By Kevin O’Connor Jr.
DR. SPORTS FAN

Last year’s Cy Young to last year’s champions, sounds like a move towards a successful title defense to me. The Phillies are loaded like a freshman at his first fraternity party!

Now while I definitely want to talk some Cliff Lee today, I’d first like to say a few words about the late Jim Johnson.

While most of us never knew him personally, the former Eagles defensive coordinator was a source of pride for Birds fans this past decade. We love our players and coaches to attack you (see Ryan, Buddy), and we also like a guy that tells it like it is. Johnson gave us both in spades.

With Jeremiah Trotter up the middle and Brian Dawkins, the Eagles made their bones in the early Andy Reid era with a dominant defense. While Donovan McNabb struggled to find his early career consistency with a mediocre receiving corps, Johnson’s crew — led by Dawkins, Trotter, defensive end Hugh Douglass, and defensive tackle Corey Simon — was the heart of the teams that made those first trips deep in the NFC playoffs.

When age and free agency ate away at the talent on the defensive side of the ball the Eagles fell from their high ground in the NFC East. While Dallas and New York gained on us in recent years, last season’s turnaround was keyed by a defensive renaissance.  Johnson’s defense finished third overall in yards allowed and fourth in points allowed (one of the stats that Johnson cared the most about), and once again the Birds had a date with in the NFC Title Game. (I’m just going to pretend that’s the end of the story for the ‘08 team. Please don’t mention anything about Larry Fitzgerald, I’m begging you.)

My dad would always point out how Johnson would wag his tongue between plays. (I used to do the same thing when I colored as a little kid.)

While it made us laugh, we knew it was because Jimmy J. was concentrating hard on what he was going to throw next at the opposing quarterback. Most of the time, the other QB didn’t know what player or what position was about to hit him. I’ll miss that.

Rest in piece, Mad Scientist.

Anyway, on to the good news: the Phillies just sent notice to the rest of baseball that the defending champions are not satisfied with just one title.

The Phils sent three Triple-A prospects (catcher Lou Marson, infielder Jason Donald, and starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco) and one Single-A prospect (fireball pitcher Jason Knapp) to the Cleveland Indians for Cliff Lee and bench player Ben Francisco. In other words, we sent four guys there weren’t not good enough to play in the majors for the best pitcher in the AL last year. (Remember, the Toronto Blue Jays wanted starting pitcher J.A. Happ, top minor league arm Kyle Drabek, and top position prospect Dominic Brown for super ace Roy Halladay.)

While the drop off from Halladay to Lee is minimal, the Phillies were able to avoid giving up the three key players in their future. Talk about your no brainers — even Ed Wade would’ve done this.

I know a lot of Phillies fans were dying for Halladay, and you can’t blame them one bit. This trade for Lee, however, has a lot to do with what General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was willing to part with. The rookie GM seems to have pulled a rabbit out of his hat.

Here is why I think the Lee trade is easily more valuable than the proposed Halladay trade.

• Carrasco and Donald are not better than the team’s current options and Knapp is a few years away from any impact, so Marson is the only loss that hurts the team in the near future. Current backstop Carlos Ruiz will never make anyone forget Johnny Bench (or Mike Lieberthal for that matter), and Marson was beginning to look like the catcher of the future. Looks like the team will continue to look for the preverbial catcher of the future. (Of course, if Ruiz has another World Series like he did against Tampa Bay, good riddance Sweet Lou!)
• This move allows the Phillies to keep Happ and Drabek. Young J.A. has been a solid pro in every one of his starts, but more importantly, the Phils have him for cheap for several more years. Giving him away certainly would’ve hurt the back end of the rotation. Drabek, on the other hand, seems ticketed for the front end of the Phillies rotation sometime in the next season or two. Like Hamels before him, Drabek was given the “untouchable” decree from the Phils front office. Now, whether he’ll be taking the Hamels route or the Gavin Floyd detour to stardom…
• The only thing I had against the Halladay trade was not wanting to disturb the current Phillies hot streak. By not dealing anyone from the 25 man roster, problem solved! (On a side note, my dad would like to pass along that he was against the Polanco trade mainly because he thought that Polanco should have been moved to third base. Like the rest of the Philly Phaithful, my dad wasn’t too fond of David Bell.)
• Cliff Lee did win the Cy Young Award over Halladay last season. Just saying.

After giving away zero major leaguers for Lee, the Phillies are ridiculously deep and talented in almost ever facet of the game, and it all starts with the Phillies lineup. From one through six, the Phillies lineup has All-Star caliber players at every spot — with four hitters (Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, and Jason Werth) currently on pace for over 30 home runs.

But how about their starting pitching?

Here are the SEVEN pitchers the Phils can plug from for their eventual starting rotaton: Hamels, Lee, Happ, Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer, Rodrigo Lopez, and soon Pedro Martinez. Manager Charlie Manuel has options with his rotation. Here’s my recommendation for ol’ Chuck for his eventual regular season rotation:

1. Cole Hamels
2. Joe Blanton
3. Cliff Lee
4. J.A. Happ
5. Pedro Martinez

After moving Moyer to the bullpen for long relief and waiving/demoting Rodrigo Lopez (who did a great job filling in the past month), this is how I’d set it all up. Hamels and Lee are similar pitchers, so separating them with Blanton — the team’s best pitcher this season — seems logical. My guess is that Manuel will have to decide between Happ and Moyer for the fourth starter spot. My gut tells me that Charlie puts Moyer in the rotation.

Now here’s where it gets tricky. When the postseason roles around, one of the starters will need to be dropped from the rotation. Charlie will have to decide between Happ/Moyer and Pedro for that last spot. That decision I suggest we table until we see just how good Martinez looks in the September stretch drive.

But wait, there’s more!

No it’s not an infomercial, it’s the return of Brett Myers.  When Myers returns from hip surgery late in the season, he’ll go right into the bullpen, which has really been the only chink in the armor of the defending champs this season, surprising given last year’s dominant performance. Now Myers, the closer for the 2007 Division Championship team, joins the late inning fray to help spell Ryan Madsen and even Brad Lidge – both of who have stuggled in 2009.

I’m don’t like to get ahead of myself with these things — growing up in Philly, who could blame me — but this move really makes the Phillies favorites to win the next two World Series titles. (Wow, say that out loud a few times.) With their deep pitching staff, and that lineup, who is going to stop them? No one could stop them last year, and that was before Ibanez and Lee joined the team.

Not that I like to brag or anything, but I’m feeling pretty good about the Phillies chances for a repeat AND a threepeat. It sure is great to be the defending champs!

I’m feeling so good, kind of like I did at that first fraternity party…

By Kevin O’Connor
DR. SPORTSFAN

I am not sold on the MLB All-Star Game. In fact, I rarely even watch the whole game.

Who else finds it odd that this exhibition game has to be for homefield advantage in the World Series? It’s a sad state for professional sports when an All-Star game needs to have postseason implications for it to “matter,” but somehow Bud Selig made that happen.

Additionally, I always think it looks weird when All Star players wear their individual team jerseys instead of an All Star jersey, and it’s a different sort of game when starting pitchers only work an inning just like closers. It just never felt like a normal professional baseball game to me.

But that’s not going to stop me from writing my first running diary on the 2009 MLB All-Star Game.  So with my new 42” HDTV and DVR — I taped the game while I was at work on the West Coast — it’s time for my first Bill Simmons Honorary Running Diary.

Opening Introductions for the Mid-Summer Classic

-The St. Louis fans were giving some nice ovations. Former Cardinals great and current L.A. manager Joe Torre got the best cheers for anyone that is not a current Cardinal. According to everyone and their mother, St. Louis has the best and most knowledgeable baseball fans in the country. (Or was it world?) Chances are we’ll hear that little nugget of information again.

-Congrats to Ted Lilly, the only player booed by the great St. Louis Cardinal fans.  Guess St. Louis really hates the Cubs.

-During introductions, I noticed former Phillie free-agent bust Ryan Franklin made the roster and CHECK OUT THAT FACIAL HAIR! He would’ve been my favorite Phillies player if he had remained on the team with that chin action. Jayson Worth has nothing on this guy.

-How does Joe Buck ruin everything? Had to say “Here we go St. Louis” before Pujols’ intro, didn’t ya? I don’t know why his words made it all so annoying. Maybe I’m the problem … moving on.

-I can’t be the first to say that Tim Lincecum looks like the grown-up version of Mitch Kramer from Dazed and Confused. I really can’t be, right? Please tell me Bill Simmons has mentioned this several times.

-After seeing Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton in the military bit, I’m wondering: Will all living presidents really be on this PSA?

-Bush the first is on. C’mon Jimmy! One more!

-YES!  Jimmy Carter made it. BEYOND COMMITMENT!

-I have DVR. I’m going to skip through the rest of this bit on the military. I guess I’m not BEYOND CARING!  On a related note, I’m going to hell. I hope SPF 50 works down there…

(Truthfully, I am thankful for our armed servicemen, and these people are pretty impressive. I didn’t end up fast forwarding and watched all five in the program.)

-Even amongst the other four living presidents, it’s pretty apparent that Obama can hold his own in a speech.

-Cool scene on the field when the All-Stars went up and congratulated those soldiers. I thought this was going to be too corny for me but man was I wrong. Well done.

-Can things get any worse, Hollywood? Michael Strahan has his own sitcom? Note to self: Move to L.A. They are running out of actors.

-Sheryl Crow seemed nervous during the national anthem. (Can’t say I blame her.) She did, however, hit her stride by the end.

-I love it when they bring out the stealth bomber for a flyover. I wonder though, does anyone even know it’s there? Shouldn’t it just pass over without anyone knowing? Oh wait, that joke’s shot after a loud jet-like sound just came over the TV.

-New promo for House looks sick. This is very much the way House should have ended up – in a mental institution. For a show that was exactly the same for five seasons to finally come through with a new angle, they’ve earned my viewership in the fall season.

-CLEVELAND SHOW! Sold. Can’t wait.

-Major League Baseball seems like a fraternity to me. When you’re a Hall of Famer, they trot you out like alumni, talk about how great you are, and give you a nice colored jacket. Speaking of which, I’ve been meaning to visit the College of New Jersey one of these days…

-The crowd’s reaction to Obama has to be the perfect indicator of his standing with the American people: a tremendous ovation with an undercurrent of boos. I can see tomorrow’s FOX News headline now: “St. Louis lustily boos Obama, why Sarah Palin would’ve thrown an 86 mph strike for the first pitch.”

-It’s been more than 40 minutes since the All-Star game was set to begin, and I just gained nothing from the experience. Here is what we’ve learned in the past 40 min: (1) We should be proud of our soldiers. (Check.) (2) President Obama cannot reach the plate, but. George W. Bush can certainly bring it.

-Ken Rosenthal is abnormally tiny. Whose idea was it to have him stand right next tall professional athletes in interviews? I blame Joe Buck.

The GAME

-Ichiro nearly put the NL in the whole before I blinked. That might’ve been game right there, especially since the AL is undefeated in All Star Games since ‘96. Losing streaks always wear heavily on a ball club, but can it transfer between All-Star rosters? I vote yes.

-This just in, Derek Jeter is good at two-strike hitting according to color man – I mean play-by-play announcer – Joe Buck.

-Ouch!!! Yankees fans must love seeing Jeter get hit in by a pitch in the All Star game. Oh wait, this one matters so way to take one for the team Captain Yankee! He’ll do anything to win a game.

-I think Jeter is fuming like Ben Affleck was in Dazed and Confused. If Lincecum is limping when he returns to San Fran, chances are Jeter paddled him circa 1976 after the game.

-Thanks to the defensive wizardry of both Lincecum and Pujols, 2-0 AL after a half-inning.

-How underrated is Michael Young? The six-time All-Star just made a slick defensive play at third to rob a screamer by Pujols. The guy started his career playing shortstop, switched to second base to accommodate Alex Rodriguez, back to shortstop after he left, and now he’s the All-Star starter for the American League at third base. Wow. Henceforth, Young shall be known as the Underrated Michael Young in these circles.  In other news, the NL went down in order.

-Obama’s making Tim McCarver giddy in the broadcast booth during the president’s visit to the broadcast booth in the bottom half of the second. Joe Buck, meanwhile, is in the zone, talking to Obama as though he were as inconsequential a guest as Dave Winfield. Somehow Joe Buck’s kudos to Obama seemed like how he would congratulate a grade schooler on a B- grade for an English quiz.

Now if Stan Musial were in the booth…

-Joe Buck does not miss an opportunity to hate (that’s disrespect or “diss” to those not up on the lingo) on anybody. He just had to get in that shot about the Nats firing their manager.

-Obama likes the Phillies! This is great. (That is Philly Phan moment number one to those keeping score at home.)

-In case anyone else was wondering, Joe Buck wanted to remind everyone that the NL hasn’t won an All-Star game since ’96. I count two references to that dubious stat. Both by Joe Buck. Something tells me Buck has at least five more in him by the end of the night.

-Back-to-back-to-back hard-hit singles by NL hitters David Wright, Shane Victorino, and “Which Molina?” (judges: Yadier) ties the game at two! Extra points to the Flyin’ Hawaiian for good hustle sprinting to third, forcing the errant throw that tied it, and Molina for the hometown excitement. (Philly Phan moment number three.)

-The NL takes the lead! It’s now a 3-2 game after Home Run Derby champ Prince Fielder’s ground-rule double brings home Molina.

-After inspiring hope in the country’s educated liberals in the election and now the NL in the second, President Obama steps down from the broadcast booth/inspiration chamber after Hanley Ramirez can’t bring Fielder home. So ends a fun bottom half to the second.

-“No, thank you so much Mr. President.” — Joe Buck.

-Did Tim Lincicum really make the major leagues because his dad put down a dollar bill to make him finish his windup? See dad, you should have just given me more money when I was a kid, and I’d be a pro ballplayer — making millions. What a ridiculous commercial. (When I’m in hell, I’ll remember that it’s a public service announcement reminding dads to be more active with their children.)

-How is Ryan Franklin this good? My best guess: that squirrel on his chin.

-1-2-3 inning for Ryan Franklin in the All-Star Game. I would have bet my life in 2006 that I wouldn’t have typed those words. My life.

-I love Taco Bell — ask anyone. I even liked that corny “If you like Pina Coladas” commercial. No joke.

-Bank of America is going to get a terrific tax break for its charitable donation during tonight’s All-Star Game (BofA is donating $5,000 for each hit in tonight’s game). The only other possible charitable donation from BofA: their customer service reps give you a break on the first of seven $35 overdraft fees for transactions that totaled $8.50. But I don’t want you to think that happened to me last year … twice.

-Buerhle with a quick 1-2-3 inning. Still 3-2 NL after three.

(Just took a quick hot-tub interlude. That is reason No.56 for buying a DVR. Reason No.1, you ask? Taping the All Star game while at work so that you can watch it when you get home.)

-The Underrated Michael Young sends a hot shot past David Wright for a two-out single, but Aaron Hill can do nothing about it as we go to the bottom half of the third with the NL leading 3-2.

-Will anyone actually see G.I. Joe in theaters? I for one never envisioned Channing Tatum and a Wayans brother (judges: Marlon) starring in the film adaptation of one of the all-time great little-kid cartoons. I’ll believe anything Nostradamus said if we find out he predicted this.

-Is MasterCard really giving out the perfect pair of jeans? If so, who determines the perfect jeans? Personally, I prefer my jeans broken in, in that medium color (between faded and dark), and just about to have holes form in them. It’s a shame because the perfect pair of jeans are about to become very ugly looking when hole rips open on my backside…

-If playing other All-Stars is any indication, the AL definitely has more top-of-the-rotation guys.

-First positive thing Joe Buck said all night (officially) took place with Carl Crawford at the plate with no outs in the top of the fifth: “If you are trying and attempting to keep a scorecard at home, I applaud you.” President Obama was in the booth with him three innings ago. So let’s recap: becoming the first black president is ok, but you should be really proud of yourself for keeping score at home during the All Star Game

-Two minutes later, Joe Buck commented on how Carl Crawford keeps his pants low. Apparently one of the fastest players in baseball should pull up his pants so he can run faster. I now have concrete proof for why I can’t stand listening to Joe Buck call/comment on a game.

-Chase Utley is the heir apparent to Derek Jeter. That play he made towards second base — turning the opposite way before firing to second to force out Crawford — was a heady, gusty play. Bite me, New York fans. (That’s my fourth Philly Phan moment of the diary. For those keeping score at home, Joe Buck applauds you.)

-Pujols follows with a tremendous diving snag, possibly making up for his terrible first-inning defense. The St. Louis fans just got louder after that play.

-Mauer ties it with an RBI double the other way (after which McCarver reminded us that good hitters hit the ball everywhere), scoring Jeter. Mauer might chase .400 in the second half, and according to Sports Illustrated, off the field he looks forward to mowing his grass. He sounds exactly like the type of person whowould thrive in the grassy meadows of New York City. Just wait until the Yankees offer him a modest $240 million.

-Pujols again with the defense! The second backhanded stop by the Wizard of Offense allows the NL escape further damage in the top of the fifth. Joe Buck deadpans, “It’s what makes him great.”

-Do you care who the Pepsi Clutch Performer is? What is it with all this annoying corporate sponsorships? Aren’t they loosing money and trying to spend wiser? On an unrelated note, I could really go for a Pepsi right now.

-Did I mention Utley was Jeter’s heir apparent? Utley bobbles a tailor-made double-play ball but still starts the 4-6-3 to end the top of the sixth. How long until some baseball stat geeks determine that Utley has limited range at second base?

-It’s all about the Roosevelts, baby! (BTW, I had Taco Bell on Friday and Saturday.)

-Joe Buck: “Justin is the first All-Star Upton.” The First All-Star Upton grounds out to end the sixth. Mid-Summer Classic is still tied, 3-3.

-Just received former WWF wrestler Bret Hart’s autobiography Hitman in the mail today from Amazon. There’s a story inside about when the Hart Foundation put their finishing move on Vince McMahon at a party after a taping. I can’t wait to read this one.

-Papelbon looked less than impressive after allowing two loud outs to start the bottom of the seventh. Thanks to a web gem by Crawford and a weak jet stream in right, the Red Sox closer narrowly avoided giving up back-to-back dingers. Still, it was another 1-2-3 inning for the AL after he struck out Werth on a full count.

-We’re through seven innings and each team has used six pitchers. What are the chances we see any relief pitchers throw more than an inning tonight? Personally, I’m all for Charlie Manuel giving K-Rod three or four innings of work… (Anyone remember that Brad Lidge warmed up basically every inning from the ninth on in last year’s marathon All Star Game? I do. Thank goodness he didn’t break down in 2008 like he has this year. Last year’s World Series title has calmed me down considerably.)

-Big triple by Curtis Granderson as the First All-Star Upton played that fly ball like a back-up Little Leaguer. Still though, not many guys get triples to left field.

-Adam “I am definitely not Pacman” Jones steps up in a big spot after Charlie Manuel had Heath Bell intentionally walk Victor Martinez — much to the chagrin of Joe Buck. But really, can you tell the difference between a compliment and a complaint with him? The guy has the emotional range of a 1950s sitcom father. I wonder if McCarver donates half of his paycheck to Joe Buck because — let’s not kid ourselves here — Joe Buck does 50% of the commentary in addition to his play-by-play duties.

-Pacman – I mean Adam – Jones comes through with a clutch sac-fly to right, scoring Granderson. Never thought clutch sac-fly and All-Star Game would ever go together – thank you Bud Selig! Utility-man extraordinaire Ben Zobrist strikes out. It’s now a 4-3 AL lead midway through the eighth. There’s been clutch hitting throughout the AL’s 12-game unbeaten streak. With Joe Nathan and Mo Rivera looming, it’s looking like lucky number 13 for the AL. (Conversely, it would be unlucky number 13 for the NL in case you were wondering.)

-Why is Gatorade calling itself G? I guess cornering the lucrative sports beverage market isn’t good enough, so now they’d like to have the letter “G” all to themselves. At least now they can sponsor episodes of Sesame Street.

-Is Adrian Gonzalez diabetic? Did anyone else see what appeared to be an insulin pump on the back of his hip? Anyway, his eighth inning walk stopped an 0-for-18 streak by NL batters. Naturally, the next batter, Orlando Hudson, hits one up the middle off Jason Bartlett to put runners on the corner for Phillies slugger/swing-and-miss specialist (not to mention St. Louis-native) Ryan Howard.

-No defensive shift for Howard? Wait, nevermind. Joe Madden was just a little late in setting that one up. You would think he wouldn’t forget facing Howard and the Phillies in the World Series right? (That’s five Philly Phan moments.)

-Now the rest of the NL knows how it feels to watch Ryan Howard strike out in a key spot. It sucks. We go to the ninth with the AL holding a slim one-run lead.

-I think outside the bun.

-Congratulations to Carl Crawford, FOX’s choice for the Mercedes Benz Attention Assist of the Game. Now when I go to the store to buy a Pepsi, I think I’ll stop by the Mercedes dealership and have them laugh at my credit rating.

-Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez sits ‘em down in order. I hope Manuel knows that, should the game go to extras, K-Rod can go three or four more innings.

-Mariano Rivera (who else) will take the mound in the ninth for the AL. We all agree on this right, Rivera is the best closer of all time? As the Phoenix would say: book it.

-Tonight’s keeper stat, courtesy of Joe Buck: the AL has won the last three All-Star Games by one run. We’re now two outs from four straight nail-biters to the Junior Circuit.

-Eliminator (a.k.a. the cutter) on the outside corner for strike three retires Brad Hawpe. Only Miguel Tejada stands between the AL and homefield advantage in the World Series for the 56th consecutive time, or something like that.

-Eliminator jams Tejada and the AL takes the Mid-Summer Classic and homefield advantage in the World Series.

I hope you enjoyed my running diary of the 2009 MLB All-Star Game. I’m glad to be back writing some columns again, and hopefully there’s more where that came from. In the meantime, I’m going to retire for the evening. Special thanks to TBS for the Mighty Ducks showing immediately following the game.

Hope this helps!

By Kevin O’Connor
DR. SPORTSFAN

It’s been a few weeks since my last column. Aside from my own personal laziness, there have been several factors keeping me from delivering each week:

1. I can’t use the internet during my day job, so I miss out on all the daily chatter.

2. Living on the West Coast, the early games come on at 4 p.m. with me still two hours from freedom.

3. I have only watched ONE Phillies game all season from start to finish. It’s kind of a drag when you can’t watch your favorite teams play night in and night out. Sure I’d miss some games back when I lived in Jersey, but at least I’d catch the highlights. Fat chance of that happening on Sports Center

With no end in sight to any of these problems, I thought this little case of writer’s block wasn’t going away any time soon.

Funny how Twitter works.

In an effort to try to kick start some creativity (be careful what you wish for), I’ve been getting heavy into this little microblogging site. And since Oprah’s little endorsement, Twitter has gone from a thing some people did to a thing that most people seem to be doing. So I’ve been a happy little camper checking it when I come home at night, looking at the updates from my friends all around the country, funny celebrities and of course some big time sports writers.

Like most sports fans these days, I spend a good amount of time hating on the media. Let’s be serious, the sports media is an easy target these days. For starters, the major sports networks all run too many articles that are based on some wild accusations or leaking information from “unnamed sources.” When we’re not hearing from a “prominent member of [insert organization],” we’re fed a steady diet of ongoing soap operas (i.e. steroids in baseball; any story about Terrell Owens, Adam Jones, Chad Ocho Cinco, or Barry Bonds; or even when an athlete has the audacity to be quoted as saying he thinks he team should win its next game — THE HORRORS!).

Oh that and Brett Favre. By a raise of hands, let’s see who isn’t sick of hearing about Brett Favre? (Please put your hand down, John Madden.) Look, we can all agree he’s a Hall of Famer and an all-time gamer, having never missed a start in the NFL. In many ways, Peter King — Sports Illustrated’s uber football columnist — is one of the journalists (Mr. Madden, again, please put your hand down!) with the most access to Brett. Great for, you, Peter and your career, but it’s a loss for the rest of us sports fans. If he can still be the top story on every major sports news outlet when he is no longer a top-flight quarterback, something is going wrong in the sports-writing world. If you take into account the amount of space devoted to him, Favre has somehow become overrated in the public eye. In a way, Favre has become the greatest overrated sports athlete of all time now.

What a weird ending to a great career. In many ways, this could never have happened without the media. Just know this, most sports fans really don’t care about the Brett Favre situation anymore.

The Favre storyline must be stopped!!

Now it’s one thing to whine in private, but it’s another thing entirely when you basically make fun of someone in the media in public. That’s the thing with the internet: You never really know who is watching. It might be Peter King.

Here’s how it all started.

After reading a few back-and-forth tweets from NFL Network anchor Rich Eisen and King, I couldn’t help but notice the affection these two share.

DrSportsFan: @richeisen and @SI_PeterKing are downright bromancing on the twitski. Twit that!

Now, reading that out loud right now, that sounds a little bit mean-spirited. That was not my goal, but rather I was just busting on two highly successful people to my 30 or so followers. But I wasn’t through with King yet. No, I felt the need to make fun of his “professionalism.” Smooth move, Dr. Sportsfan!

SI_PeterKing: All right, King. Enough of the fun. Get your head into the story you’re writing for SI next week. You’ll all want to read it, by the way.

DrSportsFan: @SI_PeterKing really will I like it?!?! c’mon now. ur a professional

For those of you living under a rock (the rest of you non-rock dwellers, please skip to the next paragraph), by merely adding “@” in front of any Twitter screen name, you now — like Heman, the Master of the Universe — have the power. Furthermore, Twitter has the nice little tool that lets you view any recent messages that have been updated “at” you.

I’ve been a little chatty on Twitter lately, and I might have gotten a little too frisky. If it appears that I was making fun of Peter King and Rich Eisen’s friendly twitter chatter the other night — well it’s because I was. Who cares, really, right? And when I poked fun at King when he said that we’d like his column, again who was going to read it, my 30 or so followers?

Wrong.

SI_PeterKing: @DrSportsFan : What does that mean, exactly?

So I was a tad bit surprised that King had noticed the polite — make that rude — comments I’d been making to him. Ok. I was shocked. As John Stewart said regarding his wonderful little visit to CNN’s Crossfire, it’s uncomfortable!

As for an answer to your question: Peter, I just thought it was funny that you felt the need to plug your column on twitter. You write for Sports Illustrated. There isn’t a sports fan on this continent that doesn’t know about SI. While we plug and market our columns for Taking Back Sports, I couldn’t have imagined someone with your career needing to plug a column. It plugs itself. Monday Morning Quarterback is a must-read for all football fans. You are one of those sports writers that transcend the sporting world.

In a way, I’m actually glad that you plugged your column. Even though I used your words to make fun of you, it’s a pretty neat thing that you can convey your thoughts and feelings directly to your readers — of course you do have to deal with their thoughts as well.

But since I have your attention, Peter — and I imagine that you are quite a busy man — I’d like to take this grand opportunity to ask you some questions, sports fan to sports writer:

1. Why is it our first inclination to talk about the negativity in the sports world? I always thought that sports were meant to be fun; and while I know that there is some serious money in sports, can’t we forget about all that when we turn on SportsCenter to watch the highlights of our favorite teams (and not see an ex-jock’s scripted reaction)?

2. Do you think the sports fan experience has peaked? With economics coming between the common, middle-class fan and the rich and elite owners and players, it seems as though sports fans and those that work in sports are further apart than ever before. Are we even the same race of people?

3. Are you sick of writing about Favre? Just wondering…

4. Do you love your job? I always thought that being a sports writer must be the greatest job in the world, and you get to cover the greatest sport of the all — the NFL. You write a great column every week, and it is read by thousands — if not millions — of sports fans. But the question remains, do you still love your job?

5. Have you ever interviewed an athlete that was so crazy (*cough* T.O.) that many of his quotes (*cough* Ochocinco) were just preposterous?

6. What do you think the future of sports writing will be? Obviously blogging already plays a major role, but is the career sports writer all but finished? (Take it from me, there are almost no sports-writing jobs available to any young writers.)

In the meantime, thanks for all the good writing and for your question — even if it was because you were annoyed with me.

I hope I clarified things, but please keep doing things your way anyway. Even if you are a coffee nerd!

But if you get the chance, could you please say hi to Brett Favre for me? I hear he’s looking to possibly make a comeback…

By Kevin O’Connor
DR. SPORTS FAN

When I think of mock drafts, I imagine the sports-writer equivalent of an NFL team war room. There’s information strewn across a board room. A white board is littered with names and lines drawn to team logos. Phones are feverishly working to find out updates from team officials about any pending trades in the works or for one last update from the scout who gave that report on a top prospect.

Instead of having a room full of scouting directors, front office personnel and a coaching staff, the sports writer is the only one in the room. Really, it’s madness for sports writers, but that doesn’t make it boring.

Although predictions are often the name of the game in sports writing these days (a topic for another day), and really that’s all that many sports writers get paid to do, mock drafts are hardest possible thing for a sports writer to predict. There are stupid owners that make terrible draft picks — and for that, I’m looking at the Dunce Trio of Al “Swamp Thing” Davis, Jerry “Cher” Jones and Daniel “Baby Face” Snyder — and teams trade up and down constantly. It’s a clusterf**k.

But the NFL Draft fun to guess about (and mock, if you will), and maybe that’s why people love reading about it.

Normally, I’d be that guy holed up in that war room — thinking up every possible scenario, reading every relevant NFL Draft publication, and *gasp* reading some Mel Kiper Jr. columns (who, for the same reason it’s fashionable with Nickelback, is irrationally hated because of this whole process, but I digress). For my NFL Mock Draft 2009, I’m trying something new. I’m going to just look at one publication’s ranking (USA Today Sports Weekly NFL Draft Preview) and use the cumulative knowledge I’ve amassed about each NFL team to make my predictions.

Sounds rational enough right?

Hey, the ignorance approached worked for my girlfriend when she won her March Madness pool.

1. Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford — QB — Georgia

Simple. Easy. Probably wrong? When was the last time the Lions had a franchise quarterback? I don’t have time to research this, but that should help you understand this pick. Good thing Matt Millen isn’t there to screw this one up by taking Michael Crabtree.  If this were an analogy it would read: Crack addict is to crack pipe as Matt Millen is to drafting WRs in the first round.

2. St. Louis Rams: Jason Smith — LT — Baylor

Lose Orlando Pace, replace with a future anchor for the O-Line. I’m not one of those people who think that the left tackle is the most important position on a football team, but it’s definitely in the top five. Interestingly enough, Smith was converted from tight end to left tackle, like current Eagles left tackle Jason Peters. If Smith is voted to two consecutive All-Pro teams, something tells me that Steve Spagnuolo will be happy. Plus, the former Andy Reid assistant will follow his old coach’s mantra of building out from the line of scrimmage.

3. Kansas City Chiefs: Aaron Curry — LB — Wake Forest

Like Spags above, I see former Pats GM Scott Pioli (Belichick’s former eye in the sky) following the New England mold with strong, playmaking linebackers.

4. Seattle Seahawks: Michael Crabtree — WR — Texas Tech

Even with the addition of T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Seahawks were decimated by injuries at wideout last year. It cost them dearly, as they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002. So why not take the WR with HUGE INJURY CONCERNS? Ok, just kidding, but why not take the best player in the entire draft (according to “experts” before the draft B.S. kicked into high gear) when it is your biggest position of need?

5. Cleveland Browns: Brian Orakpo — DE — Texas

Because USA Today said so? Actually, new head man Eric Mangini will want to shore up his defense with the alleged best pass rusher in the draft. That didn’t work out so well last year though, so maybe the Man Genius will look to go another direction this year?  Got me.

6. Cincinnati Bengals: Eugene Monroe — LT — Virginia

Best way to cure a historically bad team? Get better on the offensive and defense lines. Drafting Monroe could be a step towards the correct direction after DECADES off the beaten path for Cinci.

7. Oakland Raiders: Jeremy Maclin — WR — Missouri

Maybe the JaMarcus Russell-to-Jeremy Maclin connection will be the stuff of legend. I doubt it, until Swamp Thing goes back into the marsh.

8. Jacksonville Jaguars: B.J. Raji — DT — Boston College

Three straight in a row from the USA Today board. Maybe this is plagiarism, but at least I’m citing my source! Plus, I really love this pick, as the Jags have to miss Marcus Stroud’s presence in the middle of their D-line. In my humble opinion, D-Tackle is also a top-five position on any successful football team.

(For those playing along at home, that gives us two members of the top five — LT and DT.)

9. Green Bay Packers: Andre Smith — LT — Alabama

It’s hard to really tell if a prospect will bust before he’s even drafted. That said, ‘Bama’s Smith looks like he may be the first to claim that throne. Here’s an interesting side note: L.A. Lakers center Andrew Bynum fouled out in the third quarter of Thursday night’s Game 3 loss to Utah. The THIRD QUARTER!! I don’t know what’s worse: a center who picked up six fouls with time left in the third or his coach, Zen-master Phil Jackson, who left him in with five fouls before that. Hard to tell.

10. San Francisco 49ers: Tyson Jackson — DE — LSU

When you think Mike Singletary, you think defense. Why not draft an old-school 6-foot-4, 296 pounder to anchor one side of his 49er defensive line?

By the way, Tyson Jackson sounds a lot like another lotto pick from Baton Rouge, the Chicago Bulls’ Tyrus Thomas.

11. Buffalo Bills — Everette Brown — DE — Florida St.

Earth to Aaron Schobel, come in please.

12. Denver Broncos — Mark Sanchez — QB — USC

Like a diaper, the Broncos change franchise quarterbacks. Hopefully Sanchez doesn’t leak as much as Jay “Cry Baby” Cutler.

13. Washington Redskins — Josh Freeman — QB — Kansas State

I’m thinking that the Redskins would really have liked to have made this pick Sanchez. If they don’t trade up, Freeman will be their consolation prize. Either way, the Jason Campbell experience may be a limited-time engagement in the nation’s capital.

14. New Orleans Saints — Michael Oher — OT — Ole Miss

Why not add a dominant left tackle to protect Brees’ blind spot? Knowshon Moreno could very well end up here.

15. Houston Texans — Rey Maualuga — LB — USC

Maualuga is the first of the heralded USC ‘backer trio to come off the board, but his former running mates will not be far behind. Houston has a solid foundation on offense with Matt Schaub, Steve Slaton, and Andre Johnson at the skill positions. Now it’s time to build around star defensive end Mario Williams and pro bowl linebacker DeMeco Ryans. Maualuga looks like a Ray Lewis clone (but without the whole murder rap thing — oh wait, you didn’t forget about that did you?).

16. San Diego Chargers — Clay Matthews III — DE/LB — USC

Matthews is the second straight Trojan ‘backer off the board. With a proven pedigree (his father, grandfather, and uncle were all NFL stars), Clay III should provide great insurance for a team that could surprise many and jump back into Super Bowl contention. Shawn Merriman was out for the season in2008, and with him went the Chargers’ Super Bowl aspirations. Why not go after the best available rush-linebacker talent left on the board and at least supply your team with another rush option when Merriman inevitably leaves via free agency?

17. NY Jets — Percy Harvin — WR — Florida

The most dangerous weapon on the best team in college football last year becomes perhaps the biggest question mark heading into the pro game. Where will this guy play? Is he a wide receiver? Is he a running back? Does he take the snaps in the Wildcat formation? Does he pour the water on the bench? Can he hold a clipboard? The questions are endless!

18. Chicago Bears — Darrius Heyward-Bey — WR — Maryland

Damn. I keep picking the same position back-to-back. No matter. The Bears need to give Cry Baby a target, and Heyward-Bey brings a ton to the table. He has great size (6-2) and ran the fastest 40 at the combine (4.25). For a QB that has an absolute cannon for an arm, those are some good qualities. I just hope he doesn’t mind changing any diapers.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Malcolm Jenkins — CB — Ohio St.

I know that Jenkins projects more as a FS than CB in the pro game, but he actually fits the Tampa-2 defense like a glove. While he doesn’t cover like a glove, his 6-foot, 204-pound frame should be ideal to press at the line of scrimmage and support in defensing the run. After watching the beatdown that Carolina gave Ronde Barber on MNF last year, the Bucs could use some size on the outside more than most.

20. Detriot Lions — Eben Britton — OT — Arizona

This is the safe pick after drafting a rookie QB. A good team would make this pick, so I’m doubting that it will happen…

21. Philadelphia Eagles — Knowshon Moreno — RB — Georgia

Does he fall this far? I doubt it. Will I jump for joy, high-fiving Jack of All Sports and The Phoenix in joy and call my dad to excitedly talk football? YES! Will any of this happen? No.

22. Minnesota Vikings — Aaron Maybin — DE/OLB — Penn St.

This will not happen, but I think it would be awesome if the Vikings had four Pro Bowlers (to join Jared “Mullet” Allen and the Williams Pat and Kevin). If I were Brad Childress, I would do two things: (1) buy a hair-piece and (2) trade up for a franchise quarterback in order to stop killing the career of Adrian Peterson. Is it an Andy Reid thing to get a great player and not give him any help?

23. New England Patriots — Brian Cushing — OLB — USC

Cushing falls this low because of the steroid concerns. (OK, I’m just looking for something to justify forgetting him until this point. He did have steroid questions, but they were roundly dismissed. I mean, it was just flaxeed oil and a cream.) This would be the ideal location for a player with Cushing’s skill set, as Charlie Weis recruited him while he was still the offensive coordinator for Bellicheck. They know him and would love him in Foxboro.

24. Atlanta Falcons –Vontae Davis — CB — Illinois

Atlanta couldn’t stop Arizona’s passing attack in the Wild-card round last year, and they could have done some damage had they advanced. Drafting Davis will do a lot to help a talented defense play more aggressively in the future.

25. Miami Dolphins — Brandon Pettigrew — TE — Oklahoma St.

The ‘Fins need a receiver in the worst way, so Bill Parcells looks into his past for the answer. In Pettigrew, Parcells will have a modern-day Mark Bavaro — a tight end who can block and receive with the best. Not only that, but how have we not talked about the Tuna and the ‘Fins? Ta-Ta-Ta Tuna and the Fins.

26. Baltimore Ravens — Hakeem Nicks — WR — UNC

It doesn’t happen much, but the Pittsburgh Steelers physically dominated the Ravens in last year’s AFC Championship Game. Want to stop it? Pick up a big, physical WR to add a little ‘tude and give Joe Flacco a big target to grow with.

27. Indianapolis Colts — Peria Jerry — DT — Mississippi

Stopping the run is always the key for Indy’s playoff hopes. In 2006, Bob Sanders and Booger McFarland keyed the Colts’ surprise run to the Lombardi Trophy. In ‘07 and ‘08, the Chargers ran all over them with Darren Sproles (who earned himself a nice raise with the franchise tag this offseason).

28. Buffalo Bills — Chris Wells — RB — Ohio St.

It doesn’t look like Marshawn Lynch will be the heir-apparent to Thurman Thomas. Time to give Beanie Wells a shot.

29. New York Giants — Kenny Britt — WR — Rutgers

Maybe a reach here for the 6-3 star from Piscataway, but Eli Manning needs a bigger target to throw to now that Plaxico Burress is finally on his way out. Britt is still lanky and has room to fill out in the future.

30. Tennessee Titans — Connor Barwin — OLB — Cincinnati

A former tight end that can hopefully become a playmaker for a Titans defense that will be HURTING without Albert Haynesworth.

31. Arizona Cardinals — Alex Mack — C — Cal

The Secret World of Alex Mack comes to the Valley of the Sun next season. Will there be holes for any ‘Zona running backs, though?

32. Pittsburgh Steelers — William Beatty — OT — Connecticut

The weak spot for the defending champions is the offensive line. Why not start there with the title defense?

Anyway, I’m done.  If you stuck around the whole way, I’m impressed.

More impressed than with my picks anyway…

By Kevin O’Connor
DR. SPORTS FAN

The one given in life is death. It’s a pessimistic view on life, so I’m told. Yesterday afternoon, death came to Harry Kalas; but it came with him doing what he loved the most: getting ready to call a game.

We should all be so lucky.

While Chicago had the comical Harry Caray, St. Louis the poetic Jack Buck, and New York the distinctive Mel Allen; Philadelphia had a best friend in Harry Kalas. In an age when sports figures have had a rough go of things in Philly (to put it lightly), Harry was a man that owned a corner penthouse in the hearts of Philadelphia sports fans.

Not every sports fan has listened to a game called by the man whom Philadelphians fondly refer to as Harry the K, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a sports fan that did not hear his famous “Outta here!” home-run call. Not everyone would know his face, but his was the only voice that several generations of Phillies fans ever knew. From 1971 until 2009, we had Harry. And we loved him.

The players loved him too. Over the years — after a big win — Harry could be found in locker room, congratulating Phillies players, always with a cold one and a smoke in his mouth (or a heater, as he liked to call them). Watching Sportscenter last night, I heard John Kruk nearly breakdown describing how Harry was like a father figure and best friend all rolled into one, I listened as Larry Bowa talked about Harry’s happiest moment (when the Phils won the 1980 World Series), and I took notice when Michael Jack Schmidt (that’s Mike Schmidt to the non-Philly fans reading) remembered the greatest Phillies announcer of all time.

From the first baseball game that I attended as a youngster — when Lenny Dykstra hit a three-run homer to win it in the eighth — Harry was with me every step of the way. He was with me through the highs of the ’93 team that nearly shocked the world, when the lows of the ’94 strike lingered over Veterans Stadium through the late ’90s, until Phillies baseball returned when Jim Thome arrived in 2003 to make it all better.

In seasons good and bad, our ears were never cheated when someone in red pinstripes went deep or when one of our hurlers came up with a big strikeout. Harry, we were lucky.

We were there for Harry, too, when his best friend and fellow Hall of Famer Richard “Whitey” Ashburn passed away on a cloudy day in September 1997. Having spent nearly 30 years together calling Phillies games, these two were best buds — and you could tell. When His Whiteness — as Harry liked to call him — passed, a part of Harry went with him, my dad always said.

In recent years, Harry’s health became a topic of discussion whenever he was on the TV. Instead of laughing at my goofy impressions of Harry, my dad instead couldn’t help but notice how all those late night cold ones and “heaters” were finally catching up to him. But he hung in there through all the near misses of the mid 2000s (or “Millennios” as I like to refer to them as) when the Fightins’ just couldn’t quite get over the hump and into the playoffs. More importantly, he hung in there long enough to witness the Great September of ’07 and the Great October of ’08.

His death brings sorrow to us all, yet I feel worse for future baseball fans who will never hear his beautiful voice on a warm summer afternoon. I owe a huge part of my fanhood to the man, because who else would’ve called all those home runs I hit in my dreams? Who else called the pitch when I struck out the batter on a 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded to win the World Series in game seven?

And who else could’ve said it better when I watched the first Philadelphia championship in my 24 years?

While he collapsed before yesterday’s Phils-Nationals afternoon contest, I like to think that he was on his way to be reunited with His Whiteness to call the Old Timer’s Game. Some things are just meant to be.

Harry, it was an honor.

By Kevin O’Connor
DR. SPORTS FAN

The headline said it all.

Baseball Writers Brace for the End.

Granted, I know a lot of sports fans didn’t see it, but that was the main article in Tuesday’s sports section of the Wall Street Journal. (Yes, all one page of it — seriously, their sports section is just one side of one page. Believe it.) To me, it shows that sports world is not quite ready to move on and unyielding to the coming storm.

The game is about to change. Most newspapers — save for a few stalwarts — are going to join the dinosaurs, dodo bird, and black skin on Michael Jackson as extinct species. As Darth Vadar said to Luke before he died, nothing can stop that now.

Maybe they weren’t expecting the industry to topple over on itself so quickly. Who could have predicted the immediacy of it all? We all knew that the Internet would replace most newspapers  some day, but it seems like every day brings more bad news for the industry. I guess the economy is part of it, as every business can feel the weight of the Great Recession. Or maybe it’s just me, but I wasn’t ready for it to come this soon.

(Time Out)

If I knew that the toppling of newspapers was so imminent, I would have created a sports journalism Web site a little sooner.  Just saying.

(Time In)

In hindsight, however, the reason for their demise has become plainly obvious to me. The newspaper industry — namely sports writers — was just unable to adapt quickly enough. I know that a lot of people don’t believe in evolution or Darwinism (the word ignorance comes to mind), but adaptation and natural selection are central themes to biology.

Sure newspapers are adapting now. But just as the dodo bird failed to reproduce enough to sustain its species — and how Michael Jackson kept taking his nose under the knife to the point that there was nothing left to cut — newspapers have waded too close to the waterfall. Publishers can paddle as hard as they want now, setting up blogs on newspaper Web sites for instance, but the current has gotten too strong for them. They’re about to go over the edge.

It’s a shame, too, because people don’t want them to go. There’s no public outcry for the systematic elimination of our nation’s newspapers. But everyone knows that it’s happening. It reminds me about the end of college. We didn’t usually go out partying in the last few weeks of school because more important things were happening. Instead of throwing a fraternity party, people were cramming for finals or searching for full-time jobs, and alucky few were already beginning their careers. In the newspaper world, those lucky enough to remain employed as journalists are cramming to keep their paper alive. Some recent layoffs are either looking to catch on somewhere else or are contemplating a career change, and a lucky few have already moved on to new jobs and new careers on the Internet.

Funny how things work.

But back to that Wall Street Journal article about baseball writers. That well-written article — by Russell Adams and Tim Marchman (funny how the best papers use two writers for one story; I never got that) — cuts to the heart of this whole problem: the failure to adapt in the sports journalism world. Most of the developed world now gets its news, information and entertainment instantly from across the globe on the Web. Why aren’t these press boxes filled with baseball writers from baseball Web sites?

My best guess to that question is that the numbers will only grow in the future, and I hope that Taking Back Sports is a part of that.

But there’s also a dark cloud over the entire sports journalism industry. Professionally trained sports writers are sometimes writing about the same things as Joe the Sports Fan does on his sports blog. In world where everyone’s voice is equal, anyone with a computer and internet access can play Sports Guy. Coincidentally, Bill Simmons is the sports journalist best suited for today’s world: He’s always watching sports on TV, he keeps up with current events and pop culture, and he probably is never far from his laptop.

The center of the universe in sports today is either in front of a TV or your computer. It’s no longer relevant whether or not you’re at the game live and in person.

Truth be told, I would prefer to cover an event live than to watch a whole day’s worth of sports on TV. It’s just a personal preference. I believe that part of the game gets lost over the airwaves, and the truest way to experience life is to live it, not watch it on TV.

In today’s ADD infested world — where infinite quantities of information are at your finger tips — time is of the essence. Hours wasted while waiting for the newspapers to be delivered in the morning chase potential readers to more immediate news sources, likely regardless of the quality.

That is why great sports sections everywhere have become out-of-date along with their obsolete newspapers. That isn’t to say that sports journalism is on the endangered-species list. Sports journalists need merely to adapt.

Hopefully, they’ll do so quicker than newspapers have.

By Kevin O’Connor
DR. SPORTS FAN

My girlfriend is really nice girl. In fact, she’s sometimes too nice.

She loves to shop, wants very badly to get a puppy, and is a few weeks away from graduating from law school.

She is many things, but what she is not is a sports fan. Sorry, that’s an understatement. Her goal for last year’s football season was to be able to make one accurate observation. I made her watch a lot of football and, believe me when I tell you, it’s going to take a few more seasons to truly grasp the concept of a West Coast Offense, if you know what I mean.

(Time Out)

I would be remiss if I did not mention that she made her first solid observation during the Super Bowl. She correctly — in my HUMBLE opinion — felt that the roughing the kicker call on Adrian Wilson in the third quarter was a tad whimpy. Never a good sign for an unnecessary roughness penalty when someone who’s afraid of flies thinks you’re reaching for it.

Long story short (too late), she made good on her promise.

(Time In)

If I am Dr. Sports Fan, my girlfriend has some working to do before earning the title of Sports Nurse.

Of course, none of this stopped her from running away with her office’s NCAA Tournament bracket pool. Not only did a girl with absolutely no knowledge of college hoops win her office pool, she won it going away BEFORE the National Championship Game.

She did, however, receive some help along the way.

Starting with me: I told her to simply pick the school with the lowest number (that’s highest seed for everyone that isn’t a sports nitwit — sorry!). After that, I said she’d be better off picking her favorite schools from the Elite Eight on.

Apparently my advice wasn’t good enough for her, and frankly — with my track record in these things — I don’t blame her.

You see, I’ve been filling out brackets for ten years, and for ten years, I’ve been eliminated by the Elite Eight. This year I turned away from bracketology. Just didn’t seem right to just give away $5 (like I’ve done every other March since puberty).

Since my Take Back colleague Jack of All Sports is a fellow citizen of America’s Finest City, he was another valuable resource to her.

But it was when she went to her father that she got the clinching information. His main advice, “Pick UNC to win it all.”

Like the complete NCAA Bracket moron that I am, I disagreed.

“North Carolina’s best player (Ty Lawson) is injured,” I said, scoffing at her ignorance. “You should’ve picked Pitt.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

My girlfriend, of course, credited me for her victory — see, I told you she’s nice — but the truth is that she’s already smarter than me in this regard. You see, she made her tournament picks with the knowledge of three people (her father, Jack of All Sports, and me). Normal fans like us just go with what’s in our own head (which, let’s face it, is probably lacking many of its original brain cells), where as geniuses like my girlfriend make these decisions with the aid of three minds!

In hindsight, I’m so amazed.

So when you go to fill out your tournament bracket in 2010, don’t forget to ask the girls in your life. They may know more about these things than we do!

By Kevin O’Connor
DR. SPORTSFAN

I have officially had enough.

If a sports fan uproar is like a wildfire, then the media provide the lighter fluid and matches. The only problem: They take zero responsibility for that.

That’s nothing new, I know, but it all came to a head today with a column from one of Philly’s best, Rich Hoffman of the (soon to be defunct) Philadelphia Daily News.

Let me start by saying that, being a Philly guy, I follow a lot of the Inquirer and Daily News coverage. Despite living across the country from my hometown, I am still able to keep up with my favorite sports teams thanks to the internet. In fact, I don’t think I would’ve survived the move without them.

But I digress.

Long story short (too late), most of my rant today is brought to you by them.

This morning, I’m checking up my normal Web sites before I get ready for work. One of my last stops was philly.com, where I couldn’t help but notice the headline, Phillies’ World Series title makes life tougher on Eagles — Hoffman’s column from Friday’s paper.

Now let me preface this rant by saying that Hoffman is one of the absolute best columnists in the country. He has won multiple awards and was twice named Philly best sports writer. He’s so money, and he doesn’t even know it.

But like when Mikey got back from the bar in Swingers and couldn’t stop calling that girl he met at the bar, this was not Hoffman’s finest hour.

Hoffman apparently thinks that — get this — the fans have been really after the Eagles in new and cruel ways since the Phillies won the World Series. Apparently in Rich’s mind, once us Philly fans went black, we never went back.

I’ll let him put it in his own words.

And in the end, in the aftermath of the Phillies winning the World Series, I could not remember a more negative Eagles season when it came to my interaction with the people who root for this football team.

The bombardment was relentless - and that is the exact word, bombardment. For the first time ever, people fired coach Andy Reid in the newspaper. Day after day, the e-mails flooded in whenever a defense of Reid was raised. People in the Wawa were brutal. Callers on the radio were worse. I know, I know - it goes with the territory when you are the most popular team in town and you haven’t won a championship since 1960. And, yes, this is all anecdotal.

Ok, so let’s get this straight: It was the fans that called for Andy Reid’s firing. People in Wawa were brutal.

(Time out — Zach Morris style)

For those of you who aren’t from the northeast — namely, the Philly to D.C. region — Wawa is like a super 7-11. It has a fresh deli where they make hoagies (or subs to the unenlightened) and has all the usual charm of your local convenience store. I miss it so much…

(Time in)

To his credit (he is a prize-winning journalist after all), Hoffman does not forget to mention the media’s…well, special cameo role in this Eagles saga.

“I am willing to consider that some of it was media-driven, but I don’t think that explains it all.”

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

In the sports world, the media have the biggest mouth. Sports journalists — or to put it more aptly, sports personalities — are the initial source for all information regarding sports. Sure sports fan blogs and talk radio have given sports fans a voice like never before, but you can’t even watch a game on TV without hearing Joe Buck and Troy Aikman’s take on what your eyes can see.

Let’s just say this isn’t exactly a fair fight, Mr. Hoffman.

But — like all things today it seems — the media have gone A.I.G. on us when it comes to sharing the blame. They’re quick to point the finger but lack the ability to look in the mirror (which in some cases isn’t too pretty, if you get what I’m saying).

That’s why I hope that Web sites like Taking Back Sports take off. While we are aspiring journalists, we make sure to always remember that we are sports fans first. The mainstream media have far too long painted fans as the bad guys. It’s time for us fans to take our rightful place at the end of all sports tables.

After all, we foot the bill for these athletes’ large, ridiculous salaries. I say that makes us stock holders; and right now, I don’t like the way our sports are being covered — not one bit.

So next time I make a fire, I’m going to start by lighting up the sports section.

It already comes complete with lighter fluid and matches.

By Kevin O’Connor
DR. SPORTS FAN

The past couple months have not been kind to anyone’s wallet.

As my dad always said, “My money’s funny. When I take out my wallet, it laughs at me.”

While this current economic situation has been bad news bears to everyone (well, almost everyone), I also remember my dad telling me that there’s a silver lining to every cloud.

The good news is that maybe this economic downturn will positively affective the everyday sports fan. The only problem is, you can’t expect it to happen overnight.

You’ll just have to wait for the sports ticket bubble to burst.

Three of the sporting world’s richest franchises — New York Yankees, New York Mets and Dallas Cowboys — are moving into some lavish digs in 2009. These aren’t just some regular everyday upgrades, mind you, but rather these new stadia (if you will — and I will) cost a combined $3.5 billion to build.

Whoa.

Even though that’s just your typical car loan to the U.S. government, the common, everyday sports fan will never EVER see $3.5 billion in person.

(Well, unless they travel to see all three of these ballparks. But I digress.)

The good thing is $3.5 billion goes a long way. Let’s just say that these franchises had no clue that they were doubling down on the worst economy since the Great Depression.

Starting with the most frugal of this trio — if that term can actually apply here — the New York Mets; their new stadium, aptly named Citi Field, was built for around a modest $600 million. After spending the past 45 years in Shea Stadium, the Amazins’ will be spending the foreseeable future in a modern day homage to the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field.

In short, the paying customer will not be disappointed upon settling into what will surely be an intimate ballpark.

Of course, there is that whole Citi Group banking fiasco. But I’m here to tell you that, thankfully, Citi Field is in fact giving back to the citizens. Talk about a bailout, giving the people what they want!

While the Mets will receive their taxpayer-funded, corporate-naming-rights endorsement, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is wondering why no one is showing him the money. According to some reports, Falseface (an out-dated reference to the 1960s Batman bad-guy) was hoping he could get as much as $1 billion for the naming rights to his new stadium. No dice, Tex.

He’ll need some company to step up to the plate and pay for the stadium’s naming rights because Dallas’ new stadium will end up costing Falseface over $1.1 billion. Texas Stadium cost $35 million to build in the late 1960s, whereas $35 million was barely enough to purchase the Cowboys’ new 160-foot long, high-definition scoreboard.

(Time Out — Zach Morris Style.)

Imagine that baby in your living room. I know, impossible. But that hasn’t stopped me from taking out the measuring tape. Frankly, I don’t think it would fit in my court. A large TV is a B-E-A-utiful idea.

(Time In.)

Even though few teams are as lavish as the Cowboys under Jones, no one can compare with the wealth of the New York Yankees

Take New Yankee Stadium. At a cost of about $1.5 billion, the Steinbrenners have certainly spared no expense. And just in case you can’t see the action from your obscenely priced nosebleed seat, there’s a modest (by Dallas’ standards) 59-foot high by 101-foot wide high-definition LED screen for your viewing pleasure.

Down from 56,886 in Old Yankee Stadium to 52,325 (including standing room) in New Yankee Stadium, the seating capacity has followed the trend of almost every new ballpark. Ticket prices, of course, have gone up, WAY UP. But that is nothing new and certainly not unexpected by any means.

So how does any of this help the average sports fan afford these absolutely obscene season ticket prices? It certainly isn’t helping Cowboys fans like Linda Taylor, who learned that her $130-per-game tickets she’d owned for years skyrocketed to $340 per game in the new stadium. Of course, don’t forget about that $35,000 personal seat license, or as common people refer to that monetary amount: a new Acura!

But patience — my fellow sports fans — ticket prices will turn around in good time. All it will take is time, for — according to the Wall Street Journal — the sports ticket price bubble to burst.

Corporations are already feeling the burn. Regardless of the whether or not they can afford the steep ticket prices, or just want to avoid the public scrutiny that comes with lavish spending in the Great Recession, they’re pulling out of luxury boxes and premium seating faster than you can say AIG.

According to that same Wall Street Journal article, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office gave up its luxury seats it had secured in New Yankee Stadium following public backlash, Bank of America ended negotiations on a $20-million-a-year sponsorship deal and all teams are having extreme difficulty selling out premium seats and luxury boxes.

With profits tied directly to corporate sponsorship and premium seat purchasing, there will only be one place for the owners to turn if they want to sell their tickets.

That’s right, you the fan. That is, of course, if you’ll take them back.

Jay Jaffe, a former Yankees season ticket holder, found his former $25-a-game tickets were bumped to $85-a-game in a section further away than before. Let’s just say he wasn’t tickled by that notion.

“Literally, my words were, ‘Are you f***ing kidding me?’ ” Jaffe told the Wall Street Journal.

Just wait until the Steinbrenners come crawling back, Jaffe. Until then, maybe you should invest in a 40-inch, high-definition TV. Thankfully, it will fit in your living room, and it won’t set you back the down payment of your next home.

Something tells me that you might need that.