Results tagged “brianwestbrook”

Avenging pizza delivery cops; an alleged murderer's apology; a farewell to a Philly TV icon; and more.

Ugh! Every year with this shit.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Things got hot in LA this weekend and it looks like we may have a real series on our hands. A few head-seeking fastballs, a little bench-clearing, and a whole lot of jawing just turned this NLCS into a tense and competitive slugfest. Game 4 is tonight. Joe Blanton is winless in Chavez Ravine this season. Derek Lowe is pitching on 3-days rest. Gear up, Philly, this could get good as the Phils try to take control in a 3-1 series, or allow the Dodgers to knot it up at 2-2.

Last night proved that defense wins games. Wait…wait, no. It proved beyond doubt that Brian Westbrook is the ethanol that makes the Eagles Hybrid car of mediocrity run. No, hold on. Last night’s game proved that Andy Reid calls plays during a 2-minute drill as well as Sarah Palin articulates.

It's in a Philly sports fan's nature to bitch and moan about the often nonsensical moves made by the people in charge of our sports teams. Of course, we're not always rational beings ourselves. Hell, we're getting excited about the Sixers, who are—let's face it—a mediocre basketball team. So how can we possibly expect the people who run our teams to be rational? But we've just about had it with the Eagles' front office. It's not that Asante Samuel isn't a blue-chip cornerback. But is the guy who dropped an easy interception that would have sealed up the Super Bowl and a perfect season for his team worth $57 million over the next six years? Especially considering that, just last off season, the Birds didn't want to pony up the cash for Donte' Stallworth, who, by the way, signed a seven-year, $35 million deal with Cleveland this week. Maybe Stallworth isn't a true top-tier wide receiver, but the Eagles don't even have a "pretty good" wide receiver. We don't need a receiver who can stretch the field so that defenses don't just lock in on Brian Westbrook or anything. Plus, signing Samuel means that either Sheldon Brown or, more likely, Lito Sheppard will be heading out the door. Some Birds fans are pretty excited about signing Samuel. Anyone else remember when we were excited about getting Jevon Kearse and Takeo Spikes? Yeah, we cut both of them in the course of a week. (The Kearse cut doesn't bother us, but we're a little disheartened by losing Spikes, as it leaves the Birds' linebacking corps without a veteran leader.) Oh, and the whole city was super excited when we got Terrell Owens. That worked out well for us.

The Sixers are trying to keep up the home court magic after trashing the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday (112-69), by beating the Orlando Magic tonight at 7PM at the Wach (get tickets or watch here).

Sorry there was no Eagles Diary last week. I turned on the channel the game was supposed to be on, saw a team in a blue-and-yellow get up that a Division Nine college football team wouldn’t wear and assumed that the game got canceled. But anyway, I was wrong. The game took place and the Eagles actually scored 56 points and obliterated the Detroit Lions. So I had high hopes for the Eagles latest square-off against the hated New York Giants. And I was not disappointed. Because the Eagles gave me plenty to rag on. So back by popular demand (or at least by demand of my editors), here is the minute-by-minute account of last night’s Eagles flop.

Less than twenty-four hours after Tony Romo committed one of the most embarrassing, costly blunders in football history, not much else will be talked about after the Eagles defended Lincoln Financial Field in a 23-20 Wild Card Weekend triumph. The final 137 yards of Tiki Barber’s career—now overshadowed. Brian Westbrook’s leadership, not to mention his forty-nine-yard touchdown dash despite stomach cramps—no longer headline making. Jeff Garcia continuing to lead the Eagles to an improbable six-game winning streak—already an old story.

The Eagles have come a long way. After being left for dead in late November - they lost McNabb in a 31-13 loss to the Titans, which was followed by a 45-21 loss to the Colts - they reeled off five straight wins with a quarterback that all the NFL considered a washout after showing some ability in San Francisco. The super undead Eagles - coach Reid himself, as well as several players, was using the zombie comparison in the last two weeks - go charging into the playoffs as the hottest team in the NFL, akin to a fully restored and fully revved hot-rod that's been unleashed on the streets after years lying under a tarp.

There was nothing else. A blanket of slate clouds shrouded the sun and blue sky. The misty fog which enveloped Lincoln Financial Field veiled most of the already irrelevant outside world. For those fans like myself sitting in the lower levels, not even the parking lot or other newly constructed sporting venues were visible. There was just this. No worrying about grocery shopping; no fantasizing of love interests; no wallowing in thoughts of returning to work the following morning. None of that mattered to those who had convened upon the stone sanctuary at 3501 South Broad Street. It would be sacrilegious for disciples of the Eagles to divert even an ounce of energy away from the game.

The Eagles lost their first preseason game last night, 16-10 to Oakland in the Hall of Fame Game, and we aren't sure whether to complain or not.

Everything seemed a little too familiar during last night's Eagles loss to the Washington Redskins. T.O., as you have undoubtedly heard by now, was suspended without pay, suspended with pay, deactivated or something before last night's game and the Eagles went to work without him. A 56-yard TD reception by Owens replacement Reggie Brown soothed Eagles fans early on, but it didn't last long. The once-dominant Eagles defense missed tackles and let the Washington Redskins have their way with them in the air. In the Before T.O. (B.T.O.) years, the Eagles used to win tight games despite their slow, spread-the-ball offense. Tonight, though, the Redskins played like the Eagles of old with timely offensive plays from various players and solid defense.

We've been trying hard -- well, maybe not so hard -- to see the whole Terrell Owens clown show from his point of view. The guy is more than simply talented; at this point in his career, he's one of the best in the world at what he does, which is certainly not something a lot of us can say. He did everything the Eagles asked of him last season, and if not for an injury, for which he cannot at all be blamed, it's not difficult to imagine a different outcome in the Super Bowl. NFL contracts sound sweet and fat when they're announced, but teams can cut players loose at any time during their tenure, so you can't blame a guy for trying to get while the gettin's good.

- CBS is reporting during their broadcast of today's Chargers/Jets game that Andy Reid has announced that Terrell Owens is not suspended, but rather, inactive. Reid wishes to keep his options open, he told reporters. We're not really NFL rules experts here at Phillyist, but we're pretty sure coaches can activate and deactivate players up until game time. So, who knows. There are about 5 more hours to go until game time, so Owens could be activated, suspended, released, re-signed and signed to a record deal in that time. We'll provide updates, if there are any.

David Akers sat crying on the sidelines after yesterday's afternoon game against the Oakland Raiders. He stood crying on the field, as well. And he walked on the sidelines, crying. There was a lot of crying going on, basically. But the good kind. Well, the good, torn hamstring kind.

It was inside-out last night in Philadelphia as the Phillies stepped up big in an important game while the Eagles shrivelled up and fumbled their way to a 14-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons last night. The Eagles were slow out of the gate, allowing the Falcons to ring up 14 quick points. This might have been due to the Eagles first blunder of the evening, which happened before kickoff. Jeremiah Trotter got into a shoving match with Falcons cornerback Kevin Mathis during team warmups. The two players were ejected from the game for throwing punches, even though Trotter didn't actually throw a punch. Still, he retaliated to Mathis' taunts and was thrown from the game, taking away a key component of the Eagles' defense.