Mikey D

~The Lions gave up 56 points to the Eagles, and I'm not surprised. McNabb playing with a chip on his shoulder, Westbrook demanding the ball all week, the Eagles coming off two losses, a home game in Philadelphia...oh yeah, and possibly THE WORST pass defense I've ever seen. Even the Browns and Bengals thought that was bad. At least Cleveland got lit up by Chad Johnson and T.J., and Cincy by Braylon and Winslow, we got lit up by Kevin Curtis. Kevin fucking Curtis.


~So I should be down this week since the Lions lost, right? Actually no. Is there a more perfect week to catch the Bears? We get them at home, our defense has something to prove (obviously), division rival, and most importantly, Chicago looks bad. Their defense hasn't clicked yet, and their offense is stuck in the mud. We can go two games up on the Bears if we can take this one. That would be huge. 3-1 with a two game lead on the Bears would be a mighty impressive start to the season. It might actually make me forget about this past weekend's game. Kevin fucking Curtis.


~Fantasy football this year has reached a different kind of frustration for me. In years past I would always try to tweak my team and pull off trades because I would always have one glaring weakness that I couldn't stand. This years team is just under performing. I think about what I would have done differently in the draft, and without the knowledge I have now, I wouldn't have done anything different. I like Brees and Bulger. I like Tomlinson, Portis, Jones-Drew, Benson. I like Wayne, Fitzgerald, Evans, and Walker. I like Gates at tight end. Really, who has a team with more under performing players? Bulger, Brees, Fitzgerald, Walker, Evans, Tomlinson- that's 6 guys! And if you didn't notice, that's both my QBs, all my WRs, and supposedly the best back in the NFL! For the first time in years, I feel like there's no moves I can make. I feel like I just have to stay on board and hope the ship rights itself...judging by the way it's tilting right now, the bottom of the ocean is pretty close looking.


~I still think Stacey has the most balanced fantasy team. She's going to be tough every week, especially if Brady keeps playing lights out. 900 yards and 9 TDs in three games? Wow. And Barber is a fantasy beast. Even with the coaching change, he's still the man in Dallas.


~Let's compare the numbers of Harrington and Schaub against Carolina:
Joey Harrington: 31-44, 361 yards, 2 TDs, 0 ints
Matt Schaub: 20-28, 227, 2 TDs, o ints
Fairly comparable, yes? I want to reiterate that Atlanta trading away Schaub was not the worst move of the offseason, especially if you want to say it was by comparing Harrington and Schaub. Joey has faced much tougher defenses than Schaub (his first came against Indy, and he failed), but when it comes down to it, an easy pass defense is easy to throw against for anybody, even Joey Harrington. Now Schaub will have the better year, but that's mostly because he has a better team around him. I honestly can't picture him doing that much better than Harrington if he was still in Atlanta.


~Speaking of Atlanta, DeAngelo Hall apparently got the shit kicked out of him by his own teammates for getting into it with Bobby Petrino. Fucking awesome. Don't think those players are behind their head coach? They just kicked the shit out of their all-pro corner!


~Grace and I went to the Phillies-Nationals game in D.C. this past weekend. I bought the cheapest seats I could find, and low and behold they were in the Phillies' fans section. Everybody around us was a Phillies fan. Let me just tell you, this was the most fun I've had a ball game in a long time. Rooting for the Phillies these past couple of weeks has been a blast. Everybody knocks Philly fans for being rude and such, but they are the most passionate and loyal fans I've ever been around. Sure they'll boo you if you're playing like shit, but that's only because they care about you so much. Tough love.


Anyway, this whole section of Philly fans was so loud the entire game. They made sure they were heard throughout the stadium. Philadelphia fans migrated from all parts of the stadium to be near our section. The Philly fans had chant after chant ready, from "Expos Suck" to "This is our house!" to "M-V-P" every time Jimmy Rollins stepped to the plate. They were all done in good fun, and none of the fans were out of control.

Yet, security was brought to our section. They yelled at the entire section and told them to shut-up or they'd be kicked out. It was kind of ridiculous. Since when couldn't you root for your team? One of the security guards reminded me of the cop in Harold and Kumar. You know the one, "Kumar, how do you spell that, with like four o's and two u's?". Well remember when Kumar gives that whole speech about how the only reason he was a cop was so he could push around people still? Well that cop was there that night. And he was an ass.

During the Philly fans' rendition of "D.C. sucks" the cop tried to pick on a guy that was bigger than him. He told the guy to "say it again" and he'd kick him out. The guy just looked him in the eyes and shouted it louder. Priceless. Of course the security guy didn't do anything, because he only pushes around those that are smaller than him. He just left mutter, "I'll get you", whatever that means.

Anyway, throughout the 9th and 10th inning it was non-stop cheering and clapping from these fans. They were so into the game! As a baseball fan you wish every fan of your teams was into the game like these fans. It made being at the game memorable (because that stadium, RFK, was not...what a fucking dump). Being around those fans made me want to be a Philly fan. Those are some die-hards.

Anyway, that was a top-5 game I've ever been to. Right up there with the Tiger's playoff game from last year and catching Jimmy Rollins' home run in Philadelphia. It was purely based on atmosphere alone, as the stadium was shit. Totally unique and fun baseball experience.

~Mikey D