Overheard in Eagles Front Office: Iceberg Dead Ahead...

(Insert huge exhale). Well, here we are. It's the conclusion of another Eagles season, which fell short of our collective dreams. Usually we go a bit further than the first round, but this year we were exposed. In thinking about this Eagles team, I've come to the conclusion that we were a fraud. This team was never as good as it's 11-5 record appeared. Need proof, look at the wins and loses. This year the Eagles defeated: Carolina, Washington (twice), NY Giants (twice), Atlanta, Tampa, Denver, Kansas City, San Francisco and Chicago. You know what those teams have in common? ZERO of them went to the playoffs and only ONE team had a winning record (yes, Wayne that would be the 9-7 Falcons). Those teams combined for a 71-95 record. That would be 71 wins and 95 loses. Conversely, the combined record of the teams who beat us: 53-27 (yes Rock this includes the 5-11 Raiders). Three of the four teams (lost twice to Dall-ass) we lost to went to the playoffs and won their division.

So, logic screams that the Eagles 11-5 record was largely smoke and mirrors, and anyone who had watched this team had their concerns. I know I did, but somehow I believed they would not be humiliated in back-to-back games. However, it is now crystal clear that Dall-ass is not just the better team this year but they are the team-to-beat in the NFC East (and maybe the entire conference).

Where does this all leave me? After much thought, I think it is finally time for Andy Reid to go. Don't get me wrong, I think he's the best coach the Eagles have ever had. That being said, I think Reid is a victim of his own success and he will not and cannot change his ways. A couple of things were clear watching the massacre that occured on Saturday night.

• We will never win a Superbowl until we have a consistent, commitment to the running game. The sad part of this is that we have the talent between McCoy, Westbrook and Weaver, but we have no commitment from the coaching staff to stick to the run. When the Eagles fall behind they panic, abandon the run game and have Donovan throw 40+ times a game. The opposing defense doesn't even need to worry about a run play, they can simply play the pass.
• Our smallish d-line cannot generate consistent pressure against good offensive lines. They were absolutely steamrolled by the mammoth Dal-ASS offensive line. We couldn't get consistent pressure on Romo and the Cowboys (who were consistent with run) kept us on our heels for most of the game. It's time to draft and/or sign some legitimate defensive ends with size. Please, no more 250+ guys lining up on the d-line and no more Jaqua Parker as a starter. Do you hear me Andy Reid?
• Losing Stewart Bradley to an injury was devastating BUT letting Brian Dawkins leave was probably one of the three worst decisions this coaching staff/front office has ever made. I said this from day one (as did many other Birds fans). I think Quinton Mikell is a decent player but without Brian Dawkins playing next to him, he struggled mightily. I think what we saw this year was how much this team depended on #20. Sean Jones, Macho Harris and Quintin Demps are certainly not the answer. Give me an aging, slower, but still aggressive Brian Dawkins over any of these young guys eight days a week and twice on Sundays.
• The offensive line was a total disaster. Donovan had to run for his life for the entire game. That was of course when they weren't committing penalties and false starts. Once we lost Jamal Jackson, the line imploded, but if you ask me our offensive line was much stronger last year with veterans Tre Thomas and Jon Runyan (hairy neck and all), than it was this year.
• I'm a huge #5 fan and think the Eagles fans largely take him for granted, but Donovan might not be the answer. I'm not ready to write the guy off yet, but for the first time I can imagine our offense without #5 behind it. Personally with our young core of very talented position players I'd prefer to keep D-Mac but because Andy Reid refuses to run the football, he constantly puts Donovan in bad spots and perhaps it's time to part ways. And no, Michael Vick is NOT the answer.

I've heard from a ton of Eagles fans who have absolutely had it with the Eagles and I understand that. As I've said before, short of signing Osama Bin Laden to a contract, I cannot imagine a scenario where I don't pull for the Birds. Sometimes it's hard, often it's painful and occasionally it's rewarding. I think this team took a few steps back this year, and the Cowboys, as much as it pains me to say this, are miles ahead of the Birds right now. It should make for a "curious" off-season. Right now I'm gonna shut down the engine and recharge the batteries for a few weeks.

Flyers

Don't look now but the Flyers are 7-1-1 in their last 9 games, which has allowed some Eagle fans to more easily shift into hockey season. We still have a ways to go, but this is definitely a step in the right direction. The keys: Chris Pronger is starting to play like Chris Pronger (he's been a +10 during the streak), Simon Gagne & Blair Betts have returned from injury, Danny Briere has thrived in Peter Laviolette's system, Jeff Carter has found his scoring touch and off-the-street goalie Michael Leighton has been an unbelievable find for the injured Ray Emery. We'll see if they can ride this wave of momentum into the Olympic break and beyond, or if this is a short streak during a marathon season.

Phillies

For the first time in my life, I looked at the calendar and said to Summer, "I can't wait until Spring Training starts." This happened on January 11 and that my friends, is a weird sort of a feeling from a guy who grew up in a football town.

Dawgs

It was unfortunate that Kirby Smart didn't take the UGA job, but were you really shocked? The guy is a defensive coordinator for a team that won the national title, lost two games in the last two years, coaches for a program who is building a dynasty and he is learning under Saban. I will say that if you are unhappy in your job, maybe you should apply for the UGA defensive coordinator job b/c all three people who received offers from the Dawgs, had their salaries enormously increased.

Did anyone hear Coach Caliapari say Mark Fox should be voted coach of the year through the first half of the season? It appears Coach Fox has the Dawgs headed in the right direction as they took Kentucky down-to-the-wire in Rupp Arena. Shockingly the Dawgs are 8-6 this year and should get another stiff test against #15 Ole Miss at the Steg this week. However, with wins over Pepperdine, Illinois and Georgia Tech it seems like the Hoop Dawgs are headed in the right direction.

In Other News:

Can't say I really understand the NBC predicament between Leno and Conan. Haven't they been grooming Conan for Jay's spot for years? They finally give him the spot b/c Jay decides he's going to retire. Then Jay comes back, they create a 10 pm show for him, the show bombs and now he gets his old spot back? That's absurd. I hope Conan goes to FOX and destroys Jay in the rankings. Then when Jay steps down, Conan laughs in the face of NBC and they are stuck with the "uber-talented"....Jimmy Fallon.

The most un-shocking news of the day came from Mark McGuire last night about his steroid admission. I'm okay with it. I mean, in no way do I think it's okay that he took steroids and broke the rules, but the guy isn't going to make it to Cooperstown. I don't care if he's back in baseball. Maybe he can be a positive for other young players. It is hilarious to hear him say that he still thinks he would have hit 600 something homeruns if he didn't take steroids. Um, Big Mac, if that was the case, why did you take them in the first place? Personally I think they should remove all records and individuals from the Hall of Fame that have taken steroids. Basically wiping out the entire 1990 decade, minus Ken Griffey Jr, Greg Maddux, Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson. Crazy to think that Jose Canseco is now the most reputable guy from that era.

If I told you that I put weather stripping on my home, would you be impressed? If so, clearly you know as much about home improvement as I do.

Went to my first wine tasting on Sunday and it confirmed what I had already known. My pallet is as educated as a remedial first-grader who forgot to take his/her A-D-D medicine.

On Sat night I get a call from my buddy Flip. Flip is at a Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser at Garth Brooks house and he tells me he has women's soccer player Heather Mitts (a former crush of mine) on the phone. Flip then puts Heather on the phone and I didn't know what to say, so I open with, "Hey Heather, I play soccer too." Summer, clearly I still have MAD GAME so you better not leave me, girl.

This is an awesome short story. Good to see there are still people out there like this http://www.blogger.com/www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/ny-cab-driver-returns-272947.html?cxntlid=thbz_hm

I Welcome You, 2010

You know it's been a long time since you've blogged when you can't remember your password to log in. The fact remains that every week I say to myself, "I need to write about that on my blog," but between planning a wedding, looking for a job, taking care of two dogs & one Summer, playing soccer, trying to be a good fiance, son, uncle, friend, trying to save the world, working on my gymnastics routine and so on, sometimes the blog takes a backseat. But you have my attention now. If you were holding out for Southern Fried Cheesesteak's end of the year extravaganza, you should know me better than that. Haha, anyway onto the sports you know and love.

Eagles
If you looked up "pathetic" in the dictionary you would see a still frame from the Eagles' horrendous loss on Sunday to the Cowgirls. Donovan, who I didn't feel played as poorly as some other fans, still missed a few HUGE throws. The WR's couldn't catch a cold and that vanilla defense was gashed and gutted by the run and the pass. Watching the game, it seemed like the Eagles mindset was to simply show-up, play their base defense without giving away too much via the blitz and then sit back and enjoy our first round bye. The only thing was that we were playing the 10-5 Dallas Cowboys, not the Asseltown State Butt Pirates. I tend to think Andy Reid and his staff are good coaches who have their team prepared more often than not, but missing a golden opportunity like the one in Dallas on Sunday is absurd. How do you come up so small in a game that means so much?

Now, of course all this can be erased if we go into Dallas on Saturday night and get aggressive with our defense and blitz packages. The WRs will catch more balls, but we ABSOLUTELY MUST ESTABLISH the run. This is a no-brainer. When the Birds run, they win. It's that simple. Running opens up things for Maclin, D-Jax and Celek. Our defense also needs to pull their heads out of their asses. If we don't get pressure on Tony Romo, he will pick us apart. I don't care how good our DB's are because if we don't get pressure on Romo and knock him around a bit, we will lose. I also think Michael Vick will have some kind of roll if we win. I know many of you loathe him (certainly, I'm not a fan), but I have a feeling he's going to be a factor when we win this game. Yes, you heard it. I have this bizarre feeling we will win. Maybe the insanely cold weather has frozen my pessimistic heart and mind. I'm not sure. I just have this feeling that this team will respond and respond big. It's very rare to see Andy Reid not bounce back from a huge loss with a statement win. I will take Reid and his "NFC Championship Game" shortcomings over Wade Phillips 0-4 playoff record any day -- and especially on Saturday.

Sixers
Yup, they still suck. I don't care if they've won 3 of their last 4 to get to 10 wins. This team is awful and Eddie Jordan is even worse than I thought. I'd rather have Eddie Haskell coaching this team.

Flyers
Caught myself watching the Flyers Winter Classic game on New Year's day against the Bruins. I had two main thoughts:
1-Does it make me unamerican to watch hockey on news year's day?
2-What a horrible set-up they had at Fenway to watch this game. There's no way those fans could have been happy with their "investment."

Phils
I love the signing of Danys Baez, by the way. We got him on the cheap and although he's had some recent injury issues, I think he'll be a nice addition to the pen. He's a proven closer, should Lidge struggle and he can be a set-up man as well. I'd like to see them resign Chan Ho or Clay Condrey, but that seems like a longshot at best. I'm also hoping Scott Eyre returns. I'm a huge fan of guys who are older than me (see, Eyre) and can still play (notice, I didn't mention Jamie "Yoda" Moyer)

Dawgs
I have no clue who our next defensive coordinator will be, but I still don't think former Dawg Kirby "Roadkill" Smart will be the guy. Going from Bama to UGA is a step back right now, unless he wants his kids to get a free education at the "Harvard of the South." I think our next DC will come from an elite program or the NFL, but for some reason I think we will promote someone to DC (meaning they are a d-line or a secondary coach right now). I also wish early NFL draftee entrants Reshard Jones and Rennie Curran good luck in the NFL. They served us well and while I think Jones could benefit from one more year, who could argue with the money.

Also, did anyone notice how well the Dawgs basketball team has been playing lately? Yeah, me neither, but wins over Pepperdine and Illinois were nice. And this just in -- we beat TECH. That makes a hoops and gridiron sweep. Does it get much sweeter? Great job Dawgs and Coach Fox.

In Other News:

• I am so down with New Year's its unbelievable. If you invite me to a party, I'll be there. It feels like unwrapping a gift during the holidays. I have that same excitement with New Years. Who knows what the next year will bring, but you know there will be memories, happenings and stories -- and isn't this what life is all about.
• After the giant snow dump in late December, Summer and I were watching a football game at the Linc when she turned and said to me, "Aw, that's so nice. They pushed all the snow to the side of the field for decorations. Isn't that great?" Yeah, I still have some work to do there.
• I don't always understand the United States' position on fighting terror domestically. It's very reactive. For example, when the Christmas day bomber failed to blow up his plane, we decided to beef up security at 12 other international airports. Call me a doubting Tom, but if these ass clowns were smart enough to get this bomb on a plane, don't you think they'll be smart enough to travel from other airports? I think we should send them Lady Gaga to perform -- that will drive them out of hiding.
• Today I was listening online to a Philadelphia radio station and Vai Sikahema & Harry Mayes said they would rather have Randall Cunningham as their QB than Donovan McNabb. When I hear nonsense like this it becomes clear how I must have my own radio show to launch an assault of quality sports information to the PA/DE/NJ valley. Randall Cunningham had one of the greatest defenses of all-time and an offensive as good as the current Eagles offense NEVER GOT PAST THE FIRST ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS! Donovan has been to 5 NFC Championships. This is not even a point of conversation.
• Ever notice that when you are sitting around with your oldest friends, no matter how much has changed, nothing really changes.
• I've come to realize that Rick Sanchez is the single greatest news anchor on the planet and I encourage all of you to check him out. He will change your life. Forever. For example, today there was a small cargo plane crash in Chicago. He had an expert on the phone and asked what the expert thought the cargo plane was doing. The expert responded incredulously, "Flying cargo, I'd assume." Then Sanchez, as insensitive as ever, says, "I'm getting information in by the minute on this crash and I'm flying somewhat blindly here (awkward silence) -- please pardon the pun."
• I'm happy to say that my last two trips to DE/PA/NJ ended with a trip to Pat's Steaks - I'm living up to my namesake, hopefully my arteries won't clog before then.
• This will be the best video you will ever see -- known to bring a grown man to tears. If you love college football or don't understand why people love college football, check this out. I cannot stop watching it: http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEivUpbwnv0
• This was a real headline from the NY Giants a week ago: Giants place Ross, Jacobs on IR http://http//www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d81564b6d&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

Somebody Get Me a Doctor...

Wow - Roy "Doc" Halladay is going to be a Philly. Let me get this straight, the best righthanded pitcher of the last six years is going to be wearing Phillie pinstripes. In this world, you have to give something to get something. Nothing worth having is ever easy. Yes, I am the king of cliches (as my Mom once labelled me as a young 11-year old). Bottom line, is that we have added the best pitcher in baseball to our team. I'm okay with this deal, even though we gave away some good prospects. Of course, they are just prospects. However, adding a right-handed power pitcher like Halladay will make our entire staff better, and now we have him locked up for the next four years. As a long-time Phillies fan and watching season after season of them trotting out guys like Joe Cowley, Floyd Youmans, Omar Daal and Robinson Tejada, its a bit surreal to have DOC Halladay actually want to play for the Phis. He even took less money to come to Philly. Consider this an excellent move.

Now, the second part of this deal is trading playoff stud Cliff Lee to Seattle for three prospects. The idea behind this trade is that the Phils couldn't afford Cliff Lee's $9 million salary and they wanted to restock their farm system after purging seven of their top 15 pospects to get Lee and Halladay. What I don't get is why the Phils didn't keep Cliff Lee. They already have the highest attendance capacity in the league. Make no mistake about it, they are making tons of money right now. You think their back-to-back World Series appearances didn't yield any additional funds? You think their attendance packing ballpark is genertationg enough funds? Granted their $140 million payroll is among the top 5 in the league, but the people of Philadelphia have financially and emotionally embraced these fightin' Phils. Hell, it's December, the Eagles are in first place and I'm talking about the Phillies!

My issue -- the Phils front office should have sucked up Lee's $9 million and played this season out. With a staff of Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Blanton and Happ we would have to be the favorite to win the World Series. At the end of the year, you thank Lee, let him go and get two compensatory draft picks from the team who signs him. His $9 million salary comes off the books and boom - you restock your farm system through the two picks. Instead Phils fans are left to dream about what could've been.

Eagles
This has got to be one of the most bizarre Eagles seasons in recent memory. They are 9-4, sitting in first place, and just beat the Giants in what was one of the most exciting games I've seen in some time. Granted the game wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement for the Birds defense (giving up an astounding 500 yards). Before all of you Andy Reid and Donovan haters make noise, I want you to look at the numbers. Donovan is having one the best seasons he's ever had. You see how dangerous this offense can be when you get #5 some weapons. As far as Big Red goes I have definitely been critical of him and clearly he has his flaws (one of which is his inability to do a "chest bum") but I would still list him as one of the five best coaches in the NFL. I'm glad he got an extension and I hope that he and Marty continue to dial up plays the way they did on Sunday in New York. Go heavy on Desean Jackson, show patience and consistency with the running game, get the underrated Leonard Weaver involved, feed Brent Celek and mix in a few snaps for Vick. It is clear that Vick is rounding into shape in time for the playoffs, which is great. I just hope Andy doesn't try to get too crazy with using Vick. Donovan is still the man who should be taking 95% of the snaps. I'll be shocked if this team makes a Super Bowl run. I think losing JJ, Dawk and Stew Bradley is just too much for our defense.

In other news:

• Isn't it kind of weird that Elin Nordegen never took Woods as her last name? Probably a good move on her part.
• When the Phils traded for Cliff Lee, Summer informed me that we not only got Cliff Lee, but also Cy Young. Now she thinks we got Roy Halladay and an actual Doctor. Looks like I have some work to do
• I think post-season statistics should count when figuring out career statistics
• I love The North Face -- I love their gear, their logo, their tagline, but I think they should not have sued the young Jimmy Winkleman who came up with South Butt (Never Stop Relaxing). Check this out, before it gets shut down: www.thesouthbutt.com
• Today I pitched a Christian radio station in Connecticut regarding an energy savings spokesperson. Next thing I know,she's telling me about Jesus and the miracle of Christmas. When I explained to her I was Jewish, she continued to tell me that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and for hers. I'm sitting here asking myself if this woman is serious and how long can she go on for? However, after being lectured to for 4 minutes and 38 seconds I hung up on her. It wasn't a discussion - it was a monologue and I couldn't take anymore. I have no issue with religion and feel very secure in my own beliefs. I was simply calling to pitch a story and received a lecture on religion. I was tempted to ask her if Jesus would forgive me for hanging up on her. I understand people have different motives and different spiritual connections for what they believe in. I support that. However, when you get an unsolicited one-sided religious lecture from someone without even asking for it pushes me further away from whatever it was she was trying to convince me of.

Don't Hit the Red Button Yet...

With a belly full of turkey and a year's worth of stories emanating from my Thanksgiving celebration this weekend, I return to the scene of the crime. My blog, my fans, my issues. Panic seems to be the common Philly sports thread right now and I just want to remind everyone of the floatation devices under your seats, should you choose to jump out of this plane. Lots to touch on, so lets dive right in.

Eagles
I'm not so sure why everyone is so down on the Eagles. Historically, Eagles-Skins game have been extremely unpredictable and tight. This one lived up to that. Bottom line is that we swept a bad Redskins team this year. Yes, the very same Redskins team that swept us last season. People, get your expectations in check. We are not going to blow every team out. We aren't that good, but we are 7-4 and I'm still not buying the Cowboys. The Giants are a better team than they've shown and I believe the division will come down to them and the Birds. Next week the Birds go on the road to play a battered Falcons team. No Matt Ryan, no Michael Turner, and a pieced together secondary. We have a really good chance to win this ballgame, but it won't be easy. I will feel better if we get Akeem "The Dream" Jordan back this week to solidify our linebacking corps. The Falcons still have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, especially on offense. I cannot wait for Summer to experience the wave of "southern hospitality" sure to greet us in our Eagles-clad jerseys at the Georgia Dome. Bring it, Dirty Birds. We'll be ready.

Flyers
Every hockey season goes 82 games. That is a ton of games. If I'm not concerned about the Flyers 13-10-1 record, neither should you. An 82 game season, much like a 162 game season, has lots of ups and downs. Eight teams make the playoffs and I'm not worried about being 9th in the conference right now. Let's talk in March, okay? I can say without hesitation that this Flyers team is good enough to compete for Lord Stanley's Cup. Hopefully we can get Gagne, Briere and Betts back and keep everyone relatively healthy.

Sixers
The Sixers are playing bad basketball right now and they just lost Louis Williams (arguably their best player thus far) for 2 months with a broken jaw. Put him in the running for the NBA's tough guy award. Dude broke his jaw during a game, he continued to play, with sed broken jaw, then had surgery a couple of days later. That's hockey tough. The Sixers have also been hit hard by injuries (Williams, Speights & Brand), but when everyone comes back they will still suck. The Sixers are in a bad spot. Too good to be a lottery team, too bad to seriously challenge any of the contenders in the East. Too capped out to make any improvements. Speaking of which, I have a feeling they will bring AI back and he will play well. While there's a part of me that romanticizes about the early part of this decade when AI and the Sixers commanded your eyeballs and dollars, the reality is that this is a bad idea. It's one thing to put up with the AI-circus when he's playing at a high-level like he was 6-7 years ago, but at 33 he's not nearly the player he once was. With his deteriorating skills & speed, an okay outside game, questionable shot-selection and his matador-style defense, I don't think it's a good idea. We didn't even broach the possible, er probable negative impact he could have on this VERY young team. Not to mention, the very telling stat that every team AI leaves gets better. Hmmm, maybe that's their approach. This leads me to believe that Ed Snider and Ed Stefanski believe in one thing -- getting butts in seats and maybe AI has one more run left in him.

Dawgs
What a great win for the Dawgs over the Tech Nerds on Saturday night. I mean, what does it say when an average SEC team goes to play the best team in the ACC, in their building and literally runs over them? A great game plan by Richt, Bobo and yes, even you Willie Martinez. I've been saying this for a couple of weeks, but Caleb King is finally showing the kind of ability Dawgs fans have been hearing about for years. The King/Ealey tandem was unstoppable on Saturday night putting up nearly 400 yards on the ground.

Does this save Willie Martinez job? Hell no. Our defense still gave up 24 points to them and we can't stop anyone. Hell, the game might have ended differently if that Tech WR didn't drop a pass that hit him in the hands on 4th down. I've heard some whispers about who our next DC might be and the names being mentioned are definitely exciting. Anything should be a step in the right direction. I could improve that defense with my all-out Tecmo Bowl blitz package dominant defense of the early 90s. We have some athletes on defense and we are young. If Reshard Jones and Rennie Curran return our defense could be significantly improved (especially with the departures of Prince Miller & Bryan Evans).

Things You Should Know:

• Congrats to Derek Jeter on being named SI's "Sportsman of the Year." Very well deserved for a class act like him. Remarkably he's the first Yankee to ever win the award and while I'm not a Yankee fan, I have always admired the way Jeter plays ball.
• After Tiger Woods latest issues, I'm pretty convinced of three things. One, the greatest players in the world do not always make for the greatest role models. Two, without knowing anything about his wife and her possible psycho tendencies, I guess anyone can be cheated on (assuming rumors are true). Three and most importantly, always have a good PR guy on your speed dial -- let me know if any of you need some recommendations.
• I can't seem to put down Andre Agassi's book "Open." It's been a sensational read. The punishment that his dad inflicts on him is beyond comprehension.
• On the way back from our Thanksgiving destination of Mississippi, Summer said the most beautiful, unforgettable words to me. "Ross, this weekend I learned a lot about football, and to be honest, I don't hate it anymore. In fact, I could probably go to a Georgia game, watch it and understand why everyone gets fired up now. I could probably watch a full game now." She then compared watching football to eating pickles, which really didn't resonate with me b/c I was still stuck on her earlier proclamation.
• One of the keys just came off of my keyboard and my keyboard kind of looks like that person missing one of their front teeth. It ain't pretty, folks.
• Go see "The Blind Side." This was part of Summer's Thanksgiving/Football indoctrination and it doesn't disappoint. It is a phenomenal movie, about much more than just football and Sandra Bullock is outstanding.

There's Always Next Year...

So the World Series ended about a week ago and although it still stings, I've gotten most of the anger out of my soul, at least regarding the World Series. The key to the series was the Phils inability to hold a lead. In Game 3 Cole couldn't hold a 3-0 lead and in Game 4, Brad Lidge blew a save. Can't blow two games against a team like the Yankees and expect to come out on top. The better team won the World Series. We had to play a near-flawless series, and honestly, we played our best baseball this season in the Dodger series.

The Phils should be busy in the off-season. With that "young nucleus" all now 30 and over, the time is now for these Phillies. I don't think the window is closing after next season, but I do think every year will be a little bit harder than the previous year. After declining Pedro Feliz's $5 million dollar option, the Phils are looking to upgrade at third. Here's the tricky part. Feliz is an average hitter and a superior fielder. For as many clutch hits that he didn't get, he saved us many runs. I really hope we don't sacrifice the glove for another bat in a loaded line-up. There are some interesting free agents available (Figgins, DeRosa, Polanco, Beltre) and with the exception of Figgins, no one I see as a significant upgrade. We need to fortify the bullpen, the bench and if the Phils want to look into Roy Halladay, I'm cool with that. Rumor on the street is that a package for Halladay would be centered around Cole.

Eagles
A very unimpressive game for the Birds on Sunday night against the Cowgirls. I know Dall-Ass was the recipient of some very favorable calls, but I pin this loss on Coach Reid. To use two replays challenges (losing both of them) and leaving yourself with NO TIMEOUTS, makes no sense. Further, when you are down 7 and choose to try a 52-yard FG with 5 minutes left makes no sense. You still need to get the ball back and score a TD to win. Why not just go for it on 4th down? Don't get me wrong, I'm not on the train to run Big Red out of town, but the things he struggles most with - staying with the running game, managing the clock and replay selection -- all were on display on Sunday night. I believe Andy Reid to be a very good coach, but he has head-scratching lapses throughout the season and unfortunately Sunday night was no exception.

Other Things You Should Know:

• I've been critical of the cops in Atlanta recently, but the other night I was pulled over after swerving (relax, Mom it had nothing to do w/drinking, but I couldn't see the turn), not signaling and not wearing my seatbelt. Ironically enough, the cop could not have been nicer. Glad to see there are still some upstanding officers on the force.
• Why is Family Ties not on sydication anywhere? I blame you Comcast.
• Speaking of TV, I think Tuesday night is the absolute worse night of TV. If you want a successful show, talk to the networks about Tuesday night.
• Seriously, who is Katt Williams and why should I care?
• Not sure if anyone watched Andre Agassi's 60 Minutes interview with Katie Couric, but I give the guy credit for essentially bearing his soul and letting us in to see the deamons. I know some people like Martina Navritolova and Marat Safin have a problem with this. Safin wants Agassi to return all of the money he won and all of the titles. This is ridiculous. Agassi lied to the USTA, which was wrong but the titles that he won were won when he was clean. I read an excerpt in Sports Illustrated last week of Agassi's "Open" book, which I will pick-up later this week. For an athlete to come out and say he hates the very sport, which gave him everything (wife included), is pretty unbelievable stuff. It sounds like b/c of his over-bearing father, Agassi had to hit rock bottom in order to be where he is today. I applaud his recent honesty and candor and it makes his amazing return to the top of the tennis world that much more inspiring. I mean, could you ever imagine Tiger Woods saying he hates golf.

The World Series, and a Little Something Called the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party..

A crazy, busy sports weekend, mixed with a healthy dose of Halloween, makes for one of the most-highly anticipated weekends in recent memory.

My beautiful, kind, understanding, loving (did I mention beautiful) fiance has given me the green light to literally sit on the couch (occasionally getting up when nature calls and for sustenance) from 1 pm until 11:30 pm on Sunday and I can't wait.

12:50: Put on my eagles jersey, make sure my fantasy line-ups are set.
1:00 PM: Eagles/Giants
2:30 PM: Halftime/bathroom break
4:10 PM: Either call my Giant fan friends to "say hello" or shut my cell phone off
4:15 PM: Packers/Vikings
7:00 PM: Realize I'm only down 40 pts in my fantasy league with my kicker still left to play
7:15 PM: Change into my NEW Chase Utley jersey (B/c my soon sister-in-law, rocks!!!!)
7:30 PM: Phils/Yankees Game 4 Pre-game
8:00 PM: Play Ball!

I can't remember a better NFL watching weekend in recent memory. You have Ravens/Broncos, Jets/Dolphins, Bird/G-Strings, Vikes/Packers and Falcons/Aints on Monday night.

But the sports weekend, actually begins in earnest with the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party this afternoon in Jacksonville. The disappointing Dawgs take on the all-world, Tim Tebow, who ESPN claims can actually part the Red Sea, led Gators. It is so easy for me to hate Florida and I do. Is it the jean shorts? Is it the gold chains? Is it the chomp? Is it the cocky heir of their fans, half of which didn't even go to UF? Is it their goofy colors? Is it their 20 year dominance over the Dawgs? Is it their titles? Is it their coaches? Yes, it's all of those things. This game is certainly a bigger rivalry game for Georgia than it is for Florida, as it should be since they've dominated us for the last two decades. Did the endzone celebration of 2007 and the 2-2 record in the last 4 games put some of the luster back into this mutual hatred? Yeah, I think so, but until we are able to consistently beat Florida, I don't expect them to hate us in the same manor that we hate them. In fact, I've often wondered who I hate more: The Gators or the Dallas Cowboys?

Enough vitriol, onto the game. I have come up with two scenarios -- either Tim Tebow finds his missing mojo and Urban runs it up on us, or shockingly the Dawgs pull out a close victory. The malaise that the Florida offense has been in over the last several weeks with close, yet unimpressive wins over LSU (understood), Arkansas and Mississippi State has got to be worrisome for Gator fans. Unfortunately nothing heals a sick offense, quite like a Willie Martinez led defense.

Fresh off of our bye week, I expect to see a lot of creativity from Bobo on the offensive side of the ball today. We should see things that the Dawgs haven't shown all year. We are playing the #1 team in the nation and we are on a crash course for the Independence Bowl -- we might as well play this game like its our bowl game. That being said, Florida's defense is fast, talented and aggressive, so our execution will need to be flawless. On defense we have to hit Tebow early and often and keep bringing pressure all day long. If we can manage a score on defense, which I have this crazy feeling we will, I think we can win. We cannot make the mental errors that have become synonymous with Georgia football the last couple of seasons. We must play a near-perfect game. We will need our special teams to not play like they went to school on the short bus. If we don't see any creativity out of our offense, defense and special teams, we will lose and lose ugly. However, if we can utilize our speed and athleticism, get creative with our game-planning, and play a mistake-free, disciplined, football game, I think we can do the unthinkable.

Phillies
I'm happy with the World Series being 1-1 thus far. Hoping for anything more than a split in NY, was unrealistic. Striking out A-Rod in 6 of 8 AB's was also pretty cool though. Even though the Yankees absolutely HAD to win Game 2, it was still a dogfight. The Phillies fought hard and if they could have delivered some key hits with runners on base, we could be up 2-0. I like that we got a chance to face Mariano Rivera and a couple of guys were able to get on base. I think this could be key for upcoming games. Pitching wise, Pedro pitched his arse off. The homerun that Matsui hit was ridiculous. He went way out of the strike zone to hit that ball and he crushed it. Gotta give it up, for an insane piece of hitting like that.


Bottom line is that Phils can take a big lead in the series tonight, but I've lost faith in Cole. Hopefully I will get it back, but he has not been impressive thus far in the playoffs (and inconsistent during the regular season). He has left a ton of pitches out over the plate and he has been hit pretty hard. His pitches have been very straight with little movement. I actually think the Yanks will win tonight and the Phils will take the next two in Philly. I think Blanton delivers in Game 4 and I like our chances with Cliff Lee in Game 5, though there's no way he can be as dominating as he was in Game 1. We also need for the big guy, #6 to get back on track. I think that happens tonight, but I have a feeling we a 5-4 type of game.

Word on the street is that Pearl Jam is playing the national anthem before tonight's game, which should be interesting since they are from Seattle. Maybe they are big Raul Ibanez fans?

More on the Eagles later.

FYI, the Sixers are 1-1 and Elton Brand is still healthy!

Things You Should Know:

• Please check this out: Go to 24 seconds in and sit back and enjoy...Amazing, Texas Tech's Mike Leach calling out "fat little girlfriends?" Not a wise move, coach. Now your players are going to be focusing on saving their "relationships" with sed "fat little girlfriends" instead of studying their playbooks. http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6brYtuPX-Q
• Inevitably, I always have one friend (it changes each year) who I need to remind to set their clocks back. Seriously, what would you people do without me?
• How does the government want us to believe that the economy is growing faster than it has in two years, yet more job cuts could be coming?
• Is there a more frightening horror-movie villian than Michael Myers?

Bring on the Damn Yankees...

After spending a few days with our collective feet on the recliner, we now know the defending World Series Champs will take on the most legendary franchise in the history of sports on Wednesday night (by the way, how nice was it to watch two other teams sweat it out for the right to play our team?) What's funny is that I want this match-up. In fact, I think a lot of Phillies fans do. If this team is as great as I think they are, then we shouldn't be afraid of the Yankees or any other team in the league. The Yankees don't scare me. I think we are ready for them and ready for greatness.

Often in the lure of Philadelphia sports history, we tend to fear the great teams. Perhaps this is best explained through my future sister-in-law's post to my last blog (basically the Eagles get tantalizingly close to winning a championship, only to have us all get sick with disappointment as another Eagles season comes to a crashing close.) But greatness is accompanied by a certain attitude and confidence. I feel like the Patriots have it, I feel like the Steelers have it, the Detroit Red Wings, the Florida Gators (why must they have it), USC football, UNC hoops, Tiger Woods, the Lakers, the Celtics, the Yankees, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Ric Flair (wooooo) - they all have it.

This confidence is not just being great, it is knowing just how great you are. It is understanding that your opponent needs to not only beat you physically, but beat you mentally in order to defeat you. It is starring down A-Rod with 2-men on, in a one run game and not thinking but knowing you are going to beat him. When I look at this Phillies roster these guys are playing with tremendous poise and confidence right now. They are playing like they expect to win, not like they hope to win. With greatness, comes hatred. Of that list of teams I named above, how many of those teams do you hate? Why? Because they do what your teams don't do (and sadly, ESPN is obsessed with their every move).

Obviously with the Yankees coming off a big series win over the Angels they have no shortage of confidence too. On paper these teams match-up well. I give a slight nod to the Phils line-up. I like that fact that we can DH Raul Ibanez, which enables us to get Ben Francisco's speed and glove out in the field. Using Francisco in the field gives us three tremendous fielding outfielders. I think the Yanks starting pitching is a little better, but remember we did get to CC Sabathia last year when he pitched for the Brewers during the NLDS. I like our defense better. However, Mariano Rivera is unrivaled as a closer. Period.

This sets up to be a phenomenal series and I think it will live up to the hype. Baseball's winningest team of all-time, versus the franchise with 10,000 loses. The intensity will be off the charts during this I-95 Series. Will Ryan Howard and A-Rod continue their torrid postseasons? Will Derek Jeter add to his legendary Mr. October status or will the new, upstart Senor Octubre (Carlos Ruiz) build on his rapidly-growing post-season reputation? This should be a great series for baseball, and one I think the Phillies can win. This series will require everything the Phils have shown thus far and nothing less. They must stay sharp mentally. The Yankees take a lot of pitches and stretch out games. They wear teams out, so the Phils MUST stay focused.

Can they do it? Can the Fighting Phils actually pull a back-to-back title off? (Philly's first since the early 1970s Flyer teams). Are you kidding me? Are we really this close to doing the unthinkable? I can hardly wait until Wednesday!

And in this World Series hour, we will find out if the Phils have IT.

Eagles
Dun-dun-dun-dun (insert the Monday Night Football theme here). Has there ever been an Eagles game more under the radar than tonight's showdown against the Skins? Eagles-Skins came always seem to bring out the unexpected in both teams. I think Andy actually runs Westbrook a bit more (probably around 18 carries) and the defense makes some plays on Jason Campbell. Historically, Campbell has played pretty well against us and Clinton Portis tore us apart last year, but the Birds were embarrassed by an AWFUL Raiders team (you hear that Rock?) and they should be out to prove something tonight. I see our offense actually getting a bit more creative this week, with the extra day of preparation. The Skins are in total disarray right now and if we can't beat them tonight that will be a big disappointment, especially with the tougher part of our schedule coming up. I'll be much happier going into the next 10 games sitting at 4-2, instead of 3-3.

Sixers
Anyone else notice that the Sixers start their regular season on Wednesday night? Yeah, me neither. We'll save this topic for the dead of winter.

Things You Should Know:

• Ever notice that whenever you get something new you think it is the (INSERT superlative here) in the world. I think its great. I'm pretty sure Summer believes comet is not only the fastest, smartest, cutest dog on the planet but I think she believes the dog knows who shot JFK.
• Am I the only person who gets in a really good mood once I hit certain grocery stores?
• Isn't it a bit misleading to say "my favorite part of going to the movies is the previews."
• At what age do people stop paying attention to you? I visited my beautiful newborn cousin Riley this weekend and everyone in that room hung on her every move. It was really cute but at what point do people say, "okay, i'm going back to my life now."
• Don't you love yelling at someone for doing something stupid while driving --like blocking an intersection where you are trying to turn --and then they refuse to look over at you, as if yelling at that person while they look at you would give you unmatchable satisfaction.
• And finally, Mark Sanchez might be my new favorite non-Eagle...check out this video... The guy is a starting QB for an NFL team and he's eating a hot dog on the bench. That is amazing: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/26/mark-sanchez-hot-dog-vide_n_334262.html