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Philly.com has a pretty fun little feature where you can see the gloves of all of the starters including pitchers Cole Hamels and Brett Myers.
Ryan Howard goes with Adidas while Jimmy Rollins (pictured) goes with the swoosh. Chase Utley's glove fittingly looks like it's from about 30 years ago.
>>Fits like a glove [Philly.com]
Every time you read one of those NFL draft articles that mentions the amazing combine performance by Mike Mamula, surely you think to yourself, "But what is Mamula doing these days?"
Since his six-year career concluded following the 2000 season, Mamula and his family have made their home on the Main Line and he is the co-owner of CSS Inc., an employment screening company in Voorhees, N.J.
"If you go for a job and you have to get a drug test and a background check, that's what my company does. We provide that service and we also do state contracts and things like that,"" said Mamula.
For a trip down memory lane, the Eagles official website has a short recap of his stint as an Eagle.
Lots of great highlights so far, but my favorite has to be Riley Cote dropping Andre Roy.
We picked two Philly teams to pull first-round upsets this year, and one to fall. We picked all three wrong, and Villanova has taken down 5 seed Clemson, 75-69. Jay Wright's boys were down by 12 at the half, but stormed back on the strength of good free throw shooting and hitting 50% of their field goals and 7 of 14 from beyond the arc.
Nova meets Siena next, a game in which they'll actually be the high seed; 13 seed Siena dropped 4 seed Vanderbilt earlier in the night. The winner of Villanova-Siena will likely face Kansas, but there's no need worrying about that now. Congrats to Wright and his team for flying under the radar and proving to be the only Big 5 team capable of advancing out of the first round this year.
Mike Richards & Co. finally solved goalie Steve Valiquette Friday night, after being shut out by the Rangers backup in the two previous contests. Richards opened the scoring with a sweet deke on Valiquette:
Continue reading "Flyers Blow Another 3rd Period Lead, But Win in Shootout" »
With time ticking down and St. Joe's dropping their first round match-up to Oklahoma, the region turns its tournament hopes to Villanova, who tips off with Clemson tonight at 9:50. We're not big 'Nova fans, so we'll turn this over to Chamomiles Davis of Fortress of Pillows, who hopes he can stay up late enough to see some ACC poon on camera. We don't know who'll win tonight, but Clemson definitely wins the Poon War.
We're still not tired of the AI love here at the Level, and we couldn't help but share this video package that TNT put together. Highlights include the shoes, kissing the Sixers logo, Iverson's mom on Philly, and even AI and Howard Eskin kissing and making up. After the jump, a fan's-eye view of Iverson taking the court.
Continue reading "Allen Iverson's Philly Return on TNT All Access" »
Just look how he treated this innocent Phillies fan:
The video quality is a little '90s, but we're pretty sure that's David Wright throwing a Phillies fan's t-shirt into the stands. [via Busted Coverage]
With the Flyers season rapidly coming to a close and some huge division games coming up, we again sat down with the guys at Rangerland.net to vent some frustrations and tell them how much we hate their team get their perspectives. This took
place over a few days, going back to last Sunday, which helps explain
the dated references and changing moods of the participants.
Rangerland: So, getting it started, the first question I have is an obvious one. What the f*** is going on down there? It must be frustrating times for you guys. The ten-game slide, the next 7 or 8 where they were really looking like they had put it together again, then the last few games, including that stinker today on NBC. Is this one on Billy Penn as well?
The 700 Level: I wish I knew. The easy answer is that injuries have decimated every aspect of the team but the goaltending. Mike Richards, Joffrey Lupul, Derian Hatcher, and of course Simon Gagne have all missed significant time, with their absences overlapping. Chemistry goes out the window when the lines have to constantly be shuffled, and I think the Flyers are lucky to be in the playoff hunt at all.
Continue reading "Blogging With the Enemy: Q&A With Rangerland.net" »
It's a tough morning for Temple fans, who yesterday saw Fran Dunphy's squad get dismantled by Michigan State. Nothing was falling for the Owls, who looked a little lost under the national spotlight, and MSU's defense was stifling. In any case, it was a milestone for Dunphy to even get them there this year, and there's plenty to be excited about in this team's future. As soon as the hang over wears off, that is... We hit up Campbell's Boat House in Media, which was a full-on Temple bar, with plenty of Dunphy's in attendance. Great times, despite the loss. Pic after the jump.
What else is going on? For starters:
•610 WIP is being mentioned on everything from the Huffington Post to CNN (and our favorite, Dan Gross), because Barack Obama used an unfortunate choice of words when he was on with Angelo & Co. [Mighty Dan Gross]
•Down the dial, Mike Missanelli is returning to Philly on the newly rebranded 950 ESPN.
•It's Good Friday, and WaWa's cookin breakfast with no hog.
•Leave Allen's mom alone. Seriously... [Hugging Harold Reynolds]
•St. Joe's and 'Nova look to do what Temple couldn't, and play the upsetters tonight.
•J. Weitzel brings us the good, the bad, and the uggos of spring training stats. [Beerleaguer]
•Duke was almost upset by 15 seed Belmont last night, needing a last-minute shot by Gerald Henderson to win it. Dana O'Neil has the coverage at ESPN. We miss her in Philly. [ESPN]
•Mark Rypien's cousin is an NHL enforcer. [Mr. Irrelevant]
•How many times do you think a Red Sox player says, "Now I know how Dice-K feels" before it gets totally old? Nothing builds team chemistry like 15 hour flights and Geisha girls. [Walkoff Walk] (Also, when I heard Iracane was starting a blog by this name, I was hoping it would be about male modeling.)
Continue reading "Friday Extras: WIP's Political Madness, Temple's March Sadness " »
We'd been speculating it might happen, but we've gotten word that it's official: Mike Missanelli is returning to the airwaves in Philly. As part of the big shake-up at 950 WPEN, Mike Missanelli will be taking over the afternoon drive time slot, with Jody MacDonald moving to 9am to 1pm and Mike Tirico's show on from 1pm to 3pm. We're big Jody Mac fans during the drive home, so Mike Miss has some considerable shoes to fill, but from what we know of him, that's the role he likes to be in. Missanelli will love being opposite Howard Eskin, and Jody Mac should bring some respectability to 950's mid-day programming, to say the least.
We were a little surprised to see Temple draw a lower seed than St. Joe's, but we loved picking them in to be one of our classic 12-5 upsets this year. Michigan State is no joke, and you can bet Tom Izzo's group will be ready to scrap today. We're taking a half day and heading to the bar to watch it all go down... March Madness in Philly!
A day after his return to Philly, all anyone is talking about is how much Allen Iverson has grown up, as evidenced by how much respect he showed to Philadelphia and the Sixers organization. Last night couldn't have gone better for Philly fans, especially since the Sixers won...
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images photo grabbed from ESPN.com. (h/t: Keith Pizzi)
Before Jon Lieber was signed by the Cubs this off-season, we were among many Phils fans wondering why he was good enough to be a part of last year's "new and improved" rotation, but not 2008's "holy shit I hope they can just keep us in this" back end. True he got hurt again last year, but Kris Benson didn't even play, and Lieber was going somewhere at a discount. So far this spring, he's 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, and he's even making new friends by destroying their property.
It seems Cubs strength coach Tim Buss was content to drive around in a POS 1995 Nissan Sentra, but the Cubs players weren't having it. They destroyed his car and left it in the parking lot for him to see. We're not sure if Lieber drove his truck over it, but as soon as Buss figured out it was a prank by the players, Lieber was the first guy he suspected.
After allowing the crap to settle in Buss's pants (this was, after all, his wife's car), the players pointed to a brand new Nissan Xterra that they'd bought for him.
We were glad to see Allen Iverson get a standing ovation when his name was announced before his first game back on Wednesday in Philly. AI defined basketball in this town, and even with the team's recent surge, most fans still really miss him. The feeling may be mutual, as Marc Zumoff says Iverson knelt down and kissed the Sixers logo at half court during warm-ups. Way to give him the respect he deserves, Sixers fans.
SR 950 in Philadelphia will now be known as 950 ESPN. We've received word that after today's morning show, Glenn Foley was fired. The morning show will be replaced with Mike & Mike effective April 1. No other changes have been announced yet, but we're hoping Jody Mac's show stays put. Could Mike Missanelli, an ESPN radio personality whose co-host might be dropped, return to Philly in some capacity? Now that would be an interesting twist. More details to follow as we get them.
Updates: We're hearing Jamie Yannacone is out too. Jody Mac is likely moving to mid-days, and the Mike Miss possibility might have some legs. Word is he told the class he teaches at St. Joe's—which normally meets at 6:15—that they'll be meeting at 7:15 starting April 1st. If true, we'll miss Jody on the drive home. Missanelli vs. Eskin would be pretty interesting though... (Interestingly, as of this posting, this is Missanelli's top Google hit)
I think everyone in Philly is fairly excited for the return of A.I. tonight, but how will he be treated? Is anyone rooting for the Nuggets?
We will find out in a few short hours.
Meanwhile, I would just like to note that anyone who steps into the Center tonight and boos A.I. needs to have their head examined. In my 28 years of watching basketball, I have never witnessed another human being give as much effort as Allen put forth on a nightly basis. I truly feel honored to have watched him in his prime.
So, Philly, I plead with you -- show Iverson the respect he deserves. Have him leave the game tonight with a whole new appreciation for the city. Because, honestly, I look forward to the day when an older, retired A.I. is being honored as a 76er.
All hail #3!
I've received word that Flyers goalie Antero Niittymaki saved the game, and quite possibly the season, last night vs. Atlanta with what hockey experts like myself like to call a "wicked pad save."
With under 10 seconds left in the third period, Atlanta hockey guy Kozlov saw a different hockey guy who also plays for Atlanta named Kovalchuk wide open in front of the hockey net and passed the hockey puck to him. Kovalchuk fired a wicked one-timer in the general vicinity of Flyers goalie Nittymaki, who stuck his hockey pad out to stop the hockey puck. Flyers win, 3-2.
Take THAT, hockey team from Atlanta!
Did you hear the news? Phillies backup catcher Chris Coste has a book out!
Starting today, you can head to Ye Olde Book Shoppe and pick up the cleverly titled, "The 33-Year-Old Rookie." And as always, along with a Random House book deal comes tiring promotion...
In an interview with Sam Alipour of ESPN's Page 2, Coste informed us on what allowed him to keep following his dream of playing with the Phillies:
No Plan B. Simple. Baseball is all I wanted to do. After college, I had no plans to get a real job.
That's a great lesson for all aspiring MLBers out there: If you want to play in the majors one day, DO NOT have a backup plan in place if you fail. And I totally agree, there is nothing more pathetic than "falling back" on a second career if you aren't talented enough to make it to the bigs. Because in the publics eyes, you will never be looked upon as a successful investment banker, just a failed-loser baseball player.
Get some confidence, stupid!
>> A player after Philadelphia's hearts [Page 2]
Tonight, Allen Iverson will make (what I assume to be) his triumphant return to the Watchovaya Center in front of a raucous, sold-out crowd.
In this morning's Inquirer, Phil Sheridan writes a semi-retrospective of A.I.'s career here in Philly and where his legacy stands now. It's definitely worth reading, but one particular blurb stood out to me:
But then there is the body count. To appease (or, if you prefer, get the most out of) Iverson while he was here, the Sixers bent themselves into every possible shape. The challenge of building around a 6-foot, "bony as hell" MVP and working around his singular philosophy about "practice" meant a lot of turnover over the years.
The body count:
Larry Hughes and Tim Thomas and Jerry Stackhouse, Theo Ratliff and Dikembe Mutombo, Toni Kukoc and Keith Van Horn, Derrick Coleman and Glenn Robinson and Chris Webber.
They brought in those guys to appease Iverson? Those players are -- for the most part -- garbage. If you take a quick look back at basically every championship team in the history of the NBA, you'll find two Hall of Famers.
Exactly zero of the aforementioned players fit that bill.
>> Phil Sheridan: Allen Iverson's complicated legacy [Inquirer]
More on A.I. later...
This was from a couple Saturdays ago when the Philthies were playing the Indians in a Spring Training game. MistaDobbalina, who is vying for playing time anywhere he can find it because of the Feliz acquisition, didn't help his cause when he dropped back to field a fly ball by Andy Gonzalez. Observe:
Footage provided by Cleveland's #1 source for sports and sexual promiscuity, the STD Network
The Phillies #5 hopeful Kris Benson showed up to the clubhouse yesterday carrying two live marmoset monkeys, which he recently purchased under the advice of wife, Anna. Here's one of 'em:
According to Daily News beat writer/monkey know-it-all, David Murphy,
[Marmosets] are small monkeys who live in the upper canopy of trees in Central and South America. The duo, which cost about $2,000 each, grow to be about 6 inches long and are legal to purchase in Florida.
Those crazy Bensons! It would be cute if they made a lil' Phillies hat & uniform to put on the monkey while he danced on the Jumbotron. Talk about a rally-starter!
>> Phillies notebook (4th item) [Daily News]
While your regularly scheduled bloggers are still out in the middle of the ocean somewhere wrapping up the last leg on their 4-day Star Trek cruise, I, Mike Milici of Bugs&Cranks non-fame, will serve as your 700 Leveler for the day.
As soon as I wipe the crusties from my eye and down this large Dunkin' Donuts coffee I will return with some Philly sports-centric news that'll blow your friggin' mind.
In the mean time, head over to WWTDD if you care to see Audrina Patridge from MTV's The Hills nekkid. Or don't. YOU DECIDE!
If you have any tips or if you just want to talk about what's bothering you, contact me by way of electronic-mail: meech.one@gmail.com
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A three-mile stretch of Interstate 95 was shut down early Tuesday, backing up commuter traffic for miles, as workers began emergency repairs on a 6-foot crack in a concrete pillar supporting the major corridor through the Northeast.
The construction work on I-95 has also slowed the site down today as well. Recommended diversions include the super hot Sixers or the continuing drama of the Phillies fifth man.
The site will be rather slow for the rest of the day, but feel free to threadjack the comments.
Ken Mandel is the Phillies beat reporter for MLB.com and he answered a bunch of questions in his latest mailbag, including one about the Phillies' new closer Brad Lidge:
Q. What song will Brad Lidge come out to? I think he should come out to "Wild Thing," like Charlie Sheen did as Rick Vaughn in "Major League." I'm surprised no one has done that yet.
-- Matthew N., St. Johnsville, N.Y.
A. Lidge said recently that he's leaning toward Drowning Pool's "Soldiers" over another of their songs, "Bodies." I'm not hip enough to be familiar with either song, but I heard them thanks to YouTube. "Soldiers" has sirens in the beginning, and could sound cool if it were blaring from the Citizens Bank Park speakers.
I can't imagine someone who once lost his closer job due to control problems ever using the song "Wild Thing", especially on a team that lost a World Series because of a walkoff home run off a pitcher nicknamed "Wild Thing". Matthew N, that's either a poorly crafted joke or the dumbest thing I've ever read on MLB.com. And that's saying a lot.
As for this Drowning Pool band, my associate Camp Tiger Claw tells me that "Bodies" is a nu metal song where the gentleman chants "Let the bodies hit the floor". I think I recall hearing this once at the Jersey Shore, blaring out of stereo speakers behind the Frog Bog. Classy.
Enrico emails me this tip from the beach, via the Los Angeles Times' coverage of UCLA wide receiver Brandon Breazell and his trials at the Bruins' pro-day workout:
Watching from the sideline, along with a gathering of agents and other spectators, was former UCLA receiver Freddie Mitchell, a first-round pick by Philadelphia in 2001...Mitchell, 29, thinks he still has something to offer an NFL team and said he's confident he can make a comeback. To that end, he spent a lot of time Thursday chatting with scouts. "Success is situational," he said. "The right coach can take an average receiver and put him in the Pro Bowl."
Freddie still blames his 'friendship' with Terrell Owens as the reason he was run out of town on a rail:
"Me and T.O. were the best of friends, and that hurt my relationship with Donovan," he said, referring to Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. "There were issues between me and Donovan."
He's halfway right. McNabb tends not to get along well with people who drop tons of passes and become substitute teachers in order to pick up underage girls.
Philly gal Michelle and her husband Carl made the trip down to Clearwater for some Phillies spring training fun. Here's what she had to say:
I saw a lot of Brett Myers during my recent trip to Clearwater to check out some Phillies games. Brett Myers posing for promotional photos, Brett Myers fishing in a creek alongside Brighthouse Networks Field, Brett Myers drinking a Coors Light in street clothes at Frenchy's Tiki Bar during the 6th inning of the Phillies loss to the Yankees... wait, what, did I see him pitch? Uh, that would be a big no. But I heard he's our starter opening day, and he's got a 1 point something ERA so, I'll take that!!
Just as a side note, I think he's trying to take over (Aaron) Rowand's role as clubhouse leader, he was acting like the freaking mayor of Brighthouse Networks Field, it just seems like (from the joke on Kyle Kendrick, etc) that he's doing it in an intimidating way, rather than as a true leader.
Thanks, Michelle! I hope he threw the fish back and didn't take it to a local restaurant to have it cooked up. And just to prove that she was there, here's a photo of her getting an autograph from Mr. Myers.
Just one week ago, the prospects of Philadelphia having even one team in the NCAA mens basketball tournament looked slim. Thanks to a reasonably tough schedule and possibly thanks to some sympathy from the selection committee, Villanova joined Atlantic 10 teams Temple and St. Joseph's in the Big Dance. Villanova earned a 12 seed in the Midwest portion of the bracket and will face 5 seed Clemson on Friday night. Here's what the Philadelphia Inquirer has to say:
In the end, the selection committee considered victories over Connecticut, Pittsburgh and West Virginia and a 7-4 mark down the stretch to cancel out losses to Rutgers and DePaul. Plus, as Wright pointed out, the Wildcats defeated the champions of the A-10 (Temple), Big East (Pitt) and Colonial (George Mason).
Also, don't forget the Villanova-Georgetown game during the regular season with the phantom foul on Hoya guard Jonathan Wallace by Nova frosh Corey Stokes. The selection committee would never admit it, but they certainly take these things into account when they place teams. Villanova had two 'quality losses' during the season, including the last second loss to NC State in the Old Spice Classic in December on another specious foul. Perhaps Virginia Tech needed a couple more 'quality losses' and it would have been the Hokies and not the Wildcats with that final at-large berth.
With Enrico and his partner Matt P. off on spring break, I'll be your guest blogger for today. In exchange for a corned beef sandwich and a pint of Smithwick's, I've agreed to put on my Eagles cap and throw a few posts your way. Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Rob Iracane and you may know me from such websites as my new baseball blog Walkoff Walk or from my current gig as comment guru at Deadspin. I'm a North Jersey native; my Philly connections are (1) my Nova alumnus sister who lives near the Art Museum and (b) my newfound Eagles fandom.
So if you have any interesting tips or ideas, send me an email at rob@walkoffwalk.com and I'll give you a sip of my beer.
Temple is back in the dance. Fran Dunphy's boys took down St. Joe's Saturday at Boardwalk Hall, earning them the A-10 Championship and the school's first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2001. TU will be a 12 seed and face 5 seed Michigan State on Thursday in Denver. You can bet I'll be picking the 12-5 upset here...
So much for no Big-5 teams making it to the tournament... St. Joe's was awarded an 11 seed, and they'll play 6 seed Oklahoma on Friday in Birmingham. How St. Joe's gets a higher seed than TU after losing to the Owls a day before is beyond me. Villanova was surprisingly selected as a 12 seed, playing 5 seed Clemson on Friday as well. March Madness is set to go off in Philly, and all is well in the college basketball world.
CBS bracket here.
Video of Temple's faithful storming the floor, courtesy of the great blog of the same name, after the jump.
Continue reading "Temple Grabs 12 Seed, St. Joe's and 'Nova Dancing Too " »
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