Theatre Exile presents a return engagement of The Philly Fan by Bruce Graham, starring Tom McCarthy, and directed by Joe Canuso. This one-man hit show is a hilarious romp through fifty years of Philly sports history as seen by a hard core fan used to watching sure-thing victories turn into “oh-my-God-they-blew-it” defeats. June 10-15 at The Playground at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom Street. Tickets are $25 - $50; call (215)922-4462 or visit www.ThePhillyFan.net.

I just got an anonymous tip that supposedly, a major motion picture will be filming extensively on Penn's campus this summer.

Click to find out which film!

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In promotion of the Richie Ashburn Documentary's April 22nd release, Mitchell and Ness is giving away 2 Retro Richie Ashburn Jerseys and some Harry Kalas signed DVDs. Click HERE to sign up.

Also posted at Huge Tiny Mistake

Your Philadelphia Phillies shortstop edged Colorado Rockie 353 votes to 336 in the closest vote in 16 years:

Enough so that even though Rollins' power numbers paled to runner-up Matt Holliday's, his home runs to third-place Prince Fielder's and his star power to fourth place David Wright's, 16 of the 32 voters cast ballots with his name in first place. Because Rollins had affixed his reputation to the success of his team, and that added enough value in voters' eyes to overcome any numerical differences.

Of course, it wasn't like Rollins was some slug getting by on reputation. His 139 runs and 88 extra-base hits set records for shortstops. Everyone made such a big deal of Curtis Granderson's 20-20-20-20 - doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases. Well, Rollins went 35-20-30-40 and set career highs in batting average at .296 and slugging percentage at .531. And he set a major league record with 716 at-bats.

Rollins, he of the pre-season proclamations, helped lead his team to the playoffs, same as Holliday.  He did it with both the stick and the glove.  Matt Holliday slugged his way to 2nd place with terrific overall numbers and insane numbers at home.  Rollins also benefited from cozy Citizens Bank Park. Hell, 1B Prince Fielder and 3B David Wright had great years as well...do what do the numbers (beyond the Triple Crown) say?

Click inside

OPS:

Rollins     .875

Holliday  1.012

Fielder    1.013

Wright    .963

VORP:

Rollins     66.1

Holliday   75

Fielder    69.1

Wright    81

EQA (adjusted for park and league):

Rollins     .290

Holliday  .318

Fielder    .323

Wright    .329

Runs Created:

Rollins      122

Holliday   125

Fielder     126

Wright     136

Win Shares

Rollins     28

Holliday  30

Fielder    28

Wright    34

Something surprising happened while checking these numbers out.  I found myself less and less enamored with Rollins' season.  Rollins' EQA also stood much lower than the rest of the pack.   Sure, he had good counting stats, and his team made the playoffs, but both of those had a lot to do with his teammates.  Being on the best offense in the NL certainly had a lot to do with getting to the plate so much.  Rollins DID set the all-time season at bat record with 716.  He also played great defense and was the 'spark plug' for said great offense.

But I'm not sure his great season at SS outshines the great season David Wright had at third base.  Wright led the league in Win Shares, VORP AND Runs Created, both stats that combined a lot of factors  Win Shares includes defense too.   He wasn't overally flashy, but he got things done.  He also played great in August and September, so you can't pin the Mets' collapse on him.   There's really no reason to select anyone else if you are looking at the same numbers I am.  David Wright was the NL's best player last season when you look at both the plate and the field.  Rollins was great, but Wright was even better.

Also posted at Huge Tiny Mistake

Friday, November 9, 2007
8am-5pm
PA Convention Center

The time has come for us to stop talking about the problems in our neighborhoods and start acting. This year’s conference is inspired by the community activists and youth leaders who work hard to make our neighborhoods places of opportunities where people excel, ideas grow and dreams are realized. By bringing together young people ages 14-21 and adults from around the region, we will begin to create real solutions to the many challenges in our communities. Workshops and interactive sessions will empower youth to effectively address the challenges they face everyday and enhance adults’ capacity to nurture the potential of every youth. We invite everyone, both youth and adults, interested in making a positive and lasting impact in their community to “Step Up!” and “Be the Change”.

**This year’s conference will feature an exciting keynote speech by Ephren W. Taylor, CEO of City Capital Corporation and the youngest African-American CEO of a publicly traded company ever!**

*The conference will also feature a lunchtime comedy performance by Philadelphia’s own Keith from Up Da Block!*

For more information, or to register, visit us online at www.greatsettlements.org or call Amanda at 215-925-7875.

News Item:
Rockies sweep Phillies

There it is... that 'S' word... sweep.

After an insane [and unexpected] run at the faltering Mets to take their division, the Phillies ran out of gas in the Mile High City, losing 3 games in a row. All the gory details are linked below.

Take heart though, sports fans, we still have the Eagles.
Oh wait... they're already 1 and 3.

News Source: Philly.com

Cartoon from Sid in the City

I went down to watch the fans down at Citizens Bank Park as the Rockies came to town to take on the hometown Phillies. Philly has some of the craziest fans in the country and I was wandering through them for about 90 minutes.

As you can see by the photo above, fans made all kinds of excuses to make it down for the 3p game. Unfortunately, the Phills didn't come out on top. But tomorrow, at 3p again, is another game. Let's see if the Phillies can bring a nice parade down Broad Street. This city needs it.

What did you think of the game? Were you there? Where'd you sit? What's going to happen in Game 2?

Click here to see the gallery of photos.

Cartoon from Sid in the City

News Item:
Wanted: One win

Final day of the season...
The Phils are tied for first...
It's do or die, and Hollywood couldn't have scripted it better.

A 12 game lead would have been nice though.

News Source: Philly.com

Cartoon from Sid in the City

What Do You Do After You Pray:
The Church's Response to Gun-Violence in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, PA – With more than 250 murders after the first half of 2007, the city once known as the City of Brotherly Love has instead quickly become known as Kill-a-delphia, forcing many residents to live and operate in fear as a result of the gun-violence inflicting the city.

On Saturday, August 25, 2007, Philly Koinonia Ministries (pronounced koy-no-NEE-yah) will organize its initial effort dealing with this problem, the "2007 Gun-drive and City Fellowship". This will be an outdoor effort beginning at 10 a.m. taking place at the Dorothy Emmanuel Recreation Center, located in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. To effectuate a change in our culture, we must not solely rely on the power of prayer, but also take responsibility with our actions to address the stronghold embattling our city; for our actions speak louder than our words. The organization identifies fear as the stronghold that simultaneously creates gun-violence, and results from gun-violence, and therefore will focus using this effort to present an understanding of God’s love to combat the stronghold of fear dwelling in this city as a result of gun violence; for God is love (1John 4:16) and in love there is no fear (1John 4:18).

In addition to the gun-drive (individuals will receive a gift card in exchange for their gun), this effort will also include an appearance by Mayoral Candidate Michael Nutter; messages given by local Pastors, such as: Bishop Keith W. Reed, Pastor Kevin M. Aiken, Pastor Chandra I. Williams, Pastor Daniel Sutton, Pastor Larry Anderson, Pastor Eric Mason, among others; performances by local choirs and other guest artists; and also a nonprofit/vendor area featuring more than 30 tables of advocates, businesses, and non-profit organizations that offer programs and services related to the focus of this effort.

For more information, please visit www.PhillyKoinonia.org.

Also posted at HTM

 During yesterday's game against the San Diego Padres were all treated to multiple mentions of the size of Petco Park by our main man behind the mic Chris Wheeler. In the interest of fun and just a little bit of malice, I am going to run a guessing game. So fellow fans, how many times will Wheels mention the size of the ballpark? "This ballpark is huge' , `look at the size of this ballpark', `you don't hit many homers in this field', or some facsimile of this phrase. Also acceptable are patent-pending Wheels chuckles or guffaws at deep flyouts being caught on the warning track. However, if he does a guffaw then a phrase, that is still only one mention. Each mention must be on a different play or plate appearance.

The fan closest to the actual number, over or under, will win a HUGE (like Safeco) T-Shirt courtesy of yours truly (other fine Wheels T-Shirts are available at Chris Wheeler Glossary.com). Make sure to leave a real email address in the comments section of this post so I can contact you. And if this is a complete failure, well I'll just keep the freaking shirt!  Or email me it at pacino@backshegoes.com

    * Friday 10:05 pm

    * Saturday 10:05 pm

    * Sunday 4:05 pm

And don't forget to play BINGO!

I came to the conclusion a couple weeks ago that constantly asking players like Chase Utley, Cole Hamels or Ryan Howard about the approaching specter of 10,000 franchise losses was a bit like asking a newborn about the structural integrity of a house built by his great grandfather. It was really a pointless question, apparently posed by sports journalists with little imagination or creativity.

Yet, as our boys faced off against a much more mediocre Cardinals team last night, they did so under an ESPN spotlight - just as they'd played a Fox Game of the Week a day earlier. At least ESPN seems to have gotten their money's worth. But was this really the best draw a network could think of for featuring a ballgame? And does anyone in Philadelphia really think the 124 year history of this club, no matter how futile, should continue to be part of the thought process of players who were born in an era where the franchise was, if anything, slightly less futile than its historic average?

Or is that just the sort of thing that makes us Philly fans?

Other local voices in the wake of the five-digit milestone include:

• Balls, Sticks & Stuff: 10,000
• I've Made a Huge Tiny Mistake: 10,000: A Meaningless Number
• Phillyist: 10,000
• The 700 Level: Phillies Get That Pesky 10,000th Loss Out of The Way

Last week the Philadelphia Phillies celebrated the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier in major league baseball. All of the Phillies players wore Robinson's number 42 to honor the anniversa. This is a far cry from how they celebrated the 10th anniversary of this occasion - by becoming the last National League team to field an African-American player. Move forward 50 years and the Phillies have moved forward somewhat. In a league where there are teams that don't have one African-American, two of their premier players and team leaders, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard are African-American. Their closer Tom Gordon is also African-American. They have also been one of the leading teams in working to bring baseball back to the inner city. With all this progress I wonder if it stops at the field. I wonder this because when I went to their website recently they were promoting their ballgirls (their term, not mine) and I noticed that out of 14 members, not one woman of color. How can this be in a city that is 43% African-American, that not one person on this squad is?

The Phillies and major league baseball have spoken about how they want more African-American customers and players, but you have to wonder, if we're not welcome as employees, should we support the team with our dollars. The thing to remember is that this squad is arbitrarily chosen and it makes sense to make sure that it is indicative of the city you represent.

As a fan of the Phillies, I'm going to hope that this is an oversite on their part. It's easy to overlook something like this. But I can promise you that I will be watching them closely when I do attend a game. Are the jobs for African-Americans only in concessions? What about management? The Phillies have never had an African-American manager - matter of fact, all of their managers and GMs have been as lily white as the 1947 Phillies were.

Makes you wonder if they truly get it.

Philly Sports Net - With the Phillies off to their worst start since 1982, manager Charlie Manuel is once again the focus of those who follow the team. To be accurate, he is always the focus of a certain segment of fans who assume that just because he will never win a debate on style points, he can’t possibly be capable of putting together a coherent thought. But with the team’s poor play and poorer results, additional attention is brought to Manuel, even by his usual supporters.

Manuel’s greatest support comes from the players on the team and the daily beat writers in the local media. Those two groups comprise the people that spend the most time with Manuel and know him best; they see the way he massages the egos of the players and have had enough conversations with him to know he is a kind baseball man that loves to talk hitting and wants to win. In other words, unlike his predecessor behind the managerial’s desk, he keeps things loose, and make no mistake, this is important.

His supporters are quick to point out that the one thing Manuel continually asked for this offseason was a stronger bullpen and while general manager Pat Gillick made many moves to (hopefully) fortify catcher, third base and the starting rotation, he did little to improve the bullpen, outside of the addition of some retreads.

Continue reading this article

NBC 10 has some video from last night's confrontation between Phillies manager Charlie Manuel and radio host Howard Eskin, and The 700 Level has a fairly complete recap of the the situation.

To be honest, when I heard Manuel had challenged Eskin to a fight, it did get my hopes up a little. Can you blame me? I think Charlie could take him.