Ending a 25-year championship drought, the Philadelphia Phillies are the 2008 Major League Baseball World Champions, beating the Tampa Bay Rays four games to one in the best of seven World Series.

Closer Brad Lidge’s last devastating slider of the season, striking out Eric Hinske, wiped away the ghosts of lost championships past.

Gone are Mitch Williams (version: mullett) and Joe Carter.

Gone are Ronde Barber and Joe Jurevicius.

Gone are Eric Lindros and Scott Stevens.

Gone are Donovan McNabb and his throw up.

Gone are Derek Fisher and Tyrone Lou.

Here are Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Lidge and Jimmy Rollins. Here are Pat Burrell (hopefully for a while longer), Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, and Shane Victorino. Here are Jason Werth, Geoff Jenkins, Matt Stairs, Greg Dobbs, and Ryan Madson.

We have all new moments to remember.

Victorino’s grandslam against CC Sabathia.

Stair’s towering shot off of Jonathan Broxton.

Burrell’s numerous clutch homeruns throughout the playoffs.

Both of Rollins’ leadoff homeruns in each of the clinching games in the first two rounds.

Howard’s two homerun game; …

The Phillies moved one game closer to a World Series championship in a 10-2 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays Sunday behind one of the best games of starter Joe Blanton’s career, taking a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Blanton pitched six strong innings, allowing just two runs on four hits. He allowed just two walks while striking out seven. When he was traded to the Phillies by the Oakland Athletics in July, it left many in Philly scratching their heads. But as Sam Donnellon says in his postgame column,

CC SABATHIA is watching the World Series – or maybe not.

Rich Harden is, too. Paul Byrd is at home, as is Greg Maddux.

Blanton has been just as big an addition as those pitchers, if not more so. The Phillies are 3-0 in three games Blanton has started this postseason. They were 10-4 in 14 starts during the regular season. He lost just one game in September and October. Blanton was the starting pitcher in the NLDS clincher …

Welcome back Jamie Moyer!

After two horrible outings in his previous two playoff starts this postseason, Moyer pitched 6 1/3 strong innings against the Tampa Bay Rays, allowing just three runs on five hits with five strikeouts. Despite a rain delay of nearly an hour and a half, it was a game that was definitely worth the wait.

Chase Utley got the scoring going early with a ground out RBI to first, scoring Jimmy Rollins. One of the best things to come out of last night was the ability of the top of the order to get things going and get on base. Rollins and Jayson Werth went a combined three for six with a run and two walks. Three different innings, either Rollins or Werth led off by getting on base, including the all important ninth.

The Rays got the run back, however, in the top of the second, after Carl Crawford doubled to left, stole third, and scored on a sacrifice fly to center. The Phillies …

This year’s World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays is about as an unlikely matchup as we’re ever to find.

Despite only being in the major leagues for 10 years, the Rays have the worst winning percentage of any team in the league. They have won just 42% of their 1779 games, four percentage points worse than the next worst team, the San Diego Padres. Until the 2008 season, the Rays were better than last place just once, and that was in 2004 when they were in fourth place in the AL East.

The Phillies, as we all know, have more losses than any other franchise in professional sports history. That is due in large part to the fact that the franchise has been around for 125 years. It is also a result of them having a winning percentage of just 47%, 26th worst in major league history. The Fightin Phils have a better winning percentage than just the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, …

The Phillies’ inability to hit with runners in scoring position, something that has plagged this team for the better part of Charlie Manuel’s tenure as manager, finally caught up with them on Thursday, as the Fightins fell to the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 in Game 2 of the World Series.

The Phillies are 1-28 with runners in scoring position through two games of the World Series. The Rays, on the other hand, managed to score most of their runs last night without even getting a hit. With runners on second and third and nobody out in the bottom of the first, Carlos Pena grounded out to second, scoring Akirnori Iwamura and moving BJ Upton to third. Evan Longoria followed by grounding out to the shortstop, scoring Upton. That put the Rays up 2-0. They would later score on a safety squeeze by shortstop Jason Bartlett.

The Rays play a small ball type of baseball largely unseen outside of the National League and the AL Los Angeles Angels. Rays’ manager Joe Maddon spent some time under Angels’ manager …

Cole Hamels continues to solidify himself as the new Mr. October, going seven innings and allowing just two runs on five hits. James Shields’ nickname may be Big Game James, but that title clearly belongs to Hamels. Coming into Wednesday night’s game, Hamels was 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in some of the biggest games in Phillies history.

“Maybe he doesn’t even realize where he is right now,” pitcher Jamie Moyer said of Hamels. “But at some point he will.”

Hamels allowed one run in two separate innings against the Rays. The first was a solo shot to Carl Crawford in the bottom of the fourth. The next inning, Akinori Iwamura doubled home Jason Bartlett, and that would be it. Hamels would go seven innings and then the Phillies’ bullpen came in and did what they have done all year, shut down the opposition. Ryan Madson and closer Brad Lidge faced just six total batters with three combined strikeouts.

“You’re seeing why a closer is so important in …

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Eagles guard Shawn Andrews will miss at least six weeks after having back surgery on Tuesday, according to team head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Robert Watkins. Watkins also operated on Tra Thomas in 2005.

Andrews suffered a disc herniation in high school in Arkansas and played through it all throughout college and his NFL career. However, the injury was aggravated on an extra point attempt against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2.

According to Burkholder, Andrews took a couple of injections in late September but it provided only brief relief. Andrews saw four different specialists, with Wakins being the last.

The recovery time could take anywhere from six weeks to three months, but the Eagles have not yet placed Andrews on IR. Coach Andy Reid says the team is going to evaluate him over the next couple weeks to see how his recovery progresses before they make any decisions.

In the meantime, Max Jean-Gilles will continue to play in Andrews’ stead.

If you’ve followed the Rays at all this season (which I’m sure with their new-found World Series berth you have), you’ve probably heard the phrase “9=8.” It’s the apparent rage in Tampa and it’s not uncommon to see fans gracing Tropicana Field with tee shirts bearing this slogan.

Most Philadelphians (myself included), have no idea what “9=8” means (much like those little men on the pavement in most Philly intersections). After doing a little research I’ve found the secret behind “9=8.”

The brainchild of “9=8” is Rays manager Joe Maddon. This spring while riding a stationary bike (where all great ideas are conceived), Maddon came up with the idea. Its meaning is “9 players who play 9 innings can be one of baseball’s 8 postseason teams.” Maddon explained this theory to his ballclub, and it became the Rays 2008 creed.

Although simplistic (well not really), I do sort of understand this slogan. I just have a couple issues with it.

1 – A good slogan should …

The time has come. After 15 years, the Philadelphia Phillies are finally back in the World Series. Their opponents: The Tampa Bay Rays.

The two unlikely league champions face off in St. Petersburg, Florida, Wednesday night.

Game 1

Charlie Manuel is sticking with the same pitching rotation that has gotten the Phillies through the postseason. Game 1 will kick off with the great equalizer on the mound, Cole Hamels.

Hamels, the NLCS MVP, has been brilliant this postseason, going 3-0 in three starts with a 1.23 ERA. In 22 innings, Hamels held opponents to just 13 hits with 22 strikeouts. He held the Dodgers to just three runs in 14 innings in the NLCS.

Hamels will face off with Scott Kazmir, the Rays young left hander. Kazmir has been considered the ace of this pitching rotation for the past couple years and for the better part of this season. However, due to injuries, and the emergence of James Shields, his status as the Rays top starter has been challenged.

Nevertheless, Kazmir, …

The Whiz Kids were never able to repeat their performance of 1950. In 1951, they fell below .500, finishing in fifth place, and while they were a better ballclub then Phillies teams of the past, they didn’t compete again until 1964. It was in 1964 when the Phillies had what was considered the largest collapse in major league history (only to be eclipsed by the 2007 New York Mets), when they blew a six-and-a-half lead with only twelve games remaining, finishing in second place one game behind the St. Louis Cardinals.

The collapse of ’64 did a number on the Phillies, and they wouldn’t challenge for the pennant for almost a decade. In the early 1970’s things began to turn around. Starting prior to the 1972 season, when general manager Paul Owens sent Rick Wise to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Steve Carlton. Although the Phillies only won 59 games that year (with Carlton winning 27 of them), a young …

Phillies fans did not have a lot to celebrate in the years following the 1915 World Series. In fact it would be 35 years before the Phillies would again smell the postseason. It wasn’t that the Phillies just didn’t make the playoffs, they weren’t even competitive. Outside of the two years following the 1915 appearance, and 1949, the year leading up to the World Series, the Phillies only had one other season above .500, when the 1932 Phillies, under Bert Shotton finished 78-76. Even then they finished in fourth place, 12 games behind the Chicago Cubs. Philadelphia wasn’t a city that followed the Phillies. They followed the team on the north side of Philadelphia, Connie Mack’s Athletics.

While the Athletics weren’t a powerhouse, they did win back-to-back World Series’ titles in 1929 and 1930, and remained competitive for the better part over two decades. Although as the 1930’s ended and the 1940’s arrived, the Athletics too found themselves uncompetitive …

1) Indianapolis: Record 3-2 (Beat Ravens 31-3 )

2) Pittsburgh: Record 4-1 (Bye)

3) Tennessee: Record 5-0 (Bye)

4) New York Giants: Record 4-1 (Lost to Browns 35-14)

5) Dallas: Record 4-2 (Lost to Cards 30-24)

6) Tampa Bay: Record 3-2 (Beat Carolina 27-3)

7) Jacksonville: record: 3-3 (Beat Denver 24-17)

8 ) New Orleans: Record 3-2 (Beat Raiders 34-3)

9) Arizona: Record 3-2 (Beat Cowboys 30-24)

10) Denver: Record 4-2 (Lost to Jags 24-17)