FRIDAY'S RANDOM RUMBLINGS

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9-18-09

1.) As you know, I'm not from Philly but I grow tired of the national perception of Philadelphia sports fans, especially when the record-skipping story of booing Santa Claus seems to resurface.  A story that's more than 40 years old, and to my understanding somewhat deserved on that ice-cold day at Franklin Field.  Chicago should be bashed more than what we see here if you think back to most recently the Shane Victorino beer incident.  So when Steve Monforto embraced his 3-year-old daughter Emily after she threw back the foul ball he had just caught, it was a very endearing moment that made me think this is what the majority of Philly fans are truly like and it was good to see the Monforto family receive some national attention.  Ironically, they've received more momentos from the Phillies had little Emily not discarded the souvenier.  Of course, once the Monfortos 15 minutes of fame are over, so will be the national media's image of Philadelphia as a child-embracing city capable of shrugging off the moment of catching a meaningless foul ball. 

2.) While I'm not defenduing Serena Williams' behaivor at the U.S. Open, I can empathize with the repeated foot faults she was called out for in her loss to Kim Clijsters.  I've never understood how a line judge standing at least 30 feet away is allowed to make such a judgment call, especially in a crucial situation like Serena's match where she simply wasn't able to recover.  My initial reaction was: Why isn't there some mechanical device that sounds an alarm (similiar to bowling) if you step over the line prior to serving so we can eliminate these human judgment calls?  Michael Barkann told me its coming...next year.  Unfortunately, that won't help Serena Williams right now.

3.) There is one consistent on the cover of these gossip magazines every time I'm going through the checkout line at the grocery store, The Gosselins, or better yet, Jon & Kate.  Who are these people? What is their claim to fame? And what makes them so popular that people are talking about them? (All hypotheticals, don't bother answering).  I realize Kate birthed sextuplets, but she can't be the only one. OK, they have 8 kids.  Apparently, there's a family moving into my subdivision with 14 children, so I'm not all that impressed even though 8 kids would wear me out.  I'm not too proud to say I've seen their show and I'll never understand how the public gravitates to them.  I just thought you had to have a degree of talent to have your own television show or to be a celebrity in this country...and then I'm reminded of Paris Hilton. 

4.)  When is Shawn Andrews next surgery?  That's the question I would ask Eagles coach Andy Reid right now.  Its the only logical reason to place any player on injured reserve after Week 1.  Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher dislocated his wrist.  He was placed on IR and, yes, Urlacher had surgery.  Its tough to comprehend the Eagles are giving Andrews the rest of the year to just "heal up", especially when he said a few weeks ago he felt close to returning to the field.  Andrews says he can't pick up his 30-pound son and I believe him. But if there is no surgery in the works, and the organization feels he is unreliable and they can't afford to waste his spot on the 53-man roster, then I think its fair to question Andrews' commitment and dedication to football and to the Philadelphia Eagles organization.   

5.) Hollywood lost a great person in Patrick Swayze this past week.  My wife says he will always be remembered for his role in Dirty Dancing.  Forget that.  The SNL skit with Chris Farley as a Chippendale's dancer is how "guys" will remember Swayze, followed by his role as Dalton in Road House, a movie friends of mine would say is so bad its good.  Its one of those flicks that will keep you from channel surfing. You have to admire Swayze who continued to act this year despite his ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer.  To echo a line in Road House,  "I thought you'd be bigger?" Swayze proved just how big of a person off the screen he really was.