DESEAN!!!!!!!

Bogged Down with Links

I know the Eagles first preseason game was last Thursday, which in Internet-land is an eternity ago, but there's something I wanted to address that the Michael Vick bombshell distracted me from at the time. That would be Jason Peters.



Now, Peters comes in with a reputation as one of the better left tackles in football who was hindered by sitting out training camp last season and having a down year. By all accounts, two years ago he was one of the very best in the league. Last year, he was not, and struggled the entire season.

Well, in his first action as an Eagle, he looked like a fat piece of crap to me. Maybe it was just the first-game jitters, but for a left tackle tasked with protecting Donovan McNabb's blind side, he looked like he couldn't pass protect worth a shit.



Now, he did only give up two sacks, and one of those was clearly miscommunication with Nick Cole, but to me, Peters routinely looked entirely too slow and seemed to get beat off the snap routinely on passing downs. Maybe my eyes were deceiving me, but I don't think so.

On a bright note, he did look very good in run blocking, so there's that. Too bad the Eagles pass about 3,000 times a game. I certainly hope that changes, especially with Westbrook getting healthy and Leonard Wever and LeSean McCoy looking all sorts of awesome Thursday. But I have my doubts. This is still Andy Reid's team after all.

Either way, Peters better shape up here before the season starts, or the Birds just may need all four quarterbacks they have in camp.

Links …

-As you would expect, Big Daddy Drew is just thrilled with the Vikings' signing of Brett Favre:

YOU MASSIVE SHITBURGLAR. NOW I HAVE TO SPEND A WHOLE GODDAMN YEAR PRETENDING TO WISH YOU WELL WHEN, IN FACT, I HOPE YOU FALL OFF YOUR PORCH AND HAVE YOUR THROAT SLASHED BY A BEER BOTTLE. I FUCKING HATE YOU, YOU FUCK.

-With his hopes and dreams shattered by the Mets, RomanWarHelmet overcompensates by practically declaring the Giants the best team ever after beating, of all people, Jake Delhomme.



In all honesty, the Giants' defensive line scares the bejesus out of me, and Jake Delhomme, for those of you wondering, still sucks horribly.

-Shawn Andrews is goin back to Cali to see a back specialist.



Great.

-Allen Iverson is waiting on either the Knicks, Heat or Bobcats. I wish the Sixers were on there.

-Greg Paulus is is starting at quarterback for Syracuse this season. No, not this guy:



This guy:



You know, the one who hasn't played football since high school and is in his fifth year of college. Yes, expect Syracuse to continue to suck complete and utter balls.

-Gilbert Arenas still plays basketball, at least until he gets hurt again.



-Incredibly brilliant piece on Philadelphia native Eddie Griffin and his tragic ending.



Sad tale.

-Who doesn't like sick dunks?



-More Drew on Favre:

Obviously, I'd be elated to see my favorite team win it all (not that they will with Favre at the helm). I've waited my whole life for that. But for them to win it thanks to THAT ASSHOLE? I'm sorry, but that's just fucking weird. Nothing anyone says will change that fact. If there are Viking fans who can put aside history and welcome Favre with open arms, more power to them. I don't know how they can do it, because I can't. It would be like hugging your rapist, and I'm no Jezebel writer.

-My favorite catcher of all time is headed home.



That's right, Pudge is a Ranger once again.

-Not sports-related, but if you haven't noticed the new addition in the Stuff and Stuff links, check out Snacks and Shit if you like hip-hop and hilarity. It's brilliant.

Oh, and Pedro makes his first home start as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. Sounds like a good thing to watch tonight.

Cry, Crybaby

Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with what I can only assume is a typical New York Giants fan:



I could watch that all day.

Abraham Linking

No time for writing. Onto the links.

-A roundup of Phillies blogs from WSBGMs, with a shoutout to yours truly.

-The Best Harry Kalas impression ever.



-Giants fans are upset, dumb.



-Myron Rolle decides the NFL can wait.



-Monty Gee back and better than ever, from Philly.com.



-Former 76er and current Timberwolves forward Rodney Carney is good at bowling. Too bad the Sixers drafted him to, you know, play basketball (via The Big Lead).

-Finally, romanwarhelmet admits the Giants do indeed suck.

-I watched the Lousiville-Notre Dame game, and the Oklahoma-Texas game as well, and this was by far the highlight of the night:



-In UNC's loss to Wake, this was pretty nasty too:



-Derek Lowe signs with the Braves.

-Jonny Flynn, ridiculous:



-If the Cardinals-Eagles NFC Championship has you angry, seeing as they both only had 9 wins the regular season, go watch soccer, asshole.

-Five reasons the Penguins are struggling. Really, there's only one: Because Pittsburgh sucks balls.

-Jordan. Great. All that stuff.













-More Hardball, a new endeavor by GM-Carson of We Should Be GM's. Check it out.

-Maybe Vidal Hazelton should have just gone to Penn State.

-Full-court shots are sweet and funny.





-Say it ain't so, Mo. Maurice Evans is declaring too. Fuck.

The Flyers host the Penguins tonight in what has become a very, very heated rivalry. Although, the Pens kinda suck right now. Let's hope they don't regain their form from last season tonight.

LET'S GO BIRDS!!!!!!!!!

It's Pretty Sunny in Philadelphia

I'd like to make an admission: I'm 24 years old, soon to be 25, and in my lifetime, Philadelphia has always played second fiddle to New York in the sports landscape.



There was the Yankees winning championship after championship, while the Phillies were on their way to 10,000 losses. The Giants won not one, but two Super Bowls since my birth, while the Eagles repeatedly came up short. And the Rangers won a Stanley Cup while the Flyers failed to reach the promised land. Sure, the Knicks really haven't done squat, but neither have the Sixers.

That is all just a way to say, when it came to sports—my one true passion in life—New York was always better. Well, today, rejoice Philadelphians, because we fucking own New York right now. The Yankees? Haven't won a World Series since the turn of the century and didn't even make the playoffs last year. The Mets? Choking frauds. The Phillies? World Fucking Champions, bitches!



And the dominance doesn't end there. You see, the Flyers, despite having played two less games, sit a point ahead of the Rangers, who started off red hot and are now searching for answers. Not to mention, you know, the Flyers made the Eastern Conference finals last year while the Rangers, um, did not.


Just as Scott Gomez is chasing Mike Richards above, the Rangers are chasing the first-place Flyers

And there was yesterday. Oh, how glorious it was. While I was in North Jersey, an old, hilarious Giants fan repeatedly let it be known that the Eagles "suck moose cock." As he described, "Moose cock is the biggest cock, and the Eagles suck moose cock."



Well, the moose cocksuckers completely dismantled Eli Manning. Provoking the many variations of the Eli face.









I wonder what kind of cock Eli and his teammates are sucking right now. Whatever it is, Tom Coughlin looks ready.



What I'm trying to say is, New York, you suck. Philly owns your ass right now. World Series? Got it. Still alive in the NFL? Check. First place in the NHL? You betcha. Fuck off you living the past, talk about the future and ignore the present jerkoffs. I couldn't be happier to see you lose, yet again, and fall farther behind the World Champion Philadelphians.

Things were so grim that on our trip back to Philly, a car was completely engulfed in flames going northbound on the Jersey Turnpike.



I can only assume it was a Giants fan on his way back to New York who just couldn't take the fact that New York has become losers while Philadelphia has become a winner.

Two more wins.

LET'S GO BIRDS!!!!!!!

So Let Me Tell You About My Weekend

How was my weekend? Well, let's just say spectacular doesn't even begin to describe it. You see, I didn't think on a personal level things could get much better than witnessing live the Eagles win a playoff game on the road, but oh, how wrong I was. On Friday night, my roommate walked in the door and asked if I wanted to go to the Eagles-Giants game. Of course I said yes, and for the second straight week, I traveled to the land of the enemy in the playoffs and came back victorious...but I'll get to my trip to the Meadowlands in a minute.

This was truly another glorious, glorious weekend, one that rivaled the epic 5-for-5 weekend in October. On Friday, the Sixers beat the Bobcats, extending their winning streak to 3 games, and then followed up with another victory today, making it 4 in a row. Suddenly, Andre Iguodala looks like a player again, and the team is showing signs of life.

Meanwhile, I was partying my ass off at an open bar at the Field House, followed by my grandmother's 75th birthday party Saturday and another party and open bar in Manayunk Saturday night ... you know, the night the Flyers won 4-1 thanks to two more goals by Jeff Carter.



Unfortunately, Villanova couldn't make it a perfect weekend. I watched every second of the Nova-Louisville game Saturday afternoon, and it was quite a battle. It's a shame that the Wildcats didn't win, because they really should have. Ironically, it was their foul shooting that did them in despite being a tremendous foul shooting team on the season and since Jay Wright has taken over.

Dante Cunningham, after a slow start, had a very nice game, although he did miss a bunny at the buzzer on that inbound play. Nova should have scored on one of those tips, but all game long they failed to convert on easy shots inside.

But the man I feel most for is Antonio Pena.



Pena played his heart out and was a big reason Villanova was able to come back from a sluggish start and have a chance to win. He played tremendous defense, hit the glass hard and showed a lot of aggression offensively. He also went just 6-of-14 from the free throw line, with most of those misses coming late in the second half. If he sinks just a couple, Nova wins. It was frustrating to say to the least, especially since Pena played so well otherwise and came in as a 70 percent free throw shooter.

But it was a great game, and I must admit, the Big East is scary tough.

Kind of like the Eagles' defense. Yeah, the defense that completely dominated the vaunted Giants offense with Eli at the helm.



Ah. After partying in Manayunk last night, I, along with Adam EatShit, our roommate and his two cousins left good old Philadelphia at 8:30 a.m. for East Rutherford, New Jersey, or as I like to call it, the shittiest place on the face of the earth.



On the way, we wound up right in the middle of the Eagles bus caravan, police escorts and all, and were extremely excited. Once we pulled in and found a spot right near some Eagles fans, the day was off to a stellar start. In fact, minutes after we parked and began to set up our tailgate, another group of Eagles fans pulled up and immediately ran over the Giants bean back toss stand of the Giants fans right next to us. Those fans weren't too pleased, but we were loving it.

A few cars away, a rowdy group from Upper Darby, donned in Wes Hopkins, Randall Cunningham and Brian Dawkins jerseys, were tuned up and letting the Giants fans have it. It was getting interesting already.

After eating some food, I headed in with my roommate and his two cousins to take our seats in section 330, row 29, seats 24-27. On the way, we got the business quite a bit from Giants fans, but really, it wasn't all that bad ... especially once we got to our seats.

Much to our surprise, our section was filled with about 20 Eagles fans surrounding us, with Giants fans all around as well.



You all watched the game, so you know how it went. It was a war for quite a while, but in the end, the Giants went the way of the Mets and choked as the No. 1 seed. John Carney played the role that David Akers usually plays in the Meadowlands, missing two of five field goal tries, while Akers was simply perfect.

In fact, the Eagles kicking game was phenomenal. Sav Rocca was killing punts, pinning the Giants occasionally and getting the Birds out of trouble. Akers was perfect, hitting long kickoffs and not missing a single kick.

The offense made just enough plays, as the offensive line handled the incredible Giants defensive front, keeping pressure off McNabb, who made some brilliant throws to move the ball.

But the game was frustrating early on. The Eagles offense wasn't doing shit, but the defense stepped up and made a play, as Asante got the pick and Donovan punched it in. But when the Giants took an 8-7 lead late in the first half, I was feeling uneasy. Giants fans were talking shit, and we all knew that with just one timeout and less than two minutes, the Eagles had no shot at regaining the lead before halftime. Only they did.

Somehow, some way, the Eagles ran a near perfect two-minute drill, marched right down the field and had the ball inside the 10 with 10 seconds left. A pass to DeSean Jackson in the end zone was just out of his reach, but the Eagles still got a field goal and took a 10-8 lead into halftime. Unbelievable. For the first time in 10 years, the Eagles looked competent, confident and good in the 2-minute drill. What a perfect time for it.

Still, things looked grim after McNabb's pass was tipped and ultimately picked by Fred Robbins, but the defense, like it did all day, was spectacular. The defense won that game, no doubt about it. All game long, they packed the box and would not let the Giants pick up the yards when it mattered most. Sure, New York moved the ball and had some success running, but they couldn't convert when it mattered. Like on fourth down and short. Twice.



The Eagles secondary was outstanding, as it has been all year, picking off Eli twice and taking the victory from right from the Giants.



After a tremendous drive by the Eagles that was capped by the touchdown pass by McNabb to Brent Celek, many Giants fans left right after New York failed to pick up the 4th-and-inches. It was a mass exodus, and all you could see was green everywhere. We were taunting a little bit, but moreso, we were basking the glory of defeating the Giants in their house for the second time this year. An entire section, 318, was filled to the brim with Birds fans. We were loud. We were noisy. And we were winners.

The game got so out of hand that Donovan had time to make a phone call.



Awesome. Our walk out was glorious. Eagles chants filled Giants stadium, and many a sulking Giants fan walked with their heads down in shame. As we were going down the escalator, an Eagles chant broke out and a Giants fan next to me said to his pal, "I fucking hate Eagles fans." Well, we hate you too, buddy. Have fun watching the second place Rangers while we're playing some football in Arizona next Sunday.

Once back to the car, we had a victory beer, celebrated with some birds fans, sang, cheered and even watched as the Upper Darby man with the Hopkins jersey held up a sign reading, "R.I.P. Giants." Yes, that's right, the Giants are world champions no more. Thanks to the Eagles. Fuck and yes!

Right now, Philadelphia owns New York. First, the World Fucking Champion Phillies topped the Mets two years in a row for the NL East title, then won the World Series. Now the Flyers sit atop the Atlantic Division ahead of the Rangers, who have played more games than the Flyers mind you, and now, gloriously, in my first ever Eagles-Giants game in the Meadowlands, the Eagles knocked off the top-seeded Giants in the playoffs. Suck on that New York. You fucking blow.

Say what you will about Andy and Donovan. We all have. But for the 5th time in 10 years, the duo is heading to the NFC Championship game.



That's impressive no matter how you slice it. But that's not enough. The Eagles have to keep it going. Two more wins. Just two more wins.

LET'S GO BIRDS!!!!!!!!!!

Pregame Thoughts

FUCK THE GIANTS.

G Lew out for the game? Interesting. Who will Donovan's first incomplete deep ball of the game be targeted to? Is that not always reserved for G Lew?



I'd be concerned with Klecko banged up that we don't have a fullback, but we haven't had a fullback all year. Apologies to Kyle Eckel, I guess. Please tell me they aren't just going to use Buck as a blocking back. Buck is key today man.

Watching Eli warm up before the game, he looks like such a little weenie. It really would be painful to see such a patsy win a game against this team. Aside from the fact I hate the other 51 players and every single person in the history of the planet who has donned a Giants jersey, player, fan, mannequin or otherwise.



My cliche game analysis that I'd like to focus on is the Red Zone. The Eagles will move the ball, but always stall inside the 20. Need TDs here. Vice versa, the Giants will absolutely move the ball with their running game and the occasional throw to Kevin Boss, so can the Eagles limit those rushing TDs to FGs?

LET'S GO BIRDS

It's Friday, Time to Dance

Seeing as the Eagles are playing the Giants on Sunday at the Meadowlands without Plaxico Burress in the lineup, here's a nice little song to dance to in honor of the brilliant wide receiver from Michigan State.



Thanks for shooting yourself, Plax. Hopefully you shot the Giants right out of their title hopes, and the Eagles come in and pound New York the way they did last time.

LET'S GO BIRDS!!!!!

Chris Cooley Likes the Eagles' Chances

I gotta tell you, it really seems like the Redskins are a fun bunch for being such a stupid team, especially since Chris Cooley and Todd Yoder are picking the Eagles to beat the Giants.


Playoff Breakdown - Eagles/Giants from Tanner Cooley on Vimeo

Colt Brennan seems to be a little misguided, picking the Giants and all, but his impression of Eli was pretty funny. So come on Eagles, prove Cooley and Yoder right. Man, I really wish we had Cooley at tight end.

LET'S GO BIRDS!!!!!

Links from the Dead

I'm still trying to recuperate from that insane trip, so I haven't really been all there. I did watch the Flyers on Tuesday, who earned a tough point in the shootout loss to Washington, tying the Rangers for first place in the Atlantic. That's pretty sweet. And the Sixers have won back-to-back games. I missed Tuesday's game because I was watching the Flyers, but last night, Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala were spectacular in the win.



It was quite stunning when Miller rose up and hit that three late in the fourth to essentially get the win. Though Marc Zumoff should probably try to temper his emotions a little bit for a big shot against the Bucks. This team sucks, remember? Anyway, I'd also like to give props to Theo Ratliff, who once again was a terror around the rim. Seriously, Theo and Mo Speights together are about a thousand times better than Elton Brand was. God I hate Duke.

Oh, and apparently UNC lost, which I didn't think was possible, over the weekend while I was out of pocket. All I can say is Tyrese Rice is a beast.



Now, some links …

-With the signing of Marcus Giles, the Phils once again get the wrong brother.

-James vanRiemsdyk is looking good.



-Damn you Sports Illustrated.



-I am scared of Tavarington.



-Danny Granger don't mess around.



-Must have, via The Big Lead.



-I want to be an Outlaw.



-Being part of an NBA team seems like fun.



-How do you spell retard? C-H-I-P-P-E-R.

-Steve Blake loves to perpetuate stereotypes.



-A Jordan highlight reel, just because.



-Knowshon is going pro, like his quarterback Stafford and Sam Bradford of Oklahoma.



-The Caps and Flyers isn't a big rivalry, but Washington is damn good. And it's clear Mike Richards and Alexander Ovechkin don't like each other.

-Yeah, but can he teach Shaq to do this.



-Please, please, please, please, please don't leave Penn State, Larry Johnson Sr. Please.

-Scottie Reynolds kindly tells me to shut up, scoring 40 points in Nova's OT victory last night.

Also, I'd like state yet again, Fuck the Giants. Fuck them in their helmet-catching asses.

LET'S GO BIRDS!!!!!

I've Got Issues

You know what I hate? Jobs. Working. Anything regarding something I have to do, not something I want to do.



Call me lazy, unambitious, a jerk. I'm fine with that. The thing is, work may interfere with the unending joy I have in updating this site as often as I do. Apparently yesterday, in my absence due to that ungodly drive back from Minneapolis, there were some big goings on in my office.

In essence, a few people were let go, raises were deferred from the beginning of the year to the middle, and everyone's job was shifted to some extent. Which is to say, I'm now going to be doing more writing and editing for my real job, giving me less time to do so right here. Fuck that shit.

It's all blamed on the economy, of course. Hopefully I'll figure something out and keep pumping things out around here. However, those 80-90 some odd posts the past few months may be reduced. We'll see.

In summation, fuck work, fuck the Giants and LET'S GO BIRDS!!!!!