"Ya win some and ya lose some"

Now that the holiday weekend is over and Jay-Z has left Philly, I can now focus on my most prized possessions at this point in my life, my fantasy team. I say that because it's the truth. Let me break it down for you: I don't own an apartment like some of my friends, nor do I pay any form of rent, I don't have my own car and I don't have an iPad. So, I did the math and I decided that I am allowed to say that. I want to make smart decisions and not get played by the boys in this league so I want to treat this team like it were my own child. It is a time consuming effort I've learned thus far and so I have pulled in some consultants, against their own will, to help me make these decisions (shout of to Kev, Tim and Ryan).

My brother Tim helped me with my draft and by that I mean with his occasional leg kicks or elbow jabs when I should bid on a player and so far my friends Ryan and Kev have helped me through my first trade. This was a trying point in my relationship with my team. I really liked who I had in my lineup and I was certain that I was not going to get rid of Cam Newton, Tony Gonzalez and LeSean McCoy. But like all fantasy teams, there was room for improvement. I noticed pretty quickly that a few of my running backs were on the PUP list and that I needed to make moves for new ones as soon as possible. But, was I willing to give up anyone? I wasn't sure about that one. I am the kind of person that likes to hold on to things. I am not a hoarder for crying out loud but I do still have some pictures and notes from grade school and high school so giving things up isn't really in my blood. But like I said, I want to make smart decisions and if I want to make this my most prized possession I need to make it look that way.

So I made my first trade this morning with none other than my stalker. Not for Newton, but sadly I traded Roddy White for Arizona Cardinals running back Beanie Wells, Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olson and $15 in free agency. For all of you shaking your head, please do not judge. I am a rookie. I really did not want to let Roddy go however I was in desperate need of a tight end and a healthy running back. To my defense, when I bid on that Seattle tight end Cooper Helfet, I was not aware that if no one bid on him that I would end up with that pick. And for all of you thinking I must have meant to nominate RILEY Cooper, no I didn't. I am over that clown after he refuses to respond to my 87 tweets. Maybe it's the dumb blond in me or maybe it's the brother who told me to bid on someone who sucks. Not sure, but I am trying to make up for that mistake and believe that Newton and Olson will end up being a nice pair this season.

The whole trade process before, during and after all made me a bit of a nervous Nancy to be honest. There are so many what-ifs and such that I began to think that if I traded Roddy White how he was going to have this stellar season for my stalker and I could only picture my stalker in slow motion jumping up and down with chips, wings and beer flying around in the background after he has like a thousand point game for him, even though that's not possible. It's stuff like that that makes me think I will regret a trade. But if I want to have a great team and a winning season this year I decided I can't think like that. My team needs nothing but positivity and I am going to be providing just that this season.

And like I always say,

"Ya win some and ya lose some."- Mare McKeever

This Girl's Got a Stalker

When I signed up to be in a Fantasy Football league with a bunch of my guy friends no one ever told me that stalking comes along with being in a league. And by signing up I mean I petitioned for my ass to be in the league. I needed to prove to myself and others that I truly know what I'm talking about. But am I starting to regret it now that I have a stage one clinger?

Not for a minute. I can handle this.

The draft took place last night and the second I hit "Bid" for Cam Newton at a price of $42 in the Auction Draft (yes, Auction Draft, I know) and the clock timed out, Sold to Mare'sLair's Slayers, I not only acquired a solid QB, I also acquired a nice stalker. When I say I was contacted in multiple forms of social media, I mean it. Or any type of communication really. Verbal acknowledgement from across the room that he wanted Cam Newton was first. Followed by messages in the GroupMe app for the iPhone. Then again in the chat on the online draft. This isn't even the worst part.

A goodnight GroupMe message too.

"sleep on it tonight"

Sure thing, guy!

I am not even five minutes in my commute to work this morning when I get a text message from my new stalker.

7:43AM "hope you slept well and thought about arw trade"

Arw trade? I think he meant OUR trade.

Actually, I didn't sleep well. I had a bit of a personal nightmare and kept waking up every two to three hours in a cold sweat. All of which was unrelated to you wanting my quarterback. At around 2AM I wake up and can't fall back to sleep so I casually check my email. Oh, would ya look at this! A trade proposal. Oh wait! Two trade proposals. Both within a twenty minute time frame. Now, I think I've got him where I want him. Hanging by a thread, pathetically if I may add.

As I get to work and sign on to AIM, for work related reasons, my first instant message is from who but my stalker. It's important to note that we are already friends on AIM and talk on a daily basis. As I look back now to see what he first says to me, I noticed that he's left work quite early on the Friday before the holiday weekend and no longer can see our conversation. But it went something like this.

"So lets work on this trade deal"

So how bout we not and I'll get back to you when I've analyzed my team further.

Apparently he didn't get it because after I told him that I wasn't trading Cam Newton to him he thought of some other cool ways to convince me why I should trade Roddy White and/or Tony Gonzalez. After I turn him down to Tony I simply ignore every message after that point, until this one.

"I know you're the bell of the ball right now but I just want a dance."

Oh yeah?! That one was tweet worthy.

So I let him down easy with the following:

"Listen, I need time. It's not you it's me."

From there on out till he finally left work for the weekend it was a combination between who's driving down to Philly tonight and what bar we were going to and if I wanted to trade Roddy White for DeSean Jackson and someone else. I simply told him that doesn't seem logical and that I would see him at 7:30 tonight. I can't wait to listen to his bullshit over beers tonight.

A Shattered Dream (a little dramatic, I know)

I hate parking in the city. I would rather spend $20 at a parking garage than humiliate myself trying to parallel park. It just never clicked for me. So as I was preparing for my debut at the WIP studio last Tuesday morning the only thing that gave me anxiety was getting there and finding parking. What if I get lost and am late and then disqualified? What if I think I can just pull into a spot on the street but really should have parallel parked and end up crying out of frustration (that's happened before). This last what if turned out to be a reality. What if I am in the wrong lane and can't get over fast enough and go over the Ben Franklin Bridge?

Yup.

Instead of staying in the right lane onto 6th St., I am stuck in the left lane on my way over the Ben Franklin Bridge to New Jersey. I was already a half hour early so I didn't freak out too much. I quickly plugged my current location and the studios address into the Maps app on my iPhone and made my way back over the bridge in about six minutes. Phew. The sad thing is that I've gone over the Ben Franklin Bridge before by mistake. You would think I'd learned my lesson the first time but apparently I didn't.

After that episode I found the nearest parking garage which was luckily right behind the WIP building. I made way way through security and up to the 9th floor where I met the intern Francesca and was taken back to the studio. This is awesome, I thought to myself. This is happening!

And yes I will be bringing you through almost step by step as to what happened. Sorry I'm not sorry.

When I walked in the two other guys were already there and I sat myself right next to who I assumed was Glen since he was sporting an all black workout attire flaunting his personal trainer profession. I will say that I was surprised how nice he was. When I heard him on the air I initially thought he was full of it. Turns out he is a nice guy. They do exist.

We chatted for a few minutes and Angelo came out during a commercial break to let us know what the deal was. He was going to bring us in and do the interviews and then we would go to another room for some Phillies trivia.

"Oh shit" I thought. I'm not good with sports history or who is the all time leader in Phillies whatever category. It's just not my thing. It's more of a "I wasn't born then so I don't really know" attitude. But I will admit that sports history is something I need to work on.

They brought me and Glen into the studio first to be interviewed. What I didn't know and I'm sure most listeners were unaware of as well, is that Rhea sits in a different room than Angelo and Al do. There is a window between the rooms and Rhea has multiple computer screens at her disposal for her sports updates and Twitter news. I would want to be in a different room than Angelo too if I were her.

The atmosphere there is incredible. Between the hosts, producers and interns the energy is very spirited at an early hour which made the whole experience enjoyable and really stress free. In these types of situations I would be getting uncontrollably nervous which typically includes a shaky voice, red face and shortness of breath. Lucky me, I felt right at home.

Glen was up first. Angelo was intrigued by his profession as a personal trainer and his attitude about women. Of course his comment about reindeers came up, but in a way, was perfect for this interview.

"Now Glen we know you're into butts.."

"Like a reindeer."

That was the recording from his first call that Friday. I couldn't help but burst out laughing and even more so at Glen's goofy laugh.

So his interview goes on about how he has "access" to a lot of women and quite frankly I won't bore you with his story so I turn you now to my shining moment.

"Mare is smokin hot!"

Thanks. No, really thanks Angelo. I'd like to win these tickets based on something other than my looks, please. In addition to why it's easier for a girl to find these dates and who I had in mind, there was no way Angelo wasn't going to bring up the breakup. So we dabbled on that topic for a while as I bullshitted my way in bad mouthing the ex in the most modest way I could.

"What did he do?"-Angelo

"He dumped me!"

I couldn't have said it any simpler. But I tried to stray away from the whole breakup because I felt it was unnecessary at this point and didn't want to look at my phone later to missed calls or angry text messages.

(Thinking about this experience now I wished I had blogged about this right after it happened because I feel I could have colored the day a little better but I am trying my best to picture this day and share it with whoever is reading my blog.)

I explained how I already had some dates lined up in my head and I really did, I just hadn't asked more than one person yet, which was okay in case I didn't win. Apparently this was an interesting topic for Angelo because he is convinced that women have an "on deck" lined up after a breakup. I spoke for myself and said I didn't have a realistic one, and just that Riley Cooper was on my pretend list. I never got to tell him that I wanted to start a Twitter campaign to get him to be a date for one of the games if I won.

The first thing Angelo says after we're off the air surprised me in the upmost way.

"Mare, you should think about doing the Steven Singer Bubble Bath, I'm serious you'd be great."

"WHAT?! No, I won't do that"

Yes, it's tacky and no I'm not into that, even if the prize is worth $10,000. Not my style. He didn't like my response and before I left that morning mentioned it to me another two or three times.

Hell. No.

Angelo clearly had his vote in for me and now the other dude was up next, Dave. How coincidental that he also went through a break up, a more serious one I'd say, at around the same time as I did.

"It wasn't you two that were dating was it?!"- Angelo

If that were my ex competing with me that studio would have been a lot more dramatic, I'll tell you that much. But, no Dave was not my type and I think I might have offended him when I told him he was too old after Angelo asked if I would date him.

Dave seemed a little full of shit himself, too. So what that he had more than 19 girls' phone numbers. He wasn't anything special, in my opinion.

After Dave's interview we were taken into another room where we were nailed with random Phillies trivia. It was a rapid fire kind of deal where they went one by one asking us different questions. Glen had to go ahead and guess within a two percent range of what Chase Utley's stealing percentage or whatever the question was. So what if Dave happened to be spot on on what the most dollar dogs sold in one night was (75,000 hot dogs- gross Philly). I went two for two on that round with Ruiz leading the team with doubles and the soft pretzel selling more than any other food item in the stadium, which I found hard to believe that a.) that answer came out of my mouth and b.) was still taken as a correct answer after someone guessed the other real answer, crab fries.

The round that killed all of us was naming the former first round picks on the Phillies' current roster. It took about 15 minutes before the judges decided to end it. We were awful. We did get a hint toward the end that they don't have to be star players. They weren't kidding.
After all the party and bullshit we were taken back into the studio and ready for the announcement. Right before we went back in I presented Glen with a little present.

A Webkinz reindeer. For those of you who haven't babysat or been around kids in the last three to five years these are the modern day Beanie Babies.

Before the announcement we were told we were all getting Phillies tickets for Sunday's game even if we didn't win. I'm thinking, "Oh, so now I have to sit next to these people if I don't win?".

Friggin Glen. I should have immediately taken back that Webkinz and returned it to my four and six year old neighbors but I refrained and smiled politely at the winner.

"Now Glen, why don't you ask Mare to go to one of  the games with ya. Mare tell him no."- Angelo smirked

"Hey pretty baby would you voice.

"I have plans."

So there you go, my short term dreams were crushed. I had big plans for those tickets. Riley Cooper was bound to respond to one of my tweets accepting the offer for a date and then we'd end up dating and I'd be at every Eagles game for the remainder of his career here in Philadelphia.

Yes, sadly those exact thoughts came to mind. But hey, a girl can dream.

A Second Chance

When I am on vacation I don't like setting alarms but granted I was given a second chance at landing those 19 Phillies games I found myself yet again awake before my alarm. I sat in bed for about twenty minutes before I started calling in to WIP. It took a few tries before I was able to get past the busy signal and finally reach someone.

"Hi, its Mare. Angelo told me to call in this morning again for the 19 Phillies games."

I found out pretty quickly that my parents shore house was not a hot spot for cell service so I mosied my way out of bed and outside on the sidewalk in front of the house. Lucky me I was on hold listening to the Soup Nazi. Didn't know him. Never heard of him for that matter but eventually figured out during his interview that he was a Seinfeld character. I'm not Seinfeld fan to say the least. Not my kind of show. I'd rather watch Criminal Minds or CSI all day, just sayin.

As I am on hold, Soup Nazi's interview is over and I hear Angelo shout to the world that there is one last chance for a running at the 19 Phillies games.

"I have Mare in the lead now, she called in Friday but I want to give others a chance so if you can get through the lines are pretty clogged please call in. But Mare's up next."

Here we go! I got this, I kept thinking to myself. There was less than an hour for others to call in and I was optimistic this was all mine for the taking. I was ready.

"Hey Mare, how are you today?"

I'm great, now give me those friggin tickets, Angelo. No, I didn't say that but I sure should have. Aside from the boring chit chat we got straight to the point and I was determined to make my case yet again on air.

Here we go again.

"You sound extremely attractive, Mare. What do you look like?"

Oh how our elders forget things sometimes. I refreshed his memory from Friday's call but the short blonde description I gave was not enough, he had to know my favorite body part.

"You mean on me? Or the guys?"

Ricky Botalico got a kick out of that one, but I was serious. No one's ever asked me that question and honestly I've never thought about it so I struggled and said my abs. They're no abs of steel but hey, that could be intimidating and possibly even scary looking on a female. The only six pack I can relate to is a little thing called Budweiser.

After about three more "Mare, you sound extremely attractive" comments the conversation went back and forth from breakup talk and the 19 different dates. Angelo seemed sold on my call and my chances of making it to the next round were increasing. There was about 20 minutes left in the show and only one caller decided to challenge me for these tickets.

Uh oh. I kept thinking what if it's the ex calling in to compete against me? Or what if its one of his friends or someone I know that wants to shatter my dream for the time being? Shit. I guess I'll find out in a minute.

"Yo can I take some of my guy friends to these games? Is that ok, I'd like to take a few buddies if that's ok."

Is this guy serious? It gets even better.

"No no, we need you to be able to try and get 19 dates. Are you single?"- Angelo

"No, I'm married with four kids."

Thank God. Let the drum roll begin.

I won. 

Next stop: 400 Market Street

"Like a reindeer"

I always wake up at least an hour before my 7:30 alarm goes off every morning. Last Friday was no different, except in a way it was. I could see the glow from my iHome on the floor of my bedroom read 5:55. Normally, I would turn over and pull the sheets back over my head but before I did that I decided to check Twitter for some reason. One of the recent tweets was from 94.1 WIP and I don't remember what it said exactly but I remembered at that moment that I only had until Monday to get my chance at winning 19 Phillies games for the month of August.

"@rheahughes when can I call in to make my case for why I should win the 19 Phillies games?"

"right now!"

That was easy. The lines must not have been busy at that hour because the phone rang, I presented my reason for calling and gave my name. I waited on the line only a half hour and it was already my time to win the morning show over.

Going into this I knew I had a valid case to present. My points were quick and more than worthy of a shot at such a memorable prize. Angelo started off by asking why I should win the tickets so I began with my first and in my opinion, most dominant point.

"Well, I want to make up for the games I'm missing after losing a Sunday pack in a break up."

Their responses went something like this (almost in unison):

"Ohhhh noo!! Wow. What happened? Did you both pay for them? Why?! Oh man!"

After explaining that the ex took them and we both paid the same amount it was evident that Angelo needed to know more.

"What happened? Why did he break up with you, did he say it's not you it's me? Tell me more, Mare."

I knew there was a 98% chance he was listening that morning, like he does everyday, so I sort of kept my answers brief.

"Yeah, well he broke up with me and I guess it was a form of its not you it's me but I'm pretty sure he's listening I don't think it's a good idea to elaborate." ( As I awkwardly giggle)

That was Angelo's cue to do what he does best, well to some degree. First I sounded "extremely attractive" then since I tweeted at Rhea he must have caught a glimpse of my twitter picture because I was asked if I was the blonde or brunette because then I was "very gorgeous, you both are, really".

At that point I knew I had won at least Angelo over so I made my second point as to why it's easier for a girl to find 19 dates than it is for a guy. I summed it up by pretty much saying it is easier to find a guy who likes sports, enjoys going to games and has a general understanding and knowledge of sports than it is to find the same in a girl. I'm already a pretty good example of what I described above so finding that in guys is simple. I think it's hard to find a girl who will pay attention, know who is at bat or playing right field, know what an ERA is and maybe even stay for the entire game. I've witnessed some pretty bad dates at sporting events and I feared that if they chose a guy to win, he had a pretty decent chance of missing a two run home run or some huge play because he had to get up in the middle of an inning and get his girl a Mike's Hard Lemonade because she doesn't like the real beer the yellow shirts sell in the stands. There's a good chance that is bound to happen at least once or twice in those 19 dates. If you've seen How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, you know what I'm talking about.

"Mare, I gotta tell ya, you knocked it out of the park!" With that and a few more "you sound very attractive" comments it was clear I had the in. However, I did mention something in my call that I didn't expect to produce much of a result. When asked how I would go about finding these dates, my response was "with some phone calls and then I'd open it up to Twitter." After accepting my offer as a finalist and giving my last name and contact info offline I hung up and had four new email notifications of new Twitter followers, all guys not to mention. Like I said, these results were unexpected but hey I guess I can thank Angelo for that for the endless compliments.

I continued to listen to the show that morning and decided to go for a walk since I was wide awake at that point. Again, I heard Angelo signing my praises, "Mare was amazing, can you beat her?!"

Apparently, someone did. Long story short, the guy who got both Angelo's and Al's vote was Glenn, who happened to be remembered most for his answer to which body part he liked on a woman best, the butt.

"Like a reindeer."

Nope. No. Friggin. Way. I was not losing to reindeer man. So I called back and pretty much got right through and on air.

"Oh wait, we got Mare back on the line and she's not happy. How are ya, Mare?!"

What do you think, Ang??! I refuted my loss and wanted a re-match but Angelo simply told me since he liked my call and you know, thought I "sounded very attractive" that I can call back Monday and get in the running.

Yup. He was getting that call Monday morning, no doubt about it, Angelo. Besides, "like a reindeer"?? Not gonna lose to that comment.

The Wire

This guy I know recently got me hooked on an HBO show called The Wire. I heard some great things about it and considering I'm a crime show buff I decided to welcome the show into my weekly crime show lineup. I must admit , it was a great decision to do so. Right now my boyfriend and I are about to finish up season three, which from what I've heard through the grapevine is the best season.

The premise of the show is so interesting the way the writers portray the drug dealers, addicts and cops. You see each side and get to know the characters for who they are in their own world. I took a liking especially for Omar, who I consider to be the modem day Robin Hood. Walking around in his long trench coat, his shotgun in hand and smoking his cigarettes in season one gives him a fierce attitude that no one in Baltimore dares to challenge. The best part about his hole persona is that when he is walking the streets of Baltimore ready to rob or kill his enemies he whistles. It's not just a normal whistle. The tune is familiar to people of all ages, The Farmer and the Dell. The whistle echoes off the stone walls of the nearby buildings, a helpful warning that something is about to go down. Despite his dangerous behavior Omar is one of the most interesting characters on the show. Of all seasons so far this one has kept me on the edge of my seat. I hear the end of season three is quite a treat!

2012 Blogging Goals

I started blogging for the sole purpose of trying to get myself to read up on sports more often and for some time it was going well. I was spending most of my time reading and writing about Philly sports because that's what I am interested and have a passion for. After all, it's easier and fun to write about things you're interested in. But after working at SunGard for more than a year and it being a tough 2011 for Philly sports I decide to take another approach to my blog, give myself a challenge. I recently read an article that I found on LinkedIn that i thought had some great insight. The article talked about the top five reasons to blog if you're looking for a job. This was a sign for me. A sign to motivate me to blog more and not just about sports. The article stressed the importance of blogging about things such as current events or even hobbies. This way during interviews you can tell the potential employer to check out your blog where they can see your interests and opinions about different topics. It can give you something to talk about rather than just going over you resume.

My goal for 2012 in blogging is to broaden my topics and spend more time in my day to blog. I hope to spend at least an hour on blogging and possibly posting 3-4 times a week. I enjoy blogging and it really forces me to read more about things I'm interested in and form my opinion.

A Day in the Life of Customer Service: Financial Services Edition

When people ask me what I do at my job I usually tell them I answer the phones and emails and leave it at that. In reality, there is way more to my job but I want to spare the facial and verbal reaction to "I am in customer service". Typically, when people (including myself) hear customer service they have a negative reaction which may include a loud tone of voice and a lot of hand motions. I have talked to a number of people about their experiences with customer service and a common complaint is they are talking to people who do not speak English very well. One of the main goals of service is being able to successfully communicate to clients. The language barrier makes it extremely difficult to maintain that goal. In addtion to this obstacle, people find themselves on the phone for hours at a time trying to solve their issues through customer service. This unpleasant combination can result in a flurry of unpleasant feedback. The one thing I can say about my company, for the specific product I work for, is that we do not outsource our customer service. Our clients call a team line where one of three people will take their calls; me, Keith and Abby. Neither of us have a foreign accent, however Abby and I do have a relatively strong Philadelphia accent.




A day in the customer service world of financial services can be very interesting. Since we are a small product owned by SunGard we have about 200 clients. I usually hear from the same people each week so there is more of a personal interaction when I am on the phone with them. The number of clients who actually contact us is so low that I can recognize the number on the phone when people call. That can be a good and bad thing. Luckily, I am not the only one answering phones. One lady, maybe middle-aged, calls quite frequently. I think she picks a day to work on her Investor'sView (our product) projects, gives us a call when she logs in and asks us random questions when she is navigating through the system. One day she called three or four times within a half hour, each time I was the lucky one to pick up. By the third call here is how the conversation started,





"Investor'sView this is Marianne."





"Hi, it's me."





IT'S ME?! I didn't know we were on that level already. Like I said, customer service has it's good and bad days. I've had my fair share of those bad days but I try to bring out the good in those times. When my boss overhears me having a hard time on the phone with a client she comes over to my desk and tells me not to take things personally. That advice goes a long way in customer service.

Happy Valley Chaos...But for What?

The bizarre and embarrassing acts that engulfed Penn State's Main Campus late last night set a bad taste in my mouth and stomach. Students rallying for Joe Paterno did not seem like such a good idea especially in the midst of what is looking like the biggest scandal in sports history. I sat quietly in my living room watching the strange press conference last night wondering why this was all going on. The whole idea of holding such a meeting for the firing of Joe Pa totally fed into the culture at Penn State. Ideally, the Board of Trustees would have been better off with just a statement but to open the room for questions might not have been the best idea for the institution at a national level. In fact, the room was full of students blurting out their questions of concern for how their legend, their so called "god" was fired. Who cares if they called him or showed up at his door? The bottom line is the man is no longer the head football coach. How he was fired is minuscule in this entire scandal. From what started out as the discovery of heinous acts, which are unbearable to read on the 23 page grand jury report, it has turned into something that is not. Joe Pa.

The reactions I have read on Twitter from friends and friends of friends who are Penn State alum are quite astonishing. "So sad", "I can't believe this is happening", "We love you Joe!" "WE ARE...PENN STATE". All of these posts I saw populate my Twitter feed only made me feel sick to my stomach. I could not believe that people my age, which is the same age now as those boys who were raped, are sticking to one of the many men who covered up what was happening. Had i not known they were for Joe Pa I would have assumed they were for the children and families of those whose lives were traumatized. My response to those Tweets was harmless but I don't think it set well with Penn State folks, "Joe Pa getting fired is not sad. Little boys getting raped is sad and disturbing." I never got directly responded to on that one, but there was one shout out to Penn State haters saying "no one wants your opinion, shut the f*** up, ur about to get unfollowed..." Part of me wanted to respond indirectly just so I would get unfollowed. Let's get serious, who cares if you stop following me. It's people like that who have twisted this scandal into a worship-fest for Joe Pa. And because he is Joe Pa, he can do no wrong. Now that he has done wrong, he is being held responsible and as well he should be. But regardless, his fans will back him up, feel bad for him and rally for his legacy. For such a legacy and top dog at a prestigious university one would think he would take responsibility not only as a head football coach but as a human being to see that justice is served. But that is not what happened. It was ignored. It was ignored to protect the face of the program and the university. For something as serious as this, it makes you wonder what else are they hiding in Happy Valley? I just don't get it and I never will. Just because I didn't graduate from Penn State doesn't mean I can't have an opinion on this matter.

"Winning"

"Winning." The word has become much more than a sports team's goal or motto these days. I'm sure it was on LeBron James' mind the moment he stepped foot on the court alongside Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade in Miami. Rex Ryan sure thought his squad was good enough for it, in Super Bowl terms. The Villanova Wildcats sure had it on their agenda this season, as they were sitting pretty in the early weeks at number six on the AP Top 25 Rankings. What these three teams have in common though, ironically, is not "winning". I think all the smoke and lights that introduced one of the most overrated three-some in NBA's history had some sort of impact down there in Miami and how LeBron and Company can't seem to get it done. The Jet's had their fifteen minutes of fame during the preseason show, "Hard Knocks"on HBO. How many times did we hear Ryan mention his team playing in the Super Bowl? Nova Nation is taking a hit now after completely falling off the AP Top 25 Rankings. The question is, will they make it past the first round of the tournament, let alone make it at all? "Winning". Something these three teams haven't been able to grasp as of recent games.

"Winning" certainly has taken a different spin in the last week or so thanks to Charlie Sheen. Apparently, he is "winning". Whether it's in life or who knows what else, he has let everyone know that's what he's doing. Maybe the Heat, Jets and Wildcats can catch up with him in the next few days and weeks to get things going for them. Even though he lost his show with CBS, Sheen is making it obvious that he has his life under control. I don't know if I would consider myself "winning" if my children were taken out of my house, but he seems to be going with the flow. I can't go one day driving to and home from work without 610 WIP or 97.5 The Fanatic using the Sheen sound bite "winning" in their segments. The word has taken the Twitter world by storm and #winning seems like it's the most trended word since, ever. More and more people are talking about how Sheen has lost his mind and how crazy he is. We can make observations and judgements about the star of "Two and a half Men" all we want. He's only going to appear on more interviews and talk shows as this story continues to escalate. He is who he is no matter what people are going to say. I can't say I don't think the man is crazy, but who am I to judge? Now, don't go as far as comparing me to one of his "goddesses" but all I'm saying is let the man live. I will say though, if he gets his children back before the NFL and NFLPA come to an agreement, then there is certainly something wrong in this world we live in.

The Eagle Has Landed

There is a lot to talk about in the world of the Philadelphia Eagles. Michael Vick is performing above and beyond all expectaions and has certainly proved himself worthy of second chances. Back in August during Training Camp I would never have thought this team would be 6-3 and on the verge of leading the NFC East. There were lots of unanswered questions lingering over the head of coach Andy Reid. Kevin Kolb was the big guy on campus and everyone expected big things from the Texas native. Sooner than later the tables changed and who but Vick takes the lead and is now 4-0 when he has played the entire game. This guy is unbelievable out there. From passing 88yds. down the feild to an unstoppable DeSean Jackson or finding the hole and running for 10 yds. for the first down, this guy is powerful. So powerful he has been experiencing multiple symptoms of MVP. It's not too early to diagnose especially since his symptoms have increasingly skyrocketed over the past few weeks. MVP is serious and by the looks of it, Vick has placed himself on the not so populated list this year.

Vick has proved himself on this Eagles sqaud and earned the respect of his teammates and coaching staff. His weakness is still the fan base in Philly. There are those who support him and his long journey back to the NFL and have given him a second chance and the benefit of the doubt. Then there are those who refuse to support him and are outraged he is back playing in the NFL. Troy Ballard, writer for The Bleacher Report, provides great evidence to back up a case for Vick's running in the race for MVP. Read all he has to say!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/519835-michael-vick-10-ways-he-can-lock-down-the-mvp-award

VICK FOR MVP!

Eagles Training Camp

Last week I got an inside look at the Eagles Training Camp. I lucked out with a field pass to the afternoon practice last Tuesday with two of my good family friends and let me tell you, we had a BLAST! Thanks to Lehigh Gas and Pepsi our experience at Lehigh was one for the books. I drove up with my friends Carly and Jack Tuesday morning, but not at a gruesome 5:30am like most fans do coming from the Philly area. We had to pick up our tickets in Allentown at 9:30, so we missed the morning practice. Arriving at Lehigh University was a bit confusing, actually. Of course we were the only car driving into the campus and we had absolutely no idea where we were going. So, we drove through the campus and finally found some green arrows that we assumed were for us, the fans. So, here I am driving my new Ford Escape up the long and windy roads of Lehigh's gorgeous campus. I turned to Carly and Jack and said, "We would never make it up this mountain if we were in Barney." Barney is one of the cars my family has, which is a purple 1997 Toyota Corola that my brother has proudly took under his wings now that my younger sister and I ditched Barney and moved on to our Escape. So, we keep driving and driving and we weren't seeing anything. We decided to turn around and go back in case we missed something. As I am turning around and driving back, we see these green arrow signs again! At this point the three of us are laughing and starting to think we were being Punk'd (as if Ashton Kuther would pick three kids from Delaware County PA to Punk). Finally, we make it back down to the the main campus and no one wants to roll down their window to ask directions, so I frantically drive up to a nice student with a Lehigh t-shirt and ask him, "Where can we park for training camp?" This kid looks at us and knows we are lost and says, "Uh, isn't that up on the other side of campus?" Great, here we are, first time training camp visitors and we get an answer like that. He tells us to go back up the mountain and go over to Goodman Campus. Back up the mountain we go and finally make it there. Of course, we catch everyone heading back to their cars after the morning practice. Fortunately, we find an information tent and they tell us to go to the Pepsi tent and they will take care of us there, including lunch and field passes. Field passes??!! We knew something good had to come out of our trip all the way up here! So we arrive at the Pepsi tent, and know absolutely NOBODY. Granted there were about 20 people sitting at the large round tables waiting for lunch, but we still felt out of place. As soon as we get under the tent we see Jason Avant leaving the tent; apparently we missed the autograph session. Oh well, lunch was ready and we had four hours to kill before the next practice. Sitting at our table, just the three of us, we start looking around at people and see that everyone has field passes and we start to wonder when and where do we get ours. I spot a guy with at least 30 around his neck and Carly, Jack and I are fighting over who is going to ask him for them. We voted Carly since she was yet to ask anybody where we were going and what our tickets were good for. She claims she has a fear of talking to people or something, and here she is a junior at Villanova with a communication major. I wonder how she is going to make out in the real world. Anywho, all of a sudden people are getting up and returning their field passes. Then we start saying, "Oh no, what if they were only good for the morning practice, what do we do?" What did we do? We sat there for two and a half hours under the Pepsi tent until we were the last people in the tent.Yes, we did that. Jack had about three Pepsi Max sodas in that time frame and was getting a bit jittery. Then a different man from the one who had the field passes comes up to us and asks if we are staying for the afternoon and what do you know, he gives us three passes! FINALLY!

Fast forwarding to later that afternoon, we get onto the field for what we didn't know was special teams only. If you ask me, I really don't care if it is a regular practice or special teams, I got field passes and stood one foot away from one of the best football teams in the NFL. Not to mention some of the best looking players in the NFL. So, here I am, a blond, 5'3", 22 year-old girl with a Brent Celek jersey on. I turned to Jack and said, "Is this real life?" This was amazing. After about two minutes I work up the guts to say hello to Celek and what comes out?..."Hey Brent!!"... his response, an awkward, "Helloooo.." Oh well, at least he looked at me, right? My next goal was to get Jason Avant to pass me the football during his catch his Leonard Weaver. Again, here I am at Eagles Training Camp, staring at Avant and Weaver pass the ball to each other right in front of me. I stood there for five minutes just watching the ball go from Avant to Weaver, Avant to Weaver. In my head I'm practicing what to say, "Hey Jason! Over here, pass me the ball, I'll catch it!" That never happened. But, this did happen: As we were being escorted off the field by Eagles employees, I finally worked up the guts to say hello to my new favorite player, rookie WR Riley Cooper. Yes, the tall, gorgeous, long-haired number 14. I said,"Hey Coop" and waved. He turned, looked, saw me waving, smiled, waved and WINKED! A perfect ending to a perfect day. So, when people ask me about training camp I tell them it was great and that me and Cooper are dating now.

Go Birds!

Philly Gets a Makeover

There is lots to talk about in Philly these days. The Phillies are seeing a whole different look this week with Polanco at second, Valdez at SS, Desperate Dobbs at third, Werth at center and phinally Rookie Dom Brown at right. With all the injuries haunting the team I wouldn't be surprised if I saw Howard in the outfield if another injury occurs. That's a little exaggeration, but I'm just sayin'! With all eyes on Brown since Victorino left Tuesday's game, the rookie sure made an impression on Philly with a double on his first major league at bat. I swear it brought tears to my eyes! Especially when he got a standing ovation! He'll fit right in in Philly if he continues to tear it up at the plate.

The Eagles are certainly seeing change this year! No McNabb, no Westbrook. The young guns are going to be the ones taking control of things this season. Not too many veterans are back but hey, this is the transitional season. I have faith in my young team and know things will be just fine. Let's just hope nobody gets in trouble...

Drama, Drama, Drama

You all know what I am talking about when I say drama, at least I'm hoping you do. Lebron James. What a character, huh? The so-called "decision" watched and heard around the world was all the talk this past week and to be honest, I really didn't care too much about it until Thursday when it was all over Sports Center. I did not see it but I was listening to Power 99 in Philadelphia, yes Power 99, and his interview or whatever that was came on and suddenly I became interested. From the start of his free agency and what was being said on every sports show on ESPN, I assumed he was going to Miami and so I left it at that and didn't give him much more thought. I was annoyed, actually, when Sports Center dedicated several hundred hours to the "king". I just wanted to see the Top 10 plays and get on with my day. The whole thing was absurd if you ask me. Who in the world needs such publicity when deciding where to play hoops next? All the hype made me think he was going to come out behind a big red curtain with smoke and fireworks and do a fun dance with dancers from a rap video. But that was being saved for the "three kings" party the next day. I'll give it to Miami, they have a pretty sick team now with Bosh, LeBron and Wade. On a side note, I think it's funny how everybody refers to him as Lebron, his first name instead of his last like most athletes, with the exception of Kobe, Shaq and other athletes. Anywho, the whole situation was glorified in the most unnecessary way. Do you think Kobe will do the same when he becomes a free agent? I hope it's bigger and better just to spite LeBron. And that is saying a lot from me because I loathe Kobe Bryant more than anything in the world. I hope Kobe's "decision" is similar to the opening ceremonies at the Olympics, and he carries the torch.

For my Philly updates, lets talk about how close Cliff Lee came to signing with the Yankees. That would have been...well you know what it would have been like. Now, how about Jayson Werth? I feel for both sides. Jayson was literally just doing his job when the fan interfered with the ball that was in foul territory in the stands. A little cursing never hurt anybody, but a lot of people are upset with him in Philly, which is understandable. The guy was at the game with his son and explains that he was protecting his son from the ball...whatever happened is over and Werth apologized for cursing the fan off. Whether the apology was sincere, I do not know but I would like for everyone in Philly to get over it and worry about the second half of the season.

Ryan Howard was spotted by my college roommate, Danielle Chicano (hey girl!), at the movies in Plymouth Meeting, Friday, July 9th, the very night he hit the walk-off homerun to win 9-7 against the Reds. Good thing there were fireworks that night, otherwise the entire stadium would have left and not witnessed the miraculous comeback. Well, I'm not so sure that comeback would have happened if the fans weren't there.

Flyers' Jeff Carter has been spotted several times at La Costa in Sea Isle City. I've only stood and watched him from afar, weird I know, but it's intimidating at first when seeing a professional athlete. Maybe I'll work up the guts to actually talk to him before the end of the summer. However, my good friend Jill Carl (hey girl!) has had some interaction with the Flyguy thanks to her friend who plays for the Scranton Penguins. Too bad YOU didn't get Carter's number, Jill!

Go Phils, and GO NL!!

Let's talk football

Fantasy Football Championships seem to run in my family, well at least with my mother. She doesn't just talk the talk, this woman walks the walk, too. Most mom's aren't known for their sports knowledge, but my mom certainly knows her stuff. In our living room she has two Fantasy Football Champion trophies above the fireplace. They are little things, but it's two more than my dad has. Every time I was home from school, she would be sitting in the computer room working on her fantasy team, the Havertown Birches. So after seeing her do so well, I'm thinking of joining her league and taking her on. Of course, the winner gets a trophy and hosts the fantasy football party for everyone in the league. I have to do my research obviously, and not make the same mistake I did with my baseball fantasy team; which turned out to be nothing more than a complete disaster. This time I will not have Philadelphia players dominate my team. I've matured in my sports knowledge since then and think I can handle a fantasy football team.

Even though we are in the off season, training camp is coming right around the corner! The offseason is just as entertaining as the offseason. Someone's always getting in trouble or in the media somehow. From the Titans backup QB Chris Simms to the Bengals RB Cedric Benson, trouble seems to find professional athletes. Michael Vick is in the spotlight again and this time it's not for speaking to kids about ho wrong it is to conduct dog fights in your home. Reports are coming out saying he left way before the shooting that took place at the bar where he hosted his birthday party. Other reports say he left only three minutes before the shooting. Who knows what happened, I'm just hoping he doesn't land himself back behind bars! This is the last thing this guy needs. As a concerned Eagles fan, I hope this situation gets figured out some time soon in case we need to be looking for another backup QB.

I'll report back after I do some research for my fantasy team...any ideas for a team name?

Playoffs and more

It's playoff time and the games are getting interesting! For Vince Carter and Co., it only took three games to knock the Atlanta Hawks out of the running for the 2010 Finals. On the other hand, the LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neil duo in Cleveland can't get things going their way, trailing the Boston Celtics 3-2 in the series. I haven't been watching these games just because I've lost interest since Allen Iverson left the Sixers...the first time. I've seen highlights and read up on the latest games and to me, it seems like the Cavs aren't pulling through as expected. I feel sorry for the guys, I really do. They have a solid team and James has been phenomenal since he stepped foot in the NBA at age 18. He deserves a championship and that would top off a pretty good season, after being named MVP this year. And how can I forget my St. Joe's Hawk Delonte West?! What a great match up would that be if the Cavs beat out the Celtics and meet up with Jameer Nelson and the Magic? I would love to see the two former Hawks battle it out. They were great on that team years back!

As for the NHL, which I have only been following the Flyers, the playoffs have been full of upsets. The Montreal Canadiens beat out the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Props to the worst-record team in the playoffs! If you couldn't tell, I'm not a Pittsburgh fan so good for the Canadiens, for now at least because with the Flyers coming back and forcing Game 7 in Boston, we could be facing the Canadiens if we come out on top. This is a good thing for Philly. It's been a while since the Flyers have seen this kind of playoff action and to be honest, I am hopping on this Flyers bandwagon. I don't have a t-shirt to support them but I've been watching and cheering. Go Flyers!

I found an interesting story in the news today about a 22-year old man posing as a high school kid in Texas. It turns out the man, from Haiti, was caught in a tournament in Florida by coaches who recognized him when he played back in high school. Small world, huh!

I'm Back!

Wow, it's been a busy week for me, not much blogging time, I apologize. So, I've been getting 3503459034 text messages from ESPN today about the NFL and what next season's schedules are looking like. So far, it looks like we got some pretty good Thanksgiving games with Saints at Cowboys, Patriots at Lions and Bengals at Jets. I'm looking forward to the 2010 season, even though last season just ended in February and despite the fact that my Birds are making some drastic changes. I feel like most teams are making some pretty serious changes for next season, with the Seahawks and their new coach Pete Carroll, the Redskins and McNabb, Ben Roethlisberger and his Steelers, I don't know what his penalty is going to be yet but his team is going to have to cope with his loss. With all the draft picks coming in starting Thursday it should be an interesting season in 2010. I forget who I heard say it but someone on ESPN said this draft is the best one in 15 years and I would have to agree. There are so many talented quarterbacks who are showing amazing progress and even the running backs, safeties and wide receivers are top prospects, among many more. After my internship last fall at WNEP-TV Channel 16 in Scranton, PA, I got a better understanding for college football and learned to appreciate the intensity and the genuine love these boys have for the game. I always forget that these boys are my age and are amazing athletes. I really got to know teams such as Florida, Michigan, Penn State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Iowa and a few others. I really liked watching Golden Tate from Notre Dame. His work ethic and speed really stood out to me and even though Notre Dame wasn't a championship team this year, I really enjoyed watching Tate. But, I will admit I am a Tim Tebow fan. What college girl isn't? Aside from his stunning looks, he is a darn good quarterback. I know a lot of commentators have been saying that he is not going to do well in the NFL and that he's just a good leader. But, I would have to say that his leadership will take him a long way. Let's face it, the kid knows the game and he's obviously emotional and cares a lot for the game, judging by his final game in Gainesville. I have not seen his quarterback camp with Jon Gruden yet, but I have faith that his new form will take him places and he may not be the best quarterback next season but he has the potential to make it big time within the next five years. It's a stretch but, hey, anything can happen! I still have to look at the videos from Todd McShay on ESPN to learn more but I'm going to go out on a limb and based on the things I have been hearing I'm going with Sam Bradford from the Oklahoma Sooners as the number one pick.

One more thing before I finish and tune into the Flyers and Devils game, I just want to comment on McNabb's request for Terrell Owens. I do not like that at all. I said it in the beginning and I'll say it again, this McNabb trade is going to bite us and bite us real bad. If the whole thing pulls through with the Redskins acquiring Owens, my worst nightmare has come true. Again. The first time it came true when Owens went to the Cowboys the season after his years with the Birds. Philly thought THAT was bad, well I think this just might be worse. The NFC East is going to be a hot mess next season and that I can not wait for. Also, I know I said one last comment but this I thought was important...Texas RB Vondrell McGee was charged with a DWI. I found it interesting that ESPN said the school is planning to suspend him for at least one game. I really hope the consequences are a little more severe than just one game. Just putting that out there.

So much to say, so little time

So, the virdict is in and Big Ben has his behind saved once again. Considering I have an insane amount of work to finish for tomorrow and Wednesday for classes that shouldn't matter to me in the real world in about two months (i.e./ european history and nutrition) I don't have enough time to dedicate to this issue about the famed QB... Anywho, I will leave you with this... visit espn.com for the DA's press conference on Big Ben. It is quite humorous and in some cases disturbing, regarding some of the details of that night back in March. On a lighter note, Joe Mauer seems like a pretty interesting character. I just saw his interview with Rick Reilly on ESPN, so check out that video too! Good night and GO PHILLIES!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

I have one concern so far this baseball season and that's the lack of attendance at the stadiums. As of now, I can only vouch for the Nationals and the Astros, but seriously, baseball is America's sport! The Florida Marlins are also struggling to fill seats and it's just something these front offices need to take care of. Especially the seats behind home plate. My suggestion is that if you can't sell them for your asking price, then just put people from other sections there to at least make you look good on TV. I'll do some more research and see what other MLB teams are left empty seated. In my opinion, it's a real problem and I'm sure part of the reason people aren't showing up to these games is because their teams aren't doing so well, but baseball games are fun and need to be enjoyed. Anywho, as for this McNabb and T.O. reunion in D.C., I'm not buying it. Last I heard D.C. has five quarterbacks on the roster and here I thought three was too many! I also hear they were getting visits from Sam Bradford AND Jimmy Clausen! What's with that??

Also in football, the Big Ben charges are dropped?????!!!!! What is going on? I'd like to see if the judge is still going release the evidence tomorrow. Things just got interesting, and I'm certainly annoyed. One thing's for sure, that woman who filed charges isn't doing it for the money if she I dropping the charges, which leads me to think the Steeler really did do something.

Enough about Big Ben for now...how bout them Philllllss? :)

Finally Friday!

So, this is my first blog and I'm so excited to get the ball rolling! But anyway, it's finally Friday and this weather is GORGEOUS. And of course I'm inside watching The Masters on ESPN. Tiger is making a superb comeback if you ask me, I mean with all that pressure the guy's got a lot on his plate but he seems to be handling it pretty well; I know I couldn't, but then again I cringe at the thought of more than three people watching me play! I give the guy a lot of credit, I mean coming back after months of not playing and he's tearing it up on the course! Yeah,yeah what he did was wrong, perverted and grimy but he's human! A very WEALTHY human who just made some mistakes, one after the other. But come on, how many regular people are doing the same thing and not being slammed for it?! If it's anything, I forgive him. He's a great golfer and I hope he wins the Masters this year.

Enough about Tiger, though. IT'S BASEBALL SEASON PEOPLE! I've been looking forward to this since the World Series ended. I'll tell you right now I am a Philly fan. But don't worry I'll be talking about other sports teams too, just after I brag about Philly :) Great start to the season though for my Phills, despite last night's loss to the Nationals :/ So much for our undefeated season...but hey, you can't win them all! Our line up is SICK though, there is not a single hole in it. We will walk all over every pitcher from Jimmy Rollins to Jayson Werth to Carlos Ruiz. Yes we've got a great team and I can't wait to watch them this season but you know what? I don't think people realize how good looking our team is! Chase Utley..hello, duh obviously he's a stud no questions asked. Except for his ONLY downfall, the greased and slicked back hair.That's gotta go! Shane Victorino is a cutie too, that skin and those eyes! My personal favorite...Jayson Werth<3 There is something about him, besides his facial hair, that is so intriguing about him! Maybe his stellar arm? I'm speechless, he's just so damn good looking!

Alright, that's enough for today. Keep an eye our for Tiger, he might surprise the world this weekend! Go Phills and good luck to the rest of the National League :)