Labor Day Links

What you should be reading when the thunder storms hit today:

-John Kerry was for Bashar Assad before he recently turned against him. I understand that diplomacy is two nations fucking each other but Kerry was really pro Assad. BTW, the nation Kerry dissed earlier this week intercepted some intel indicating that the Assad regime did indeed order the attacks.

-Syria asked the UN for cover. Imagine if this goes to a vote and Obama loses, that would be an embarrassment of epic proportions. Then if he attacks, he's going to literally be a unilateralist. For the record, there were 17 resolutions passed by the UN against Iraq before Bush authorized attack.

-Ace puts the wood to Buzzfeed's Ben Smith and NBC's Chuck Todd.

-The Border Patrol named a boat after Agent Brian Terry. Terry was killed by guns that the Obama administration allowed to be "walked" into Mexico and then were lost. They've tuned up at numerous shootings including the one in which Terry was killed. The questions surrounding his death have not been adequately answered.

-NY Post: Why are major media outlets ignoring best-selling author Mark Levin? Because Levin writes about freedom, prosperity and patriotism--all things anathema to what liberals believe. Next question.

-Happy labor day: Citing Obamacare, 40,000 longshoremen leave the AFL-CIO.

-We knew the anti-war protesters were not protesting the act of war per se but were instead political shills for the Democrats. They hated Bush more than our sworn enemies. How many protests have we seen for Syria, Yemen, Libya and so on?

-Another Republican-led state ends up in the black. Govs. Haley, Walker, Perry and Pence show what can happen when conservative principles are applied and adhered to.

-College recap: So what did we learn?

+Teddy Bridgewater was 23-28 for 355 and 5 TD's. This dude is the real deal.
+Georgia is on the ropes early and the Gamecocks are pretty darn good.
+Temple was game against ND but the Owls still have a way to go.
+Johnny Manziel is an a-hole but he sure can play.
+PSU may be rebounding. It would be nice to see the Lions beat a ranked opponent or two this year.

Governor Corbett Takes on the NCAA

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett has picked a fight and he sure hopes to win.

The summary is this: Corbett agreed last year to the NCAA sanctions against Penn State for the Jerry Sandusky pedophile case. The sanctions and fines levied against PSU were huge including four years of no bowls, erasing over 100 wins, fines of $60-million and the list goes on.

Fast forward to the present where Corbett has sued the NCAA in what could be a land mark case. Corbett's thinking is this:

“These sanctions did not punish Sandusky, nor did they punish the others who have been criminally charged,” Corbett said Wednesday at a news conference in State College, Pa. “Rather, they punished the past, the present, the local businesses and the citizens of Pennsylvania.”

I agree with this whole-heartedly. It also punishes the student and players who had absolutely nothing to do with the case. And not just football players but volleyball players, women's basketball, etc, who rely on the football-generated revenue to survive. The girl in the drama department may hate football but she is dependent on that money being there to put on the next play. 

And Corbett has another point about the local businesses, if people aren't going to see games in Happy Valley, the hotels, restaurants and deli's are going to close. This would be a disaster for a region that doesn't have many other revenue and job sources.

I get that there was a c over-up and I get that people have a visceral emotional reaction to this. I also get that Corbett risks getting tarnished with the Mean Old Republican brush since he's taking the side of a college that condoned pedophilia and it's a purely political move (that's how it's being spun). 

Call me a contrarian or call me wrong but I see nothing wrong with PSU taking on the NCAA. The NCAA ceased being an organization that cares for student athletes a long time ago. Now they are a behemoth that always gets its way through sheer force. I don't expect anything different in this case. The NCAA does not care about the players or the fans (the very existence of the BCS all these years is proof of that), they care about money and money only. 

Many are asking why Corbett agreed to the fines and sanctions back when they were announced. It's simple, the emotions of the moment did not allow anyone to speak out against the penalties. If you thought they were too harsh, you were a heartless bastard who didn't care about The Children. 

If you want to waste five minutes of your time you'll never get back, go read this drivel by hack Karen Heller in the Inquirer. No facts, a bunch of cheap shots at conservatives and zero redeeming value. 

Pro-Abortionist's Pissed About Super Bowl (TM) Ad

Tim Tebow recently ended a stellar career at the University of Florida. He won the Heisman and led his team to a national championship under unbelievable pressure. He will be a first round pick in the NFL draft and he's been one hell of a good role model--something we can't say about everyone in pro sports.

Tebow is starring in an ad to be aired on CBS during the big game where he is pretty thankful that his mom didn't abort him:

Tebow and his mother, Pam Tebow, appear in the advertisement, which was financed by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family. In the expected ad, Pam recounts how doctors recommended she have an abortion after developing complications while pregnant with Tim. The ad also shows how Tim went on to become one of the most successful college quarterbacks in the country.

"I know some people won't agree with it, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe," Tim Tebow said.

Women whose husbands have wronged them and they're still pissed about it because they can't get another date from groups like NARAL, NOW and something called Women's Media Center are a bit upset that Tim would celebrate such a thing like, well, being born. For the same reason they hate Sarah Palin for carrying Trig to term knowing he had Down Syndrome, these group despise Pam Tebow because she sold out their agenda and actually went ahead and gave birth to a future Heisman winner. I mean, how dare she? Plus she was a missionary and home-scholled her kids...what a rube.

I'm no major anti-abortion supporter and hardly a church-going Christian but the pro-abortion types irritate me by defending the indefensible.

I leave you with the semi-literate words of the leader of NOW:

Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women disagrees, saying the commercial is "not being respectful of other people's lives."

"It is offensive to hold one way out as being a superior way over everybody else's," she said.

And abortion is totally "being respectful of other people's lives" right That is except those that aren't actually born to live them because their mothers listened to you. I find you "offensive" Ms. O'Neill. Being alive is infinitely superior to the alternative.

The noted eugenicist and Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger is probably looking up with a proud look on her face although she only advocated aborting minorities.

NFL Week 13

A big one for a few teams.

Here's my picks for select games:

Dallas at the NY Giants-The Giants can't afford to lose this game and have any reasonable chance of making the playoffs. Romo has been decent of late but always seems to tighten up in big games. The G-men are without some studs and Eli is injured but I think they nut it up and pull out the win.

Giants 23 Cowgirls 20

Philly at Atlanta-The Eagles need to keep winning and the Falcons are without Matt Ryan while their backfield is beat up. The Eagles are without deep threat Desean Jackson but Jason Avant stepped up his game nicely. Brent Celek is crucial to Philly as he suffered from some greasy fingers last week.

Eagles 30 Falcons 20

Other games:

Vikings 24 Cardinals 21
Titans 35 Colts 32

Goodbye and Thanks, Brian Dawkins

Anyone who has read this blog more than once knows I'm a dedicated Philly sports fan. Until last October/November (when the Phillies won it all), this region was a football region through and through. The old joke is that in most places, a kids first words were "mama" or "dada" while in Philly it's "Cowboys suck!". We're passionate to say the least.

There was one man who epitomized Philadelphia Eagles football and always gave 110% when he stepped between the line; that man is Brian Dawkins. B-Dawk was the team leader not only because he expected the best from everyone on the team but because he demanded he himself give much more than anyone else. The man was an absolute force roaming the D backfield at Lincoln Financial.

Those days are over now as Dawkins signed a four-year deal with the Denver Bronco's after Eagles management slapped him in the face by not offering him a new deal. As with all decisions made by the Birds front office, they also gave the fans the finger by letting Dawk get away. The guy is a veteran and has meant more to the Eagles than Joe banner or Andy Reid will ever know. They may have ensured that Philly remains a baseball town for the foreseeable future with this stupid and shameless move. They ran another icon right out of town.

Just as an aside, I don't generally wear a players jersey but I have a Dawkins jersey and will continue to wear it until he gets in the Hall of Fame.

Dawkins took it like everyone expected him to; with class and dignity.

Thanks for all the good years, B-Dawk.

Fearless Super Bowl (TM) Prediction

Cards 27, Steelers 24.

Warner with orchestrate a late drive and win it in the fourth cementing his position in the Hall of Fame. Fitzgerald will be doubled so Boldin or Breaston will have big games. James rushes for 80-yards.

On the Steeleres side; Big Ben will have an okay game but Hines Ward will make a couple of crucial catches to sustain drives. Parker will have a nice game and maybe go over 100-yards.

An All Pennsylvania Superbowl

I like the Eagles over the Cards 24-20 and the Steelers over the Ravens 20-17.

Eagles Roll On to Arizona

An interesting weekend of football to say the least. I liked the Ravens and they won with stats that were shocking. It will be a tough offseason for the Titans.

The Steelers were flat out a better team against San Diego without LT.

In the biggest playoff upset in a decade, the Cardinals put the wood to the Panthers.

And of course, my birds whacked the Giants at home. McNabb was good enough, the defense was stellar and Eli Manning was simply horrid in the wind. What an astounding run by the Iggles.

Odds to win it here in a humorous format.

NFL Recap: Both Underdogs Win

In what has to be a first; every home team was an underdog going into the weekend. Yesterday, both home teams won.

In the Cards-Falcons game, QB Kurt Warner led the Cards to victory and showed that the old man can still play against the Rookie of the Year. Matt Ryan looked nervous from the outset and Atlanta never could get the ground game going with Michael Turner only able to accumulate 42 yards on the ground. The Cards defense was able to key on Ryan and was all over him notching three sack and numerous hurries. Larry Fitzgerald had his coming out party yesterday playing in front of a national audience and the world got to see what fantasy players have known for awhile, Fitz is a stud.

In the nightcap, the Chargers seemed doomed from the beginning with an injured LT and a banged up defense. Season MVP Peyton Manning was good but the bolts defense seemed to have a fix on what was coming and stopped the Colts streak. Amazingly, it was the Chargers punter Mike Scifres who was the key to the win averaging 52.7 yards per punt and continuously pinning the Colts back deep in their own end. Darren Sproles came up big as well at least figuratively. The 5' 6" all-purpose guy stepped in when LT didn't return and ran for 105 yards while amassing 45 receiving yards. He combined for more than 300 all-purpose yards.

Predictions for today:

Both road teams will win and set up some great games next week.

Ravens-Dolphins
I like Pennington and the Dolphins story this year was great but the Ravens defense will win it for them. Raven 20 Fish 14

Eagles-Vikings
Which birds team will show up? If it's the team that crushed the Cowgirls last week, they'll win convincingly. If it's the team who lost to the Skins two weeks ago, Adrian Petersen will run all over them. Brian Dawkins has been an unstoppable force of late and will be flying around as usual. Note that the Vikes had trouble selling out and of this moment the game will be blacked out in the Twin Cities area. I'm predicting the former: Iggles 31 Vikes 20

New Years Day News and Notes

Happy New Year. While shaking the hangover away and drinking your sixth cup of coffee, peruse the links below.

Microsoft seems to have begun 2009 the way they ended 2008. This is anecdotal but my wife mentioned the Apple store was packed the other day.

What the hell is wrong with the British left? The term "inmates" is considered offensive to those convicted of crimes and serving time in prison. Read it all to see the opposition comments, they are priceless.

And the Enemy of the Year is...

Fifty years of oppression, murder, poverty and backward government...let's celebrate!

The most corrupt politicians of 2008. Alas, 2009 looks to be more of the same.

Finally, here's hoping for a Penn State win over the heavily favored Trojans. Do it for Joe Pa:

Eagles Put 44 Up on Cowgirls

And a sweet ass-kicking it was ending an inexplicable day for the Birds:

"Yeah, I feel kind of revived, I guess," Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said yesterday at the end of a freakish day that saw his left-for-dead team rout the Dallas Cowboys, 44-6, at Lincoln Financial Field and claim the final wild-card playoff spot in the NFC.

It was a warm day in December, but this sequence of events went way beyond the unusual.

"I've never been part of anything like this," safety Brian Dawkins said. "For the guys to pull together the way they pulled together after a tough loss in which we were basically left for dead . . . it speaks volumes about this team's character."

Now the Eagles, who finished the regular season at 9-6-1, have an afterlife that begins Sunday at 4:30 p.m. in a wild-card playoff game against the NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome. The Cowboys, 9-7 and perhaps the NFL's most disappointing team, were left to deal with questions about next season.

Unbelievable to say the least. The Bears lose and the Raiders beat Tampa Bay. I've never rooted for the Raiders and feel dirty for doing so but they came through for us.

The player of the game was Brian Dawkins who was an animal flying all over the field forcing fumbles and generally tearing into every white shirt he saw.

Awesome.

Navy Beats Army Again

Ho hum. It's getting old at this point, but I guess Army can take solace in the fact they had cooler unis:

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Army's cool new dress code resulted in the same old loss against Navy.

With President George W. Bush in attendance, Shun White ran for 147 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead Navy over Army 34-0 Saturday for its seventh straight win in the storied rivalry between service academies.

Army (3-9) debuted camouflage helmets, pants and uniform numbers, and the backs of their jerseys had the words "Duty. Honor. Country."

Army's uniform makeover was sharper than its play. Bowl-bound Navy (8-4) improved to 53-49-7 in the one of the greatest rivalries in college sports.

Saturday Afternoon News and Notes

LSU is beating Alabama and Penn State is beating Iowa. It may be a good day for the Nittany Lions. Here's some stuff from around the web:

VDH on the era of "post-journalism".

Giving new meaning to the word "sheeple".

Once Bush is gone, we'll not have him to blame everything on. I guess Sarah Palin will be the new Bush in that regard.

The public servant who authorized an illegal check on "Joe the Plumber" and then released the details is put on paid leave (read: wrist slap). I blame Sarah Palin...see, it's easy.

Eagles/Cowgirls Renew Rivalry on MNF

The Eagles and Cowboys both won convincingly last week over weak opponents. Now they face each other in that shithole of a stadium down in Texas.

It's been a typical Eagles/Cowgirls week with T.O. spouting inane drivel from his piehole about McNabb and the irritating Dallas fans acting like the a-holes they are.

Let's get it on and watch the birds beat the scrubs like they seem to do whenever pretty boy Tony Romo is forced to face the Eagles intimidating D. Here's to hoping Jessica Simpson shows once again and is left with that same long face she's sporting at right.

Prediction: Eagle 27, Cowgirls 21

Hated Giants Shock the World

I hate the Giants. No, hate is too subtle, abhor would be better. Not quite the hatred I have for the Cowboys but close.

Anyway, they played an excellent defensive game last night and Eli Manning did what he had to do to win it. Note that it was the Eagles and Giants who gave the Pats their two biggest scares this year and the defensive schemes were nearly identical.

Congrats to the Giants (said through gritted teeth).

Playoffs Baby!

Bolts in an upset 24-23. LT romps.

Pack over the Midgets 24-14. Eli tanks,

It's Always a Good Monday When Terrell Owens Cries

In a scene that is guaranteed to warm the hearts of all Eagles fans on this cold, wet, dreary morning. Not only did the Cowboys lose but T.O. cried about it.



There are some things in this world that just make you feel good: your kids smiles, a new kitten playing with a ball of yarn and the first warm day of spring. But nothing, nothing beats the fuzzy feeling we get when we see Romo throw a floater that gets picked to seal the game and then to see Owens crying like a little girl. Pure. Unadulterated. Glee.

The Cowboys have not won a playoff game in ten years and that leaves me with only one thing to say:

How 'bout them Cowboys!

Random Sports Thought

Wouldn't it be amusing if the Patriots went 16-0 and the Dolphins went 0-16 in the same year?

Well, at least to me it would.