Bigfoot-vs-Freddy Kruger

So I'm sitting here listening to Philadelphia sportstalk, like I do everyday, and the topic is Chase Utley (my favorite Phillie). This moron calls in and criticizes Chase for playing through injuries. He's literally criticizing the man because he doesn't like to talk about injuries and blame injuries on his poor play. He goes on to explain that Chase is actually hurting the team and the fans deserve more. If I had just 30 seconds with this guy - I would slice and dice his argument like I was a Freddy Krueger. First off, these same idiot callers are the guys who call in when a player doesn't "suck it up." Meanwhile noted tough guy Utley plays through EVERYTHING and now he's being criticized? You can' have it both ways, jackass! The caller goes on to say that "we are such die hards in Philadelphia and we, as fans, deserve better" (basically inferring that Utley should sit b/c he was hurting the club).

Dear Mr. Short-term memory idiot, it wasn't long ago when people couldn't GIVE AWAY tickets to Phillies games. Admittedly, I have always been a Phils fan, but now that Phils are doing so well, of course I take a greater interest. So does the entire city. That doesn't mean I couldn't rattle off the likes of: Doug Glanville, Jerry Spradlin, Kevin Stocker and David Bell. And don't challenge me on 80s-90s Phils! The Phils will always be my baseball team, but being that baseball is such a long season, my A-D-D doesn't permit me to get to feel each win or lose, quite like football does. But don't go calling yourself and the city a town full of diehard Phils fans when they used to struggle to get 30,000 to the games in the early to middle part of the decade.

As a general rule, Eagles and Flyers fans seem to be the most loyal. Sixer and Phillies are still loyal, but they don't pack the house consistently like the other two do, unless they are winning (which the Phils have been doing and coincidentally selling out the joint every night). Philly fans are ferocious, passionate, sometimes knowledgeable and loyal fans. No doubt! There definitely ARE diehard Phillies fans among us and Philly is a great baseball city, when we are winning. Lets be honest -- diehard fans don't feel the need to go around defending themselves or anointing themselves. First off "diehard" is probably the most overused cliche in sports. Secondly, if someone says, "Are you an Eagles fan," you can tell them about how your week is either made or broken based on what happens on Sundays/Mondays. But long-ago I grew out of telling people I was a "diehard" fan because the definition itself is watered down. Anyway, it just pisses me off when I hear a guy call himself a diehard Philly fan and he feels that Utley (who has been known to read this blog) owes it to him to sit out the game? To quote my in-laws, "go fly a kite."

By the way, J-Roll returns tonight and if you are worried about Doc Halladay, you shouldn't be. Even though he's 8-6, his ERA is under 2.50, which is phenomenal - basically speaks to the fact he has gotten as much run support as I have. In fact, in 11 of his 15 starts the Phils have scored 3 runs or less.

Sixers
Two days away from the number two pick in the draft. There absolutely should be no question that the Sixers take Evan Turner and play him at the 2. I hear they like Favors, they love Wes Johnson -- but Evan Turner has exactly what they need. He's got size, he can score, post up, has a good mid-range game, can rebound, has a high hoops IQ, and plays defense. He literally carried Ohio State into the NCAA tournament. No one from that Ohio State squad will sniff the pros. I could care less if Turner is not very "athletic." We've got plenty of athletes. I want a ballplayer and that's what Turner is. Don't screw up the obvious, Fast Eddie.

I will go on record as saying I love Doug Collins as our coach. Just listening to this guy talk hoops is unreal. He's like Yoda or a hoops Einstein and I like that he's wise enough to adjust his style to player's strengths. What a novel concept!

In Other News:

• Longtime SFCS reader Chronic Ronick told me that the iPhone actually has an app to replicate the sound of a fan. Seriously? This is unbelievable - might need to get me one of those fancy phones, they call an iPhone.
• Ding-dong the French are dead -- in terms of World Cup action. The 2006 Finalists get bounced in the first round after the team fell apart and they lost to host South Africa. Loved every minute of it.
• Does Eric Lindros make the Hockey Hall of Fame? He didn't get in on his first vote, which was announced today.
• Have you ever witnessed an industry with less customer loyalty than the cable industry? It's incredible that new customers are routinely offered better deals than existing customers. In your line of work, could you imagine giving better deals to potential customers than your current ones? Who wants to revolt? I bet the French would be in.
• How is it possible that some people don't wash their hands after using the bathroom? Unless you have a vat of Purrell handy, I think you should be sent to your own contaminated island.
• One of my favorite groups Counting Crows is coming back to Atlanta. I wondered if anyone else misses the days of camping out to get the best concert tickets?
• Whether you believe in bigfoot or not, you MUST spend 2 minutes watching this video. This is incredible..."He had beautiful hair" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFLyO2RWGms
• For all those people in Atlanta - 6 feet under is one of the true, underrated spots in the city - especially the one off Howell-Mill w/the huge rooftop deck and an amazing view of the city. Do it!