Blown Opportunity

Last night, the Phils blew a golden opportunity to gain a tie in the National League Wild Card standings when Arthur Rhodes and Aaron Fultz combined for two, YES TWO, blown saves! Fortunately for the Phils, the Padres were off last night so they head into their 4 game weekend series with the Braves only a game back in the chase for the Wild Card.

As I said in this space earlier in the week, the Phils absolutely had to take two out of three from the Nats to seriously remain in contention for the postseason. While it appears the Phils accomplished that mission, last night's loss was a heartbreaker. They went into the ninth with a 4-2 lead before the shaky Arthur Rhodes blew the lead. The Phils then took the lead back in the top of the tenth, but an even shakier Aaron Fultz blew that lead AND the game in the bottom of the inning. Hopefully, when the season' over, we won't have to look back at this game - much like the game last year that Wagner blew by giving up a ninth inning bomb to Biggio - as the reason the Phils are sent packing prior to the post season.

Despite last night's gag job, the Phils still have an excellent shot to make the post season, especially if they continue to get starting pitching like they did in this series. The starters in this series, Myers, Hamels and Wolfie, gave up 2, 1, and 2 runs respectively before turning their games over to the 'pen. If they continue to get similar performances for the rest of the season, then I absolutley guarantee you that the Phils will be back in the postseason for the first time since 1993.

Last night's game was not totally devoid of highlights for the Phightins. Ryan Howard did hit his 49th homerun of the season to set the single season Phillies record. Quite simply, his homeruns are majestic blasts of beauty and power. I am really going to enjoy watching his career as a Phil.

ONCE YOU BE GONE, YOU STAY GONE!

While watching a segment on Flyers' pre camp practices during this evening's Comcast Sports Night, I noticed that Justin Williams was practicing with several members of the Orange and Black at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ. This infuriated me.

Justin, we really don't need you around here to remind us of one of the more bone headed moves in recent Flyers history. Just go back home to Carolina and STAY THERE!

Cole Hamels: Absolute Stud

Sorry guys, but I have to point out that Cole Hamels is freakin' awesome. I love this guy. When he fully harnesses his powers, he will be unstoppable.

In case you missed it. Here's his pitching line from tonight's dominating performance: 8 innings pitched, 4 hits, 1 Earned Run, 3 Strike Outs and 2 Walks.

We don't need an "Ace". Cole is our "Number One". It's becoming clear that the Wife Beater is our #2. I'll take Wolfie as a #4 and Moyer as a #5 next year. If they can dump Lieber and pick up a #3, our staff will be set. (Wait...who am I kidding? The Phils haven't had a complete staff in my life time. I'm getting way ahead of myself.)

Anyone who has been following this site can pretty much figure out that I'm enjoying this team. Do they have warts? ABSOLUTELY! But there is a playoff spot to had and I'm rolling with Howard and Hamels for the rest of the season.

Pinky and Koy Gone! AJ is Back! Oh My!!!

In the span of three days, the Eagles' preseason went from a giant snoozefest to wildly interesting. If you followed the Reid and Banner regime for the past seven years, you have to admit that the Stallworth trade was totally out of character for the Birds and the dismissal of Reid favorites, Koy Detmer, Todd Pinkston and Mark Simoneau, was absolutely shocking.

Overall, it's nice to see that the Eagles are finally seeing what everyone else does and have stopped trying to prove that they know more about football than the rest of the world. Yes, these moves were no-brainers, but it is a very positive sign to see that they were made. They were not going to compete this year without adding a legitimater skill guy like Stallworth.

I'm chalking these moves up to Heckert being a bigger part of the personnel team. He's the new factor in this equation, so he had to play a big part in convincing Reid and Banner to upgrade the team.

Although, now that Pinky and Detmer are gone, who is going to be the new Eagles' whipping boy? I think Dhani Jones is the best candidate, but another bad year out of Lito could put the bulls eye squarely on his back.

Let's not forget the AJ Feeley move. He's a much better #3 than Detmer. Koy was absolutely finished as an NFL caliber QB. Not only is my wife happy that she has her old heart throb in town to replace Jeremy Bloom, but the return of AJ means that Heather Mitts will be back in town also. And that my friends, is a very good thing.

Pretty Boy Skier Put On IR

The fact that the Eagles put 2006 Winter Olympian and Tommy Hilfiger model, Jeremy Bloom on IR with a completely lame hamstring injury should come as a surprise to no one. Seriously, who at the Eagles thought drafting a part time Male Model/Skier/Kick Returner (who hadn't played in 2 years) would be a good idea? If I'm that guy, I'm spending some time tonight getting my resume together.

Plus, during the preseason, I heard way too many female Eagle Phans getting way too excited about this guy. I'm absolutely certain the world would have imploded if a guy that reminds me more of Derek Zoolander than Billy "White Shoes" Johnson became a successful kick returner. There's no way our Lord, Baby Jesus, would have allowed this to happen. No man is bestowed with such talents.

Anyhow, my prediction is that within 6 months the Birds cut him outright. Upon his release, he'll return to Colorado to work as a ski instructor and part time model. I also foresee him partaking in activities such as non stop X Box sessions, continuous bong hits and bagging hot chicks two at a time.

"The Last Thing I Saw Fly That Long Had An In Flight Movie On It"

I can't take credit for that one. I think either Craig Biggio or Lance Berkman said it after Brad Lidge gave up a walk off bomb to Albert Pujols in last year's NLCS. However, that quote aptly describes the absolute moon shot Ryan Howard just hit to tie Schmidtty for the All Time Phillies' Single Season Home Run record with 48.

I'm sorry, but this guy's potential is limitless. I can't remember feeling the same way about another Phillie in my life time. It's his first full year and he's about to hit 50 (maybe 60+) home runs!!! I wish some of the old timers that read this site (like my father in law and his brother) could tell me if they felt the same way about any other Phillie. I can't imagine anyone else coming close, with the possible exception of Richie Allen.

Anyhow, if the Phils somehow capture the NL Wild Card, he has to be the MVP, doesn't he?

Oh What A Feeling!

Wow, this guy looks REALLY happy to be an Eagle. Let's hope we feel the same after we see him take the field.

Ok, ok..I'll try to be more positive about the Eagles. At the very worst, I see this guy getting 60 catches, 900 yards and 6 td's and being our best long ball threat since "Arkansas" Freddy Barnett. Who knows, maybe he's so happy because contract extension talks have started already. If that's the case, then I'll be much more positive about the deal.

Beasley Reece: Most Positive Man In Philadelphia

CBS Sports Anchor Beasley Reece called into Colin Cowherd show on ESPN Radio this morning. Colin brought Beasley on during his “Spanning the Globe” segment to comment on the Stallworth deal and boy, did it seem like someone spiked his coffee with happy pills. On the Stallworth trade, he commented:

“I told the fans to be patient. The entire story had not been written. The Eagles got their man! Stallworth has world class speed and immediately makes the Eagles a Super Bowl contender.”

Whoooaaaa….Hey Beez, we traded for DONTE Stallworth not JOHN Stallworth. Calm it down a bit buddy. It’s going to take this guy a couple of weeks to learn the offense and Joe Horn has already commented on his lack of commitment, so let’s not get too excited just yet. I like the deal, but I have to see the guy play first before I go over board about how much this increases the Birds chances of contending for the Super Bowl again.

On Simoneau being traded to the Saints:

“The Eagles will miss his presence as a special teams leader and a backup line backer. Plus, he was such a nice guy. He will definitely help the Saints. He has a ton of speed and makes a lot of plays.”

Sorry Beez, but with that last part of that comment you lost me. I will never take another thing you say seriously for the rest of your career.

The Season Is On The Line

Ok, that headline may be a tad bit dramatic, but if the Phils want to stay in the Wild Card hunt, then they better take this series against the Nats. In fact, if they really want to be a factor, I suggest they sweep these guys. Hamels, Wolfie, the Wife Beater and someone in the every day lineup not named Ryan Howard better bring their A games or the season is over. I don’t know if you noticed, but Howard was the only to show up for the Mets series. Chase, Delucci, and Victorino better step it up and give the Big Man some help because he desperately needs it.

Sorry, it is as easy as this: win two games or call it a season. If they lose two games in this series, it will be all Eagles, all the time on this site. I’ll turn the keys on this blog over to my buddy George to keep you guys updated on the coming and goings of the Phils, as I’m pretty sure he’ll be the only one still watching them.

EAGLES LAND STALLWORTH

Five minutes after I ripped the Birds for not having enough skill players, I found out they traded for Stallworth. I'm not ecstatic about the deal, but Stallworth immediately makes them better. He's the type of serviceable wide receiver that can thrive in this offense. The Birds will now not be totally overmatched on the outside. Would I have rather them pick up Javon Walker, Lelie or Deion Branch? Absolutely, but Stallworth at least shows me that the front office is not totally blind.

The one thing that does irk me a bit - besides his wonky hamstrings - is that Stallworth is in the final year of his deal and guess who his agent is....that's right, Drew "Next Question" Rosenhaus. I just hope Stallworth doesn't set the world on fire and then leave via free agency because Banner and Co. don't want to pay him. (Although, I've been a Philly Phan for too long to not realize this is a very real possibility.)

Another plus to this deal is that the Birds rid themselves of the underachieving Mark Simoneau. Good riddance. I still have visions of him bouncing off DeShaun Foster twice on the same touchdown run in the 2003 NFCG. Not to pat myself on the back, but earlier this preseason I predicted that he would not make this team. I love it when I'm right.

Now, if only the Birds can find a big back to pair up with Westbrook, then I might get excited about this team again.

Losing Their Religion

Big Red used to be a darling of the national media. He used to receive accolades from guys like “Boomer”, “Mort”, Len Pasquarelli and Peter King. These guys even regularly included the Eagles with the Pats and Steelers as organizations that do things the “right way”. However, from some of the columns I’ve read and interviews I’ve heard recently, it certainly appears that Fat Andy is starting to lose some of his popularity.

In his Monday Morning Quarterback column today, Peter King reported his findings from a summer of touring the National Football League training camps, and led his article off with the following regarding our Birds:

EAGLES (Bethlehem, Pa.): Here's what worries me about the Eagles: skill players. I have no idea if running back Brian Westbrook can stay healthy for a full year, and a trusted reserve just isn't here. Ryan Moats has fallen out of favor with the staff, Reno Mahe is just insurance, and how can you trust Correll Buckhalter after two straight knee surgeries? And the receivers? When everyone's raving about Hank Baskett, I know there's trouble on the horizon. Now, I like the depth on the offensive and defensive lines a lot. The Eagles are going to be a load on defense -- maybe not as good as Dallas, but I bet as good as Washington. But that offense worries me. There's the same hole here that existed before T.O. Outside of Westbrook, there's not another Philly back or wideout who even remotely scares any defensive coordinators out there. "We'll be fine,'' Andy Reid told me and the rest of the free world about a hundred times. That's what he always says. And sometimes the Eagles aren't.

No one can argue this point. King is a respected football writer and he makes a simple, but outstanding point. What skill player on this team scares a defense? Pretty much no one, as King points out. I think that’s why I’m not overly excited about this team. I just can’t see how they are going to consistently move the ball and score points. In today’s NFL, you need a guy that can flat out take it to the house when he gets the ball in the open field. Unfortunately, the Birds’ offense needs about 2 or 3 more players of this nature before I will strongly consider them a contender again.

Weekend Wrap Up "WWU"

This was another busy weekend for yours truly. Unfortunately, there wasn't many interesting stories to come out of my weekend travels. So, for once I'll try to stick to the local sports scene.

"Invinceable" #1 at the Box Office - This is great news for the City of Philadelphia. It's great to see a movie made here in Philly about one of our own (Vince Papale - pictured above with Mark Wahlberg) reach the top spot. You would have seen a review of the movie here, but my wife wanted to stay in and watch the Emmy's instead. (She really needs to get her priorites in line, huh?) I plan on going Monday night, so hopefully my review of the movie will be in this space any day now.

Phils pick up Jeff Conine from the O's for cash and a player to be named later - Nice pickup here by the Phils. It's just four years too late. If Ed Wade wasn't so incompetent, he would have picked up Conine back in 2003 and we would two postseason appearances in 20 years as the Marlins picked him up at the deadline and he absolutely killed the Phils during their battle for the Wild Card.

Eagles beat Steelers in Pre Season Action - I'll be the first to admit that I haven't really turned up the passion for the Birds during this preseason. It could be because of the surprising run by the Phils for the Wild Card spot, or it could be because I'm not sure what to expect out of this team just yet. I still have them at 8-8 for the season, but I can be easily swayed after watching the first game or two. I'm getting the same feel from most of the fan base, as well as the local and national media. The one stat that does have me a bit excited is that the first team defense has given up only three points in the 18 preseason series that they have been on the field.

Entourage Season Finale - How would you feel if I told you that the season finale was just "ok". Is that something you'd be intersted in? Didn't think so. They added an interesting plot twist by firing Ari (sorry for the spoiler), but I have the distinct feeling that this season went absolutely no where. I guess they did set up the first three episodes, which the Piv said would start at the same time as the final season of the Sopranos, as Ari will be fighting to get Vince back as a client.



Deion Branch seeks a trade; Could Phillly be his landing spot??? - Sorry guys, it's not happening. I just can't see it. Sure it makes a ton of sense and I think Big Red and the Boys would love to have him, but if this guy already turned down $6 million/year from the Pats, then he ain't coming here because Banner won't let anyone take that big a chunk out of his beloved cap space who isn't named McNabb.

Matt Kenseth Wins Sharpie 500 -There was a time when the Bristol night race was must see T.V. Now that it is three races from the Chase everyone drives way too cautious as no one wants to cause someone to get knocked out of the playoffs. This race is now way too P.C. As fun as The Chase for the Cup is, I hope Nascar realizes that they have ruined one of the best races of the year.

Anatomy of a Fantasy Football Draft, Part II - SAFFA Sunday

Yes, I’m proud to say that I am a fantasy football nut. Unlike most of the “Johnny Come Lately’s”, I’ve been playing fantasy football for 12 years now and have been a proud member of SAFFA (the Sunday Afternoon Fantasy Football Association) for a decade. In fact, I’ve gone from lowly league member to web-site administrator and co-commissioner along with co-founders Johnny Gold and Mister Nascar as children, wives and careers have slowly eroded their free time.

Our draft day is always one of my top five sports days of the year. It’s right up there with Eagles’ opening day, the opening night of the Flyers’ playoffs, Rutgers’ Homecoming and the first Friday of the NCAA Basketball Tourney. Since my team is the defending two-time champion, I was especially looking forward to this day. I’m happy to report that despite some last minute schedule wrangling, this year’s draft did not disappoint.

I knew we were in for an interesting afternoon when long time league member Da Fuzz (One of South Jersey’s Finest) showed up dressed up like a pirate with a bandana tied around his head and sporting a boy band quality goatee. He came right up to me and my team co-owner, Vinny Prefontaine, and announced, “I’m taking new supplements to help me gain weight, but they are making me fly off the handle real easily. I advise you not to get on my bad side today.” I decided right then and there that I would make sure to really emphasize how good his picks were. I don’t need any extra heat from Da Fuzz.

Other highlights:

-One guy picked a defense and kicker with his back to back “double banger” selection in the sixth and seventh rounds. This was quickly followed by co-commissioner Mister Nascar telling the guy every round until the tenth that “I just want to point out that no previous champion has selected a defense or kicker yet.” I got a bigger laugh when entering this guy’s line up into the web site and noticed that he drafted only one quarterback, Chris Simms, in the next to last round.

-Normally, the Captain’s Adult ADD sets in about the fourth round and he starts mailing in his picks, but since he pulled the #1 pick, he stayed with us until the ninth round when he reached for Brandon Lloyd. Surprisingly, he waited until the 11th round to pick his first Eagle, David Akers.

-Nute showed up with an “overrated/underrated” list, which he protected like it contained nuclear missle launch codes. I got a chuckle every time he announced, “Hey, nice pick. I had him on my overrated list”. I guess you just have to know Nute. This is the same guy that sits next to me at most drafts and asks either “which position does that guy play?” or “what team is he on?”

-The ever loyal Johnny Gold pouted for most of the middle rounds after losing his boy Culpepper to Mikey Whispers in the 3rd round, but he recovered nicely by drafting Carson Palmer in the 4th. He also regaled us with the story of how Matt Hasselbeck’s mother forced an entire film crew to refer to him as “Matthew” during a photo shoot. More evidence of why I hate people from B.C.

Surprisingly, I really love my roster. In comparison, I hated my draft the last two years when I won the title. I hope that's not a bad omen.

I won’t bore you with everone’s entire roster, but here was our first round: 1. Larry Johnson – The Captain, 2. Shaun Alexander – Da Fuzz, 3. Peyton Manning – Big Daddy Chad, 4. LaDanian Tomlinson – Yours Truly, 5. Tiki Barber – Barry 6. Steven Jackson – Mister Nascar, 7. Ronnie Brown – Brian, 8. Rudi Johnson – Johnny Gold, 9. Cadillac - Mikey Whispers, 10. The Edge - Nute, 11. Dr. I Don’t Know (aka Clinton Portis) – The New Guy, and 12. Lamont Jordan - Snaxx.

(Ok, I know...one post after I promised to keep them short, I go on for more than a page...Sorry!)

Constructive Criticism

Recently, I've been advised that should shorten my blog entries. Your advice has been duly noted. I'll try to write more "short" stories.

For the Defense of Todd Pinkson, Len Pasquarelli

Ok, I realize this link can be found all over the place, but I found this audio clip of ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli surprising defense of Todd Pinkston absolutely hilarious. Have fun with this one, guys:

http://www.profootballtalk.com/LenCut.mp3

Anatomy of a Fantasy Football Draft, Part I - Girls Gone Wild Fantasy Football League

In a million years, I never would have imagined myself officiating a fantasy football draft for a bunch of chicks, but I'm here to say that I proudly served as the draft master for the "Girls Gone Wild Fantasy Football League" that my wife and friends started. I can only imagine the snide comments that my buddies Johnny Gold, The Captain and Mister Nascar are conjuring up as they read this, but in all honesty, it wasn't that bad.

These ladies set a land speed record by finishing their 14 round draft in under two hours. The funny thing is that it takes most of the women in this league an hour and a half to pick out a skirt and a pair of shoes, but they were on the clock on an average of less than 20 seconds for each pick. (This sociology experiment really shows that men and women live on separate planes, as you can totally flip the time for a man to do each of these tasks.) In any event, the biggest surprise for me was the level of preparation by each of these ladies as I only had to veto one pick through the first 3 rounds.

Overall, I'm still not sure if this was a good idea or just some clever ruse by these ladies to further intrude on the free time of their husband/fiance/boyfriend. Johnny Gold has already warned me to be very wary of this idea. I'll keep you all up to date on this one, but the first night was pretty painless.

Coming Soon: Anatomy of a Draft, Part II - SAFFA Draft Sunday

EMAIL OF THE DAY

I was sitting here today trying to figure out how to best express my frustration with the upcoming Eagles season when I received this email from a buddy:

Now that Ashley Lelie has been traded to the Falcons, it looks like our number 2 receiver behind Reggie Brown will be an undrafted rookie free agent. Last year, Reggie Brown was our 3rd or 4th receiver. Westbrook hasn’t practiced since the hall of fame game due to injury. They don’t sign Stephen Davis. Buckhalter hasn’t played in 2 years. This is getting ugly.

Thanks, Tony G. You summed up my frustration in five simple sentences. Although, I would like to add that the most frustrating thing for me is that these holes were evident at the end of season, but the Birds chose not to address these needs.

Decisions like these eat away at the very core of my being. I keep saying it, but if the Birds stand pat at running back and wide receiver, it’s going to be a long season, folks.

Weekend Wrap Up ("WWU")

This was a very eventful weekend for the Philadelphia and national sports scene. In addition to trying to keep up on various sporting events, yours truly was pretty busy with a Fantasy Football Draft. However, the Sunday Afternoon Fantasy Football Association draft is an event that deserves its own post altogether. So be on the lookout. Ok, let's dispense with the formalities and get to the action:



Phils take 2 out of 3 from the Nats - The Phightins' again showed that they intend on remaining a factor in the National League Wild Card chase after taking the last two games of their weekend series against the Nats. The highlight of the series was the 11-2 woodshed beating on Saturday, which was led by Ryan Howard's moon shot that almost landed in Ashburn Alley, as well as Cole Hamels' six strong innings. By the way, if you haven't noticed, Hamels is really starting to develop into a top of the rotation pitcher, thank you.

In typical Philly fashion, the Phils allowed Sunday's game to go from laugher to nailbiter, as they held on for a 12-10 win after jumping out to an early 10-1 lead. Lest anyone forget Cardinal Rule #10 of being a Philly Sports Phan: You can never get too comfortable with any lead. (For further evidence, please see Monday's win against the Cubs.)

The Phils now head out to Wrigley with a new face in the arsenal for a four game set with the Cubbies, which leads me to....

Phils Trade for Jamie Moyer - After giving away David Bell, Corey Lidle, Rheal Cormier, and Bobby Abreu for marginal prospects, the Phils finally showed that they DO actually care about trying to make the postseason by trading for veteran - and I do mean VETERAN - left handed starter, Jamie Moyer. The pickup of the 43 year old Moyer could really solidfy the starting rotation, which has really shown some life upon the return of Wolfie and the Wife Beater. Clearly, Moyer is a much more viable option than rookie Scott Mathieson as a 5th starter to help the Phils chase down the Reds for the Wild Card. At the very least, I'm sure my buddies George, Vinny and Voegs will be happy to see that the Phils brought in a fellow St. Joe's Hawk.

As for Mathieson, he appears to have the ability to eventually become a decent starting pitcher in this league, but it is pretty clear that he isn't ready for prime time and shouldn't be learning on the job for a team that is trying to make the postseason. Hopefully, Mathieson goes back to Triple A Scranton, learns how to throw a decent breaking pitch, and has his bobble head doll show up on Dwight Shrute's desk.

Birds bring in Stephen Davis for a visit - I don't know what's worse, our baseball team trading for a 43 year old pitcher, or the Eagles bringing in a 32 year old running back with a truck load of mileage on his two bad knees. For my money, I'd rather have the junk-balling lefty, no matter how old he is. Anyhow, this is another bargain basement move by the Birds that annoys me to no end. Would it have killed them to overpay a little by spending some of their precious cap space to sign a guy like Najeh (aka "The Dumper) Davenport in the offseason or trade for Kevan Barlow? Mark my words, when B West is out for three games with a twisted ankle, Moats has lost Big Red's confidence due to fumble-itis and Buck is gone for the season after blowing out his knee during pre-game introductions, the Birds are going to curse their thriftiness.

Gagne Still Unsigned - With training camp less than a month away, Clarkie is going to realize one of these days that his second best player is still unsigned and he doesn't have enough cap space to sign him. Gotta love, Clarkie. I smell a forced trade of a serviceable player for a 7th round pick to open enough cap space to sign Gags (which, by the way, is one of the worst hockey nick names of all time.) Of course, this problem could be solved if the organ-I-zation would force Captain Primeau to retire, but I've grown tired of beating that drum.

Bobby Abreu: Absolute Stud - If you haven't noticed, the huge five game Red Sox/Yankees series ended with out Bobby Abreu making a single out. (For that matter, I don't think Sox got Johnny Damon or Jeter out either.) Of course, I'm kidding. He actually batted .500 with .629 on base percentage. Who knew Abroo had this level of clutch hitting in him? I suppose the new surroundings and different colored pin stripes are suiting him quite well.

I thought he'd rank right there with A-Rod as a shrinking violet in the face of Fenway pressure, but I stand corrected. I'm big enough to admit when I'm wrong and this weekend surely proved this statement as incorrect:

I still think he'll be a dog in big spots for the Yanks. As I told the people in Boston when I was up there for the Phils trip to Bean Town last month, "you guys want the Yankees to trade for Abreu. If you think A-Rod is dog in the clutch, wait until you see Abreu." I can't wait until the Yanks head up to Fenway and Abreu comes up against Papelbon in a big spot and comes up small. Any other result will infuriate me.

Well, color me infuriated. I would like to personally thank Bobby for proving to us that he underachieved all those years for the Phightins. (Yes, I'm bitter.)

Tiger wins the PGA - Once again, Tiger showed he is the absolute best non-team sports athlete in the World. No one on the tour is even close to Tiger when he is bringing his "B" game, let alone his "A" game. My favorite talk radio host, Colin Cowherd of ESPN radio made a great point Monday on his show. A big reason Tiger dominates is because of his superior physical conditioning. He deemed the PGA tour as "Tiger vs. a bunch of lumpy country clubbers." I debated this topic with my buddy Mister Nascar and he argued that the physical conditioning of a golfer plays no factor in how well he plays. I disagree 100%. If you think a fat, puffy guy like Mickelson is better suited to hit a big shot on the 16th hole of a final round after walking through the heat for 3 and 3/4's of a tournament as opposed to a physical specimen like Tiger, than you need to get your head checked. How does it not play a factor? If Lefty would just hire a trainer and work his ass off for an entire offseason, he might be a worthy combatant for Tiger and we might have some real entertainment on our hands next April at Augusta.

Summerslam - To cap off my weekend, I dropped by the home of my buddy Sammy (aka, Tagament, Latino Heat) to watch WWE's Summerslam on PPV with him and Big Daddy Chad. The card was pretty uneventful until the 40-something Cactus Jack battled the 50-something Ric Flair in an "I Quit" match. I cannot overstate how much this match made the trip worthwhile. I haven't seen that much blood since the hey day of the Ric Flair/Dusty Rhodes feud of the mid to late 1980's. To my amazement, all the old standby's of the ECW were in play, including a barbed wire wrapped baseball bat, folding tables and chairs, and thumb tacks. In case anyone is interested, Flair pulled out the win. (By the way, if I was in my mid-50's and had to roll myself through a batch of thumb tacks to make a living, I'd demand someone to please put me out of my misery.)

Matt Kenseth wins the GFS Marketplace 400 - It's never a bad day when your favorite driver wins a race when you picked him to win in your fantasy Nascar pool. (By the way, I've now mentioned the PGA, the WWE and Nascar in consecutive topics. To say I have very diverse interests would be the understatement of the year.)

Finally, I want to send my deepest condolences to my very good buddy Vinny and his entire family on the passing of his father, Ray, who died Friday morning after a long, gallant fight against Cancer. Mr. C was a great father and grandfather, he will be missed greatly by all those who had the privilege of knowing him.

I don't want to get all political on you guys, but I implore all of you to please contribute to Cancer related charities. We've all lost too many good people to this horrible disease.

Jaws: The New Coatesy

Ron Jaworski must be stopped before he hurts someone. Normally, I love Jaws’ insightful commentary on Monday Night Primetime and Edge NFL Matchup, but his analysis of the Birds this preseason has gone way overboard.

During yesterday’s Daily News Live, Jaws laid the following comments on Michael Barkann and his crew:

1. Not only is Hank Baskett the biggest story in the Eagles’ camp, but he’s the BIGGEST preseason story in the entire NFL.

2. Had Correll Buckhalter not been so injury prone, the Eagles would have won two Super Bowls.
These comments were followed up on last night’s Eagles/Ravens telecast with “BUCK IS BACK!!!” right after Buckhalter’s 48 yard catch and run during the first quarter of last night’s game. Nano seconds before Jaws’ excited utterance, I predicted to my buddy, Mister Nascar, that he would say the exact same thing as we watched the 10th replay of the cleverly designed shuttle pass. Unfortunately, not only is the commentary from “new Jaws” ridiculous, but also predictable.

I can only come up with one plausible explanation for the change in Jaws. He must be hanging out too much with Stephen A. Smith and Michael Irvin at the ESPN studios.

Even if that’s the case, I’m going to give Jaws a pass and wait to see a couple of episodes of Edge Matchup. However, if breaks out Stephen A’s “and whatnot” just one time, I’m done with him.

An Evening At The Ball Park

When my neighbor Andy asked me if I was free to go to tonight's Phils/Mets game earlier in the week, I was a bit apprehensive. I thought the season was definitely over after the pitching staff imploded in the final two games against the Reds. However, after watching the Phils take the Mets to the woodshed twice to start their four game series, I figured I'd get behind the Phightin's one last time and told him I'd take the ticket. As I’m sure you can expect, I was not disappointed.

My evening started with a quick trip down the Broad St. Line to the Park. Thereafter, I walked into McFadden's to meet up with Andy and quickly noticed that the “A Team” of Beer Tub Girls was on duty. Apparently, when the Mets come to town, McFaddens brings out the "Big Guns". Since I had some time to kill while my neighbor traversed a sea of traffic, I was happy to have such talented array of scenery to enjoy. The only down side to my stay was that the place was over run by a large contingent of Mets fans who came in two categories, those who look like Turtle from Entourage and those that more resemble Dom, that huge meathead who was run off the show after 3 episodes.

During this time, I also find out that my buddy George is at this game - in the same section no less, which is downright spooky because this is about the 10th baseball or hockey game over the last two years that we both have attended by coincidence. Either George is stalking me and has tapped my credit card account to determine when I will be attending games, or we just go to way too many games. It's probably the latter, but we still got a good laugh out of it.

Finally, Andy gets to McFaddens about 10 mins before first pitch and we grab a beer and rush to our seats. As we get to our 2nd row, right field seats, I start to feel depressed because I realize that I have lost out on the opportunity to rag former Phil, Bobby Abreu for nine innings, but I quickly get over it when I realize that the Mets fans sitting near us at the moment appeared harmless.

Then, I hear Andy say, "Holy Sh*t!" I look to my right and see a dude coming down our row, who is Andy Reid fat with a huge bullseye painted on his belly with "Hit It Here" painted on his chest. I quickly pray that he is not sitting right next to me (which is quite similar to the "please don't let the family of four sit next to me" prayer I go through when boarding a plane.) Thankfully, he climbs over my row and sits behind me. He was the comedic relief for the evening, especially when he broke his seat by doing nothing more than sitting there.

Eventually, a group of Mets fans sitting next to us got into some ribbing with us Phils fans. I have to admit, it wasn't your typical nasty back and forth with these Mets fans. I guess the tension is removed when one team is 13 games up on the other. Things were going fine in my section until one guy made a comment along the lines of "The Phils stink and The Eagles will be even worse without T.O." That didn't go over very well with the locals. Even the Mets fan sitting next to me conceded that bringing up T.O. was a "Low Blow". Things got a little heated, but eventually calmed down.

Wait...there was a game played. Lieber and Glavine were in control most of the night and worked very quickly as the game finished in 2 hours and 3 minutes. I haven't been to a game played that fast since Lefty faced off against Jerry Reuss of the Dodgers in the early 80's. Lieber, quite possibly, pitched his best game as a Phil and led the squad to a 3-0 victory with the help of a 3 for 3 performance by Chris Coste, which included a two run homer.

Clearly, it is not a coincidence that this team is playing better since Bell and Abreu were traded and Burrell's role was minimized to give Delucci and Victorino more playing time. In fact, the team is 10-5 and still within striking distance of the Wild Card leading Reds. I don't want to be greedy, but it would be awfully nice to see the Phils get the sweep, but I can't possibly be lucky enough to catch two wins in two days, can I??? I'm not real confident with Mathieson on the mound tomorrow, but you never know.

By the way, one of the Mets fans told me that there is a 200+ member contingent of the NYFD making the trip down the NJ Turnpike to watch the game. In the understatement of the year, this could make for an interesting BPS to finish the series.