Monday Morning Mehta 12/6/04

Edition # 96
December 6, 2004

Eagles/NFL

Two words come to mind when thinking of the impact of this game on the NFC: Any Questions? After the drubbing put on by the Eagles, there seems to be nothing that can stop the Eagles on January 15th/16th and 23rd. Unfortunately that is still 6 weeks away.

Game Positives (I could list almost every player here this week):

1a. Jeremiah Trotter, Darwin Walker, Sam Rayburn, Corey Simon and Hollis Thomas. I think these 5 guys up the middle have played incredible the past 3 weeks. This is the first week they had a true test against a great offensive line and running game, and they stepped up from play one. The penetration from the middle bothered Favre all day.

1b. Donovan McNabb. The best game of his career. McNabb was as accurate as he's ever been the whole meat of the game (started off 14 of 14 with the 15th a catchable pass) . 5 TD's is his career best and his 5th 4+ TD game of the year. He's using multiple receivers and making a strong play for league MVP. Yes, the impact of Terrell Owens has been huge but McNabb's play has been sensational.

2. Brian Westbrook. Donovan may win the league MVP but Westbrook could be the team's MVP. The offense is just on another level when Westbrook is healthy and on the field. I can't help but think if Westbrook is on that field last year versus the Packers and Panthers, we would've waltzed into the Super Bowl. Forget Duce Staley, this guy has a real impact on our offense.

3. Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown. I've said this before and I'll say it again: What impresses me about these two is their tackling ability. Sheldon Brown may already be a better tackler than the sure tackling Troy Vincent was. To me, Brown is the better CB at this point. His tackle on the end around to Donald Driver in the first quarter on a 3rd down was important early in the game.

Game Negatives:

1. Freddie Mitchell is out of control. McNabb was in the midst of his greatest game as a pro as he was hitting multiple receivers, the Eagles are up 35-3, and Mitchell is complaining that it's about time he got the ball. News Flash!: Hey Fred-ex, you are not important to this teams success. Get it through your skull. You mean nothing stop acting as if you do.

2. Andy Reid not pulling the starters earlier. I realize the Eagles are going to have about 3 meaningless games coming soon and these guys will need to stay sharp, but get 'em outta there early. I thought Aikman and Collingsworth were going to go onto the field and smack Reid.

Game Notes:

Did you notice that the first play from scrimmage was a run by Ahman Green which was stuffed. Why is this relevant? Hollis Thomas totally blew the play up with penetration into the backfield. He actually bulled the O-lineman into Green. D'hani Jones basically falls on Green, gets credit for a tackle which he really had little to do with, then begins his guitar celebration. Enough!!

The game stats say the Eagles sacked the Packers 5 times (3 times they got Favre) but the pressure by the Eagles defense was very good and very consistent. Against what is generally considered, with the Colts, as the best offensive line in the NFL, this marks a great sign for the Eagles moving forward.

How many animals died to make that coat Terrell Owens was wearing at the post game press conference?

I thought some of the catches made by the Eagles in the first half were awesome. It was a complete 180 degree change from last year.

The Packers pass defense is absolutely atrocious. How bad is it when your best corner is Al Harris? Someone please inform Al Harris what the score of yesterday's game was. I swear he thought the Packers had won the game.

Around the NFL

One thing I've noticed about the Baltimore Ravens defense the past 3 years since their Super Bowl victory is that they are overrated and they are pretty fraudulent when it comes to winning big games. The defense in their Super Bowl year was awesome. The version that plays these days is more hype than substance. Yes they'll return the occasional pick for a TD, but when it comes to stopping the pass consistently they just can't do it.

Another thing I've noticed is Michael Vick gets killed by Tampa Bay. (Thanks Einstein). The Bucs make Vick look like a high schooler.

The San Diego Chargers remain one of the biggest surprises. I kept an eye on this game as the Eagles game was a blowout, and the Chargers defense is impressive as advertised. They came up with big play after big play when needed. A mid 4th Quarter pick in the endzone of Jake Plummer as the Broncos had drove inside the 10 was the big play of the game.

Oh, I forgot it's December. That means it's time for the annual Daunte Culpepper choke on road games to begin. I've said it before in this column, anybody who thinks Culpepper is a top 5 QB just doesn't watch football.

Gotta give a shout out for Mike Fafalios to local boy made good, Chester native Kevin Jones of the Detroit Lions who has really stepped up the past few weeks. Now if they could just find him a QB...

Who the heck woke Clinton Portis up? Joe Gibbs that's who. Gibbs threatened to bench Portis earlier in the week and that tactic worked like a charm.

I am on record as saying the Eli Manning move was the right move for the Giants. It may turn out to be as he's going through a natural learning process. But Giants fans have to wonder if they could've made the playoffs with Kurt Warner.

The AFC playoffs are starting to shape up nicely. 5 teams have more than 9 wins already and are "seemingly" in. A lot will happen in 4 weeks but right now the Patriots, Jets, Colts, Steelers, and Chargers all look safe for playoff spots. The last spot will be fought between the struggling Ravens and Broncos at 7 wins, the struggling Jaguars at 6 wins, and two red hot teams in the Bills and Bengals also at 6 wins. Suddenly the Week 15 tilt between the Bengals and Bills is huge.

There are some very interesting games next week: Tampa at San Diego; Rams at Carolina; Jets at Steelers; Seahawks at Vikings; and Bengals at Patriots.

A great NFL argument is ranking the top QB's in the NFL. I think I'm going to do a weekly top list for the rest of the season. I'm curious to see how my list changes after the playoffs, which I 100% admit, will change. Playoff wins mean a lot on my list. Please feel free to send me yours and I'll publish it.

Here's my top 10:
1. Tom Brady
2. Donovan McNabb ***
3. Michael Vick ***
4. Peyton Manning
5. Steve McNair
6. Chad Pennington
7. Daunte Culpepper
One good year, not enough to make the big list:
Ben Roethlisberger
Drew Brees
Matt Hasselbeck

Note: Brett Favre is in another list. He gets ranked with the all time top 15 best QB's.

*** Note 2: I know some of you in another forum will say I flip - flopped Vick & McNabb, well, I did. A five TD performance against a big rival will do that. Vick vs. McNabb is an argument I truly struggle with and I've admitted that before. I think Vick is awesome I will not back down from that. "I admit" I was swayed by this weekend's performance.

Phils/Baseball - MMM

Phillies make a major off season move that will shake the foundation of the NL by acquiring Kenny Lofton & $1.525 Million for Felix Rodriguez. OK, maybe it's not that big of a deal, but...

1. Did the Phils improve their CF position? Yes.
2. Did the Phils improve their lineup? Yes.
3. Did they improve their defense? No. Lofton has a terrible arm.
4. Did they hurt their bullpen? A big resounding YES.

If anyone is actually out there reading me, they should know by now I'm all about pitching. Why in the world the Phillies deplete their bullpen with this move is beyond me. They have an already aging bullpen (Cormier who likely will be re-signed will turn 38 in April, Tim Worrell turns 38 in July). If you watch any postseason baseball you know you need 3 setup men and a closer. I think this trade is a clear indication Ryan Madson will be their top setup man if Worrell falters.

Bottom line is this. The Phils would rather have Kenny Lofton at $2 million than F-Rod at $3.5 million. It's all about the money on this deal, don't let the Phils spin this one. After setting attendance records, the Phils are clearly in watch your spending mode again. This isn't a good sign for the Phils in 2005.

Here's a tell all quote from Kenny Lofton: "I'm just glad to have the opportunity to play. That's what I'm all about". A clear indication that he'd rather play than WIN! Well Kenny, looks like your wish will be granted.

December 7th is the arbitration deadline. You'll know a lot more about free agents after that day.

Steroid Issue - MMM

I've been on record as saying steroids don't mean as much as people think they do. I don't go as crazy as some people. During the home run craze of 1996-2001 guys like Jay Bell who are the poster child for scrawny geeky nerds around the country (I should know) hit 38 homers. If Jay Bell can hit 38 homers something must have been going on with juiced balls or whatever (Mike Schmidt only passed that mark 3 times).

But I'll say this, it is going to get ugly, real ugly. Any way you slice it, taking steroids is cheating. Cheating, period. I don't care if Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield knew or did not know (puh lease) what they were taking. Ignorance is no excuse with the law. I can't drive 103 mph on I-95 and when a cop pulls me over say, "Officer, I had no idea the speed limit was 55".

What punishment should they be given? I think it would be difficult to impose any sort of real punishment since steroids really wasn't illegal according to the baseball laws when they admitted taking them. I would say any player in Grand Jury documents that took steroids (Bonds, Sheffield, Giambi, etc) should have to take drug tests every 2 weeks of the MLB season. If nothing, it embarrasses the players. Sure they find ways around those tests, but I'm looking at this from the humiliation stand point. I'd love to see the players union fight that.

NBA - Derreck Sura

-The Sixers (6-10) fell to 3rd in the Atlantic Division by going 0-3 this week. Philly has lost 4 in a row overall, is 3-7 in their last 10, and 1-7 on the road for the season. The Sixers had 4 chances to steal one with :09 seconds left in Houston Saturday night, but they couldn't convert, and lost 76-77. If there is a big man tandem that misses more lay ups then Marc Jackson and Kenny Thomas, I'm not aware of it. GM Billy King has been burning up the phone lines recently in an effort to jump start his floundering team. Philly has been rumored to be after everyone from Shareef Abdur-Rahim (more on this at a later date) to Vince Carter. If I could give BK one piece of advice, it would be to stay away from Vince. I don't see how Allen Iverson and Vince's games, or personalities, would mesh on the court. I think acquiring Carter would be counter productive to developing the chemistry the Sixers need to succeed. I get the feeling that Samuel Dalembert, who has been stuck in coach Jim O'Brien's dog house, is going to be used as bait for another team to absorb one of Philly's bad contracts. One fresh rumor that I think would benefit the Sixers is KT (5 years, 32 million left after this year) and Sam D (restricted free agent) to the Bulls for Tyson Chandler (restricted FA) and Othella Harrington (unrestricted FA). Chicago is in pretty good salary cap shape, and could handle KT's relatively low annual salary. The trade would be a change of scenery for Tyson and Sam D, and would allow Philly to get out from under KT's ridiculous deal. This week brings the Sixers @Atlanta, Minnesota, @Chicago, Milwaukee. 3-1 should be expected, and would give them some much needed momentum at the quarter pole. Anything less then 2 wins, and the shake up may be on.

-The Los Angeles Clippers are tied for the 3rd in the Pacific Division at 10-7, and I'm starting to think they are for real. L.A. is the top shooting team in the league at 48.3%. They are also 1st in assists per game (24.5), 2nd in assist differential (+5.1), 3rd in opponents rebounds per game (38.6), 5th in point differential (+4.6), 6th in turnover differential (+1.6), and 7th in both free throw shooting (77.6%) & points allowed (92.5). Coach Mike Dunleavy has been without his projected starting C (Chris Kaman) and SG (Kerry Kittles), but he deserves much of the credit for getting his team to believe. Chris Wilcox has shown that he can play in the NBA while filing in for Kaman by averaging career highs in minutes (29.1), points (12.7), and rebounds (6.3), and Elton Brand and Corey Maggette have been solid. However, Bobby Simmons and Marko Jaric are the two players that have made the biggest difference for the Clips. Simmons, Kittles' replacement, is averaging 37.4 mpg, 16.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.4 apg, and 1.5 spg while shooting 55.3% from the field (5th overall). All of which are career highs. I don't know if the selection of high schooler Shaun Livingston (4th overall) had anything to do with it, but Jaric has finally started to live up to his potential. Marko's improved play, more then anything, has had the largest impact on L.A.'s success. He is averaging career highs in minutes (35.1), points (12.1), assists (6.5, 13th overall), steals (2, 5th), shooting (42.2%), 3 point shooting (43.9%), and free throw shooting (79.1%). I've been so impressed with how Jaric has been playing lately, I decided to copy his hair style. I still don't think the Clips are the best team in L.A., but the West is looking like it's one team deeper then I originally thought.

-Michael Redd averages 39.9 minutes, 21.8 points, and 2.5 turnovers per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. In the Bucks' only 2 games against the Lakers this season Redd went for 7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 5.5 topg in 34.5 mpg, while shooting 19% from the field (4-21). You see, Redd was being guarded by Kobe Bryant, who averaged 25 ppg, 8 apg, 6.5 rpg, and 2 spg, in 43.5 mpg on 40.5% shooting. I hope NBA GM's keep those statistics in mind when offering Redd a contract this summer. Sorry to say Laker haters, but Kobe has been playing some serious "team" ball this year, to go along with his always stellar defense. Bryant is currently riding a streak of 3 straight double digit assist games, and is 9th in the league (6.8 apg) overall. He also leads the league in triple-doubles (2), free throws made (9.3) & attempted (11.5) per game, minutes (42.8 mpg), and is 2nd in scoring (26.8 ppg). Since the Shaquille O'Neal led Miami Heat are 11-7 (1-5 vs. the West), and the Lakers are 10-7, and playing in the tougher conference, I'd have to say Kobe is much closer to the MVP then Shaq is right now.

-After starting out 4-1, the Toronto Raptors (7-12) have hit the skids and gone 3-11. GM Rob Babcock has been trying to package Jalen Rose with Vince Carter to as many as 7 teams around the league because both players have become a distraction in the locker room. The sticking point being that no one wants the 3 years 47 million left on Jalen's contract. Coach Sam Mitchell probably thought things couldn't get any worse after Wednesday's 129-108 loss in Orlando, where Toronto was out rebounded 61-32, and let the Magic shoot 57.3% from the field for the game. He would've been wrong. During the 3rd quarter Friday in Boston, Mitchell benched both starting C Loren Woods and starting PG Rafer Alston for the rest of the game (Raptors lost 89-91) after they both were hit with technical fouls. "We could have used them both, but I wasn't going to let either one of them back in the game," Mitchell said. "These guys cannot conduct themselves like that in front of 19,000 people and get rewarded by playing. You cannot do your coaches and teammates like that." Woods' reply, "I let the emotions get the best of me. I lost it, and I lost the game for us." Alston went off the deep end saying, "It's tough right now for me. I'm going to talk to Sam and [Babcock]. I think it's time. I'm tired of getting into it with my teammates and my coaches. I don't know if I'm a good fit for this team and I don't know if I'm a good fit for this league. I'm going to take some time off. I might not even play the rest of the season." Mitchell held both of them out of starting lineup Saturday in Cleveland, with Woods chipping in 4 points and 6 rebounds in 13 minutes. Rafer did end up playing again, and had 20 points, 10 assists, and 4 steals in 37 minutes off the pine. Things are obviously getting ugly North of the Border, and with team numbers as low as 26th in opponents FG% (45.9%), 29th in both points allowed (100.4) & opponents rebounds per game (46.6), and dead last in rebound differential (-5.2), I don't see them improving any time soon.

-If you want to talk about a team that can't buy a break, you need look no further then the New Orleans Hornets (1-14). On Saturday All-Star C Jamaal Magloire was placed on the injured list with a dislocated right ring finger, and will be out for 3 months. Big Cat joins Baron Davis (since 11/18), Rodney Rogers (since 11/12), and Jamal Mashburn (since 11/1) on the injured list. With all these injuries (the league even gave them a special injury exception to allow 4 players on the IL), GM Allan Bristow made a curious trade when he dealt Darrell Armstrong to Dallas for Dan Dickau. Armstrong has never been a star, and his best years are definitely behind him, but Darrell is an 11 year veteran, that knows how to run a team, plays hard, and can hit an open 3. Dickau is not even a legitimate NBA player, and looks scared most of the time he has the ball. Maybe it was a money move (Dan D makes 893K vs. D.A.'s 2.275 mil), because New Orleans owner George Shinn is notoriously cheap, but with both player's contracts ending after the season, I just don't see how Dickau is going to help the Hornets' cause at all. Armstrong will add more depth to the Mavericks roster, and is a nice insurance policy for rookie PG Devin Harris.

-Utah's Andrei Kirilenko was placed on the injured list Tuesday with grade 2 sprain of his right MCL, and will miss 4-6 weeks. I've learned my lesson, and won't be mentioning one of favorite players in the hallowed page of MMM ever again.

NHL Week in Review By: Ed Wasser

- Good news/Bad news...the good news is Forbes magazine printed an article about the NHL owners lying about their financial losses and their revenue streams. Revenue streams like, I don't know, owning the minor league affiliate that plays across the street from the NHL franchise or owning three "Skate Zone!!" skating rinks in the Delaware Valley that are busy morning, noon, and night containing the nickname of your franchise in their title. Lying like that? Anyway, Forbes came right out and said Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz is flat out hiding all the luxury box revenues from his books. Forbes also implied that revenue sharing would never work amongst NHL owners because they're so exceptionally good at hiding revenues (a.k.a. - screwing people) that a true read of the books is impossible. So the players are feeling great after reading this. Sweet vindication!!

But now the bad news. Forbes showed just how much they know about the game of hockey by including this poll question in the article......"Which NHL player do you miss the most? A.) Joe Sakic B.) Ilya Kovalchuk (ahhh....OK) or C.) Marek Malik (WHO?!?). He deserves two (WHO?!? WHO?!?). Turns out he lead the league in plus/minus and Forbes just printed his name from a list of league leaders. Also, Forbes printed that the Nashville Predators got to the second round of last year's playoffs. Huh? That's funny because the team that advanced looked EXACTLY like the Detroit Red Wings to me.

- Even with the lock out there is one NHL player still scoring; according to the NY Post Anaheim Mighty Duck forward Sergei Federov is dating actress/whore galore Tara Reid. First Sergei wins the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward, then back to back Stanley Cups, then he has a quiet affair with an under age Anna Kornakova, then another Stanley Cup, then he signs a gigantic free agent contract with the Ducks, and now he's taking care of business with Tara Reid. That's what I call a career! If he could just cut out all the time he's wasting on hockey he could be in the same league as Scott Baio.

- Is there a bigger bunch of phonies than the Notre Dame athletic department? Tyrone Willingham shows up in South Bend after the school fires George O'Leary after 5 days for lying on his resume. Lies that were very difficult to uncover, you know, with no phones or computers on the Notre Dame campus and all. So the press conference ensues with the Golden Dome higher ups trying to act like they wanted Willingham all along. Whatever. Of course the Notre Dame hierarchy spews all their well rehearsed rhetoric about Notre Dame being an academic institution and a religious institution that doesn't really care about athletic success as much as they care about having character people on their teams and graduating excellent students yada, yada, yada. Notre Dame is above the fray; there's, you see, is a higher calling. Right......and George Steinbrenner doesn't care whether the Yankees win or lose, it's how they play the game!!! So anyway, Willingham has a great first year, a not so good second year, and he has an average, yet above .500, third year with a couple of huge wins against Tennessee and Michigan and an Insight Bowl berth. More importantly, according to the moral authority at Notre Dame, the school graduated a record percentage of football players and had zero, zilch, nada, off the field crap. In short, Willingham took over a failing program 5 days after the school fired some lying clown yet, even though he was stuck with players he did not recruit, he starts to make strides in making the program respectable again while starting to bring in the players he really wants. All the while Willingham adds (ADDS!!!!!) class to the program. Obviously he needed to go.

- This is something that has literally bothered me for 20 years. If I'm missing something let me know because I need your help to figure this out. So at that end of 'Caddyshack' the Brian Doyle Murray character announces "the match is all tied up. Dr. Beeper is away". The Dr. puts his putt past the hole then sinks the come back putt. So the Dr. and the Judge are +2. Judge Smails grabs 'Billy Bareau' and sinks his putt. That puts the Judge and the Dr. at +3. Follow me? Good. Ty Webb steps up and leaves his putt short then sinks his second putt. Now the Judge and the Dr. are +1. Am I crazy here? The best Ty Webb and Danny Noonan can do at this point is tie the match. Right? And that's only if Noonan one putts. Danny Noonan leaves his putt about a centimeter short, the ball is left hanging on the lip of the cup. The Dr. and the Judge think they've won. Not so fast. Explosions go off as Carl Spackler tries to kill the gopher and the ball eventually drops in the hole. Ty Webb, Al Czervick, Lacy Underall, and everyone else start celebrating. But Noonan's ball going in makes it a one putt and that would only re-tie the match. Both teams took three putts each!! I never remember hearing anything about giving strokes to anybody. THE MATCH WAS TIED!!! I don't blame the Judge for not paying up! THE MATCH WAS TIED!!!! They still have another hole to play DAMMIT!!!!

- This is...it's just...ahhh...let me just start from circa the first week of October. The Phillies fire Larry Bowa but keep on Ed Wade making him the longest tenured general manager to have never made the playoffs. Actually he may be tied in years with the GM in Tampa....it doesn't matter, they both suck. Anyhow, this starts a very real sense of unease among the fans. The Phillies proceed to put on a charade of wanting another manager other than Charlie Manuel marching in candidate after candidate all of whom had no chance of ever getting the job. (Wasn't it cool how I said 'whom' like a real live writer!) I hope at least the pretend managerial candidates got a free dinner out of the deal. At any rate, the Phillies start to put out press releases that are about as real as Madonna's English accent. 'The Phillies contact Carlos Beltran!! The Phillies contact Carl Pavano!! The Phillies contact Steve Finley!!' According to WIP's Howard Eskin, by way of MMM subscriber John Miller, a baseball insider said the Phillies' offers to Beltran and Pavano were two years shorter then everyone else's. In other words...the offers were embarrassing. But they resigned Cory Lidle! (Who?!?) Now the Phillies faithful have just about had enough. But just to make sure everyone in Phillies land is sufficiently furious and ready to grab torches and pitch forks and storm Citizens Bank Park a la 'Frankenstein' the Phillies announce they ARE RAISING TICKET PRICES!!!! RAISING 'BLEEPING' TICKET PRICES!!!!! Are you kidding me!! Lowering payroll but increasing ticket prices!! Keep in mind that the Eagles, who have been the winningest franchise in city over the last four years, haven't raised ticket prices in two years. The Phillies are a complete and total joke.

- I'm not going argue about Barry Bonds or his records and asterisks or Jason Giambi and what he said or Balco or whatever, I just want to know one thing....how the hell did baseball let this steroid thing get so out of control for so long? Think about it...it was 13 years ago that a David Banner-esque looking Lenny Dykstra left the Phillies for the winter of 1991 and showed up for spring training 1992 looking like the Incredible Hulk. Huh? People had suspicions but it never went beyond that. A few years later Brady Anderson leaves the Orioles for the winter looking like a spry young gibbon and returns looking like a silver back gorilla. What the.....? Again, suspicions yet no action. So here we are all these years later and not one thing has changed. Two collective bargaining agreements have come and went and nothing has changed. By the way, as I've heard many people point out, the NFL had a WAY worse steroid problem in the 70's and 80's. It actually cost some former players their lives. Now the problem is all but history. The problem may still exist sporadically in the NFL but it's not even close to what it was. Just ask Ron Solt, Tony Mandarich, Brian Bosworth, or any other NFL player that deflated like a whoppi cushion after the first steroid infraction started carrying a 4 game, without pay, suspension. Funny what get tough owners and a willing accomplice as the player union chief (Gene Upshaw) can accomplish.

- The NHL owners and the NHL Players Associations have agreed to meet next week to try and negotiate. We'll see.

- By popular demand.......my father has a friend that is a horse trainer at Philadelphia Park. A few months ago my Dad says to him 'you know...I have no real hobbies, nothing to occupy my time. If you come across a decent, cheap horse let me know and maybe I'll buy it'. So 5 weeks goes by and the trainer calls my Dad and tells him there is a horse that he saw running a race. She (she's a filly) would have won but the horse in front of her fell and threw her jockey and broke her leg. Even with all that she managed to avoid it all to finish second. That's the horse that the trainer believed could be, COULD be something decent. Of course she could be a milk runner too......nobody knows. The next race she runs was a claiming race which basically means if a certified trainer puts in a bid for the horse, and you give him the dough, and nobody else wants the horse, after the race you own that horse. So my Dad figures he's going to go for it and claims the horse. PS...just so everyone knows, horses that run in claiming races aren't exactly Seabiscuit. They're in these races because they're not fast enough or they don't have the track record (literally) or don't have the pedigree for stakes races (a.k.a. - BIG money races). What we're doing here is the horse racing version of single A baseball. Anyhow, in the claiming race the horse finished fourth and afterward we got ourselves a horse. Her name is Fairway Miss. Fairway's first race as my Dad's horse was Nov. 16 and it was a maiden race (a race for horses that have never won before).

I go to Philadelphia Park to watch the race. The first race of the day to be exact. I'm sitting in the Paddock before the race as the horses arrive from the barn and the jockeys come out of the locker room. I'm watching the jockeys come down the steps and I see a jockey walking down wearing white silks with flouresant orange sleeves and 'BADA BING!!' written on the back. I turn around to my Dad, "you have GOT to be kidding me? Is this our guy?" "Sure is!!" I didn't think it was possible to make a race track more white trash on a Tuesday afternoon but we did it. The trainer tells the jockey, a 19 year old kid named David Mello, to stay back and be patient, don't make a move until the turn because Fairway has a lot of late speed. The race starts and with a quickness Fairway is second to last in an 11 horse field. It's not looking good. It's like watching your 7 year old nephew about to strike out in his first ever baseball game. But just like a movie the horse makes the turn and steps on the gas. She starts making her move around the turn and takes off like a bullet. She won by 5 and 3/4 lengths. The second race Fairway Miss ran was Nov. 27 and she was up against WAY stiffer competition. Quite frankly I was worried. This time she was running a race with better horses for more money...this race was no joke. The race starts and she is way behind. I mean way, WAY behind. We were all like 'ohhhhh crap!!' When we watched the replay of the race on the race track TV she was so far behind when she hit the turn she was out of the camera frame. All of a sudden I saw the white silks pick up 4 positions in a flash. I'm thinking 'this is not happening!!' She broke wide coming down the stretch and won by a legnth. I'll just say this...I've played sports and I've been to some of the biggest sporting events you can think of; playoff games in hockey, hockey in Montréal, the first ever game played by the Florida Marlins, the Belmont Stakes, the Preakness Stakes, Army/Navy game, the Eagles/Cowboys game when "THEY STOPPED HIM AGAIN!!" twice on fourth down on the same play, but I've never, ever, EVER experienced a thrill like having a vested interest in a horse, especially an underdog horse, and watching her come from behind and win. Twice. It's incredible.

- A few horse racing observations.....I've never been up close to a race horse before but they all have one thing in common, they're very jittery. You can't make any fast moves around them or they'll rear up or try and run away. And judging by the MMM subscribers that I've met the average race horse would out weigh you guys by at least 50 lbs. so it can be scary. And they're mean!! They'll bite your finger off if you don't know what you're doing. Also, I was at the barn and I saw David Mello, our jockey. I told him how I thought he ran two great races on Fairway Miss yada, yada, yada...then it dawns on me as I see this distant look in his eyes; not only does Mello not remember me, he has no idea what races or even what horse I'm even talking about. All the jockeys know is they are riding the number X horse in the X race. They go to the Paddock, jump on their horse, and away they go. Also, Smarty Jones' trainer John Servis has a barn next to Fairway's trainer. That barn is home to Rockport Harbor which is supposed to be Servis' next Smarty Jones. I asked our trainer if I could "meet" Rockport Harbor. That request went over like a clown at a funeral. I guess I understand, they don't know me or my affiliations (like if I'm in P.E.T.A.) and that horse is a potential $40 million standing there. The only time you go into other people's stables is by invite only. PERIOD! The stables are an odd place. The people that own the horses generally have a few bucks, as do the trainers and the established jockeys. The grooms, exercise riders, and hot walkers are poverty stricken. They make peanut money and are riddled with problems. Most of them live on the Philadelphia Park grounds in these one room shacks with no TV's and dirt floors. They keep chickens and roosters for eggs, meat, and the secret late night past time that everybody knows about....cock fights. Drug abuse is rampant among them. The appeal of the job is it's cash and you can work 7 days a week if you want. It's a real shame. My Dad and the trainer are trying to get Fairway a race on Dec. 13th. I'll keep everyone informed.