My Sick Mind

One of my favorite movie lines comes from the 1979 film "The Jerk." When Navin R. Johnson finds his name in the new phone book, he runs around screaming, "The new phone book's here!" His boss, Harry Hartounian looks puzzled and exclaims, "I wish I could get that excited about nothing." That's the way I'm starting to feel about the outrage directed at the Eagles over the Michael Vick signing. We're in day 4 of the non-stop call-in talk show banter and it's enough already. Although, when Brian Dawkins left the team for Denver, the banter went on for over a week, so I guess I'll have to pull out the CD collection for my rides to and from work. If he were the captain of a dog sled team, I suppose the outrage would be justified. But it's a football team, which almost qualifies as nothing . It isn't necessary to watch, participate or pay attention. Callers are saying, "I'm never rooting for the Eagles again." I...

"We put a tremendous emphasis on character. There are many times (when) we will pass a player in the draft room that is a terrific physical talent. Character is so important that I really attribute it to when you are suffering in the middle of the season - very few teams have 15-1 seasons or 16-0 seasons - you are going to have periods where you're down. Your momentum is down, whether it's the offense, it might be the defense, it might be overall. It's character players that bring you out of that lull. Last year was the greatest example of all. I think it does translate to success. It's worked for us. I know we've had the best record in the NFC this decade and I really attribute it to having a very high character group of players." - Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, August 6, 2009 OK then. It seems that Jeffrey's idea of character is limited to their attitude on the football field. For the fans, obviously it extends to their homes, private liv...

One of my favorite spots in the city, the Independence Brew Pub has closed its doors. According to the Inquirer , the owners are $800,000 in debt and cannot continue. It was centrally located, across from the Reading Terminal Market , upstairs from The Gallery and next to the Convention Center. I could never figure out why it was never crowded when I went in. I suppose that’s where the 800 grand comes in. Where’s the next best place in Philadelphia for freshly brewed beer? Cat update: After several failed attempts to get him to eat his expensive prescription food, I have cried “uncle.” He’s been eating regularly and it appears he has gained some weight, so I’m going to try a different tack. I found a Renal paste that I can make him eat by smearing it on his teeth. I’m not giving up without a fight, and since the cat doesn’t understand the severity of his condition, I’ll try this stuff. He won’t like it, but anything is better than nothing. He's been on a steady diet of salmon, t...

"Wow! I never thought Dwight would go postal. It's always the person you least expect and I always thought Dwight would go postal." - Michael Scott , The Office (deleted scene from "Conflict Resolution") Sure, it's always the person you'd least expect, unless it's the most obvious one. In pro sports, the most obvious people are the ones who are the lowest-paid. Referees and umpires. Athletes make too much money to be worthwhile targets for gamblers who want to fix games. They can't pay them enough. Worse yet are referees with gambling problems, and Tim Donaghy is one of those. The last thing we heard about Tim was that he was getting death threats and was threatening to go to the FBI with names of other refs and/or players who may also be involved in the point-shaving effort. Expect Tim to be the next member of the Witness Protection Program. Meanwhile, the Commissioner of the National Football League, Roger Goodell, has ordered Michael Vick no...

DOGS Michael Vick has been indicted by a grand jury over allegations that he ran a dog fighting enterprise out of one of his homes in Virginia. You surely know by now of my affection for animals, so I won’t reiterate any views I may have already expressed as to the heinousness of this crime and the blight on society that Vick and his kind represent. What I find interesting is that the dog fighting “hobby” is not for those earning minimum wage. Huge sums of money are required to house the dogs, buy the equipment and, perhaps most of all, make the large wagers that degenerates place on these events. These people are affluent, and some of them famous, proving the notion that society’s scum is not bound by social class or income. While most of us find the dog fighting practice disgusting, as it is with all things, that viewpoint is not universally agreed upon. You have a hard time getting people in mixed company to admit that they think it’s a fine recreational endeavor, just as you w...

We need to be sure to choose our heroes wisely. We call them heroes, even though some of them merely throw a ball or run really fast. As heroes go, that would seem to be the minimum requirement. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 we were scolded for calling athletes and entertainers "heroes" because they don't do much other than read what they are told or run where they are told. Those who run into places from which others run are truly heroes. For those of us who follow sports closely, it should come as only a minor surprise to find that Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is something of a dirtbag, and what better follow-up to Monday's post about child abuse and Tuesday's post about my favorite pro athletes than this interesting tidbit about a slice of his personal life that has thankfully leaked out. If you or a loved one has one of those red #7 jerseys, they make excellent packing material. To wit: SURRY COUNTY, Va. —...