Sports

September 28, 2007

Say Hello To BountyBowl

Finally, an explanation of that little gizmo on the right (and what I've been up to of late on the Internets) I originally imagined I would write this post about a month ago. That would be the post that explained (a) why I haven’t really written much on ThatKidInTheCorner for the past couple months and (b) where I’ve redirected my blogging energies, on the off chance that (c) you hadn’t figured it out and (d) you were actually interested. The answer? My fantastically satisfying (at least to me) Eagles-only blog: BountyBowl.com. Quick FAQ on BountyBowl. What’s a BountyBowl? I’ve got a more complete description up on the actual BountyBowl site, but the main details are as follows. Bounty Bowl is the name for the 1989 Thanksgiving Day game between the Philaddelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys in which Eagles coach Buddy Ryan allegedly placed bounties on the heads of Cowboys...

Posted by thatkid at 2:19 AM | Comments (0)

July 26, 2007

Why the NBA Gambling Scandal Isn't Actually A Big Deal

As a season-ticket holder/ paying customer, I feel entitled to an opinion on this So all the sports blathermonkeys have climbed atop their respective high-horsies to tell us that the NBA referee scandal is really really bad. Terrible. The league won't recover. All that. David Stern held a press conference as serious and grave as anything Boosh has mustered up since he decided to explode Iraq. The polls on ESPN reflect the will and whims of the people -- and the people seem to think that the point-shaving by an NBA ref is more damaging to the NBA than the Michael Vick situation is to the NFL. Or something like that. Mostly people are all screechy and uptight about this. I gottatellya: as an NBA season-ticket holder, I actually don't think it's such a big deal. Three reasons why: (1) The NBA is more show that sport: so some ref...

Posted by thatkid at 8:46 AM | Comments (0)

April 28, 2007

Donovan McNabb's Mom Is So Totally Going To Be Pissed

Allow me to be among the first to overreact to the Eagles' first selection in today's NFL draft So this is what I get for feeling fat and happy about the Eagles' decision to trade down out of the first round of the NFL Draft. They took a what? A quarterback? With their first pick? At #36? The third QB taken in the entire draft? Seriously? I did not see this coming. Yikes. I thought the Birds would go DB (safety or corner) or DE (since they have mostly stiffs at that position right now). Instead, that take a QB, a position at which they already have three (3) veterans. WIP is already going nuts. G-Cobb is horrified. Sal Paolantonio called in and completely spazzed. Even Eagles Live! on the Birds' site was screwy; Dave Spadaro was "shocked" by the move. And suddenly, controversy in re: the Eagles and, more...

Posted by thatkid at 6:54 PM | Comments (0)

March 7, 2007

A Canticle For Michael Lewis

Looks like I'll need to find a Niners fan to take my midnight-green #32 Birds shirt It wasn't supposed to end like this for Michael Lewis. Or, more succinctly, when I bought my Michael Lewis #32 jersey a year and a half ago, I didn't expect that it would end like this: with Lewis removed from the starting lineup for most of the 2006 season and then signing a gigantic contract ($10 million guaranteed) with another team. Two years ago, he was coming off a Pro Bowl season for a Super Bowl team, and was one of the three defensive backs that the Eagles selected in the 2002 draft -- all of who seemed pretty set for stardom and/ or long careers in the Illadelph. The future looked bright for all three, even if Lewis was the only one who had yet to sign an extension. So what happened? Here's...

Posted by thatkid at 9:26 PM | Comments (4)

February 4, 2007

Everything But The Game (And Also The Game)

It's not like I'm not going to make a Super Bowl pick; also, a lot of stuff actually went down in and around the Birds this week And here I thought football season was over. Generally speaking, once the Eagles are done, my interest in the rest of football tends to flag a bit. Sure, I'll watch the other playoff game/ Super Bowl (I might even have multi-paragraph opinions about some of said games), but it's not exactly the same. Consuming all the NFL-related media just doesn't have the same juice when your team isn't in it. This year, though, was completely different, thanks to the NFL Network. As if the consistently outstanding America's Game (according to their site: "The most ambitious and all-encompassing project in NFL Films history") series wasn't enough (there was a new one every day this week as they counted down to the best Super Bowl...

Posted by thatkid at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)

February 3, 2007

Sonics Lose, Bulls Gawk At Dance Team

And here I thought I was going to complain about Ray Allen getting snubbed for the All-Star Team I expected that today's post-Sonics-game post would be go roughly like this: Ray Allen got totally screwed out of the All-Star game because he's not flashy enough and, as a result, I am beginning to believe that the national sporting press really does have a big-market bias and that no one cares about C@L and the Pacific Northwest. I would emphasize my point by pointing to his stats over the past month: 30.4 ppg in the month of January (26.7 ppg for the season) on 49 percent shooting, 42.3 percent from three, and 4.8 assists per game. I would say that it's all the more impressive in the context of Rashard Lewis's absence and the fact that other teams realize that Ray is going to take pretty much all of the shots...

Posted by thatkid at 6:51 PM | Comments (0)

January 20, 2007

LeBron, Andre Waters, and Howard Eskin Looks Like The (Burger) King

The BronBron show comes to C@L; also, Andy Reid talks to WIP for 40 minutes so that 5 doesn't have to After a completely disastrous couple of weeks for the Sonics, the team has managed to cobble together two wins in a row -- against teams that weren't even cupcakes (Utah and Eastern-Conference-leading Cleveland). Though after seeing Cleveland, I'm at a loss to explain the Eastern Conference. Obviously they have a LeBron, and those appear to be all the rage, but past that, I'm not completely sold. I guess Larry Hughes is something of a player, but he didn't look good against the Sonics. Ilgauskas is actually one of the few centers worthy of the name in the league, and I will take back everything I said about him being useful for fantasy purposes only. LeBron was, as advertised, pretty impressive in person, especially in a bigger-faster-stronger way. He seemed...

Posted by thatkid at 8:14 PM | Comments (0)

January 13, 2007

I Preferred 4th-and-26 to 4th-and-15

The 2006 season is now officially subtitled "4th-and-15" Ugh. This is me making my peace with nine months of questioning Andy Reid's game management skills and/ or his ability to handle pressure from the sports blathermonkeys. 4th-and-15 will enter the Negadelphian Philly Hater Hall Of Fame. Aw man. File under "For who? For what?" and "Talkin Bout Practice." On the bright side, the Sheldon Brown hit on Reggie Bush made the all-time "Why I'm Glad There's Such A Thing As A DVR" list. I'm at three times and counting. At the end of the day/ where the rubber hits the road/ when push comes to shove, the Eagles are who we thought they were. In case you want to follow the story live: 610 WIP Live Stream Who will be first to slag Andy Reid in the Philly press? The Big Hurt Andy Reid? Andy Reid's post-game press conference Also,...

Posted by thatkid at 9:08 PM | Comments (0)

Bringing The Heat

The Eagles head to NOLA to face the Saints in the divisional playoffs -- just like the 1992 season It didn't take much for me to dig up my copy of Bringing The Heat, Blackhawk Down and Killing Pablo author Mark Bowden's account of the 1992 Eagles season. (Note that I still can't believe that this book exists; acclaimed non-fiction journo writes an insider account of the early 90s Birds? I remain stunned.) The book opens with the '92 team's wild-card playoff game against the Saints at the Superdome. That game was the last time that the Saints and Eagles met in the playoffs (which, considered the Saints franchise has played in six total playoff games -- and won one of those -- shouldn't be terribly surprising). The Eagles won 36-20. And now the Eagles return to the city that God hath smoten. It's really tough to argue with this...

Posted by thatkid at 4:29 PM | Comments (0)

January 7, 2007

Cowboys Special Teams and the Jersey Shore

Of course Bill Parcells has a soft spot for the kid from Monmouth, New Jersey Whoa. Big weekend of football. The hometown Nerdbirds managed to pull one out thanks to the clumsy hands of Tony Romo. It was certainly a fun night in the stadium: I lucked into some great seats, the weather held out, and the home team won with a couple wild plays in the fourth quarter. I have much to say about the Eagles. But that's for another day; mostly I just want to say nice things about Brian Westbrook and marvel at how the Birds suddenly are a power football team. Also, one really doesn't know what to say about the G-Men. They're not terrible, but they just didn't really have their acts together. There are likely many disappointed people in North Jersey this evening. Speaking of Jersey, I snapped some semi-decent photos of Monmouth College's...

Posted by thatkid at 9:23 PM | Comments (1)

January 6, 2007

Guess Who I Think Is Going To The You Know What

One can't accuse me of waffling on this one (okay, maybe a little) You know, it might sound a little crazy, but I actually think that the Eagles can make it to the Super Bowl. Surprise, surprise. Per lo usual, I can say "I told you so" in re: the Eagles making it to the Super Bowl. Of course, I can admit that the precision of these predictions is compromised somewhat by the fact that, well, I kind of say this every year (2005 edition, 2006 edition). So be it. I think my favorite team is going to win every year. So what of it? At the same time, I can admit that things felt pretty dark for this team in the middle of November -- even before the McNabb injury. After an outstanding start which had the Birds not only atop the NFC standings (following a most satisfying vanquishing...

Posted by thatkid at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)

January 5, 2007

It Was A Dark And Stormy Night

Omens abound at the Sonics - Knicks game! I really should have known that this wasn't going to go well for the Sonics. I usually park on the Queen Anne side of Key Arena, most nights rougly halfway home to my apartment (never mind what that says about the absurdity of driving at all -- trust me, it makes sense). But my plan for tonight had me heading to Capitol Hill for a post-Sonics going-away party, and so I parked on the EMP side of the C@L Center. A block South of the McDonald's, actually. So I park. It's pouring out. Just horrible. Usually the C@L rain is a light but endless mist sort of thing, but this was a legit storm. Coming down hard and heavy, lots of wind, really miserable stuff. Proud denizen of C@L that I am, I typically eschew an umbrella in favor of a hood,...

Posted by thatkid at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

December 26, 2006

T.O.: Double-Agent!

Turns out T.O. was working for the Eagles all along! My my my. I really can't imagine how the Eagles - Cowboys game on Christmas Day could have gone any better. The Eagles didn't just win -- they methodically humiliated the Cowboys, in Texas Stadium, on national television, and T.O. was mostly inconsequential. I expected some sort of high-scoring back-and-forth affair of the 31-28 variety that the Eagles had at least a fighting chance to win. I didn't expect that the Birds would hog the ball and shove the Cowboys down the field four yards at a time, essentially ending the game midway through the second half. It's like the Eagles have turned into the Steelers and are just going to use their dumpster-sized offensive line to shove people down the field. And I really can't say enough about how pleasant that is to watch. On the other side of...

Posted by thatkid at 9:23 PM | Comments (0)

December 20, 2006

If The Playoffs Started Today

Outstanding implications abound for both the Eagles and the Sixers Big week for the sports blathermonkeys in Philly. Not only do we have a suddenly resurgent Eagles team poised to make the playoffs in the NFC, but the biggest superstar playing in Philly (possibly ever) has just been traded to the Denver Nuggets. My oh my. Those two stories plus the release of the new Rocky movie and Invincible on DVD add up to a lot of sports-related media content flowing out of the Illadelph. I will be the first to admit that I thought that the Birds were done when Donovan went down. And, in a larger sense, they're still sort of done, since I don't see them challenging for anything more than a second-round playoff exit, but hey, a month ago -- having lost their most expensive offensive and defensive players, respectively -- they looked like 7-9 would...

Posted by thatkid at 3:42 PM | Comments (1)

December 11, 2006

Sonics - Ray-Ray = 3 Wins and Tough Defense?

I guess all it really took was an ankle injury to the Sonics' best player to convince them to play defense? Well would you look at that! The Sonics have won three games in a row (and four in a row at home), and even gutted out a nice win last night after giving up (wait for it) 70 points in the first half to the Warriors. And they've won the last three without all-around-best-player Ray Allen, who's out with an ankle injury. Sure, the wins came against the Hawks, the Hornets, and the Warriors, but hey, for a team that hadn't beaten much of anything/ anyone this year, we'll take it. I've spent a lot of time at Key Arena of late, attending the last five consecutive home games. It seems like a lot, but given that I didn't actually make my first trip until December, it mostly just...

Posted by thatkid at 9:21 PM | Comments (4)

December 4, 2006

I'm A Total Sucker For Wins On Monday Night Football

Just when I thought that I was out, they pull me back in Yup, I'm officially into it again. Sure, it helps that most of the teams in the NFC are inconsistent/ playing like warmed-over crap, but the Birds are in the thick of the playoff hunt! At 6-6! Sure, they aren't going to actually win anything, but at least I get to pay attention (with some tiny degree of optimism) to at least the next two weeks. If they win one of the next two games, they're still in it. Which means they can beat the Skins and honk one to the Giants or vice versa (especially if Carolina beats the Giants this week) and still be worthy of my media-consumption attentions a week later. This is good news. In all honesty, I'd been hating on the Birds of late. Thought they were playing kind of gutless. Thought they...

Posted by thatkid at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)

November 23, 2006

Happy Turkey Day From The 2-1-5

Thankful to be back in Philly for Thanksgiving So I hadn't actually been in Philly since last spring (in a my-birthday-Easter timeframe). What a treat to be back! In a lot of ways, it's sort of odd to be here in person since my internet consumption habits make me feel like I'm virtually here quite a bit as it is. That is, you read the Philly papers every morning and listen to the goofy sports-talk radio enough, and you get a pretty good pulse for what's going on. But nothing substitutes for the real thing; I will need to ingest some celebratory cheesesteaks over the weekend to complete the experience. Anyhoo, been a bit busy/ on the road of late. Some random quick hits from the past two weeks: Travel Schedule: So over the past three weeks, I've gone to New Jersey, New York, North Dakota (though admittedly that was...

Posted by thatkid at 9:15 AM | Comments (0)

November 20, 2006

Weirdest Philly Sports Day Since T.O.

McNabb's knee, Andre Waters' passing, Ryan Howard's MVP I had the honor and pleasure of being in some good friends' wedding this past weekend outside New York City. Amazing night, good times had by all -- it was a blast. As is something of a tradition, prior to the wedding ceremony, the groom gave each of his groomsmen a little gift. Typically these gifts are themed, and the chosen theme this time around was throwback football jerseys. The groom went to great lengths to select (and customize) shirts that fit with each of our particular sports personalities: Tony Dorsett for the Cowboys fan, a Mark Bavaro throwback for the Giants fan, even a #6 "R. Howard" Eagles jersey for one of the Birds fans (which, it must be said, will serve as a companion piece to this gentleman's #3 "Iverson" Eagles shirt). So you can imagine the thrill I felt...

Posted by thatkid at 4:42 PM | Comments (1)

November 13, 2006

Andy Reid Fires Himself! And Reporters In Philly Swarm!

I had no idea the playcalling would be the story of today's game; the Philly sports media turns into a caricature of itself So I was going to write a post about how much I needed the Eagles bye week. For anyone who's spoken to me about the Birds for the past two weeks, I've been deep in breakup metaphors. Lots of talk of "taking some time apart" from the Eagles and "needing my space." And also the horrifying experience I had at the sports bar two weeks ago comma alone. Then I realized that I had essentially written that post a year ago. And then I toweled off and really did take a break. My one action item from the bye week is that I've decided that I'm no longer at the point in my life where I need to wear one of my Eagles jerseys on game day....

Posted by thatkid at 12:26 AM | Comments (0)

November 12, 2006

Curling the Rock in The House

It's sort of like shuffleboard on ice, only with Canadian accents and appropriate levels of game-specific jargon Prior to last night, my experience with the sport/ game of curling had been limited mostly to snippets of Olympic coverage in moments of February insomnia. I was pretty down with it, in a sort of team handball kind of way: I didn't know too much about it, but it looked like it would be pretty fun to play. Also, it definitely suggested a darts-and-bocce-you-can-down-cocktails-whilst-you-play-it vibe. Check, check, and check. Good times at the Granite Curling Club in North C@L last night (the only dedicated curling sheet in the continental U.S. west of North Dakota!). My quick hits on curling: Excellent jargon, as expected: as might be expected from a Canadian game, curling employs a most excellent catalog of game-specific jargon. The big grantie things that you push down the ice are called...

Posted by thatkid at 3:07 PM | Comments (1)

November 10, 2006

Buddy Ryan's Fantasy Team

I think I would pay subscription fees to read a Buddy Ryan NFL blog Did the Philadelphia Daily News really just publish an interview with former Eagles coach Buddy Ryan in which Buddy discusses his freakin fantasy football team? Are you kidding me? This is phenomenal! As loyal readers are well aware, I, along with most people of my Eagles-fan generation, harbor an unconditional fondess for James David "Buddy" Ryan. He was the mastermind behind -- though not the coach of -- the vaunted and outstandingly fantastic 1991 Philadelphia Eagles defense, which, as we all know, is probably the best defense of the modern NFL era. ( I just did a search for "Buddy Ryan" on ThatKid; only (AHEM) seven (7) entries, including one where I demanded he be allowed to guest coach the final game of the 2005 season. Yikes. So I guess I'm a little obsessed with the...

Posted by thatkid at 5:53 PM | Comments (0)

October 22, 2006

Ronde Barber And A Mouthful Of Puke

After another horrifying loss by the Birds, the only question is whether it's my puke or 5's; also, class angst in the high school sports section? So that makes three (3) times this season that the Eagles have managed to lose on the final play of the game. I've really been struggling to decide how to take it; that is, I'm puzzled by the fact that this team is actually playing a ton better than their record indicates. Of course, I have to balance the "playing well" part with the fact that "playing well" is only a leading indicator of playoff participation, and that actual wins (rather than games that you mostly won but screwed up at the end) are what define entry to the postseason. Sure, the Eagles might be sitting pretty in the Football Outsiders rankings (#3 overall, #1 in offense, #9 in defense), but they're 4-3, and...

Posted by thatkid at 11:35 PM | Comments (1)

September 8, 2006

A Seven Nation Army in the AL Central

In which I nominate a domestic inheritor of the cool White Stripes thing that the Azzurri fans were rocking at the World Cup For those among you who followed the action over on F.C. Camena during the Weltmesiter, you’re well aware (or at least you may sort of recall) that I was pretty obsessed with this cool cheer that the Italian fans were doing at the World Cup. We first ran into it at the USA – Italy game, and spent the next couple days a bit dazzled and intrigued by it all. They were definitely chanting the bass line from the White Stripes song “Seven Nation Army” – but why? What kind of sense did that make? The White Stripes weren’t remotely Italian, and I had no prior knowledge of this kind of cheer. This is the sort of thing I expected to be briefed on in my advance...

Posted by thatkid at 7:35 AM | Comments (0)

August 30, 2006

Oh No You Didn’t

The Birds trade Simoneau for a WR and cut Pinkston and Detmer? And here I thought they’d gone soft in their old age! It’s official – Monday through Wednesday of this week have been the best three days the Eagles have had since the week before Super Bowl XXXIX. Before Monday, I was pretty fired up about this upcoming season. I mean, the team had holes, but I definitely thought the oddsmakers were selling the Birds a bit short, pricing them as the fourth-best team in an admittedly strong NFC East. Sure, the rest of the division had improved, but so had the Eagles, and in lot of the right places. The team’s stars on offense were healthy, and they’d invested heavily in both the offensive and defensive lines. Also, last time I checked they definitely had the best quarterback in their division. Whilst I don’t want to steal the...

Posted by thatkid at 10:43 PM | Comments (0)

August 26, 2006

Hollywood Celebrates ThatKidInTheCorner Day!

In which I go to see Invincible and wonder, What if the entire world really does revolve around me? You'll have to forgive a bit of narcissism on my behalf this Saturday morning. On August 25th, Hollywood released both a Disney film about the Philadelphia Eagles, Invincible, and a Broken Lizard movie about drinking games, Beerfest. The trailer for Invincible features guys in a bar doing an E-A-G-L-E-S chant; the Beerfest commercial shows a guy shooting quarters. Birds and drinking games. On the same day. So you really can't blame me if I think this is all somehow about me. (Do you ever secretly wonder if all the other people you encounter on a given day are actually robotic drones filling out the ranks in the gigantic RPG simulation that is your life? Me neither. Never once.) Admittedly, I have yet to see the Beerfest movie (though late-night text messages...

Posted by thatkid at 1:02 PM | Comments (1)

August 6, 2006

Birds Repruhzent for Minister Of Defense

Yes, I'm just that desperate: I watched the Hall Of Fame coverage on NFL Network Okay okay, guilty as charged. In an act of presumptive pro football desperation, I actually watched some of the Hall Of Fame induction coverage yesterday on the NFL Network. Pitiful, I know. With only one day to go before the first preseason game, I couldn't help myself -- I sat through some seriously boring almost-football. (In all fairness, it was mostly on in the background while I took care of some digital errands.) At the risk of creating The Blog Post That Redefines Irrelevant And Zero-Value-Add Blog Posts, some quick observations on the Hall Of Fame ceremony (note: this is being typed whilst I listen to Rob Charry shouting at a random caller about Randall Cunningham's Hall Of Fame credentials on the WIP streaming feed -- good times indeed!): Select Birds Attend In Reggie Throwbacks:...

Posted by thatkid at 2:16 PM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2006

The Curse Of T-Shirts With Slogans

McNabb has officially lost it: he's wearing passive-aggressive t-shirts with slogans. Diligent Eagles geek that I am, I made a point of not only reading the news reports from this past weekend's minicamp, but also watching the press conference videos posted on the Birds' site. (It's really the only way to be sure of what's being reported; sometimes the blathermonkeys distort the context or tone of things in their accounts. But that's an argument for another post.) Generally speaking, it was good to have some fresh Eagles content from the main characters in the drama: Coach Reid, the coordinators, Dawk, and, of course, Donovan McNabb, making his first public press appearance since his black-on-black crime comments from Super Bowl week. I'll admit to being more than a little curious about what 5 was going to say. The local media hadn't had a chance to ask him about TO in months!...

Posted by thatkid at 12:08 AM | Comments (0)

May 2, 2006

Eagles' Draft Makes Me Giddy Like Schoolgirl

This looks like a crucial step towards the Birds winning the you-know-what Hot diggity! I'm skipping the disclaimers in re: not being able to evaluate NFL drafts until five years down the road, the absurdity of draft prognosis and analysis, the draftniks, Mel Kiper Jr., etc. That's for more sober and rational NFL fans to worry about. Me? I'm happy to be a case study for the success of the NFL Draft as both a television program and an exciting date on the NFL calendar (yes, yes, it's a year-round thing, even though they only have games five months out of the year), cause I couldn't possibly be any happier about how this draft went, and I think the Eagles did an excellent job of both addressing immediate needs and building for the future. Yup. It worked on me. And I couldn't be happier about that. I just can't disagree...

Posted by thatkid at 11:57 PM | Comments (0)

April 19, 2006

Actually, We Are Talking About The Game

I think this actually might be the end of AI in Philly; I am not down with that Ominous, horrifying, and otherwise unsettling NBA news has been filtering out of Philadelphia since the weekend. It isn’t that the Sixers will be back in the lottery for the second time in three years (that’s actually much better than this team making the playoffs as an eight-seed). It isn’t that GM Billy King remains employed (though that’s fairly disheartening as well). And it isn’t that Mo Cheeks considers this season to be a failure (which it most certainly was). Nope, what’s got me tripped out about the Sixers over the past couple days has been the more-real-than-ever rumblings that Allen Iverson won’t be a Sixer next year. That was all pretty bad. What went down last night was much worse. As you may have read, it was the Sixers’ final home game...

Posted by thatkid at 1:20 PM | Comments (1)

April 9, 2006

Why The Phillies Are No Good, Ever (The Long And Short Answers)

With the start of a new baseball season in Philadelphia, the local papers wonder why the team is always so bad Without dwelling too too much on the team's 1-5 start (that's one win and five losses at home, mind you), one can safely say that it seems that very little is surprising and/ or different about this year's version of the Philadelphia Phillies. This is the team that's made the playoffs just once in the past 22 years, and has managed a winning record only six times during that same span. For a while, the problem was mostly that the team was cheap, but not anymore. Lately they've spent the money that befits the baseball team in the nation's fifth-largest market (and where the people are "pretty excited" about pro sports), and they've still failed. Hmmm. Not so impressive. You know, like the Mets. Actually, it's more than unimpressive....

Posted by thatkid at 11:21 PM | Comments (0)

March 23, 2006

Four Freakin' Bucks

This must be why they're talking about moving to Bellevue Lovely evening at Key Arena last night. I find that I'm probably not writing about the Sonics nearly enough, given that I've actually attended a solid 60 percent of the team's home games this year to date. If we were to summarize the team's performance to date, we would have to say that they were pretty disappointing. After winning more than 50 games last season, they're going to be lucky to win 30 this year. Many theories have been floated, mostly regarding the defection of 2004-05 coach Nate McMillan to rival I-5ers the Blazers. Me, I'm more about last year being a contract year for Ray Allen and this year being a coasting and vesting year for #34. My exec sum of all of this tends to fall somewhere along the lines of "Like I needed another crappy NBA team...

Posted by thatkid at 11:57 PM | Comments (3)

March 17, 2006

Their Starters Must Be On A Bye Week

Eagles dredge the fantasy waiver wire for free agent pickups, and other sports-related quick hits on St. Patrick's Day Happy St. Patrick's Day! In lieu of a proper post in re: this glorious and important holiday, I'm going to go downmarket and indulge myself with some (mostly Philly-related) sports talk. In all fairness, it's been over a month since I talked about anything Eagles-related; I think that's extremely generous and restrained of me. Of course, I don't actually have a proper posting, just a bunch of quickies. Onwards! Like A Bad Week In Your Fantasy League: tough to get very excited about what the Birds accomplished in free agency this week. After getting pipped by the Browns on LeCharles Bentley, the Birds seemed to run out of ideas pretty quickly. We went from the best offensive lineman in free agency and a possible trade for Javon Walker (or at least...

Posted by thatkid at 4:31 PM | Comments (0)

March 3, 2006

Careful With That Golden-Egg-Laying Goose

The NFL owners bicker over sharing their taxpayer-funded profits After further review, the NFL and the NFL Players Association (the union) decided to extend their negotitating deadline from Thursday to Sunday afternoon. The two sides are trying to sort out a new labor agreement (their current deal is set to expire after the 2007 season), and were hoping to get it done before the scheduled start of free agency, which was ostensibly March 3 at 12:01 am. Given the NFL's recent track record of business success (it's far and away the most successful and well-managed professional sports entertainment entreprise in history), the lack of a labor agreement is a bit unsettling. This is the NFL, after all. They have the best TV deal, the largest and most loyal fan base, and a positively merciless approach to how they manage their product. Surely they wouldn't want to go the way of...

Posted by thatkid at 7:03 PM | Comments (1)

February 6, 2006

Does 5 Get A Pass?

In which Donovan McNabb dares to talk about race and enters the hallowed pantheon of all-time Philly sports quotables The real shame of Donovan McNabb's interview on ESPN this past Wednesday, in which he (finally) abandoned his erstwhile silence on matters of T.O. and the ruinous 2005 Philadelphia Eagles season, is that its core soundbite might eclipse, if not certainly shadow, the entirety of his career. That is, despite the five Pro Bowl appearances, the years when he single-handedly led the Eagles offense into the NFC Championship game, the Super Bowl berth, and his overall class-actness/ model citizenship, fifteen years from now, we might only remember him for "black-on-black crime." That is, "black-on-black crime" has an excellent chance of joining "For who? For what?" and "Talkin' 'bout practice" in the Hall Of Fame of Philly sports quotes -- sayings so memorable and inconic that they transcend many of the more...

Posted by thatkid at 10:47 PM | Comments (1)

February 5, 2006

Last-Minute Nerdbird Omen!

The sun is shining in C@L; surely the football Gods are trying to tell us something! It's official: the sun is shining in C@L. As a C@L resident, I can vouch for the fact that the sun has been out, ummm, two and a half times since November. But it's out and in effect in C@L on Super Bowl Sunday. Coincidence? Or sign of happy things to come? Nerdbirds, the heavens salute you!...

Posted by thatkid at 2:40 PM | Comments (0)

Can The Nerdbirds Do It?

This article will include my karma-killing Super Bowl XL (tm) prediction C@L almost has football fever. They think they're fired up about the game. They do. You see pockets of excitement around town -- the checkout dudes at the supermarket wearing Nerdbird hats, some jerseys at the office, a Nerdbirds flag on the occasional flagpole, the 12 banner flying atop the Space Needle. (I don't count the jerseys on the employees of the EMPor the Sci-Fi Museum because Paul Allen own those things too. Disqualified!) Still, there are definitely people who are pumped. At the same time, as with most things out here on the Left Coast, folks are a little more mellow about it. Sure, they'd like to see the Nerdbirds win, but no one's going to get too bent out of shape if they don't. People won't be despressed tomorrow at work if the Nerdbirds lose. Certainly the...

Posted by thatkid at 1:02 PM | Comments (1)

January 25, 2006

Two Weeks of Jealousy, Envy and Contempt (Sort Of)

I suppose I should say something about the NFL Team here in C@L Given the amount of brainpower, attention, and ThatKid column inches that are devoted to the NFL, it would be irresponsible, nay, negligent, of me not to offer some comment on C@L earning a place in Super Bowl Excel. Generally speaking, good on ya, C@L. Your team played a great game, kept their cool, did their thing, and very much earned a trip to the Super Bowl. Never mind the implied insult of it all (that is, it didn't take C@L four tries in the NFC Championship Game to get to the Super Bowl) or that the Panthers looked wounded and uninspired out there. The Seahawks won the NFC regular season title, and now have won the conference championship. There should be no doubts in re: who the best team in the NFC is. It's the Seahawks. Aight....

Posted by thatkid at 11:52 PM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2006

Penultimate Football Weekend

I have absolutely no idea who's going to win today. None. Ohmygawd. Only three football games remain! That's it. Two today, then the Superbowl, and then no actual NFL TV shows until next September. These truly are dark and forboding days! Sure, it'll be nice to have my Sundays back, but I'm just not sure I really want them back, despite the obvious health and social benefits. As Paul Tagliabue would (apparently) say, I really do enjoy the "contrived adversity" of the NFL. At least it makes me feel good to know that the commish properly understands the appeal of his product; makes me feel less cynical about it. (Speaking of, if you're at all interested in the NFL, it is absolutely 150 percent worth your time to read the Tagliabue article in this week's Sports Illustrated (requires a subscription). Very insightful stuff. Also, for as uptight the NFL is...

Posted by thatkid at 11:14 AM | Comments (2)

January 14, 2006

Birds Post Mortem, Part Two

The coach, the legal department, and the Dirty Little Secret So yeah, it was a pretty crappy year in terms of wins and losses. The blame, I think, sits mostly with the folks in charge. That is, management had a down year. Andy Reid has done wonders for Birds’ fans over the past couple years, but he really had a horrible year – people have been fired for much less. There was the complete mismanagement of the TO situation. There was the poor judgment in assembling the roster (looks like they could have used Corey Simon after all; and let us not even discuss the soon-to-be-out-of-football Mike McMahon, maybe the dumbest guy to play quarterback for the Birds in my adult life). There was also the completely stubborn playcalling (to the degree that you wonder how many years the 70-30 pass-to-run ratio may have taken off 5’s career) and the...

Posted by thatkid at 5:50 PM | Comments (0)

January 13, 2006

Errr, For Entertainment Only

The thing is, they haven't ever lost In other NFL news, Las Vegas has decided to generously grant three points to the Patriots in their matchup with the Broncos. That's right: you can wager on Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and get the points! I mean, maybe the Broncos are really good and deserve to be favorites. Sure. And you could bet on the Broncos, and you might win. But it sure seems really tough to be betting against Tom and Bill in a playoff game, especially if you're getting the points, what with them, errr, never having lost one of them there playoff games. I'm just sayin'. For entertainment only, of course. And it's worth noting that I've been pretty much wrong about everything in the NFL this year, so you really shouldn't listen to a word I say....

Posted by thatkid at 12:54 PM | Comments (2)

Birds Post Mortem, Part One

Most craptastic season since Ray Rhodes We are now officially a week and change removed from the last Andy Reid press conference of the 2005 season. I’ve had some time to reflect. Or, more succinctly, I've had some time to reflect on life without full-bore Eagles coverage on the Internet every morning. Sigh. No more multimedia on philadelphiaeagles.com. No more beat writers filing daily stories (for at least a couple more months). And no more real football until next September. Ugh. Double ugh. In terms of wins and losses, this season was perhaps best described as craptastic. The Birds only won 6 games, and lost (gasp!) 10. For a team that folks might thought make it back to the Super Bowl (and certainly back to the playoffs), this was, ahem, something of a bummer. One might argue that some of those 10 losses were tough breaks, close games, whatever. The...

Posted by thatkid at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

January 8, 2006

Steelers Go For the KillShot

I Am Now Officially Rooting Against The Steelers Bengals QB Palmer Leaves With Knee Injury And that's all it takes. One shot at the quarterback's knee, and suddenly you have a much better chance to win the game. As noted in this space previously (Are Fifteen Yards Worth A Trip To The Super Bowl?), killing the other team's quarterback is a reliable strategy for winning NFL playoff games. The Ravens did it, the Panthers did it, and now it looks like the Steelers have done it. I can't believe that the broadcast team is letting the Steelers off on this; Simms is copping the "blocked into the QB" line. I'm not buying. Von Oelhoffen lunged into Palmer's knee. It's tough to accuse someone of deliberately trying to injure someone else, but you can at least call out von Oelhoffen for being reckless and out of control around another man's knees....

Posted by thatkid at 1:51 PM | Comments (2)

January 4, 2006

Good Will Always Triumph Over Evil Because Florida St. Kickers Are Marginally More Terrible Than Penn State Kickers

The Someone-Make-A-Kick-Because-I-Really-Need-To-Pee Bowl Would you look at that! Penn State defeats Florida State 26-23 in the Orange Bowl, a.k.a. the most painful-to-watch triple-overtime football game in history. I don’t think I’ve spoken to anyone whose reaction to the game was anything but, “That game just WOULD NOT END” – and these are West Coast people, who at least had the benefit of three extra hours of time-zone lag. Some quickies on the telecast: And We’ll Be Right Back With A Live Performance From Aerosmith, And Maybe The Second Half: so the game was long. Really long. With triple overtime, this is bound to happen. But even with the overtimes, this game didn’t have to go as late as it did. The commercial breaks (especially in the second half and into overtime) were frequent and lengthy. Once the game went into extra time, you think you’d want to keep the intensity...

Posted by thatkid at 1:23 PM | Comments (2)

December 31, 2005

Eagles New Year's Surprise

If I could ask for anything from the Eagles organization this New Year's Eve, it would be special guest coach Buddy Ryan I've been struggling to come up with the precise metaphor/ cliche to describe how lackadasically the Eagles have played over the past month. Are they lame ducks? Sort of, only no one is assured of losing their job (except for Mike McMahon). The Texans are playing like lame ducks. Are they second-semester seniors? Not really, because that means they're coasting after working really hard for a long time, and implies that they've recently achieved something significant. That's more the Colts (or really any of the teams that knows better to risk anything in a meaningless game ahead of the playoffs). In all honesty, I really don't have anything that works. Not in the precise way that I'd like -- something that sums up that these guys have pretty...

Posted by thatkid at 3:45 PM | Comments (0)

December 18, 2005

Separated At Birth: ThatKid Edition

Yes. This is the "best I can come up with" at a Sonics game So I'm sitting at the Sonics game the other night, trying to figure out why forward Nick Collison can't get more minutes/ do a little bit more with the minutes he gets, and it dawns on me -- Nick Collison looks like someone. Who does he look like? I know! It's Manchester City midfielder and U.S. International Claudio Reyna! Inspired by similar things I'd seen at other web sites, I realized I could I do my very own "this person looks just like this person" feature. So I hereby present ThatKidInTheCorner's first-ever Separated At Birth feature: That's C@L Supersonics forward Nick Collison on the left and Man City midfielder Claudio Reyna on the right. They, uh, look alike. (Seriously, I don't know what else you say here.)...

Posted by thatkid at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)

December 15, 2005

The Eagles' Dirty Laundry (Like in the Commercial with Swoop and the CBs, Only Different)

Just in case you didn't read through the complete text of the T.O. arbitration So, gigantic Eagles geek that I am, I remain a bit shocked at the lack of response in the press and among fans to the text of arbitrator Richard Bloch's T.O.-and-the-players-union-versus-the-Eagles decision. Here we are, three-and-a-half weeks after the decision was released, and the papers are still talking about T.O. and how he divided the Eagles' locker room, blah blah blah. This week it was his freakin' birthday party. The national and local blathermonkeys continue to prattle on about T.O., and 5, and Andy Reid, and what happened to the Eagles, etc etc, extending the debate (and the soap opera) that by all accounts ended over a month ago. The thing is, there really isn't much of a debate. T.O. definitely screwed up the Eagles season. How so? Well, just read the arbitrator's report. Turns out...

Posted by thatkid at 12:23 PM | Comments (0)

November 27, 2005

The McNabb Nookie Theory

What took me so long to figure this out? For all the theories that have been floated in re: the Eagles, TO and the lousy/ borderline insane play of Number 5 (and I really got a kick out of the Avon Barksdale - Stringer Bell analogy floated by Jason Whitlock on ESPN.com; man, am I jealous! I thought I was way clever with my Sith nonsense from a couple weeks back, but dropping the Wire? Damn. This is specifically why I don’t have the talent or imagination to make my living as a writer...anyhoo), I really think there's an Ockham's Razor explanation that hasn't yet been properly explored. Something so simple and clean and pure that it really might be the answer we've all been looking for all along. Could it all really have been this obvious? After having the best season of his career in 2004 (which followed four...

Posted by thatkid at 9:57 AM | Comments (0)

November 11, 2005

The Revenge Of Michael Irvin

Always two there are! Among the many conspiracy hypotheses being trotted out to explain the TO-Eagles media circus/ disaster is the ESPN Theory. Said theory goes like this: ESPN masterminded a week's worth of "sports controversy" involving TO in order to hype their Sunday Night broadcast of the Eagles-Redskins game as well as four days of run-up programming. Assorted blathermonkeys had floated the idea for a few days, and one could say that it was formalized in a Phil Sheridan column in the Philly papers earlier this week. Apparently the story/ conspiracy theory had enough momentum to actually elicit an official response from the ESPN Ombudsman. And yes, ESPN takes itself seriously enough to actually have an "Ombudsman" on staff. Because ESPN is soooooo important, and isn't just Brad-and-Angelina for the male 18-34 demo. While I appreciate the idea of a plot behind the TO-Eagles divorce, I think the ESPN...

Posted by thatkid at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)

November 8, 2005

Win One, Get Your Own Commercial!

Mastercard: The Official Credit Card of Week Nine Regular Season Victories Against Injury-Ravaged Opposition Correct me if I'm wrong, but did Mastercard actually run that Peyton Manning commercial near the end of the fourth quarter of last night's Colts-Patriots game on Monday Night Football? The one that listed all of Peyton's achievements and concluded -- in the Mastercard trope -- with "Winning at Foxboro: Priceless." So we're supposed to empathize with Peyton Manning's "struggles" against "the Patriots" (he'd lost seven straight times at Foxboro, including the past two years in the playoffs) such that we'll all be able to savor his victory through this highly timely mass market TV spot? Are we all pulling for Peyton Manning? I must not have gotten that e-mail. This is the same Peyton Manning that signed one of the most lucrative contracts in NFL history? Whose father and brother were/ are lavishly paid NFL...

Posted by thatkid at 12:37 PM | Comments (3)

November 6, 2005

NJT Eagles Roundtable

Semi-Live Chat From New Jersey Transit! And we’re semi-live en route from Manasquan, New Jersey to Penn Station on New Jersey Transit’s always charming North Jersey Coast Line. After a solid morning of Philadelphia Eagles overexposure (in the papers, on ESPN, on the local news), we are pretty fired up for this evening’s prime-time broadcast of the Eagles-Redskins game from Fedex Field. In anticipation, ThatKid is bringing you exclusive analysis from our expert team of analysts in Car 5507: ThatKid: Is today the whole season? The Production Assistant: Absolutely. If they lose this they don’t make the playoffs. McNabb hurt and no TO. Unless Greg Lewis and Reggie Brown step up and have great games. Maybe they’ll wise up. Give Westbrook the ball more. ThatKid: What about the defense? The Production Assistant: Looks spotty at best. They’re getting their asses handed to them every other pass play. What’s going with...

Posted by thatkid at 1:16 PM | Comments (0)

October 23, 2005

Eagles Defense Thank-You Note

Proper Football Etiquette/ Superstition Demand It Dear Philadelphia Eagles Defense, Thank you so much for winning today's football game! That sure was a close one! You might even say that the Eagles didn't deserve to win, but I don't think that's very fair, because you, the defense, sure did! Not only did you force two game-saving turnovers, but you even blocked a kick and scored the touchdown that won the game! Some people might call that last one a special-teams touchdown, but it doesn't really matter to me -- I think you earned that one too. After the first half, I didn't think the Eagles' offense would need your help so much. They must have thought so too, 'cause they acted like they didn't even want to score at the end of the first half! They must have thought that they were too good for scoring just three points. I...

Posted by thatkid at 5:47 PM | Comments (0)

October 17, 2005

The Bye Week

In which I rekindle my enthusiasm for all things professional football I hope it doesn't sound too crazy for me to say that I really needed the bye this past weekend. (I know, I know, I don't even play flag football, let alone professional football; in re: professional football all I actually do is shout at the TV a lot. Occasionally I go to the games and shout there. Still, I worry about the games a lot too. And yes, that might be silly for a whole different set of reasons. But I really did need the bye week.) Really, I was mostly tired of sweating the Eagles' loss at Dallas and stressing the possibility of a down year for the Birds. They really are just one nasty hit away from Number Five going down for the season. The offensive line looks old. They're not even pretending to run. The...

Posted by thatkid at 10:49 PM | Comments (0)

October 8, 2005

(I Hope) The Fix Is In

Why I'm Very Convinced That The Flyers Will Win The Stanley Cup We missed you, hockey. I'll admit that I was semi-distracted during football season last year; generally speaking, I don't really get into the hockey season until the new year. I mean, I'll check the Flyers scores and watch them if they're on TV, but I'm pretty preoccupied in re: professional football during the fall. (It should go without saying that actual live hockey attendance is always welcome. That's in an entirely different category. Live hockey is awesome.) I didn't really feel the void left by hockey until the spring, though, when suddenly I had 40 percent fewer TV shows to watch for the two months that usually were chock full of Stanley Cup playoffs. You mean I'm going to have to watch the NBA playoffs? And that's it? No other choices? No sickly looking dudes with broken faces...

Posted by thatkid at 4:49 PM | Comments (1)

October 1, 2005

The Idea Is To Win The World Series

What should happen in the AL tomorrow After today's Yankees result, all three division winners are set in the American League. All that's left to be determined is the Wild Card. The Red Sox get it with a win, but if the Indians win and the Red Sox lose, then the Red Sox will host a playoff against the Indians on Monday. Let's assume that the Red Sox are more likely to win the world series than the Indians. I'm assuming this because of their experience and their recently proven ability to stare down the Yankees in the playoffs and not be intimidated. If that's the case, then it is to the advantage of both the Yankees and the White Sox to keep the Red Sox out of the playoffs. Which means that the White Sox should tank tomorrow and the Yankees should play to win. Especially the Yankees. They...

Posted by thatkid at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)

September 12, 2005

Official Philadelphia Eagles Season Preview

Guess what I think the Eagles are going to win? Aw man, this Monday night thing is just a killer. As, ahem, noted earlier, I'm pretty excited about the return of football. And although I definitely enjoyed yesterday's slate of games, I still don't feel like the season has actually begun. And that's because it hasn't. The NFL schedule-makers have cruelly put my most favorite of franchises in the Monday Night slot in Week One. As if waiting seven months for football isn't enough! It's like landing after a 12-hour flight and then waiting half an hour on the plane because of problems with the jetway. Ugh. And this is the second time in three years this has happened (and I did not enjoy the results the last time). But here we are. Time for real football starring the Birds. My thoughts on the coming season and my participation therein:...

Posted by thatkid at 10:58 AM | Comments (2)

September 10, 2005

The Return of My Favorite TV Show, Interactive Product, and Live Event

IT'S FOOTBALL! REAL FOOTBALL! ON TV! ON MY COMPUTER! IN THE STADIA! And we can breathe again. After seven months and two days, official NFL football is back! (And it's worth noting that the exclamation point from the previous sentence is actually sincere/ non-ironic. That's maybe the third such non-ironic deployment of an exclamation point of my life. Such is my giddiness!) Excited as I am about the onset of football season, it's prehaps worth a sober moment to evaluate what the return of the NFL means to me. On one hand, I don't have to watch any more make-believe sports. No more pretending to be interested in baseball or (worse still) actually sitting through pre-season games. (Full disclosure: I actually have three (3) Birds preseason games saved on my DVR.) On the other, football means that I am officially subtracting a day from my week from now through February....

Posted by thatkid at 9:16 AM | Comments (1)

September 9, 2005

TO Goes Homer

In which TO does his best Homer Simpson w/r/t Number 5 From the Associated Press Updated: Sep. 9, 2005, 7:26 PM ET Owens 'getting along just fine' with McNabb PHILADELPHIA -- Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb have resolved their feud, according to the enigmatic All-Pro wide receiver. Owens said Friday in a radio interview on Miami's 790 AM that he spoke to McNabb and the two Philadelphia Eagles stars are "getting along just fine." "We both have a mutual respect for each other and I think we probably understand that both of us may have been wrong in the situation, but that's between Donovan and I," Owens said. In other words: I know you're mad at me right now, and I'm kinda mad too ... I mean, we could sit here and try to figure out who forgot to pick up who till the cows come home. But let's just...

Posted by thatkid at 4:47 PM | Comments (0)

August 5, 2005

Screamin' A. Needs-And-Feelings?

In which we express shock and bewilderment regarding the overwhelming Dr. Phil-ness of the "Quite Frankly" debut It isn't an accident that his nickname is "Screamin' A" Smith. Erstwhile Philly print columnist and ESPN blathermonkey du jour (and subject of lengthy recent profiles in SI and the Times) Stephen A. Smith has earned his recent success (the ESPN appearances, the radio show, his new TV show) with his big mouth. Sure, it hasn't hurt that he's buddied up to some of the biggest names in Philly (specifically T.O. and Allen Iverson), but mostly it's been his bluster that's earned him his brand. (And to think he's accomplished all this without 610 -- now available streaming online!) So you can imagine my shock when I tuned into the premiere of Stephen A.'s new ESPN show "Quite Frankly" and found precious little screaming at all. In fact, it was a lot more...

Posted by thatkid at 11:13 AM | Comments (1)

July 11, 2005

The Three (3) Slowest Days Of Summer

Lauding and lamenting the three slowest Sportscenter days of the year Despite the fact that I am most certainly a regular Sportscenter viewer, I can’t remember the last time I uttered the phrase, “I really need to be home for Sportscenter tonight.” There are a lot of reasons why I (and I would guess most viewers) can be rather relaxed about not keeping our appointments with Sportscenter: the show is replayed a half dozen times after its initial broadcast, you can get all the highlights on ESPN News anyway, the Internet is a ton more efficient for checking scores, and so on. This is not destination television. You don’t need to record it or check the episode guide on the web site to keep up. Nope, Sportscenter is filler TV. If I’m in front of a television during a Sportscenter timeslot (6-7 pm, 11pm-1am, all morning) and I’m flipping channels,...

Posted by thatkid at 7:16 PM | Comments (0)

June 27, 2005

Maybe You Can't Say "Dirty Argie" On TV

In which we import a British ethnic slur to better explain the success of Argentine Manu Ginobili In the space of ten months, Argentine forward Manu Ginobili has won the NBA Championship with the San Antonio Spurs and the Olympic gold medal with Argentina (besting his Spurs teammate Tim Duncan in the process). Not a bad haul for a guy that most American basketball fans had never heard of as of four years ago. In fact, this was the first year that Ginobili was even a full-time starter for the Spurs -- and yet by the end of the season, the NBA blathermonkeys were tripping over themselves to praise Ginobili's "gritty all-around game" and basketball IQ (especially once the Heat and young Master Wade were eliminated). At the same time, the praise for Ginobili has been tempered somewhat by accusations of unsportsmanlike play. Specifically, certain opponents (and more than a...

Posted by thatkid at 1:00 PM | Comments (0)

May 11, 2005

You're Not Wrong, TO, You're Just An ________

In which I cut TO some slack before explaining just how badly he blew it in Philly with his offseason nonsense So that Terrell Owens guy is pretty tough. Played in the Super Bowl on a broken leg, against multiple doctors' orders. Had nine catches for 122 yards in the loss. He played with grit, determination, and passion. He had done pretty well in Philly, PR-wise, until that point; the Super Bowl thing was going to put him over the top, in "Most Heroic Performance Ever" sort of territory. Hell, I was even set to buy myself a fresh number-81 shirt (in midnight green, to complement my white number-5 shirt) for the upcoming season. And then it all went wrong. He switched agents (trading his longtime partner for NFL superagent Drew Rosenhaus) and announces that he wanted to renegotiate his contract. That would be the seven-year contract that he signed...

Posted by thatkid at 11:36 AM | Comments (0)

April 12, 2005

FIFA/ Coca-Cola World Rankings...Explained!

strong>In which a member of the FIFA Executive Committee is perhaps 13% too candid Among the exceptionally unique/ almost-justify-the-price-tag features of the business-school experience is the opportunity to meet and listen to the exhaustive roster of really impressive and accomplished people who come through campus as guest speakers. Whether invited by professors or by student organizations, not a week goes by without some brand-name CEO stopping by to give a presentation and answer student questions. Typically these folks are luminaries from the corporate world, but sometimes you do get someone from off the beaten path (where "off the beaten path" means they don't work in financial services or consumer packaged goods). We had one of those off-the-beaten-path folks today -- a member of the FIFA executive committee. For the soccer geeks at school (meaning like three Americans and a few dozen dudes from Latin America and Europe), this was pretty...

Posted by thatkid at 8:56 PM | Comments (0)

April 5, 2005

The Joe Theismann of College Basketball

Billy Packer almost ruins the NCAA tournament. Again. Every year that I watch the NCAA Basketball Tournament -- a.k.a. March Madness (TM) and The Big Dance (TM) -- I say the same two things: (1) Man, the whole idea of a big knockout tournament where everyone plays their hearts out is just awesome -- I love this thing; (2) Why is this glorious sporting event sullied by the semi-sentient Billy Packer? I thought about just going on and on about how much I disliked Billy Packer. There's certainly plenty to talk about, and I don't have anyone to stop me from calling the man lots of impolite names. I find him incompetent and insufferable. Sports on TV are entertainment products, and the presence of Billy Packer negatively impacts my enjoyment of said entertainment. Although there is certainly no shortage of blathermonkeys offering half-baked opinions on any number of television programs/...

Posted by thatkid at 2:49 PM | Comments (0)

March 31, 2005

Official Phillies Season Preview Edition

Guess which is my least favorite Philadelphia professional sports franchise? "Mr. Wade [Philadelphia Phillies General Manager], would it be cool if we got a picture with you?" I mean, it's not that I don't want the Phillies to win, it's more that I'm COMPLETELY FED UP WITH THE CURRENT OWNERS BECAUSE THEY (A) HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO WIN AND (B) HAVE RARELY SHOWN ANY INTEREST IN ACTUALLY WINNING. See: their comments about Philadelphia being a "small-market" club. At least the other teams are trying. Hell, even the Soul are trying. This is why it's hard to convince little kids in Philly to like baseball. They want to like it. They just don't have a good reason to....

Posted by thatkid at 7:31 PM | Comments (0)

March 30, 2005

The Return Of Landycakes

It's not just that you're lazy; you're also pretty soft! So it's unofficial: erstwhile US Soccer Golden Boy Landon Donovan has decided to cut short his stint with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen and return to Major League Soccer. The official word will apparently come after the United States national team plays Guatemala on Wednesday night. Inasmuch as there's ever any controversy in re: an American soccer player, Landon Donovan (aka Landycakes if you're not terribly fond of him) has certainly caused something of an uproar. It won't make Sportscenter, but if you follow US Soccer, you have an opinion about young Master Donovan. And, for the most part, the headlines have not been kind. "No longer the great U.S. hope" said ESPN. The boards at BigSoccer were positively en fuego with Donovan-bashing. And US coach Bruce Arena ominously weighed in as well, threatening to remove Donovan from the US lineup....

Posted by thatkid at 4:33 PM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2005

Shouting at the TV, Continental Edition

In which I make friends at a sports bar in Europe Buried somewhere deep in the hierarchy of the phylum known as "My Really Geeky Habits," within the family "Obsessive Sports Fandom" and the genus "Soccer," is my fondness for the UEFA Champions League. Without going much into the details, the Champions League is this competition where they round up all the best teams from all the different soccer leagues in all the different countries throughout Europe and have them play each other in a big (mostly knock-out) competition. The main portion of the competition starts in September and finishes the following May; at this point of the year, we're just finishing off the round of 16. Tuesday night featured a couple great second-leg matches (I could explain what "second leg" meant in greater detail, but let's just assume it away as irrelevant) with a spot in the quarterfinals on...

Posted by thatkid at 6:17 PM | Comments (0)

February 25, 2005

Why C-Webb Will Love AI

Playing with Allen Iverson will cover Chris Webber's biggest weakness Wow. Billy King might have had the best day ever for a Sixers general manager yesterday. Not only did he unload two massively crippling contracts (Kenny Thomas and Glenn Robinson), but he managed to get Chris Webber in return! Chris Webber! This is the best player -- other than AI -- to play for the Sixers since Sir Charles left. Sure, he gets paid an ungodly amount of money, is on the back nine of his career (turns 32 this week) and has a bum knee, but hey, he's a 20-10 guy and a great passer. Suddenly, the Sixers are exciting! Even better, the best thing about the acquisition is how well AI will complement Webber. Beyond the whole inside-outside/ little-big thing, Allen Iverson compensates for Chris Webber's biggest weakness. Chris Webber is a great basketball player, but Chris Webber,...

Posted by thatkid at 3:03 PM | Comments (0)

February 7, 2005

My Football Feelings Are Bruised

In which I reflect on the Thuper Bowl, and briefly consider that I have zero perspective in re: pro football Ugh. Ugh. UGH. I can comfortably divide my emotions into two broad categories. The first category is my normal set of human feelings -- you know, how I feel about my family, my friends, my aspirations, my successes, my failures, and whatnot. Those feelings are pretty standard, and are pretty in line with common expectations of a normal adult. The other category is my football feelings. These feelings aren't rational. They are tied to the fortunes of young millionaires whose weekly performances are broadcast on television. I don't know any of these people. They aren't my friends. I don't make any more money if they win. I don't eat any less if they lose. But my mood is actually impacted by what happens to the Eagles each Sunday. I can't...

Posted by thatkid at 6:50 PM | Comments (0)

February 6, 2005

Official Season Finale Episode Preview!

In which I reveal the most important elements of today's television program; I also think the Eagles will win So the season finale episode of the NFL television program is upon us! Unlike the season finale episodes of the past 24 years, this year my favorite characters and team are prominently involved -- quite a thrill! Oh, they've been close to appearing on this show the past couple years, but they haven't made it all the way to the final elimination challenge. Now they have. And now it's time for their movie script ending. I've been running my mouth about the Eagles for, oh, most of my life. Only now, living in another city, has supporting the Eagles become an element of my social identity -- one which I've come to savor. In Philly, everyone wants the Eagles to win. Duh. Even the ones that aren't that into it can...

Posted by thatkid at 3:16 PM | Comments (0)

January 24, 2005

Eagles Viewing Post-Game News Conference

News, notes, and reactions from the living room after the big game The following is the complete transcript of the post-game news conference conducted in my living room following the Philadelphia Eagles' 27-10 defeat of the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game, in which the team advanced to their first Super Bowl since I was 4. I watched said game. On a large television. At a bar. TKITC: First, injuries. Had a tough time with some of the snacks and bar food. Wings in particular. Having some minor GI issues, but nothing that should keep me sidelined for too too long. Going to talk to the doctors regardless. I may have also gone a little overboard with the mozzarella sticks, but I took my cheese drug, so we're not sure what the problem is there. Again, the doctors will give you a complete report later in the week, but...

Posted by thatkid at 9:55 PM | Comments (0)

January 21, 2005

Are Fifteen Yards Worth A Trip To The Super Bowl?

Dare the Eagles deploy the KillShot on Michael Vick? It worked for the Ravens and the Panthers. Eagles fans are paranoid about this Sunday's NFC Championship game. And with good reason. We've been here three times, and we've lost three times. It hurts our feelings to lose. All we want is the chance to win the Super Bowl. That's all. And I'm sure I'm speaking for a lot of people when I admit that I'm terrified that the Falcons will do the same thing that the Panthers did last year -- go for the early KillShot on our best player, Donovan McNabb. Oh, you don't remember the KillShot? That was when Donovan McNabb was tripped behind the line in the second quarter by Mike Rucker and absorbed a nasty late hit from Panthers linebacker Greg Favors. McNabb was on his back with his legs doubled up over himself when Favors...

Posted by thatkid at 1:38 PM | Comments (0)

January 19, 2005

(Two) NFL Stats I Want To See

And which I might calculate myself if I was so moved (and found myself with a lot of free time) Somewhere in the babbleplex of last weekend's NFL talking-head analyses, I heard some commentator state that the Indianapolis Colts need to focus more on defense in the coming year because "70 percent of their cap money is devoted to offense." Hmmmm. This is very interesting. Hadn't heard someone drop a number like that before. And it set my wheels a-turnin'. Where did he get this data? Could I get this data too? And that's when I realized I now had two (2) NFL statistics that I really really wanted to see: (1) Pig-pile fumble recoveries: before getting to the salary cap thing, I really want someone to break out a season or two's worth of film and tell me what percentage of loose balls and fumbles that are consumed by...

Posted by thatkid at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)

January 17, 2005

Fredex Delivers on Sundays (At Least At Press Conferences)

The Sultan of Slot Makes PTI! The most recent version of the Philadelphia Eagles, especially their head coach and star quarterback, make an honest and concerted effort to be bland, boring, and nondescript in their formal dealings with the media. Press conferences, soft-focus TV sitdowns, newspaper interviews -- all feature slightly different riffs on the standard "We're gonna play 'em one game at a time/ Just happy to be here" family of sports cliches. Which, given the jealous and often vicious intentions of the Philly sports press, is a pretty wise plan. Just say enough to get through the interview, and don't give the jackals anything they can sink their teeth into. Of course, the arrival of TO this summer turned the vanilla-press-conference paradigm on its head a bit, and we've seen glimpses of joy (or at least chuckles) at some of the press conferences and interview sessions from both...

Posted by thatkid at 4:05 PM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2005

The People's Champ Speaks!

Errr, I hadn't heard "The Sultan of Slot" I'm beginning to feel borderline ashamed by the frequency of my Philadelphia Eagles-related posts. Not that I post that frequently (I don't). And not that there's anything wrong with blogging about one's preferred entertainment product(s). (There isn't.) It's just that when I do post, it seems to be about the Eagles. But what with the playoffs and my ticket to said NFC Divisional Playoff this Sunday, The Birds are monopolizing more than their fair share of my Internet time. (So there.) [N.B.: I have refrained from posting about The History of the Eagles DVD set, their playoff marketing campaign ("One Team, One City, One Dream") AND Bringing The Heat, journalist Mark Bowden's (of Blackhawk Down and Killing Pablo fame!) account of the 1992 Eagles season. So far.] Anyhoo, one of the big stories heading into Sunday's game is how effectively Eagles receiver...

Posted by thatkid at 8:38 PM | Comments (0)

January 5, 2005

Hot Teams With Great Chemistry They're Not

Which of the Birds' potential opponents in the divisional playoff boasts the biggest jerkface? It's a tougher call than you think. The time is set (Sunday January 16th, 1 pm), the location is set (glamorous Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia), and the opponent has been narrowed to one of three teams (the Seattle Seahawks, the St. Louis Rams, or the Minnesota Vikings, pending the outcome of the Wild Card games) for the Eagles divisional playoff game next weekend. While the team has earned some time off by securing the best record in the NFC and the #1 seed for the NFC playoffs, the fans (for whom the supporting of football isn't quite as physically demanding as the playing of football) are ravenous for more football, and specifically, more competitive Philadelphia Eagles football -- something we haven't seen in three weeks. Instead, we are left sitting on our hands, scouring...

Posted by thatkid at 4:31 PM | Comments (0)

December 29, 2004

The Quantum Properties Of Fantasy Sports

Quantum Entanglement, Lineup Decisions, and the Superposition of Eigenstates at the QB Position* "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics." -- Richard P. Feynman Quantum physics -- the properties and behaviors of the tiny particles that are the miniature building blocks of the universe -- is one of those areas of science where the powers that be "don't exactly know all the answers as of yet." Unlike large objects like planets and boulders and coffee mugs, subatomic particles (the ones with nifty names like "quarks" and "positrons") don't seem overly concerned with obeying the the equations that govern how things are supposed to fall and move and smash into each other. Rather, quantum particles follow a different set of rules, rules that in many ways contradict the observable physical laws with which we're all so comfortable, and even go so far as to challenge some of...

Posted by thatkid at 1:25 AM | Comments (0)

November 30, 2004

Mettle-Testing at the Meadowlands

Weather Gods play-fake a confused crowd at the Birds game We were prepared for the worst. The weather forecast for the Eagles-Giants game on Sunday at Giants Stadium called for torrential downpours for the better part of the afternoon. We awoke Sunday morning to an ungodly New Jersey typhoon that, despite reports that the rain would stop by noon, led us to question the wisdom of actually heading out into that nonsense. But, if you want to win the Super Bowl and actually deserve said victory as a fan, then you need to hunker down and sit through the foul weather games. Or so I tell myself. I also post things on the message boards on terrellowens.com. Multi-platform Breakfast Excellence: typically we show up at the stadium with sandwiches or some other tailgate-appropriate vittles. But a host of circumstances saw us eschew a sack of sandwiches for a rare trip...

Posted by thatkid at 7:06 PM | Comments (0)

November 22, 2004

Why The NBA Brawl Wasn't That Bad

The real nasty stuff was in Europe Pretty ugly stuff Friday night from the Palace at Auburn Hills, home of the NBA's Detroit Pistons. As the endless replays of the incident have more than amply shown, an on-court dust-up between Detroit's Ben Wallace and the Indiana Pacers' Ron Artest very quickly escalated into a steel-cage Battle Royale, with a number of Pacers players attacking fans in the stands and fans streaming onto the court looking for -- and finding -- trouble. Disgraceful behavior all around, from both the players who attacked the fans and the fans who barbarically threw beer and garbage at the Pacers players like they were some angry mob at a seventeenth-century public hanging. The NBA was swift to react to the incident, handing out some of the longest suspensions in league history and offering volley after volley of somber mea culpas. A salvo of lawsuits will...

Posted by thatkid at 5:25 PM | Comments (0)

November 1, 2004

Thankfully He Wasn't Sitting In Front Of Me

Happy Halloween From The Linc Another tough win for the Birds Sunday. In general, the crowd was pretty subdued; dare we suggest that the fans are actually expecting this team to win these games and -- gasp! -- are taking this team for granted? Probably not -- the crowd was standing in the fourth quarter and the invectives tossed at the courageous Ravens fans in attendance were pretty vulgar. That's Just TO Being TO: TO looked pretty ordinary in the first half, as did McNabb. Dropped a couple balls and didn't really impact the game. But then he went and won the whole thing in the fourth quarter. Wow. He's earned it. Though I feel somewhat cheated that I couldn't see him punk Ray Lewis with his TD celebration -- too busy high-fiving and jumping about in the 200-level. Still, you gotta love TO taunting Ray Lewis. That's the same...

Posted by thatkid at 6:14 PM | Comments (0)

October 24, 2004

The Most Dominant NFL Defense of the Past 20 Years?

They didn't win the Super Bowl, But the '91 Eagles played some of the best defense in modern NFL history Despite the fact that the team that I root for has never won a Super Bowl, I have always taken solace in the fact that my team's brand over the past 20 years has, for the most part, been defined by its defense. Though rarely blessed with a high-flying offense, the Philadelphia Eagles have managed -- through multiple coaching and ownership changes -- to maintain a reputation as a team that plays tough, attacking defense. And there is a unique pleasure in rooting for a defensive team: you know that, even if your guys don't score very easily, you'll at least be able to watch the other guys get socked in the nose. You might beat our guys, but at least our guys will beat you up a bit. Although...

Posted by thatkid at 5:24 PM | Comments (0)

October 20, 2004

Hey, Subway Guy

Fellow Travelers Well Met on the UWS-Linc Commute Sunday morning came early. REAL early. I knew ahead of time that this would be an ambitious mission. Commuting to South Philadelphia for the 1 pm Eagles-Panthers game following a, ahem, rather late night was going to be tough. But when the Gods favor us with Greg Dulli concerts and Eagles tickets in the same weekend, it is unwise to cross them. Plus, I'm young and should be able to handle a little spot of sleep deprivation. And so there I was, on the downtown platform of the 1-9 train at 79th Street, with my Eagles-lubbin' roommate, decked out in our football costumes at 7:35 am on a Sunday morning. Weren't we then surprised that standing just ten feet away from us on the platform was another dude decked out in Eagles gear. Eyebrows arched all around. "You headed to the game?"...

Posted by thatkid at 12:47 PM | Comments (0)

September 29, 2004

You Realize This Is Hard, Right?

US Soccer Coach Bruce Arena tells us where to shove it! For a couple months now, one of my favorite yarns has been that Bruce Arena, head coach of the US Men's National Soccer Team (that's "MNT" if you're ever clicking about on ussoccer.com and feel confused), has the easiest national team manager job in the developed world. That is, he coached a side to the final eight of the 2002 World Cup, and most Americans have no idea who this guy is. Whilst in the UK the national team coach has his sexcapades all over the tabloids on a weekly basis, Bruce Arena could walk into most bars in New York and pass for an accountant waiting to catch the LIRR back home for the night. This is not to get down on the man. I mean, he did get an arguably undertalented US team to the quarterfinals of...

Posted by thatkid at 2:02 AM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2004

Not A Catch

But definitely not a good call across the board Minnesota Vikings fans have every reason to be aghast at head coach Mike Tice’s failure to challenge Terrell Owens’ third-quarter touchdown catch Monday night in Philadelphia. TO never actually had control of the ball in the end zone, and was certainly well out of bounds by the time he did catch the ball. Standard Monday (or Tuesday, in this case) Morning Quarterback hindsight and second- guessing – you’re going to blow a few calls over the course of a sixteen-game season. Yet in the endless Sportscenter hootin’ and hollerin’ about whether Owens caught the ball, I still haven’t heard anyone mention that the Vikings defensive back most definitely stumbled and grabbed TO’s legs before the ball got there. Had TO not completely shed this poor guy, a pass interference call does not seem out of the question. Check out a photo...

Posted by thatkid at 9:11 AM | Comments (0)

September 15, 2004

Yooooooooooooooooooo. This's TO.

Observations from a field trip to the Eagles opener The call came Friday. 10 am. From Joey. Odd to get a call from Joey at 10 am on a Friday. An e-mail maybe. But a call? Hmmmm. (Ringie ringie.) “Hey.” “Hey man, what’s shakin?” “You have plans for where you’re watching the game Sunday?” (This was an excellent sign. But I needed to play it cool. Go with it. Don’t act too eager.) “I dunno. Was thinking of watching it at the apartment. Could maybe consider going downtown.” (Here it comes.) “What do you think about Section 225?” “DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!” And so it came to pass that I had secured admission to the 2004 Philadelphia Eagles season opener against the New York Giants, Sunday September 12, 2004! A glorious day, by any account, and not simply because of the final score, the multiple Terrell Owens touchdowns, and the ample opportunities to...

Posted by thatkid at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)

August 24, 2004

The First XXII

In which we dream of selecting a team for the (as yet) fictional World Cup Of American Football Forgive me for a moment, for the Olympics are on TV and this major international sporting competition and television event leads me to take flights of imaginary fancy! Specifically, let us imagine that in addition to baseball, basketball, and beach volleyball, the Olympics were to co-opt that most American of televised sports spectacle: AMERICAN FOOTBALL! And let us further imagine that American Football players took the Olympics as seriously as European and South American soccer players took the World Cup (that is to say that they would treat it as the most serious thing they will ever do in their entire lives)! Finally, let us imagine that the American sporting public also took this competition quite seriously (with, to borrow a phrase, “the patriotism of your average war”), and the exploits of...

Posted by thatkid at 4:01 PM | Comments (0)

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