Happy New Year, Phillies Push Continues, Donovan McNabb, Ed Wade, and NCAA and NFL Picks

First of all, to all those celebrating, I wish you a very Happy New Year and an easy fast.

Evidently, the San Diego Padres will never lose another game. Something that all Met and Phillies fans can agree on is that we pretty much despise the Padres at this point. They are even getting some wins from Justin "I Suck" Germano, who has terrible stuff and was cut by the Phils this spring. The Phillies have won 6 of their last 7 (all on the road), and have LOST A GAME in the wild card standings. Just a disgrace. Also, thanks to J. Patrick Lashinsky's Pittsburgh Pirates for leaving early on their extended winter golf vacation and not showing up in their four game sweep at the hands of the Pads. I guess at this point the Phillies best bet is to hope the Mets continue to resemble the 1964 Phillies and complete their collapse. While the Phils have won 6 of 7, the Mets have lost 6 of 7 to allow the Philberts to gallop to within 1.5 games with just over a week to go.

Whatever happens with this team, and for the record I continue to believe that they will fall a game or two short as they have almost every year this decade, this team has been fun to watch and is full of heart and passion, leading all of MLB with 47 come from behind wins. And the manager is even on my good side. As my buddy Dave Kay said earlier this week, "have you ever seen a worse manager deserve Manager of the Year?" And you know what....he is right. Jolly Chollie deserves to win Manager of the Year. He has this team close to the playoffs despite a ton of injuries and a double-A quality bullpen. Just a solid job by the manager, and I cannot believe I am going to say this....they have to bring him back in 2008.

Speaking of epic collapses, how about Boston reminding everyone of......BOSTON, in 1978. I think when the Yankees pass the Red Sox and win the division, they should bring back Don Zimmer to scream out "Bucky Fucking Dent". Good times. And where is the Sports Guy, who was last seen gloating over the Yankees/Red Sox situation from May through July straight.

I thought it was pathetic that the Cincinnati Bungles gave up 51 points to the Cleveland Browns last week. And then the Houston Astros went out and hired Ed Wade as their General Manager yesterday, and that decision redefined pathetic. How can there not be a better candidate out there than Ed Wade. This guy never built a team that reached the playoffs during his 7 year tenure at the helm of the Phillies. He dealt away Scott Rolen for nothing. He dealt away Curt Schilling for nothing. He paid Pat Burrell more money than a lineup full of Pat Burrell's deserve, which hamstrung him from signing other talented players for years. He is nothing more than a yes man in a suit who will do what cheap management wants him to. If I were an Astro fan, I would look at this signing as an indication that management (i.e., Drayton McClane) has no commitment to winning and merely wants someone in power that will closely follow instructions.

Donovan McNabb made headlines this week both on and off the field. Off the field, he came out and stirred up the whole Black Quarterback issue again. The Donovan McNabb eras continues to confuse me immensely as a Philadelphia fan. On the field, this guy has been nothing short of sensational since he was drafted with the 2nd pick in the 1999 draft. He has led the team to four NFC Championship games and 1 Super Bowl. He has been a complete package, with great abilities to throw and (until recently) run as well. He has thrived beautifully despite having only a single season in which he had a single receiver who could be considered better than average in his arsenal. Until last season, in my opinion, which I recognize may be in the minority, I believe he had had a better career than Peyton Manning (Manning leapfrogged him last year as McNabb was sidelines and the Colts won it all). Off the field, he has always handled himself with dignity and pride. He has never been in an ounce of trouble. He handled the T.O. fiasco as well as it could be handled. And yet this city has never truly embraced this guy. They booed him at the draft. They bashed him in the offseasons. They wanted A.J. Feeley and later Jeff Garcia to take his job. It is reminiscent of how this town treated Mike Schmidt for the first half of his career before they began to appreciate what they had. McNabb's remarks, in my judgement, are not incorrect or out of line. Race continues to be an issue in our society, and will be for quite some time. It is unfortunate, but it is the truth. His timing could have perhaps been better, but he is right. My concern is that there is a confluence of events (a. the Birds terrible start, b. drafting of Kevin Kolb, c. this race issue, and d. his recent history of injuries) that may work together to spiral out of control and force the end of the McNabb era in Philly before we get to enjoy and appreciate the second half of his career like we did with Schmidtty. That would be too bad. He is better than anything we have had in my lifetime, and I am proud of his character in representing my city. Jason Whitlock, who I find to be an open, honest and great writer, had a strong take on McNabb's words. Whitlock's article can be found here.

I guess it is time for my picks. My overall tally is now 5-16. My confidence has been shattered to the point where I feel like I am Steve Sax trying to throw the ball to first base in the back end of his career. So, you, my loyal reader, now have a decision to make. Are you with me or are you against me? If you believe I will turn this around, climb aboard and let's see if we can't patch this leak. If not, go against me and we can still be friends. For this week.....

NCAA (Last Week: 0-5; Season, 1-9, 10%)

Indiana (+3) vs. Illinois. I know Zook is getting a lot of credit, but Indiana is a live home dig here. This team is athletic, playing well together and in honor of their fallen coach. Hoosiers get 'er done.

UCLA (-6.5) vs. Washington. Washington played well for a half against the Buckeyes but could not hang for a full 60 minutes. I look for more of the same against an angry Bruin squad.

Ga Tech (-3.5) at Virginia. Georgia Tech looked terrible last week and Virginia got a big road win. Which is why this line is not 7 which is where it should be. Easy for Tech here.

Arkansas (-6.5) vs. Kentucky. Letdown for Kentucky as they go from a huge win over a passing team in Louisville and try to contain a great running team in the Razorbacks. Look for Arkansas to handle a much improved Wildcat squad.

Wisconsin (-7) vs. Iowa. The badgers are a good team who played a lackluster half last week. The Hawkeyes are a bad team that lost to another bad team. The Badgers roll at Camp Randall.

NFL (Last week: 2-4; Season, 4-7, 36%)

EAGLES (-6) vs. Detroit. The Birds are 0-2 and have looked positively brutal on offense and special teams. The Lions are 2-0 and have looked good offensively. The Birds secondary is very banged up. And they made the line 6. This tells me Vegas wants to entice you to play Detroit, while the Eagles win big.

San Diego (-5.5) at Green Bay. San Diego struggled offensively against Chicago and New England. I do not care how many media members climb aboard the Packers bandwagon and stroke the defense, but the Packers are not Chicago or New England. San Diego will score 30+, no way Brett Favre can keep up.

Kansas City (-2.5) vs. Minnesota. No team goes 0-16, and Tavaris Jackson on the road is just the right prescription to get those Chiefs a W.

Jets (-3) vs. Miami. Very easy. I am feeling a big week this week.

St. Louis (+3.5) at Tampa. St. Louis will play hard after losing their first two at home, and against a mediocre Tampa team, that is enough to keep it to a field goal or win outright.

NY Giants (+4) at Washington. Washington not as good as record, Giants not as bad. Rivalry game. Take the points.

New Orleans (-4) vs. Tennessee. New Orleans crowd will be fired up for this game much the way they were last year for Monday night against the Falcons. Look for a similar result.