Blue Hens vs. Wildcats

Good article on the rivalry. I'm glad there's no more Villanova talk about being a 'national program."

I'm somewhat amazed to realize that Andy Talley is STILL 'Nova's head coach.

BTW, I did not realize Dave Brock was the head coach of the Blue Hens. He was the best friend of mycousin growing up in Moorestown, NJ.

Small world.

Deflate-gate

I gotta say, I'm surprised that the NFL investigation actually came to the common sense conclusions about Pats' deliberate attempts to deflate their game balls and Brady's awareness (and likely encouragement) of it, notwithstanding the absence of a smoking gun video of McNally actually letting air out of the balls.

I just finished reading the report. Reading between the lines, it looks like the Pats equipment guy routinely let air out of the balls while in the officials locker room after the balls were checked and while the refs were out of the room, but that w/ the championship game there were so many people around he had to do it in the private bathroom just inside the tunnel.

I'm still struck by the brazeness of it all. The Pats knew they were under the microscope about the air pressure based on Colts regular season game and the complaints by the Ravens following their playoff loss the week before the AFC championship. And yet they still deflated all their balls - in the conference championship game!

What do you all make of this? Is it a big deal or much ado about nothing? Given the Pats history with spy-gate, it seems like another deliberate attempt to circumvent the rules requires a pretty stern punishment. I'm also pleased//hopeful that Brady will finally have to answer some hard questions.

Hey, at least Goodell didn't classify the report and destroy all the footballs and pressure gauges. So that's progress.

NFL Draft 25 years Later

A devastating look at the toll professional football wreaks on players by the NY Times. But perhaps the most surprising thing in the entire article is to learn that Cortez Kennedy is in the Hall of Fame?

Decline of LL baseball

this story recounting the decline of little league participation was on the front page of today's Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/baseballs-trouble-with-the-youth-curve--and-what-that-means-for-the-game/2015/04/05/2da36dca-d7e8-11e4-8103-fa84725dbf9d_story.html

I have a couple thoughts on this very topic having seen it up close and personal. A lot of my son's friends bailed on baseball after the 9 year old season.

1. The growth in youth lacrosse is hurting baseball because of the scheduling conflicts - spring sports. But i think the growth in lacrosse hurts football more in the long-term.

2. As bad as it is for little league baseball, the decline in youth football is even worse and likely to get worse.

3. Again from personal experience it's not just that single parents can't/don't play catch with their kids. It's that two-parent families don't do it/don't have the time either. When I was coaching I could only work with the kids so much and told the families you've got to throw/catch with your kids on days we don't have practice (which was most days).

4. Baseball is one of those sports very hard to just pick up and you have to have some skill development to be an active participant. Kids don't play pick up games like we used to.

5. I absolutely think the super specialization and how the best baseball kids get creamed off into better teams/leagues is a big impact. The converse is also true. The mediocre kids get shunted aside and aren't given the time to develop or play in a skill-appropriate level. They wind up quitting rather than keeping with it.

It's a shame cause I loved playing baseball as a kid, my kids love playing it, and there is nothing more american than little league.

Huh?

While the McCoy - Kiko trade makes sense upon closer examination (overpaid, overworked RB for an emerging stud LB (albeit with a repaired ACL)), this Foles for Bradford trade is inexplicable - especially now that it comes out that the Eagles are also sending 2nd and 4th rounders to the Rams for a 5th rounder.

A second straight trade where the Eagles trade a skill position starter for a player who missed all of last season with a reconstructive knee injury.

This trade has to have some sort of secret agreement where the Eagles and Rams swap 1st round picks, right? Isn't that the only way it makes sense?

Please someone help me out here!  In 5 days we've gone from a starting trio of Foles, McCoy and Maclin to Bradford, Sproles, and Cooper.

And if the rumors really are true, and Chip Kelly covets Mariota...why not cut out the middleman and just trade Foles and McCoy to the Titans, Jags or Raiders for their #1 pick. They could even sweeten the deal by throwing in the Eagles #1 pick too. Sure you don't get Kiko in this alternate transaction, but you also don't wind up with Sam Bradford's $12 million contract and you get to keep your 2nd and 4th round picks.

This free agent period - Gore backing out of his deal, Jake Locker retiring, Chip Kelly's every transaction -  has taken a turn to the bizarre.

Old School

I'm watching the Ravens-Steelers game and am just amazed that with all the concussion attention, premier announcers like Collinsowrth and Al Michaels continue to show themselves as old school believers of a tougher, former NFL.

On consecutive plays in which Roethlisberger and then TE Heath Miller are taken to the sidelines with possible concussions, Collinsworth is incredulous that the players might be taken out of a PLAYOFF game over concussion concerns. He seems to say that the league is serious about concussions and player safety during the regular season, but will a groggy Ben Roethlisberger really be held out in a Wild Card game?

The answer, apparently, is no as Roethlisberger soon returns after Michele Tafoyar reports that Steelers sideline personnel have treated Big Ben for neck and spine issues. #7 then immediately throws an interception in the endzone and Al Michaels says, with no sense of awareness or outrage, that he thinks Roethlisberger was still a little "groggy" when he came back into the game.

Incredible.

Rivalry

With apologies to San Fran and Seattle, the raven-steelers rivalry is still the most physical in football.

Sam Now?

With the new word that Trent Cole has suffered a broken hand and is doubtful at best for the Skins game on Saturday, it would seem to make even more sense for the Eagles to at the very least take a look at last year's SEC co-defensive player of the year, Michael Sam, as a backup DE/LB to help bolster the Eagles increasingly depleted front seven.

Sam I Am

Speaking of Matthews, I thought it was telling that even when he went out Marcus Smith our 1st rounder still didn't get into the game. 

Whether Matthews can play the rest of the season or not why haven't/why shouldn't the Eagles taken a look at Michael Sam for LB? He played DE in college but i thought the understanding was he would probably have to play LB in a 3-4 in the pros. 

Matthews is 6',1" 245 lbs. Sam is 6',2" and 260 lbs. Maybe Sam was pegged as an OLB but couldn't he help as ILB with the Eagles given his size? Again, at the very least wouldn't you want to take a look especially since your #1 pick looks like a bust. 

Coincidentally, Smith is very similar to Sam: listed as a college DE and 6',3" 251 lbs.

Breaking Right Till Wrong

Things were breaking the Eagles way most of the afternoon - Packers loss and the Seahawks losing to the Niners at the half. Then it all came undone. Seattle winning and the opening kickoff and then blowing the lead late.

They basically would have won the division with a win and now are likely to miss the playoffs. And to add insult to injury, they could easily be 11-5 at the end of the season and miss out.

Ugh.

Matthews Bell Ringer

Since the new emphasis on concussions, I don't think I've ever seen a case like Casey Matthews where the player gets taken into the locker room to be evaluated and actually comes back out and plays! That was shocking.

Fare thee Well

Adieu to the best shortstop in Phillies' history. Jimmy Rollins was a leader and a winner and the straw that stirred the drink of a team that won two pennants and a World Series title. From the moment he uttered the now famous observation "we're the team to beat," the Phillies actually were the team to beat for five glorious seasons.

Finding their religion

Playoff committee excludes both christian schools - TCU and Baylor - from football playoff. Bias? College football worships money over all else.

Why the Wait?

The Washington Post h has a funny piece about the scene at FedEx Field yesterday as the skins went  on to defeat.

What really got my attention was both his report and several of the pictures about the crush of fans trying to clear "security" and get into the game. The Post reporter didn't get in till 1:20 pm.

This seems to be a recurring theme in Philly and Dc (other cities?) about the choke points that needlessly delay fans from entering a stadium.

Good Deal

Les Bowen and the Daily News offer great insight and clarification about the lack of a fine and even whether Baker should have been penalized for his hit on Nick Foles.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sports/eagles/Chip-will-ask-NFL-to-clarify-why-Baker-hit-was-legal.html

It seems as if the arrogant Troy Vincent, who said that people who "know" the rule, understood his ruling (or lack thereof), doesn't actually know the rule and, for some inexplicable reason, chose a microscopic interpretation.

All of this highlights the fact that the NFL rulebook is not publicly available and begs the question why it isn't.

Huh? Baker hit "legal"

The Post reporters need to do a better job of clarifying the issue. Baker is not being fined for his hit on Nick Foles after the INT (subsequently overturned on a challenge), but as I read the Post article it appears as if Baker shouldn't have even been penalized.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2014/09/23/baker-wont-be-suspended-nfl-rules-his-hit-on-foles-was-legal/

It's a whole other issue of how stupid the rule loophole is about hitting QBs after INTs. The genesis of the rule/penalty was the Hugh Douglas playoff hit that knocked Jim Miller out of the game in the divisional game vs. the Bears. But that was a hit on his shoulder not his head or neck. I can't believe the NFL still allows defenders to cream QBs after INTs so long as they don't hit them in the head or neck.

You could make the case that the penalty should have been unnecessary roughness since the ball carrier was in the process of being tackled and Foles was away from the play.

Crazy, stupid.

Letting Kids Play Football

Former NFL LB and NFLPA rep Scott Fujita has a column where he admits he used to counsel families to not let their kids play football but has since had a change of heart where he now declares that the answer isn't no, but it isn't yes either. Merely that since he doesn't have boys, thank gosh he doesn't have to make that decision.

Confused? So am I.

Football Tragedy

Football, especially for younger players, can kill you.

Toyota

I guess it's impolitic for the Washington Post to even mention what Eiji Toyoda did during WWII in his obituary.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/eiji-toyoda-former-toyota-president-and-founders-cousin-who-helped-make-toyota-way-dies/2013/09/17/fdbc46fa-1f5a-11e3-9ad0-96244100e647_story.html

Awesome Eagles video

City of Brotherly Love indeed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuJ_8_bSvsQ&feature=youtu.be