Do you like the title? It’s an attempt at levity to hide my utter shock/sadness/anger (Shanger?) regarding the trade of Simon Gagne for a former Smashing Pumpkins drummer and a half eaten bag of Funyuns. Okay, I just did a quick fact check and apparently it’s a different, far more irrelevant, Matt Walker. Since the other part of this blockbuster move is a 4th round pick, seeing a half eaten bag of Funyuns working its way through the Flyers farm system in the near future cannot be ruled out. Ideally, it’ll retire early and take over as General Manager for Paul Holmgren. I’m not going to bore you with a lot of “knowing a lot about hockey” like those other bloggers, I’ll let the guys at Flyers Fan Central do that (download their Droid App). What I will do is lay out some simple truths of the situation just to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Losing Gagne is upsetting and …

For a brief stint the BCS gods looked to be ready to rip apart the Big 12. As a Big East fan I can relate; normally they’re calling for our collective head in the off season. Thankfully it’ll be at least five more months until Lee Corso calls for Big East to step aside so the latest hot minor conference can finally have their shot at a perennially power, so soak it in while you can. We take it as an annual right of passage that the Big East is always facing extinction, but what does it mean from a school perspective when they talk about restructuring and where should a fan stand if their team enters the fray? I’m going to use three area teams to show the different effects movement can have.

Temple Owls: Bring on the rains!

As a temple fan, or perhaps the temple owl fan, you probably know your team has fallen on rough times (you could also use the phrase “sucks’). After being unceremoniously tossed from the Big East …

          This started off as a Philly pride piece. I was going to talk about how proud I am of the Philadelphia Flyers and their season. I planned on dissecting how the play of Danny Briere and Jeff Carter was amazing and that Mike Richards’ ability to not only coexist, but even bond, with Chris Pronger shows that he’ll continue to be a great captain for the foreseeable future. My plan was to even go on a limb and say that I wasn’t upset about us losing, that just getting there was enough. After waiting over 24 hours this article should still largely echo those sentiments. That being said, never in my entire life have I wished so hard for someone to close their legs.

          No seriously, Michael Leighton, why will you not just shut your legs? I feel like I’m a dad on “16 and Pregnant” right before Prom. I’ll grant you that some of the saves you made were ridiculous. Yes, we were out shot in …

I know that the Philadelphia Eagles stomped the New York Giants last week, but other teams might not have faired as well against New York teams. Maybe your sports week went even further south and your college team may have lost, to a conference opponent, after finally working their way into the top 25 rankings. Sure your fantasy team may have one, improving you to 7-1 on the season, but that’s really does nothing to console you right now. Anyway, the past is the past. Rather than stewing in depression this weekend lets try to put on a stiff upper lip and knock out Satan’s favorite team: The Dallas Cowboys. There’s still a lot to live for. A win this week would put us in the driver’s seat as far as the division is concerned and seriously; I hate the fucking Cowboys. So cut off your play off beard, dry up those tears and let’s get this thing going.

People are going to talk trash. You’re going to have to let them. There’s no point …

There is truth in advertising. Monday Night Football is the lone saving grace of Monday, especially with John Gruden and the Ron “The Polish Rifle” Jaworski as ex-Philadelphia Eagles bookends dominating the booth. This week MNF is that much more awesome because the Philadelphia Eagles will actually be playing. The good news is; you know that game will be on TV. The bad news; if you don’t live in Philadelphia you’re boss may actually expect you to be productive on Tuesday. So while you try to avoid banal conversations about your co-workers’ weekends start mapping out the rest of the week. You’ll need to be careful if you want to keep this week from becoming one long train wreck.

If you didn’t go out yesterday to watch the games then you’re ahead of the game. All you’ll need to do is get the work you normally finish on Tuesday done in the beginning of the week. If you’re like me and ended up going out because you were unusually vested in the Kansas City Chiefs then …

There are really two strategies towards maximum Philidelphia Eagles Sunday Funday goodness. The first, as I discussed last week is finding your Eagles watching castle, then populating it with fellow Reidaphiliacs. The other is finding a group and taking a more nomadic approach; moving form bar to bar until you find the DeSean Jackson to your Donovan McNabb. Finding a good group can only amplify the good qualities of a bar, such as: atmosphere, prices, and the size of TV that the Eagles game is on. It can also insulate you from outside influences, such as people who root for the local team or, god forbid, non-football watchers. This week complete domination of your local gin mill is imperative. In addition to the normal Eagles party, the Philadelphia Phillies play Sunday. If you watched game one, you know you’ll want to watch it. This means you need control of at least two big screen TVs, not including side TVs for fantasy reports and big plays. You’re not going to get this on your …

In the next stop on the ghosts of play-offs past tour tonight the Philadelphia Phillies take on the Los Angeles Dodgers (8:07 pm EDT) for the National League Crown. This year the Dodgers are better and we can’t take a 2-0 lead at home before going to LA. Still the Phillies haven’t spent the season resting on their laurels, and again there’s that pesky on the road record the Phils have that really makes it difficult to count them out no matter what ball park their playing in. There’s also the clutch hitting the Phightin’s showed in the top of 9th to clench game four against the Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers, however, are better than the Colorado Rockies by at least two games. I’ll let ESPN catch you up on the past, here’s what you should look for this time around.

Pitching: This will be as big a deal as people make it out to be. Bull pen pitching will make or break the Phillies. We can win if we don’t use our pen and …

After the Philadelphia Phillies win to move on to the NLCS the first thing that comes to mind is football, right? It is if you’re involved in logistics planning for Philadelphia. In what may be the ultimate jinx ever, The Philadelphia Eagles game will be moved to accommodate the possibility of a game 4 World Series game in Philly. This move also effects the start time of the Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers game the same day, assuming Brett Favre allows it. This is actually an uncharacteristically nimble move by the NFL, and the City of Brotherly Love. They realized that, perhaps, having two capacity crowds try to change places was not the best move. Obviously this won’t solve the problem of most people who go to the Eagles game staying around for the Phillies game and there still won’t be any where to park, or move, but I digress. The really interesting part is who we may play that day. The Eagles will be playing the New York Giants. Bud …

I know that we all love how football makes getting drunk on Sundays socially acceptable but that doesn’t mean you should through back shots at just any old ram shack. Remember when you’re not in Philly every bar is not a Philadelphia Eagles bar. In a foreign city you’re competing with not only local fans but other transplants and even people that don’t watch football, trust me they do exist! Locating a steady, Eagle friendly, dive will not only increase the fun you have during the game, it can also lighten the load on your wallet. Getting to know the bartenders leads to comped, and strong, drinks. Find a good bar can be trial and error, but rather than waste all of that time just take use my helpful hints to avoid any wasted time.

Don’t be a sucker for specials. Nickel a wing is great and all but not if you have to sit through the Cleveland Browns vs. Saint Louis Rams game because that’s the one o’clock game on Fox. Saving money …

The Philadelphia Flyers came out swinging in their home opener against the play-off caliber Washington Capitals in what boiled down to a shoot out between Alex Ovechikin and Flyers captain Mike Richards. Richards won, propelling his team to a 6-5 in overtime. The Flyers left with a 3-0-0 record and a hat trick for Richards. The Caps left with a disappointing loss and continued goaltender uncertainty between Jose Theodore and youngster Simeon Varlemov who shined in last years playoffs. The flyers scored four goals in the second, chasing Varlemov from the net. “The atmosphere was awesome,” said long time Flyers fan and season ticket holder Ryan Myers, “Early in the game it was clear that both teams’ hockey sense had matured. In previous years, when both teams were younger, they came out as pure energy; they were all go, go, go. Last night, there was a noticeable change in style and pace and a hint of tentativeness in the early period but both teams found their form in the 2nd.

The first period showcased the talents …

The Philadelphia Phillies pair off against the Colorado Rockies today at 2:37 pm EDT to begin their bid to win back to back World Series. This creates an interesting match because the last time these teams played the winner, not the Phillies, made it all the way to the World Series, where they lost to Boston Red Sox in a demeaning fashion. As your calling out sick, updating ESPN feverishly, or scouring twitter for updates (while you’re there make sure that you’re following Hot Stove Philly). Here are some things to watch for during the game:

Your Boss/Manager: It’s unlikely that your relationship with your superior will have any effect on the outcome of the game unless you’re answering to Charlie Manuel. This does not mean you should ignore the likely ire that your watching baseball during work will ignite! This is the first game in a long play off that is becoming infamous for oddly timed games, largely blamed on Baseball’s waning audience; you don’t want to get caught on first day. I …

When the Philadelphia Eagles signed Michael Vick to a two year deal the only people who were not surprised were the Eagles front office and Vick, his agent was probably stunned. Then Roger Goodell decided suspension until week three was enough of a penalty, Tony Dungy must be a heck of a salesman. Due to those two events we’ve been steamrolling towards this weekend, when he would actually step on to the field against the Kansas City Chiefs. Given Vick’s past actions the move has garnered understandable scrutiny and speculation; it’s even produced questionable marketing opportunities. Now I can’t help you navigate the complicated moral quagmire that is getting your dog a #7 jersey, I can tell you that getting yourself a #7 Ron Mexico jersey would be freaking sweet! I can also give you some easy answers to questions you might face at your local watering hole …