Another Delco Guy In South Jersey

The Worst Super Bowl Ever

There was really very little about the Super Bowl this year that intrigued me.  I likened it to a cage match between Idi Amin and Hitler.  Two thoroughly unlikeable teams in a matchup where, by rule, someone MUST win is not what I am generally looking for in a championship. Put the game in a craphole town like Indianapolis and you've got the worst possible confluence of events. They should have just canceled the thing.

Sadly, the game was played despite my misgivings.

After the initial excitement of Tom Brady brain farting his way into a safety, I was pretty much bored out of my mind.  I caught myself checking out ESPN's counter programming of 'The World's Strongest Man,' where giant freaks of nature pulled trucks with their teeth. Despite New York trying to give New England every chance to win, Tom Brady threw behind open receivers all night and Rob 'Jesus' Gronkowski could not haul in the desperation heave as time expired. 

Thus, Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning have been guaranteed enshrinement in the ever-more-mediocre Football Hall of Fame.

I was hopeful that the commercials would at least be a respite from the bad matchup.  While there were a few bight spots, I was left thinking that this was the weakest set of Super Bowl Commercials in the modern era of commercialdom.  While I think that the animal commercial era has had it heyday and is in decline, I did I enjoy the Doritos 'You Didn't See Nuthin' spot. I thought the Seinfeld/Leno spot for Acura was very witty and well-done, but was surprised to see it twice,

Some of the big ads fell flat for me. I felt like the Budweiser Prohibition ads were just 30 second versions of 'Boardwalk Empire' with no guns or nudity.  The Honda commercial with Matthew Broderick re-living his Ferris Bueller role was too long and really did nothing for me as a fan of the movie.

Halftime show? Even if you believe Madonna wasn't lip-synching that performance, what is this? 1987? I loved the Material Girl as much as any red-blooded american teen in the 1980s, but who's next?  Rick Astley? The lame additions of current 'stars' did nothing to add energy ot the show, but DID add some controversy. 

I did enjoy the company as an impromptu scheduling change left me available to hang out with my brother and his buddies.  The debate over Trey vs. Keith Richards in a guitar death match and the needling of Alice lent a bit of fun to the atmosphere and wrapped up a very good weekend.

13 days 'til pitchers and catchers!

And That's The Ballgame - Andy Musser Passes

The three voices that I most associate with my youth have all left us now.  First 'His Whiteness,' Richie Ashburn stepped out of the announcer's booth in New York City and passed into the night after calling a Phillies - Mets game in the Phils' dreadful 1997 last-place season.

Fresh off calling the 2008 World Series win for the Phils, Harry Kalas died preparing for a game in Washington, DC.  I cried that day, and again a few days later when thousands welcomed Harry home to Philly one last time.  While we still get to hear him sing 'High Hopes' every time the Phillies win at CBP, I still tune in sometimes and expect to hear him calling the game.

And today we lost Andy Musser, the third member of the Phillies broadcasting crew of my youth.  He was always the quietest of the three, the most generally reserved, but I really think he only paled in comparison because of the two Hall of Famers he worked with.  His double play calls were as smooth as Bowa, Trillo and Rose were on the field.

Some would argue Musser's voice went silent years ago when the Phillies management pushed him aside to give Chris Wheeler a larger role.  I still heard a bit of a bit of it in my mind though until Harry passed a few years ago. Wheeler and Tim McCarver were a part of those broadcasting teams as well, but never really seemed to be as big a part.  McCarver went on to make it big in broadcasting.  Against all odds, Wheels is still here, over-analyzing every pitch.

I grew up lisetening to the Phils on the radio on my grandfather's porch, and on TV on Sunday afternoons at my other grandfather's in Essington.  The silences were as important as the things that were said.

Today, we lost my last link to the soundtrack of my summer afternoons and evenings. I'm sad, but I remember seeing Musser a few years ago at a beer event he was working.  Someone inevitably asked him if he missed the games.  He looked wistful for just a moment and said something like, 'I'd be crazy if I didn't, but I've got a good life.'

Andy, thanks for all the great memories and say hello to Whitey and Harry for me.  I'll have an Anchor Steam for you!

Wrapping Up The Youth Sports Seasons

Yesterday, Emma played the last game of her soccer season for the TAA "Green Machine."  She thoroughly enjoyed her first year of soccer, and I enjoyed coaching her and her friends.  I still say anyone must be qualified to coach soccer if I can, but it was still a great time.

Emma has begun to understand how to move to the ball and how to use her size against smaller, quicker players.  She has gotten a lot better at being able run around for the whole game without losing interest or getting tired.  She has been one of the first to volunteer to play when other kids don't want to.

I'm very proud of all that she learned and I wish we had her play soccer before this fall.  It was a far better experience for her than the T-Ball experience two years ago!  The last game was not a win, but the trophy helped the sting of the loss.  Thanks to Coach Dave and Coach Jim for really doing the real work of coaching this year.

John's fall baseball season ended a while back, the last games a casualty of the freak pre-Halloween snowstorm that hit the Mid-Atlantic.  His War Eagles squad really came together this fall, winning the last 5 games of the season. He is a big boy who is still growing into his long legs and big frame.  He's got a lot of potential and determination, but his progress this fall was incremental rather than spectacular.

John loves playing baseball and is a darn good pitcher, but his footspeed limits what he can do in the field.  His bat began to come around this fall after some coaching that found a problem with his swing.  Tryouts for the spring War Eagles teams were held last weekend and he did well, and he is on pins and needles waiting to see if he made the team.

For me, this fall season probably brings to close my 6 years of youth coaching.  The fall has been a struggle for me to balance coaching duties, work schedules and getting the kids where they need to be every day.  As John has moved up the baseball ladder, my ability to help the teams he is on has been smaller and smaller.  While Emma and I enjoyed me helping her soccer team this year, there are plenty of folks who can do what I did for the team.

Sometimes something has to give when you are a single dad, and I have known this moment was coming for some time.  Coaching my kids has given me some of the happiest moments of my life.  Seeing them grow and succeed, have fun with their friends and learn some hard lessons has been an absolute privilege.  Thankfully, there are lots of good coaches in baseball program to be able to help my son develop.  I'm still not sure how good a soccer coach I was, so I am sure someone (anyone) can fill those shoes! 

I'll still be at the games, and some of the practices, but I'll be in the stands with the other dads and moms, taking my pictures, grumbling about the coaches and enjoying every minute of it!

A Full Day of Youth Sports

It's a beautiful day here in South Jersey and the Another Delco Guy clan is getting ready for a full day of soccer and baseball with a morning meal at Medport Diner.

We all have our uniforms (and our hair) adjusted just so. Our cooler is packed with between game meals. Distracting activities for Emma are all ready to go for the second baseball game.

We are looking forward to a great day in the beautiful autumn weather. Enjoy your Saturday as well!

Phils Set To Close It Out

While some might argue that it would be better for the Phils to drop today's 4th game of the NLDS in St. Lois, so they can win it here at home in front of the CBP faithful, I am here to tell you the Phils will win tonight and end this nailbiter of a series.  They've done everything possible to create interest and buzz in the first round of the playoffs, but this one is only going 4 games folks.

They've come from behind, blown a big lead, and hung on by their fingernails in the first three games.  I recommend stocking up on the Xanax and Pepto for tonight's tilt as well.  Oswalt looked great in his last start, but the Phils' bats, especially at the bottom of the line up could use a wakeup call. 

The Texas Rangers have already taken one Cinderella out of the playoffs, dispatching the Rays, who dropped 3 straight after opening the series with a win.  Now it's time for the Phils to end the Cardinals season and rest up for the NLCS.

It's great being in town right now, with the seas of red on the sidewalks, the bridges decked out and encouraging the home team and a giant jersey making its way around town.  I made it down to the staggeringly difficult Game 2, but sadly I have a work commitment, so I will miss out on the action, but thank goodness for my HTC Droid Thunderbolt.

Go Phils!

What An End to the MLB Season!

First, let me express my condolences to my friends who are Red Sox fans, especially Susan and Paul.  Hopefully your significant others have removed all sharp objects from your vicinity.  I said a few weeks ago that the Red Sox were lucky to have such a weak schedule down the stretch because they were playing terribly.  The schedule wasn't weak enough.

While my brother wrote the best article I have seen on last night's amazing finish to a great season, the chart above came from a great article at the NY Times blog 538, usually on political statistics. Using a slightly tortured bit of math, he pegged the odds of all of last night's games ending as they did at 1 in 278 million.

It was truly a phenonmenal night of baseball.

In all the hysteria, it's easy to over look what the Phils did this week.  With everyone from me to Ricky Bo saying, "They better get going, you can't just flip a switch and turn it back on," the Phillies did just that, standing on the gas and sweeping the Braves en route to a team-record 102 wins on the season.

It's a bit sad that Major League baseball, always looking for ways to mess up a good thing, seems to have decided to add another wild card spot.  Why's that sad?  Because none of the games last night would have meant a thing with that extra spot. Hopefully they re-consider.

It's a busy weekend for me with some work, Panek Oktoberfest, soccer, travel baseball, and Chowderfest, but I will do my best to catch the Phils' games at 5 on Saturday and 8 on Sunday.  There's not much better than October Baseball!

On Success

We all know what success looks like or feels like.  The effusive warmth of accomplishment.  The buoyancy of being surrounded by well-wishers.  The energy of the celebration.

We all get a few such moments in our lives. Some of us get more moments than others.  Some of the moments are more ecstatic than others.  There's always a coming down after a success, a period of quiet, of withdrawal.  And, at least for me, of wondering.  Wondering when the next success will come or if that's it for a while.

Unless you're the Philadelphia Phillies of the last 5 years.

In which case, it's just one success after another, from winning the NL East 5 consecutive times, to having a parade, to signing the best rotation in baseball. 

My baseball-crazy 11 year old son John wears #34 for his baseball team in honor of his favorite Phillie, Roy Halladay.  He got to witness in person the Phils clinching the NL East over the weekend.  It was his second time seeing it in person, the first being that magical Spetember 27th of 2008. 

I'm 41.  I've only seen them clinch in person once. 

Now thankfully the one I witnessed was with him in '08, but it led met to consider how my son thinks about the Phillies and approaches success in general.  In his memory, the Phillies have always been a winner.  There's always been Red October.  He's never known the disappointment of a baseball season that is over before the dog days of August.  I am not sure he's ever been to a Phils' game that wasn't sold out.

This run has almost ensured that John will be a Phillies fan for life.  The excitement, the passion of the city and region, the sheer joy of it all make it a certainty.  But what has it done to prepare him for the lean times that will most certainly come at some point? 

Since the stadium is packed every night and the streets of Philadelphia are flooded with red shirts and hats, it may not be for a while.  But one day this train will slow down.  A free agent will sign elsewhere.  One too many prospects will be traded away.  Reuben Amaro won't pull off the miracle trade deadline deal.  And Red October will fade.  How will this new generation of fans approach a team that is .500.  What will Citizens Bank Park feel like on a future September night when the home team is just playing out the string in front of 25,000 morose folks?

On a larger note, how has this unparalleled athletic success of the region's baseball team affected what young fans will accept as success in general.  Does it have to be straight A's, or is a C in the mix ok?  Does it have to be Ivy League, or is a state school ok?  Is rec league acceptable, or is it travel team or bust?

I'm just not sure.  But for now, it doesn't really matter.  The Phils are in the playoffs and (with the exception of the NBA season) Philly sports is in a pretty darn good place.  We can all live vicariously thought the exploits of men who make millions to play a game.  And for a few more weeks we can savor their success as our own.

Friday Fantastic Four - Baseball Opening Day Edition

It's Opening Day here in Philadelphia for one of the most-anticipated Phillies seasons in my lifetime.  We've got four aces AND Joe Blanton.  We've got a giant new video board and dozens of games already sold out. 

While we will have to wait a few weeks for Chase Utley, Placido Polanco and Dom Brown, the Phillies Paithful are ready to fill Citizens Bank Park for this afternoon's opener.

What are your four favorite things about baseball season?

1. Taking John to a game or two.
2. Listening to LA and Scott Franzke on the radio.
3. Reading about baseball on The700level.com and not hockey.
4. Hoping for another parade.

I'll see you down at the bank!  Go Phils!!!

How Sweet it Is!

Cavs Celebrate at Center Court
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

I am sure the parties lasted late into the night at Cabrini College last night. But the Cavaliers deserve a party after their improbable 91-84 win to advance to the Division III Sweet 16. I'm also sure that the bus ride back to Westchester County felt like it took all night for the Purchase Panthers. But that's how basketball is at this time of the year. Someone gets to celebrate at center court and someone else rides home in the darkness on a deadly silent bus.

I've been at center court and on the bus. Center court is fun, but you learn a lot about yourself on that bus.

Last year, Cabrini took the long bus ride home after a brutal first round loss to Randolph-Macon in the NCAA tournament. Head coach Marcus Kahn and his young Cavaliers used that loss as a object lesson and jumping off point for the 2010-2011 campaign. The goal was simple: win an NCAA game.

Friday night, the Cavs did that, rallying from a 9 point deficit with 13 minutes left to defeat a wounded New Jersey City University squad 85-76.

Last night, faced with a senior-laden SUNY-Purchase team also looking for NCAA respect, the Cavs looked lost in the first half. It would have been easy for them to hang their heads and say "Hey we accomplished our goal." Down 13 on their home floor, the Cavs emerged from the locker room at halftime to the boisterous cheers of their friends and family.

And they fought back with a ferocity I have never seen from any Cabrini team. Ever. They fought back against the critics who said they had played a weak schedule. They fought back against the naysayers who claimed they didn't deserve to host. They fought back against the folks who STILL ask "Isn't that a girls' school?"

They turned up the defense, fought through screens and made their shots. Senior Dom Farrello and sophomore Cory Lemons helped the Cavs correct every error from the first half and roared back to stun Jeff Charney's Panthers 91-84.

For the second night in a row, the smaller, younger Cabrini team pressured their opponent into mistakes and turnovers, feeding on the crowd, building momentum and running the Panthers to ground. It was thrilling to watch and obviously ecstatic for the young men that did it.

It was great to see so many old and new friends of the Cavalier basketball program watch the team return to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002. It won't be easy next weekend as the Cavs will face the #5 team in the nation, the College of Wooster Scots on the Scots' home floor.

I'd like to thank Gordon Mann and Pat Coleman for giving me the opportunity to broadcast all three games at Cabrini this weekend. Gordon's a pro and the women's bracket will do well to have him calling their games.  Joe Guinta and Brian Beacham did a great job getting us everything we could have asked for. SID Bobby Ciafardini and Coach Jeff Charney were very great help from Purchase, Marc Brown and SID Ira Thor gave me great information about the NJCU team and Hartwick coach Todd McGuiness will certainly do a lot with that program.

Thanks also to Head Coach Marcus Kahn for rallying the troops, pushing all the right buttons and restoring a proud program. It's a hard job that takes time away from his great family, doesn't pay nearly enough and he does it well. I appreciate the access he gave us and the extraordinary candor he has displayed.

Finally thanks to the young men who have put on the uniform all though the season, giving up holidays with their families and night with their girlfriends to represent Cavalier Basketball in 2010-2011.

It's time for a new goal. Good luck in Ohio.

Alumni Game 2011 Is In the Books

This past Saturday, my son John and I made the trek back to Delco for the annual Cabrini Basketball Alumni Game and a full day of hoops on the hardwood in the Nerney Fieldhouse at the Dixon Center.

The women's basketball alumni tipped the day off at 11 with a run down memory lane.  While I was not able to attend due to fathering duties at home, I understand the attendance for their first alumni game was soild and there are plans to contiune the tradition next year.

The current version of the women's team kept things rolling along with a 74-45 thrashing of College of Notre Dame.  Freshman Annie Rivituso helped the team to its 10th win with her first career double-double.

The men's team continued its dominance of the CSAC with a 90-76 drubbing of Marywood University.  Senior Dom Farrello had a career game in front of the alumni, pouring in 33 points as the Cavs played every man on the roster and nailed down a top seed in the CSAC tournament next week.

The hospitality room had the usual array of goodies and gave Coach Dzik a place to hold forth.  Coaches Joe Kelly, Mike Keeley, Gabby Hartnett and Bob McTamney also stopped in to grab a few bites to eat in between games.  Superfans Mike Fallon, Paul Engle and Darnell Engle also were in the house (as usual).  The best managers any program ever had, Jim Iacovino, Phyllis Cohen, Kelly Gallagher and Andrea Kelliher also made appearances.

The men's alumni game featured 21 players from the past, some of whom looked like they could have suited up for current Cavs coach Marcus Kahn and some of whom looked as if they needed to mix in a few salads. I can't name everyone, but it's safe to say that guys going as far back as "Sticks" Bennett and as recent as Jim Good and company represented every eara of Cabrnin basketball. Former head coach John Dzik took to the mic and called the game.  I coached called timeouts for the blue team and Mike Keeley took the gray squad.  AD Joe Guinta threw in some great prizes and we were honored by the presence of several members of the current Cavs squad, the coaching staff and Cabrini President Dr. Marie George.

The blue squad sprinted out to a 15 point lead, helped a great deal by Laval Pickney's 0-for the half from the charity stripe.  Ultimately youth won over experience, and my blue team succumbed to the gray team by 15 points.  It was good to see so many guys in the house and really wonderful to see the families and friends come back from over the years.

Cabrini basketball is a family and our family is thankful to have the strong support of the current administration and athletics leadership.  They do a great job making sure we feel welcome and putting on a great event.  As I have said before and continue to believe, Marcus Kahn understands the college and D3 basketball and has done a great job restoring the program over the last three years.  Finally, special thanks to John Mack for all he does for the basketball alumni and everything he did to make Saturday successful!

Photos from the day are up on my Flickr site.  If you have some to share, please post the link in the comments section.  Thanks again to everyone who made my son and I feel so good on Saturday and GO CAVS!

A Legend Passes - Remembering Greg Greenday

I grew up a sports-crazed kid in Delaware County, where my grandfathers taught me all there was to know about the Phillies and Eagles and my dad talked about watching games at The Palestra in the heyday of the Big Five.  It was a heady time to grow up, with every one of our teams in the hunt for the playoffs nearly every year of my childhood. 

Some of the greatest sports voices of a generation were on the air then.  Bill Campbell, Whitey, Harry Kalas and Merrill Reese's rich voices were the narrators of the great sports moments of my childhood, both broadcast live and mimicked from the backyard.

And the newspapers!  I remember days when I had four papers to read, from the urbane Bulletin to the gritty Daily News to the local flavor of the Daily Times.  It was the height of the sports columnist in Philadelphia as well, with names like Frank Dolson, Bill Lyon and Bill Conlin adding color to the players I idolized.

But in Delaware County, one guy was a legend above the rest.  Greg Greenday was a local boy from St. James who lived in Brookhaven. Seemingly every day, he was filling in the detail from a Big Five game or the NFC East or setting the line for the epic high school football battles of my teenage years.

Greenday took me places I could never go, inside the Villanova locker room or to Amen corner at Augusta.  He taught me, by example, that writing was a ticket that could take a kid from Delaware County just about anywhere he wanted to go.

Sadly, last weekend Greg Greenday's journey ended after 61 years.

When I was working at Widener and coaching at Cabrini, I got to know Greg as more of a person than a mythic figure.  I found that the beautifully written game stories and columns came not just from immense talent, but also from a caring person with a diligent research ethic and vast memory that is so rare in journalism today.

Greg was one of the best questioners I ever saw work.  He would pause after an answer, make his notes, think for a moment, carefully considering how to approach the next point.  Greg was able to ask gently probing questions after losses that gave readers (and young coaches) insights into the game that would have been missed by most. He also brought great humor to an interview, laughing and joking, comfortable among men being boys. 

We were always happy when we saw him at the table for a game. We knew we would get a great story the next day, sure.  But we also knew he would have something positive to say, along with a funny inside story for us from somewhere he had been that week.  He had a perfect sense of the moment, always able to put you at ease or to let you go when you had nothing more to say.

There were a lot of great things written about Greg Greenday this week.  One thing that I think did not come through clearly enough is what a great writer he was.  He wrote with elegance and poetry, with a style that let you know he loved every minute of what he was doing.  But there was no self importance to the work.  He had a reverence for the games and the people he covered and he did every thing possible to let you know that.  He could cover the Eagles, sure, who couldn't?  But Greg made BOWLING interesting enough for me to read his weekly column in the 80s.

When he left the Daily Times a few years ago, I tried to explain to Greg how important his writing had been to me as a young person.  I stammered something about him making me want to be a writer.  He brushed it off, saying that it was nothing, he was just having fun doing his job. 

I am sure there were dozens of other kids like me, Greg.  Thanks for writing sports like no one else did.

On Tiger and His Statement

The restaurant where I ate lunch had ESPN News looping when I went in today.  The Tiger Woods statement was shown in its entirety at the top of the hour.  It wasn't a pretty 13 minutes. 

Is it just me or has someone scooped Tiger's brain out with a melon baller and inserted an android processor which just mouths words in a nearly human manner? i know the guy is known for his focus and lack of emotion on the golf course, but this was just unreal.

The presentation varied between the world's #1 golfer and uber philanderer staring at the papers in front of him and reading, or apparently freezing up in his speech and looking straight at the camera.  Not pretty either way.

The best part was at the end when the robot known as Tiger walked over to his mom and his programmers had them embrace ion a long hug while the rest of the people in the front row stared at them, praying 'please god don't let him try to hug me.' 

My brother and I had a spirited IM discussion about the Tigercast.  He was amazed at the 'entitlement' the public felt toward Tiger and how much is being expected of him.  Matt notes a belief that Tiger owes us nothing.  I beg to disagree.

One of the reasons this guy has such problems is that he has no emotion beyond himself, not for golf, not for his wife, not for me, a fan of the game, or apparently for anything else. And he showed it again today.

While it's very true that infidelity is common in the world and probably more common among sports stars, that isn't really the issue.  What I saw today was a guy trying to come before the public for its blessing and doing it with such hollowness that he was rendered unbelievable and even more pathetic.  

He didn't have to do this.  Tiger chose to be part of the public theater.  If he was going to go out there and do this, he had a responsibility to do it well.  If he couldn't do it well (which was apparently the case) someone should have told him to just stay silent and move on to the next phase of his therapy and ignore us.  Because otherwise he ends up looking like a guy who felt like he had to go out and say that he was putting his wife and family first, but not because he necessarily felt that way.

I am not at all saying I won't be a fan of Tiger the golfer when he comes back, but I'll be a fan for the same reason I always have been- because he can do amazing things on a golf course, not becasue he is the accessible everyman on the golf course, a la Arnie Palmer.  In the mean time, I want him to go away and get better and stop wandering though my life, blathering on about things it's clear he has no solid grip on yet.

John Is Famous!

There are benefits to having a significant other who is in public relations.  One is that the kids get in the paper with startling regularity.  Emma has been a front page girl three times in the last year and today it's John's turn. 

He had a great time last week as the Coco Key Honorary Bat Boy at the Camden Riversharks game.  And now he's even more excited to be the focus of media attention for even a few days.

Special thanks to Brian Burgamy (#7) for spending some one on one time in the dugout with John and also to Dom Principato, of Deptford, who helped John get comfortable in the dugout before the game.

It was a thrill to be on a beautiful field playing catch with my son as the guys got ready to play last Monday.  Thanks again to everyone who made it happen, especially Char.

Arizona Cardinals Fans Are Morons

Apparently the Arizona Cardinal fanbase isn't quite as smart as the Cards' offensive coordinator.  On Sunday the redbirds were able to figure out the Eagles blitzes en route to a 32-25 win.  It was really a masterful job by the Cardinal coaching staff, making the Philly Birds look like a high school team in the first half.

The fans though leave a bit to be desired.  You may have seen the item last week that Donovan McNabb's Phoenix-area home was vandalized by guys who thought it would be fun to decorate the yard with Pro-Cardinals signs and dump diesel on #5's lawn and burn it.  Brilliant right?  Well it gets better. 

On Monday Chandler, AZ police arrested two dickheads men after the police investigators found one of the rocket scientists perpetrators had actually left an address label on a piece of cardboard he used to make a sign for McNabb's lawn.  Criminal masterminds, these guys are not.  Their story is that they did it as a fun prank.  Yeah setting fire to a guy's lawn in a desert community is really fun stuff.

I can't wait to watch the Steelers smash these guys.

The Best Blog Post Ever

Every time a Philly sports team makes the playoffs the sports fans of this town are forced to endure a national cliche fest that paints us all as grade school dropouts who threw snowballs at Santa, booed Jesus in the manger, wear white sheets and pointed hats to games and hate anyone not named Rocky Balboa.

This week's drive by assassination of Philadelphia sports fans comes to us courtesy of Fox Sports' Ian O'Connor.  This pretentious ass gets his though from an anonymous blogger named Gimpy von Hogaknocker who takes apart O'Connor's overwritten bag of BS on a line-by-line basis.

It's not just the best Philly sports blog post every (sorry E and Matt), it's not just the best sports blog post ever.  It's the best fucking blog post ever.  Period.

Nice work Gimpy!

JC Romero Gets Screwed

As you may have heard by now, Phillies reliever JC Romero has been suspended  for the first 50 games of the 2009 season for testing positive for a banned substance.  That sounds bad, but he seems to have done everything possible to make sure that he was doing the right thing here.

Major League Baseball on the other hand seems to be hell-bent on blindly applying the substance abuse policy, regardless of how stupid they look in doing so.  Bottom like here is that Romero bought an over-the-counter supplement at my local GNC, ran it past the Phillies trainer and his nutritionist, where he got approvals.

Subsequently, he tested positive and MLB banned the product.  He immediately stopped taking it.

That wasn't good enough for MLB.  They told Romero last fall that he could admit guilt and serve an immediate 25 game suspension or he could serve a 50 gamer in '09.  Romero, who rightly maintains he is innocent in this mess won't plead guilty.  Thus he's out $1.25 million and 50 games.  Mets fans are celebrating.  They need something to celebrate since their team fucking chokes every year.

My friends (and relatives) over at the700level.com have got a Free JC shirt available for purchase.  I recommend that we all have one on for Opening Night at the Bank.

One Hell of A Year

This is a year people will talk about for a very long time, both locally, as well as nationally and globally.

On a local level, the major story is the Phils breaking the curse of Billy Penn and winning it all for the first time in 28 years.  What a season and what a parade!  Chase Utley said it best.  We also had the usual vultures circling Andy Reid, only to see him pull a rabbit out of the hat again and get the Eagles to an improbable playoff bid.

We lost Johnny Marzano and Ann d'Harnoncourt (the only time those names will ever be in the same sentence) and effectively lost Vince Fumo.  Killadelphia was still violent, though 15% fewer people lost their lives.  Michael Nutter slashed city spending and Willie Goode's squeeze got nailed by Jeff Cole.  In South Jersey, Wayne Bryant went from most powerful man in South Jersey to just another convicted felon.  The Fort Dix terror plotters will go to jail, but not for as long as Bryant.

Alicia Lane and Booker got fired, Larry Mendte was creepy, the Comcast Center opened and Striped Bass and Samson Street Oyster House closed.

Nationally the big story was the people doing the right thing and electing the best man regardless of skin color.  Tina Fey was better as a VP candidate than Sarah Palin and John McCain's campaign looked the same when he was running as it did when it was suspended.  One governor had a hooker take him down and another sold a US Senate seat. 

The economy collapsed, despite every effort to give billions of taxpayer dollars to wealthy people.  Gas prices rocketed to over $4 and then dropped back to $1.35 here in Moorestown.  More than 300 Americans died int Iraq War, a fact that is sadly well down the list of 2008 events.

Michael Phelps outswam everyone in Bejing, including tiny 14 year old Chinese gymnasts.  The big story in China for the year was the earthquake that killed 70,000 people in May.  Terrorists struck Mumbai in an bloody week of fighting that killed more than 300.  Israel began an assault on Gaza this week, preparing for an invasion.

While the economy has had an effect on me personally as well as the rest of the world, I have been lucky this year.  The kids are great, I got to travel to Albuquerque and Santa Fe on a great trip, as well as call the Division III Final Four, visit Sedona, Annapolis, Maine, Disney, DC, Maine again, Gettysburg, Toronto, NYC, Boston, State College and Southern California. 

I got to watch the Phils clinch with John and my princess walk in a parade the same day the Phils celebrated their second championship in my lifetime.  I've got a challenging job and work with great people.  My family made it through the year with no health crises and we see lots of the greatest friends in the world. 

And I made an important decision about my future that I will talk about another time.

In many ways 2008 was a rough year.  I feel very lucky to be able to be looking forward to 2009 while still being able to say that 2008 was a pretty good year here. 

From Another Delco Guy to you - Happy New Year.  Be safe and enjoy!

Wow!

Yesterday was quite a day.  I ran hither and yon, picking John up in the Pine Barrens, both of us driving into Center City in what was really a very normal commute given that 2 million other folks were headed to town.  We had some fun with the UArts folks and hung out on the steps of Hamilton Hall basking in the sunlight of the best fall day in memory.

The crowd was raucous but well behaved save one small incident that Philadelphia Police handled perfectly.  The brawlers were identified, cuffed and taken away in paddy wagons as the crowd chanted "ASSHOLES."  The arresting officers were warmly cheered by throngs along the 300 block of South Broad Street.

Fans climbed trees, lampposts and fences, vamped, ran nearly naked on Broad Street, drank champagne, wore crowns and silly hats and generally enjoyed themselves as they packed the sidewalks 8 deep.  As the parade wound toward us, the excitement level ramped up and chants of "Let's Go Phils!" drowned out the band playing on Pine Street.

After what seemd to be an interminable procession of helicopters, tow trucks, the media, motorcycle cops, segways, horses and police cars, The Budweiser Clydesdales pulled Pat Burrell, his hot wife and Elvis thought the ecstatic screaming throng who at that moment whould have personally paid him $15 million per year for 4 years.  It ain't happening and this would mark his brightest moment as a Phil, but it was nice to see the fans acknowledge his years with us.

We saw Harry the K, Bill Giles,   the Phanatic, J-Roll, Lidge and Howard, the Mayor with the trophy and random people we didn't know.  And then they were gone and we were left to hug and high-five each other and smile for the camera and wonder what do we do next.  Many folks joined the throngs behind the parade and walked the 3.5 miles down to the stadiums. 

John and I had a cheesesteak and talked about how great this day was.

We cheered our heroes and took our pictures and held each other, trying to imprint the moment in our memories forever.  And we held open our hopes for more parades.  In January and April and next October.

What a Day!

I'll post more on this later, but today was an incredible experience. The parade was wonderful, the players were gracious, the fans were exuberant.

John and I had a great day watching the Parade of Champions.



Congratulations to the Phils!

A Great Day

I've had some very good days in my life.  Meeting a president.  Making out with a girl the first time.  Winning a scholarship to college.  The day my son John was born.  The day my daughter Emma came home from the NICU.  The day I got married.  The day my divorce was finalized.  Cutting down the nets in the old Sacred Heat Gym at Cabrini.  Playing Torrey Pines.  Driving the Green River Valley.  Sitting in the rain at Fenway.

But none of those days compared to yesterday.  The anticipation built all day.  Coming back into Philadelphia from Toronto, I drove past the stadiums and knew in that instant daydreamed of a parade Friday.  My son babbled for an hour as we drove home and his innocent certainty was infectious.  The Phils were going to win. 

I've been racking my brain all day.  Trying to think of a moment in my life that meant more to me than listening to Harry Kalas on the call as John and I held each other and jumped up and down in rapture.

And the truth is that nothing compares. 

I don't ever want this feeling to go away.

Championship Call

It was great listening to Harry on the call last night. Wheels looks like he has been riding on the short bus his whole life.

World Champions!

We listened to Harry make the call on the radio.  Finally. 

Champions!

Phillies Phever = Insane Ticket Prices

I know it's been 15 years since a World series in this town.  I also know from  economics class that pent up demand for a product or service results in increased prices.

That being said, these Phillies World Series ticket prices are INSANE!  $525 each for standing room?  Actual butt in seat prices starting at $558?  It's no better over on Craigslist, where pairs are going for $1300 each.

I've already resigned myself that the best I will be able to do for the home games is a seat at McFadden's.  Maybe.  My son seems to understand that the ticket prices are outrageous and there won't be a repeat of the good luck we had for the clincher.

If the Rays make the Series, not certain after the Mets impersonation their bullpen did last night, it's going to be cheaper to book a Southwest flight and score a pair of face value tickets to the tomb filled with cowbell ringers in St. Pete.  I mean these guys trap off half the upper deck and call it a sellout when they get 34,000 into a dome that holds 45,000.

The Phils have a place that holds 44,000 and stuff in 46,000 or 47,000 by selling the SRO tickets.  In Boston, things aren't even as crazy as they are here in terms of ticket prices.  There you can buy a World Series ticket to notoriously tight Fenway Park for a mere $495. 

What a bargain!

Go Phils

Friday Fantastic Four

Hello y'all and Happy Phreakin Phriday!

In case you are one of my visitors checking in from around the globe looking for the Kyla Ebbert photos, I need to tell you that this has been a momentous week here at Another Delco Guy.  The Phils won the National League pennant for the first time in 15 years setting up just their fifth trip to the Fall Classic.  If you don't know what that means, visit our friends at The700Level for a full array of coverage.

In honor of this incredible week, We have a sports-themed Fantastic Four this week.

Who are your four favorite athletes?

You can take this one any way you want, from your favorite current Phils, to your favorite athletes from back in the day, to the four hottest athletes, the four best humanitarian athletes, whatever you want.

1. Steve Carlton - the quirky, dominant lefty brought the city its only World Series win
   
2. Cal Ripken - just kept playing and playing and playing
3. Chase Utley - he's old school
4. Ron Jaworski - I remember my dad taking me to Eagles training camp at Widener when i was a kid and this guy was just as affable and approachable then as he seems today on TV

These are the guys that made me the sports fanatic I am today.  Have a great weekend and Go Phils!

Apparently Dumbo Was Unavailable

So the Flyers picked someone just as irrelevant and silly to drop the puck at this weekend's season opener at the Wachovia Center.

Sarah Palin.  Yup.  McCain's disastrous choice for veep will be in Philly again.  I can't say I understand what Ed Snider is thinking.  Why in the world would you pick this twit?  Maybe she's into rich old guys.  Ed Snider.  John McCain.  Both old and rich.  Hmmm.

Come on Flyers fans, show your true colors.  Boo your lungs out!!!

2008 NL East Champs!

2008 NL East Champs!
Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

We were amidst the mayhem last night as the Phils brought home their second straight NL East Division Crown and then unfurled the banner on the field for the 45,122 Phans who got to watch it live. My brother Matt has a nice wrap up over at The700level.com, but I am going to give you the inside story.

My son John and I got a pair of $20 tickets in the 400 level by simply calling the Phils at 10 am. The seats were great. In the third row and on the aisle. We bummed around for a bit, watching college football and then decided we couldn't wait anymore. We packed some rain gear and the camera into the bag we always take to games (Fenway, Camden Yards, Yankee Stadium, CBP, some minor league parks) and headed over the bridge.

Good News

Michael Bradley led off The Jody Mac show on 950 ESPN today here in Philly by saying that Jody should be back next week for the Phils playoff run.

Jody has been home in South Jersey recovering from an August quadruple bypass, so it comes as great news to get a message from him reporting a 20 pound weight drop and to hear he's headed back to the air soon.  I can't imagine the big guy not running out to sneak a smoke on breaks, but he'll have to or risk the wrath of his wife and daughter is my guess.

DFFL Football Underway

The Moorestown Quakers take on Gimpy's Regulators squad today.

Here's my starting lineup and the points projected:

				Points
Pos	Player	Opp		Projected
QB	Carson Palmer (Cin - QB) P	@Bal		15
WR	Jerricho Cotchery (NYJ - WR)	@Mia		8
WR	D.J. Hackett (Car - WR) P	@SD		6
RB	Frank Gore (SF - RB)	Ari		13
RB	Ryan Grant (GB - RB) P	Min		11
TE	Antonio Gates (SD - TE) P	Car		8
W/R	Derrick Mason (Bal - WR)	Cin		5
K	Josh Scobee (Jac - K)	@Ten		9
DEF	Minnesota (Min - DEF)	@GB		10
Total				85

Let's go Quakers and Birds!!!

2008 DFFL Draft Party Review

The boys were back in town last night as Hesse hosted the Second Annual Delco Fantasy Football League Draft party in the luxurious basement of his estate in Aston.  I'm not kidding about the luxurious part.  If I had a basement with a bar, pool table, big screen TV, touch screen computer, wireless access, and comfortable seating, no one would ever see me.

Some notes from last night:

Shane outdid himself with the pork, confirming our decision that we should let him stay in the league despite the taking kickers in back to back rounds problem last year.  The pork was tender and pulled into perfectly-sized chunks, with just the right amount of smoky flavor and spicy bite.  I had 2 sandwiches.  Shane's better half Maria, who thankfully does not share his Chicago Bears disease, improved on her meatballs of last year with an excellent offering in tangy tomato sauce.  I had one of these in between the pork. 

The dessert course of brownies and pound cake with berries and vanilla vodka whipped cream was a bit high brow for this group, but it was needed around the 10th round due to my brother Matt's lengthy deliberations on his picks. 

Mark got us some cases of Sammy Oktoberfest, Yeungling and Yeungling Light.  I like my beer a bit warmer than average, but 90 degrees is a bit outrageous there Mark.  Thankfully, Hesse had thought ahead and there were frosty mugs that brought the beer temp down to 80.  Despite Shane's 7th round scare, the beer did last the whole evening.  Some kind of loaves and fishes thing apparently.

I think it's so sweet that Hesse and his beloved have named their tiny little yapper poodle "Shane."  It's so sweet and appropriate.

Much props to the guys who were using looseleaf notebooks and paper draft guide magazines.  Gotta love the old school!

Apparently Walklett's draft guide magazine was missing the QB section.  Jason Campbell as a starter?  Really??? 

Pete's cats make an awful sound when they get near his computer.  Cats are hereby banned from future drafts.

Congrats to everyone in Arizona for discovering the existence of the internet in round 5 so that Matt didn't have to use his precious iPhone minutes to keep Pete in the loop.  Then we got to listen to Matt and Goot bitch at each other about getting out of the spreadsheet.

Apparently we now know how Matt got though high school.  Anyone catch the late round cheat sheet written on a tiny piece of notebook that apparently went seven deep on the WR chart for him?

We need bigger stickers next year.  Old people like me Claffey can't see that far.

Chris from Regulators has all but obliterated Shane's 2007 drafting mysteries in my mind with his 'double pick' strategy.  First, the 'Double Jones pick' in round 3/4 and then the 'if you can't pick one good TE, why not pick 2 average ones' in round 11/12 left me and some others scratching our heads.  See ya in Week one there, bud!  Care for a side bet?

The best team name goes to Mark hands down this year with "Barely Legal Teens."  The FBI will be by to check your computer later today.

By a unanimous vote I just took, Matt will be required to wear a Dallas Cowboys jersey at all future leage gatherings, as he took both Tony Homo and Nick Fuck.  

And the night was made complete by Maria's appearance and insightful draft analysis. 

Photos are up here!

Thanks to everyone for a great time.

Fantasy FB Geek

Well the Delco Fantasy Football League holds its draft tomorrow night at Hesse's house in Aston.  Here are some great photos showing last year's festivities.  I've been trying to get ready and improve on my 8-6 4th place record last year.  I just missed the playoff by a few points to Goot and I can't let that happen again.

So I have been geeking it up each night, doing fantasy drafts over on CBS Sportsline.  I got my spot, #9, and the guys were really into it, so I think it was a good test.

Here's what I ended up with on this Labor Day:

Pos	Round	Player
QB	4 (#40)	Palmer, Carson (QB CIN)
RB	1 (#9)	Gore, Frank (RB SF)
RB	2 (#16)	Johnson, Larry (RB KC)
WR	6 (#64)	Jennings, Greg (WR GB)
WR	7 (#81)	Galloway, Joey (WR TB)
TE	13 (#153)	Smith, L.J. (TE PHI)
RB-WR	3 (#33)	Bush, Reggie (RB NO)
K	10 (#112)	Folk, Nick (K DAL)
DST	8 (#88)	Vikings (DST MIN)
RS	12 (#136)	Young, Vince (QB TEN)
RS	14 (#160)	Foster, DeShaun (RB SF)
RS	5 (#57)	Stewart, Jonathan (RB CAR)
RS	9 (#105)	Norwood, Jerious (RB ATL)
RS	11 (#129)	Curry, Ronald (WR OAK)

If I can get 3 of the top 30 or so RBs and Carson Palmer, I'll be thrilled.  I'm a bit light in WR, and TEs went crazy fast in this draft, but I think it will be a bit different with the Delco Boys.  We'll know for sure tomorrow night.

Everyone enjoy this last unofficial day of summer.  For all of you fantasy guys drafting tomorow, good luck!

As If the Iraq Thing Wasn't Bad Enough

Army lost to Temple.  The Owls used speed and surprise to stun the Black Knights of the Hudson at West Point 35-7.

I blame Bush.

Some Things

Coach K proves he can coach pro players.

8 alarm fire leaves hundreds homeless, yet the Inqy is worried about the millionaire who built the places.

Michael Phelps is apparently part fish, brings home his 6th gold medal in 6 attempts.

American women take gold and silver in individual gymnastics.  Great photo here.

Phils haven't been this futile since 1962.

Eagles Camp Begins

Up at Lehigh the Eagles rookies and select veterans report today for training camp.

Is it me, or do these guys report earlier and earlier each year?  Between a 6 week training camp, various voluntary mini-camps, several OTAs and the season that stretches from August to January, it feels like the football season never ends. 

I know in Philly that's supposed to be a good thing, but I would prefer for us to get a bit further past the All-Star Break before I need to begin looking at my fantasy football draft lists.

Withdrawl

The night after the All-Star Game is the worst sports night of the year.  Not a game on anywhere.  The British Open doesn't start for 6 more hours.  Hell, I'd watch Olympic Softball Qualifying at this point.

Ok.  No I won't. I'm not that far gone yet.

Apparently the Ichiro speech eventually worked last night and the American League beat the National League for the 723rd consecutive time.  I don't know for certain because i fell asleep about 20 times before the 9th inning.  Brad Lidge took the loss and JD Drew was the MVP.

Could it have been worse for Philly Phans?

Now THIS Might Meake Me Like Soccer

I am not normally a soccer fan, but this report today in the Inquirer caught my interest:

"Austria won, 10-5, over their larger neighbor, but at the end of the game, they had to forego the traditional shirt swap. The reason? Both teams were clad only in thongs."

No THAT's what I'm talking about. None of this nil-nil crap.  Or big sweaty guys running all afternoon up and down the field while the grass grows.  THIS (NSFW) is how it should be done.

No word on when this wonderful new twist on a boring old game is headed to the US.  Perhaps Brandi Chastain will try out for the team.

One Down!

The Phils took care of their end of the Philly sport double-header today, downing the Astros 10-2 behind great work on the mound by Brett Myers.  Things are crazy down here in the stadium area with Flyers fans pouring in and Phils Phans celebrating.

Let's hope the Flyers can hold up their end of the deal tonight and go up 3-1 on the Caps tonight.

Bobby Knight Retires

  Bobby Knight 
  Originally uploaded by dearth85

It came as a shock to me tonight when my brother Matt texted me simply, "Bobby Knight Resigned." 

The ESPN story says a lot, but it doesn't say it all.  He won more games (902) than anyone else, but he did it in a way that created controversy as well as excellence.  He was the best X and O coach ever, but often had to do it without the top level player.

His legendary temper may have driven some of the best players away, but he had the ability to raise the level of everyone around him by simply demanding more that anyone ever had or ever would again.  His mouth got him run out of Indiana.  He ended his career in Lubbock, Texas, having put Texas Tech on the basketball map.

Tonight he walks away from all of that, handing his legacy over to his son and long-time assistant Pat.  The younger generation Knight is a softer rendition of his legendary father.  He coaches in a quieter way, hardly causes a stir in the press room, won't ever throw a chair or take a swing at a cop.

Pat Knight now steps out of his legendary father's shadow.  I only hope his father can live without the glare of the lights and the roar of the crowd.

A Good Time Had By All

Over 100 Cabrini College Cavaliers, family,friends and faithful gathered yesterday at the Nerney Fieldhouse in The Dixon Center on the beautiful campus of Cabrini College for the annual Cavalier Alumni Basketball Game.  More then 35 former Cavs participated in the game, as Coach Keeley's Blue Squad stormed back for a 68-66 victory over my White Squad.

Current Cavalier coach Greg Herenda welcomed everyone to the game and served as a gracious host all day long.  Coach Kelly read a letter from Coach Dzik, who was supervising the festivities as the Peidmont Lions took on Maryville in Demorest, GA.  Also missing was one of the original Cavaliers and great Cabrini benefactor, Tom Nerney, who was down with pneumonia.  Doctor Romano made a surprise appearance and was warmly received.  Doc Girard also made a pre-retirement appearance.

Our thoughts were especially with the Dailey family who lost their son Jeff tragically this year.  Jeff was remembered by his former teammates with a special on our alumni game shirts.   We're also thinking about former Cabrini great Tim Anderlonis as he ships out to Iraq with his Marine unit.  We missed you guys!

Despite the important absences, the game was spirited and played at a good pace, despite several players claiming "colds" and sporting red faces.  Cavs came from far and near, and both experience and youth were well-served.  Beef and Sticks were standouts in the "plus 40" crowd, while point guards Kris Pittman and Coach Saleem Brown distributed the ball well to the shooters all afternoon.

After the alumni dragged their tired butts to the buffet, Coach Bobbi Morgan's women's version of the Cavaliers pounded the Immaculata College Mighty Macs 69-41.  In a well-played game, junior Brittany McLeod led the team with 16 points and 5 rebounds.

The women's game was a harbinger of things to come as Coach Herenda's men's squad came back from an early deficit to stun PAC Conference leader Immaculata, 69-59.  Senior leadership was a key to the Cavs' intensity as Randy Reid and Bruce MacClelland both tallied double figures in points and rebounds.

The Cavs faithful made a quick stop at Christopher's on North Wayne before heading to the Official After-Party at J.D. McGillicuddy's in Ardmore.   Nearly 200 Blue and White faithful packed the second floor party room, feasting on excellent roast beef, mannicotti and not-so-hot wings.  The beer and wine were flowing and I didn't see a sad face all night.  Among the party-only people were Jim (I gave you a parking ticket??) Iacavino, Tim Feeney, Jimmy Welde, Tom Egan, Rob Uff and about 100 others.

It was great to see everyone out for both the game and the party.  Special thanks go out to Coach John Mack, who ran the show so well.  Also to everyone at Cabrini, especially Coaches Herenda and Morgan, who welcomed us back and really "get" what it means to be part of the winning tradition that IS Cabrini Cavalier Basketball.  Thanks also to everyone, especially superfan Paul "WolfPAC" Engle, who tolerated my very excited son John who really loved everyone's welcome to the Cavalier family.

Photos from the game are up HERE.  Enjoy!

The Time Has Come

  Wachovia Spectrum 
  Originally uploaded by kevinmcguire

By now I am sure that you have seen the reports of the demise of Philadelphia's beloved Spectrum to make way for a mixed use commercial hotel and entertainment complex.   There's been much hand-wringing about it in the local press.  I just don't know why.

The Spectrum had its moment.  The moment is over.  It's time to bring the old brown hatbox of a building down and make way for the future of extreme South Broad Street.

I'm not going to say that it wasn't a great building in its time.  I had some great times there, whether they were shenanigans in the musty dimness of the upper level during concerts, cheering on Villanova against Big East foes, or taking my kids to the circus.  It was loud and you were close to the action and it seemed like you knew every third or fourth person there. 

But we all no no one pays to go Phantoms games - every ticket I have ever gotten was free.  And the building seems down at its heels,  smells like a urinal and suffers immensely in comparison to its younger cousin across the parking lot to the south.

Between the ice shows, the Phantons, the Wings and third tier concerts it's used about 125 nights a year.  That's pretty darn good for a second arena in a town, but honestly it's just not enough to get in the way of a project that promises to transform the experience of every sports fan in the region when they go to a game.

The Spectrum coming down will make way for a complex that would include a hotel, bars, restaurants, amusements, more parking and perhaps shopping and a museum.  Aside from the obvious need for a good hotel down there, a multi level garage and new street designs would go a long way to helping out on game days.

Where the proposed development really shines is on off-days down at the stadium park.  Right now the area is a ghost town.  Even McFadden's struggles to draw people when there isn't an event.  If you add shopping, more bars, a Dave and Buster's type place and some shops, you have a place that is viable 365 days a year not just 125.

I'd also like to see a Philadelphia Hall of Fame go into the thinking.  We're losing a big piece of our sports history when The Spectrum comes down, so let's preserve a bit of it by enshrining a few of the banners and some of the other memorabilia of the city ion a museum honoring all of the great sports moments for The City of Brotherly Love.  Granted a few more recent championships would help, but I think that a central location that can bring together all our heroes would be a good draw and could be fun if executed properly.

This kind of project has been done before.  The area around Camden Yards is not a perfect comparison since there is a beautiful harbor and it's in the middle of town rather than being stranded in between a superhighway and a million acres of parking lots.  The project that is going up in St. Louis is more like Philly's, but also has more proximity to down town. 

As with everything in this town, the project would be unique with a lot of hurdles to overcome before it happens.  It will also take careful planning and management to prevent another debacle like New Market, Disney Quest, or Penn's Landing.

Let the wrecking ball swing!

The First Basket

Today the NBA, and basically all of basketball, is dominated by black athletes.  For anyone younger than say 35, it has always been this way in their memory.  So it's pretty hard to imagine that the dawn of the NBA was dominated by short Jewish guys.  In fact, much of the history of basketball until roughly the mid-1950s was centered on Jewish players and coaches.

Did you know that Red Auerbach was Jewish?  That there are dozens of Jewish players and coaches in the Basketball Hall of Fame?  That a largely-Jewish series of teams at CCNY and LIU were a major college basketball powers of the 40s and 50s?

I might have known some of this in the vaguest of senses, as I hail from the town that spawned the greatest Jewish basketball team of all time, the South Philadelphia Hebrew All Stars (SPAHS), but it had been pushed to the back recesses of my mind by the high-flying acrobatics of today's NBA, and even college and high school game.

And then I had the chance to go to the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival's presentation of filmmaker David Vyorst's 86 minute documentary "The First Basket" on Monday night.   Vyorst did a wonderful job weaving together vintage black and white footage of mid-20th century hoops games, modern day interviews of many of the major Jewish players of the 40s and 50s, as well as contextual material on basketball, the Settlement House movement and Jewish-American history.  The film is richly narrated by actor Peter Reigert, who lends his nasal Bronx accent to the images.

The title of the film derives from the fact that the first basket in NBA history was scored by a Jewish player, Ossie Schectman on November 1, 1946 as the New York Knicks beat the Toronto Huskies 68-66 at Maple Leaf Garden in Toronto.   Yup, the first NBA game ever played was played before  7,090 confused Canadians in a hockey arena.    

Vyorst covers the men who made the NBA a force in American athletics, guys like south Philly's Eddie Gottlieb, who owned the SPAHS, the Philadelphia Warriors and ran the NBA into the 1960s.  He interviews Auerbach at length, who tells giant stories of little men though clouds of cigar smoke.  Vyorst spends a great deal of time detailing the accomplishments of Nat Holman, the Hall of fame coach of the CCNY Beavers at their heyday.  He also talks to about a dozen Jewish superstars of the 50s, many who animated re-tell the best stories of the glory days of their youth.  Their stories really carry the film and it was sad to note that several of them passed on before the film was completed. 

The film is a touch New York-centric, though it covers Philly ball a good bit.  There is an inexplicable 15 minutes devoted to basketball in Isreal, which seems a late appendage rather far from the core of the movie.  The Jewish-dominated points shaving scandals of the early 1950s are covered, though briefly.  The later scandal involving Jack Molinas is ignored completely.  David Stern appears, but with little context and one is left to wonder  who he is and why he is there.

All in all it's a very good film, but one is left wondering if Vyorst was making a feel-good film about the heyday of Jewish athletics in America or a true documentary.  It ends up feeling a lot more like the former.   It's a good film that deserves wider attention, and should be seen in the context of the contributions that the profiled pioneers made to today's game, and also a commentary on how much has changed.  Today there isn't a single Jew in the NBA, CCNY is a mediocre team competing among the worst of the Division III teams and LIU is an is a shadow of its former self on the D1 scene.

I'd like to thank my good friend Bob Arrow, the coordinator of the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival for the opportunity to see the screening of "The First Basket."  Bob recently announced that he will shortly retire from his posting at the PJFF of the last six years.  I wish him all the best!

It's On

Fourteen years ago this month, Bryen O'Boyle and I watched Curt Schilling and the Phils shut down the Toronto Blow Jays 2-0 at Veterans' Stadium in South Philadelphia.  It was to be the high water mark of the Phillies franchise for the 27 years since the magical month of October 1980. 

Today, I will be back in South Philly as Bryen and Mr. Greengenes get the crowd pumped up prior to the biggest game in a LONG LONG time here in Philly.  Then I'll be back in the office watching the game online with the rest of the Phils Phaithphul.

I'm hoping Hamels has a Schillingesque day and the Phils take the lead in the series.

I'll have photos and a wrap later today!

LETS GO PHILS!!!!!

2007 NL East Champs!

  2007 NL East Champs! 
  Originally uploaded by The700Level

As a father, yesterday was pretty tough for me. 

My son is a Yankees fan in a major way.  Last spring, we had decided that there was a good chance yesterday would be an important game and that we should be in Baltimore to watch the Yankees clinch the AL East.

It never entered my mind that the Phillies would be back home in Philly clinching the NL East while I watched the scoreboard at Oriole Park.

I wore full Phillies regalia including a bight red shirt and cap.  I got a good number of friendly "Go Phils!" comments and even saw 2 other guys in "P" hats.  The scoreboard operator kept us updated, and between the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings showed video highlights of the Phils scoring. 

In the 8th, they showed the video of the Phils rushing the field and put "Philadelphia Phillies 2007 NL East Champions" up on the big board. 

While I was overjoyed, the major feeling was RELIEF!  We had finally made it.  The long up and down ride of the season was over and we are ready to take care of business.

We clapped and cheered and high-fived and accepted the congratulations of the Yankee fans.  While I wasn't in South Philly, I was happy yo be in a ballpark among the baseball faithful.  I'm meeting some Hummer driving real estate sales man Yankee fan from Westchester county in the Bronx for the World Series in three weeks.  I don't know his name, but we sat in Section 27- yesterday.  I'm sure he'll remember the crazy Phillies fan.  At least I think he will.  He drank a few beers.

I'll see you in Center City at Noon for Mr. Greengenes and the Phils for a rally at City Hall!!!!

Ditto

I was about halfway through writing a diatribe about the Phillies shitting the bed yesterday afternoon and how happy I am that football season is starting tonight before I noticed my brother's post over at the700level.com.

He said it all and better than me, so I will shut up now.

Except to say that I'm taking my fantasy QB Drew Brees and the Saints to win outright tonight over the Colts. 

A Night In Camden

  Fireworks and the BFB 
  Originally uploaded by Cavalier92

There aren't many times when some says that they had a great night in Camden, but we sure did last night!

John, Emma, the GF and I headed over to Camden last night to catch a Riversharks game at Campbell's Field in the shadow of the Ben Franklin Bridge on Delaware River Waterfront.  We saw a Sharks win, fireworks and John got to run the bases.

6,810 South Jerseyans turned out to see the show and I didn't see many disappointed folks.  The minor league teams sure know how to entertain fans, with contests, a merry-go-round (Emma loved it!), three different mascots and a lot of fun.

We had great seats right behind home plate, but not the greatest for photos.  Still, I got a few and they are up.

Coincidentally, we met Bob Nehring, the Sharks' Director of Group Events this morning at Wawa and he was a really nice guy and seems genuinely happy that we had a good night at the park .

Get out to a game before the season ends!

You GOTTA Be Kidding Me

Every year The Sporting News (yes apparently they are still in business) publishes a list of the top sports cities in the US.  This year's list is out, and Philly is 9th.  That in and of itself is a total and complete travesty of a mockey of a sham.  The fact that LA and Phoenix are rated above Philly is it coup de grace however. 

Here's the list:

1. Detroit + Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti
2. New York
3. Dallas-Fort Worth
4. Chicago + Evanston
5. Los Angeles
6. Boston
7. Denver + Boulder
8. Phoenix + Tempe
9. Philadelphia
10. Minneapolis-St. Paul

First on LA.  This city is so pathetic a sports town that they can't even support an NFL team.  The Clippers?  Yeah it's nice they have a minor league hoops team and all, but they are pathetic.  No one besides Jack Nicholson actually goes to Laker games and Dodger fans catch innings 4 though 6 between drinks and dinner.

Yeah I guess you can count USC as a pro football team, but they should be playing aginst all the rest of the teams who pay their player and not against Cal and Oregon.

Don't get me wrong.  I love LA.  Well.  No.  Not really.  I love Laguna and Malibu.  I atcually don't like LA all that much.

But to even think about LA as a sprots town, let alone ahead of Philly is mindless.

Phoenix?  Ok the Suns are cool.  You can catch a hockey game if you want to get a bet down.  Their NFL team is only marginally better than not having one at all.  They've got a good young baseball team and ASU football, but we have to top them in terms of marquee palyers and fan support.

Here's my top ten:

1. Philly
2. NYC
3. Boston
4. Detroit
5. Chicago
6. Denver
7. Dallas
8. Miami
9. St, Louis
10. Indy

We've got great stadiums, incredible college hoops, top notch pro franchises and the best fans in the nation.  'Nuff said.

What's your list?

Hilarious

Anyone catch the presentation of the Breakout Athlete award on the ESPYs? 

Josh Duhamel (6' 31/2") of Vegas fame and Maria 'hottie' Sharapova (6'2") comically towered over Devin Hester (listed at 5'11".  Yeah. Right).

Way funnier than Danica Parick, a horse, Jimmy Kimmel and Jerry Tarkanian in the shower.

Some Things Never Change

I wrote the essay below back in early October, 2004 and stumbled on it today as I was cleaning up some old files.  As I read it I was first amazed that so little had changed on the Philly sports scene in 2 1/2 year and then I became progressively angrier the more I thought about it.

It's a bit long, but I thought I'd put it up anyway as a touchstone to show how much things stay the same here in Philly

October 2, 2004

 

My grandfather had to wait 30 years between Phillies’ championships. At least he got to see two. It was 10 years between World Series losses to Baltimore and Toronto. It’s been 11 since Mitch gave up the home run.

Another season has come crashing to its end; another manager fired, another half-full ballpark, another summer of disappointment closes with no fall baseball. It’s baseball in Philadelphia. It’s the only franchise in history that has lost near 10,000 games. Yet somehow springtime always brings the hope that fades in the summer and falls flat as October approaches.

At the ballpark tonight, it was sticky and raining off and on. It was a terrible night for baseball. Kevin thought it was a nice night, but he also probably had hope that the Phils would win the pennant this year. I never held such illusions. I saw them add talent, but not change the attitude. I saw Ed Wade spend the money he needed to spend to fill the new park, but only because it guaranteed a greater return.  

They didn’t pick up ay pitching in July because it would not help the bottom line. They might have made a bit more in ticket sales for the playoffs, but the higher contracts would have eaten that up. They calculated the return on investment and decided that they had maxed out for the year.

They thought that adding three free agents to an average team would bring the fans into the new park. They looked at the Orioles and the Indians and the other clubs with new parks and saw the money that those teams brought in. They saw those guys even contend a bit. But each team had more to start with. They had more than a few good players. And none of them really did all that much. 

So, like every other year in recent memory, about the time the Eagles begin practice, the interest in the Phillies dies off. I know the talk that Philly is a football town anyway, but I remember 1993 when that team took hold of the city and the Eagles were forgotten. This town likes a winner, and the Eagles are the most consistent winners in town. At times this is a basketball or hockey town. It just depends on who is winning. It’s a baseball town every spring until the local team melts like frozen custard on the Boardwalk in July.

What really bothers me about the Phillies is that I am afraid that the futility is contagious. The Eagles can’t seem to get over the hump. They have talent and coaching and seem poised to do it, but injuries and karma always seem to doom them. The Sixers almost slew Goliath after they finally got their house in order only to succumb to internal disaster and lack of talent when they chased a coach away. Hockey is a mystery to me, but it seems to me that the Flyers and Phillies have WAY too much in common to expect a visit from Lord Stanley any time soon

Even our college teams are afflicted.

Temple football? Does the phrase “fallen and can’t get up mean anything to anyone?” St. Joe’s basketball rode two of the best players in the country about as far as you can, but ultimately two just were not enough to push past the Philly Phailure complex. Villanova? The annual phone card or alumni scandal should be announced any time now.

I hear all over the country what a great sports town Philly is. How we have such knowledgeable fans and all of that.  We are knowledgeable fans. We know all about every team in every league because we have plenty of time to study them since our own teams as so terrible. And I don’t know how loyal we are. I have never been anywhere that there are so many Dallas fans, or Denver fans or Yankees fans. We have been disappointed so often and so deeply that we have begun to shift our affections and allegiances elsewhere.

I was 13 when anybody in Philly last won anything. 14 if you count Rollie’s coked-up kids playing a perfect game. At least when I was a kid though, there Phillies were good and the Eagles were good and the Sixers were good and even the Flyers were good. At least I think they were – I never could follow the puck. My interest was cemented early in life.

What about my son? Will he grow up with only the Eagles as a playoff team? Even then will he know that they will never get to the big game? Will he ever grow to love sports, given that the local examples are so thoroughly unlovable?  

Is there a reason to even hope that he will given how little these teams offer us on an annual basis? I used to lament the giant toilet bowl they played in. Or the fact that the entire Spectrum actually smelled like a urinal. Or that the entire world laughed at the Vet turf. Now I see that those issues were trivial. The real problem is that the leaders of these franchises, the real powers there, simply don’t care about my son and me. They are big money guys with big money goals and winning is nice, but money is WAY better.

Are you going to beg Fitz Dixon for another World Series trophy? Why? He has a pile of trophies. The money pays for the private jet to Palm Beach, not the trophies.

If you read all this far, thanks!

A Club That Seats 43,647

The folks down at Citizens Bank Park have been getting a bit of criticism lately for the the rowdy fans that fill the place, especially for Dollar Dog and College Nights.  There have certainly been some ugly incidents down in South Philly this spring, including hot dog throwing, fights, and general insanity.  I was in the house for the most recent Hatfield Dollar Dog Night, as well as a few other incident-filled evenings this season.  It's not like fights and rowdiness are unusual at Philly sporting events.

We're the guys who threw snowballs at Santa, remember?

But something is different at CBP.

I've had this thought a few other times, but what has happened in the last few years is that CBP has become a key place to go for the young fun crowd. Monday night, there were SCORES of young ladies who were out at the park as their evening recreation instead of going to a bar. That NEVER happened at the Vet.  Of course when the ladies are there, the boys are that much more uhhh ... testosterone-filled.

With cheap prices for the worst seats, good beer and food and a fun team, CPB has become a social destination. 

Basically you end up with a 40,000 seat nightclub. Stuff's gonna happen. The key here is that the CBP folks need to make sure that they have a fun place for the younger crowd, while ensuring that older folks and those of us who go with our kids are also able to enjoy the environment.  More stringent carding by the vendors?  Yes.  Stepped up security presence in the 300 level?  Check.  Family sections with no alcohol?  Probably a plan.

Whatever the solutions, the Phils have to act now or they risk having the crowds start to stay home if the ugliness escalates.

Hat tip to my brother Matt for the post over at TheLevel that got this post started for me.