Mile High Surprise: Mike Shanahan Out In Denver

Mike Shanahan is out as the coach of the Denver Broncos. Wow. That was unexpected. I looked around the league and made a mental list of the coaches I expected to get fired. Rod Marinelli. Romeo Crennel. Tom Cable. Wade Phillips. Herman Edwards. Two names I did not expect to see were Eric Mangini and Mike Shanahan.

Not so much Mangini, as I had heard the chatter about him and a firing, especially as the Jets flamed out once again this season.

I was all set to write up a little piece about how I think that teams are frequently too hasty in making coaching changes. How these changes are often within three or four years of the coaches tenure, and how this is not enough time to properly evaluate a coach. After all, it took Chuck Noll six seasons to win his first Super Bowl. For Bill Parcells, it was four seasons. For Bill Walsh, it was three seasons. Ditto for Vince Lombardi.

Then there are coaches like Bill Cowher, who won his Super Bowl in his 14th season. And then there are coaches like Marty Schottenheimer, Dan Reeves, Chuck Knox and Bud Grant, who all won more than 150 games, but never won a Super Bowl. Reeves and Grant account for six Super Bowl losses.

The point, if you're still reading, is that these coaches all had one thing going for them. Consistency and continuity. There were good years, and there were down years. Even Cowher, the coaching candidate du jour, had three losing seasons in 1998, 1999 and 2000. Some owners would have fired Cowher after that third losing season. And then what? No Super Bowl win five years later.

I'm not arguing that Crennel, Marinelli and Mangini didn't contribute to their own downfall by fielding middling to outright crappy teams. But I am saying that given the length/status of player contracts, and owner preferences, a coach could come in and be stuck with some players that he doesn't want. It was pretty well established that Parcells didn't want anything to do with Terrell Owens, but he had to deal with TO in order to coach the Cowboys. It's interesting to note that the Cowboys have gone downhill since Parcells left. Coincidence? Probably. It's too bad TO wasn't cut loose instead. I'd wonder if we'd be seeing Dallas collapses like we've seen these past couple of years.

I think it's something of a disservice to the fans and players to fire a coach after three seasons. Noll's first three seasons: 1-13, 5-9 and 6-8. Today, he might have been fired mid season. Tom Landry started out 0-11-1, 4-9-1, 5-8-1, 4-10, 5-8-1 and 7-7 (I guess he knew there were ties in the NFL, huh?). I think he may not have lasted through that second season in today's NFL. Even Jimmy Johnson had some tough times: 1-15, 7-9 and 11-5. Not so bad in year three, but I'll bet those first two are forgettable for Cowboy fans.

Not every coach starts out a winner like Cowher (11-5, 9-7 and 12-4), Lombardi (7-5, 8-4 and 11-3) and Don Shula (8-6, 12-2 and 10-3). As often as a coach has a brilliant run his first three seasons, a coach will have a totally wretched run in his first three.

What coaches would you rather have coaching your team? Noll, Landry and Johnson? Or Cowher, Lombardi and Shula? Hard to argue with either list, right? That's a lot of Super Bowls right there. And they all got there in different time frames.

And then there's Mike Shanahan. He coached 14 seasons, and won his first of two Super Bowls in his fifth season - his third with Denver. His teams won 10 or more games seven times, and his teams finished first or second 11 times. You'd think after 14 years, 146 wins and two Super Bowl wins, he'd have been safe. Obviously not.

Don't get me wrong. I can't stand Denver, and I am glad to see Shanahan and his arrogance taken down a peg. But, to me, it doesn't add up.

Somehow, Norv Turner, Herman Edwards, Dick Jauron, Mike McCarthy and John Gruden are still coaching. And Andy Reid is under fire in Philadelphia. Tom Coughlin was nearly run out of New York last year. I've heard Marvin Lewis and Jack Del Rio's names come up in the "will he be fired" guessing game. It's nuts.

Meanwhile, Jeff Fisher in Tennessee, looms large these days. His team lost the Super Bowl in his sixth season. In 15 seasons, he's had six seasons of 10 or more wins, four 8-8 seasons and two 7-9 seasons. His overall record is 128-102 for a .557 percentage. Nothing special here, right? But he's having a great year isn't he?

By comparison, Cowher had a .623 winning percentage, Walsh had a .609 winning percentage, Bud Grant had a .622 percentage and Schottenheimer had a .612 percentage.

Parcells (.570), Noll (.566) and Fisher all have lower win percentages than Shanahan (.598).

I find it hard to believe that Shanahan will not be coaching again in 2009, assuming he wants that. Maybe he'll follow Cowher's lead and take some time off.

So what's the answer? I'll be damned if I know. But I do think that all coaches should be given at least five years to determine whether or not they can make a team a viable contender. I just don't think that three years is anywhere near enough time.

Oh - and I also must give props to the 49ers. I am no fan of theirs by any stretch, but their decision to retain Mike Singletary draws applause from me. This has to be one of - if not THE - smartest coaching moves in many years. I look forward to seeing what happens with this team next year. Good one, San Francisco!

Rant of the Week: NFL Playoff Seeding

How screwed up is the NFL when a 9-7 team (Arizona) is hosting an 11-5 team (Atlanta), and an 8-8 team (San Diego) is hosting a 12-4 team (Indianapolis)? And even though Miami and Baltimore have identical records, Baltimore technically finished ahead of Miami because they beat them head-to-head, so that makes three of the four road teams this weekend with better records than their home opponents. And if the Eagles hadn't blown the Washington game, all four road teams would have had better records than their home counterparts. I'd be surprised if that even happened twice in one playoff week before this season.

It's a consequence of the eight-division alignment the NFL now employs: you get a weak 8-8 division winner like San Diego hosting a playoff game while New England at 11-5 is sitting home (not that I feel sorry for Belechick). I know such occurrences happened occasionally in the old six-division alignment, but that problem was largely resolved when they added a third wildcard to each conference. Things were running pretty smoothly from that point on until they decided to realign into eight divisions. Unfortunately, the NFL has backed itself into a corner. They can't add more playoff teams (that would just dilute the quality and turn the NFL into the NHL), and they'll never return to a six-division alignment, so it will probably become fairly common to see teams with double-digit wins sitting at home for the playoffs while 8-8 teams move on. We may even one day see the unthinkable scenario of a 7-9 team hosting a playoff game against a 13-3 team--it could happen, and that would be a major embarassment for the league.

At the very least, the NFL should rethink giving automatic higher seeds to division winners, because there's no way that San Diego and Arizona deserve to host playoff games.

Sometimes the Long Shot Comes In

Who would have thought we'd be sitting here on Monday talking about the Eagles' upcoming playoff game? Nobody. Who in their right mind thought Tampa would lose at home to a lousy team like Oakland, blowing a ten-point lead in the process? Nobody. Who thought the Eagles would put a spanking on the Cowboys the likes of which have rarely been seen in Eagles history? Nobody. The Bears losing in Houston wasn't terribly surprising, but the chances of both Chicago and Tampa losing were pretty small. In fact, you probably had a better chance of winning the lottery than witnessing the confluence of events that occurred yesterday to allow the Eagles to sneak into the playoffs. Then again, it's been that kind of wacky season (the Chargers rallied from a 4-8 record to win their division for god's sake).

I'm not surprised the Eagles beat the Cowboys (though, in my understandable dejection after the Washington debacle I said something much different), but the way they did it was certainly shocking. Playoffs or no playoffs, that was one of the more enjoyable games in Eagles' history. The Cowboys, with eight days of rest and a playoff spot on the line, flat-out choked like the frauds they are. Of course the Eagles had something to do with that, particularly the defense that is playing as well as any in football right now. It doesn't get much sweeter than demolishing the Cowboys, especially given the bonus of sending them home for the postseason. I'm glad Reid finally discovered that Buckhalter is still on this team. He and Westbrook would make a formidable tandem if Reid would just use them. I hope he has finally gotten the message that you have to run to win, but how many times have I said that in the past? I won't hold my breath that he's suddenly a changed man, but we can at least hope that he'll continue the trend for the playoffs.

The Eagles have been largely representative of this year's NFL as a whole. One game they look unbeatable, the next they look like they can't get out of their own way. Thankfully, against the Cowboys, we got the former. Now the question becomes which Eagles team we'll see in the playoffs. When they play like they did against Washington, they are capable of losing to anyone, but when they play like they did yesterday, they are capable of beating anyone. And really, does anybody in the NFC playoffs scare you? If the Eagles can get on a roll with the way the defense is playing, they have just as legitimate of a shot as anyone. The Giants proved last year that if you get hot at the right time, it doesn't matter how many road games you have to play.

As for the game itself: Minnesota is a very beatable team. Defensively, the Eagles just need to stack the line and force Jackson to beat them through the air. Peterson is a monster, but the Eagles did a good job of stuffing him last year, and I have faith in Johnson to come up with an effective scheme for containing him once again. On offense, they may have to throw more than we want them to because Minnesota is so good against the run, but it would be a mistake to abandon the running game altogether, so please, Andy, learn from your past mistakes for a change!

My prediction: I just don't see Minnesota being able to put that many points on the board against the Eagles' defense, and I think McNabb and the offense will do just enough to pull this one out, even if Reid goes brain dead and throws 80% of the time again. Experience wins out in this one: Eagles 20, Vikings 10.

A Win and A Loss in Pittsburgh and E-A-G-L-E-S!

It's been an interesting day for Pennsylvania football, hasn't it?

Western PA

The Steelers pounded division rival Cleveland 31-0, which normally would be greeted with cheers all along the Monongahela, Ohio and Allegheny Rivers - otherwise known as "the confluence" by Al "I talk (a lot), therefore I am...annoying" Michaels.

However, I, for one, was a bit upset seeing our star quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, carted off the field on a stretcher. He suffered a concussion in the second quarter, but is expected to be okay for the Steelers playoff run. Pittsburgh had already clinched a playoff spot and their seeding was set, so it was, essentially, a meaningless game.

I will not question Mike Tomlin's decision to have Roethlisberger in there in the first place. All Tomlin has done in his first two seasons is ring up a 22-10 regular season record and two division titles. He's earned the right to do what he thinks is right in guiding my beloved football team. I will admit my first thought when hearing about Ben was "Why is he even in the game?" - but I'll let it go. And Mike, please keep up the good work!

The Steelers won, so all is well. Now, time to focus on the playoffs. Congrats, Black & Gold! And get well soon, Big Ben. We need ya!

Eastern PA

And in a glorious and surprising fashion, the Eagles pasted the Cowboys 44-6, and, in the process, shined a dubious light on the team and, fairly or unfairly, Tony Romo. With near endless references to their December record, the 'Choker' label they were trying desperately to shake is back in Dallas along with the 10-gallon question of "What happened?"

Nobody asked me, but I'll tell you what I think happened. Jerry Jones, in a very New York Yankee style, lined up all the talented players he could find without bothering with the detail of whether or not they could properly function as a team.

Romo takes it on the chin again - and maybe it's true that he buckles under end-of-season pressure. But he's not the whole problem for that team. Terrell Owens drops passes. The offensive line surrendered near-constant pressure. And the defense and special teams couldn't get out of their own way.

Add it up, and you get a team rife with talent settling down for a long, cold winter. Questions about Wade Phillips and his future are resurrected, ignoring the fact that Jerry Jones is the one who deserves to be sacked. He assembled this bunch of misfits, and he's the king misfit.

I rarely feel sorry for Dallas fans, but in this case, I do. A little, anyway. I don't see any positive changes coming for that team. They can fire Phillips, but that won't solve the problems.

All of this downplays the excellent performance by the Eagles. The offense scored three touchdowns, and the defense answered with two of their own. The Eagles outscored the Cowboys 41-0 over the second and third quarter.

While I think that people went a bit over the top with talk of the NFC East being the most competitive/toughest division in the NFL, I think there is no question that the second best team in that division won today.

If that was Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb's last game in Eagles green, then they served their fans well. As with the Cowboys, the departure of the coach will not solve the problems that still exist in Philadelphia. And the Eagles without McNabb? Wow. Better prepare for some low-scoring games in Philly in 2009.

Thanks for that finale, Eagles. I am one of the many fans that love to see the Cowboys lose. Now everyone is 0-0. Let the fun begin!

Half A Yard Short: A Microcosm for the Whole Season

First, let's face facts: the Eagles season ended in Washington. They're not going to the playoffs. Tampa Bay is not going to miraculously lose at home to the hapless Raiders. And even if the unthinkable happens and Tampa loses, the Eagles still need either Minnesota or Chicago to lose. And even if the miracle of all Christmas miracles happens and both of those scenarios come to pass, the Eagles still must beat the Cowboys—and after watching that pathetic effort against a bad Washington team, does anyone believe that is going to happen?

The Eagles were already given the opportunity to control their own destiny when Tampa lost to San Diego—and they flat-out blew it. They came up smaller than small when everything was on the line. The game itself isn't even worth writing about, so I won't rehash what happened, other than to marvel at Reid's undying stubbornness in throwing the ball 80% of the time on a blustery, windy day while giving Westbrook all of ten meaningful carries. This blurb from Phil Sheridan's article says it all:

"Take away the two junk runs at the end of the first half and the Eagles called just 12 runs while attempting 48 passes (not counting two McNabb spikes). That's an 80/20 split, if you're interested in percentages. That's just stupid, if you're interested in adjective."

I've outlined in several previous blog entries why Reid should be fired, so no need to go there again. This season has convinced me more than ever that Reid's past success was due primarily to Jim Johnson's defense and Donovan McNabb's talent. Now that McNabb, several years and major injuries later, is no longer capable of winning games by himself, Reid's shortcomings have been laid bare. I don't know how many more times he has to miss the playoffs, how many more times his team has to fail to show up in big games, before Lurie will finally pull the trigger.

If I thought there was any chance Reid would be fired, I would strongly consider rooting for them to lose this week. But as it is, we should savor what could well be McNabb's final game as an Eagle. The greatest quarterback in franchise history will no doubt be made the scapegoat this offseason—not the receivers who perpetually lead the league in drops, and certainly not the coach who thinks a running game is some movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. If nothing else, the Eagles have the opportunity to drag the stinkin' Cowboys down with them into playoff oblivion, and that would at least be some small consolation.

Eagles Still on the Outside Looking In

Last week the Eagles pummeled the Browns into submission, but their third consecutive win still wasn't enough to get them back to the inside track of the playoff hunt, thanks to Tampa Bay, whose loss to Atlanta just closed the window of opportunity a little more. The Eagles now must hope that either Atlanta loses to Minnesota or Tampa Bay loses to San Diego, because both teams have very easy games next week.

Things haven't changed for the Birds—they still must run the table to have any shot at the playoffs, and to do so, they must play better than they did last week. Even though they blew out the Browns, it was a very sloppy game (they probably should have won by 40 points against a Browns that barely even showed up). Nevertheless, the Eagles should beat a slumping Redskins team, which (if things fall right) would have them battling Dallas in the last game of the season for that final playoff spot—and nothing would be sweeter than securing a playoff spot by sending the 'Boys packing.

But for this weekend at least, the Philly faithful will be huge San Diego and Minnesota fans, because if Atlanta and Tampa both win, the season is probably over.

Play-Action, Anyone? And Other Football Observations

Please...Pass The Ball!

What's the deal with teams not being able to convert 3rd-and-1? Or worse yet, 4th-and-1. I am thinking of the Steelers and Eagles - and now the Colts - as I wonder about this. Why not try that new-fangled pass thing? I am hardly a football tactician, but I can see that this might be something worth a shot. Just sayin'...

There was the Eagles-Bears game when the Eagles turned the ball over on downs after a failed 4th-and-1 (on the Bears 1 yard line) against the Bears. This after two failed run attempts for the same yard prior to that.

Then the Eagles did it again against the Redskins. After getting nothing on a 2nd-and-1 run on the Redskins two yard line, they lost three yards on another run, then kicked the field goal.

The Steelers didn't want to be left out, and they were stopped inside the Dallas five yard line on fourth down - again on a failed run attempt.

At least the Steelers managed to win the game, but the fact remains that running for it when a yard is needed is no longer a gimme. Not that it ever was, but it seems that this one yard is harder to get than ever in 2008.

Now the Colts have joined this dubious fraternity, failing on 3rd-and-1 from nine yards out against Jacksonville.

And more from Jacksonville: Do broadcasters even listen to one another? Seconds before Adam Vinateri missed a 30-yard field goal, Cris Collinsworth's booth partner said that Vinateri was lining up for an extra point try. Nothing from Collinsworth.

That WAS a touchdown

The league has backed the officials who called Santonio Holmes 4-yard catch a score. Steelers win, time to move on. It's too bad it had to be a close call and slightly mar an otherwise great win for the Steelers, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

I sure hope the Ravens don't make the playoffs. I'd rather the Steelers not have to face the Ravens a third time. Two wins is pretty sweet, but three....that's tough. But they did it before, beating the Bill Belichik-coached Browns three times in 1993, so anything can happen. The way they're playing, I think the Steelers can beat anyone right now.

It sure would be fun to beat the Ravens a third time. But first the Ravens will have their hands full this weekend with the surging Cowboys. That should be a fun game, and I am not sure who I am rooting for. Can both teams be credited with a loss?

Eagles Manhandle Giants

It's late to be posting this so I won't write much, but I couldn't let the week go without celebrating a victory over that hated team from North Jersey. The Eagles dominated the game from start to finish; the Giants' offense didn't so squat until garbage time. I hope Reid took some notes. This is what happens when you don't abandon the running game and you keep pounding it in there: you wear the opposing defense down and dominate in the second half, though we probably have Mornhinweg to thank more than Reid since he was clearly calling the plays again.

It's great to see them playing this well now, but I still fear it may be too little, too late. You can't help but wonder where the team would be if Reid hadn't gone brain dead and pulled McNabb against the Ravens. Oh well, at least they control their own destiny within the division now (thanks to the Cowboys' meltdown against the Steelers). If the Eagles run the table, they will finish second in the division. However, that still may not be good enough to reach the playoffs because they still need Atlanta to lose one more time, though that could happen as early as this week against Tampa Bay.

Bottom Line: the Eagles are in much better shape than they were two weeks ago, but they still need a little help and obviously have zero margin for error.

Eagles Crush Cardinals . . . and I'm Mad

It was a dominant effort from start to finish on both sides of the ball . . . so why am I angry? Because it's probably too little too late, because this is the team they should have been all season, because this is the way they are capable of playing when their heads are in the game and the coach isn't going brain dead. The Cardinals were overrated anyway coming out of the dismal NFC West, but to dominate any NFL team like that takes the type of talent we've known they possessed all year. That's what makes this victory more frustrating than gratifying, knowing what should have been. Yeah, it was fun to watch this game (Westbrook gets more than one consecutive carry and look what happens!), but also bittersweet because they still have almost no shot at the playoffs. It reminds me of last season when the Eagles were playing the best football in the NFC over the final third of the season when it didn't matter anymore.

So Reid may get them playing well enough down the stretch to save his job (not that his job is ever in much jeopardy with Lurie being so in love with him), but what's the point? It's going to be the same crap next year when Reid reverts back to his stubborn, pass-happy self, making the same lousy decisions he makes every year . . . only this time he won't have McNabb to scapegoat since Donovan will likely be somewhere else helping some other team make the playoffs . . . and we'll see for perhaps the first time in Reid's career what kind of coach he really is when he doesn't have a stud quarterback to make his predictable, one-dimensional offense look good.

By the way, the refs were flat-out awful in this game. This has to be one of the worst officiated seasons I can remember.

Re: Eagles...So I Was Wrong. As Were Many Others

The Philadelphia media must be in a crisis mode after the Eagles scored a decisive 48-20 win over the still-seeking-a-division-clinching win Cardinals.

What will they do now? They spent four days talking and writing about all the problems with the Eagles and suggesting all the great ways they had for the Eagles to right the ship. And then, Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid - with a little help from Bryant Westbrook - went and righted the ship themselves.

This underscores the idea that one should take sportswriters and their comments with a grain of salt. And it shows how much I know. My prediction of a 31-7 Cardinals win indicates that perhaps I spent too much time listening to the dullards that inhabit Philly radio stations.

"McNabb redeems himself in rout of Cardinals" says the headline on the ESPN summary. I don't feel that McNabb "redeemed" himself, nor do I think he needed to. He had a fine game by most measures - 29 of 37 passing, 260 yards and four TD passes.

For the season, McNabb has 3,030 yards passing, with 18 TDs and 10 INTs. The INTs could stand to be a bit lower, but this is not a bad performance for a QB.

Especially an aging QB who has been around for 10 seasons in an offense that hasn't really changed all that much. It's fine to have a pass-happy offense with a young, mobile quarterback who can escape from pressure.

McNabb is now a wily veteran who should be able to enjoy a more cerbral approach to things. Look at Kerry Collins. Once considered washed up, he has re-emerged as a solid QB who does just enough to help his team win.

His calling is now to protect the ball and hand off to the young running backs. Collins' numbers are somewhat pedstrian: 2,125 yards passing, nine TDs and four picks. But...the Titans are 11-1, proving that this methodology is at the very least a valid formula for putting a winning team on the field. It may not be exciting, but a lot of Ws lead to good things.

A humorous sidebar: Mike Misinelli, formerly of 610 WIP in Philly, now barking on 950 ESPN, has proposed that the Eagles front office has deliberately surrounded McNabb with a bunch of second-raters in order that the Eagles will put out a subpar performance, thus making it easier for them to release McNabb at season's end. The theory being that the fans will agree that McNabb was ineffective and therefore, won't question the FO's decision to simply let him go.

This is a nice theory except for two things:

1. Who are the Eagles planning to go with at QB next year?
2. Does anyone think that Joe Banner and Jeffrey Lurie are savvy enough to have hatched a plot like this?

For point one, they've groomed nobody to take McNabb's spot. If they cut McNabb due to salary cap pressure, they will be hard pressed to find a QB to replace his ability. Many teams will be happy to sign him. And, consider this - can you think of another 10-year period in Eagles history that was this successful? I can't.

For point two, I don't believe Banner and Lurie are smart enough to run a going-out-of-business sale, let alone hatch a forward-thinking scheme like this.

No...I think that the answer simply lies in the fact that the Eagles have turned too much over to Andy Reid, and he isn't able to come up with all the answers. I think Reid would be a fine coach, GM or player-personnel director. But I don't see dividends in having him be so instrumental in all three disciplines.

I'd rather see how the Eagles would do next year with McNabb playing for a different head coach, rather than see McNabb playing for a different team.

Easy for me to say, as I have no say in the matter...and I'm not really an Eagles fan.

Perhaps the idea that "Players play and writers write" should be extended to this situation. But recent history indicates that the status quo is more likely what troubled Eagles fans will get. And people wonder why these fans boo. They're totally justified.

Thanksgiving Turkeys

Well, the schedule strikes again. We have three Thanksgiving days games to...look forward to.

As usual, we have the lame slate of lame Dallas/Detroit games and a third game that the NFL at least tries to make a good matchup.

I think it's time to entertain the idea that Detroit and Dallas should no longer have it as a given that they play on Thanksgiving. In fact, I'd bet that a lot of the players and coaches would prefer that.

When was the last time Detroit had given the impression that they would actually win? It's hard to imagine that the game won't end with something along the lines of a 30-10 Tennessee win.

Then there's the Dallas/Seattle game. Again, Tony Romo has proven to any who inquire that his injured pinky is more than capable of putting up points against stiff teams. Unfortunately for the fine fans of Seattle...the Seahawks are the stiffs this week. I expect this one to end with Dallas putting up about 38 points and holding Seattle to about 6.

And the game that 2 weeks ago would have been considered a real barn-burner looks like it will be little more than a coronation for the Cardinals. With what's happened over the past few weeks, I can't see the Eagles being in this one. No matter who starts at QB. I expect this to be a 31-7 Arizona win.

It's too bad, really. Most Turkey games are not very entertaining at all. It would be better if all the turkeys stayed home this year and sent in some better teams.

Reid Loses His Mind

First off, I would like to thank the Ravens for putting Eagles fans out of their collective misery. Now that we know the playoffs are over, we don't have to spend the rest of the season biting our nails only to have our hearts broken at the end. And better yet, we can now enjoy Thanksgiving with our families without worrying about getting home in time for the game against Arizona.

On to Reid. I knew it would happen eventually and he finally did it. Reid finally made Donovan McNabb the scapegoat for all of his own shortcomings, and in the process he threw away the game and the season just to make a point about nobody's job being safe. Only a complete moron would pull his starting quarterback at halftime of a 10-7 game with the season on the line. Was Donovan playing well? No. But the defense was playing well and they were THREE POINTS DOWN!!! That's not the time to make such a drastic change when you still have a shot at the playoffs! Who in their right mind would throw an inexperienced quarterback to the wolves like that against a defense like the Ravens? Did Reid honestly think Kolb would provide a spark? Please. It was nothing but a desperate move by a desperate man who has simply run out of answers.

Most coaches get better with experience but Reid has regressed (a delay of game penalty when you're running a no-huddle offense? Really???). He makes mistakes that rookie head coaches make. He doesn't know what the hell he's doing anymore and it's painfully obvious that things will never get better as long as he's the coach. Yes, he brought us several successful seasons, but this is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league and he will now have missed the playoffs for three out of the last four years. At some point you have to realize that it's not working anymore and that it's time to move on. I wish Lurie would show some guts and fire him tomorrow. The season is already lost anyway, so what's the point of keeping him around? Let Jim Johnson take over. Even if it's just for the rest of this season, he has earned the opportunity to finally be a head coach in this league. If Lurie lets Reid keep his job after this embarrassment, he's an even bigger idiot than Reid.

As for McNabb, he is not blameless in what has become of this dismal season, but no quarterback is going to be successful in a system that requires you to drop back to pass 60 times per game while paying nothing but lip service to any semblance of a running game. I really don't want him to go, but perhaps a change of scenery is what he needs. In any event, it looks like the cabal of McNabb haters in Philly will finally get its wish after this season. If this is indeed the end of the McNabb era, I wish him well. I am sure that he will start somewhere else next year and have tremendous success . . . and those same McNabb haters suffering through a 4-12 season with Kolb at the helm will rue the day he left.

Pujols Named MVP after Powering Cardinals to 4th Place!

Congratulations, Albert Pujols on your second MVP award. You sure...deserved it.

If there was a "Best Player" award, I'd have no argument with this. There are few players that can claim to be anywhere near as skilled a baseball player as Pujols is.

That said, I'd like to make a case for the overrated Ryan Howard. It's true that he was just farting around and lollygagging his way to 48 home runs and 146 runs batted in. Anybody can get lucky, am I right? And, well, despite Howard's shortcomings, the Phillies won the NL East division title.

Now, I understand that the Cardnials soared their way to a 4th place finish in the NL Central. And they would not have been able to attain that lofty position without the contributions of their star slugger. Hell, who knows? They might have finished in 5th or 6th place if not for their MVP.

Lord knows, you can't expect to put forth the excellence of a 4th place finish unless you get an MVP year. I'll bet the Cards wish they had more players like that. Maybe they could have finished in 3rd place! The mind boggles!

You know, now that I have made the case for Howard, I think that the baseball writers made the right choice after all. It's pretty clear to me that the Phillies could have finished in 2nd, 3rd or even, gosh, 4th place without Howard.

And it's totally true that Howard lacked consistency all year, and only excelled in September, when his team needed his production most. But who cares about that!? He struck out 199 times! Think of all the runs that could have been scored.

Howard's 146 RBI, mostly achieved in garbage time situations, is child's play compared to the 116 that Pujols put up. Obviously, Pujols' runs were more pivotal. They certainly led the Cardinals (86) to have more wins than the Phillies (92) had.

Pujols said it best in 2006: "I see it this way: Someone who doesn't take his team to the playoffs doesn't deserve to win the MVP." You tell 'em, Albert!

Clearly, the baseball writers agree. Since that's what it takes to win that award, then I certainly hope Howard does the right thing and hits 25 less homers next year and drives in 35 less runs. Then, as long as the Phillies finish 11 games out and in 4th place...he'll be a shoo-in for MVP.

Eagles Beat Bengals

At least that's what the headline should read. Today's game has caused my mind to break with reality, and I now live in an alternate universe. In this happy place, my beloved football team did not tie the cellar-dwelling Bengals, they blew them away. The Eagles' offense did not look like crap all game, they came out and took care of business like the playoff-bound team they are.

In this blissful nirvana, McNabb did not drop back more than 60 times to pass. On the contrary, Andy Reid took the pressure off his struggling quarterback by giving Brian Westbrook more than 20 carries . . . and he actually handed him the ball more than once in a row on several occasions!

In this euphoric world, Reid finally discovered that running the ball is a strategy, not an afterthought. He realized that he has the largest offensive line in the NFL and he rode them to victory. He allowed them to fire off the ball instead of dropping back into pass protection all game, wearing the other team down so that when he needed to convert a third-and-short, it was no problem because the Bengals' defensive line was on its heels from being pushed backward all game.

Yes, all of this happened in my happy place.

Now, back to reality.

They say in sports that a tie is like kissing your sister, but I don't think that applies here. When you need a missed field goal to barely escape losing to a 1-8 team, you are kissing something much worse than your sister. And to quote Forrest Gump: "That's all I have to say about that."

Ban the Shootout

Once again this week we had to watch the Flyers lose an overtime game via the dreaded shootout, one of the many idiotic "improvements" Gary Bettman has made to the NHL. I won't even get into the myriad other ways he has destroyed the sport (like expansion run wild, turning the NHL into the No Hit League, or letting stick-swinging cheap-shot artists run amok because players can no longer police such incidents without facing suspension . . . and does anybody remember the glowing puck?). It's as if Bettman's ultimate goal is to turn the NHL into a live-action video game.

I'm not just against this format because the Flyers' all-time shootout record is 8-20 (though that certainly contributes to my discontent), but because it's ridiculous to decide a professional sporting event with a gimmick that favors individual achievement over teamwork. It doesn't matter that the teams battled back and forth all game to arrive at a stalemate, we're going to decide the winner by letting a bunch of finesse players flash their skills. It would be like deciding a basketball game with a slam dunk competition, a football game with a field goal contest, a baseball game with a home run derby . . . or home field advantage in the World Series by the winner of the—umm, never mind.

In the Flyers' latest shootout loss, they had stormed back from a 3-goal deficit against the high-flying Penguins to take a one-goal lead, only to have the Pens tie it late and send it into overtime. A game like that deserves to be decided by the teams on the ice or not at all. Expand the overtime from five to ten minutes, and if it's still tied, let it remain a tie. Don't reward one team for having more finesse players—it's an insult to true hockey fans as well as to the players who busted their tails all game long. The NHL would never decide a playoff game with a shootout, so why should the regular season standings be affected by such a farce?

Not One Of Big Ben's Best Days

Now that I've had a day to sit on this, I think I can make some slightly more objective commentary about the Steelers 24-20 loss to the struggling Colts game Sunday.

Forgetting about the fact that they lost for a moment, I think it is noteworthy to focus on how they lost. In what looks like a trend with the Steelers (6-3), they outgained the Colts 326-290, had more passing yards (271-228), had a greater time of possession (34:05-25:55) and were penalized less.

All sounds good, right? Good enough to win, certainly. So...what happened?

Two important, Steelerific things did not go their way.

One - They had less success running the ball (26 attempts for 55 yards, as compared to 19 attempts for 62 yards). And I don't think the inclusion of Willie Parker would have made much difference here. Simply put, their injury-challenged offensive line cannot produce the chunks of yardage to which Steeler Nation is accustomed. Doing without Alan Faneca doesn't help either.

Two - Big Ben. Three picks - one of these, of course, is the end-of-game-what-did-you-expect-desperation-interception - and 42 pass attempts. Sure, 30-of-42 passing looks efficient, but it isn't what the Steelers are supposed to be doing.

The Steelers also weren't helped by a tipped ball that landed right in Reggie Wayne's hands and another ball that bounced off a Steeler helmet - again into Wayne's waiting hands.

But give the Colts credit. They have All-Pro caliber players like Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne and they did what they needed to do - take advantage of Steeler blunders and make enough good plays on their own merit - in order to secure the team's first win in Pittsburgh since 1968.

That said, let's compare this game (42 passes, 26 rushes) to the 38-17 opening day win over the Texans. I can't speak for Steelers Nation, but I'd rather have 18 passes and 39 rushes - and the no-doubt-about-it win.

The 15-6 loss to the Eagles featured 32 passes and 19 rushes.

Of course, this little observation is not an absolute. The Stillers had 28 rushes and 31 passes in the 38-10 win over the Bengals. The numbers were 26 and 41 in the 26-21 win over Jacksonville.

The main differences? No picks against Cincy and only one pick against the Jaguars....and a total of three sacks. As opposed to the 1 pick and 9 sacks Pittsburgh gave up to the Eagles. In my humble opinion, out of their losses, the Eagles were the only team that truly outplayed the Steelers.

So what's the answer? If Mike Tomlin asks, I'll happily tell him what I think. Clearly, I'm sure he's spent a great deal of time trying to answer this very question. I won't pretend I have an answer.

The AFC North used to be the Steelers division to lose. Now that Baltimore has pulled even with them, they could be in trouble. If they have any more losses in winnable games, that would certainly minimize my optimism for a prolonged playoff run - assuming the Steelers get there.

In the first 6 weeks of the season, that looked like a foregone conclusion. Now...not so much.

One thing to note is that there is a lot of press talking about Ben Roethlisberger and his injured shoulder. I seem to reemember that he had suffered some malady once before and was pressed into action. I believe that was in 2006, Bill Cowher's last season, and a season in which the Steelers were 8-8.

I'm thinking that if Ben really is hurting, would it be the worst thing in the world to start Byron Leftwich? Might as well give it a shot, right? If he throws three interceptions and the Steelers lose, is that any worse than the Colts game? That is why they signed him, isn't it?

Let Ben get a few games where he isn't getting hit by 350 pound behemoths. Then he'll be healthy for that stretch run and the playoffs. That's really when we want him to be healthy, right?

Here We Go Again

The media just can't resist a juicy story about those "boorish" fans from Philadelphia booing somebody. In this case, the claim is that they booed our Vice President-elect...
Biden Booed

Yeah, they're really going to boo the guy they just voted for. This is another idiotic non-story by media morons who don't do their homework.

The fans were booing the call on the field. Eli Manning had just thrown a ball into the dirt that should have been intentional grounding. It wasn't called, which caused the fans to boo at the same time NBC happened to be showing Biden on TV. Then the fans saw the replay on the jumbo screens and began to boo even more. And each time the replay was shown, they booed even more. In fact, I doubt the fans even knew Biden was on camera at that time. When you're at a sporting event, you don't see what the people see on TV at home, and any reporter doing just the tiniest bit of research would know that. But they'd rather just jump on a sensationalist story, because hopping on the "bad Philly fans" bandwagon is the easy thing to do—it doesn't require any actual journalism.

I remember when I was watching it last night thinking, "Oh great they have to show Biden at the exact moment the fans are booing a call. The media is going to jump all over that." And sure enough, they did. Nice job, CNN.

By the way, according to some people who were actually at the game, Biden was cheered when he was shown on the big screen at a different moment in the game. Nuff said. Next non-story, please.

I'm Done with Reid

When Reid called those two runs at the end of the game I literally screamed. As badly as the Eagles were outplayed for most of the game and as horribly as their run defense was gashed by the Giants' running game, they still had a chance to win at the end. McNabb had just led them to a score, the defense came up with a huge stop, and McNabb was marching them down again for the potential game winning touchdown . . . so what does Reid do? He takes the ball out of McNabb's hands, just as he did against Chicago and Washington, and the results were exactly the same—a loss. How can you not give McNabb the chance to win the game???? Again????? And people wonder why he hasn't had a 4th quarter comeback in so long.

Here is what I wrote after the Chicago game: "McNabb got the team down to first and goal with a chance to win the game but he wasn't even given ONE opportunity to throw the ball. He's your best player, put the ball in his hands!!!"

And here is what I wrote after the Washington game: "On top of that, pass-happy-Reid has suddenly become Mr. Smashmouth at the goal line, as the Eagles were once again stymied from in close on consecutive running plays. Has Reid lost all confidence in McNabb's ability to make something happen?"

Sound familiar? Reid did the same thing again tonight, only this time it was on his own 43-yard line and he had no timeouts, which makes the run calls all the more mind boggling. I have to ask again, does he not trust McNabb to win the game for him? Or is he just incapable of learning from his mistakes? My vote is for the latter. Case in point: he once again made a frivolous challenge that cost his team a pivotal timeout. The second challenge was necessary, but the first one was just plain dumb.

His mismanagement of Westbrook throughout the game was a disgrace as well. I love Jackson as much as the next guy, but Westbrook is what makes this team go. Sometimes Reid gets too cute with Jackson (like with that ill-fated screen pass in the first half) and completely forgets about Westbrook. Reid should have been running lots of screens to Westbrook to counter the Giants' pass rush, but the Eagles' most dangerous weapon only had three receptions all game. He didn't catch his first pass until the last drive of first half and had just one catch in the entire second half.

The broadcasters kept talking about the running game not working, but that's just B.S. Of course the running game isn't going to work when you NEVER try to run (except when the game's on the line, of course). When the 4th quarter began, Westbrook had a grand total of NINE carries—in a game they were never out of. And the carries were so spread out that he never had the chance to get into any kind of rhythm.

Despite all of that, the Eagles still could have stolen this game at the end, but as I've said before, "woulda coulda shoulda" is the realm of mediocre teams, which the Eagles have proven themselves to be. Even with a 5-4 record, the odds are against them making the playoffs. Forget about the division, that's over, but their wild card chances are looking pretty remote as well. The Eagles have the third toughest schedule for the remainder of the season, they have three teams in their own division ahead of them, and they have horrible division and conference records. They need to go at least 5-2 (maybe even 6-1) for the rest of the season to even have a shot, but the more likely scenario is that the Eagles will miss the playoffs for the third time in four years.

Reid is obviously not the only reason they lost tonight (the so-called 8th-ranked run defense played the biggest part), and he's not the only reason they are sitting at the bottom of the NFC East, but his awful decisions add up over the course of a season (and a career), and those two running plays at the end were the last straw for me. He has driven me crazy over the years with his often baffling play calling, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt because his teams were always competitive and he reached four straight championship games and a Super Bowl. But it is painfully apparent that he has reached a plateau as a coach and he's not going to get any better. He doesn't learn from past mistakes and rarely adjusts to what's happening during the game. He still has good qualities in a coach, but play calling and game management have never been among them, and he's had ten years to improve. Unless he is willing to give up the play calling once and for all (which he won't), I want him gone.

Notes from the Championship Parade

By now everyone has seen the amazing footage of the Phillies' championship parade through streets filled with what some estimates have put at over two million people, so I'm not going to spend time rehashing what other journalists have already discussed. Instead I am going to write about my experience from a personal perspective.

When the tickets became available online for the parade I tried simultaneously for tickets to both Citizens Bank Park (the main show) and Lincoln Financial Field (where, at the time, all we knew was that we would be able to watch the festivities on the giant screens with the possibility that a couple of players might stop by). I was unable to obtain tickets to the Bank, but managed to score two lower-level tickets to the Linc. The tickets to both parks, by the way, were free, so kudos to both parks for not gouging the fans. At the same time, shame on some of the parking vendors who were charging as much as $30, and an even bigger thumbs down to the a-holes who were selling tickets to both parks online for hundreds of dollars within moments of getting them for free. Most of the true fans were shut out of the celebration because of these greedy bastards. One guy actually made the trip to the Linc and had his young son stand outside the gate holding up a sign that said: "Have Tickets, Make Offer." Real classy.

So I printed out the two tickets to the Linc and crashed at my buddy's house that night in South Jersey so I wouldn't have to wake up as early (being a very late night owl, getting up an extra hour early to make the trip down from Central Jersey would have been rough). As it was, I only managed three hours of sleep, but I wasn't driving into the city so I didn't care. We decided to leave around 9-9:30am to avoid the worst of the traffic. We had considered taking the high speed line in, which many city officials were recommending due to the expected heavy traffic volume but I'm glad we didn't—reports had waits of over two hours to even get a seat on the train.

By driving we got into the city very quickly, though parking was already filling up everywhere. We entered a free parking lot, but when no spots were available we decided to park on the side of a road exiting the parking lot behind a locked gate. The guy who parked in front of us said they never ticketed there and he was sure the gate would be open at the end of the day, so we took the chance, and it wound up being a good move as we were able to zip right out of there on our way home.

Anyway, it was around 10am and we decided to walk around for a while soaking in the atmosphere. The streets and lots around the stadiums were already flooded in a sea of red— people cheering, high-fiving, and waving at all the cars driving by beeping their horns. Everybody was friendly, chatting with strangers as if they were the oldest of friends. It's amazing what a championship can do for a city, though I would point out that, contrary to popular myth, the majority of Philly fans are always friendly, but it was definitely ratcheted up on this day.

A man was walking around snapping photos for the Phillies web site, and he took the following shot of me and my friend, Bruce. The Linc is in the background and we're holding championship signs that were being handed out for free. It wasn't until later that I realized the signs were from a [gag] country music station. Oh well. I'm wearing an old raggedy Phillies hat barely held together in the back, as it is the only piece of Phillies paraphernalia I own. Most of my stuff is Eagles and Flyers, which is why I am wearing an Eagles jacket over a McNabb jersey, but I wasn't the only guy there with Eagles gear on, so I didn't feel out of place, and since my tickets were for the Linc anyway, it seemed an appropriate mixture of the two sports.

They put a giant "PROOF" over the picture in order to force you into buying something, but it's good enough for the purposes of this blog. I foolishly forgot to bring my camera, so this is currently the only shot I have, though Bruce and my uncle (who we met up with later) both took a lot of photos throughout the day and have promised to send them to me.

After a while of walking around we met up with my uncle at the Linc gate. He had managed to secure six tickets for his entire family, though the tickets were only available in pairs so we would all be sitting separately. In the meantime we got lunch at the concessions (a cheesesteak, fries, and snapple for $16!) and then hung out together in the lower level since the stadium wasn't full yet. After a while we realized that the stadium probably wasn't going to fill to capacity as many people had likely got the free tickets and then decided not to come, while others had only got the tickets with the intention of selling them and had hopefully ended up stuck with them. Thus, my uncle decided to stay where he was with his family while Bruce and I headed to our assigned seats.

We were about 20 rows up from the field in the shaded end zone so it was pretty cold. I noticed many empty seats down lower in sunny sections, so we decided to move all the way down to the bottom of one of these sections right next to an entrance tunnel and hang out there until somebody came to kick us out. As it would turn out, nobody ever came to boot us out so we got to enjoy all the festivities from fantastic seats. My uncle and his family were able to eventually join us (the beauty of cell phones) so we all ended up getting to sit together.

We soon learned that not only were some players dropping by the Linc, but the entire team would be coming to do a victory lap with the trophy and make speeches, so although we were shut out of the main event, we were getting a nice ceremony of our own, making the trip more than worth it. Then we just sat back and watched the parade on the giant screens, reveling in the cheers of the crowd as each new player showed up on screen. This was when the championship really hit me. Of course I was happy and jumped out of my seat when Lidge threw the final pitch to clinch the World Series, but over the next day I wasn't feeling as euphoric as I thought I would. That all changed when I was able to experience the celebration among thousands of fans in the stadium, and millions in the streets.

Finally, the players arrived. The coaches led the procession, coming right up to the stands, where I high-fived Milt Thompson as he walked by. Next came Charlie Manuel on a cart that held the championship trophy. Then the rest of the players followed on foot, doing a victory lap around the stadium before winding up at the podium, where we heard speeches from Manuel, Victorino, and Moyer, to thunderous cheering and applause. After the festivities ended we decided to leave and listen to the main ceremony on the radio so we could beat the worst of the traffic. We got to see a championship ceremony live, so we didn't feel the need to watch another one on TV from across the street, and we could always catch the highlights later.

Beating traffic, however, was easier said than done. It still took us a good hour to get out of the city, but considering how bad it would later get, that was nothing. Overall, it was a tremendous experience and I'm glad I went. If you live within driving distance of your favorite sports team and they win a championship, I highly recommend attending at least one victory parade in your lifetime, especially if it's in Philly, where our two-million-strong, multi-stadium celebration dwarfed any other city's.

Now I want to see another parade in February—Go Eagles!

Solid Win for Eagles over Seahawks

It took a while to get going, as the Eagles once again played a shaky first quarter, allowing a long touchdown and doing virtually nothing on offense. After that, however, it was all Eagles as they dominated the rest of the game on both sides of the ball, as well as special teams, with Akers finally seeming to get on track after a two-season slump. McNabb was near perfect after the first quarter and Curtis looks like he is back at full speed from sports hernia surgery, but the star of the game was Celek. I've liked him from the beginning, and remember thinking last year that he could be special if given the chance.

Celek was a big reason why I couldn't have cared less whether they re-signed LJ this past offseason. He doesn't have the speed and physical gifts of the elite TEs, but he catches everything you throw at him, and he was certainly fast enough to make some big plays today. However, we need to be realistic—Celek is not going to put up huge numbers like today very often, but I'll settle for a guy who's dependable and can stay healthy, something LJ has never been able to do. Chad Lewis was a guy without great physical tools, but McNabb knew he could count on him when he needed a big catch, and that is something that has been missing from the Eagles' arsenal ever since Lewis left. I believe Celek can be that guy for McNabb, and sooner rather than later. LJ may have the talent of an elite tight end, but we have rarely seen it during his tenure in Philly, whether due to injury or inconsistency. I know LJ is making a lot of money, but at this point Celek has earned the right to show whether he can be the long-term option. We already know LJ won't be.

It's still hard to get a good bead on the Birds though, as they have now won three straight over mediocre-to-lousy teams. Next week will certainly give us a good idea of where the Eagles are when they host the Giants. I am still not convinced the Giants are as good as their 7-1 record, but it will nevertheless be a big test for the Eagles, and it is a must-win game, as a loss would essentially knock them out of the division race.

World Champions!!!

Curse, schmurse!

The Phillies were not going to be denied tonight. Every time the Rays tied it, the Phils grabbed the lead right back, and fittingly, Lidge clinched the championship with a strikeout. Then the fireworks started, the champagne flowed, and the streets flooded with Philadelphians in a massive party that is probably still going strong as I write this. I've never seen anything like those crowds in the streets. It was like Times Square on New Year's Eve.

What an incredible postseason the Phillies put together. The so-called experts picked them to lose every single series, and all they did in response was rack up an 11-3 record and go undefeated at home. Everybody on this team contributed at some point in the playoffs; there were no weak links. And Manuel, who I've never been the biggest fan of, deserves a lot of credit as well. He pushed all the right buttons and got this team to play like champions.

By the way, it turns out the Tampa fans were right after all when they sang "na na hey hey goodbye" . . . that was indeed the last time they were going to see the Phillies :-)

I was 12 years old the last time a Philadelphia team won a championship (and 9 when the Phillies did it). Although I have memories of those moments, they are somewhat fleeting. This championship, after 25 years of close calls and heartbreaks, is the first one that really belongs to my generation. How sweet it is!

The parade to celebrate the Phillies' heroic slaying of the city's 25-year-old demons will appropriately take place on Halloween. I plan on attending . . . hope to see some of you there!

Don't Let The Rain Change The Game

The rains came to Philadelphia, and with them comes a controversy that ensnares Bud Selig. This guy can't seem to get away from controversy.

From revenue sharing to interleague play to the wild card to the now-tainted 1998 home run chase to the the All-Star game ending in a tie to the Mitchell Report to the 2008 World Series game 5 ending in a tie.

Some of these things have turned out to be nightmarish PR issues for Major League Baseball.
But some of these things worked out pretty well. I clearly can't speak for everyone, but I like interleague play, wild card teams and the Mitchell Report.

I was never all that thrilled with the 1998 home run chase, and the revelations of the Mitchell Report certainly didn't soften my stance.

The 2002 All-Star game ending in a tie didn't bother me so much at the time. It's an exhibition game. Honestly, who cares if it ends in a tie? A good way to make sure that doesn't happen again...allow free substitution in the All-Star game. Why not? You have two different sets of rules already in MLB. Is this such an outlandish suggestion?

It's better than having an exhibition game decide which team (League) gets home field advantage in the World Series. "This Time it Counts" ? Hardly. It's a stupid outcome from a stupid situation, and shines a dim light on MLB's inability to plan ahead.

MLB frequently reacts rather than acts. And the 'solutions' they come up with are often worse than the problem they were trying to fix.

This is why I am not going to fuss too much about the events of Game 5. We all knew they were going to start the game come hell or heavy rain. We all suspected somewhere in the third inning that there was at least going to be a rain delay. There are suppositions that MLB let the game go on until there was a tie so they could save face.

Whatever the case is, word on the street is that the game would have been played out to the full nine innings no matter what. If that is the case, why not call a delay/suspension after the fourth inning when things really started to get dicey?

I'm sure that MLB just wanted to get as much of the game in as they could. Whatever. What's done is done.

As a Phillies fan, I am disappointed at how things went down. I am more irritated that the Phillies have already left nine runnners on base through the first six innings. I was really really annoyed with three weak-ass pop ups in the bottom of the 5th with two men on.

I do feel that Cole Hamels has been denied his chance at history (first 5-0 postseason pitcher) by MLB's shortsightedness. The rain certainly affected his pitching. This is not sour grapes - any pitcher would have been adversely affected by that downpour.

And it is the World Series. So MLB would want the players to keep going longer than they would in the regular season.

But the problem will come if MLB and Selig react to this. Who knows what kind of crap they'd come up with? Their solution the All-Star game tie sucked.

Even though it is a basackwards way of doing things, I'd rather just let it go. Chalk this up to "An Act of God" or "circumstances beyond our control" - but don't ask MLB or Selig to do anything to change/fix things.

That would just make things worse.

The St. Petersburg times has an article in today's edition that looks at the rain suspension situation thusly:

Headline: "FOR THE RAYS, NIGHT NOT SO MISERABLE"

"If you are a traditionalist, you may believe that baseball did the right thing. Eventually.
If you are a romantic, you can imagine that the Tampa Bay Rays have just received one more bit of fortune in their wonderful story. Magically.
And if you are a Phanatic, you can feel free to worry that Bud Selig has extended the black cloud over Philadelphia for a little bit longer. Accursedly."

Interesting. I see it like this. If the Rays truly believe that MLB did them a favor, then they are in trouble. The Phillies should be furious and ready to kill when the umps call "play ball!"

"...the rain seemed to have awakened the Rays" ? If they needed to be "awakened" then perhaps they shouldn't be here? Why would they need to be awakened? It's the friggin' World Series!

I don't see this as a momentum killer. If not winning a World Series since 1980 didn't kill the momentum, this certainly won't.

So - Bud Selig, do what you do best. Nothing. Continue to sit on your hands and let the adults figure this out.

And Phillies - Don't lose your focus. Don't sweat the small stuff. Forget about the rain. The fans will be there behind you, as they always have.

Go out there and play the way you did in game 4. If you do that, all this rain crap will be washed away and be nothing more than a distant memory. And next thing you know, you could be World Series champs.

Go Phils!

Phils Foiled by Mother Nature

Well, we'll have to put that parade on hold for at least another day, as tonight's game was suspended due to rain. Contrary to what the broadcasters were blabbering about (more on them later), this blustery rain delay has clearly favored Tampa. There's no doubt in my mind that under normal conditions Hamels would have shut this team down.

For those inclined to believe in curses, they can't be too comfortable with a game in which Hamels was cruising until the downpour and subsequent horrible conditions caused Rollins to bobble a ball that might have prevented the Rays from ever scoring that second run. And one can't help wondering how much the downpour had to do with the Phillies hitting three straight popups in the top of the 5th with two men on. However, both teams had to play in the same conditions so I'm not going to blame rain for the Phillies' consistent inability to bring home runners in scoring position. One thing that can be blamed on the rain, though, is the loss of Hamels, who had thrown only 75 pitches through six innings. He was clearly on his way to at least an 8-inning performance, but now the Phils must turn to the bullpen much earlier than they otherwise would have—and that clearly benefits Tampa Bay.

But you would never know that listening to the biased broadcasters. I don't know whether McCarver is overcompensating for being an ex-Phillie, but he has been terrible; they both have been blatantly one-sided. Listening to these guys talk, you might think that the Phillies have done absolutely nothing to win in this series except to be the beneficiaries of a bunch of bad calls. All these broadcasters did for the entire game was whine about bad calls against the Rays and then boohoo about how the sloppy conditions really hurt the Rays: "Whaaa! No fair, this rain affects their running game!" As if the Phillies don't have a strong running game of their own that would be impacted. And then later on: "Yipee! The Rays just tied the game under horrendous conditions, aren't they great?"

They've been like this all series: playing up Tampa; playing down Philly. We'd get more balance if we were listening to a broadcast out of Tampa Bay. These guys are a disgrace.

Anyway, we must have faith. The rains pouring down may lead some to believe that the curse of William Penn is once again rearing its ugly head—sports fans in general are a superstitious bunch, especially in Philly where our championship futility has reached near mathematically impossible proportions—but the Phils are still ahead 3-1, they still have the better pitching and defense, and they have hit better than the Rays for the entire series. There's no reason why they shouldn't still win this thing. So take a breath and come back Tuesday night to watch our Fightins make history. Go Phils!

Steelers Lose to Big Blue - Oh Snap!

What the heck is going on with the Steelers? It's hard to tell from one week to the next if you're going to get the good Steelers team or the Evil Twin Brother.

In a showdown of 5-1 teams, the Steelers again came up short against a team that is, in my humble opinion, no better than the Steelers. In fact, I'd even go as far as saying that the Steeler are better than the Jints.

After all, en route to their 5-1 record, the Jints fattened up on underachieving teams such as the Rams, Seahawks and Bangles (oops Bengals) and San Francisco (combined record: 6-24). They lost to Cleveland (3-4). They looked ripe for the picking.

Meanwhile, the Black & Gold scored nice wins over Baltimore and Jacksonville, and a blowout win over Cincinnati. I figured the Steelers should be able to take it to the Giants. I've not been convinced that Big Blue was really a good team, and this seemed like a great chance for that to be proven.

After some great defensive stops, and two challenges, in the first quarter, the Stillers seemed to have things under control. Clearly, they were not dominating or anything like that, but after they took a 14-9 lead in the third quarter, they seemed well on their way to the win.

The defense was holding the Giants to field goals, despite the good field position the Giants enjoyed most of the game. Note to Pittsburgh (and any team, really): If you give a team enough chances, they're going to break out.

Sadly, the offense did little worth noting. Ben Roethlisberger's 4 interceptions and his exasperating habit of holding the ball too damn long and getting sacked didn't help. They just struggled to get into any kid of rhythm.

In Big Ben's defense, his O-line has been a swinging gate for certain games this season (notably, the NFC East matchups), and it is difficult to set up for the pass when you're on your back or running for your life.

However, that line was good enough to give him time to connect for a 65-yard TD to Nate Washington in the third quarter and also good enough to provide running lanes for Mwelde Moore's 84 yards and a 32-yard TD in the first quarter. It should have also been sufficient for the Steelers to actually gain a yard in the last two minutes of the game.

And don't even get me started about missed opportunities like the Washington TD nullified by a penalty or the errant snap that effectively killed the Steelers mojo. Dumb setbacks like that are part of the game and teams should be able to overcome these things.

To be sure, a 6-2 record is nothing to sneeze at. They're in fine shape in their division, and it would take a monumental collapse for them to be kicked out of the driver's seat in the AFC North. One can only hope that the Steelers will figure some things out to prevent this from even becoming a concern.

Next week they face another NFC East team in the Redskins. Then the Cowboys complete the NFC East swing in early December. I, for one, will be glad the Steelers are done with the NFC.

Phils Bats Spring to Life as they Clobber the Rays, 10-2

Is this really happening? Are the Phillies really just one win away from a championship? Are they really just 27 outs from breaking the curse of William Penn and releasing this city from 25 years of championship futility? As Philly fans whose hearts have been broken so many times in the past, we have learned to take every step toward salvation with a grain of salt, but with a 3-1 lead, the odds are overwhelmingly in our favor. If we don't win this year, we never will.

The bats came alive big time tonight, and Howard could not have picked a better time to go on one of his patented hot streaks. It's also no coincidence that the runs finally started coming when Rollins finally started hitting. Up and down the lineup, almost everyone contributed.

Meanwhile, Blanton, except for a couple of mistakes, was absolutely dominant tonight, and how about going deep? You know it's your night when that happens. When all the big-name trades happened back in the summer, Blanton largely flew under the radar in most people's eyes as yet another half-hearted acquisition by a franchise not willing to pull the trigger on a major deal (I admit to being less than excited myself, though I never hated the move), but all Blanton has done since arriving in Philly is win. Meanwhile, the more glamorous acquisitions like Sabathia and Ramirez are currently watching the series on TV.

On a side note, thumbs-down to this umpiring crew for some big-time blown calls against both teams. During the previous couple of games those bad calls mostly favored the Rays, but tonight one bounced our way after the third-base ump called Rollins safe when he was clearly out, leading to the Phils' first run. Thankfully, the bad calls have not determined the outcomes of the games, but come on, this is the World Series—blowing that many calls is simply unacceptable—both teams deserve better.

Anyway, this was the Phillies' night, and now they have a chance to close this series out in front of the hometown fans with their ace on the mound. You couldn't write a better script. Go Phils!

Baby Steps for the Eagles in Victory over Atlanta

This one was a little close for comfort but a win's a win. The Eagles caught a break with that bad muffed punt call, but I don't think Atlanta was going to score again anyway, and the Birds had their share of bad calls go against them (like the brutal roughing call on Cole). The inability to score from in close continues to be worrisome, though I think Westbrook was in on 2nd goal with his second effort (the same play as the offsides penalty), but the refs blew the whistle early. Still, Reid better figure out a way to punch it in. Stop with the fancy wishbone looks and shovel passes and just put the ball in the hands of your best players. He finally tried a sneak but he didn't spread the defense out and it failed—now we'll never see another one.

Anyway, what a difference a healthy Westbrook makes to the offense. They still have a ways to go before my confidence is restored (relatively close wins against mediocre teams like Atlanta and the 49ers aren't exactly awe inspiring) but they seem to be headed in the right direction.

Two down...

The Phillies managed to scratch out a last minute victory doing what they failed to do most of the season: playing a little small ball. Great baserunning by Bruntlett (for once I was glad that Burrell wasn't still in the game) put the Phils in a position to win on what amounted to a glorified suicide squeeze by Ruiz (who has actually been one of the more valuable offensive players in this series). It was fitting that Tampa helped give away the game after that horrible call at first base in the 7th gave them two free runs. The umpiring in this series overall has been well below the standards one would expect in the World Series, though it thankfully has not affected the outcomes of any of the games.

I had a feeling Moyer was going to pitch well in this game and he didn't disappoint, though the aforementioned horrible call cost him perhaps his only chance at a World Series win—Moyer busted his butt on that play and deserved a better fate. Still, I know he'd much rather have the championship ring anyway, and thanks to his performance (along with big hits by Ruiz, Utley, and Howard), the Phillies are one step closer.

It's a Series, Phils Fall, 4-2

The story of Game 2 was stranded runners. The Phillies got away with it last night with Hamels dominating, but not tonight. This was a very winnable game as Myers did not pitch badly (three earned runs over seven innings should have been enough to win the game), but the offense was woeful with runners in scoring position. Of course it didn't help that the home plate umpire was atrocious—he cost the Phils a run in the second inning with that non-strikeout call and he cost them an out in the 9th with that horrible missed call on Rollins. But the bottom line is that the Phillies should never have put themselves in the position of needing good calls by umpires. Championship teams take care of business regardless of any calls they may or may not get. If the Phils want to stay in this series, the offense better find a way to start knocking in runs. Twenty-two stranded runners in two games is a disgrace.

At least in the 9th inning the Phillies put a little scare into those obnoxious Tampa fans who started singing "na na hey hey goodbye" in the 8th inning. Apparently they forgot that their team blew a 7-run lead late in a game last series, and they obviously are too ignorant to realize that you don't sing that song unless your opponent is about to get eliminated, not when you're down 1-0 in the series. Great sports fans down there in Tampa.

Anyway, we get the next three in Philly. A home sweep is probably too much to ask, but we should at least take two of three and head back to Tampa with a 3-2 lead. We really need the Moyer who pitched so well in the regular season to show up on Saturday . . . and the offense better wake up.

Good First Win

Three to go, as the Phillies took Game 1, 3-2. I was getting nervous with all the runners the Phils were stranding, but the pitching from Hamels, Madson, and Lidge was phenomenal, as was the defense with a couple of key double plays. Utley's two-run blast set the tone, and Hamels did the rest. After a slow start, Utley is putting together one hell of a postseason.

They can't keep getting away with stranding all those runners, though. One thing I would change is the DH. Coste has really slumped in the second half of the season. I would go with Dobbs, Jenkins, or Stairs. And even though he got a couple of hits, I still disagree with Werth hitting in the 2-hole instead of Victorino.

Anyway, the first game in any series is huge and the Phillies found a way to win. Here's hoping Myers pitches well tonight and the Phils' big bats wake up.

World Series, Baby!

I have to admit that of all the Philly teams with the potential to win a championship, I would have placed the Phillies third behind the Flyers and Eagles. That was prior to the season, before we saw how good the Phillies' pitching staff was to become, particularly the bullpen. As the season began, most people thought the Phillies would give up a lot of runs and score a lot of runs, but virtually the opposite happened. The pitching staff kept the Phillies in almost every game, while the supposedly potent offense would go through long stretches of struggling to score runs and a frustrating inability to manufacture runs without the benefit of a home run. That has continued in the postseason to some degree, but the offense has also found a way to produce runs when it counts, particularly with two outs, as they showed again in Game 5 against the Dodgers.

Another sometimes unappreciated aspect of the Phillies postseason success is their fantastic defense, especially the infield. Feliz, for instance, may be mostly a waste at the plate, but at third base you know he's going to gobble up almost everything that comes his way. Also, the ability to easily turn a double play to escape a jam cannot be underestimated—it can often mean the difference between winning and losing—and Utley and Rollins are among the best at it. Meanwhile, Victorino covers so much ground that he could practically play the entire outfield by himself, ala Bugs Bunny against the Gas House Gorillas. People can talk about offense and home runs all they want, but defense and pitching wins championships. The Dodgers found out the hard way in Game 5 what can happen when you don't play good defense.

Speaking of pitching, Hamels is showing the world why he is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Even when he didn't have his best stuff early on in Game 5, he fought through and eventually dominated. When he's on the mound you never have to worry about being out of a game. The outcome of the series with Tampa, however, will hinge on the performance of the 2-4 pitchers. Myers has actually been more of a hero at the plate than on the mound, but he has also pitched effectively enough to help the Phillies win his two starts. Unfortunately, he won't be able to add to his postseason legend at the plate since both of his scheduled starts are DH games, but it also may allow him to pitch more deeply into games. Since coming back up from the minors, he has been mostly dominant (except for a couple of late season starts), so the hope is that we'll continue to see that Myers and not the one who began the season. Moyer is perhaps the biggest question mark, as he has been shelled in his two postseason starts. He is the consummate professional, though, so I have faith that he can recapture the ageless magic he displayed during the regular season. Blanton, for his part, has been solid since coming to the Phillies. He eats innings and keeps the score manageable, and there's no reason why that shouldn't continue.

It's hard to make a prediction because I admittedly know little about Tampa as I don't follow the American league much. What I do believe is that the Phillies' pitching and defense will keep them in almost every game, and if the offense can keep coming up with clutch hits, they have a great chance. Everyone seems to be picking Tampa, but they also all picked the Dodgers, and we know how that worked out. I'll say Phillies in 6.

Go Phils!

Phillies One Game Away

Breaking with the 'home team wins' MO that has characterized both teams, the Phillies scored a potentially crushing 7-5 win over the Dodgers.

The win was propelled by LA fan-favorite Shane Victorino's 2-run homer in the 8th. That quieted the crowd - that pretty much booed each breath Victorino took - and set them up for the coup-de-grace, a towering 2-run homer off the bat of Matt Stairs.

With the win, the Phillies take a solid 3 games to 1 lead in the NLCS, and also take back the momentum that was lost after Sunday's loss.

En route to becoming the first road team to win in this Phils/Dodgers season series, the Phillies scored runs in multiple innings, doing so in the 1st, 6th and 8th innings, alternately giving the Dodger faithful hope and then snatching that hope away.

They don't make it easy. Every time the Phillies left a runner on base, I groaned. Then the Phillies seemed incapable of having an inning that didn't include at least two Dodgers reaching base.

There were many close calls, and the Phillies got the better end of the stick this night.

Of course, it could also be argued that the Phillies simply played better when it counted.

Chase Utley pulled off a clutch - and momentum killing - double play to end a 6th inning that had already seen the Dodgers score two runs, with the definite potential for them to do even more damage. But, as he has done many times before, Chase saved the day (er...night). And, he contributed three hits. Not a bad day at the office.

Their bullpen pitched scoreless 7th, 8th and 9th innings. And they took advantage of Joe Torre's frequent - and puzzling - pitching changes.

When he took Hong-Chih Kuo out of the game, I think that was the turning point for the Phils. He was mowing the Phils down pretty good, getting Jayson Werth and Chase Utley on swinging strikeouts to close out the 7th.

After two Dodger baserunners in the bottom of the inning (but no scoring), Kuo came back out and gave up a single to Siberian-like Ryan Howard. Then he was pulled for Cory Wade.

Wade then gave up Victorino's homer, tying the game at 5. Wade then recorded an out and gave up a single to Carlos Ruiz, at which point he was lifted for Jonathan Broxton, who then surrendered the moon shot to Stairs that sent the Phillies home happy. I still am wondering why Kuo was lifted.

But who cares? Phillies fans, have a Yuengling! As Mike Schmidt said in 1980 "Take this win and savor it! You all earned it." ... or something along those lines.

Now they only need one more game. I wrote earlier in the year about telling my son all about the 1980 Phillies and how I hoped he'd be able to enjoy a Phillies World Series with me. I am pleased as punch that this is very close to becoming a reality.

Go Phils!

Phillies Climb 'Stairs' to Victory

I know, I know, horrible pun, but I couldn't resist. The Fightins are now one win away from the world series after tonight's gut-check come from behind victory. They trailed by two and were down to their last five outs, but one thing about this lineup is that, even when they are struggling, they are never out of a game. It's always only a matter of time before they have one of those offensive explosions in an inning. Sure, you'd like to see them score in more innings, but they're getting it done when it counts--three more runs tonight with two outs.

Tonight's heroes: Victorino (arguably the Phillies' playoff MVP to this point) and Stairs, whose massive two-run blast put the Phillies ahead to stay (now there's a little late season acquisition by Gillick that has paid huge dividends). Also providing heroics was Utley who, besides getting three hits, made an outstanding defensive play in the 6th that saved two runs and kept the Phillies in the game. At the time I thought that could prove to be a turning point, and indeed it was. Things got a little dicey with Lidge when yet another inning was kept alive by a strike-out-wild-pitch (the same thing happened to Myers in Game 2—I've never seen that happen twice in such a short span of time—isn't Ruiz in the lineup because of his ability to block those kinds of pitches?), but in the end Lidge closed the door as he has all season.

Now the Phils enter Game 5 with a chance to clinch their first World Series berth in 15 years. It's a shame it won't be at home (I'm not a fan of the 2-3-2 format; it should be 2-2-1-1-1 like the other sports) but this team is more than up to the task of taking another one in LA, especially with their ace on the mound. Go Phils!

Well, we knew it wasn't going to be a sweep...

The Phillies fell in Game 3 thanks in part to a listless performance from the offense, which pretty much went to sleep after the Phils found themselves in a 6-1 hole. Kuroda certainly had a lot to do with it, but some of the problems with this lineup are becoming magnified in the postseason (i.e. all of the strikeouts and the inability to manufacture runs). For his part, Moyer, after being the Phillies' second best pitcher during the regular season, has been a big disappointment so far in the playoffs, though you also have to give credit to the Dodgers for jumping on him early and knocking him out.

The only real drama in the game came from the retaliation shenanigans as the Dodgers overreacted to a couple of perceived intentional hit batsmen. Now let's get real: Myers' pitch in game two obviously slipped out of his hands; he's not going to throw behind Ramirez, despite his fiery reputation. And Moyer clearly had no intention of hitting anyone when he was ahead in the count 0-2 with no outs and a run already in. But the Dodgers did what they felt they had to do, fine, and Victorino reacted understandably after having a ball aimed at his head (there's a right and wrong way to retaliate), and after the inning the benches momentarily cleared, giving resident punk Ramirez his chance to act like one of those drunk guys at a bar who says to his buddy, "hold me back," and then proceeds to act like a wild man.

Oh well. The Phils need to put this one behind them and get back to the business of closing this series out. They get Lowe on short rest in Game 4—that would be a good time to start.

Eagles Finally Show Signs of Life in Victory over 49ers

Nothing to get too excited about here; they beat a team they were supposed to beat, but they do deserve credit for showing some character in coming back from nine points down in the 4th quarter, and the defense came up huge in the 4th quarter after playing crappy for much of the game (way too many missed tackles). There are still plenty of things to be concerned about (the suddenly porous run defense, the inability to kick a long field goal, leading the league in dropped passes, etc.), but in a week when Washington and Dallas did the Eagles huge favors by losing to inferior teams, it's a step in the right direction.

Phils Take 2, Head to LA With Momentum...and Cheesesteaks!

Well, it ain't over yet, but it's a pretty good start. The Phillies, who were given virtually no chance whatsoever, took both home matchups - a 3-2 win over the Dodgers and the unbeatable Derek Lowe and an 8-5 win over the unhittable Chad Billingsley.

The wonderful sound of the "Beat LA" chant rained down like a glorious single voice from an animated fan base that has seen more than their share of dissapointment, but has been treated to some fine baseball thus far. Cheesesteaks for everybody!!

As a Phillies fan who is oddly allowing himself to have total faith in this team, I am just hoping they can keep this great mojo going. All they need to do is take one game, and it's cool. I do think they could certainly do more damage than that. But... that remains to be seen.

Thursday Night

In game one, Chase Utley awakened from his postseason cocoon and blasted a shot into the right field seats that tied the game at 2 and brought the Phillies back from a post season jet lag. After a Ryan Howard out, Pat Burrell followed that up with a blast of his own, depositing a Lowe pitch into the left field seats.

"Yeah, it was looking pretty dicey for the first five innings," said long-time Phils fan, Sj-hypocycloid, sipping a Dinkel Acker in his living room. "But they came through. I love seeing a great plan come together.

"All those experts who picked against the Phils, well...it might be time to re-evaluate those picks. And, so far, the Phils have been able to stave off the mighty Man-Ram, despite Fox's efforts to make him into the greatest player in baseball history. Please. Go Phils!"

The Phillies then held the Dodgers off the rest of the way, and came away with the win. Brad Lidge came in after a scorelss 8th courtesy of Ryan Madson and needed 13 pitches to put L.A. away.

"It's nice to see him get a damn save without loading the damn bases," opined Sj-dad. "Now let's go get three more and give this town a World Series groove."

As runs and hits were in short supply Thursday, it was nice to see Utley and Burrell each get two hits. If we could only get Ryan Howard contributing, the Phils would be quite a force to reckon with. They pretty much are that now. The good news: he was 0-for-4 Thursday, but he didn't strike out. It seems stupid to mention, but considering the flack he's gotten all season... this is a good thing.

Friday Night

Brett Myers, who was supposed to suffer a severe meltdown or something, started game two and pitched five innings, giving up a three-run homer to All-World Malcontent Manny Ramirez. But it wasn't his pitching that carried the day.

Myers led all hitters in this 8-5 Phillies win with three hits, and also drove in three runs to boot - including two of the runs that guaranteed a Philadelphia win.

Shane Victorino redeemed the hitters somewhat, pounding out a single and a triple that resulted in four RBI. The Phillies bullpen did the rest, pitching four scoreless innings to preserve a game two that started out looking like it would be a shootout.

"Holy crap, man," Sj-hypocycloid grunted between sips of some domestic crap beer he'd found in the fridge. "That was one nutty game. I loved that Myers. He's awesome. He pitched well enough, but look at the at-bats. He pretty much drove (Milwaukee pitcher) CC Sabathia to distraction, and did even more damage here."

Hard to argue with that.

Over to you, LA...

Now the series shifts to LA, where the Dodgers were supposed to close things out and await the eventual ALCS winner. Now, predictions of "Dodgers in 5" will have to be modified to "Dodgers in 6...??" or... "Can we try for best 6 out of 11?"

While it would be foolish to say that the Dodgers are done, they are certainly not in a great spot. Down 2-0 is not where they planned to be, and I'm sure that many Fox executives are trying to figure out whether or not they can broadcast the games and simply report that the Dodgers have won, despite the actual result.

Sorry, Joe Torre - you're the man and all, but you need to pull out all your magic tricks to get the LA Express back on track.

I, for one, will be rooting against that. But... no hard feelings, okay? You're still the best manager the Yankees have had in the last 13 years.

Go Phils!!