It was on this date in 1947 that Jackie Robinson took the field for the first time in the Major Leagues. He received a steady stream of death threats, and racial slurs were hurled at him constantly. Some of his teammates refused to talk to him, and opponents jeered him from the opposing dugout. And yet, in an environment that no athlete before or since has ever had to endure or will ever have to endure, Robinson excelled. He was named Rookie of the Year, and two years later he was named Baseball’s Most Valuable Player. He destroyed the notion that blacks were inferior with his actions and behavior both on and off the field. He could have easily remained in the Negro Leagues and made good money and never had to bear such an enormous burden . But he was placed on earth for a higher purpose, and he more than fulfilled it. There are very few people who I truly consider my heroes. Jackie Robinson is one of them.
RELATED: A sportswriter on the field that day reminisces.

…in town today. Joe Girardi is announcing the Phillies game against the Astros.

You all remember Willie Gee, right? The friend of mine from back home who had been fired from over 25 jobs, in easily one of the funniest things ever posted on this website. Well, with a resume like that, I had to hire him as a sports reporter for the website. And you’ll be happy to note: Willie decided to go back to school, and is currently enrolled at VCU. This week he talks about the injustice of the PacMan Jones ruling by the NFL:
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 is a day that will forever live in infamy for the National Football League, at least in the eyes of its fans that still believe in a free society. This is due to the suspensions of Adam “Pac Man” Jones (1 year) and Chris Henry (8 games) for their alleged violations of the league’s new personal conduct policy which was recently implemented by commissioner Roger Goodell. This is a fascist policy that has underlying racial, cultural, and economic motives which transcend football and flow powerfully into society. It is one that perfectly exemplifies the perceived “White man’s burden.” The NFL is creating a system where they are attempting to police society with a paternal, father knows best approach that effectively reduces the league’s players (who are a majority black) to nothing more than chattel. See, the NFL’s governing bodies and the sports media which covers them seem to believe that the league’s young black players need a paternal white father figure to guide them through life. Moreover, under the new personal conduct policy in the NFL, there is no due process and the players are basically nothing more than million dollar slaves. Although all the talking heads in the media “applaud the commissioner on his new policy”, they seem to forget that the role of punishing individuals in our society belongs to the courts and to law enforcement. It is therefore up to them, and only them, to punish these players for conduct off the field.

Continue reading “Willie Gee Discusses Pac Man” →

Barry Melrose of ESPN ranks his favorite mullets of all time.

…they get rid of the only player who hit with runners in scoring position last year. Of course, that’s not a problem this year, as they are betting well over .140 with runners in scoring position.

With the Phillies all but mathematically eliminated from this year’s playoffs with perhaps the worst bullpen in the history of baseball, one has to wonder, “Why don’t we still have the A’s, dammit? Why did Oakland get the good Philly baseball team and we got a team that is 39 losses away from becoming the 2nd team in sports history to lose 10,000 games? (The first team, the Washington Generals, lost to the Globetrotters every single day for 30 years.) After all, the Philadelphia A’s won 5 World Series in 50 years while the Phillies have won 1 in 123. And I bet the A’s have never had as bad of a bullpen as we do this year. Well, here’s the story from the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society.
Lack of sufficient funds, absence of a full minor league system, the age of Connie Mack and the growing popularity of the Phillies in 1950 all contributed to empty seats at Shibe Park (re-named Connie Mack Stadium officially in 1953) Eventually, sons Roy and Earl Mack would buy controlling shares of the club from remaining Shibe family members and their half brother, Connie Mack Jr. To do so, they assumed a large mortgage. The debt load, coupled with the unfortunate decision to sell the concessions ( a major income source ) led to the sale of the club in 1954 to Arnold Johnson who moved the team to Kansas City despite several local efforts to buy the club which were not accepted by the American League.

Screw you, Arnold Johnson! Screw you!
There’s more info on how the team moved after the jump

Continue reading “We want the A’s back!!!” →

Am I the only one who thinks it’s a little more than coincidence that the Phillies unbelievably miserable opening week performance occurred right before the unveiling of “The Curse of William Penn” at the Philadelphia Film Festival, a movie about how miserable Philly sports teams make their fans? Yeah, I had a feeling that Hollywood liberals were behind the 0-3 start.

Anyone who thinks that the Phils won’t miss the wild card by a goddamm game again this year is kidding themselves. The season is over. And yes, we will look back on opening week and say, “Dagburnit, maybe we’d be in the playoffs if Shane Victorino had listened that day in f****** T-ball practice when the rest of us learned that we don’t f****** steal 3rd with a 2 run lead, 1 out and a left handed hitter at the plate. ESPECIALLY WHEN THAT HITTER IS RYAN F****** HOWARD!!!” Nope, apparently Victorino swallowed a ladybug or something and missed practice that day.

Well, I’ve got enough problems with anxiety that I don’t need this horses*** team to me any more riled up. The Phillies are dead to me. Good riddance. I’m going to get a new hobby. Like breakdancing or doing the dishes. I don’t need this b******* for the next 6 months. I don’t need it.

P.S. Don’t even get me started on the goddamm bullpen.

Just wanted to wish a happy birthday to former Phil Scott Rolen! Although things didn’t really work…

{…uh, wait a second, what?… Reaaaaaally! It’s like that, huh? But there’s no reason to point blame at just one pers…oh, really? So I should just keep my mouth shut and go with the flow? But aren’t these things a two way str…no? So it was entirely his fault and there can be no discussion? Or you will physically beat me? Gotcha.}

…so where was I? Oh yeah, so f*** Scott Rolen.

-Good news, gang. Driving Zamboni’s while intoxicated is not against the law, at least not in New Jersey. What’s everybody up to this weekend?

-However, you can be fired if you work at a rink and you decide to drive the Zamboni to Burger King.

-Should Canadians send a Zamboni to the moon to rearrange moon dust?