Micc's Rants and Raves

My RX for the Eagles

2010-01-11T21:12:00.004-10:00

First and foremost, let's begin with a simple statement: the Eagles' collapse at the end of the 2009 season is UNACCEPTABLE. Changes MUST OCCUR. The Defense devolved into something pitiful, so let's start there:

In my fantasy of how to recombobulate the Sean McDermott's defense, I would make some basic moves: I would get Brian Dawkins back from the Broncos. I don't care what you say about Denver's own defense implosion that Dawk appeared helpless to stave off in 2009, the Eagles CLEARLY lacked a "spark" in the backfield...."Macho" Harris looks like he has some talent -- IF he can whip that lump of shit between his ears he calls a brain into some resembling a smart football player (TOO MANY RETARDED plays by Harris this year...not in the missed assignment category, but in the dumbfuck penalty dept.) Quintin Demps and Sean Jones would be thanked for their faithful service and allowed to find employment elsewhere, I hear Detroit might need some DBs. I would resign Sheldon Brown. Not to an extravagant contract mind you, but a solid pay-raise. The man is a WARRIOR, plays hurt and plays well - the closest thing we had to Dawk on the D. A lot of people have a problem with Asante Samuel's tackling ability (or lack thereof). In general: I don't. The man is world-class ball-hawk...how 'bout coming up with the some schemes that play to his ability to free-lance...

As for the Linebackers: I can only say this for 2010: Welcome back Stewart Bradley...I don't think the detrimental effects of Bradley's absence from the line-up this year can be over-stated. The Eagles D went from a having a sideline-to-sideline, three-down MLB would could cover opposing TEs to having, well, let's be a honest, a cobbled together mish-mash of smaller guys used to playing Weakside LB (the WILL position in the Eagles D) and Jeremiah Trotter, who, god bless him, did his best to provide the Eagles D a spark this year. With a healthy Bradley back in the middle, Witherspoon at WILL (yeah, I'd keep him), the Eagles would only have to a find a decent SAM (strongside backer)....the way Gocong disappeared from the D I would be surprised if the Eagles felt he was the long-term answer. Moise Fokou needs seasoning and was clearly overmatched by circumstances this year....HEY HOW ABOUT THIS FOR YA: DRAFT ONE!!!

I think the Eagles have fewer problems along the D-Line....I could be wrong...Aside from Trent Cole, the group played solid, but Clemons clearly isn't a gangbuster and Parker is alright....still the Eagles DL can be effective with the rotation they have....I see the Eagles tapping the draft for another DL this offseason...

Special Teams: Bye bye Sav....Rocca was way too inconsistent this year. Sometimes uncorking punts that looked like kickoffs....other times I think Timmy from Southpark could've done a better job. Akers was solid to great all year. Stay in shape and the Kicking is solid so long as we give Akers time to develop chemistry with a new holder. AND NO, Akers' preference and rapport with Sav would not save him in my world, sorry Dave.

As for the Offense....I am concerned about the O-Line...the loss of stalwart Center Jamaal Jackson so late in the season means he probably won't really be ready to play and be back to his old self for next season. Look at Free Agent pick-up Andrews, ACL tear in December 2008, not really back in the swing much at all this year. Peters will round into shape and I think Stacy Andrews secures the RG position next training camp...Ultimately health will determine the cohesion of the unit, much like this year...Shaky early with Herremanns out, Peaked down the stretch and helped the Eagles to build an impressive win-streak in Nov/Dec, then essentially collapsed with the injury to the C Jackson. The Eagles almost always choose a OL in the draft, and personally I think they HAVE to look at the top-rated Centers....

WR - Easy-peasy here. Jackson and Maclin will form a deadly tandem next year, Avant has the slot position locked down...the only way Brown makes the team is if for salary cap considerations. Like Curtis...still both will compete in training camp and be looking to bounce back from forgettable 2009s...Unfortunately for them, I just don't see it happening.

TE - A healthy Celek, with a nice extension, sweet...I'd really like to see the Eagles pick-up a more blocking-oriented TE, but I doubt they will. HOWEVER, if it were MY TEAM, I would be tracking down one of those dudes who blocks like an extra OL...

RBs - I'd sign Weaver, because he gives the Eagles offense a big-back dimension that simply was not there prior to his arrival. Lesean McCoy will only be better with a year in the system under his belt. There is a lot of scuttlebutt about whether the clusterfuck in Dallas was Brian Westbrook's last game in a Philly uniform. My prescription would have him stay with the Birds. The Eagles need leadership. Yes, they need production, but I give Westy 2010. Let him get fully healthy in the offseason and see if the team can coax a revival year out of him. Its a real shame to think this, because it seems like just yesterday that Brian was this electrifying, spectacular play-maker....Not sure if the old Westbrook will ever be back but I give him a shot after an injury-derailed season.

QB - This is where the axe falls. My Rx calls for the beginning of the Kevin Kolb Era. Its time...Looks at Green Bay, Rodgers was marooned behind Brett Favre, but he flourished this year. 2010 is the last year of Kolb's contract. He played in 2 games this year, and set an all-time NFL record by being the first QB to ever throw for 300+ yards in his first two NFL starts. For me, its time to see what the man can do. Will he make more mistakes? Sure he will. He'll only have 2 games worth of experience...but I tell you what. The man can throw the rock, and he appears to have the accuracy with his throws that will make him a better match for Andy Reid's Offense that the strong-armed, relatively slow release, sometimes touchless throws that plague McNabb and send the offense into fits and starts. I mean, every Eagles watcher is familiar with McNabb's gopher-balls, were he just absolutely drills a laser shot into the turf at the feet of an otherwise wide-open receiver. I didn't get to see the beginning of the Eagles clusterfuck playoff game against Dallas, but from what I've read, McNabb began the most important game of the season is customary form, badly missing on pass after pass. Seriously, how the FUCK does that happen?

After these two consecutive debacles in Dallas, which turned a promising season in utter ashes in the span of 7 days, McNabb said "Blame me, I take full responsibility." OK Dude, much as I love ya, and think you are the best QB in franchise history, I am willing to take you up on the offer. Someone's head gotta roll for this shit, and you just put yours in the guillotine. Personally I am sick of athletes and politicians who offer up the "I'm responsible" claim after something goes wrong, sometimes horribly wrong, and then expect no repercussions. Fine, you responsible. You're FIRED.

Is the Eagles' problem larger than McNabb? Yes. Would trading him "improve the team" for 2010? Not necessarily, but I tell you what, much as I appreciate what McNabb has done for the team, I've had my fill of passes thrown in the dirt. 11-year veteran QBs do NOT wither and blow away like 5 did to end this season. How can the Eagles truly, I mean TRULY, expect to get over the hump with Donovan? This year was his chance to show what he could do with new, faster weapons...the answer is play pretty well, and at times spectacularly....but all these improved weapons did not change the rollercoaster, streaky nature of the Eagles O with McNabb at the helm.

The Eagles Off-Season So Far

2009-03-22T04:26:00.004-10:00

The new just came out that the Eagles signed former Seahawks FB Leonard Weaver to a 1-year "show me" contract. It appears the Eagles finally addressed a roster spot that has sorely lacking and woefully unproductive for the Eagles Offense...they've lacked a real blocking FB since Jon Ritchie, and the guys that have assumed the role, has mostly sucked...(That said, I thought Kyle Eckel did a good job in the second half of last year, and I was more than willing to give the guy a crack at the full-time gig after a full off-season of preparation).

So the Birds have added an OL (Andrews - brother of Shawn), a couple of safeties (take assume the roster spot vacated by Brian Dawkins and Sean Considine.... notice I didn't say replace...Dawk's departure leaves a void no FA can fill), and now a FB.

The thing is - nearly every Eagles player who has become a free agent this year has left the team. The lone exception was Joselio Hanson, but he signed a long-term deal before the FA period started. Everyone else who has tested the waters has flown the nest. And the Eagles has essential made NO attempt to keep any of them. It is quite understandable in the case of Sean Considine and LJ Smith...they've been ready to walk the Green Mile out the door for a couple of years now. And I think the Birds have decided an injection of youth is necessary at the OT position. They did not pursue long-time stalwart LT Tra Thomas at all. The possibility of resigning bookend RT Jon Runyan remains, though it seems quite remote given his ongoing recovery from microfracture knee surgery. If I was a betting man - Runyan will not be back. If the Eagles are willing to let Dawkins go, then you can tell they simply are not going to place much emphasis on locker-room leadership, etc.

And I think that is the thing that burns most of us fans. Letting Dawkins even GET to FREE AGENCY, when the team is literally awash in cap room. Would it really have hurt the bottom line that much to give the guy a decent offer prior to the FA period and preventing his departure from ever even having a chance of occurring? Would it really have been so bad to give the fans that one exception -- that ONE STINKING example of how there is more than just a straight bottom-line to this business that is the NFL, but which has grown to become part of the psyche of all Philly fans? I mean, for Chrissakes, even the Phillies went out this off-season and kept the team together....

Of course I will want the Birds to win, but I want them to win with DAWK, not without him. And the Broncos?? Fuck, the Broncos aren't going anywhere. B-Dawk is going to squander away the last few years of his playing career being part of some "building process" in Denver, instead of trying to get over the hump with the Eagles. That sucks...

To Kill an American

2009-03-09T14:57:00.001-10:00

Not sure if this a true, I haven't verified it on Snopes.com, but you know what, whether it really was written by a Australian Dentist or not: IT IS TRUE

Written by an Australian Dentist:

To Kill an American
You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper, an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.

So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is . So they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!!!!)

'An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish , Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.

An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American is Christian , or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.

An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world.
The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence , which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return.

When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country!

As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan. The national symbol of America , The Statue of Liberty , welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America. Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11 , 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists.

So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo , and Stalin , and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself . Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.

B-Dawk has flown the coop to Denver

2009-03-01T02:43:00.002-10:00

My all-time favorite Eagles player is no longer an Eagle.

It hasn't quite sunk in yet. I'm a bit mad, a bit out-raged, and more than a little bit saddened.

Brian Dawkins WAS the Eagles. He was the epitome of what a football player should be and how they should conduct themselves both on AND off the field.

It would be a lot easier to take if Dawk was retiring, but the idea that he's still going to keep playing, just elsewhere, is a bitter, bitter pill to swallow.

Do I begrudge the Eagles for letting him go? Yep, sure do. Do I hate the fact that money ruled the day and the business-side of the NFL reared its often ugly head? Yep, sure do. Do I think the Eagles are going to regret letting him go? Yep, sure do. Will I still keep rooting for the Birds? Yep, sure will.

Look I recognize that Dawk was more of situational player at this point in his career. I do. Its not like this D is losing a player in his prime, when Brian Dawkins was the predecessor to today's greats like Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu. Fuck, Dawkins, under JJ's guidance, re-invented what it meant to be a safety in the NFL. Does that mean the Eagles D won't be able to recover? No, it sure doesn't. The primary thing the Eagles must find with his departure is leadership and passion. There are few leaders with Dawkins charisma and presence in the NFL. That's why he's worth the money. Not the stats. Still, as uncomfortable as I was in 2007 and early 2008 watching Dawkins play, but just not quite be the same "B-Dawk", I was ecstatic to see his resurgence and gutsy play for the most of 2008. As a few of the writers said, its primarily because JJ decided to modify Dawkins role, and use him closer to the line, more of a Rodney Harrison run-support guy. Brian could still make some plays in the D-backfield, but even a staunch supporter like me knows, deep down, as much as I hate to admit it. He is no longer a sideline to sideline guided missile. He's an adequate pass defender these days, not the roving play-making machine that we all grew to love.

All that said. Given the Eagles cap room. I'd have paid him. and I think that is far and away the majority sentiment for Philly fans. Its one thing if you don't have the space and have to make tough choices and let folks get away. Its another to be sitting on big pile of room, and not commit the $$$ to keep perhaps the greatest defensive player to ever don an Eagles uniform, and if he's not, then Reggie White is, and Brian Dawkins is #2.

Sony's Piece of Shit

2009-02-11T12:59:00.000-10:00

I almost pissed myself laughing at this

Local Detroit Super Bowl Coverage Blasts Millen

2009-02-03T03:20:00.001-10:00

Peep this:
Think the local NBC station in Detroit is still miffed as Matt Millen gross mishandling of the Lions organization during his "worst GM ever" tenure there?

Wolverine is just around the Corner!

2009-01-29T03:42:00.001-10:00

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD

Sapp Criticizing McNabb is like....

2009-01-28T14:25:00.002-10:00

perhaps the most classic case of the "pot calling the kettle black" can be found in Warren Sapp criticizing McNabb for not being in good enough shape.

Sapp, shut your trap and stop embarrassing your own fat ass

Husband Store

2009-01-26T15:52:00.001-10:00

Husband Store

A store that sells new husbands has opened in New York City , where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates:

You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads:

Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs
She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign reads:

Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.
'That's nice,' she thinks, 'but I want more.'
So she continues upward. The third floor sign reads:

Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking.
'Wow,' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.
She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help With Housework.
'Oh, mercy me!' she exclaims, 'I can hardly stand it!'
Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.
She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads:

Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.

PLEASE NOTE:
To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opened a New Wives store just across the street.

The first floor has wives that love sex.
T he second floor has wives that love sex and have money and like beer .
The third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors have never been visited.

Wrapping up a Season as the Eagles Drop the NFC Championship

2009-01-20T18:21:00.005-10:00

First off, I'd like to thank the Eagles for giving us fans a few extra weeks of football when we all thought the season would over shortly after Christmas. If was a fun couple of weeks of playoff football, and way more uplifting than say another season of failure in Dallas, bitter disappointment in NY or god-forbid record-for-the-ages amount of futility in Detroit.

That said, the Eagles 2008 season can be summed up in two words: missed opportunities.

From the personnel miscues before the season ever started: NOT bringing in a big back, keeping the worthless LJ Smith around at TE (and paying him a megabucks 1year franchise amount - oh boy!), not finding a Fullback, and not having a decent blocking TE on the roster...hmmm, see a theme there? The Eagles biggest problems were in the running game this year, and an off-season that saw the Birds to next to nothing (or worse, consider the 4th rd pick for Lorenzo Booker deal with Miami) to address it came back to haunt them.

For every right move: bringing in Asante Samuel to shore up the defensive backfield, the picks of Quintin Demps and Desean Jackson who made instant contributions as rookies, a rarity in Andy Reid era, the Eagles had one of the debilitating counter-moves mentioned above. So instead of moves that put the Eagles over the top for the season, we fans got treated to a roller coaster ride of efficiency and futility.

That is was the Eagles Defense -- rock solid all season and truly exceptional down the stretch and into the post-season -- who gave up the NFC Championship last Sunday after Donovan McNabb engineered one of the greatest comebacks in NFC Championship game history is a story-line that has been (and will be) largely submerged by the McNabb-Reid era failure in 4 of the 5 NFC Championship games.

Does the Eagles offense need more weapons? Probably. Addressing the running game would go a long way to helping McNabb, and I do by the way believe he will be back in an Eagles uniform next year. I hope Andy Reid promotes someone within the organization to help with his front office duties, in order to let him concentrate more on the coaching aspect of things.

Offseason predictions:
Free agent wise: Dawkins in back, no question, as well as at least one of the Eagles veteran tackles. The Birds would be wise to get some youth at the position, and I think that as always the Birds will look to the draft for that. If Shawn Andrews returns from a season lost to depression and back pain, then the Birds will have options at Guard - Slot Herremans out to a OT spot, have MJG return from a broken ankle and may assume the other guard spot (or at least have a stiff competition with Nick Cole who filled in pretty well behind him).

Might the Eagles go for FA wide receiver? Perhaps...I am not sure who will be coming free this year, but that other Bengals WR (not Ocho Cinco, TJ who's-your-momma) could be available. Would the Cardinals part with a disgruntled Anquan Boldin? (who will be even more disgruntled if the Cards don't reward him with a new contract after he busted his ass to return to the team from essentially, a broken face) I don't know, and I don't want to guess. I don't see a huge free agent splash like last year. The Eagles FO likely sees a need to tweak the roster rather than overhaul the roster. So long as the tweaks mean more contributions from the both 1/3 and less instances of supposed contributors like Reggie Brown, Greg Lewis and/or Lorenzo Booker being deactivated...then I am ok with it.

Is Kyle Eckel the answer at FB? He could be, if the Eagles actually committed to getting a FB onto the field. I hope the Eagles concentrate of getting some actual contribution from the position next year.

As for the defense. It is a much easier scenario. The D-Line should remain strong. Expect the Birds to add another DL in the draft, but the 8-man rotation worked pretty well. FA addition Chris Clemons went from bust to bustin-ass in the second half of the season and should (keyword there) pick right up next year. Expect more from him as he enters his second year in the defense. (I guarantee there will be an article during training camp that mentions how much the D has slowed down for Clemons in his 2nd year under Jim Johnson).

At LB I can see the Eagles keep searching for depth. I mean, Gocong, Bradley and Jordan pretty much entrenched themselves as a solid 3-some of backstoppers. Omar Gaither (OG) provides decent depth in case of injury, but who else was on the roster at LB??? The guys who were seemed to be primarily ST guys and never really saw the field at LB. I guess that's a good thing though, mean few injuries and generally good play from the starters.

The DB present some interesting scenarios. Joselio Hanson went from afterthought to pretty goddamn solid nickel CB this year. The Birds should be able to keep him around. Lito is gone. Dunno how or when, but he needs a change of scenery, plain and simple. Its best for all parties involved if he's gone by the draft. The two "Q's" (Demps and Mikell) performed pretty well on the back-line. I wouldn't be surprised to see Sean Considine depart or get beat out for a position in training camp....he's could hang around for ST purposes and as injury insurance however. He is probably on the last year of his rookie contract, which means he's still relatively cheap. (I do not believe he was ever offered an extension). One question: remember that injured CB the Birds drafted last year Jake Iwannagohome (or whatever the fuck his name was, I'm too lazy to look in my own archive). Guys would've been a highly touted CB out of OU if not for the injury that cost him last year if I am not mistaken. I'm pretty sure yet another developmental CB or S is in the draft equation as well.

Oh, and in case you forgot...there is no question about Dawk. One of the greatest Eagles to ever put on the uniform deserves to come back. His leadership is irreplacable. Expect to see the missile numbered "20" flying around the Linc again next year.

Eagles Beat Giants - Now its Onto Arizona!

2009-01-13T00:05:00.004-10:00

I can't quite believe I'm writing this, but the Birds are back in the NFC Championship Game.

I tell you what, in late November, I was talking with my dad after the Eagles coughed up a couple of crappers in-a-row....that miserable (yet oh-so necessary it turns out) tie with Cincinnati and the debacle against the Ravens, and I had to agree with him when he said, "Ant, this just isn't a team capable of winning a championship." It was definitely a dark moment from this year. McNabb looked horrible and the offense simply seemed incapable of mounting anything resembling a consistent, professional offense.

I've watched all the highlights, multiple times, read a bunch of stories about the game, hell, I even Tivo'd the AFN re-broadcast of the game.

There were plenty of talk about the defense on its back-to-back 4th down stands and the gutsy performance from McNabb and the offense. But in all the coverage there is one thing I haven't seen: someone remark on a key play as the 2nd quarter wound down: DT/DE Darren Howard's huge hustle play stopping Derrick Ward short of a first down on a 3rd and 5 with less than 2:00 left. It is the sort of "unsung hero" play that often goes overlooked.

So why did it stick out to me? First off, because the Giants were down 7-5 at the time, but driving for an end-of-the-half score. It was 3rd and 5, and Eli Manning hits Ward on a little swing pass. It looks like a sure first down conversion, but Howard leaps and hauls him down from behind two yards short of the first.

Why does this matter? First off, it stifled the Giants drive and compelled Tom Coughlin to go for the FG and try to take a 8-7 lead into halftime. It also allowed the Eagles to get the ball back with about 1:30, which turned out to be plenty of time for McNabb to guide the Birds down the field with the two-minute offense and set up a David Akers FG as time expired, giving the Birds a 10-8 lead at the half.

Without Howard's tackle, the Giants would probably have run the rest of the time off the 2nd qtr clock, and taken a lead into the half. More importantly, the drive McNabb engineered to end the half wouldn't have happened, at it is that drive which Donovan credited as giving the Eagles the momentum and confidence they had in the 3rd and the 4th quarters. So without that tackle, the Eagles have no confidence building drive and no lead heading into the second half, and who knows where the game heads after that.

That is why I consider Darren Howard's stop my unsung key of the game.

U.S. Navy Directive 16134 (Inappropriate T-Shirts)

2009-01-05T18:22:00.001-10:00

Priceless, and copied from a joke email sent by the parents:

U.S. Navy Directive 16134 (Inappropriate T-Shirts)

The following directive was issued by the commanding officer of all naval installations in the Middle East. (It was obviously directed at the Marines.)

To: All Commands
Subject: Inappropriate T-Shirts
Ref: ComMidEast For Inst 16134//24K

All commanders promulgate upon receipt. The following T-shirts are no longer to be worn on or off base by any military or civilian personnel serving in the Middle East :

1. 'Eat Pork or Die' [both English and Arabic versions]
2. 'Shrine Busters' [Various. Show burning minarets or bomb/artillery shells impacting Islamic shrines. Some with unit logos.]
3. 'Napalm, Sticks Like Crazy' [Both English and Arabic versions]
4. 'Goat - it isn't just for breakfast anymore.' [Both English and Arabic versions]
5. 'The road to Paradise begins with me.' [Mostly Arabic versions, but some in English. Some show sniper scope cross-hairs. ]
6. 'Guns don't kill people. I kill people.' [Both Arabic and English versions]
7. 'Pork. The other white meat.' [Arabic version]
8. 'Infidel' [English, Arabic and other coalition force languages.]

The above T-shirts are to be removed from Post Exchanges upon receipt of this directive.

In addition, the following signs are to be removed upon receipt of this message:

1. 'Islamic Religious Services Will Be Held at the Firing Range at 0800 Daily.'
2. 'Do we really need 'smart bombs' to drop on these dumb bastards'

Eagles Beat Vikes - Now its onto the Meadowlands

2009-01-04T17:38:00.004-10:00

If you're a Philly fan, you gotta love the grit the Eagles showed today in Minnesota. They stymied the best back in the league, Adrian Peterson (sorry B-West, he's earned the moniker, just like you did last year), for 19 of his 20 rushes. AP gained 83 yards on 20 carries, with a nearly half coming on a big 40 yard TD run in the 2nd quarter. So that respectable 4.1 yards per carry average for the game looks good, but take that run away and its 19 rushes for 43 yards...a little more than 2 per...not so hot, and it very much favors the Eagles.

Video highlights are available here

Merrill's Reese's call on Westbrook's 71-yard screen pass TD still gives me chills and get me fired up, hours after the game.

I cannot help it.

Other things I noticed in the game:
Asante Samuel coming through and earning that big paycheck. How many high-priced free agents have just sorta fluttered around, weighed down by the big wallet??? A.S. may have dropped a few INTs earlier in the season, but he's coming up pretty big down the stretch, and his Pick-6 of Minn. QB Tarvaris Jackson in the 2nd quarter proved to the game-winning points, and it was a huge boost for the Eagles, because prior to that huge turnover the Eagles had had to settle for FGs on all their drives....and putting up "3's" in the playoffs usually ends as the losing formula. That play got us a big 7 points and meant the Eagles took a lead into the half (they led 16-14 instead of trailing 14-9)....
Sheldon Brown DROPPING another gift INT in the second half. My man can lay the lumber from the CB position, but this season, he can't hold onto the ball...He must be trying too hard.
Brian Dawkins flying around the field annihilating fools in the first quarter. Talk about setting a tone. A few hits like that on B. Jacobs and the ball is definitely going to be flopping around on the turf a few times next week.
The D-Line, but in particular, Trent Cole, who was all over the place. I don't recall any sacks by Cole, but I paid attention to the D-Line today, and they refused to get pushed around by the Viking's O-line. They set a good edge against the Vikes running attack, and they were a lot of plays blown up in the backfield.

DeSean Jackson - the Eagles resident Mighty-Mite WR/KR really contributed to the win today. After a few heart-breaking drops against Washington a couple of weeks ago, DJ worked that lil speedster mojo for two awesome punt returns (setting up a FG, and what SHOULD and WOULD have been another scoring attempt except for the McNabb fumble)
speaking of Five - I think the folks that were calling for head might just be changing their tune. Besides the fact that the owner of the team just told the Boston Globe that he's going to be sticking around, there will still be people who would like to see McNabb traded in the off-season. And I fully admit, his play in mid-season sucked balls, and he needed to see the bench. His response since the benching has been phenomenal, and he's been a more mature leader ever since. Does he still have some fun? Sure. But I see less dicking around and little more "we got a job to do" from both him and the team.
Correll Buckhalter, the Eagles #2 RB put the Eagles in position for a FG early with a nice 27-yard run in the first quarter, and then promptly "disappeared" as the Birds did not dial up his # much at all after that. Why you ask, apparently he was taking the FB reps in place of a dinged by Dan Klecko and that just dictated him not seeing the ball much. They cannot forget about Buck next week though.
And of course, Brian Westbrook, who broke the game open with a huge 71-yard TD reception in the 4th quarter. Pretty much stuffed all game long, I really have to credit the Eagles for continuing to feed B-West the ball and get him the touches, because we all know what he can do, and some games its just a matter of time.

Speaking of coaching patience, I was afraid, really afraid Andy Reid & Co. were going to abandon the run and just go into pass-pass-pass mode once it became apparent that the running game just wasn't going to be very successful earlier today. But to his credit he didn't. Did the Eagles pass more than run. Sure did. But the Birds O kept dialing up runs, even late in the game and I think it kept the Viking's defense honest. I think that made a real difference. Next week should be different, as the Giants don't have the same Run D that Minnesota boasts...though they are pretty damn good, and we'll need to stay committed and get better results, to win next week.

But for now, Philly fans can dream of what might be for another week. And after things looked so bleak just a few weeks ago, that's really not such a bad thing.

Happy New Year! It's 2009!

2008-12-31T17:13:00.004-10:00

Lots of stuff I've wanted to blog about but haven't found the time to...so as Christina's iTouch transfers songs so my computer, I figured I'd take the time to type some stuff out.

First off, it's already 2009? That is mind-boggling.

New Year's Resolution: Lose weight and be a better husband

...are we supposed to make this stuff known? oh well, who cares.

Anyway, I need to do a better job balancing work, play and home....and it can be tougher than one might think since I do them all in the same place. Work out more, aye aye....should be THAT hard to do (right?)...the other part - concerted efforts are already underway.

Been away for little bit, (not that you'd know, since this is a static post....)...I just bought my nephew R2D2 for his birthday, which is January 5th. I sure hope he likes it, but I have a feeling that a voice activated Artoo will be a hit. Especially since Zack got Clone Wars Light-saber battles for the Wii for Christmas.

The '08 Christmas "Haul"

2008-12-25T01:15:00.004-10:00

Well, once again Santa was quite generous to the Miccarelli household.

The "Boys" probably got more treats than any other canine in Japan. Plus they made themselves right at home in the new throws and blankets we got for Christmas:

Meanwhile, I had quite a haul: a personalized Eagles jersey, a robe, slippers, Eagles blanket, a bunch of news TV series DVDs (Christina always goes overboard on those), a couple of Phillies t-shirts! (HA, I think I got more Phillies stuff for Christmas than Eagles stuff - that'd be a first!), and some Alaska stuff (incuding a sweet cutting board).

The "biggie" was the new 120Gb hard drive for my XBox 360 and Christina getting a copy of Fable II for both of us. I also got Resistance 2 for the PS3 and we got each a decent amount of new Blu-ray movies, including all the "superhero" ones: Iron Man, Hulk, Batman: Dark Knight, and Hancock.

After all the gifts were opened up, we had a LOT of "stuff" laying about, as you can see here:

So we got all that cleaned up, and then made the Christmas ham, and Christina made a great bread pudding, and we had "too good" a meal and watched Wall-E, which is yet another awesome Pixar movie. Neither of us had seen it before, so that was nice.

I also transferred all my stuff to the new Xbox harddrive, and began installing my favorite games directly to it, which should save on some wear-n-tear on the system. Then we went and saw "Four Christmases" at the base theater, came home, and I started uploading videos and that sorta thing, while Christina watches another movie I got her: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. That sorta bring this blog right into the here and now....
So I will embed another cute video from this morning

Eagles Stay Alive in Playoff Race

2008-12-15T22:16:00.005-10:00

Well the Birds didn't get that much help this weekend. Atlanta beat the Bucs and Dallas man-handled the Giants....so the Eagles' path to the playoffs is officially out of their hands. They have to win-out (That means beat the Redskins in Washington and Dallas in Philly -- no small task) and get help in the form of either a Falcons loss or a loss by Tampa Bay....because if the Bucs and Falcons both win-out, they'll be 11-5 (imagine that, three 11+ wins in a single division, and would squeeze out the Birds, as their best possible record in 10-5-1 (oh damn that Tie with Cincy!!)

The good news? The Redskins blew their season on Sunday by losing 20-13 to the aforementioned Bungles...and the Saints? They got toasted by Chicago last Thursday night, so they're out as well...

The bad news? A little strife in "mi casa" because I will rooting for the Vikings beat the Falcons next weekend, which would devastate the division hopes of the Chicago Bears (hometown team of Mrs. Ranter....). I don't like "rooting" for something to happen that would screw with the Bears, but its pretty much how it has to be...The Eagles need some help and I will take it anywhere we can get it.

But what about the Eagles games versus the Cleveland Browns???
They squashed the Brownies 30-10, but it wasn't a complete white-washing. The Eagles scored just 2 TD in 7 trips to the red zone, so its no joke to say the Eagles could (or even SHOULD) have scored 40+ in this game.

The KEY play to the game though came on yet another end-of-half gaffe by the Eagles. Twice this season the Eagles have executed an excellent two-minute drill and gotten within scoring position for a FG. TWICE the opposing team (first the 49ers, then the Giants) have blocked said FG and returned it for the TD. Now the Eagles have some survived those huge momentum swings and won both games, but its an ugly, ugly, disheartening thing.

This game shaped up to have a similarly devastating end: The Eagles drove the ball on the Browns and were looking to add to a 17-3 lead....Westbrook just barely missed the end zone on a run and the Eagles were forced to take their final timeout with :09 left in the half. So on a 2nd and a foot the Eagles tried a fade route to Hank Basket...the problem, it wasn't much of a fade, and the CB snatched the underthrown pass and started streaking up the sideline...the O-Linemen missed him and there was only one man with a shot at preventing another late-half blunder-turned-TD: Westbrook...#36 had the angle and chased the Brown Db down the sideline and made him slow up...the Db gave Westie a pretty decent stiff-arm and broke free inside in the Eagles 30 yard-line, but it gave Basket and TE Brent Celek time to catch up and shove the guy out-of-bounds at the 5-yard line and saved a sure TD.

Why was that important? It kept the score 17-3 for one thing, and with the Browns getting the ball to start the second half, the last thing the Eagles needed was the Brownies going into the half-time only down 17-10 and feeling like they were right in the thick of a game that has no business being in.

Well Westbrook prevented that from happening.

My other star players:
McNabb - precise from the get-go, Dononvan may have thrown that one bad pass, but overall, he threaded some serious needles last night, including an awesome strike to Kevin Curtis for a TD on the Eagles first drive of the game.
Stewart Bradley - he made some key stops in the run game and finally nabbed an INT this season, after closing real close earlier on
B. Dawk. - He played another solid game and my favorite Eagle of all-Time recorded his 181st game played for the Birds - breaking the team record of Harold Carmichael.
Jason Avant - Had a record day for him and he came up with big 3rd down catches all game long.

Birds Still Have Life

2008-12-08T01:52:00.003-10:00

I got up at 01:30 Monday morning to "prepare" for the Eagles-Giants tilt today/yesterday. That may seem absurd until you realize it is just 90 minutes before game time here in Japan. Hey, I need time to make some friggin' coffee and wake the hell up, ya know.

Well I am very happy to report that unlike the past few early Monday morning, the Eagles did not play like I feel getting up in the middle ass-crack of the night. They played with a calm, methodical "let's get it done" attitude with a surprisingly patient, and ultimately effective balanced offensive attacks that managed to squeeze out 20 points in a wind-blown Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands. By contrast, the defense played agitated and pissed off, a stark turn around from the relatively meek front that allowed the Giants 400+yards and 36 points just a month ago.

Heck, it is wasn't for a garbage time drive and late TD that made the final 20-14 score seem a lot closer contest that it really was, the Eagles D would've pitched a shut-out. Heck they did for the first 59:45 of the game -- the lone Giants score prior to the last second TD was a blocked FG returned for TD.

And as the game rolled along, I saw some things I haven't seen in a long time: The Eagles give another team a dose of its own medicine - balance offense and stingy D. The Offense was really the key. They actually played an effective, ball control game against one of the better defenses in the league. Case in point: The Giants' blocked FG at the very end of the first half gave them a huge momentum boost going into the locker-room. But the Eagles had played it smart, and would be getting the ball to start the 3rd quarter. The kicker (pun intended): The Birds would have to go against the wind in the 3rd qtr and play with the wind in the 4th...So the Eagles needed to keep the ball away from Eli Manning and the Giants O in quarter number three to prevent NY from capitalizing on its blocked FG and using the good wind to engineer a drive and seize control of the game.

So I, nay we, finally got to see what I am sure many of us wished for countless times this season - The Eagles showing they have to ability to DRIVE the ball when they really need to. The situation didn't call for McNabb to come out slingin' it against the wind, and I was preparing myself mentally for the big let-down and watching 5 throw a flutterball or watching the Eagles simply unable to get that all important first down. And boy, was I happy to be disappointed!!! The Eagles came out and controlled the clock, ramming the ball down the Giants collective throats...YES the initial drive ended in another failed FG attempt against the wind, but it chewed over 7 minutes off the clock and served notice that the Eagles weren't about to let the Giants keep the wind in their sails.

The Giants got the ball at 7:57 (there's that time again) and held onto it for a whopping 3:18 over the course of 6 plays before a punt. Whoop-de-doo. The Eagles took the ball back and kept in the 13-minute mark of the 4th qtr, because that was when Westbrook put a big "fuck you" stamp on the game for the Giants with a back-breaking 40 yards TD reception on a 3rd and 11 play.

The Giants would have one more chance, and it came on their next possession. They drove the ball a little , held onto to for little bit going against the wind in the 4th, but blundered to their 3rd failed 4th down conversion attempt to hand the ball back to the Eagles 4 minutes later. And what happened then. Eagles leading by 10, 17-7, with 9 minutes left in a critical ball game? Well, the way this season has generally gone, I think most of us wouldn't have been surprised to see the Eagles try 3 straight passes and then punt the ball back with something like 7:30 left on the clock and Eli readying the troops for another run at the Eagles D.

But lo' and behold, something miraculous happened. The Eagles RAN THE BALL, actually it was a nice balanced mix, but the Eagles ground out the clock, churning 7 of the final 9 minutes off the clock with the sort of punishing ground game most of us would normally credit the Giants with having and scoff when mentioning the Eagles offense. The drive ended with another Akers FG, giving the Birds a 20-7 cushion.

The Eagles then gave the Giants 70 garbage time yards playing prevent D...yeah it skewed the yardages stats (but heck even with the final 70 the Giants only amassed 211 yards *only 8 more than Brian Westbrook had all by himself!), but it was sacrifice the Eagles were willing to make because they played a yards for time game with the Giants O. The Eagles gave up the middle of the field because it ragged the clock down and refused to allow the quick score. By the time the Giants O managed its first points of the game there were just :15 ticks left on the clock. So while I HATE the prevent D. It did the job today.

So now the Eagles stand at 7-5-1, and you know the strangest thing of all, they are back in the NFC hunt. Sure the Giants won the division by virtue of the Cowboys woeful come-from-ahead loss to the Steelers later in the afternoon, but the Eagles are by no means as out of it as they looked just two weeks ago. Losses by the Falcons (8-5), Cowboys (8-5), Redskins (7-6 and now a half game back of Philly) have created a veritable log-jam. Toss in the 7-6 Bears and 7-6 Saints, and the loser the Carolina-Bucs game on Monday night, and there will be at least 7 teams vying for two spots down the stretch. Whew...holy crap, and the Eagles play two teams they'll have to beat out...plus the NFC will be playing each other...so we'll see who can stand the heat as the weather gets colder.

The "Gold Standard" More Like Bronze

2008-11-17T00:07:00.003-10:00

The Eagles have achieved something I've wished very hard would not happen: after years of being an elite team, and the past several kind-of on the cusp of being good but not the record reflect it so much because of various reasons, it is now undeniable: MEDIOCRITY has nested in the Linc.

When the Eagles were first sputtering to start games, I thought, its just a passing phase (pardon the pun - I know how the Eagles complete and total abandonment of the run game is galling to most fans). You know, it happens on occasion. We've all been witness to McNabb having a slow start and then warming up...but this is near constant folks. EVERY FUCKING GAME starts the same way, with the Eagles offense looking like a bunch of guys who just getting together for their first practice at the Eddystone bar league. I mean sleepwalk is not an apt description because I've watched enough HOUSE to know that sleepwalkers occasionally DO THINGS while they're walking around as if they are awake.

The Eagles offense is like a lump.

Today was particularly egregious. I've lamented for a little while to my Dad that the Eagles don't call those easy plays early on to give McNabb a few simply completions, get his confidence up, gain a few yards and get into a rhthym. Marty Mornhinweg tried that today. IT FAILED. Miserably. Easy pass out to the flat...D'oh, Flanker hitch completion for no-yards-gained, check, then another badly missed incompletion, and BOOM went the punt, and out came the groans.

The rest of the quarter was no better. The Eagles piled up all of something like 5 FUCKING YARDS in the entire first quarter, yet after the game McNabb professed confidence. After settling for a 13-13 tie with the short-handed 1-8(and-1) Bengals, having the QB be all like "we did some good things out there", "we have some things to iron out", or "we'll go back to the film room and see where we have to improve" (try everywhere fucktard) is insulting. I think I have a pretty good idea now what that queer, something-is-not-right feeling guests aboard the Titanic must've felt when they keep hearing the announcements from the captain that everything was ok.

Everything is NOT OK. The Eagles stand at 5-4-1. Not disastrous, no. But in LAST PLACE to be sure, and unable to summon even a shred of willpower on offense to make enough plays to beat a team that was begging to get beat. You know how the Eagles offense responded, but rattlin' its own cup along the cell bars, demanding an early execution. By my recollection, the Eagles defense got the ball back for the Eagles offense 4 times after the Eagles tied the game 13-13 with about 5:00 minutes left in the 4th quarter. At least 4.

The Birds did nothing. Unless you count embarassing themselves as doing something. (I Don't)

I could go on.
Failure to convert on 3rd and short - Check (one exception being a 4-down QB sneak)
Drive/momentum killing dropped passes - gotta have me some of those in there!
300+yard passing game for the QB, but no running attack whatsoever - Woohoo - right on schedule!
The Offense not realizing the game has started and begin playing until the 2nd quarter - yup, all too common now.

Fuck the Eagles are a frustrating team to watch right now.

The Phillies WIN the World Series!!!!

2008-11-16T11:59:00.002-10:00

The Phillies won the WORLD SERIES.

or as Chase Utley put it during the parade: WORLD FUCKING CHAMPIONS!!!

OMG, what a load off the shoulders of Phillies fans everywhere....

I shoulda blogged about this weeks ago, but the euphoria still hasn't worn off

The Phillies Does Their Part and Cap Off an Incredible Sports Weekend in Philadelphia

2008-10-26T23:47:00.007-10:00

What more can I say? ::

THE PHILLIES ARE ONE WIN AWAY FROM BEING WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!

wow....what a way to end an incredible sports weekend for Philly fans...

Above: Whoddathunkit?? Phils pitcher Joe Blanton has more home runs, hell, more hits, than the Rays #3 and #4 (Carlos Pena and Eva Longoria respectively) hitters combined. Hee hee...

First the Flyers get off their season-opening schnied by waxing the Devils in a home-and-home on Friday and Saturday night...then as the Flyers are polishing off the Devils for the second time in 24 hours, the Phillies are just starting their assault against the Tampa Bay Rays....going long into the Saturday evening and early Sunday (Game 3 ended at 01:47) and securing a 5-4 win.

Then the Eagles come off their bye and handle a very game Falcons team 27-14...and as Ashley Fox, an almost unheard phenomena struck the Linc: Phillies chants at an Eagles game!!!

Brett Myers said this of the pre-game warm-up: "I went out to throw a bullpen today," said pitcher Brett Myers , a man who has dreamed of this night for seven seasons. "And I heard one of the greatest things I've heard in a long time. "It's 4:15 in the afternoon. The Eagles are playing across the street. There's 2 minutes left. And I'm hearing Phillies chants. And that's weird, man. I'm used to hearing Eagles chants all these years. So to hear that, it gave me chills. It told me, 'These people are ready to go.' "

Then the Phils step-up in the hot glare of prime time and lay a whuppin' on the Rays 10-2....fed by Ryan Howard's two towering home runs (a three-run and a two-run shot), the first of which ripped open a close 2-1 game in the 4th inning and gave starter Joe Blanton a nice cushy 5-1 edge. He quickly gave up a solo shot to the Rays in the top of the 5th, but then right in the bottom of the inning he got it right back, and "Joltin' Joe k.o.'d a 93mph heater from Ray's pitcher, I can't remember who...what I can remember is that a hefty pitcher in Phillies pinstrips jacked a non-doubter in the 5th inning of Game 4 of the World fucking Series!!

As Sam Donnellon writes: Blanton did his usual thing last night: Six innings, two runs allowed on four hits. He worked quickly. He threw strikes, he struck out seven and walked two. He created a pace that finally loosened the grips on the Phillies' bats, or at least created the unfamiliar sights of consecutive hits, and a home run to leftfield off the bat of Ryan Howard.He also hit a home run, the first by a pitcher in a World Series in 34 years. And when he walked off, it wasn't yawns."My job is not to go out there and hit home runs," Blanton said. "My job is to go out there and throw the ball well and give my team a chance to win. And when you hear that applause coming off the mound after pitching, you kind of get that sense you did your job."

This is a guy most everyone groaned about when GM Pat Gillick picked him up at the trade deadline in July. Hell, it barely registered on my radar...I don't pay much attention to baseball. The season is too long for me to get emotionally invested like I do with the Eagles....I just figured the Phils had a chance to go get a real top-of-the-rotation stopper and decided to go for the cheaper alternative...I was wrong...the Phillies went for a competitor. Blanton competes when goes out to the mound, and the Phils responded, and going 12-4 (counting post-season) in games he's started since coming here from the A's.

Well all he did was win the biggest game in the past 15 years for the Phillies...hopefully it will soon be remember as only the 2nd biggest game in the past 15 years, as Cole Hamels goes to the mound tonight to try and close out the series...

I mean, Philly hasn't been this close, in...in...well fuck...I can't even tell you when...The Eagles SuperBowl run was awesome, but it was a single game, and the Eagles squandered early chances to score TDs in the first quarter, and we Iggles fans got that all-too-familiar creeping feeling of dread deep in our gut that we'd pay for it (and we did).

So it is not without some trepidation that we await the start of Game 5...it is scripted just as we'd want it...Staff ace Cole Hamels is our best pitcher, and we can close out the World Series at HOME! How perfect would that be....but first things first...we need to pitch, hit, run, and catch better than the Rays for 9 more innings. Now is NOT the time for celebration....I know we can't help but anticipate it....leading 3-1 in the World Series is certainly better than the alternative (we could be using our rosaries to pray for an improbably 3-game comeback by the Phillies instead of anticipating a trip down Broad Street.)

Come on fellas, bring it home...and if you do, you might just hear me cheering all the way from Japan!

Eagles Do Their Part, Polish Off the Falcons 27-14

2008-10-26T10:25:00.004-10:00

Well folks, the Eagles did their part to secure a Sunday to be remembered....now all we need is for the Phillies to take care of business and cap Sunday night with another victory in the World Series.

Quick thoughts about the Eagles-Falcons tilt:
- OMG did the referees bone that muffed-punt call with 2:22 left...Replay would've overturned the call, but new Atl coach learned a valuable lesson - SAVE on of your timeouts...he really had no reason to call the 3rd time defensively...he could've just let the clock tick to the 2:00 warning and still had plenty of time and a timeout. Instead he burned it to save :22...and wound up losing the game because of it.
- OK, how does Westbrook torch the Falcons for 167 yards rushing and 2 TDs, yet we can't score from the 2, or gain 2 yards to salt the game away and get that critical first down (just prior to the Eagles punt that the ref's blew the call on
- BTW, I am not in a generous mood. I am not giving the call back. I'll take a win any which way.
- Matt Ryan is the real deal. Most rookie QBs are befuddled by Jim Johnson's defense, but Ryan was pretty collected. Did he make mistakes? Sure...but he was not lost out there, and he battled through the tough times. Atlanta is a door-mat no longer.

Did you see?
- The whiplash/concussion hit Lawyer Milloy laid on LJ Smith? Mr. Milloy should expect to be writing a decent size check to the NFL later this week.
- Part time FB/Part time DT Dan Klecko trying to block in the first half. He tried to help Jon Runyan with a chip block, and basically chipped the Atl DE away from Runyan and allowed the guy to dive to the inside and sack McNabb...oopsie....
- Lito giveth and Lito taketh away - Lito was both Goat and Hero on the same drive...first he committed a pass interference that set up the Falcons for a potential score...then he comes up with a huge pick on ATL QB Matt Ryan who fluttered a jump ball.
- Then Lito made three straight plays to try and prevent the Falcons from scoring late in the 4th qtr...I believe the Falcons eventually converted the 4th down Lito's play forced, and then scored, but it wasn't his fault. Lito played his ass off in the second half.
- The absolutely HORRENDOUS roughing the passer call against DE Trent Cole in the first quarter. Cole busted inside, didn't really leave his feet, and planted his face in Ryan's chest just a Ryan let go of the ball and took him to the ground....TWEET, out comes the yellow flag...no helmet-to-helmet...none of the that shit, just a solid, football tackle...You know if defenders cannot even do that to the QB, they might as well just redshirt the QB and put two flags on their hips....

More later

Phillies Win Game 3 - and an Epic Sunday is on the Table

2008-10-26T00:23:00.003-10:00

The Phillies won one heckuva baseball game last night. I really thought that blown call by the umpire in the 7th inning was going to be one of those "talk about it forever" calls, because it really looked like the Rays were going to ride that gift to an improbable comeback.

The Phillies had just taken a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning off back-to-back jacks by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. And the ageless Jamie Moyer comes to the mound in the top of the 7th and the first batter bunts down the first base line...Moyer flies towards it, dives and scoops the ball with his glove directly to Ryan Howard at first who snatches it bare-handed about a quarter-step before the running touches first....and the umpire calls his SAFE!!! Citizens Bank Ballpark about exploded in rage....Then the next batter doubles, and the Rays have 2nd and 3rd no outs....Two groundouts score the runners and instead of going into the 8th with a 3-run cushion like they should've, its a one-run ball game. The Rays manufactured another run in the 8th, and suddenly, there is no Brad Lidge coming in to hammer down the save in the 9th, rather its J.C. Romero looking to make sure the Phils don't have to score to tie the ball game in the bottom half of the inning.

Well he did his job
And the 9th inning went something like this: Rays reliever J.P. Howell hit Bruntlett with a pitch to start the inning. Enter Grant Balfour , who threw a wild pitch that caromed off the backstop to catcher Dioner Navarro , whose throw trying to get Bruntlett skipped into center field. With Bruntlett on third, the Rays issued two intentional walks and brought in right fielder Ben Zobrist for a five-man infield.''It looked like they were about to blitz,'' quipped Howard. Ruiz followed with a 22-bounce dribbler down the line and third baseman Evan Longoria charged. He dived for the ball, and rushed an underhanded flip home that sailed over Navarro's head. The single was just the Phils' second hit in 33 chances with runners in scoring position this Series. The Phillies rushed from the dugout to congratulate Bruntlett at the plate and Ruiz at first base.

And chaos ensued across the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. I mean this is the first World Series win in Philly in 15 years. And it gives the Phils a 2-1 lead in the series...a series Phillies fans hope never returns to Tampa Bay. If we can take care of business tomorrow, er, later today, then hoo-boy, we could have Cole Hamels coming into start game 5 with a chance to clinch the World Series in Philly!!!??? OMG...that would be awesome...

But before we get ahead of ourselves, there's some business to take care of. Game 4. And does Sunday ever have the potential to be a great day for Philly fans.

The Eagles take on the Atlanta Falcons at home at 1pm EST
The Phils place next door a few hours after the conclusion of the game at 8:22EST

South Philly is going to be rockin' ALL DAY LONG! I wish I was there. But I'll take a couple of Ws tomorrow that for sure. Bring it home fellas!

A PET'S TEN COMMANDMENTS.........

2008-10-23T13:56:00.001-10:00

1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.

2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.

3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.

4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.

5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.

6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.

7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.

8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.

9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.

10. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.

~Be thankful for your pets. Enjoy and take good care of them.

Life would be a much duller, less joyful experience without the critters.

~Now please pass this on to other pet owners. We do not have to wait for Heaven, to be

surrounded by hope, love, and joyfulness. It is here on earth and has four legs!

NOOOOO!!!! Rudy Ray Moore Passed

2008-10-22T11:01:00.005-10:00

It is a sad, sad day as the living legend and creator of Dolemite, Rudy Ray Moore, passed away.

Rudy Ray is probably the grandfather of rap, but I grew to love his blaxploitation flicks, like Avenging Disco Father:
and Dolemite:
My friends and I would go grab some "forties" of Olde English 800 or Colt .45 and get down with the King of Action and hilarity....

Nothing and I mean nothing beats watches Dolemite tumble out of a rich white guys bedroom window (After bangin' his wife) and go tumbling down a steep hill, only to get to the bottom and have Rudy Ray "check out dis good shit" and rewind the film back to the top so you can watch it again in slo-mo. Its little touches like that which made Dolemite II: The Human Tornado (pronounced Ter-nada) such a classic as a "one man disaster."

Ah, "one man disaster" - never has a movie poster been more appropriate to the content of its film.

The Phillies are Going to the World Series, and other odds and ends during an Eagles Bye Week

2008-10-17T00:44:00.005-10:00

Wow folks, the Phillies have phinally done it...15 years after the beloved Summer of '93, when the likes of John Kruk, Darren "Dutch" Daulton, Curt Schilling, Jim Eisenreich, Pete Incaviglia and Lenny Dykstra captured the hearts of Philadelphia fans everywhere, the Phils are going back to the World Series.

I fully admit...the baseball season is way too long for me to invest myself emotionally in the Phillies. And I've derided them for years about not being interested in truly putting a winning product out on the field...but it was really great to tune in Comcast the other night on my Slingbox and see the city going nuts after the Phillies clinched the NLCS 5-1 against the Dodgers.

I mean the sense that this team has a real chance just pervades a Philadelphia sports fan senses right now. We can't think of anything else right. This is the perfect week for the Eagles BYE....well maybe not perfect....next weekend, when the Phillies are actually playing the game would be better, but...with no football to take our collective minds off the upcoming Series...the city is just going to be bubbling with baseball phever.

This team has a lot in common with the 1993 squad. Plenty of power, clutch hitting, and ability to comeback from any deficit...and you know what...our pitching is probably better than that team. How long has it been since our bullpen has been this rock solid? I dunno...1980, maybe?

Now I am not going to get too excited, but with the Philadelphia Soul winning the Arena football crown earlier this year, maybe they broke the ice for the big boys to breakthrough.

Other thoughts:
- I agree with some the Philly writers and Comcast analyst Brian Baldinger that the Eagles even thinking about trading for Kansas City TE Tony Gonzalez is a bad sign. I mean, didn't we put the franchise tag on L.J. Smith? Where the fuck has this guy been? I remember reading an article defending his play, saying the Eagles were keeping him into block and not throwing his way that often. Hmmm, I wonder why that is? Perhaps because any throw to LJ has about a 50/50 chance of clattering to the ground...Still, if you're going to inquire and admit the position needs help, you might as well go through with it and bust a move to get the guy in here.

- Good thing for the Flyers the Phillies are doing so well. I don't think Philly fans are even aware that the NHL season has started, let alone the fact that the Flyers are winless in their first four games. Hey fellas, your grace period has two, three weeks, tops!! That third week is only going to be there if the city is still embraced in the euphoria resulting from a World Series win...If not, look for a very harsh eye be cast upon you if you're still bumbling around in mid-November.

- I am not all that concerned that the Cowboys traded for Lions WR Roy Williams, a player we coveted in the off season. Why? Because there is a thing as having too many #1 guys on a team. A team with Owens needs stable, #2 type wideouts...guys who are comfortable not being "da man." That is exactly what Roy Williams was in Detroit. And guess what, he's getting paid like it in Dallas now as well...more than MEO in fact...hee hee...I can't wait to see how THAT plays out over the rest of the season and into February....but the simple fact is...the Cowboys couldn't satisfy Owens greed for the football when they were he was the #1 target in the pass pattern 20+ times a game, with maybe 15-18 chances going his way...They already have the best TE in football in Jason Witten taking away some of MEO's chances...now they have a big-time, big-dollar second WR, and you don't pay a guy $9mill/year to not throw him the ball....I mean how many times are the Cowboys going to throw the ball per game? 50? Maybe...they might have to in order to keep the ball going to all their pass-catchers.

The Eagles Finally Finish a Game

2008-10-12T18:15:00.003-10:00

and guess what? They actually win the game. Its amazing what happens when you don't sleep for half the game...though to be truthful, the Eagles did once again fall into a swoon just before the half and it extended through about 12:00 of the 3rd qtr, when the Birds gave up 20 straight points.

You know, as the 49ers held onto the ball for like 12+ minutes in the 3rd quarter, (sandwiching a rather ineffectual, 1 first-down then punt Eagles drive), I got to thinking: The Defense can't always depend on the offense to hold onto the ball for it -- sometimes the D needs to make a play and help themselves out. And to be blunt: the Eagles D for through the first three quarters of this game (and all four quarters of the Redskins game) pretty much was a suckiful replay of the 2007 defense (no turnovers, no big plays, no momentum changers, no sacks, no nothing).

That all changed in the 4th quarter. The Eagles finally got a couple of hits on the young QB J.T. O'Sullivan; and lo' and behold: he started playing a lot worse. Gee, I wonder why? Dirty up the QB's jersey a little, put some heat on him and suddenly the opponents' passing game is a little less crisp. Well anyway, a couple of sacks really got the D pumping, and the Eagles wound up recording 3 sacks and getting three turnovers, the first two of which the Eagles could only use to pad their 1pt- 27-26 lead to 33-26....the final interception, by DE Juqua Parker no less, was a Pick-6. Guess the D got tired of seeing the O not convert and figured they'd do it themselves.

Well thank you very much Gang Green, for finally showing up and helping secure the win.

Some other thoughts about Week 6:
- I can't believe how in-the-bag the referees seemed for the Dallas Cowturds today...I saw the Cardinals get absolutely boned by the refs on an early-whistle (which negating a Romo fumble deep in Dallas territory) and on some gay-ass Tuck-rule bullshit, which negated another Romo fumble (This one was recovered by the Cards in the end zone, so instead of of 14-0 lead, the Cowboys actually went onto score and made it a 7-7 game. God I wanted to PUKE)
- The Football Gods must've been watching and angered at the referees, because they finally gave the Cowboys their comeuppance in the form of a blocked punt in OT that gave the Cards a 30-24 OT Win
- How ironic, two weeks ago versus the Eagles, its a Bears goal-line stand that secures a victory. Sunday, an Atlanta stand against the Bears keeps 7 points off the board in a game the Falcons won by having a 1-play :06 scoring drive (The Bears had scored the go-ahead TD with :11 left, squib kicked, then let the Falcons secure a 25-play pass along the sidelines in just :05....a literally-last-second-FG from 49 yards out sinks the Bears...oh how rich
- Goddamn! The Patriots suck dick with Tom Brady...the Chargers stomped their ass into the ground
- What's wrong with Seattle? They are getting toasted week-in, week-out....
- Hey Redskins' fans: how does it feel to have your team not show up at home? A week after watching the Eagles blow a game to Washington because they just didn't seem to care enough to actually play for half the game, he St. Louis Rams return the favor to Washington. Hee hee. Good. That helped reel in the Redskins....just like the Cards upending the Cowboys

An Open Letter to LucasArts IRT Star Wars Force Unleased

2008-10-05T18:48:00.005-10:00

I just started playing the new Star Wars game: Force Unleashed yesterday - and wow does it make a great first impression, but I really regret to say this: it has some significant enough flaws that make me realize it deserve the OK-to-Good reviews I read online. I mean, as a pretty big Star Wars fan I figured that was either b.s. or that the game would be awesome enough for me overlooking some petty flaws.

For the most part - I was right. Playing as the Sith named Starkiller can be profoundly satisfying. But for every ultra-cool "it will never get old 'force-gripping' Jawas and flinging them through the air moment, there is an equally frustrating wonky-camera, stealthy fungi warrior stabbing you in the back because said camera doesn't track so well and flat-out GAY insta-death as your Sith/Jedi-hunter plunges into some bottomless ravine.

So developers, I have a question: who the fuck play-tested this game? Do you have any idea how frustrating it is be fighting stormtroopers on some catwalk above some bottomless abyss only to watch your hero/anti-hero Sith bad-ass walk himself off the fucking ledge because you pressed the X button (to attack the fucking goddamn stormtrooper standing right in front of you, and so he doesn't whale away at with his blaster rifle) and watch this moron Sith do some fuck-ass attack flourish that carries him over the edge and to his insta-doom???

I mean seriously?? Come the fuck on already. He's Darth FUCKING Vader's padawan, who can double-flip 30 feet in the air and jet around like he is equipped with rocket-shoes, but he can't grab onto a fucking ledge or something to keep himself from falling to his death?

This is a simple fix LucasArts: Just don't let people walk off ledges that lead to to instant death!!! I'm not saying put up some invisible wall so you can even jump off...by all means if you want to see Starkiller flutter about in mid-air for a brief second before dying, go right ahead and press the A button, jump on out. But goddamn...It totally fucking ruins a player's sense of controlling this force-pumping, wookie/stormtrooper stomping bad-ass when you go to attack an enemy by pushing X and then wind up watching what I am sure the developers intended as a sweet finishing flourish that results in Starkiller's momentum carrying him off to a quick, falling death and an annoyingly long respawn.

I mean this morning I went from feeling like I had this ultra-bass with maxed out Force Push and Force Lightning just running around roastin' fools to feeling like I was in charge of Robbie the Down Syndrome Jedi....

IT REALLY TAKES AWAY from this game. I swear, if I had kids, they'd think Jesus' middle name was Butt-fuckin', because certain levels just have these tortuous areas where wonky camera angles and Robbie Banana-peel Shoes Starkiller combine to send waves of frustration pulsating around me. Getting back to my question about play-testing: don't you think maybe should let some normal people play-test this game every once in a while??? I mean, I in my thirties now, I don't have all day to perfect some platforming technique, I wanna control my dude, and now have to worry about what friggin' angle I'm attacking the enemy from because it might accidentally cause my own demise. These instances are not that common in the game, but when they do occur, whoa-nelly, it make one wonder about the decision-making process that applied a Vader "cannot walk off the edge of the cliff and kill himself" safety net during the Kashyyyk prologue, but then go, yeah, Starkiller? ah fuck him, if he starts an attack too close to the edge that's tough shit for him...Because a Sith warrior couldn't possibly have even self-awareness to not blunder off the side of a catwalk, could he/she? Nope, I guess not. I mean would it have been so difficult to code out a little "teeter" or a Starkiller will automatically grab the edge if he walks/does a finishing move off the edge. I mean seriously, how hard is that?

Bottom Line: The game is still pretty bad-ass, but it not as bad-ass as it SHOULD be, and you've left some stupid, correctable mistakes mar what is otherwise an extremely entertaining product.

Why Is It.....

2008-10-05T18:30:00.003-10:00

That the Eagles can look like absolute house-o-fire gangbusters on the opening drive of games, and then just peter away and look like an over-matched Interboro squad getting its ass-handed to it on Ridley's homecoming day (little Delco reference for y'all)?

The Eagles started awesome, taking a 14-0 lead and looked like they might blow the foreskins out of the Linc....then inexplicably, the Birds absolutely snoozed through the next 2 1/2 quarters of the game. There was no sense of urgency, no zip, precious little energy except on certain defensive plays...but that energy was never carried over into a series of defensive stops. They'd get a decent play, but then let the Redskins convert a first down and be right back where they started. On offense they went from crisp to limp...folks dropping passes, next to no blocking for the run attempts. I don't have any answers.

I just can't take this shit....
Needless to say: they lost 23-17...jbfmfin'hc...and they deserve it...no boo-hoos...they didn't make enough plays to win...hell, they barely made enough plays to compete.

What I do know: the Eagles better get their fucking heads out of their asses and beat the 49ers next week so they can enter the BYE week with a salvageable 3-3 record. I just wonder it is that the Eagles seem to annually put themselves in this sorta position?

Eagles Show some D!

2008-09-21T17:04:00.004-10:00

Wow...after getting torched for 41 points by the Dallas Cowboys, basically losing a game because they just couldn't get off the field, the Eagles ABSOLUTELY DOMINATED the Pittsburgh Steelers today at the Linc. The score wasn't impressive -- 15-6. But the scoreboard did not reflect the dominance the Birds' defense put on display.

9 sacks (and hell the only reason it wasn't 12 or 13 was because Big Ben managed to scramble forward for a 1 or 2 gain a few times, plus two sacks were wiped out by penalties)
3 turnovers, including another pick by Asante Samuel, and a classic flying-Wolverine Dawkins leaping sack/forced fumble/fumble recovery with put the Eagles in position to kick the final FG and put the game truly out of reach.
1 Safety - just some insurance points, but helped pushed the overall lead to 9 pts by the end.
33 yards rushing! Against the Steelers???? you gotta be kidding me.
2/13 for 3rd down conversions allowed. The funny part is - there were no punts in the first half.

Pressure all day long, and when the Steelers did try some of Pitt's bread-and-butter running plays, blam! Stewart Bradley would knife in from him MIKE position and kill the play. No running game = no balance for the Steelers = JJ teeing off on Big Ben.

The biggest worry: the status of Brian Westbrooks right foot. Not much information came from the post-game press conferences except the X-rays were negative, so his ankle/foot does not have broken bones....could still be a bad sprain though, and we might be w/o #36 for a while. I hope not.

Both McNabb and RB Tony Hunt were also banged up. Hunt got clocked in the head from behind on the opening drive (he fumbled of course to add some insult to the injury), just when it looks like the Eagles would start with an awesome, ram-it-down-the-Steelers-throat drive to begin the game. 5 had three Steelers collapse on top of him during an ill-called flea-flicker to end the first quarter.

Woohoo - I get to watch the Eagles Game

2008-09-21T11:43:00.003-10:00

Its been a while, I missed all of the preseason and the first two weeks of the regular season because of Chief's Induction for the Navy. But now I finally get to see the game....

Steelers at Eagles (Time of game 4:15 EST, 05:15 Monday Morning Misawa Time).

First Half impressions: Please, please, please let Westbrook be alright. He was running left and jumped up and landed half on Tra Thomas and got his right foot twisted up. He limped into the locker room....ok...sprain ok....break...that'd be bad...very bad....

Holy crapola - Talk about a pass rush! The Eagles are swarming Roethlisberger! 6 pass attempts and 5 sacks!....then 9 pass attempts with 6 sacks, 1 INT and 2 incompletions....yet the Birds are only ahead 10-6 at the half. Of course, the fucking Steelers FG kicker sets a personal record at the end of the first half with a 53-yard FG...asshole.

This is funny

2008-09-18T01:09:00.001-10:00

An actual letter to the passport office --------------------------

Dear Sir, I'm in the process of renewing my passport, and still cannot believe this. How is it that Radio Shack has my address and telephone number and knows that I bought a t.v. cable from them back in 1997, and yet, the Federal Government is still asking me where I was born and on what date.

For Christ sakes, do you guys do this by hand? My birth date you have on my social security card, and it is on all the income tax forms I've filed for the past 30 years. It is on my health insurance card, my driver's license, on the last eight goddamn passports I've had, on all those stupid customs declaration forms I've had to fill out before being allowed off the planes over the last 30 years, and all those insufferable census forms that are done at election times.

Would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is Maryanne, my father's name is Robert and I'd be absolutely astounded if that ever changed between now and when I die!!!!!! SHIT!

I apologize, I'm really pissed off this morning. Between you and me, I've had enough of this bullshit! You send the application to my house, then you ask me for my address. What is going on? You have a gang of Neanderthal assholes working there??? Look at my damn picture. Do I look like Bin Laden? I don't want to dig up Yasser Arafat, for shit sakes. I just want to go and park my ass on a sandy beach.

And would someone please tell me, why would you give a shit whether I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days? If I ever got the urge to do something weird to a chicken or a goat, believe you me, I'd sure as hell not want to tell anyone!

Well, I have to go now, 'cause I have to go to the other end of the city and get another copy of my birth certificate, to the tune of $60. Would it be so complicated to have all the services in the same spot to assist in the issuance of a new passport the same day?? Nooooo, that'd be too damn easy and maybe makes sense. You'd rather have us running all over the place like chickens with our heads cut off, then find some asshole to confirm that it's really me on the goddamn picture - you know, the one where we're not allowed to smile?! (you stupid morons)

Hey, you know why we can't smile? We're totally pissed off! Signed - An Irate U.S. Citizen.

P.S. Remember what I said above about the picture and getting someone to confirm that it's me? Well, my family has been in this country since 1776 . I have served in the military for something over 30 years and have had security clearances up the yingyang. However, I have to get someone 'important' to verify who I am - you know, someone like my doctor WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN COMMUNIST CHINA !

Being "The Chief"

2008-09-16T12:30:00.010-10:00

OMG,
The six weeks of Chief's Induction is finally OVER!

It has been a long, time-consuming, but extremely worthwhile process. It culminated yesterday (for me), 16 September, with the time-honored tradition of the pinning ceremony.

I won't go into what went on, but the final day/night is truly unforgettable. Its difficult, trying, but very rewarding once you get through the crucible.

So without further ado, here are a few photos of me, "The Chief":

This one shows Christina and I right after the pinning. That's Senior Chief Russell Girard to my right, along with my sponsor for this whole process, Chief David Spates - to whom I owe a lot. A WHOLE LOT.
Above it my first "real" moment as The CHIEF, when all the new Chiefs get rung aboard the Mess.

After getting rung aboard, we posted in front of the audience to sing "Anchor's Aweigh". I didn't have much of a voice left, but I belted out as loud as I could. Pictured are four of my new brothers: Chief Michael Wang, Chief Anibal Garza, Chief David Baker and Chief William Vue.

Sorry about the head in the way, our photographer was in the second row. This photo was taken as Senior Chief Jeff Chandler read the Chief's Creed.

Finally below: I've finally caught up! Now when folks ask for Chief Miccarelli, we'll have to ask, which one?

Taking in some Rookie Ball in Utah: Or When Do Owls Eat Raptors?

2008-06-19T20:33:00.003-10:00

Well in my last night here in lovely Ogden, my classmates and I decided to take in a ballgame. What? Baseball in Ogden? That is what I asked. But when we got here a few weeks ago, we say construction workers putting the finishing touches on the local Lindquist Field.

We looked it up and lo' and behold: The local team, named the Raptors, opened their season tonight in the newly remodeled stadium. Here is the good news. There isn't a bad seat in the house, and the cost? Heck I thought I was 8 years old and going to the Vet to see a Phillies game. Tickets were $9.

The bad news...the Raptors sucked balls, and I got exposed to some knowledge I had no idea of: that beyond Triple-A, Double-A and Single-A minor league systems, there exists another layer of development: Rookie Ball. Ogden plays in an 8-team Pioneer League (with teams located in Utah, Idaho and Montana). These teams have major-league affiliations -- Ogden is the bastard red-headed step-child of the L.A. Dodgers' organization.

I do have to say though, despite a laughable product on the field, the experience was pretty enjoyable. The owner of the team moonlights as the stadium announcer, and they really did try to put on a good show for the crowd. There were sky-divers, and raffles, and good concessions (I haven't been to a MLB baseball game in a while, can someone tell me if $3 hotdogs, $3-4 beer, $3 nachos or $3 soft pretzels is a good deal) and an after-game fireworks displays. And with 6,400 in paid attendance, I can only come to one conclusion: The Raptors truly are the only game in town.

Backyard Jungle

2008-06-15T17:12:00.004-10:00

Thought I'd share a couple of photos of the our current backyard jungle. I am not at home right now (scroll down - I'm in Utah) so don't blame me for our poor neglected dachshunds current potty plight.

jeez-louise! That dog needs a fedora and whip to go take a dump. I half expect Zaar to play Dr. Livingstone and DJ to go out and try and find him, like the explorer HM Stanley....
All that hunting for a ball...gotta love the dedication (or the stupidity for taking it out into that jungle)

Trials and Travails in what I like to call: A Passage to Ogden

2008-06-01T06:34:00.005-10:00

Well folks, after some 18+ months living in Japan, I have returned to the good ole U.S. of A. for what I consider (prior to the trip) to be an imposing three-week "business" trip. Actually, I am doing my Navy Reserve active duty training here in the states, but that is all you need know about that.

And where oh where is this illustrious training being conducted you ask? Why, where else would a Navy training facility be: Ogden, Utah.

Yes, that is right folks. Nary a stream in sight, and the largest body of water being a lake in which nothing could possibly sink. As a Hawaiian might ask: "Wha' betta place?"

The journey began yesterday, about 0830 local time, when my ride to the tiny Misawa City Airport (and its one whopping gate) showed up at the door. It sent the boys into a tizzy, and they got real, real anxious when daddy started moving the luggage outside and they realized they weren't coming. But after a few quick hugs, I left the tail-waggers behind and snap, a couple minutes later I was at Misawa Airport (small town), only to realize, d'oh...that I'd gotten to the airport at like 0840 for a flight that left at 1000. This isn't the states folks, there were no lines, no waiting. Nope the efficient Japanese has me all set in minutes. So I waited. And it wouldn't be the first time for the trip. Its drizzling and overcast and generally crappy outside, and I wonder if the plane will be on time. HA! No delays here.

The flight to Tokyo's domestic airport, Haneda, was uneventful, I was snoozing most of the way. Got off the plane, our bags showed up in minutes, and then we (I am traveling with another service member, he's active duty and his name is Seth) hit up the little automated machine for our bus pass to Japan's international airport - Narita. Of course, it is about 40 or so minutes away. And guess what? It's raining here too. The weather is even crappier than in Misawa.

Well, we get to Narita and it is between 1300-1400....I forget the exact time, forgive me. So I glance at our itinerary. Oh, good lord. the Flight to San Fran doesn't leave until 1800! So its a 6+ hour lay-over, from start to finish. Aiya...so what to do? What else? Go to McDonalds! It is easily the busiest food joint in the airport. In retrospect, it was not the greatest decision, as I don't often eat greasy fast food. The burger and fries tasted great going down, but that "full feeling" sorta expanded into that "bloated" feeling after a little while. Anyway, washed the McD's down with a white vanilla frappuccino from Starbucks (the second busiest stop in Narita).

What's that you ask? don't I like to sleep on planes. Hell yeah I do. So why drink coffee before a flight? Because the GD flight was over 4 hours away from commencing. That's why. So we make our way through security, again, fast, efficient and perhaps most important: informative, with little placards and announcements running to inform travelers what they needed to do: have passport ready, take out laptops, etc - that sorta thing.

And things couldn't have been more different after we landed at San Francisco International. Granted I don't think San Fran should really be the first city for someone to visit when returning to the states from a long absence. Why is that? Because like many cross-Ocean passengers the first place I wanted to visit after clearing customs was the restroom...and to my unmitigated surprise, what little facility is available for fellas inside the men's room?

A bio-waste hazard needle recycle bin. What else?

I mean what the fuck? Little bins for the intravenous drug-users on travel? First off how the fuck does a heroin addict afford a plane ticket. Second...why the hell is the local government providing tacit assistance to this shit? I figure it has to do with the anti-A.I.D.S. efforts, but you know what, if you're using a needle in your drug habit...you're way beyond what I might condone. This isn't for the dude who occasional smokes some dope on the weekend. This is assistance to hard-core drug addicts.

But that is a rather minor quibble compared to the wonders that awaits travelers as the TSA Security Checkpoints. First off, nothing makes a U.S. citizen feel more at home than being sneered at as they make their way through the security line. Returning servicemember, businessman or housewife on vacation; everyone got the same look from the TSA folks. It is hard to describe...but I think the most apt description is that TSA agents looked at travelers the same way you or I might look at our bottom of our shoes after stepping in dogshit.

Gee how I love America.

Digesting the Eagles Draft Haul

2008-04-28T23:31:00.004-10:00

No grades folks, that is a useless endeavor. This is draft definitely is a mixed bag for Eagles fans, there are some really good highlights and some real puzzlers. Then again, it wouldn't be an Eagles draft is everyone thought it was great or if AR & Co didn't select some guy out of left field that leave us all scratching our heads.

Here are some the implications as I see them
- Plucking Carolina's 1st rounder next year was just awesome. Given the state of the NFC South, this pick will probably range somewhere from 12-21. (yeah thanks, why not just guess 1-32?). I don't think it will be a top 10 pick...it might be...especially if the injury bug bites the Panthers again this year. Giving up the #19 pick is never easy, but having two #1s for 2009 provides the Eagles with some decent ammunition if, as I expect, they continue their pursuit of a veteran WR.

- Getting some guys who should be able to come right in and contribute. I'm talking to you: DT Trevor Laws, WR DeSean Jackson, RB Lorenzo Booker.

First Laws. Ok, beyond the inevitable Berman "I fought the Laws" line we'll hear on ESPN once this dude tallies a sack, I see a guy with a strong wrestling background as a great foundation for a NFL defensive tackle. Moreover, this guy should be in on-time and I can see him working right into the DT rotation. As the DTs stand right now, there is Patterson and Bunkley starting, with some combination of Laws, Montae Reagor and Lajuan Ramsey....those five might be the actual guys...but I actually expect DT/DE Darren Howard to take up one these roster spots, because Howard can play all along the line and if the Eagles cut him, they'll incur a cap hit...something they don't like to do. Howard has been a huge disappointment, but if Laws shows anything in preseason, expect him to be worked into the regular rotation.

Next is DeSean Jackson. First off, anything is better than Reno Mahe. The dependable hard-working Mahe scared nobody, and really he was only on the team last year because they didn't have anybody could field kicks. Jackson's speed provides an instant threat. I am not predicting he'll be the second-coming of Dante Hall, but the man has football talent. They can help him put on some muscle, but like the adage goes, you can't coach speed. I see the Eagles spoon-feeding him some select routes, and running him out there in special packages designed to create mis-matches. Think about it...Flank Westbrook and Curtis on the other side...watch a team try and post a safety on this guy....Jackson flies right by and McNabb hits him in stride...that only needs to happen once my friends, and the threat will be established. I'd also like to see him running some of these reverses they tried with Reggie Brown...While I believe him impact on the offensive side of the ball will be limited, if only because that the Eagles' style with rookies, I do expect him to be able to improve our special teams. If he can provide a 5-10 yard difference in field position on punt returns, that is a tangible contribution. If he can be a threat that forces bad punts and helps tilt field position in the Eagles favor...that is going to pay dividends.
- As for the Roster, an interesting question came up on the forums, with Jackson on board, who goes??? Greg Lewis...seems like every year we wonder if this the year he doesn't make the cut. Hank Baskett...that potential flashed in 2006 seems like good news, from long, long time ago doesn't it? Jason Avant, if he going to get used in this offense or not??? Look I think the 4 roster locks right now are Kevin Curtis, Reggie Brown, Jason Avant and DeSean Jackson. Why am I so gracious to Avant right now - because I think he showed he can be a decent slot possession receiver in this league, the Eagles just don't dial his # very often. Would the Eagles carry 6 WR on the roster? Good question. In the past they have not done so, but then again, none of the WR were PR/KR either...Mahe had those duties for the most part, and he was part of the Backfield.
With Mahe a goner and his slot open, that doesn't necessarily translate into another slot open for running backs on this team.

As for Booker, well I dunno what his addition to the team means. A third-down change of pace kinda guy. Since he can catch out the backfield that is a big, big plus. But the backfield, she be a bit crowded right now. Not exactly brimming with talent behind Westbrook, but crowded. Ever-dependable Correll Buckhalter is the top back-up, with Ryan Moats, Tony Hunt, Jason Davis and Dan Klecko filling out the HB/FB slots...figure 3 RB, 1 FB, unless some really flashes that "you gotta keep me on the roster" skill. I won't even venture a guess what that means for the roster at this point...Just say this: Westbrook and Booker will be two names on the final list, unless Lorenzo comes in and proceeds to take a dump on Andy Reid's desk during training camp/preseason.

Other guys they picked up:
3rd rounder DE Bryan Smith...oh great, another fastball tweener you say. And I am tempted to agree. It seems like every year the Eagles dupe themselves into believing some small-school project is being coveted by a bunch of teams, so they "reach" early....3rd round??? For a guy from McNeese State? AIYA! Anyway, unless this guy is a real, true and honest no-shit surprise play-maker, I fully expect him to get the red-shirt treatment from AR & pals. The DE rotation is fairly set at this stage, with Trent Cole, Juqua Parker, newcomer Chris Clemons, and 2nd year man Victor Abiamiri looking to make that almost traditional, OK-I've-been-around-for-a-season-now-let's-see-if-I-can-play bid for the Birds. I think he will contribute. Smith though? He is Gocong-esque project, unless I miss my guess, so I wouldn't expect to see him swooping into opposing backfields until 2010, if we're lucky.

4th rounders: OG Mike McGlynn. A self-described "lunch-pail" guy. His biggest asset is going to be the fact that's he has played all along the O-Line. Kinda like Nick Cole, who can be a back-up Center and Guard. One potential bonus...he has long-snapped in the past. I don't know of any particular plan in place, but right now the Eagles have a pure long-snapper on the roster in Jon Dorenbos....coughing up a roster slot for LS who does nothing else could turn into a luxury Andy decides he just can't indulge....I know the Eagles signed him to deal last year, and they won't want to upset the critical special teams chemistry between JD and Akers and Sav Rocca. But if McGlynn shows ability and develops a feel for it with those guys...watch out.

Safety Quintin Demps - OK in there a limit on the number of guys in the defensive backfield that can named Quintin?? The guy has a little mouth on him too, but confidence is something to be appreciated in a DB, so long as they can back it up on the field. Is this guy going to replace anyone? Dawkins and Mikell as there...baring injury that is set in stone. I think JR Reed showed he can play, and play well last year and he knows the special teams...if Demps flashes some talent, then erstwhile, can't-seem-to-stay-healthy S Sean Considine could find himself on the outside looking in. As a 4th rounder - I expect him to make the roster.

CB Jack Ikegwuonu - I had the same reaction when I heard about this pick...didn't this mofo jack up his ACL prior to the draft?? Yup same guy, he's an automatic redshirt, er I mean placed on IR. Lots of folks have panned the pick - some because of the guys off-the-field legal troubles. The guy probably would've been one of the top 2 or 3 CB in the draft is he'd stayed healthy. Period. So the talent is/was there. Here is what I think might've been going through the minds of the Eagles' FO folks regarding Ikegwuonu:
1) We know he's injured, but some team could take a flier on this guy before we pick again. He was the Eagles compensatory 4th round pick, #131. The Eagles didn't have another choice on the board until the 6th round, #184. That's 53 selections, so there is a chance that some team, thinking long-term, might take a flier on a guy like Ikegwuonu in the 5th or 6th round.
2) We have a shit-ton picks, and they all can't make the roster. Taking a flier on this guy give us future potential but guarantees that we won't have to worry about cutting a 4th round guy in August.

As for the rest, If OG Mike Gibson, LBRs Mays and Studebaker (both small school guys) or OT King Dunlop make the team, consider that gravy....I expect one the LBR and one of the OL to make the practice squad, but that's about it.

Another Good Day to be a Philly Fan

2008-04-26T22:14:00.004-10:00

WOW, folks, by almost any measure Saturday was a damn fine day to be sports fan in Philly.

The Phillies stomped the Pirates to take their road-trip to a 5-1.

The Flyers rebounded strong from a disheartening OT loss in Game 1 to even up their best-of-seven series, beating the Canadiens 4-2 and wresting home-ice advantage for the hometown boys on Broad Street.

And did the Eagles ever make some waves on Day 1 of the NFL Draft. Did they have the best day? No, it hard to make the best impression when some other teams (Carolina, KC, Dallas) came away with multiple first rounds picks. That said, the Eagles scored themselves some DT depth with ND Trevor Laws and go themselves a KR/PR and a potential contributor, match-up nightmare guy in Cal WR DeSean Jackson.

Its not the players themselves that have Eagles fans buzzing, it's how we got there. The Eagles FO swung 3 draft-day trades on Saturday.

First they got a sweet-offer for their first-round pick, #19, from Carolina. You see, Carolina wanted an OT. There were five certifiable blue-chippers this year (Yeah, yeah, yeah, I hear you, two, maybe three of them will pan out and live up to expectations, but all five are considered really good). Well the top 4 prospects were gone by pick 15 (when KC moved up to take Branden Albert), and hell, even Detroit got into the act and picked up a non-Top 5 OT at Pick 17. So Carolina was desperate. They wanted them at OT, and there was NO CHANCE that a guy like Jeff Otah from Pitt (shout out to my old alma mater) was going to linger around until the second round.

So Carolina forks over a #2 and #4 pick this year, and next year's #1 selection to for Philly's #19 this year. Lo' and behold, they select Otah. Just to show how this tumbled even more teams to fall all over themselves. It helped the Washington Redskins too, because then Atlanta panicked, and seeing 6 of the Top 8 OL gone, they traded with Washington for the Redskins pick at #21, and they selected an OT as well.

So they then had two #2, one #3 and three #4 picks (along with 1-5th, 4-6th and a 7th).

Then the Eagles ship their own #4 (not Carolina's, it was higher, and they can't trade the comp pick) to Miami for scatback Lorenzo Booker. Evidently, a guy they wanted to draft last year but didn't get the chance.

However, this left the Eagles without a first round selection, and the fans, well, they were a-howling. We want to see picks! We want to debate the selection and all that fun shit. And here the Eagles are, trading down, amassing more picks in a draft were we already have 11!!

So finally, after HOURS of waiting it the Eagles turn again in round 2, and there are still a TON of quality players out there...they lost out on WR Devin Thomas, who the Redskins snagged with the second rounder they got from Atlanta, but NO wide receivers went in the first round, and Eagles were sitting there at #43 (overall) with their choice of a bevy of Wideouts...

and what do the Eagles do??

THEY TRADE DOWN AGAIN!!!!! Augh, the howls got louder. Dave Spadaro and Merrill Reese on Philadelphia Eagles.com are going looney...

They trade with Minnesota....Minnesota gets the Eagles #43 pick and Eagles lone 5th round pick (#152). The Eagles get Minnesota #47 pick and Minnesota's 4th round (#117).

So, for moving down 4 slots, the Eagles get to move back up into the 4th round (essentially moving a pick "up" 35 slots....) Here is the thinking folks...the next teams on the board following the Eagles were the Bears, Lions and Bengals. They were probably assured by the Viking that they wouldn't take a player the Eagles were targeting....So the Vikings take a safety (T Johnson), the Bears reach for a RB (M. Forte), the Lions reach for a LB (J Dizion) and the Bengals go for a hella-reach and chose some WR few people outside of the draftniks have even of and pluck some dude from Coastal Carolina (yeah, watch this dude rock). So the Eagles, still have their choice of some top-tier WRs.....and now its #47, followed, quickly by #49. THe only team in between - WASHINGTON. And the Redskins already picked a WR.

So I think this was the Eagles thinking - the Reskins need to shore up their OL and DL, so lets chose our DL first, and heck there is no way the Skins can chose all the WRs, so we're still sitting pretty. With #47 - The Eagles select Trevor Laws, DT Notre Dame. Then the Redskins go TE, and the Eagles pluck a guy many suspected they pick (if he was still around) at the #19 position - Cal WR Desean Jackson.

So to summarize: the Eagles got a 3rd down back from Miami, their 3rd DT and some much needed depth at DT, and their KR/PR+potential slot WR threat in Jackson.

I see potential immediate help from both players. Laws should be able to step in and join Bunkley and Patterson in the DT rotation. The DE are pretty much set with Cole, J. Thomas, Clemons and Abiamiri. Jackson can flat out fly. So I'd hope that in addition to return duties, the Eagles O-minds could come up with some personnel packages designed to isolate Jackson on a safety or 4th CB and just see if the young guy can blow by them.

Some Pre-Draft Thoughts

2008-04-24T01:13:00.002-10:00

Well as good as the other day was....today wasn't a good day for Philly fans...the Sixers came out flat and got stomped by the Pistons and the Phillies blew a late game lead and lose to the Brewers...ugh...

Been a lot of talk on the boards about who the Eagles are going to draft this weekend.

A few thoughts about my take on it all. There won't be any predictions about who I think they'll take (that is useless) but rather what positions they'll go after:

1 - lots of talks about the Eagles wanting to move up in the draft. They sit at #19. Some folks think they'll use Lito as trade bait to move up, but I don't see the worth in that....especially if the choice is a young CB like McKelvin or that dude with the ultra-long name...sure those guys can return kicks, but why would you trade a ProBowl caliber CB for the chance to move up and take a young unknown at the same position. Makes no sense. Perhaps they use some picks to move up and snag someone they like...

2 - whether or not they draft an OL. Looks if its the right guy at the time they pick...fine, I have no trouble with drafting linemen, the Eagles have been pretty good at getting decent linemen on Day 1. I would NOT like they to trade up and take a OL. If you're going to sacrifice whatever it takes to trade up - get a player who is going to contribute in 2008. Be it a young WR who can return kicks or whomever.

3 - What do the Eagles need? They need a safety, so that suggests Kenny Phillips from Miami, but he's about the only decent safety this year, so I dunno if the Eagles reach for him at #19. Maybe they trade down, bank another #2 and take Phillips later in the 1st round.

4 - I'd like to see the Eagles secure another Day 1 pick (just the first two rounds, btw). But I don't see how they do it unless they trade Lito. And whilst I'd rather see the Eagles get a WR in return for Sheppard (if he's dealt), I guess the market for someone of his caliber is what the Atlanta Falcons got for Deangelo Hall (a "2" and a "5")...perhaps on draft day they get more (or less). Who knows?

5 - Back to what the Eagles need - A few linemen (at least 1 OL and perhaps 2 for depth, 2 DL, 2 DBs, 1 WR, and maybe 2 Backs (Full, Running or otherwise). That's 9 picks, the Eagles have 11 choices....so I can see the Eagles trading for some future picks as well. I mean lets face it. They aren't going to keep 11 guys...they need to package the picks that they can (the non-compensatory ones) to either a) move up in various rounds or b) bank future picks.

Good Time to be a Sports Fan in Philly

2008-04-23T13:27:00.002-10:00

Well there is something on tap for all sorts of sports fan in Philly.

The Flyers won GAME 7 versus the Capitals. IN OVERTIME no less! What a game, what a gritty performance....next up, the Canadiens...oof...that's going to be a stern test for John Stevens' team.

Chase Utley is kicking much ass in Major League Baseball and the Phillies, for the first time in a while, they haven't fallen on their face in April.

In the basketball arena, the 76ers stunned the Detroit Pistons in Game 1 on the road, and they're just about ready for tip-off in Game 2. Now, I don't care about the NBA at all, but I do hope the 76ers give basketball fans in Philly something to cheer and get excited about...its been too long for them.

And finally, there is the NFL Draft, the primary off-season moment of excitement (outside of training camp and preseason games). Come this weekend, fans around the country will be debating their team moves...who they drafted, yada yada yada....Its fun, but its a completely useless exercise to be perfectly honest.

Put it this way - this year is really the first year that we can legitimately judge a team's performance in the 2005 Draft. Those players have had three years to make an impact. That accounts for any long time to injury, etc, etc. These guys should be established young pros, and if they aren't....well then....perhaps a sterner evaluation or the removal of rose-colored glasses is in order.

Getting your Vader on

2008-04-10T13:19:00.003-10:00

Ok, so I checked out Gametrailers.com looking for something on Grand Theft Auto IV and what do I find, this little puppy about getting to play as Darth Vader in the opening level of the Star Wars, The Force Unleashed - due out at very end of this summer (think September).

Here is the problem -- I like Wookies! I don't wanna kill Chewie's family....That said, anyone who has ever wanted to force-choke someone simply by clenching their fist at some idiot will probably forget all about this and start tossing hapless wookies around with abandon. If only just to their Vader on.

You May be Taliban IF....

2008-04-09T15:08:00.001-10:00

"YOU MAY BE A TALIBAN IF..."

1. You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to beer.
2. You own a $3,000 machine gun and $5,000 rocket launcher, but you can't afford shoes.
3. You have more wives than teeth.
4. You wipe your butt with your bare left hand, but consider bacon "unclean."
5. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.
6. You can't think of anyone you HAVEN'T declared Jihad against.
7. You consider television dangerous, but routinely carry explosives in your clothing.
8. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.
9. You've ever uttered the phrase, "I love what you've done with your cave."
10. You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least Two.
11. You bathe at least monthly whether necessary or not.
12. You've ever had a crush on your neighbor's goat.

XBox 360 Vs Playstation 3

2008-04-02T14:37:00.007-10:00

Well folks, there is a reason this blog has suffered from a limited amount of post in recent months. The culprits: HALO3, Call of Duty 4 and Mass Effect. (soon to be joined by Grand Theft Auto IV, I'm sure.)

And there is just one console on which I play them: the XBox 360.

Now, hold on, Playstation lovers and PC Gamers. I am avid gamer. Here is a little background on me before you go judging:
- I didn't own a single next-gen console prior to July 2007. I'd owned nearly everything that had come out previously, gotten burned numerous times by Sega (Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast...grrr), even 3DO and absolutely LOVED my original Playstation (Final Fantasy VII, Worms, et al). Got a Playstation 2, but to be honest, it mostly just collected dust. Why? the PC had entered the scene as my rig of choice. And a high-powered ALIENWARE gaming rig blows away any console. Hands down.

- Said Windows-based Gaming Monster PC took a shit on me about a year ago after a certain someone filled up my hard drive with crap, and hasn't been the same ever since. So over the Summer of 2007, a friend shows me XBox Live Arcade, and I could see that the strategy game CATAN was available for download and online or offline play. I was hooked. I hit the local Base exchange, and lo' and behold, they had a military appreciation package. Got the 360, wired controller, 3 games, and 1-yr subscription to XBox Live Gold for about $450.

- By the end of the year, my wife and I would go on to hunt and track down a Wii (thanks to the parents back in Delaware) and also get a Playstation 3.

- So this review comes from someone who owns all the next-gen systems.

- Moreover, this review also comes at a time when the dreaded "red ring of death" problem appears to have been addressed to a significant extent. I understand the frustrations many would have if their 360 crapped out for no reason other than poor-quality control on the internal thermal paste, but I don't know too many people who've had that probably with new 360s.

So enough intro, let's get to it:

Why do I prefer the XBox 360 to the Playstation 3? Four B-I-G reasons:

1. The 360 is the place to be for Online Gaming.
- I've got 50+ friends on XBox Live...on the Playstation? Two, 2, dos, zwei, er.... This will increase when some PS3 exclusive games come out, like Resistance 2 or Killzone 2 (scroll down for more on that), but right now, there is just no real comparison between the online experience between the consoles. The XBox 360 beats the piss out of the PS3. Hands down, don't even try and argue the point.

2. Ease of navigation. The XBox has 5 total "pages" to navigate through. The entry page, gives you a quick glimpse at whether you have messages and how many friends you have online? The information is present is an intuitive, visual way that is impossible to sit here and describe. Suffice it to say that all the info you need (plus some advertisements). What to see which friends are playing, the info is a click away. What to download a new Rock Band song, a game demo, a Live Arcade game? A few clicks and you'll be playing in minutes (provided you have enough MS points...) - As for the Playstation? Everything is present along a linear horizontal line and choices pop-up in a vertical fashion when you scroll over them....In other words: NOT AS EASY. and ease and intuitiveness are key here folks. Want to see if any friends on PS3? Scroll all the way to the right....and up and down...there's no instant look. Hopefully that changes when Playstation rolls out their HOME.

3. Gamerscore and Achievements - a.k.a. Gamer-crack. It may have seemed like a throw away thing in the beginning...give the players "points" for doing certain things in games. I think there was even some discussion about folks who racked up high gamerscore being able to "cash" them in for free stuff from Microsoft (guess that isn't going to happen anytime soon). But I tell you what. Part of each game now is looking at what the designers set as Achievements. A lot of games are fairly standard, finish the game on different difficulties, get so many kills, fly this far, run this far...but others can drive you to do some odd things in games. Like running around with a shotgun in Rainbow Six Vegas 2 until you've gotten the "I like the sound it makes" achievement for shotgun kills, or running down zombies with your jalopy in Half Life 2 Episode 2 or starting a third play-through on a game like Mass Effect in an epic quest to the Extreme Gamer achievement for having a 60th level character (the Max level you can get in the game I just found out.) Of course, it has already been mocked to perfection by the Simpsons game, which unlocked a 5gp achievement just for pressing start at the beginning of the game. The inclusion of this simply, addictive add-on to games is hard to ignore. Perfect example: I have both a PS3 and a 360. Given a choice between getting the "next big thing" like Grand Theft Auto IV on PS3 or 360, and I will choose the XBox 360 version. EVERY TIME. Why? Not because of downloadable content or any difference in graphics performance. But because of Gamerscore and the thrill of pursuing those dastardly achievements!

4. Lack of Must-Have Content on the PS3! What killer game is on the PS3 that isn't also on the XBox, thus wrecking my choice and forcing me to get the game for PS3 and not for 360 so I can wrack up gamer point and achievements? The quick answer: NONE. Okay, okay, I've got Resistance (picked up a used copy) but I haven't played it yet....Its not about the 360 having better games or more exclusive ones, its that there isn't any game out there that MADE me get a PS3....The wife bought our PS3 from a friend who sold it because of this very reason, he was bored with it, used his XBox way more and wanted to recoup some of the money he plunged into the system. We bought it primarily as a Blu-ray player, and hopefully, there will be some cool games out for it soon.

Is it all doom and gloom for the PS3? HELL NO! First off, I think its the best Blu-Ray bargain there is, and Sony's Online is free, even if it is crappy right now. As Sony gets its online bandwagon rolling, it may actually force the XBox to rethink its $50/year charge for XBox Live Gold. Moreover, some exclusive games are on the way that will probably be prompting quite a few friends to get a PS3: Resistance 2, Killzone 2, and the new Metal Gear game, to say nothing of new Final Fantasy chapter. I think an 8-player co-op campaign for Resistance 2 will be killer, I just hope I have 8 friends who own PS3 to play with! As it stands right now, I may be a little hard pressed to find companions to help me right the Earth of alien invaders this fall.

Phillies and Eagles news

2008-03-31T15:38:00.004-10:00

Wow, here is a shocker: The Phillies dropped their season opener. And guess who "dropped the ball"? The bullpen. Now I know all you Philly fans are surprised. But I, personally am a bit disgusted. Rollins and Utley homer...Myers pitched into the 5th, before running into some trouble, but jeez....the Phils fight back and tie the game and then BOOM....the floodgates open in the 9th. Its too early to hit the panic button, but the Phillies need to avoid a slow start. Its killed them every year in recent memory. It just disheartening to see the Phillies primary trouble area (back end pitching) come up and bite them in the ass on opening day.

As for the Eagles - the NFL announced the compensatory selections for each team in the upcoming NFL draft. The Eagles scored 3 comp picks: one 4th round pick, and two 6th round picks.

The Birds have 11 picks overall. Here is the breakdown, provided by the Eagles public relations department and PhillyNews.com

1st round – 19th overall
2nd round – 49th overall
3rd round – 80th overall
4th round – 115th overall
4th round – 131st overall (compensatory)
5th round – 152nd overall
6th round – 184th overall
6th round – 191st overall (from Cleveland)
6th round – 200th overall (compensatory)
6th round – 203rd overall (compensatory)
7th round – 230th overall (from Seattle)

The Eagles traded their own 7th-round pick to Buffalo for linebacker Takeo Spikes. Oops, oh well I guess it wasn't that bad a one-year rental, considering 7th rounders rarely make the Eagles squad anyway.

China Celebrates a Dubious Achievement - from Onion News

2008-03-30T16:29:00.001-10:00

This is hilarious
China Celebrates Its Status As World’s Number One Air Polluter

and don't miss the ticker!

Rainbow Six Vegas 2

2008-03-29T15:37:00.004-10:00

The latest XBox 360 acquisition for yours truly is Rainbow Six Vegas 2.

Just so you all know this is my very first Tom Clancy game...Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, whatever the hell else he's attached his name to...this is it, my first exposure to the tactical shooter world. I am more of Call of Duty 4, Halo-style FPS player.

First of my score: 9 out of 10.
You didn't come here to read a rundown of the game itself, so there's no need to rehash the story or gameplay, so I will get right down to my likes and dislikes:

Likes: Good story! Does it have the oomph of Call of Duty 4. Not quite, but it very engaging, and the levels are LONG, with a decent amount of checkpoints, so you never feel like, dammit, I gotta do ALL that all over again.

Tons o'guns - My primary wish for COD4 is a greater array of weaponry...well I get that wish with RSV2. Sure I miss my trusty M-16 with stopping power, or my Red-tiger stripe RPD, but there are plenty of new guns to play around with. I like the M468, and I'm a better sniper in RSV2 than I am in COD4. The Spas-12 is the bane of my existence on Terrorist Hunt, but I sure do enjoy being on the giving end of that shotgun.

Multi-options for CO-OP: from the 4-player Terrorist Hunt to being able to have a buddy just drop and start shooting with you during a campaign, its nice to have so many options that allow you to just play with friends if you want. This is especially key for folks stationed in overseas location like me...we often have hard times finding good multiplayer connections. RSV2 allows me to invite 3 friends for a some private killing against a pretty tough computer-AI, and still level-up our characters.

Dislikes: OK, so as you probably can already guess, as a COD4 shooter, the near insta-kills from RSV2 can be a bit annoying. YES, it is realistic in that sense....but its also a game. Few things are more frustrating than to sneak up to corner, peek around and get one-shotted by a terrorist camping the corner with a shotgun...which brings me to....

The spawning system....hmmm....this is hard to figure out. You seem to spawn right next to, and sometimes in front of, whichever teammate you are "watching" on your observation cam while you wait to respawn....this can put you in some awkward positions, as I've had teammates spawn directly in front of my field of fire, or directly behind me blocking me from backing me and getting out of harm's way during a firefight. This dovetails with the dynamic spawn system the game uses for enemies during terrorist hunt....

There are definite ups and downs to the RSV2 system. On the plus side, a game of T-Hunt has the chance to be different almost everytime. The game dynamically places enemies along your path, and most maps have a plethora of paths you can take to hunt down the enemy. OK so some maps always seem to have a guy in a specific area, but that is generally at the very start of a map, once you get to the first real choice (left, right, middle, up, down, whatever) the game begins to flow the bad guys to your general vicinity. This means that for the most part, no terrorist hunt will ever be exactly the same. Vary your route even a little and guys will come at your from different directions.

The downs about this system can be harsh: the biggest problem with the random, wait till you hit the trigger point spawning system is that quite often, a dude will pop-up in places that you've already "cleared"...for example, you enter a parking lot area, check the right corner, its clear, just some barrels, walk another 10 feet, hit spawning trigger point, bad guy appears behind barrels are starts opening up on your ass....does this happen all the time? NO. But it happens often enough to be noticeable and aggravating. The other part of the game, once a guy has spawned, he's there in that area...yes he will move around, they aren't static, but let's say a teammate moved down to the basement, and spawned two guys, killed one but died. That guy in the basement is still there. Terrorist hunt games has limited lives for the players, so your teammate is done for the match, you might be left running around a giant map trying to find the last one or two terrorists that some else triggered, but you don't a real idea of where they're at. And YES your buddy can TELL you where he thinks they are, but the maps can be very large and at least at this stage, I would wager that most players don't have them memorized yet.

Random Thoughts for Thursday

2008-03-26T15:45:00.003-10:00

Ok, I am not Mr. Jesus, I don't go to church much, but I do consider myself fairly spiritual and I believe in Christianity - Catholicism mostly - far more than I give credibility to any other religion. That being said, I am pretty sure God has a special place in hell for retarded like the parents of Madeline Neumann, a sweet 11-year old girl who died of a treatable diabetes disorder because her parents refused to actually seek medical care and blamed themselves for her death because they didn't pray hard enough.

What the fuck? Are we in the 21st Century or not? This is not the goddamn fucking Dark Ages people.

Oh so the parents didn't think their daughter would die while they were praying...well excuse me fuckwads, but I don't think I give a rat's ass. I don't know if I would throw them in jail - because there is always the "they have to live with what they've done" argument...the problem is, when you're dealing with ultra-religious nutjobs (and I am not talking about those who pray when a loved is in the hospital, I am talking about those that only seek or believe in divine intervention) it is very difficult to get it through their thick-skulls that bullshit like this is wrong. That it is NOT the hand of God reaching down and plucking their daughters life away to spite them for a lack of faith. It is THEIR STUPIDITY for not using the brains and gifts GOD has bestowed upon us all to make our lives better and work to care for each other!

Lord save me.

In other news, the Eagles signed a new TE, Kris Wilson. After languishing behind Tony Gonzales for a few years perhaps he can find new life with the Birds. And if he can play multiple positions (FB/TE H-back sorta role) then great. The Birds' prior FB Tapeh, who signed with Minnesota, was adequate across the board at doing some of that, but the overall package he brought to the team was, in retrospect, pretty poor. Unfortunately, I think this signing probably means the Eagles have no intention of going after a guy like Owen Schmidt the WVU FB/H-Back type guy who I think would look pretty damn good in midnight green. If Wilson sticks, then there is decent chance that back-up TE Matt Schobel, a free agent acquisition from Cincinnati a couple of years ago, will be on the chopping block. I don't think the Eagles will move LJ Smith (even if they had a suitor) and Brent Celek showed real promise in a limited role last year. Heck, Celek may be the reason the Eagles simply ride out the L.J. show in 2008 and then part ways in 2009.

Think you know about Godzilla?

2008-03-25T16:40:00.001-10:00

I'm a Godzilla MASTER
peep this:

Test yourself and find out what you know about big green guy

Are you a Zombie Killa?

2008-03-25T16:33:00.001-10:00

I had to find out how I would fare during the inevitably zombie uprising. Whew! I think I might survive. Find out for yourself here.

What does it mean?

You might have lost a member of your party, but you come out unharmed. You held out long enough for the military to come and rescue you. Even though the government will take credit for it, you and your party did most of the work.

Are You Prepared for the Zombie Uprising?

2008-03-25T03:53:00.002-10:00

We're talking 4-player co-op zombie killing madness. Play as the biker, the war vet, the cute teenage chick or the retail guy. I mean seriously? This game sounds too good to be true. Hook up with 3 friends and try to survive the zombie uprising? Have others folks join the game and play AS THE ZOMBIES trying to kill you???

Dudes this sounds too good to be true. I cannot wait for this game!
Here is the trailer:

Here is a link to the gameplay in action: hospital play

Jeffrey Jamaleldine - American Hero

2008-03-24T12:00:00.002-10:00

If you read nothing else from this post, read the final bolded line. There is a reason this world is swirling down the toilet, and it is NOT because of big, bad Bush's bullying. It is because most of the rest of the world is way too willing to look the other way and not stand up for what is right. I saw fuck the Germans, let them drink their beer. We'll do our best to keep you safe, but went some Islamic radical decides that Oktoberfest is an affront to god - don't come crying to us that one of the fuckers blew the shit out of some pub in Bonn or attacked a train full of civilians in Berlin. Anyway, onto the story:

BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Jeffrey Jamaleldine took a bullet to his chin that blew out much of his jaw and nearly killed him while deployed in Iraq last year. The sacrifice is just part of his job, he says, and he'd go back to Iraq in a second if asked.

Jeffrey Jamaleldine left Germany for college in America. In 2006, he joined the U.S. Army.

1 of 3 That is something that troubles his family, especially his father. Jamaleldine served in the U.S. Army as a German citizen, one of an estimated 20,500 "green-card warriors" in the military. Last month, Jamaleldine was awarded U.S. citizenship, but he's keeping his German passport.

Bashir Jamaleldine says his son is fighting an unjust war for an America that went too far when it invaded Iraq five years ago -- a sentiment shared by the majority of Germans. He wishes his son would get back to his "German roots." "It would satisfy me more. Why he's more American than a German, I don't know," he says. Shaking his head with his son at his side, he adds, "He is more American than German."

Jeffrey Jamaleldine, a 31-year-old U.S. Army scout who proudly wears a Stetson hat and spurs on his boots, laughs. He says he and his dad have had countless arguments over his decision to join the U.S. military, but the two never budge from their positions. "He hears what I'm saying, but there's just no coming through," he says.

The son agrees with his father on one thing: His love for America is unwavering. Jeffrey Jamaleldine moved to the United States to go to college in Missouri at the age of 18 and immediately fell in love with the United States and its culture.

"You can go from rags to riches there. People still believe in that. It is not something that has gotten lost," he says.

And when the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, happened, he felt it was time for him to do something.

"A small group of people [terrorists] -- I felt -- had a big influence on our way of life and that literally pissed me off," he says.

By accident, he says he found out that with his green card, he could join the U.S. military. And in 2006, he did just that. Last year, he paid a heavy price for his patriotism. Pinned down in a
firefight with insurgents in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, Jamaleldine was shot in the face. The left side his jaw was shattered and now doctors at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany are reconstructing his facial bones.

While many Americans would consider Jamaleldine a hero, most in his home country don't. Germans largely oppose the Iraq war. The criticism doesn't bother him. He says even after getting wounded on the battlefield, he would go fight for America again if ordered back to Iraq.

"I still don't want to die, I love life, I enjoy life," he says. "But I would still make the sacrifice to go to Iraq again if I am called. If I have to go, I will -- to stand up for what I believe in," he says.

His father looks on in disbelief as he listens to his son, now an American citizen. But Jeffrey Jamaleldine says joining the military was never about that, it was about defending American ideals.

"If we have people who want to change those ideals or take them away," he says, "then there are people like me or my platoon who stand up and fight for those ideals."

Political Science for Dummies

2008-03-18T18:29:00.001-10:00

Political Science for Dummies

DEMOCRATIC	You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. Barbara Streisand sings for you.
REPUBLICAN	You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So?
SOCIALIST	You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.
COMMUNIST	You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk. You wait in line for hours to get it. It is expensive and sour.
CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE	You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.
BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE	You have two cows. Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.
AMERICAN CORPORATION	You have two cows. You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses. Your stock goes up.
FRENCH CORPORATION	You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows. You go to lunch and drink wine. Life is good.
JAPANESE CORPORATION	You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains. Most are at the top of their class at cow school.
GERMAN CORPORATION	You have two cows. You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour.. Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.
ITALIAN CORPORATION	You have two cows but you don't know where they are. While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman. You break for lunch. Life is good.
RUSSIAN CORPORATION	You have two cows. You have some vodka. You count them and learn you have five cows. You have some more vodka. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.
TALIBAN CORPORATION	You have all the cows in Afghanistan , which are two. You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts. You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.
IRAQI CORPORATION	You have two cows. They go into hiding. They send radio tapes of their mooing.
POLISH CORPORATION	You have two bulls. Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.
BELGIAN CORPORATION	You have one cow. The cow is schizophrenic. Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish. The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow. The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk. The cow asks permission to be cut in half. The cow dies happy.
FLORIDA CORPORATION	You have a black cow and a brown cow. Everyone votes for the best looking one. Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one. Some people vote for both. Some people vote for neither. Some people can't figure out how to vote at all. Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best-looking cow.
CALIFORNIA CORPORATION	You have millions of cows. They make real California cheese. Only five speak English. Most are illegals. Arnold likes the ones with the big udders.

A Lesson in World History

2008-03-12T00:37:00.001-10:00

For those that don't know much about history...... here is a condensed version.

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.

The two most important events in all of history were:
1. The invention of beer, and
2. The invention of the wheel.
The wheel was invented to get man to the beer.

These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:
1. Liberals
2. Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture.

Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement.

Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the Conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.

Some of these Liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as girlie-men.

Some noteworthy Liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that Conservatives provided.

Over the years Conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant . Liberals are and were always symbolized by the jackass.

Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare. Another interesting evolutionary side note: Most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are Liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, athletes, Marines, and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other Conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe that Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the Liberals remained in Europe when Conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get more for nothing.

Here ends today's lesson in world history.......

It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to angrily respond to the above before forwarding it.

A Conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other true believers and to more liberals just to piss them off....

My Rx For the Iggles

2008-02-28T02:58:00.002-10:00

With the NFL Free Agency period about to kick off I figured it was about time to get off my duff and write about the Eagles again.

First things first,

Where do I rank the Eagles "needs"
1. DL
2. OL
3. CB/S
4. WR

I believe their needs start in the trenches. Going in 2007, OL and DL figured to be a position of strength, but they really weren't as great as I think many of us gave them credit for being. Donovan took a beating last year as did A.J., and for all the guff I've been hearing about our lack of a big-play WR, it really doesn't matter who is running routes if the QB is on his back. However, I do NOT think the Eagles will address the OL in free agency. I see the Birds takes another OL in the first few rounds of the draft.

As for the Defense. Kearse, Howard, Von Oelhoffen, Reagor, Scott, were all but useless last year. Mike Patterson got busted for weed, so he'll probably miss a game or two from a team punishment aspect. Overall, the Eagles can depend on 4 guys: Juqua Thomas, Trent Cole, Mike Patterson and Broderick Bunkley. That's it. Will a guy like LaJuan Ramsey stick or can JJ find a role for the over-paid, underachieving Darren Howard? Perhaps, but to expect either to emerge as anything but occasional contributors is folly. What about Victor Abiamiri? Last year's 2nd round pick from Notre Dame? Well he certainly figures to be in the mix at DE. He barely played last year, but when he did, I did take notice (if only for the rarity).

Where does that leave the Birds? Well not is really good position. There is some talk about the Eagles being interested in some Titan DE's (Antwan Odom or Travis Laboy) or perhaps even Cincy's Justin Smith, who has never lived up to his first-round pick billing when the Bengals made him a top-5 guy a few years back. Still, as the best DE, in a mediocre pack, and with teams awash in cash, Smith is going to get paid. Believe you me. Since the Eagles don't seem to ever draft a D-Lineman and play them from the get-go (a few exceptions), Free Agency or a trade (it appears Kris Jenkins is being dangled by the Panthers) is probably their only route to improvement for 2008.

Who would I sign? wow, tough question. The best potential free agents were tagged. If I had to take a stab at it...I would think the Eagles would be most interested in Odom....personally I would go for Justin Smith IF his demands weren't astronomical. He's a solid end coming off a down year....so long as he is getting paid to be Richard Seymour or Julius Peppers he'd be a solid pick-up.

That brings us to the Secondary.
What would I do? Simple: sign Giants S Gibril Wilson....for two reasons, he's got the all-round skills to be Dawkins replacement AND it would substantially weaken a division rival. Would I go after Asante Samuel? Only if I were already trading Lito Sheppard for a WR....then it would make sense. However, If I'm strengthening safety in FA, then breaking the bank for Samuel is not an attractive option, and make no mistake, its going to take a shit-load of money to sign Samuel. Who else is out there to strengthen the secondary? The Broncos are shopping Foxworth...but he's a 3rd or 4th CB...and if we want one, we already have Joselio Hanson...who is a dime corner, but not much else.

Clean Jokes

2008-02-21T03:39:00.000-10:00

A woman came home, screeching her car into the driveway, and ran into the house. She slammed the door and shouted at the top of her lungs, 'Honey, pack your bags. I won the lottery!' The husband said, 'Oh my God! What should I pack, beach stuff or mountain stuff?' 'Doesn't matter,' she said. 'Just get out.'
********************************************

Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right, and the other is a husband.
*************************************

A Polish immigrant went to the DMV to apply for a driver's license. First, of course, he had to take an eye sight test The optician showed him a card with the letters

'C Z W I X N O S T A C Z.' 'Can you read this?' the optician asked. 'Read it?' the Polish guy replied, 'I know the guy.'
***********************************************

A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband. Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen. 'Careful,' he said, 'CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my gosh! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my gosh! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful. CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!' The wife stared at him. 'What in the world is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?' The husband calmly replied, 'I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving.'
***************************************************************

Fifty-one years ago, Herman James, a North Carolina mountain man, was drafted by the Army. On his first day in basic training, the Army issued him a comb. That afternoon the Army barber sheared off all his hair. On his second day, the Army issued Herman a toothbrush. That afternoon the Army dentist yanked seven of his teeth. On the third day, the Army issued him a jock strap. The Army has been looking for Herman for 51 years.
*******************************************

I Don't Care

2008-02-11T20:09:00.000-10:00

I got this "I don't care" email from a friend and well, I liked it. Most of it is not mine, but I did add a couple of things.

'Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by radical Islamists who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?

Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan , across the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania ?

Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?

And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was 'desecrated' when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?...Well, I don't. I don't care at all.

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia.

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for chopping off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called 'insurgents' in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the ruthless leaders of these terror organizations stop using the poor, women and the mentally retarded as (sometimes) unwitting bombers.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about the government roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank: I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed 'special' food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being 'mishandled, ' you can
absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don't care.

And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled 'Koran' and other times 'Quran.' Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and-you guessed it-I don't care !!

If you don't agree, then by all means, go somewhere else.

A few final thoughts:

'Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem' -- Ronald Reagan

One last thought for the day:

In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember the words of Britain's former Prime Minister Tony Blair: When asked by a member of Parliament why he believes so much in America , he said: 'A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in.. And how many want out.'

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.

One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

George Carlin's solution to Save Gasoline:

2008-01-13T10:48:00.000-10:00

Bush wants us to cut the amount of gas we use. The best way to stop using so much gas is to deport 11 million illegal immigrants! That would be 11 million less people using our gas. The price of gas would come down. Bring our troops home from Iraq to guard the border. When they catch an illegal immigrant crossing the border, hand him a canteen, rifle and some ammo and ship him to Iraq. Tell him if he wants to come to America then he must serve a tour in the military. Give him a soldier's pay while he's there and tax him on it. After his tour, he will be allowed to become a citizen since he defended this country. He will also be registered to be taxed and be a legal patriot. This option will probably deter illegal immigration and provide a solution for the troops in Iraq and the aliens trying to make a better life for themselves. If they refuse to serve, ship them to Iraq anyway, without the canteen, rifle or ammo. Problem solved. If you think this is a good solution to both the problems, forward it to your friends.

Are You a Dead-Head?

2008-01-11T01:14:00.000-10:00

And no, I don't mean are you a Jerry Garcia fan. I'm talking about the real dead....George A. Romero-style....coming back, shambling around, trying to feast on the living.

ok, so Romero's Dead series, after a great beginning with Night of the Living Dead in 1968, reached its pinnacle with the original Dawn of the Dead in the 70s. Day of the Dead was, well, let's just be generous and call it bad, while his renewed vision Land of the Dead....had its moments, but all-in-all was merely alright, and definitely overshadowed by some other zombie-uprising movies (like the Dawn of the Dead remake, 28 Days Later, heck even Shaun of the Dead....).

Well anyway, if you enjoy the series like I do, check out the exclusive trailer Romero has put on MySpace for his new (hopefully) series: Diary of the Dead.

A Post-Season Post Mortem

2008-01-06T10:09:00.000-10:00

The worst part about the Eagles season ending last week. Nothing else to look forward to football-wise until some media-created sensations like the Free Agency declaration deadline and the NFL Network-hyped Scouting Combine....yikes....

But as the litany of mistakes and miscues turned 2007 into a "coulda, woulda, shoulda" situation, it became obvious the team needs more playmakers to be a true contender. The Red-Zone Defense was awesome this year, but its not enough to simply stop the other team, a championship-caliber defense chimes in with a few scores of it own (the '07 Eagles got NONE) and causes periodic turnovers that put the offense in prime scoring position (a real rarity this year). In fact, the Eagles did the opposite, the Offense routinely put the defense behind the proverbial eight-ball and repeatedly coughed up an early pick-six INT that gave an opponent an early lead (both the Pats and Seahawks in games that wound up being closely-contested and easily join the shoulda/woulda W column).

Roster changes. Rich Hoffman sees it this way: That said, I see about four new starters: tight end, left guard, defensive end, fullback (with DE the most important. And this assumes that cornerback Lito Sheppard returns healthy.) I see a new third wide receiver and a real return specialist. I see draft picks aimed at the future: cornerback, safety, offensive line, running back.

I see it this way: Unless a real talent drops into the Eagles' laps during the draft, they will stick with Celek at TE. Competition will open up along the O-line - look for at least 1 draft choice and a couple of undrafted guys to be towed in to shake-up the complacency... Runyan stays and he and Andrews form a solid right wall....not sure about the left side though....

DE - Kearse leaves, and probably Howard - though I think Darren Howard's versatility along the D-Line could lead to his return in a support role (albeit at a grossly over-inflated paycheck for such duties). Old re-treads like Kimo VO and Montae Reagor get replaced. Patterson doesn't need veteran leadership anymore. He IS the veteran, and Bunkley be in year 3. If LaJuan Ramsey isn't ready to step-in and fill a more prominent 3rd DT role, then he need to go at this point.

FB - See if you can snag Schmitt from WVU, he's a bruising blocker and he's got good hands. Something AR should like. Tapeh can be adequate at times, and that's being generous.

DBs - Bye bye Will James, hello to new contracts to for restricted FAs Joselio Hanson and JR Reed. At least tendered offers that keep them coming back for 2008. YES, that does not preclude the Eagles from either bringing in a better UFA Corner and/or drafting both a CB and a Safety, but Reed proved he can play, and I think mmm-bop wound up playing better than Will James did this year. Hanson knows the system, and while a guy like Nick Graham could actually have more talent, he's got to learn his role and step-up....Hanson filled in OK (not great mind you) when called upon. He's not going to be anything more than a decent 4th CB in this league....but fuck, at least we have that, one less hole to fill.

LB - Spikes comes back and the young guys take another step next year. Maybe Gocong plays more stand-up DE because it really looks like JJ needs to find a way to get Steward Bradley on the field. That dude was tearing it up, making some plays in his limited role at the end of the season.

Special Teams - Dorenbos is set as the Long-snapper, and I think the comments about Rocca and Akers being comfortable with him suggests the Eagles believe they are ok at P and K. Not to say that there won't be some new legs brought in to be tested out, but just that Rocca gets another year to settle in and prove what he learned from 2007 and Akers gets a pass as well after struggling this year. Struggle in 2008??? and things won't be so kind in 2009. Reno, bless his heart, got another year out of his unlikely pro-football career, but methinks that was it. GO FIND A FUCKING RETURN MAN.

I'll do the rest of the offense later

Ahmed the Dead Terrorist Returns for the Holidays

2008-01-02T03:57:00.000-10:00

Achmed The Dead Terrorist - Jingle Bombs - For more funny movies, click here

More funny puppet shit

The Christmas Haul

2007-12-27T16:01:00.000-10:00

Well, Christmas is the season of giving, and we certainly ensure there is plenty to open on our Christmas morn....(especially for those animals)...

We have 11 separate smaller videos to post on Google Video, and I'm sure they'll all make their way onto the blog.

We got quite a haul this Christmas. Movies galore (they're easy to ship and both of our Amazon wishlists were full of various videos) and our HD movies list sky-rocketed. Counting the 5 "rebate movies we got (which arrived on Christmas Eve) we scored over 20 new titles, including: the new Blade Runner 5 disc-set, the Ocean's trilogy (11,12,13), The Bourne Identity, Shrek the Third, The Transformers, Training Day, Road Warrior (woohoo!), Lethal Weapon, Swordfish (the prior 4 in a four-pack), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Casablanca, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Pitch Black, Chronicles of Riddick, Blazing Saddles and We Were Soldiers - all on HDDVD....then on Blu-ray I gave Christina the Die Hard Collection, Fifth Element, the 300, and Final Fantasy. And that doesn't count television series, where Christina scored the first 6 season of That 70s Show, Daria, season 3 of Medium; while I got Lost - Season 3, Prison Break - season 2, and Smallville -season 6. Hollywood writer's strike? What strike? fellas I won't know the difference for months!

The more traditional haul included lots of LL Bean socks and warm things (get cold here ya know), a couple of throw blankets, Christmas ornaments (again we each got the other the same Santa in the Service military one....our fleet of ships continues to grow), books (Freakanomics, The World is Flat, The U.S. Intelligence Community, one on Kim Jong-il, and a few others including one by my favorite fantasy author Raymond E. Feist: Murder in LaMut.

As for the Eagles stuff: the folks scored me a new 75th Anniversary Dawkins #20 jersey (and it worked btw - they beat the Saints when I wore it), a little clock and a 2008 calendar.

We also got a crock-pot from Christina's aunt and a note that our crockpot inventory has doubled because the folks got us one as well. So we went from no crock pots to two in the span of a few days.

But what about the games??!! Well it was good year for Microsoft, because our XBox 360 collection expanded quite nicely. I got Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed, while Christina got the Simpson's Game (its co-op), then after Christmas we went to the BX and lo' and behold, they not only had Guitar Hero III, but also plenty of Gibson guitar controllers....SO we used the money Christina's grandmother sent us to get GH III and two guitars (one for each of us ya know - its another Co-Op game!). Guitar Hero III is a little hard, and I still think I might get Rock Band (the OTHER musical rhythm game out this year), but her friend Annabelle has GH III, so they can play online now. I also downloaded about 5 "new" games from XBox Live - I didn't realize that most of the coin-op classics were just five bucks.....so now I have some games like Contra, Jetpac, Tempest, Smash TV, etc to help ween away those spare minutes....

Nothing new for the PS3 - they just don't have as many cool games. Though the download PAIN is awesome! Good thing I don't depend on it for my gaming entertainment.

As for the DS - Christina got Sudokuro - which has both Sudoku and Kakuro games. Oh, and Scott, you got me a lot with those Amazon gift certs man....another book (Joel Rosenberg's Paladins II, the Transformers score, the Matrix Trilogy on HDDVD plus two DS games: Orcs and Elves, and Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command).

Videos to come soon

Jump-Starting ye ole Blog

2007-12-19T02:13:00.000-10:00

Well folks its been awhile and that probably means that I've lost whatever meager viewership I actually had. Oh well. Easy come, easy go.

So what have I been doing?
Working, getting ready for the holidays, and playing lots of Call of Duty 4.

But you know plenty of stuff has been going on that requires comment:

First the ridiculous: The assertion that Mike Huckabee deliberately put in a subliminal cross symbol in his recent Merry Christmas ad. Did you catch it? Perhaps....since you were probably looking for it. The supposed cross is the bookshelf behind Huckabee....look folks, I am not a Huckabee fan (I don't "heart" Huckabees - that MOVIE SUCKED), but I think folks are going over the line trying to parse everything in every single candidates' lives.

And who the fuck is Ron Paul, and why is he even commenting about this? Get a last name douchebag.

Second, I found a great website for the old Commodore 64 - perhaps the greatest computer-gaming platform in history. Check out C64.com!

Third, a complaint. What game developer in this day and age creates a game with a fixed camera? Take Conan for instance.
Conan for the XBox 360 is pretty good, but implementation could have been a whole lot better.

Lets go down the line:

Graphics - a bit of letdown. I believe that the designers are trying to emulate the visual style of the many fantasy paintings done of Conan, and it sections it really works and looks outstanding. In other areas, especially the Queen/companion and other cutpieces - the graphics are laughable and the water effects are some of the worst this side of a PS1.

Gameplay - the fighting can be fantastically fun at time. The different fighting styles (two-handed, dual-wield, sword-n-shield) all have their own special moves. Lately I\'ve been partial to the Shield, which allows for some nasty Parry-then-attack death blows. And any game that tracks the number of limbs hacked off earns points in my book.

Voice-Acting - I didn't mind Ron Perlman and Claudia Black is good. The game definitely could've used a few more quips here and there and you'll hear every single one within the first 30 minutes of play.

Is it fun? - This is the real kicker, because at its core - hacking and slashing waves of itching-to-lose-limbs-enemies can be both extremely entertaining and satisfying. HOWEVER, sometimes the action gets bogged down by a truly dismal fixed cinematic camera. How any game designer in this day and age could believe that a fixing the camera and torturing players with some retarded perspectives is the way to go is beyond me. In many places you can forgive it. But when the came doesn't track properly and you forced to do one of the multitude of jumping sequences near-blind. Well, lets just say that the curses start to get dropped rather liberally in my household. It REALLY detracts from my pleasure with the game. Please game developers, listen to us gamers, give US the option to play the game HOW WE WANT TO.

Every Team Won but the One I WANTED

2007-12-04T04:24:00.000-10:00

Jeez folks, had a great, absolutely great football weekend....except for the fact that the only team I truly care about fucked things up and handed yet another potential win to the opposition.

I mean Saturday was a tremendous football day. Navy crushed Army 38-3....my alma mater Pitt pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year, stunning West Virgina 13-9 in the Backyard Brawl and ending WVU's BCS title hopes, and Hawaii (my most recent home state) stayed undefeated, going 12-0 by coming back to beat Washington 35-28 in front of a raucous home crowd.

BOTH of my fantasy football teams rocked the house as well. I made the playoffs in one league, and looked to secure a spot in the final four in another....

and then the Eagles lose and its all suddenly worthless...dammit A.J....shithead...

oh what to do....perhaps shoot the shit out of some noobs in Call of Duty on my new 61" Panasonic HDTV! Hell yeah...Games and movies in 1080p! This shiznit is off da hizzle, my bizzle!
oops sorry..translation - that means its really good.

Eagles Piss Away Another Win and With it - Probably the Season

2007-12-02T18:05:00.000-10:00

I have a real hard time blogging after a game like today's.

Where to start?

Well the clamoring for A.J. Feeley should cease. and Yes. For the record, I felt A.J. had done enough to merit a start, to earn a shot. You know the saying fool me once - shame on you, fool me twice - shame on me. This was twice. Many of us were more than willing to delude ourselves after the Eagles' close-shave-loss to the Patriots. They'd played inspired and we thought...well damn, if only A.J. hadn't spotted the Pats 7 points with that stupid "pick-6" interception, we'd have had 'em.

Well folks - if only A.J. hadn't spotted the Seahawks 14 easy-as-pie first quarter scores - this game, like last Sunday night's, would have played out much, much differently.

That's not the only low-light:
- I think A.J. thought the Eagles had signed a new tight-end. Lofa Tatupu. I can't question Feeley's accuracy. He drilled the ball right to Lofa three times. Hell, it looked like Tatupu was the intended receiver on a couple of those (By the way, our actual TE L.J. Smith, caught 3 passes as well)
- Four piss poor interceptions is four too many. These weren't acrobatic defensive plays folks....these were sophomoric, rookie-level, stare-down-the-receiver or throw-it-right-to-the-defender plays. Literally. There were Seahawks players just waiting for the ball in a couple of situations.
- The absolute stone-motherfucking-hands of our Linebackers....The play after Tatupu pretended to be our tight end to start the game....Hasselbeck drills Takeo Spikes in the chest with a pass (musta been the lighting, that wrong uniform this was contagious). The only difference - Spikes drops the ball. Later in the game, Omar Gaither performed a similar favor for the Seahawks QB. Unfortunately, the Seahawks players were not so courtesy (lousy guests).

- The play-calling. What did we have 50 passes? 2 to 1 pass/run on a day of freezing rain/sleet. Gimme a fucking break. Phil Sheridan is right. There were long runs all day. Including long TD run by Buck and Westbrook (and Morris for the Seahawks). Yet the Eagles kept going bombs away. Sigh.

SILENCE! I KILL YOU!

2007-11-29T02:13:00.000-10:00

A, C, Flegm....

This is the funniest shit I've seen in a while

Eagles Lose....But Win

2007-11-25T19:06:00.000-10:00

Yeah there is no column for moral victories in the NFL standings. And yes, the Eagles are now globbed together with the 4skins, Vikings, Bears, Cardinals and Saints at 5-6, staring up at Detroit and NY for the two NFC wild-card spots.

Yet, I cannot help but get the feeling that the Eagles can use this game as a springboard. The Cards lost a brutal OT game...the Lions are practically in a free-fall; the Saints inconsistent.....the Vikings romped over the Giants today and the Bears got a huge lift with an unreal OT-win at Soldier Field against the Broncos...Washington? they dominated the second-half statistically against the Buccaneers, but 6 turnovers??? hoo-boy....I don't fear the 'Skins...and the Giants? how do lay a stinker like they just laid at home against the Viking in late November? Could another late-season collapse be looming? One can only hope.

As for the Eagles....if they continue to play like they did against the Patriots....they will win out, just like last year, and finish 10-6. The only problem with that is that it won't be enough to win the NFC East, because the 'Boys have the East locked up.

Sunday Follies

2007-11-25T11:24:00.000-10:00

Well the rest of the NFC dorked it up, so if the Eagles can pull off a stunner....they'll really be looking good. And if they can't muster enough to be the Patriots (as just about everyone expects) well then, not much harm done.

The Giants (7-4) got rocked by Minnesota (5-6) 41-10 thanks to three "picks sixes" by Eli
Washington (5-6) couldn't hang onto the ball enough to beat Tampon Bay (7-4)
And Detroit (6-5) dropped their third straight to Green Bay (10-1) on Thanksgiving Day

The only down news is that the Saints (5-6) have climbed back into contention by clobbering the Carolina Panthers 31-6.

Arizona is in there too, playing right now and since their opponent is the once-again-woeful 49ers, I expect the Cards to be right in the thick of things going down the stretch as well.

That Good Ole' Easy Feel(ey)ing

2007-11-24T13:44:00.000-10:00

Its official, both McNabb and backup/starting safety Quintin Mikell were downgraded to OUT for the Patriots game Sunday night.

Here's a question, why not play the game Belicheat always plays and just say they're a game-time decision and then decided announce just before kickoff.....
The bad part: it probably is not going to make much difference. The Patriots are playing on a different level from the rest of the NFL right now.
The good part: perhaps the coaching staff won't rely purely on McNabb to carry the team and will come up with an inventive, balanced attack to counter the Patriots.
The ugly: what do we do if Feeley leads us in knocking off the Pats?

Expand Your Mind and Feed the Hungry

2007-11-24T04:56:00.000-10:00

Feel like testing your vocab and assisting in donations to the U.N. Food Program?
Go here: Free Rice.com

A bunch of sponsors offer to donate 10 grains of rice for every word you get correct. Okay, 10 grain whoopee....but when the daily total soars in the hundreds of millions....that adds up...so do your part and expand your vocabulary.

I've made it Vocab Level 43 unassisted....but I always seem to get one that stumps me and sends me back to Level 42 or I get a little string of truly obscure words and I drop down....and then I have to fight my way back up....it can be surprising addictive

Thanksgiving Whiteout

2007-11-23T03:12:00.000-10:00

Holy crap!

Had some serious snow on Thanksgiving! Turkey day started about 10AM for me. I looked out the window and was stunned....there was a good 6-8 inches on the ground.
So first things first, I had to don some warm clothes so I clear some space for the boys to do their "business"
See what I mean? That's like a sheer white cliff for a dachshund.

Then I got to shoveling out the driveway and alley. Put the plucky (read cheap) little snowblower we have to work. But in honesty...its almost easier to shovel...almost....
Click here to see the video
Here is a picture of the view out the back after I shoveled a space for the boyos...
I learned a very powerful lesson a few minutes later when it started to snow again. Shoveling snow in Misawa is like farting into a hurricane. Within minutes the drive/alley was coated again.
Want to see what a typical snow-day is for us. Click here to see the video we took of the backyard a few hours later. That trench I dug for the boys? Filled in. The Pachinko parlor "out back" all but invisible. Its the same perspective as the picture above. Swear.

A White Thanksgiving

2007-11-17T23:59:00.000-10:00

Now, I've heard of dreaming of a white Christmas, but I don't remember too many "white Thanksgivings"....and if we're "lucky" we may just get one here in Misawa. Have a few inches of the jolly white stuff already on the ground and its snowing heavy at the present time.

More later once the sun comes up...and I can take some pictures

Dachshund Break

2007-11-17T14:29:00.000-10:00

Ok, taking a little break from Call of Duty 4, which is about as good a first-person shooter as there is, and is the current game sucking away my time. And YES, the game really does look just like thi s. Its not some special video.

Figured I'd throw a couple pics of the boys out there
This is the 'hey bitch, turn on the heat, it's friggin' cold in here' look from D.J.

Turning the tables on Zaar. He always goes into empty boxes if we leave them open and on the. And then he'll deliberately leave him ball in there and beg us to go get it...So after convincing him that that is his job, we turn it upright on him. HA!
How could you NOT give a treat to a dog that handsome? Of course, that's exactly what he's counting on....

84 Minutes for Drunk Driving? - That's Some Bullshit

2007-11-16T02:30:00.000-10:00

Caught drinking and driving not once BUT TWICE, and the Lil Miss Mean Girl, Lindsey Lohan, gets 84 minutes in jail?

WOW, What a life-altering experience that must've been. I am sure the dull white walls were really closing in on her. She didn't even have to don a DOC Jumpsuit...that wouldn't that have been a photo-op.

What is this world coming to? All those Don't Drive and Drive message public service announcements, all those horrible stories....and people who do it OVER AND OVER AND OVER just walk. Oh sorry. They walk out after less time in the clink than people spending suffering through their atrocious movies.

The biggest sign of progress? She spent two more minutes in jail than fellow drunk skank teabagger Nicole Richie....Maybe the LA County Jail should just take them all to a matinee showing of the Love Bug after their morning of rigorous in-processing? At least then they get to spend an actual afternoon in detention.

Let's Not get Too Hasty

2007-11-12T11:52:00.000-10:00

I appreciate a win as much as the rest of Eagles nation, but I think the demeanor of the coverage is appropriate - it was a nice win, a HUGE, potentially season-saving win, but it doesn't suddenly mean the Eagles have arrived.

Let's face it. There is the potential for an equally GI-normous letdown next Sunday when the 0-fer Dolphins limp into the Linc. Who the F wants to a face a win-less team at this point in the season?

NOBODY! Ask the Saints. At some point, pride kicks in and the team comes up with a respectable effort (though they really should've beaten the Bills yesterday, oh well, oops).

Think the Boo-birds were bad Sunday Night vs Dallas? What happens if McNabb coughs up another cheap fumble to Jason Taylor? Or the special teams isn't and the Birds finds themselves looking up at a winless team in November at home? Yikes....

Look, I don't expect any of that to happen. If this Eagles team is going to do anything, they need to stomp on Miami, get to .500 and then try and summon an angel to help them defeat the Patriots...

But back to Sunday, my satellite coverage was spotty but AFN replayed the Eagles games last night, so I got see some of it on my nice big widescreen TV instead of streaming to my computer monitor (which ain't so small either).

Did anyone notice:
- The effectiveness of the offense with a finally healthy L.J. Smith in the line-up. Westbrook was his usual phenomenal self, but its hard to ignore a 4 TD performance by McNabb and 3 for 3 TD ratio inside the redzone in the first game that L.J. was out there for a significant period (and by that I mean consistently, every series, not just spot duty.). Not saying he's the magic pill that made the O go, but his presence helped. For whatever reason, the Birds got it done when they needed to.

- The plays by the up-to-now-invisible Darren Howard on the goal-line in the 4th quarter? He was in the run to the right (tackle made by Howard, Bunk, Patt and Co), he was in the Portis dive to the goal-line where he got stood up, fumbled and snatched it back before it got away, and he was the guy who penetrated the line and dragged Portis down on the the running play to the right. Somehow, he was all over the place. Does that mean I think he's not a stiff. Umm no, he hasn't played anywhere near close to contract, and he'll be gone after the season...but...it was nice to see him show up and be accounted for...

Gut Check Win in Washington

2007-11-11T11:25:00.000-10:00

Hoo-boy....had to sweat one out in Washington this morning. Oh jeez. I tell you what

Things I liked:
- Goal-line D....stiffened when it needed to....down 22-20, the Redskins had at least 7 plays inside the 10 and couldn't punch it in. Heck, it was only a spectacular save by Portis that prevented the Skins from coughing up a fumble. Anyway, holding them to a FG was HUGE. Score 25-20 after that, and a couple plays later, Brian Westbrook is taking a screen-pass to the house for a 26-25 lead.

- Brian Westbrook. Best all-round back in the NFL right now. Period. He just tied Thurman Thomas and Wilbert Montgomery for the having the most games (9) with both a rushing and a receiving touchdown. That a Hall of Fame player and the Eagles all-time leading rusher. That is pretty good company. 183 total yards and 3 touchdowns. Not only did he give my fantasy team a huge boost, his performance today may be a catalyst for the Eagles to sustain some momentum. We've got winless Miami next week.
Image courtesy AP
- More aggressive play-calling in the second half. With Carlos Rogers out and Fred Smoot visibly limping around, the Eagles played timid in the first half. And it showed. The Eagles were down 15-7 at the half and looked pretty frickin' bad. In the second half, the Eagles began taking some shots. Not all of them worked, but they don't ALL NEED TO. Its set a tone, it tells the opposition they can't just cluster the line of scrimmage and play the short pass.

What I didn't like:
Donovan McNabb's inaccuracy. Weird to criticize a guy who goes 20/28 for 250 and 4 TDs, but there were critical plays in the game where Don just looked bad. The pass to Celek on the 3rd possession. Wide open TE...could've set up a scoring opportunity - easy - but whoops! Horrible throw and BOOM goes the punt. There were also a few of McNabb's patented gopher balls thrown in there. It may be nit-picking because we won...but seriously....It was very frustrating.

McNabb's almost game-choking fumble, Jeez oh man, another criticism of the QB? Yup...the defense hadn't done DICK. Nothing to stop the 4skins. And with the Skins up 22-20 and driving, the Eagles force a fumble by Ladell Betts at their own 25. Woohoo, Eagles ball and hope springs eternal.

Next play - McNabb scrambling around and coughs up a cheap fumble...To give the ball RIGHT BACK after that shit. DAMMIT. The Defense managed to hold (see above) them to a FG, but I tell you what, that could've been a killer. A real game-killer. It wasn't, but it almost was.

Will James....holy shit dude. YOU SUCK....James boasted about being a starter in the off-season, but it looks more like he's the second coming of Izel "Toast" Jenkins.

Wings Clipped

2007-11-05T19:20:00.001-10:00

Sorry my computer crashed as I was typing up my response to last night flop-ola against the Cowboys.

Donovan and the Eagles picked a helluva night to lay a turd. I guess all that energy from the big intro really didn't translate into execution.

My primary questions:
- Where have all the playmakers gone? Did everyone but Lito and Westbrook take the night off?
- Was Reid really not distracted by his family situation? Did that truly not also affect the team?
- How many games until the chants for Kolb become deafening?
- This was a total team defeat - no aspect of the team played well. But McNabb deserves his fair share of the blame for two horrendous plays (starting the game with a fumble, and nullifying our only INT (by Lito which snubbed out a Cowboys drive) by throwing a retarded pass three plays later (and re-igniting the Cowboys drive)).

The Eagles are not going to pull this one out folks. Last night was their chance to get back into the race, put their stamp on McNabb's claim that the NFC "runs through Philadelphia." Well, he was right about one thing. It DID run through Philly, problem, it kept right on running out the gates and jumped on the Cowboys' bus to the airport.

Gameday!

2007-11-04T14:55:00.000-10:00

Been up for hours.....for some reason I got up at about midnight (game doesn't start locally until after 10AM) and have been up ever since.

Colts-Pats game was good. Disappointing in that the Patriots came back to win.
Minnesota stomped all over the Chargers...thanks to Adrian Peterson, who rushed for an NFL single- game-day record of 296 yards....hmm, makes me appreciate the Eagles D a little bit more, since we effectively shut AP down last week.

More later

Thoughts on Dallas Week and other things

2007-11-01T14:24:00.000-10:00

Lots of talk this week about the Eagles season being on the line Sunday Night against Dallas. And to be honest, as much as I hate to say that any game in the first half of the season is a absolute must-win....I have to agree.

The Eagles are 3-4, the Cowboys 6-1 (Giants 6-2, Redskins 4-3)...A loss against the Cowpukes on Sunday, at home, would put the Eagles in a near-insurmountable hole: 4 games behind the 'Boys, with 8 to play and 0-3 (including 2 homes losses) against the NFC East. Even for an devout football optimist like myself...that is a bridge too far (as far as playoff hope goes).

But I tell you what. Dawkins will be back and that alone should give the Eagles an injection of emotion and energy. And another thing, 4-4, just two games back of the front-running Cowboys and Giants, with 8 to play....sounds a whole lot better doesn't it? Dawkins return will allow "Q" to return his special teams captaincy, so hopefully, those teams get a boost on Sunday Night as well. And let's face it - the Eagles will need to bring their "A" game in every facet to prevail in their biggest game of the year (so far). Well to be honest, they need to win Sunday just so that they get to have "big games" later in the season.

In other news:
The Eagles ended the Matt McCoy experiment this week. No big impact there. The idjit decided to level Minnesota's punter in the third quarter last Sunday, just as the Eagles were poised to take-over inside Viking's territory after nice defensive hold that forced the Vikes to punt from their own end-zone. So instead of taking possession at the Vikings 45, the Eagles were pushed back to their own 40. And Dawk was pissed. The cameras followed his raggin' out McCoy and then yelling "FUCK" on the sidelines after the call. Now Westbrook bailed McCoy out by delivering a 25yd+ screen on the next play, but the damage was done. More telling, no one, and I mean NO ONE, came to his defense. Dawkins was on 950 AM talk radio the next day discussing the "message" the coaches were sending. MESSAGE RECEIVED.

Of more concern - both of coach Andy Reid's sons are going to be spending some time in jail now. AR missed practice on Thursday to attend his sons' sentencing. Both got 23-month sentences. And judge laid in the Reid household as well: A judge who sentenced Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid's sons to jail on Thursday likened the coach's home to "a drug emporium" and questioned whether his adult sons should live there, given their drug problems.

Look, I don't give a crap about his private life. But I worry that this is going to be a distraction to the head coach right before the biggest game of the year. I mean, if we get out-coached, out-smarted, and do what we've done in our losses this year (you know the mantra: a stubborn lack of adjustments, poor clock-management, wasted time-outs) - then I don't know how there would be any other conclusion to come to other than: Andy Reid is distracted and perhaps he needs to step aside or shed some duties. The burden must be incredible. But I am not all that comfortable with the idea that my football hopes (as well as those of the greater Philadelphia metropolitan region) rest on a mind troubled by the drug-addled downfall of two of the head coach's sons.

Eagles Show a Pulse

2007-10-29T02:17:00.000-10:00

In the words of ex-Eagles coach Brad Childress, "the demise of Donovan McNabb has been greatly exaggerated" (ok, he didn't quite say it that way - the way he said it was stupid).

The Eagles put together a complete effort on Sunday.

Rookie RB Adrian Peterson leading the league in rushing - and then getting named the "go to back" during the week by the Vikes....no problem.

Red Zones woes - little better. The Eagles scored two TDs - though they did screw up two other chances.....The reason? Better play-calling. The Eagles ran multiple-sets down inside the 20. They RAN it more. Their passes were executed better. Just an all-round better effort. Period.

What an Amazing Play

2007-10-29T01:20:00.000-10:00

Perhaps the most unbelievable play in College Football. I don't think it will quite surpass the Cal-Stanford "Band is on the Field" play....BUT....its good. No, its great.
How did they pull this off?

Eagles Already Entering Spoiler-Mode

2007-10-21T13:29:00.000-10:00

The Eagles couldn't hang on today, losing 19-16 versus the Bears.

Plenty of sour grapes to go around, and a ton of question penalties (to be fair there were calls on both teams, but I think the Eagles wound up bearing the brunt of the them).

For starters:
- Can't score in the Red Zone.....3 trips inside the 20 and 3 FGs....that's just poor folks. Poor.
- Some gay-ass retard def. holding call in the 2nd qtr. Will James performed a perfect press coverage, clean contact within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage - yet out comes the flag, and instead of punting the Bears get second life and wind up scoring a FG out of it. And it you think 3 pts doesn't matter? On a day when the O was struggling and the game was decided by 3.....
- The most miserable call of the day - a phantom hold on Todd Herremans on a 3rd and 3 with 2:24 left.....Westbrook runs for a first down - and the game is OVER....oh no...there had to be a penalty to call right? Sure thing. The refs whistle up a holding call. Now, I don't know if they called in on the wrong guy, but on the replay, it seems like all Herremans does is let the Chicago LB Briggs fall to the ground with his own momentum....
Well anyway, that call set-up the improbably finish. Instead of watching the Eagles run three plays and rag the clock to zero, we get to see the Bears drive the length of the field and score a TD....

So what now?
The Eagles aren't going to catch the other teams in the NFC East. The Cowboys and Giants have started the season too well. And both are not going to collapse (again). This isn't 2006. 3-3....sure...the Eagles are still within striking distance; but to already have 4 losses by Week 7 - no matter how close the games, there is no special column close losses, this isn't the NHL - it has become a near-impossible hole from which to dig out.

Can they win 10-in-a-row and go 12-4? Unlikely, not with an offense that can't cash-in, and a defense that was oh-so-close today, but just couldn't shut the door. Whatever mojo the Eagles had in the past that would allow them to squeak through these games and emerge on the other side of the season with a double-digit win season is gone. Hell, a 10-6 record would mean going 8-2.....and with the exception of the games versus the Bills and Dolphins, can you think of a game in which the Eagles will be favored? Even factoring in a division split with the NFC East (a tall task since we're already 0-2) that's one loss. Not being able to score above 20 is sure to cause a few more....The way the team is executing - 5 or 6 wins in the final 10 is about as optimistic a prediction as can be mustered. So that's what 7-9, 8-8? That isn't going to do it folks.

The Birds are finding ways to lose the close games they used to find ways to win. Its going be a rough ride for the rest of 2007....I'm still bailing water, though I can imagine the boards will be full of folks bailing out....could be a lonely season for hopefuls like me....

When is the next Flyers game?

Can I get a Hell Yeah?

2007-10-16T14:07:00.000-10:00

A W is a W

2007-10-14T11:44:00.000-10:00

PHINALLY! The Eagles pulled one out. Instead of grumbling about an inept offense unable to score, Birds fans got to watch the team fight and scrap - and while wildly, maddeningly inconsistent - and just enough TO WIN.

What I liked the most:
- The offense sealing the win by running the final few minutes off the clock after the defense held the Jets on 4th down inside the 10.
- That key 3rd and 8 conversion to Reggie Brown. Hello there! Are you a wide receiver for the Eagles? Reggie finally showed up today. Anyway, that play, that execution sealed the victory.
- Brian Westbrook stepped it up after that completion, grinding out the first downs that burned the rest of the clock. All total: 120 yards on 20 carries (plus another 36 in the air). Fantasy-wise I wish he could've gotten into the end-zone, but reality-wise, I am quite happy seeing the Eagles able to run the ball when it counts.
- The fact that the Eagles actually adjusted at half-time! The defense went from cut-back run hell, to stuffing the shit out of Thomas Jones. The Jets really only had one good drive in second half.
- Sheldon Brown - he did a heckuva job taking L. Coles out of the game.
- The stand. 2nd and 1 - T Jones stuffed; 3rd and 1 - QB Sneak by Pennington stuffed; 4th and 1 - incomplete pass.

What I didn't like:
- The offensive funk in the second half. What the hell fellas? They moved the ball in the first half, but had precious few answer in the 3rd and 4th quarters.
- Red-zone ineptness. Plenty of drives, too few touchdowns. We lucked out. The Jets suck. A better team would've made us pay for not scoring TDs when we had all those early opportunities.
- The first half run D was non-existent. 96 yards for Thomas Jones in the first two quarters??? Ok so he only had 30 for the rest of the game. Again, we got lucky, T-Jones got the Jets into early scoring range but they whiffed on the FG (but they did get 2).
- Akers blowing 2 41-yard FG into the wind. He seemed to compensate too much, trying to get the ball to go left, he hooked them to the right. The Meadowland definitely has gotten into his head.

New Type of Post

2007-10-09T23:30:00.000-10:00

I figured it was time to institute a new kind of post here on the ole' blog.

I call it: "That some bullshit!" Its sort of my new catchphrase whenever I get screwed over in an online game of HALO 3.

First on the agenda: The Cowboys winning despite coughing the ball up 6 times, and the Bills getting 3 TDs from their defense and special teams. That's the epitome of "that some bullshit right there."

Next up, Michael Devlin....ok so the fucking pedophile rapist plead guilty, why is this fuckhead still breathing? We give him life-terms in jail. Great. So now he's costing tax-payers six-figures/year to keep him ass locked up for the next 40 or so years. After hearing the graphic details of his confession that shitface deserves to be hung by the balls with chicken-wire above a pit of starving alligators.

New York's plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants....now that's some BULLSHIT right there. Fuck Eliot Spitzer...douchebag. How about doing you friggin' job and enforcing the laws of your state instead of trying to skirt them? Oh and get this, some of the documentation being bandied about as potential types necessary for presentation to get your license as an illegal alien: PAROLE or Probation papers. Oh that's fucking rich. Actual citizens need birth certificates and social security cards, but some jackass might be able to use his parole papers? You shittin' me.

And wow, the San Francisco Chronicle didn't like Fred Thompson's "debut" debate yesterday. Now THAT's a shocker...Does San Francisco even qualify as an American city anymore? Why should give a crap what their editorialists think? Did he do well? I watched. I thought it took him a couple of questions to get comfortable, but damn, give the man a chance. I wouldn't expect a rag like the Chronicle to even consider giving the guy a fair shake anyway...ugh...

...and Whoever is playing Dallas this week

2007-10-08T16:33:00.002-10:00

You already know the beginning of that line: "My favorite team is the Eagles...". And lo' and behold, the Cowboys may have been caught napping this game. I saw may, because there is still a qtr and a half to play and the Bills are only leading 24-13. The Cowboys have the firepower to overcome this.

This is week to have the Bills D/ST: 2 def. tds and a 103 yard kickoff return??? Holy crap. 4 Romo Ints??? I can't imagine a D scoring more this week than the Bills. And speaking of fantasy teams. I won in both leagues (can the Eagles have off next week too? - nah check that, my one team is hurting with Westbrook sitting and Andre Johnson still injured - I need the WB is turn it on again.

Phillies, HALO 3 and Work

2007-10-05T10:02:00.000-10:00

Well, no posts recently

The reason: well work for one. Instead of getting up in the morning with little to do but peruse the Sports section and think of something to blog about, I have some honest to goodness work. Hee hee. It ain't so bad. Not a lot of work, but then again, I don't need to work a lot to make a decent amount of scratch, so that's pretty cool. I mean, if I can earn in 10 hours (working from home) what I'd get working 40 if I had some crap job on base....why bother?

Second, and the biggest reason by far - HALO 3. This game rocks. What can I say? There always thousands of people online looking to play. I enjoy playing with friends a bit more than the anonymous games, but they do in a pinch. I'm getting better. Still not very good, but not useless either. Just depends on the game.

As for the Phillies. Well, they dropped their first home games and it doesn't look good. Still I expect them to fight. After striving all fucking year, to go out with a whimper just wouldn't do.

Jeers, Goats and Observations from Sunday Night

2007-10-01T16:12:00.001-10:00

I don't want to leave Sunday night's debacle just yet

So here are some thoughts, in random fashion, about the game/State of Eagles

- How come when we line-up with a man on the nose and two LB/S covering each "A" gap, and we bring the house...it never works??? Yet on the very first series, the Giants do the same thing and OL parts like the Red Sea and McNabb gets clobbered.

- Lately it seems like all our "exotic" defense stuff just becomes pedestrian. Our D is doing pretty well. I don't think any team has really excelled against us. But on a day like Sunday, when the front four can't get pressure alone, and then the blitzing fizzles....Makes me wonder is at least some teams haven't caught up with JJ. (though to be fair, I am quite sure the Giants were well-schooled in the Eagles basics from former Eagles coach and current Giants Def Coordinator Spagnuolo.

- Do well really miss Tra Thomas that much?
- Quintin Mikell is playing well in place of Brian Dawkins
- Come back soon Lito, Will James may have talked a big game in the off-season, but he ain't backing up that "I'm a shutdown corner" talk now.

- How can the Eagles look so woefully unprepared in 3 of the 4 games they've played?
- Why are the Eagles seemingly unable/unwilling to adjust to what the other team is doing.
This is a big one folks. I mean, we've lost two games out of the first four because our Offense simply did not acknowledge/do anything to counter the gameplan of the opposing defense. Phil Sheridan wrote a good piece about part of that here: the Eagles are passaholics.
Case in point: against the Skins, the Eagles did nothing to counter Washington's press-man coverage (no formations, no motions, no deep balls, nothing). Against the Giants on Sunday, with everyone in the stadium aware that Giants DE Osi Umenyiora was schooling the Eagles new LT Winston Justice, the Eagles consistently called passing plays with blocking scheme calling for one-on-one blocking. Its wasn't until the second half (and McNabb was already running for his life by then) that I saw even the remotest attempt to help out Justice. And even then, it wasn't consistent.

- Sheldon Brown was right. In one of those Sunday Night tippers when the Players faces talk to the audience about what a great game is going to be on display, Sheldon said, the team that executes the best is going to win:
15 penalties for 132 yards, a missed FG, 12 GD SACKS, 3 dropped passes (at least) and so many blown blocking assignments McNabb is probably going to be in training tub for the entire bye week. Hmm, guess what. Sheldon was right.

Now for good news:
- The Birds may have had to play without Tra Thomas and Brian Westbrook Sunday, but the Buccaneers now have to play the rest of their season with their Starting LT and RB as Luke Pettigout and Cadillac Williams were both lost for the season earlier in the day. So things could be worse. Much worse.
- Andy Reid teams come out strong after the BYE. The coach's unflappable demeanor means a lot to the team. They will not pack-it-up and go home. They will keep fighting because they have character

Other thoughts:
- I know the Eagles will keep fighting. But realistically, they need to go what 9-3 the rest of the way? No its not impossible (though it certainly is impossible with the offense in disarray). This team is going to have to fight and scrap and claw just to get within sniffing distance...I fear that even if they do, they'll be mentally worn out by the end of December
- Do we make a bid to bring back Donte' Stallworth? He's clearly a one-year rental for the Pats. And you know they'll have to devote some $$$ for Moss. He wouldn't be the first former Eagles to return to the nest.

Phils Provide the Cheers - Birds the Jeers

2007-10-01T10:12:00.001-10:00

How weird is that? A Sunday in October and the Phillies give the fans more to cheer about than the Eagles.

Ok - my frustration level was off-the-charts with last night non-appearance by the offense again.

My thoughts:
- No Westbrook, no Dawk, no Lito, no Tra, no LJ = very vulnerable team
- Anyone else thinking our OL depth might be a little shaky. Winston, my man...what the hell went wrong? And you stupid eff'ing coaches - HOW ABOUT GIVING THE DUDE SOME FUCKING HELP.
- After the first two or three sacks it was obvious that Justice couldn't handle Giants DE Umenyiora. I have no clue why our offense is so stubborn and/or blind that it refuses to recognize these in-game nuances (though nuance is way too generous a term for watching your starting LT get steamrolled every series).
- 10 runs, 20 passes in a 7-0 first half. That's just great. On a night when McNabb usually had about 1.5 seconds to get rid of the ball we keep dialing up passes.....
- No protectee QB - no winee game - idiots
- You know early on, I didn't mind the play-calling - because the plays the Eagles had called WOULD HAVE worked, except for the fact that the Eagles offense executed so poorly. Every series had a dropped pass, penalty, poor throw and/or a sack. EVERY FUCKING SERIES!
- Case in point - First series - pass to Curtis - clang through the hands off the helmet and to the ground. So instead of moving the chains after the D sending Eli off the field with a three-and-out to open the game, the Birds return the favor - not because of what the Giants D did, but with what the Eagles failed to do.
- Early on the Giants scheme was to pressure McNabb up the middle. Every play. How did this not register with the coaches/OL?

I'll add more later.....

Suddenly Short-handed for Sunday Night

2007-09-30T13:59:00.000-10:00

Wow. The Eagles have a ton of deactivated stars tonight. Both Brians (Westbrook and Dawkins) are sitting, as is William "Tra" Thomas, L.J. Smith and Lito Sheppard.

Yikes....the Birds really need McNabb to get sharp tonight. And the D-line needs to keep it up. The secondary is still dinged up...They did a decent job contains the Lions. Now its Eli & Co.

Division games are always tough, and its just about time for the game to start. So see you later.

The Eagles, Heroes and Halo Oh MY!

2007-09-28T14:42:00.000-10:00

Been pretty quiet about the Birds lately.
Some good articles this week about various topics.

I liked the ones about the defensive line. You see, the Eagles D-Line has gotten off to an excellent start. The Eagles lead the NFL in sacks (note to self: they did the same thing early last year too, but then cooled off considerably and finished in the middle of the pack) and the DT combo of Bunkley and Patterson has excelled. Gaither and Spikes are able to flow to the ball and make plays and the run defense has looked solid. (another note of caution: Green Bay's run game sucks, Detroit's was non-existent...but the Eagles still did well against the 'Skins who had a good running attack). If the Eagles can get into the bye week safely (i.e. with a W), they should be able to guys like Lito, LJ and Dawkins healthy and come of the Bye 2-2 and ready to soar.

That's the plan anyway. Can they do it? Hard to say. Games vs the Giants are always tight. The Eagles are on the road and they're sketchy under Andy Reid in the week before their bye. Don't know why, but they are. This time is a bit different. The Eagles should still have a sense of urgency about them, they need to get to 2-2. No more lackadaisical play can be afforded - the Birds need to go the Meadowlands and take care of a weak Giants team.

In other news, the new season of Heroes has started. Fucking NBC and iTunes can't get their shit together, so actually watching the show is a pain-in-the-ass. But still. Episode one was pretty damn good. The writing is still solid, plenty of intrigue and intertwined plotlines are going already.

As for my current addiction - HALO 3. Well with the help of a couple friends, my wife and I beat the game last night. I just think its cool that we got to play a 4-player cooperative game. I thought it was funny, I had just planned to get through another stage or so with Christina, then Ulch logged on and wanted to play, so we restarted our campaign with him, and then Morris showed up and he joined in the final push. All-told, we wound up playing HALO 3 for like 7 hours yesterday! Aiya. How the hell did my non-gaming wife get sucked in a first-person shooter for most the evening? Tells you how good HALO is....And she's ready for more multi-player mayhem today. Have some friends stopping by and some others on-base ready to starting shootin' shit this afternoon. Its going to be a good Saturday...

Sorry its been so long

2007-09-26T20:47:00.000-10:00

Since I've blogged. I got some great news over the weekend. WORK! So I've been busy making some dough this week. I think it will keep going, but we'll see. Between that and the release of HALO 3, well, let's just say time has been at a premium this week.

Of course, Christina is putting in a serious run for Wife of the Year by trying to tackle a game well out of her normal puzzle-adventure comfort-zone. She's playing HALO 3 with me and we're having fun (I think) trying to beat the game in the cooperative campaign. I also played on-line for the first time ever and registered my first 7 kills in slayer mode (though the winner of the round had 15). Not bad for a NooB. Anyway, the game was a massive attraction at the exchange yesterday. I mean, a Harry Potter-esque queue formed up before the BX opened. Thankfully, they'd ordered plenty of copies so anyone who was smart enough to show up early got one.

Its an official phenom, scoring an unheard of $170 million in first-day sales in the U.S. alone. And I tell you what else, the game comes with a free 48-hour subscription to XBox Live Gold (where you can play online and keep track of stats etc)....its like having a vial of crack enclosed with the game. You see, I already have an XBox Live account (as if the Gamertag didn't give it away) and XBox Live arcade is simply the best in the business. Nothing comes close. And now, with HALO 3 you get dedicated gaming servers from maker Bungie! Connecting to a game or creating your own is a snap. And it fast. And most importantly - ITS FUN! I am brand new to this and the match-maker put in a contest with some other noobs. So I wasn't facing some ultra-Halo Master Chief wannabe. Did I lose? Sure. But I had a blast, and after I finish this guess where I am going to be? That's right - shooting some shit up on the TV.

Well anyway, I was going to include some thoughts on the Eagles in this, but you know, I will give them a separate entry.

Now THAT is more like it - Eagles Stomp Lions

2007-09-23T12:36:00.000-10:00

Ok folks, recall the bloodhounds, the Eagles offense surfaced from the depths to stomp the crap out of the Lions today at the Linc. Coming out in their "throwback" uniforms that were universally derided during various networks' pre-game shows (I believe hideous being most common adjective) the Eagles torched the Lions, scoring 5 straight touchdowns on their first five possessions.

Yet the game still had an air of eerie doubt when the Eagles - knocking on the door for their 6th straight TD - allowed Lions to practically come clean and hit McNabb, causing a fumble inside the 10. The Birds, up 35-14 at the time, were immediately burned by a slant-turned-90-yard-TD from Kitna to Roy Williams, and what looked like a dagger-in-the-heart 42-14 lead morphed into 35-21 lead that just didn't feel secure.

Soon after the Lions were again knocking on the door at the end of the first half. And I am sure the phaithful were grimacing at the idea of a 35-28 halftime lead, and a 35-24 score seemed all but inevitable, with the Lions well within Jason Hanson's range. But oopsie, Kitna lobbed up a jump-ball and Sean Considine came down with a nice catch in the endzone to eliminate the threat.

The good:
Our running worked and set-up play-action...the O worked the way its supposed to....we actually put men in motion, ran some crossing pattern, and YES passed on target and CAUGHT the ball...amazing the good thing that happen when the receivers
- Brian Westbrook. All everything today, over 100 rushing, over 100 receiving, 3TDs...
- Kevin Curtis. Breakout game for KC. topped 200 in the first half, 3 TDs...holy crap.
- The D-Line - 9 sacks today. They hounded Kitna all day.
- The O-Line - kept McNabb upright, blew open holes for Westbrook. Earned their keep in general....nice job up front fellas.

The Bad:
You know, when you blowout another team 56-21, there is no bad....but there is:

The Ugly:
- On a day when the Eagles were passing great, Reggie Brown only had 2 catches for 23 yards. 6 in 3 games???? Whassup wit dat?
- Not much else to complain about...Mahe caught the ball and had a couple of 10-12 yard returns, Rocca's punting was adequate (still waiting for a rocket launch) and the kickoff coverage was merely ok.

Word of the Day: Trepidation

2007-09-23T00:59:00.000-10:00

Weird, usually my mentality on game-day is ravenous. I want to see the Eagles kick some ass and take some names. Most of the time, I don't get that....what I usually do get, however, is a team that fights and scraps and makes my heart pound, my palms sweat and my hair turn gray. But usually - and more often than not since 2000 - they've come out on top.

So why should today's game any different?

Maybe is because McNabb doesn't seem like himself.
Maybe its because Lito is out and Dawk might be...
But this is fucking Detroit we're talking about! Not New England...not Chicago....the Eagles slow, mis-firing start has fans worried about Detroit!

Game starts in about 4 hours, and I've been up since 0700 (after 8pm now)....I should get some sleep before the game. (I type as I yawn...)

Andy Reid's Greatest Hits

2007-09-20T15:43:00.000-10:00

Found this on the EMB.
I'd link right to it, but I cannot find it on EMB again (dang)....

Anyway, I think a lot of Eagles fans are getting tired of hearing post-game press conferences in which we get the fed the same , and let me paraphrase: "I've got to put the players in a better position to make plays"

We all know that ANDY! What we want to see is some realization of adjustment that should be made during the GAME! When we fans can sit back and predict plays or take notice of glaring gaffes (again dead the no-motion, no-nothing response the press-man defensive coverage used by our opponents horse) and it happens time and again. Its get frustrating my man.

Andy Reid is without a doubt the best coach this team has ever had. No other coach in the last 45 years has been anywhere near as successful. None has won more games. Reid has an impressive array of credentials. And he's earned some benefit of the doubt.

That benefit is currently being given right now. I refuse to quit on this team. Andy Reid teams start slow and finish strong. I want to see him wright this ship, get the running game on track, coax McNabb along (the mf'er ain't 100% Andy, quit pretending he is) and start playing winning football.

Simple.
Now do it.

Tackling the Garcia/Stallworth Question

2007-09-18T15:53:00.000-10:00

Common theme following the Eagles 20-12 dud on Monday which dropped them to 0-2: If the Eagles had retained the services of both QB Jeff Garcia (currently 1-1 with Tampa but looking very sharp) and WR Donte' Stallworth (currently running under the radar - and behind Wes Welker and Randy Moss at wideout for a strong Patriots team).

After two games the offense looks out of sorts. Yes, McNabb looked awesome in the preseason (further confirmation that the preseason is NOT a good indicator of future returns), but he clearly is struggling right now.

Let me say this: If Garcia and Stallworth were both wearing Eagles uniforms, I do believe the Eagles record would currently be 2-0.

That said - I do not lay the blame solely on Donovan McNabb. He deserves some blame - he is the QB afterall - but the rush to judgment on McNabb is both premature and wrong. Why you ask?

1. Wasn't everyone fairly cognizant of the fact that McNabb was not going to be "old" McNabb in September. I mean its been what 9 months since his ACL injury? Lest we forget, the last QB to come back from something like this was Carson Palmer. Did he play all year. Yup. Did he look like his old self in Sep? Nope. What was the Bengals record last year? 8-8.
2. Given that, perhaps expectations that McNabb would be an MVP-type QB this year were a bit premature.
3. We had what 50 called pass plays (including sacks) Monday night, and less than 20 runs? What the hell kind of balance is that. Even with Garcia, I don't believe we'd be successful under that sort of run/pass ratio. With Garcia, however, the coaches seemed much more committed to running. With #5 back there, the Birds' coaches seem to get a collective amnesia. So instead of using the run to open up the pass, they just keep dialing up passes. Pass after pass after pass, even on a night when its obvious that McNabb is struggling AND the O is doing nothing to adjust to the defensive coverage.
4. Stubborn Act of Hubris, Part II - I can't let this go. The coaches did nothing to adjust to the defensive scheme of the Redskins. Nothing.
- No one was put in-motion
- The Eagles did not use any formation to make the press-man coverage more difficult (stacking WRs etc
- I saw very few routes designed to help break from the coverage (crossing routes primarily)
- The Eagles went deep all of once in the first half. Without challenging the opposition deep at least a few times, the 'Skins had no reason to respect the deep ball. They could just keep their guys up close because the Birds showed no inclination to try and burn them.
- Finally, the Eagles kept choosing to pass. Even of a night when Westbrook was carving up the run defense. They used no one else. Buckhalter got maybe 1 carry. Tony Hunt was de-activated. What the fuck?

Putting a Loss into Perspective

2007-09-17T19:37:00.000-10:00

Eagles laid an egg on Monday Night Football tonight, falling 20-12 to the Washington Redskins and dropping their record to 0-2.

Oof.

Since the start of the new playoff format only 4 of 60-something playoff teams since 2000('01?) have started 0-2 and made the playoffs. By the way, the 2003 Eagles were one of those teams. It is time to pack-it-in? Close the shutter and start wondering if the Flyers will rebound or if (gasp) the Phillies might stop teasing make a serious run at things?

NO.
That bears repeating - NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO START HITTING THE PANIC BUTTON (if they lose to Lions at home, different story)

I tell you what though.....if they don't correct some significant ineptness on the Offensive side of the ball, they'll be lucky to claw their way back to .500.

Here are nits I have to pick with the thudding performance Monday Night:
1) When you have to consistently settle for Akers FGs after driving into the red-zone, you are not going to win many games. Touchdowns win games. FGs are consolations prizes for Red-zones trips and good cappers for drives that stall between the 35 and 20 yard lines (give or take a couple).

2) 46 pass, 18 rushes. On a night when Westbrook nearly hit 100 on just 17 carries???

3) Aren't we supposed to be easing Donovan back into things? He's coming a torn-ACL for chrissakes! What the fuck is with this pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, and pass some more shit to start the game? (see #2)

4) The lack of game-planning for the Redskins astounded me. I can only describe the Eagles coaching staff apparent disdain for adjusting to what the Redskins defense was doing as a Stubborn Act of Hubris.

Stubborn Act of Hubris, Part I:
- As several announcers/commentators noted, the Packers laid out a blueprint for dealing with the Eagles offense -- PRESS COVERAGE. Jam the wideouts on the line of scrimmage and disrupt Andy Reid's timing-based offense. Yet I witness not one single adjustment to this by our offensive "gurus". Nothing. No motion, few crossing patterns, no shots down the field early in the game to try and loosen the coverage (one deep pass down the sideline to Curtis which was thrown out-of-bounds), no double-moves (that I could discern).

- I've got a real fucking problem with that. You know when the Eagles D does something that hinders the opponent, or when we're playing a certain way (stacking the run, playing zone, playing bump-n-run) I often see other teams adjust to it. Vary formations, etc, something! Yet when with Redskins lined man-up on every guy, the Eagles just sit there. Put someone is fucking motion, stack the receivers to prevent the bump, motion Westbrook out the backfield, motion the TE, motion someone dammit!

- None of that was evident Monday night. My friend Alan noticed it. The Eagles would come out the huddle, set, and stand there. Every play. I watched pretty closely because it was really turning my stomach to see our WR just standing there before each snap.

How 'Bout Them Coqboys!

2007-09-16T21:23:00.001-10:00

Hee hee, the funniest thing so far in Week 2: A annoying Cowboys troll misspelling the name of his favorite team while vainly trying to gloat on the Eagles forum at Philly.com.

You see: How 'bout them Cowboys was a little phrase that managed to get under the skin of every non-Dallas fan when uttered by the expertly coiffed Jimmy Johnson in the 1990s. So after the Cowboys disposed of the inept Miami Dolphins this afternoon, this troll comes to the Eagles board to gloat, except HE FUCKS UP and types "How about them Coqboys" in the Subject line (the Q being right next to the W).

Well, I don't think to spell it out phonetically for ya. But this douchebag's inability to correctly spell the name of his favorite team inadvertently generated one of the most simply elegant denigrations of the Cowboys moniker that I've ever had the joy to behold. And the fact that it came from a Coqboys fan makes it all the sweeter.

This actually tops the dumbshit who tried to flame me on the board for a spelling error. Not realizing that I deliberately spelled out the word "idjit" (as a polite way of calling him/her stupid) and did not intend to type idiot. "What an idjit, what a maroon." Get the reference? If not click here.

Observations from Week 2

2007-09-16T17:28:00.000-10:00

Well I got to enjoy a variety of games today since the Eagles don't play until tomorrow.

Think that hits while watching the games today (I got to view the Bills-Steelers, Packers-Giants, Jets-Ravens, Seahawks-Cardinals, and the Chargers-Patriots, with snippets of the end of the Bengals-Browns and Raiders-Broncos).

- How bad is Notre Dame? They looked S-U-C-K-Y Saturday....
- The Steelers have an almost Philly-like philosophy, pass for the lead and grind out with the run. The difference, they still have a team used to power running football so its easier for them to return to the grinding run game.
- I thought J.P. Losman and Lee Evans were pretty good? They were friggin' invisible today at the big ketchup packet in Pitt. Marshawn Lynch looked really good though in a futile effort to spark the Bills offense to things bigger and better things than a FG.
- OMG, is the Giants Defense really that bad? Or is our D ok? The Packers couldn't do shit to us (ok, not going into how we still managed to lose, scroll down) but they ran over, around and through the Giants today. Their D looked disheveled and disinterested today. I mean, Pam Oliver the Fox sideline reporter basically ripped them a new asshole in the 4th quarter by calling out their uninspired limp response both on the field and on the sideline.
- Poor Jared Lorenzen. That motherfucker took a games-worth of beating in the final Giants possession when Coughlin removed Eli to prevent injury in a lost game. The Packers pinned their ears back and just bummed rushed the "Hefty Lefty." within like 3 plays he was limping and after about 6 snaps or so, he was so beat-up the Giants had to put in Anthony Wright to relieve the guy.
- Congrats to Favre for becoming the winningest QB of all-time. Dunno how you did it last week, and I don't know how you'll continue with that cast of misfits your saddled with in Green Bay, but 2-0 is 2-0.
- Then again Detroit is 2-0 as well, while the Chargers are a very poor-looking 1-1. (Note to self: may be time for Kitna to replace Rivers on one of my fantasy teams)
- Hoo boy, the Jets looked bad for 3 qtrs, but came to life and almost came back against the Ravens. And the comeback would have been complete if it weren't for two balls bouncing off or through the hands of Justin McCariens....You my friend are GOAT of the WEEK!
- Is it just me or does anyone else think the Ravens may be a tad over-rated?
- How in the ever-loving fuck is Ray Lewis still playing?
- I thought for sure the Cards were going to once again snag defeat from the jaws of victory. Perhaps their 23-20 triumph over the Div. Champion Seahawks is the start of something.
- Poor fantasy choice on my part, should've started Deion Branch and not Bernard Berrian.
- I thought the Rams were supposed to have a decent team? That's like 2 TDs in 2 games. What gives? (and where did I pick them to finish in the NFC West, note to self, scroll down and check, if anywhere but 3 or 4, surreptitiously edit it)
- Fucking Chargers. Well at least Antonio Gates got me a fantasy TD.
- You know the Pats 38-14 destruction of the Chargers got me thinking. Its the true shame of the whole Belichick cheating scheme. HE DOESN'T NEED TO! The Patriots have a strong squad, always seem to find valuable role-playing depth guys, come prepared. Why Cheat? It needlessly tarnished a decent image. Senseless. And oh yeah he still shoulda been suspended.
- I'll bet BillB's extension takes the sting out of that "unprecedented" fine the NFL just "blasted" him with.
- POOR FANTASY DECISION of the CENTURY: picking up the Bengals D this week and inserting them into the starting line-up because they playing the lame-ass Browns (who got clobbered in Week 1 and traded their starting QB). The Brownies only hung half-a-hundred points on the Bengals, winning 51-45 in a game that will no doubt be characterized as a "shoot-out" in all the major outlets, but for which the term really doesn't do justice. Maybe they OUGHT to furnish the Bengals and Browns with sign-stealing cameras....
- Why are Titans-Colts games always so close? I don't get it. The Titans don't have nearly the D you'd think necessary/capable of shutting down Manning. But they almost did it.
- I'll bet Atlanta fans really regret trading QB Matt Schaub now. The Texans go 2-0 for the first time in franchise history and my choice of Andre Johnson for one of my fantasy teams look like pure genius.

More later.

Eagles-Skins: A Look Ahead

2007-09-15T22:40:00.000-10:00

The Eagles are looking to get on track Monday night versus the Washington Redskins. Will they? Let's hope so - or else some of the doom-n-gloomers will be be ready to jump off the Ben Franklin.

Here are a few keys to victory (stop me if you've ready this before):

Offense:
- Better play-calling! Do NOT open up the game with a pass to our not-100%-TE. Do NOT attempt trick-plays on play 2 (flea-flicker, grr.....). Play-action works best after you establish the run.
- Run the ball! The game vs the Packers showed up one thing - McNabb is not all the way back as far his escapability goes. Yes he can move around, but how about relying on the big guys up front to do what they did at the end of last year? I understand that much of that might hinge on our all-Pro RG Shawn Andrews rounding into shape, but damn....we need to work that clock, establish the run and keep Portis/Betts off the field
- Sharper passing. After looking sharp in a couple of preseason match-ups, McNabb was off in the opener. No other way to describe it. They were good enough to win (if it hadn't been for the special teams) but 13 points won't beat many teams in the NFL. McNabb needs to lead the offense into the 20s. At least.
Key Players: McNabb (goes without saying); Shawn Andrews

Defense:
-Build off of last week's performance. The defense swarmed the run, produced some key take-aways, and general stifled the Packers offense all day long. This week is the opposite sort of match-up, from wily-old gun-slinger in Favre to fresh-faced, quick-feet Jason Campbell.
- Make Campbell beat us. How to do that - STOP THE RUN! I am not calling for under 100 (though that would be nice) - just don't let the Skins run the ball at will. Force the young QB to make the plays necessary to win, not just manage the game and not make mistakes that will lose it.
- Maintain contain! Campbell is a young guy, big and fast. Do not expect him to stay around an make his 4th read. So its crucial for the DL to stay in their lanes and make sure Campbell stays boxed in. Cole, Kearse, Juqua T. do not rush pell-mell into the backfield and if you do, you'd best make that g.d. sack!
Key players: The aforementioned DE and the interior duo Bunk/Patterson. They did a very good job last week. Them clogging the middle/getting a push allowed the Eagles to pressure Favre with just the 4-man front. If we can keep doing that, perhaps we can keep the pressure off our secondary which will have to go without Lito this week.

Special Teams:
Everyone say it with me: Just catch the fucking ball!

Goodell Drops the Ball

2007-09-14T12:36:00.000-10:00

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell screwed the pooch with his slap-on-the-wrist penalty levied against the New England Patriots in the Bill Belichick video-taping-defensive-play-calls cheating scandal.

The final verdict: Belichick fined $500,000. The Patriots fined an addition $250,000 and the loss of draft pick(s) - a 1st round pick if the Pats make the playoffs. 2nd and 3rd round if they don't.

Wow, what a whopper. Fining and organization worth over a BILLION dollar a total of $750K. Whew, dunno if they'll be able to recover the cost. Where will they ever recoup that kind of money?

Putting the loss of a draft pick - which does hurt, by the way - into better perspective: The Patriots have 2 first round picks next April (they traded with the 49ers), so will lose their own, but keep the undoubtedly higher pick. Consider this, the Pats drafted what 7, 8 players this past April - they kept TWO on their opening day roster. Oh, gee, though, will that hefty penalty the league office laid on them, wow, they might have to hit free agency again....what a joke. Losing one pick, even a high one, will NOT discourage teams from doing this sort of thing. It will just make them more careful.

But you know what, its not the actually penalty that I think is wrong. The Commissioner issued on the stiffest penalties he could have according the By-laws of the league with the sorts of tools he decided to use (the max. fines were levied).

My issue with Goodell is the incredible stupid risk he's taking by NOT holding Belichick to the same standard to which he has held numerous other NFL employees. NFL Players are subject to 4 game suspensions (that's the loss of nearly 25% of the pay - because most of the their money is doled in weekly game checks) if they violate various rules - most commonly violating the league substance abuse policy.

But throughout this off-season, Roger Goodell has lowered the boom players (and other coaches) who's actions has tarnished the image of the league (mostly for criminal law violations):
- Pacman Jones - who is but all accounts immature and deserving of a suspension - gets a year suspension for a litany of run-ins with the law.
- Tank Johnson - 8 games for weapons charges
- Chris Henry - 8 game for violating probation (idiot)
- Vick - indefinite following his plea
- Rodney Harrison - 4 games for violating SAP
- Wade Wilson (coach) - 5 games for violating SAP (personal use of HGH).

What I would argue is this: with the exception of Harrison, none of the those suspended players did anything intended to directly affect the outcome of the game on the field. Even in Rodney's case - it was probably more like he wanted his body to be able to recover faster, heck he's what 37? Yet BOOM. Heavy penalties were levied.

And now we have Belichick, Head Coach of the one of the highest profile teams in the league, organizing a high-tech effort to cheat and deliberately derive an unfair competitive advantage ON THE FIELD. The penalty? It'll cost you some dough. That's the message. Hey if cheating will help you win a Super Bowl, but you might have to cough up a cool quarter mill.....if you get caught....and trust me, it was the Patriots arrogance that got them caught....shit, why not?

Garry Cobb said it best (excuse the grammar): This is more behavior of the good old boy club. Most of the guys on the microphone who are connected to the league will be easy on the cheating coach, but they wanted to throw the book at any players who violated league rules. One thing character exemplifies is adherence to principles and consistency. I see double standards. (end quote).

That last line is the true danger folks. The perception of Goodell just being another one of the boys. Willing to swiftly lay down the hammer of judgment on uppity youngsters at the first hint of thug-life, while playing patty-cakes with offenders who happen to be part of the club.

Belichick is a head coach, with incredible responsibility for running what has long-been considered one of the, if not THE, top organization in the NFL. He should have been held to the highest standard. Instead he got a chuckle and a "now be a good boy" pat on the butt.

SciFi/Fantasy Fans - Reasons for Joy - and a reason for sorrow

2007-09-13T05:40:00.000-10:00

Woohoo! Robotech fans rejoice: Scifi.com reports this week that Tobey Maguire is going to produce (and maybe star) in a live-action (with plenty of CG of course) version of ROBOTECH! I guess its not that suprising. Since "Mr. Explosion" Jerry Bruckheimer proved that the formula of giant-robots interacting with humans can result in a big-ass summer smash like the Transformers, why wouldn't another studio seek to create a franchise. I mean, shit, the story is written. Cast it, film it (note to CSAs: opportunities to cast hot asian women abound in this series - don't fuck it up).

50-foot tall aliens (Zentraedi click here for individual Zentraedi leaders) inside GIANT mecha (battlepods, see here), humans inside GIANT transforming Veritech fighters. Plus the humans fleet being centered around the indomitable SDF-1. (hee hee, SDF = Super Dimensional Fortress One in Macross - defender of Earth. SDF = Self Defense Forces in Japan - Japan's classification for their military since their pacifist constitution doesn't allow them to have an "army)

Another reason for joy: Scifi also reports that the new Wolverine movie is slated to begin filming soon in Australia. YES. I thought X-Men was ok, little disappointing after an awesome X2 (damn you Bryan Singer for leaving the franchise). Here's hoping they take their time and do a good job with everyone favorite tri-clawed ass-kicker.

Finally one a sad note, on of my wife's all time favorite authors, Madeleine L'Engle, author of the children's SF classic A Wrinkle in Time, passed away on 6 Sep. of natural causes in Litchfield, Conn. She was 88. I've never read her books, but Christina loves them. The literary worlds we enjoy took a hit this month.