From the sound of it, the Colts’ victory over the Ravens is a huge upset. Never mind that the Colts of Indianapolis has Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Adam Vinatieri. Apparently, the Ravens’ defense is just as stellar with big-name players, but I’ve always believed that the team that controls the ball controls the game.
Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.
At least that appeared to be the case in the Colts’ victory over the Ravens even though no touchdowns were scored in the 15-6 decision. From a periphery it looked as if Manning controlled the game just enough to put Vinatieri in position to boot the ball through the uprights… five times.
So as we wait for the Eagles and Saints to start here’s the question to ponder – is Vinatieri the best kicker ever? Certainly no other player has made more clutch kicks in the biggest of games. Does anyone else even come close?
For what it’s worth, the best of Vinatieri’s money kicks was the one in the snow to beat the Raiders during the famous “In-the-Grasp/Snow Bowl” game in 2002.
I’m going to try some live blog posts during the Eagles game, which is a first. It’s a first because aside from the old days in pads nearly 20 years ago, I’ve forgotten more about football than I know. The biggest thing I remember is the yelling from the coaches. I can’t stand yelling. Why yell when I was standing so close and a normal conversational voice would have done just as well?
Besides, it’s not like I didn’t know I messed up. Did they really think I needed them yelling about it? Luckily I was well adjusted enough not to let it affect my self-esteem. Plus, little did those coaches realize at the time that I will soon parody them in some skewering creative writing projects.
Looks like I get the last laugh.
Speaking of last laughs, the game-time news coming out of New Orleans is that wide receiver Joe Horn will not play for the Saints tonight. Neither will Lito Sheppard for the Eagles, but we already knew that.
Nevertheless, I’m going to focus on the football here, because I don’t profess to be one of those guys who knows everything about sports. In fact, I don’t even like sports. Just baseball and running, though the running has been a bit of a struggle for me lately. I think my legs (and mind) are tired.
Perhaps I need some motivation – anyone know a coach that can come over and yell at me?
There are so many interesting sporting topics – David Beckham, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Floyd Landis, the stellar field that is being assembled for the ’07 London Marathon.
So why don’t we skip all of that for the time being and get into the really important stuff – like what to eat during the Eagles game.
Let’s try a football and wintertime staple like chili even though the game starts at 8 p.m. and most people won’t want to get too filled up… right? But, the good part about this recipe is that it’s lean and mean. Because I choose not to eat meat and do my best to stay away from animal-products (there’s a name for those people and freak and weirdo are not it, though in my case it’s debatable) I altered the recipe so that if one chooses to eat dead animal carcasses, they may substitute it in.
Here it is:
When the vegetables are ready, add tomatoes (undrained), beans, mushrooms, carrots, jalapeño, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, cocoa and cinnamon into the mix and stir well.
Finally, reduce the heat and let the chili simmer, uncovered, for about 40 minutes. Stir it when needed.
After that, you are on your own.
As far as the game goes, take the Saints minus the 5½ points. Maybe it’s just the chili talking, but I have a bad feeling about this one.
In the other games, take the Colts and the 4 in Baltimore. Wait… don’t the Colts play in Baltimore. The Baltimore Ravens? What kind of USFL/NFL Europe uniforms are they wearing?
In Sunday’s games, take the Seahawks and the 9½ in Chicago and the Chargers giving up 5 against the Patriots.
Last week: 2-2 Year-to-date: 25-22-2
Only 10-year members of the Baseball Writers Association of America are eligible to vote for the Hall of Fame. To be a member of the BBWAA, one has to work for a daily newspaper or The Associated Press, which, in the changing landscape of the media seems almost as archaic and anachronistic as allowing one specific group vote for something that some folks find so virtuous.
No, I’m not a member of the BBWAA. Plus, I agree with Woody Allen’s sentiment that I would never join an organization that would have someone like me as a member.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t have an opinion on the most recent voting by the BBWAA to enshrine just Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn is the equally as anachronistic Hall of Fame. I guess this is because I don’t seem to understand what it takes to be a Hall of Famer any more.
Let’s start with this – if I had a vote for the Hall of Fame balloting, I would have voted for Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn and Jim Rice. Ripken and Gwynn are obvious choices and epitomize – in my view – what the Hall of Fame is supposed to be about. Rice gets my vote because in 1978 he was the best player in the game, and from 1978 to 1986 he always one of the most feared hitters in either league.
Baseball statistics really don’t mean much to me and serve no other purpose than to back up specific arguments. That said, the following players would have received careful consideration from me (if I had a vote):
· Bert Blyleven
· Andre Dawson
· Rich Gossage
· Tommy John
· Jack Morris
· Dale Murphy
· Dave Parker
· Lee Smith
I keep changing my mind on Blyleven, and depending upon who is on the ballot next year, I suspect I’d give big Bert and that nasty curveball the vote. Andre Dawson and Dale Murphy fall into similar circumstances as Rice since there was a stretch in the 1980s where both players – specifically Murphy – were the best hitters in the league.
I’m not so sold on Goose Gossage because I mostly remember him as an oft-injured reliever who bounced from team to team in the latter part of his career. Tony Perez did that, too, and I don’t think he should be in the Hall of Fame either.
Why not Perez? Well, that’s easy. He was never the best player on any of his teams, let alone the best player in the league. Then again, if Perez is in than everyone on the list posted above ought to be in, too.
Actually, if Perez is in then why isn’t Chili Davis or Andres Galarraga? How about Dwight Evans or Harold Baines? What about Joe Carter or Rusty Staub?
Maybe it’s time to start taking people out of the Hall of Fame? Maybe it’s time for the Hall of Fame to take the vote away from the BBWAA and give it to a more inclusive organization – or at least one that will be around in the next decade.
Actually, that sounds like a fun exercise… who should we take out of the Hall of Fame? Let’s start with Perez and follow it up with:
Granted, I know about as much about Ray Schalk as I do about nuclear physics, but judging from the fact that most of the players on the list are inductees from the Veterans Committee it seems as if they got in because they were “good guys” or were liked by the right people. So if that’s a criterion, let Dale Murphy in and keep Perez in there, too.
Then again maybe Ray Schalk was as good as Sandy Koufax or even Jim Rice for a few seasons?
While we’re at it, answer this question: How many voters out there liked Mark McGwire in 1998? It seems to me that he filled a lot of writers’ notebooks and even made some a little bit of money, too.
Is Mark McGwire’s bid at baseball immortality being sacrificed for Major League Baseball’s sins? Or was he a willing partner in the dance of death?
I was at the first game of Cal Ripken’s streak. Yes I was. It was a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon game between the Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays and we had seats on the third-base side at Memorial Stadium. We were there, watching history that we didn’t we know was happening.
Actually, I didn’t even know I was at The First Game until nearly 2,131 Orioles games later. In fact, it was an offhand comment by the broadcaster calling one of Ripken’s record-breaking games in September of 1995 when it hit me that I was there on that sunny Sunday.
Now I have been to thousands of games and seen just about everything there is to see at a Major League game. I saw a no-hitter (Kevin Millwood), a couple of cycles (David Bell and Brad Wilkerson), a three-home run game (Andruw Jones), a team sew up the division on the final day of the season (Milwaukee Brewers in 1982), and a team win the NLCS (Phillies in 1993). I’ve also seen a few one-hitters, including one by Randy Wolf in the final weeks of the 2001 season where it didn’t seem as if he even worked up a sweat.
Needless to say there are hundreds of games that I attended that I don’t even remember. It’s not that I’m not losing my mind, it’s just that the Phillies have played a lot of games since I started this job in 2000.
But when one is a kid the games seemed to matter much more. They were a big deal. Better yet, I can recall sitting behind home plate at a 1978 game between the Orioles and Red Sox at Memorial Stadium in better detail than I can remember the last game I attended. From that game in ’78 I can remember peering through the backstop and a titanic home run hit by Jim Rice that soared over the bleachers in left field and disappeared into the night. I also remember Larry Harlow leading off the game with a homer off Red Sox starter Dennis Eckersley and Carlton Fisk starting a bench-clearing incident.
From the last game I covered all I remember is the game starting after 11 p.m., Ken Mandel taking a header dressed as Thomas Jefferson, and the Phillies sitting in a bus waiting to go to the airport as I walked out of the stadium at 3 a.m.
Nevertheless, it was remembering an odd one-hitter that jogged my memory and made me realize I was at Ripken’s streak starter. Odd? Well, yeah. It was odd because Jim Gott pitched six innings before turning it over to Roy Lee Jackson for the final nine outs. Only Rick Dempsey’s single between short and third in the fifth ruined the combined no-no.
Who wouldn’t remember a combined one-hitter? Better yet, who wouldn’t remember the most boring game they ever attended to that point?
Yet through all the countless times I’ve seen Cal Ripken play, that goofy one-hitter is the one game I’ll remember the most. Not the two-home run game against the Brewers on the final day of the ’82 season, or the day-in and day-out efforts at Memorial Stadium, Camden Yards, the Vet, Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium. Instead, it’s an oh-fer at long forgotten ballpark in a non-descript day in May.
How that for a Hall of Famer?
Ripken, of course, was elected to the Hall of Fame today along with Tony Gwynn in what will be most remember for who did not get voted into so-called baseball immortality. But that last part is for a more in-depth discussion later, because I’m not really sure what the Hall of Fame means anymore – and that’s not to say Ripken and Gywnn aren’t worthy, because they are. It’s just that based on who has been deemed worthy of induction and who has not, maybe it mysterious criteria that makes one a Hall of Famer is arbitrary and based on whimsy.
But that’s for another day.
Ripken and Gwynn could be the first inductees to the Hall of Fame whose careers I was old enough to appreciate and remember. Ripken’s ethic and Gwynn’s swing and focus were artful, and never more evident than in a doubleheader at the Vet on July 22, 1994, when sitting along the third-base side (again) I saw him go 6-for-8 with four RBIs and a pair of doubles. The most baffling part about those games was how the Phillies figured out how to get Gwynn out twice. It seemed as if every pitch thrown was going to be knocked into the outfield for a hit.
Then again, Gwynn always seemed to be a hit waiting to happen.
It was in July of 1966 when Jim Brown got the call from Cleveland Browns’ owner Art Modell that he should report to training camp immediately. But after nine seasons of hard running where he delivered as much punishment as he received in rushing for 12,312 yards and another 2,499 receiving for 126 touchdowns – excluding five playoff games – Brown decided enough was enough. Just 29-years old and regarded as the best football player ever, Brown couldn’t wrestle up the desire to heed Modell’s call and head to steamy, sultry Ohio for two-a-days.
Instead he remained in France to continue making The Dirty Dozen.
For anyone who has seen that epic film I think we know that Brown made the correct choice. Come on think about it… make The Dirty Dozen with Lee Marvin and John Cassavettes or run around in Cleveland to prepare for the 1966 NFL season. Does anyone remember anything that occurred in the 1966 NFL season?
Does anyone remember 1966?
It is worth noting, however, that Brown likely never would have had the chance to be anywhere near the production set of any motion picture had he not played football. The NFL, and all of professional sports for that matter, seems to be a great proving ground for acting, public speaking, and journalism. Based on generalizations from national and local television appearances, even the most middling careers as a professional jock carries more weight than an advanced degree from some of the country’s best universities.
And just like in national politics, correct grammar, syntax and prowess over the language is optional.
Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the spectrum from Brown is Barry Sanders, who had no blockbuster movies or a career as a smiling suit to tackle after 10 seasons of piling up more than 18,000 yards for the hapless Detroit Lions. Instead Sanders acted like a insouciant cool kid who was invited to a party hosted and attended by a group a little beneath his social standing.
Imagine what that conversation sounded like when the Lions called Sanders, then just 31, to ask him why he wasn’t at training camp.
“Hello.”
“Hey Barry, it’s the Lions. We’re just calling to see how your summer was going and to see if you were going to come on out to training camp. We have a lot of people here and it looks like it’s going to be a really good time.”
“Hmmm.”
“Yeah, well, we kind of have everyone here and were hoping you’d show up soon since you’re the best guy we have.”
“Yeah, about that… who else is going to be there?”
“Well, it looks like pretty much all the same guys who were here last year. There are a few new guys, but no one you ever really heard of.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty much the same guys that were here last year.”
“Hmmm. Well, if that’s the case I guess I’m just going to go ahead and retire. I was hoping we’d get some new guys to show up that were really good at football, but since it’s pretty much the same guys as before, I’m going to stay home and never play football again. I think it will be much more beneficial for me to be able to walk without a limp when I go out to pick up the newspaper or heading toward the green at the first hole. That’s the thing – I’m just tired of getting the crap kicked out of me.”
“But Barry, you’re a few yards away from being the greatest rusher in football history. Don’t you want to get the record? Wouldn’t it be neat to be able to tell your grandchildren that nobody ever ran for more yards than you?”
“No. I think it will be better to be able to walk. Thanks for the offer and the millions of dollars, though. I really appreciate it.”
click
Somewhere in the middle of all of this is Tiki Barber, who like Sanders, is just 31 and tired of playing professional football for a living. Like Brown, Barber hopes to have a career in the national media when all of his former teammates report to training camp in the heat and the sweat of July. According to reports, Barber has a very lucrative deal from Disney lined up where he lend his expertise and smile to the television cameras for the occasional football game and on the gabfests like “Good Morning America” and “20/20.”
If all goes well, it’s quite possible that Barber could land a role in something as epic as The Dirty Dozen. After all, he already has a national television commercial for the Cadillac Escalade – filmed on the moody, dark and stylish streets of The City – to his credit. With that, I suppose the endorsement deal from the Concerned Friends of the Environment is out.
Nevertheless, when Barber’s career came to a close after David Akers’ 38-yard field goal knifed through the raindrops and split the uprights at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday evening, the speculation began in earnest. Could that 137-yard effort in a playoff game in Philadelphia really have been his last game? Is he really going to stay retired? Michael Jordan came back – twice. George Foreman couldn’t stay retired, either. Nor could Mario Lemieux.
How could he just walk away?
Well… easy.
You see, most people dreamed of becoming an professional athlete and what could be better than being the running back for the football team in the country’s largest city? But Barber says he doesn’t want to be defined by simply being a football player. There is much more to him, he says. Most people -- not just athletes -- don't think this way because they view themselves by the mundane and pigeonholing labels that societies places on people, places and things. Plus, what skews things is that they often really define themselves by what they do. In fact, most of them say that they will not stop playing until they are dragged away.
There lies the contradiction. Most people do not define themselves by their jobs. Instead, regular folks have hobbies or passions that drive them more than just their jobs and work. Why should people whose job is to play football be any different? Why should athletes be held to a different standard?
Why should Tiki Barber have to live out someone else’s dream?
Besides, more people are going to remember Tiki Barber, Jim Brown and Barry Sanders as something other than a football player.
Plus, Best Bets
Despite what gets written on this site from time to time, I actually like to watch football. That is to say I can find some enjoyment in sitting around to watch a game on a Sunday afternoon when another family or outdoor activity would be more suitable. Hey, I’m not exactly one of those faux-macho dudes who likes to wear a shirt with another man’s name stenciled on the back; binge on high-cholesterol, high-carbohydrate or high-alcohol content perishables; scream and yell while slapping another man’s hand; or paint my face. I leave that to the professionals.
But from time to time I like to watch the Eagles and have, on occasion, made specific plans to watch a game or two when not working. I just don’t get caught up in the outcome of specific games because – as any seasoned writer would reply – I root for the story.
Stories, of course, are what define us as a species and what makes the world go around. We’re only as good as our content… Or at least that’s what I tell myself.
Anyway, like anyone who has spent any bit of their life in Philadelphia I’m looking forward to the Eagles’ big playoff showdown against the Giants this Sunday. And why not? The two previous meetings between the two clubs were the most entertaining games I saw all season. The first one, way back on a sunny September afternoon at the Linc, was riveting television. Sure, the Giants ended up winning in overtime after the Eagles blew a big lead, but looking at it from a pure entertainment view – which is what sports really is anyway – the game was very enjoyable.
In that regard, I’d say football, more than baseball, is America’s true pastime. Baseball, with its long season covering 26 weeks with a game scheduled for nearly every night from April to October, is more like therapy. If you need a game, it’s there. No questions asked. Take what you need.
Football, conversely, is an event scheduled once per week and building to a frothy, face-painting and trash-talking crescendo. People – even those like me – look forward to games. In baseball they get ready for them.
Before this digresses to a less-than-pithy George Carlin routine, it’s interesting to note that we might not be as entertained or passing our time as well as we could. Oh no, it has nothing to do with us – we’re eating and drinking the correct way and wearing the proper shirts with the correct names and numbers stenciled on the back. Instead, it’s them. The players. Apparently, they aren’t as good or at least they aren’t playing as well as they should.
At least that’s what the splendid writer Adam Gopnik of The New Yorker writes in the latest issue of the magazine. According to Gopnik’s, “The Unbeautiful Game: What's happening to football?” fans are really missing the game if they aren’t watching it from a seat in the stadium, the players aren’t entertaining nor are the fans entertained as they were in the proverbial old days. Instead of Broadway Joe, Johnny U and the unpredictability of the game and the players, we get Donovan McNabb faux silliness and his failure to engage in interview sessions. Or straight-as-an-arrow Tom Brady and his ability to remained so polished and poised on the field and off.
The players are too canned, too together and too media weary and conscious. Times have changed, perhaps.
OK. I know. What the hell does The New Yorker know about football. Don’t they serialize fiction and print poetry?
Yes. Yes they do.
But tell me what I’m supposed to glean from ESPN’s magazine or any of the linked media cacophony they bonk viewers and readers with? Gopnik and his magazine just might have a view and perspective that the entrenched sports media won’t see, touch or bother to think about, and that’s why it’s interesting.
Interesting is one thing, but correct is another. Certainly Gopnik made some interesting and salient points in the magazine’s trademarked sprawling opus, and it’s probably fair to write that the football in 2006-07 isn’t as good as it once was when the league was smaller. But name something that wasn’t good when it was more intimate (so to speak) or discovered? It’s just like that scene in Stripes when Bill Murray’s girlfriend breaks up with him because he likes to sit around and listen to Tito Puente records all day.
Murray, as John Winger, says: “Y'know, one day, Tito Puente will be dead, and you'll say, ‘Oh, I've been listening to him for years, and I think he's fabulous.’”
So for those of you who have been sitting around and listening to those sassy sounds from Tito way back when, is the NFL less entertaining? Do you feel cheated when you flip on the tube or head to the ballpark on Sunday afternoon? Does the supposed dearth of quality play ruin your enjoyment?
Or are you just happy that there are many more people who like to listen to Tito Puente, too?
Anyway, take the Eagles giving the 6½ points to the Giants on Sunday. Normally, I’d be a wet blanket in this situation and go with the underdog, but I changed my mind by the time I get to the end of this essay. Get ready for a trip to New Orleans.
Also, take the Colts giving up 7 to the Chiefs, the Seahawks in a pick ‘em over the Cowboys and the Jets covering the 9 points against the Patriots.
Year-to-date: 23-20-2
It’s been a long time since I sat down in front of my well-appointed laptop in the Eastern Standard time zone with these warmer than average temperatures. The past handful of weeks has been spent resting and ignoring. The rest part is easy to explain. Everyone enjoys a good respite.
I definitely respited away.
But the ignoring part… well, that’s an art that takes a lot of work.
It’s also an all-or-nothing pursuit. If one is going to practice the art of neglect, one can’t pick and choose. It has to take over the locus of a person’s mind. Therefore, in ignoring Philadelphia sports and its teams for the past two weeks, I also ignored my running regime, my eating and drinking practices and my computer.
Instead of running for a couple of hours every day, I took a few days off where I sat inside or just hung out. I also went to parties and family gatherings where I indulged in baked goods, crustaceans and red wine, all of which had immediate and delayed affects on my body and mind.
Meanwhile, I pushed aside my computer. Normally, the damn thing seems to be attached as if by undetectable wires like the kind they use in stage shows when the characters suddenly become airborne. But for the last few weeks those wires were cut lest the news I was trying to avoid seeped through.
Needless to say it wasn’t easy. More often than not, sports games are on the TV and not just on the Internets. Plus, people generally like to talk about sports and do so at parties and other types of events where people gather. So when outside of my cocoon of Mose Allison records, Bukowski novels, repeats of "Blue’s Clues," "The Wonder Pets," and "Little Einsteins," and bad Sarah Jessica Parker movies (isn't that an oxymoron?), people tried to engage me in idle banter about Allen Iverson, Jeff Garcia and Ryan Howard.
It was never about Gerald Ford, James Brown, Saddam Hussein or where that Joe dude on “Blue’s Clues” came from, which, of course, is much too heady and challenging for a holiday party setting. Was Brown really “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” like he claimed? And was the gaffe in the 1976 Presidential debates at the Walnut Street Theater that cost Ford the election to Jimmy Carter?
More importantly, what happened to Steve and his striped green shirt.
Instead, when asked about Alley I, Garcia or Howard, I turned into Owen Wilson in that scene in The Royal Tenenbaums when the TV interviewer asks him about his book, Wildcat…
That’s enough of this silliness. Let’s recap what happened during the holidays that some others may have missed as well:
captured the Phillies Scribes Football League for my Lancaster Crackers. For someone who has never owned a winning franchise before, this was a really big deal. Isaac Bruce and Tiki Barber also came through when we needed it most, but it was Garcia who put us over the top and he will always be remembered for that.
Who can blame him?
Regardless, for those counting Howard now has gone through two agents in a little more than 1½ years in the league. If I were the next guy I’d be a little worried… better yet, I’d negotiate the new deal, get my cut and give the player his walking papers.
That’s how I roll.
I have nothing witty to write about Forsberg’s injuries, though I wonder if his fitness could become an issue with more time on the shelf.
Tomorrow: Football musings and Best Bets
Last week: 2-2
Year-to-date: 22-20-2
Yeah, I know that the NFL playoff race will come into clearer focus after this weekend's games, but I really don't care. There is only one game that matters, the rest of the slate is nothing more than a filling bunch of Hors d’oeuvres that look nice but really have no nutritional value. Kind of like a little piece of melon wrapped in bacon.
And though everyone loves bacon (and melon), it's better to focus on the main course. It is the holiday season, after all, and it's common for folks to put on a few unwanted pounds from talking themselves into having that bowl of sugary treats at a party.
"Well, it is dark chocolate. That's supposed to be good for you like red wine... right?"
Sure, whatever works.
Anyway, to keep slim and trim as the new year approaches, let's get to the feast:
Eagles plus 7 over Cowboys
Seven points? It's like stealing candy from a baby... and I know you have stolen candy from a baby. Shame on you!
ESPN.com's Gare Joyce wrote a really interesting story about long-time Phillies scout Tony Lucadello. Based in Ohio, Lucadello was responsible for signing Mike Schmidt, as well as Ernie Banks for the Cubs during a long career that ended when he mysteriously (and apparently) killed himself in 1989.
It's a fascinating story about a baseball lifer who was unceremoniously dropped by the Phillies when he was 76, which led to his demise.
I would liked to have seen comment from the Phillies in the story, but aside from a few hangers on most of the people from Lucadello's time are gone.
Anyway, the story: Wall of Dreams
Vacation time. It’s use-the-days-or-lose-them time. It’s also recover from a 16-hour day that was Tuesday when Allen Iverson was finally traded away from the 76ers. Needless to say, there is a bunch of server space that has been impeded upon in the name of delving into the intricacies of the trade.
I’d say trees were killed, too, but we all know that newspapers, in their hardcopy form, are irrelevant.
Apparently, Iverson said he never asked to be traded, which is a unique spin after being inactive for the 76ers for six games. Unless Iverson lives in a cocoon or cave he surely heard the stories saying that he did, indeed, ask for a trade. It’s a wonder he didn’t say anything sooner.
Meanwhile, as a regular traveler to Colorado and parts of the Denver metro area, I’m going to make an easy prediction in saying that Allen Iverson will take over the sporting landscape of that area unlike any other athlete, excluding John Elway, Dan Issel and Frank Shorter. Iverson immediately makes the Nuggets viable in Colorado, which is something. Afterall, the big events out there are Broncos games, track or cycling Olympic Trials when half of Boulder empties out, and the annual Colorado vs. Colorado St. game.
The hard part, as everyone has been writing, will be to get shots for Iverson and leading-scorer Carmelo Anthony. Who knows, perhaps the new dynamic duo will just start playing one-on-one against each other in the middle of games.
Another concern is getting Iverson to practice in the medium altitude in Denver. Then again, he likely won’t have the same distractions in Colorado that he had in Philadelphia. Atlantic City won’t be 45-minutes away, though there are the low-stakes gambling halls in Central City and Blackhawk.
Better yet, forget about Friday’s and Dave & Busters. Just try to keep Iverson off the slopes in Aspen, Vail, Crested Butte or Telluride.
Powder, man… we’re talkin’ ‘bout packed powder.
Of course he can always go up to Boulder and play hacky sack on the Pearl Street Mall, too. Who cares that the team is now being re-nicknamed from Nugs to Thugs… personally, I prefer Carmelo and the Super Sucker (punchers), but that’s me.
So with Iverson gone what are the 76ers going to do to remain in the news? How about an encore for Larry Brown? That’s definitely a unique one. Has Brown ever returned to any of the 274 teams he’s been with during his career? I don’t think so.
Other stuff
Apparently there is a big football game on Monday night. What intrigues me the most about the game – other than the fact that it could determine whether the Lancaster Crackers are the PSFL champion or merely the runner-up – is what if it were to be played in Philadelphia like the NFL originally wanted?
Elsewhere, I enjoyed reading Todd Zolecki’s Q&A with patron saint Bill James. I suppose it’s fair to label Todd as a “sabergeek.”
Goofin’ off
So what does a vacation mean around here? Well, yesterday it meant a 20-mile run that beat me up a little bit. To recover I ate a half gallon of mint chocolate cookie frozen yogurt on top of a chili sauce and tofu with rice dish my wife makes.
Tonight I plan on a modest recovery run since I struggled to run 6:45 pace during the 20-miler, followed by a trip to the haircuttery with our 2-year-old boy and dinner at one of the Japanese restaurants here in town.
Yeah, it’s pretty wild around here.
Later in the week some traveling, movie-viewing and other domesticated tomfoolery is on the agenda. Plus, since a lot of my friends work at home or in offices nearby, I might stop in and bother them.
See, told you it’s going to be wild.
It seems so long ago that Donovan McNabb went down with his knee injury. Along those lines it seems kind of funny that there was actually a debate over whether or not Jeff Garcia should be the Eagles’ starting quarterback.
It’s funny what a couple of big victories do, huh?
With Garcia at the helm, the Eagles have gone from a team simply playing out the string to one that controls its own destiny in the NFC East. If the Eagles beat the Cowboys in Dallas on Christmas night and the Falcons in South Philly on New Year’s Eve, they win the division.
Who would have guessed?
If the Eagles win both of those games and get some help (the Saints lose two games and the Seahawks lose one), they will get a first-round bye in the playoffs as the No. 2 seed. In fact, the Eagles’ PR staff has even e-mailed out the NFC playoff scenarios:
(Before 12/18 Cincinnati-Indianapolis Monday night game)
For Week 16
NFC EAST DIVISION
Dallas has clinched playoff berth.
Dallas can clinch division with:
1DAL win.
Philadelphia can clinch playoff berth with:
1) PHI win, OR
2) PHI tie + NYG loss or tie, OR
3) PHI tie + ATL loss.
New York can clinch playoff berth with:
1) NYG win + MIN loss or tie + ATL loss + PHI win or tie + SEA win or tie, OR
2) NYG win + MIN loss or tie + ATL loss + PHI win or tie + SF loss or tie.
NFC NORTH DIVISION
Chicago has clinched homefield advantage.
NFC SOUTH DIVISION
New Orleans has clinched division.
New Orleans can clinch first-round bye with:
1) NO win + DAL loss.
NFC WEST DIVISION
Seattle can clinch division with:
1) SEA win or tie, OR
2) SF loss or tie.
One thing that no one is talking about is the Eagles not making the playoffs even though that possibility is realistic. How goofy is that? Based on the results of the next two games the Eagles could be the divisional champions, a No. 2 seed with a first-round bye in the playoffs, or on the outside looking in.
That's with Jeff Garcia, not Donovan McNabb as the quarterback.
Now here’s the big question:
How in the world did we get here? Didn’t the season end a month ago during that nasty loss to the Titans?
Apparently not.
After the crucial victory over the Giants on Sunday, Brian Dawkins said the Eagles’ resurgence was a matter of the team clicking at the right time. Certainly there is no doubt about that. But perhaps the biggest reason for the Eagles’ dash for the playoffs has been the team clicking as Dawkins suggested along with Garcia handling the offense.
Before anyone jumps to conclusions I am not suggesting that the Eagles are a better team with Garcia at quarterback instead of McNabb. I’m not smart enough to make that argument. However, I took the time to ask certain folks who spend a lot of their time with the Eagles and other NFL teams whether or not the team’s changed fortunes are simply a matter of the offense doing what it’s supposed to do or if Garcia is playing well.
The consensus is that it’s both with an emphasis on the latter. The Eagles, I’m told (including by CSN.com’s bulldog Eagles’ scribe Andy Schwartz), always had the players to fit the offense. But Garcia, they say, has been really good.
In that regard the numbers don’t lie – Garcia has thrown just one interception (yeah, it was a big one) with nine touchdown passes and nearly a 62 percent completion percentage. Statistically, Garcia compares quite favorably with McNabb excluding the rushing.
In another regard, Garcia lived up to some minor hype in rallying the Eagles past the Giants. Prior to the game, the 36-year-old veteran was the subject of a small feature in The New York Times and just may have resurrected a career that even Garcia thought was on the doorstep of fading into oblivion after uninspiring stops in Cleveland and Detroit.
“I'd started to lose faith in football and having fun like I've been having the last three or four weeks, just making plays and letting loose like I used to when I was younger,” Garcia said after his solid 237-yard performance against the Giants. “A year ago, I wasn't thinking this would happen again. But it's starting to come for us.”
But better than good stats and a feature in the paper of record, Garcia’s teammates have full confidence in him. On Daily News Live, Monday, linebacker Jeremiah Trotter heaped praise on the quarterback noting that he prepared every week as if he was going to start the game even though McNabb was off to a Pro Bowl-caliber start to the season. That’s especially important following a lost 2005 season when McNabb went out with an injury and Mike McMahon was asked to guide the ship. Mix that with the Terrell Owens debacle and the difference between last season and 2006 is as different as night and day, noted sure-bet Pro Bowler Brian Westbrook.
“Last year, we were a team divided. We weren’t together at all. We didn't have a hope,” Westbrook said after Sunday’s game. “This year, when Donovan went down, we rallied. This team is real resilient. Garcia comes in, he doesn't make many mistakes, he runs this offense, he leads the team, and with him back there, we have a chance of winning. That's what we need.”
Garcia, of course, wasn’t around last season. Instead he was playing out the string in Detroit at this time a year ago. Needless to say, the situation in Philadelphia is much better.
“It's just exciting to be able to fight for another week,” Garcia said. “We're just glad to be in a place where we all can live another week.”
Now here’s the craziest part…
Maybe – just maybe – the Eagles can wiggle through the ever-fickle NFC playoffs and get all the way to Miami for a game in early February.
One thing at a time, of course, but then again, crazier things have happened.
On this date in 1891, Dr. James Naismith invented the game of basketball at the YMCA in Springfield, Mass.
No, I don't have a joke about the 76ers to insert here.
Last week: 3-1
Year-to-date: 20-18-2
This is a big weekend for the NFL. Not only are playoff berths on the line and the balance of power in every division and conference teetering on a thin, fickle line, but also all around the country regular folks like you and me are involved in their fantasy football playoffs.
Here’s an admission – I was never a regular viewer of the NFL until fantasy football came around. In fact, I’m not even a regular watcher now. I follow the stats as they pertain to my fantasy football team, which I’m sure bothers people. The hand wringing and drawback in this, according to some football fans, is that people end up rooting for certain players against their favorite team.
So?
Perhaps I have the luxury of not having a favorite team. Oh sure, I suppose I follow the Eagles closer than the other teams, and I definitely rooted for them when we moved back to Pennsylvania in 1981, but I also liked the Washington Redskins when they had John Riggins and Joe Washington with his single bar helmet. I also liked Mark Moseley’s straight on, toe kicks, though they weren’t as cool as Tony Franklin’s barefoot boots.
The same thing went for baseball, too. When we lived in the D.C. area, we followed the Orioles very closely and rooted for them to win the 1979 World Series. In fact, I was at Memorial Stadium for the final game of the 1982 season in which Robin Yount slugged two homers off Jim Palmer to send the Brewers into the playoffs. Don Sutton pitched for the Brewers that day, and Ben Ogilivie made a tough, sliding catch near us in the left-field corner to ruin an Orioles’ rally and shove the momentum the Brewers’ way.
In 1983, though, we lived in Lancaster and followed the Phillies closely on TV, but when it came time to actually go to a game we opted for Baltimore over the Vet.
Can anyone blame us?
Unfortunately, after ’83 the Phillies and the Orioles started to decline in the standings, which meant I began to follow individual players even more. Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Rickey Henderson and Roger Clemens were big names through the ‘80s.
As a side note, I really liked Larry Bowa and Eddie Murray when I was a kid and was excited to talk to my childhood favorites when I started writing about baseball... and then I met them.
In the 1990s I went to college and don’t recall following any athletes very close at all. Well, I watched every game of the 1993 baseball season, but who didn’t?
Anyway, here’s which teams are going to win this weekend:
Falcons plus 3 ½ over the Cowboys
I have the Falcons defense in my fantasy league playoffs. Does it matter that I can’t name a single player on the Falcons other than the quarterback who can’t throw?
Colts minus 3½ over the Bengals
Hey! This could be a good game.
Eagles plus 6 over the Giants
Initially I thought the Giants would win. But the only reports I’ve seen (or paid attention to) from New York have the Giants talking and bickering too much. Good teams don’t do that.
Panthers PICK Steelers
Take the Panthers. Why not?
Whenever I want a good laugh I read my horoscope. Better yet, the astrology stuff that attempts to pinpoint my personality and future based on my birthday are the best. Because I was born on December 10 – like Emily Dickinson, Susan Dey and that big dude from The Green Mile – I’m supposed to be inscrutable and philosophical… or something like that.
Be that as it may, there are a lot of people who take their astrological sign and star charts seriously. In fact, some people treat it as a religion.
Along those lines is a report in The New York Times where Japanese baseball players are judged on their blood type.
Why blood type and not eye color?
Anyway, new Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is a warrior who can face down any difficult situation – like facing Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez with no outs and the bases loaded – because his blood type is O.
Think I’m kidding? Read this story… like I wrote, it’s in The Times.
On another note, I happened to hear former Phillies manager and current Red Sox skipper, Terry Francona, on Dan Patrick’s radio show this afternoon while driving home with my son from his school. During the show, Patrick asked Tito if he anticipates and communication problems with the new, $52 million man who is set to pitch for the Red Sox.
No, Francona, said, adding, “If he wants to go out and pitch seven, eight or nine innings every night, I can pat him on the butt in any language.”
Factoid
This is from sometime ComcastSportsNet.com contributor and former “Best Damn Sports Show, Period” researcher, Bill Sudell:
Here's how things are going at the Wachovia Center: The Flyers have won eight games, the 76ers only five. There are 31 teams - 23 in the NHL, which has played more of its schedule, and eight in the NBA - with as many or more wins than the 13 the Flyers and Sixers have combined.
Don’t let the door hit you…
Here’s a surprise – some Philadelphia police officers are happy to see Allen Iverson (reportedly) on his way out of town.
Here’s the money quotes via Philadelphia Will Do, via the Inquirer’s police blog:
“"He's a hoodlum, a thug" proclaimed one police officer. Another one of Philly's finest said, "He doesn't make our lives any easier as cops. He thinks he can drive a thousand miles an hour down City Avenue and that no one is supposed to say anything to him." Another officer commented how disgusted she was when he allegedly turned down a young fan looking to get his autograph at TGI Fridays.”
Just for the sake of nothing, I decided to look up all of the 76ers’ coaches during Allen Iverson’s time in Philadelphia. They are:
Johnny Davis 1997
Larry Brown 1998-2003
Randy Ayers 2003-2004
Chris Ford 2004
Jim O’Brien 2004-2005
Maurice Cheeks 2005- present
Meanwhile, just for fun, I decided to look up the managers Scott Rolen has played for during his career. Like Iverson, Rolen was the Rookie of the Year in 1997.
Jim Fregosi 1996
Terry Francona 1997-2000
Larry Bowa 2000-2002
Tony La Russa 2002- present
As one can tell from the list, Iverson really didn’t become a coach killer until Larry Brown bolted for Detroit. Meanwhile, Brown has been in and out of two organizations since leaving Philadelphia.
Downloaded playbook
Apparently, Eagles' rookie Jeremy Bloom is resourceful. How resourceful? Well, instead of using his iPod to listen to music or watch movies, Bloom uses his handy-dandy little computer to learn the Eagles playbook.
The winning graf:
Eagles special teams coordinator John Harbaugh observed Bloom doing his solo work, but had no idea what he was listening to. "I thought there was music in that thing," Harbaugh said.
There are 11 days to go before Christmas, it’s 60 degrees, humid and sunny here in Lancaster, Pa. and my thoughts are on running and today’s workout instead of the melting polar icecaps, global warming and our consumer culture.
Then again, it could be 60 below and my thoughts would be on running and how to complete the day’s workout.
Nevertheless, I stumbled upon a great site this afternoon that is sure to keep me motivated during the next year of training. The site? Flotrack, described by the publishers as:
An extensive video collection of the greatest Track and Field athletes from all over the country. Who you want, what you want, when you want it. Learn about the greatest athletes, their life stories, training styles, opinions, and philosophies. Get to know past legends, present stars, and the future faces of running. Follow coaches to practice and learn their strategies. View athletes before, during and after competitions. Listen to the sports most influential figures and be inspired by their stories.
Frankly, I can’t get enough of it. So far I’ve watched Deena Kastor talk about the virtues of high mileage training, Frank Shorter discussing drugs, and Mark Wetmore – the top coach in the U.S. – with his CU team on a long run at 8,500 feet of altitude.
There are also interviews with Alberto Salazar, Jorge Torres and Ed Eyestone.
For running geeks, Flotrack will quickly become the go-to site.
Anyway, last night I did 15-to-20 minutes of light yoga as a recovery aid and to help my all-around fitness. We'll see how it goes. I'm hardly the most flexible person, nor am I very adept at the poses. Right now the emphasis is on the form and getting a nice stretch.
However, if it gets in the way of the high-mileage training (if 100-110 miles per week can even be called high mileage anymore) I have planned for the next 10 months, then the yoga has to go-a. I feel a little trashed today, but we're going to try and get in 13 to 15 anyway.
A much-needed rest day is approaching.
I love grass.
Let me rephrase that.
I love running on grass. In fact, since running in the Harrisburg Marathon last Nov. 12 approximately 75 percent of my runs have taken place on the grassy and relatively flat Baker Field just beyond my front door.
The reason is simple: grass is easier on my legs than the roads or sidewalks. Though I have no poof to the contrary, I imagine that running circles around the grass field (three loops equals 5 miles) helps my recovery from day to day than if I ran on the roads day in and out.
My theory is based on the golf ball test that I read on some running web site that escapes me at the moment. Anyway, the idea is if one bounces a golf ball on a road or sidewalk, it will bounce like crazy, thus indicating how hard the surface is. However, drop a golf ball on a grass field and it probably won’t bounce all that much.
So just imagine what the pounding of running on a road as opposed to grass does to one’s legs.
On top of that – and again, I have no scientific proof – running on grass is generally slower with more resistance. It should make a runner stronger, especially if the grass hasn’t been mowed in a little while.
What I like about running on my grass field is that I know the distance and what time I should be running for a particular workout. Though it can be a little monotonous, it’s fun keeping track of my splits. Sometimes it helps give me incentive to run a workout faster than the last one.
Today, however, wasn’t one of those days. Actually, I tried to take it easy today after running 20 miles on Monday and 14 with a few 5:30 mile loops on Tuesday. I was definitely dragging through the first five miles in 33, but somehow I ran the next five in 32:17. I pushed the pace a bit for a kilometer so that’s probably where the speedier split comes from, but it dipped back down when I ran the last five on the field in 33:23.
A loop through the neighborhood adjacent to F&M gave me 17 miles in 1:52:21.
That’s not too bad, and I recall struggling to do 17-milers in 2-hours back when I came out of retirement, but now my hamstrings are a little achy. Perhaps some light yoga will iron out those kinks?
Anyway, this week’s helpful tip is to get off the roads. Go run on the grass, especially if you want to be running when you get old.
Ever wonder what quirky incentives some baseball players have in their contracts? Are you like me in that you enjoy reading that some players actually have it stipulated that they must travel to road games in an airplane fueled by bio-diesel?
Actually, I made that last one up. In fact, writer Rick Paulas made up a few like that on his own for the web site of indie publisher Timothy McSweeney’s, home to such literary all-stars like Dave Eggers, David Byrne, Neal Pollack, Nick Hornby and Jonathan Lethem.
Paulas even got his eyes on new Phillie Adam Eaton’s deal where it reads:
Upon signing, Eaton received a certified doctor's note from the best psychiatrist in Philadelphia addressed to the commissioner's office, informing them that he must wear an iPod while pitching to drown out the inevitable boos that come with playing in Philadelphia. This, the doctor argued, will keep Eaton's fragile psyche in check, allowing the city's residents to sleep in peace without worrying about another “ugly incident.”
Actually, that might not be made up.