Staff Blog
Morning Rounds, July – Lehigh Valley is the new F**k town
Morning Roundup: “Training camp is about to start and is exciting for every football fan in America. F**k Town for me.” – Chris Cooley
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| tonight’s starter, Joe Blanton |
| via athleticsnation mention SwampyD |
Three lines on their world:
- Jeremy Shockey was traded to the Saints
- The Tigers had an historic night
- With the Phils and Mets set to square off the Marlins couldn’t close the gap
Three lines on ours:
- New Phillie Joe Blanton heads to New York to face Johan and the Mets
- Rookies and selected vets have reported to Lehigh
- and the Sixers and Lou Williams are in formal contract talks
Phillies, Birds, Sixers, Flyers and Chase Utley’s return to NYC after the jump
PHILLIES
The cavalry arrives for the Phillies tonight as Joe Blanton takes the mound for the Phillies. Phils’ GM Gillick has been praising the kid’s mental toughness so it’ll be interesting to see how he performs in front out a frenzied Mets crowd.
He does have history on his side; in 15 career innings against the Mets, Blanton has not given up a run.
If he doesn’t pitch well the Phillies will be in second place for the first time since May. I predict Chase Utley will be booed.
Now, who said what …
Jim Salisbury says that Johan Santana and Joe Blanton were brought in for exactly this: a mid-July showdown. READ
David Murphy writes a short profile of Blanton. READ
Keith Gabriel gives us ten things to know about Joe Blanton. SKIP
Anthony Rieber writes that Billy Wagner is hurting. READ
Kris Benson put together a nice outing for the IronPigs; just in time for it to not matter, not even a little bit. SKIP
EAGLES
Ashley Fox says that the Eagles better pay Westbrook his money, and that Westbrook better start not wanting so much. I’m not so sure, a good compromise leaves everybody mad. READ
John Smallwood fears that he has become a negative, pessimistic curmudgeon because he’s not sold on the 08-09 Eagles as Super Bowl Champions just yet. READ
Rich Hofmann points out that the Birds don’t have any really big problems hanging over their heads. I suppose that a Brian Westbrook contract dispute does lack the flair of a T.O. contract dispute. Hopefully, that will allow them to focus on football. READ
Bob Brookover reports that Andy Reid in instituting a “30 plus club” to give veterans some time off at camp, which is a smart move that only a veteran coach could pull off. SKIP
Les Bowen reports that Coach Reid expects everyone to show up for camp. SKIP
Amidst his notes, Brookover reports that Trevor Laws has signed but will not practice due to a hurt foot and more. SKIP
SIXERS
*if you can only read one Charles Barkley tips in for college tuition. READ
Phil Jasner reports that the Sixers and Lou Williams are nearing a deal. SKIP
FLYERS
Ed Moran notes that John Stevens has been named the Hockey News Coach of the Year. READ
Matt Gelb says that Claude Giroux could help out this year. READ
TODAY and MORE
With the arrival of Blanton and various trade rumors swirling, we may try to take a look at what defines a Philadelphia athlete. Other than that, we’ll try to definitively debunk some Sixer rumors that have been flying around and should be more or less around all day. As always, feel free to email me with any questions, suggestions, comments or complaints.
