donnie65's Blog

People calling in to sports talk radio are beginning to wonder if Ryan Howards prolonged early season slump could be a sign of a bad season.Even though the Phillies have played over thirty games,the season is still early.Lets wait until at least the middle of June before we decide to boo him.He got off to a horrible start last year and rebounded but was able to use his injury as an excuse.Howards apparantly healthy now so the expectations are higher.I say let him play out of it and he'll be fine.

 Some people are saying we should boycott the summer games in China over the harsh treatment of the Monks in Tibet.Our country did this in 1980 and a lot of promising athletes missed the opportunity of a lifetime to compete against the best athletes in world.The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was the reason for this.We had no idea at the time, but the same group of people we were upset of having their freedom violated by the Soviets would later be known as the Taliban, who as we all know, turned on our country.I'm getting way off of the topic here.All I really wanted to say whether it's 1936 in Berlin,or 1980 in Moscow, or this summer in Bejiing, our young athletes shouldn't  be made pawns in international poltical games.

I was shocked and saddened by the untimely passing of John Marzano yesterday. I enjoyed watching him on Comcast Sportsnet and always listened to him on WIP before he left to host a show on XM Radio. He truly cared about Philadelphia and it was evident in the Hitting Center he ran to help young aspiring baseball players.This should make us all think about how fleeting life really is.John always looked like the picture of health on TV and to see this happen to a man in the prime of his life proves how short life can be.Baseball and the Delaware Valley lost a not only great ambassador to baseball but more importantly, a great man.

I'm looking forward to next Jan 20 when Pres. Bush leaves office.His policy of lying and having our servicemen killed and even more maimed  has all but assured John McCain won't have the chance to continue this failed war.I think the majority of Americans are sick of this expensive war and whether it's Hillary or Obama,they at least will offer hope of finally ending this war.Our economy is in turmoil and a few will argue the economy  ebbs and flows in cycles over a long period but even the most loyal Bush supporter has to admit the endless amounts of money the Bush Adm. has invested in this war is taking its toll on our economy.I bet a lot of people don't even know there's actually more US contractors than US Troops in Iraq.I guess it's good to know someone's making a profit.

Reading and hearing about the murder of Sean Conroy reminds us all how vulnerable we are in the subway.It also brings back a frightening memory when I was approached by several teenagers who taunted and threatened me while i was riding the L in West Philly many years ago.I was fearing for my life but luckily for me this disturbing incident never escalated to the point of last weeks gruesome and unprovoked attack.I've been on both subway sytems since and never once had a problem.This terrible incident brings back the memory I have of many years ago and proves all of us aren't as safe as we might think.

After celebrating Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aarons home run record last year,the Giants management has decided to remove all of Bonds likeness from Pac Bell Park.The Giants decision to conceal all of the outstanding records he set only helps make clear what a joke the steroid era was.Now that Bonds is out of the game , they can act like he never existed,especially, since he's no longer generating the millions he created over the last fifteen years. I think it's funny that management permitted all of this, yet no one is calling them out to be investigated for allowing this to go on for many years.

The Eagles made a big splash in the new free agency seaon by cornerback signing  Asante Samuel. The Eagles have plenty of depth at this position now.The main question will Lito Shepherd still be an Eagle?The answer to that question at this time seems no.Shepherd is rumoured to be unhappy with his contract situation so the Eagles could trade him.The Eagles are also supposed to be close to signing Chris Clemons who had eight sacks for a deaful Raiders team last year.The Eagles are off to an excellent start of adding much needed to talent to regain the edge they had over most of the decade.This won't be enough without adding talent on the offensive side but it's a good start.

The hearing on Capitol Hill last week was a total joke on both sides.Where was the commisioner when his daughter,the owner of the Brewers,(which we all know was handed over to her when Bud became commissioner)signed known streriod user Eric Gagne a day after it was announced he tested positive for steroid use? agree that steroids should be banned and as a fan I'm glad a system is finally in place.Is it really fair to choose only the biggest of names like Bonds,Clemens,Palmerio and not out the other two hundred or so who might've used steroids?I don't think so.As wrong as it was, MLB had no rules againist steroids during this era.There's only one choice but to move foreward from this point and hope the new testing will deter this from occuring again.

It was really great to see Ron Hextall inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame! His style of goal tending was quite unique.He even scored two goals which I believe is an NHL record.It was always exciting to see him come out of the crease which is what we never see in todays NHL.I'll never forget the epic Stanley Cup final loss to the Oilers in which the Flyers fought to seven games to a team that had much more talent.Congrats to Ron Hextall and good luck with his job in LA, with the Kings,who knows, maybe Hextall will land back in Philly again as Paul Holmgren's successor.

All Eagles fans are in agreement that the Eagles need to add another wide receiver for next year.After the Super Bowl,Donte Stallworth is due an eight million dollar roster bonus and there's already speculation the Pats will decline this and make Stallworth a free agent.If Stallworth is available,bringing him back would be a great start to one of the missing pieces the Eagles need.Hopefully the Eagles front office will make many moves once the Super Bowl is over.It's obvious the wide receiver spot is only one of about four other positions the Eagles can't ignore should they expect to compete with an NFL east that's past them by talent wise.

In my 42 years I only rememeber two years where the Phila. area only got a trace which was 72-73 and 97-98.I think our 2-3 inches so far has those years beat, but is this it?The first ten days of Feb. are forecast to trend mild, so are any big storms on the horizon for the last month of winter/

I wasn't suprised to hear Bud selig was retained through 2012 but  still find it odd how a man can keep his job after all the bad publicity MLB has gone through under his watch.I guess because he's a former owner himself and the owners have always considered him one of their own.Where else does a CEO get a raise and the full endorsement after all the negativity that's swirled around Bud Selig?The first bad thing was the owners endorsing one of their own which was a glaring conflict of interest.Selig justified this by relinquishing his team to his daughter which basicly still gave him control.The strike in 94,ignoring the steroid contoversy until it got totally out of control.MLB. In spite of all this,MLB has continued to grow and I guess as long as the owners get richer  he's their man! Not bad work for a man who got a raise from his $14 mil. a year salary!

  I thought the excitement of the NFL playoffs would be diminished without the Eagles.I was used to seeing the Eagles almost every year in the playoffs.This is only the third year of the nine year Reid era where the Eagles failed at a playoff bid.My excitement picked up right away last week.How could you not root for Joe Gibbs Redskins team after the Sean Taylor tradgedy?The game ended up a lopsided loss but the game was much closer than the 35-14 score indicated.The games should only get better this weekend in the divisional round.I know people want to see the Patriots go 19-0 and make history but I want them to get knocked off.I doubt it'll happen this weekend againist the Jaguars, but maybe in the AFC Championship game next week.How can you not root for Brett Favre this weekend againist his old coach Mike Holmgren?I agreed with most fans and couldn't see Favre regaining his old form but true to his competitive nature,he proved us all wrong.The Giants-Cowboys game should be entertaining also.Tony Romo had an excellent season.Can he continue this years success and erase last years debacle againist Seattle?

 The NFL has decided to let CBS and NBC simulcast this weekends game between the Patriots and Giants.I'm very happy about this since I don't have the NFL network.Roger Gudell realized the historical significance of the game and ruled in the fans best interest.A team has never gone 16-0! He's too smart to alienate loyal NFL fans.The commissioner is smart for wanting all the fans to see this event.I had the NFL network last season but comcast cut if off this year.I wasn't about to pay extra for something I didn't previously.The NFL network seems to be the loser in this but it's sure good for a change to see the best interest of the fan take precedence.I'm sure this is probably a one time occurence also.

As a true Eagles fan,it will be hard for me to follow the playoffs with the same intensity with the Eagles being eliminated.This will be only the third time this has occured in the Reid era.I think if the Eagles can give McNabb a better arsenal of weapons, the Eagles can attain playoff status again in 2008.I thought this would definitely be the end of the McNabb era after this year.Depending on who you want to believe it'll be a rebuilding process witrh Kolb or if Joe Banner wasn't lying to the fans on WIP, a 100% McNabb will be back in 2008.I hope the Eagles will make the obvious upgrades if they do bring McNabb back,if not,maybe they should rebuild and let McNabb start all over in another city.