I'm So Disappointed In Bounty

USA / Mexico, and I have to open the thread?  For shame.

Here's to hoping you have availability to one of the random channels out there that's showing the game.  Protip:  Ch. 203 on DirecTV.

So Was Flight Night! Worth It?

^{- Posted by Derek -}

Just noticed something interesting in Brookover's "round-up" piece today:

The Eagles said they raised more than $1 million for Eagles Youth Partnership during Flight Night.

Sounds pretty good, right?  You'll recall the rationale behind Flight Night!:

On a day that started with a storm that even Noah may not have been able to navigate, 31,786 Eagles fans filled half of Lincoln Financial Field for a practice...

Still, it had to be surprising that so many would pay up to $45 to watch what the team offers for free at Lehigh University...

For the last 14 years, the Eagles held a carnival and auction to get donations for their Youth Partnership. This year, they moved one training-camp practice from Bethlehem, Pa., to South Philadelphia in the hopes that more than 10,000 - the maximum the carnival allowed - would show.

So they brought in three times the number of fans they could accommodate before.  One would guess you'd see a real bump in the amount raised, right?

Well, take a look:

2008 Eagles Carnival & Auction a shining success!
Eagles fans enjoyed a day with their Eagles team on a brilliant sunshine for the 14th Annual Eagles Carnival & Auction, held at Lincoln Financial Field on August 17th, 2008. More than $1,000,000 was raised for the programs of Eagles Youth Partnership!

2007 - 13th Annual Carnival Surpasses Goal!
The number is in! Not even the steady rain dampened the goal of the 13th annual Eagles Carnival and Auction, held Sunday, Aug. 19. The annual event that supports the operating budget of Eagles Youth Partnership exceeded its goal and raised $1,040,783 - up more than $100,000 from last year.

2006 - 12th Annual Carnival A Huge Success!
Rain and cloudy skies didn't keep Eagles fans from invading Lincoln Financial Field on Aug. 27 for the 12th Annual Eagles Carnival and Auction, which raised close to $1 million for Eagles Youth Partnership (EYP), the Eagles' non-profit charitable wing.

So the last couple years, when they had to cap attendance at 10,000 people, the Eagles raised a bit more than $1 million.  This year, with 31,786 folks packing the lower bowl of the Linc ... the Eagles raised more than $1 million.

(Was that a lot more than $1 million?  Because when I multiply 31,786 by $45 I end up with $1,430,370.)

And for that, they interrupted training camp, shipped everyone down to Philadelphia, and then shipped 'em all back the next day?  Why not just wait until they left Lehigh (as they've done at least the last three years) and host a regular practice at the Linc?  It's not like they couldn't have done the exact same things they did this weekend in late August. 

What's really puzzling is that there's nothing else on the Linc's event calendar.  I sort of expected to find a concert series or something on those late August weekends that pushed the Eagles to do things earlier.  Nope, nothing there.  And with the Eagles playing four Thursday night preseason games, August Sundays at the Linc are pretty much wide open.

Other than reducing by one the number of practices missed by Jeremy Maclin, what was the point of this again?

Soooo, Let's Talk About Joe Banner

^{- Posted by Derek -}

You can tell the Phillies are playing well and training camp's begun in earnest when something like Joe Banner's controversial comments about the Eagles' roster is a one-day story that only generates a couple of halfhearted follow-ups to Reid and McNabb.  Or maybe everyone's just tired of beating up on the guy (well, almost everyone).

For the record, here's what he said:

"I feel this year we have the best roster in the league," Banner said. "That's assuming everyone is healthy and standing at the end. You can only make a statement like that on the first day of training camp. After that, anything can happen..."

Banner also said he thought the Eagles had the NFL's best roster in 2003 and 2004 and even last season -- "as crazy as it sounds given the way the regular season went" -- he said he thought the roster ranked among the top three in the league.

To head off at least one inevitable comment down below, let's stipulate that he gets bonus points for honesty.  Although telling you exactly how he feels has never been Banner's issue, straightforwardness is not a bad thing, generally.

But there are a few problems here.  The first is the issue of competitor respect and billboard material.  Yes, this is a bit higher-brow than the typical "those punks got lucky and we'll own them from now on," but it's in the same vein.  Just say "one of the best" and nobody's feelings get hurt.

The second issue is that some people in the Eagles' front office clearly haven't learned the lesson of "gold standard" and "pedal to the metal."  If you want to back off the critics, stop giving them the rope to hang you with.

Still, that's not the biggest issue here.  What rankles most the first time you hear the comments is how much this reeks of blamestorming.  It's as if Banner's saying, "Hey, don't look at me, I put the best roster in the league on the field three times in the past seven years -- if those guys can't get it done, it's not because of Jeff or me."

But is that really fair?  Is that really what he was saying?  Actually, I don't think so.  Consider what follows:

"You get humbled over the years, but since I've been working in the league I don't think the best team has won the Super Bowl any year," Banner said. "You get a ball bouncing the wrong way, a bad call from the ref, a windy day when you plan to throw a lot. You lose once. Even if you get to the playoffs, and it's a year where most people would say you did really good, you don't feel satisfied. There are just too many things out of your control."

Does that sound like a guy saying the Eagles would have multiple championships by now if not for stupid Andy Reid or brittle old Donovan McNabb?  It sure doesn't to me.  It sounds much more as if it's part of the usual larger defense:

"I work for an owner, and my job is to apply his philosophy. He says that making money as the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles means nothing, it doesn't change his life. But winning a championship would be a thrill that would change his life forever. Executing that philosophy is our focus," Banner said. "As for the rest, we're big boys. Getting criticized for how the team performs comes with the territory. But I don't like criticism of our character, our integrity and our commitment to winning. I can't tell you that doesn't bother me."

He's not throwing guys under the bus.  He's simply defending his (and by extension, the owner's) team-building philosophy.  It's all part of that "we're not cheap" thing he's constantly going on about.

The real problem here isn't what Joe Banner is saying -- it's, well, Joe Banner.  This has been something of The Summer of Banner.  He's given more than one "State of the Eagles" sitdown with the local press.  He did that "Ask the President" serial video feature on PE.com.  We also heard about his charitable activities and what a good guy he is from people who don't really have an interest in helping the Eagles sell tickets.

Unfortunately for Banner, he's also the guy who put a minimal offer on the table for Dawk (and told him he could take it or leave it), got into a public pissing match with one of the team's most popular veterans, and was the organization's face in the argument over some money the Eagles owed the city for more than a decade. 

Banner has some stylistic issues, as well.  He's wicked smart in a town that prefers gruff or folksy.  When he's on defense, it's all trial lawyer, not economics professor.  And it clearly doesn't help that at least some of the reporters who filter him don't seem to like him all that much.

Combine his role as "the heavy" with how he talks, and the net effect every time he speaks to the press seems to be negative.  Sure, you could argue he does a good job taking heat away from his boss, but that's just an argument for letting him be the bearer of bad news, not the offseason face of the franchise.

Personally, I think Banner needs to be cut a bit more slack.  I've backed off the Lord Voldemort jokes the past few months not because they're not still funny (they are), but because they're kind of cheap.  He's an easy target when the team isn't doing well, so we all kind of take whacks at him.  Absent some direct evidence to the contrary, I've decided to just assume he's a good dude (who should never be handed a microphone) and leave it at that.

I do think, though, that Banner should consider whether or not he's serving the team's best interests by putting himself out there so much.  When it comes to generating controversies every time you speak, as a couple of smart dudes have pointed out, there's a word for doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Just Bad Luck I Guess

Tough break:

A Philadelphia man who says he was shot by NFL receiver Marvin Harrison last year remains in critical condition after being shot again.  Dwight Dixon was found shot multiple times in the city's Fairmount section late Tuesday morning ...

Investigators determined that a gun owned by Harrison was used in [the original] shooting. No charges were filed because authorities said there were conflicting accounts of who pulled the trigger.

And Now, A Word About Cycling

We're in that time of year where there's not much to say.  We've analyzed every acquisition (and non-acquisition) to death, we've dug deeply into the salary cap (thanks to shlynch Sam), and we've spent so much time digging into the stats NFL.com is thinking about charging me for bandwidth.

Things are about to perk up big time in the next day or so when FO releases PFP, but for now, it's a little, er, quiet.

Which leaves pretty much three options:

1. Make some lists.
2. Throw something inflammatory up just to incite some controversy.
3. Talk about something else.

In terms of what's already being covered by the competition, MTC is ably chronicling all the #1s out there and the Inky took care of #2 yesterday.  There's also a limited appetite for #3, obviously, since this is an Eagles blog.

All of which is to say, I'm about to write about Lance Armstrong.

I'm a bit of a Tour de France addict.  I'd wager I've watched about 80 percent of the stages raced this decade.  And that number was even higher before the last couple years, when it turned into "win a stage, get kicked out ... take the yellow jersey, get kicked out."

I'm not a cyclist, mind you.  I've never worn spandex in my life.  But Le Tour is a great sporting event, the commentary is outstanding, and notwithstanding the pharmacological enhancements it's a very pure sport.  Point A, Point B, who's the fastest.  In that way, it's even better than the Olympics, because the sheer distance means there's less randomness to the whole affair.  There are, as they say, rather large sample sizes at play here.

This year's Tour is fascinating for many reasons, not all of which have to do with Lance.  But clearly the number one storyline is what the Big Texan is going to be able to accomplish in his return and what that means for the prospects of the world's best rider -- who happens to be on his team.

I hate that American sportswriting always has to translate weirdsport into USspeak, but in this case the comparison can be made.  This is like Michael Jordan coming out of retirement, joining the Lakers, and having to coexist with Kobe -- with the kicker being that only the Finals MVP gets a trophy. 

Which is why I'm sad to say that I don't think there's much chance Lance is winning this thing.  As you've no doubt heard, he's within a hairsbreadth of first place right now, but unfortunately, I think that's the closest he's going to get. 

A lot of people are looking at yesterday's result as a sign that Armstrong is back.  And while it sure did look like Lance was doing a great deal of work yesterday, it shouldn't be forgotten that there are actually three other guys on his team who beat him in the initial prologue time trial.  They could have won that thing with or without him.

Ironically enough, the fact that Lance isn't in yellow right now is one reason I don't think he's going to have enough this time.  In the team time trial, the time of the fifth rider to cross the line becomes the official result.  If Astana's fifth rider had been just the tiniest bit faster, Lance would be in yellow right now.

Lance was the fifth rider.  And he was blowing at the end just to get there.

When Lance first started winning Tours, he was the best climber and the best time trialist in the field.  As he got older, he lost some of that climbing edge, and his victories became as much about good tactics and a great final time trial -- not to mention the implosion of some other top contenders.

If the prologue is any indication, Lance has finally lost his edge in the time trials as well.  That's not really a surprise -- the guy's 37 years old and has been retired for years -- but it means he's not going to be able to count on his showcase event to bail him out in the end.

The funny thing about Lance is that he's overcome so much, people just expect him to keep doing the impossible.  In that regard, a top ten finish in this Tour will seem like a disappointment (at least in the U.S.), rather than the incredible feat it actually would be. 

I actually think not winning will help Lance in some ways.  He's clearly a more popular guy in France these days, and if he shows he's human, it might cut through some of the old grievances and rebuild his image a bit in a part of the world where his accomplishments aren't really appreciated.

Now, of course, you can't completely rule out his chances.  A couple of major contenders were hurt badly by poor team performances yesterday, collar bones are fragile things, and since this is cycling, it will almost be more surprising if a GC contender isn't kicked out of the race for using PEDs.  If Lance hangs around for awhile, some late DQs could do some funny things. 

So yeah, I'm rooting for him just as hard as ever.  You never know.  But it's a little bit bittersweet that he's not riding in yellow the next three days.  Because by Friday, it might be clear that Lance in the "mellow johnny" is something we'll never see again.

One Day Of Basketball

Short of a World Series run, we don't generally give the other Philly sports their due around here, but I'm actually kind of intrigued by the Sixers and the draft tonight.  Obviously the Brand thing hasn't worked out great, but the Sixers seem to be doing a nice job of identifying talented players with those mid-teen picks you get saddled with every year as a team that just barely makes the playoffs.

That seems like a pretty impressive feat to me.  The bad teams can pick studs and the good teams generally are good because they already have one of those studs, so they can focus on complenetary players.  It's harder for the bunch in the middle to do anything all that productive.

So let's open the floor to you closet basketball fans (which, attendance figures notwithstanding, I think still exist). 

Questions:

1. Player you want to see them take tonight?
2. Other moves you'd like to see made?  (And no, I don't think they're going to find much interest in Brand.)
3. Any reason we should expect Eddie Jordan to take this team to new heights?  (Also, would it kill NBA.com to update his bio?  That's linked to from the Sixers page.)
4. Lastly, thoughts on the "new" logo?  Something tells me Gabe loves that 70s/80s look.

All The Off-Field Stuff

By this point we've all seen the new story, which follows closely on the heels of the other new story.  As much as I'm not comfortable talking about the Andrews thing, at least it relates to an actual member of the Eagles roster.  The other thing just sucks, it's sad and while I think we all feel bad for Andy, I'm not ready to go through another round of "here's what the fans think the coach should do with his life."

So I'm not going to be writing about that stuff.  Other people will / have to, so there will be plenty of places to have those discussions.  Gabe may even have his own take on it, so I'm not speaking for him. 

But for me, I get enough real life in real life.  On here, I'd rather talk about football.  So I'll be back a bit later this morning with a post on the Eagles' current forgotten man, which I'd hoped to post tonight, but seeing as how it currently sucks I'm holding off for a bit in the hopes that I'll magically wake up tomorrow with an understanding of how to make it suck less.

If that doesn't work, well, at least I warned you ahead of time.  Should be up by 10 ET either way.

A Tad Strange...

Little did I know that when I wrote yesterday's post, which included a longer version of a defense I've mounted a few times before, I was actually taking part in what seems to have been "Defend the Eagles Organization Day."

Somehow I missed this until tonight, but I have to say, this is one of the stranger op-ed pieces I've ever seen.  I have to be a little circumspect here, because this whole area hits a little close to home, but did philly.com really publish an op-ed written by someone who owns a PR firm that lists the Eagles -- among, it should be noted, many other local organizations and institutions -- as one of its "most recent" clients?

It's not like the writer isn't upfront about the whole thing: "I've worked with the Eagles off and on as a consultant for 15 years."  But you do have to wonder whether things are currently "off" or "on."

Obviously, I agree with most of the sentiments expressed in the piece.  But, man:  "They are our passion every autumn Sunday, and have touched us directly by reaching out to the communities where we live and work."

Of course that's positively Shakespearean in comparison to some of the comments.

Someone's Not Loving the "New" Inquirer

Caught this in the AM on the Inquirer's Penn State blog:

Are you loyal readers as sick of the Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma drama as I am?  Oh brother. Coach Joe Paterno has yet to announce when the pair of suspended players will return to the field (or are they the "previously suspended," since they returned to practice on Monday?).

Anyway, the whole situation has played out like an episode of CSI (or at least how I'd image an episode of CSI would play out since I don't watch the show).

Here's this morning's story on the topic.  Unfortunately, because of our shrinking newshole and the decision to post blog-type material in our newspaper instead of news, a good chunk of my story was chopped.  Here's what was missing...

Not That You Care

But I have DSean Jackson on my fantasy team and my opponent has Brian Westbrook.

Which means you just cost me 12 points, rookie.