Philly Sports Quest

My Qualms with the World Series

2009-11-01T23:20:00.004-05:00

As I sit and watch a dramatic game 4 of the 2010 World Series, I can't help but be frustrated with Major League Baseball. As you can probably imagine, the umpires have been a major disappointment to me, as it has been for countless others, as I watch bad calls go both ways. But that's another discussion for another time!

What really irks me is the corporate imposition on the game. To wit, here are some nuisances that I've encountered:

-REALLY, REALLY, REALLY long commercial breaks. These commercials slow down the game way too much, ruining the flow of the game and taking too long to complete each game. The game started shortly after 8pm, and it's now almost 11:30, with still the full 9th inning to go. And it's only a 4-4 game with few pitching changes to slow things down. These commercial breaks need to be shortened in order to appeal to younger fans, since most of them can't stay up too late.

-Speaking of 8:00 games, why does MLB insist of showing the games so late? At least on a Sunday night, we could get a 7:00 game, no? It's likely due to some kind of prime time formula that skews (and screws!) the timing, but something that is not fan-friendly.

-Repeated commercials ad nauseum. How many times do we need to be tortured with Subway's $5 foot long commercials and the obnoxious Mac commercials before we get spasms and automatically decide to NOT buy from these advertisers?

That's my rant for the night as I sweat out this 9th inning. It's a shame that an otherwise excellent World Series would have to be marred by such frustrating intrusions. But if the Phils win it all, it will all be worth it. I suppose. Go Phils!

A Comment about Points after Touchdowns

2009-10-17T17:39:00.003-05:00

I've been watching a lot of college football today (go Penn State!), and I've been watching football in general all my life. I just have to lay out a comment about PATs-- points after touchdowns. Is there any good reason for having them?

Let's face facts here... at least 95 out of 100 extra points will be made in the college and pro level. It's basically a slam dunk, other than the rare blocked or flubbed kick. So, what's the point of having extra point kicks at all if they're basically guaranteed points? Shouldn't you have to earn your points in a game where, for the rest of the game, every yard is a battle? Extra points are a boring way to score, and arguably the easiest way to get a point in any kind of game anywhere, other than a breakway slam dunk in basketball.

Now as you well know, in both the college and pro level, a team can opt to go for the two point conversion, which is a pass or run from the 2 yard line, but it's rarely ever attempted unless a specific situation calls for it. I personally like the two-point play because the whole offense and whole defense are involved in the play and you really have to strategize and fight your way to score.

My opinion would be to go with one of the following two options in order to boost the game of football:

1. Eliminate extra point attempts altogether in favor of a mandatory two-point play after a touchdown,

or,

2. Instead of the 2-point play, make it worth 3 points per score, as a greater incentive to scrap the kick and go for the bonus points after a touchdown.

That's my 2 points, err, cents, on how to make the great game of football even more intriguing.

Another Idea: Targeted Ads in the Backstop

2009-10-11T22:33:00.004-05:00

Next idea for the night...

You know those digital ads that appear behind the catcher at a baseball game on the backstop? Well how about we turn them into targeted ads, a la pay per click ads on Google.

So instead of a useless, untargeted ad for, say, Spongetech, which seem to have popped up a lot lately, pop in an ad that relates to the hitter, or other relevant situation.

Examples:

-Ryan Howard steps to the plate, up pops an ad for Subway, whom he endorses

-It's a blazing hot summer day, and the announcer mentions the 97 degree temperature and how the players are drinking lots of liquids... up pops an ad for Gatorade or Aquafina

-A player slides into second and gets a mess on his uniform. Yup, you guessed it, an ad for Tide or another laundry detergent appears.

Admittedly, this could get annoying if it happened every 10 seconds, so there would have to be some limits, but my thought is that it would provide a lot better context for the advertiser and make a better connection with the fans, thus making the ads more valuable.

Well, that's my second thought for the night. Now it's drawing near midnight and it's tied at 4 at the end of the 4th between the Phils and Rockies. Thanks TBS and MLB for this lovely late night game, I'll see what else I can blog about to keep awake...

Give "Back" to a Good Cause

2009-10-11T21:54:00.003-05:00

As I watch this torturously late Phillies-Rockies National League Divisional Series playoff game (11pm Eastern Time, with only 2 innings in the books), I had a thought... I think it's time to reevaluate the batboys' uniforms.

Huh?

Just follow me here.

So the batboys for each game wear the home team's uniform and usually the back of their jerseys are emblazoned with the clever statement of "BATBOY."

Instead of wasting this prime space, which is seen by millions of people every game, why not give "back" to a good cause by outfitting each batboy with a shirt that features a local non-profit's name, website, and/or logo? And perhaps after each game, the shirt gets signed by some of the players and given to the charity to get auctioned off. This simple act raises awareness for the charity, then raises a bit of money via the auction, rather than wasting the space on the jersey with an uninspiring noun.

Just trying to think of some ways to give back in this age of big-business baseball. Maybe I'll even have some more ideas to throw out there before the end of this (long) night...

I Have the Solution to the Phillies' Closer Problems

2009-09-12T21:51:00.004-05:00

Ok, it finally dawned on me. With Brad Lidge having blown 10 saves this season and Ryan Madson having blown six saves, that's a lot of games lost or made unnecessarily more difficult to win than need be. Here's what we need to do to solve the problems that the Phillies have had with their closers this year:

Develop a "Biblical" plan to foil any attempt to finish the game when the Phillies are winning by three runs or less after eight full innings.

Allow me to clarify.

If the Phillies are winning after eight innings, something clearly needs to be done about eliminating that boorish and inconvenient ninth inning. I'm thinking that we need to unleash some pesky plagues to ensure that the 9th inning gets canceled altogether and the Phils leave the ballpark with a victory.

Perhaps one night after the eighth inning concludes, the lights mysteriously go off and won't go back on, and the darkness subsequently forces the umpires to call the game.

Or maybe Hurricane Schwartz can whip up an improptu hail storm to halt the game.

Locusts? Sure.

Frogs? Why not.

The point I'm making here is that we don't need anybody to be a hero and close a game out in the 9th inning. Instead, simply avoiding the ninth inning altogether would be fine and dandy by me. In other words, "Let my bullpen go."

Just Sayin'

2009-09-07T11:39:00.004-05:00

Michael Vick has received some harsh criticism by Eagles fans ever since they signed him.

What he did was indeed downright disgraceful, but I personally wonder if it has something to do with the fact that people care more about their pets than their fellow human beings.

To wit, Brett Myers had an incident of hitting his wife in public (a case where charges have since been dropped), but now Philly fans are clamoring for him to pitch as a closer in place of the struggling Brad Lidge.

Eagles fans also went nuts when Cowboys' receiver Michael Irvin was taken off on a stretcher.

Let's not forget that our fair city's favorite sports icon is Rocky... a guy who punched meat and bloodied many an opponent (albeit in a fictional world).

And speaking of meat... that hamburger you're eating right now? Think about how much abuse that cow went through to get to your mouth.

I'd like to see us live in a more civilized world, but until then, let's at least be consistent in who we love and hate in this world.

Vague as Vick

2009-08-20T06:59:00.004-05:00

The controversial signing of QB Michael Vick by the Philadelphia Eagles has raised much uproar throughout the country, though particularly here in the Philadelphia metro area. Some fans are downright belligerent about his signing, saying that he's a dog killer and he doesn't deserve the chance to play again; others are all for it, saying that he paid time for his crime and everybody should have the opportunity to get a second chance in life.

So with this controversy, I figured there would be some corporate reservations about endorsing this polarizing athlete. But unfortunately I haven't seen much of a stance one way or the other from the corporate world thus far. The closest I've seen has been a Philadelphia Inquirer article which discusses Dick's Sporting Goods and their stance on the issue of selling Michael Vick jerseys in their stores. In a nutshell: if people want them, Dick's will stock them, if not, they won't. Gee, don't go too far out on a limb there, guys.

I would like to have seen somebody take a stance on this issue. Either hold the line and say we choose not to stock Michael Vick jerseys because of his questionable character, or say, yes, we will stock his jersey and we have decided that 10% of all revenue from the sale of his jerseys will go to the ASPCA, to help animals in distress. To me, it's pretty lame to act vaguely and say that you will wait and see how people react, or just glaze over the issue until it subsides. Grow a backbone for once!

What the Phils Need for Their Playoff Run

2009-07-19T14:28:00.002-05:00

The Phils have signed Pedro Martinez for a cool mil to hopefully eat up some innings down the stretch run. And rumors are swirling about Roy Halladay coming to Philly in a trade. Perhaps there will be other moves made as well.

My personal opinion? I think the Phils need a submarariner in the bullpen. When was the last time this squad had a sidearmer? Kent Tekulve in the mid-80s? There were probably others that I'm forgetting since his time, but nobody of consequence.

Bring in a submarine pitcher, and we'll soar to the championship. That's my take on it.

Phillies. Yikes.

2009-06-21T15:47:00.003-05:00

I realize it's tough to stay hot for 162 games of a season in the MLB, but getting swept back-to-back at home? Ouch, that's painful.

The Phillies have had some tough breaks lately with Lidge and Ibanez getting hurt, and Howard getting sick (although he still managed to hit a clutch 3-run home run on Saturday after being in the hospital the night before), but how bad can a team look on it's own home turf? This has gone beyond a slump. This has gone to yikes.

Philadelphia & Pittsburgh: A Tale of Two Cities

2009-06-10T19:10:00.003-05:00

Interesting times in the cross state battle between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh these days.

To wit:

-The Phillies won the World Series in 2008, while the Pirates floundered as the third worst team in the National League.
-The Steelers won the Super Bowl in February, and the Eagles made it to the NFC Championship game.
-The Penguins are in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, continuing a run that they started by beating the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs.
-The Sixers lost in the first round of the playoffs, while Pittsburgh still has no NBA basketball team.
-In the 2009 NCCA Tournament, Villanova University (of Philadelphia) ousted the University of Pittsburgh in the Elite Eight.

And there may be more interesting results from the sports world in the past year or so that I'm not aware of, but as you can see it's been quite a roller coaster ride in the sports world for these two metropoli.

Basically, if Pittsburgh could field a Major League baseball team (wink wink) and a professional basketball team, these two cities would be completely dominating the world of sports right now. Interesting times indeed...

I Miss Harry the K, But...

2009-04-18T08:33:00.003-05:00

Harry Kalas was an incredible announcer and a Philadelphia legend. I will miss him dearly, as will millions of other sports fans. It's sad that he passed away this week, and I certainly grieve for his family.

All that said, I'd still have to say that the media and fans of this town need to start letting go and moving on. I just logged on to Philly.com to get my dose of the latest news, and right there on the front page is a live streaming video of thousands of fans paying respects to Harry the K at Citizens Bank Park. Hmmm...

For starters, I don't recall the Philadelphia Inquirer ever playing a live streaming video on their website, let alone their home page, so I find it a bit peculiar that they would start with this event.

Secondly, I watched for a moment and saw people walking up to the casket and taking photos. People were even posing with the casket and somebody snapped their picture. Is that REALLY being respectful?

And speaking of the Inquirer, the media coverage of Kalas's death has been absolutely relentless. How about we leave the man be, and perhaps sprinkle some bits about him into future broadcasts, rather than deluging us with countless personal recollections of him, showing how many people added Phillies paraphernalia to the Mike Schmidt statue at CBP, and replaying the 2008 World Series call?

Let's be clear here... Harry the K lived a long, fruitful life, seemed like a great guy, and will be greatly missed. But I think it's time to move on. Sorry for sounding "callous", but I don't think Harry would have wanted all this attention. We loved Harry, we'll miss him, we've grieved, now we collectively should let the man rest and let his family get some peace...

NBA vs. College Rules

2009-04-04T21:42:00.003-05:00

Shamefully it's been a long time since I last posted to this blog, but as I watch tonight's Final Four showdown between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tarheels, I was just thinking about why NCAA basketball rules are so different from NBA rules. To wit, here are some differences:

-NCAA plays 20 minute halves, vs. 12-minute quarters in NBA
-1 and 1 foul situations in NCAA, but not in NBA
-possession arrow in NCAA vs. jump ball in the pros
-shorter 3-point arc in NCAA

I'd like to know what the reasoning is behind having these disparate rules. Seems to me like the NCAA should mesh with the NBA rules since they're essentially training their players on how to play in the pros. In addition, it takes out the confusion for novice fans if the rules are more universal.

All in all, what's the benefit of having different regulations between the two?

Brian Dawkins... A Case Study

2009-02-27T22:08:00.003-05:00

So reports are out that Brian Dawkins is shipping off to the Denver Broncos now that the free agency period has begun. While I don't know if these reports are true, this provides an interesting case study in the world of sports.

For starters, I took a look at my Facebook page and at least five people have already commented on this situation via their status. The emotions displayed in these status messages include:

1. anger that the Eagles are letting him go
2. depression that he's leaving
3. thankfulness for his exemplary performance

Yes, Brian Dawkins was/is indeed an amazing football player, possibly one of the best defenders and leaders the Eagles have ever had. And yes, he is a tremendous guy on and off the field, as a leader and motivator for the team and for the community.

But his (potential) departure for another team reflects yet another reason why I don't get too caught up in the nitty gritty of sports any more. I don't feel like I can expend any extra bit of energy on emotionally investing myself in who plays where. Sure there are many admirable qualities to many athletes, Brian Dawkins one of them, but I can't help but remind myself: it's just a game.

There's so much going on in the world that is more important than this kind of stuff, in my mind, than to get all fired up about it. Whatever happens, it's been a great run with Brian Dawkins, now let's move on... shall we?

Fun with H-O-R-S-E and One-on-One

2009-02-03T20:34:00.007-05:00

The NBA announced that it will be adding a competitive game of H-O-R-S-E to its lineup of All Star Game festivities in Phoenix next week. I think this is a welcome addition to the otherwise stale weekend.

This shootout competition, for whatever reason, harkens back to the "Dr. J vs. Larry Bird Go One on One" video game that was as simple as it was addictive. This game featured the timeless one-on-one basketball battle of two classic NBA stars, brought to your home entertainment system. I remember playing this game on my Atari 7800 for hours at a time. Now granted the H-0-R-S-E battle is a little different than one on one, but hopefully the live All Star version is just as fun to watch!

Now for the one-on-one vintage Sixers matchups I'd like to see in a game of H-O-R-S-E:

Charles Barkley vs. Clarence Weatherspoon
-"Baby Barkley" vs. the "Real Barkley"

Scott Williams vs. Sharone Wright
-Battle of the Let Downs

Derrick Coleman vs. Glenn Robinson
-Battle of the Free Agent Frauds

Manute Bol vs. Shawn Bradley
-Fifteen Feet of Fame

Greg Grant vs. Speedy Claxton
-Mini-Me Squared

Kudos to Philly Sports Teams and Fans

2009-01-25T13:39:00.002-05:00

An estimated 1,500 Philly sports fans and good Samaritans lined up to give blood in exchange for sports jerseys yesterday at the Wachovia Center. It was quite a scene to see so many dedicated individuals looking to help save lives yesterday.

Kudos should be given to the American Red Cross for running a smooth blood drive and to the Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Wings, and Philadelphia Phantoms for offering up free replica jerseys for all donors. This is their third year holding this blood drive. It's a win-win for all people involved and I hope it will continue and grow throughout the years.

Oh Well

2009-01-18T20:01:00.003-05:00

Well, I stand corrected. Having predicted a playoff victory for the Eagles today, I must say that the Cards are deserving of a Super Bowl berth.

The Cardinals' offense was on a roll, and their defense, though not dominant, held their own. The Eagles gave a good fight, but got outplayed.

Some mysteries from the game:

-What happened to David Akers? He missed a field goal, extra point, and kicked a kick off out of bounds.

-What was Quentin Demps doing out there? He got burned several times and had a ridiculous penalty.

-How was there no pass interference on the Eagles' last pass of the game to Kevin Curtis? Maybe it wasn't a hack job, but seemed noticeable enough that a flag should have been called.

Well, whatever, I'm not going to go all sour grapes up in here. Eagles lost, time to move on.

Today's Battle of the Birds

2009-01-18T11:50:00.003-05:00

The soaring Eagles take on the high-flying Cardinals today in the City of Desertly Love to determine which team earns a trip to the Super Bowl. Should be quite a battle as both teams have been hot during the playoffs.

Yesterday I watched the classic movie Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid. Very apropos to today's game. In the movie, the two "gentlemen bandits" get chased by a squad of hired hitmen, so to speak, who are hot on the trail of the two wanted gunmen. What ensues is an epic chase where the two outlaws try every trick in the book to get away from their followers. Ultimately, they head for the hills to escape capture. I have a feeling that is what today's game will be like. A back and forth chase, where one false move could determine the outcome of the game. And with the backdrop of the Squaw Peak/Piestewa Peak, it's eerie how much the movie and the game could have in common. Well, metaphorically, at least.

That said, I think the favored Eagles do pull it out by less than a TD, 27-24, and wind up flying down to Tampa for a final battle with another bird team... the Baltimore Ravens.

Give Blood and Get Goods

2009-01-12T18:28:00.003-05:00

I recently saw a commercial during a Flyers game that promoted an upcoming blood drive at the Wachovia Center on January 24th, benefiting the American Red Cross. The bonus is that all blood donors will receive a free replica jersey from the Flyers, Sixers, Phantoms, or Wings. But then I looked for it online for more information and had the darnedest time trying to find it. So if you're interested in helping save a life or two by giving blood, and you want to get a free sports jersey out of the deal, here's the link to sign up:

http://www.pleasegiveblood.org/feature/flyers-and-76ers--2009-blood-drive.html

This is a great event, but I'm not sure why it was so secretive to find online. Anyway, sign up today!

Phair Weather Phans: Phoenix, not Philly

2009-01-12T07:54:00.004-05:00

So the Arizona Cardinals will be hosting the Philadelphia Eagles in the Battle of the Birds, at next Sunday's NFC Conference Championship game.

And surprise, surprise, demand is at an all time high in Arizona as the tickets sold out in six minutes, according to this Inquirer article.

But also in that article it states that the Wild Card game that the Cardinals hosted needed an extension in time to sell out the game, or else it would have been blacked out.

Way to go Cards fans, you really showed your true colors there.

Meanwhile I guarantee you that there will be plenty of green in the seats as Philadelphia Eagles fans trek down to Phoenix to show them what real sports fans are all about.

Can you imagine a playoff game in Philly NOT selling out... ever? P-shaw! :-)

My Outlandish Prediction for Today's Eagles v. Giants Game...

2009-01-11T10:44:00.001-05:00

Sav Rocca fumbles a long snap in overtime... BUT recovers the ball, stiff arms 3 players and returns for a TD!!!! EAGLES WIN 6-0!!!!

Get ready for the Thunda from Down Unda!

Ugly Win? I Think Not

2009-01-05T07:01:00.003-05:00

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Bob Ford wrote a column entitled "Eagles win ugly, but they win" after the Eagles beat the Vikings yesterday in Minnesota to advance in the playoffs.

In the column, he goes on to say that Donovan McNabb turned the ball over twice, there were times when they should have scored touchdowns instead of field goals, and tackles were missed on defense. Okay... and?

I don't know what better way there is to say this, but when you get to the playoffs, you're playing the cream of the crop in the league. Chances are your opponents are going to come out and play you tough and force things to happen against your team. That's the name of the game. Even though the Eagles weren't "perfect" they showed a solid team effort and stuck with it the whole game. Personally, that's all I can ask of a team. True, in games in the past, the Eagles have collectively dogged it (see: Eagles v. Cincinnati, November 16, 2008). But that didn't happen yesterday, and the word ugly should not play into it.

Sometimes I just get this feeling that if Coach Andy Reid and McNabb don't execute to perfection in a game, so many people in this city get up in arms. And this column is a perfect example of this micromanagement by fans. Like I said to a friend who kept sending me emails during the game, sarcastically pointing out the Eagles' faults... chill out! Enjoy the team, enjoy the game, and if they lose, THEN you can have some concern, especially if they played an ugly game.

Let's just say that if the Eagles can score 26 points in a game, and win by double digits, I'll take that "ugly" win any day of the week.

Clever Television Programming

2009-01-04T14:54:00.003-05:00

On one channel sports fans can find the Miami Dolphins playing against the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC playoff Wild Card game.

On another channel, movie buffs can watch Ace Ventura, Pet Detective solve the crime of what happened to the Dolphins' mascot Snowflake, right before a pending Super Bowl game between the Dolphins and the Philadelphia Eagles.

After the Dolphins' game at 4:30, the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC playoff Wild Card game.

Well played.

Outdoor Hockey: Fun but Fan-Friendly?

2009-01-01T15:24:00.003-05:00

I love the concept of the NHL hosting outdoor hockey games. It's sports the way sports were played as kids. The elements play a role in the game, not to mention that any cold weather city never gets to have a Super Bowl, so at least this is some consolation.

Today the Chicago Blackhawks are hosting the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field. It's blustery and a bit snowy there today, making for perfect hockey conditions and a fun atmosphere.

I just wonder how fan-friendly it is to watch in person.

As a comparison, when attending an Eagles game, one can watch the game as it progresses on the field, or if, say, you are sitting really low behind one end zone but all the action is happening at the opposite end zone, you can watch the humongous scoreboard as the play unfolds. Otherwise, it's very difficult to see.

In today's "Winter Classic," (as it's being billed... though I'm not sure an annual game that's three years into the making can truly be considered a "classic," but I digress), the hockey rink is set up over the infield of Wrigley, and the fans are seated in the regular baseball seats. And there's no jumbotron scoreboard to get an up close view. So I must ask... can a fan on the second level or in the outfield really see much of anything? The puck is so small to begin with that it must be an eyestrain just to tell what's going on.

Last year I was very excited about the rumors of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers playing a game in Penn State's Beaver Stadium. It sounds like a tremendous idea, with the possibility of 100,000+ fans coming out to a mid-state battleground. But would it be too much like watching ants chasing arond a pebble from 50 rows up in the stands? Perhaps it doesn't even matter and fans would just go to enjoy the cold weather...

Rooting for Oakland Raiders, New York Giants, and Houston Texans, and Other Philly Oddities

2008-12-29T23:06:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Philadelphia Eagles fans had the privilege, errr, duty to root for three teams that we normally would have ignored or hated. The Oakland Raiders needed to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, to help the Eagles pave the way to earn a playoff berth, which they did (sorry once again Tampa Bay!). Then we needed either the Houston Texans to beat the Chicago Bears (which indeed happened), or the New York Giants-- yes, the Eagles' bitter rivals-- to take down the Minnesota Vikings, which they didn't, but no matter.

The stage was set for the Eagles to have a chance at making the playoffs with a win against the Dallas Cowboys. And the rest is history.

But when, if ever, has the Philly fan had to root for three disparate teams to pull out wins like that? It could prove that yesterday was one of the weirdest and most historical days in Philly sports history. This will especially prove true if the Birds wind up winning the Super Bowl. But let's just root for a first round win by our boys in green before we think that far ahead...

Phillies and the Hall: Not This Year, Not Even for a While... PART II

2008-12-17T20:58:00.004-05:00

Around this time last year, I noted in this post about how the Phils were lacking in the Hall of Fame department as a result of the dreary teams of the late 80s and 90s.

Guess what.

The drought continues.

Last year the only player on the ballot who even wore Phillies pinstripes at some point in time was the GIDP-master Dale Murphy. An incredible hitter in his heyday, by the time he played in Philly, he was a shell of the player he once was. But he's still a borderline Cooperstown candidate simply because of his solid body of work from earlier in his career.

Besides Murphy, two more players wore Phils pinstripes at the tail end of their careers and now are on the HOF ballot: outfielder Ron Gant (like Murphy, another longtime Brave) and pitcher Dan Plesac.

To give you an idea of how long these three former stars donned Phils laundry versus how long they played in the MLB, the three of these players combined to play a total of 497 games as Phillies out of a total of 5076 games during their collective careers. That's about 9.7% of their careers played here. At the tail end, no less.

So the moral of the story, I reckon, is if you want to have a good career but not quite good enough to make the Hall of Fame, finish up your career in Philly. Or something like that.

Now, in order to give us Phils fans something to root for during the off-season, we must find a way to convince the baseball writers to get Desi Relaford on the ballot...

Mo Cheeks is Gone, Back to the Merry Go Round

2008-12-14T21:50:00.003-05:00

The NBA is one big circus of coaches. I'm not sure what the mentality is with general managers, but it seems like once a month of every season there's another NBA coach getting fired. Maurice Cheeks, in his fourth season with the Sixers, was let go this weekend by the Sixers after his team just never took things to the next level as hoped, and in fact have gone through a slump in recent weeks. Now another coach will lead the team (temporarily it will be Tony DiLeo) until he proves that he cannot take the team to the next level, and so on and so forth. (Sorry to be negative Tony, even after winning today, but let's face facts, you're already on the hot seat, just like every other coach...). All in all, this is the fifth firing of the year in the NBA. In other words, don't get too comfy on your folding chair if you run a pro basketball team.

The NBA's internal job opening department must go through reams of paper to keep up to date with all of the new job postings, and each team's HR department must be scrambling to keep up with all of the interviews, personnel info, and health insurance plans with so many changes. Interestingly, it always seems to be the same coaches getting circulated amongst the teams. To a certain extent that's true in every sport, but seemingly more so in basketball. The Sixers are a perfect example, having had 6 different coaches in the last ten years and 12 different coaches in 20 years. That's a far cry from the Utah Jazz, where Jerry Sloan has reigned for the entire time in that span. But unfortunately, more teams are like the Sixers in this regard than the Jazz.

At any rate, best of luck to Mo Cheeks in whatever he does, and hopefully Tony DiLeo proves himself worthy enough to hang around for a while. Ultimately, as the saying goes, you can't fire the players, you fire the coaches, so we'll see how that old motto plays out. And we'll see how DiLeo's term plays out...

Christmas Comes Early in Philly

2008-11-26T07:24:00.003-05:00

Budget cuts are never something you want to hear, especially during times of need as many people find themselves in now. Unfortunately, Mayor Michael Nutter made the decision to cut various programs in Philadelphia's budget due to a major deficit. Some of those programs include libraries, swimming pools, and hockey rinks, all of which are places that help keep kids off the streets and actively engaged in hands-on activities.

Fortunately, however, Christmas has come early, as the Philadelphia Flyers' owner Ed Snider has announced that his Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation will pick up the tab to keep three Philly hockey rinks open for the public to enjoy. This is a classy move that will help many kids and families, and save the city $150,000 annually. It's also very fitting since the people that helped Snider make his fortune will now benefit from his generosity. Well played Ed!

NBA Basketball: Yawn

2008-11-15T22:53:00.003-05:00

I don't know. Maybe it's me. But I just can't seem to find much room for NBA basketball in my life.

I ventured to the Sixers game tonight with 3 friends. Free tickets, great seats, Sixers had a blow out win over Oklahoma City (who??). But the most memorable part turned out to be listening to my friend get excited over Matt Cord's echo effects on the PA system. This enthrallment led to endless imitations of said echo by using a plastic drinking cup and saying stupid words and sentences and ending them all with a fake echo. Oh yeah, that and seeing the Camden High School band win the evening's battle of the bands contest. In other words, the game was quite boring.

Unfortunately the NBA just doesn't have that spark like it once did, at least in my eyes. Maybe I got spoiled watching Jordan, Magic, Barkley, Bird, and players from that era who seemed to have a lot of personality, skills and heart. Or maybe it's just that it's the same old highlights over and over... dunks, blocked shots, and three pointers. It's not like football where there are so many possibilities of what will happen on any given play, or like baseball where there are countless intricate strategies going on at any moment, or even soccer where the players essentially do the same basic things as basketball players do but do it using their feet instead.

Not only that but every single second at the game there's some incessant music playing, promotion being announced, ad flashing all over the place or other unnecessary distraction going on. There really wasn't much noise at the half-empty Wachovia Center other than when there was music trying to pump people up or a few pep squad wannabes banging on boards trying to make noise. Just doesn't feel genuine to me, not to mention the fact that you can't even talk to your friends because the music's so loud.

Well, what can I say, I'm not much of an NBA fan. But at least college basketball is starting...

Quite Amazing...

2008-10-30T06:58:00.004-05:00

World Series Champs! Amazing!

This has been quite a climb for a team that wallowed in obscurity in the late 90s and suffered frustrating underachievement in the 2000s. Fortunately that's all behind us now and we can celebrate the Phils' big victory in the WORLD SERIES.

Perhaps most amazing is to take a look at the individuals on this team. Considering all of the following backgrounds, whoda thunk we'd win it all?

-Cole Hamels: a long-time rising star who, in 2005 broke his hand in a bar fight, is now World Series MVP and a candidate for Cy Young award

-Ryan Howard: the all time leader with the most strikeouts in a season, is also the 2006 MVP and a candidate for winning that award again this year

-Pat Burrell: booed heavily for years for not living up to expectations of being a #1 pick, won the World Series on a monstrous double

-JC Romero: the eventual 2007 World Series champions Boston Red Sox cut him, and now he is an ace setup man

-Carlos Ruiz: could barely buy a hit during the regular season, all of the sudden turns out to be one of the most productive offensive players in the World Series

-Jamie Moyer: we all know the drill... 45 and still pitching, say no more

-Matt Stairs: was basically ignored when the Phillies picked him up at the trade deadline, wound up having one massive home run that may have turned the momentum in Philly's favor for the rest of the World Series

-Brett Myers: involved in an assault case for beating up his girlfriend, a couple years ago, and then this year struggled to throw a strike in the beginning of the season, was subsequently sent down to the minors, and then came back with a vengeance for much of the season, and performed admirably in the playoffs (particularly with the bat in hand!)

-Joe Blanton: people yawned when the Phillies got him before the trade deadline because his last name wasn't "Sabathia", but guess what? Blanton more than held his own and even socked a home run in the World Series

-Shane Victorino: picked up by the Phillies from the Dodgers from the Rule 5 draft; Philly tried to give him back, LA didn't want him, and he wound up being an incredible force in the Phils lineup many times this season

-Charlie Manuel: the ultimate underdog... ragged on by fans for being a country bumpkin, he's now the toast of the town. I can't say I've always been in favor of him, but at long last he pulled it together and led the Phils to the Holy Land

And I could probably go on, but hey, you get the drill! This was a team that surprised me and surprised a lot of other teams out there. Congrats to the 2008 Phillies for proving that the past is past and a World Series ring can erase all of those memories! (Except on stupid blogs like this one!)

Ahh, How Far We've Come

2008-10-26T22:34:00.003-05:00

Ok, so the Phils have a leg up on winning the 2008 World Series as they are just one game from winning it all (wow-- is this for real???). Just think about how far this team has come from just a few years ago. And just think about how far this team has come from the mid-1980s when it was a perennial basement dweller.

Now, watch this clip and you'll see how far this team has come since 1986 in so many ways. As a marketer by trade, it kind of hurts to watch this series of commercials from the 1986 Philadelphia Phillies, because they're just so bad. Yet I couldn't take my eyes off of it...

So, without further ado...

The 1986 Philadelphia Phillies "It Only Happens When You're Here" commercials...

Sarah Palin Hockey Jinx

2008-10-25T09:24:00.002-05:00

(Editor's Note: What I am about to write is merely a recap of the facts and should not be construed as a political bias in any way, shape, or form!)

My suggestion to NHL teams: DO NOT allow Republican Vice Presidential nominee and professed "hockey mom" Sarah Palin to drop the first puck at any of your upcoming home games.

Here are the facts:

-Palin dropped the first puck at the Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers opening game to a mixed chorus of boos, cheers, and blaring music. Thanks to my friend Ryan for pointing out that the Flyers not only lost that game, but then remained winless over the next five games, until last night when...

-Palin dropped the first puck in St. Louis before the Blues vs. Los Angeles Kings game. The Blues, a respectable 4-2 coming into this game, got blown out 4-0.

-Meanwhile, the Flyers broke the Palin Jinx last night and beat the archrival New Jersey Devils 6-3.

-Oh, and one more thing... the Blues' goaltender, Manny Legace, tripped over the carpet laid out for Palin, and injured his hip, causing him to have to leave the game early.

It will be interesting to see if a winless streak starts for the Blues as well.

My personal suggestion: keep Palin as far away from your home ice rink as possible and let her stick to making jokes on SNL.

Whatever Happened to Andy Musser?

2008-10-23T19:24:00.005-05:00

From 1976 to 2001, Andy Musser was a mainstay of the Philadelphia Phillies broadcast team, sitting in the booth alongside the famed Harry Kalas, immortal Richie Ashburn, and the Penn State alum Chris Wheeler. During that span, Musser missed only two games, both due to laryngitis. And prior to that, he could be heard calling Eagles and Sixers games, according to baseball-reference.com. He retired from the Phils in '01 and has subsequently, seemingly disappeared.

I did some internet trolling and had a hard time finding good stuff on Musser or any real updates. But here are some things I did find:

-Check out the three calls by Musser on this 1980 Philadelphia Phillies World Series tribute page

-Unbelievably funky photo of the Phils 1980 broadcast team on the same 1980 Phillies World Series tribute site

-And unfortunately other than a few wry comments on random blogs and articles about Musser's apparent love for beer, philosophical chatter, and dry conversation during games, I didn't find much else online. Anybody else got anything to contribute???

If you're out there Andy, drop us a line and give us an update... and go Phils!

Some R and R for the Phillies

2008-10-20T21:24:00.005-05:00

Well folks, it's World Series time, and guess what? The Philadelphia Phillies are 4 wins away from bringing home some hardware. Whoda thunkit??

Having clinched a World Series berth last week, they will have had about a week of R & R to get ready for Wednesday's Game 1 battle against the Tampa Bay ("Don't Call Me Devil") Rays. That rest and relaxation should help, and hopefully it will get them off to a hot start compared to the Rays who have ridden an emotional roller coaster of late.

But the other R & R that I felt like blogging about today was the one and only Randy Ready. Yes, you remember Randy Max Ready, the quintessential utility position player for the Phillies in 1989-1991 and then again in 1994 and 1995.

Having bounced around from team to team with six different stints from 1983-1995, Randy unfortunately wound up on some bad squads and only played in one single playoff game during his career (he struck out to Tom Henke in his only at bat, unfortunately). This playoff appearance was during his days of playing for the Oakland A's who went up against the infamous Toronto Blue Jays in the 1992 ALCS. The A's lost and the Jays went on to win the World Series, and then, as all Phillies fans know, went on to win the World Series again in 1993.

Otherwise, Ready was a pretty reliable guy to have off the bench. During his career, in fact, he played every single position except catcher, pitcher, and shortstop. He played 234 games at second base, followed by 203 at third base, and scattered his time across the field, as well as DH, throughout his career.

Another fact of note... in 1989, Ready was traded along with the quintessential '93 Phillies fan favorite, John Kruk, to the San Diego Padres for Chris James. His best season was actually in 1987 for the Padres when he hit .309 with 12 homers and 54 RBIs in 124 games. Unfortunately it was pretty much all downhill from there as his playing time steadily dropped.

Today, at age 47, Randy Ready manages the Portland Beavers, the triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. In his first season, the team finished fourth with a 70-74 record. Now for some fun facts... are you Ready for this one... Randy (whose middle name is Max) is flanked by Max Venable, hitting coach, and John Maxwell, trainer. Oh and one more doozy for ya about the Beavers: from the span of 1983 to 1987, the Beavers had four managers over five seasons, starting with John Felske (who later managed the Phils), Lee Elia (who later managed the Phils), and yes, the legendary Charlie Manuel, current manager of the Phils. Now THAT'S six degrees of baseball separation right there. Go sleep on those gems for a little bit... just make sure you wake up by Wednesday night...

Craving Creativity in Chants and Cheers

2008-10-16T18:50:00.004-05:00

Last night I revelled in the revelry that was reveling on the streets of Philadelphia as the Phightin' Phils wrapped up the National League Championship Series by humiliating the Los Angeles Dodgers in stunned Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine. It's great to see Philly fans having a good time celebrating the win and I'm glad that there were no reports of people getting hurt, doing stupid stuff, or generally misbehaving. It was a memorable night for Philly.

But I couldn't help but notice how weak we are when it comes to chanting for the team we embrace so strongly. The best that fans can come up with, be it at a game or at the intersection of Frankford and Cottman, is "Let's Go Phillies" (clap, clap, clap-clap-clap). Or "Beat L.A." And of course the ever-popular derrogatory yell of "(Fill in an opposing player's or team's name) sucks!" That's basically it. Where's the creativity?

In soccer- (football-) loving nations the world over, each team has its own distinct chants that are belted out, songs that are sung, or rhythms that are pounded out. But for some reason in Philly, like every other American city I suppose, the best we can do is three words at a time and a couple of claps on occasion.

At least in football (American football), the Eagles have a fight song, though that has gotten played out more than any MC Hammer hit ever was, likewise to the "E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!" chant.

Yes Phillies fans and Philly fans in general are passionate about their teams, but I find it hard to believe that we can't raise the bar in terms of creative chant choreographing. And come to think of it, ever since our teams left the Spectrum and Veterans Stadium, the signs have become a lot lamer and less frequent too.

My message in all this to fellow Philly fans is... keep up the intense passion for your teams, but how 'bout we scream out something new for a change?

A Thought on Home Plate Umpires

2008-10-09T21:50:00.004-05:00

Whilst watching the Phillies lead the Dodgers in game 1 of the National League Championship Series, I had a thought about home plate umpires who are charged with the unthankful task of calling balls and strikes.

As anybody who has watched baseball can attest, the best umpires are those that can make accurate calls on balls and strikes the vast majority of the time, and do it quickly.

Well what if we gave the umps a half second extra or so to just pause and think about the pitch and make sure it was a ball or strike? During the course of a game there are dozens of pitches that will be right on the borderline, but it is expected that the ump make the call immediately after it hits the catcher's glove, causing the ump to make a judgment based on instinct rather than analysis. Would fans be willing to allow a momentary pause to think about what he just saw and make sure his initial instinct is accurate? I would think this would increase the accuracy of the calls over the course of the game.

One of the allures of baseball is the quick action the bang-bang of the ball hitting glove, umpire pumping his fist or calling a ball instantly afterwards. And perhaps the heated debates that ensue after a controversial call is made is also part of the allure of baseball. As is the catcher slinging the ball down to third base after the ump calls strike 3.

But perhaps every now and then it wouldn't be a bad thing if the ump took a quick mental pause to ensure the accuracy of the call. Just a thought.

Strike three on a swing and a miss, Phils win game 1. Who cares about the umps! Go Phils!

Small Request to Charlie Manuel

2008-10-05T21:20:00.003-05:00

Ok, this has been bugging me since Charlie Manuel first became manager of the Phillies.

Scenario:

It's time for a pitching change in the middle of an inning.

Coach Manuel walks to the mound.

And walks.

And keeps walking.

And what does he forget?

Oh yeah-- to signal to the bullpen to send the pitcher in.

Just a thought, Charlie... when first stepping onto the field from the dugout, wave to the bullpen right away so you don't forget. It's a long walk out to that mound and anything can happen from start to finish.

In today's playoff game against the Brewers, he walked all the way out to the mound and then finally waved in the middle of conversation with the players who had convened together. Oy.

It's a simple matter, really. Just wave.

Go Phils! Yo! Down in Front!

2008-10-02T18:46:00.005-05:00

Great first game in the National League Division Series between the Phils and Brewers last night. And thus far in game 2, things are even better. The way the Phils are getting things done this could be a quick series, but that's another matter.

While at yesterday's first playoff win for the Phils since 1993, I celebrated with 45,000+ Phillies fans and had a great time at Citizens Bank Park in chilly Philly. My seat, which was given courtesy of a friend, was pretty decent... clear view of everything, small section, aisle seat, easy in/easy out... it was all good.

But you know what was really annoying? People walking through the aisles during the game! How much more frustrating does that get? When people are in their seats watching the game, the last thing they want to do is stand up so some yutz can squirm by you and then you miss a double in the gap because he couldn't wait a minute. It's a matter of etiquette: wait till a stoppage in play, THEN go to your seat. Have respect for others, that's the name of the game. Perhaps the section attendant should have regulated as well, asking people to wait until they head back to their seat. I don't know.

So anyway, it was a great win for the Phils over the Brew Crew and hopefully the Phightins will pull out another victory tonight. And I'll watch the rest of this game from the comfort of my own chaise lounge without anybody walking in front of me!

Go Phils!

A Small Request for Phillies Playoff Berth

2008-09-27T07:58:00.003-05:00

Baseball runs for a long, long season. I can only imagine how emotionally draining it must be to be a player and have to fight for 162 games during the year. And without a doubt making the playoffs is an amazing accomplishment since only 8 teams in the entire league get there. Fortunately, the Phillies should very well be one of those 8 teams this year. We'll find out tonight (hopefully) or tomorrow if they're in.

My one small request for the Phillies clinching the playoffs is... after you clinch a playoff berth adhere to this quote:

"Act like you've been there before."

That quote applies more usually to football players scoring a touchdown, but I think it would help the Phils' chances in the playoffs since they won't be going through an emotional roller coaster, but rather stay level and focused. Win the World Series? Go nuts, hell the fans will. But clinch a playoff spot, show your cool and get ready to get down to business in a couple of days.

That's my 2 cents.

Phillies... Playoffs???

2008-09-22T19:42:00.004-05:00

I know, I know, it's sacrosanct to utter the "p-word" when talking about the Phillies until they actually clinch the right to go to the p-word, but I just had to delve into a little bit of history, to discover some trivia gems. To wit:

-Should the Phillies make the postseason in 2008, it will be the first time since the Wild Card system was enacted they made it in back-to-back years.

-The last time the Phillies made the playoffs in back-to-back years, it was 1980 and 1981. And yep, we all know what happened in 1980... Tug McGraw jumped off the mound to celebrate the team's World Series victory.

-Prior to that, in the team's 125 year history, the Phils had back-to-back playoff appearances only one other time, and that was in 1976, '77, and '78.

-Interestingly, the Chicago Cubs, the NL Central winner last year and this year (they clinched already), also hadn't been in the Major League playoffs in back to back years since the Wild Card system was implemented, and the last time that they earned playoff rights in consecutive years was in 1906, '07, and '08. And guess what? They won the World Series in 1907 and 1908.

Little eerie, huh?

Thanks to baseballreference.com for allowing me to do some playoff research.

Phillies Random Locker Room Postings

2008-09-07T18:17:00.005-05:00

Lately I've read about two separate locker room postings that caught my attention.

First I heard about Mike Schmidt emailing this message to the Phillies in regards to the storm of the Phillies/Mets series:

"The Mets know you're better than they are. They remember last year."

For starters, I'm rather impressed that Mike Schmidt uses email. It's kind of cool to think of my childhood idol shooting a motivational email off to a bunch of younger guys. As of right now the email seems to be working as the Phils are closing the gap on the Mets, having won the first two games of the series.

Today I read about another locker room message that was posted between games of today's doubleheader. According to ESPN, Charlie Manuel apparently wants to keep his team focused before the second game of the day, so he posted the following directive:

"No football on any TV after 7:15."

Hmmm... I hate to break it to Charlie, but football games are basically over at 7:15, not to mention that I'm sure most or all of these guys could sneak a game on their cell phones if they really wanted to. Not to mention the other fact that the game time is 8:05 so I'm sure most of the guys will be warming up at that time anyway. All in all, it's not quite the spine-tingling "Win today and we walk together forever" message left by Fred Shero for the Flyers final game in the Stanley Cup.

Now we wait for the next exciting message to be found on the Phillies' locker room wall...

Spotted: Small Ball by Phillies

2008-08-31T09:27:00.005-05:00

Lately I've written a lot about the Phightin Phils, including a post or two where I've ripped their lack of hitting lately. One thing that has really bugged me this year is that the Phillies can only score in big innings (read: home runs or doubles), and have not been able to steal a run here or there just by playing small ball (read: singles, walks, steals, wearing down the pitcher, etc.).

Well that finally changed yesterday against the Cubs. Here is the recap of the sixth inning, as reported by ESPN.com:

J Rollins flied out to center.
C Utley singled to right.
P Burrell flied out to center.
R Howard singled to right, C Utley to third.
S Victorino hit by pitch, R Howard to second.
J Werth singled to right, C Utley and R Howard scored, S Victorino to third.
P Feliz flied out to center.

Notice there's no mention of "home run" in that recap? They picked up two big runs off of a tired starting pitcher merely by getting three singles, a hit batsman, and aggressive running. And they made the pitcher throw 22 pitches that inning. That's baseball folks! True, home runs can (and do) play a huge role in a team's offense, but not relying on the home run will get you places. Especially when you play against a great team like the Cubs, on the road, and down the stretch.

It's the little things in life...

Phillies Lack Hitting Discipline (Yet Somehow Still Win)

2008-08-26T23:15:00.004-05:00

I'm watching this ridiculous 13 inning marathon between the Phillies and the Mets right now. And while I do credit the Phils for making an incredible comeback after an ugly 7-0 deficit to start the game thru four innings, this game should have been long over. And what it comes down to, in my humble opinion, is the hitters not having discipline and being smart hitters.

I don't know how many times in this game (and many other games) where I've seen men on base in crucial situations and the batter-- be it Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, Pat Burrell and probably others-- either strikes out terribly or pops out weakly to the infield. This is terribly frustrating.

So the moral of the story is not only did the hitters NOT get a hit in a crucial situation and bring home a big run, but they didn't even move a runner over when they made an out. These are the things that this team too often fails to do to squeeze out extra runs and, subsequently, extra wins. Sure, other teams around the league have this problem too, but I have to think that with so many talented hitters on this team, the Phils should be all means be more disciplined and smart at the plate.

By the way, thanks Chris Coste for finally ending this craziness!! Ahh, first place...

Phillies Power Tickets: A Sham

2008-08-24T12:17:00.004-05:00

Twice this year I've gone to Phillies games where I had a "Power Ticket", which is a cute way of saying I have a $10 gift card. And twice this year I've realized that they're a waste of money. If you're considering buying this type of ticket, think again. Here's why:

-For starters, you can ONLY use the $10 voucher on the day of that game. So if you have a couple bucks left over, it goes right back into the Phillies' pockets rather than being able to use it at another game. For example, what if you have to leave the game early before you can cash it in? Sorry, you lose.

-In reality, you're either going to not spend exactly $10 (meaning that the leftover money goes right to the Phillies), or you're going to go over that $10 to buy food, merchandise, etc. in which case why bother with the Power Ticket anyway?

-My feeling is that they call it a Power Ticket rather than reminding fans that there's a $10 credit built into the ticket thinking that they'll forget they have this money available and thus the money will go unspent (read: free money for the team!).

So save your money and avoid the Phils' Power Tickets. It's a no-win situation for the fans.

Weird Phillies Fans

2008-08-10T20:30:00.004-05:00

At today's Phillies game, I had the chance to observe some weird Phillies fans in action. A few that caught my eye included:

-A guy sitting a few rows in front of us yelled at another fan in the next section over who was trying to start "the wave." Anytime the wave-starting fan stood up to start the wave, this old codger yelled "NOOO!!! Sit down!!!" and proceeded to mutter how much he hates the wave. Why? It's a game, not a funeral... if people want to have some fun, well, that's the whole point! Not to mention the fact that the guy was wearing a baseball glove (which is perfectly fine), with a batting glove on underneath (which is just bizarre). (Good observation Mike D!)

-A guy sat on the aisle next to us with a fat baseball stats book, a yellow legal pad, and a bag full of pistachios. He took notes every so often, flipped through the book's pages, and had shells strewn all over the aisle. To add to it, he had nose hairs that practically reached down to his upper lip. No real wonder why he was alone...

-While walking along the concourse, two college-aged dudes came up to me and one of them asked "Do you know where Billy is?" I assumed it was a joke and played along, saying "Yeah I think I saw him go that way." And I of course kept walking and didn't turn back.

Weird. Very weird. But at least the Phillies won.

Why Can't the Phillies Hit?

2008-08-08T22:00:00.000-05:00

23+ innings without a run.

Help us Milt!

A Phone Call to Ryne Sandberg

2008-07-29T07:00:00.004-05:00

Ryne Sandberg, the Hall of Fame second baseman who was drafted by the Phillies in 1978 and then played 13 games in Philly before infamously being given away to the Cubs, made the news recently. But not necessarily for something good. Or even for something he was a part of.

In a downright scary basebrawl, Sandberg's team, the Peoria Chiefs mixed it up with the Dayton Dragons. During the ugly scuffle, which you can see on any number of videos on YouTube, Julio Castillo of the Chiefs rifled a ball towards the Dragons' dugout, but instead nailed a fan in the face. Interestingly, Sandberg, the team's manager, was in Cooperstown during this debacle, but I can just imagine his reaction when hearing this news...

(Phone rings)
"Hello?"

"Hey Coach! It's me, Julio!"

"Hey Julio, how are you buddy? Sorry I couldn't be there for today's game... how'd we do?"

"Well funny story, Coach..."

"Excellent, I love funny stories!"

"Heheh, ummm, yeah about that. I don't really have time to explain right now because I'm kind of in jail."

"What?!? Jail? I leave you alone for one weekend and you call to tell me you're in jail? What did I tell you about having liquor in the clubhouse?"

"Well, it was a little more than that. I kind of, umm, launched a ball at a fan's face."

"You launched a ball... wait, was he trying to run on the field to attack you?"

"Umm, no, not really. I was aiming for the Dragons' dugout and then..."

"Wait, you mean to tell me you were aiming for the other team's dugout and you hit a fan in the face??"

"Yeah"

"Okay, that's all I need to hear. From now on, you're showing up to practice two hours early to work on your pitching..."

Okay, so I jest about this sad situation, and I can't imagine the position that Sandberg's in. Hopefully they iron this out and I'm sure Castillo, and his teammates, will be punished harshly for his barbaric actions. What it comes down to is, you don't cross a man known as "Ryno" and get away unscathed... the Phils learned that the hard way.

Phillies Notes: A Word on Slumps

2008-07-20T15:52:00.004-05:00

It's been almost a month since my last post on this here blog. I guess you could say I've been in a slump when it comes to blog posting. I can't blame it on a broken keyboard, just lack of time or thoughts on what to write.

Similarly, "slump" seems to be a common thing for the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies.

I know that Charlie Manuel doesn't like to call it a "slump" when a hitter can't get a hit for an extended period of time. But whatever you call it, (a funk, not seeing the ball well, a cold streak, etc.) it can be ugly, and this year the evil slump has reared it's ugly head for Phils' hitters quite frequently.

Just out of curiosity I did a quick Google search for "Phillies 2008 hitting slumps" and I got a veritable buffet of hits (no pun intended) on the subject. And interestingly, just on the first page alone there is a diverse listing of names in the headlines. Here are the headlines of some of the top 10 results:

-Phillies Notes: Slumping Jenkins working on swing | Philadelphia ...

-DelcoTimes - Shane's slump buster a beauty as Phils rally to top Mets

-Phillies offense going through epic slump

-Ryan Howard's Slump - Philadelphia Phillies, Baseball

-FOX Sports on MSN: Chase Utley, Second Base, Phillies, MLB

-Slumping Burrell given rest vs. Astros | Phillies.com: News

What this tells me is that there is a dangerous trend going on with the Phillies hitters. Collectively, they are an offensive powerhouse, pumping out homers, runs, and RBIs... which is good. But strangely the hitters are quite manic on an individual level. To demonstrate the hitters' struggles this year, here are some slump statistics that I dug up from the articles found in my search, with links back to the articles if you care to read more:

-Geoff "Jenkins entered last night hitless in his last 26 at-bats with just two hits in his last 41 at-bats."

-Shane "Victorino's recent struggles - he was in a 3-for-28 slide when he stepped to the plate in the ninth..."

-Chase "Utley's double in the third inning on Sunday ended an 0-for-24 skid at the plate."

-Pat "Burrell, who hit .326 through the end of April, had gone 3-for-27 the previous eight games, including 0-for-11 the last three..."

-Carlos "Ruiz is stuck in an 8-for-60 slide that dates to May 25."

-Ryan "Howard, who is hitting .176 with 34 strikeouts in 85 at-bats..."

-I know that Chris Coste also had a big slump recently and went 20+ at bats without getting a hit during the middle of July.

-And So Taguchi, by my calculations, had only 3 hits in 22 at-bats (all three in one game, BTW) during a cold snap this year.

Hopefully this year's round of batting slumps for the Phillies will be on a decline from here on out. I realize it's a long season and hitting in and of itself is a tremendously challenging thing to do, but this inconsistency is uncharacteristic of this bunch of otherwise stellar hitters.

As for me, if the Phils' hitters keep getting into these hitting funks, I might have to break a bat over my head just watching them continue to unfold. And recognizing that slumps can affect us all, I will be hitting the keyboard more often to keep my blog posts flowing. I certainly don't want my Philly sports blog to hit a cold snap...

(Note: photo from Getty Images)

Juan Samuel: Wall of Fame Worthy?

2008-06-28T22:34:00.006-05:00

I heard the announcement today that Juan Samuel would be the 2008 inductee to the Phillies Wall of Fame.

Yes, THAT Juan Samuel.

I was a big fan of Juan Samuel in his heyday. He was a graceful, energetic guy, and who could forget the Jheri curls? But let's be real here... does a guy that played only 4 years in Philly count as a Wall of Famer? What if I tallied off these stats as a Philly:

-Samuel hit .263
-He averaged about 150 strikeouts per year (he led the league from 1984-1987 in this category)
-He was perennially at the top or near the top of the NL in outs

Ok, perhaps I'm being a little harsh and I don't mean this to be a bash session, but my point is, does Samuel belong up there with the likes of:

Mike Schmidt (Hall of Famer)
Robin Roberts (Hall of Famer)
Steve Carlton (Hall of Famer)

???

I humbly submit that he does not. Samuel had two stellar seasons (1984 and 1987) in which he earned a few votes for having MVP-type numbers, but he's not Wall of Fame material in my personal opinion.

That said, he was a solid all around second baseman and, from what I hear, a good all around guy.

So since the decision is already made, I'll say Congrats Juan Samuel... thanks for your contributions in Philly and best of luck with your coaching career.

DUI Reprise: Jevon Kearse

2008-06-22T16:01:00.005-05:00

Just a few days ago I ranted about the disappointing tendency for pro athletes to party on the town and then head home by driving under the influence, aka DUI.

Sadly, a former Eagle has failed the sobriety test in the past 24 hours. Jevon Kearse, a defensive end for the Iggles for the past four years tippled excessively on the bottle then decided he was Superman and put his SUV on the road, according to this Associated Press article.

Here's a guy worth over $70 million. Let me repeat. $70 BIG BIG FREAK-ISHLY BIG BUCKS. And he chose to pinch pennies by not paying a few bones for an alternative way to get home.

I don't know about you but I'm getting increasingly tired of paying good money to see these types of guys play sports and then risk their lives, and, more importantly, the lives of others by driving drunk. Doesn't this anger anybody else?

With all due respect, Jevon "The Freak" Kearse does seem like a decent guy based on his image that I saw in Philly. But this DUI is a major setback on that otherwise good image. Unfortunately, in all likelihood, this will quickly be forgotten, put to bed, and set the example for other players to do the same egregious decision-making. Of course he'll have a press conference or media interview and say that he's sorry to the fans for making a poor decision, yadda yadda yadda.

Well anyway, cheers to the players, coaches, and teams that are smarter than Jevon Kearse was last night...

A Non-Philly Oriented Rant: End Pros' DUIs ASAP

2008-06-18T20:21:00.004-05:00

I would just like to take a moment to rant about something that has bugged me for a long time.

With the recent report on Lofa Tatupu's DUI (driving under the influence) charge, I just can't understand why it is that these pro athletes can't get their, shall we say, "stuff" together.

Almost on a monthly basis, reports surface about another athlete driving while intoxicated or something of a similar nature. It's a plain and simple formula to me:

drinking during a night out on the town + earning multi-millions of dollars per year = GET A CHAUFFEUR!!! For a relatively small amount of money, you can hire a limo driver, call a cab, or have a good old fashioned designated driver take you back to your crib. There are no excuses!!!

These are young guys at the prime of their lives earning big bucks, and they want to risk it by driving home in a two ton machine that could easily squash them (or somebody else) with one poor mental lapse.

With all of the people around these guys, you'd think somebody would help them make smarter decisions in times like these. Coaches, teammates, management, agents, not to mention family should all be available to help straighten them out, but apparently there's a major link that is weak in this chain.

Shame... I just hope we don't have to see another Josh Hancock catastrophe.

I Like the Phillies

2008-06-10T09:45:00.002-05:00

FYI...

I Like the Phillies

Thank you.

Glenn "The Gunn" Wilson

2008-06-08T12:57:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I made up the nickname there. But anybody who remembers the Phillies in the mid-80s remembers Glenn Wilson's gun of an arm in right field. Shane Victorino certainly has a cannon in the outfield today, but Glenn Wilson always sticks out as having the best arm of any outfielder the Phils have had in the past couple of decades. In fact, Wilson chalked up 20 assists in 1986 for his career high, while Victorino's career high is 11 in 2006. Wilson's "gun" came to mind after Victorino iced the Phils' victory over the Braves this past weekend by gunning out a runner on a play at the plate.

If I remember correctly, Wilson may have gunned down a runner or two at first base on hard singles, but I could be thinking of somebody else. At any rate, it was a pleasure watching him launch the ball. And let's not forget his one inning of pitching in 1987 where he shut down whoever it was in mop-up duty, and actually struck somebody out. Good times.

Today, Glenn Wilson helps future prospects get recruited, according to his website glennwilsonbaseball.com.

Tom McHale: Off to Pancake Block Heaven

2008-05-30T21:25:00.002-05:00

The Philadelphia Eagles mourned yet another death of a former player from the early 90s, 6'-4", 290 lb. offensive lineman Tom McHale. While McHale was never a star athlete in the NFL, it is a sad affair and hopefully the last one for a long time. McHale can be added to the list of died-too-young Eagles from that era, including Jerome Brown, Reggie White, and Andre Waters (am I forgetting anybody??).

Considering that most players who played then are or would be only in their late 30s to early 50s now, that is a disproportionate number of deceased players from one team. Hopefully this is just coincidence, but it makes one wonder about the level of danger and damage these young men battled thru week in and week out. Not a pretty picture when you think about it.

R.I.P. Tom... be sure to give Reggie a pancake block in your next practice game in the big football field in the sky...

Soul Not So Strong Anymore?

2008-05-21T20:05:00.004-05:00

It's quite likely that even the most die-hard Philly sports fan didn't notice that Derrick Strong was cut from the Philadelphia Soul on May 19. While this type of transaction wouldn't normally catch my attention, I just had to think about what a shame it is to have a last name like Strong and get cut from a professional football team.

Kind of like a guy named Takeo Spikes getting cut from the Eagles.

Or like Bill Champion, a Phils' pitcher in the 70s, never even making it to the playoffs.

Or like Don Biggs being one of the smallest guys on the Flyers in 1989-90.

Or like Dave Hoppen, a 6-11" center for the Sixers, only recording 29 blocks in his NBA career of 169 games.

Ok, so I don't know what my point is. I guess one's last name does not necessarily reflect on the field/ice/court performance, or something like that.

College Recruiting and the Head Coach Issue... Total Insanity

2008-05-11T14:04:00.004-05:00

I read an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer today about a press conference that Penn State football coach Joe Paterno held yesterday. In the article, Paterno talked about how people always ask him how long he'll be coaching Penn State. I assume this is meant to reflect some sort of future stability at Penn State, or lack thereof, when a recruit decides what school to attend. To that I say... this question is totally insane.

In principle, this question is actually not totally insane. Sure, if I'm a budding star football player, I'd most certainly like to know which coach I'm going to be playing for. It would give me a sense of what to expect, and allow me to find the coach that best suits my preference.

But in reality, this question is totally insane. Coaches switch jobs, get fired, retire, or become lame ducks left and right. Just think about these names in recent years and consider how stable the college coaching profession really is (click on the links to see coaching changes from the past year in each respective sport):

College Basketball Coaches
-Billy Donovan
-Fran Dunphy
-Roy Williams
-Bobby Knight
-Kelvin Sampson

College Football Coaches
-Rich Rodriguez
-June Jones
-Dennis Franchione
-Bobby Petrino
-Chan Gailey

Those are some big names that have changed places, in both sports. So what it comes down to is the overall program. Coaching changes occur on practically a weekly basis, across the country. That's the reality of college sports now. What recruits really should be looking at is the overall program. Is it strong? Is it up and coming? Is it going downhill? Worrying about what coach is going to be there next year, or next week for that matter, is pretty futile. Kind of like timing the stock market-- will it be up this month? Down this month? Or over the next four years will it be pretty good overall? Long term is always the best way to go.

So yes, Coach Paterno is nearing the end of his career, unless he finds the fountain of youth (maybe he already has?), but I think every athlete in America knows what he's getting with Penn State football. As the saying goes, "It is what it is." In fact, in today's game, college sports are more about the overall brand than they are about the coach. But some people haven't caught on to this fact of life.

While some people are busy trying to follow the dizzying coaching carousel, I think athletes are much better off trying to figure out how they'll fit in the whole program-- how they mesh with the entire coaching staff, the entire team, and the entire university. That's the most sane way to look at it all...

I Love the Flyers, but...

2008-04-28T19:29:00.004-05:00

I love the Flyers but I have one issue with the team.

Right now I'm watching the game against the Habs (what's a Hab, by the way??) and the fans are decked out in orange shirts... an "orange crush" as they call it.

But here's the issue I have...the Flyers hardly even have any orange in their freakin jerseys anymore!

For whatever reason, a couple of years ago, the Philadelphia Flyers management and marketing mavens decided to take out the classic orange color out of the sweaters. Now their home jerseys are black just like 68% of the other teams out there. (Okay, that's an unofficial calculation, but probably close to being true.)

When the Flyers wore the orange uni's, you KNEW the Flyers were playing. Now, the Flyers look like every other team out there. I miss the orange identity.

But at least the orange lives on in the stands...

Johnny Dawkins... Flying out of Duke to Coach Stanford

2008-04-27T15:57:00.003-05:00

Most 76ers fans of the 90s will remember the unique kick-leg jump shot of Johnny Dawkins and his steady play as point guard playing alongside the likes of Charles Barkley and Kurt Nimphius. Now Dawkins is flying the coop at Duke to coach the Cardinal of Stanford. Good for him and good move for Stanford... he must have good experience not only as a player but as an assistant coach next to Coach K.

Lest you thought you'd get away with just informative news story, allow me to add some interesting side notes for thee:

-Johnny Dawkins had 29 career blocks in the NBA in 9 pro years. At this rate it would have taken Dawkins about 130 "Johnny Dawkins Years" @ approximately 3 blocks per year to equal the total number of blocked shots that Manute Bol had in his rookie year alone (397 blocks in 1985-6 for Washington).

-Conversely, Manute Bol tallied 171 assists in 10 years. At that rate, he'd take 35 Manute Bol Years to reach Dawkins' assist mark in his best year 1989-90 at 601 assists.

So take that for what it's worth.

At any rate, best of luck to Coach Dawk. I look forward to seeing a familiar face in the land of the Cardinal...

Thank the gods of hockey for...

2008-04-17T22:15:00.003-05:00

...Mike Knuble!

Nice goal Mikey baby... big win for the Flyers tonight.

For those of you keeping score, here are the only other players in NHL history, according to hockey-reference.com to have names that begin with "Kn":

Bill Knibbs (great name by the way)
Rick Knickle (another one)
Fred Knipscheer (wow, they just keep getting better!)
Nick Knott
Paul Knox
Espen Knutsen

Other point of note here: Mr. Knuble is also the NHL's all-time leading scorer for "Kn" players with 182 career regular season goals. In second is Espen Knutsen with 30.

So that's just me trying to drop some KNowledge on ya. Now you KNow...

(Thanks to the Knew York Times for the great photo from '06, BTW.)

Dan Baker Announcement Maker

2008-04-07T22:00:00.004-05:00

Caught a segment on Comcast Sports today about the old mainstay of the Phillies' PA system, Mr. Dan Baker, who has announced Phils' games for 37 years. The story showed how his gameday routine works from pre-game preparations like getting the pronounciation of players' names accurate (Julian Martinez is pronounced like Hulian Martinez, for those who didn't know) to fighting his way up through crowds to get to his PA booth.

While the story about him wasn't all that intriguing, quite frankly, I do find it intriguing that announcers (public address announcers or broadcasters alike) have the ability to last so long at their respective jobs. If you look around the city as well as national scene, it seems like once you get "in" you're "in" for life. For instance, consider these big names and how long they've been or once lasted on the job:

-Harry Kalas
-Merrill Reese
-Marv Albert
-Andy Mussberger
-Keith Jackson
-Howard Cosell
-Vin Scully
-John Madden
-and so on...

I'm not quite sure what the reasoning is for this, but my hunch would be that these on-air personalities develop a certain rapport and comfort with the fans and become instantly recognized with the team, channel, or sport they represent. As a result, these announcers maintain their job security and boost their salaries over the years (not to mention picking up endorsements and other speaking gigs), while simultaneously preventing younger up-and-coming announcers from getting their day in the sun. And as it is easy to see, not only do these announcers not gracefully just hang up the mic and go away... they practically have to be dragged out of the booth.

Ironically, this longevity is why so many college students go to study broadcasting... because once you establish yourself, you can be around a long time, not to mention get to watch sports and talk sports all day. Paradoxically, with so many broadcasters lasting so long and a limited number of announcing gigs, it becomes harder and harder for these young graduates to get work. Murphy's Law I guess.

So at any rate, thank you Dan Baker for your your three+ decades of in-game announcing. And if you happen to have an inkling as to when you plan to leave, please give me a shout and I'd love to try out for your job!

Benito Santiago: Driving on the Wrong Path

2008-03-31T20:09:00.003-05:00

Benito Santiago is lighting up the presses today with his connection to a cocaine conspiracy in Kansas City, Mo. Click here for the details. Basically, a car he owned was seized as part of this investigation, and it's not known to what extent Santiago was involved.

True, he's innocent till proven guilty, but it just makes you wonder what happens to guys like him in professional sports who just can't control themselves after they're done playing... or even when they are playing. DWIs, domestic violence, drug charges, gambling. The list goes on. Seems like something should be done by the teams or the leagues to help these guys transition into a new phase in their lives rather than go off into troubled waters.

Benito Santiago played for the Phillies at age 31 in 1996 and was brought in as a free agent to help provide some veteran leadership. He had a pretty decent year, hitting .264 with 30 home runs and 84 RBIs in 131 games, though the team floundered to a disgraceful 67-95 record. In all, Santiago had a pretty respectable career and was always known for his rocket arm.

Now let's just hope he's not driving down the wrong path...

Phillies' Opening Day Memory: 2002

2008-03-28T19:23:00.003-05:00

Allow me to reminisce for a spell.

With the Phillies' opening day less than 3 days away, I'm harkening back to the Phillies' home opener six years ago. Actually I don't think it was the home opener but it was definitely one of the first games of the first home series. Who needs exact details?

Anyway, I don't remember a single moment from the game. It was just another non-descript Phils game from a dull team in unremarkable Veterans Stadium. This was back in the days of Travis Lee, Joe Roa, and yes, Nick Punto. So I do remember that much. But even moreso, I most definitely do remember the weather.

It was NASTY.

It must have been about 30 degrees, and having the pleasure to stand on the frozen concrete of the Vet was nothing short of dismal. The wind whipping around the top of the stadium's bowl in the 500 level didn't help a bit either. I remember my cousin having to go to the bathroom where there was a heat vent and he had to thaw out his feet. Some baseball weather...

On the bright side, I got the tickets for free from the neighborhood bank that I went to every day to take checking deposits for my work downtown. That was nice of them. I think it was Citizens Bank, but even that's a bit fuzzy now.

But the cold is not fuzzy in my memory.

I'm looking forward to attending the Phillies opening day game on Monday but hopefully the weather will be more favorable.

And without a doubt the team will be much better than from the days of yore.

An Editorial on Basketball: College vs. NBA

2008-03-22T23:01:00.004-05:00

Pardon me while I express my opinion for a moment.

I've been glued to the NCAA tournament this weekend. It's always been one of my favorite sporting events, and probably my current favorite event, and not just because it's fun to fill out brackets. It's because I'm simply amazed at the level of play in the vast majority of games... unlike what goes on in the NBA on most nights.

I'm admittedly disenchanted with the NBA game. Sure, it's the cream of the basketball crop, but I feel like the game has no energy compared to the college game. NBA players slack off on defense, the crowd isn't into it in the same way as college (so to make up for it, NBA teams try to pump in loud music to make it seem like it's exciting), and I just get the feeling that NBA players don't really care if they lose because they've got it made otherwise. In the college game, players zoom up and down the floor, cover their men on defense with only inches to spare, and are genuinely distraught when they lose. It's like two different worlds.

To put it in perspective, while I'm happy that the Sixers are doing well and in line for a playoff bid, I just can't get as excited as I would for, say, Villanova, a team (one of many in the tourney) that fights and scraps and energizes the fans.

Plus you can go to a college game and not have to get a second mortgage on your house unlike an NBA game.

That's my opinion. Thank you.

Exploring for LaSalle

2008-03-20T21:27:00.004-05:00

The Big Five schools from Philadelphia are in the news lately, what with three schools (Temple, Villanova, and St. Joseph's) earning spots in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Unfortunately Temple lost today and 'Nova and St. Joe's are underdogs, but it's still exciting to see three local squads represent the city. By the way, how many New York City teams made the trip? You can count them on less than one finger. But that's not my point here on Philly Sports Quest this evening.

I want to chat about another big name in Philly bball: LaSalle. Oh, but it's not that LaSalle. While LaSalle University is a Big Five institution, the LaSalle I'm thinking of might be even bigger. This LaSalle is listed as 6 feet 10 inches tall and 245 pounds. It's none other than LaSalle Thompson.

Thompson played ball for the Sixers in the 1995-6 season, totalling 44 games. He racked up 1.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, averaging about 17 minutes per game. During Thompson's career, he made 3136 field goals compared to 3143 personal fouls. He grabbed 6689 rebounds in 985 games. During his NBA career he put up 7.9 points and 6.8 boards per game. He was the 5th overall pick in the 1982 NBA Draft, coming out of the University of Texas, selected by the since-relocated Kansas City Kings. And I never even knew this but his nickname was "Tank."

Want to know what Thompson is up to now? Check out this undated article on LaSalle.

There's your LaSalle update. Now let's go Nova and St. Joe's!

More Moyer Facts

2008-03-09T19:52:00.003-05:00

In case you missed it, the Philly Inquirer ran an insightful interview with the Phils' 45 year old lefty Jamie Moyer today. The article pointed out that over his career, Moyer has faced a challenging group of Hall of Fame hitters and he reviewed his perspective of facing each one. Some of the names on the list include Mike Schmidt, Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn, and some other pitchers' nightmares.

I'd like to add on to that list with a few facts and some names of players Moyer has faced over the years...

-According to Baseball Reference.com, my calculations show that Moyer has faced a total of (get this) 2,149 different batters in his career. There's no other way to say that that is an insane number of batters to face.

-Furthermore, Moyer has faced a whopping 15,102 batters in his career during the regular season

Now, here are some other results he's had against various batters throughout his career:

-He has faced Garrett Anderson the most times (107 plate appearances), and Moyer has not fared well, allowing him to hit .317 with 5 homers and 17 RBI's.

-Scott Brosius has the distinction of having the lowest batting average against Moyer out of any player who has faced him 50+ times (currently listed as 50 plate appearances), and having an average below .200. He's hit a meager .146 against Moyer throughout the years.

-Moyer has never faced Nick Punto.

-In 50 plate appearances, Juan Samuel had Moyer's number, hitting .364, compared to a .259 career average.

-Steve Jeltz faced Moyer 13 times and managed a Mendoza line against him. He hit .200 on the button against the veteran lefty.

-The highest batting average against Moyer for any player with a minimum of 10 at bats goes to Alan Ashby, who had 11 plate appearances and hit .636 against the lefty. Ouch.

-The most home runs agains Jaime Moyer by any one batter is 10 by Manny Ramirez in just 57 appearances. Wow.

-Tim Salmon struck out the most times out of anybody with 17 K's in 99 at bats. Scott Brosius is second with 16 in half as many appearances. Back to the batting cage fellas.

-In all, Moyer has faced 18 current Hall of Famers. Taking out the pitchers on this list (Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, Don Sutton), the 15 remaining Hall of Famers hit a total of .331 with 8 homers and 44 RBIs and 1 triple against him in a total of 284 at bats. All things considered, that's not too bad. That's 1 homer in 35 at bats and not a ton of RBIs. It appears that Moyer has managed to make his living by allowing the "big dogs" to basically scatter around some hits, but not do a ridiculous amount of damage against him. That's cool.

So there's your update on our favorite 40-something fella on the Phils. I hope he's able to continue his consistent pitching this year, and maybe in a few years we'll be able to go back and look at the numbers again to see how things have changed.

Five Teams to Boo...

2008-03-05T21:07:00.003-05:00

Pardon me as I act the negative Nelly here, but I had a little email discussion with my good friend Scott and he jokingly brought up a good point... now that Philadelphia will be getting a new MLS soccer team, does that mean we'll be stuck with another team that teases us Philly sports fans into thinking we'll have a chance at a title, only to be let down by inevitable failure?

Admittedly I hate to think this way, but consider the fact that the new soccer team playing in Philly, errr, Chester will be an expansion team and likely won't have a star studded lineup for a few years. That doesn't bode well for the team to help us break the curse on Cups for this city.

On the bright side, however, the new, yet-to-be-named team will have a better shot percentage wise because there are only about half the number of teams in the league compared to the other major sports leagues. So we have, technically, DOUBLE the chance of winning a trophy based on these odds!

So what do you think... should us Philly folks fear a fifth team failure? Or should we be optimistic and say that we can expect a parade down Broad Street soon after the team is up and running in 2010?

Hopefully some other Philly team will win it all before then, but I'm not going to get my hopes up...

Ed Wade Revisited

2008-02-25T21:44:00.003-05:00

As we all know, Ed Wade was the Phillies' General Manager for quite a long stretch... two presidential terms worth of time as a matter of fact. During Wade's 8 years here as GM from 1998 to 2005, there was simultaneously quite a lot going on and almost nothing going on. Confused? Well, here's what I mean:

On one hand, Wade managed to draft future stars such as:

-Chase Utley
-Ryan Howard
-Brett Myers
-Cole Hamels
-Pat Burrell (say what you want about him)

(Amazingly all of them have 10 letters in their names, as listed above. Secret to Wade's success, perhaps? You be the judge.)

Wade also brought in a good handful of productive players, with the likes of:

-Bobby Abreu
-Placido Polanco
-Jim Thome
-Kenny Lofton
-Billy Wagner

By all accounts, that's an impressive cadre of players right there, between draft picks and other acquisitions under his watch. Not to mention the fact that he signed Terry Francona as manager, then fired him, allowing Francona to win two World Series titles in Boston, and a generous contract extension that can keep him in Beantown for five more years.

Meanwhile, however, the Phils, under Wade's direction never made the playoffs though they did come within a game or two of making it a couple of seasons in a row. Ultimately, his downfalls came by not bringing in the one or two players (pitchers, most likely) that could have put the team over the top. Us peon fans will probably never know the full story of whether or not Wade couldn't figure out how to land the right deal or if Phillies management held the purse strings too tightly, or what, but the fact is that the team signed too many underperforming players under Wade's watch, including but not limited to: Eric Milton, Kevin Millwood, David Bell, and Travis Lee. Big names, but also big duds for the Phils.

So on one hand we should be grateful for the solid foundation Wade built for us with tremendous draft picks. On the other hand, the walls, A-frame, and roof never went up, leaving us with a half-completed house that finally started to be built this past year as the Phils made the playoffs for the first time in a dozen years. Hopefully there will be even more building this year...

A 76ers Throwback Moment

2008-02-12T20:15:00.000-05:00

Looking for a highlight featuring the dynamic duo of Andre Turner and Armen Gilliam? (Well, who isn't?)

If that sounds like you... look no further!

Highlighting Philly-bred Athletes During Super Bowl Weekend

2008-02-02T13:00:00.000-05:00

Kyle Eckel and Kareem McKenzie were both featured in Philadelphia Inquirer articles this week about local players that are in this year's Super Bowl between the Patriots and Giants. Good to see local boys doing well for themselves.

While it's unfortunate that no local players on the Eagles made it to the Super Bowl, for obvious reasons, at least some local gents are going for the glory.

Which gives me an idea...

Instead of the out-of-control, over-hyped Wing Bowl that has grown to become a poor man's version of an annual local Super Bowl, let's put the Philly-bred players that are not in the Super Bowl to good use. I propose a flag football tournament featuring 8 teams, each one captained by an NFL player that hails from Philly but is not in the Super Bowl. The remaining 4 or 5 players on each team would be up-and-coming high school stars. The game could be played at the Spectrum indoors on the Soul's arena football field, and money raised by attendance would go to a local charity.

This would give the city many benefits. First off, it would be a fun competition to look forward to during the usually painfully long January/February lull in the local sporting schedule (since the Eagles usually aren't in the Super Bowl, the Sixers are usually not competitive, and the Flyers are just kind of cruising along waiting until the playoffs to get exciting). Secondly, it could boost local pride and help encourage local athletes to excel on the field (and there could also be academic requirements to add to the mix) so they would have the chance to play alongside a pro player. Third, it would generate some good PR for the region. Last, a local charity would benefit from the ticket sales.

But unfortunately, just like the possibility of a Philly team winning a championship, this doesn't sound likely to happen, does it? Can't hurt to dream though...

Former Eagles Coaches Making the News

2008-01-29T22:17:00.000-05:00

I recently reported here on this blog about the wealth of former Phillies players and coaches that have gone on to coach elsewhere in the big leagues. Now that trend is shifting to the Eagles as well.

In today's news, you may have heard about Ray Rhodes being scooped up by the Texans to serve as a defensive backs coach, as well as Rex Ryan being signed by the Baltimore Ravens. Okay, so Rex Ryan never coached or played for the Birds, but his dad did, and it's important to note that he'll now be working under former Iggles coach John Harbaugh.

Assistant coaches aside, this (un-updated) list of NFL head coaches shows that quite a few are indeed ex-Eagles, namely:

-Brad Childress (Minnesota), former coach
-Jon Gruden (Tampa Bay), former coach
-Jeff Fisher (Tennessee), former coach
-Emmitt Thomas (Atlanta-- okay, well he was only there temporarily), former coach
-Herm Edwards (Kansas City), former player

Perhaps if I have time I'll dig down deeper to find assistant coaches that were once Eagles, but that could take a lot of time which I don't quite have since there are so many assistants out there!

But all in all, even though the Eagles have been in a slump of late, it shows they must have done something right to have so many alumni in the head coaching ranks.

Good job gents... now do us proud and make your teams lose to us so we can go on and win a Super Bowl, wouldya?

(Thanks to viewimages.com for the photo!)

Cris Carter: Hall-Worthy?

2008-01-16T18:50:00.000-05:00

In an old Seinfeld episode, the character of Elaine hordes a stash of sponges (the prophylactics, not the dishwashing kind), and quizzes each potential mate to determine whether or not he is sponge-worthy.

Well, a similar process goes on in the world of sports, and this one has to do with making the Hall of Fame in a player's respective sport.

Cris Carter, the famed former Eagles wide receiver is up for nomination this year, which brings the question, "Is he Hall-Worthy?" Let's take a look at some of his highlights, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com and discuss...

*8 Pro Bowl selections and 4 All-Pro selections
*1101 Receptions, placing him second all-time
*13,899 yards all time, ranking him 6th
*130 career receiving TD's, good for second, and sixth all-time for TD's for all wide receivers and running backs
*5 2-point conversions made, ranking him third (okay, not the most important stat, I just thought it was kinda cool!)

So those are Cris Carter's highlights. Based on them, and other stats you can find at the above link, is he Hall-Worthy???

My verdict...

YES! Send him to Akron to the Hall of Fame.

He had a stellar career and deserves to be enshrined. Too bad that most of his career was spent outside of Philly, else we may have seen a Super Bowl, assuming he could have done just as well here as he did in Minnesota.

For the record, Carter, an Ohio State alum, was drafted in the 4th round by the Eagles in 1987, and stayed in Philadelphia on the steely Veterans Stadium turf until 1989. He spent the bulk of his career with the Vikings, and then fizzled out with 5 games in Miami in 2002.

Unfortunately Buddy Ryan let him go, as this statement from Wikipedia reveals:

During training camp in 1990, while coaching the Eagles, Ryan released an up-and-coming young wide receiver named Cris Carter. Ryan subsequently explained to the media that he had cut Carter because Carter "only catches touchdowns" - an explanation for which Ryan was widely ridiculed for several years, especially after Carter was signed by the Minnesota Vikings with whom he almost immediately developed into one of the NFL's premier passcatchers. Years later, however, it was revealed that Carter had had a serious drug problem, and that Ryan had released him from the Eagles to send him a wake-up call. Carter credits Ryan's actions with helping him to turn his life around.

So there you have it. At any rate, good luck on your HoF bid Cris, and you're more than welcome to suit up and try out for the Eagles again this summer...

Eagles Throwback Jerseys: Which One Would You Choose?

2008-01-11T20:47:00.000-05:00

At Modell's the other day, I peered up at a wall of throwback Eagles jerseys. I was looking to spend my gift card and I wanted an Eagles jersey since I didn't own one, and didn't particularly feel like getting a current player, for no other reason than pretty much every Iggles fan has a Westbrook, McNabb, Dawkins, or other familiar player's uniform. So the throwbacks caught my eye but I had a decision to make on which player to spring for. The choices were:

Harold Carmichael (#17)
Randall Cunningham (#12)
Keith Jackson (#88)
Ron Jaworski (#7)
Vince Papale (#83)
Mike Quick (#82)
Reggie White (#92)

For any Eagles fan, this is a tough call!

Quite honestly, on any given day I might have chosen a different one depending on my mood. I must have been in a hungry mood that day because I wound up going with the "Jaws" jersey. In reality, it was a very close call for me, with each player having a different selling point. Cunningham was silky smooth and wore my favorite number, Vince Papale was gritty and a unique star (though I was too young to see him play), Reggie was a legend, and so on and so forth. Once you get thinking about it, it gets pretty tough!

So I ask you... what throwback Eagles jersey would you have chosen?

An Eagles Analysis from a Different Point of View

2008-01-01T20:14:00.000-05:00

Please pardon me as I stray away from my normal undertaking of digging up Philly sports minutiae, but I just had to jot my thoughts down on the 2007 Eagles.

I saw two amazing stats that were pretty much buried deep in the Philly Inquirer, one from today one from the weekend. Before you read what I'm going to report, you need to essentially drop any knowledge you have about the Eagles... forget any opinions you have about the coaches and players, and just take in the stats for what they are:

1. The Eagles had the HARDEST strength of schedule in the ENTIRE NFL. Teams that the Eagles played won 56% of their games. The next closest team was Washington. Meanwhile out of all the playoff teams other than Washington, the next highest percentage was 51%.... and most of the playoff teams had much easier schedules. That definitely makes a HUGE difference over the course of the season.

2. The Eagles were one of only FOUR teams to be in the top 10 for both offensive yards gained and defensive yards allowed. Patriots, Dallas, and Indy were the other 3 teams. If that company doesn't amaze you then I don't know what does.

So all in all, I think we can all agree that the Eagles should have had a better record this year, but unfortunately a few costly mistakes and poor executions and coaching decisions when needed killed this team. But I think that on the whole this team's still on the right track, despite the flukiness of this past year. If they can fill in a few key positions, watch out in '08.

Unfortunately the Inquirer sports writers tend to focus on the same issues of "we need another wide receiver" (true, but so do most teams), or "we need to run the ball with Westbrook more" (debatable, since if he runs the ball 20-25 times a game he's a lot more likely to get injured or worn down during the course of the season and ultimately shortening his career), or "McNabb/Reid/fill-in-the-blank must go (or must stay, depending on the time of year)". While they do make good points, it gets pretty tiresome reading the same basic commentary over and over and over. Though he's not perfect, I generally trust Andy Reid and his decisions and I think it's a waste of time to second-guess every single one that he makes. Move on with life!

That's all I wanted to say. Happy New Year's y'all!

Phillies and the Hall: Not This Year, Not Even for a While...

2007-12-31T17:50:00.000-05:00

Perhaps you remember the exciting years of 1994 and 1995 when both Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt were voted into the Hall of Fame (along with Richie Ashburn who was selected by the Veterans Committee in 1995). It's certainly a rare feat to have two players chosen to enter the Hall of Fame in such a short period of time (not counting Ashburn, for this sake of this discussion), and quite an honor at that.

But looking at the results since then, the Phillies have hardly even had anybody make the ballot, which says a lot about just how lame the Phils were in the late 80s and 90s, when the players of those years began retiring.

For instance, this year there is only one player eligible out of 25 possible nominees who ever even played for the Phightin's, and that's the one and only Dale Murphy, who pretty much ended his storied career here as a fizzled veteran from 1990-92 (and played 26 games with the Rockies the following year). Ever since Schmidt was elected, there has rarely been an appearance by an ex-Phillie on the ballot. Take a look for your self at the Hall of Fame's website, and do a search by year (even though it's annoyingly tedious and painful the way it's designed.)

So in my estimation, we'll have to wait quite a while to have another one-time Phillie even make the Hall of Fame ballot. I'd suppose Curt Schilling, Jim Thome, and Benito Santiago (another fizzled veteran) are our best shots for the near future. Other than that, I'm guessing it'll be a long dry spell until we get a Phillie HOFer in there.

Unless, perhaps, Midre Cummings or Calvin Maduro get a surprise call.

On the bright side, however, well down the road we should hopefully be well-represented by Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley. Scott Rolen, the begrudging Phil, will certainly make the ballot, as will Bobby Abreu and Mike Lieberthal and perhaps a few others whom I can't think of at this point in time. But that's still a while yet until any of them make it.

But hey, we're Phils fans. We're as patient as they come.

*sigh*

A Brief History of Canadian 76ers

2007-12-26T19:58:00.000-05:00

Curiousity got the best of me today. Fortunately, the ever-helpful Mr. Google was there to satisfy my itch to find out about Canadians that have played for the Philadelphia 76ers. Why did I need to find this bit of useless information out? I don't know, same reason that your shoes stick to stadium walkways... it's simply a mysterious facet of life that you have to deal with.

Anyway, I searched "Canadian basketball players" and got this page from Wikipedia, which lists anybody who was/is relatively famous in the basketball circles in Canada. I zipped through list of 86 Canadain basketball players, clicking on each link to skim through each bio, and found that I'd never heard of most of the guys on there. The first name that jumped out at me, however, was the one and only Sixers' starting center for 2007, Mr. Samuel Dalembert. The trick with him is that he was born in Haiti, but apparently played basketball at high school in Montreal, Canada. So, does that count? I'll let you be the judge.

Of course I came across Todd MacCullough, a Sixers center from 1999-2003. His playing career was unfortunately cut short, but one of his claims to fame was having been born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada. He had a nice touch on his shot, but otherwise kind of slid under the radar during his brief career.

A few other Canadian gents played for the Sixers at one time or another. Here's the list of players I found:

-Rowan Barrett: Rowan was on the Sixers' squad in 1999. (Sorry, I couldn't even find any other information on what he did on the Sixers... must not have made much of an impact)

-Olu Famutimi: Well the information on Olu is pretty much as thin as it gets. Apparently Famutini, from Toronto, played in Sixers' training camp in 2005. So, umm, yeah, that's about all I got on him.

-Leo Rautins: Rautins (pictured) was drafted by the Sixers in 1983 out of Syracuse University with the 17th pick. In 28 appearances during his only season with the Sixers, Leo popped in 48 points, roped 29 assists, and pulled in 33 rebounds as a 6'8" forward. In 1985 he played for the Atlanta Hawks in four games. He then skipped off to Europe. He is now the coach of the Canadian national basketball team and can be heard as an analyst for the Toronto Raptors. Of note, Rautins has undergone 14 knee operations at the time of his retirement. That's one knee surgery for every two NBA games he played. Ouch. Also of note: his son Andy now also plays at Syracuse. Hopefully his knees fare better than his pop's set.

Well, that's a brief history of Canadian 76ers. Six Sixers (that I could find, at least) hailed from Canada. Don't you feel a bit more wordly?

Flyers, Penguins and 107,000 Puckheads

2007-12-18T22:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, local (Philly-area) media reported that the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins are dabbling with the notion of playing a regular season game at Penn State University in Happy Valley in January of 2009. Outdoors. In Beaver Stadium.

Let me just say that this would be the wildest game I could possibly imagine.

Not only is the Flyers/Pens rivalry building steam especially after last week's scrappy 8-2 battle that the Flyers won, but having it at a neutral location that State College provides, and having it at the country's second largest stadium in the dead of winter just sounds like the a recipe for mayhem. Up to 107,000 fans cheering on a bitter rivalry would be crazy. But in a good way.

Having gone to Penn State I realize that roughly 1/3 of the students are Philly sports fans, 1/3 are Pittsburgh sports fans, and the rest are "miscellaneous"... mostly New York sports fans and a mix of others. So the built-in battleground between the two Pennsylvania cities is already there, and the party scene would be well-represented on both sides.

My only real question is... if you're sitting at the top row of Beaver Stadium in a full house... how in the H-E-double-hockey-sticks would you be able to see the puck???

Other than that, I say... play on!

A Look Back at Murray Craven

2007-12-16T12:50:00.000-05:00

I don't know why, but Murray Craven's name popped into my head this morning. Just one of those catchy names I guess. So I did some research on him online. Here's the scoop about this former Flyer:

-Craven was born on 7/20/1964 in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada.

-Drafted by Detroit Red Wings in 1982, Craven was traded to the Flyers in 1984 in exchange for the aging Darryl Sittler. It turned out to be a steal, according to Legends of Hockey.

-According to Database Hockey, Craven played seven years for the Flyers from 1984-1991 and then again for a brief stint in the 1991-2 season, playing in 523 regular season games-- out of a total of about 572-- making him a very dependable player. A consistent left winger, Craven scored 152 goals plus 245 assists for 397 points during his Flyers career.

-His career totals amounted to 1071 games played from 1982-2000, 266 goals, 493 assists, 759 points, and 524 penalty minutes during the regular season. In 118 playoff games, he racked up 27 goals, 43 assists, and 66 penalty minutes.

-He made it to the Stanley Cup on three occasions-- twice with the Flyers and once with the Canucks-- but was never able to bring home the trophy.

-Lastly, here's a view of an excerpt about Murray Craven in "The Greatest Players and Moments of the Philadelphia Flyers", by Stan Fischler.

Thanks for the hard work you gave the Flyers, Murray. Hope you're doing well these days!

I'm Naming Names!

2007-12-13T21:01:00.000-05:00

So today former Senator George Mitchell let loose with a stack of papers containing names of players who were accused of taking steroids. Some former Phillies that made the list include Lenny Dykstra, Jason Grimsley, Paul Byrd, Jeremy Giambi, Benito Santiago, and David Bell. Interesting list there, huh?

But here's a more interesting list for you... Former Phillies players who were NOT on today's 'Roid Roster:

-Kim Batiste
-Bake McBride
-Rod Booker
-Del Unser
-Granny Hamner
-Randy Lerch
-Pep Deininger
-John Titus
-Nick Punto

Now this is not to say that none of these players ever took liquid muscles, particularly that John Titus who led the 1909 Philadelphia Phillies in home runs with 3. Yep, he was the hammer on that group of Phightins'. But the fact is that nobody has indicted any of these players as of yet, so hopefully they will stay on the clean list, so give 'em a round of applause for staying of "the clear" and other questionable substances. However, if anything should change, I'll be the first to break it to you.

Keep clean, Philly.

Tim Tookey Selected for the Hall...

2007-11-30T19:36:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, former Flyer Tim Tookey got the call to the Hall of Fame... the AHL Hall of Fame, that is.

Tookey, a 5' 10" forward, was the fourth leading scorer all-time in AHL history. He squeezed out two regular season games with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1986-87, and played in 10 games during the playoffs that year. You can see his career stats here.

So, hat's off (or should I say helmet's off?) to Mr. Tookey. See ya in the Hall...

Rollins Rolls, Hayes Hired

2007-11-20T20:20:00.000-05:00

While most of you were rightfully celebrating the selection of Jimmy Rollins for the 2007 MVP Award, you may have missed another bit of news about a former Phillie. The Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League announced they have hired none other than (drum roll please...)Mr. Von Hayes to manage the team next year. Thus continues the trend of former Phillies landing coaching jobs, albeit a minor league job in this case. Things that make you go hmmmmmm.

An interesting subplot emerged in the hiring of Hayes, as the Philly Daily News reports:

Hayes, a 1989 All-Star with the Phillies, was chosen from a group that included Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, former Baltimore catcher Andy Etchebarren, former Boston manager Butch Hobson, former Mets infielder and successful minor league manager Wally Backman and Tom Herr, who led the Barnstormers to the Atlantic League title in 2006.

Atta guy! Way to beat out a Hall of Famer in Gary Carter! You'll notice that he beat out two other former Phils-- Tommy Herr (who helped them win the title in 2006)and Wally Backman. Also notable is that Rick Wise will stay on as pitching coach for his fourth year in that position, according to said article.

Hayes, who may hold the record for having the widest batting stance in the history of the game, has a career minor league coaching record of 318-327, having coached in the Oakland A's and Arizona Diamondbacks organizations. He also was able to lead two different teams to championships.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, Hayes had a close-to-an-MVP year in 1986 when he hit .305 with 19 homers 98 RBIs, and 107 runs scored. He lead the league in runs, doubles, and extra base hits that year and made the All-Star team.

He may best unfortunately be remembered for being traded by the Indians in 1982 for Manny Trillo, George Vukovich, Jay Baller, Julio Franco, and Jerry Willard. That's a tough act to live up to, and Vonnie baby tried his hardest, but I don't think that most fans would consider that an even trade in retrospect. Such is life.

Good luck Von, and show them whippersnappin Barnstormers how to play ball... the Philly way.

Add One More to the "Ex-Phils Now Coaching" List

2007-11-17T09:50:00.000-05:00

It was announced yesterday that Los Angeles Dodgers' manager Joe Torre has elevated Ken Howell to bullpen coach for his 2008 squad, thus continuing the trend of former Phillies jumping to the coaching ranks in recent times, as I covered in a recent post. Howell had previously served as a pitching coach for the Las Vegas 51s and two other Dodger farm teams.

Mr. Howell pitched for the Phillies in 1989-1990, after being traded from the Baltimore Orioles in the 1988 offseason (where he was officially on the team for just four days), in exchange for Phil Bradley. Interesting to note is that he came off of a shoulder injury and then pitched to a record of 30-29 for the beleagured squad Phils' squad over two years. During his seven year career, he went 38-48 with a 3.95 ERA, with 549 K's in 613.3 innings. It may be worth noting that the only major statistical category that he ever lead the league in for a season was for hurling 21 wild pitches in 1989.

So what's the conclusion here?

Clearly there's something in the Philly wudder (water) for all of these former players and coaches to be hired around the league as coaches. Further testing will need to be implemented.

Why the Popularity in Former Phillies as Coaches?

2007-11-06T23:08:00.000-05:00

Whenever I catch a news clip that a former Phillie has joined the ranks of coach, I do my best to whip up a post right here to let you, my die-hard fan(s) know about it. It's a blog, it's free, and it's moderately enjoyable for me to do so, so I do it. Thanks for following along.

At any rate, I have a real hankering to understand what the fascination is with former Phillies blossoming into coaches around the league. I did a rough scan over every MLB team's coaching roster and came across the following coaches who at one time or another played for the Phillies:

John Russell, Pirates
Lee Elia, Mariners
Nick Leyva, Brewers (formerly)
Dale Sveum, Brewers
Mike Maddux, Brewers
Rick Schu, Diamondbacks
Larry Bowa, Dodgers (as of today actually)
Terry Francona, Red Sox
Juan Samuel, Orioles
Ron Roenicke, Angels
Roger McDowell, Braves
Ivan DeJesus, Cubs
Mariano Duncan, Dodgers
Norm Charlton, Mariners
Tom Nieto, Mets
Pat Corrales, Nationals
Darrel Akerfelds, Padres
Milt Thompson, Phillies
Billy Hatcher, Reds
Andy Van Slyke, Tigers

That's quite a list. 20 coaches. That seems like a very high proportion, considering the average team had roughly 6 coaches listed. That's about 120 coaches in the league, meaning that 1 in every 6 coaches was a former Phillie player or coach. Quite enthralling data there.

So here's the question... why are so many former Phillies now coaches, despite the team's minimal success over the past 3 decades or so?

Some theories:

1. Flipping through some of their playing records on Baseball-Reference.com, I noticed that most of these guys played for a good 5 teams or more. AKA- journeymen. So, not only were they former Philles, but they were former "everythings".

2. Perhaps playing on the infamous Veterans Stadium turf taught these gents the nitty gritty of how to play baseball better. Note that this theory is quickly rebuked after considering the Phils' dismal collective record over the past 30-odd years.

3. Maybe these teams want coaches with plenty of experience in dealing with adversity. As mentioned, most of these guys played on the Vet's turf. They also dealt with futile teams. And hostile fans. And weather that went from ice cold in April to 100 degrees with 99% humidity in the summer. Talk about survivors, these guys have seen it all.

4. Or perhaps there's a mysterious missing link. Was/is there a great mentor that these guys learned from while in Philly? Was there a secret network that these guys had to help them get hooked up with coaching jobs? Or something else altogether?

5. Lastly, the most likely cause: the Phanatic. I don't know what his effect could possibly be, but he's the only constant in the past 30+ years. Can we get a scientific link to his powers of getting former Phils to become coaches all over the league?

You be the judge.

John Russell Joins the Buccos

2007-11-06T22:53:00.000-05:00

So another former Phillie has landed himself a coaching job.

John Russell, a Phightin' from '84 to '88, has been hired as the next whipping boy, errr, manager of the beleagured (and perhaps "de-league-ered" in the future) Pittsburgh Pirates. Tough task at hand trying to rebuild a team that hasn't had a winning season since 1992. Obviously the other side of Pennsylvania also hasn't fared all that well in baseball in the past decade, though at least the Phils have shown some promise as of late. Russell had been managing the Red Barons, errr, Iron Pigs in the Phils' farm system and will be making his first stop as a Big League manager.

During his playing years, Russell put together a Sal Fasano-like career (according to BaseballReference.com) with a .225 career batting average, 34 homers, 129 RBIs and one-third of an inning pitched for the Braves in '89 (he has a career 0.00 ERA, in fact, as he gave up no runs). A multi-position fielder, Russell camped out in the outfield most often but also played catcher fairly often.

We wish you well Coach Russell. Good luck in the Steel City. You might need it.

Lee Elia's Back on the Scene

2007-11-02T19:50:00.000-05:00

Lee Elia, the native Philadelphian who managed the Phillies from 1987 to 1988 and compiled a 111-142 record during that time, has been hired as, and I quote: "an on-field consultant" for the Seattle Mariners.

If this doesn't sound like a cushy job, then I don't know what does. The job description, according to SI.com:

"He (will)work with the team for approximately half of spring training. Periodically throughout the season, he will assist manager John McLaren and the coaching staff while in uniform."

I guess when you're 70 years old and have 50 years of baseball experience, you can pull off jobs like that. Congrats Lee and good luck with the Mariners.

For those of you wondering, here's a summary of Elia's stats as an infielder for his Major League years of 1966 and 1968:

.203 batting average
3 home runs
25 RBIs
17 runs scored

And now for the best entertainment of the day!... Lee Elia's expletive-filled rampage in 1983 when he was managing the lowly Cubs... click here and be sure to scroll to the bottom and listen to the WAV file. AMAZING. That's true Philly 'tood right there folks.

History is a Thing of the Past

2007-10-26T17:13:00.000-05:00

Imagine if you could predict the future.

Well, actually you can.

In today's world of sports, history is becoming a thing of the past. How so, you ask? Think about all of the quirky, intriguing, and valuable sports artifacts that have been collected from decades past, such as the ones you can see here.

A home run ball hit by Mike Schmidt.

Tommy MacDonald's game-worn helmet.

A broken stick signed by Bobby Clarke.

Etc.

They were all real, genuine items that were used and had a sentimental value to the player because that's what they had to use, and that was it.

Fast forward to today's world.

The 756th home run ball hit by Barry Bonds was tagged with a special marking to prove authenticity.

Eight seconds after a team wins the World Series, Super Bowl, etc., the players are wearing the hats that are available in stores the following day.

Baseball card printing can be planned so that there will be a limited number of certain ones printed so as to make them more valuable.

I could go on. http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

But my point here is that sports memorabilia is a lot different in today's highly monetized, merchandized, milestone-marking business world. All of these new items of memorabilia that I mentioned were essentially prefabricated, and had a predetermined collector's value and predicated how the collector's market should react. Obviously not all collector's items are prefabricated like these, but enough are to make it feel like history is a thing of the past, and as a result predicting what's going to happen is as easy as shooting a free throw.

Perhaps soon you'll be able to buy a shirt honoring the player who surpasses Wilt Chamberlain's record of most free throws made in an NBA game (28) before the game is even over. On-demand memorabilia, I'll call it. It's the wave of the future...

Booing is Universal, Not Just a Philly Thing

2007-10-19T20:04:00.000-05:00

To the next yokel who automatically declares Philadelphia boorish for booing, as announcers always love to point out, I suggest we all keep in mind that Philly isn't the only boo haven.

As reported by The Sporting News in a recent soccer match between the U.S. and Switzerland, in which the U.S. won 1-0, the fans booed the Swiss team off of the field.

And this was in Switzerland.

SWITZERLAND!

The "neutral" capital of the world!

If they can boo in Switzerland, then, like it or not, I think the rest of the world should get a free pass for booing at sporting events. How can the notoriously neutral natives of Switzerland get to reign down their disgust and not the rest of us sporting hooligans (booligans, perhaps?)? It's only fair.

If you'd like to see for yourself, simply fast forward to the end of this clip...

Nick Leyva Will Be Sending Himself Home

2007-10-10T21:22:00.001-05:00

Former Phillies' coach Nick Leyva got waved home on October 8th as the Milwaukee Brewers opted not to bring him back as a third base coach for next year.

As the Phils' manager from 1989-1991, Leyva went a not-so-lusty 148-189 and was fired in the beginning of the '91 derby. Those were indeed some lean times so it's not easy to tell how much of the blame for that brutal won-loss record is, but it still doesn't look favorable in the record books.

Anyway, let's see if he resurfaces somewhere else as the coaching shuffle in the MLB continues.

Bring It On

2007-10-07T11:46:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia Flyers hockey is here and I hope you're ready. Because after watching the Phillies get manhandled to end their season and the Eagles get outplayed to begin their season, I for one am hoping the Flyers have a fighting chance.

Speaking of fighting, I thought these two clips might inspire you to get fired up for the start of hockey season.

A dash of Dave Schultz...

And a splash of Flyers vs. Senators...

Bring it on baby...

Sports Tradtions that Need to Be Dumped

2007-10-06T21:35:00.000-05:00

Let's get rid of these sports traditions, shall we?

1. Spraying champagne after winning a playoff series. I just saw the Arizona
Diamondbacks celebrating their victory by blasting champagne all over their locker room after winning their NLDS series. If you win the World Series, I guess you're entitled to partake in this venture, but I don't get the practice of going nuts with the bubbly after winning one series. What a waste.

2. Giving towels to fans at games. I attended the Phillies first game against the Rockies in the NLDS. All fans got a rag to swing around in the air. Ok, I guess it looks cool when everybody's waving them, but at the same time, it prevents people from clapping and making noise, which to me is more overwhelming than a bunch of towels spinning around.

3. Giving long skinny balloons to fans behind the basket. See #2.

4. Yelling "sucks" after an opposing player's name is announced during opening introductions. Once again this was observed at the Phillies/Rockies game on Wednesday. The first time I heard it was at a Duke University basketball game on TV which I thought was pretty cool at the time, but now it's just trite and immature.

5. Announcers giving "keys to the game" or other such fodder. Look, we're fans, we all know what has to happen for a team to win. Just re-wording the same old standards, such as: "get out to an early lead" or "take the crowd out of the game" or "adapt to the weather." Thanks guys but we get the point.

6. Playing loud music at any possible moment. This is particularly prominent and annoying at NBA games, whereby home teams want to make it seem like there's a lot of excitement and the fans are incompetent when it comes to make their own noise. Thanks guys, but it's unnecessary.

7. Football players, coaches, and announcers talking about how playing football is like "going to war." No it's not. It's a past time where people tackle each other. I don't recall any war in the history of the world where a gang of people out-tackled another gang of people and declared themselves conquerors of a plot of land.

Thanks for listening to my rant. And thank you for allowing me to continue the tradition of critiquing all things sports.

Now I'm goint to celebrate this post by spraying champagne all over my keyboard.

Countdown to 10,000 Revisited

2007-09-30T20:50:00.000-05:00

So a few distant months ago, we Philly fans were excited about the Phillies' "Countdown to 10,000." It was a landmark event that "honored" the Phils and their 125 years and 10,000 games of futility. It was an ironic, self-deprecating (from a fan's point of view), almost funny event that came and went. The players didn't want to talk about it, and the team seemed to bitterly prevent it from being publicized.

Fast forward to today. Finishing the year as one of the hottest teams in the National League, in conjunction with the Mets' generous contribution to crash and burn, we now have a Phillies' team that is officially playoff bound. And the coverage is all over their web site and commercials.

But here's the thing... if the Phillies are going to embrace their exciting playoff berth, why not recognize the 10,000th loss as well? It's part of the game, it's part of the team's history, it's an undeniable fact. Celebrate it, laugh about it, and move on.

Now I'm going to move on and say, let's go Phils! I want a championship! 10,000 championships!

Just Imagine...

2007-09-26T22:04:00.000-05:00

So tonight the Phils pulled to within one game of the slumping Mets, and they can be tied up with the Padres by the end of the night if San Diego loses. If the Phils take the lead in the NL Wild Card race in the next couple of days, Philly fans will be able to hear a certain phrase that we haven't heard in ages, probably since 1993:

Magic Number!

Yes, just imagine the words "magic number" and "Phillies" in the same sentence.

But truthfully, MAGIC NUMBER could soon be part of our vocabulary if all goes well. Usually the Phils land on the wrong side of the Magic Number countdown and fall short of the playoffs, so we'll see if we magically pull into the lead over the next few days. Question is... who's the ace up the Phils' sleeves?

Seen at Today's Philadelphia Eagles Game

2007-09-23T21:20:00.000-05:00

A guy wearing one of those hats with the fake pony tail hanging out of it.

That's blogworthy, right?

Sorry for the Heat, Mr. Bell

2007-09-21T20:56:00.000-05:00

I ask you first to read this article about Charlie Bell. (Note for Philly fans, this is not Philly related. Sorry.)

Now I ask you, is this a sob story?

The guy just signed a contract for $18.5 million dollars. And yet we get comments like:

-Bell is "getting his thoughts together." And...

-The 6-foot-3 Bell had said he did not want to play for Milwaukee and instead wanted to go to Miami. And...

-"Restricted free agency is a very tough process," Bartelstein said. "As a player, you don't know where you're going to be, you have through getting an offer sheet. It's hard, very hard."

Times is tough, times is tough.

Hidden Cams, Steroids, and Sandpaper... OH MY!

2007-09-13T20:22:00.000-05:00

So with all this talk about the Patriots allegedly cheating (and I use the word allegedly very loosely!) by videotaping the signal calls of other teams, not to mention all of the chatter about the widespread steroids use in baseball, football, and elsewhere, I couldn't help but think back to a rather humorous cheating incident in Philly history.

According BaseballLibrary.com, less than 2 weeks after Atlanta's Phil Niekro was busted for filing a baseball down to get more movement on his pitches, the Phils' Kevin Gross was nabbed for having sandpaper in his glove and scuffing the ball in a similar manner.

The sad part is that Gross was 9-16 for the 80-82 Phils that year, according to BaseballReference.com. Just makes you wonder what his numbers would have been like without cheating. And by the way, he was also in the top 10 for pitchers for the following categories:

Most hit batsmen (#1)
Most losses (#2)
Most walks (#6)
Most home runs allowed (#10)

So let that be a lesson to all you youngins out there... sandpaper's for master craftsmen, not struggling pitchers.

Phillies Stat of the Day

2007-09-07T17:57:00.001-05:00

So in case you haven't been emotionally traumatized enough after the Phils tremendous sweep of the Mets, followed by a disastrous collapse against the Marlins and Braves, Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports this little nugget:

According to the Elias Sports Bureau... teams that held a six-run lead in the eighth inning had a winning streak of 517-0 before (the Phils crumbled against Atlanta with a six-run lead this past weekend)

If nothing else, this team will go down in history for something, alright. You can fill in your own blank as to what that history will be...

Bill Henry: Alive and Well

2007-09-06T13:13:00.000-05:00

This week, Bill Henry died.

But it wasn't former major league pitcher Bill Henry from the 1950s and 60s, it was his imposter, non-major league pitcher, Bill Henry.

Apparently this guy from Florida had pretended to be the real Bill Henry, who is alive and well in Texas. When the imposter died, obituaries hit the presses stating that a former major leaguer passed away. Meanwhile, the real Bill Henry, the ex-pitcher, lives on. Here's how the story played out, according to the Houston Chronicle:

As the obituary was circulated on the wires, genealogist and baseball historian David A. Lambert of Massachusetts began to document Henry's death. As he looked closer at the birth date and city of birth given for the Florida man and the Henry listed on various baseball documents, he realized something was amiss.

Major league records listed a Deer Park address for Henry, who started with the Red Sox in 1952 and ended with the Astros in 1969. The obituary, which was picked up from The Ledger newspaper in Florida, listed Lakeland as his home address.

"So I called Henry in Deer Park and told his wife, 'I'm offering you condolences on the passing of your husband,' " said Lambert, a genealogist with the New England Historic Genealogical Society and member of the Society of American Baseball Research.

"She said, 'Bill didn't pass away in Florida. He's sitting here next to me,' " he said.

I'd say that's the quote of the day right there.

Live long and prosper, the REAL Mr. Henry.

Eagles Fun Fact of the Day

2007-09-02T22:45:00.000-05:00

In light of the recent excitement over the selection of the Eagles' starting punter this season, here's a fun bit of Eagles trivia to show off at your next Birds party:

The Eagles' leading punter by yardage, Adrian Burk (1951-1956), punted the ball over 9 miles (16,122 yards) during his Eagles career. On top of that, Burk also QB'd the Eagles at the time and threw for 6,203 yards, which is equivalent to more than 3 miles.

You can thank me later for dropping some knowledge up in here.

Nick Punto Shows His Shortstopian Skills

2007-08-29T21:13:00.000-05:00

Ex-Philadelphia Phillie and local phan phavorite Nick Punto made the highlight reel this week with a sweet play on a chopper off the Metrodome Astroturf. Check it:

Can't teach that, folks. That's just Pure Punto right there.

Phillies' Alumni Checklist

2007-08-25T22:24:00.000-05:00

So the Phils tanked another game tonight and pretty much initiated the process of letting the wheels fall off in their annual playoff collapse. So I thought I'd reminisce a moment and think about some of the great alumni of Phils' years past.

It just so happens that at the last Phils game I attended, I, along with every other fan, received a free pack of cards to celebrate the Phils' alumni that would be honored before the game. The first card is the "Phillies Alumni Checklist" and has a list of these players, in this order:

Robin Roberts: Hall of Famer; great start to the list
Tony Taylor: played 19 years in the Majors, had a respectable career
Dick Allen: had a great career for the Phils and with several other teams; borderline Hall of Fame potential
Dallas Green: coached the Phils to the 1980 World Series championship; classic "baseball guy"
Mike Schmidt: Hall of Famer, say no more
Steve Carlton: Hall of Famer, a little wacky, but unbelievable career
Garry Maddox: enjoyed a successful 11 years in a Phils uniform, good all around guy
Greg Luzinski: "The Bull" was a memorable character who could hit the ball to China
Dave Hollins: umm, okay, he had his moments, but isn't there any other alumni they could drag out to this event?
Rico Brogna: Rico Brogna? Rico Brogna! The Phils have been around for 125+ years and he was the best they could do for an alumni ceremony? He seems like a nice guy and put together a few decent at-bats and has a great name and all, but... wow.

OK, so much for reminiscing. How much longer till Eagles' season starts??

Arkansas Fred Goes Wireless

2007-08-20T19:48:00.000-05:00

Wireless Philadelphia, an initiative organized by controversial Philadelphia Mayor John Street, announced that it has named a new member to its board... none other than "Arkansas" Fred Barnett of Philadelphia Eagles fame.

Barnett, who racked up over 5,000 yards and scored 32 TDs while playing for the Eagles (1990-1995) and Miami (1996-1997), apparently is quietly active in the Philadelphia community as he also handles public relations and fund-raising for the Institute for the Development of African-American Youth in Philly, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sounds like a hard-working and dedicated man who is definitely doing good things for the city.

Now for some more good things about Mr. Barnett...

In two playoff games in which he had more than 100 receiving yards per game, the Eagles won both games by a combined score of 94-57. In the two games he caught for less than 100 yards each, the Iggles lost by a combined score of 64-21.
One of the most memorable plays in Birds' history was his 95 yard catch against the Buffalo Bills in 1990, thrown by the seemingly unsackable Randall Cunningham. (Editor's note: that play has to go down as one of the league's top plays of all time, right?) Simply amazing.
Here's a good article from 2005 about Fred's life.

I'll end this by saying, wired or wireless, Fred Barnett will always have a place in Eagles' fans hearts... and now, apparently, computers.

WE ARE... ONE G?

2007-08-19T19:14:00.000-05:00

According to Penn State's student newspaper, The Collegian, season football tickets for students sold out in a mere 59 minutes earlier this year; and subsequently to buy a ticket online to see Penn State battle with Notre Dame could run you about $1,100.

Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to be at any Penn State game this year (or any year for that matter), particularly to see the Fighting Irish, but I'll happily enjoy the game from the comfort and low-cost couch at home.

Go Lions!