Holzerman's House of Chicken and Blogging

Whether you like the show or not, you have to admit that LOST has been very bloody in its five season run. Here's a list of everyone that I can think of who has died off the top of my head:

( Starting with... )

Eat that, Rambo.

It's way too early to grade anything involved in the draft. In fact, I've gone from one of the guys who'd grade a draft the day after to someone who now understands that a draft class can't be gauged until after two or three years. Take for example the now infamous Reggie Bush draft. The Texans were raked over the coals for selecting Mario Williams over Bush and Vince Young, mainly at the behest of ESPN. I bought that hype and thought that you needed to take a gamebreaker like Bush. I wasn't so high on Young, but then again, with the exception of Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer and Byron Leftwich (lol), I hated every single 1st round QB that's been taken in the last 15 years on draft day. (thank God I was wrong about McNabb!) Well, it turns out that the Texans were right, now that VY is on a fast track out of the league with mental problems and Reggie Bush is quickly becoming the second coming of Eric Metcalf.

That being said, draft analysis isn't all bunk, but I think a lot of what can be gauged has to do with teams addressing needs. So let's start:

- Of course, we begin with the home team, the Eagles. When they picked Jeremy Maclin, my initial thought was, "Fuck, another first round receiver? Why couldn't they have just pulled the trigger on Boldin?" I would much rather have had Brandon Pettigrew. However, when they pulled LeSean McCoy, who was THE RB that I wanted in this draft (well actually, Moreno was the one I wanted but we never had a chance at him... more on that later), and then got a TE with upside that fell because of an injury in the later rounds, I was happy. I thought we did good.

- The Denver Broncos spent millions of free agent money signing RBs... Correll Buckhalter, JJ Arrington, LaMont Jordan... and defensively they were leakier than a water-tank riddled with bullet holes, and they pick Knowshown Moreno? WTF? Does this new regime have a clue as to what they're doing? First this shit McDaniels comes in and chases out their budding franchise QB, getting Neckbeard Orton in return. Now, instead of trading up to get Mark Sanchez or down to get Josh Freeman, or staying put and drafting, oh, I don't know, Brian Orakpo, Malcolm Jenkins, Brian Cushing or Robert Ayers? Fuck them. I hope they go 0-16 this year for the undeservedly arrogant way they've been acting this offseason. It's such a shame that Dawk went there to play for that little shit rather than go to a quality organization. Fuck Belichick and fuck all his disciples.

- The other AFC West making the WTF? moves were the Raiders. Okay, so maybe Darrius Heyward-Bey might end up being a better pro than Michael Crabtree. I mean, I don't know, it's all a crapshoot like I said above. That being said, more people coveted Crabtree than Heyward-Bey, and if the Raiders really wanted him, they could have traded out of the pick and got a few more picks to stockpile their still struggling team. Then, there was the second round pick of the guy that at least one other team had rated as a free agent pickup post-draft. Of course, this was according to Helmet Hair, so take it with a grain of salt. The Bears actually also wanted to pick this kid from Ohio as well, so maybe they had less pompous scouts look at him. Looking back it, I'd rather not trust Mel Kiper to say some kid didn't deserve to be drafted in the second round. But still... Heyward-Bey over Crabtree at that spot? You've gotta trade.

- I'm so glad the Jets took Mark Sanchez at that spot, because I don't think I could have taken another draft day of ESPN manufacturing a story about how emo the dropping-QB was feeling after being passed up by so many teams.

- Speaking of the QBs... it's still sad how teams overrate QBs and take them where they do, but Steve Young capsulized it best by saying "It's a quarterback league." That's the mentality. Trent Dilfer leading the '00 Ravens to a title was an anomaly. Still, much like every year, I didn't like any of the first round QBs to become grade-A signal callers in this league. I do like Stafford, but he's going into a shit situation with high expectations of being not only the first pick overall, but to be the first Lions All-Pro QB in almost 40 years. Sanchez is going into a great situation, but he really has the weakest resume of the three. Josh Freeman, I think, is going into the best situation given the overall makeup of the conference. However, I still don't like Big 12 QBs who tend to have inflated stats in a conference that isn't exactly known for its defense. But unlike Kiper, I don't think Sanchez is the least likely to bust. I think all three of them are equal chance.

- Some picks I liked: Hakeem Nicks to the Giants (he should be able to replace Plax eventually, same body type, will definitely get passes from Eli Manning)
Eugene Monroe to the Jags (I know they need some skill players, but you gotta build the line first. Monroe could be better than either of the Smiths taken before him)
James Laurinitis to the Rams (shit, how can you go wrong with the son of Road Warrior Animal playing Mike Linebacker?)
Everette Brown to the Panthers (first round talent late.. he won't replace Julius Peppers, but I don't think he'll be a drastic downgrade either)
Shonn Green to the Jets (how he lasted to the third round is beyond me)

- Some picks I didn't like: Percy Harvin to the Vikings (too much athlete and not enough receiver... I have a feeling he's another Reggie Bush type, but hey, at least he wasn't taken 2nd overall)
Beanie Wells to the Cards (an ACL tear waiting to happen)

That's it. Feel free to comment!

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=6746688

Drexel U. President Constantine Papadakis, dead at age 63 of lung cancer. I had no idea he had cancer at all, so I'm floored by this. The guy was so vibrant in selling the school since he took over. I may have been annoyed at some of the ways he went about it, but he was the driving force in establishing CoMAD, the law and medicine schools, expanding the enrollment and erecting new buildings with new technology. He's going to be sorely missed.

RIP Taki.

The more I think about it, the more I think that the tourney selection committee got it right. The teams at least. Yeah yeah, the pundits are all saying that Maryland and Arizona shouldn't have gotten in, and I agreed with them at first, but Maryland beat three top 10 teams throughout the year and played in a murderous ACC. The Pac-10 wasn't nearly as good as the ACC was this year, but a lot of people are on the Aztec bandwagon. Y'know what? San Diego State had their chance when they played Arizona earlier in the year and they lost. The rest of their non-conference schedule was putrid. UNLV and New Mexico had better resumes of the snubbed.

That being said, some of the seeding was whacky. The 1s, I'm okay with. The Big East this year was the best conference in history. So top-heavy, and probably some other teams from there that got snubbed could have made a lot of noise (Georgetown, Notre Dame), but alas, you can't really fuck up conference play and make it in. Memphis had a resume, but they were victims of circumstance. That being said, I don't think Oklahoma had any business being a 2 seed over Villanova. 'Nova played out of its mind in a horriffically difficult conference and lost in their conference tourney to the team that won the regular season AND the conference tournament and was only the #1 seed in the entire thing this year (Louisville). The Big XII was wildly overrated this year anyway. The gap between the ACC and Big East and the other conferences is stunning. The Big XII was probably closer to the the horrendously underrated MWC this year, but whatever.

Temple seemed like they got it raw too, but they kinda screwed themselves this year by not playing consistent basketball. They'd beat Tennessee and Xavier but then end up losing to some shit team like UMass or Long Beach State. I was a little more pissed earlier, but now, I think they're in the place they should be. I think they can make some noise though. Watch out for the Owl.

Speaking of getting it raw, no lube, how does Siena post the record they do and have an RPI of 22 and only get a 9 seed? Ridiculous. And Utah State wins 30 games with a respectable RPI and gets a fucking double-digit seed? Bullshit.

So yeah, they got the teams right, but some of the seeding is bad. Still, a vast improvement, but it was an easy year. The bubble was weak. And the best part was that there was no Billy Packer yammering about how the mid-majors sucked and that we should all be praising Jesus because the power conferences were here to save the day.

Sad thing is, he'd have had a little truth to his sanctimony, but that doesn't mean we needed to hear it.

- Spaceballs
- Borat
- Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
- Major League
- Iron Man

B-Dawk heading to Denver

This has really put a damper on my day. Dawk wasn't the player he was, but he still gave you something, and he was an emotional leader for that locker room. God dammit, I know that you're supposed to get rid of the older players at the end, but this was NEVER supposed to happen with B-Dawk. He was supposed to be here for his whole career. Fuck, man. Fuck.

Seriously, congrats Denver fans. You guys get to see a great player next season. He may not be able to bring as much to the table in terms of talent, but I guarantee your defense will be better just by having him as an emotional leader.

As for the Eagles management... fuck 'em. Every single last one of 'em.

With each installment of the Super Smash Bros. series, Nintendo and HAL Laboratories keep outdoing themselves, even when it looks like there's nothing else they can do to make the next installment better. I find myself loving the Wii if only to play Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is surprisingly fun 1-player (but not as much fun as it is multi-player).

However, I'm a nerd, and as is the custom with nerds, we're never completely happy with anything. We're always thinking "Well, what can we do to make it better." I'm pretty sure my fellow nerds and I would have tried to find ways to make Heaven more perfect. So, in that grand tradition, here's how I would have made Brawl a little better.

Now, the gameplay's nearly perfect, and there's a lot of content crammed into the game. However, there could be more... more in the way of characters and stages. So, without further ado, here are the characters that I would have liked to have seen in Brawl in addition to the ones that are already there:

( Starting with... )

I'd also propose a way for them to access Zero-Suit Samus without having to pick regular Samus and have to do her Final Smash, but that's just me.

Jeff Reed scored the first points on a FG? Check

Fitzgerald having a beastly game in a loss? It wasn't looking like that until the 4th quarter, but check

Steelers having one more defensive stop in them than we did in the NFC Title game? Check, if only by default, I guess.

Final score... not exact, but very close (27-23 against 24-21 is pretty close)

I hate to say it, but I think I had that game pegged. Not very happy about it though. Not because I didn't want to see Pittsburgh win. I did. But that last touchdown by Santonio Holmes cost me $50 in a block pool! DAMMIT!

As for the game itself, I wouldn't call it "good" like good in quality because it was way too chippy and sloppy. It was like there was a holding call every other play. And some of the idiotic plays made by both sides. Let's just say that James Harrison had better be thanking his lucky stars that his out-idioting of Adrian Wilson didn't cost the Steelers ultimately.

However, it was easy to watch if you channeled out all the yellow flags. It was exciting and competitive, which is more than you can say for most of the Super Bowls in the '90s. Both of Fitty's touchdown grabs were things of beauty to watch, especially the fade route, where he just said, "fuck you Ike Taylor, I'm grabbin' dis" and did just that. It's a shame it was in defeat for him, but his legend grows.

All in all, it was worth the watch. Maybe next year, it'll be our year... maybe.

I figured that if I can write extensively on the team I rabidly follow and I proclaim myself to be not only a fan of the Eagles, but one of the NFL, why not go for a paragraph apiece on the other 31 teams? Yeah, I know the Super Bowl hasn't been played yet, but unless Ryan Clark gives Larry Fitzgerald a Napoleon McCallum or Joe Theismann, then the result of the game really doesn't matter in the long run, does it?

( Cut for tl;dr )

And now, the Super Bowl!

( Preview )

Well, I didn't do one of these since the Rams game for whatever reason. Between getting married and being busy, I guess when I let it lapse, I just didn't feel like doing it again, especially since they really weren't inspiring anything except agita. Then, when they started doing things that were worth writing about, superstition took over.

Well, now that we're done, I don't think I need to worry about being superstitious anymore. So, without further ado, it's time for the year-end tradition of taking inventory of the Birds and seeing what I think they need for next year to make a real run at the Super Bowl.

( 6th in the NFL )

( 3rd in the NFL )

( There's no NFL ranking for this )

( And the guys on the sidelines and in the booths )

Overall - Things are looking good, maybe the best they've been since the 2003-04 offseason. This team could make another run, but even though the adjustments are few, they're there. We don't have to rebuild this year, we can reload, and even though we can't become the '85 Bears, '89 49ers or the (lol) '07 Pats overnight, we can do enough to become instant favorites in the NFC and make one last run before key players such as Dawkins, McNabb, Westbrook and Runyan have to move on.

Re: The Eagles

Not a whole lot now. Of course I'm disappointed we lost, but we were in the House Money Bowl, and the home team just happened to win. No bitching about blown calls either, it's not like we couldn't have erased them with better play. Given the state of NFL officiating (hint, IT'S FUCKING HORRIBLE on all fronts), you have to expect it. Don't want to get all whiny like Simmons does despite the fact he roots for teams from the best sports town of the decade.

Now, onto METALLICA~! Great show last night. Fantastic. ( tl;dr )

So yeah, if you can get tickets to see them, see 'em. Great show.

Well, what a year 2008 was. The Phillies are World Fuckin' Champions, the Eagles made it to the playoffs (I know I've been slacking on the Hangovers this year, but once the season's over, be it next week or February 1st or anywhere in between, well, I'll post a comprehensive one), I got married, bought a house and adopted a doggie, a bunch of celebrities died, our nation overcame its folksy racism and elected a black man as President and Dick Clark depressed us all on New Year's Eve. Oh yeah, the economy shit the bed too, but let's not talk about that, mmkay?

Here's hoping that 2009 brings us another Philly Championship (or two or three... but not four, since it'd take a small miracle for the Sixers to win), and that things look up for the rest of the country too.

Also, here's to hoping Buddy stops licking my face non-stop when I'm trying to sleep in on the weekends.

I got LOST Season 4 for my birthday last week, and me and Amanda have been watching it so far. Great season, probably the best since the first, but watching it again is stoking up some questions for me, and it has made me think about the previous seasons and what hasn't been answered yet. In season 4, they did a great job of providing some answers, but there are still some very pointed questions left to be answered. I'm going to go down each character and pose what I think are the pertinent questions, and then as we find them out starting in less than a month, I'll answer them here.

( Starting with the best character on TV since Homer Simpson, circa season 10 )

If any fellow viewers of LOST amongst my friends list has any questions to add to this, add 'em. I have a feeling they could be answered this season...

I know it seems like a little overkill to be complaining about anything sports related right now in the afterglow of The World Fucking Championship, but you'll have to excuse me on this. I had very high expectations for the Sixers this year. An NBA Championship wasn't in those cards, but I expected them to be better than they've started so far. At 11-14, they're a game up on Toronto and tied with the Knicks for 3rd place in the Atlantic. With the addition of Elton Brand, I thought they had the slam dunk (pun intended) to get into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference. Hey, we almost shocked a very good Detroit team last spring and got a top-flight power forward in a league somewhat bereft of them.

But I was a bit deluded, or at least mistaken at why last year's team made the run it did and the one piece it was missing to continue to run towards the playoffs this year.

( It's all about the shooter )

I'd get depressed over this, but c'mon, the Phillies! Plus, the Flyers are just raking. I mean, Simon Gagne's playing like he never got hit in the head, and Jeff Carter's the league's new sniper. Plus, there's always the Eagles.

I know things are going great for us now. I'm just greedy. Can you blame me? I got a taste and I want more, especially from this basketball team that I know can be much better than it is.

from vomikronnoxis

( Yah )

This entry is in reply to a comment an anonymous poster left in my last entry. I was just going to reply there, but the entry is about a week old, and I don't think anonymous posters get e-mail replies when they get replied to. Plus, I think this is worth a new entry.

Aaanyway, the comment in question is this:

The only problem with an eight team playoff for eight conference champions is in a year like this, where five of the top six teams in the country (Alabama, Florida, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Texas) are from either the Big XII or the SEC, and I'd take Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma State and maybe Missouri over any team in the Big East, or any team in the Pac-10 with the exception of USC.

( My response, in tl;dr format )

So yeah, Barack Obama won last night. Of course, I'm not happy about it, but then again, the only other viable option to win would have made me pissy too. I'm not enamored with a lot of his fiscal policies, but the President-Elect does have his head in the right place when it comes to college football. When he and McCain were asked the one thing they'd want to do to make an impact on sports as President, McCain gave the stock "blah blah blah steroids blah blah blah" answer. Obama, though, said that he'd have 1-A-level college football getting a playoff. Now THAT'S change I can believe in!

Of course, Obama probably won't have that on his mind come January. Well, he shouldn't, not with our country in the mess it's in right now. But still, that doesn't mean, I, a fourth-rate blogger on LiveJournal, can't address the problem.

( Duffman is thrusting in the direction of the problem )

So the problem is identified... now, the solution.

( Am I a crackpot? Don't answer that. )

Of course, it doesn't have to be that exact roster of teams. Of course, no one would argue with Boise State, Utah, BYU, Memphis, Hawaii or Marshall, but some of those other teams could be controversial to keep up and some teams that I'm moving down would have their cases to stay. Still, the teams would be unimportant in face of the general idea.

There, I just made college football extremely more interesting. As much as I've been clamoring for a 16-team playoff though... 8 conference Champions taking 8 playoff spots would be damn intriguing. Hell, win and you're in? That would give CFB the playoff it desperately needs without robbing the regular season of its value and meaning.

What do you think about this? I want some feedback. Is this as great an idea as I think, or are you going to rip it apart?

My vote for the 2008 Presidential election will be cast for Ralph Nader. Here's why:

- Nader's a fiscal conservative who opposes the bailout
- He's against the war in Iraq
- He's an environmentalist
- He fought for consumers' rights in the past and will continue to oppose big business in the interest of the individual

It was close between Nader and Chuck Baldwin for me, but Baldwin loses out because he's a Baptist minister. I get very skeptical about people who are that religious being placed into a position of executive power. I could be wrong about him, but it turns me off regardless.

Bob Barr is out because he's not a Libertarian. He's a fraud. I hate frauds.

Obama and McCain... yeah, forget both of 'em. Two fiscal liberals who want to spend my money on things they have no Constitutional right to do. The only difference is one wants to "spread the wealth around" and the other one wants to spend it on a pointless war.

I don't know much about Cynthia McKinney, but I don't feel like I need to since both Nader and Baldwin capture what I believe in close enough that I can choose between them.

You don't have to agree with me on my candidate. But I beg you, if you're informed and you know what you want for your country, vote. If not, then don't bother. People tell you it's your civic duty to vote, but if you don't know about the issues or don't care, don't just blindly vote for Obama because celebrities are telling you to, or for McCain because you think he's a swell guy for being a war hero or for whatever bullshit reason that has nothing to do with the issues, then you're doing your country a disservice by voting. I posted this during the primaries, and I'll post it again now. Take the lyrics seriously. Take some time to think. Figure out what's important to you. You need to make a serious decision.

Yes, I was at the parade today. I took my lunch break with no lunch, but I didn't mind. I was there to see our team.

I tried getting in at the beginning of the route at 20th and Market. I knew I wasn't going to find any on-street parking, but even if I had to pay through my nose for a lot, I was going to do it. All the garages and lots though were full. Crap. So I set my sights southward across I-676 to Delaware Avenue, back across Christian Street and to the streets to the immediate east and west of Broad, where the main parade route was. I searched for a good 20 minutes, scouring every inch of the cross-streets and of 13th and 15th Streets. No luck. So then, I figured, what's a couple of blocks to walk? I went down Moore Street in South Philly and parked right past 17th, lucky enough to find a big enough spot for my big truck.

I walked briskly to Broad Street, not wanting to miss anything. I didn't, except for a few cop cars rolling up the street. I got there plenty early, as the parade was still several blocks to the north on Broad when I got to my post. I was people-watching, and I saw a friend from high school. I texted my brothers to see where they were along the route too. I was so antsy.

Random cop cars came up the street, causing false alarms for the crowds there. People across the street had a horn that they were blowing, and fans stationed at one spot there cheered all the passers-by. People were watching from the balcony and from the rooftops. You could cut the anticipation with a knife.

Then, the first sign came. A guy on stilts wearing a Shane Victorino shirt and waving a Phillies flag. He drew the first big cheers from our intersection. Then came the throngs upon throngs of escorts from the Philadelphia Police Department. First, the bike cops, then the patrol cars. There were two tow trucks, one from the PPD, one from the Parking Authority. Surprisingly, no one booed the Parking Authority. There was that much good will in the air that day. Then...

The first official float in the parade was a large wagon, sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, pulled by 8 Clydesdale horses. Upon it was Game 5 hero and Phillies stalwart Pat Burrell, coincidentally my favorite player on the team. I started up a "PAT.THE.BAT!" chant that fell on deaf ears at first but was picked up by the crowd later on. You could Burrell was on Cloud 9, eating up the cheers from the crowd, the adulation of the fans that he and his teammates have professed to have won this title for. The PTB chants then led into "RE-SIGN PAT!" chants. If you don't know, Pat is a free agent this offseason, one of the prize bats on display. If I'm a betting man, I'll put money that he goes to an American League team to play DH so he doesn't have to roam the outfield on his slow legs. Even though this seems inevitable... I joined in the chants. I've been on board with Pat ever since he got here, and I knew that someday, my patience and loyalty would be rewarded with him being on a Championship team. And he was. I hope he stays, but if he doesn't, then I have no hard feelings for him. Baseball players do what they have to do, y'know?

The next float was a big double-decker bus with the Phanatic on top. The Phanatic is such a fan-favorite and a staple of the franchise. Even in the lean years, he was a reason to go to the games. There was another big double decker bus behind that one, and then, the big flatbed trucks with all the players came down. The first one had all the Phillies announcers: Tom McCarthy, Sarge Matthews, Chris Wheeler, Scott Franzke, Larry Andersen... and the immortal Harry Kalas. Harry the K is a Philadelphia treasure, the best baseball announcer in the game and a baseball institution. He's our Hall of Fame voice, and our ambassador to the game. His call of the last out in Game 5 will live forever.

Then, then players. Three flatbeds full of players and their wives and children. Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley and Jamie Moyer and Cole Hamels and Brett Myers and Brad Lidge and everyone else. It was a blur, a fantastic celebration of a blur. Then, a few trucks with fans on them came by, and like that, the parade was past the intersection. I left to go back to work - lunch breaks don't last forever - and turned on WIP to listen to the speeches when they got back to Citizens Bank Park. I missed most of them... but thanks to YouTube, here's Chase Utley, adding more and more to his already awesome legend:

I'll admit, I was misty-eyed today thinking about everything as it's finally sinking in. This isn't a dream. We won the World Series. We have a Champion here in Philly. It's real. This call was real:



The best part about it all was in the background, as Harry the K is making what will undoubtedly become one of the signature calls in his illustrious broadcast career, is Chris Wheeler celebrating passionately, fist-pumping and everything. Normally, I despise Wheels and his broadcasting un-skillz, but you can't deny that he's been with this team for a long time, and to see him in the broadcast booth, letting his inner fan come out was just icing on the cake.

Everything about today magnifies the glory of last night. The billboard-trons showing the players' names with the title "World Champion." Preston and Steve dedicating most of their broadcast today to the victory, turning the airwaves over to the biggest audience in the morning in Philly. Anthony Gargano and Glen Macnow toasting everyone on the air today, from Johnny Marz to Jamie Moyer to fans abroad who could only celebrate with their families via text. The "CONGRATULATIONS 2008 WORLD CHAMPIONS" message flashing on Lincoln Financial Field's LED sign and the fact that the Eagles are showing comaraderie to their neighbors across the street by allowing them use of the Linc for the celebration tomorrow. The announcement of the parade route. The number of commercials congratulating the Phils. The conversations struck up with strangers about the awesomeness of last night.

It all brings a happy tear to my eye. I can't believe how much something that seems so minute in the scheme of things is bringing me so much joy, but then again, sports in Philadelphia is more a religion than a recreation. While others may only invest free time, we devote faith. Call it silly or sacrelige, but it's what brings this city together. It unites people regardless of creed or color or country. Something that uniting can't be that bad.

And finally, our faith was rewarded. I don't know if I said this last night, but thank you Charlie and Jimmy and Chase and Ryan and Pat the Bat and Pat the GM and Shane and Ruben and Dave and King Cole and Jamie and Chooch and all the rest of you guys. You've taken the edge off of a city that has been inundated with political ads and economic bullshit and a general fear about the crime rate. You've made nothing else matter for at least a couple of days.

See you at the parade tomorrow.

I have waited my entire sentient life to see this day. Sure, the Sixers won when I was alive, but it was when I was a wee-lad, still wearing diapers and drinking my food from a bottle. I thought it was never going to happen. I thought we were destined to fail again, especially with the weather. But we didn't. We succeeded, with our leaders getting us there and providing the spark.

Jimmy Rollins

Brad Lidge

Ryan Howard

Chooch Ruiz

Chase Utley

Pat The Bat Burrell

Jayson Werth

Old Man Moyer

Brett FUCKING Myers

Brett Favre Bruntlett

JC Romero

Ryan Madson

Pete Happy

Shane Victorino

And last but not least...

King Cole Hamels, NLCS and World Series MVP

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!! WE WIN!!! WE WIN!!!!

Yeah, it was inexplicable the way last night ended up. I'd write something verbose and incoherent about it, but Jayson Stark said it a lot better than I would have

Stark's Take

Usually, I loathe TMZSPN's writers, but Stark, a phormer Philly Inquirer columnist, isn't like the other talking heads. Although, I do have a few other things to add to have alleviated things last night:

1. Maybe the game, and all WS games, should have started at an earlier time, like, say, 6 or 7 PM.

2. How about lopping off a commercial or two from each break to speed the game up? Oh I forgot, the advertising dollar is worth more than the integrity of the game nowadays. Just another example of how this country and its system works to protect corporations and their almighty advertising dollars than it does the common man, who has to spend his/her hard-earned money just to go the game, brave the elements to watch what they thought would be history.

3. ...no wait, I don't have a 3. That's it. Baseball's a slow game by nature, but that doesn't that game needed to be called last night. If you were afraid of it being rained on in the first place, why even play? Oh, I forgot, advertising dollars.

And one more thing... I love how Joe Buck and Tim McCarver didn't start advocating that the game be called until it started affecting the Rays. Rollins drops a sure fly ball because of the wind and weather, and then has a ball slip out of his hands the next inning, and they say nothing about it. But then BJ Upton gets on base and he slips a little bit getting back to the bag, and Buck starts saying that Joe Maddon should go out and try to get the game suspended because it's messing with the Rays running game. Meanwhile, Upton still stole second and then scored from second on a base hit to left that Pat Burrell had trouble fielding because of the weather. Yeah, that really hurt the Rays running game, didn't it Fuckstick Buck? I really should save myself the aggravation and put on 1210 AM, but I'm afraid it's going to be ahead of the HD lag (I refuse to watch it on the regular feed if I can get it in HD).

The Phillies are up in the World Series, 3 games to 1, over the Tampa Bay Rays. Game 5 is tonight. We have Cole Hamels on the mound. We just spanked the Rays last night. If I were a fan of a normal team, I'd be supremely confident right now. But I'm not. I'm a Philadelphia fan. I always have to expect the worst.

And why shouldn't I? I mean, there's the looming Tampa jinx. There's 1964. Up 3-1 on the Devils and then Scott Stevens turning Eric Lindros' brains into rice pudding. The last Eagles game at the Vet. Game 2 of the 2001 NBA Finals. "A choking situation." Randall Cunningham's ACL. Mitch Williams. Ricky Manning, Jr. Heaving in the Super Bowl. Billy Wagner. Aeneas Williams. Jason Sehorn. Roman Checkmanek. Black Friday. Kenny Stabler. Bill Walton.

I can't shake the knot in my stomach. But what if this isn't bound to end like the rest of them? What if this group of players has the makeup to be cursebusters like the Red Sox of '04 and the White Sox of '05? I mean, at some point, we have to be positive. I have to be positive. And why not? Whenever they have a close-up on Hamels when he's on the mound, the confidence in his face assuages my fears. And ever since they got rid of Bobby Abreu and Billy Wagner and the rest of the clubhouse miserables, they have been a different team.

Is this our year? Is tonight the night? I don't know, but whatever the outcome, I'll be there.

GO PHILLIES!

Stolen from Africa buckeyebrain

( Cut because I know the Eye of Blumberg still lurks )

/super-fatty