Posts

Showing posts from December, 2010
Cover for Reach Past Your Limits

Get My Motivational E-Book "Reach Past Your Limits"
Click here for information on all of my books.

Week-in-Review: Fox News Still a Joke, Sixers Looking Better, Eagles-Dallas Rivalry Smothered Again, more

The week after Christmas has never really stood out for me as a terribly slow sports week, but this year it just feels incredibly slow. I guess that’s what happens when the Eagles don’t play until Tuesday and the college bowl match-ups so far have been, well, boring. But it’s Friday, and New Year’s Eve, so I’ll try to eke out one last Week-in-Review for 2010: • I’m sure everyone who cares to has already seen the video of some guy named Tucker Carlson on, what else, Fox “News” saying that he thinks Mike Vick should have been executed for killing dogs. Carlson is apparently an unemployed guy who fills in at that sham of a news channel. His actions are more heinous than what Vick did. The fact that this jackass apparently wasn’t ripped off the air and banned from Fox immediately is pathetic and inexcusable. It was an absurd attempt – among countless absurd attempts by the network – to criticize President Barack Obama, who called Eagles owner Jeff Lurie to congratulate the organizatio

Preview of 2010 Season Bowl Picks and More

Despite a slow week in the sports world, I ended up with a tidy point total of +34.82 in a 3-2 week. I expected to do much more during the week on college Bowl Games, but absolutely nothing interested me. Unfortunately, the Lakers did not show up to play on Christmas Day versus the Heat, and cost me 10 points. I actually loved this game, but held back for fear of just what occurred – a lackadaisical performance. I bounced back on Sunday with a 2-1 record in the NFL, only losing a 10-point pick on the Chargers -9 over Cincinnati. I won with the Bears over the Jets on a 20-point pick and the Packers -3 over the Giants on a 15-pointer. They accounted for +31.82 points. Finally, I took the Saints on the money line over Atlanta for 20 points to win 23. The spread on the Chargers was a little high, I thought, but for them to lose outright to the Bengals just shows that they need to move on from head coach Norv Turner. I held back a little on Green Bay due to concern over Aaron Rodgers

Vikings Expose Flaws in Birds

The Eagles won’t have to worry about playing three meaningful games in 11 to 12 days after all. Dropping their postponed game against the Minnesota Vikings last night, 24-14, the Eagles are now locked in to the third seed of the NFC playoffs regardless of Sunday’s outcome in their game against Dallas. Excuses certainly exist for this game. Having a football game delayed two days can mess with a team. Players try to build to a crescendo of emotion aiming to peak on game day. Gearing down and back up again due to a sudden postponement can’t be easy. Coaches are suddenly preparing for the next game without having played the game in front of them. It could actually be argued that this loss is a blessing in disguise as the Eagles may not have gotten a bye week even if they had won on Tuesday night and against Dallas. Now they can (and should) rest the key players next week. Of course, no one wants to hear that, especially when many, including myself, thought that they had an excellent c

Rendell Embarrasses Himself Again . . . and Again

With tomorrow being all about the aftermath of tonight’s Eagles game, I’m posting the weekly look at something a little different from the sports world a day early. So far the yet-to-be-named Wednesday feature has been a fun video or image. This week, though one clip is technically a video, I have two audio clips of outgoing Pennsylvania governor, Ed Rendell, embarrassing himself over the postponement of Sunday’s Eagles game until today due to a snowstorm. Isn’t it bad enough the governor, and former mayor of Philadelphia, has embarrassed himself, this state, and the town, by his presence on Eagles Post-Game Live for somewhere around a decade while holding both offices? Now he’s essentially ripping the mayor and other authorities for potentially erring on the side of public safety. I don’t necessarily disagree with his basic point that the game probably could have been played on Sunday and a few of his auxiliary points in the second interview. But I’m just some guy who wanted to w

Eagles are NFC East Champions; Two-Day Delay Could Hurt

Despite having their game postponed until Tuesday night due to a snowstorm, the Philadelphia Eagles clinched the 2010 NFC East Division crown yesterday when the Giants lost. It may be faint praise at the moment, as the division is occupied by some bad teams. Washington is just terrible, the Dallas Cowboys are an underachieving squad (though not as much as the media suggests – they’re not that good), and the Giants look like they simply will not recover from their collapse against the Eagles a week ago Sunday. But winning the division is still an accomplishment, and anyone claiming that they saw this coming is drinking too much eggnog. Even the most optimistic fan viewed this season as a rebuilding year, hoping the Birds could eke out a winning record and maybe – just maybe – sneak into the playoffs. We were supposed to be finding out what Kevin Kolb is really all about, and now we’re watching the amazing comeback of Michael Vick. Of course, being Philadelphia fans, we’re already

Pick on the Lakers - Heat Game

Twitter is “over capacity” so I’m posting my pick on the Lakers – Heat game here: NBA Pick - Lakers -3 over Heat for 10pts to win 9.09; Merry Christmas

Week-in-Review: Reid Trickery, Phil Jackson, Tweet of the Week, and More

I’m posting the Week-in-Review just a little early so readers can kick back with some eggnog and get a jump on the Christmas holiday (because I just know you were waiting until this post to wrap up the week). Here’s a look back at some of the sports stories – and tweets – that caught my attention in the last seven . . . err, six . . . days: • If you miss the “swashbuckler” days of Andy Reid, when he would do things like start a game in Dallas with an onside kick, there may have been a glimpse of that spirit on Sunday. Philly Sports Daily reported that the Eagles only had 10 men on the field for the play, having rushed a player off as if they had too many men on the field. The story quotes Giants special teams captain Chase Blackburn as saying, “They did something good. . . . They ran a guy off right in front of everybody and they’re all looking at each other saying, ‘We’ve (only) got 10.’ So we’re doing the same thing, trying to recount. And then you forget about that ‘alert’ a litt

Preview of Week 15 NFL Picks

The only way I can describe the last week of picks would be “up and down.” I started with just a bad pick on the 49ers on Thursday night, then rebounded with an NBA money line parlay pick on Friday on the Lakers, Heat, and Mavericks, to end up +7.33. Then came Sunday. There’s no big story. I just got crushed with the Saints, Cowboys, and Patriot, which were all 50-point picks. I jumped on the Patriots when the -14 point line came out, thinking it would go up. In fact it did go up a little, but the more I thought about it the dumber I felt. The Patriots defense stinks, and the Packers “D” is one of the best in the league. Aaron Rodgers being out for Green Bay didn’t matter nearly enough. Instead of riding out the error, I tried to compensate by jacking up the two other picks on Sunday. I even increased the Cowboys pick from 10 to 50 points. I won’t call it a bad pick – Dallas was way ahead against a bad Redskins team and just went to sleep. New Orleans was an underdog pick that si

Holiday Sports Fun

‘Twas a few days before Christmas . . . so I thought I’d post some fun holiday-related material. I’ve been making Wednesday about something a little different from the sports world lately – something I’m looking to make a staple of the blog. I’ll have to come up with a name for it in the new year. Hump Day Delights, anyone? Suggestions are welcomed in the comments section. Keep it somewhat clean, and try not to excite Rex Ryan too much. In the meantime, check out Joe Conklin’s latest parody of “Winter Wonderland” celebrating Sunday’s Miracle at the Meadowlands: Plus, check out Shaquille O’Neal, or as he called himself , Shaq-a-claus, moonwalking for a good cause: Finally, see the Lingerie Football League exhibiting their holiday spirit – or lack of it. Ok, it’s a stretch, but who cares? It happened in December at least!

Analyzing the Rest of the Latest Miracle at the Meadowlands Game

Now that the euphoria of the latest miracle at the Meadowlands is winding down, Eagles fans shouldn’t necessarily have visions of Super Bowls dancing in their heads. As easy as it is to forget after watching DeSean Jackson return a punt on the final play of the game to cap off a comeback against the Giants that is already part of Eagles lure, the fact is that the amazing rally was necessary because Philadelphia was getting thumped for three-and-a-half quarters. I thought “3rd-and-long” was going to be tattooed on defensive coordinator Sean McDermott’s head like a scarlet letter after the game. In the first half alone I noted five times that the Giants converted a 3rd-and-long. Mario Manningham scored on one of those plays, and caught a second TD pass right after another long 3rd down had been converted. To be thorough, Quintin Mikell had an interception on another 3rd-and-long situation. But with this defense still being historically bad in the red zone, the point remains. If th

Miracle at the Meadowlands, Part II

Herman Edwards. Clyde Simmons. Brian Westbrook. And now, DeSean Jackson. For New York, Philadelphia miracle finishes must feel like a bad movie that just keeps coming out with sequels. And they’re forced to watch them all. If they thought a new Meadowlands would end the nightmare, they were very wrong. I’ve actually been taking notes during games to write something for the blog, and it was just a waste of time this week. Three-and-a-half quarters of notes are virtually worthless – at least for now. By the time Jackson mimicked Eli Manning in the first matchup of the season between the Giants and the Eagles by fumbling away the football without being touched, my eyes had wandered to the Red Zone channel. Technically, Jackson was touched on his way to the ground, and Andy Reid’s lack of a challenge would have been a huge topic of conversation had the unimaginable not happened after the Giants converted the turnover into 7 more points. The G-men were up 31-10 with just over

Week-in-Review: McNabb Benched, Cam Newton’s Blunder, Favre Selling Streak, Vick Talking Dogs, more

It’s Friday, so it’s time for my Week-in-Review. With the next two Fridays being Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, I’ll likely move the review to Thursday . . . I knew you were curious. Without further delay: • I usually work backwards in this weekly post – well, sort of – but it came out today that Donovan McNabb has not only been benched for Sunday behind Rex Grossman, he will then be the emergency quarterback behind John Beck for the rest of the season. As McNabb’s agent and national media cronies scramble to say how “disrespectful” the benching is, which makes absolutely zero sense, we sit back in Philadelphia and laugh. We told ya. And, by the way, what is disrespectful about it? This is the NFL. If you can’t get it done, and McNabb has really never gotten it done, you sit. • I can’t believe I haven’t heard more about the speech Cam Newton gave after winning the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night. His father wasn’t there due to allegations that he attempted to have college recru

Previewing Picks for Week 15 in the NFL

Even though I had a decent week with picks, going 4-5 but winning all of the bigger picks for +23.63 in points, I felt like I missed some opportunities. The week started off a little rough last Thursday, going 0-2 in basketball with the Sixers covering against the Celtics (a game they actually should have won) and the Temple Owls pulling the upset over Georgetown. I was more than happy to give up the 5 points to see the Owls take a big step forward; I would have said the same for the 76ers, but they gave it up at the buzzer. It got a little worse the next night as the Lakers fell to the Bulls for an 0-3 in hoops on the week for me, but just -15 points. I basically shut down on basketball for the week after that as I was staying pretty busy writing a post a day on this blog since Sunday (technically my Eagles post game article ran on Monday just after midnight), posting each weekday on another blog, writing a longer piece for Page 2, and, of course, Christmas shopping. I really slep

Cliff Lee Reportedly Signs with Phillies

At around 12:15 in the morning on Tuesday, ESPN reported that the Phillies have signed Cliff Lee. Unless there’s more news to come, the projected pitching rotation for the Phillies in 2011 is simply mind boggling – Lee, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, and Joe Blanton. If the Phillies don’t win the World Series next season, general manager Ruben Amaro may deserve a parade anyway. More in this spot later.

Day After Thoughts on the Eagles

With about 15 hours to reflect on the Eagles victory over the Cowboys, here are some thoughts beyond my game review : • Everyone calling sports radio to say how Andy Reid needs to rip into DeSean Jackson for doing the Nestea Plunge into the end zone on the 91-yard touchdown needs to relax. Yes, it was stupid, and Jackson needs to know better. But it’s part of who he is, and as long as he doesn’t get out of control with it, Reid knows he just has to live with the occasional dumb penalty. • That said, bad penalties are hurting this team. Dimitri Patterson kept Dallas’ first TD drive alive with an interference penalty, and why Jorrick Calvin apparently still has a job today is beyond me. His penalty for shoving a Cowboy after a touchback could have given Dallas great field position to potentially tie or win the game had they stopped the Eagles after scoring to make it 30-27. This was after Calvin ran around in the end zone mistakenly thinking he was killing time – unfortunately, the c

Big “W” in Big “D” for Eagles

The Eagles outlasted the Dallas Cowboys in what could become a signature win for the season. As I write, shortly after the game, they lead the NFC East pending the outcome of the Giants postponed game. Once again Philadelphia opened a game against a division rival with a long pass to DeSean Jackson, this time for 60 yards. It didn’t quite spur a blowout like it did in Washington, but they eventually scored a touchdown on a Mike Vick run after having to go for it on a 4th-and-1. Going for it on 4th down was a ballsy call by Andy Reid so early in the game, and could have been the talk of the week had it not paid off. But it did, and he deserves the credit for making the decision. What stands out for me is that the Eagles again went down in the second half after having an early lead, yet came back to win. Doing that in a big division game in Dallas against a Cowboys team that is clearly playing as well as they had been expected to when the season began is something the Eagles haven’

Week-in-Review: DeSean Jackson, Pats Fans, Tweet of the Week, more

It’s time for my look back at the sports stories that caught my attention over the last 7 days: • On Saturday, Deadspin.com reported, “A league source tells us that veteran players on the Eagles were put off by the perception that [DeSean] Jackson lacked the courage to get hit, and that they have contemplated taking matters into their own hands. The specific quote from the source, who requested anonymity: ‘Vets were going to give 10 a code red if he didn’t quit being a candy ass.’” The “code red” reference is a little weak – I’m happy Eagles players saw A Few Good Men, but get over it, fellas. That said, I like the fact that players might be handling this. • On Tuesday around 5 o’clock I saw this on Twitter from DeSean Jackson , “On dis flight back to da eastcoast.. Called my name and I got the upgrade to 1st class me and my bro @iamKIDCALI LA we did that. Had a blast.” I get that players have a life and the Eagles had played on Thursday, giving players some time off. But . . .

Previewing NFL Week 14 Picks and More; Plus Recapping First Losing Week in a While

Week 13 in the NFL was certainly an unlucky one for me as my hot streak with picks came to an end with a final total of -13.89 points for the last seven days. The win-loss record is a little tough to determine because I picked two parlays with a couple of the same teams involved in other picks. I started off the week by staying off of the Texans against the Eagles, which worked out well as Philadelphia won and covered. Saturday continued the winning ways with picks on Auburn for 9.09 points and the Sixers for 4.55 points. Sunday was bad – there’s no way around it. The Saints and Bears won their games, but did not cover. I picked both for 20 points. Now things get a little “involved.” I picked the Titans, Cowboys, and Ravens, in a 10-point parlay. The Titans and the Ravens cost high “juice,” and I wasn’t real confident in the Cowboys. After the Titans lost, making the parlay a loser, I picked the Cowboys in a 4 o’clock start for 15 points. That helped repair some of the damage wit

Hate Dallas Week

It’s Eagles – Cowboys Week. While the NFC rivalry isn’t quite what it used to be, the games between the two teams still conjure plenty of hate from fans of both teams for the other. Don’t let local, front-running Cowboy fans with their Drew Pearson jerseys fool you – the game is just as big in Dallas as it is in Philadelphia. Unlike most of those so-called diehard fans, I actually saw a game in the dump that was Texas Stadium. Dem cowpokes were plenty fired up for the Eagles. (And, I must admit, a hell of a lot more civil than Eagles fans are to visiting Cowboy fans.) Wilbert Montgomery busting through the line to kick-start the victory against the Cowboys in the 1981 NFC Championship Game, the cheap shot on Harold Carmichael ending his consecutive games played streak, the Donovan McNabb scramble and subsequent long bomb to the infamous Freddie Mitchell, the Bounty Bowl – they are just a few of the memories I have from the rivalry. I still remember a friend of my dad’s giving me a T-

Jayson Werth Leaves for Nationals

I don’t report news on this blog because it just doesn’t make any sense. It would be borderline absurd to think anyone is reading Rob Q. Ink to get the news. I react. I throw out opinions. Hopefully those opinions are a little more thought out than some guy calling sports talk radio and offer an interesting twist apart from what everybody else is saying or blogging. By now we all know that Jayson Werth signed a 7-year, $127 million contract with the Washington Nationals over the weekend. If I wasn’t trying to move this blog to another level with more frequent posts, I honestly wouldn’t have given this more than a moment of thought. Werth was a nice player on a team that won a World Series and was a legitimate contender – and will continue to be – for several years. But that’s it. Nice. I have no problem with any of the people involved with the deal. The Nationals are trying to make a splash as a team that showed a modicum of promise last year. I think they’ve essentially missed

Week-in-Review: Protesting hits on Vick, Possible Signs of life for Sixers, More

I’m doing double duty today, reviewing the Eagles game earlier and, tonight, re-starting my weekly look back at the sports stories that caught my attention as a solo post. Week-in-Review: • Sal Paolantonio is reporting tonight that the Eagles are considering a formal complaint about the hits Michael Vick is taking when he runs. Tim McManus offers details on the issue. • I thought it was weak that Eagles fans and, from quotes I heard throughout the week, players were hoping Houston wide receiver Andre Johnson was suspended for Thursday’s game after getting into a fight on Sunday. If you’re that worried about one player, you shouldn’t be in the NFL. That said, the fact that there were no suspensions for an on-field fistfight makes Roger Goodell’s attempt to clean up player conduct off the field look ridiculous. • Believe it or not the Sixers won two games in a row entering tonight. Could there be a ray of hope? I keep wondering if Eric Snow would be of better service as a backu

Eagles Survive Texans

The Eagles shook off giving up an early 17-3 lead against the Houston Texans, falling behind 24-20 late in the third quarter, to win 34-24. Thursday night’s game is another example of how difficult it can be to judge this team in a season that has had several of them. Did they show poise in winning a game in which they had been on the verge of a blowout only to fall behind? Or was last night a neon sign warning of an end to the season that we are all too accustomed to seeing? The Eagles opened the game with a solid touchdown drive that featured a 30-yard reception by DeSean Jackson and an early reception by Brent Celek, both of which was a good sign for the offense in getting them involved early. The rollout touchdown pass by Michael Vick to LeSean McCoy from the 1-yard line was another good sign. Everybody’s favorite analyst to hate, Joe Theismann, made the suggestion that the Eagles’ problems in the “red zone” offensively are due to the condensed playing area negating their tea

Preview of Picks in the NFL for Week 13 and College Football

With the Eagles kicking off the NFL week, I thought it was a good opportunity to try my early thoughts on weekend games and review of last week’s picks as a solo post. Hopefully readers are noticing what I hope is the start of an uptick in the number of posts on this blog, and I’m trying to make the Week-in-Review on Fridays worthy of its own post as well. My hot streak with picks continued with an 8-3 week, Thursday through Wednesday, for +64.54 points. Last week I was 4-1 for +48.27 in college football. In the NFL, I split the two big picks with New England and New Orleans on Thanksgiving. I didn’t like much the rest of the week, and split two smaller picks on Green Bay and the Eagles on Sunday afternoon, then won with the Chargers that night. I’ll admit that the Eagles pick was flat out stupid, breaking the golden rule of never picking with your heart. I ended up +8.77 points. Finally, I capped off the week with a small money line pick in the NBA on the Sixers over Portland for +7

Steve Johnson Questions God - Yes, God - After Dropping Game-Winning TD

Steve Johnson dropped a pass in the end zone in overtime on Sunday that would have given the woeful Buffalo Bills a shocking victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead of taking the blame for the eventual loss, Johnson passed the buck in a manner that makes Donovan McNabb look like an amateur at blaming others for his own shortcomings. Johnson didn’t merely throw his teammates under the bus. No, he put the loss on God. That’s right, he blamed the Lord for his choke. He went on Twitter, and asked God why He allowed this to happen. Even The Colbert Report took note: The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c God Drops Steve Johnson's Football Pass www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election March to Keep Fear Alive Shockingly, either no one has advised him that he may want to take down the tweet or he has ignored the advice. As of late this morning, the tweet was still visible: StevieJohnson13 I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW