Imagine this little number in Eagles green!

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 this weekend:

Q: How do you sleep at night knowing that bastard is on your team?

A: I sleep well. I know my team is trying to find ways to win, and as a fan that gives me the warm and fuzzies. At one time he was the “fastest player in football” avoiding prison shanks and all the other joys of prison life has probably made him much quicker, and improved his pocket presence. He also learned the value of money (as if a $20 Million bankruptcy case wouldn’t do it.) I hear he bought a prescription for Valtrex with three packs of Kool Menthol 100’s and the dessert from his lunch for two months. End of the day, I didn’t elect him Pope. He’s a third string quarterback on a football team who’s taken roughly a 93% salary reduction, cut the guy a break.

Q: You know his QB rating was terrible right? He’s going to be a total bust and I should know because I’m Matt Millen.

A: Well Mr. Millen, while I do appreciate your commentary, the jury came back on your ability to judge player talent and run a football team. The verdict: EPIC FAIL. So I’m not going to take you as the definitive judge of anyone’s talent. That given, you bring up a valid point. Vick himself said that he’s never worked that hard, because he never has had to, he went to Virginia Tech for crying out loud! This time it has to be different. If incalculable debt, to society and his creditors, and the need to make this work aren’t enough then nothing will be. In theory, this should be the best he ever plays. Expect him to play like his pants are on fire! Also, even though he never played that well from a Quarterback perspective, he still won with the Atlanta Falcons.

Q: Since you’re taking in Michael, are you going to pick up Marcus Vick too? Maybe you can run a Vick Halfway house for the NFL!

A: No, that’s not going to happen. There are too many in Philadelphia for Marcus. Besides, the Eagles already have their hands full with an idiot brother duo.

Q: Do you want another beer? How about a Brat or a Dog? I think we have wings left too.

A: Yes, to all of them; as much of all of them as I can fit in my mouth.

Q: If Vick does well do you think there’s going to be a Quarterback controversy?

A: Vick is going to do well; as a slash back, and a Zovirax spokesmen. He’ll come in as a change of pace and give our Red Zone offence a much needed boost inside fifteen yards. He however is not what I would call a “Field General” the receiving core he has now is pretty similar to what he had to work with at the Falcons and he hasn’t shown any touch which is going to get him picked off if he’s throwing as much as the Eagles would with someone else. In mid field and during drives starting deep in our zone he’s just not a threat. Remember Kevin Kolb was Conference USA MVP, and Donovan McNabb is our quarterback! He’s clearly the best we have when he’s healthy, hopefully he’ll be healthy soon. Especially this week, I think he’s going to lighten the load for Brian Westbrook more than anything.

Q: How’s your fantasy team doing?

A: How is that applicable right now? There’s real football on, watch that. Though since you asked, I need Maurice Jones-Drew to have a big game. I also need McNabb to come back with the quickness; I’m dying out here with Brett “I lover Wranglers” Favre.

Q: Don’t you realize what he did to those animals?

A: Yes, we get national news in Philadelphia too. He did horrible things which, if you ask me another question about Mr. Mexico, I’ll do to you. While he may not be the best guy ever, he’s still an Eagle!

Mid-day sports talk host Jody Mcdonald announced at the end of his show Friday that he would be leaving 950 ESPN.

“This is the last show I will be doing for this radio station. The radio station has decided to go in another direction and I am perfectly fine with that,” said the veteran radio host. “They informed me this week that my services are no longer needed.”

Apparently, the move did not come as a surprise to Mcdonald.

“I saw it coming…I knew this job was going to end at some time, and it officially ends today. I will miss talking to Philadelphia sports fans, they’re the best on the planet,” Mcdonald says. “I’m not retired, I’m not going anywhere, I’ve got other gigs right now…This has been my home for 19 years…I truly hope I get to talk Philadelphia sports with you again down the road at another radio station.”

Dan Schwartzman, currently the host of the evening show The Locker Room, will join current midday co-host Harry Mayes as Mcdonald’s replacement.

According to WPEN Program Director Matt Nahigian says the station is “developing outstanding football-related shows and will annouce details very soon” for the now vacant night time slot.

Mcdonald had spent time on rival station 610 WIP, as well as WFAN in New York, before joining WPEN in 2005 for their switch to sports talk programming, where he was the drive time host from 3-7 PM.

In April 2008, the station switched gears, bringing in Mike Missanelli for the drive time show, moving Mcdonald to the daytime slot. Missanelli has since surpassed WIP and Howard Eskin as the most listened to show in the drive time slot, whereas Mcdonald and Mayes trail 610′s Anthony Gargano and Glen Macnow during the day.

As you know, I am an avid 950 ESPN listener. I listen to Mcdonald and Mayes just about every day, as well as Missanelli. I am not a fan of WIP, although I do like some of their talent. I enjoyed 950′s midday show, and am a particular fan of Mayes. I liked Mcdonald, but found him to be a little too impressed with himself. But Mcdonald knows his sports (which is to his detriment sometimes), and his show was a more substance based show than your normal sports talk show. As one blogger said while commenting on his leaving WPEN, “As much as I love listening to the guy, he was never the brash, confrontation host that radio GMs and PDs seem to want these days. Wry and funny and full of substance, his shows are for the serious sports fan.”

Missanelli is brash and confrontational, but does it in a much smarter, and substantive way than most sports radio hosts. I was never able to really warm up to Mcdonald but I will miss his insight and commentary on the sports stories of the day.

The Erin Andrews peephole video has touched a nerve with many in the sports and news community, me included. In case you were out of the country for the past week, a video was posted on the internet that was allegedly of a naked Andrews in a hotel room, apparently taken through a peephole from an adjacent room. The video was then given credibility when Andrews’ lawyers, and counsel for ESPN, began contacting the various websites that had posted the video. [NOTE: To those of you who try to search for the video, beware. Many of the supposed videos out there right now contain viruses for  both Mac and Windows computers.]

The video has generated outrage from all over the sports and news world, and has imposed what I can only imagine is limitless amounts of humiliation upon Andrews. Unfortunately, those of us in the blogging community [and quite frankly anyone that watches ET or buys US Weekly] are too used to this kind of celebrity sex scandal.

We are constantly barraged with celebrities sunning topless on the beaches of the Caribbean, or driving around Hollywood without underwear, or “hacked” cell phone photos of compromising situations. How often are there rumors, or actual copies, of celebrity sex videos? I do not feel bad for the subjects in these situations because they are often times staged, or at the very least the people should know better than to walk around topless on a beach or go commando in a short skirt while partying on Sunset Boulevard amongst a throng of paparazzi.

That being said, the Erin Andrews video scandal is just flat out wrong. First off, it is a complete and utter violation of her privacy, well beyond the realm of topless beach photos or leaked sex videos. Andrews is a sideline sports reporter for ESPN, not Britney Spears. Not that this would be anymore right if it happened to Spears, but that kind of privacy violation seems to come with the territory of being an ultra-celebrity. But it is not implied as part of the job of a sports reporter.

While Andrews has gained considerable notoriety for being a very attractive woman in a field of generally mediocre looking talent, this crushes her credibility in the field entirely. It will be hard now for anyone to watch her on the sidelines of an Eagles-Cowboys game, discussing the latest in-game injury to Brian Westbrook without picturing her naked.

Sports journalism is a hard industry for women to break into, and it is an unfortunate, but real fact of life, that a woman’s looks play a large part in her success. It is hard for macho men to take a woman seriously when she is discussing or analyzing sports, but that is somehow made more palatable when she is attractive. It’s almost as if we, as men, say, “I don’t really think this chick knows what she’s talking about, but I’ll tolerate her because she’s fun to look at.” That really sucks, but it’s an unfortunate reality. I am a pretty liberal guy, and have no problem listening to a woman analyze sports and taking her seriously as she does it, but even I find myself rating her looks as I watch her. I admit that I prefer some female sports reporters over others in part because they are more attractive.

Unfortunately for Andrews, her looks have worked against her. She was almost too good looking, and was too attractive a target for this kind of attack. I genuinely hope that this ultimately does not greatly impact her career. While I was never blown away by Andrews’ reporting, I found her to be an adequate and informative reporter, and I hope she continues on ESPN for years to come.

Phillies’ reliever J.C. Romero is eligible to join the team Wednesday, as his 50-game suspension for banned substances officially ends.

Romero was arguably the Phillies best reliever in 2008, aside from the perfect Brad Lidge, with a 2.75 ERA.

How will Romero fit into a bullpen that is already about a third of the way through the season? Manager Charlie Manuel addressed that topic last week.

“Chan Ho Park, [Chad] Durbin, and [Clay] Condrey . . . can become two-inning pitchers for us,” Manuel said. “Then we have [Brad] Lidge, [Ryan] Madson, Romero, and Scott Eyre.”

Absent from that list were lefties Jack Taschner and Sergio Escalona. Chances are, one of them will be sent down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room for Romero.

With Madson and Lidge firmly entrenched in the eight and ninth innings, respectively, and Eyre performing as a late inning left-handed specialist, look for Romero to slide right into the seventh inning slot. Durbin, Condrey, and Park are able to pitch multiple innings and largely do not see action late in the game.

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Speaking of Eyre, the veteran lefty said yesterday that he was “more than 90 percent” sure that he would retire at the end of this season.

Eyre has played for six different teams over 13 seasons and will be a free agent at the end of this year.

“My wife is probably ready for me to be home,” said Eyre, who has two sons, ages 8 and 10. “I’ve been playing for 13 years, and it’s basically all she’s ever known. We’ll talk about it at the end of the year, but as of now I would say, yeah, I’ll retire.”

Eyre has a record of 0-1 with an ERA of 2.84 in 12 2/3 innings so far this season.

If you’ve ever listened to the afternoon drive show on 950 ESPN Radio with Mike Missanelli, you know that nothing upsets him more than when a member of the out-of-town media refers to Philly’s reputation as a town of tough, mean, rude fans. If you listen to his show, you also know that Missanelli, unlike many other radio personalities, does not hide behind the mike, but will confront those people he has issue with head on. He has recently taken on various members of the national media, from Yahoo sports to his own ESPN, including the oft controversial Collin Cowherd. This is why I have an immense amount of respect for Missanelli and in the spirit of full disclosure, I am an avid listener to his show.

That being said, it came as no surprise that Missanelli took particular issue with comments made on ESPN’s First Take on Monday by Skip Bayless. Bayless was discussing the actions of Dallas Maverick fans during a recent playoff game, and likened it to “Philly-style rude, crude, dangerous” behavior. Missanelli then invited Bayless to join him during Tuesday’s show to explain his choice of words.

Here is the transcript of the interview, nicely compiled by www.sportsradiointerviews.com:

It’s real easy for journalists who live outside Philadelphia to throw these barbs when you really don’t have any information at all:

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second.  Did you say I have no information at all?

Yeah, I’m asking you for the information.  I’m asking you to produce it.  In the last ten years, what have you heard about this rude, crude dangerous behavior in the stands?

“Well, ok I’m going to have to go back to my 18 years of going to the Vet.”

(Missanelli interrupts) Oh, so let’s go back to the Vet.  So we’re never going to live that down in Philadelphia because of nitwits like you who rip us and make it a modern day thing:

“Ok, if you’re going to insult me I’m going to hang up.”

Do you want to hang up or do you wan t to spar? I’m not like these lightweights you spar with on First Take.   Let’s get into a little sparring here if you’ve got information.

“Ok, I’m gonna make my statement and then I’m going to hang up.”

Ahh, don’t hang up. don’t cry.  Come on Skip.   Don’t cry.  Let’s have a debate.

After this, they start talking over one another so forgive me if my transcripts may be a bit off.

“I don’t insult anybody on First and Ten when I debate with them”

Yes you do, you do it all the time.

“You’re the lightweight.  I don’t even know who you are.  What’s your last name?  Seriously, who am I talking to?

Google me, you’ll find out.  Let’s have a legimitate argument about this.

“Say your name cause I don’t know your name.”

It doesn’t matter.  I’m Mr. X as far as your concerned.

“No seriously, I’m serious, I don’t know who you are.  Just say your name so I know who I’m talking to.”

My name is Mike Missanelli.  Mike Missanelli.  I was a journalist for for many years with the Philadelphia Inquirer when you were with Dallas so we don’t have to go over resumes right now.  I’m just asking you a simple question.

“I’m giving you my simple answer.  For 18 straight years I went to the Vet for at least one game a year and occasionally for two because of playoff games and I knew the women who ran the tour groups for Cowboy fans who went on the trips with the Cowboys. Of all the stadiums we went to which was, year after year, every stadium in the NFL, there was only one stadium where she had a rule that you cannot wear Cowboy garb – no hats, no jerseys, nothing to identify yourself as a Cowboy because it’s too dangerous. That’s the image that was set at the Vet for your city of Philadelphia and like it or not, it’s still out there because there was case after case, incident after incident to back it up…If you ask anybody outside the city of Philadelphia about whose city has the worst reputation for fans, it’s Philly. That’s the image that Philadelphia fans earned year after year…Year after year, I went there and I would look down in horror at the fights in the stands…I saw people fight, I saw them every year. I was scared to go there as a journalist because if they found out I was from Dallas, I was taking my life in my own hands.”

SRL: I’m sure you get the gist of the interview and it continues to get better after this.  Missanelli keeps asking Skip to give evidence from the last ten years and Skip keeps talking in circles.  Skip calls him a “shock jock” which is a bit ironic.  I’m real curious to see if Missanelli faces any on-air suspension after this.  I don’t think he should as he defended Philly and it made for entertaining radio, but ESPN is very protective of their personalitites and the station in Philadelphia is an ESPN affiliate.

For the audio of the full transcript, go here.

To say that the interview was combative would be putting it lightly. Since the interview aired Tuesday afternoon, Missanelli has been criticized for being rude and playing into the perceptions of people like Bayless. I do not think Missanelli was rude and I think he gave Bayless ample opportunity to make his point, but he is too pompous to let someone stand up to him like Missanelli does. That being said, I do think Missanelli did himself a disservice by calling Bayless a nitwit, but I think that’s the only fault you should find with the interview, even though Bayless is a nitwit and much more.

The fact of the matter is that Missanelli has been saying what he said to Bayless for years. I have heard him call several out-of-town members of the media lazy, including a Yahoo sports columnist from Detroit, in that they use the crutch of this town’s reputation without doing any of their own research on the issue and he’s right. We, as Philly fans, have to constantly listen to references of throwing snowballs at Santa, booing Michael Irvin, and booing Donovan McNabb on draft day, the most recent of which occurred in 1999. The booing of Santa Claus happened before I was even born, and yet I’m tarnished with that stain. Even though Missanelli pressed him several times, Bayless was unable to come up with examples of that “Philly-style, rude, crude, dangerous” behavior.

I give Missanelli credit and commend him for a job well done. I wish more journalists, especially from ESPN, were as honest and had as solid a spine as Missanelli.

Well even the return of Thaddeus Young, and the absence of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and the limited playing time of Paul Pierce could not stop the Sixers from losing, again.

Yea, Young looked good, scoring 18 pointsin nearly 29 minutes. But I don’t care. This team sucks, lately. I know, I’m being harsh, but this is ridiculous.

The Sixers led through most of the game last night, but did what they have been doing all season, let the lead slip away at the end.

Last night was the home finale, Fan Appreciation Night. They were playing a depleted Celtics team with literally zero to play for (they have the second seed locked up and can’t make it to the first seed), and how did they repay a well packed house? With another uninspiring, blown-lead loss.

The loss means the Sixers have to win tonight in Cleveland and the Bulls have to lose tonight at home against Toronto in order to lock up the sixth seed and play the Magic in the first round. Not gonna happen.

Even though the Cavs have the first seed locked up, they are playing for history, trying to tie the Celtics’ all-time wins record at home. Their record is currently 39-1. And Lebron James has already said he is playing every game till the end.

So no, the Sixers won’t win tonight. And so it doesn’t matter what happens in Chicago, the Sixers will face these same Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

While many pundits expected coming into the season that the Celtics and Sixers might see each other in the playoffs, it was supposed to be much later than this. The Sixers don’t even belong in the playoffs except that the NBA, along with the NHL, lets everybody into the postseason.

Maybe I’m being too harsh, but this team is supposed to be a lot better than it is. And I understand you can’t always live up to expectations, and that’s fine. But this team’s play over the past couple weeks has been disgusting.

Go Flyers.

The Eagles are going to the NFC Championship Game!!!

And oh, by the way, the 76ers recorded their fourth straight game with a 109-94 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, the fifth best team in the Eastern Conference.

“First I’d like to thank the people who watched our game,” said Sixers’ coach Tony DiLeo.  “They are true Sixers fans. I know there was another game going on.”

The Sixers played perhaps their best game of the season, shotting 54.7 percent from the floor, 60 percent from the three-point line, 85.7 percent from the free-throw line, 27 assists, a plus-15 rebounding margin.

Andre Iguodala led all scorers with 27 points, to go along with nine assists and six rebounds. Thadeus Young continues to prove that he is the best Sixers’ draft pick since Iguodala, or perhaps even the other A.I., with 22 points and nine rebounds of his own.

Equally as impressive was rookie forward Marreese Speights, who was 6-of-7 for 12 points and eight rebounds.

“I’m just going out there and hoopin, ” said Speights.

The win puts the Sixers at 17-20 on the season, just one game back of the Milwaukee Bucks for the final playoff spot, whereas the Hawks are 22-14. The Sixers are riding the conference’s best winning streak at four.

“It’s fun to win,” said guard Royal Ivey. “When you’re winning, everything is fun. After midnight, we’ll stop celebrating this one.”

The Sixers look to make it five in a row against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

With the news Monday that the Phillies reached a two-year agreement with pitcher Jamie Moyer, and the signing late last week of Raul Ibanez, resolving the question of who will replace Pat Burrell in leftfield, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. should now focus on sowing up the rotation and signing a fifth starter.

I know that sounds a bit aggressive, especially for the usually play it safe Phillies, but if they can sign someone like Derek Lowe or Ben Sheets, it will give them arguably the best rotation in the National League. Picture this: Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Lowe/Sheets, Moyer and Joe Blanton.

Adding a fifth starter would ensure that Kyle Kendrick, J.A. Happ, and Carlos Carrasco will be able to spend more time developing in the minor leagues. It would also ensure that Adam Eaton has no shot at starting for the Phillies, and would make it very unlikely that newly acquired Chan Ho Park gets a shot at the starting rotation either. As much as I like the idea of Park as a veteran long-reliever, the thought of him as a starter at this point in his career makes me nervous.

Lowe has a career ERA of 3.75 to go along with a record of 126-107 in 255 starts. Last year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lowe was 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings. Sheets is 86-83 over his eight year career, but has a career ERA of just 3.72. Last season he went 13-9 with a 3.02 ERA.

Lowe would be the more logical fit for a place like the hitter friendly Citizens Bank Park, as he is a predominantly sinkerball pitcher who induces a lot of groundouts. Sheets could get burned more with the homerun, but is more of a power pitcher and can get guys out on the strikeout.

One darkhorse candidate is Jake Peavy, whom the Padres were seriously shopping to the Cubs during last week’s Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. The Phillies were in the middle of those negotiations as Chicago did not have the prospects needed to get the job done, but San Diego’s GM Kevin Towers had expressed some serious interest in Happ, as well as backup catcher Chris Coste. The big issue is that Peavy has a no-trade clause in his contract, but it’s a reasonable assumption that he could be persuaded to come play for the reigning World Champions in the right situation. If the Phillies could package Happ and Coste with one other player, perhaps secondbaseman Jason Donald, then I think he is obvious target. Just imagine this rotation: Hamels (3.09 career ERA), Peavy (3.25), Myers (4.37), Moyer (4.19), and Blanton (4.24).

Add that rotation to the best bullpen in the National League last year, including the perfect Brad Lidge, and a starting lineup that boasts Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Raul Ibanez, and the Phillies would clearly be the team to beat for the third season in a row.

Major League Baseball started rolling out their individual awards Monday, naming Geovany Soto and Evan Longoria the National League and American League Rookies of the Year, respectively.

Longoria, a third baseman for the AL Champion Tampa Bay Rays, was the unanimous selection of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He notched 27 homers and 85 RBIs in his first major league season.

Soto, the catcher for the Chicago Cubs, was nearly as popular after hitting 23 homers and 86 RBIs of his own.

Longoria is the first Rookie of the Year in the Rays’ 11-year history. He is also the first third-baseman to win the award since his teammate Eric Hinske did it in 2002 with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Soto is the first Cub to achieve the honor since Kerry Wood did it in 1998. He is also the first Rookie of the Year catcher since Reading native Mike Piazza did it with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1993.

The NL Cy Young award winner will be announced Tuesday.

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, Padres and Rays. The Phillies also have the major league record for consecutive losing seasons with 16.

From a historical perspective, these teams make unlikely championship bedfellows. However, this World Series is a great example of the parity in baseball. It shows that it is possible to win without buying the talent, that teams other than the Yankees and Red Sox and Mets have a fighting chance. The Florida Marlins have been a great example of that opportunity.

This World Series is not breaking the ratings records, but it is a more interesting contest than we’ve seen in some time.