Denver's jerseys are close, but the Eagles 75th Anniversary uniforms are the closest thing the NFL has to Wolverine's costume

The future of Brian Dawkins has already been written…

In Marvel comic books.

Before we go into the future of Dawkins, here’s what the Eagles front office had to say about the departure of the best Eagle I ever had the honor of witnessing play in my lifetime.

Jeffrey Lurie:

Brian Dawkins has been one of the pillars of this franchise for 13 years. He helped lead us to five NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl. Brian embodies everything you look for in a professional athlete and human being. I have been fortunate to witness his impeccable character, his passion for the game of football and his commitment to being the best player he could be. I look forward to continuing a close relationship with him once his playing days are over. His legacy as an Eagle will last forever and will ultimately land him in Canton as a Hall of Famer.

Andy Reid:

Brian is one of the best players in franchise history and one of the most popular players to ever play in the city of Philadelphia. The Eagles organization, as well as the entire fan base, will miss him not only as a player but as a tremendous person. This is the toughest part of my job, no question. He gave this city 13 years of emotional, energetic football. We wish Brian and his family nothing but the best as he continues his career in Denver.

Hopefully Dawkins won't go down as painfully as Weapon X

But back to the future of Dawkins.

Weapon X still can use his fists (claws) with the best of them, but his fumble-causing tackle/punches won’t work if he can’t get within reach of opponents.  If B Dawk can’t stay on the field on passing downs it’s going to be hard for him to be the leader that Denver expected when they signed him, plus his heart doesn’t seem to be fully committed to Denver.

Dawkins unfamiliarity with the new system in Denver will expose his weaknesses, just like Magnito exposed Wolverine.  It’s going to be hard to watch when it happens too, just like it was hard to watch Magneto use his magnetic powers to rip Wolverine’s metal skeleton out of his body back in the day.

Although Dawk will survive, his sense of indestructibility will be severely damaged.  Weapon X will never be the same, and neither will the Eagles.

Still a ways to go, but if it started today...

Yes.

But as a Sixers fan, it’s hard not to with the way the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoffs seem to be shaping up.  Dwyane Wade and the young Heat are only two games ahead of the Sixers for the fifth spot in the East.  The benefits of having the fifth spot over their current sixth seeding are clear, it’s a matter of playing the Atlanta Hawks (6 games ahead of the Sixers) or Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs.

Going up against Orlando (aka Dwight Howard) would mean an immediate exit from the playoffs.  The Sixers have a much better chance hanging with the Hawks in the first round.  Even though Atlanta is a more talented and complete team than the 76ers, their inconsistent play leaves them open for an opportunistic team like ours.

With a lucky 13 games left in the season, the Sixers have a legitimate shot to steal the fifth seed in the East and have a chance to make it to the second round of the playoffs.  Not bad for a team whose $82 million dollar free agent signing played only 29 games and averaged 13.8 points/game.

The Sixers are back home tonight against the Timberwolves, and need to win the easy ones as they play Cleveland twice and Boston once in these final games.

Maybe instead of getting injured, one of Wade’s infamous “marijuana sex parties” will get busted up by the police.  His immediate suspension would give the Sixers the opportunity to gain on Miami’s two game lead for the 5 seed.

In these uncertain times, the Phillies have been a ray of light through the clouds.

After the unforgettable World Series Championship run, personnel changes and injury concerns have cast some uncertainty on the prospect of a return to the World Series.  However, a few recent developments have me thinking that the Phillies are going to have every opportunity to succeed next season:

• Chase Utley hits a pre-season homerun- When Utley had hip surgery in late November, I really wasn’t expecting that he would be back to full strength at the start of the ‘09 season.  Yesterday’s home run and three RBIs in a 7-6 win over the Blue Jays showed that Utley can at least move around a little bit.  Chase is an incredibly consistent player, and it now appears clear that he will be able to work himself into a groove throughout the season (*cough*MVP).
• Cole Hamels pickes 3 innings of shut-out baseball - In the minors.  But who cares, no pain/swelling/tightness in the elbow can’t be a bad thing.  Hamels threw 48 pitches, although his fastball was only reaching 82-86 mph per Ruben Amaro Jr.  The health of his elbow is directly linked to the Phillies success in ‘09, so this story will not go away any time soon.  Pitching coach Rich Dubee said it best:  “[Wednesday] will be the tell-tale story, how he responds after pitching today. but today was definitely a positive.”
• J.A. Happ steps up his bid for the 5th starter spot- Happ was the consensus SOB nation pick for the Phillies 5th starter spot, grabbing 41% of the vote.  J.A. had a strong outing in a 8-3 routing of the Yankees on Sunday, giving up only two runs in five innings.  The contest for the job is still very much up in the air, and yesterday Chan Ho Park threw four innings of mediocre baseball in his first game back since tweaking his hammy.  I’m rooting for Happ to win the spot, but Park as well as recently minored Kyle Kendrick may end up playing a role in ‘09.

Yesterday was a good day for the Phillies two best players, both of which returning from worrisome injury.  As it now stands they look poised to start the season off strong, something the Phillies don’t often do.

Baseball’s preseason means absolutely nothing, and has no bearing on how a team performs over the neverending baseball season.  Health is the only thing that matters, and they seem to be improving in that regard.  The Phillies found lightning in a bottle last year, and for everything to fall into place like it did then again this year may be asking too much.  However, the Phils still have to be looked at as one of the more talented teams in the NL, and the recent improvements in health have the sun shining on their outlook in ‘09.

(World Phucking Champions)

I think they call that the Huck-a-Buck

Oh my dear sweet God, finally we have a fullback.  The Eagles have addressed their most obvious need of the off-season, inking former Seahawk Leonard Weaver to a one year deal.  Assuming that the 2010 season is uncapped, Weaver will be looking to improve in every facet of the game and prove he should be a big money guy.

Leonard Weaver’s role in the offense of ‘09 is unclear.  Last season, the Eagles fullback position was a joke, and epitomized the arrogance of the Eagles front office (again thinking they were smarter than everyone else and a DT could play FB).  Having such a glaring weakness at fullback must have had some type of impact on the way Andy Reid uses the position, and the Eagles frequently ran out of the singleback.

Signing Weaver definitely changes things in the Eagles backfield, and hopefully he isn’t the final backfield addition.  Assuming the Eagles draft a running back, touches may be limited, but then again with the current wide receiver core I hope we’ll be seeing a new-age three-headed monster early and often.

Click here to see why Leonard Weaver improves the Eagles offense.

Knuble and the Flyers exercised some of their Devils against New Jersey on Monday

It was yet another great night to be a Flyers fan. They came out and put together 60 quality minutes of hockey. They took on a Devils team that leads the conference and managed to pull out the all important win. The game was intense right from the start. Bodies were flying everywhere and the goaltending was spectacular. The Devils opened up the scoring at 9:42 of the first period when Brendan Shanahan scored his fifth of the year on a pass from Dainius Zubrus. The goal was not impressive and bounced off of Shanahan’s skate. The Flyers answered with the period winding down. At 15:57 of the first, Daniel Briere scored on the power play. The pass came from Kimmo Timonen who had 2 helpers on the night. The period ended with the teams knotted at 1.

In the second period it was the Flyers who struck first. Mike Knuble scored on yet another power play. They assist went to Daniel Briere, who had himself a fantastic game. The Flyers carried much of the play but were unable to stop Jamie Langenbrunner from tying the game with a power play goal of his own. He scored at 9:58 of the second period. The score stayed the same for the remainder of the period and both teams went to the locker room to get ready for what was a fantastic third period.

In the third it was all Flyers. Jeff Carted scored his 40th goal of the season just 55 seconds into the third period. The goal was another power play goal and again it was Timonen with the assist. Gagne got himself a goal at 3:01 of the third on a brilliant feed from Claude Giroux. This was all it would take to bury the Devils. The Flyers were able to keep the Devils of the scoreboard in the third and walked away with a 4-2 win. This is the teams 3rd straight win and they look to continue their fine play on Thursday when they face off against the Florida Panthers.

Sunday afternoon showcased a rival that continues to grow every year. The game had everything you would expect. The hitting was huge; there was plenty of scoring and some fantastic goaltending. The first period was a for the most part equally contested with Martin Biron playing some of his best hockey. He stopped everything that came his way in the period and looked sharp. Simon Gagne opened up the scoring with a power play goal at 5:19 of the opening stanza. He did so with assists from Mike Knuble and Claude Giroux. That was the only scoring in the period and the Flyers took the early 1-0 lead into the locker room.

The second period was more of the same. Both teams looked sharp and goaltender Martin Biron stopped every shot he faced. The Flyers were able to put an early goal on the board at 2:54 of the second period when Scott Hartnell deflected a Jeff Carter pass off his skate and into the net. The period ended with the Flyers leading 2-0.

In the third the Flyers continued to play sound defense and they were again able to score a goal. Pittsburg made the game interesting when Kris Letang scored a power play goal that cut the Flyers lead in half at 10:02 of the third period. That would be all the scoring the Penguins would have. At 19:32 of the third Darroll Powe put the puck in the empty net and sealed the deal for the Flyers. The win put the Flyers 2 points ahead of Pittsburg, who entered the game tied for fourth with the Flyers.

Tune in tonight when the Flyers take on there biggest rivals, the New Jersey Devils. The Devils are on fire lately and look to make the Flyers road to the playoffs difficult.

Post Game Quotes:

“Obviously, (the power play) was big tonight,” said Philadelphia coach John Stevens. “It goes us an early lead, which I thought was important. The penalty kill (also) did an outstanding job.”

“(Daniel Briere) made a good play going wide, fed (Carter), and I don’t know if he tried to shoot it or if he knew I was backdoor and had my stick and my skates kind of angled toward the net and was able to find my skate and go in,” Hartnell said. “I definitely didn’t kick it, so it was a big relief when (the referee) pointed to center ice.”

“The referee didn’t see it,” Gonchar said. “But he cross-checked me, so I punched him.”

“I thought we did a pretty good job carrying the play for most of the game,” Crosby said. “Unfortunately we couldnt execute, but that happens sometimes against a good team. Well just move on.”

“That’s pretty good, you know, to face the top two scorers in the league and keep them to the outside, keep them from shooting the puck,” Hartnell said.

“It’s the regular season; the playoffs are a different beast,” Biron said. “We were tight in the standings, so this was a big game.”

Daaaamn Kobe! Who stepped on your face? Andre IIIIgg-gwwaaa-DALA-Dala-dala?

Andre Iguodala just out-Kobed Kobe Bryant, hitting the game winning 3-pointer as time ran out in the 4th quarter.

The 76ers pulled out a close win tonight, 94-93 against the Lakers to maintain the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference.

After coming out old soda flat early in the game, the Sixers stuck around with the lethargic Lakers.  The line-up of Iggy, Miller, Reggie Evans, Lou Williams and Donyell Marshall closed out the game, and Marshall’s 3 for 3 3’s were key.  Scoring was pretty spread out, and DiLeo did a nice job of rotating in players in situations and got the most out of everyone.

Iguodala really showed me something in the final minute of the game.  With under a minute left, Lou Williams declined the check back to Andre Miller with a fresh shot clock on offense and he and took it to the rim only to get blocked by Gasol.  As the Sixers ran back to defend, Andre was visibility upset with Lou, clapping in his face.  Kobe then hit a long 2 in right in front of AI with six seconds remaining.  AI D’ed up tough, but Kobe will hit that clutch shot regardless, whether he had 9 points in the game prior to that or 59.

But for the last shot of the game, Iggy was able to get open to get the inbound pass, dribble twice, and knock down the game winning three pointer right in Trevor Ariza’s eye.

After the game, Iguodala said “coach told me to get to the lane, and I said NO.  I want to win this game right now” in his immediate post-game interview.  And he was right, who wants to go into overtime in LA?  The man stepped up, and proved once again why he is the core of the franchise.

I’m enjoying this late-night basketball and there is more in store, as this was the first game in a five game west coast road trip.

Forget WRs, Defense Wins Championships

Although the Eagles haven’t been as flashy in Free Agency as many would have liked, they have added two potential starters at positions of need.  Stacy Andrews will contribute if healthy somewhere along the yet-to-be-determined new-look offensive line.  Sean Jones will be hitting on special teams and will have a chance to compete for a starting Safety spot.  Even with these solid moves, it sure seems like a lot of work remains to be done.

With over $40 million in open cap space and 12 total draft picks in April (including two 1st rounders and metric ton of 5th round picks), the Eagles have more flexibility to improve their roster than any team in the NFL.  Maybe that’s why we are all so anxious to be a part of the action.

This team still has a lot of room for improvement, and the glare from the window of opportunity closing is blinding.  I for one think the time to take the Eagles to the next level is now, and some of the stereotypical Eagles front office conservatism should be thrown to the wind.

Click here to read all the Eagles Free Agency News, including interest in Leonard Weaver, Jason Peters and Julius Peppers

We're praying for you too, Donte'

This week’s SOB of the Week proves just how versatile the honor can be.  First, Jeffery Lurie was honored in anger and disgust when he allowed Dawkins to walk.  Then in a more jestful move, Terrell Owens was named the SOB of the Week for getting cut from the Dallas Cowboys not more than 12 months after signing a lucrative contract extension.  This week’s SOB of the Week honoree gets the nod solely based on a f*cked up, life-altering mistake.

Early on Saturday morning, former Eagle and current Cleveland Brown Donte’ Stallworth hit a Miami Beach pedestrian with his Bentley, resulting in the death of a 59-year old man.  This is clearly no laughing matter, and we send our heart-felt condolences out to the family of the victims, as well as Stallworth and his family.  We wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

It looks like Donte’ is going to face real charges in this case, vehicular manslaughter at the least, and prosecutes are still awaiting blood-test results which may lead to a DUI charge.  From the looks of things right now, it’s Stallworth will be charged with DUI manslaughter, and a source close to the investigation claim that Stallworth admitted to drinking at least four Patrons and two Margaritas that fateful night.  The illustrious Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com informs me that under Florida Statutes, DUI manslaughter is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

What makes Stallworth’s actions so SOB-worthy is the fact that Donte’ received a $4.75 million fully guaranteed roster bonus on the Friday 3/14, and this tragedy occurred Saturday 3/15 at 7:00am.  If you just got $4.75 million deposited into your checking account, do you get drunk that night?  Hell yea.  Do you pay for a designated driver?  Hell yea (Oops).

One of the biggest problems I see with professional football players, and why they seem to get in so much trouble recently, is their perceived sense of immortality.   From driving drunk, to sneaking guns in the club, to fighting with cops, these horrifically rich NFL players need to get it through their heads that they don’t need to handle these things for themselves.  Just hire a driver, security guard and lawyer, then sit back and throw some one’s on the ladies.

Maybe newly elected NFL Player’s Union head DeMaurice Smith’s first order of business can be establishing the Official NFL Limousine and Security Service.  I nominate hard-hitting, fast-moving former RB Jim Brown to head this new branch of the NFLPA.

Should the Eagles try to trade for Cutler? Yes. Will they? Nope.

Jay Cutler has told the Broncos that he wants to be traded after the Bronocos management handled trade offers for him about as horribly as they could possibly have. Without getting into the soap opera that is going on in Denver, I asked you SOB Nation, should the Eagles try and trade for Cutler? I’m going to say I think they should.

• Cutler is Only 25. First off, Cutler is only 25 years old and is just entering the prime of his career.  McNabb is seven years older and is reaching the age where he could start declining fast.
• Cutler was better than McNabb in 2008. Cutler’s numbers in 2008 were better than McNabb’s in almost every category except interceptions.  The one major negative with Cutler’s game right now is his turnovers.  He threw 18 interceptions in ‘08 - McNabb’s never thrown nearly that many in any single season in his entire career.  On the other hand, McNabb has never come anywhere close to the 4,526 yards Cutler threw for in 2008 either.  Cutler’s 7.4 yards/completion average looks pretty nice as well considering McNabb has only had two seasons in his career with a higher y/c.
• McNabb doesn’t really want to be here. McNabb hasn’t come out and said it, but his actions this off-season are speaking louder than words.  Donovan is still pissed he was benched against Baltimore - even though he was playing some god-awful football during that stretch.  Even people in the media have hinted that the benching still has McNabb upset that there has to at least be a little fire for all of the smoke.  McNabb’s never truly embraced this city and to be fair, the city has never fully embraced him either.   His relationship with the fans is sort of like those parents who stay together for their kids sake and then get divorced as soon as the kids are all grown up.
• The Eagles window opens up quite a bit with a young QB. The mythical window gets talked about all of the time, but if the Eagles were to trade for Cutler, the entire starting offensive line, QB, TE, and one wide receiver would be under the age of 27.
• We have the cap space to make it happen. With all of the cap space that the Eagles have been busy not using this off-season, the Eagles have the cap room to be able to take on his 6 year, $48 mil deal and still have plenty of cap space left to not use on free agents.
• McNabb actually makes sense for Denver. Denver apparently feels they are a few players away from being a contender with all of their FA signings (I tend to disagree), and acquiring a QB like McNabb with some picks might be enticing for the Broncos.  Not many teams would be able to give the Broncos as established of a QB as the Eagles could.

There are also plenty of reasons not to pursue Cutler - his turnover problems, medical concerns (diabetes), his attitude, etc; but if McNabb isn’t happy and wants out of Philly, is there any better possibilities for the Eagles at QB beside Cutler?   Just for kicks.  If the Eagles could somehow manage to trade for both Cutler and Boldin by using both first rounders, would anyone really be upset?  It’s becoming more and more clear that there won’t be any elite left tackles left when we pick at #21 so why not?

I don’t expect to see the Eagles pursue Cutler or even think about it much.  If word were to leak that the Eagles were interested in Cutler and they ended up not getting him could you imagine the damage it would do to #5’s fragile pyche?