his name is Adrian Peterson and he can’t be mortal.
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Sports
Bayless v Ochocinco
StandardOn ESPN First Take’s “debate” segment 1st and 10:
I hate when Bayless makes a good point, because he such a happy antagonist, but I didn’t like Chad Johnson’s (now Ochocinco) HOF jacket celebration either.
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Merriman: Lights Out on Playing All of 2009 Season? [UPDATE]
Shawne Merriman and Tila Tequila (Nguyen) (Getty Images)
Deputies arrested San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman early Sunday morning for allegedly choking and restraining his MTV star girlfriend as she tried to leave his Poway home.
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Senator Schilling would be insufferable
Boston Bromance: All a steroid induced lie?
“If [Roger Clemens] doesn’t do that then there aren’t many options as a fan for me other than to believe his career 192 wins and three Cy Youngs he won prior to 1997 were the end,” Schilling wrote Wednesday in his blog, 38pitches.com. “From that point on the numbers were attained through using (performance-enhancing drugs). Just like I stated about Jose (Canseco), if that is the case with Roger, the four Cy Youngs should go to the rightful winners, and the numbers should go away if he cannot refute the accusations.”
via Schilling calls out Clemens on steroids – Baseball- nbcsports.msnbc.com.
And then Schilling on his world series teammate David Ortiz’s recently revealed 2003 positive test and his career A.S.:
Should any of [David Ortiz’s] subsequent accomplishments be judged by this?
That’s for you to decide. It seems to be an area of immense debate, but I am not sure how this could/should/will be resolved. Whatever you do you need to do it for anyone now, and if you do do something, make sure there is some detriment for anyone caught going forward. Given that so many people live on their accomplishments or stats, taking one or both away would be a decent way to deter some guys, I think.via 38 Pitches » Questions and answers on the David Ortiz news.
PETA will hate this Wildcat
Vick will play Thursday with the Eagles starters.
Donovan McNabb will play the first three quarters and Kevin Kolb will play the 4th. […] He also said he had no reservations about showing Vick in the Wildcat formation. I gotta say, Big Red looked downright giddy as he announced this. Should be interesting… via Vick to play with starters Thursday night – Bleeding Green Nation.
The local NAACP chapter has decided that making a reactionary spectacle outside the stadium prior to Vick’s return is the best way to support black quarterbacks:
J. Whyatt Mondesire, president of the NAACP’s Philadelphia chapter, said Wednesday that his group and others planned to rally outside Lincoln Financial Field in support of Vick.
“Just some folk walking around with some signs saying, ‘Leave him alone, Michael Vick should be allowed to play football,’ nothing elaborate. We heard some PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) people might come and try to make life uncomfortable, and we don’t want them to be out there alone.”
via NAACP expected to rally for Vick during Thursday’s Eagles debut – USATODAY.com.
Some football fans may recall that this is the same J. Whyatt Mondesire that wouldn’t leave Donovan McNabb alone when he was down and out.
The Big Piece and Cliff Lee
StandardApparently Ryan Howard has been dubbed “The Big Piece” by Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel. Could be it.
Howard and Lee lead way for Phils | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/24/2009.
Jamaican Exceptionalism
StandardEarlier, Bolt accepted his third gold, cementing him as by far the biggest star of the championships after he set stunning world records in the 100 and 200. He only had one explanation why an island nation of 2.8 million could challenge the U.S. team for so long.
“We’re determined, that’s why we’re so good,” Bolt said. “And Jamaica is wonderful.”
via The Associated Press: On last day of worlds, US comes through.
Jerry Jones’ Philosphy
“A bigger stadium than ol’ Danny Snyder or Bobby Kraft ain’t ‘nough! I want a ridonkulous big scoreboard. You heard me buddy boy?! Ree-god-dang donk-u-lous!” – Jerry Jones
Okay, I have no proof Jerry Jones said that when approving this monstrosity of a scoreboard, but I am an Eagles fan. So he said it. Just like that.
Favre Will Sell Jerseys, but He’s not Elite Anymore
StandardBrett Favre is no longer a top tier NFL Quarterback. A person who actually watched employee #4 play for the Jets or Packers in the last 5 years knows this. Ask his immediate ex-teammate NY Jets RB Thomas Jones. Don’t trust that testimony? Cold, Hard Football facts breaks it down for those adults who still see HOF QB Brett Favre play when in reality it is underachieving employee #4.
The fantasy about Brett Favre, the one perpetuated by many pigskin “pundits” and football fans, is that he’s still one of the best quarterbacks in the game. In fact, some do believe that he’s the “missing link” between another disappointing season for the otherwise talented Vikings and a Super Bowl championship.
The Minnesota organization certainly believes that he’s the missing link, or they wouldn’t have courted the aging quarterback — he’s older than Leif Erikson in football years — for the past several months, finally signing him in an act of desperation three weeks into training camp.
But the fantasies that surround Favre and his legions of media apologists conflict with reality.
via Cold, Hard Football Facts.com: A complete guide to Favre’s 21st century disasters.
NBA Talk: Stern, Rhoden, Uptown Barbershop.
All the big sports commissioners should do this more often. (Well maybe not Bud Selig)
[c/o PostBourgie]
It doesn’t even look real
Fanatics in Wrigley
[c/o The700level.com]
I’ve been to Wrigley, it is an awesome experience, this idiot, like most idiot fans, are in the minority. His actions got his whole row thrown out.
Nonsense aside: beer washes off, championships are forever and the Phillies won 12-5 in Pedro Martinez’s Phillies debut.
American Prospect’s Tim Fernholz critcizes Cohen’s take on Vick
StandardVick’s crimes were horrible, and yes, the wealth of the modern professional sports is corrupting. But despite all that, Vick has every right to play in the NFL should he find a team to hire him.
I say so because Vick has paid his debt to society. He faced the U.S. justice system and emerged bankrupt after 23 months in jail. Cohen sneers at the notion that Vick’s punishment was enough, but I can’t find the sentence in his column where he criticizes the judge who handed down Vick’s sentence, or the prosecutors who indicted him
What I disagree with first: The wealth is not corrupting, rather it is a magnification of that person effect on everyone else. Vick and his crew were into dog fighting before his rise and fall as an NFL wonderkind and then pariah and PETA wipping boy. Money allowed Vick to make it a bigger operation.
I agree with the rest of Fernholz’s contentions: the NFL are given no powers on behalf of society. He is done serving his sentence. The NFL’s job is to decide whether or not the benefit of having Vick outweighs the cost.
Who is best at Carrying a team in the NFL
Team Carriers?
Besides Brady, only one other contemporary quarterback makes the cut on the Top 20: In fact, Philly’s Donovan McNabb is on the very short list of just 10 quarterbacks in history who wins more often than not when called upon to carry his team (17-14-1).
Interestingly, the most famous battle between Brady and McNabb – their meeting in Super Bowl XXXIX – provided a nice case study in the difficulty of “carrying a team.” Brady attempted 33 passes that day. McNabb was forced to try to “carry his team” with 51 attempts. Brady’s team won.
The Cold, Hard Football Facts, meanwhile, recently published their list of the top eight quarterbacks in the game today. The list was typical of the trite, slanted comparisons produced by CHFF. So it seemed like an interesting exercise to see how the eight quarterbacks on that list stacked up when it came time to “carry a team.”
Interestingly, with the notable exception of McNabb, the winning percentage of quarterbacks who can “carry a team” mirrors the order in CHFF’s list fairly closely. (Records include postseason):
Brady – 17-8 (.680)
McNabb – 17-14-1 (.547)
Roethlisberger – 4-5 (.444)
Warner – 15-24 (.385)
P. Manning – 18-31 (.367) Continue reading
While I was in D.C.
StandardThe Phillies decided to take the weekend off.
Eagles RBs: Is B-West the only blocking back?
StandardBrian Westbrook is a running back with all the tools: rushing, receiving and blocking. Lorenzo Booker can’t do any of the three well, and rookie LeSean McCoy:
In the one-on-one blocking drill, Eagles rookie running back LeSean McCoy ducked his head to lean into Kyle Eckel, who was pretending to be a pass rusher. Eckel quickly got an arm over McCoy and tossed him aside.
Running-backs coach Ted Williams responded like a bandleader who has just heard one of his charges hit a note so flat it hurt his ears.
“Ohhhh! Never, never, never, never put your head down,” Williams told the second-round pick. “It’s always, ‘Head up, butt down.’ ”
That’s frightening. In my opinion, this makes taking a look at Edge or even Warrick Dunn worthwhile. They can serve as insurance for the oft injured Westbrook.
Buddy’s Watching You
Thinking about the 44-6 drubbing the Eagles put on the Cowboys to end Romo and friends season reminded me of the “Bounty Bowl”. Sports writer Ray Didinger recounts the “Bounty Bowl” and a certain Cowboys kicker who had a star turn with the Eagles:
It was Thanksgiving Day in Dallas, but Luis Zendejas wasn’t in the mood to celebrate. The game ended and Zendejas, the Cowboys’ kicker, walked towards the Eagles’ bench. He was looking for Buddy Ryan.
“I wanted to deck him,” Zendejas said. “If I could’ve found him, I would have. He’s the biggest S.O.B. in the league.”
The date was Nov. 24, 1989. The Eagles crushed the Cowboys, 27-0, but that wasn’t the big story. The real headline was Zendejas’ claim that Ryan put a $200 bounty on his head. A bounty? On a kicker? What? Continue reading
Cowboys huntin’ Eagles?
StandardI cannot stand the Cowboys. Giants, hate em. Skins…disgust. I am an Eagles fan, its part of the fun! This story, no fun involved:
Twenty-eight-year-old Damian Alexander of Cordova was acquitted Wednesday of attempted murder but was convicted of first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment.
Authorities say Alexander fired between two and five rounds from a shotgun at an SUV that was driving away from his home on the evening of Dec. 28. Two people were wounded. Prosecutors say Alexander had arranged for a fist fight with a man in the vehicle but brought a gun instead.
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Phillies trade for Cliff Lee
StandardGreat move by the Phillies. Adding last year’s AL Cy Young winner without giving up two top prospects and a starting pitcher for Halladay has calmed down the Phillies phaithful who were swearing up and down that Phillies management needed to do whatever it takes to get Halladay or else. Sometimes there is another way.
Lee, 30, the 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner, is 7-9 this season with a 3.14 earned run average. Francisco, 28, is a righthanded hitting outfielder, batting .250 with 10 home runs this season. Francisco has pinch hit twice this season, going hitless in two at-bats. Continue reading
Jim Johnson, Eagles Defensive Coordinator – R.I.P.
Standard10 years of his defenses filled my father’s, my brothers’, fellow fans and me’s fall Sundays. You end up spending a lot of time watching the work of a coach of your favorite team. Andy Reid discusses the passing of his defensive coordinator.
Eagles begin Training Camp as Jim Johnson Era Ends
Whereas almost every Eagles fan has an up and down relationship with the head coach Andy Reid, you’d be hard pressed to find a fan who isn’t a pretty big fan of the teams defensive coordinator for the last 10 years, Jim Johnson. He has been forced into retirement by a battle with cancer.
Former Eagles Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson
Under Johnson, the Eagles have ranked near the top in almost every important defensive category in the last decade. Since 2000, the Eagles have been second in sacks (390), tied for second in tackles for a loss (457), second in forced fumbles (159), second in red zone efficiency (43.9 percent), and second in third down efficiency (34 percent). During the Johnson era, the Eagles have finished fourth in the NFL in points allowed — just 17.7 per game.