See ya Simon

Eagles removed the franchise tag from Corey Simon and have basically said, "Good luck trying to find another team that's going to pay you $5.13 million. Dumbass." Simon and his equally dumb agent gambled and lost. The Eagles aren't gambling at all with what looks like great depth at that position -- Walker, Thomas, Rayburn, and the rookie Patterson, etc. In fact Reid even said so: "With the great amount of depth and talent we have along the defensive line, we chose to give Corey an opportunity to sign with another team."

Simon never blew me away and I was never a big fan. He never really lived up to that 5th overall pick status. What I'll miss most about Simon this coming season is him being out of shape for the first 2 months and his constant writhing around on the ground after every third play; not because he was hurt, but because he was out of breath.

The Eagles lose, lose situation

Terrell Owens returns tomorrow to Eagles practice after making a total fool of himself last week and receiving a letter from the Eagles detailing his antics and outlining how they expect him to act, i.e. like an adult. It's pretty inevitable that TO will again misbehave, not in an outright display but in a sly underhanded way so he can say, "What? What did I do?" Then the Eagles will suspend him again, maybe for the season.

The Eagles of course are doing the absolute right thing. You can't let Owens behave like he's behaving and then give him what he wants. But by doing the right thing they are significantly damaging their chances at a championship. Fans that just want to cut him or don't want him back at all are acting almost as impetuously as TO and letting emotion cloud their better judgement. He did score 14 touchdowns in an injury shortened season and was the best Eagle in the Super Bowl. The irony of this whole situation is the fans were decidedly against management in the Trotter, Douglass, Vincent, and Taylor ordeals and decisions and those were lesser players with a much smaller impact on the Eagles overall success. Could TO's efforts be any more hamhanded and stupid? And to compound it more, not only will the Eagles not be giving him more money, the rest of the NFL seems to be turning its collective back on him as well.

The ultimate responsibility lies with TO of course but I think the Eagles players have to sit this guy down and explain to him they are tired of his crap. He either has to act like a professional teammate or get out. The players don't need the distraction and they definitely seemed weary of the situation during last night's sideline interviews at the preseason game. If TO doesn't change and isn't suspended then he becomes a <cliche>cancer</cliche> and the Eagles and the fans lose again.

Will we ever win?

A True Hall of Famer

The Phillies have not produced many Hall of Famers in their 100 year, 10,000 loss existance. Sometimes, rather than be burdened by a great player, the Phils will trade them away for a journeyman like Ivan DeJesus. But despite the best efforts of this inept franchise, Phillies like Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, and Chuck Klein have been inducted. Today these legends are joined by another superstar: The Phanatic.

Three legendary mascots will be inducted as the inaugural class of the Mascot Hall of Fame today in Center City. The Phillie Phanatic, the Phoenix Gorilla, and the Famous Chicken will be honored.

The festivities begin at 11:30 a.m. at Thomas Paine Plaza (Municipal Services Building), JFK Boulevard and 15th Street.

Also expected are 40-plus mascots from other pro teams from around the country, including Swoop from the Eagles and Hip Hop from the 76ers.

No word if famous Phanatic haters Eric Gregg and Tommy Lasorda will be attending the ceremony. Congratulations Phanatic!.

Another Reason to Hate the Cowboys

Michael Irvin on Owens:

He keeps saying "Get rid of me or give me my money". He believes he deserves his money and I believe he deserves his money ... Eagles fans, I am sorry, you have no shot without T.O."

And I am sorry that you suck, Michael Irvin. I can't believe you'd think a showboating WR deserves "his money". This almost makes me want to forgive those fans that cheered when you were injured.

Reid to T-O: You must G-O!

I really don't have much to say but I wanted to put in my suggestion for the Phildelphia Daily News' headline tomorrow. Story is here.

More bad news

While things keep getting better for the Flyers, the opposite is true for the Eagles. First TO threatens to hold out and annoys everyone, McDougle gets shot, and then Westbrook does hold out. Now Pinkston, who has been getting booed at camp, is out for the year with a torn Achilles.

Greg Lewis will move up the depth chart I suppose to fill Pinkston's spot but who will step up to be the third receiver? McMullen? I doubt it. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets cut this year even though he worked out with McNabb in the offseason. Reggie Brown? Maybe. Reid says he's picking up the offense fast. Hopefully that's true and not Reid trying to build confidence in a rookie. There are also some unknown receivers also in camp that could get the job done - Justin Jenkins, Robert Redd, and Isaac West. (The Eagles have a profile on Redd here.)

Although it's against my nature, I have to concur with the Eagles website's upbeat demeanor: "...if you look at the Eagles' track record, they always find a way to get the job done."

Let's hope. I still want two parades on Broad Street next year.

Forsberg

The Flyers have signed Peter Forsberg and in the process have righted a 13 year hockey wrong. Lindros should have stayed in Quebec and Forsberg should have been a Flyer. The hockey gods were displeased at the disruption of the natural course of things and cursed Lindros and all he touched. Lindros was given an eggshell head, won nothing, and never really lived up to his potential. Forsberg exceeded his and won 2 cups. Please hockey gods, allow Forsberg to play at his former skill level, be injury free (he missed the majority of the last NHL season played) and return the Cup to Philadelphia.

One problem with the signing is the Flyers are now over the cap and have to trade some players. The "hot" rumor is Roenick will be going to the Kings to make room. I say keep Roenick and get rid of Desjardins. I'm tired of him. With all the guys they just signed on defense they now have an extra man and if you're worried about depth down the road, Kapanen can fill in or you can bring up Slaney from the Phantoms.

This move will make the Flyers the favorite to win it all this year. Before they had lots of offensive weapons and skill and now they have added the "best player in the world". Defense is solid, if slow. Is goaltending going to be a question? Let's hope not and there will be two parades on Broad Street next year.

UPDATE: Flyers have traded Roenick to the Kings as expected. All they got in return was "future considerations". Weak.

Flyers signings

Flyers were looking for size along the blue line and they got what they were looking for. They signed Derian Hatcher (6-5, 225) and Mike Rathje (6-5, 235) and also brought back Chris Therienable (6-5, 234). They obstensibly traded Markov to Nashville to make cap room but I'm sure him being only 195 pounds had something to do with the decision.

So the Flyers got size but they also got age, injuries, slow players, and zero point production. Hatcher is recovering from torn knee ligaments and is 33. Therien has had a career long battle with sucking, has one eye and is 33. Rathje is 31. I'm not enamored with these signings. I'm tired of old, slow, broken down players. I didn't think they'd get Niedermayer or Pronger at the high prices they are commanding but Adam Foote was certainly available. But he's old and injury prone too so I guess they did what they could. The Flyers got depth as well instead of one big signing and Hitchcock should be able to figure out how best to use these players.

The Flyers also re-signed Phantoms forward Jon Sim to a a one-way NHL contract. Sim was great for the Phantoms during their Calder Cup championship run and won a Stanley Cup with Dallas when Hitchcock was coach there.

Football is finally back

Eagles are starting up again and the football juices are flowing but it's very easy to lose that good, all warm inside feeling. To avoid the comedown DO NOT care about TO. Don't read any articles, don't listen to WIP if they're rehashing everything for the millionth time, and change the channel if they start talking about it on TV. Second, and this one is harder, DO NOT watch more than 10-15 minutes of the exhibition games. In your mind you're thinking, "Alright, football!" but what your eyes see is entirely different. It's nothing but a sloppy, boring letdown masquerading as football and this will kill your football buzz.

Here is what you should do. DO watch and read about the additions to the team - Mike Patterson, Reggie Brown, Matt McCoy, Ryan Moats, and even Sean Considine. It's even worth paying attention to the rest of the draft class. Overall the Eagles tried to improve their offensive and defensive lines in the draft. See if there are signs that they were successful. Watch Matt McCoy to see if he can be a good backup. Watch Shawn Andrews to see if he's recovered from last year's season ending injury. Watch Buckhalter to see if he has anything at all after his second season ending knee injury. Watch the battle between Keith Adams and Mark Simoneau. Watch Billy McMullen to see if he has anything at all worth watching.

Watch out for more injuries.

A Young Rick Tocchet

Flyers drafted Steve Downie of the Windsor Spitfires (OHL) yesterday with their first round pick. He had 21 goals, 79 points, 179 pm last year. Says Downie, "I like to fight, I like to score." Amen brother.

In other Flyers news, the team traded away Todd Fedoruk to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The trade was spun as giving the popular player a chance at more ice time. Personally I would have liked to see the Flyers move Donald Brashear instead of Fedoruk, who progressed nicely in the AHL this year. Brashear spent the off-season getting suspended from a Canadian semi-pro league for goonery. Quite odd for a guy who was a moody NHL fighter.

Other Flyer picks in the draft were:

Third round, 91st overall: Oskars Bartulis, 18, a 6-foot-2, 184-pound defenseman. He played at Moncton in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He's not a scorer, but as assistant general manager Paul Holmgren said, "He's a good puck mover who should develop into a player."

Fourth round, 119: Jeremy Duchesne, a 6-0, 200-pound goalie. The American butterfly goalie from Silver Spring, Md., split time between Victoriaville and Halifax in the QMJHL. He is the son of former NHLer Gaetan Duchesne.

Fifth round, 152: Josh Beaulieu, 18, a 6-0, 180-pound center. From Windsor, Ontario, he played for London of the Ontario Hockey League and scored 22 points with 159 penalty minutes with minimal ice time. "Down the road, we think he will develop into a two-way player," Holmgren said.

Sixth round, 174: John Flatters, 18, a 6-1, 203-pound defenseman. From Calgary, he played for Brent Sutter at the Western Hockey League's Red Deer, one of the Flyers' favorite drafting grounds. "He likes to initiate contact," Holmgren said.

Seventh round, 215: Matt Clackson, 20, a 5-11, 196-pound left wing. He's from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and played for Chicago in the U.S. Hockey League. He led his club with 270 penalty minutes.

Sounds like a lot of projects, but the Flyers generally draft well. Because this years draft was relatively weak, the team stockpiled 3 picks for next year. Flyers draft picks.

Lockout officially over

The owners of the 30 NHL teams unanimously voted for the new labor deal today ending the lockout. Here are the highlights of the deal:

• There will be a 24 percent salary rollback on all existing contracts.
• The salary cap for 2005-06 will be $39 million; the floor will be $21.5 million, based on projected revenues of $1.7 billion.
• Player salaries cannot - on a leaguewide basis - take up more than 54 percent of revenues next season. In ensuing years, that percentage may increase.
• A percentage of salaries will be put into escrow until the new salary cap can be calculated at the end of each season.
• No player can earn more than 20 percent of the team cap. For the 2005-06 season, that means no player can earn more than $7.8 million.
• The age for players to become unrestricted fr ee agents will remain 31 this summer, but it gradually will drop to 27 by the end of the 2007-08 season.
• The leaguewide minimum salary rises to $450,000 from $185,000; it rises to $500,000 in the sixth year of the deal.
• Under the revenue-sharing plan, the top 10 money-making clubs will donate to a fund shared by the bottom 15 teams - from $3 million to $8 million per club.
• Under a two-way salary arbitration plan, players and owners can elect to go to arbitration. Only players had that right in the previous deal. The plan allows owners to downgrade underperforming players.
• Teams can buy players out of their contracts at two-thirds of their value at no cost toward the salary cap within 10 days of the collective-bargaining agreement officially taking effect. That is designed to help teams fit under the cap, but the clubs won't be able to re-sign those players. Teams have between tomorrow and next Friday to determine their buyouts.
• Teams will not be allowed to restructure existing player contracts in an attempt to fit a big salary under the cap.
• There will be a minimum of two drug tests a year with no advance warning. A player will receive a 20-game suspension for a first-time offense, a 60-game ban for a second offense, and a permanent suspension from the NHL after a third violation.
• There will be NHL participation in the Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, in February 2006.

I really like this agreement even though it's an overwhelming victory for the owners. I like it because it mimics in some aspects the labor agreement that has made the NFL the greatest sports league in history. The adoption of a salary cap and the revenue sharing puts teams on equal footing and maybe will lower ticket prices(?) The lowering of the highest salaries and the raising of the lowest is probably unfair to the top players but overall it benefits more people. As a balance though the top players do get to become unrestricted free agents at a younger age where they can probably get more money sooner. Also interesting is the owners now get the right to take underperforming/overpaid players to arbitration. Speaking of LeClair and Amonte, if the Flyers buy them out as expected, they can't be resigned at a lower salary. Oh well.

While I think they were largely successful in restructuring the league, they blew it on the rules.

• Institution of a shootout, to ensure that every regular-season game will have a winner.
• Goalie pads will be shrunk by about 11 percent. The width of the pads will be reduced to 11 inches and the glove, upper-body protector, pants and jersey will also be smaller.
• Goaltenders can only go behind the goal line in a trapezoid-shaped area.
• The neutral-zone edges of the blue lines will be 64 feet from the attacking goal and 75 feet from the end boards in the offensive zone. That adds 4 feet in each zone, with the thought it will increase scoring -- especially during power plays.
• Although no-touch icing wasn't added, players who make long, home-run type passes that miss their target will not be whistled for icing.

First of all the shootout is a horrible idea. It's a gimmick that basically allows a team that's getting beat as a team to steal points via an individual skills competition that's larded with a heavy dose of luck. To me an equivalent would be taking the QB, kicker, and running backs on opposing football teams and see who can throw through a swinging tire, kick long distance field goals, and do the tire drill best to settle ties. Stupid. Also where is the elimination of the 2 line pass? (they did eliminate the 2 line pass, my bad) And not adopting no-touch icing is another bad mistake but then they compounded that by allowing players to get away with bad passes. But the real problem with that is putting another easily botched judgement call in the hands of the linesmen and referee. Look for this idiocy to increase levels of referee disparagement. And still no sniff of eliminating the instigator rule. Weak.

Stupid Roenick

Taking a page from the whinin' and cryin' Phillies and/or Freddie Mitchell's playbook, poor ol' Jeremy Roenick is complaining about fans complaining.

Philadelphia Flyers center Jeremy Roenick has some advice for hockey fans who blame the NHL lockout on players' greed: Once it's finally settled, stay home.

"We're going to try to make it better for everybody, period, end of subject. And if you don't realize that, then don't come."
(...)
"We don't want you at the rink, we don't want you in the stadium, we don't want you to watch hockey," he said Saturday at the Mario Lemieux Celebrity Invitational in suburban Pittsburgh.
(...)
"I say personally, to everybody who called us 'spoiled,' you guys are just jealous ... we have tried so, so hard to get this game back on the ice," Roenick said.

What an idiot. The NHL has about 3 fans, 2 of which think the players were greedy. That leaves you with 1 fan and no national television contract which doesn't really matter since you don't want people to watch anyway. If you think you won't be making any money now, it can get alot worse.

And guess who else thinks the players were greedy? Who thinks it was a mistake to not take the owners offer in February and instead continue to hold out for no salary cap? That's right, other players including Jaromir Jagr and even the super genius Jeremy Roenick himself admits the same. And the fans should feel sorry for them.

I know we are going to give up probably more than any union has ever given up in the history of [professional] sports and, to me, I think that's enough to bring the fans back -- to know what their players are going to give up as much as they have in the last year," Roenick said. "If people are going to chastise professional athletes who are making a lot of money they need to look at the deal we are probably going to end up signing in the next three weeks."

Because you guys were greedy and stupid we should take pity now that you think you're getting screwed? Classic case of redirecting anger at those totally unresponsible for one's own "crappy" situation. You have no one to blame but yourself and fellow players, Roenick. The fans had nothing to do with it.

Eagles picked to be champs

As we continue to ignore the mediocre Phillies and their endless, tedious season we might as well start thinking about the Super Bowl right? USA Today did a short article that summarizes the various NFL magazine's prognostications for the upcoming season. Athlon and Street & Smith's both correctly picked the Patriots over the Eagles for last year, both have the Eagles returning, but only Street & Smith's has them winning it in Detroit. Other magazines also have the Eagles winning.

I think this ignores history. Teams that are runners-up often don't even make the playoffs let alone return to the Superbowl. And Owens of course will have a lot to do with how the Eagles fare. Andy Reid is just as wrong now when he says "the receivers are good enough" as he was before they got Owens. The receivers are good enough with Owens, they are not without him. Of course when and if he returns his subsequent behavior will also be a determining factor.

And as an aside, one stupid thing people say about Owens is that he's selfish as if that's important on the field. Is he selfish in the way that Randy Moss is selfish where he takes plays off and gives up on winning and leaves the field early? People like Eskin try and denigrate his amazing effort to get healthy enough to play in the Super Bowl as merely a selfish effort to bring attention and glory to himself. If anyone remembers, he had the best game of anyone on the field and contributed tremendously to the Eagles chances of winning that game. If only the rest of the Eagles were that "selfish". I'm not saying Owens isn't selfish and self absorbed, but who cares what his motivation is as long as it leads to the Eagles winning games.

Phantoms go for the Cup

Without the Flyer's annual Spring time choking to entertain us, Ron and I have been feverishly following Philadelphia's farm teams- the Phantoms and the Trenton Titans- as they battle it out in the playoffs. The Titans have emerged victorious, winning the ECHL's Kelly Cup. Meanwhile, The Phantoms took a 1-0 lead in the Calder Cup finals with their victory over Chicago last night. Game 2 of the Calder Cup finals will be on Comcast Saturday night at 8pm. Watch if only to see some genuine Flyers stars of the future in Jeff Carter and Mike Richards.

So what have the Phantoms done to prepare for the Cup run? Watch a lot of movies, apparently. Check out this review of Gladiator by tough guy Josh Gratton:

I would like to think I pattern myself after the main character in the movie, Maximus. That boy could really kick some you know what. I'd say it's one of the better movies that have come out recently. I think it even won best picture. I highly recommend it.

Read others Phantom's opinions (including Todd Fedoruk's sweet review of Napoleon Dynamite) here.

Sixers can another coach

Unlike the Phillies who insist on second chances cubed and continue to go with what will never work, the Sixers seem to be in a hurry to jettison their mistakes and they dumped Jim O'Brien only a year after hiring him. I like Cheeks but I'm just afraid they hired him because it's a popular move with the fans. Also, it never seems to work out when teams hire fan favorites to coach their former teams. Oh well, I guess we'll have to wait and see.