Lamb and Sheep Trash Talk

Here we are in the Ides of December, and there is some Trash to be talked. Because someone accused me of not knowing or caring about the NBA in the last trash, let’s open with that.

The Phoenix Suns were once a model franchise, started and run by Jerry Colangelo. They never won a championship, but they were always pillars of the community, always competitive and the precursor of the Warriors as the consistently most fun team to watch. Then Colangelo sold the team to a banker jerk named Bob Sarver, who has proceeded to turn the once proud Suns into the worst team in the league, and a laughingstock in Phoenix and the NBA. He recently tried to arrogantly extort the city for improvements to the city owned arena, and that has not gone well. Last night was yet another humiliation as the Suns tried to execute a trade and didn’t even know who they were fucking trading for. Seriously, Bob Sarver makes former Clippers owner Donald Sterling look like a good owner. And the Lakers still suck. So there’s your NBA coverage for you.

I will add one more semi-NBA thing in here, because it is a seriously fantastic story. I can’t say I am close friends with Charles Barkley, but I have been around and talked to him numerous times, whether at the Suns Arena, in Scottsdale bars or the local grocery store (he lives not far away from me and, yeah, actually goes grocery shopping). He has always been nice, and pretty funny to talk to. But this story from a young lady whose late father stumbled into a truly deep and good, if unlikely, friendship with Chuck is just wonderful. Read it, you will be glad you did.

Okay, back to our staple of football. There are several small time bowl games today including The Air force Celebration Bowl (NC A&T v. Alcorn State), New Mexico Bowl (North Texas v. Utah State), Auto Nation bowl (Tulane v. Lousiana), Mitsubishi Las Vegas Bowl (Fresno State v. Arizona State), Raycom Camellia Bowl (Georgia Southern v. Eastern Michigan), and the R&L Carriers Bowl (Middle Tennessee v. Appalachian State). The only one that interests me is the Las Vegas Bowl with ASU in it at 3:30 pm EST on ABC. Fresno State is not a bad team, and it could be an interesting game.

In the pros, there are two Saturday games today. First up is Houston Texans at the Jets. I keep thinking the Jets Jets Jets are going to pull things together, but hard to see them stopping Deshaun Watson and the Texans, who are on a serious roll. The later game is Cleveland at Denver. Both teams have a thin hope for making the playoffs if they win out, but the loser here is done. Cleveland has really been playing better lately, and last 4-5 games, Baker Mayfield has been actually fairly impressive. Mile High tough venue though, even if the Broncos are a little beat up on defense. I’ll call it a tossup, but am rooting for the Brownies for a slight upset. The Chargers already edged out the Chefs (in Kansas City!!) in a thrilling Thursday night game. The Bolts came back from a 14 point deficit late in the 4th quarter and won by executing a 2 point conversion after a TD, with four seconds left on the clock. It was well worth staying up for.

In the Sunday games, Cowboys at Colts could be a pretty good game, but I’ll take Oliver Luck and the Colts at home. Packers at Bears in Soldier Field should be really interesting. Bears defense has the edge on a battered GB O-Line, but Aaron Rodger ain’t gonna roll over and this oldest of rivalries is always hard fought. Pats at Steelers is probably the best game of the day. Stillers are desperate for a win at this point, but the Pats are desperately trying to maintain a first round playoff bye. Both teams have been uncharacteristically inconsistent this year. That’s a tossup. Lastly, the Eagles at Rams is a must win for the Iggles, but hard to seem them pulling that off at this point.

Well, that’s it. Music today is courtesy of Punaise who made me remember a very old Blue Oyster Cult song from their first album way back in 1972. Enjoy I’m On The Lamb, But I Ain’t No Sheep, it truly rocks.

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60 replies
      • punaise says:

        The Barclay story is rather endearing, and her seems to be a decent guy.

        However, as a fairly dedicated Warriors fan since the dawn of the Curry era (and to a lesser degree way back to Run TMC era), I can remark that his anti-Warriors, anti-3 ball bias wore thin and got stale long ago, and he’s probably had to eat a healthy portion of crow based on their current success.

        I chalk it up to his TV persona provacateur schtick – not genuine animus. Hey, someone’s gotta do it.

        • BobCon says:

          Also he made so many shots bumping guys from close in, and the 3pt shot isn’t his style.

          Although I bet he would have done great in today’s game. The other side of the analytics focus that encourages three point shooters also encourages guys who can get high percentage shots close to the basket. He was a really versatile player, and probably would have created just as many matchup problems now as he did then.

    • bmaz says:

      Well, you know, the Lakers or Celtics they were not, but the Suns used to be a damn good franchise. Seeing them now is just heartbreaking.

      • BobCon says:

        I assume you’ve seen this story.

        https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/meet-the-90-year-old-who-dunked-on-robert-sarver-11071588

        It sounds like Sarver isn’t just cheap, which is understandable in an owner. I mean, it’s a bad business to be in if you’re cheap, but I can understand putting a cap on salaries and insisting that GMs stick to it.

        It also sounds like he’s a micromanager, which is the worst thing you can do if you’re not willing to spend. It’s terrible for owners to micromanage when they aren’t cheap too, but at least they’ll work on fixing problems and have a shot at actually winning something, at least through dumb luck. But cheap micromanagers always strangle their luck.

  1. Michael says:

    Thanks for sharing the Barkley story! As a fellow Phoenician it’s been so hard to watch the suns fall apart but Charles is a riot and brought enough joy for any sports fan even without a title!

    And thanks for all the great content! I can’t tell you how often I navigate here and smile just from knowing I’m not alone in Phoenix amidst the folks who brought the world SB-1070

    • bmaz says:

      Oh, not alone at all. I was at their first game ever as a very young kid, and had season tickets before, during, and after the Barkley years. Everybody was there, and a LOT of business got done at the games. It was the hottest ticket in town until Sarver took over and started killing the franchise. There were a couple of years still with Steve Nash, but it was just never the same.

      • michael j dee says:

        Not sure if this will show at bottom of list or a reply to BMAZ but very cool you were at the first suns game ever! I live just a few blocks from the “madhouse on mcdowell ” now days & get nostalgia often thinking of all the childhood memories their with my dad & brothers

        Couldn’t agree more about sarver, the barkely & nash era’s we’re special times to be a suns fan & I will never forgive that cheap loser for letting joe johnson walk when we were on the cusp of the valleys first title!

  2. punaise says:

    LOL, bmaz, I shoulda known that !

     

    The pen is indeed mightier than the sword, so don’t fear the rapier.

     

  3. Rapier says:

    The Bears game comes down to is it good Mitch or bad Mitch? I assume it will be Lucky Rodgers for the 163rd time. You would think  his luck would run out. He’s not really all that good.  Luckily for the nation however probably no playoffs for the Packers so Green Bay can return sooner with full concentration  to the purpose for which it was created. To make that crummy industrial grade TP.

  4. Pat Neomi says:

    I gotta say I’ve been super impressed by the Nuggets this year. They missed the playoffs by one game last year with one of the worst defenses in the league and have come back this year, somehow with essentially the same crew, to be one of the top defenses and currently on top of the western conference. I can understand bmaz’s frustration and apathy towards the nba with the suns doing what they are, though; I have been there with regards to the nuggets as well

      • AJCarbo says:

        The Bucks are the real deal, especially in the East. They play such smothering defense because of the unbelievable wing spans of their roster. It almost seems like a pre requisite to have stretch armstrong like arms. They are doing well despite Giannis not having advanced his 3 point game still. Thats why they have their center Lopez basically shoot nothing but 3s lol. They know if they have aspirations of beating the Warriors, they need to launch 3s at a historic rate. If Giannis ever figures out his 3 pt game, then you are looking at someone almost unstoppable. That and his free throw game.

        The Nuggets are another wild card, when healthy of course. Nikola Jokic is vastly under rated and his basketball IQ is off the charts. They literally run their offense thru Jokic their center. That is unheard if now a day. His passing is what I admire the most. There are clips of his passing IQ on youtube and I was really impressed. He is capable of a triple double every night. If they remajn healthy come playoff time, they could make a deep run if Murray and Harris and Co light it up from down town.

  5. Gerard Plourde says:

    From everything I’ve heard Charles Barkley is truly a good guy. He has many people who are fond of him here in Philadelphia.

  6. scribe says:

    Well, I see the unimportant games were left off the list-o-events: what used to be called I-AA has playoffs and they’re down to their final four. In this year’s iteration, South Dakota State v. North Dakota State and Maine v. Eastern Washington. These are all kids playing for the love of the game. It’s only rarely when one of them gets plucked to the NFL from small-college obscurity like some Hare Krishna getting grabbed by his ponytail to head up to Nirvana. All these schools are great stories. SDS gets to the playoffs every year and then runs headlong into NDS, who always win. Maine has never been this far in the playoffs and they’re playing for the memory of a teammate who died suddenly in preseason. Eastern Washington – who knows. As I write this, EW is leading 14-0 in the 1st. ESPN2, I’m told.

    I’ll dish some trash on the pros tomorrow, or later today, but Stillers-Cheaters is bound to be an interesting game. You’ll recall a few weeks back where one of the featured games was Giants-Redskins and I said something to the effect that an evenly matched pair of bad football teams can nonetheless provide entertaining football, especially when things go wrong like they do for bad football teams. I’m not willing to call either the Stillers or the Cheaters “bad”, though I’m frickin’ close to blowing a gasket when it comes to the Stillers not closing out games.

    More later.

  7. Peterr says:

    Last night was yet another humiliation as the Suns tried to execute a trade and didn’t even know who they were fucking trading for.

    Let’s review the resume . . .

    Pays no attention to the details.
    Blames others for his own mistakes.
    Lies about who he negotiated with, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

    Can you say “Robert Sarver, White House Chief of Staff”? Sure you can. All that’s missing from that resume is a quote from Sarver saying the glitch was because “They all look alike.”

    At this point, Mulvaney is probably just keeping the seat warm for Sarver, who has secretly agreed to take it once the Suns are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.  Given the Sun’s performance to date, I’d say sometime around Valentine’s Day looks about right.

  8. Wm. Boyce says:

    “Here we are in the Ides of December, …”

    A small correction. I too, thought that the 15th of every month is the “Ides” of the month but my language maven wife corrected me on that score:

     

    “Definition of ides 

    : the 15th day of March, May, July, or October or the 13th day of any other month in the ancient Roman calendar, broadly : this day and the seven days preceding it”
    (Merriam-Webster)

    Happy Holidays!

    • Eureka says:

      Upon reading this, I have worked up the temporary mnemonic MM JUL-O, sort of like LL Cool-J but for ides.  (The else-thirteenth part is easy for me to remember, it was always my #.)

      Anyone got anything better?

  9. Eureka says:

    That is a sweet friendship story, bmaz.

     

    So today it’s official that Wentz is out for the Rams, though they have been/are begin really cagey about his (future) status.  Just let the man heal.

    He is flying out with the team… of course a significant match-up anniversary for him (and for Foles to reappear).

    I’ve been noting here for a few weeks that I suspected a Foles return, that Wentz wasn’t moving ‘right,’ beyond the knee.  This long-brewing back complaint > detectable stress fracture might go towards explaining all that.  The word I had come to about his movement was ‘reticence.’

    This latest, plus the long IR list and the many playing-injureds have apparently revived concerns about Eagles’ medical staff, trainers-  and by former player whistle-blowers-  …lots of virtual ink spilling on those topics.

    I see in looking into the Wentz situation that one of the new headlines is ~~’Mike Groh has got to Mike Go’ or something like that.  Jim Schwartz getting a break this week, I guess.

  10. Eureka says:

    ew tweeted:

    “One thing I remember from reading piles of Czech samizdat was how powerful US jazz and rock was in fostering dissidents. Even ISIS has its rappers, which is probably, really, really smart. This may not work the way Poot wants.… ”
    Quoting
    Axios: “President Putin told cultural advisers on Saturday that rap music is “based on three pillars: sex, drugs and protest,” and that “if it is impossible to stop….we must lead it and direct it.”

    Let Putin meet RUN-DMC’s Rock Box and lose the lock
    (I love Eddie Martinez’ guitar on this)

  11. John B. says:

    The Suns are the only bad team in the West. Look how close the standings are right now with the 15th team only 5 1/2 games out of first. Insane. Someone had to be the worst team in the NBA. Worst than Cleveland.

  12. e.a.f. says:

    All those professional sports teams just remind me of circuses and they seem to have a lot of money coming from civic entities, which pay for the arenas. There is a lot of money tied up in these circuses and to what end? Hockey and Football have players who sustain head injuries from which there is no recovery. Baseball seems to be just another sport where people chase a white ball. What is most peculiar is that millions watch these games but most don’t play them. No wonder American is getting fatter and fatter. A waste of time, money, and energy. Oh, and those professional players and team owners, reminds me of slavery, they trade people??????? or they have “contracts” which force them to stay with one “owner”……..

    • Rapier says:

      That’s rational, even if poured on a bit thick, but sports fandom isn’t rational.  I’m sure a library could be filled with studies of the social psychological factors in play. To an uncomfortable degree political party affiliation shares many things with sports fandom.

      How crazy is sports fandom.  As a lifelong Cub fan, non fanatical mind you, I understood the stories of the old Cub  fans who died happy the night of their World Series win. How such a vicarious thing can be so emotionally cathartic is beyond knowing and reason.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xBxZGQ1dJk

      • Peterr says:

        Steve Goodman (also the composer of “The City of New Orleans”) died of leukemia in 1984, before he could see his beloved Cubs win the World Series.

      • bmaz says:

        For people like e.a.f. who poo poo sports fandom, what do they make of organized religion? I wonder where that line of thought gets off. Are dogs bad too? Should humans not like pets in addition to sports?

    • bmaz says:

      Absolutely killer song. I could hear that bass line and Buck Dharma guitar riff in my head in less than a second upon seeing your comment.

  13. Bay State Librul says:

    Miami set the table. Act II begins at 4:25PM today.
    Come Monday, Shaughnessy may be indicted for making false statements to the sporting public.
    “…there was so much joy across the nation last Sunday when the Patriots were the ones who looked like stooges at the end of a game. Not this week. Not against the Steelers. The Patriots are going to do what they always do to the Steelers. They are going to steal Pittsburgh’s lunch money. “Cheers” beats “This Is Us.’’ Every time”
    Then again, he could be King of the Day

  14. burnt says:

    This Phoenix arena story makes my blood pressure sky rocket. Every meal I eat at local restaurants has me sending money into Zygi Wilf’s pocket. Every cup of coffee I buy at my local bike shop puts money in Zygi’s pocket. It’s criminal–except it’s not.

    I’ve enjoyed watching Barkley since his Auburn days. So, bmaz I’ve heard that Sir Charles is closer to 6′-4″ than 6′-6″ is it true?

    • bmaz says:

      Honestly, no idea. He sure is not as tall as the quintessential NBA power forward, that is for sure. But man could he move and throw his weight around. Really amazing to watch. Everything cracked up to be, and more.

      • Michael says:

        And one of the best rebounders in the history of the game!

        How many others on that list could put the ball on the floor and lead the fast break like a PG after cleaning the glass?

        Barkley was legit and could’ve played in any era

  15. scribe says:

    It’s Sunday Funday! I told you I’d be back.

    Following up on yesterday’s abbreviated trash some interesting results. First, in I-AA South Dakota State lost to North Dakota State Friday night. No big surprise there – it’s the way it always turns out. As predictable as a Hallmark Channel Christmas Romance movie. Yesterday, Eastern Washington beat Maine by a lot, something like 50-19. The J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS nearly pulled off a whopper of an upset on Houston. But, really folks, these are the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS. It’s not in them to do that. It never is.

    Eureka kindly went to Steeler Fury to see what exactly it was that I linked to last week
    https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/12/08/late-trash-is-better-than-no-trash-at-all/#comment-762621
    For those of you who missed it:
    http://steelerfury.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=424552#p424552
    Imagine 40 pages of comments like that. Really.

    The comment immediately upthread which Eureka referenced:
    “My nine year old son is in tears watching this shit. They keep finding atrocious ways to lose ball games.”

    And one more upthread:
    “Tomlin and co. have sucked all the joy out of being a Steeler fan.

    “I now root for the most stubbornly and intentionally dumb team in the league.

    “I dont fucking care anymore.

    Yup.

    There once was a time, near the end of Chuck Noll’s career, when the Stillers’ starting QB was some guy named Bubby Brister. Wore #6, which I took at the time to mean he was maybe half the QB Bradshaw (#12) was. Sadly my prediction/analysis turned out correct.

    As an aside, it seems when I predict debacle or disaster it comes out that way, but not when I predict success. And never when I have money riding on the outcome.

    I bring up ol’ Bubby because the other morning ESPN was running some NFL-produced panegyric to John Elway, memorializing his first Super Bowl win (over the then-young, later-Ageless Gunslinger Favre, incomplete on 4th and more-than-10 to end the game). At the end of the game when all were jumping around Elway, just before the “I’m goin’ to Disney World” live on-field commercial, there was ol’ Bubby. Recognized him because the best side of his jersey had his name on it.

    In and out of the frame, as quickly as that scene of Gronk wearing a Minion hat, on a Duck Boat, chugging Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey (favorite of ice fishermen and people looking for a foul drunk everywhere) during a Patsies’ Super Bowl victory parade. You’ve gotta watch closely – it’s right as the credits start to roll. I think that might have been the last Brister sighting.

    I’m starting to feel that way about this Stillers’ team. There for a while they had welded themselves into a pretty formidable unit. And then Bad Teammate Bell ran out of stalls and x-ed out his entire season. After the teammates cleaned out his locker, it seems like what cohesion this team had disappeared. And, joy-sucking, stubbornly and intentionally dumb Tomlin being a “player’s coach” has no team-building tools to fall back on.

    Unlike, say, Cheatin’ Bill, from whom the mere mention that “some didn’t do their job” strikes career-ender fear through the entire locker room, even to Biebs.

    FWIW, they might have earned the distinction of being Cheatin’ Bill and the Cheating Cheaters of Cheatertown, but to pull off that kind of stunt for years on end requires swift and certain remedial discipline. You don’t get to be a Boss by being a “player’s coach”. Tony Soprano said “no more fires!” And there were no more fires. Tomlin is all about “hey, we’ll show up and play guys.” All he’s managed to do over the years is piss away the best years of one of the top 3 QBs in Stiller history (the other 2 being Bradshaw and John Unitas, who the Stillers cut in the pre-Noll era). Bluntly, the Patsies have owned the Stillers, not losing to them since 2011.

    That’s a long, long stretch, especially when the games feature two of the top QBs and receiving units in the game. Fact is, Cheatin’ Bill owns Tomlin.

    One of the commenters on Stiller Fury mentioned a pissed-off Biebs and Co laying a 50-burger on the Stillers. I can see that happening. A radio guy this morning was talking about how Gronk’s feelings were hurt by all the mockery Gimpy Gronk took this week for trying to tackle that Dolphin on the receiving end of the Last Lateral. Let’s face it: Gronk is going on done. His days as a golden retriever in the body of a human crash-test dummy are just about done. But he’s still got his pride, some skills, and Josh Gordon (who has, quite remarkably, broken up with Sister Mary Jane since coming over to play for Tony Soprano) to draw defenders. And Gordon has Gronk to draw defenders. And Secret Squirrel Edelman and his beard have everyone to draw the defenders so he can do a slant to 6 inches past the first-down marker. Again.
    Note to groomers. Some people can grow beards and some not. Some who can should, and others should not. I will put Edelman in the pile marked “can and should”. Compare, e.g., Robert Bork, who should have listened when told to get a shave: “should not”. I think Biebs is in the “can’t” pile. Does that make him less manly? Ask Giselle.

    The one nice thing about this football season drawing to a close painful to this Stillers fan is that I can watch other sports without feeling guilty. The other night, a wonderful game between the Penguins and Bruins highlighted by superb goaltending by some Pen I’d not heard of before (deSmith) (a no-goal where the puck was lying on his logo and shot in after the whistle at about 3:10 of this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z62eaZmXWLo ) and another insane no-look backhand flip piece of stickwork by Sidney Crosby (at about 2:00 of this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z62eaZmXWLo ). From the Bruins Homers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83xQfq6qO64 They could not but respect deSmith’s performance.

    In other news, we now know why the Iggles have been playing as lamely as they have. In addition to a still-gimpy knee Carson Wentz has a broken back. He’ll be out today in favor of Nick Foles. I say shut Wentz down for the season. There’s no point in risking an injury like his getting worse. While I highlighted last week the amazing progress Ryan Shazier has made since being paralyzed in a game last year, that’s the exception and not the rule. AFAIK, Shazier’s injury was soft-tissue only. I heard discussed at the time it may have been something called a spinal concussion, the spinal cord analog to a regular head injury concussion, and something that can be worked through and heal (more or less) over time. Wentz’s injury, OTOH, is a broken bone. I remember watching live on TV Jet Dennis Byrd crippled for life. Even though he got the best of treatment, he barely can walk. Back when I was doing plaintiff’s PI I second-chaired a trial where the plaintiff had a non-displaced spinal fracture incurred at the same time as an injury to the cervical muscles. It was a vehicle accident where he’d been tossed around inside. Post-accident while his muscles were sore and consequently tense, they held the fractured bone in place. When the muscular tension released, several days later, the bone fragments moved relative to one another and the spinal cord, leaving that young man paralyzed from C7 on down. Be safe, not sorry. Wentz to IR. This Iggles team is not going to make a playoff run. Even if it did, it’d hit the Rams, Saints or both, head-on, and come to a flying halt somewhere short of the Super Bowl.

    Getting back to the Iggles, there was a lot of talk in Philly after the Super Bowl to the tune of “now’s the best time to trade Foles … his value will never be higher.” I guess we can all see the wisdom of passing on that trade. It would indeed be ironic if Chip Kelly’s designating Nick Foles the Future Of The Franchise actually came to be … true. But that roundabout way is how the Football Gods work sometimes. This week is a replay of the Rams game last year, where Wentz’s ACL took its beating. I pick the blue-and-gold.

    It was gratifying to see Ezekiel Elliot fined for lowering his head to make contact. This is more weight in the pans of the Football Gods’ scales, for when they come to decide whether Jerry gets to see another Lombardi during this life. Fuck Dallas.

    I’m calling it now – the NFC Championship game will be Drew Fookin’ Brees v. Jared Goff (someone get that guy a better name, OK?). As for the AFC, who knows.

    I’m about tapped out. Debating whether to make another kind of Christmas cookie or to just let it pass. I have to wrap presents for shipping, write cards, the whole rigamarole. Don’t get me wrong – I love Christmas. And I’m the only person on my block with an antique, screaming pink, blown glass flamingo ornament on the tree. Which is reason enough to break it out and decorate. I like birds on my tree – symbologically a representation of joy – so I have cardinals, chickadees, owls, peacocks, bluebirds, orioles, you name the bird. And the flamingo. If you saw how many other ornaments I have, many heirloom, many antique, many of which have not seen the light of the tree in some years, you’d be amazed. Mrs. Trump has little on me, despite going for the fashion-forward red trees this year. I’ll stick with the green artificial one, if only because I set mine up in a corner of the house which is as far from a door outside as possible and I don’t want to be cleaning up needles all winter. That and the people who groom the real trees make them so fat at the bottom there’s no room left in the living room when putting one up. Especially when one considers my ceiling is a 10 footer. But it’s been a bit of a strange year and I’m just not feeling it, yet. I do think I’ll pack a box of cookies for EW, though. The ones I make, very few other people do and most of those who do, I know.

  16. Jockobadger says:

    Scribe, Really great writing. Thank you. Just like virtually everything posted here on ew.  I do have a bone to pick, though:

    The problem is that my beloved Seahawks (UW Huskies also beloved) are going to blow up the NFC from the wildcard seat ala Raiders/Ravens/Stillers of old.

    Its a chestnut, but true, that superior defense and running game win championships. Exotic passing offenses look cool, and work ok in the reg season, but against a good defense, well, we all know what inevitably happens. Try Brees v. Wilson.

    Removing tinfoil hat now. Thanks to all of you.

     

     

  17. Ern says:

    Heard an interview with Scott Brooks on sports radio a few months ago.  He said, after practice, Charles would drag him to a grocery store.  Charles would buy sacks and sacks of groceries, drive to the poor part of town, and hand them out to people that needed them.  Pretty cool.

  18. Eureka says:

    So the end turned into a nail-biter (until it wasn’t, lol) but Stillers got it done!  (Was maintaining respectful cone of silence- would love to hear scribe drag Cheatin’ Bill’s pre-halftime ‘marching orders’.)

    Off to Iggles pre-game I go!

    non-sequitor PS: I wonder how Wentz has felt playing in a stadium with a statue of Pederson and Foles out front?…perhaps mildly demoralizing. (Those damn Bud Light commercials are reminding me of this.)

    • scribe says:

      All Wentz has to do is look at his Super Bowl ring and all his misgivings or bad feelings, to the extent any exist, will fade away.

      Philly Special.

  19. scribe says:

    Well, that was one hell of a game.

    The Stillers’ D was … Stiller-like.  Helped by the Cheaters’ occasional dumb penalties, coming at just the inopportune time.

    I have to tell you, the last 2 minutes, with Biebs having the ball, I “watched” lot of it in front of the TV, my face to the wall and my eyes closed.  At least between plays.  And all of it standing.  Can’t sit for that.

    I dunno about you, but this was really emotionally wrenching for me.  I’ve seen the Stillers lose time and again.  Silly penalties, bad calls, catches that weren’t catches, implosions on offense, imposions on defense, bad turnovers.  You name it and the Stillers have lost to the Patsies that way, going back 7 frickin’ years.  A year or two ago that 4th and 1 going for it and then no we’re not while we switch teams and substitute in the punt team as the play clock winds down stunt would have discombobulated the Stillers for the rest of the game.  This year, they shrugged it off.

    As it stands now, the Stillers host the Chargers in the first round of the playoffs, 4th slot in the standings, a half game back of  … the Cheating Cheaters of Cheatertown.

    And that Samuels guy (#38) – he’s going to give James Conner a run for playing time.  A crushing ground game and a set of receivers who may be the best in the league.

    I get the feeling these teams will meet again this year.  I look forward to it.

  20. Eureka says:

    that was the most stressful five minutes in recent memory

    YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

    Add: yes they got a little tired as 4th went on, but you have to grant me that was overall, for most of the game, some hot Eagles play.

  21. Alan says:

    As a Patriots fan I don’t normally have to do this, BUT… could I kindly request that your Eagles beat the Texans next week to put the Patriots back in the driver’s seat for the #2 seed?  Thank you much.

  22. scribe says:

    I think the Iggles DGAS about the Pats and their precious bye; the level of entitlement the Pats evince when it comes to playoff seeding is just sick. The Iggles, OTOH, have to win out (and, IIRC, get some help) if they are to make the playoffs.
    But, given their creaky old bones, the Pats will need every minute of rest and treatment they can get to get anywhere in the playoffs. Especially since their current 3 seed has them playing a very hot Baltimore team with a fleet-footed slash/QB.

  23. Eureka says:

    The Iggles, OTOH, have to win out (and, IIRC, get some help)

    Yes, for the most plausible route, and the Panthers’ loss to the Saints just now helped the lesser angle of that calculus.  Main issue is Vikings have to lose one (or lose both if the Eagles lose one).  ? vs. Da Bears in 2w…

    Or- exploring all of my Festivus Miracle options- perhaps ew’s Kittehs take out the Viks next week.

    I’ve already aired most of my grievances.

     

    On Eagles Post Game Live last night, Barrett Brooks was asked to recall his Stillers wildcard XL win.  Later, he said he wanted to see temps in the 20s at the Linc for the Texans.  I had already checked the forecast:  mid-40s.

    • Eureka says:

      *poor phrasing in my opener:  they need to win out (or nearly so in scenario I just gave) with assistance regardless; I was just focused on more plausible route.

  24. Eureka says:

    Update: Since looking at the Seahawks’ schedule (Chiefs, *Cards*), I’m requesting an extended 8 days of (bookended) miracles, and promise extra feats of strength in return.

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