WEEKEND WRAP UP

Since I, like the most of you, are pretty busy during summer weekends, please look for my weekend wrap up column every Monday presented in a PTI/Peter King's “Monday Morning Quarterback - Ten Things I Think I Think" format.

1. Brett Myers – I hate the fact that this scumbag is the Phils’ only legitimate pitcher, but it was nice to see an actual professional pitching performance for a change yesterday (7 innings pitched, 5 hits, 2 earned runs). Of course, his effort yesterday doesn’t lead anyone to forgive him for brutalizing his wife on the streets of Boston a month ago. However, it raises other questions. Can this team afford to trade this guy? Can we ever forgive him if the team decides to keep him?

I don’t think so, but those knuckleheads in North Jersey seem to have forgotten the transgressions of Marty Brodeur. For those of you who don’t remember, Marty Brodeur forced the break up of his brother in law’s marriage by sleeping with the poor guy’s wife. He also almost lost his own marriage in the process. I’m not sure if this is worse than beating your wife, but the Devils’ fan base sure seemed willing to give Marty a pass for his off ice behavior as long as he was bringing his team home a Cup.

Will we treat Myers similarly? Initially, I say no. We will boo the bejezus out of him, but if he withstands it, pitches well and stays out of the police blotter, anything is possible. I still think he’s a scumbag, but I really can’t see the Phils getting rid of a legit starting pitcher when there is such dearth of quality arms in this organization.

2. AI’s news conference – I don’t know about you guys, but he sure sounded like a guy resigned to the fact that he’s about to be traded. He even seemed ready and willing for a trade. Now, let’s see if Billy King can stun the Delaware Valley and pull off a decent deal.

3. We now interrupt your summer for the E-A-G-L-E-S! The Eagles are set to take over our lives for the next seven months. Hope you enjoyed the offseason. Starting with the coverage in Sunday’s Inquirer leading up through your nightly local news updates from Lehigh after the rookies report to camp on Thursday, our town will turn into all Eagles, all the time, from now until the end of the season. (Certain friends of mine hate how football dominates this city is. All I can say is learn to deal with it or move to New York, Boston or St. Louis where baseball is front page news 365 days a year.)

On the same note, I love how the Phils once again blew their opportunity to own the city for the summer. I’ll check back with you guys next March during Spring Training. Thanks for making the month of May interesting.

4. The Barbaro Watch - This is getting totally ridiculous now. I can’t take the roller coaster of emotion. It is way too much for anyone to handle….Of course, I’m kidding. I read somewhere that Barbaro has taken the place of the Barry Bonds steroids scandal as the story that most sports fans could care the least about. I agree 100%. I don’t care anymore.

At this point, Barbaor could make a complete come back, win a three way match race with Smarty Jones and Afleet Alex on Pay Per View and it wouldn’t raise an eyebrow for me. Although, can you imagine the glut of around the clock media coverage such a race would cause? I think ESPNEWS would convert to a 24/7 Barabaro channel just to appease the masses.

5. Lindros signs with the Stars – Count me as one of the only guys in Philly that is rooting for Lindros to reclaim his past glory and regain his position as one of the best players in the league. People really forget how dominating the “Big E” was in his first 5 years as a Flyer. I will agree that he let his parents dominate his life for way too long, but I place more of the blame on Clarkie for Lindros’ failure to realize the glory much of us predicted when the Flyers traded for him back in 1992. Wow, 14 years ago this summer! Man, I’m getting old.

6. Kyle Busch wins the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at Loudon, New Hampshire – As I told my good buddy Mister Nascar, the Busch brothers are becoming perilously close to over taking Afa and Sika of the WWF’s Wild Somoans as the most hated brothers in sports history. I truly get ill when I see either of them win a race.


7. Par & Bar at Scotland Run – Never in my life have I gotten as much out of $53 as I have the past two Fridays. The Scotland Run Country Club in Williamstown, New Jersey has a deal on summer Fridays where $53 gets you 9 holes on a premium South Jersey golf course, a cart, open buffet and open keg served up on their porch overlooking the first tee box. If you like enjoying a summer evening with good golf, cold beer, decent food and outstanding service, then I strongly encourage you to check this place out. I must apologize to my buddy Jones by holding him back from completing an outstanding round. I give him credit for keeping his composure while golfing with a hack like me.

8. Fishing on the Delaware Bay – I completed my weekend as a “Sportsman” by fishing in the Delaware Bay with my good buddies Mister Nascar and Big Daddy Chad in a boat chartered by Captain Mark and his son. I’m not much of a fisherman and didn’t do much except feed the fish in the first hour or so, but after channeling the spirit of the Fishin’ Magician, Capt. Tullio, I started catching some fish. Overall, our crew did pretty well and caught a good amount of fish.

9. Entourage – I was half awake after getting back from my fishing trip, but it seemed like another less than par episode. Ari was great as usual, but I the threesome thing with E, Sloan, and her hot friend seemed like a gratuitous way to appease their fans wanting to see a return to the crew’s decadent ways. The ending of this week’s episode gives me hope that the show will get back on track in future weeks.

10. Pirates of the Caribbean – Judging by the box office results the past two weeks, I’m far from the only one who has caught this movie recently, but I was really unimpressed by anything but the special effects used in creating Davey Jones and his crew. Otherwise this movie was completely too long with a plot that was all over the place. Since the ending of this movie set up a third segment, I’d fire Keira Knightley and bring in an actress that looks like she’s eaten a sandwich or two in the last decade.

Thanks for those who stuck around through this entire article. I know…way too long, but I had a busy weekend!