Flyers do use the 1-3-1 at times, but at least when they use this rather less palatable defensive strategy, they at least have their forward employ some semblance of a forecheck. Brilliantly done by the Flyers. Brilliantly done. Such a shame they lost in overtime. This troll job needed to be complete with a Flyers win at the end. Oh well. Sometimes the trolling alone is enough of a win for one game. Epic.

Listen To My Appearance On The Brotherly Game Podcast

If listening to me talk soccer with The Brotherly Game's founder and current managing editor is not enough to get you excited, listen for the first five minutes, where I break the news of Joe Paterno's firing to Kyle, Scott, and our listeners by reading the tweet of a Philadelphia Flyers beat writer for a southern New Jersey newspaper.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE RECORDED VERSION OF THE BROTHERLY GAME'S 2011 PHILADELPHIA UNION SEASON RECAP!

My Quick Thoughts On The Current State Of Affairs Of The Eagles

The 2011 Eagles are like the Phillies in that every team that has beaten them has been equitable to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2011 Playoffs.

Much like in other sports, there is no known or quantifiable “clutch” skill in winning “close” football games, with close in this instance being defined as games where the final point separation is 7 points or less. In general, any given team can be expected to win about half of these games. The Eagles have had 4 games this season where the final point separation has been 7 points or less. They are 1-4 in those games. On the other side of the coin, the Giants are 4-0 in those games.

The 2011 Philadelphia Eagles are a good football team that have been unbelievably unlucky. Vegas still loves the Eagles.  The Eagles are tied for last in the NFC East despite having the best point differential in that division.

Vegas still loves the Eagles.  They were 9-point favorites last night and the line for next week's game against Arizona opened with the Eagles as 14-point favorites.

There is hope for the Eagles. They have an easy schedule ahead, the Giants have a brutal schedule ahead. The Eagles meet the Giants one more time. The bad news is the Cowboys also have an easy schedule. And the Cowboys carry a 2-3 record in games where the point differential is 7-points or less.  The good news is the Eagles also face the Cowboys one more time.

Is there enough time for the luck to even itself out and the Eagles to win the NFC East? I think it is doubtful at this point just because of what little time there is left and the leaps the Eagles will have to make both in the standings and in terms of luck, but the Eagles true talent level is not that of a 3-5 team, rather more likely a 4-4 team or a 5-3 team, which given the overall weakness of the NFC East this year, is just frustrating.

One last point before I go back to preparing preparing psychology presentations, creating Revolutionary War lessons, and reading colonial newspapers.  Fire Reid?  Absolutely, definitely not.  Fire Juan Castillo?  Let's wait to the end of the year to have this discussion.

Week 9 Monday Night Football Live Blog

A Brief Word On The Penn State Scandal

If you want to read the most horrifying thing you could ever hope to read, read the Penn State Grand Jury Report.  If you can make it past Victim 1 and Victim 2, you have a stronger stomach than I.  Actually, I could not even make it past Victim 1, I just willed myself through it to read the necessary details of Victim 2, which is what the big controversy is about.

Based off what has been alleged, we can safely say three people broke Pennsylvania law:  Jerry Sandusky, Tim Curley, and Gary Schultz.  Everyone else that we know of followed Pennsylvania Law in this matter.

Now whether or not certain people not in violation of any law should have damned the law and done more to protect young kids from a monster who had way too much access is a moral argument I will not get into. I'm not saying said persons should have done more, I am not saying said persons should not have done more, just I am not going to make an argument around it.  And honestly, I'm not even sure I know where I stand on it.  All I know is people are making the story about said persons, and not about Sandusky, the eight victims, and Curley and Schultz, both of whom knowingly skirted the law and did not do as they should have.  And that really should not be the case.

MLS Cup Final Schedule

It may have been announced in May, but the Los Angeles Galaxy are hosting the 2011 MLS Cup Final this year.  Don Garber announced Home Depot Center in Carson, California then, and lo and behold, the Los Angeles Galaxy are in playing in the MLS Cup Final.  Their opponents, Houston Dynamo who likely will be without league MVP candidate Brad Davis.  Let's see, Supporters' Shield winner playing at home against an Eastern Conference team likely without its best player?  This will make lots of MLS fans grumpy.  Here is the schedule (if you can call it that) for the game. (home team listed last; all times ET)

MLS Cup Final

November 20:  Houston Dynamo vs. Los Angeles Galaxy  9:00 (ESPN - Ian Darke and John Harkes, SR: Rob Stone)

NFL Week 9/MLS Conference Finals Live Blog

Man, what is it with all the crappy early games as of late?  I mean, I guess Jets-Bills is sort of okay, but 49ers-Redskins?  That the Redskins are so bad that I am getting Seahawks-Cowboys with Chris Myers?  Ugh.  Well, on the likely more exciting side of things, MLS Conference Finals are tonight.

Houston Dynamo vs. Sporting Kansas City 5:30 (FSC - JP Dellacamera and Brian Dunseth, SR: Allen Hopkins)

Real Salt Lake vs. Los Angeles Galaxy 9:00 (ESPN - Ian Darke and John Harkes, SR: Rob Stone)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO LIVE BLOG!

2011 MLS Cup Conference Finals Schedule

After a round of aggregate scoring, the Conference Finals will be like the wild card, one game, better side hosts, winner advances, loser goes home.  In the event of a tie after 90 minutes, there will be 30 minutes extra time.  If still tied after extra time, it will come down to a penalty shootout. (home team listed last; all times ET)

Eastern Conference Final

November 6:  Houston Dynamo vs. Sporting Kansas City  5:30 (FSC - JP Dellacamera and Brian Dunseth, SR: Mark Rogondino)

Western Conference Final

November 6:  Real Salt Lake vs. Los Angeles Galaxy  9:00 (ESPN - Ian Darke and John Harkes, SR: Rob Stone)

MLS Cup Conference Semifinals Leg 2 Day 2 Live Blog

Leg 2: Philadelphia Union vs. Houston Dynamo 8:30 (ESPN2 - Adrian Healey and Taylor Twellman)

Leg 2: New York Red Bulls vs. Los Angeles Galaxy 11:00 (ESPN2 - Ian Darke and John Harkes, SR: Rob Stone) (TSN2)

An Incoherent Rambling From A Tired Philadelphia Sports Fan

(Re-posted here from The Brotherly Game.)

It is 1 AM, I am tired, but I can't sleep.  The Philadelphia Union kick off their potentially last game of the season in 19 and a half hours.  This is a post that I probably should not be writing, however, I am a college student who has been swamped with work and I am desperate for something, anything to take my mind off that.  This probably won't make much sense to you, but I feel like I need to express it.  The quality of soccer of actual soccer content in this post will be little to non-existent.  After the past few days I've had and the next couple of days I figure to have, I probably could not sufficiently analyze an upcoming soccer match even if I had to.

As a Philadelphia sports fan, the past year has been a particularly painful one.  Well, maybe painful may not be the right word.  After all, there are several sports cities in the United States that may envy the success Philadelphia has seen this year.  Every major Philadelphia sports team has gotten into the playoffs this year.  The only post-season experience Cleveland fans had this year was watching LeBron James falter in the NBA Finals.*

*Some Cleveland fans may point to the Lake Erie Monsters and say I am wrong.  Most will read "Lake Erie Monsters" and have absolutely no idea who I am referencing.  Also, after much research, they were the ONLY professional sports team remotely associated with Cleveland to qualify for anything resembling a post-season in 2011.  As a final post-script on a team you likely have never heard of before and quite as likely barely hear of again, the Lake Erie Monsters' post-season came to an end in the first round.  All things considered, they were probably showered with a parade anyway.


I sincerely apologize if this comes of wanting the cake and wanting to eat it too.*  Maybe asking for this is wanting too much.  After all, the Philadelphia Eagles had a miraculous 2010 season, capped off with a game that to this day still has its own Wikipedia page.  The Philadelphia Flyers were the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference.  The Philadelphia 76ers made the playoffs after an abysmal 2009-2010.  The Philadelphia Phillies were a 102-win team and the undisputed best team in baseball.

*I told you this post would be incoherent.


But looking ahead to the end of 2011 and the current MLS Cup Playoffs, the last professional sports post-season of the calendar year, I still feel unfulfilled.  The Eagles lost in the wild card round to the Green Bay Packers.  The Philadelphia Flyers lost in the 2nd round to the Boston Bruins and then blew the team up.  The Philadelphia 76ers lost in the first round.  The Philadelphia Phillies lost in the 1st round.  Agonizing loss, after agonizing loss, after agonizing loss, after agonizing loss.

A lot of luck is involved in the playoffs.  After all, the Phillies lost Game 5 of the NLDS by five feet.  But deserved or not, just once this year, I want something to go Philadelphia's way in the playoffs.  I want to end a great year on a great note, to be able to say at the very least the 2-year old Philadelphia Union advanced to the Eastern Conference Final.  I do not care if it ends up being deserved or not, I just want a win.  Whether or not the Union play the best possible game is irrelevant if the Union win.  Whether or not Peter Nowak manages the best possible game is irrelevant if the Union win.  I have the utmost confidence the Union will do the best they can do.  I have the utmost doubts Nowak will do the best he can do.  I submit the first half of Leg 1 as evidence of these doubts.

Take a look at the MLS standings.  The Philadelphia Union belong here.  We are in the playoffs and we deserve that.  This team is good enough.  But many other Philadelphia teams said the same thing.  They did not win.  For 2011, the Philadelphia Union represent the Philadelphia's last chance.  It may end tomorrow.  If so, everyone and myself included will say how great a year the Union had and how they are set up well for the future.  They will be right, of course.  But that does not mean I don't want this anyway.  Feelings of desperation crawl inside me saying "please, Union, please, give me something to celebrate in the playoffs in 2011."  Those on the outside will likely see this as spoiled.  They may be right, but something inside me just wants it badly.  Maybe because the Phillies loss is not even a month old.  Maybe it is because I want something to put that memory aside, if only for a brief while.  Maybe because I do not want to endure that pain I had to go through less than a month ago.

The Philadelphia Union need a win tonight.  A win by 1, and they force extra time.  A win by two or more, and they are going to Kansas City.

I'm here, I'm now, I'm ready. Holding on tight, don't give away the end. The one thing that stays mine.

NFL Week 9 Schedule

Sorry I could not get this up earlier. This week has been hell.  It will get worse before it gets better.

Map of who gets what Sunday afternoon games.

CBS games

New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills  1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Cleveland Browns vs. Houston Texans  1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harland and Solomon Wilcots)

Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders  4:05 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tennessee Titans  4:05 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)

Fox early games

San Francisco 49ers vs. Washington Redskins  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints  1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)
Seattle Seahawks vs. Dallas Cowboys  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)
Atlanta Falcons vs. Indianapolis Colts  1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and Jim Mora, Jr.)

America's Game Of The Week and Fox late games

New York Giants vs. New England Patriots  4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
Green Bay Packers vs. San Diego Chargers  4:15 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)
St. Louis Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals  4:15 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Chad Pennington)

Sunday Night Football

Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

Chicago Bears vs. Philadelphia Eagles  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Suzy Kolber)

MLS Conference Semifinals Leg 2 Day 1 Live Blog

Leg 2: Colorado Rapids vs. Sporting Kansas City 8:00 (FSC - JP Dellacamera and Brian Dunseth)

Leg 2: Real Salt Lake vs. Seattle Sounders 10:00 (ESPN2 - Adrian Healey and John Harkes) (TSN2)

NFL Week 8/MLS Conference Semifinals Live Blog

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!  DOOP!

Leg 1: Los Angeles Galaxy vs. New York Red Bulls 3:00 (ESPN2 - Adrian Healey and John Harkes)

Leg 1: Houston Dynamo vs. Philadelphia Union 5:00 (ESPN2 - Rob Stone and Taylor Twellman)

Leg 1: Sporting Kansas City vs. Colorado Rapids 7:00 (FSC) (TSN2)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO LIVE BLOG!

2011 MLS Cup Western Conference Semifinal Leg 1 Live Blog

Leg 1: Seattle Sounders vs. Real Salt Lake 10:00 (FSC - JP Dellacamera and  Brian Dunseth) (TSN2)

2011 World Series Game 7 Live Blog

One of the most exciting World Series in recent memory will conclude tonight.  One team will call themselves champions.  The other will walk away bitterly disappointed.

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

2011 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals Schedule

After muting Marcelo Balboa for 90 minutes, I can confidently said I managed to save a few brain cells watching Colorado Rapids defeat Columbus Crew in the 2nd of two MLS Cup Playoff Wild Card games.  Now to the Conference Finals.  Now to recap how we got here, the lowest seeded remaining wild card team (New York Red Bulls) moves to the Western Conference bracket to face the Western Conference and Supporters' Shield winning Los Angeles Galaxy.  And the highest seeded remaining wild card team (Colorado Rapids) moves to the Eastern Conference bracket to face the Eastern Conference winning Sporting Kansas City.  Yes, MLS thinks this is a good way to conduct a playoff.

Now moving forward in the Conference Semifinals, where each fixture will contain two legs, with each team hosting a leg.  Aggregate scoring will be used, and the team with the highest aggregate score will advance to the Conference Finals.  If after two legs, the aggregate is tied, 30 minutes of extra time will be played, and if it is still tied after 30 minutes of extra time, penalty kicks will determine a winner.  It is important to note that unlike other, better known soccer competitions, there is no away goal rule here.  On one hand, this makes keeping track of the score much easier.  On the other hand, can't MLS just for once do something like other people!  Even when MLS makes things easy it's not easy.  Now that you are all thoroughly confused, here is the schedule for the Conference Semifinals! (wild card seeds have been designated a #4 seed for the sake of ease) (home team listed last) (all times ET) 

Eastern Conference Semifinals

#1 Sporting Kansas City vs. #4 Colorado Rapids

Leg 1:  October 30:  Sporting Kansas City vs. Colorado Rapids  7:00 (FSC - JP Dellacamera and Kyle Martino) (TSN2)
Leg 2:  November 2:  Colorado Rapids vs. Sporting Kansas City  8:00 (FSC - JP Dellacamera and Kyle Martino)

#2 Houston Dynamo vs. #3 Philadelphia Union

Leg 1:  October 30:  Houston Dynamo vs. Philadelphia Union  5:00 (ESPN2 - Rob Stone and Taylor Twellman)
Leg 2:  November 3:  Philadelphia Union vs. Houston Dynamo  8:30 (ESPN2 - Adrian Healey and Taylor Twellman) (TSN2)

Western Conference Semifinals

#1 Los Angeles Galaxy vs. #4 New York Red Bulls

Leg 1:  October 30:  Los Angeles Galaxy vs. New York Red Bulls  3:00 (ESPN2 - Adrian Healey and John Harkes)
Leg 2:  November 3:  New York Red Bulls vs. Los Angeles Galaxy  11:00 (ESPN2 - Ian Darke and John Harkes, SR: Rob Stone) (TSN2)

#2 Seattle Sounders vs. #3 Real Salt Lake

Leg 1:  October 29:  Seattle Sounders vs. Real Salt Lake  10:00 (FSC - JP Dellacamera and Kyle Martino) (TSN2)
Leg 2:  November 2:  Real Salt Lake vs. Seattle Sounders  10:00 (ESPN2 - Adrian Healey and John Harkes) (TSN2)

2011 World Series Game 6/October 27 MLS Cup Playoffs Wild Card Live Blog

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

#3 Columbus Crew vs. #2 Colorado Rapids 10:00 (mlssoccer.com) (TSN2)

I Think Jan Mucha Would Like To Have This One Back

I think we all remember Rob Green's blunder in the 2010 World Cup against the United States. right?  Well, over a year later, and Everton's Jan Mucha decided he wants to make Rob Green feel a bit better about himself.  I mean, after all, at least Clint Dempsey was shooting the ball on net, as weak a shot as it was.  In yesterday's Carling Cup fixture between Everton and Chelsea, Salomon Kalou was just trying to send the ball into the box.  And, well, this happened.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!  Hilarious stuff from the Slovakian keeper.

Chelsea ultimately went on to win a very bizarre Carling Cup match 2-1 in extra time.  The draw for the quarter-finals will take place this Saturday.

October 26 MLS Cup Wild Card Live Blog

I am exhausted, have a class from 5 to 8, Game 6 of the World Series has been postponed, and this game is on a channel I do not get on TV so my only hope to watch is an online stream.  I don't feel like live blogging a pirated feed with minimal company (not sure how many of you want to watch a 1st round MLS cup game tonight).  Enjoy the game and leave comments!

Feeling better now, gonna give the live blog a whirl, even with the pirated feed.

 #4 New York Red Bulls vs. #1 FC Dallas 9:00 (FSC) (TSN2)

NFL Week 8 Schedule

Philadelphia Union's 1st ever MLS Cup game plus Cowboys-Eagles in primetime?  Don't mind if I do.  This Sunday promises to be a stressful one.  Hopefully it turns out fun, but it will certainly be stressful. Here's the Week 8 schedule.  (all times ET; games I get are in bold)

Maps of who gets what Sunday afternoon games

Fox games

Minnesota Vikings vs. Carolina Panthers  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnson, SA: Tony Siragusa)
Arizona Cardinals vs. Baltimore Ravens  1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)
New Orleans Saints vs. St. Louis Rams  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)

Washington Redskins vs. Buffalo Bills (game to be played in Toronto, Canada)  4:05 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
Detroit Lions vs. Denver Broncos  4:05 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)

CBS early games

Miami Dolphins vs. New York Giants  1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans  1:00 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)
Indianapolis Colts vs. Tennessee Titans  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)

America's Game Of The Week and CBS late games

New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers  4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Cleveland Browns vs. San Francisco 49ers  4:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Seattle Seahawks  4:15 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker)

Sunday Night Football

Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

San Diego Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Suzy Kolber)

Jaromir Jagr's 1st Goal As A Flyer

This is almost surreal.  Amazingly, surreal.



As I am watching early regular season games, I don't scream frequently.  As soon as the puck went in, I screamed.  And then the salute afterwards.  Beautiful.

2011 World Series Game 5 Live Blog

Oh, yeah, and Monday Night Football as well.  If seeing close-ups of Jon Gruden's crotch is your type of thing.

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

2011 MLS Cup Wild Card Schedule

This is the first year I am going to try this, but I will be live blogging the entire MLS Cup this year, although given I do not get FSC and will probably be relying on some pirated online streams, I can't guarantee how much success I will have.  Announcers will be added to the schedule once I receive confirmation official confirmation from somewhere (looking ahead, I can confirm that working Leg 1 of the Philadelphia Union-Houston Dynamo Conference semifinal series will be Rob Stone and Taylor Twellman).  The format for this unfamiliar is needlessly complex.  The below wild card teams are ranked 1-4 in the order they finished (1 being best, 4 the worst). The wild card round is one game single elimination.  The highest seeded winner will move to the Eastern Conference and face Sporting Kansas City in the Eastern Conference Semifinal (yes, Western Conference teams such as Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas can play in the Eastern Conference playoffs, same with Eastern Conference teams New York Red Bulls and Columbus Crew playing in the Western Conference playoffs; don't ask why).  The lowest seeded wild card winner will move to the Western Conference Semifinals and face Los Angeles Galaxy.  I think at this point, it is for the best to just leave you with the wild card schedule.  I will explain how the Conference Semifinals work once we get there.  This is MLS we are talking about.  Nothing can be simple.  (all times ET)

October 26
#4 New York Red Bulls vs. #1 FC Dallas  9:00 (FSC) (TSN2)

October 27
#3 Columbus Crew vs. #2 Colorado Rapids  10:00 (TSN2)

NFL Week 7/2011 World Series Game 4 Live Blog

This slate of NFL games is not a very good one.

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

2011 World Series Game 3 Live Blog

Game 3: Cardinals vs. Rangers 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

CLICK HERE TO GO TO LIVE BLOG!

This Video Is Worth It Just To Hear Craig James Refer To A Guy Getting Naked As "Losing Gear"

If a streaker wearing the worst referee disguise ever successfully blowing a play dead before running onto the field and dropping trou while indirectly starting a benches clearing brawl between UCLA and Arizona is the only thing this college football season is remembered for, then this season will still be considered a whopping success.



For more on the UCLA-Arizona Fake Referee Streaker, please read Jon Bois's report complete with a stunning pictorial diagram at SB Nation.

2011 World Series Game 2 Live Blog

I'm going to be starting this early for the big early season Capitals-Flyers game.  Also tonight, one of the most important games in the 2011 MLS Season on ESPN2 as the Philadelphia Union take on the New York Red Bulls.

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

Counting Is A Difficult Task For Tim McCarver

I have nothing to add to this.



(Video from SportsGrid)

2011 World Series Game 1 Live Blog

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

NFL Week 7 Schedule

The bad news is it is the Eagles' bye week.  The good news is my two CBS affiliates are each showing a different football game.  One extra game for me this week.  Yay! (all times ET; games I get are in bold)

Map of who gets what Sunday afternoon game.

CBS games

San Diego Chargers vs. New York Jets  1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Houston Texans vs. Tennessee Titans  1:00 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)
Denver Broncos vs. Miami Dolphins  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals  4:05 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Oakland Raiders  4:05 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)

Fox early games

Chicago Bears vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (game to be played in London, England)  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
Atlanta Falcons vs. Detroit Lions  1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)
Washington Redskins vs. Carolina Panthers  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)
Seattle Seahawks vs. Cleveland Browns  1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and Jim Mora, Jr.)

America's Game Of The Week and Fox late games

Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings  4:15 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
St. Louis Rams vs. Dallas Cowboys  4:15 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)

Sunday Night Football

Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

Baltimore Ravens vs. Jacksonville Jaguars  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Suzy Kolber)

2011 World Series Schedule

Hopefully this World Series is better than the low ratings it will receive would indicate.  Go Rangers.  I guess.  I don't know.  I don't particularly care for either of these teams. (all times ET)

World Series

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Texas Rangers

Game 1:  October 19:  Rangers vs. Cardinals  7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

Game 2:  October 20:  Rangers vs. Cardinals  7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

Game 3:  October 22:  Cardinals vs. Rangers  7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

Game 4:  October 23:  Cardinals vs. Rangers  7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

Game 5:  October 24:  Cardinals vs. Rangers  7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

Game 6:  October 26:  Rangers vs. Cardinals  7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

Game 7:  October 27:  Rangers vs. Cardinals  7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

A Detailed Analysis Why Andy Reid Should Not Be Fired

Essay after the jump.

NFL Week 6/2011 NLCS Game 6 Live Blog

Game 6: Cardinals vs. Brewers 8:00 (TBS - Brian Anderson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

2011 ALCS Game 6 Live Blog

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

CLICK HERE TO GO TO LIVE BLOG!

2011 NLCS Game 5 Live Blog

Series tied at 2.  If Milwaukee can win tonight.....oh boy.

Game 5: Brewers vs. Cardinals 8:00 (TBS - Brian Anderson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

NFL Week 6 Schedule

Somehow I forgot about this on Tuesday.  Sorry!  This week, the Eagles face as close to a must win as one could face on Week 6 of a season.  They are on the road against the division leading Redskins.  A win is almost a necessity. (all times ET; games I get are in bold)

Map of who gets what Sunday afternoon games

CBS games

Buffalo Bills vs. New York Giants  1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Pittsburgh Steelers  1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)

Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens  4:05 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Cleveland Browns vs. Oakland Raiders  4:05 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)

Fox early games

San Francisco 49ers vs. Detroit Lions  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony
Siragusa)
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Redskins  1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)
St. Louis Rams vs. Green Bay Packers  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)
Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons  1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)

America's Game Of The Week and Fox late games

Dallas Cowboys vs. New England Patriots  4:15 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers  4:15 (Fox - Ron Pitts and Jim Mora, Jr.)

Sunday Night Football

Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Suzy Kolber)

2011 ALCS Game 5/NLCS Game 4 Live Blog

Game 5: Rangers vs. Tigers 4:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

Game 4: Brewers vs. Cardinals 8:00 (TBS - Brian Anderson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

2011 ALCS Game 4/NLCS Game 3 Live Blog

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

Game 3: Brewers vs. Cardinals 8:00 (TBS - Brian Anderson, Ron Darling, and John Smoltz, SR: Craig Sager)

2011 ALCS Game 3 Live Blog

Game 3: Rangers vs. Tigers 7:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, SR: Ken Rosenthal)

Journey

It has been a few days since the Phillies have been eliminated from the 2011 MLB Playoffs, and I am not going to lie, I am still disappointed.  Disappointed to think the best team in the league will not have a chance at a parade.  Disappointed to think the Philadelphia Phillies will not play baseball again until 2012.  Disappointed that one of the greatest teams in franchise history has been reduced to a laughing stock because of a bunch of idiots.

But we can't let personal feelings dictate what the Phillies have accomplished in 2011.  The franchise was established in 1883, but 2011 was the first time they won 102 games in a single season.  That is a record that stands alone.  And while some will think that only increases the amount of failure and makes it even more of a laughable "choke job" than the past couple years, it not only is not a "choke job," but what happens in a five-game series is not revealing about a team in any way shape or form.  The difference between a 102-win team (Phillies) and a 90-win team (Cardinals) is not significant enough to ensure that the better team will win said series.

In a recent article, Joe Posnanski in a round about way illustrates this point.  It is staggering to think how rare the best team wins a pennant in baseball's modern format.  I have explained this before, but the variance of outcomes in baseball is too luck dependent in a five game series (or seven game series) for everything to even out.  If you want to do that, then you are looking at upwards of 650 plate appearances, something players in a playoff series won't even come close to attaining.

If you want to label a team a "choker," label the Boston Red Sox, a team that once claimed they had a 99.7% chance of making the playoffs and wound up not making it.  Do not label the Phillies "chokers," simply because they are nowhere near in the same ballpark as the Red Sox.  Entering the playoffs, the Phillies had at best a roughly 24% chance to win the World Series, if I am being generous.  That is a 76% of not winning the World Series.  How can one call not winning a World Series a failure when there was a 76% chance it was going to happen.  Entering the series with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Phillies had only a 59% chance of winning the series, according to coolstandings.com.  How is something a "failure" when an outcome that is 41% likely to happen, happens?  Consider this thought experiment from FuquaManuel of  TheGoodPhight.com.  What would you be saying now if the deep fly balls by Ibanez and Utley carried just a few more feet?

If you want to be mad, do not be mad at Ryan Howard.  Or Raul Ibanez.  Or Chase Utley.  Or Cliff Lee.  Or Roy Halladay.  Or Roy Oswalt.  Or any single member of the Phillies.  If you want to get angry, get angry at baseball.

For baseball is a journey.  A long, beautiful summer long journey.    A 162-game journey where fathers bond with sons.  Friends bond with friends.  Family bonds with family.  It is not where you end up, but how you get there, the memories you make, and the memories that you carry on.  For me, I will never forget July 26, 2011.  It was the first game the Phillies played against the San Francisco Giants since the 2010 NLCS.  Barry Zito was on the mound.  Chase Utley was at the plate.  Deep fly ball, center field, off the top of the wall.

I am in attendance, standing, cheering.  Then Chase Utley approaches third.  Just a few feet in front of me, Juan Samuel motions to Utley, go!  Go!  Go home!

But in the end, 162-games boils down to a five game series.  Then a seven game series.  Then another seven game series.  And for those that only get joy at the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, then I truly feel sorry for you, because baseball is a rainbow that is meant to be enjoyed from start to finish.

Everyone wants to win the World Series, but only one team out of 30 does.  And for the other 29, not all are failures. The team that comes out on top is not always the best team.  In fact, under the current system, that is seemingly a rare occurrence, certainly more so in comparison to other sports.  An intelligent argument can be made that the worst Philadelphia Phillies team in the last four years is the team that won the World Series.  There are so many factors that come to play in a five or seven game series that you simply cannot expect to win, no matter how good the team is.  This Phillies season really helped me grow a greater appreciation for just how good the 2001 Seattle Mariners were.  They won 116 games (14 more than the 2011 Phillies) and lost in the ALCS to the New York Yankees.  The false narrative at the time was the upstart Mariners could not over come the "Yankee aura."  But the truth is, in the baseball post-season, shit happens.  No matter how good a team you are, there are too many variables for the better team to always win.  It is unfortunate, but it is also what makes playoffs baseball so exciting.  Any team can win in the playoffs.  The best teams in each league this year, the Phillies and the Yankees respecitvely, have both been eliminated.  This year in particular, any team can win.  The 2004 St. Louis Cardinals went 105-57 and lost in the World Series.  The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals went 83-78 and won the World Series.  Doesn't that say it all?

Next year, the Phillies will be back.  They may not win 102 games again, but barring a team-wide plague of injuries, they will likely be back in the playoffs.  Even if their win total is somewhere in the 90s, in all likelihood that will still be enough to get them into the playoffs and something hovering around a 1-in-8 (or 10 if Selig does in fact expand the playoffs) shot at winning the World Series. But most importantly, next year there will be another journey.  A journey with some old faces, some new faces, and 162-days of highs, lows, and moments that we will share forever.

And maybe, when all is said and done, as October 2012 gets ready to morph into November 2012, the Phillies can once again have their names pulled from the lottery, just like in 2008.  And all the journeys the Phillies took you on over the years will once again all be worth it.