Mr. Snider Is Getting Itchy

On Saturday, I asked what could the Flyers possibly do after Saturday's latest debacle considering that Clarkie resigned and Hitch was fired. Well, it looks like they are ready to fire another GM. I saw the following on TSN.ca (the Canadian version of ESPN):

The Philadelphia Flyers have targeted NHL executive vice president Colin Campbell as their next general manager, but now it remains to be seen whether Campbell is going to take the job.

Sources in Philadelphia have told TSN that Flyers' chairman Ed Snider has offered the Philadelphia GM's job to Campbell, the former New York Rangers head coach.

When contacted by TSN, Campbell refused comment. But sources tell TSN the Flyer job, currently held by interim GM Paul Holmgren, is Campbell's if he wants it.

Sources also say the matter will be resolved in the next 24 to 48 hours and the Flyers will either have a new GM (Campbell) or will continue the process of finding a fulltime replacement for Bob Clarke, who resigned last week at the same time head coach Ken Hitchcock was relieved of his duties.

Campbell played 11 seasons in the NHL before retiring in 1985 and joining the Detroit Red Wings as an assistant coach. He joined the Rangers in 1990 in the same capacity, winning a Stanley Cup under head coach Mike Keenan.

He became New York's head coach upon Keenan's departure in 1994 and held the position for four years.

Campbell joined the league as an executive after parting ways with the Rangers in 1998.

I really don't understand the move. Campbell is as old school as Clarkie. I remember when he flipped out after a Rangers/Flyers game in the late 90's and accused Trent Klatt of slew footing Jeff Beukeboom. If they are going to can Holmgren this fast, I'd rather them bring in a young guy with fresh ideas on how to win in the "New NHL".

In any event, I just wanted to voice my displeasure with this potential move.

A Beacon Amongst A Sports Wasteland

After the last couple weeks, all I can say is thank you Lord Baby Jesus* for Rutgers Football. They have yet to fail me in picking up my spirits after watching another Eagles or Flyers debacle.

For once in my life as a sports phan, I feel like I'm being paid back for my allegiance and sacrifice to a team. (We all know our Philly teams sure haven't paid back any of our blood, sweat and tears.) All the those games I attended, watched or listened to when Rutgers was getting pulverized by every program in the Big East conference, finally doesn't feel like time wasted. I was there sitting on those cold, hard bleachers attending games up at RU when the stadium was only slightly more filled than Temple games. Now, the remaining home games are sold out!

I'm guessing Red Sox fans had a similar feeling back in 2004. Relax, I hear you. I realize there's no comparison between the two teams. The Sox won the World Series and RU hasn't won a thing yet, but guess what? I don't care. After all the years of losing, heartbreak and putdowns, I finally have a team to be proud of. I supported them when they were at absolute rock bottom, when friends and family openly laughed at and mocked me for caring. For some unknown reason, people just don't warm up to the State University of NJ. Rutgers is not a loveable loser(ala the Cubs), nor are they the little guy underdogs (ala St. Joe's hoops) that peole rally around. Previously, Good ol' RU received nothing but scorn and ridicule from the media and most football fans in the state. Now, those same people, and ESPECIALLY the media, are giving my alma mater props for their season. And believe me....it feels really freakin' good.

To make matters even better, this is a team to be proud of. All indications are that these are good kids like the St. Joe's Elite Eight team a few years back. They don't have a team full of thugs like Va Tech or FSU. Their Head Coach, Greg Schiano, is a man of integrity who isn't interested in recruiting that kind of kid. That's why the Schiano to "The U" rumors are so laughable to me. I will be absolutely shocked if he leaves for a big time pay day. I don't think he could do it to the kids he recruited.


Plus, All America Fullback Brian Leonard is my all time favorite Rutgers athlete. When he gets drafted, that NFL team, no matter who it is, will automatically become my second favorite team. How he selflessly gave the spotlight to current Heisman contender Ray Rice this year, after starting the year as a Heisman hopeful himself, is not seen very often in today's world of "me first" athletes like T.O. and Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson. All I had to see was one picture with Leonard spending time with a group of developmentally disabled children and I knew this guy was not just a special athlete, but a great person.

All this being said, I never in my wildest dreams thought the team would be ranked at any point this season, let alone undefeated and #12 in the BCS rankings. I figured they'd do slightly better than last year's 7-5 finish. After their remarkable start, Rutgers is now playing to figure out how good a bowl game they will be invited to. Since I realize that my Knights are likely outclassed by Louisville and West Virginia (although I can't wait to see how tough we play the 'Ville in front of a sold out Rutgers Stadium), I'm just begging for 2 more wins (home against Syracuse and at Cincy) to get to 10 wins. That should assure them a spot in a decent bowl.

How ever it turns out, I'm along for the ride, smiling all the way. As my wife said on Sunday night when things got tense during the third quarter against UConn: "This ain't the Same Old Rutgers." Amen, Lord Baby Jesus*, Amen.

*This is a reference to the Talladega Knights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby...I highly recommend the movie if you like goofy comedies.

NEXT QUESTION!

Ok, I know I solicited questions a couple weeks ago and then have left you guys hanging. Sorry about that, but now that I'm back in the swing of things (I even pulled my fat ass into the gym tonight), it's time for me to start this segment.

So, let's start this segment off with an email from of the guys that got me to start this labor of love website, my main man, George:

Question: Has Kyle Calder dressed for any of the first eleven Flyers games?

Philly Sports Phan: Yes, he's wearing the same uniform Jiri Dopita wore for two seasons, which causes one to look invisible on the ice. NEXT QUESTION!

From St. Joe's Nick: How do you feel about the national media, specifically about the way Philadelphia fans are portrayed?

PSP: Wow...good question! I've thought about this for a couple days, and mainly I believe that the national media is lazy. It's way too easy for writers to trot out the same story about how horrible Philly phans are (ie, the older than dirt Santa Claus story) than to come up with something original about how we are just as loud and passionate as everyone other fan base, but our creativity and level of frustration cause us to stand out. The media pretty much neglected that in the last six months, the Phils phans were by far the most creative in their razzing of Barry Bonds as he pursued the Babe and the Birds phans were phenomenal with their treatment of T.O. during the recent Dallas game.


New York, Boston, and D.C. fans are just as bad as Philly phans, but since the liberal media is dominated by writers from these towns, their actions are not emphasized as much. I seem to recall a snowball incident at a Giants game where a Chargers coach was almost killed and just last week, the last two seconds of a Bruins game couldn't be played because their fans threw debris on the ice, but as far as the national media is concerned, who cares? These were aberrations and Philly Phans are barbaric, soccer hooligans.

Just today, I read the following from Peter King:

Living in the New York metropolitan area, I'm used to fans at sporting events shouting alcoholically emboldened rudities, and rarely will an usher step in and ask the louts to tone it down. I have friends, rabidly loyal fans of the Yankees and Giants particularly, who have lost interest in going to big games because they know that for too high a percentage, the event is a drinkfest interrupted by the game. An HBO boss, Dave Harmon, won't go to the Giants-Bears on Nov. 12 now that it's been moved to a night game on NBC; he doesn't want to share his section with drunks who've spent five or six hours getting lubed up.

"A--hole'' is a word I'm sure most parents still urge their children not to say, but at Shea Stadium for a Mets-Cards playoff game, that was the sing-songy chant, in huge decibel levels, a couple of weeks ago when Albert Pujols, who'd been critical of Mets pitcher Tom Glavine, came up to bat. Games at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park are no better.

Notice he didn't make any mention of Philly. He only says Shea and Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. You wonder why I like reading this guy, huh?

So, there you go, Nick. It's a conspiracy on the part of writers from rival cities like New York, D.C., and Boston trying to make us look bad. I say: Power to the Phans! Don't let the Man hold us down! NEXT QUESTION!

Finally, from the infamous Johnny Gold: Did you buy your balls back from your wife with your football pool winnings?

PSP: Yes, smart ass. I keep them in a jar of formaldehyde on my mantle right next to the Fantasy Football trophies I've whupped your ass to attain.

Hope to see guys next week!

FYI

That Peter Forsberg guy is pretty good. Did you see those two highlight film goals from tonight's 3-0 win over Chicago? Wow...when he wants to turn it on, the guy is still pretty freakin' awesome. It looks like he might have had enough of all this losing, huh? Of course, it helps that they were playing the Blackhawks, who believe it or not, have less talent than this Flyers squad. Surprisingly, Esche played pretty well tonight, which is tough for me to acknowledge since I absolutely hate the guy.

I'm going Tuesday night when the Lightning come to town. Can they build off tonight for the game I attend? I sure hope so, but I don't think the Orange and Black have beaten them in about 32 years...at least it seems that long ago since we last beat them.

(By the way, I have not been to a non-Eagles sporting event in the past two years without my buddy George coincidentally having tickets the same night...Will the streak continue?)

FLAT OUT BRUTAL - PART II

I didn't think it was possible for an entire team to not show up for a single football game, but the Birds proved me wrong. The entire team seemed uninterested from pre-game introductions until the final gun. I can't say a single good thing about anyone's performance yesterday except my favorite red headed Latino, Jeff Garcia, who seemed to do a good job holding the clipboard on the sideline. These guys should be embarrassed with how they performed in a game that was absolutely necessary to get the team back on track heading into the bye.

Rich Hoffman in today's Daily News makes a good point. It really seems that this team is starting to tune out Big Red. Or quite possibly, Andy was too distraught this week by the firing of fellow brotherhood in flab, Ken Hitchcock, to come up with a decent game plan or motivate his team to play a must win game. On the bright side, maybe the Philadelphia Soul will hire Mark Mangino of Kansas University to give Andy a new confidante with whom he can discuss the rigors of coaching in our fair city.


I don't know where to go with this team. Are they as bad as they looked Sunday and for long stretches the prior two weeks or are they the team that dominated the Giants for 3 quarters and beat the Cowboys? I'm starting to think what we see is what we're going to get...a Jekyll and Hyde team that will probably not make the playoffs.

Excuse me, but the performance and outlook of our Philly teams makes me just want to set myself on fire.

LIFELESS

I'm glad the Birds showed up for the start of this game. They look like they don't want to be there today.

Could be a long day of misery.

To make matters worse, I didn't start Fred Taylor in my fantasy league...F*%K!!!

My prediction isn't looking so good.

Philly Sports Phan's Eagles Prediction

After a hot start of picking Eagles' games, I've missed the last three. I'm going to try and bounce back with a sensible pick here.

Clearly, this is a must win for both teams as the Jags are 3-3 and the Birds are 4-3 coming off two straight losses on the last play of the game. Basically, the Birds have been on a two week hangover after the huge Dallas win. They have not been sharp in the first half against either the Saints or the Bucs. I see this changing today. I think the Birds will get off to a good start and we will see a return to their explosive offense. With the injuries the Jags have suffered recently, I think the Birds will be able to score on this team.

The question then becomes, how will the defense do? I think Jones-Drew and Fragile Fred will be able to run the ball successfully. I also think Garrard will do a decent job at QB. His ability to scramble will help this team move the ball.

As a result, I see a close game. There is no way the Birds cover the 7 point spread. I just don't see our defense performing well enough today. However, I do like the Birds 27-24 in another nail biter. Yes, I do realize Big Red's record in games before the bye, but rarely have any of those games been a must win.

Ok....I'm gearing up for another stressful game. Gotta love these Birds....E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!!!!

FLAT OUT BRUTAL

Yup, it's official. The Orange and Black have hit rock bottom. After tonight's 8-2 beating by Sidney Crosby and the Pens, it can't get any worse....can it?

In the span of five games, the Flyers have suffered embarrassing defeats of 9-1 and 8-2. The first loss resulted in the release of three veterans, the resignation of the GM and the firing of the coach. After the latest debacle, is there anything left for Mr. Snider to change to get his organ-I-zation back on track???

The most depressing thing for me is that this game once again shows that the talent gap between our young kids (Carter, Richards, Umberger, Pitkanen and Nitty) and the Pens prospects (Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, Staal, and Talbot) is absolutely humongous. As my main man Jules Winnfield would say, the two groups ain't in the same fuckin' ballpark; they ain't in the same league; shit, they ain't even playing the same fuckin' sport.

As a result, the Flyers will likely be looking up at their cross state neighbords for basically the next decade. It's a sorry realization and as a life long Flyers fan, this is a very sad evening.

How did things fall apart so fast? I haven't been able to catch most of the games so far, but it sure appears that this group of Flyers is the root of the problem. I can distinctly state that Kyle Calder adds nothing to this team. I love Sami Kapanen's heart and skating ability, but what happened to the hands of this former 40 goal scorer? Carter bewilders me. He looks like he should dominate, but it seems that he only plays hard in spurts. I really can't get a feel for Umberger or this Lars Johnsson fellow other than to say that they don't impress me a whole lot. I do kind of like Sanderson and Robitaille as third and fourth line role players, but they don't seem to mesh real well with any of the centers.

As for the defensemen, you don't have to be Scotty Bowman to realize Rathje is not a NHL defenseman any longer. Hatcher is a #6 at best if he plays with a real mobile partner. Through the first ten games, it is evident that this group of defensemen is in the bottom five of the league.

After this week's coaching and GM changes, the only thing left to do is to change the players. If the first ten games are any indication of this current group of Flyers, I'm all for whole sale changes. This group just doesn't have the heart, skill or desire to comprise a winning team in today's NHL.

Let the rebuilding process begin in earnest.

THE KARMA TRAIN – PART II

I guess I picked a pretty bad time to go on vacation, huh?

Clarkie resigns, Hitch gets fired, the Birds lose on a 62 yard field goal! The one bright side was that my Scarlet Knights keep on winning, with a 20-10 victory over the Pitt Panthers.

As for my vacation, Cabo is pretty damn nice. I highly recommend it, if you don’t mind traveling for 12 hours. Lots of cerveza, margaritas, and rest has my batteries recharged and ready to dive head first back into this blog. I hope I didn’t lose too many of you guys. Thanks for the concern from those that contacted me concerned about our safety due to the Tropical Storm that passed through the area. Thankfully, it was pretty much a lot to do about nothing. It rained pretty hard after we went to sleep on Tuesday and Wednesday was beautiful.

Surprisingly, I was able to catch both the Rutgers and Eagles game at a shitty little sports bar on the main strip of Cabo. During Saturday’s Rutgers game, I was surrounded by a bunch of Detroit Tigers fans getting ready to watch Game 1 of the World Series. They were pretty much shocked that anyone cared enough about Rutgers to waste part of their vacation. They had a point, but when your alma mater is 7-0 for the first time in 30 years, you have to savor every moment. Thankfully, the Scarlet Knights and Ray Rice did not disappoint.


On Sunday, the wife and I walked back into the same bar to watch the Birds and found it packed with Chargers and Steelers fans. I learned that Philly is pretty much the antithesis of “America’s Team” (or better yet “Mexico’s Team”) as the crowd took much pleasure in the Birds’ struggles. I heard comments like “I really can’t stand Philly teams and especially their fans”; “I hope they break Donovan’s leg”; “The Eagles are so overrated”. When Donovan wasted a scoring opportunity at the end of the first half for the umpteenth time in his career by throwing underneath to L.J. who was clearly not open and letting the first half clock run out, the guys at the bar laughed at my F Bomb laden tirade.

(As an aside, wouldn’t it make sense to just pull Donovan and bring in Garcia in this situation the next time it comes up? Foolishly, D Mac believes he is doing the right thing by trying to “make a play” instead of doing the safe thing under the constraints of the time clock. I’m tired of it. Maybe it’s time to bring in my favorite red headed Latino at QB for situations at the end of the half where time is of the essence and see if he can make the “safe” play. Or better yet, don’t even fool around next time. Take the ball out of Donovan’s hand and kick the field goal. Wouldn’t this be the common sense approach?)

Finally, two other Eagles fans showed up and we had partners in crime. We got really loud as the Eagles started their comeback and then got obnoxious after B West’s incredible TD catch and run with 33 seconds left. As we all know, things then crumbled very quickly, culminating in a 62 yard field goal by the immortal Matt Bryant. To my shock, the place erupted in cheers as if we were watching the game at a bar in Tampa. I just wanted to throw up. I was that distraught. To make matters worse, I couldn’t leave right away as we had to wait for the check from a waiter that had apparently disappeared to catch a siesta.

During my wait, a couple things happened that showed me that karma certainly doesn’t ignore events South of the Border. First, the Chargers lost to the Chiefs on a 53 yard field goal, which shut up all those Bolts fans who had shown so much glee when the Birds lost. The place went dead silent, except for my wife who stood and cheered, which reminded me why I married her. Next, the Steelers lost on a field goal in OT and those idiot fans who also cheered the Eagles’ misfortune got pretty silent as well. Again, the wife stood up and cheered. Karma is a bitch, ain’t it?

At that point, we started getting some looks and I realized we had angered the entire bar. Then, in a scene reminiscent of the end of Pulp Fiction when Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield hustled out of the diner after letting the thieves leave with everyone’s wallets, we hightailed it out of their and went back to the hotel pool.

I certainly learned my lesson that day. You won’t see me take so much joy in another team’s misfortune anytime soon.

Off to Cabo!!!

Yes, the slow down on this site will continue for another week as I go to beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. If I still have anyone interested in reading, I'll be back on 10/27. At that point, I will return with my initial response to the "Next Question" segment. My buddy Nick M has given me a great question, which I plan on answering, I've just been really busy with school, work and getting ready for this trip.

I can't even begin to tell you guys how much I need this vacation to recharge the batteries. I'm pretty much worn out. I plan on having a margarita for each and every one of you guys.

On the sports side of things, the dreaded Mets are about to lose the NLCS to the hated Cards. What a boring Game 7.

A couple of other nuggets:

-I also predict a 27 to 17 victory for the Birds.
-The Flyers are on the verge of catastrophe. I see a firing or a trade to shake things up even more. I never thought I'd see a start to the season like this.
-Dave Montgomery should stay off local radio. He just antagonizes the fans. My advice: just shut up and let Scott Palmer do all your talking.
-Don't forget to catch the #19 ranked Rutgers Scarlet Knights on ESPN2 at 5:45 on Saturday as they take on the 26th ranked Pitt Panthers. I don't like this matchup. I think RU's win streak may be snapped. If so, it was a fun run while it lasted.
-I sure hope the Birds bench Pat Burrell, er I mean Michael Lewis this week. He needs to sit back and get his feet back under him and only play in certain situations.

Ok guys and gals, have a great week and I promise to come back from vacation ready to roll with some good content.

This Interruption Has Been Sponsored By the Fox School of Business and Management

Sorry the inconvenience, but we had technical difficulties at Philly Sports Phan this weekend and the beginning part of the week. I have been pretty frustrated by my inability to comment on the following:

-the bitter loss by the Birds to the Saints on Sunday (which I predicted incorrectly);
-how I flipped out on some woman, with a really bad boyle on her top lip, at the Landmark on Sunday during the game;
-the Flyers horrible start;
-the Phils making Cholly hire three former managers as coaches to rein him in;
-my comparison of Michael Lewis to Pat Burrell;
-the ridiculous University of Miami brawl;
-the unbelievable Bears come back last night; and
-Rutgers’ ascension to #19 in the polls!

Unfortunately, prior commitments have me booked up solid and unable to speak to my audience, which apparently has grown to 7 people now that my mom is reading. I highly recommend that no one ever take three graduate courses, while working full time and trying to keep up a blog. Right now, I’m living on 3 and a half hours of sleep and lots of coffee, but I’ll stop complaining. But, there is light at the end of the tunnel, I’m going on vacation to Cabo San Lucas the week of October 20-27 so I the site will be inactive until 10/28. (Yahoo!!!)

In any event, I hope to get my responses out for the first “Next Question!” segment before I leave, so be on the lookout on Thursday night/Friday morning. I got some good stuff to comment on from you guys.

NASCAR and the NBA: Perfect Together?

I just saw the following on ESPN.com regarding their coverage of NASCAR next season:

Dr. Jerry Punch will call play-by-play, Rusty Wallace will provide analysis and Brent Musburger will host pre-race coverage when ESPN and ABC return to NASCAR coverage in 2007.

Starting next year, ESPN and ABC will have comprehensive coverage featuring telecasts of the final 17 NASCAR Nextel Cup races, including the 10-race "Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup" championship on ABC. Additionally, ESPN2 will televise every race in the NASCAR Busch Series.

Musburger will team with former NBA star and NASCAR owner Brad Daugherty, former NASCAR crew chief Frank Stoddard and TV veteran Shannon Spake Stoddard for NASCAR Countdown shows and during the race telecasts.

NASCAR Now will debut on ESPN2 on Feb. 5, 2007, marking the network's first daily program solely dedicated to NASCAR.

Sorry, but the inclusion of Daugherty seems funny to me. I don't really expect to see 7 foot former NBA players covering this sport. Although, I do know this little personal trivia about Daugherty that shows his love of the sport...he wore #43 at UNC and as a Cav in tribute to the King, Richard Petty. Yes, I can hear you and I agree. I do need to get a life. Why do I know crap like this?

Carbon Copy?

About 10 months ago as the sporting world became enamored with USC and their star running back Reggie Bush, I mentioned to a buddy that he really reminded me of a slightly bigger Brian Westbrook. Of course, that statement was countered with complete incredulity. “Are you freakin’ crazy! Reggie Bush is an absolute stud. B West can’t hold his jock strap.” I filed that one away and as the draft approached, I threw this prediction out to the same guy: not only will Reggie Bush not be much more than a Westbrook clone in the NFL, but his USC running mate LenDale White will be a better pro. I thought the poor guy was going to have a seizure when I laid that one on him. He basically told me I was crazy and that I knew nothing about football. As we all know, that’s clearly not the case.

While I may be stepping out on a limb with the LenDale White prediction, my B West/Reggie Bush comparison isn’t as ridiculous as originally though. In fact, after five weeks of the 2006 season, I’m sure any Saints fan would gladly accept B West type of production out of Reggie Bush. In case you missed it, B West is leading the NFL in total touchdowns with six. Bush only scored his first touchdown of his career last week on a punt return. Despite his inability to get in the end zone, Bush has shown the same superb quickness and elusiveness in the open field shown on a weekly basis by Westbrook. Plus, Bush is every bit the receiver out of the backfield that B West is. He even has more receiving yards at 250 yards to 217 yards.

Additionally, Bush shows the same warts as our man B West in that they aren’t prototypical pound it out, between the tackles runners. In fact, Bush has only had one 20 carry game since high school. Westbrook currently has 289 rushing yards compared to Bush’s 170. However, with Deuce McAllister as Bush’s counterpart, much like White was at USC, Reggie doesn’t need to do it all and as such the Saints also use him to return punts where he is especially dangerous. Unfortunately, B West does have to be a jack of all trades for our Birds, which greatly contributes to his fragility in my opinion, and he can no longer sacrifice himself as a punt returner where he was also a major weapon. (If anything, hopefully Big Red sees how these two backs compliment each other on Sunday and remembers how effective his own three head monster of running backs were back in 2003 and gets B West some real help next year….but I digress.)

Anyhow, my point is that the entire football world was real quick to annoit Bush as the next Gale Sayers when there was a more comparable running back playing in our own backyard. I think the next few years will bare that out when Reggie Bush is showing similar production and explosiveness as our man B West.


As for my LenDale White prediction, just wait until Vince Young gets familiar with the offense and the Titans start pounding White between the tackles for 1,600 yards and 15 t.d.’s a year. Once that happens, I expect you all to worship me as a football genius the way Re-Run genuflected to a head of lettuce named “Ralph” on What’s Happening.

Next Question!

In an effort to liven things up, I’ve decided to start a new weekly feature on this wonderful website. I am offering to you, my readers – all six of you, the ability to ask me a question or seek my opinion on any issue in any walk of life and I will promise to respond to the best one each week. I don’t care if you are seeking my opinion on sports, politics, entertainment, history, relationships, money, etc. I just ask that all queries be phrased in the form of a question and emailed to me at one of my personal addresses that I’m assuming you all have or you wouldn’t be reading this site.

If I have somehow stumbled onto a phan outside my large realm of friends, family, etc, and you don’t have my contact information, but still want to ask me a question, just post it in the comments section of one of my entries and it will be considered.

So, as our favorite annoying sports agent said over and over again in front of a huge throng of reporters in Moorestown….”Next Question!”

Wednesday Roundup:

The Flyers nabbed their first win of the year last night against the Blue Shirts, 4-2: What a relief…I was starting to think this team would get off to a long winless streak to start the year. It was nice to see Foppa’s line heat up and get the puck past Lundqvist. Plus, it was great to see Nitty play in back to back games without injury. However, I heard a rumor that he may play tonight against the Habs as well. I’m glad to see Hitch taking it easy on his ailing hips. By the way, it now appears that Brian Leetch will not be shifting his address from Broadway to Broad St. The reports in the Inky and Daily News make it seem as though talks never got past the exploratory stage.

Time to Focus on N’Awlins: Since the Birds went back to work ready to focus on the Saints, so should we. The Dallas game was great, but we need to refocus and get ready for a team which may have a BETTER offense than that of the ‘Boys. Thankfully, the Saints’ defense is not in the same class as Dallas, so we could see a track meet down in the Bayou on Sunday. I’m just hoping that the inevitable all around ,bust out game for Reggie Bush is delayed for another week. I’m sure we’ll see much more on last year’s Heisman Trophy winner through out the week, including my spot on comparison of him to B West.

St. Joe’s announces plans for a new Fieldhouse: Since I bore you guys with tales of the Rutgers football program and in honor of my St. Joe’s alum buddies, George, Voegs - my other at work wife, Nick, and Vinny, who I still don’t think has checked out my site, I had to mention that St. Joe’s announced plans to upgrade the Fieldhouse. I don’t know how they feel about the news, but it sounds great to me. It was simply not fair that an A-10 power like the Hawks played in a gym smaller than the one at Cherry Hill East. There was no word on whether they also plan to upgrade their talent level to start regularly beating ‘Nova again.

Ryan Howard named Player of the Year by the Sporting News: Good for Ryan. Let’s hope this is a precursor for the official NL MVP announcement, which is right around the corner.

Cory Lidle piloted the plane which crashed into a NY high rise: Wow….that’s all I can say. What a tragedy. This brings back memories of the fatal small plane crash which took the life of the former Nebraska QB Brook Berringer. This is more evidence for why I will never get in one of those small planes.

The Best of Times

I, like the rest of you I'm sure, am still basking in the glow of the magnificent win against the Cowboys. However, as I think back on Sunday's game, I can't help but realize that we are living an NFL dream. We have a stud quarterback in his absolute prime. How many times in a franchise's history can you say that? It's kind of like Haley's comet. Surely, moments like these don't come along very often. It seems like we are about to witness moments of glory on par with those seen by Denver fans with Elway, Miami fans with Marino, San Francisco fans with Young, and Green Bay fans with Favre.

Nonetheless, as I've said on this site previously, I still think we take McNabb for granted in this city. As phenomenal as he's playing, we always seem to want more. We want him to run more, throw with more touch, not take as many sacks, and dammit...stop throwing the ball into the ground 4 times a game.

I am guilty of some this as well, but we have to accept that we are being way too greedy. According to Jaws, McNabb has had the best first five games of a season that a quarterback has ever played. Check out these excerpts an article by everyone's favorite Philadelphia Mouthpiece, Dave Spadaro:

Donovan McNabb is scorching hot, so hot that, according to ESPN's Ron Jaworski, his five-game start to the season is the best in history.
In McNabb's history, right?

"No," says Jaworski, "the best ever. No quarterback has ever had 1,500 yards, 10-plus touchdowns and one interception or less in the first five games of a season."

We're seeing a quarterback in total command on the field. The game is slow for McNabb, who has passed for 1,602 yards and 11 touchdowns in five games. He has thrown just one interception and has, tossed only a single interception (against Houston in the first quarter) this year. McNabb has not, knock on wood, thrown an interception in a span of 171 attempts.

And he isn't throwing dink-and-dunk passes, either. McNabb averages an NFL-best 9.10 yards per pass attempt. That means he's hurrying the ball down the field for an offense that has been more explosive than any other in the NFL this season.

Says Jaworski: "He is doing everything right -- reading coverages, working the pocket, making the right decisions. It happens with the elite quarterbacks. He has always had the talent, but now he has the head and the experience to match that talent.

"Look, Donovan has been in the same scheme for eight years. He has had the same head coach for eight years. The talent around him has improved every year. He is in a really good situation and you see how he is responding."

I really hope we start appreciating this guy more. Lest we forget the past performances of the immortal former Eagles' QB's such as Bobby Hoying, Ty Detmer, Rodney Peete, Jeff Kemp, Brad Goebel and Pat Ryan. What McNabb did Sunday by vanquishing a hated foe in the Cowboys and his nemesis T.O. should be one of the defining moments of his career, right up there with 4th and 26 and leading the Birds to their first Superbowl in 24 years. For once, I'll agree with Spads...Let's enjoy this while it lasts. Clearly, D Mac is the best Eagles Quarterback of my lifetime and it's not even close.

The Karma Train Stops For Me

Early in life, I remember my father explaining to me “Son, many times in life, you got to do, what you don’t want to do to get ahead.” As I got older I started to understand what he meant, but it seemed that I never got the payoff I expected for attending painfully boring social events for family/friends/or significant others. However, earlier today, I finally received a payoff for doing something I had to be prodded and cajoled into doing.

As you are all aware, I gave up most of my weekend to attend (in order) a wedding rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, post-rehearsal dinner party, wedding, and finally the reception which started at 6 and caused me to miss the entire second half of the best Eagles’ game played in 20 years. As I also stated, I have neither a close bond with the bride or groom and was only there because my wife threatened to divorce me and take half my stuff if I didn’t go. Anyhow, much to my consternation, she convinced me to put on a good face (for about 75% of the time) and attend each of the above activities. I can honestly say that while sitting there at these various events this weekend, I wondered when the hell am I going to be paid back for doing this crap?

Well, I got my answer this morning….unbeknownst to me, I won the office football pool via a tie breaker this week! Thank you, Steve McNair and all your interceptions! Add the $150 I won to the Eagles victory over the Cowboys and this is a pretty decent score for the last couple days.

Did I learn a valuable lesson? Yes, if you do what you don’t want to do, karma will pay you back in spades. Did I learn enough that next time I won’t bitch when the wife wants me to do something ridiculous? Hell no. Will I attend, but bitch the entire time? You betcha!

I don’t know about you guys, but I think I could base a whole episode of My Name Is Earl off my experiences the past couple days. I just don’t want Earl’s fat brother playing my role.

Ranger Re-Tread Coming to Town?

Tim Panaccio of the Inquirer and Hockeybuzz.com is reporting that the Flyers are interested in signing Brian Leetch in light of Rathje's injury. He reports:

The Flyers are trying to sign former Rangers great Brian Leetch to bolster their power play and strengthen the defense, which may be without an injured Mike Rathje for an extended period of time, the Inquirer has learned.

Two league sources confirmed that the club had contacted Leetch's agent, Jay Grossman, and were waiting to hear back from him.

"Brian has not made any decisions about the season so far," Grossman said today when reached by telephone in New York. "We've been contacted by a number of teams about playing this season. There are a number of things Brian has to sort through. He's made no decision in his personal situation."

The 38-year-old future Hall of Famer is an unrestricted free agent and has said he wants to play in the Eastern Conference because he still lives in New York City. A source said he wouldn't re-sign with the Rangers because he was unhappy with how Rangers GM Glen Sather handled his trade to Toronto at the 2004 trade deadline.

Leetch could immediately bolster the Flyers' sagging power play (2 for 19), which is ranked 18th in the NHL at 10.5 percent efficiency with a hard, accurate shot and a knack for directing things from the blue line.

A 20-year veteran, Leetch has played 1,205 games with 247 goals, 781 assists, and 1,028 points. Lifetime, he has 431 power-play assists.

Flyers general manager Bob Clarke has confirmed he has spoken with Grossman but said he has not spoken with Leetch. Both Clarke and Grossman said that no decision was imminent, but it was believed that they were discussing a possible contract offer from the Flyers that would include bonus incentives that would not count against the salary cap because he is older than 35.

Rathje's herniated disc may require surgery - he was expected to get confirmation on that later today - and the Flyers apparently are not taking chances of being shorthanded.

The Flyers' cap number is $42.3 million. Rathje makes $3.5 million against the cap. If he is out with a long-term injury, his money comes off the cap.

Ignore the sarcastic headline, adding Leetch to replace Rathje is a definite upgrade even if he is 38 years old.

Adding Insult to Injury

I just received the following from my buddy, Jones:

Props for finding a way to at least hear the game. Weddings happen only once or twice in a person's life and are indeed magical, thus I don't blame you at all in agreeing to attend on Sun and missing probably one of the greatest regular season games in Eagles history, because they come around soooooooooo often. Just to add injury to insult, Clinton was looking for you on Saturday as an extra tix came up. I told him of your prior commitment - - to which he giggled.

Eagles Tix - Zero Dollars
Parking - $10
Beer - $150 (provided by me for everyone at the tailgate)
Food - $26
T.O. Jersey's burned - 27 (actually viewed)
Actually being in the stands and watching Lito run back a pick 102 yards - PRICELESS

Thanks Jones....When my wife's two lovely friends get divorced in five to ten years, I will feel so much better about having witnessed this beautiful, romantic event instead of watching my beloved Birds in person. Thanks, brother. I'm now going to set myself on fire.


(By the way, in case anyone is wondering, I'm off today and that explains why I'm so prolific in adding content to the site.)

Sounds Like I Missed A Pretty Good Game, Huh?

As I indicated on Saturday, I attended a wedding last night which caused me to miss the entire second half of the Eagles game. My buddy, The Capt, did his best to keep me informed with numerous text messages, which I greatly appreciated. Both the Captain, Johnny Gold and my at work wife, Alex, told me that this was the best Eagles game they've seen in about 15 years. Of course, this totally makes sense, it's all because I couldn't watch it! It's karma coming back to me. It makes me think that if I swore off Philly Sports, the Eagles, Flyers, Phils and Sixers would probably reel off about 10 total titles between them. I am a tortured soul.

(BY THE WAY, I'VE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO NOTE BY MANY THAT MY WIFE WAS THE MAID OF HONOR...LIKE THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.)

Anyhow, I did have an IPOD with a radio adapter (breaking just about every wedding etiquette rule in the book and getting a ton of dirty looks in the process), so I was able to listen to the game, but it was clearly not the same. On the bright side, I have built up so much good will with this weekend, that I'm pretty sure my wife can't say a word if I decide to take off for a guys weekend in Vegas AND N'Awlins in the next month.

However, it sure sounds like the Birds, as the Captain likes to say, "spilled its bucket" in going all out to beat the Pokes. The Birds better be ready for the Saints next week down in N'Awlins. Talk about karma...they got the mother load carrying them right now. This win means nothing if the Birds don't take care of business down in the Big Easy.

A Tiger Can't Change His Stripes

More from Profootballtalk.com:

T.O. SAYS: "WHY THE F--K AM I HERE?"

Howard Eskin of WIP radio and NBC 10 in Philly reports, by way of Tom Curran of NBCSports.com, that Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens entered the Dallas locker room after the team's 38-24 loss to the Eagles and yelled, "Why did you guys bring me here? Why the f--k am I here?"

Owens had only three catches for 45 yards. Unofficially, 11 balls were thrown his way, he dropped three, and two were intercepted.

The fact that the Cowboys didn't showcase Owens in his return to Philly could be interpreted as a not-so-subtle message from coach Bill Parcells to Owens and, indirectly, to owner Jerry Jones that, as long as the whistle still dangles from the Tuna's cleavage, he's the guy who's calling the shots on game day.

For us, the move conjures memories of former Cowboys running back Eddie George, who was signed by Jones without Parcells' involvement, and who then languished on the bench for most of his one year in Big D.

It's no secret in league circles that Parcells didn't want Owens. And we continue to hear that, indeed, Parcells wanted to cut him in early September. Though some naysayers have dismissed our report by pointing to Owens' "$15 million" signing bonus, he received only $5 million up front. Cutting him would have actually created $5 million in 2006 cap space, and would have triggered a mere $3.33 million in dead money for 2007.

Besides, Parcells is notorious for picking his roster irrespective (or, as Bill Maas would say, irregardless) of pedigree.

Sure, Owens drew double coverage from time to time on Sunday, which opened up the field for other guys. But T.O. didn't come to town to be a high-priced decoy; he wants to be a (the) "star among stars."

So the Eagles won Round One with Owens. Whether he's even on the roster for the return match on Christmas Day in Dallas is, at this point, an open question.

I'm glad he's all yours Cowboys fans. Couldn't happen to a better fan base.

A First...

As much as the media loves to give Philly phans a hard time, it nice to see someone give us kudos for good behavior. Here's a segment from today's Monday Morning Quarter Back column, from Peter King:

e. How about the Philly fans? According to Eagles p.r. man Derek Boyko, there were no T.O.-related arrests in or around Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday. After the nightmare stories we'd heard, that surprises me, pleasantly.

I think the good phan behavior was a let down for most of the country as they were hoping for a major meltdown with fans coming on the field to shank T.O. prison style. I'm thankful they were left disappointed. Although, I'm sure the Michael Wilbons of the world will find something to complain about.

From Profootballtalk.com

A dejected Playmaker realizes that there is a different kind of "crack" in the Liberty Bell.

Philly Sports Phan's Eagles Prediction

Finally, the game we've all been waiting for is here. T.O. has returned to the scene of the crime and Eagles phans are chomping at the bit to "welcome" him. However, in true Philly fashion we're bringing a bunch of knives to a gun fight. B West, Stallworth, Lito, and Rod Hood (again, a very underrated porn name) are either hobbling or out this week. Considering that D Mac's main weapons and our CB's are front and center this week in this gigantic showdown with the Pokes and T.O., I'm not feeling overwhelmingly confident.

It seems that the only hope the Birds have of shutting down their offense is to pressure the error prone Bledsoe, but since the Dallas offensive line has held up pretty well so far, this is easier said than done. The key to our defensive performance is our defensive tackles. If Patterson, Bunkley and Co., can get early pressure in Bledsoe's face, I like our chances. However, I haven't seen anything to date from our DT's to expect this to happen with any regularity today. Without quick pressure, it's not going to be easy for our DE's and blitzers to get to Bledsoe, which could leave T.O., Glenn, Whitten, etc one on one with our beleaguered DB's.

As for our offense, I think the most overlooked story this week is that the Dallas defense is pretty good and we haven't exactly done real well against the 3-4 defense with Big Red and D Mac at the helm. Without B West and Donte at full strength, it may difficult for us to move the ball as we have so far this season. D Mac is going to have to do it all today if we are going to pull this one out.


Here is one prediction though...our fans will do something bad, but not really serious and the media will over exaggerate it into a huge issue and give the city another black eye. Of course it will be in response to something T.O. does, but I'm not really stepping out on a limb there. If he does score, I'm guessing he does the D Mac "Michael Jackson" dance. I also predict that the biggest hit on T.O. will come from Matt McCoy.

I realize that I haven't painted a rosie picture here, and I think you can tell where I'm going with my pick, but here's one caveat: As of 11 am, every NFL pundit this morning that I've seen has picked the Cowboys. (Of course, if my buddy Mister Nascar wasn't in the Bahamas, he'd tell you that everyone is picking the Birds, but he'd fail to tell you he's only listening to the knuckleheads on 610 and the guy in the Camden Communist Post.) As I indicated in my Flyers preview, I really try to avoid going with the side that every single "expert" has taken. Unfortunately, I don't have enough on field support to go any other way than taking the Cowboys to win 27 to 20.

God, I hope I'm wrong.

Shootout Shotdown

I knew I hated the shoot out in the NHL and tonight's Flyers/Rangers game reinforced my thoughts. Two teams fight it out for 65 minutes and then a skills competition is used to determine a winner. To me, it's the equivalent of using a free throw, dunk or 3 point shooting competition to determine the winner of a tied basketball game.

As ridiculous as the shoot out is, these are the rules of the new NHL. Are you telling me that we don't have a single guy on the team that can beat a goalie one on one? The Flyers were pretty bad at it last year, so call me crazy, but it would have made sense in the offseason to find a guy or two that is pretty decent at this skill. As usual, Clarkie over looked this inadequacy from last year and it appears as though we are going to have a problem with it again this year.

Oh well, at least the Orange and Black played a helluva a lot better tonight. Plus, it appears Rathje is out for the foreseeable future with a herniated disk. If the Flyers play their cards right, maybe they can put him on the long term injury list and use his money to pick up a guy that will help them on the blue line.

In any event, if the Fly Guys don't improve in this one single skill, they are going to leave a lot of points on the ice. With their limited talent level, they shouldn't be so frivolous with throwing an extra point here and there.

Royally Screwed

As many of you already know, I am going to a wedding tomorrow and missing the single biggest regular season game in a decade...and no, neither the bride or groom are Jewish or Greek Orthodox....and yes, I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.

(BY THE WAY, I'VE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO NOTE BY MANY THAT MY WIFE WAS THE MAID OF HONOR...LIKE THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.)

Seriously, what kind of guy allows his future wife to schedule his wedding during a Sunday in the fall? It's going to be a long life of boot licking for this fella.

While I do get to see the first quarter or so before the reception starts at 5:30, I'm stuck there afterwards with no apparent TV access. I thought this place had a hotel bar that I could sneak away to, but I learned differently tonight. This really is going to f'n blow. I can't be any more blunt.

Although, somebody did give me the idea of getting a handheld TV at Best Buy. I might be making a run tomorrow morning. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!

By the way...

The Sixers are back...and they still stink. In case you missed it, our 76ers lost to Spanish professional team, FC Barcelona 109-104 the other night. It looks like it is going to be another long year for our Sixers.

In case you were wondering, they are only the third NBA team to lose to a European squad since 1987. What an inauspicious beginning.

A Very Cholly Reception

The news of the Phils decision to fire three members of the coaching staff, but to retain good ol' Uncle Cholly Manuel was greeted slightly better than the reception T.O. can expect to receive this Sunday at the Linc. After a season full of dubious decisions and managerial blunders, who can blame the masses of post season starved Phils phans for not getting the warm and fuzzies over the prospects of another year of Cholly at the helm?

Initially, I was a also pretty upset with the move as would have liked the Phils to bring in a strong leader like Lou Piniella, but the more I watched the interaction between the players and Manuel, I realize that the young, heart of this team will play all out for this guy and they really respect him. As any Phils phan can tell you, it was the heartless pricks like Burrell, Abreu, Bell and Lidle that killed this team, half of them are already gone and Pat the Former Bat will hopefully join them.

I believe that if they can fill this team out with a few more gamers and surround Cholly with an extremely strong bench coach to in effect turn him into a CEO (think Dick Vermeil with the 1999 Rams) instead of the play to play decision maker, I think this team CAN make the postseason next year. They also need to surround Cholly with a coaching staff that will whip these boys into shape so they come out of the shute ready to play in April. All this being said, here's the one caveat....While I believe Cholly can get you into postseason, if we somehow get there, he has HUGE potential to pull a Grady Little like meltdown. Sorry, I just had to throw that out there for posterity's sake.

I have to agree with everyone else, the man is devoid of any and all intelle ctual ability. One night during the Wild Card chase, I had the distinct pleasure of listening to his pre game interview with Wheels. After listening to the interview, I had one question....how in the world could someone hire this guy after sitting through a job interview where he bumbled through one grammatically incorrect sentence after another. Last time I checked, the manager is one of the faces of your organization. One would think that one of the job qualifications would be to communicate simple coherent messages to his staff, players and the press. I guess this is one of the bright side of him coming back...another whole season of his unintentionally funny pregame and post game interviews.

Let's hope its not the only bright side, because it's been WAY too long since we reached the postseason. I'm sitting here watching the Tigers fans go nuts watching postseason ball for the first time since 1984. Frankly, I'm extremely jealous. Gillick, Cholly and Co. have to find a way to make this happen next year.

*****************************************************************************

Speaking of Uncle Cholly, in the process of writing this entry, I came across the following picture:


Can you imagine this goober in Japan? If you think he's a fish out of water here in Philly, can you imagine how funny it would have been to see him in Japan? I need to check Youtube to see if I can find footage of him. This story has way TOO much potential.

The B West Knee Watch Continues

In case you missed it, B West missed practice AGAIN . I know...we're talking about practice, we're talking about PRACTICE...Not the game....Not the GAME, but I'm more than annoyed with this guy and his various nicks and bruises. Why Lord...oh WHY, do we have to rely on such a fragile superstar? This really tests my patience. Plus, our best wide receiver is just as bad. I guess they keep each other company in the training room.

I really wouldn't be surprised if neither play this Sunday and if that's the case, I don't envision things turning our real well for the guys in Midnight Green.

The Really Big Time

And if you thought Rutgers had reached the apex of national attention by gaining entry into the Top 25 NCAA rankings for the past two weeks, think again.

According to this article from SI on Campus.com, the FSU Cowgirl, Jenn Sterger, was at last Friday's RU-USF game. This is more evidence that RU has reached the big time. Hot chicks like this are drawn to the spotlight and currently, that spotlight is smack dab on the boys from the Banks of the Raritan. I love the attention, but it unnerves me at the same time. I just hope Ms. Sterger makes a trip to The Birthplace of College Football for a Scarlet Knights home game some time in the near future.

She writes a pretty interesting article, but I just wish her surgeon implanted some writing skill while adding those gigantic boobs to her upper body. (Not that I'm complaining.) Ok...that was kind of a snarky comment, but she seems to have a great gig going on. She gets to travel to a bunch of college games and write about it on SI.com, while I sit here on a Friday night in my underwear watching sports. I guess I'm jealous.

In case anyone is wondering, it sure looks she took the dough she got for posing in Maxim and Playboy (I'm not linking to it, but it's not hard to find) last year was invested it in an even larger set....again, I'm not complaining.

Youtube Clip of the Year!

Thanks to my man, Botts for sending this. I haven't laughed this hard in a while.

REAL MEN OF GENIUS: MR. ULTIMATE PHILADELPHIA SPORTS PHAN

Flyers Season Preview

I am one of the few, the proud...A FLYERS PHAN! I'm totally psyched now that another season is upon us. I can think of nothing better than spending many an evening over the next nine months watching my Flyers skate against the NHL's best. However, I'm saddened to say that I don't foresee good things for the Orange & Black this year.

I was all set to write this column and optimistically put the Flyers in the bottom half of Eastern Conference playoff teams, but after reading about 25 season previews I realized that EVERYONE has them finishing in this area. There is no way this many people can be right about any single topic. Therefore, I quickly decided in the last day or so that I had to readjust my prediction. That left me two options...put the Flyers in the Top 3 in the East or place them as one of the teams on the outside looking in come playoff time. Due to the talent level of this year's squad, it was an easy decision. With much sadness and regret, I must report that I don't see our local organ-I-za-TION reaching the playoffs for the first time since the 1993-1994 season.

I absolutely hate the defense. I realize that Hatcher HAS to be better than he was at the end of last year, but still don't see him ever regaining his status as a stud NHL defenseman. Rathje looked like a pylon in the playoffs last year, but offseason hip surgery was supposed to change all that. However, it has been recently reported that he is having back problems which require cortisone shots. Plus, he's going to be teamed with Hatcher to start the year. Who on earth thinks this is a good idea?!??!!? As for the other defensemen, Meyer is a number 5 at best; Pitkanen is still an enigma; Gauthier is a great #6, but how long until he infuriates Hitch with stupid penalties; and the Flyers are pinning their hopes on some guy named Lars to be a power play specialist and big time puck carrier even though he has been playing in Sweden the last couple years. In short, I'd be shocked if the Orange and Black are forced to trade for a more competent defensemen at some point during the year. About the only positive thing I can say about this group is that it does NOT include Chris Therien.

On to the goaltending....I hate Robert Esche....I hate Robert Esche...I hate Robert Esche. Ok, I'm glad I got that one of my chest, but I really don't like this guy. "Eschie" talks like he's Patrick Roy, but he's not even close to being in the same ballpark. Sh*t, as Jules Winfield would say, he's not even playing the same sport as Patrick Roy. Coming into the preseason, I was really hoping to see Nitty win the starting job, but he's playing on one surgically repaired hip and the other hip requires cortisone shots that will also have to be repaired in the offseason. I thought this would be a simple decision, but why wouldn't the organization just take care of this now and have Nitty get the surgery? The rehab time is three months, which would bring him back after the holidays. Since we all now the first 2-3 months are meaningless, this decision is ridiculously absurd and could wind up destroying the season.

Ok, onto the forwards....Of course, I love the first line, but how many games can we realistically expect out of Foppa before he has his annual injury? I put the over/under at 62 games. Once Forsberg goes down, Gagne and Knuble become pretty much useless since both of their games are reliant upon Foppa getting them the puck in scoring areas. I like the current second line of Richards, Carter and Calder, but I don't see this line lasting. I really liked Carter playing at center with Umberger last year, so I expect to see them reunited as soon as soon as Captain Kangaroo gets itchy. Plus, it would be nice to see Richards paired with Kapanen to give this team some semblance of a checking line. Although, I do expect to see the third and fourth line contribute a bit more this year with guys like Sanderson and Robataille replacing bums like Branko and Brashear. I also expect Calder to be a really nice addition for our second line.

Sorry guys, but this all adds up to a 10th place finish in the East. I'd be lying if I said tonight's piss poor 4-0 loss to the Pens didn't play into my prediction. Yes, I do realize this could be an over reaction, but this team is NOT ready to play. They could be faced with having to dig out of a pretty big hole if they don't rid themselves of their lackadaisical play.

However, the biggest thing to come out of tonight's game is that we've been passed by the Penguins. Crosby is going to be an absolute stud and Fleury is starting to show why he was a number one pick. Plus, Little Staal and Malkin are ready to explode on the NHL scene as well. I just hope their new owner moves them out to Winnipeg so we aren't forced to get pounded by these guys when they all start to mature and gel into a real powerhouse.

By the way, in case anyone cares, I like Buffalo to beat Anaheim in the finals for their first Cup.

Monday Night Madness – The Director's Commentary

As promised, here is the “Special Features, Director's Commentary” section of my Eagles Wrap Up column from yesterday.

PREGAME ACTIVITIES

I started off my Monday evening with the Birds with a quick jaunt down the Broad Street Line to the Sports Complex and met my main man Jones and his brother at McFadden’s at 6. Initially, I was kind of shocked that the place was not more packed. I had heard that Chickie’s & Pete’s was mobbed, but we easily got the table at a bar across the street from the Linc. (Are people that cheap that they don’t want to pay the $5 cover? Or would they rather hang at a place that requires a mile and half walk to the Stadium. If you can’t tailgate, this is a no brainer for me…I’d rather be closer to the Linc.)

We then met up with the benefactor of our evening, D.C. (aka “The Godfather”). D.C. is a big time attorney in Southern California that works with my company. Interestingly, he is about 5’8”, but played big time college football as a wide receiver at UCLA in the mid 80’s. He mentioned that his best friend is Rick Neuheisel (much more on that later) and I even got to check out his Rose Bowl championship ring, which was roughly the size of a hockey puck. I you haven’t gotten the drift, he’s a really cool guy. I also later found out on Tuesday that that the guy has a model wife, drives a Porsche and lives in a mansion somewhere in the O.C. Talk about the American Dream.

Anyhow, it quickly becomes apparent that D.C. must have about 10 tickets for the game as people start showing up out of no where to sit at our table, drink beer and eat. We pound a ton of beers and then we receive the news that B West and Ahman Green were out for the night. At that point, D.C. calls his buddies back West relaying the news and suggests taking the under.

We end our own little happy hour/tailgating session at McFadden’s with a shot of tequila and head towards the stadium at 8 pm. Ok…I realize this was pretty uneventful and sound like a chick writing a diary entry.

STADIUM EXPERIENCE

As I walk into the Stadium, I’m getting pumped to see my first Monday Night Eagles’ game. After we get through the ridiculously long security line, I notice that Mister Greengenes is set up on a stage near the entrance getting the fans all riled up. I then realize they are playing my favorite U2 song, “Where the Streets Have No Name”. Right then, I knew this game was in the bag. Too many forces coming together at once.

After grabbing a few beers, I settle into my seat right before player introductions. What seats these were! I was sitting in Section 118 (on the 25 yard line), Row 24. What an unbelievable view. If I had known I’d be going to the game, I would have brought a camera.

I sat next to D.C. and he regaled me with stories from his days at UCLA. I was shocked to hear that his best bud, and current QB coach for the Baltimore Ravens, Rick Neuheisel isn't impressed a whole lot by one of his bosses who was once deemed as an offensive genius. He also indicated that Neuheisel is hoping to take over for Joe Pa when he eventually retires. By the way, he really did get a raw deal for getting fired for the whole NCAA Tourney Pool scandal. I was also surprised to learn that South Jersey native and former NFL and UCLA star Flipper Anderson is currently in the pokey for failing to pay child support.

Anyhow, here are some quick hit thoughts:

-A lot more chicks come to games at the Linc compared to the Vet. I'm not complaining all that much, but it is definitely not as hard core an atmosphere as there was at the Vet. I would have never brought my wife to a game, now I might reconsider. I do love the tight Eagles jerseys that many of the ladies are wearing....not a bad look at all.


-I love the Eagles cheerleaders uniforms. However, why don't they just put them in bikinis and clear stripper heels and spare us all the aggravation?

-After being in Fenway this summer, I was reminded how close Eagles fans are to Red Sox fans. The tension is palpable and we get way too excited about little things. The only differences are the accents and the fact that they stopped booing their own after winning a title.

-My section was directly below the luxury box that Ryan Howard and J-Roll were seated. If Cleavon Little's character from Blazing Saddles is still wondering "where the white women at?", he needs to look no further than Ryan Howard and J-Roll's box because there were a whole lot of fine looking white women in that box. With 58 home runs, come the spoils.

-One last note that simply cannot forgive the Birds for on this night....The beer stand outside my section ran out of Miller Lite! Oh the HUMANITY!!!!

THE LONG RIDE HOME

The only downer to my night was that I didn't get home until 2 am. For various reasons, my ride home was a complete cluster f*(k. I will spare you the drama except to tell you all that my part of my ride home included driving down 11th Street looking for fat old dudes wearing D Mac jerseys and asking "are you looking for Jake?" Yes, mighty strange indeed, but I did get home in one piece.

EAGLES WRAP UP

As has been my practice lately, I’m a few days late with my review of the Birds latest game. However, since I was at the game, I don’t have a whole lot of substantive analysis on the game other than wide reaching statements. This game reminded me why I would rather watch football in front of the “57” of High Def Fury” sitting in my basement and follow other details on my laptop. Don’t get me wrong, I love being at the game – the atmosphere is phenomenal, but you don’t catch nearly as much as you do when watching on television. I feel cheated in some ways, but I suppose this can be rectified by tuning to NFL Network Game Replays. Maybe then, I can get a better understanding on how this team performed and fill this void in my life.

Since I can’t intelligently speak on a lot of the issues arising from this game (of course I could fake it, relying on reports I read, but I won’t cheat all six of you that will read this), I am just going to break this review into my thoughts on the game AND my “at the stadium” experience, which I’m sure is a hell of a lot more interesting to read two days after the game.

GAME THOUGHTS:

They Really Missed Westbrook: This story was written ad nauseam this week in the Daily News and the Inquirer, but it had to be said. Clearly, B West is the straw that stirs the drink. Without him, this team will struggle. It’s a shame he can’t stay healthy for longer than 3 games at a time. I partially blame his fragile nature on Big Red for failing to properly compliment him with another back the last 3 years. I have a feeling this knee injury will be an on and off story line the rest of the year. Plus, after Buck's two fumbles, I really don't have much confidence in the backups. Although, I do think they are underusing Moats.

The Wide Receivers Have to Be More Sure Handed: What was with all the drops by Reggie and Donte? I’ll give Stallworth a pass because he probably shouldn’t have played this week (Eskin is already reporting that he’s out the next two weeks after re-tweaking his hammy….who didn’t see that coming???), but Reggie has to show more consistency. He has a chance to be a very good receiver in this league, but has to improve his ability to hold onto the damn ball.

Our Offensive and Defensive Lines Did Not Come To Play: No sacks for and 5 sacks against. ‘Nuff said. The big uglies better come to play this Sunday. If they have a similar performance, it could get ugly against the ‘Pokes.

Our DB’s Still Struggling: There were a whole lot of open receivers running through the Birds’ secondary Monday Night. The Pack also definitely left some passing plays on the field. This game could have been more competitive had they fully taken advantage of more of their opportunities. On the bright side, it was nice to see Michael Lewis awaken from the dead and grab a fourth quarter interception.

The Packers Really Stink: Despite all my complaints, the Birds still won by 22 points, which proves that the Pack is pretty bad. I feel bad for Favre coming back. He should have requested a trade or retired.

Taking #5 For Granted: How could I almost forget....That McNabb guy is really good, huh? Despite a few bad passes here and there, he carried this team to victory with his arm AND his legs. He's on a certifiable hot streak right now. If they keep him healthy, I don't see it stopping any time soon.

COMING TOMORROW….Pregame Activies and My “At The Stadium" Experience

Oh, Happy Day!

Philly Sports Phan will be in the house tonight as the Birds take on the Pack! I just scored a ducat from my main man, Jones.

Many thanks to Jones and the Law Firm of Clinton & Clinton!

Go Birds!

PSP's EAGLES PREDICTION

Ok, there is so much to comment on in the upcoming days, but this is a busy month for yours truly. As a result, I’m just going to give you my pick for tonight’s game and get ready for a Phillies season recap and a Flyers season preview to come out later in the week.

I just wanted to note that if Mike Stanton cooperated Friday night, my weekend predictions for the Phils would have been dead on. I hope you all heeded my warning and didn’t get too worked about the Phils’ failure to make the postseason, but I digress….

As for tonight, this game could very well be a track meet. The Pack have the 31st overall defense. The Birds have the 26th ranked pass defense. Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that both McNabb and Favre have been on fire of late. I don’t see the Pack stopping the McNabb and Westbrook Show. Although, I do think the Birds will pressure Favre into enough early mistakes that we get out to a comfortable lead. However, as has been the case the last two weeks, I see a late game collapse at the feet of our journeymen group of corners and Favre makes enough plays late in the game to bounce back for a back door cover. I see a 31-23 victory for our Birds pushing them to 3-1 and leading us towards T.O. week.

By the way, I’m 3-0 so far this season and have predicted the correct spread each week. If I keep on this current path, I will start getting offers to host my own Saturday morning handicapping show like Ace Rothstein where I can give out my 5 Star Specials.