BY MIKE WOLVERTON SPORTS GUY I’ve got two boys under five years old and that alone means that I know more about Time Outs than Andy Reid. OK, that was a cheap shot. But when the Eagles got the ball down 13-9 with 3:42 left in the game, weren’t you shocked that they had all their timeouts left? The Eagles under Reid have made a habit of using their timeouts too early. They’d burned all their 1st half T.O.s with 4:30 left in the 2nd quarter, which didn’t stop Donovan McNabb from trying to call a extra one with 27 […]

[Photo by KEVIN BURKETT] NEW YORK TIMES: After the fifth inning Sunday night, the Phillie Phanatic delighted the bundled-up crowd at Citizens Bank Park by knocking out a Los Angeles Dodgers fan in a fake boxing match. The skit played out in front of the Dodgers’ dugout, where the mismatch presented only a temporary distraction from the blowout unfolding in front of them.  The Phillies pummeled the Dodgers, 11-0, to seize a two-games-to-one advantage in the National League Championship Series. They obeyed the rousing “Beat L.A.” chants that rumbled through the stands in the bottom of the first inning by […]

[Photo by Chickie’s & Pete’s / PLAY²] NEW YORK TIMES: LOS ANGELES — The how-to guide to beat the Philadelphia Phillies is shrinking by the day. It says to attack them with left-handed pitchers, so that was what the Los Angeles Dodgers did. It recommends knocking out their starter early, turning the game over to the bullpen, the underbelly of their pitching staff. The Dodgers did that, too. All they have to show for their strategy is an 8-6 loss Thursday night, a game that burnished the Phillies’ reputation as one dangerous, if delightfully unpredictable, team. In Game 1 of […]

[Photo by crwelling] INQUIRER: When the Phillies allowed three runs in the eighth inning last night, Ruben Amaro Jr. began to think about the trip home. With Game 4 appearing lost, the first-year general manager resigned himself to logistics. “I was thinking about the flight home,” he said an hour later, standing in the corner of a wild visitors’ clubhouse at Coors Field, quiet and exhausted. “Thinking about whether Cole [Hamels] would be ready for a Game 5 start, and about how tough it would be to stop their momentum.” Amaro did not know that Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and […]

BY MIKE WOLVERTON SPORTS GUY Has anyone noticed that the Eagles have played four snoozers so far, without an ounce of drama? It’s not likely to change next week when the Birds travel to Oakland to play the dismal Raiders. In other NFL news, Cleveland beat Buffalo 6-3. Browns QB Derek Anderson completed 2 of 17 passes. Two complete passes, and his team won! I have Browns WR Mohamed Massaquoi on my Fantasy team…I’d have been psyched if you told me he accounted for 70% of the Browns’ passing yardage. Well, he did, and it was worth 16 yards.Have you […]

BY MIKE WOLVERTON SPORTS GUY You saw the Eagles game yesterday, but did you hear it? Maybe you were at the bar and missed out on the “insight” from the FOX broadcast. Or maybe you heard but couldn’t believe your ears. I’m here to fill you in on what you missed. On the call for FOX is the “C” team of Dick Stockton and Charles Davis (making the move to the NFL after working the BCS Championship Game for FOX). Chances somebody goes for a dog-fighting joke somewhere during this broadcast: 15%. 1st quarter: New boy Davis doesn’t say a […]

[Associated Press: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick offered himself as a cautionary tale of what can happen when someone is a follower instead of a leader.] INQUIRER: The appearance before freshman at the Nueva Esperanza Academy in the city’s Feltonville section came as the Eagles are circulating a draft plan to animal rights groups that calls for an immediate, widespread campaign to combat animal abuse in Philadelphia. MORE

ASSOCIATED PRESS: A judge in Virginia has approved a plan for Michael Vick to repay $20 million to his creditors and emerge from bankruptcy. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank Santoro approved the plan Thursday on the condition that Vick retain a personal financial planner to manage his future earning with the Philadelphia Eagles. Santoro says while Vick is “at the pinnacle of his profession,” he has proven unable to manage his finances in the past. The plan was overwhelmingly approved in a ballot of creditors. After the hearing, Vick was scheduled to return to Philadelphia to make his debut with the […]