In “real life,” everyone knows about the moments that define the times.\u00a0 Everyone in my parents’ generation knows exactly where they were the moment they heard about the JFK Asssassination or Neil Armstrong walking on the moon.\u00a0 For our generation, it is the 9\/11 Attacks or the OJ Chase.\u00a0 Without a doubt, these moments are etched in our brains for obvious (and, oftentimes unfortunately tragic) reasons.\u00a0 And, that is to be expected with “real life.”\u00a0 That is also one of the reasons I choose not to write about “real life;”\u00a0it is oftentimes too “real.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
That is what draws us to sports.\u00a0 Sports often imitates “real life” in sort of a nonconsequential way.\u00a0 With certain exceptions, we can replicate “real” joy through sports without the risk of tragedy.\u00a0 Yes, we risk pain and heartache (for passionate Philly fans, those are VERY “real” emotions tied to sports), but we almost never have to deal with tragedy.\u00a0 In “real life,” the images that are etched in our brains for eternity are disproportionately linked with tragedy.\u00a0 In “sports life,” these eternal images are, depending of course which teams with which you choose to live and die, about equally split between those that evoke intense pain and heartache and those that evoke an unbridled, euphoric joy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/cwardhenninger.files.wordpress.com\/2008\/05\/iverson-stepping-over-tyronn-lue.jpg?w=187&h=249\" "\\"Ty")
Bry's favorite all-time NBA moment...and, it will never be topped<\/p><\/div>\n
The landscape of my “sports life” is postmarked by several moments etched in my heart and mind forever – some evoking pain and suffering, others evoking elation and euphoria.\u00a0 Kim Batiste’s fair ball down the leftfield line in Game 1 of the NLCS is on one side and, about a week later, some home run in Canada is on the other side.\u00a0 The Brad Lidge’s 0-2 pitch to Eric Hinske will forever bring me joy, while Ryan Howard’s called third-strike from Brian Wilson makes me feel like someone just kicked me in the groin.\u00a0 The year 2000, to me, is polarized by a couple of Tys.\u00a0 There’s the high of seeing Ty Lue’s face after Allen Iverson hit the three and stepped over him in the NBA Finals to the low of seeing Ty Shine’s face after coming off the bench to drop 30 on the Temple Owls in the second round of the NCAA tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anyway, the point I am trying to make here is that all of these moments are specific, distinct moments in my “sports life” from which I can bring up where I was and how I felt the moment they happened, whether it be surrounded by friends and family in my brother’s garage or completely by myself in my lonely room in\u00a0the fraternity house.\u00a0 Well, another one of these happened on Sunday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/kidsdontgetit.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/07\/oj-chase.jpg?w=300&h=196\" "\\"OJ")
What does DeSean Jackson have in common with Kato Kaelin? Well...almost nothing<\/p><\/div>\n
I could live another 100 years and I will never, ever forget where I was, who I was with, and how I felt the moment DeSean Jackson picked up the line-drive punt and stuck a knife in the gut of the hated New York Giants.\u00a0 And, it doesn’t matter whether this leads to a Super Bowl or a disappointing playoff upset.\u00a0 Honestly, I don’t remember exactly what happened the year that Brian Westbrook did almost the same thing to the Giants<\/a>, but I certainly remember exactly where I was when it happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n So, this was one of those moments.\u00a0 Enjoy it, Philadelphia.\u00a0 They do not come around all that often – and they’re not always so sweet.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Birds Situation, Now The Defense Who Invited the All-Pro O-Lineman? It's hard to change the minds of Philly fans if you don't play well early on here, but Jason Peters deserves another look. He's really good...I think<\/p><\/div>\n Weapons has been the incredible <\/em>play of the “Big Uglies.”\u00a0 Now, I am not going to pretend to be able to evaluate offensive line play, so take the first part of this paragraph with a grain of salt, but allow me to explain.\u00a0 This is a pieced-together offensive line with a backup center and an inexperienced right side, but they have been playing lights-out football.\u00a0 Yes, Vick has been hit recently, but, overall, this o-line dictates play on the line of scrimmage and opens ridiculous holes for McCoy and, for the most part, gives Vick a ton of time.\u00a0 So, someone (or a couple someones) are dominating out there.\u00a0 King Dunlap and Max Jean-Gilles have held their own, and, from what I hear, Mike McGlynn has been playing great at center, but if I had to guess as to who is really leading this group, I am going to go with the left side of Peters and Todd Herremans.\u00a0 Andy Reid was one of the best o-line coaches in the league before he got the head coach duties, so he knows talent in there.\u00a0 When the Eagles signed Peters, Reid called him “without a doubt, the best left tackle in the league.”\u00a0 I believe him, and I believe what I see.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Did you happen to catch the professional football contest on television on Sunday?\u00a0 Well, the Giants of New York took on the Eagles of Philadelphia.\u00a0 And, in the end, the Eagles triumphed when a little man juggled an oblong ball … Continue reading
\n<\/strong>Okay, on to some “other” Eagles news.\u00a0 Expect a post about playoff scenarios up some time in the next day or two, but for now, let’s just talk Eagles and their seeding.\u00a0 This win has essentially locked up the division for the Birds.\u00a0 I cannot see them losing to a bad Minnesota team, at home, next week, which will officially clinch it.\u00a0 So, let us start thinking about the first-round bye.\u00a0 I have always thought that the difference between the\u00a02nd position in the conference\u00a0and the\u00a03rd position\u00a0is the biggest difference besides that between 6th and 7th.\u00a0 Homefield advantage is good, but the bye is huge<\/em>.\u00a0 The Birds have a real shot at it, too.\u00a0 Right now, it is between them and the Bears.\u00a0 Both are 10-4, but the Bears hold the tiebreaker.\u00a0 That means that the Eagles have to pick up a game somewhere in the next two weeks.\u00a0 Like I said, I think the home game versus Minnesota is as close to a gimme as there is in this league with Joe Webb at QB and Toby Gerhart at RB.\u00a0 So, it will then come down to whether or not the Eagles can win at home against Dallas in Week 17 and find the Bears a loss somewhere along the way.\u00a0 Chicago is home against the Jets this week and then at Green Bay to finish the season.\u00a0 Hopefully, the Packers will still have something to play for.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>All year, Doogan and I have had differing opinions of this defense.\u00a0 I think they are decent, bordering on good; he thinks they are mediocre, bordering on bad.\u00a0 Against the Giants this week, we were both right.\u00a0 The Giants have a vaunted running attack, but could not get anything done against the Birds front seven.\u00a0 Even without the defensive signal-caller, Stewart Bradley, the Eagles D stepped up.\u00a0 In fact, what is lost in the furious comeback and the stardoms of Vick and Jackson is that the Giants could have, on several occasions, put this game away with a sustained rushing attack, but the defense held.\u00a0 On the other hand, Eli Manning (of all people) exposed this pass defense as pretty shoddy.\u00a0 With Ellis Hobbs out and Asante Samuel gimpy, the secondary went into the game rather thin, and they\u00a0have now lost Nate Allen for the season<\/a>.\u00a0 The rest of this season may hinge on whether or not this pieced-together secondary can just be “adequate” or not.\u00a0 Personally, I am optimistic.\u00a0 Samuel is a gamer and is getting healthier by the week.\u00a0 On the other side, I have been really impressed with Dmitri Patterson, despite his over-documented struggles this week.\u00a0 He had taken the starting job from Hobbs before he got hurt, so he’s not exactly a second-stringer.\u00a0 And, at safety, I think Quentin Mikell may be the most unsung player on this Eagles team this year.\u00a0 He is having a great year back there.\u00a0 We will see if Kurt Coleman can be an every-down replacement for Allen (who had a terrific rookie season), but, overall, I remain bullish on this Eagles defense, despite giving up 31 to the G-Men on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Everyone who says Jason Peters is a bust has not been watching this season.\u00a0 Friends, we have a bonafied star left tackle, who is only 28 years old.\u00a0 Lost in the fanfare of Michael Vick & His<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/dcprosportsreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/Jason-Peters-233x350.jpg\" "\\"Jason")