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Your honor, I will repeat my question... a few weeks ago I posed the question: "Is Jimmy Rollins the new T.O.?" Even heard Jody Mac on 950ESPN ponder my query on air. I say "even" cause most times I don't get to hear the Mac Man actually read the O Zone out to the masses.

If memory serves me, Jody was rather dismissive of my inquiry, rather brushing it aside like he was swatting away an annoying insect.

So on the heels of yet another T.O.-esque moment (referring to the Phils faithful as front-runners), I will once again ask...

Is Jimmy Rollins the new T.O.?

Stay with me here and look for the comparisons.

One year, he owns the town, figuratively and literally. Can do no wrong. All fans love and adore him. Cheer loudly and passionately for him.

Next year, the same player begins to make statements and references that seem to confound his once loyal followers. Openly questions either members of his team and/or management. His demeanor this year is completely contradictory to that of the previous year.

It does, at the very least, make you go... hmmmmmm.

Do you believe in Judgment Day? That's the question I want to pose to Andrea and Daniel Kelly and their attorneys. Andrea and Daniel Kelly are the parents of Danieal Kelly, who in case you've been living under not just one rock but a whole freaking mountain, is the 14 year old girl who died under such extreme and inhuman conditions, I will refrain from stating them here.

Not only were Andrea and Daniel Kelly, along with a litany of DHS workers, directly responsible for little Danieal's death, they (the parents) are now suing the city of Philadelphia for failing to protect the girl from them.

Many, many words come to mind when trying to think of ways to describe my feelings toward all those involved, but I really just want to ask them all one question and one question only:

Do you believe in Judgment Day?

I know you may die over there and you’re fighting for my freedom and blah, blah, blah... but I'm sorry, that third bag you have is gonna cost you. But if you fill out this form, in between being shot at, and send it back to us, we'll gladly refund you your money.

Have you heard this gem? Some airlines are charging U.S. soldiers extra baggage fees to take their military kits with them as they set off for war.

Ok, let's see if I got this right.

We're...

• Sending people off to war, a war that many Americans are staunchly against
• More often than not, the troops are ill-equipped for their new surroundings
• They don't get paid anywhere nearly enough
• When they get back, IF they get back home, they have trouble getting health benefits
  
• And now we want them to pay for "extra baggage"

You know for the life of me I cannot seem to understand why enlistment is down so much for our military.

Finally today... got into a conversation today with a good friend/co-worker of mine, John O'Hanlan. The subject got around to things that irritate us in sports. Now rather than list all things for all sports, gonna concentrate on football today and tackle (no pun intended) the other sports at a later date.

So here are some things that irritate me (and Johnny O) about football: (in no specific order)

• Prevent D
• Although this list is in no specific order, this could very well be the thing that irritates me the most when it comes to football. Has the Prevent D ever worked? Look no further than last year, Week 7, Bears/Eagles. Brian Griese, not Bob lest anyone think otherwise, drove the Bears 97 yards in 1:43 for the winning touchdown. Guess which defense the Eagles were in for the majority of that drive?

• 3rd & 8, pass for 4
• An Eagles specialty if there ever were one. How many times have we seen them throw a 3rd Down pass for yardage that is LESS than what is needed for the 1st Down and often times MUCH less than what is needed for the 1st Down! Is it the play-calling? It is the QB checking down to a shorter route? Whatever it is... STOP DOING IT!
  

• Icing the kicker
• Even with the new rule that you can't use more than one timeout to try and freeze the opposing kicker, this still drives me crazy! Okay I get it, let’s call a timeout and have the kicker “ponder” the unforeseen. But come on, he’s a professional for crying out loud. I much rather see him and the offense rush out on the field, get set up and then kick the field goal. As opposed to calling the timeout, giving the offense plenty of time to set up so everything is just right for the kick. I mean if the timeout gives players an opportunity to dig out snow, what’s next, checking the barometer!
  

• If it ain't working, STOP!
• Another Eagles fave. They run a play, pick one... and it doesn't work. In fact it fails miserably. They run it again, same result. Logic dictates you shelve that play for another time in another place on another day. Well as we all well know, there is no place for logic when it comes to pro football.

• Down by contact
• And the ground can't cause a fumble. What does that mean anyway??!! I'm sorry, but a fumble is a fumble is a fumble. Done, end of story. Move on.
  

• Long-distance calls
• Don't you love it when an official who is standing clear on the other side of the field or is down the field, many yards away, throws the flag on a play that is not even in their same time zone yet another official, with a birds eye view, calls nothing??!!! There should be a rule enacted immediately that an official may not throw a flag unless he is within 15 yards of the offending infraction. And 15 yards may even be pushing it.

• Illegal defensive celebration
• Ok, work with me here, help me out. You're a defensive player. Your defense has just allowed a running back to run for 18 yards, through gaping holes and missed tackles. You make a nice hit on the runner, brining him down AFTER his long gain and you proceed to stand up and applaud your handiwork? Anyone caught doing this should be penalized just for being an idiot.
  

Ok, that's I got for today. I'm sure there's plenty more I'll think of later and I'll be sure to share them with you.

Til next time.

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Save the stairway to heaven for someone else, he's riding the escalator...

Today we found out Philly-rock legend Robert Hazard passed away at 59. He of course was a mainstay in the Philly music scene in the 80s along with The Hooters and other bands. Rest in peace...

In a land Favre, Favre away...

Ok, so I wake up today and find that Brett Favre-elous is now a Jet. Well let the angels in heaven sing... Hallelujah! In a country where we pay entirely too much attention to celebrity rehabs, babies and divorces, this whole saga may just top them all.

I mean they cut into regular programming to show Brett Favre's plane landing in Green Bay for chrissakes!

Here's my thoughts... both sides handled this very poorly, that I don't think anyone would disagree with that. But what might cause some debate is who has more culpability, the Packers or Favre?

To me, it's a no brainer... Brett Favre is responsible for the majority of this whole debacle, for without his wishy-washy, is-he-retired-or-not nonsense, none of this ever happens. What the Packers did is a direct result of what Favre did... and didn't do, to be precise.

For the record, I thought it was a brilliant move by the Packers to offer Favre the $20-$25 million dollar contract to NOT play... brilliant. Course they never figured he would say no, did they? I mean who in their right mind would say no to being paid millions of dollars to NOT do something?

The football experts, of which we have no shortage of these days, will say the Packers made a huge mistake in not welcoming Brett back with open arms. They will say that as much potential Aaron Rodgers has, he is no Brett Favre. And they would be right of course. Aaron Rodgers is no Brett Favre.

But whose to say Aaron Rodgers won't be an above-average NFL QB for years to come? No one, because we simply don't know. But we will surely find out, won't we?

Gotta give props to the Packers organization for sticking to their guns. It takes more than a little chutzpah to say "no thank you" to a Hall of Fame QB, no matter what he's put you through over the years.

But I am in the Packers corner on this one. They had to say "enough was enough" and it's time to move on. Kind of like what the Red Sox did with Manny.

Back to those so-called experts, one in particular caught my ire today with his slant on all of this. Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.com. His article today paints a sympathetic picture of poor Brett and casts Packers GM Ted Thompson as the evil lord of Packer manor.

This is my favorite portion of Gene's column:

"For all those Favre critics who insist he's a drama queen, remember that he could have stayed in Green Bay, practiced, competed in an open competition with Aaron Rodgers and dared Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy to keep him on the bench. But he didn't. He left after several days because he has more respect for the Packers than the Packers have for him."

Altogether now... ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!!!

'(Favre) has more respect for the Packers than the Packers have for him?'

Geno, how's bout all the times Brett played Should I Stay Or Should I Go (see my earlier comment) with the Packers themselves and not to mention all of the loyal Packers fans? You think it was fair to keep the fans hanging on the line as you decided to play or not?

Geno seems to have conveniently forgotten about that minor detail... how nice.

Look, there is enough culpability to go around, as I said earlier but the bottom line in all of this is if Brett Favre could have made up his mind and stuck to his convictions, none of this EVER happens.

'Til next time.

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Is Jimmy Rollins the new T.O.? Ok, had to get that out there right away... chew on that for little while I get some things off my chest regarding the reigning NL MVP.

Tell me if this description matches the way the Phils so-called leader has acted the last month or so...

"a person who takes adulation and privileged treatment as a right and reacts with petulance to criticism or inconvenience"

That is the literal definition of the term "prima donna" and it fits Jimmy Rollins like a glove.

Could his head get any bigger? Are you kidding me? If there were ever someone who desperately needed a reality check, it was Jimmy Rollins. The way it looks now, winning the MVP was the worst thing that could have happened to him.

That plus the fact that his manager is hardly a disciplinarian and you have the perfect recipe for prima donna.

If you don't think this has anything to do with Rollins taking advantage of Uncle Charlie's demeanor and managerial skills, you are completely out of touch.

And before I hear from everyone (MQ?) screaming "How do you know what's going on inside his (Rollins') head? You can't prove intent!!"

Spare me, spare me... and SPARE ME! Take off the naive hat, get a clue and get in the damn game... in other words, WAKE UP!!!!!!

I'm telling you right now, on this date, the 25th of July, this team is on the brink of implosion... not the Mets, as we all thought, but the Phillies.

When you have, what many perceive to be a leader of a team, a company, an organization, whatever... acting in such a manner, with such callous regard for the rules that EVERYONE is supposed to follow... anarchy is not far behind.

Ok, call me a fatalist if you must but the next 4-5 days will tell a lot about where this team will finish in 2008. Mark it down.

So I ask you again... Is Jimmy Rollins the new T.O.?

Til next time.

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The Not So Fab 5... Version 2

Today the team (sans one, TH is on vacation) ponders something that is never far from any Philly sports fan mind...

Why hasn't a professional sports team from Philadelphia (the 4 major sports only) won a title in 25 years, nearly 100 consecutive seasons whereas as otherwise moribund and inept franchises like the Florida Marlins, for example, have won not one but... two World Series in just the past 11 years?

M.Q.
Tough question. There are different reasons for each of the 4 teams. To name a few of the many would be financial, the ineptness of management, dilution of talent, and league parity. Let's give a modicum of the benefit of the doubt to bad luck. Just the way the ball bounces, the cookie crumbles. But, I guess, the main reason would be we just weren't good enough. We didn't have the horses. Philadelphians don't like to admit that but unfortunately sometimes it's true. There were a lot of close calls, a lot of would'ves and should'ves and could'ves, but sadly no champions. I am not a big believer in jinxes or curses but it sure does feel like that sometimes, doesn't it? I am also not one to look back on hindsight. Well, if Fregosi doesn't let the Wild Thing pitch to Joe Carter, if the Sixers play any team except the Kobe and Shaq Lakers, if Donovan doesn't throw-up....if, if, if. The plain and simple fact here is we didn't, they did and the rest is history.

R.R.
It all comes down to two words in my mind: bad juju.

What that means is that a proverbial confluence (big writer word for "bunch
o' variables") of factors thwarted our teams' efforts. Somebody in Philly sometime in the last 25 years or so must have really pissed off God the Father, Vishnu, the Force, Allah, Yahweh, Watubi, L. Ron Hubbard...you name it.

From bad GMs at critical times to thin draft classes or outright lousy
draft picks -- EVEN WHEN WE WERE SUCKY ENOUGH THE YEAR BEFORE TO WARRANT A HIGH PICK (Shawn Bradley or Michael Haddix, anyone?); from star athletes who die in car accidents to coveted hockey players who get concussed into oblivion; from getting hot BUT NOT HOT ENOUGH TO STEAL A SERIES (OR A SUPER BOWL) at the right time to having something as bizarre as a fog right out of a Stephen King novella blow in when your football team was poised to to make a deep playoff run and maybe go all the way.

Across the 4 sports, at various times when we were really good, there was a dynasty that knew how to win even when they didn't bring their A game -- or something damn close to it -- standing in our way...e.g. Patriots in 2004, Edmonton Oilers in '85 and '87 (plus Red Wings in late 90s), Lakers in 2001, Blue Jays in early 90s. During these runs we had significant enough talent -- especially at key skill positions -- to get to first runner-up status, but at least every one of the teams listed above in this paragraph just plain had more.

We never "lucked out" and faced a stiff in a title series or game either: I look at weird years like 2000 in the NFL, when a Trent Dilfer-led Ravens team won with killer defense over a weak NFC opponent or the Mighty Ducks a couple years ago.

The Marlins example Steve cited, the NY Giants last year -- and maybe the Cardinals of 2006 -- are anomalies who support the "super hot at the right time" theory, in that they beat teams who were probably more talented and better than them on paper. The fact that we have not even achieved such anomaly status ONCE so far is double bad juju.

I.S.
First off, I’ve got to ask: How weird is this? Droughts in sports can be unbearable, but they’re not that unusual.

Here's a list I got from Wikipedia:

Cleveland has waited longer than any other city with three major sports franchises to win a title. The last time a Cleveland professional sports team won a championship was in 1964 when the Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship (pre-Super Bowl era). The Cleveland Indians last won the World Series in 1948 (the second-longest drought in MLB, after the Cubs) and the Cleveland Cavaliers have also never won an NBA championship. The city even had a short-lived NHL hockey team called The Barons, which never won a championship either. In 2004, ESPN named Cleveland the most tortured sports city in America.

Seattle has not won a major sports championship in any sport other than basketball and hockey. The Seattle Metropolitans won the Stanley Cup in 1917 (the first American team to do so), the Seattle SuperSonics (NBA) won a title in 1979, and the Seattle Storm (WNBA) won in 2003. Neither the Seahawks nor the Mariners have ever won a championship (the Mariners have never even been in the World Series}. Seattle nearly won a championship when the Seahawks represented the city in Super Bowl XL in 2006, but fell by a score of 21-10 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Those who believe in the Buffalo Curse[2] cite as examples the four consecutive Super Bowl losses by the Buffalo Bills from 1990-1993 (and their failure to even reach the conference playoffs in subsequent years), as well as the failure of the Buffalo Sabres to ever win the Stanley Cup. Hearts were broken once again in 2006, when the Sabres lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Even though the Sabres made it back to the conference finals the next year, they lost again, this time to the division rival Ottawa Senators. It is notable that the Buffalo Bills won the AFL championship in 1964 and 1965.

San Diego's two professional sports teams, the San Diego Padres and the San Diego Chargers, have never won a World Series or Super Bowl, which are believed to stem from the San Diego Sports Curse. The Padres have the most World Series appearances (two) of the eight teams without a World Series championship. The Chargers won the 1963 AFL championship and have only appeared in one Super Bowl (Super Bowl XXIX, which they lost to the San Francisco 49ers, 49-26).

Houston has a similar drought of championship titles. The city's baseball team, the Houston Astros, has appeared to date in only one World Series (in 2005, which they lost). Their football team (the Houston Texans) has never won a title; however, it should be noted that they have only been in the NFL since 2002. Its basketball team, the Houston Rockets, have won two championships, in 1994 and 1995, but have not won since then. In the WNBA the Houston Comets won four championships in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000, becoming the first and still the only dynasty of the WNBA.

The Philadelphia story is unique only in that the drought extends to all four major sports. I’d like to be able to come up with a “magic-bullet” explanation, but I don’t really know enough to analyze it that deeply. That said, there are some factors that can probably be eliminated. One is fan support. Sure, some players complain about the toughness of Philly fans, but others thrive on their passion. And I can’t imagine that the burden of expectations is any greater than it is in New York, where they’ve had their share of championship seasons over the past fifty years. (And it’s not that we haven’t come close, with all four teams at least making it to the championship rounds in their leagues.)

Another reason that could be discarded is domination by sports dynasties, the way American League teams used to be routinely left in the dust by the Yankees of the 50s & 60s. Or like the Celtics once ruled the NBA.

You could argue that our drought has not as much been on the field as in the executive suites. All four teams went through a stretch of inept (Katz, Clarke) or cheapskate (Braman, the Gang of Eight) management that couldn’t or wouldn’t do what was needed to build winning teams.

As I said, I really don’t know enough to venture any kind of definitive explanation. Maybe a Bill James-type could study the stats and do the math to figure out the probability of all four teams going cold for the same 25-year stretch. We might discover the odds aren’t all that long. Or vice-versa.

T.O.Z.
Boy, why not just ask the secret to life or why Pauly Shore, Rosie O’Donnell and Arsenio Hall had what resembled a career? I’d have better luck answering those incomprehensible queries…

It is of course every Philadelphia sports fan (at least we view it this way) God-given right to bitch and complain and each time another season comes to a close sans championship, we exercise that right to its fullest.

I don’t know but I seem to have a problem with the fact that a man of 42 has enjoyed and relished four (4) world championships whereas a boy from in oh I don’t know… Boston (!)…has enjoyed and relished, hell I lost count… 7, 8, 9 titles in during his short tenure on this Earth.

Of course the above is not really fair but since when does fair have anything to do with sports?

Was it fair that Donovan McNabb (ahem) re-gifted in the Super Bowl?

Was it fair that Tim Duncan opted to stay in college for one more year rather that come out and thus be the #1 pick of your Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers? Yeah I know we got AI instead but, c’mon… we’re talking Tim Duncan here.

Was it fair that Jim Fregosi pulled out his American League textbook and brought in Mitchy Poo instead of staying with the hot hand?

Was it fair that Eric Lindros likes to skate with his head down?

Was it fair that we as fans are subjected to a litany of owners and ownership groups who are either penny-wise, pound-foolish or both… or neither??!! Hell I don’t even know what I’m saying!

I once had a friend of mine (Kevin Campbell) espouse a theory that says secretly Philly fans do not want to win a title. His rationale was that if we ever do win another one, we will have nothing left to complain about. It does make you go hhmmmmm… thanks Arsenio.

I realize, as my esteemed colleague Isaac points out, that there are in fact other cities and towns and suffer from the same sports malaise as Philly fans do, but… we of course are the only major metropolis that can boast the quadruple draught, with all four of major teams all equally mired in either mediocrity, bridesmaid or somewhere in between.

I honestly don’t know if I will see another title in my lifetime. That may sound fatalistic but in this town fatalism is not ever far from realism.

Til next time.

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