Everything Is Golden

1985 was a good year, especially for sports. It was the year Former Phillie and Cincinnati Red Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb's all time hit record at 4, 191. 1985 also saw one of the biggest upsets in college basketball as the Villanova wildcats upset Patrick Ewing and the mighty Georgetown Hoyas to win the NCAA National Basketball Championship. "85" was also the last time the Temple Owls Football program strung together a four game win streak. It has been a work in progress, but it looks like things are finally starting to pan out for Head Coach Al Golden and the Temple Owls football program. Their recent win 27-13 win over Army has boosted their 2009 record to 4-2 overall and 4-0 in the Mac Conference and while I don’t and to jinx the Owls, they are actually on pace to earn a bowl bid.

Kudos to Owls head coach Al Golden and to the powers that be at Temple for not giving up on the football program. My advice now is to not give up on Golden and try to sign him to a long term deal.

Manuel Control

Charlie Manuel has faith in his players. Phillies fans are too quick to blame Fridays 2-1 NLCS loss on Charlie’s decision to pull Pedro after only 87 pitches, despite the fact Martinez was in a groove. As a matter of fact, Manuel has been second guessed since the 2009 play-offs began. For starters, everyone questioned his decision to start Cliff Lee in game one of the NLDS vs. Colorado, instead of last years World Series MVP Cole Hamels. How did that work out? Lee took a shutout into the ninth and went the distance as the Phillies beat the Rockies 5-1. As a matter of fact in two postseason starts, Lee posting a 1.10 ERA over 16 1/3 innings. Charlie has faith in his players.

Then there was the question of who would be playoff closer. No way could Charlie go with the enigmatic Brad Lidge, who raised the collective blood pressure of Phillies fans everywhere this season when he took the ball in the 9th. Weeeeeeeel, so far, Lidge 3 for 3 in the closer role this post season and has now converted 10 straight save chances in the playoffs while extended his scoreless innings streak in the postseason to 10 2-3. Charlie has faith in his players.

Now, the question prior to Fridays NLCS game 2 was whether or not Pedro should have been the starter and clearly Charlie once again made the right call. Martinez (7 innings, 2 hits, 3 strikeouts 0 runs allowed). So if Pedro was in such a groove, why take him out? Manuel said prior to the game he was looking for Martinez to give him between 75-95 pitches, which he did. Charlie made the switch because he has faith in his players, only this time his players let him down. A bad play by Chan Ho Park on a bunt, another throwing error by the usually solid Chase Utley and a bases loaded walk by J.A. Happ Three miscues that still could have happened with Pedro in the game. Charlie has faith in his players; we should have faith in Charlie.

20/20 Vision

That just didn't look right. After watching Brian Dawkins roam the Eagles secondary for the past decade in his customary midnight green and white number 20 jersey, it was a shock to the system last week to see B-Dawk in a Broncos uniform for the first time. However, despite the wardrobe change, Wolverine still getting it done, laying down the law and making opposing wide receivers think twice about catching that ball across the middle. At thirty-six, Dawkins is currently Denver's second leading tackler, behind linebacker DJ Williams and his leadership has been invaluable. Certainly no surprise to his fans back here in the Delaware Valley. As tough as it was to see him go, you and I both know that when the time comes Dawkins will retire as an Eagle.

Things We Take For Granted

Every day of our lives we take things for granted, some things more than others, but for me, it was a case of gross misconduct. You see, every weekend for the past 30 years it was right there in front of me and I never really gave it much thought, despite the fact it was a big part of who I was and what I did, both as a player and journalist. As a matter of fact it wasn't until recently that I finally figured it out. This year I'm the head coach of my youngest son’s 90 pound Pop Warner football team and one of the requirements of being the head coach is that on a given Wednesday night my staff and I are expected to line our home field and repaint all the end zones, numbers, coaches’ boxes, yard lines and hash marks. WHO KNEW! as a player the grass was always neatly cut and the field freshly painted when we arrived. We just showed up, dressed up and played on it. Well, as I spent several hours guiding the motorized painter around the field that night, I thought back to all the hard working people who used to do this for me and my teammates and gained a whole new respect for them. So with that in mind, thank you to all the grounds crews and care takers for their time and hard work spent prepping those football fields week in and week out during the season.

MTV & BET Lookout

This Summer I had the opportunity to be cast as an extra in a Music Video performed by my co-worker Tori Bella, a very talented, up and coming R&B artist. Check out her web site at http://www.toribella.net. The song titled Soul Brotha, is a 70's throwback rift. My part was that of fake director for the video, with some silhouetted dance scenes tossed in just for fun. Check out my four inch platform shoes, I used to wear those bad boys all the time back in the day Enjoy!