Go Phils! (and a statement on domestic terrorism and the media)

Well the Phillies sure are doing well. Adam Eaton just about gave me an erection last night with his adequate pitching. But they still need to take 1 of these next 2. And with the way Jamie Moyer's been pitching, things aren't looking good for tonight.

And now for something with a tenuous connection to sports- Richard Jewell, the man who was accused of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing, died today. He was on the receiving end of one of the great screw jobs in American media history, being vilified by every major media outlet just for fitting the profile of the type of suspect people love to hate. The guy's life was ruined; long after he was cleared by the government, people still thought of him as the Centennial Park bomber, who actually turned out to be far-right nutcase and serial bomber Eric Rudolph. Jewell in fact was responsible only for saving the lives of several people in the area that day.

The article here is the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's write-up on his death. Despite being the first media outlet in the nation to name him the top suspect and one of the leaders in the 'Trial by Media' fiasco that followed, they still claim they did nothing wrong, even in the man's obituary. Jewell's libel suit against them is still pending, although most of it was thrown out.

I am a score prediction genius, plus some made up stats

First of all, let's all take a moment and realize how awesome it is that I nailed the final score of the Eagles' game in my Friday prediction. The chances of doing that are like 1 in a 1,000; and that's a statistic I just made up.

Speaking of made up statistics, I created this weird little metric that I use during football season called "negative yells per player". It's real simple to use- just keep track of how many times per game you vocalize displeasure with a player's performance by yelling their name is disgust. You don't even have to count, really; after a few games, you'll notice a pattern of who keeps invoking your ire. Here are the Eagles preseason leaders in NYPP-

Sean Considine
He leads in NYPP by a wide margin; it's not even close. He's only effective when he is unblocked and not seen by offensive players. So unless he can turn invisible and intangible, he shouldn't be the starter at strong safety. Quentin Mikell has to be better for the role than Considine.

The only nice plays he had last night were coming in untouched on blitzes. He can't tackle anyone larger than a Teddy Ruxpin doll (though he magically led the Eagles in tackles last night), and is flat-out missing in pass coverage. Again, his only hope of being effective is developing superpowers before the opener in Green Bay. Let's all hope he does.

Chris Gocong
He has to be better Dhani Jones, right? Right??? Because it doesn't look like he is yet. He looks lost in pass coverage and takes strange angles of pursuit. He looks like someone who has never played linebacker before, which is basically true since he was a DE in college and missed last season with the Eagles. He's got 13 days to learn where to be on the field.

Thomas Tapeh
Surprised to see a fullback on here? Don't be, you easily surprised person. Tapeh is a slightly below average receiver who is a non-factor as a runner. Therefore, his main purpose is to block. He does an okay job in run blocking, but is often out of position when asked to pass block, which may get McNabb maimed even further this season.

Reggie Brown
How much did Dante Stallworth want to stick around? Oh, that much? It would have been worth it, unless Brown really steps up soon.

Conversely, there is also the PYPP, or positive yells per player, stat. These are for when a player does something nice and you yell their name out in delight (in a non-sexual way). The leaders here for the preseason are-

Sheldon Brown
Even I think the stat I made up is a little misleading in this case. Sheldon makes some really nice plays, but is also visibly out of position a little too often. Still, I likes him.

Jeremiah Trotter
Whoops, next...

Donovan McNabb
The man looks ready to play.

Mike Patterson
Hopefully his obvious improvement from last season isn't just a preseason thing.