Sticking With Stewart Bradley

So, in the wake of Stewart Bradley's signing with Arizona after the Eagles decided to let all of their own free agents go, I asked a simple question on Twitter...and got an answer from the man himself:

See? We're buds now! Okay, sure, he doesn't follow me back or anything, but still...so, yeah, I'll keep following him. And if he wants to leave me tickets at will call when his Arizona Cardinals come to the Linc that'd be cool. (For some reason I've spent the whole summer thinking that the Eagles were going to Arizona this year, not vice versa. I have no idea why.)

In all seriousness, I'm not quite sure why the Eagles didn't want Bradley back. The linebacker corps is a pretty weak group now. Lots of rookies. One, draft pick Casey Matthews, is listed as the starter on the depth chart over one of the holdovers. Under Andy Reid the Eagles have never given much importance to the LB position and it's cost them at times. Of course, they now have cornerbacks up the wazoo after their surprise signing of Nnamdi Asomugha, the consensus jewel among the free agents, so maybe they're hoping that opposing teams won't be able to take advantage of the linebackers. We shall see.

NFL Lockout Ends And I'm...Disappointed?

Saying goodbye to Stewart?

After months of posturing and disruption, the NFL owners and players finally figured out how to divide the billions and billions of dollars in revenue the league takes in. The lockout is over, and only one exhibition game had to be canceled -- the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, which is normally played in conjunction with the induction ceremonies each year. Now, because no league business (other than the draft) took place for months and months, there's this mad scramble by teams to decide which of their own free agents they might want back, which free agents from other teams they might want to try and sign, and so on, as teams rush to open their training camps.

There are reports that the Eagles have decided they don't want any of their free agents back, including linebacker/Daily News Sexy Single/would-be "Sex and the City" guest star Stewart Bradley. There's also speculation that DeSean Jackson might not report to training camp because he wants a contract extension. Considering what Jackson's been up to recently, I'm not sure I care if he disappears from the face of the earth.

Beyond that, though, I'm actually a little sad that the NFL is back. This is the most popular of the four major pro sports leagues, but also very unlikable in many ways.

From 2010 To 2011

Since I'm starting this before midnight and will continue on it after midnight, this will become the blog post that took two years to write! (And it's definitely the post with more links than any other.)

I suppose I could just repeat most of what I wrote at this time a year ago. Much of it still applies, and certainly my closing advice -- "(I)f you want your life to change, do it. Don't just talk about it. Do it. Do it, do it, do it. Stop talking about it and DO IT" -- is still pretty smart, if I do say so myself. But unlike last year, I feel like looking back a little tonight.

In January I learned that there was a full-length version of the "Mad Men" theme. I started doing volunteer work, doing tax returns with the Campaign for Working Families. I took a shot at Perez Hilton (an easy target). I complained about politicians. (Haven't we all? And it continued all year.) I scooped the local media with the story of former Phillies coach Steve Smith's participation in "The Amazing Race." (And ended up doing recaps of the season that got more detailed as it went on, even after Smith and his daughter were eliminated.)

February brought me lots of snow and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. I found out that "Daria" was being relased on DVD (I eventually bought it when the price was seriously marked down.) I compared Tiger Woods to Andy Reid(!). And my scoop of the media re: Steve Smith and "The Amazing Race" was acknowledged in the newspaper!

Eagles And...Sudden Death

I was going to be a bit snarky with the title of this post. Why? I entered the 610WIP Suicide Pool again this year. The concept of the suicide pool is that you pick one NFL team each week to win a game -- no point spreads, just to win. If they win, you get to keep playing. If they lose, you're out of the contest. Hence the "suicide" you commit by picking the wrong team. Once you pick a team, you can't pick them again the rest of the season. That makes it more difficult because you can't pick the same obvious winner every week.

Last week I went with Arizona to beat St. Louis, and they did, although it wasn't easy. However, over one-third of the 26,100 contestants who entered the contest are already gone. A lot of them went down in flames because they picked San Diego, who lost to Kansas City on Monday night.

So this week, I decided to go with the Eagles and get it out of the way. The snarkiness of a title such as "Will Eagles drive me to suicide?" would be based on the absurdity that once again surrounds this team, even though they've only played one game, and despite all the proclamations about how this was a fresh new era now that Donovan McNabb and his drama are down the road in Washington.

More Randomness: Phils, Birds, Softball...Yarn? Chicken?

Submitted for your approval...or not...

• The Phillies finally had a day off after 24 games in 23 days. In that stretch they went 15-9 and have regained the NL East lead for the first time since May. The lead is now a game over Atlanta. Still, with Brad Lidge having elbow issues and Jimmy Rollins leaving their last game with a hamstring problem (that Charlie Manuel says wasn't serious and was due to dehydration; of course, he also said Ryan Howard's ankle injury wouldn't cause him to miss any games just before Howard went on the disabled list for nearly three weeks), and Placido Polanco's saying his elbow is broken (though he continues to play), and the team's general inconsistent hitting all season, it won't be smooth sailing the rest of the season.

• Meanwhile, the NFL is back. The Eagles start on Sunday, and that day they're wearing 1960 throwback uniforms as part of the commemoration of their 1960 championship team. Yes, that was 50 years ago. And yes, that was the last time the Eagles won a championship. So if you wonder why Eagles fans get a little (a lot) crazy, wonder no more.
  
  
  
  

Stewart Bradley, Scissor Sisters and Me

What a nice day on my Twitter feed. I got a reply to my tweet to the Eagles' Stewart Bradley (I've written about him before)...

Then, a few minutes ago, I checked the list of my followers and found a new addition. You may recall that the other day I got to see the Scissor Sisters do a half-hour free concert for radio. That night, I found them on Twitter -- I had been following Jake Shears already but not the group -- and, sadly, found out that they held a Twitter giveaway for tickets to their show here. If only I had followed them 24 hours earlier! D'oh! Despite that, I decided to follow them -- and they're now following me back! I have another celebrity follower!

Okay, there are probably PR people or something doing a lot of the tweets, but still, it's the band's Twitter and it's a Verified Account, so it counts!

Daily News Sexy Singles: No Gays, No Eagles

This week the Philadelphia Daily News ran their annual Sexy Singles feature, in which they show off local men and women, nominated by family or friends or co-workers or even by the singles themselves, because they're attractive and single. I complained about it last year, and interestingly enough, I still get occasional hits on that particular page according to my Feedjit widget. Is it because of having "sexy singles" in the title or because of the picture of one of last year's Sexy Singles, Eagles linebacker Stewart Bradley?

Overall, things haven't changed from last year. Of the 35 men and women, there are 5 employees of local TV or radio stations -- which surely leads to lots of mentions on those stations -- and the usual assortment of fitness trainers/models/actors. By my count, 22 of these people are either already celebrities (the TV/radio people, athletes, a contestant on the "reality" show "Chopped" on the Food Network) or are trying to be (shopping a TV pilot, graduated from broadcasting school, tried out for "The Amazing Race"). It goes against the idea that these are regular people who might happen to meet and fall in love with you or me.

I'm particularly out of luck: for the second consecutive year, no one is openly LGBT.

Important Eagles/Rap Music News!

The following from Eagles linebacker Stewart Bradley's Twitter feed are not edited for spelling, grammar, etc.:

Just did an interview with drake, cool ass dude.

Ps drake is an eagles fan peeps, check his new album out

I'm not sure if Bradley was the interviewer (and if so, for what media outlet) or a co-interviewee, but I guess this is good to know. I still can't help it, though -- every time I see this guy, I think of Degrassi: The Next Generation...

Is Stewart Bradley A Samantha?

If you've ever wanted to hear a professional football player proclaim, "Let's buy some shoes!" this is your lucky day!

Eagles linebacker (and 2009 Philadelphia Daily News Sexy Single) Stewart Bradley posted a link on his Twitter feed to something he posted on YouTube. It's an audio recording of his interview on a local radio station's morning show. On the show Bradley debuted an a capella rendition of the "Sex and the City" theme as performed by himself and teammates Brent Celek, Todd Herremans (a Sexy Single from 2008), Hank Baskett (co-star with his wife Kendra Wilkinson in a "reality" TV series) and new starting quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Bradley is the one who recites the "shoes" line, and possibly the one that follows (which is even more fun; you'll have to listen -- I won't spoil it). The pertinent portion begins at about the 0:50 mark:

Eagles...Speaking Of Debacles: The Sequel

You can't say I didn't warn you. The Eagles' stay in the playoffs was brief. Officially it lasted one game but for all intents and purposes they were done before halftime, losing at Dallas 34-14. The game wasn't even as close as that.

The only reason the first quarter ended scoreless was because the Cowboys kept committing penalties. They stopped themselves on two drives into Eagles territory and had to punt both times. But the Eagles' offense, so prolific most of the year, was completely useless -- they couldn't even string together more than four plays in any first-half possession and had the ball for only about 7 minutes.

Even when the Eagles tied the game at 7-7, the TD came on a 76-yard pass from Michael Vick out of the wildcat formation to Jeremy Maclin, and the scoring "drive" lasted two plays and 46 seconds. Their final two first-half possessions ended with turnovers. The defense, already shorthanded and struggling, wore down quickly and it was 27-7 by halftime. The entire second half was garbage time.

So Groundhog Day (the movie scenario, not the holiday) continues. The Eagles show signs of promise, make the playoffs, fall short of the championship. Change continues to be needed. Andy Reid isn't going anywhere, though, so the biggest question will be whether the Eagles will bring back Donovan McNabb. He's only under contract for one more season, but they may not want to risk 2010 with Kevin Kolb at quarterback. There are certainly pieces on offense. Do they want a less-experienced QB handling the offense? The defense needs help at every position, but particularly at linebacker (they can't just rely on Stewart Bradley's return from injury) and in the secondary.

A look at the 2010 opponents: besides the division opponents, the Eagles will have home games against Green Bay, Minnesota, Houston, Indianapolis and Atlanta, and road games against Chicago, Detroit, Jacksonville, Tennessee and San Francisco. Rumor has it that the San Francisco game may be the league's annual London game.

Strange Days Part 2: Eagles

The Eagles never cease to intrigue. So many question marks going into the season -- the effects on the defense of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's death, Brian Dawkins taking his leadership to Denver, the season-ending injury to Stewart Bradley; the injuries to the rebuilt offensive line; the health of Brian Westbrook; the sudden, controversial addition of Michael Vick; the eternal analysis of Donovan McNabb's health/leadership qualities/state of mind -- led many local observers to believe that a slow start was in the offing. Some locals felt a subpar season was likely, even while many national observers were saying the Birds would be strong contenders for the NFC's Super Bowl berth.

Does the 38-10 rout of the host Carolina Panthers to start the year answer those questions? Not really. The defense played well except for the opening drive of the game -- the Panthers took more than half of the first quarter to march down and score a touchdown. It should be noted that a dumb facemask grab by the Eagles' Juqua Parker kept the drive going, and it nearly stalled a few times as Carolina used two timeouts and (on first-and-goal from the one) took two false-start penalties.

After that, the Carolina offense completely collapsed. Jake Delhomme lost a fumble that was recovered for an Eagles touchdown, giving the Birds a 10-7 lead. The Eagles' DeSean Jackson returned a punt 85 yards to make it 17-7, and the Panthers just melted down from there. Delhomme was intercepted four times before mercifully being benched, and the Eagles had a total of 7 turnovers. So it's hard to tell how much of this was due to good defense and how much was lousy offense. Game two will provide a better indicator as the New Orleans Saints will bring a much better quarterback (Drew Brees) and a more powerful offense to the Linc for the Eagles' home opener.

The Saints' defense isn't quite as daunting, so we'll also see what happens to the Eagles' offense. This week they only generated 267 net yards, and 185 of that, surprisingly, was on the ground. Westbrook averaged 4.9 yards per carry. The offensive line, missing two starters, held up well enough. Donovan McNabb had only 79 yards passing halfway through the 3rd quarter, when he scrambled 3 yards for the final TD of the game and suffered a fractured rib on a late hit in the end zone. Kevin Kolb -- the only other quarterback on the roster with Vick suspended for the first two games -- did little of note.

It's not known if McNabb will play this weekend but it seems improbable. Kolb, touted as the QB of the future since he was drafted, now has two challengers. Vick can't play until the third game, but the Eagles have brought back Jeff Garcia, of all people. Thus, a little more intrigue. The McNabb camp (particularly his mother Wilma) was rather miffed by the love affair between Garcia and the city in 2006. McNabb was hurt and done for the year. Garcia rallied the team to a surprise NFC East title and a playoff win. How will things turn out this time?

Before ending this, let's give a proper goodbye to A.J. Feeley, who was cut prior to the season because of the Vick addition. Rather than rejoin the Eagles, Feeley has apparently decided to sign with Carolina. Here's A.J. with his girlfriend, pro soccer player Heather Mitts:

Eagle victim of Sexy Single Jinx?

Eagles linebacker Stewart Bradley, one of the Philadelphia Daily News Sexy Singles of 2009, hurt a knee at last night's "Flight Night" practice at the Linc. He suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and will miss the entire 2009 season.

I'm sure this wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been too busy being sexy and all.

Why I Hate Sexy Singles

Over on the Outsports blog I wrote about Eagles linebacker Stewart Bradley being selected by the Philadelphia Daily News as one of their 2009 Sexy Singles. It's the second year in a row an Eagle has been chosen. Last year they had a total of 30 single men and women. This year they've expanded to 37. Not surprisingly, a number of them fall into the genre of model/actor/personal trainer. Somewhat surprisingly, one was an openly gay man. (None are gay or bisexual this year, at least not openly, from what I could glean from their bios.)

What really bothered me last year was that six people -- or 1 out of every 5 -- worked for local TV or radio stations. Clearly it was a blatant grab for free publicity. And this year it's worse: I counted 10 Sexy Singles employed by TV or radio stations. That's 27 percent.

Even more ridiculous is the 63-year-old Sexy Single who has more than one residence, but spends part of his time at his horse farm in Beavertown, which is out in the central part of the state -- nowhere near Philadelphia. Don't get me wrong. I'm not hating on 63-year-olds. But he's way too far from this area to qualify. The fact is, he was chosen because he could draw some extra attention to their paper (and yes, I know I'm falling right into their trap). How so? Because he's Davy Jones. Of the Monkees.

The paper promotes it as a "diverse group from all walks of life" and adds, "Who knows? This could be the year you meet that special someone. And you'll have the Daily News to thank." As if 99 percent of us would ever have a chance with these celebrities, pseudo-celebrities, pro athletes, models, etc. Anyway, here's a picture of Stewart Bradley: