Who doesn't love barbecued chicken?

Chris Bosh may hate the once beloved food. After Shaq, now known as Shaqtus, OWNED the Toronto Raptors Forward in a 133 - 113 Phoenix Suns win last week, some words between the two have been exchanged.

Angry at the officials for a lack of 3 - second lane violations called, Bosh claims the Big Shaqtus cheated in route to his 45 point night:

"He was just camping down in the lane. I mean, if they're not calling
three seconds -- I thought it was a rule, but I guess not."

After that same game, unaware of what Bosh had stated yet, Shaq gave yet another "Shaqtastic" response:

"I'm the only player who looks at each and every center (in
the NBA) and says to myself, 'That’s barbecued chicken down there.'"

Wait! There's more. In retaliation to Bosh's comment, Shaq gives this instant "Top 10 Shaq Comments":

"I heard what Chris Bosh said, and that's strong words coming from the RuPaul of big men. I'm going to do the same thing (in their next meeting) I did before - make him quit. Make 'em quit and complain. It's what I do."

The Suns and Raptors won't play again this season . . . unless they make the championship series. I'm guessing we'll just have to wait till next season to see a Shaq vs Bosh re-match.

This will all blow over by then, I'm sure. Still vintage Shaquille O'Neal.

Dawkins' loss feels as real as a death in the family . . .

Before a major purchase, most people tend to take a few days to mull things over. You contemplate important questions such as "Is this the right move for me?", "Will I regret this if I pull the trigger too quickly?", or maybe even "Who could I potentially hurt by doing this?" Okay, that last question might be a bit of a stretch when thinking about the situation at hand, but in the case of Brian Dawkins (B-Dawk) that last question should have applied moreso than any other question racing through his mind.

After 13 passionate seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles, Strong Safety Brian Dawkins parted ways with Philly by signing a deal worth 5 years and $17 million with $7.2 million guaranteed. Also, the deal has a termination clause after 2 years. If Dawkins is to be cut by the Broncos after his first 2 years there, Dawk would then be entitled to $1.8 million.

But to focus back on these questions which we should tend to ask ourselves before making such a big move, I question the fact if B-Dawk really gave this move the necessary amount of time to sink in before he threw down his John Hancock on that piece of paper.

I find myself wondering why and how the Philadelphia Eagles could let the heart and soul of the entire team and city, leave so quickly into the NFL free agency period. Even more so, how could B-Dawk ever sign with another team? I immediately started thinking of certain scenario's that could have prompted this seemingly rash decision.

My conclusion: The Eagles must have severely pissed off their most passionate player with a disrespectful offer to a seasoned veteran who still, after 13 seasons, still hits just as hard as mack truck (. . . at the very least).

Reportedly the Eagles offered Dawkins a 2 year contract but couldn't agree on the monetary figure. So, tell me, why didn't Dawkins wait things out like Ray Lewis is currently (and who is most likely going to end up back in Baltimore due to the Dallas Cowgirls signing of Keith Brooking and the NY Jets' signing of Bart Scott).

To say the least, Dawkins seems to experiencing "buyer's remorse". But then again, no one knows the full story yet. B-Dawk refuses to talk about the specifics of what happened between the Eagles organization and himself. But I think it is safe to say that this story has yet to completely unfold.

Despite all of the drama that engulfed the beginning of free agency this past weekend, the simple fact remains that Brian Dawkins won't be seen dawning a beautiful green on his uniform or an intimidating Eagle on his helmet that has caused many NFL players an extreme amount of pain.

Don't believe me? Ask any player in the NFC, or better yet, ask Alge Crumpler. I'm sure that smack down B-Dawk laid on him still floats in that dislodged brain of his.

Brian Dawkins will go down in the Eagles' history books as being the most revered player ever. His pure passion and emotion are what true Philadelphia fans show every time one of our major sports teams goes to battle. And for that, we will always love him.

Mets are obsessed with...being losers

The Mets and their fans are jealous of Philly's success

Let's look at the facts. The Mets franchise: 46 years old, 5 division titles, 4 pennants and 2 world championships. The Phillies franchise: 125 years old, 8 division titles, 6 pennants, and 2 world championships. Keep in mind that all division titles were won after 1976 and two pennants were won before the Mets were around, one 8 years before 1962. So really are the Phillies a franchise of losers? Statistics tell you; hell no. The reality of the heated rivalry is that the Mets are actually jealous of the Phillies, not the other way around. It is widely accepted that many major cities, including Philadelphia, are jealous of New York sports teams. I know one thing, no one, especially not the Phillies, is jealous of the New York Mets. Well, I am jealous that they get a lot of media attention, but they certainly are not a bunch of winners. Since I am a man of statistics and facts, let me throw more interesting data your way.

The Mets were contenders, and winners, in 1999 and 2000. The went on the the World Series and lost 4-1 to the Yankees. Before that, they hadn't been in the post-season since 1988 - 11 years. So they were losers. The Phillies were widely accepted losers in the 90's, finishing last place and below .500 many years. (Of course, we leave out 1993). Then in 2001, the Phillies made a turn-around. From 2001 to 2007, the Phillies were consistent winners. (Okay, in 2002, they finished 2 games under .500, but that was good enough for 3rd in the NL East). They won 2 division titles and recently won the World Series. They've been winners. From 2001 to 2005, the Mets were losers. In fact, they were awful - just about as awful as the 90's Phillies teams. Then in 2006, one division title earns them the right to brag and boast about themselves the last 3 years - they haven't done anything since. Jose Reyes dances, Beltran trash talks, Delgado says they are "too good to watch" and Omar Minanya lands top free-agents like Johan Santana and K-Rod. So getting two big free-agents allows the New York media, Mets players and Mets fans to proclaim their greatness again. 

Has anyone realized that they've done nothing on the field? Sure, the Mets are a competitive group of talented baseball players. They haven't WON anything, though. So why then, do Mets fans and players continue to claim that Philly is obsessed with New York? We are the ones who win. We are the ones who show it on the field. We have every right to say what we want, when we want. We will continue to do so, until you prove to the baseball world that you are winners. The Philadelphia Phillies is a franchise of winners. But what about our 10,000 loses? Well, that's what happens when you've been around for 125 years. If you compare the Phillies-Mets from 1962 on, you will see that we are and always will be truly better than them - we will always be winners. 

We've been hibernating

Well a lot has happened since March 10, 2008. The one team that we always whine about, won one of the most prized championships in all of sports (Phillies).  Another team disappointed us as usual (Eagles), the other just can't seem to add the silver to the trophy case (Flyers) and the last, well, the last team...I don't even care about (Sixers). 

Truth is, I've been busy. My counterpart has been busy. We've continued to express our passion for our beloved teams (just not on this blog). So let me just say that we will be returning shortly. Time to get out of the slump  -  "Drink one down" 

New Promotion: Hatfield Franks Get Your Eat-on

Since the staff at Citizens Bank Park decided to take away our fun by dumping "College Night," I think it'd be a great idea to endorse something new for the 2008 season; "Hatfield Franks Get Your Eat-On" - whatever Mr. Eaton's ERA is heading into the game is the amount of Hatfield Franks each fan is entitled to get - FOR FREE! Let's face it, Phillies pitching is getting shelled this spring. I know, I know, it's spring training. News flash folks; we have 15 days until Opening Day. The 8-million dollar man is 0-2 with a 15.75 ERA so far.  That's 15 franks free for every fan - multiply that by 44,000 or so 660,000 hot dogs - get the mustard and ketchup ready Phillies fans! On top of this new promotion we can also pencil in $1 draft nights. Pat Gillick can use the $200,000 dollars he saved by screwing Cole Hamels to beef up secruity at the Bank for all the drunks. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the fans need to run this organization. 

Eagles Strike Big . . . or so they think

Within the first few days of free agency, the Philadelphia Eagles made two aggressive moves in the free agency pool. Asante Samuel, who's first and only visit to any other team outside of Foxboro was Philly, signed a lucrative 6 year deal worth around the ballpark of $57 million. One can assume Asante felt welcomed right away in Philadelphia as he jotted down his John Hancock (or Herbie Hancock. I miss Chris Farley.) only 17 hours after being a free agent. According to the Eagles, the pro-bowl corner was the top commodity in the free agent market for the NFL this year, and they landed him.

Now, what are we really going to be getting from Asante in the Eagles' secondary? Of course, no one has more interceptions than him in the past two seasons. But, if we fail to bring Lito Sheppard back into the mix, are we not just compensating for the loss of Lito Sheppard to our defense? Really, is Asante THAT much better than Lito to the point that we actually believe we have "upgraded" with Asante but without Lito?

When you look at their respective stats, Lito and Asante are almost identical with the one major difference being health:

Asante Samuel
- 16 interceptions in two seasons (best in NFL)
- 22 interceptions in 75 games (no sacks/fumble recoveries)
- 232 tackles, 208 solo in 75 games

Lito Sheppard
- 17 interceptions in 77 games (2 sack/1 fumble recovery)
- 232 tackles, 205 solo in 77 games

Of course, Asante is two years younger than Lito but, the major difference as I have just mentioned is health. Lito has had knee/MCL problems for the past year now, while Asante has been relatively "superman-esk" with hardly any injuries. So, in my eyes, if the Eagles want to get the most out of signing the top Free Agent in the market then they need to keep Lito in their secondary to compliment Asante and vice versa. Consequently, this could be a potential hell-ish nightmare for any offensive coordinator who would have to face our impenetrable secondary.

In another potential "big impact" signing, the Philadelphia Eagles signed a solid defensive end in Chris Clemons who was signed to a 5 year deal (monetary information was disclosed). Clemons story is real interesting considering his position changes within the NFL, which for bigger and heavier defensive players is rare in the NFL.

Clemons was a linebacker at the University of Georgia, where the Bulldogs ran around that gridiron as if they were chasing Michael Vick for abuse (too soon? Nah. Sorry Michael.) Early in his NFL career, with the Washington Redskins, Clemons stayed at linebacker but soon moved to defensive end where he has flourished ever since. Last year, Clemons had a total of eight sacks for the Oakland Raiders, which we all know had to be one hell of a job to do on a team like the Raiders. With the addition of Clemons, that bolsters our already solid defensive line and replaces the release of Javon Kearse, the supposed "freak" (I believe that the term "freak" can only be applied to how many "freakish" injuries he has accumulated throughout his career.)

Both of these signings are huge for our defense. It helps our overall takeaway ratio, where we finished last in the NFL last season with a measly 18 takeaways. Also, it helps to make our defense moderately young again, with the exception of Brian Dawkins who is about a few more monster tackles away from breaking his spine and having his bones literally turn to dust.

Now, what's next?

Well, according to the Eagles' website, Donovan McNabb is stated as saying, "Stay tuned", leaving the die-hard Eagles fans wondering what's coming; sitting on the edge of their seats, with their eyes glued onto the "boob-tube" watching ESPN for any new updates which seems almost imminent. Possibly a #1 wide out? Which (in my opinion) we haven't had since McNabb has been at the helm. T.O. doesn't count in my book.

Be on the look-out Eagles fans. Another potentially huge move could be anytime now.