Tom Gordon Has A 135.00 ERA

Well, it was a rainy, crappy day out for Opening Day and the Phils pitching looked quite crappy. Brett Myers had a rough first outing, going 5 innings while giving up 4 runs, and Ryan Madson also gave up 2 runs via a homer in only one inning of work. It wasn’t a pretty day for baseball.

However, it was Tom Gordon that took the prize for worst pitcher in the world home today. Gordon, whose 40-year old arm arm is being held together by a thread, didn’t exactly look like he was in mid-season form. Or maybe he was, and that’s the scary thing. The 9th inning saw Mr. Gordon enter the game and take control of the outcome of the first game of the season. He gave up a single to Lastings Milledge but then got Ryan Zimmerman to fly out to right field. Then came Nick Johnson to to double in Milledge and break the 6-6 tie for good. The Nationals piled on after that by cranking out 3 more doubles and 4 more runs to put the game away at 11-6.

There is one positive to come out of this news. Gordon’s ridiculous line to open the 2008 campaign is worrisome but it’s not like he’s in a vital role in the bullpen where he comes into high-pressure situations…oh crap.

Norm Duke Wins Your 65th U.S. Open

Norm Duke, holder of 27 previous career PBA titles, struck his way to a 28th and his first ever US Open championship when he defeated Major Mika Koivuniemi 224-216.  Duke looked amazing on an incredibly tough pattern, and under some tough personal circumstances as he buried his grandfather just this past Thursday.  Just take Duke’s word for it:

“This format, this grind… it’s why so few people can actually win this event,” Duke said. “There are probably 25 people out here who can actually win this. It’s why Pete (Weber) has won it four times. Now after 27 years of dreaming, it means everything to my career.”

The best bowlers wins.  Period.  There’s no room for error, it’s all about shot-making and spare-shooting, and there are very few big scores. A 207 average qualified one for the top 24.  Christ.

Here’s how the final four broke down:

Pos.		Name, hometown		Total/Games		Money
1.		Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla.		725 (3 games)		$100,000
2.		Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich.		216 (1 game)		$50,000
3.		Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio		245 (1 game)		$25,000
4.		Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y.		160 (1 game)		$13,00

Boy Meets World Mondays!!!

Remember the time the gang was in college and Eric and Jack met a couple of real witches?!  AND I MEAN REAL!!! I DO I DO

Another Adam Eaton Gem

                                 IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
  PHILADELPHIA
 A Eaton (L,0-3)                4 2-3  11   7   7   2   1   1

Seriously? This guy is the Phillies 5th starter going into the season? Again? Please. Just no. Hell, go with 4 starters…for real.

It’s a great idea. We have several arms in the bullpen that can go multiple innings and we have a disgustingly wretched 5th starter in Adam Eaton. The man hurts the team and is simply one of the worst pitchers in professional baseball, as I’ve written about before. Sure, he *could* be considered an innings-eater. If he was eating those innings with a 4.5 ERA that would be one thing. But a 6+ ERA? He’s not eating innings; he’s blowing them up.

Hell, I almost forgot the money quote from our boy Eaton, said after this past game:

“I maybe stayed hard too much with cutters and fastballs,” said Eaton, who concluded the spring with a 7.41 ERA, allowing 14 runs over 17 innings. “You have to give them credit. They have a good lineup and they hit some pretty good pitches today.”

No comment necessary.

There’s only one reason that this guy is still around. Actually, make that 16 million reasons. Yes folks, Adam Eaton is due 8 million a year for the next two years. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the misery of two more years of Adam Eaton. I don’t root for players to get hurt since that would be uncouth. However, I wouldn’t exactly be crying into my pillow if Eaton suddenly went down with a season-ending injury. Paying him 8 million to do nothing is a much better option than paying him 8 million to pitch 30 games a year.

Andre Miller Is Handing Out 18 Dimes

Your Philadelphia 76ers put a hurtin’ on the Chicago Bulls last night, easily winning 121-99.  They never trailed and scored 91 points by the end of the 3rd quarter and put on cruise control for the 4th and final quarter.  And  your point guard Andre Miller?  Well, he had himself quite a night despite scoring only 2 buckets.  He accumulated 18 assists to the likes of Thad Young (20 pts), Lou Williams (23 pts) and Andre Iguodala (21 pts).  Here’s his take:

 “These young guys can get up and down, so it makes my job easier just to throw the ball ahead and let them make a play,” Miller said.

So true.  30 points came off the fastbreak tonight, and that’s a usual  occurrence with this team.   The emergence of Thad Young has really made this team into a running offense.  And this transformation has helped the Sixers win 19 of their last 24 games.  Wow.  No team in the NBA is hotter from what I can tell.  If they keep this up going into the playoffs there’s no telling what they can do in the playoffs.  Right now they’re half a game behind the Washington Wizards for the 5th playoff spot, and this is quite important because if they sneak into the 5th spot they would then play the Cleveland Cavaliers instead of Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.  Howard has been dominant against the Sixers and has controlled the glass and the defensive paint.  Facing the Cavs would give the Sixers a heck of a chance to win a series in the playoffs.

That Jerkface Chris Webber Is Retiring

The man just attempted a ‘comeback’ with the Golden State Warriors, signing at the beginning of February, and now he’s going back into retirement.  It’s due to his bum knee.  He realized he couldn’t, you know move or jump, and the Warriors didn’t really have much use for a basketball player that can’t play anymore.  3.9 points, 3.6 boards, and 2 assists a game is how Webber’s line looks…hilarious.  This guy stole money from the Sixers.  I’m glad he’s finally done.  He’s not a bad guy, he just pouts.

Hillary Clinton Forgot What Happened, OOPS

She seems to have forgotten what actually happened back in Bosnia, when she braved sniper fire to hug little girls and listen to Sheryl Crow and Sinbad.
Hillary Clinton, this is your life:

All signs point to righthander Adam Eaton as the fifth starter.

*sigh*

Boy Meets World Mondays!!!

Remember the time the gang were involved with a quiz show?!?!?! AND THEY WERE GOOD?!  BUT IT GOT DUMBER AND DUMBER?! I DO I DO

Stephen Colbert Wants You To Donate Money To PA Teachers

Our main man Stephen Colbert recently challenged his viewers to donate money on behalf of their favorite Democratic candidate (Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton) which would then go to buy supplies and such for Pennsylvania teachers.  GO DO IT, IF YOU’VE GOT THE BALLS:

The Philadelphia 76ers Just Hit .500

Your Philadelphia 76ers  up and defeated the Denver Nuggets 115-113, ruining the return of Allen Iverson to his former stomping grounds. Iverson, for his part, scored 32 points and had 8 dimes, while the Sixers were led by Andre Miller with 28 points and 12 assists.  The two guards were both hitting their shots tonight and all over the court, but the Sixers got more help off the bench (Sixers bench had 30 to the Nuggets’ 16).  Sammy Dalembert also had a terrific night, scoring 17, grabbing 12 boards and swatting 5 shots to help contribute to this win.

It was good to see Allen playing in the Wachovia Center, even if it was as a Nugget.  He looked just as good as ever on the offensive side of things, and was nothing special on defense except for playing the passing lanes well.   His ability to drive to the basket was matched by his increased shooting accuracy.  I was happy to see the Sixers win, of course, but was also glad to see Allen get his.

This win propelled the Sixers to .500 for the first time since November 7th.  These guys are on FIRE, having won 4 straigh and, 8 of 9 in March.  Not bad, not bad at all.  They’re really hitting their stride at a good time, and only the Houston Rockets, who just had their 22 game win streak snapped by the Boston Celtics, are hotter right now.  The Sixers are currently holding onto the 7 seed and are only half a game out of the 6 spot.  They could give a team like the Orlando Magic a run for their money, provided they do all they can to contain Dwight Howard.

GO SIXERS!

The Barack Obama Speech

‘A More Perfect Union’

Colbert Report In Philadelphia Already Sold Out!

It was just announced yesterday and yet it’s already freakin’ sold out! April 14th to 17th is gonna be freakin’ sweet.

The Philadelphia Inquirer Doesn’t Believe In The American Commerce Center

Joseph N. DiStefano, accomplished business reporter for the Philly Inquirer, recently pooh-poohed the proposal of the American Commerce Center:

   A 1,500-foot tower at 18th and Arch?
With no known financing, no office tenant, a weak credit market, and 20 years of stagnant Center City commercial property markets?
“Ridiculous,” says Glenn Blumenfeld, a partner at office-tenant representative Tactix Real Estate Advisors in Radnor.
“A dream,” says David J. Campoli, regional manager for office landlord HRPT Properties Trust.
But someone drew up a nice sketch, and someone else told a pleasant story, and you can read it here.
“Everybody would love to see it. And it’s the last good block of space in that neighborhood. But, until you have a tenant, and with the capital markets so jittery, I think we have to let it cook for awhile,” said  H. Hetherington Smith, branch manager for tenant rep Studley.

Yeah, so he’s no fan.  He also wrote in a comment that it’s largelly an ‘exercise in architectual drawing and in hype, and I’m happy to give Phillyskyline.com and the Business Journal the glory for that. ‘  Well, except that Walnut Street Capital is financing the project, and while they haven’t released financing for it yet, there’s no doubt that they have the ability to back this thing.

I would also argue that many a building has been proposed and come to fruition without initially telling the public about how it will be built. It’s also not a pie in the sky proposal in regards to vacany rates (getting lower and lower every year) and premium office space (Comcast Center and Cira Center have not overloaded the market to the point where there is any sort of glut).  Sure, one has to be cautious in going too far to say it’s a done deal, but it’s far from a ‘dream’, especially with how business has picked up in the central business district in the past 10 years.

Boy Meets World Mondays!!!

OMGZ  Remember the time Shawn and Jennifer were having a rocky relationship and Cory was in the middle of things, or so Jennifer thought!  SO THEN CORY AND SHAWN HAD TO HANG OUT BEHIND HER BACK!!!!