What you witnessed during the 2011 season did not happen. The Eagles did not squander five fourth-quarter leads in a devastating 8-8 season. The defense was not pitiful in the red zone under novice defensive coordinator Juan Castillo. There is absolutely no reason for change.
Stubborn to the very end, Andy Reid said all of the above yesterday when he decided to bring Castillo back to run the defense – to be joined by a far better defensive coach, Todd Bowles, working with the secondary. It was one final insult to every Eagles fan who suffered through last season, one last gasp of arrogance by the man who thinks he invented football.
The bad news is that the Eagles will underachieve again next season, falling far short of owner Jeff Lurie’s open demand to make it to the Super Bowl. The good news is that Reid sealed his doom yesterday, unless you happen to believe Castillo can suddenly run a championship-level defense. And if you believe that, seek mental-health aid immediately. You have misplaced your mind.
Reid will finally break his silence today, and – if the suspense is killing you – here’s exactly what he will say at his first news conference in a month: Castillo really grew into the job as the season went along. The last four games showed what he can do. His work ethic and enthusiasm are the perfect recipe for success in the NFL. Blah, blah, blah.
What Reid won’t say – because his massive ego is blocking his view – is that Castillo got better only when the opposing quarterbacks got worse. The last four wins came against Matt Moore, Mark Sanchez, Stephen McGee and Rex Grossman. The two quarterbacks in the Super Bowl, Tom Brady and Eli Manning, destroyed Castillo’s defenses for 1,069 yards and 77 points in three games. You can expect more of that in 2012.
Andy Reid is never happy unless he mixes in a sweet little twist, and his hiring of former Temple star Bowles was a master stroke. You see, Bowles went 2-1 as the interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins last season after Tony Sparano was fired. Bowles has interviewed for five head-coaching jobs in the NFL and has been a defensive coach for 15 years in the NFL. Castillo has coached defense for one year, and has never interviewed for a head job. And now Bowles will work for Castillo. Perfect.
In the course of 10 hours last Friday, I was greeted by a card dealer in a casino and by the GM of a fine restaurant with the exact same unsolicited message: “Fire Andy Reid,” they said. So have literally hundreds of fans calling into my WIP radio show in the past few months.
Well, there’s no need to worry anymore. Because yesterday, Andy Reid fired himself.

Brad Lidge, the World Series hero who slammed the door on opponents 48 consecutive times in 2008, got the rudest of sendoffs last week. In fact, he got the door slammed in his face this time, by a Phillies team with a cold heart.
Now please don’t interpret the above words as a lament that the Phils didn’t re-sign their closer of the past three-and-a-half seasons. Lidge has lost his fastball, and with it his effectiveness. Even at the $1-million figure he accepted in Washington, he is a luxury the Phillies had no reason to indulge.
The issue here is not what GM Ruben Amaro did in saying goodbye to the most likeable and accessible Phillies player in this current era of unrivaled prosperity. The issue is the way Amaro dumped him, with a broken promise.
According to Lidge, Amaro told him there would be a place for him on the Phillies if the pitcher couldn’t find a closer’s job in the free-agent market. It is hardly a secret that the Phils no longer value Lidge’s declining talents. The honest and fair thing to do was to tell Lidge the truth, right then. Instead, Amaro strung him along for close to three months, and then reneged on his original pledge.
If Lidge didn’t deserve better treatment than that, who does? The Phillies have won two championships in their history, and he was directly responsible for one of them. He was also the player who best understood the fans, absorbing their criticism with grace and dignity throughout the past three frustrating seasons.
Even in this instant-gratification world, there has to be room for someone who did something so spectacular – and in such an engaging way – that he elevates himself beyond the numbers on a budget sheet or an age on a birth certificate. Brad Lidge was that man.

Roy Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball, and he was relieved 24 times last season. Ilya Bryzgalov is most definitely NOT the best goaltender in hockey, so why is it so terrible to replace him in shootouts?
I know, I know. Baseball is not hockey. Pitchers are not goalies. I get it. But none of those lazy generalities address the simple proposition that the Flyers have the best chance to win overtime games – and improve their playoff seeding – by removing a totally inept shootout goaltender and installing an exceptional one, Sergei Bobrovsky.
Don’t take my word for it. Just listen to Claude Giroux, by far the best shootout scorer in Flyers history. He said last week that, in practice, Bobrovsky is impossible to beat in a breakaway or on a penalty shot. The Flyers had just won the last game before the All-Star break after the backup goalie had stoned Florida on all three shootout attempts.
“Yου saw hοw gοοd hе іѕ,” Giroux said after that victory.
Yes, we did – and we have seen how terrible Bryzgalov is, too. The goalie was undressed twice in a loss last week to Colorado, making him 0 for 5 in shootout attempts this season. Right now a Bernie Parent statue would have a better chance of stopping the puck.
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette is just the kind of independent thinker to name Bobrovsky his shootout goalie, despite the potential emotional blow to Bryzgalov. My best advice to Bryzgalov is to study all of the big numbers on his overly generous $51-million contract. If that doesn’t end his depression, nothing will.

Idle thoughts . . . .
• Will Smith sitting courtside last Friday night was more proof that the Sixers are back. Not only is Smith a part-owner of the team, but he’s a way bigger star these days than Knicks mascot Spike Lee or even Lakers stalwart Jack Nicholson. Now all we need is some of that star power on the court.
• Am I the only fan who believes the best part of the Sixers season just ended? The next five games are against Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, the Lakers and San Antonio. Oh, well. It was nice while it lasted.
• There is no hope left for all-star games. The NFL is at an all-time high in popularity, and the Pro Bowl Sunday still inspired only sleep. The NHL has some amazing stars, but its showcase was another dud. The players are just trying not to get hurt, and the fans don’t care who wins. What’s the point?
• As we all wait with bated breath for Andy Reid to speak later today, one jarring thought just occurred to me. When is the last time he talked and we were satisfied? This news conference might be a really bad idea, after all.
• Against all odds, the final goodbye to Joe Paterno was pretty close to perfect. His former players were eloquent in explaining his profound impact on their lives, and all of the rhetoric over the scandal was quieted, at least for a week. Finally, Happy Valley got it right.

Andy Reid, the NFL head coach who is never wrong, was right again. Despite every shred of available data – including a dismal 8-8 record – Juan Castillo is a terrific defensive coordinator. Once again, the alternate universe where Reid resides is in direct conflict with the rest of the world.
Last week, one of the best NFL coordinators of the past decade, Steve Spagnuolo, agreed to run the defense in New Orleans, even though he has a long (and reportedly positive) history with Reid, and still maintains a home here. Why would Spagnuolo choose Bourbon Street over Broad Street, crawfish over cheesesteaks?
It’s very simple, really. Andy Reid never wanted Spagnuolo to return here. In fact, there is no evidence that Reid seriously discussed the job with him. All we know for sure is that Reid went on a weeklong vacation and then ducked back into hiding behind the thick, soundproof walls of the Novacare Center.
Reid has not spoken to the “best fans in the NFL,” as he calls them, in 23 days. His last words on the direction of his underachieving team were: “I’ll think about (the future) when I want to think about it.” And he wonders why he has become the most disliked coach in a generation in Philadelphia?
Well, the coach may be mute right now, but the fans are not. Their frustration with Reid is unprecedented. It is beyond the darkest days of Rich Kotite and probably even Joe Kuharick. At least those bumblers didn’t pretend they were smarter than everybody else.
Reid has now taken his idiotic decision to move Castillo to defense and amplified it into a full-blown fiasco by failing to hire Spagnuolo. And make no mistake: Reid could have had Spagnuolo if he had wanted him. The Eagles have already proven they’ll spend whatever it takes; the organization shed its reputation for cheapness in their free-agent frenzy last summer.
All things being equal, there was really no decision for Spagnuolo to make. The Eagles have the money, the talent (especially on the line and in the secondary), the comfort of a previous working relationship and the pull of a wife whose family lives here. If Reid had really wanted Spagnuolo, there was no question the best defensive coordinator in the NFL would already be working here.
But we all know that didn’t happen, and now we know why. Because Andy Reid, one more time, decided that he knew more than everybody else. In his warped mind, Juan Castillo will be a more effective defensive coordinator in 2012 than Steve Spagnuolo.
Hey, at least this time there is good news ahead. When Juan Castillo fails again next season – and he will – the overburdened assistant will not walk out the door alone. Accompanying him, finally, will be his arrogant, delusional boss.
And even then, Andy Reid will be convinced he was right.

How are we supposed to feel? We all love sports because of the escape it provides, a refuge from the harsh realities of life. And then the story over the weekend of Joe Paterno dying yanks us out of our fantasy world and forces us to deal with a jumble of conflicting emotions.
The first instinct when an extraordinary man like Joe Paterno passes away is to feel a deep sympathy not just toward him and his family, but also toward ourselves. If an ageless icon like Joe Paterno cannot escape – or at least temporarily deny – death, then what chance do the rest of us have?
And there are all of the people he has helped through his brilliance as a coach and his generosity as a philanthropist. For generations into the future, his contributions to Penn State will reverberate. A new library, a spiritual center, a sports museum . . . they are all a part of his campus legacy.
But then two words jar the senses: Jerry Sandusky. Can one horrific mistake in judgment undo over 60 years of achievement? Should it? The crimes are so unthinkable that it is too soon to consider the answer, and yet words must be spoken now, today, that can bring some closure to an incredible life.
How are we supposed to feel? Right now, it has to be a mixture of appreciation for all that he achieved, but also a deep sadness that nothing is ever really sacred – inside or outside of sports. Not even Joe Paterno.

One of the very first lessons of sports journalism is to visit the losers’ locker room, because that’s always where the best stories reside. And so it was in a championship weekend that proved once more that the NFL provides the best drama, and the best villains.
Billy Cundiff will never escape one brief moment in time late Sunday afternoon when he hooked an easy 32-yard field goal and ruined an entire season for his Baltimore teammates. Neither will Ravens wide receiver Lee Evans, who cradled a victory in his hands until the ball was swatted away at the last possible instant by the victorious New England Patriots.
And then there was the demoralizing story of Kyle Williams, a backup punt returner who fumbled twice for the San Francisco 49ers and handed an NFC title to the New York Giants. There is nothing worse in sports than an overtime fumble in the NFL playoffs – unless it happens to be your second fumble of the game.
It was not surprising that teammates rallied around their newly-spawned goats after the massive gaffes; players are required to do so, regardless of how they really feel. All three chokers have received a fair dose of venom from fans since their meltdowns – Williams even received some death threats – but this, too, shall pass. San Francisco and Baltimore are not exactly demanding sports towns.
Well, since I’m always at the service of the modern athlete, I hereby offer some words of consolation to Cundiff and Evans and Williams: Things could be even worse today. You could play in Philadelphia, a place that – I’m proud to say – never forgets.

Idle thoughts . . . .
• Cole Hamels signed a one-year deal with the Phillies last week, avoiding a contentious arbitration hearing. But the agreement will not prevent the 2008 World Series hero from becoming a free agent after the 2012 season. The Phillies must not lose Hamels. The Phillies CANNOT lose Hamels.
• The most poignant story in Philadelphia sports right now is the condition of Flyers captain Chris Pronger, who is still suffering the effects of a concussion he received three months ago. This is no longer just about Pronger’s future as a hockey player. Now it is about his future – period.
• Terrell Owens, in his final interview before total irrelevance, told GQ Magazine last week that Jeremiah Trotter convinced him not to apologize to Donovan McNabb during their feud in 2005. Trotter has angrily denied the story. Hmmmm. This is a tough one. Who’s lying?
• Spencer Hawes must be made of ceramic. He is 23 years old and has played well on those rare occasions when he could play at all. Twice he has been slowed by back issues, then the flu, and now an Achilles issue. The Sixers need him. Four different health issues in the first 17 games is ridiculous.
• NBA commissioner David Stern visited Philadelphia last week and credited the previous ownership for the team’s surge. He did this with a straight face. None of his fingers were crossed. Shouldn’t this guy be on the pro poker tour, or doing stand-up comedy?

The Eagles are run by football people with decades of experience, a proven record of success and an impeccable national reputation. The Sixers are guided mostly by novices who know a lot more about Wall Street than building a sports franchise.
So why did the Eagles completely botch the NFL lockout, while the Sixers handled the NBA lockout brilliantly? Could it be that the Eagles, once again, allowed their own arrogance to sabotage another season? Is it possible that the new Sixers’ brain trust already has a better idea of how to run a successful team?
Keep these numbers in mind as we explore how two of our major franchises confronted the challenge of a league shutdown. The Eagles started the 2011 season 1-4 and sunk to 4-8 before four meaningless wins. The Sixers are an astounding 10-3 right now, having outscored opponents by an average of 15 points per game.
It is no secret that the Eagles have a much stronger roster than the Sixers; no one would ever have the chutzpah to call the Sixers a Dream Team, unless the dream was inspired by hallucinogens. In fact, the Sixers have no stars – not one. The Eagles have Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Asante Samuel and new post-lockout additions Nnamdi Asomugha and Jason Babin.
The problem is, that array of stars was not good enough for the Eagles, who decided an off-season with no workouts, no mini-camps, and no contact with players was a perfect time for major changes. Why would coach Andy Reid choose that moment to promote Juan Castillo to defensive coordinator? For that matter, why would he radically change the roster after the lockout?
An outsider would assume the people making these major decisions – president Joe Banner, GM Howie Roseman and Reid – were new at the game, unable to see the value of stability after the chaos of a lockout. We know better. The tired act of that trio is painfully obvious by now. The only rules they play by are their own, even when there is no logic behind them.
Meanwhile, a consortium of investors led by New York financier Joshua Harris bought the Sixers in October during the lockout and then resisted the urge for roster changes, despite slow ticket sales. I asked new Sixers CEO Adam Aron – as I gazed out at thousands of empty seats last Friday night in the owners’ box – why he didn’t order his only experienced executive, president Rod Thorn, to do more.
His answer was something the Eagles needed to hear, but wouldn’t have if he had screamed it in their ears. He said it didn’t make sense to shake things up when the NBA was already in disarray after the lockout.
Imagine that. A logical response to a difficult problem, with no I’m-smarter-than-you-are agenda. Is there any way we could get these new Sixer people to run our football team, too?

Just when it seemed impossible for Penn State to look more delusional, more in denial, president Rodney Erickson began a PR assault that was both a shock to the system and a punch in the stomach. Have these people lost all connection to reality?
And by “these people” I am including the legions of Penn State alumni who refuse to acknowledge the essence of the worst sports scandal in decades. No, this tragedy is not about the firing of coach Joe Paterno or his shattered legacy. It is about the alleged sexual assault of children – many children – and the appalling cover-up that followed.
Erickson, who was hired to control the damage, had the unmitigated gall to tell 650 alums at a town meeting in King of Prussia last week: “It grieves me very much when I hear people say ‘the Penn State scandal.’ This is not Penn State. This is the Sandusky scandal.”
Two Penn State administrators are under indictment for lying to the Grand Jury, accused child molester Jerry Sandusky had the run of the campus for years after his retirement, and at least one of the assaults reportedly happened in the Penn State football shower room. Now the new president – who is there because the previous president was fired over the scandal – says “This is not Penn State.”
The worst part of the story was the reaction to Erickson’s remark. He received a loud ovation from the alums. They actually cheered. I have always revered Penn State – not for the bogus image of moral superiority its football team created, but for the quality of education it represented. Now, I feel nothing but shame for everyone associated with the school.

Ryan Madson, a pitcher who helped the Phillies win a championship in 2008, is no longer speaking to his former team. He signed a one-year, $8.5-million contract with Cincinnati last week – after refusing to accept the last-ditch phone calls of the Phils – ending an off-season of ugliness between his agent and GM Ruben Amaro Jr.
And now that the drama is ending, the only thing left to decide is who the villain is here, and who the victim is. It’s obvious that Madson lost the most, since no one is denying he was close to a new deal with the Phillies that would have paid him at least $30 million over three years. So, at the very least, Madson blew $22.5 million during the dispute.
Basically, superagent Scott Boras claims he had a verbal agreement for a fourth year and a total of $44 million before Amaro had second thoughts – or his bosses did – and signed Jonathan Papelbon to a four-year, $50-million deal back in November. Amaro says there was never a final agreement at those numbers, just the usual give-and-take in a high-stakes negotiation.
Whom should we believe? I say Amaro. With the superior Papelbon still available, why would the GM lock down Madson so early in free agency? And also, with that much money on the table, an agreement isn’t final until ownership signs off anyway, and it’s pretty clear president Dave Montgomery wasn’t happy with that deal.
On the other hand, does Boras have reason to twist the truth? Yeah, about 22.5-million reasons, actually. He clearly misread the situation, so now he needs a good explanation. The Phillies reneged. That’s his new version of the truth.
So there you have it. An agent appears to be lying. Who says we never break any big stories in this column?

Idle thoughts . . . .
• The biggest shocker of the week was the revelation that embattled Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo has a job waiting for him in Minnesota if he gets fired by coach Andy Reid. The position is defensive coordinator. That’s right, defensive coordinator. This is not a series of typos. This appears to be the truth. Wow.
• After two straight horrible drafts, the Eagles director of player personnel, Ryan Grigson, was hired as GM in Indianapolis last week – proving once again that it’s never what you know in the NFL, it’s only who you know.
• Let me get this straight: The Flyers spent $51 million on goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, and now last year’s bust, Sergei Bobrovsky, is the clear No. 1 in the nets? Aren’t you glad you’re not GM Paul Holmgren right now trying to explain to chairman Ed Snider how this happened?
• Speaking of Ed Snider, it’s going to take years to undo the damage his apathetic ownership did to the Sixers. The current team deserves far better than the 8,000 and 10,000 crowds it has been getting, but this is what years of benign neglect brings. The worst thing that ever happened to the 76ers was Snider’s ouster of Pat Croce.
• Andy Reid is back from a week’s vacation. Word is, it started badly, but the last four days were amazing.

When Jeff Lurie finally broke his silence last week, we all expected the owner of our football team to shed some light on a dark season. What we got instead is a new insight into the rage spreading across the Eagles landscape.
Fans who have filled every seat of Lincoln Financial Field since it opened in 2003 – and have made Lurie a billionaire in the process – are sick of waiting for a championship, sick of the smug attitude of coach Andy Reid and sick of the dishonesty that has enveloped the organization.
I can make these statements with complete confidence because I felt the wrath of the fans myself when I had the audacity to suggest after Lurie’s memorable news conference that the owner had performed effectively. After all, Lurie had made it clear that he was appalled by the failure of the current team, so much so that Reid will be coaching for his job in 2012. Wasn’t that enough?
No, it wasn’t enough. In fact, all of the fans who called into my WIP radio show after the news conference – every single one for four straight days – said Lurie had taken an already bad situation and made it even worse. They found Lurie’s damnation of the season insincere, his decision to give Reid one more chance illogical and his defense of Reid’s public demeanor infuriating.
This is the exact quote that most enraged the fan base: “I don’t think you’re ever going to meet a coach who is less arrogant than Andy Reid.” Lurie’s words came exactly two days after Reid had refused to answer all questions about his job status and, when pressed, snarled: “I’ll think about it when I want to think about it.”
Instead of appeasing the fans with some consoling words, Lurie tapped into a deeper sense of resentment than any in his 17 years as owner of the Eagles. The fans believe nothing now from Eagles management – not the weekly insults that have become Reid’s news conferences, not the grandiose proclamations of president Joe Banner and not even the empathetic efforts of Lurie himself.
Jeff Lurie believed what he was saying last week. He really was disgusted by his underachieving 2011 team. He truly is getting tired of defending Reid’s indefensible behavior. He genuinely wants to win as badly as the fans of his team. All of those conclusions are fair and reasonable in the aftermath of Lurie’s honest and candid news conference.
And none of it matters anymore. Eagles fans have finally become spin-proof. Words no longer have any effect. The lesson of last week was a simple one for the Eagles. If they really want to make peace with their angry fans, there’s only one thing left for them to do. They have to win a championship.

Less than three months into their first year, the new owners of the 76ers have already accomplished their first goal. Their team is relevant again, both in Philadelphia and in the NBA. Joshua Harris and Adam Aron are the answer to a prayer for basketball fans here – accessible, enthusiastic and creative. Thanks to them, it is impossible right now not to root for the Sixers.
Their first game at the Wells Fargo Center last Friday night provided all of the bells and whistles expected of a new era, and much more. The new guys made an instant connection with the glorious past of the franchise by inviting back – to thunderous applause – Julius Erving, Moses Malone and, yes, even Andrew Toney from 1983 championship team.
The current team is a long way from the exalted status of that unit, but the best way to measure the franchise right now is from its more recent low point, not its high. Twenty-one months ago the team was doomed by a three-Ed’ed monster: disinterested chairman Ed Snider, incompetent GM Ed Stefanski and Professor Clueless, coach Eddie Jordan.
Instead, now we have Harris, a totally committed business wizard from Wall Street; Aron, a relentless Harvard idea machine with extraordinary people skills; and Rod Thorn, a proven roster manipulator. Even more important, we have people running the team who understand us. One of the first calls they made for advice was to former Sixers miracle worker Pat Croce. They get it.
Nobody knows where all of this leads, of course. The new guys may be better at managing this honeymoon stage of their tenure than the far more demanding challenges ahead. But this much we can say right now: When it comes to first impressions, the new Sixers are winners already.

My favorite Flyer this season is an undependable, eccentric, outspoken Russian who isn’t worth the money he’s being paid and may ultimately prove to be the undoing of his team. Ilya Bryzgalov is an absolute mess of an NHL goaltender – and the most intriguing Flyer to come along in many years.
Bryzgalov was clearly the star of the 24/7 reality show on HBO that took us inside the NHL Winter Classic, as he openly shared his philosophy on the creation of the universe, the importance of free speech and – in his finest moment – announced that he would not actually be playing in the game that had made him a TV sensation.
“The great news: I’m not playing,” he said. “The good news: We have a chance to win the game tomorrow.” Later in the same press gathering, he said he had just wasted 30 minutes of the media’s time saying nothing – clearly not true in this case – and then proclaimed that sports hasn’t really changed since the Roman Empire. People want “gladiators and bread” – always have, always will, he said.
Really, the only time not to embrace Bryzgalov is when he’s on the ice, botching easy saves and driving high-strung Flyers coach Peter Laviolette crazy. Even there, Bryzgalov is totally unpredictable, however, struggling for two weeks and then saving Saturday’s win over Ottawa with a couple of dazzling plays in the final moments. One day later, he blew a two-goal lead in a 6-4 Ottawa disaster.
Bryzgalov has all of the ingredients of a $51-million free-agent fiasco. He is unbalanced, divisive and moody. But I love the guy, and you should, too. It’s very rare in any sport that we encounter a player so willing to share himself with us, warts and all.

Idle thoughts . . . .
• The new Penn State coach, Bill O’Brien, spent an entire weekend talking about the unique challenges of the job, and he never once publicly mentioned the scandal or Jerry Sandusky. In other words, O’Brien is off to a very bad start replacing Joe Paterno.
• Well, at least now we know who was responsible for the disappointing 8-8 season. Johnnie Lynn, the Eagles secondary coach, got the pink slip over the weekend. All this time we thought it was Andy Reid or Juan Castillo, and the big problem was Johnnie Lynn. Who knew?
• The back end of the 2008 Phillies bullpen – Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge – is still unemployed, and it’s only a month until spring training. These guys won a world championship a little more than three years ago, and now they can’t find a job. Fame really is fleeting, isn’t it?
• Spencer Hawes came back from the NBA lockout a new man. The 7-1 Sixers center is clogging the middle, cleaning the glass and is among the leaders in shooting percentage. Either the new owners have inspired him, or Hip Hop was holding him back. I’m not sure which.
• Andy Reid has disappeared since his defiant post-game news conference nine days ago, but already he is making good on Jeff Lurie’s desire for a more pleasing public demeanor. After all, this is the first week in months that the Eagles coach has not insulted our intelligence.

Special message to our WIP listeners and the readers on this website:
The response to our Dec. 21 show was so extreme – and so negative – that I would like to address right now the many concerns that are being expressed. I won’t be back on the air until Jan. 3, and it will be too late to capture the passion of this unusual moment in time.
Basically, the complaints encompassed three themes. First was my supposedly tepid reaction to the stunning allegations against Hall of Fame sportswriter Bill Conlin, especially after my livid response to the Penn State case. Second was the perceived lack of emphasis that day on a child-sex case far closer to home than the Penn State tragedies. And third was an imbalance between my reaction to Conlin, an accused child sex offender, and Joe Paterno, a legend whose only failing was silence.
Before the show, I realized this was going to be one of the most challenging of my 24 years at WIP because I was not in my usual role of an objective commentator. I knew Bill fairly well, and I regarded with awe his 46 years at the Philadelphia Daily News. In many ways, he was a hero to me because he was fearless in his coverage, for over a quarter-century, of the Phillies. He valued his readers more than his relationship with the teams.
Yet, I honestly don’t think I was soft in my reaction. I began the show by explaining that I was still struggling with the first phase of this emotional process: shock. It was nearly impossible for me to rationalize the charges being made – very specific, very believable charges – with the man I knew and admired. I also admitted on the air that my feelings were a work in progress as I learned and processed more.
At the same time, though, I grilled Conlin’s lawyer, George Bochetto, about his client instantly retiring when confronted with the allegations. I said, point blank, that it looked like an admission of guilt to me. And then I asked Bochetto if Conlin was professing his “complete and total innocence” – to him or to anyone else. The lawyer would not reply directly to that question.
The bottom line is that I was reacting to the facts that I had in front of me at that moment in time. If the response was not as angry as that against Jerry Sanducky, it is because the Penn State case had already passed through a 12-year investigation, a Grand Jury probe and then a series of indictments before the revelations were ever made public. Conlin’s story at that point consisted of four people telling their stories of his alleged criminal behavior.
The fact that our entire show was not consumed by the Conlin story was one that will surprise most of my critics. More than half of our calls that day were on other topics. The callers had the same reaction I did. They were still absorbing the impact of the charges.
On a more practical note, we also were committed to our announcement of Takeru Kobayashi competing in Wing Bowl 20, an interview with Oakland closer and Haddonfield native Andrew Bailey for a charitable event in our area over the holidays, and our weekly Eagles film session with Mike Lombardi.
When we had fulfilled those commitments at 8:20, I steered the conversation right back to Conlin. Then we had Bocchetto and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Buzz Bissinger on the show to discuss the story. In all, more than 60 percent of our show involved the Conlin allegations. Ultimately, my first goal every day is to talk about what the people are talking about. Anything else is suicidal for a talk-show host.
The third issue – the Paterno comparison – is probably the basis for most of the complaints. It has become more and more apparent to me that a surprisingly large percentage of our audience still loves the former coach. They acknowledge his failure in not doing enough after learning of Sandusky’s alleged transgressions, but they see him now more as a victim than a villain. I will never agree with this perspective. Paterno was a leader like no other in college sports. For him to look the other way will always be unforgivable to me.
If I had returned to the show Thursday – with two more detailed accounts of Bill Conlin’s alleged sexual misconduct with kids – I am certain that I would have grown even more vocal and more livid, just as I did when the Sandusky story developed. As I write this, I am nauseated by this new wave of horrific revelations. Whom can we trust now? Does everybody have some dark secret they’re hiding? Is everything in our lives becoming a cruel deception?
My best pledge to you is that I’ll always react as honestly as I can, just as you respond when you feel I am falling short in that regard. Thanks for your strong opinions and for your loyalty to our show. I wish you all happy holidays – though I know it will be harder than usual this year.

Angelo Cataldi, Dec. 22, 2011

In the end, it was all just a big misunderstanding. The 2011 Eagles really are the Dream Team. Hey, you saw them destroy the New York Jets Sunday, 45-19. They are every bit as dominant and talented and explosive as we imagined. They just needed a few months to blend their amazing skills. That’s all.
And so the spin begins. Soon, it won’t even matter whether the Eagles make the playoffs. It’ll be about next year — with Andy Reid back for his 14th season as head coach and — ugh — maybe even Juan Castillo returning for an encore as defensive coordinator. The big winners of the 2011 season will be Andy Reid and his best buddy, Status Quo.
Reid is not great at managing the clock or overseeing the hurry-up offense, but he is a master at surviving. In fact, there is nothing Reid is better at than pulling his neck out of the noose and retaliating with a big win and then a barrage of clichés. After the Jets rout, Reid couldn’t contain his appreciation for Michael Vick, Juan Castillo and the fans – always, the fans.
Of course, these were the same fans he claims he didn’t hear three weeks ago when they chanted “Fire Andy.” Now that they’re cheering again, his ears are back in working order. Just don’t ask him a question about the team’s still-precarious playoff position or his still-tenuous job status. And, above all, don’t ask him the most important question – the one he absolutely refuses to answer: Why is a team with all of these talented players only 6-8 this season?
The Eagles have the top running back in the NFL, LeSean McCoy, who has set a team record for touchdowns with 19. They also have the top pass-rusher in football, Jason Babin, whose 18 sacks are closing in on Reggie White’s team mark of 21½. They have a dynamic quarterback, a troika of stud cornerbacks, a dominant defensive line, two exceptional wide receivers . . . . and a 6-8 record.
The only thing the Jets victory proved on Sunday was just how much the Eagles have underachieved this season. Yes, they are the Dream Team, in terms of pure talent, but it took Reid 12 games to employ their skills – and only when there was no longer any pressure to contend for the Super Bowl. The demolition of the Jets only made losses to pitiful Arizona and lousy Seattle that much more unimaginable.
Bill Parcells has said many times that a team is what its record says it is, nothing more or less. Unlike Reid and his invisible bosses, the Giants legend was too busy winning Super Bowls to make excuses or to redefine reality to suit his purposes.
The Eagles, one of the most talented teams in the NFL, will not have a winning record this season. Isn’t that really all that matters?

Joe Paterno, football legend, decided not to act after learning of a sexual assault against a child because he didn’t want to ruin anybody’s weekend. That’s where we are right now in the horrific case at Penn State. Paterno waited a couple of days because, hey, it was a Saturday.
There are many tentacles in this monster of a story, but the essence of it has never changed. This is the story of Joe Paterno, the moral compass of American sports who turned out to be a total fraud. It is the story of a man who valued the refuge of a weekend over the well-being of a child.
Just try to imagine for a moment the impact of aide Mike McQueary’s eyewitness report, a sobbing description of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky pinning a child to the wall of the shower room and producing rhythmic slapping sounds as their bodies met. Now imagine – if you can – that you would take no immediate action because it was the weekend.
Not only did Paterno sit on the information for two days before reporting it to his bosses, but his Grand Jury testimony reveals that he actually found that decision perfectly reasonable. He offers the explanation without any sense of regret. In Paterno’s kingdom, his decision was beyond challenge, even though it was cold and irrational.
Of course, now Paterno knows just how outrageous his thinking was, but it took a massive public outcry for him to receive the message – far too late to preserve any part of his legacy. Joe Paterno, football legend, has vanished for good, but the memory of his insensitivity will live on forever.

Jimmy Rollins handled his contract negotiations with the Phillies the way he approaches a lazy pop-up to second base. No need to hurry. He knew he was going to get there eventually – and he did over the weekend with a three-year, $33-million deal.
Unfortunately, his sluggish style didn’t serve the interests of his team very well because now it’s too late to find another way to improve the fatal flaw in this 102-win ballclub, the offense. So what we’ll be getting is a slightly less talented but still stellar pitching rotation – minus Roy Oswalt – and the same lineup that couldn’t score a run in the deciding game of the divisional playoffs.
The decision to retain Rollins was a popular move, but not nearly as popular as the team or the player believes. The fact is, there is a growing army of fans willing to see Rollins and his now-fragile 33-year-old body leave town for good. I know. I’ve been taking their calls – in droves – for the past month on WIP.
There are two basic problems with Rollins staying here for his 34th, 35th and 36th birthdays. First, he plays shortstop, a position that requires quicker reflexes than most players have when they reach the back half of their 30s. And second, it gives the Phils an infield that is just plain old. Placido Polanco is 35, Chase Utley celebrated his 33rd birthday on Saturday and Ryan Howard is the baby of the group at 32.
Jimmy Rollins will always be a hero in Philadelphia because of his role in the sacred 2008 championship, but – make no mistake – his signing over the weekend did not improve the chances of the Phillies winning another.

Idle thoughts . . . .
• So now, after the devastation of the Phillies and Eagles seasons, we learn that Flyers captain Chris Pronger is out for the year with “severe concussion syndrome.” Is it too late for Philadelphia sports fans to ask Santa for some long-overdue good luck in 2012?
• Gary Schultz testified last week that he didn’t think an adult man touching the genitals of a child was a crime. The former senior vice-president of Penn State said, under oath, that he didn’t know the definition of sexual conduct. And this guy was in charge of the campus police for 17 years? Really?
• Now that the new Sixers owners have bonded with the fans by slashing ticket prices, boiling Hip Hop and holding a free scrimmage at the Palestra, do you think maybe they could start working on revising the roster? Somebody needs to tell president Rod Thorn that the lockout is over.
• The best part of the Denver Broncos’ unexpected success this season is not Tim Tebow. Not to me, anyway. The best part is that former Eagle great Brian Dawkins is back playing relevant football in December. Every once in a while, when you least expect it, the good guy wins.
• Andy Reid said he has no regrets about wasting $2.3 million on Steve Smith, who caught 11 passes before ending his season on the injured-reserve list. Nope, no regrets at all. Yeah, we really need at least one more season of this brilliant thinking and honest communication.

Welcome to Philadelphia, home of the biggest child in sports, DeSean Jackson. In the past month alone, the tiny wide receiver with the big ego has short-armed a touchdown pass, been suspended and benched and then stormed out of a news briefing.
It’s a shame Jackson bailed on the media when he did last Thursday night in Seattle. The very next question was, “What do you want for Christmas, little boy?” Of course, we already know the answer to that question. He wants a shiny new contract. What he deserves is a boot right out of town.
That’s right. The most exciting Eagle should not be re-signed, and he most certainly should not be guaranteed a huge salary with the franchise tag. When he becomes a free agent at the end of this dreadful season, it’ll be the city that is truly free – from his diva demeanor and from his gutless play.
Yeah, I know. He saved last season with that punt return against the Giants. He has provided more thrills than any other Eagle in his four-year career here. Blah, blah, blah. The truth is, on a team of selfish players, Jackson is the ultimate me-first guy. All you needed to do was watch his three-hour pout-fest on the NFL Network during that humiliating 31-14 loss.
At one point, Vince Young was trying to talk to him after Jackson messed up a play, but little DeSean looked straight ahead, stone-faced. When he did speak with any animation that night, it was to members of the Seahawks. Throughout the debacle, Jackson wore the expression of a player who didn’t care. The TV screen doesn’t lie.
However, the same cannot be said for coach Andy Reid, who launched an angry screed against the NFL Network the next day for drawing false conclusions. Yeah, right. The NFL Network is notorious for its shoot-from-the-hip style. Analyst Mike Mayock, president of the Andy Reid Fan Club, is a real hatchet man. Please.
This is the case against DeSean Jackson: He cost the Eagles the Arizona game by getting suspended for blowing off a team meeting. He wimped out on the TD pass against New England before dropping another, forcing his benching. And then he blew off dozens of reporters when they challenged him over his sulking in Seattle.
DeSean Jackson wears the number 10 – and he acts it. The argument that all of this bad behavior is a result of the Eagles not rewarding him with a new contract is absurd. He signed the original deal. If he had flamed out like so many other top Eagles draft picks, would he have given the money back?
Real Eagles fans – the ones who won’t rest until they win a championship – no longer just want Andy Reid to leave. Now they want Big Red to take the little boy with him.

In a season of indignities, there can be no lower point than the moment last week when Casey Matthews – a total bust on a putrid team – thought it was a good idea to attack Eagles fans. Well, at least now we know what resides under that helmet full of hair. Nothing.
Matthews has adopted the hairstyle of his far more talented and famous brother, Clay, but that is clearly where the comparison ends. Forget all of this babble about Casey needing a full off-season to realize his fourth-round linebacker potential. He could not play when he got here, and he will depart as soon as management is willing to admit yet another draft mistake.
Still, Matthews couldn’t help himself when fans vented their anger at him as he left Lincoln Financial Field after the New England fiasco. Howling that “they don’t know me,” he said “I don’t think anyone will ever understand these fans. When we win they love you, but when we lose, it gets rough. That’s just how it is here.”
Yeah, that certainly is a complicated concept. Fans pay thousands every year on tickets, seat licenses, jerseys, hats and Eagles-sponsored products, and then they get upset when the team stinks. How dare they. How can these people ignore the 17 tackles Matthews has made in 12 games? Don’t they realize that’s an average of more than one tackle per game?
Matthews eventually apologized for his outburst, but his words had all the sincerity of an Andy Reid news conference. It’s a pretty safe bet Casey Matthews will not be heard from again, on the field or off it. In fact, we really only need him to say one more word. Goodbye.

The rumors are not true. Jeff Lurie, Joe Banner and Howie Roseman are not in Hollywood right now remaking The Three Stooges. If the Eagles executives ever do make a film together, you can bet it will be a silent one.
For 12 weeks now, the owner, president and GM have been unavailable for comment, as their “all-in” team went all-out. The Eagles are out of the playoffs, out of hope for the immediate future, and – we can only assume – out of patience with coach Andy Reid.
The problem is, we aren’t even being given the usual clichés associated with crises like this. With the exception of Lurie poking his head out long enough after the Giants win to say his team was poised for a late-season run, none of them has said a word in months. The last time they spoke – and, boy, did they speak – was after their free-agent signing frenzy in July.
And it’s not as if they haven’t been asked. Banner has turned down requests for interviews for at least the past several weeks, leaving everyone to guess what he’s thinking about the mess his team has become. Is he as sick of Reid’s “gotta do a better job” mantra as we are? Is he trying to convince Lurie to make the only move that matters now?
Mum’s the word on the Eagles. And when the team asks you to buy a jersey for Christmas this month, or to renew your season tickets for next season, or to support their many fine sponsors, you might want to adopt a similar strategy. Don’t say yes or no. Don’t say anything. Let’s see how they like it.

Idle thoughts . . . .
• For a future Hall of Famer who was treated so shabbily in Philadelphia, Donovan McNabb sure has taken a plunge since leaving our city limits. And if he thinks his release last week by the Vikings was humbling, wait until he takes his goofy faces and dopey remarks into the broadcast booth.
• The Phillies ending up with Jimmy Rollins for another three or four seasons has become the worst-case scenario this winter. One of the best ways to change the culture of recent post-season failure is to remove one of the biggest causes of it, the bad attitude of our overrated shortstop.
• Now that the Sixers have dumped former GM Ed Stefanski and mascot Hip Hop, the next cuts should be Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand. If they don’t unload one of those two contracts under the new amnesty clause, the Sixers will be missing a huge opportunity to improve.
• Jagomir Jagr is 39 and brittle, but there are times when he’s still one of the most dangerous players in the NHL. How far the Flyers go this year might just come down to the tenuous condition of Jagr’s aging hamstrings.
• If you’re making out your Christmas list, don’t forget Andy Reid. After last week’s latest clock mismanagement issues, he could use a really nice wristwatch. In fact, if we’re really lucky, it can serve as both a holiday gift and a going-away present.

You will hear and read much this week about the sudden rebirth of the Eagles. Believe none of it. Their 17-10 win over the New York Giants on Sunday night may have provided a temporary reprieve from this dreadful season, but it proved nothing. They remain deeply flawed and thoroughly unlikeable.
Vince Young’s dramatic drive that saved the season – at least for now – was remarkable in every way. Six third-down conversions with the game on the line, against a formidable defense, are cause for celebration, as is the blind-side sack by Jason Babin that preserved the victory in the final minutes.
But that’s it. Twelve minutes of joy after a season of frustration is not enough for me, or for you. Before and after that unexpected spree of positive developments, the Eagles were the same muddle of disjointed talents and bad attitudes. Their final destination this season is already programmed into the GPS. They are going nowhere.
For example, the revived defense that held the Giants to 10 points was rescued not by defensive coordinator Juan Castillo but by Young himself, who held the ball for close to nine minutes and prevented the biggest chokers in football from blowing their sixth fourth quarter lead of the season. Not only had the defense already given away the lead in a five-play, 73-yard drive, but it ended up allowing 143 yards on just 10 plays in the final quarter before Babin’s big turnover.
The notion that Castillo was somehow vindicated because the Eagles won the game is almost as absurd as Castillo’s original appointment to his new job. What exactly did the Eagles prove on Sunday? They stopped the run against a team that cannot run, and they were in the process of another fatal swoon when Young rode to the rescue. Does anyone really believe the Eagles’ defensive problems are behind them?
And then there is the case of DeSean Jackson, who appears to have won his power struggle with Reid. Before the game, Jackson compared himself to Larry Fitzgerald and the other top wide receivers in the NFL, then he cost his team a 50-yard gain by taunting a Giants assistant, and ended his busy day by proclaiming that he was “the light I bring and shine on my teammates.”
Jackson learned nothing from his benching against Arizona. In fact, he was empowered by it. Now he thinks the Eagles cannot win without him, and Reid did nothing to discourage that idea after the game. Jackson is a child – out of control, selfish, boisterous and absolute poison in the locker room.
So, yes, the Eagles won a big game on Sunday. They saved their season, for one more week at least. But nothing has changed. Andy Reid is still lost. Juan Castillo is still clueless. And DeSean Jackson is still playing for DeSean Jackson.
The end is near for these overindulgent underachievers – and the sooner the better for all of us.

When Ilya Bryzgalov stoned the Phoenix Coyotes last week, it wasn’t just a big victory for the Flyers, it was a welcome – and rare – triumph for the truth, too. You see, Bryzgalov was hated in his final days in Phoenix last season, basically for one reason. When asked a question, he answered it honestly. Imagine that.
Of course, his candor led to a few fractured relationships when he publicly referenced a bad play by a teammate – something he did several times in his final months in Phoenix. That’s how the Russian goalie got a bad reputation. He spoke the truth. We already got a glimpse of this rare honesty ourselves when Bryzgalov trashed himself last month, saying he couldn’t stop a (beach) ball.
Well, here’s one vote of support for the refreshing new addition to our sports community. We already have enough sneers from Andy Reid, enough hiding from Jeff Lurie and Joe Banner, enough tired clichés from Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.
If we have learned anything at all from the Penn State tragedy still unfolding, it is that honest remains the best policy. If Mike McQueary had said something publicly about what he had witnessed in 2002, would the alleged abuse have continued for another nine years? If Joe Paterno had used his powerful voice to halt the insanity, would his legacy have withstood the current assault?
Sports figures who prefer the safe route to popularity should carefully study Ilya Bryzgalov. Either because of a cultural gap or just his own honest nature, he is showing the public something that has become almost extinct. It’s called respect.

In the deepening cesspool at Penn State, there are still just two themes that require our undivided attention. One is Jerry Sandusky, the former defensive coordinator accused of sexually abusing children. The other is the army of gutless people, led by Joe Paterno, who enabled Sandusky to do what he allegedly did.
Just think about all of the other stories that have emerged since the darkest secrets of Happy Valley became headlines. Politicians were more interested in filling their campaign coffers than in seeking justice for the victims. A judge violated the ethics of her job and took care of a friend. Eyewitnesses were discouraged to tell the truth, and then vilified when they tried. The police favored the powerful over the powerless.
Is any of that behavior surprising? It happens every day. Granted, the scope of the corruption is alarming, especially in a sick little place like Happy Valley, but it is just a diversion from what really matters. And what really matters is that a man is accused of the worst crime possible, and many other people – including the college football coach most associated with moral behavior – enabled it.
The only things we all need to remember from the past week involve Sandusky and Paterno. In a national TV interview, Sandusky required a full 17 seconds to deny that he is sexually attracted to children. Seventeen seconds. Ask a friend that question. You will find none – not one – who needs that long to respond.
As for Paterno, it was revealed that he has hired one of the top criminal lawyers in the country, he has switched the title of his home to his wife in anticipation of civil lawsuits, and then – in another shocker – he has lung cancer.
Sympathy is a powerful emotion, but if Paterno enabled Sandusky, nothing is going to help the coach now, not even that.

Idle thoughts . . . .
• Juan Castillo answered almost every question last week with the words “work hard.” Marty Mornhinweg said Kevin Kolb knowing the plays had no bearing on the Arizona loss. Isn’t it comforting to know when Andy Reid needs a day off from insulting us, he’s got two great replacements?
• The Phillies didn’t just add an accomplished closer when they signed Jonathan Papelbon earlier this month. They also gave their bland team a much-needed infusion of personality. Philadelphia is going to love this guy.
• Jimmy Rollins invited the media to his charity event “Havana Nights” – a benefit to prevent child abuse – last week and then snapped at reporters when he was asked about his contract negotiations. Even when doing good, Rollins just can’t stop himself from acting like a spoiled brat.
• Baseball’s decision to add two wild-card teams seems like wretched excess until you understand that a one-game playoff among the also-rans enhances the value of winning the division. In other words, the sad fate of the 2011 Phillies is less likely to happen in the future. Bravo to that.
• Baseball bad boy Jose Canseco is charging $2,000 for interviews now. Hmmmm. How much does it cost to get him not to speak?

The sad part about Joe Paterno’s imminent exit after 46 years as head coach at Penn State is not just that it happened under such horrific circumstances. It is also that so many people, for so long, worshipped a hero who was not worthy of their adulation.
The rules have always been different for Paterno. He hadn’t won a championship for 25 years – a quarter century – and still he was regarded as the greatest of all coaches. As the list of criminal charges against his players grew, he somehow remained the ideal for moral behavior. And when he snapped at question after question, it was never seen for what it really was – bullying.
But now, of course, we know the truth about Joe Paterno. He protected the reputation of a longtime friend and assistant, Jerry Sandusky – and of his own football program – while risking the well-being of innocent, defenseless children. Paterno will face no criminal charges because he reported the one incident of sex abuse he was aware of directly, but he is already guilty in the court of public opinion.
Paterno, the moral conscience of college sports, the Pope of Happy Valley, did the unthinkable. He looked the other way. When extraordinary action was required, Paterno did nothing. How could he? How could a man who had made such a commitment to young people for so long fail them when they needed him the most?
No one will ever really know the answer to that question because the case will be tied up in court for many years now – first the criminal charges against Sandusky and his enablers at Penn State, and then the civil cases against everyone close to the case, including Paterno. It’s hard to imagine that Paterno will ever tell his side of the story, if there is one to tell.
All we can say for sure right now is that he fought to the end, either because he’s still in denial that he did anything wrong or because his survival instinct is that powerful. His last public comment was a dubious statement claiming shock at Sandusky’s indictment – shock despite an ongoing nine-year investigation and Grand Jury probe that included Paterno’s own testimony.
Of course, to the public, there was no real shock over an assistant we hardly even knew, nor over the Penn State bureaucrats who allegedly perjured themselves to protect Sandusky, themselves or their university. Those people are all mortals. None of them are named Joe Paterno.
In the end, the record will show that Paterno was really not much different than all the others stomping the sidelines over the past 46 years, a flawed man who was just more talented at convincing us he was better than everybody else.
Joe Paterno will leave coaching now with an indelible stain on his record, and in our memories.

Andy Reid’s winter brainstorm has become a tsunami for the Eagles. The idea of turning a 16-year NFL offensive assistant into the defensive coordinator, absurd at the time, is a full-blown disaster now. Juan Castillo is ruining this football season.
The latest indignity unfolded on Monday night, when the Eagles defense unraveled late again, turning a 24-17 lead into a 30-24 defeat. Castillo’s underachievers have blown four fourth-quarter leads already this year, more than any other NFL team. The playoffs are nothing more than a pipe dream now. At the halfway point, the Eagles are losers at 3-5.
Great coaches are supposed to make their players better. Castillo has done the opposite. Nnamdi Asomugha was the biggest free-agent signing of the off-season, a shutdown cornerback among the elite in the game – until Castillo got his hands on him. Now Asomugha appears deflated, out of rhythm, all but useless. Our $60-million player is worth about ten cents.
And Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie has become the saddest case of all. An elite cornerback as recently as last season, DRC appears dazed and confused on almost every play. He’s stopping as ball-carriers rush past, he’s one step behind most of the time, and he’s clearly playing out of position in the slot. DRC is DOA in Castillo’s defense.
Juan Castillo spouts a mindless mantra of hard work, hard work, hard work, but nothing is working right now. In fact, nothing will work until Andy Reid ends this ridiculous experiment and finds a real defensive coordinator.

An old friend came back to town last weekend. You may remember him. Jim Thome, the man who lifted the Phillies with his Popeye forearms into the stratosphere eight years ago, is a member of the Phillies again.
Of course, he is not the same player he was when the Phils wrote him a huge check to commemorate the opening of Citizens Bank Park. A new era of big spending and even bigger winning was upon us, and the poster boy for those first few years was the affable country boy with the majestic home-run swing.
When he was reintroduced to Philadelphia last Saturday, the electricians union workers who had greeted him outside the new ballpark in 2002 were not there. The price tag was just $1.25 million this time, not $85 million. And Thome is 41 now, not 33. But one thing hadn’t changed. Manager Charlie Manuel was still thrilled to have a player who is more like a son to him than merely a bat off the bench.
Manuel is one of the worst strategists in the game. He appears befuddled every time he steps in front of a microphone. But this is the kind of story that has won him a legion of fans, and a World Series. No one in sports is better at building a relationship with his players, and no one is better at bridging the inevitable gap caused by age.
When Thome was here the first time, he won a lot of games for the Phillies, but no championship. He left three years before the parade, a victim of the sudden emergence of Ryan Howard. This time, in his final season, Thome has some unfinished business. He needs to win it all – for a city that still admires him, and for a manager who gave him one final chance to go out on top.

Idle thoughts . . . .
• Joe Frazier passed away Monday night, the victim of liver cancer. He embodied the spirit of Philadelphia as much as any athlete, with his toughness, his quirkiness and his smile. If we’ve got a statue for a fictional hero like Rocky, don’t we need one for a real hero like Joe Frazier?
• The Eagles did something special Monday night. They honored Buddy Ryan and his teams of the last 1980s. Seth Joyner, Keith Byars, Keith Jackson and lots of the other beloved players from those teams were back. The only thing those Eagles won was the love of the fans. Sometimes that’s enough.

• For a guy who went totally unnoticed for three seasons as the Phillies bench coach, Pete Mackanin has suddenly become a hot commodity on the managing market. His predecessor, Jimy Williams, hasn’t worked since the 2008 parade, and Mackanin, 60, is a top managing prospect. Go figure.

• It’s a shame Phillies assistant Scott Proefrock didn’t get the Baltimore GM job. If Proefrock is anything like Ed Wade, Phils GM Ruben Amaro would have been able to pick clean the Orioles the same way he fleeced the Astros the past few years.
•  Just like the Phillies, the Union was eliminated in the first round of the soccer playoffs last week. First, the Phillies can’t score, and then the Union has the same problem. Is there no end to this pain?

I did something incredibly stupid last week. I became a Dallas Cowboys fan. In my twisted mind, I thought I was hastening the departure of a coach I can no longer stand, Andy Reid. But it was stupid just the same. Rooting for the Cowboys is an act of desperation reserved only for the drunk and the insane.
Of course, my reward for quietly cheering Tony Romo, Rob Ryan and (gulp) Jerry Jones was a thorough 34-7 spanking by an Eagles team that finally matched its preseason hype. Wouldn’t you know it? As soon as I bail on the Birds, they play a clean, efficient, dominating football game. Just my luck.
Looking at the game from a different sideline did give me a new perspective. What I saw in the Eagles was a club unrivaled in talent – yes, including the Green Bay Packers – and maybe even still a threat to reach the ultimate goal established during the free-agent frenzy last summer. The Eagles are very good – especially when their coach is using common sense.
For example, is there a better running back in the game right now than LeSean McCoy, who had a career game with 186 rushing yards? After weeks of neglect, Reid has given McCoy 58 carries in the past two games – both wins. Is it possible Reid finally realizes that there are other ways to score points than constantly to risk injury to Michael Vick?
And what about Nnamdi Asomugha? A bust for the first few games after signing a mammoth $60-million free-agent contract, he smothered Dez Bryant all night Sunday. Oh, so this is the cornerback we heard so much about. Maybe he really can play at a Pro Bowl level if he’s simply asked to provide his specialty, man-to-man coverage.
While we’re talking about adjustments, did you happen to notice the wide-nine defense that was such a disaster the first month is now the much-narrower-nine, with far fewer of the huge holes for opposition running backs? Suddenly, new defensive coordinator Juan Castillo doesn’t seem so clueless anymore.
What I saw in my brief time as a Dallas fan was an Eagles team that had finally corrected many of the mistakes of August and September, all of which the fans had identified long before the coach did. What I also saw as a Cowboys fan is a rival that deserved the hype, a foe that may still be the class of the NFC East.
What happens next will tell the real story of this season. If Reid gives these players a chance to excel – if he doesn’t outsmart himself again – the Birds might still surprise a lot of people who had written them off.
Especially people who were so dumb, they became Dallas fans.

After three weeks in a deep depression, Phillies fans can now emerge with renewed hope that 2012 will have a better ending. Hey, at least we’re not the Texas Rangers, who were one strike away from their first World Series title twice, and still found a way to lose to St. Louis.
Finally, the Phillies can begin the process of making some tough decisions about their aging roster, and – of course – I’m offering my services at no charge. Here’s what I would do if I were GM Ruben Amaro Jr.
Step 1: Say goodbye to Jimmy Rollins. Yes, it’s hard. He is the face of the most successful era in team history. But now that Amaro and manager Charlie Manuel are on the record looking for patient contact hitters with high on-base percentages, Rollins simply doesn’t fit. At this point, even a three-year deal seems too much.
Step 2: Use a big chunk of the available money to sign a closer. Most fans are assuming Ryan Madson will be that man, but he’s only third on my list. First, I’d make a call to Jonathan Papelbon, then Heath Bell. Both have more experience closing games, and both are free agents just like Madson.
Step 3: Find a new third baseman. Placido Polanco is done as an everyday player. He gets hurt too much, and he doesn’t provide nearly enough power at a corner infield position. The Phillies need to generate more runs. Polanco will help them do that better as a utility player.
Step 4: Light a fire under Charlie Manuel. As a renowned hitting guru, Manuel was AWOL in 2011. He needs to know that the window is closing on an amazing pitching rotation, and a first-round failure will not save his job next season. It’s time for Manuel to earn his undeserved folk-hero status.

The angry snarl of Philadelphia sports fans has claimed more than a few weak-hearted players over the years, but never one with $51 million and a Stanley-Cup dream at stake. Meet Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, either the latest victim of our demanding nature or a troubled soul seeking escape from a nightmare.
After one month of the new NHL season, it’s too early for us to draw any conclusions about the signing of the Russian goaltender to a mammoth contract last summer. Unfortunately, he may already be drawing some conclusions himself.
In one of the most honest and painful confessions ever by a Philadelphia athlete, Bryzgalov said last week: “I have zero confidence in myself right now. If you throw a ball instead of a puck, I’m not going to stop it. I’m terrible and I want to apologize in front of the fans, in front of my teammates. I have no answer for you guys. . . . I’m lost in the woods.”
Bryzgalov at least temporarily found himself with a 5-1 win Saturday night, but his exploits so far show just how fragile the psyche of a goalie can be. In fact, the team announced yesterday a bizarre series of restrictions on when he will and won’t talk to the media, a ridiculous overreaction to his sincere appraisal of a painful situation. The Flyers, who were behind this semi-ban on talking, are worried that Bryzgalov is getting swept up in the demands of a new environment.
Well – despite yesterday’s announcement – here’s one voice of support for the struggling Russian. Anybody who respects the fans enough to say what he did last week deserves the benefit of our doubt. Bryzgalov may still be trying to find himself, but he has already discovered the best antidote for fan dissatisfaction. It’s honesty.

Idle thoughts . . . .
• Am I the only one who, while watching Nelson Cruz cruise toward the fly ball that would have won Texas a championship, thought of Bobby Abreu? Some players will not sacrifice their body near the outfield wall, even if it means blowing the World Series.
• Rex and Rob Ryan take great pride at being the offspring of Buddy Ryan, but they are cheap rip-offs. Rex is constantly saying stupid things that require apologies. Rob is a louder, dumber version of his twin brother. Buddy never apologized. Buddy never started a fight he didn’t finish. His sons are frauds.
• Eric Lindros shocked everybody last week when he said he‘d play in the Winter Classic alumni game – as a member of the Flyers, no less. Just one question: Has anybody run this by his parents, Carl and Bonnie? Because until they give their approval, it’s definitely not official.
• The Phillies are going to rue the day they let Ryne Sandberg leave their organization. He is already a candidate for managerial jobs in several cities, after a season at Lehigh Valley. I would offer him the bench coach’s job here right now, with a promise to take over as manager soon.
• Terrell Owens can’t find a job, Donovan McNabb is on the bench, Julius Erving is selling all of his NBA mementos and Lenny Dykstra is facing four years in prison. Mama, don’t let your kids grow up to be superstars.