I remember when opening day meant I could watch a Phillies home game on TV. That was a treat because few home games were televised aside from Sunday games. I would be glued to the TV for the entire game watching the likes of Schmidt, Bowa and Luzinski play their hearts out.

I remember when the front office could be counted on to bring in the key players needed to compete for a division title. Whether it was Richie Hebner, Bake McBride or Pete Rose, that key cog was always right around the corner. Salary never came into play, just ask Pete Rose.

I remember when the Phillies uniform wasn’t so boring. The bright blue road jersey and the fancy “P” on the hat. That was before the trend became “going back to the past.” Every team now has to have an old style uniform. Gone are the bright colors of the Astros and the A’s as they have been replaced with the drab whites and grays of the 1950s. Now the sole interest of the teams is marketing their …

NFL owners are preparing to head off to Palm Beach, Fla., for their annual meetings to debate everything from rule changes to adding hair-length restrictions (is this boot camp?). The most important subject under debate is whether to extend the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), in 2011. Things could get ugly with the NFL trying to take away personal freedoms (hair length) and scrapping the CBA

For those that don’t know the CBA is a deal between and the National Football League Player’s Association (NFLPA) that came in response to lawsuits filed by players against their teams (most notably Reggie White V. the Eagles). It gave players unrestricted free agent rights for the first time, improved benefits (including a 401k with contributions made by the team), and most importantly it gave the players a percentage of the NFL’s gross revenues. So that means the NFL has to spend at least a certain percentage of its’ total income on players’ salaries. Also, included are salary guarantees for players after …

With Opening Day only three days away, I expected the Phillies to add another bullpen arm this weekend.  With players recently hitting the waiver wire (Aaron Fultz, Rudy Seanez, Tim Byrdak), I figured it was only a matter of time before one of them was in red pinstripes. Well the today the Phillies did pick up a bullpen arm, just not any of the obvious.  They claimed Tim Lahey off waivers from the Cubs.

When I saw this on Rotoworld this afternoon, and I to myself “Who’s Tim Lahey?” 

If you don’t know, Lahey was the first overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft last off-season.  The Cubs made a real with the Rays for them to draft him and deal him to Chicago.  Lahey is a converted catcher, with only two years pitching experience.  He has had some success in the minor leagues (15-6, 3.94, but has only 2 career appearances above Double-A. 

It’s heard to fathom what type of impact he’ll have on the Phils.

People are going to look at this move in one of two ways.  …

The Philadelphia Iggles need offensive and defensive power to avoid being the Philadelphia Giggles, again. One or two ingredients short of a recipe for success, the Philadelphia Eagles must choose wisely how much to spice up their hardly palatable offense and overly cooked defense. A pinch of this and a touch of that (especially with the NFL draft on the horizon) can turn this decent dish into delectable gourmet with potential playoff staying-power that has been missing in recent years. Phone up Emeril, Martha, and all of the Iron Chef’s you know-today on hotstovephilly.com, the ingredients of Philadelphia Super Bowl Surprise will be discussed with our win-hungry readers.

Head Coach and Chef Andy Reid probably misses T.O. Not for his brash locker room behavior nor his on or off the field antics, not hardly. Mr. Owens is missed because his offensive prowess was so keen that it changed games just by him stepping on the field as a distraction to defenses, not only as one of the best wide-receivers in the game. …

Well the Grapefruit League is officially over. The Phillies head north today for a couple exhibition games against the Blue Jays before Monday’s season opener against the Nationals.

The spring taught us some things. For one, spring training stats mean nothing, unless you want them to mean something. You know what I’m talking about. You’re at your office around the water cooler (do people really talk around the water cooler?), and someone will say:

“So what Chase Utley only batted .222 this spring. It’s not like it counts, he’ll come around come Monday… Jimmy Rollins can turn it on anytime he wants, he’s the reigning MVP. His .190 batting average this spring is meaningless.”

But the same people around the same water cooler will say:

“Ryan Howard is going to have a MONSTER year. He tore the cover off the ball this spring. He led the team in home runs and RBI’s…Lookout for Carlos Ruiz. With all the talk about Russell Martin and Brian McCann he’s easily overlooked, but his .372 batting average isn’t easy …

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It took until the final day of camp, but JD Durbin was finally placed on waivers.  The self-proclaimed “Real Deal” proved this spring why he has no business being in the major leagues.  Durbin’s 0-4 record with an atrocious 12.33 ERA, wasn’t just the worst on the Phillies but one of the worst springs among all pitchers.  If Durbin clears waivers (which there’s no doubt he will), he’ll join the Iron Pigs rotation.

Joining Durbin will be Travis Blackey.  Blackley was placed on waivers Tuesday.  Being a Rule 5 pick, he was offered back to the Giants after he cleared waivers, but they chose not to take him back for $25,000.  I like Blackley’s stuff (he just need to control it), and was hoping the Giants would let the offer pass. Unlike Durbin, I can see Blackley joining the Phillies at some point this season.

Another pitcher I expect to see joining the Phillies this season is Kris Benson. Benson, who is not on the 40-man roster, was assigned to minor league camp.  …

The Eagles inked former Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end/fullback Kris Wilson to a three-year deal Wednesday (the terms of the contract are undisclosed).  Wilson was the 29th pick in the 2nd round of the 2004 draft, but being the backup to arguably the best pass-catching tight end ever, Tony Gonzalez, has left little room for him to flourish; Gonzalez has only missed two games in his entire career!  However, Chiefs’ coach Herm Edwards found a way to squeeze him into the offense as a fullback last year; Wilson made the most of his small role by catching a career-high 24 passes for 180 yards and 1 touchdown in 12 games.  The Eagles have signed him as a tight end for special teams purposes and to backup L.J. Smith (236 yards and 1 TD), Matt Schobel (108 yards and 1TD), and rookie Brent Celek (178 yards and 1 TD).  They must want to take a good look at the kid, evidenced by the three-year contract and Smith only being …

It pretty much went unnoticed, but Kris Benson’s window to opt out of his contacts opened and closed this past Tuesday. The Phillies had until Tuesday to add him to the 40-man roster, otherwise he could opt-out of his deal, and join the free agent ranks. While Benson wasn’t added to the roster, Benson had no intention of leaving the Phillies.

At least yet…

Yesterday, a new deal was struck for Benson, giving both Benson and the Phillies another time-line to make it back to the big leagues. His new out-clauses are as follows:

• If by May 15th Benson pitches at least 10 minor league innings and still isn’t on the 40-man roster.
• If Benson hasn’t been added to the roster by June 1st.

Benson has said himself he’s 5-6 weeks away from being able to join the Phillies, so both out-clauses seem realistic. These new deadlines were added due to his “setback” from bicep tendonitis.

Regarding his “setback”, while the news wasn’t good, it might not be the worst thing in the world. Because …

Mike Richards 27th goal of the season came with less then two minutes left in overtime. Richards got behind the Rangers defense on a brilliant pass from Jason Smith, and put a backhand shot through the legs of Henrik Lundqvist, giving the Flyers a 2-1 win.

Both teams played solid hockey for sixty minutes, which is a good sign from the Flyers. As of late the Flyers haven’t been what you’d consider a third period team.  They’ve blown leads which resulted in a loss or a shootout victory. This time they were the team who rallied in the final period.

Down 1-0 entering the third the Flyers had no luck getting any shots by Lundqvist, so they changed their strategy. They began to crash the net. While it led to a few roughing penalties, it eventually paid off. With less then eight minutes to play, Vinny Prospal fed Danny Briere, who managed to chip the puck past a sprawling Lundqvist to tie the game at one.

Richards did the remainder of the damage in overtime, silencing the sold-out …

As the season draws near, the final cuts are beginning to come.  Left-handed pitcher, Travis Blackley was one who didn’t make it.  This comes as a bit of a surprise.  Blackley was a Rule 5 pick, therefore he must be offered back to the Giants, and while he did have his struggles, he’s a left-handed pitcher, who could be more useful than the likes of JD Durbin (it puzzles me how he’s still on the roster), or Clay Condrey.

In all fairness, Blackley was given plenty of opportunity to claim a spot on the Phillies pitching staff (he even was considered to be the #5 starters), and he floundered.  He showed some glimpses of some dominating breaking pitches, but was unable to control them.  In his final appearance, one of his breaking pitches broke too much, and broke the hand of Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson.

There’s still a chance Blackley will stick with the Phillies.  In Randy Miller’s blog, he breaks down the process: 

If the player clears outright waivers, he …

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The Eagles made yet another addition to their defensive unit yesterday in what has been their most aggressive offseason in recent history. His name is Rocky and he will be playing in Philadelphia. Cue the theme music and training montage.

Putting aside all of the marketing possibilities and similarities between Philadelphia’s favorite fictional son and Rocky Boiman, this is a very intelligent pick up. Boiman will join a very, young linebacking corps that boasts Omar Gaither as its most experienced player with a grand total of 2 seasons completed on his NFL service record. Boiman is a versatile contributor who has played all three linebacker spots in the 4-3 defense. His flexible abilities will give defensive coordinator, Jim Johnson, plenty to experiment with. Although he will most likely serve as a back-up for Gaither, Chris Gocong and Stewart Bradley, Boiman will provide depth and veteran leadership, as well as a spark on special teams.

Boiman earned his keep as a special teams player and back-up linebacker in Tennessee and Indianapolis, but he’s …

The Eagles signed linebacker Rocky Boiman (64 tackles and 2 int.) to a one-year deal on Monday.  Boiman was drafted in the 4th round of the 2002 draft by Tennessee where he stayed for four years before signing with the Indianapolis Colts.  Look for him to be a backup in the defense since Andy Reid has said he is “very excited” about the young linebacker group he currently has.  After releasing veteran Takeo Spikes they needed someone to serve as a mentor to the inexperienced group, which may not be a bad idea.  Maybe he can teach them how to create turnovers since he tied the amount of interceptions Omar Gaither, Chris Gocong, Stuart Bradley, and Takeo Spikes accumulated combined last year.  Yet and still Boiman would need to have a break out preseason (not at all likely to happen at the age of 28) to see much playing time.  Unless there is an upcoming trade, all of the Eagles’ moves will seem inconsequential in the aftermath of …