Nick Punto Shows His Shortstopian Skills

Ex-Philadelphia Phillie and local phan phavorite Nick Punto made the highlight reel this week with a sweet play on a chopper off the Metrodome Astroturf. Check it:



Can't teach that, folks. That's just Pure Punto right there.

Phillies' Alumni Checklist

So the Phils tanked another game tonight and pretty much initiated the process of letting the wheels fall off in their annual playoff collapse. So I thought I'd reminisce a moment and think about some of the great alumni of Phils' years past.

It just so happens that at the last Phils game I attended, I, along with every other fan, received a free pack of cards to celebrate the Phils' alumni that would be honored before the game. The first card is the "Phillies Alumni Checklist" and has a list of these players, in this order:

• Robin Roberts: Hall of Famer; great start to the list
  
• Tony Taylor: played 19 years in the Majors, had a respectable career
• Dick Allen: had a great career for the Phils and with several other teams; borderline Hall of Fame potential
• Dallas Green: coached the Phils to the 1980 World Series championship; classic "baseball guy"
• Mike Schmidt: Hall of Famer, say no more
• Steve Carlton: Hall of Famer, a little wacky, but unbelievable career
• Garry Maddox: enjoyed a successful 11 years in a Phils uniform, good all around guy
• Greg Luzinski: "The Bull" was a memorable character who could hit the ball to China
• Dave Hollins: umm, okay, he had his moments, but isn't there any other alumni they could drag out to this event?
• Rico Brogna: Rico Brogna? Rico Brogna! The Phils have been around for 125+ years and he was the best they could do for an alumni ceremony? He seems like a nice guy and put together a few decent at-bats and has a great name and all, but... wow.

OK, so much for reminiscing. How much longer till Eagles' season starts??

Arkansas Fred Goes Wireless

Wireless Philadelphia, an initiative organized by controversial Philadelphia Mayor John Street, announced that it has named a new member to its board... none other than "Arkansas" Fred Barnett of Philadelphia Eagles fame.

Barnett, who racked up over 5,000 yards and scored 32 TDs while playing for the Eagles (1990-1995) and Miami (1996-1997), apparently is quietly active in the Philadelphia community as he also handles public relations and fund-raising for the Institute for the Development of African-American Youth in Philly, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sounds like a hard-working and dedicated man who is definitely doing good things for the city.

Now for some more good things about Mr. Barnett...

• In two playoff games in which he had more than 100 receiving yards per game, the Eagles won both games by a combined score of 94-57. In the two games he caught for less than 100 yards each, the Iggles lost by a combined score of 64-21.
  
• One of the most memorable plays in Birds' history was his 95 yard catch against the Buffalo Bills in 1990, thrown by the seemingly unsackable Randall Cunningham. (Editor's note: that play has to go down as one of the league's top plays of all time, right?) Simply amazing.
  
• Here's a good article from 2005 about Fred's life.

I'll end this by saying, wired or wireless, Fred Barnett will always have a place in Eagles' fans hearts... and now, apparently, computers.

WE ARE... ONE G?

According to Penn State's student newspaper, The Collegian, season football tickets for students sold out in a mere 59 minutes earlier this year; and subsequently to buy a ticket online to see Penn State battle with Notre Dame could run you about $1,100.

Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to be at any Penn State game this year (or any year for that matter), particularly to see the Fighting Irish, but I'll happily enjoy the game from the comfort and low-cost couch at home.

Go Lions!

Looking for Eagles' Season Tickets? Just Hang in There...

For those of my fellow diehard Eagles fans who have a yearning to own a season ticket, you may have to wait a little while to obtain them.

As a matter of fact, if you recently put your name on the waiting list to be eligible to purchase a ticket, then according to various sources such as this AOL Sports article you will have to wait approximately 4,000 years to obatin one.

So good luck in getting one and give me a call in 6007 when you get your Iggles tixx in the mail. (Hopefully the Birds will have won a a Super Bowl by then...)

You Otta-watch the Phils Triple-A Squad

In case you were busy doing other things, like watching the Sixers sit idle at the free agent table or catching the latest injury update at Eagles' training camp, the Phils Triple-A Ottawa Lynx team is suffering through this season with a record of 46-72, a mere 21 1/2 games out of first place. Youch.

On the bright side, there is much to be hopeful for in the way of future entries into the Phillies' Classic Names of Fame, as found on the Lynx' roster, such as:

• Our old buddies Eude Brito, Yoel Hernandez, and Fabio Castro
  
• Dusty Wathan, son of former Royal John Wathan
• Bubba Nelson, who may be drunk in this photo
• Gookie Dawkins (real name Travis, no apparent relation to Mookie Wilson)

So while there's not much hope in the way of winning as far as the Lynx go this year, at least we have some great names in the waiting.

Age Old Saga: Phillies and Playoffs, Can the Twain Meet?

Well the age old saga that is weighing heavily on Philadelphians' minds these days is, once again, "Can the Philadelphia Phillies make it to the playoffs?"

While any Phils' fan wants the team to win a World Series, it's been a frustratingly long time since the Phightins last made the playoffs. 1993 seems to ring a bell. Indeed, it seems the twain never meet.

One statistically-minded sports fan has built an entire web site called SportsClubStats.com to determine the chances of any given team's likelihood to make the playoffs at any given time. As we speak, the site has the Phillies' chances of making the playoffs at 23.2%, which will obviously fluctuate depending on when you read it. The site is updated regularly.

Well, 23% is a decent chance, but for better or worse, statistics don't play baseball. Real people do. With 52 games left to play, let's see what these Phils can accomplish. If history is on our side, it'll be another long offseason.

(Then again, history doesn't play baseball...)

Ricky Watters Rumor Mill

I just got back from a lovely honeymoon in Aruba. While there I received word from a reliable couple that stayed in the same resort as I did that the famous (or perhaps infamous?) Ricky Watters, the former Philadelphia Eagle, got married at our resort, the Divi Aruba Phoenix Beach Resort this past week. If this rumor is true, congrats Mr. Watters! Many happy years to you and your new bride.

On a side note, no word on whether or not he replied to the officiant's question of "Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" with "For who, for what?"

Sorry, just had to take that easy one there.