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Memories of the Phillies Finally Winning it All

I’d like to say it felt as good as the 1980 World Series win for Philadelphia, but I guess nothing ever matches up with the first time. The 2008 World Series victory was my first taste of being a fan of a championship team as an adult, and youthful exhilaration has been replaced with a sense of satisfaction and relief. As I wrote right after the team won, I am just thrilled to know that I don’t have to hear about the 25-year championship drought in Philadelphia any more. It is dead and buried, along with the ridiculous notion of a Curse of Billy Penn. I am also hopeful this title will help the Philadelphia fans become just a little less ruthless, but whether or not it will remains to be seen. Like everyone else, I’ll remember certain things that are purely personal. I don’t think I’ll ever forget riding an adaptive bike past the Rocky statue on my longest ride yet on the morning of Game 4. Having discovered biking with the Pennsylvania Center for Adaptive Sports in August on Martin L

PHILLIES WIN WORLD SERIES!!!

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Thank you, Phillies!! PHILLIES 2008 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP APPAREL I'm starting to realize this will continuously sink in. How long have we heard about the fact that we haven't won in X number of years? I mean, I'll be in my 60s before I would ever have to hear about a 25-year drought. Not that we should start the count...I'm just saying the drought became such an ingrained part of Philadelphia sports talk, and it's gone. Utley's play lives with Boone / Rose!

No Asterisk Allowed

As we all know, Game 5 of the World Series is on hold, suspended in the middle of the sixth inning. With talk radio getting calls about how Philadelphia was jobbed, I agree with Bud Selig suspending the game. It would have been nice if it was stopped before Tampa Bay tied the game 2-2, but there is no way in the world this game should have ended because it was an “official” game with the Phillies up 2-1. Philly hasn’t heard enough about the 25-year drought? We want a freakin’ asterisk at the end of it, so we could hear how it’s really still going on??? Yes, let’s win a World Series 4-1 AND HAVE TO HEAR HOW WE DIDN’T DESERVE IT! No, no, no way in hell. The upside: The Phillies have an extra at bat, starting with the pitcher's spot (presumably a pinch hitter) followed by the top of the lineup and our bullpen is the best in baseball. Besides, doesn't this let Cole Hamels possibly pitch game 7 if God help us it gets to it? Ricky Bottalico and Mitch Williams went nuts last night on

Legendary Weekend Leaves Phillies One Game Away from Championship

The Phillies capped a weekend that will go down in Philadelphia sports lore by reaching the brink of winning the World Series. In one day Philadelphia saw 3 wins (Eagles & Phillies), 2 World Series wins, Joe Blanton pitch 6 solid innings and smack a home run, Jamie Moyer start a rain delayed game after climbing out of his sick bed to pitch his first World Series game in a 20+ year career (after being hit hard in his two playoff starts) and throw a great game that ended well past midnight on Saturday, Ryan Howard hit two home runs in one World Series game (3 in 2 games)… Am I missing anything? Oh, yeah, Chase Utley and Howard hit back-to-back home runs (not that Comcast customers in my area saw it), the Flyers even won a game this weekend, and the Eagles won their 500th game. Brian Westbrook rushed for over 167 yards and 2 TDs after missing 2 of the last 3 games with injury. And, oh, by the way, Penn State kept hopes of a national championship alive by beating Ohio State for the fir

Phils Can't Take Stranglehold; Series 1-1

Fans have a tendency to say their team lost a game, as opposed to the other team winning a game. I certainly put myself in that category. Tonight, though, I truly think the Phillies lost the second game of the World Series to Tampa Bay. The 4-2 loss sent the Series to Philadelphia tied, 1-1. Brett Myers pitched 7 innings, officially giving up three runs. But it can be argued he only gave up one. A Jason Werth error in the first made it second and third, and officially led to 1 unearned run. But when two grounders follow, both of which could have been double-play balls ending the inning with just one run, I can’t put that on Myers. In the second Myers had a clear strikeout, which the home plate umpire seemed to call, appealed into a walk. The Rays ended up scoring a two-out run. But bottom line, the Phillies lost at the plate. They are now 1 for 28 with runners in scoring position and have left 22 men on base in the Series, 11 tonight. Ryan Howard finally had a couple of hits. But only

New Day, New...er, Old... Cheap Shot on Philly

Another day, another dumb reference to Philly booing Santa Claus : Whatever happens on Nov. 4, I will always remember Sarah Palin as the bravest of the national candidates. Or the most foolish. Take your pick. For, you see, a couple of weeks ago, when the Philadelphia Flyers opened their NHL season, the courageous hockey mother came onto the ice, her innocent little daughter in tow, to drop the first puck. Understand now, this is Philadelphia, alleged City of Brotherly Love, where sports fans have been known to boo Santa Claus and children looking for easter eggs. The author, Frank Deford, is at least old enough to have been alive when it happened. Maybe he can break news on disco next.

Phils Up 1-0 in Series

Chase Utley and Cole Hamels led the way to the Phillies victory in the World Series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays. And with all the talk of the Rays’ miraculous, Cinderella-like worst-to-first run, I couldn’t help but notice that, at least according to my cell phone time, the last out was registered at 12:01 AM. Forget the week long layoff. Forget the idiotic way Major League Baseball awards home field advantage to the league that wins the All-Star Game. (Ok, the Rays would get it anyway, but I just wanted to mention how dumb it is.) Hamels made the layoff meaningless, and the Phillies have the road win they needed. After a Jason Werth walk, Utley smashed a home run in his first World Series at-bat to give Hamels a lead before he ever touched the ball. Comcast Post-Game Live just reported he has only lost once all season when he is given an early lead. A terrible play by Hamels not covering on a grounder to first put the Ray’s leadoff hitter on in the bottom of the first. It would

Remembering the 1980 Phillies

I’d love to be able to offer some great analysis of the Philadelphia Phillies versus the Tampa Bay Rays on the eve of the 2008 World Series. But the most I can say about the Rays is that they have some solid starting pitching and have some very good offensive weapons. But, let’s face it, they’re in the World Series. If I’d never even heard of them, I could have come up with that. Instead, like a lot of people, I’ve been spending some of the time since the Phillies last game remembering 1980. Of course, people who could not care less know by now that’s the last time the Phillies won the World Series. For me, though, it was the last time my Phillies were even in the Series. I was just eight years old at the time, and young enough to think loyalty was part of professional sports. So when Lonnie Smith was traded away to the St. Louis Cardinals a year or so later - honestly, I don’t even remember the details - my heart went with him. In 1993, I had been back as a Phillies fan for a while

Cheap Shot Count

Driving home, I heard Mike Missanelli rip a Tampa reporter for yet another cheap reference to Philadelphia fans booing Santa Claus. Might be a different guy, but I googled Philadelphia + Claus to find this dope : If the city of Tampa goes 25 years without a championship, the locals don't lose any sleep over it. There is no "700 level" in these parts. Nobody boos Santa Claus or cheers injuries to opposing players. Unlike Philadelphia, the morale of Tampa's citizens isn't closely associated with the ups and downs of the city's sports teams. Might not be the same dummy, but the Cheap Shot Count is on. This is number two, after Michael Wilbon kicked it off . 10/21 UPDATE: Cheap shot #3 has been located courtesy of Blinq . This genius writes for the St. Petersburg Times : PHILADELPHIA is a large, historic U.S. city located in southern New Jersey. William Penn, inventor of the tennis ball, was born in Philadelphia. The city also is the birthplace of Quaker Oats, g

Philly Should Brace for National Media

Yesterday on Pardon the Interruption co-host Michael Wilbon started what likely will be a steady stream of shots at Philadelphia sports fans by the national media with the Phillies in the World Series. Wilbon essentially said that we whine too much about not having won a championship in 25 years. The knee-jerk reaction is to scoff at Wilbon, a Chicago sports fan. This is a city that has “suffered” through a century-plus of the Cubs not winning a World Series while Michael Jordan won title after title in the NBA with the Bulls. It’s a city that tried to ruin a guy’s life simply because he tried to catch a foul ball no player had any chance of catching right before the Cubs choked up a playoff series. And Wilbon’s just a national media guy who needed 90-seconds on Philadelphia and did what they all do – he went with the accepted story line about bad fans. But with the Phillies in the World Series, it might be worth looking at the stereotype from the inside. I still remember watching loc

Phillies Roll to World Series!!!!

The Philadelphia Phillies are in the World Series! Say it again Phillies fans – for the first time since 1993 the Philadelphia Phillies are in the World Series! Jimmy Rollins got things started with a leadoff home run, and seven strong innings from Cole Hamels allowed the Phillies to never look back. Defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 tonight, the Phillies took the National League Championship Series, 4-1. Rollins’ home run came in a rare 8-pitch at-bat for the shortstop. It was also a repeat performance of his leadoff home run in the series clinching win against Milwaukee. I believe there have been reports that no one has ever had two leadoff homers in series-clinching games in the same playoff year. Hamels responded with a “shutdown” inning, with only a walk to Manny Ramirez. In other words, a perfect inning. Ramirez hit .520 in the playoffs, including 2 for 3 last night with a home run. I’m not sure he should have been pitched to at all, but he didn’t come up to bat with a sing

The Difference Between the Cowboys and the Eagles

So . . . how many times can you rip Eagles’ owner Jeffrey Lurie for talking out of his backside without getting bored? Apparently, at least once more. Lurie did his usual job of shoveling a lot of hollow talk about Super Bowls at the beginning of the season. I believe this year’s version of the Eagles being the “gold standard” was that they had the “pedal to the metal” to win it all. At today’s trade deadline the Eagles’ big move was to cut running back Tony Hunt, a fairly high draft choice, and sign a special teams player. Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys’ owner with several Lombardi trophies in his possession, acquired wide receiver Roy Williams from the Detroit Lions for a first, third, and sixth-round pick next year, and a seventh-round pick in 2010. This is a guy that lost his quarterback for four weeks on Sunday, lost his cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones to suspension today, and last year took the receiver the Eagles just couldn’t handle and still haven’t replaced in Terrell Owens.

Phils One Game Away from Series!

Remember the name Matt Stairs. Some day he could be the answer to a trivia question about Philadelphia sports. The 40-year old, picked up late in the season as an extra left-handed bat off the bench, crushed an 8th inning 2-run home run to put the Phillies up 7-5 and gave them the win in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Phillies hold a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, and are just one victory away from going to the World Series. The home run capped a 4-run rally by the Phils. Shane Victorino, who was thrown at in the previous game, tied the game with a 2-run homer of his own. Victorino, who lost his grandmother the same night Charlie Manuel lost his mother, continues to be huge for the Phillies in the playoffs. Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard all showed signs of life at the plate. Rollins started the game with a base hit, and Utley and Howard each had an RBI in the first inning. Rollins was great on the bases in the first, dancing off

Sunday Split

It probably worked out ok, it just doesn’t feel that way. The Eagles won on Sunday, the Phillies lost. The Birds may have actually needed the win more than the Phils, but somehow I’m feeling the loss more than the win. Too much time in Negadelphia? Maybe. Transferring my annoyance as my sports “entertainment” site finds ways not to pay, but is eager to allow me to continue playing? Probably. (But somehow America is safer.) Did the Eagles truly salvage anything by beating San Francisco? Defensively they were gashed for a 101 yards by a so-so running back in Frank Gore. They gave up 199 yards passing to first-year starter J.T. O’Sullivan, whose two picks led directly to 10 points. The Eagles were actually down 26-17 going into the fourth quarter. But a win is a win, especially when two of the division rivals lose and it’s a road game. Donovan McNabb passed for 280 yards and two TDs with his top weapons watching the game; his one interception late in the third period could have been disas

Palin on Ice

What exactly was the point of having Sarah Palin drop the ceremonial first puck at the Flyers’ opener? YouTube videos like the below make it seem like she was soundly booed, though various blogs suggest a mixed reaction. Watching it on Comcast, it seemed clear the organization realized it had made a mistake at the last minute, and cranked the music so loud that I couldn’t tell if there was much booing. Back to the original question: Why do this? It was a train wreck waiting to happen. Reports are she was booed the first time she tried to mingle with the Philly sports crowd . Regardless of your politics, this was just dumb. Did Flyers chairman (or owner, or whatever Comcast lets him call himself) Ed Snider think this would make him look good to someone high up in the Republican party? An ABC News blog reports , “On the jumbotron a warning message flashed, admonishing: ‘Flyers fans, show Philadelphia's class and welcome America's #1 hockey mom, Sarah Palin.’” Nice try, Ed. This w

Myers at the Bat; Phils Up 2-0

He did it again. Brett Myers starred at the plate for the second straight playoff game that he pitched. He went 3-for-3 with 3 RBI, kept a second inning, 4-run rally going with a 2-out RBI base hit, knocked in 2 runs in the third, and scored 2 runs in the game. He even went first to home and first to third, and legged out an infield hit. His time on the bases likely cut the less than svelte Myers’ time on the mound short, as he struggled in the innings after running the bases. He was easily the best offensive player for the Phillies. This wasn’t just a nice effort for a pitcher, or even a great addition to the effort like when he forced C.C. Sabathia to throw him 19 pitches to force him out of the game early in the NLDS. Myers’ performance at the plate becomes part of baseball lore if this team gets where it’s aiming to go. It may already qualify, and almost certainly qualifies as future Philadelphia legend. Myers made it through a laborious five innings, getting the win that puts the

Phils Up 1-0 in NLCS

Chase Utley ignited a 3-run in the bottom of the sixth with a 2-run home run that gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, which held up to give the Phils a 1-0 lead in the National League Championship Series. The home run tied the game 2-2 with Shane Victorino having reached on an error just before Utley’s plate appearance, and Pat Burrell added the third run on a solo homer, continuing his hot streak. After a slightly shaky first inning, giving up a RBI double to Manny Ramirez, Cole Hamels was pretty solid. A lead-off double in the fourth led to the only other run he gave up. Things weren’t looking good as Hamels had 50+ pitches at that point, but he recovered to complete seven innings. Burrell’s home run knocked Derek Lowe out of the game in the sixth. Hamels finished strong, giving the Phillies the proverbial shut-down inning after they took the lead. In the 8th, Charlie Manuel came out to talk to reliever Ryan Madson, who was about face a 2-3 Ramirez. The result?

Eagles Drop to 2-3

As much as Andy Reid and Jeff Lurie would like Philadelphia sports fans to ignore what is quickly becoming another debacle of a season and bask in the glory of the Phillies – and, quite frankly, as much as we’d like to – we can’t. It’s the Eagles; it’s the team that for so long was the only team in town with a chance to win a championship. Sounds funny, but this team may now be the one with the least chance to win in this town. A last place record of 2-3 in the NFC East doesn’t begin to scratch the surface. The Eagles were 8-8 last year with 3 consecutive meaningless wins to end the season. In 2006, they were 11-5, but only 6-3 with Donovan McNabb, and Jeff Garcia won a playoff game. He may have won another had Reid not decided to punt the game away. In 2005, the Eagles were 6-10, with McNabb going 4-5 as the starter despite the faded memory of many who claim he was off to a stellar start before his injury. He simply was not. That puts the Eagles at 17-19 in meaningful games with McNab

Phillies Headed to NLCS!

Jimmy Rollins belted a lead-off home run, leaving the Phillies offensive struggles behind and setting the tone for a series clinching victory against Milwaukee. Pat Burrell’s 3-run blast in the third, followed by a Jason Werth home run, put the eventual 6-2 win on cruise control. The win put the Phillies in the National League Championship Series for the first time since 1993, where they'll face the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning Thursday night. Just before the back-to-back home runs, Phils fans were reminded of the struggles the team experienced at the plate for most of the series. With Shane Victorino on second, Chase Utley grounded out for the second out of the inning. Ryan Howard was intentionally walked. One leads to the other. If Utley’s hitting, it’s a lot harder to walk Howard. Joe Blanton turned in an outstanding performance on the mound. He went into the seventh inning, giving up just one run on a Prince Fielder home run. He had a high pitch count, and Charlie Manuel pulle

Brewers Beat Phils, Add Some Whine

Jamie Moyer couldn’t give the Phillies a sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers tonight, getting into a high pitch count in the first inning in which he gave up two runs. Ultimately, the Phils only gave up four runs, but once again the offense got very little going and scored just one (official) run. A second run was taken off the board in the ninth when the Milwaukee manager Dale Sveum complained that Shane Victorino got in the way on a double-play with the bases loaded and no outs. Ryan Howard, who scored on the play, was sent back to third, and Jason Werth was returned to second base. Carlos Ruiz made it a mute point, making the third out moments later. I’m certainly not a rules expert, but how sending runners back a base makes sense is beyond me and something I’ve never seen before. Besides, aren’t runners supposed to try to break-up double-plays? All Victorino did was not get out of the way. The real problem, though, is the Phils offense. They haven’t scored in more than one inning in ea

2 and 0hhhh, Baby!

Going into tonight’s Phillies game the question was which Brett Myers would show up – the guy who came back from the minors a legitimate number two pitcher, or the guy that needed to go to the minors in the first place. Nobody in their right mind thought he’d be a key factor at the plate, helping to drive CC Sabathia to an early shower, and the Phillies to just one win away from the NLCS. After a cameo by “bad” Brett in the first inning, giving up a run and loading the bases, got a double-play ball back to the mound to end the first. He was never in major trouble again. He also deserved a lot of credit for a 3-up, 3-down inning after the Phils put up a five-run second in which he had the critical at-bat. In the second inning Myers worked – and I mean worked – a two-out walk. He made Sabathia throw nine pitches, fouling off three pitches with two strikes. Jimmy Rollins followed with a walk, and Shane Victorino knocked a grand slam to make the game 5-1. It was never really in doubt after

Hamels Pitches 8 Shutout Innings; Phils Win

Cole Hamels threw eight shutout innings to give the Phillies their first playoff win in 15 years, beating Milwaukee 3-1. He only got into trouble one time, and went into the fifth inning before giving up a hit. It was easily the biggest win of his career, and at least temporarily ended chatter that he’s not the ace or, more specifically, the “horse” of the staff. The offense offered very little support, and based on last year’s playoff that may be reason for concern. Chase Utley came through with the only extra-base hit by the Phillies, a double that was scored an error, to score two runs. Ryan Howard walked three times and might have to get used to that. Brad Lidge continued to need plenty of pitches to get the save. I thought it was iffy to take Hamels out, but he was over 100 pitches and it’s hard to argue with bringing in a guy that is now 42 out of 42 in save situations. Is it time to be concerned about Lidge? Possibly, but it would be idiotic to wait too long to bring him in. A

October Baseball

Phillies fans woke up with October baseball on their minds this morning, along with various excuses to leave work early to catch the 3pm start. How the Phils got another fairly crappy schedule for the playoffs with both New York teams sitting at home on October 1st is beyond me. Somehow having the last two MVPs isn’t enough for TBS? This is a network that was running Friends marathons a year ago. But at least it let’s us mention that both New York teams are at home. Here’s what I’ll be looking for from the Phils to avoid last year’s you-missed-it-if-you-blinked playoff appearance: • A good start to the game today. It doesn’t have to be great, just good. Cole Hamels needs to get through the first inning easily, and avoid the big home run through five. Offensively, a few hits in the first few innings will hopefully keep the offense from squeezing the bats too hard. This team starts pressing faster than any in recent memory. They need to ease into it and not panic, and help fans do the