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Latest on Wednesday, 9:18: Not gonna happen - makes too much sense.
: The Eagles should trade their 2009 first round pick and Lito Sheppard for Boldin.
: Rollins still bashing Philly fans.."If they want to boo me, that's fine. Boo me," Rollins said. "Just keep it off everyone else. . . . [...]
: Joe Horn got got by Atlanta, do we get him?
: Phelps Sweeps Olympics 8-8. Amazing!
Aug
6
Jeffrey Lurie Is Crazy
Filed Under Article, Must Read | 5 Comments
I have considered Eagles’ Owner Jeffrey Lurie one of the smartest, shrewd and determined owners to ever come into town - and in plenty of ways he is still all that. However, after listening to his annual “State of the Eagles” charade speech he offered yesterday, I have come to only one conclusion…
The man is bat-shit crazy.
Where do I begin? OK - let’s start with this quote here…
“This isn’t about rebuilding, retooling or anything - this is [about] going for it,” Lurie said. “That’s our approach. It’s pedal-to-the-metal. That’s what every move is based on, or what every attempted move is based on, with an eye toward the present and an eye toward the future. But we’re going for it.”
Going for what? The Super Bowl? Let’s look at what you’ve got going on in training camp as the season quickly approaches..
Aug
5
Manny Wanted To Be A Phillie
Filed Under Announcement, Must Read | 1 Comment
Just how close were the Phillies to landing Manny Ramirez? Si.com’s Jon Heyman has written an excellent peice on just how the whole deal went down…
The Phillies were a team said to excite Ramirez. They have a great lineup and an even better ballpark for him to put up big second-half numbers and enhance his free-agent value. The Phillies had interest but were apparently offering even less than L.A. They may have had concerns about how Ramirez would fit into the same outfield with Pat Burrell.
Read.
Jul
30
Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, the preeminent NFL sports writer of our times, has dispatched his Eagles Postcard. Below are his final notes - with the article being a must read.
Parting Shots
• The Eagles hope rookie Trevor Laws, who looks a little smallish for the NFC East wars, can be the third DT in a rotation with Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson.
• Darren Howard is in the best shape of his life. He could be the missing defensive end Jim Johnson thought the Eagles bought from New Orleans two years ago. He’s given them only six sacks in two years, so that’s why they went out and got Clemons.
• DeSean Jackson, counted on to be a returner and deep-threat, third-down receiver, isn’t doing himself any favors by staying out of practice. Reid said he needs to be practicing. But Jackson injured a hamstring at a June mini-camp in Philadelphia and re-tweaked it Sunday.
• Asante Samuel also has a hamstring strain. No one’s very worried, but he walked off the practice field Tuesday morning with a slight limp.
• McNabb is happy. Seems carefree and his usual cutup self.
Read.
Jul
9
Philadelphia Magazine’s Richard Rys has deliverd a terrific exposé on the Phillies ownership and what they’re prepared to do to to make this team a constant winner - or a constant loser.
David Montgomery, the team’s president and the face of its owners, will never be mistaken for Evel Knievel. Today, “Gentleman Dave,” as he’s known, is in the middle of the Diamond Club schmoozefest, shaking hands and smiling. Also here is chairman Bill Giles, who in 1981 assembled a group of investors to buy the Phillies. There are five conspicuous absences, though: Claire Betz, the 87-year-old who took her seat at the ownership table when her husband, head of Betz Laboratories, died; the Buck brothers — Jim, 82, Bill, 78, and Whip, 75 — founders of TDH Capital, the Delaware Valley’s first venture-capital interest; and John Middleton, 53, whose cigar company, John Middleton Inc., sold for $2.9 billion last year. They are the shadowy owners of the Phillies, and for this Phantom Five, the less interaction with the public, the better.
We don’t want to see them either. However, we do want to see a team that was given more than a quarter-billion in city and state assistance to build Citizens Bank Park win on the field.
The importance of winning can not be overstated with a team like the Phillies. Yeah, the owners don’t give a shit; yeah, the top-tier mid-season free agents are not coming here; and yeah the team is not ready to make serious run at a Championship.
But you do have players - Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Chase Utley, Brad Lidge, Jimmy Rollins - that have to play better. PLAY BETTER BASEBALL.
Jul
8
The 76ers are close to trading forward Rodney Carney and a future No. 1 pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a deal that clears salary cap space for the team to make a stronger push for free agents, a person in the NBA told the Associated Press.
The trade had not yet been completed and the NBA trade moratorium will not be lifted until tomorrow.
Woot!
The deal will clear the way for the Sixers to offer a nearly $14 million starting salary and a long-term deal to a free agent such as Elton Brand or Josh Smith. The Sixers now have another $2 million in salary cap space to add to the $11 million in space available that they hope will land them the post player they desperately need.
…and, as we all know, in the NBA a single player can make you a contender - two may get you into the conference finals.
Read via SportsCade
Jun
18
Say It Out Loud - Pat Burrell Is The Man
Filed Under Article, Must Read | 2 Comments
For a couple of years on the podcast, Dave, emoney and I have argued whether or not Pat Burrell is a hump. We all know that sometimes he is and often he is not, however - the numbers simply do not lie and its these digits that we will now and forever reference when it comes to Pat the Bat.
Players who made their major league debuts in 2000 and have more than 100 home runs and 300 RBI.
1. PAT BURRELL 236 HR, 788 RBI
2. Aubrey Huff 166 HR, 595 RBI
3. Joe Crede 122 HR, 408 RBI
4. Jimmy Rollins 120 HR, 510 RBI
5. Pedro Feliz 117 HR, 449 RBI
6. Morgan Ensberg 110 HR, 347 RBI
7. Michael Young 109 HR, 603 RBI
8. Eric Byrnes 101 HR, 365 RBI
Players who since 2000 have more than 200 home runs and 750 RBI.
1. Alex Rodriguez 382 HR, 1,077 RBI
2. Jim Thome 324 HR, 852 RBI
3. Manny Ramirez 307 HR, 971 RBI
4. Albert Pujols 298 HR, 903 RBI
5. Carlos Delgado 291 HR, 939 RBI
6. Andruw Jones 290 HR, 867 RBI
7. Vladimir Guerrero 283 HR, 931 RBI
8. Lance Berkman 274 HR, 897 RBI
9. Jason Giambi 273 HR, 802 RBI
10. David Ortiz 269 HR, 871 RBI
11. Richie Sexson 261 HR, 779 RBI
12. Paul Konerko 253 HR, 815 RBI
13. Carlos Lee 251 HR, 869 RBI
14. Chipper Jones 248 HR, 819 RBI
15. Gary Sheffield 247 HR, 781 RBI
16. Todd Helton 245 HR, 892 RBI
17. PAT BURRELL 236 HR, 788 RBI
18. Miguel Tejada 233 HR, 935 RBI
19. Aramis Ramirez 226 HR, 784 RBI
20. Carlos Beltran 224 HR, 807 RBI
21. Luis Gonzalez 218 HR, 758 RBI
22. Jeff Kent 212 HR, 821 RBI
23. Magglio Ordonez 209 HR, 841 RBI
* Totals do not include last night’s games:
[philly.com via SportsCade]
Jun
2
Utley Named Player of the Week
Filed Under Must Read | Leave a Comment
After leading all players in home runs and RBI, Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley on Monday was named National League Player of the Week.
For the week, the 29-year-old Utley batted .391 with 25 total bases and a slugging percentage of 1.087.
Among those also considered for the award for were Utley’s teammates, catcher Chris Coste and outfielder Shane Victorino.
[via SportsCade.]
Jun
2
Moyer Does Not Lose to the Marlins
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When Mike Jacobs hit the second of his two home runs Sunday, teammate Cody Ross thought the Marlins had pushed Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer — the oldest player in the majors — to the brink of defeat. Finally.
Moyer, 45, had never lost to the Marlins. He owned seven wins in his many encounters with them, including four victories last season. And there he stood Sunday, trailing by four runs as he watched Jacobs circle the bases a second time.
”I thought [Sunday] was the day,” Ross said.
Nope.
[via sportscade.com]
May
19
Banking on the inevitably of the Flyers not wining the Stanley Cup this year, Philadelphia’s own Bryan Armen Graham has so generously written a feature for Sports Illustrated on the fact that our city hasn’t won a championship since 1983.
Bryan, asshole, do we really need this documented?
The Flyers’ elimination made it 100 consecutive seasons without a title for Philadelphia’s four major teams. That’s far and away the record for a four-sport town — a gold standard for civic sports futility.
Philadelphia (yes, my hometown) has been a major trophy-free zone since 1983. The drought has battered the area’s collective psyche, rendering an entire generation of sports fans wounded, disillusioned and emotionally bankrupt. Whether you chalk up the streak to bad players, bad management or just plain bad luck, the hard numbers remain the same: 100 seasons, zero championships.
To commemorate the dubious milestone, here’s a list of the 100 worst moments in Philadelphia sports during the drought. The scope is limited to the four major sports with a couple of obligatory exceptions. While the sheer length of the list might strike an outsider as a tad gratuitous — an excessive tribute to failure — there’s simply no better way to relate the epic scope of Philly’s perpetual heartbreak.
Apr
15
Bigger disappointment 1/15 into the baseball season, the Detroit Tigers (3-10) or the New York Mets (5-6)? Based simply on fan reaction, it might be the Mets. Yes, seriously. We made the mistake of listening to Mike & the Mad Dog for the first hour or so Monday, and fans were apoplectic about the season, and ready to do one of three things: a) Help Keith Hernandez move, and then jump off the upper deck at Shea, b) fire Willie Randolph, c) hunt down Luis Castillo and remove him from our lovely planet. So we found a Mets fan, commenter RomanWarHelmet, and asked him for his thoughts on why everyone’s so blue in flushing. His words after the jump.