McNabb trade, Opening Day (a National Halladay in these parts), National Championship game with Duke and Butler and other important things.

Oh, and at some point my wife calls and I think she’s in labor. Thanks for listening.

I’ve read too many stories talking about the disrespect McNabb is getting from Philadelphia, and from the Eagles. The only problem? The articles are combining the two concepts, which is completely unfair to both the fans and the organization.

You can’t blame the Eagles for wanting to get value for a quarterback they’re obviously not looking to re-sign to a long-term deal. Why play McNabb this year and let him walk for nothing, then give a contract to Kolb to be your starter in 2011 after another year on the bench? Actually, forget about Kolb for a second, and let’s ask why the Eagles shouldn’t try to get something back for McNabb if they don’t plan to keep him beyond this year? Isn’t that what smart football teams do with their players? Why is shopping a guy around for value a sign of disrespect? And how in the world is asking for a first or second round draft pick a sign of disrespect either?

If they took a fifth rounder for the guy, sure, THAT’S disrespect. But asking for top-round value for a guy who has been in the league for more than a decade? That’s actually a sign OF RESPECT, if you consider the fact that no team is willing to make the deal. The Eagles, based on the current market, have OVER-VALUED McNabb’s worth to the rest of the league. And if the rest of the league doesn’t see value in signing McNabb long-term – or at least trading away top picks to get him for a year with the chance to sign him long-term – why is it disrespectful of the Eagles to feel the same way? Because he’s played for them all this time? They should know the deterioration level of his skills more than anyone.

Second, to the point of the fans, yes a few idiots went to NYC to boo him when he got picked. I actually had one of them email me today to explain he’s not a bad guy and he does a lot of charity work and has apologized to McNabb in the past. That’s all great, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that the group of “fans” who went up to the draft to boo McNabb put a stain on the fanbase of this city for the last 12 years. Every time there’s a conversation about McNabb, writers go back to that day. So thanks for that, guys. Any rational assessment of McNabb’s skills, or any person who thinks that after this much time of not winning a title, a change of pace is better than status quo, is hit with “YOU BOOED THE GUY WHEN HE WAS DRAFTED.”

No we didn’t. A few fans who didn’t know what they were talking about did. And some of them realized they were wrong.

MJD used this tired reference in his (joking) post about disrespecting McNabb by sending him to Oakland. Mark Kriegel of Fox Sports actually wrote this as a reason for why McNabb is being unappreciated:

Consider his history in Philadelphia, which began with a round of boos from all those Eagles draft experts who had their hearts set on a stoner out of Texas, Ricky Williams. McNabb is coming off his sixth Pro Bowl season, and has won more games and thrown for more yards and touchdowns than any quarterback in Eagles history. Oh, and by the way, he’s led the team to five NFC championship games and a Super Bowl.

By all accounts, McNabb is a good husband and father. He’s never been arrested for slapping a woman or killing a dog, offenses that have inspired demonstrations of support for lesser men and much lesser quarterbacks.

What a curious case is McNabb: no gun possession, no DUI, no respect. From the right, he’s attacked by Rush Limbaugh, the noted expert on black quarterbacks. From the left, the president of Philadelphia’s NAACP chapter charges that McNabb “played the race card.” A distressingly high number of his teammates sided with Terrell Owens. In keeping with the prevalent locker-room metaphor, that’s like siding with cancer.

Now this.

So, Philly fans, don’t bother trying to use rational judgement of a guy’s skills on the field to determine if you want a player to be traded. He’s a good guy. He doesn’t have DUIs. Or dogfighting charges. Rush Limbaugh? We’re using what he said as a reason PHILLY FANS don’t appreciate McNabb? Now this? Come on, Mark.

Maybe a high number of his teammates sided with T.O. because McNabb wasn’t a very good leader. Maybe it was because they liked Owens more than McNabb and rather than keep the situation under control, like a leader would have tried to do, McNabb was just as much to blame for turning that into the circus it was. But national guys may not know that. It doesn’t excuse using any of those points to rationalize the team not trading him or the fanbase wanting a change. Were Atlanta fans who wanted the Falcons to trade Michael Vick and keep Matt Schaub wrong? Were they disrespecting Vick? Forget about all the fallout after that, Schaub has proven to be a better quarterback. And they let him go to keep Vick. Who’s to say it’s not the same situation with Kolb? Why is it disrespectful to McNabb to think that a second-round draft pick who knows the system and has performed well in short opportunities can do the job? At the very least, Kolb will demand far less money that the team could use to upgrade other areas.

Of course, the national guys wouldn’t care about any of that because it’s easy to swoop in and see the surface of this story: Borderline Hall of Fame quarterback may be traded. That’s the story they see. Unfortunately, our friendly-neighborhood general sports columnist Stephen A. Smith agrees with that sentiment.

It’s amazing to read a column by Stephen A. that’s about the NBA, then follow it up with a column about any other sport. He really knows his NBA stuff. He has a well-written, insightful column on Kevin Durant in yesterday’s Inqy. Two days earlier, he’s wildly ranting about how the notion of Kevin Kolb makes his nose hurt. Or something:

Think about it: You’re a quarterback who’s been around for 11 seasons, who’s gone to five conference championship games and one Super Bowl. You’ve done so without a bevy of offensive weapons, especially a running game, for most of those years. In the process, you’ve passed for 32,783 yards. You’re a six-time Pro Bowler, just 33 years old – and the Eagles are talking about letting you go.

So Kevin Kolb can start.

I’d laugh a lot longer if I could remove the stench from my nostrils.

Something smells, folks!

That’s a terrible line, and I respect the editors of the Inqy more and more every day I read lines like that and wonder how hard it must be to edit this kind of writing. Stephen A. talks about Brett Favre holding the Vikings hostage and that’s the reason McNabb won’t get traded there. In fact, the Vikings could make the trade if they wanted to, and tell Favre to shove off. Favre has nothing to do with the fact that the Vikings could or could not trade for McNabb. He’s not actually holding the team hostage. Second, there’s not mention of the Eagles trading McNabb to another NFC contender, which I would never do if I was in charge of the Birds. Never. I’d let him sit the bench before I’d set him up to beat you in the playoffs.

Third, and this is really where the crazy logic of Stephen A. begins, he’s once again arguing against his own point:

The St. Louis Rams supposedly have no interest. The same could be said for the Arizona Cardinals – because they have Matt Leinart. McNabb is said to be not worth a high draft pick in Buffalo, or a long-term investment. Why? Because Ryan Fitzpatrick or Trent Edwards will do just fine.

Then there are the Denver Broncos, who are evidently just peachy with Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn. Alex Smith apparently has enough star potential in San Francisco, so McNabb isn’t worth the 49ers’ giving up one of their two first-round (13th and 16th) picks. And although bothCleveland and Seattle ultimately went out and grabbed Jake Delhomme (now I’m really laughing!) and Charlie Whitehurst, respectively, it was Kolb they were reportedly interested in, not McNabb.

Listening to all of this, true justice would entail McNabb’s staying in Philadelphia, forcing the Eagles to reveal their real intention, and owning up to it for a change.

That last line notwithstanding, Stephen A. chronicles, by my count, SEVEN TEAMS that would rather sign guys off the scrap heap than give up a draft choice for McNabb. Can they all be wrong? Maybe his value around the league isn’t as high as the media wants to believe. Sure, quarterbacks can play until they are 40, but is Brett Favre the rule, or the exception? Is Kurt Warner a coincidence, or a pattern? So if seven teams that need a quarterback haven’t yet been willing to trade for a guy in his mid-30s with a history of injuries, why should we assume the Eagles should just keep him and, theoretically, re-sign him to a longterm deal? If they aren’t going to re-sign him, why wouldn’t they try and get something back for him if they think Kolb has as good a chance to win as McNabb?

Last, to the point of a lack of a running game; yes, McNabb has had much success without a dominant ground attack. But media people, including SAS in this column, use the lack of a running game in the same breath as they use McNabb’s stats to define his value. If it wasn’t for the lack of a running game — and the propensity to pass so much — McNabb wouldn’t have near the same numbers he has, both in yards and in completion percentage. He’s a far more effective passer, statistically speaking, because of the dinks and dunks of the offense. If it weren’t for all the screen passes he gets to throw, there’s no way McNabb would have more than 30k yards or the mediocre completion percentage (59%) he has in his career. Football people, I’ll assume, know this.

And again, Stephen A. how does this have anything to do with Favre?

Thanks for listening. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Pleased to have Gary Thorne, venerable broadcaster and the voice of MLB2K10 on the show. We talk a bit about the game and the process by which he records all those sounds. I never knew they do it in a booth with no visual aids. They are basically calling an imaginary baseball game? Wait not just one game…like 70 hours of imaginary games.

We talk about the fact that Thorne isn’t given a script – that he’s hired for the way he calls the game as much as his voice – and how different the game is when there’s nothing to cross-talk about. Isn’t the cross talk what makes baseball announcing so much fun?

We discuss actual baseball as well, as I ask Thorne about the differences between calling national games and local games for the Orioles. And being in Baltimore, does he find his audience is much more dedicated, and therefore baseball savvy, than a larger audience of bandwagon jumpers may be in, say, Philadelphia or Boston? Thorne does agree that it’s important to know the audience, but not to talk over them and get to inside baseball.

Speaking of that, we do discuss the balance of stats and sabermetrics in a broadcast with the “Joe Morgan” types of announcers. Thorne’s wife has a company that trains former players to become broadcasters, so we discuss the importance “having been there” with “the numbers indicate”. What is the balance? And could it be that TV and radio – due to the audience and the time constraints of the game going on in front of you – lend themselves more to “experience” as expertise while the number crunchers can have more focus in print and other non in-game mediums?

We talk a lot about the idea of Floating Realignment, and if it’s a viable idea for change. In fact, is any change needed? Thorne does bring up the concept of buying a championship, which you can make the case that only a handful of teams can afford to do. Of course for every Yankees (or Red Sox of Phillies) there is a Dodgers or a Cubs, who can get to the playoffs, but can’t win anything – a concept to which Thorne rightly brings up the point that getting to the playoffs has been far too marginalized in baseball. It’s still a really big deal.

Last, we talk about hockey. Well, hockey and baseball and which Thorne likes to announce more and which he thinks he is more known for. The short answer: it’s like asking him which kid he loves more.

SPECULATION STATION:

Nick and I do our level best to not turn this segment into another Week in SAS, but rather discuss the Donovan McNabb trade rumors and how amazingly open the Eagles have been with the media. So strange and out of character for them.

PRINT’S NOT DEAD:

Or, according to this NY Times story, yes it is. We equate the struggle with advertising and media to the network and cable TV paradigm. Are they similar?

HOUSEKEEPING:

A huge housekeeping segment, including THE START OF THE PHILADELPHIA UNION TONIGHT ON ESPN2. Yes, exciting.

We also discuss March Madness, Tiger Woods’ plan to talk to the media which turns into a big of a rant by me on the way the media has handled this situation (shock, I know). Also, the Jets on Hard Knocks, the lady who tried to offer sex for tickets going to the jury(!?!) and Nick’s extended recap of his trip to Florida, which included his brother getting in an argument with Greg Luzinski over the cut-off man.

Oh, and the hard sell is on for our Baby Pool. Please sign up now. Money to winner and to charity.

But first…Skeets was in the hospital getting his severely sprained ankle looked at, which leads to a conversation about the waiting room happenings, including a homeless guy in a wheelchair who asked for a bite of Skeets’ sandwich. Why isn’t this a reality show? Like Cops, with freak injuries and blurred out faces of horrified people in the ER waiting room just looking to get a few stitches. If it is, I need to find this show.

Turns out, Skeets loves the idea, and hospitals in general. He actually had a PAPER ROUTE inside a hospital when he was a kid. INSIDE A HOSPITAL.

Okay, onto the Jones. We discuss the swanky new set, and how long it will take for one of their friends to start showing up every day, standing outside the enormous city street-view windows with signs making fun of them. Three days in and I’m shocked it hasn’t happened yet. We also discuss the potential changes he expects now that they are part of The Score. Will we get more comedy bits in addition to the daily show (and rumored weekly audio-interview show)? Is he at all concerned that he’ll need to be more of a comedian now that they’ll (possibly) be expected to come up with more funny bits? Oh, and of course, when’s the TV time gonna start?

We also talk about his departure from Yahoo, and if he’s concerned that he went from one of the most trafficked basketball blogs in America to relative anonymity in the States working for a Canadian TV company. Sure fans of the Jones will still go, but what about the Yahoo traffic that would watch the show’s embed? What about his itch to blog? Will that be part of the gig at The Score? And — his words — how stupid is he to leave Yahoo?

But there’s a flip side. How stupid is Yahoo — my words — for letting him go? Why does The Score see the value in the future of podcasts like The Jones, but Yahoo didn’t? Or maybe Yahoo sees the value, but didn’t feel it was worth the money of bringing in four people. So is The Score forward thinking, or overvaluing the concept of podcasts? This leads to a brief and hopefully not haughty conversation about the future of our little industry and how it fits with MSM sites.

Congrats again to the Jones. Yahoo’s loss is Canada’s gain.

——-

We jump from the conversation with Skeets to an email asking if we’d talk about Mike Dunleavy’s situation. No. We won’t. But we do use that to jump to a discussion about why in the world anyone would be a Clippers fan. We run — more like a slow jog — through the list of cities with two teams in the same sport to try and figure out why you’d root for one and not the other. It makes sense why you’d be a White Sox fan in Chicago, especially if you live on the South Side. It makes sense why you’d be a Mets fan in New York if you live in Brooklyn (former Dodger/anti-Yankee country) or Queens. Even in the surrounding areas, if your family used to root for those teams, it makes sense to keep allegiances. But why a Clippers fan? There’s no history or geographical breakdown (like, say, the Jets and Giants even) that would make you a Clips fan. Is it cheaper ticket prices? Hatred of the Showtime persona?

We spin this to a talk about Manchester United, and how all the fans of United hate the Glazer family, much like Clips fans hate Donald Sterling. The difference, and the reason why Man City hasn’t stolen all of their fans…Man Utd wins. A lot.

For more on the Glazer situation, including Beckham’s role after the Champions League match yesterday, read it at The Sporting Blog.

TALKIN’ BASEBALL:

Torii Hunter thinks that…well, here’s the quote:

“People see dark faces out there, and the perception is that they’re African American. They’re not us. They’re impostors,” he told Bob Nightengale. He added, “As African-American players, we have a theory that baseball can go get an imitator and pass them off as us…. It’s like, ‘Why should I get this kid from the South Side of Chicago and have Scott Boras represent him and pay him $5 million when you can get a Dominican guy for a bag of chips?’”

It’s actually a pretty good line. And he’s not entirely wrong (/dances on egg shells). We discuss if it’s nothing more than the diversity of sports in America. Do we play too much to succeed at certain sports? If we spent an entire generation just playing one major sport — say soccer — would we be more competitive? To Hunter’s point, if more kids started playing baseball instead of basketball or football, would there be so many “imposters?” It’s not really their fault for being good, right?

SPECULATION STATION:

Did you hear “Donavon Mcnabb” was traded to “San Fransisco”? Did you believe it? Some people did. We run through the whole situation and how it happened yesterday, starting with our post at TSB (and independent work from other sites as well) and ending with a huge apology from the owner of Gridironfans.com

One more point about yesterday…comparing on of our best athletes to a terrorist is not funny. Ever. Bad day for the internet yesterday. And no, you’re not getting a link to that one.

Thanks to Skeets and thanks for listening.

SAS talks about how Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid are linked forever. It’s a new concept, it seems. He thinks that they should both be back, but if people want McNabb gone, he thinks Reid should be gone too. Rather than break it down here, just give it a listen. And if you think we went overboard, consider it a birthday present to myself.

“Ooh, I got a poorly constructed column to dissect! It’s what I always wanted! And it’s wrapped in newsprint…how clever.”

Thanks for indulging us. Be safe in the snow.