Phighting Phils

Never count out Phighting Phils or they'll get you when you least expect it just like tonight. The Phillies were down tonight 7 to 3 in the bottom of the ninth and the game appeared to be over until the unthinkable happened. The hero of the NLCS last year OF Matt Stairs stepped up to the plate thinking one thing... That ball is... outta here! and sure enough it was. The unexpected home run sparked a chain of events that shocked everybody watching the game, an unbelievable rally. After two runners made it safely to base the team big slugger Ryan Howard stepped up to the plate and displayed his power with a game tying three run shot, a shot heard 'round Pennsylvania. Then after loading the basses the Phillies sealed an amazing comeback win with a single to drive in the eighth run inching them past the Pirates and showing America once again that the Phillies can never be counted out.

Not In My House

Last night San Fransisco was a land of miracles and yes it was because of the pitching but not Tim lincecum. No it was Jonathan Sanchez the 2-8 Randy Johnson replacement who stole the show. The less than perfect pitcher came into the rotation after Johnson went down with an injury and shocked the Padres with a near perfect no hitter. The only runner on base came off of an error making the game not recognized as perfect though the pitcher never allowed a runner. Hats off to you Sanchez show'em who's boss.

The New York Mets, in a fierce nose dive, have finally made a move to bring them out of the terrible slump by trading OF Ryan Church to the Atlanta Braves for Jeff Francoeur. With both teams below .500 right now, they are each looking for a new ingredient in hopes of turning the season around and making a run at the playoffs. "what's weird is you imagine to be traded, but, you never imagine to be traded to your biggest rival" Francoeur said. the Mets, in addition to Francoeur, received $270,218 to equal out the salaries.

Can You Believe This Guy?

Yesterday a 61 year old man loaded 2 potted plants into the back of his truck that appeared to be sitting next to the trash, which was behind a house. This would not be an normally issue except the plants belonged to superstar quarterback Tom Brady. the 61 year old bank robber who was released 5 years ago from prison said he had no idea who they belonged to and admitted to the crime only after police informed him that he was recorded by a security camera. "i said, i don't even know what your talking about" the man recalled after talking to a Boston police detective. "i saw these two stainless steal containers behind a garage next to the trash" he said. "scrap metal was really high at the time so i grabbed them and put them in my truck". The man sold the pots for $450 a piece to rake in some spare cash but is now in debt to Tom Brady for quite a bit more. He and Brady reached an "agreement" on a debt of $8,000 dollars to be paid for the two stolen pots, even though it puts Dennis Paiva, the robber, in a tough situation. Dennis must now beg and panhandle to scrape together the cash after an aneurysm followed by a brain surgery. This man almost lost his life and is now 8,000 dollars in debt to a man who wipes his nose with this kind of money. What has this world come to?

Dont You Feel So Cool

I know we all ask ourselves "what's one of the most embarrassing ways i can hurt myself" but ask no further because the Cubs showed us how. Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster hopped the dugout rail on Sunday's victory against the Brewers and ate the dirt, fracturing his big toe. Not only is that a ridiculous way to get injured but you are now the joke of the DL with your broken toe. Lou Piniella commented "we were healthy for a day" as the Cubs have been injury stricken for quite some time now "It's something you never expect to happen. Just a freak thing.". Maybe we can prevent these accidents by following the kindergarten teachers instructions, take the stairs.

Testy Testy

Guess who stole the show again? You guessed it Mr. Manny Ramirez. He was ejected today after arguing a strikeout with the umpire but not before driving in 3. The withdraw from lack of roids must really have him bent out of shape. I'm not going to even waste my time with this nonsense okay you know the drill.

A Sad Sad Week

In the last week or so we have seen tragedy after tragedy including Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and now Steve McNair. The former MVP QB was found dead in his Tennessee home suffering a fatal gunshot wound to the head. With him in the home also found dead was an unidentified girl who had apparently been staying with McNair at the time. Information on suspects, witnesses, and motives are still under investigation. Usually i am the first to rip players down for their latest mistake but obviously this is no laughing matter and its never a good day when a player meets an untimely end to a very accomplished life. We raise our glasses to you Mr. McNair.

When a Well Roided Machine Rusts

Guess who's back with a brand new bag? Mediocre Manny! The ever popular Manny Ramirez came back to major league baseball today after a 50 game suspension for violating the league drug policy. Him and everyone else these days but not all players make that kind of bank. This cat makes 22 mil and gets busted! He can afford any designer drug he wants but instead he got caught and left for 50 games but today was a sweet return. He felt like a king when welcomed by the fans and his luck continued. The first at bat he had the eye of a hawk and managed to get the walk, being cheered all the way to first, but after that the king lost his crown. He could barely get the ball out of the outfield (his best hit a pop fly to the second baseman) and he just didn't seem the same ending the day 0-3 and a burning question. Can this engine run without the fuel?

Piss Poor Pistons

Today marked the rebuilding of the Detroit Pistons with two important free agency moves. The Pistons acquired Ben Gordon from the Bulls and Charlie Villanueva from the Bucks in hopes to use them as a base for the rebuilding process. I don't know who is worse the Pistons or the Bucks but either way this team is headed nowhere fast. A shot at the championship in 2005 was squandered away by San Antonio and the team has gone noticeably down hill since then. Yes they have made an appearance in the playoffs every year but in the NBA who doesn't? Its not a stretch to say that opponents have bigger problems this season than the Pistons which is no help for a hurting city such as Detroit.

Shaq and ... Lebron?

The most recent team interested in the future hall of fame classic Shaq is none other than the Cleveland Lebron James... I mean the Cleveland Cavaliers. Earlier this week the details were ironed out and Shaq left the suns averaging 18 points a game and seeking a new start with a championship contender. Shaq and Lebron could be the next Batman and Robin force in the NBA and perhaps when its all over Shaq will repeat his past by...writing a rap about Lebron.

The future of the NBA

Today begins the coverage for the NBA draft, the future superstars of basketball. Last year was a great season for college basketball with big teams and plenty of big names. We all know of players such as Blake Griffin and Hasheem Thabeet, who seem to be the favorites in the 2009 NBA draft, but we never got to see much of this years third favorite Ricky Rubio. The 18 year old Spanish point guard is expected to go third in this years draft due to his amazing ball handling the likes of which you've probably never seen. In highlights of his play you will see nothing short of magic with the ball including behind the back passes and moves that would confuse even the best of players. He would be the perfect player but his shooting is less than perfect and overall his athleticism hasn't impressed. These however are aspects that can be "polished" with NBA training and a good coaching staff. It looks like Ricky Rubio will be making his American debut very shortly, in Kansas City.

Mannywood is quiet

After all that baseball has had to go through in the past few years with their drug policy, possibly one of the biggest names in the sport has been banned for illicit substances. Manny Ramirez was suspended 50 games for having an extremely high level of testosterone, leading to the conclusion that he was indeed using steroids. Manny met with the Dodgers today to discuss contract information, considering he was guaranteed over $22 million for the year. Not only that, but he wanted to apologize to the team. "It was uncomfortable, I'll give you that," said manager Joe Torre. "He was a little anxious, you could sense an uneasiness I hadn't seen. He was remorseful, no question, and embarrassed. He went around, shook hands. The guys were happy to see him. It was more for him to show his face. He's embarrassed. He wanted to team to know how sorry he is." But seriously, how stupid can Manny be for doing this? He is a definite shot for the the Hall of Fame, but this is going to hurt. He will continue to travel and work out with the team, but this will also hurt his chances at getting voted into the all-star game. Some would consider him (as well as Barry Bonds) the "Terrell Owens of baseball". Eventhough he is not "show-boating" like he did in Boston, but just like always in LA, he is the center of attention.
-Tyler Jardine

More Trouble on the Mound

It appears that the Phillies are now finding more problems to keep them busy. The star pitcher of the Phillies, Cole Hamels, was a concern for the start of the season for two reason, 1 because he had some inflammation on his pitching elbow, and 2 his pitches had been coming in with lower velocity. It seemed as though they might have their starter back healthy until today's game against the Milwaukee Brewers in which a new problem occurred. After a few shaky innings a line drive came off of a Brewer bat and hit Cole Hamels dead in the arm. The medical staff determined he has a contusion in his left arm and will not be pitching next game, adding to the already long list of kinks for the Phillies to work out.

The Best Time of Year

We are now in the greatest time of year, no not Christmas the perfect storm of major sports. This time of year brings four wonderful events into our homes and creates a perfect sports month. That's right its time for this years NHL and NBA playoffs, MLB season opening, and NFL draft. There is so much going on it could make your head spin but even so it is the best time of year and lays the foundation for each of the teams, long term and short. draft coverage, and playoff coverage will be coming up once i get back in the swing of things but its going to be exciting to see how certain teams fair in the storm of this month.

Back in action

This title has two meanings in this post. first off i am back writing after a long absence and man have i missed quite a bit of sports news. this brings me to the second meaning, Michael Vick. The former multi million dollar starting QB has lost his reputation, wonderful NFL job, and oh yes, his millions and millions of dollars. He now is completely bankrupt to put it simply and has lined up a new job for himself. This star caliber player will be pouring cement, hammering and screwing, and carrying lumber. That's right he will be working construction for 10 dollars an hour which is nice and close to his old salary of hundreds of thousands of dollars a game. Its almost a shame to see such talent being wasted but that's what you get for breaking the law. Whatever the case it is almost certain Michael Vick is done with his reign in the NFL. In other news a big shout out to Villanova who is now in the final four of the NCAA basketball tournament after beating #1 Pitt. They have been pulling through week after week and are gaining momentum for their faceoff against dreaded UNC hoping to make it to the big game. congratulations and go nova! Baseball season is approaching and i couldn't be more happy. My world champion Philadelphia Phillies are returning to woop some names and take some a... no that's backwards but regardless they look great for a repeat. we will have our big league shakedown sometime after opening day so for those three or four of you who read this, stay posted. so much else is going on but i simply didn't have the time to touch on all of it right now but i will get there. If there is a team of event you want us to talk about just leave me a comment and ill see what i can do. Don't forget to visit the hockey division for all your NHL news, Thanks TJ.

America's Least Wanted. #1 T.O.

He did it again. Terrell Owens once again managed to get himself kicked out of a city. After spending only one season in Philadelphia he was suspended and kicked out and now history is repeating itself. T.O. has officially been released from the Dallas Cowboys to "improve locker room morale", no surprise seeing as how most of the league hates him. The truth of the matter is nobody wants to play on the same team as this showboating prick. We've all seen T.O. throw his little girl fits about his quarterbacks and its become obvious they are fed up with his crap. Not only did he openly disrespect Tony Romo but also whined about TE Jason Witten "receiving more catches" than him. Perhaps if Owens could catch the ball and run over the entire secondary he might get some respect but until then he is just another greedy selfish self centered waste of talent. Mr. Owens good luck buying a permanent home in a new city because your going to have to sell it just as quick.

a moment of silence

Today the search was called off for the 2 NFL players and a friend missing at sea. After searching 24,000 miles of ocean the coast guard reported that "any survivors would have been found". It's a shame to see such young lives cut short by an act of god, each of the missing being under 30, but unfortunately only 1 of the 4 have been found. The players disappeared after their 21 foot fishing boat capsized in a storm off the coast of Florida during a fishing trip. A moment of silence for Marquise Cooper, Corey Smith, and William Bleakley is in order and all respect from us goes to their friends and families in this hard time.

Hats off to you Weapon X

Eagles Make Big Free Agent Moves

The Philadelphia Eagles have not been known for making great choices in the free agency or the NFL draft but have already made a step forward this time around. Offensive tackle Stacy Andrews has been signed for 6 years to the Eagles taking over the right tackle position for free agent John Runyan. At 6'7 and 342 pounds there is no doubt he's one of the biggest players on the team behind newbies Nick Cole and Max Jean-Gilles, but how well will he actually play? Though he has been recovering from a right knee injury the Eagles believe he will be ready to play to full potential. The NFL has labeled Stacey as an up and coming star and with Donovan McNabb getting jittery under pressure there is no question they need good protection to make a run this season. Many moves have already been made in the last few days, here is a rap of the eagles free agent activity.

WR Hank Baskett: 1 year with Philadelphia

RB Correll Buckhalter: 4 years with Denver

C/G Nick Cole: 1 year with Philadelphia

S Sean Considine: 2 years with Jacksonville

LB Tank Daniels: 1 year with Philadelphia

FS Brian Dawkins: Expected 2 years with Denver

CB Joselio Hanson: 5 years with Philadelphia

TE L.J. Smith: Expected to sign with Atlanta

free agancy update: Philadelphiaeagles.com

Picture: nfl.fanhouse.com

Sixers are Winners! For Now.

The Philadelphia 76ers pulled off a very close win tonight against the 24-34 New York Knicks to become a winning team. The Sixers (now 29-28) have won 2 in a row after losing four strait games and if they can climb further over the .500 mark they could become playoff contenders. As of right now they seem to be no threat to playoff teams as they float around a losing record and show little signs of improving. Tonight's win however and Andre Miller's (on left) 25 points and 6 assists seemed a bright spot in the teams somewhat mediocre season and will hopefully be the start of a hot streak possibly sending them to the playoffs.

Photo from Andremillerfans.com

Vikings Bailout Plan

The Minnesota Vikings made the playoffs last year after winning their division and going 10-6 and proved they are a team that could win. On the ground. Everybody knows Adrian Peterson rips up the league but can anybody tell me about Gus Frerotte? How about Tarvaris Jackson? Can either of those QB's even be called a starter? Last season Frerotte only threw for 2157 yards 12 TD's and 59% completion rendering the Vikings passing game completely ineffective. He also managed to throw more pics than touchdowns last year but on the ground they locked up the playoffs in a somewhat lowly division. That was short lived however seeing that they found the Eagles to be a tough enough challenge for them in the first game. Now they look a new direction to try and establish a legitimate passing attack that may win them a few more games in the season. On Friday the Vikings acquired QB Sage Rosenfels from the Houston Texans to possibly become the new starting quarterback. Rosenfels came to Minnesota for a fourth round pick and will be competing for his first starting role in the NFL. Rosenfels won only 2 of 5 games in Houston but assures the Vikings he will be ready to start. "I really worked my tail off to get to this point" Rosenfels said and with 8 years under his belt there is no question he should be ready. Just throwing more touchdowns than interceptions would be a start for the Vikings new passing game. Photo from http://www.nfl.com/

How could Manny possibly get a better deal?

We all know that Manny Ramirez is one of the highest paid players in the MLB so how could he possibly swing his way into more money? Last year Manny was earning over 17 million dollars but if he re-signes with the Los Angeles Dodgers he could find his way into more than 20 mil. Theres no doubt that he dominates pitchers across the league and produces great stats but is he worth 20 million? Joe Torre believes that Manny's 332. batting average and 121 RBIs may be the key for the Dodgers to make a championship run though they fell short last year to the world champion Phillies. We've all seen what this man is capable of with a bat and he is also a solid left fielder but it is amazing to me that he seems to grow deeper pockets with each passing year. Now, at the age of 36, you have to wonder when in his last few years is this megastar going to depreciate?

Picture courtesy of sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Michael crabtree will forego surgery

Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree has decided to postpone surgery on his foot until after the 40 yard dash. He has been suffering from a stress fracture on his left foot but says he will continue in the scouting combine before receiving surgery on the foot. "i'm looking forward to going to the next level." Crabtree said. He referred to the fracture as "an old injury" that never caused him pain and believes it will not effect his drills at the combine. Coaches are not concerned about Crabtree considering how far the draft is and do not believe it will effect his position in the draft however no surgery should be taken lightly. As for now drills will continue as scheduled and surgery will be performed at a later date.

Picture courtesy of www.depts.ttu.edu

Dansby gets cards franchise tag

Karlos Dansby recieved the franchise tag from the arizona cardinals and also a hefty raise. Dansby was the anchor of the NFC champion cardinals linebacker group last season with 119 tackles and will now be signed on for another season. The team will meet with dansby on july 15th to discuss a long term contract and a good bit of money. According to sports illustrated Dansby will be recieving a 20 percent increase in his salary to 9.7 Million dollars, one of the top 5 highest paid linebackers in the league. Under the conditions of the tag, Dansby is allowed to view offers from other teams but the cardinals are expected to match any offers.

picture from www.azcentral.com

The Pilot

This is a test run for the new gear. Most of you reading this know me but for those who don't i would like to let you in my thoughts. I AM NOT A PROFFESIONAL. i will mess up and i can not promise the posts are 100% accurate though they will be for the most part. if i mess up do not rip me a new one this is for fun and should be taken lightly. please correct me but there is no need for anger just because im full of crap. There will be a podcast someday to follow the blog but until then enjoy and check back in.