Shammond Williams sighting, Birds, Philberts, Koren Robinson, Decline of the Terps, and the Debacle that is Tirico/Theisman

I have not blogged (is that an official verb? It is now) in two weeks. I was working on a story about how it was based on superstition since the Philberts were playing well so I did not want to jinx it, when in actuality everybody knows that it is simply because I am lazy. But I am back, so here are my thoughts for today.

It is rare that I praise a Tar Heel, but I was on my weekly radio spot yesterday with former Tar Heel Shammond Williams for a little point/counterpoint on the Duke/UNC rivalry. I was so fired up to go with “Shammond, you ignorant slut!” right out of the box. But the guy was nothing if not a gentleman. He praised both Duke and Carolina, discussed how he respected Coach K, had trained with Johnny Dawkins, and that Duke/Carolina is the best rivalry in college sports. And he called me Dils, which ya gota love. Anyway, in the end, we simply agreed that Duke and Carolina were two great programs, both vastly superior to the one found in College Park, Maryland.

Speaking of Marland, former Terp Lonnie Baxter was arrested this morning for shooting bullets at the White House. I am glad to see Gary Williams is getting his kids ready for success in the real world. Could this program be any more of a disaster? Oh how they have fallen since winning the title in ’02….

The Wild Card race in the National League is simply a farce. The Phillies, who are two games below .500, are only two games back in the loss column. Are you kidding me? The good news is that this team should win the wild card. Their lineup is as good as anyone’s with Rollins hitting everything, Chase Utley being Chase Utley, Ryan Howard leading the league in homers and RBIs, and David Delucci providing an upgrade (that’s right!) over our dearly departed Bobby Abreu, who will continue to hit the non-clutchest .350 on the planet for the rest of the year for the Bombers. Not a knock on Bobby, but Delucci has more power (who ever thought that would be said 5-6 years ago), plays harder, and hits better in the clutch. The better news is that the Phils would play the beatable Cards or Dodgers (well, the Dodgers are not beatable right now, but it is August and they will cool off more than Ted Williams post-death between now and October) in the first round. And with Cole Hamels emerging into an ace, and Brett Myers and Lieber both throwing very well lately, who knows. The downside, of course, is that this all may mean yet another year of Jolly Chollie leading the troops….

I think it is high comedy that Joe Theisman raved about how Koren Robinson had turned his life around and become a model citizen and was one of the best guys ever and was about to cure cancer. And then 48 hours later, DWI. And flee the police. Just another example of how JOE THEISMAN SUCKS. Speaking of the Monday Night team, Tirico, as always, is brutally overeager in his babble, a typical example might be something like this: “Reggie Brown catches the ball for an 11 yard gain to the Baltimore 46 yard line. Brown, the second year man out of Georgia, told me when I met with him that his favorite color is blue, which is ironic as that is the color of the Giants, the Eagle rival. In contrast, his father Charles, who works in the mechanics union in Augusta, Georgia, is much more fond of purple, while the real boss in the family, Marie, the mom, is partial to yellow. Speaking of Mom, Reggie loves to eat her sweet potato pie, and was thrilled when she snuck some into training camp last week for him and his teammates. Something about that Southern cooking. Extra point by Akers is good.”

The Birds are quietly flying under the radar. Nobody is picking them to win anything, except Donovan McNabb who was uncharacteristically brash when he pronounced that this is a Super Bowl team earlier this week. I love it. McNabb seems to be healthy, and he seems to be winning his teammates back after last season’s complete debacle. This team is doing the right things in pre-season (still too early to predict championships, but the baby steps are moving in the right direction). Just have to stay healthy, lots of banged up players this early on….

All for now, I will increase the frequency, promise.