YouTube: An intelligent commentary on the Phillies' Pat Burrell

As a Phillies fan, I am often embarrassed by the "baseball stupidity" of those who root for the Phillies with me. They boo people based on reputation and stories put out there by equally idiotic media types and the cosmically idiotic Dallas Green, instead of actually looking at stats and seeing how productive players actually are.

Philly has a tendency to cheer for the guy with the bloody face and dirty uniform...even though he is batting .240 and has a lower on-base percentage than I do. I actually heard a guy sitting a couple of seats away from me at Citizens Bank Park say, "I love Tomas Perez. I hope the Phillies never get rid of him."

Now, Tomas Perez sucked...but fans loved him because he would throw shaving cream pies in the faces of his teammates after exciting wins. Ugh.

Anyway, here is a great video that actually offers a intelligent, statistics-based argument why current Phillies left fielder Pat Burrell is undeserving of much of the criticism dumped on him over the past couple of years, but especially as of late.

Well...pitchers and catchers report in less than a month

So...now that the Eagles' season is over and the Flyers and Sixers are bringing new meaning to the word "horrid," it's time to start shifting my attention back to my greatest passion, the Philadelphia Phillies...led by 2006 National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Howard (pictured, courtesy of Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images).

Keeping the streak alive

I have been busy working on the latest Technology and the Arts podcast, so I haven't posted here in a few days.

However, I have to keep something going. Since a few days before the Eagles' 23-7 win at Dallas on Christmas, I have posted something related to the Eagles containing the E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES! cheer.

Well, my last post was a week ago today, which was before the Eagles' last-second 23-20 victory over the Giants in the opening round of the playoffs. Hence, I haven't done a pre-game post with the E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!" cheer for tonight's tough matchup between the Eagles and Saints in New Orleans.

So consider this my superstitious, hopefully-win-inspiring post for tonight's game.

Now, once more...with feeling...



E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!"

Happy New Year/NFC East Championship!

Well, thanks to the totally over-hyped Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys losing to the lowly Detroit Lions at home early Sunday afternoon, the Philadelphia Eagles celebrated New Year's Eve as NFC East champions for the fifth time in six years.

Because the Cowboys' loss gave the title to Philadelphia, the Eagles were able to rest their starters for the playoff opener at home against the New York Giants next Sunday at 4:15 p.m. ET.

Oh yeah...the Eagles' second and third teams still managed to beat the Atlanta Falcons, 24-17, to finish atop the NFC East at 10-6.

Fly Eagles Fly
On the road to victory
Fight Eagles Fight
Score a touchdown, 1-2-3
Hit 'em low, hit 'em high
And watch our Eagles fly
Fly Eagles Fly
On the road to victory

E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!

UPDATED 11:22 a.m. ET, 1/2/2007

I wrote the above post after watching one of the craziest college football games ever, No. 9 Boise State's amazing 43-42 overtime win over No. 7 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Here is a YouTube video showing key highlights from the last couple of minutes of regulation and overtime...


(Photo of Center City Philadelphia taken from near main entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Dec. 29, 2006.)

Fly Eagles Fly...on the road to victory! (The Christmas edition!)

E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!

Well, once again the jolly, fat man delivered on Christmas.

No, not Santa. I'm talking about Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid, who delivered to me and all Eagles fans a HUGE and impressive 23-7 win over the despised Dallas Cowboys today that clinched a playoff spot for the Birds.

The victory gave the Eagles a 9-6 record and pulled them into a tie with Dallas for the lead in the NFC East. However, since the Eagles swept the Cowboys this season, Philadelphia owns the tie-breaker and the No. 1 spot in the division.

The Eagles only need to beat the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on New Year's Eve to wrap up their fifth NFC East title in six years.

(Photo: Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook carries the ball against the Dallas Cowboys in the Eagles' 23-7 Christmas day victory. Courtesy D. Hallowell/PhiladelphiaEagles.com.)

Goodbye and good luck, A.I.

I had an up-and-down fan relationship with Allen Iverson, who was traded today by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Denver Nuggets.

There were the good times (the run to the 2001 NBA Finals) and the bad ("We talkin' 'bout practice!"), but A.I. was a lot of fun to watch on a basketball court...and he has the heart of a warrior.

Good luck in Denver, Allen!

Ryan Howard wins NL MVP!

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has won the 2006 National League Most Valuable Player Award, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced Monday.

Howard, who turned 27 on Sunday, earned the MVP award in the season after capturing NL Rookie of the Year honors in 2005. Of the 32 ballots submitted by two baseball writers in each league city, Howard was listed first on 20 and second on the other 12 for a total of 388 points, based on the tabulation system that gives 14 points for a first-place vote, nine for a second-place vote, eight for a third-place vote and on down to one for a 10th-place vote.

The Phillies' slugger led Major League Baseball in home runs with 58, runs batted in with 149 and total bases with 393 while batting .313 for the Phillies, who were knocked out of playoff contention on the second-to-last day of the season.

Howard's 58 homers set the Phils' franchise record for home runs in a season, topping Mike Schmidt's 1980 record of 48. Howard also equaled Jimmie Foxx's Philadelphia baseball record for most homers in a season. Foxx hit 58 for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1932.

(Photo credit: Rusty Kennedy/AP)

E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!

Well, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated T.O. and the Dallas Cowboys, 38-24, yesterday at Lincoln Financial Field.

Since I'm under the weather with tonsillitis, it was a great pick-me-up. And the ending was classic...the Cowboys were down 31-24, but found themselves at the Eagles' six-yard line in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter. Dallas quarterback Drew Bledsoe threw a pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Lito Sheppard, who streaked 102 yards for a game-clinching touchdown.

It was very reminiscent of another game-clinching interception return for a touchdown scored by the Eagles at Dallas a few years back. James Willis picked off the Troy Aikman pass in the end zone and managed to toss the ball back to Troy Vincent, who took it the rest of the way for the score.

And there just happens to be a YouTube clip of the James Willis interception/Troy Vincent return...



Here are some more classic moments (from an Eagles fan's perspective, of course) from the Eagles-Cowboys rivalry...

4th & 1: It's groundhog day!


McNabb's 14-second FredEx delivery in Dallas on MNF