Week-in-Review: ESPN Bumps Hank, Eagles a Joke, Favre’s a D---head, more

          As if Philadelphia sports fans are focused on anything but how long they have left to wait for the 8:37 first pitch of the Phillies game tonight, let’s rip off the latest Rapid Fire Week-in-Review:

*Kudos to ESPN for cutting ties with Hank Williams for his comments on Fox “News” for comparing President Obama to Hitler and other absurd comparisons. Even the Republican lapdog talking heads were taken back. The only real question is why the hell Williams was being interviewed about politics or anything else. It was time to bag his Monday Night Football theme anyway. I like the suggestion by many others to bring back the original music.

*I caught a clip of Juan Castillo on Comcast SportsNet saying that he needed to learn that Nnamdi Asomugha wasn’t ready to understand all the positions Castillo wants him to play without a full offseason, and that he should have been playing man coverage this season. It is such an absolute joke that Castillo is the Eagles defensive coordinator. It’s October 7^th and he’s just figuring out that Asomugha is (supposed to be) a shutdown corner, not a guy who plays zone. Maybe by December he’ll figure out that tackling is kind of important for a defense.

*According to reports on 97.5, 49ers running back Frank Gore said in an interview to air today on ESPN’s First and 10 that Eagles defenders “didn’t want to play” anymore in the game on Sunday. That’s a game that came down to the final minutes, and people have to remember that NFL players rarely question the effort of other players. The Eagles are a disgrace at this point.

*Earlier in the week, Brian Baldinger, an analyst for the NFL Network and commentator for Fox, said on his show on 97.5 that he saw Eagles players on Sunday’s coaches film walking – not running – when plays were still going on. I repeat, the Eagles are a disgrace.

*As much as I respect Baldinger, I totally disagree with his comment that the game has passed by Bill Cowher since he left coaching. Cowher is the guy who I want coaching the Eagles. He created the “Wildcat” with Kordell Stewart before it was called the “Wildcat” and the “in” thing. And his smash mouth style has carried the Steelers up until this year when it looks like they’ve gotten old.

*The Flyers won their opener last night on a last second goal . . . in the first period . . . because no one scored the rest of the freakin’ game. It’s a good win to go up to Boston and beat the Bruins on the night they put the Stanley Cup Championship banner. But, c’mon.

*Enough with commercial for the new Daily News Sports Week publication and every other radio ad depicting Philadelphia sports fans with the heavy south Philly accent sounding like rock heads. It’s beyond annoying.

*I wanted to throw up at the parade of ESPN analysts who became borderline enraged at the suggestion that NFL teams will start to do less than their best in order to draft Andrew Luck in the spring. Guys like Herm Edwards and Mark Schlereth acted like it was a personal affront to them when asked about the possibility as if it could never happen. Give me a break. Granted, players can’t play to lose because they’ll get hurt. But don’t tell me players aren’t allowed to nurse injuries a little longer, younger players aren’t given more playing time, and so on, by organizations for the purposes of getting the number one pick in the draft.

*The NBA has already begun canceling games as if their players are children. Ok, you didn’t sign so we’re going to cancel 5 more games. And the players deserve it as according to reports they’re allowing agents to influence collective bargaining agreement negotiations.

*I posted about the Phillies all week, so I can’t really add much here. But the TBS broadcast is killing me. Dick Stockton is destroying my memories of his calls of the 76ers glory days. He’s too old and needs to go. And the incessant Conan O’Brien commercials are just a reminder that the man is not funny.

*Michael Kay said this morning on Mike and Mike that he couldn’t come up with a scenario in which the Yankees lost last night. Well, the Tigers did. It’s just another reason to hate the Yankees.

*Brett Favre is a d---head. I know, it’s not exactly news. Asked about the fact that Aaron Rogers has already won a Super Bowl, he said, I’m going to be quite honest, I was not surprised. The biggest surprise to me would be that he didn’t do it sooner. Because it’s funny how people forget over time that my last year in Green Bay . . . prior to training camp I made the remark that this was probably the most talented team I played on.”