I'm tired out after tonight's weird episode of Lost. Plus, I have my main man Vinny T picking me up at 6 am to catch a train into work tomorrow. So, here's the latest on the Birds before I hit the sack.
G Cobb is reporting that the Birds already have Asante Samuel signed. Sorry G, I believe it when someone more reliable than him reports the signing.
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A couple other things:
-I'm glad to see Jevon Kearse go. I think he may go down as the biggest bust of a free agent signed by the Birds.
-Another nice win by the Flyers tonight. Hopefully, they'll continue to scrap together some wins and contend for the #8 spot in the East.
-Yes, I realize I haven't written a word about the Phils and Spring Training other than the Ryan Howard arbitration, but when something interesting comes out of Clearwater, I'll comment on it.
-Another win or two by the Sixers and I think I might be forced to pay attention to them.
If you believe in the old statement, "where there's smoke, there's fire", then you can safely assume that the Birds are actively looking to add a WR. As I covered yesterday, there is rumors that the Birds were considering trading for Larry Fitzgerald or looking to sign Donte Stallworth as a free agent. However, tonight Comcast Sportsnet's Derrick Gunn reports that the Broncos are about to cut Javon Walker and the Birds will likely be interested in signing him.
As you might recall, the Birds thought they had a trade worked out on draft day two years ago, but the Packers decided to trade Walker out of conference to the Broncos. He was injured most of last year, but did have 69 catches and 1084 yards in 2006. I would favor a pick up of Walker as he's the type of big, fast target that this team has been missing since T.O. melted down.
Although, I do have some reservations. Initially, a guy coming off a knee injury after missing an entire year in 2005 with an ACL tear is a major health risk. Plus, I wonder where his head is. The late Darrent Williams died in his arms after their limo was shot to pieces by Denver gang members on New Year's Eve 2006. I wouldn't be shocked if he is still a mess after that tragedy. I'd look strongly into both issues before making a determination on this guy.
In any event, it's nice to see the Birds are realizing they have a weakness and are looking to correct the issue.
At 12:01 AM this Friday, the NFL free agency period begins and I think I speak for most of you in saying that this has been the most anticipated event since the Birds dropped to 5-8 and were eliminated from playoff contention.
Thankfully, the rumors are hot and heavy involving your Philadelphia Eagles. It's been reported all over the place lately (Peter King, Eskin, etc.) that the Birds are after Asante Samuel of the Pats. However, Profootballtalk.com reports tonight that the Saints and Jets (I guess Man-genius learned something from Beli-cheat) may have committed tampering violations by negotiating with the Goat of Super Bowl 42.
I've also read on G Cobb's site that the Birds may trade for Larry Fitzgerald of the Cards, but Profootballtalk is saying is now unlikely as Arizona has vowed not to trade him.
On Sports Final Sunday night, Eskin said the Birds are looking into signing a defensive end, possibly Justin Smith of the Bengals, but I also read the the 49ers will likely be all over him.
The Inquirer reported earlier this week that the Birds' main target could be Safety Gibril Wilson of the World Champion Giants. (Yes, I did puke up in my mouth when putting the Giants and World Champions in the same sentence.)
Apparently, on Eskin's show today, he said that the Birds are interested in Samuel and if they signed him, they'd trade Lito for Larry Fitzgerald or for picks to somehow move up in the draft and take Chris Long (Howie's son) who is projected as top 5 pick. There is no way we will have enough assets to move up into the top five no matter who we trade.
An interesting rumor also to come out of 610 today is that Hugh Douglas is reporting that his sources say the Bird will make a "big" trade this week. This rumor has the Eagles' message board ready to explode because Hugh nailed the Kolb pick weeks before it was made and no one had ever heard of the guy and gained a ton of internet street cred as a result.
In any event, I just hope the Birds have an interesting offseason. I'm not sure I can take a boring, lifeless offseason. I need some hope.
Tonight, your Philadelphia Flyers ended their horrid 10 game losing streak. To add a degree difficulty to the equation, they fell behind 3-0 before scoring three straight to force O.T. and then won the game in the shootout....yes, they won a game in the f'n shootout. I'm still shocked by this development. I was about to turn the game off when it went to the shootout thinking they had no chance. Thank God I stuck with the game.
By the way, is there any coincidence that the ten game losing streak started when it looked like Peter Forsberg was going to come back to Philly and the losing streak ended the day he signed with another team? Look, I'll never doubt that Foppa is a great, great player, but he brings bad ju ju to this team. I'm glad he's playing in Denver and not here.
One last note, I still think Danny Briere is incredibly soft, but it was great to see him clinch the victory in the shootout. I think he deserved a little success.
At this point in my life as a Philadelphia Sports Phan, I feel that I have said this over and over again, but can things get any lower in this city?
-The Flyers losing streak is now at 10 games. Saturday's game was a heartbreaker. The Orange and Black were only 3.7 seconds away from ending the streak before Florida scored the tying goal and then won the game in OT.
-To make matters worse, the Flyers lost All Star Mike Richards in the process for three weeks with a partially torn hammy. Folks, this is the straw that broke the camel's back. It's all over. Yeah, I know they are only a point out of a playoff spot, but with all these injuries, it's really unlikely that they can climb back into a playoff spot.
-How typical is this one: While making his first pitch of Spring Training, newly acquired closer Brad Lidge re-injures his right knee and needs another surgery which will cause him to miss 4 to 6 weeks. Sounds an awful lot like last year's prize acquisition, Freddy Garcia, huh?
-I just watched Andy Reid say on Sports Final that we should not expect any major signings in free agency. Great...I guess they'll just have to make do with the members of last year's 8-8 team.
-Mike Patterson was pinched for possession of weed and surely will be suspended for a couple weeks at the beginning of next season.
Seriously, you can't make this shit up anymore. What do we need to do to remove the Black Cloud following this city? Do we need a witch doctor or feng shui expert to try and reverse the curse that was cast on Philly? I really can't figure it out. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.
I don't know about you guys, but it's seriously getting depressing around here. I'm thinking of taking up another hobby. Maybe I'll start working out again and become damn sexy again. Who the eff am I kidding? That ain't happening. So, I guess I'll stick to our rotten sports teams.
-The Phils and Ryan Howard made it to arbitration today. Apparently, it lasted 4 hours and no decision was announced. It should come some time tomorrow. By the way, if you are looking for a pretty informative Phils' blog check out this one from Communist Post reporter Mike Rodano.
-Today, my boy Muller asked me my thoughts on the John Stevens' decision to use Claude Giroux, Kimo Timonen and Danny Briere in the shootout (or the "gayout" as the posters on my favorite Flyers' message board like to call it). I actually liked the decision except that I'd probably have changed the order and put the gutless Briere first. He has the skill to do well on the shoot out, but no ball. I loved the decision to put Kimo in the mix even though he's a defenseman. Timonen looked pretty damn good during the All Star skills challenge and wondered why he never was used. Apparently, Stevens saw the same thing and gave Kimo a shot and he was rewarded with a successful attempt. I loved the decision to Giroux in the group. He has a ton of skill and showed more creativity with his attempt than I've seen from any Flyer since the shoot out was brought into the league. However, the real problem is that our goaltending is flat out brutal in the shootout. Last night, it looked like Biron never even practices stopping breakaways. It's amazing to me that we're three years into the shootout and the Flyers still look completely flumoxed by it.
-Gagne is done for the year with a concussion. This is a shame. The Orange and Black have really missed him this year. Has there been another team in any sport that has lost more man games to stud players with the same injury? I severyly doubt it.
-Out goes Vandemeer and in comes Modry- Over the last two days, the Flyers dealt away Jim Vandemeer to the Flames for a third round pick and brought back Jaroslav Modry of the Kings for a third round pick. I like Modry. He'll be a solid addition. It's a shame things didn't work out for Vandemeer here. I liked him during his first go round as a Flyer, but was a complete waste of space upon his return to Orange & Black.
-The Birds are out at the combine scouting prospects. I'm sure we'll hear a ton of rumors that the Birds' lackey, Dave Spadaro, will spend plenty of time shooting down. I've resigned myself to the fact that they'll draft an OT at the 19th pick who won't play for two years, so why get myself excited? As for my own interest, I'll be watching to see what my boy, Ray Rice of RU runs the 40 in. I'm really hoping he ends up with Seattle. Not sure why, other than the fact that they desperately need a RB, they have an above average offense and I kind of like their funky team colors.
I think all of us have an all time favorite Philly team. For some, it is 1993 Phils, the '83 Sixers, the Broad Street Bullies or the 2004 Super Bowl Eagles team. My all time favorite Philly team is the 1988 Eagles team that lost in the NFL sanctioned atrocity known as the Fog Bowl. Personally, I have never understood why a bigger deal has never been made about the NFL's decision to not suspend the Fog Bowl. There is no way that game should have been played in that fog. Do you think today's television driven league would have allowed a game to have been played that the viewers at home couldn't see? I don't think so.
Ok, now that I got that off my chest, let's get back to the 1988 Eagles. That team was so friggin' fun to watch. They were immensely talented with current or future All Pros such as Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Eric Allen, Randall Cunningham, Keith Jackson, Keith Byars, Seth Joyner, Mike Quick, Cris Carter, Wes Hopkins, and Clyde Simmons. They were also stocked with a shit load of interesting personalilities including Andre Waters, Ron Heller, and Mike Golic. They finished as NFC East champs on the last day of the season when the Giants lost to the Jets.
While I have a ton of fond memories of this team, I must have wiped the below video completely from my memory. (Please watch, it is undoubtedly worth the 4:17 of your life.)
I don't know about you, but I can't stop laughing at this video. I've watched it three times and notice something else each time. There are so many highlights...where to start:
1. Jerome's red and black leather outfit looks like it was yanked right from Eddie Murphy Raw. He must have organized this thing. He is way too invested in dancing to this wretched song and singing his heart out;
2. Reggie White and Terry Hoage might be the stiffest two people to ever appear in a music video;
3. Did Mike Quick steal that sweater from Bill Cosby's closet?
4. Luis Zendejas....That may have been the worst rap I've ever seen. It has no rythym and completely makes no sense. He couldn't finish up fast enough. I think he said something along the lines of "Am I Nervous? I suppose so." I wonder if he was talking about pressure kicks, or this rap;
5. Keith Jackson and Wes Hopkins look waaaaay too comfortable with their choreographed dance moves;
6. Dirty Waters' leather suit and hat is by far the sharpest outfit worn by anyone on the video;
7. If you look up 80's pornstache, you will see a picture of Gregg Garrity. Seriously, how the hell was he included in this video?
I really felt sad realizing that three of the participants of the video (Reggie, Andre and Jerome) are no longer with us. Man, is that a shame. A bigger shame is the fact that this group never got past the divisional round of the playoffs. We haven't seen a more talented, exciting group of Eagles since. I just wish they had a coach that understood how important an offensive line was to a team's success.
Tomorrow, the Phils and Ryan Howard head to arbitration. I'm sure most of you know the particulars. The Phils have offered $7M and The Big Man has demanded $10M. During the arbitration, each side will put on a dog and pony show and then make a determination of which side should win. There is no middle ground. If they believe Ryan is worth $7M, that's what he gets. If they think he's worth $10M, that's what he gets. In actuality, if the arbitrators think he's worth more than $8.5M, Ryan wins.
Lord, I hope The Big Man wins and makes those cheap Phillie prick owners pony up a few more bucks. In my mind, I'm finding it hard to fathom how he would lose. In 2006, Alfonso Soriano was awarded $10M. Does anyone not think that Howard, a Rookie of the Year and MVP winner in his first two years, is not at least on the same level as Soriano?
In any event, tomorrow should sure be interesting. Seriously, how can the Phils argue that Howard is not worth what he's seeking? This is the same team that blew $10M last year on Freddy F'n Garcia, but is holding up the best first basemen in team history. I'm sure they'll say he strikes out too much and isn't the best first baseman in the world, but I think that Ryan's production clearly outweighs those minor issues.
I just think the Phils are running a risk here of taking this guy to arbitration. I'm baffled as to why they'd risk alienating this guy. At the very least, they should be looking to lock up Howard for his remaining years of arbitration so that we aren't faced with this non sense every Spring.
I really can't wait to see how this turns out. According to the rules of arbitration as described in the MLBPA Collective Bargaining Agrement (finally, that law degree comes in handy), a decision must be made within 24 hours of the hearing. Since no formal written opinion is to be provided, there really is no reason that the decision can't be made at the time of the hearing, so we should know the outcome of the arbitration some time tomorrow.
I have a feeling that tomorrow could be one of the more interesting days of the year for the Phils. I just hope the Big Man doesn't let whatever the Phils' say affect him and his play this year.
(3) Tonight, it was reported by the NFL Network and ESPN that the Birds have given Pro Bowl Corner Back, Lito Sheppard, permission to seek a trade. For weeks, there have been rumors (started by Comcast's Derek Gunn) that there was an Eagle that wanted out of town. Tonight, it became clear that he was referencing Lito. However, there are now reports that Lito is not being shopped, but still is pretty upset with his contract. We'll see what happens, but I'd love to see the Birds' keep Lito and sign Asante Samuel. That would help out the secondary enormously for '08.
(4) Last, but not least. My long weekend is coming to an end. Lord, I hate when these come to an end.
In case you missed it over the past seven games, we have a new whipping boy in our city to join other current targets such as Pat Burrell and Sean Considine. His name is Danny Briere. He gets booed at the Wach whenever he touches the puck and his play of late is totally deserving of the grilling he's received.
Sure, he's second on the team in scoring, but he is a fourth worst plus/minus in the league at -20. Yes, in the entire freakin' NHL!!! And to make matters worse, the guy is getting paid more than $7M this year and he's signed for the next 7 years!
Sorry for piling on, guys. I realize that we're about to lose our 7th straight and I'm talking about long term issues.
However, I have to say that our ability as a phan base to pick out the one guy on each team that is a piece of shit and deserves to be booed is uncanny. We don't indiscriminantly boo our own. The targets of our wrath usually deserve our discontent due to their cumulative play throughout the year. That's what outsiders don't understand.
We aren't booing Pat Burrell for striking out in a big spot, or Sean Considine for getting beat on a crucial third down or Danny Briere for losing his man yet again for a back breaking goal. No, we are booing them because they have failed to work on their game and correct an issue in their game that has existed for some time.
Ok, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the third period...wait, screw that. I'm going to watch the wire. I know how this Flyers' game is going to end.
Ok, maybe the headline to this post is a bit tongue in cheek, but I came across this very interesting idea about a season of 24 set in Philly while reading the Sports Guy's latest mail bag. I love the Sports Guys' additional input:
"Q: I have a brilliant idea for the next season of "24": After listening to Boston sports fans complain about not winning a fourth Super Bowl and the Celtics finishing "only" 68-14, a mentally unbalanced Philadelphia sports fan (played by myself) steals a dirty bomb and threatens to set it off in Boston. The only man who can stop him is Jack Bauer. Things get more complicated when I plan to kidnap relatives of the Celtics and demand they throw their first-round playoff series. Bauer eventually catches me and threatens to shoot me dead. I reply that no man scares me after witnessing Billy King, Andy Reid and Charlie Manuel for a collective decade of stupidity. Bauer shoots me dead, anyway. Ironically, the Phillies go on to win the World Series several months after my death. The end. What do you think? -- Sean, Philly
SG: I think you're a borderline genius. Three things I would have added, though. First, how did you not work Andy Reid's sons into that pitch? That could have been a whole four-episode arc of its own -- Jack Bauer searching for the mentally unbalanced Philly fan and somehow ending up at a party at Reid's house, then mistakenly thinking one of his kids was a suspect. Second, Jack should get hooked up with Donovan McNabb at some point, because it would be funny to see them racing around trying to find the suspect as the "24" music is hammering away, only McNabb was moving at the same lethargic speed in which he operated the "2-Minute Drill" in Super Bowl XXXIX, so Jack just keeps getting angrier and angrier with him and finally shoots McNabb. And third, in the final episode, when we flash-forward to the World Series, Jack throws out the first pitch of Game 7 and gets booed by the Philly fans."
Simmons' ideas are great, but I would add a few things. First, this season would would extend over two halves. The first would be set in Boston as described above, but then the second half would be back in Philly and we'd find out that Ed Snider, Jeffrey Lurie/Joe Banner and the Phillies ownership group have diabolically conspired to prevent our teams from winning titles by not spending for free agents, hiring terrible GM's and coaches, failing to invest in training staff which has led to countless injuries, and other actions which have sabotaged our title chances.
I envision an episode where Harold Katz is included as someone that mysteriously contacts Jack to provide information on the conspiracy but is assassinated by one of Mr. Snider's men before he could spill the beans. I would also change Simmons ending drastically. I'd have a final ending where Jack breaks out of a Philly prison (of course, he'd be detained at some point…it wouldn't be a season of 24 otherwise) and finally obtains the details of the conspiracy. He would then systematically kill the owners, but Mr. Snider (the true mastermind of the group) slips away. That leads to a final confrontation where Jack locates Mr. Snider hiding out a South Philly ware house and he is holding Brian Westbrook, J Roll, Chase Utley and Mike Richards hostage and threatens to kill them to snuff out any Philly title hopes for the foreseeable future. Of course, Jack would infiltrate the warehouse and then get into a brawl with Mr. Snider (who is surprisingly frisky despite his advanced age) that ends with Snider's spectacular death.
The final moments of the season would be a flash forward to Jack throwing out the first pitch of a World Series game to thunderous cheers.
Sorry Sports Guy, I like my happy ending much better.
After tonight's fifth straight loss by the Orange & Black, things are starting to look eerily similar to last year's season long fiasco. Is it a fair question to ask? Are things about to get as bad as last year? Well, it sure looks like things are going to get worse before they get any better as the Flyers have a back to back with the Habs this weekend and last time I checked, we never beat the Habs. To the Orange & Black, they've become a French speaking version of the Devils.
Over the past five games, we've seen shoddy defensive play, lack of energy, the inability to score a key goal when necessary, the failure of anyone to step up to replace the guys on IR and unfortunately, a tremendous lack of emotion.
Our Flyers are not playing as a team. They look like a collection of individuals that just met each other about five minutes before the first faceoff. While the defense has been brutal (Can someone tell me why Jim Vandemeer is on this team and playing on the top defensive pairing?), the forwards sure aren't helping matters in our zone or during the breakout.
I'm not really sure what the Flyers have to do to break out of this spell. However, I'm pretty sure a good place to start would be improved play by the defensemen and a greater commitment to defense by our forwards. I'm thinking that a rousing fight would help things also.
Plus, I realize I'm still partially to blame. I did write that article proclaiming the Flyers as our best hope for a title the night of their last win. Pretty stupid decision in retrospect, huh?
There was big news in Phillies land today on the eve of pitchers and catchers reporting to Clearwater. In case you missed it, the Phils signed right hander Kris Benson formerly of the Pirates, Mets and O's to a minor league deal. He is expected to compete for the 5th starter role if he ever gets healthy enough this season since he is coming off rotator cuff surgery less than a year ago. Seriously though...who cares if this guy can pitch. What really matters is that his crazy, hot ass wife, who is pictured above, is coming along with him! (Here's more pictures if you are interested, and here's even more.)
Some of you might even remember her December 2004 appearance on the Howard Stern Show where she said the following:
"I told (Kris) -- because that's the biggest thing in athletics, they cheat all the time -- I told him, cheat on me all you want. If you get caught, I'm going to screw everybody on your entire team -- coaches, trainers, players. I would do everybody on his whole team."
I'm guessing Milt Thompson, Davey Lopes and the rest of coaching staff suddenly got excited about the upcoming season.
Anyhow, I'm praying this guy makes the team. I could care less if he only hangs around to pitch long relief out of the bullpen. His wife makes him infinitely more interesting than the illegitimate Durbin Brothers and the other candidates for the fifth starter job. If he makes the squad, imagine the fun in trying to find Anna in the stands. It will be like a giant scavenger hunt.
Anyhow, I'll let you guys stew on this news as I go back and look at the above linked pictures.
The Flyers dropped their 4th straight tonight. I can't give you the final score because I gave up on this one with about 3 minutes left and the Flyers killing yet another brutal Derian Hatcher penalty.
I don't know what left me more miserable this evening: (1) The Flyers' performance against the last place Isles; (2) Vs.' coverage of the game; (3) Having to chisel the friggin' ice off my car this evening to get home; or (4) the reality that my house ain't selling anytime soon.
The injuries are starting to take a toll. This team needs Briere to really step up for the first time this season and carry the team for a week or two until Coburn, Upshall and maybe Gagne come back. Times like these are why you pay a guy a $7M+ a season. Now, would also be a good time for Mike Richards to get his scoring touch back.
In any event, I was really hoping for a fun game to watch tonight. On icy, frigid nights like tonight, hockey is supposed to get you through the evening. It didn't happen for us tonight. I suppose I'll turn to American Idol for a little entertainment.
By the way, I'm aware that the Sixers are on a winning streak of some sort, but I'm refusing to mention them positively until they get to .500. I just can't get into the NBA anymore. The sport has lost me.
According to Sal Pal of ESPN, the rumor going around the NFL these days is that our Birds will go hard after Asante Samuel of the Pats in free agency. Apparently, Samuel is high on the wish list of not only the Birds, but also Uncle Farrell's favorite team...The J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS!
Frankly, I'm not surprised that the Birds are interested in Samuel. They have always shown that they will over pay for corners and Samuel is about as good as they get in today's free agent market. Plus, this would allow the Birds to move Sheldon Brown to one of the safety spots, where he is probably better suited at this point in his career. In this scenario, signing Samuel would actually improve two spots...corner and safety. We'll see if the Birds pull it off, but I would not be shocked if it happens. Who wants to play for the Jets anyhow?
However, signing the 5'10" Samuel isn't going to help the Birds stop this Eagle Killer:
Over the last couple weeks, I've started thinking about what the Birds can do to help slow this guy. Of course, the easy answer is to draft and/or sign a bigger corner. Well, that's not so easy, my friend. If you watch any college football lately, you'll quickly see that the big time colleges are no longer producing corners bigger than 6 feet tall. Players over 6 feet tall with the skill set to play corner are routinely moved to wide receiver once entering the college game. As a result, it is rare to see a corner in the NFL over 6'1" or so. Therefore, if you seriously want to slow down Plax, you have to turn to alternative measures. That's where the PSP Plan comes into play.....
If you watch college basketball, you know that there are a glut of (undersized by NBA standards) 6'2-6'3" two guards that run like the wind and jump out of the arena, but have no jump shot whatsoever, which translates into a zero chance of playing in the NBA. Surely, many of these kids would like to put their athletic skills to good use. So, why not give them a chance? I'm pretty sure you could convince these kids to give the NFL a shot.
Obviously, identifying these kids would be the hard part. I would interview all the Big Five coaches and Bruiser Flint of Drexel to help locate kids they've played against that fit the mold I laid out (taller than 6'2", athletic and not afraid to play defense). I would then bring a number of them in for a camp and tell them that two are making the squad (one for the team and the other for the practice squad.) I'm sure if you bring in enough kids with the right athletic qualities, you'll find a couple that have the skill and desire to match up against tall wide receivers such as Plax, Randy Moss, Roy Williams, etc.
Now go ahead and poke holes in my theory, but I defy you to come up with a better idea to find athletes that simply don't exist.
Just last week, I wrote a glowing article about the Flyers and their title chances. Well, things haven't exactly gone to plan since then. They've lost three straight (two of which were to division rivals) falling out of 1st place in the process, lost their 2nd best defenseman to some bizaree injury which involved a burst artery in his ass, and just today Simon Gagne went out of the game with a "mild" concussion. Yeah, things aren't going all that great for the Orange & Black at the moment.
I have to apologize to all Flyers phans out there. I can't help but feel that I some how cosmically mushed them. I should have known better. Things are never as good as they look in this city.
I really can't put a finger on what's going wrong with the Flyers right now. It seems to have changed each night. Against the Caps on Thursday, the Flyers didn't show up until the last half of the third period. On Saturday against the Rangers, they just didn't generate enough offense. Today against the Pens, the Flyers broke down too many times defensively.
Generally, they just need to pull their collective heads out of their asses and play some passionate hockey. This team seems to play better when they are emotionally involved from beginning to end. Hopefully, they start turning things around starting against the Isles on Tuesday, but the injuries are starting to mount all the sudden, which really has me worried.
The only bright side I can come up with is that Lasse Kukkonen outplays a couple guys on defense and gets another shot to join the top six defenders for the rest of the season.
I also think we've seen the end of Gagne for the season. He's already missed most of the season with a concussion. From our experiences with Lindros and Primeau, we know that a "minor" concussion following up a major concussion could kill easily kill a season, if not a career. Let's hope that's not the case.
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By the way, as I write this Alicia Keys is performing on the Grammy's. Holy shit! I knew she was pretty good looking, but tonight she's off the charts hot. Wait, they just brough douche bag John Mayer onto the stage. She just lost a few points. Didn't she see how Jess Simpson lost her career after being associated with him?
The Eagles' offseason got off to a promising start this evening as the Birds announced that they are keeping Tight End LJ Smith for at least another year by placing the franchise tag on him. Since LJ is kind of a controversial figure, we better break this one down to see if this was a good idea.
Reasons To Like The Move:
-As my friend Tommy used to say to me whenever I complained about the Sixers (back when they mattered), "who else you gonna get that's any better?" Seriously, who else is out there that is better than a healthy LJ? There certainly aren't any free agents that will hit the market that could step in and do a better job. Certainly, with the amount of playing time this team gives to rookies, a first year guy isn't going to step in and make a difference. So, in that light, this is definitely the right move.
-When healthy, LJ is pretty productive and he's a go to guy for D Mac in the red zone. In both '05 and '06, LJ had over 50 catches and 600 yards. As a result of his injuries last year, his stats and the Eagles' effectiveness in the red zone both took a nose dive. There is no reason to expect that he won't bounce back to his '06 numbers if healthy.
-He is one of the few deep threats at TE in the entire league.
-The move shows that the Eagles will be proactive and aggressive this offseason. (Ok, maybe I'm being cautiously optimistic there.) At the very least, this move should make Donovan "this team needs more weapons" McNabb happy.
-He went to my alma mater, Rutgers University.
Reasons To Not Like The Move:
-LJ is always nicked up. Last year was the first season that he missed games, but in years past, it always seemed that he was on the injury list every week. I'd like to see someone a little more durable playing a position so important to the ultimate success of our red zone offense.
-LJ's inconsistency is maddening. His laziness with catching the ball and occassional fumble-itis drives pretty much every green blooded Eagles' fan crazy.
-He probably won't be signed long term so it delays the development of Brent Celek (ie, LJ's eventual replacement.)
-He went to Rutgers. Every time he does anything wrong, my friends immediately blame me. If he left, I'd at least be spared those moments.
Overall, I am in favor of the move. I can't see how it could possibly hurt. Does anyone disagree? Time's yours.
Now that the Super Bowl is over, we are in the proverbial "Sports Wasteland". I'm going to have to get real creative to find things to talk about.
Seriously, let's look at what's out there right now. Does anything excite you guys?
-The Flyers are in the dog days of the season, which makes it hard to write about harder for you guys to care. On the bright side, the Flyers will probably sign Forsberg and then the daily "will he or won't he play" story start up again. Plus, it will also spark a debate of whether he'd interrupt team chemistry. (Personally, I think he will. I'd rather use the remaining cap money to trade for a defenseman.)
-The Phils are less than 10 days from having pitchers and catchers report, but it is still some time before Spring Training really gets going.
-NFL free agency is still a couple weeks away and there probably won't be much on the market for Eagles fans to get excited about.
-The Sixers are still a non entity, but continue to win enough games to keep themselves out of the playoffs, but in the purgatory that is in the 8th-10th first round pick territory.
-Sorry George, but there is no Philly NCAA hoops team to get excited about this Spring. (Although, St. Joe's has played well as of late.)
So, where's a sports starved fan to turn to for some honest to goodness action? Well, all I can offer is that next Sunday is the Daytona 500. I suggest you guys try that on for size. You might just warm up to the idea of watching good ol' boys making left hand turns at 200 mph.
After the results of the Super Bowl and the Mets' trade for Johan Santana, I really needed something to brighten up my view of Philadelphia Sports. Thankfully, that's where your first place Philadelphia Flyers have come to the rescue.
With tonight's workman like 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers, the Orange & Black have moved into sole possession of first place and continue to look like a team that could make some noise in the playoffs (as long as they avoid the Devils).
I love that they get contributions through the entire lineup. Over the years, the Flyers have never been that kind of teams. Most years, they are a one line team. In other rare seasons, they have two scoring lines. This year, they have three lines that can score. It is a luxury that I hope injuries do not strip away over the last 30 games of the year.
I recommend that you all take an interest in this team. They are our best chance of winning a title. The Eagles and Phils will never go the extra financial mile to get them over the hump and the Sixers are still digging themselves out of the Billy King mess for the foreseeable future.
In fact, tomorrow is a good night to start as the Flyers are honoring Ron Hextall on his induction to the Flyers Hall of Fame. Don't worry, I won't call anyone a band wagon jumper for getting on board late in the season.
Ok, I'm of course joking about the title to this thread, but how else can you explain tonight's Super Bowl? The Giants and Eli Manning are the World Champions. Repeat that to yourself. The Giants who spent most of the year looking completely mediocre all the sudden morphed into world beaters and rolled to a championship. This shit never happens to us and that's why I'm pretty freakin' far from alright at the moment.
I don't know what the city of New York did to deserve such luck, but we should find out so we can bottle it up and bring some good fortune to our fair city. How else can you explain that ridiculous David Tyree catch?
Maybe karma from the Spygate scandal finally caught up to the Pats. I can't think of any other plausible explanation.
Now that the Pats have lost a Super Bowl, maybe the deal with the devil that Tom Brady signed will be unveiled. I've always thought there was something fishy about him and his meteoric rise to NFL God status.
I suppose we now can move to the offseason and I'm sure we'll hear from Andy Reid and Company that they were only three points away from beating the World Champions and fail to add anything significant to the roster. Or, maybe they'll learn something from this Giants team. Who knows.
I'm just too aggravated to try and find anything good about this Giants' victory.
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Editor's note....I did think of one good thing. The victory made my buddies Uncle Farrell and Steve From The Great White North happy. Good for you guys. I'm now going to polish off the rest of the beer in my fridge.
Ok, I'm kind of caving on my decision to boycott the Super Bowl. The avalanche of commercialism from the capitalistic swine of America have forced me to watch this game or I will be an outcast among my friends and colleagues.
So, in the spirit of conforming with the latest American holiday, I will watch the game and figure if I'm going to watch, I'd might as well make a pick.
I see a 34-21 win by the Pats. I'll even predict that the Dreamboat Tom Brady wins the MVP. (Yes, I realized I'm really stepping out on a limb there.)
Christ, I hope I'm right. I don't know if I can live in a world where the mediocre Giants are the Champions of the Football world.
