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Cliff Lee traded to the Philadelphia Phillies

leeSports with Bob McFlurry:

A source within the Philadelphia Phillies organization has just told me that the Phillies will acquire Cleveland Indians Pitcher and 2008 Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee and a right handed bat for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Lou Marson and Jason Knapp.

The move gives the Phils two top line starters along with a streaking Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer without giving up J.A. Happ and putting to bed the uncertainty at the 5th starter position occupied by Rodrigo Lopez and Antionio Bastardo since Brett Myers went down with a hip injury.

The move does not stop their talks with the Blue jays for Roy Halladay since they still have J.A. Happ and Tommy John surgery wunderkind Kyle Drabek, however, the deal seemsa lot less likely now that the Phils have somewhat depleted their farm system.

Is this the move the Phils needed to make to give themselves a shot at defensing their World Series title?  Only time will tell but adding a Cy Young award and 20+ game winner from last year certainly can’t hurt at this point.

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Jim Johnson: The Gentleman Blitzer

Bob McFlurry with Sports:

Jim Johnson and Andy Reid came to Philadelphia together in 1999 and began a partnership which would last for the next 10 years.  10 years that included 5 NFC Championships, a Super Bowl appearance and as arguably as dominant a defense in the league for that time period. 2nd in sacks and 5th in scoring defense and sending 25 plus defensive players to the Pro Bowl.

What’s lost in the Eagles decade of success is exactly what we lost yesterday, Jim Johnson.  Yes Jim got some credit for being a great and innovative defensive coordinator but Andy Reid as Head Coach would get most of the credit.  Andy Reid intimated yesterday in the news conference announcing Johnson’s death that Jim was as much a part of the success of the Eagles as anyone else in the organization.  I may go one step further and say he was more important than Andy Reid to the Eagles.

In the early part of the 2000’s, the Eagles defense (along with exceptional Field Goal % from David Akers) kept them in and won them many games.  Guys like Bobby Taylor, Troy Vincent, Brian Dawkins, Hugh Douglas and Jerimiah Trotter were more responsible for W’s than the offense (sorry D-Nabb).  Having the 5th best scoring defense in the league for the decade can hide a lot of inconsistencies on offense and there were inconsistencies early on (though not a lot of talent besides McNabb and Staley on the Offensive side of the ball). Point being that the Eagles won and they won ugly early on in Johnson’s tenure.

A turnover on the defensive side in 2003 when he lost middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and in 2004 when Bobby Taylor, and Troy Vincent were replaced and Jim Johnson didn’t lose a beat, going to the NFC championship and Super Bowl those seasons. Though after Trotter left the defensive run stopping was somewhat suspect with Barry Gardner, Levon Kirkland and undersized Mark Simenau.

He chose to stay in Philadelphia as one of the highest paid coordinators in the league instead of becoming a head coach where he consistently made offenses look confused and bewildered from pressure.  A bend-don’t break philosophy that limited bug plays from opponents and while the defense would occasionally misfire, Johnson’s defenses speak for themselves.   Brian Dawkins called him tailor-made to coach in Philadelphia and many other players and coaches called him instrumental in their careers.

A defensive mind that should probably be more beloved in Philadelphia than Buddy Ryan.  A guy that carried himself as a gentleman and treated his players as men and not employees.  A guy who drew up blitzes on cocktail napkins at hotel bars.  A guy who got more out of his players than they knew they had.  A guy that has a coaching tree that will someday rival Bill Walsh it seems and from what I’ve gathered one of the finer human beings on the planet for 68 or so years.

For a working class town Jim Johnson is your working class hero on the sidelines and someone not soon forgotten.

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Parking in Philadelphia: For Free?

parkingBy: Billy BeerSlugger

Last week I parked close about a block away from McGillan’s as I was getting the .25 cent wings and $5 pitchers I so admire.  I was somewhat surprised to see to see a shift in Center City from the old Quarter fed parking meters to the new and slightly improved “Pay and Display” method.

The Pay and Display method is better than the Quarter method because parking rates went up and you don’t always have 16 Quarters on you.  You can put your paper money into one of the pay stations and it spits out a receipt which you display on your dashboard which has a date and expiry time.

Now I do not condone counterfeiting in the least bit but it kind of popped into my head that you could probably park for free given a scanner, some Photoshop skills and a printer.  Basically what I’m saying is that you can (allegedly) scan a parking receipt and change the date and time to suit your own needs.

I noticed that there is some sort of code on the bottom that probably corresponds with the transaction ID from the pay station.  I’m guessing, at least temporarily, that Philadelphia Parking Authority workers have been trained to read these codes and determine whether the ticket is real.  However, that does not preclude you from placing an object of your choosing over said code to obfuscate it but not the date and time. To tell you the truth though I don’t think the PPA workers care enough to actually check the codes on the tickets while also checking dates and times.  I mean what is their motivation.. really?

That’s not to say that this system is fool proof, there may be other types of security enhancements I’m not aware of but I can’t really see how else to determine a real ticket from a fake ticket given the PPA worker cannot actually reach into your car and inspect it.

Further, it’s not like it’s exactly convenient to have to print out a parking receipt every time you want to go somewhere but if you know where you are going to park and will be there for at least a couple of hours then it may be worth it to take 5 minutes out of your time to manipulate your pre-made PPA Parking receipt template and print it out.

Disclaimer: Any information in this article is given purely for informational purposes and is not intended to be used to defraud any parking system. Not responsible for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect, error or failure to perform.   At participating locations only. Apply only to affected area. If condition persists, consult your physician.

PS: if anyone tries this let me know how it turns out though I will promptly turn you into the authorities.

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Ben Franklin Bridge Run

50centercity
View From The Bridge

By: Billy BeerSlugger

The Ben Franklin Bridge is 9,573 feet long which equates to about a 3.5 mile run up and back from Philly to Camden. If you’re like me right now and are scrambling to lose weight because summer already started, this is a great workout.

The Bridge walkway is open from 6am to 9pm so you can even get a run in after you get home from work.

There is an even mix of hills and declines with the middle span of the bridge being more or less of a straight away.  Along your journey you may encounter other people walking, running or cycling.  Please watch out for them if you are wearing headphones and are blasting music on high, you may just run into a biker.

The Ben Franklin Bridge was originally named the Delaware River Bridge but was later renamed for statesman and Philadelphian, Benjamin Franklin.

When the bridge opened in 1926 it was the deemed the World’s largest Suspension Bridge Span (533 meters) until that distinction was taken away in 1929 with the opening of the Ambassador Bridge.

Originally one lane of the bridge, in each direction, was fitted with Streetcar/Trolley tracks and the anchorages were outfitted as boarding stations.  These stations were never used though since the company owning the Camden Streetcar system ceased operations in 1932.  The streetcar rails were taken up and replaced with another lane for vehicles going in each direction.  Eventually rapid transit tracks were laid on outbound sides of the bridge completed in 1939.  The Bridge Line Subway connected Broadway and City Hall in Camden with 8th and Market in Philadelphia.  The Bridge Line expanded to 16th and Locust in 1952 and began carrying PATCO trains in 1969.

While using pedestrian means to cross the bridge is free, it now costs $4.00 to use the bridge coming from the Camden side into Philadelphia by car.

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Twitter? What’s that?

twitterBy: Billy BeerSlugger

So a lot of my friends have asked me what Twitter is.  That’s all you ever hear about nowadays, Twitter, Tweet’s, Twats. “You’re a computer guy, you should know this stuff”, they say.

From what I’ve read, it’s a mico-blogging tool.  Where BeerSlugger.com is a blog and has no real limit on the amount of text, Twitter has a post limit on characters that is about the same as a text message (SMS).  You can actually Twitter (effectively post text to your account and have it show up on the website) from your phone using Text messages so that I’m guessing comes in handy on the go.  Though if I wanted to I could post something to BeerSlugger.com from my Blackberry (I’m a one upper).  I’m not sure what is so important that you couldn’t wait to go home and post on a regular blog or website but I guess if everyone else is jumping off a bridge I should too.

Anyway, I’m hip, I’m cool, I know who the Jonas Brothers are and I use Twitter.

Check me out at http://twitter.com/beerslugger

Eventually I’ll try and incorporate the Twitter into the BeerSlugger.com once i figure out what I can use it for besides sending messages while in the bathroom.  Preliminary ideas include segments called “Toilet Talk” and “Droppin’ Knowledge While Dropping A Deuce”.

Let me know what you guys think.

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Center City Schwill’s

By: Billy BeerSlugger

It’s about that time again, every Wednesday, June 3 through August 26, 5-7 pm (happy hour’s), imbiber’s can enjoy $4 cocktails, $3 wine, $2 beers and half-priced appetizers at the participating bars and restaurants. Individual bars and restaurants will determine which drinks and appetizers are on special and some bars will offer a 15% discount on those patrons who stay after 7pm.

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Looks like I’m not going to be able to get my run in on Wednesday evenings.

For a full list of participating bars and restaurants click here.  Who’s comin’ with me?  I think we can hit each of the participating bars throughout the summer.

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The 5 Worst College Social Scenes in the Philadelphia area: #3

By: F.X. Galvin

# 3 Holy Family University – Give me a break

University located in Philadelphia, must be a cool place. HAHAHA. Located in lovely Northeast Philadelphia, Holy Family like so many other schools has attempted to expand. Up until about ten years ago, Holy Family was strictly a commuter college, populated with kids from the Northeast. The school worked… Many local kids got a mediocre to decent education from a four year school. What did Holy Family do? Take a page from the Neumann College playbook and built residence halls. The school just is not built to be a live-in campus.

Holy Family made the most of their athletic program, moving up to Division II from NAIA to allow itself the capabilities to give scholarships. Great move, I have to give it to HF, attract kids from outside the area with a scholarship then the word will spread and students will want to come there. Eventually, Holy Family will become Neumann, Arcadia, and Cabrini and start bringing in better students and more dollars. Great idea, but sorry, not really working yet. . . Maybe in ten years but not yet, only time will tell. Like stated above, Holy Family is located in Northeast Philadelphia. It just doesn’t jump at you as a place to go to college. Admittedly neither does Temple, LaSalle, and Widener, which are located in worse neighborhoods, but they have something Holy Family does not…Tradition.

Anyway the point of this is really to talk about the social scene at Holy Family. Rumor has it, even though it is small, the people do drink at Holy Family, and it can be a good time. The problem is that the parties resemble the kind in your parent’s basement where you are scared to be loud to wake your Mom up. “Shhhh. RA’s coming, Everyone shut the fuck up, I can’t get written up again.” That just has to suck. Ten people in a room scared of fake college officials, just is not college, sorry. I tired to find out on Holy Family’s website how many students live on campus but I was unable to because it was almost impossible to navigate through. Holy Family, you definitely need some IT help, I hear Beerslugger is available, hit em’ up seriously, you need it.

Ok, so the campus is beat where are you going to go? Let’s hit up Frankford Ave. and all of the classy bars in the neighborhood. Let’s barhop from Casper’s to McNoodle’s to Coach’s to Rauchets Tavern. This will be an awesome time. Maybe, don’t get me wrong, I have been in some of these bars and know people that go to these bars but they are locals and go there because everybody knows their name. It is not a place for college kids unfamiliar with the neighborhood to try to make friends. You cannot go into one of these bars acting like a young, out-of-town, college kid who thinks he owns the place because they are the cat’s pajamas at Holy Family. You will inevitably get your ass beat. Locals do not stand for that shit. Every Monday I exchange war stories with one of my closest friends at work, HR Chick, who lives in the Northeast. Her bar stories include countless fights (got no room talk considering I have a black eye right now, really long story but not that interesting. If you comment and want to hear it I’ll personally e-mail you), resulting in hospitalization, stabbings and random pit bull attacks within the bar. HR Chick is a reliable source, she is not white trash, she is educated, and attractive. I do not want you get the wrong impression considering the abovementioned stories. This is just what happens at these places weekly. Also, to the defense of these local bars, it is not the bar’s fault, it only takes one asshole to create a melee at a corner bar on a Saturday night. Good luck out of town Holy Family students.

I have no problem with Northeast Philadelphia. Several of my closest friends hail from its various parts. It just is not an area conducive to college kids. It is great for locals to commute to, but unlike Neumann, which Holy Family tried to emulate, it just is not built to be a college town. And really, bottom line when you cannot copy of Neumann properly, which is not saying much, you have issues.

A link to the 4th Worst College Social Scenes in the Philadelphia area

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The 5 Worst College Social Scenes in the Philadelphia area: #4

By: F.X. Galvin

#4 Haverford College – Who goes there?

I know I promised I would have the complete list done by Friday. Sorry, I lied. No, I actually got busy with grownup lawyer tasks and was unable to bash four more schools until now.

Well anyway, Haverford College is lame. It is one of those weirdo liberal arts colleges that takes on all the smart wackos who would rather attend a small college than an Ivy League school. They would rather get killer grades at Haverford than risk getting a C from Princeton. They are the intellectuals too scared to really compete.

It was difficult to come up with ideas for this post because unlike every other of the 19 schools I have chronicled, I have never met anyone that has gone to Haverford College. (except for one guy I worked with for about two months that was strange, that I avoided like any other wacko from Haverford). I have never partied up at Haverford and after calling many people I know, no one who has ever drank at this school. I have been on this campus several times to play soccer. I was there once in high school, than three times in college. (I think). Well anyway in my limited time visiting this school and soliciting rumor mill info in trying to write this article this is what I was able to establish.

I have never seen a good looking girl on this campus. I know my experience there is limited, but seriously, I should have jerked my head sustaining third degree whiplash at one point while present on the campus. Furthermore, after researching and polling people, this exact sentiment was echoed. This is one ugly ass place. Also, the time I was there, I did not see one beer can, empty beer case, or any evidence of alcoholic beverages being consumed on the campus. Also, this school is located on the Main Line and has the exact social scene as #5 Villanova. You got Brownies and a bunch of corner bars you have to drive to and risk a D.U.I.

Research has given my some more info on this place. This school boasts that it has 1,169 students from 45 states. It has the one of the oldest Honor Codes in the nation. Essentially they have been booting people for cheating since 1833. Nobody cares that you Quaker freaks have had an Honor Code since 1833. The Quaker thing does raise one issue. Penn, the original Quaker university in Philadelphia, started in 1740. In 1833, did the Quaker rejects who could not get into Penn build Haverford College? These people started as natural losers.

Well anyway, if you go on Haverford’s website one of the things it brags about is that it has a 3.5 acre duck pond. Quack, Quack Mr. Ducksworth or Haverford College, which ever you prefer. When a school advertises its duck pond on its home page, the place is useless. If anyone has something positive to say about this place I would appreciate more incite on this Main Line bubble. I will attempt to contact a couple of law school friends that I have not been able to get a hold of, who attended private Fascist high schools like Malvern Prep and Episcopal Academy to try to find what goes on at this place.

In closing, for all of you Nova alumni who have contacted me bitching that their school is #5… Blow me. Obviously you are not the reason the school was #5 or you wouldn’t have my phone number. Really, it is not my fault you went to a weak ass school. At least you turned out ok.

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Mainstream Media on MLB Steroids/HGH… Double Standard?

Sports with Bob McFlurry

So yea, one of my first picks in my Fantasy Baseball draft, Manny Ramirez,  is now suspended for the next 50 games as a result of a positive “Performance Enhancing Drug” test result.  Now before you get all, “You’re writing this article because you’re pissed that your Fantasy Baseball Team is going to hit the shitter.”, please read the rest of the article.

So what’s up with the Espn’s and other Major News outlets coverage of MLB players failing drug test as opposed to the NFL, NBA and NHL?  When is the last time you heard of an extremely visible NHL player or NBA player failing a drug test (Besides Weed in the NBA)?  Are you really going to tell me it’s because it doesn’t happen in those sports?  Please give me a break because you’re living in the same denial of those sports now just as you did in the late 90’s and early 2000’s of Major League Baseball.

Now I understand that the NHL is not as popular as the other of the 4 major sports, but when was the last time you have even heard of a player getting suspended in the NHL for anything other than roughing someone up more than a 5 minute major? Ever? Might have happened but it’s not running across the bottom line of ESPN as breaking news while you’re trying to hit on underage girls at Finnigans Wake.

And then you’ve got the NBA.  I’m not about to accuse the newly crowned NBA MVP, but when he came into the league as an 18 year old rookie he looked a whole lot older and bigger than anyone I have known when they graduated high school.  Freak of Nature, completely possible.  More shocking is that I haven’t heard of any problems in the NBA in terms of Performance Enhancing Drugs.

Now a brief ,and a little suspect, Google Search of “Steroids NHL” and “Steroids NBA” returned the following results on the NBA Steroid Problem and the NHL Steroid Problem.  Both commisioners claim not to have a problem with Steroids.  Again, possible yes, there’s a great chance that there’s not as much rampant use of PED’s in the NHL and NBA as there is in the Home Run obsessed MLB.  However, it’s certainly plausible that someone of high regard in either of these leagues has used  and tested positive for PED’s.

Don’t even get me started about the NFL.  I’m not saying that the NFL does a completely terrible job of policing their players intake of PED’s (because apparently people do get suspended), I’m just saying why does the American Mainstream Media make Rodney Harrison getting busted for HGH in 2007 not as big a deal as say Manny Ramirez or Alex Rodriguez?  Or what about the whole Carolina Panthers Offesnsive Line being on PED’s (allegedly) in 2003 as they steamrolled our Philadelphia Eagles on the way to losing the Super Bowl.  Where’s the outcry in that? Seriously?

The MLB has Senate hearings and calls an obscene amount of people/players to the witness stand and wastes Millions of taxpayer dollars to fix a problem that they have no business fixing. Yes the federal government should be going after  Steroids and HGH, however they should go after it the same way they do other drugs, get the distributors and manufacturers.  I’m not saying that taking down a major pubic figure who uses PED’s won’t help discourage their usage.  I’m just saying don’t kill my Fantasy baseball Season in the Process.

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BeerSlugger Babe of The Month – May

amandalynnbigcard

Age: 19

Height: 5’4”

Eyes: Blue

Favorite Drink: Irish CarBomb

Music: Punk Rock

Amanda is a very nice young lady who currently resides in South Philly.  She is currently a Photography Student in the Philadelphia area and will head north for a month or two to do an internship under a renowned photo-journalist who covered CBGS’s in New York City.  She actually helped our amateur photographer find the on button to our outdated digital camera.

You can find Amanda hanging on South Street in a bar we won’t mention for legal reasons.  Besides her interests in Photography Amanda Lynn has been modeling for a couple of years now.

You can find some of her work on the links below and you can contact her through them for modeling or photography jobs:

Model Mayhem

Amanda Lynn’s MySpace Page

You may see more of Amanda Lynn in front of and behind the camera on BeerSlugger.com.  Here’s some more pictures from the photo shoot.

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We promise that for the next photo shoot we will use a camera that has megapixels instead of superpixels.  Also, we did want to do an outside photoshoot as well but it has not stopped raining since Sunday.  Well get on that too!

Sincerely,

W.J. BeerSlugger

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