More On Sports Talk, Plus Some Sports Talk

Yesterday I talked about the local sports-talk radio stations. One thing I didn't mention in that post, but was reminded of today, is that the stations and their callers often seem to be stuck in a time warp, endlessly discussing/arguing/screaming the same tired points. An example of this was the constant whining about the Phillies not keeping Cliff Lee this season.

Now, I mentioned that I listen to WIP when my clock radio goes off and when I'm in the bathroom. When the radio clicked on today (well, after I turned it off and went back to sleep for a while and then turned it on again) there was a caller complaining about how "people talking about not wanting to sign Michael Vick to a long-term extension because he might get hurt" (like he did against Washington) are way off because Brett Favre gets hurt all the time. Favre hasn't missed a start since 1992. Vick, just this year, missed three full games and part of a fourth, and might have been out another game had it not been for the bye week. In other words, you dare not say anything negative about Vick, in this guy's mind. The next caller called Vick "sub-human," doesn't think he should be allowed to play football, etc. So the whole debate over Vick and his crimes and his punishment just goes on, and won't end until whenever he stops playing for the Eagles.

Or will it? A while ago
I went into my bathroom and turned on the radio, where, with a different set of hosts, the discussion with callers centered on Donovan McNabb's shortcomings and whether he should go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Yes, the Eagles play McNabb's Redskins again tomorrow night, but still the old McNabb debate gets dredged up over and over.

Hey, but have any of those people noticed that the Flyers are in first place? They're on an 8-0-1 run, they lead the league in goal differential (total goals scored vs. total goals allowed), they're getting stellar goaltending from Russian rookie Sergei Bobrovsky (if they're not out already, be sure to look for "What About Bob?" t-shirts soon), they signed Claude Giroux and Jeff Carter to contract extensions this week...right now, everything seems to be falling into place. They have talent and depth at the defense and forward positions. It's hard not to be excited, even though the NHL season is too long and teams that look spectacular in November might not do so well when the real season -- the Stanley Cup playoffs -- comes around. (Just look at last year's Flyers run to the finals after barely even making the playoffs.) And there's always that salary cap juggling act to worry about, should there be injuries.

(I'd add something about the 76ers here, but why bother? Do you really want to hear something about them?)