Owners Are Overrated

That is not meant to depreciate the legacy of the recently deceased George Steinbrenner. However, it is true. As is the case with The Boss, the owners of a dynasty usually got said dynasty by letting their people, in particular their general managers, do their job.

-The Boston Celtics, winners of 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons from 1957-1969, had multiple owners. The constant, besides Bill Russell, was General Manager Red Auerbach.

-The San Francisco 49ers of the 1980's, winners of Super Bowl XVI, XIX, XXIII, and XXIV were owned by Eddie DeBartolo and John York with Bill Walsh overseeing that successful run of their franchise as Coach and General Manager.

-New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft had the frigid Bill Belichick as de-facto G.M. to put things in order as the Pats won three Super Bowls in four years .

-The Edmonton Oilers of the NHL won five Stanley Cups in seven years during the '80s. The owner was the colorful Peter Pocklington. It is said that Pocklington once piled $100,000 cash on a ping pong table in the Oilers locker room and told his players it was theirs if they defeated the Los Angeles Kings. The steady Glen Sather put together the juggernaut team.

Locally, if the Philadelphia Eagles had been able to parlay all those conference title game appearances into a few titles, Andy Reid would be on this list. The Eagles did not turn around when Jeffery Lurie purchased them. However, they did turn around when Lurie hired Big Red.

Of course, there is one exception and it is a most dreadful one.

Jimmy Johnson, with Jerry Jones hanging over his shoulder, served as GM for the Dallas Cowboys that won three Super Bowls in four years in the early 90's. Of course Johnson got an assist from the worst trade in trading (player, stocks, trading cards, etc.) history.

"The Trade" made Johnson look like a genius as the Minnesota Vikings acquired Herschel Walker and two third, a fifth, and a tenth-round draft picks from the Cowboys. The Vikings exhibited that famous Midwestern friendliness as they gave Dallas two first, three second, and a sixth round draft picks, as well as four players. You don't even wanna know what players Dallas eventually turned those picks into!

Coming back to Steinbrenner whose team won four World Series in five years in the late 90's and early 2000's had three GM's. Steinbrenner also had a small nation's deficit to spend on players. But it's worth noting that the Yanks won under the boss when he backed off and allowed his people to do what he paid (and he paid well) them to do.

Colorful owners supplying soundbites is fun but when you get down to it, all an owner really need do is hire the right CEO and sign the checks. It's been proven time and time again in the world: if you have a problem, and you have enough money, then throw the money at said problem and everything will work out fine.

While we're discussing Steinbrenner, we would be remiss to touch on Rush Limbaugh's"eloquent" comments about The Boss after his death.

"That cracker made a lot of African American millionaires. And at the same time, he fired a bunch of white guys."

"That cracker," wow. Limbaugh said it in a tone like The Boss was the lowest form of white man

Of course, Mr. Limbaugh and his selective facts left out the part about "a bunch of white guys" usually getting rehired. And it's a good thing that Rush did not know that The Boss hired the American League's first black G.M. Bob Watson. Coincidentally, Watson was the G.M. of the first of those titles in the 90's.

It is curious that a right-wing, big business thinking guy like Limbaugh could not appreciate The Boss. Steinbrenner and his two sons were the Waltons of Major League Baseball; the Wal Mart owning Waltons, not the wholesome ones.

Finally, one has to wonder what would have been for Cleveland if Steinbrenner had not been rebuffed in his attempt to purchase his hometown Cleveland Indians before moving on to acquire the boys in penstripes. That depressing town might have a title by now and would not be wailing and whining about the departure of LeBron James.

A little fun fact about Steinbrenner: he served as a graduate assistant at Ohio State under Woody Hayes when the Buckeyes went 10-0 en route to a national title in 1954.

Dammit!

In a moment that was both tense and anticlimactic for the Philadelphia Flyers, Patrick Kane's (1 G, 2 asts., +2) bloop single of a shot slipped past Michael Leighton (37 svs., 4 GA) in overtime of Game 6 to give the Chicago Blackhawks the victory and the Stanley Cup.

No horn or red light went off after Kane's goal, but he still raised his arms in triumph as his teammates poured onto the ice. Meanwhile Flyers players, and fans alike, sat there in dumbfounded silence as the Blackhawks celebration began.

"I thought he was going to pass it but he threw it at my feet and it went underneath me," said Leighton after the game, about the series-clinching goal.

"There you go thinkin'," said our Engineer.

It would be easy to look at Leighton as a goat in the Flyers defeat. However, his role in Philly's postseason run cannot be ignored. The truth is that the journeyman goalie earned his 15 minutes of fame as the Flyers rode him for as long as they could.

Before the presentation of The Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy, Flyers fans thanked their squad for the fun ride by chanting, "Let's go Flyers."

It was a classy moment for fans that are not known as such. So they will have to be forgiven for when, according to frequent D-train Passenger & Flyers season-ticket holder Andrew P., they booing NHL Commisioner Gary Bettman during the the presentation of the aforementioned trophies.

The reason for booing Bettman? Andrew eloquently stated the reason, "Because there us a hate/hate relationship between Philadelphia and Bettman. Which stems from his homosexual love affair with Cindy Crysby (Sydney Crosby)."

Jonathan Toews (1 ast., 3 BS, -1) was named the Conn Smythe winner as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Philly's top line's play tapered off as The Finals ran on. Meanwhile, Chicago's top line's play escalated, particularly as the Blackhawks won the last two games of the series.

Today, many of our passengers will go to work and have to endure pessimistic words from co-workers such as, "I knew they were gonna blow it; Philly teams always do."

Please dear passengers, in a civil manner that belies the reputation of Philly fans, tell them to "lock it up" with regards to that sort of talk. Do not attempt to engage such ignorance with intelligent debate. They cannot be reached. Instead, speak with like-thinking folks who share your disappointed optimism, and keep rolling down the track.

This is What We Heard

Last night, the angelic (and crazy) Erykah Badu was at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby and thus, so were the guys D-train Staff. They are afflicted with a deep affection for crazy women.

Therefore, no one was around to view the L.A. Lakers dramatic 91-84 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The Lakers took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

We heard that Boston fans were rude to Lamar Odom (12 pts., 5 rebs.). Whenever he had the ball they chanted, "Ugly Sister."

It was a hard dig at Odom's wife Khloe Kardashian.

In Boston fans defense, she is the grossest Kardashian.

We heard that Ray Allen (2 pts., 4 rebs.) followed up his record setting shooting display from game one with a most tepid scoring display.

It sounds as if Allen climaxed too soon from the pleasurable experience of shooting the lights out in Game 2.

Derek Fisher(11 of 16 pts. in the 4th quarter, 5 rebs.) served as a life preserver for the Lakers, who surrendered the better part of a 14-point lead, "they" told us.

Then, they said Fisher got verlempt like Mike Myers as Linda Richman on SNL skit "Coffee Talk," during the post game interview.

Then the staff asked about Steven Strassburg's debut (14 SO, 0 BB).

It sounded like he was impressive. Could it be that the hype may equal the reality?

Wanna get Flyered up for tonight's game? Check out this poster in today's Chicago Tribune by copying the link below in your browser. That's what we heard anyways.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/ct-chris-pronger-poster-flyers-blackhawks,0,6571141.photo

A Word for the Dearly Departed

Legendary former UCLA Men's Basketball Coach John Wooden passed away over the weekend.

We once had the chance to interview The Wizard of Westwood. By "interview" we mean watch an HBO documentary** about the legend and his 10 championships at UCLA.

Wooden would begin the first practice of every season at UCLA by having his team assemble in the gym barefoot, with sock and sneakers by their side. He'd enter in the same fashion. And then he addressed his squad.

"Gentleman, a good basketball player has good feet," he would say. "A guy cannot play with blisters, so we will practice how to properly put on our shoes."

Imagine the faces of the first-year players, some of whom were McDonald's All Americans, as Wooden continued on.

"Roll the sock up good and bring it over your toes. Nice and snug. Now, roll the sock down your foot, and slowly bring it up the ankle. Nice and snug, nice and snug.

"Now put on your shoes. Tighten the laces starting from the front of the shoe. Nice and snug..."

Starting every season, defending National Champion or otherwise, with such order and precision toward something so seemingly mundane goes a long way towards explaining Wooden's success.

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen." -John Wooden

R.I.P. Coach.

The Pac-10, Big 12, Big 10 Conferences, and maybe the Philadelphia Public League are Looking into expansion possibilities.

Okay, the "Public League" bit was an exaggeration. However, do not be surprised if this whole expanding thing trickles down to the high school level, and one day Camden schools get offers to join the city in an urban "super conference."

It is not a question of "if" this will happen, but "when." After all, it is about money. It seems at the moment that sweeping change is inevitable to college football.

After just witnessing what happened recently with banks and our economy, expansion talk makes us uneasy on the D-train. We can hear it now when the system collapses because fans boycotted the BCMess championship game, "These conferences are two big two fail."

We propose that Athletic Directors from around the country play a round of the board game Risk to determine how to break up the entire nation into four obese conferences.

What really blows the steam on this locomotive about the possibilities of expansion is that we are not hearing the "purist" view from Directors on this subject. Yet they bemoan playoffs because bowls are important because of tradition.

It's time to call the NCAA what it is, a corporation.

This past Saturday the world had its eyes on the sport it loves second to soccer, Beer Pong. The Annual Passo Pong Tournament convened in a new stadium with a great mountainside view in Montgomery County. "Sexual Chocolate" emerged as the victor in a sharpshooting duel that thrilled and amazed the throng of folk in attendance. Comprised of D-train Passenger Andy P. (the white chocolate) and our Fireman Dave Euwings (the dark chocolate), Sexual Chocolate used timely marksmanship and distracting hip gyrations to triumph.

In related news, the rest of the staff have picked up some plywood and plastic cups to train for victory at next year's tourney.

**The UCLA Dynasty

Creature Double Feature

Sunday night was a proffesional Winter sports finals double feature. One movie was a horror movie with blood and gore to spare. The other film, a tense political action thriller with the standard plot twists.

It was reminiscent of a double play at the old Capitol Theatre on 52nd St. or the "Dollar Movie" in Yaden.

IN THE FIRST FEATURE: A bunch of hard working, fun loving Flyers from Philadelphia travelled to Chicago on a business trip. They thought that stopping for a skate at the United Center would be a really cool idea.

They never bargained for the terror that lay in store for them in the form of a menacing gang, hatchet-wielding gang known as the Blackhawks.

Of course the first character slaughtered was the nice guy. Cornered by the killers from Chicago, Michael Leighton (3 GA) was aggressively and relentlessly sliced with shots in a scene that made the Philadelphia audience queasy.

As the Flyers slipped and slid in Leighton's blood and a 3-0 deficit, the next character to catch the business end of Chicago's hatchets was the guy who most antagonized the Blackhawks and their followers.

Chris Pronger (-5)was not vanquished quickly. The Blackhawks were desperate to defend their home turf and Pronger had been (and we mean this as PC as possible) really pissing them off. Thus the killers took their time on Pronger.

The conclusion of the macabre first feature came as the good guys tried to make a distressed last stand. Brian Boucher (3 GA) screamed to Peter Laviolette, "Go! I'll hold these bastards off! Save yourself!"

IN THE SECOND FILM: The Celtic commandos were dropped deep behind enemy lines to rescue the team's self-respect after the thumping they took in Game 1 against the L.A. Laker cartel.

In the films first act, the cartel had the Celtic commandos pinned down against a ridge. Luckily Ray Allen (32 pts, Finals record 8 three-pointers) had taken a strategic sniper position on higher ground. Allen layed down a suppressing cover fire that allowed his team to get through the first half.

In the second act, the L.A. cartel rallied behind a guy code-named "The Spaniard" (Pau Gasol, 25 pts., 8 rebs., 6 blks.) and Andrew Bynum (21 pts., 6 rebs.), code-named "Baby Boy". Then, Rabid Rajon Rondo (19 pts., 12 rebs., 10 asts.), sporting neon green boots then led the charge to the chopper as his team escaped victoriously with their self-respect intact.

Following with tonight's theme, does anyone know of a close by drive-in theater close to Philly, and have a car with plenty of trunk space?

Who Knew a Heart Attack Could be So Much Fun

In one of the most apprehensive two-goal victories in Philadelphia Flyers' history, the orange and black defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 last night at the Wachovia Center to even the Stanley Cup Finals 2-2.

Flyer Captain Mike Richards (1 G) had to perform a heist to get his team started. After the Blackhawks (on the penalty kill) won a face off in their zone, Niklas Hjalmarsson (-1) was skating behind the net with the puck. Richards snuck up, picked Hjalmarsson's pocket, and immediately put the puck past an unsuspecting Antti Niemi (26 saves, 4 GA). Hjalmarsson filed a police report against Richards during the first intermission alleging theft.

A strange phenomenon occurred after play resumed following Richards' goal; the crowd of 20, 304 were practically silent with nerves. Their stress despite the advantage was understandable. No lead had been safe in these Cup Finals as neither team in victory thus far had been able to get some breathing room on the scoreboard. The Philly fans were locked in on this game, where a victory meant a new series and defeat would bring the odds against their team.

Ten minutes later Hjalmarsson, who was trying to be one of Philly's Three Stars (two unofficial assists), was attempting to clear the puck from his team's crease when he handed it directly to Matt Carle (1 G, +2, 4 BS) on the doorstep. Carle had no other choice but to put the puck in the net, and the crowd exhaled as if they were hanging with Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett.

Of course the stress was not over for Flyer fans, or the Flyers for that matter.

In the third period the Flyers put themselves up by 3 goals when Ville Leino (1 G, +1) shot the puck off of Kris Versteeg's (-1) rump and it ricocheted past Niemi .

Cue furious Chicago rally.

A power play goal by Dave Bolland (1 G, -2) brought Chi-town to within two. By the way it was three on five so they HAD to score or team morale would have died. Then Brian Campbell (1 G, 2 BS) took advantage of traffic in front of Michael Leighton (31 saves, 3 GA) to bring the Blackhawks to within one goal, and once again stress levels were high.

The scariest moment came when a puck played toward the Philly net by Chicago went off the skate of Braydon Coburn (-2) and hit the post rather than go into the net. Acknowledging the seriousness of that moment, Coburn threw his stick down and put his gloves on the puck.

And a lot of guys in the stands were probably wishing they brought backup underwear.

The Rich Get Richer

Clearly the Boston Celtics will have to try something different after the L.A. Lakers emphatically defeated them 102-89 to take a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals. Perhaps Boston forward Rasheed Wallace (9 pts.)will comb his hair.

The bully took a shot to the nose and did not like it. Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers summed it up best after the game when he said, "I thought the Lakers were clearly the more physical team today. I thought they were more aggressive. I thought they attacked us the entire night. I didn't think we handled it very well. They killed us on the glass."

The time had finally arrived to move on from this "toughness" debate.

Then Boston players were at the mic for post-game press sessions when they were fielding questions about THEIR toughness.

What ever happened to a team simply being better that night?

They say, "Nobody remembers second place," but that's not true anymore. Now second place is remembered, for being a bunch of sugar filled pastries.

Yes, in the 2008 finals Pau Gasol (23 pts. 14 rebs. 3 blks.) and L.A. literally got muscled off the court by the Celtics culminating in a 37 point whuppin' in the decisive Game 6. However Gasol responded vociferously with his performance in last year's playoffs as he improved in every statistical category from the previous year except assists. Even in this year's playoffs Gasol has been stout, especially when one considers how limited Andrew Bynum (10 pts. 6 rebs.) had been. His effort last night was the reason that the Celtics looked so meek with respect to inside play.

And yes, we are looking at you Kevin Garnett (16 pts. 4 rebs.). Honestly, four rebounds in 35 minutes?! If Garnett had to deliver forearm shivers to Magic center Dwight Howard in his team's last series, judging from last night's game, he's gonna have to give Gasol a drop-kick from the top rope to get an edge.

With regard to toughness, Gasol is singled out. We think Gasol's heart would hardly be questioned if he was from Eastern Russia rather than Spain. Spain just doesn't have that kind of reputation.

Speaking of tough after Ron Artest (15 pts.) and Paul Pierce (24 pts. 9 rebs.) did their MMA* impression 28 seconds into the game, the refs knew they had to quickly get this potential riot under control. The refs accomplished that end with their most effective crowd-control device, their whistles. Both teams combined for 18 personal fouls in the first period.

After his team closed out the Magic to reach The Finals, Doc Rivers proudly reminded everyone that, "This starting five has never lost a playoff series together."

Did you get the feeling that he had just jinxed his with that statement?

*MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Watching Game 3 Tire You Out?

We won! No we didn't! We won!

Whew! They are gonna need a fresh crowd off the bench after the Philadelphia Flyers rollercoaster 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals yesterday in Philly.

The home crowd was in a mood to start a little ruckus as D-train Daily Passenger, and Flyers season-ticket holder, Andrew P. posted on Faceook, "This is by far the loudest game of the playoff season, yet."

And the Flyers gave the home faithful reason to stay fired up with inspired play. On defense the were everywhere, and on offense they kept up the pressure on Chicago goalie Antti Niemi firing shots in waves.

Marian Hossa (we hate that guy) was called for slashing after swinging his stick down on Chris Pronger's. Hossa's penalty was further evidence that Pronger and his difficult nature is getting to Chicago forwards. Speaking of which, we love how Pronger has this microscope on him which in turn keeps it off his teammates. It's one of those intangibles that can help his team towards a series victory.

The Flyers cashed in almost a minute into the ensuing power play. Scott Hartnell, about to lose his skates, flipped the puck backdoor to Danny Briere and the roof came off the Wachovia Center as Philly a 1-0 lead.

Speaking of the call on Hossa, and calls in general, the refs are missing a ton of penalties on both teams. It is more than likely that due to the stakes (the calls would probably be made during the regular season), the refs are "lettin' 'em play" however, that does not account for the quick whistles whenever it even looks like Niemi has a whiff of possession of the puck.

Yes, we are being partial. This is the United States of Litigation, so fee free to sue us.

With respect to Hartnell's power play goal in the second period, why does play have to continue for so long before a goal is reviewed? Not wanting to interrupt a scoring chance for a team is understandable, but can't play be stopped once the puck is in say the neutral zone? And what of the almost two minutes of game-time that elapsed before play was stopped? The jury must disregard that time?

When Patrick Kane's wrister went high stick side on Michael Leighton to put the Blackhawks up 3-2 early in the third period, you could feel the collective tension throughout the Delaware Valley. The reality of a another 3-0 series deficit was staring Philly in the face. Surely the hockey gods would not be so kind twice in the same post-season to the Flyers. And considering the team's journey, it could not end like this. It wouldn't.

An immensely tense twenty seconds would pass before Ville Leino would put the puck in the net to force overtime.

The refs would have to use replay again to overturn a Philadelphia goal, but it may have been a case of delaying the inevitable. Claude Giroux sealed a Flyer victory and an exhausted D-train Staff could hardly stay awake.

On NBC-10, a report will be done on how Chicago fans were treated here in Philly.

Spoiler alert: rudely to say the least.

So What

The Flyers can play with these guys. That we know for certain after Saturday's wild 6-5 Chicago Blackhawks victory in game one of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. The afternoon before the game The D-train Staff took a walk on the other side of the road and listened to Chicago sports-talk radio, as well read some op-eds in Chi-Town papers.

It's a wonder the Flyers took to the ice. The Blackhawks are better skaters, they are more skilled, and so on they went.

Obviously, the result of these finals will not be so clear-cut if Game-one is any indicator. However, there were some visible deficiencies to go along with the strengths.

Consider these our keys to tonight's game 2:

A LITTLE HELP OVER HERE: The backside of the Flyers' defense (with the puck in their zone) stunk like a crack addict in the August heat. And Philly's humidity is merciless!

Michael Leighton gave up just as many goals (5) as Chicago's Antti Niemi. So if Leighton was bad, he as at least bad enough to win. The Flyers allowed quality opportunities on their doorstep by not attending to the forward on the opposite side of the puck. This led to Blackhawks forwards firing away off one-timers or getting rebounds.

The Flyers might not have been sleeping so much as anxious. Settling down and sticking to assignments will go a long way too victory tonight.

THE LAW OF AVERAGES: You had to marvel at Philly's disciplined play as they did not commit one penalty. The Flyers had committed four or more penalties in 15 of 17 playoff games going into Game 1. So that essentially assures us of the fact that the Flyer penalty killing unit will get plenty of work tonight.

A little fun fact on that note; Before Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, only once in 432 NHL post-season games since the lockout, had a team not had a power play for an entire game. The Blackhawks have done it twice in their past five games. Unfortunately, they were both Chicago victories.++

RUBBERS ARE VALUBLE: With respect to turnovers, the most damning ones that the Flyers committed were in their zone. Chicago players would dart for the puck rather than retreating for defense and go off to the races toward an already beleaguered Leighton. Philly has to value that piece of rubber and not have the giveaways that lead to crucial goals, such as the short-handed goal given up in the second period.

POSITIVE RE-ENFORCEMENT: Other than when deep in their zone, the defense was solid. Chicago's top line forwards were a combined -9 Saturday. Philly will likely continue due a great job of challenging the puck and disrupting players rhthym.

Offensively, Philly will find a way within the flow of the games to score. They literally matched the supposedly more skilled Blackhawks shot-for-shot (32-32). We have the utmost confidence that the offense will figure it out.

The Flyers have been down before in a series this post-season as you may have heard. And also the last time that the Flyers won the cup, they lost game one in that series as well.

You could answer that with, "They also lost game one in their last final defeat."

Touche. Perhaps it would be best to let tonight play itself out.

++ Chicago Sun-Times

You So Crazy!

The Zen Master, King Kobe, and Ronnie Loco took a 3-2 lead over the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Western Conference Finals last night 103-101 at the Staples Center.

The finish was great. DVR is what truly made the finish great.

The Suns overcame a 17-point deficit to tie the game on Jason Richards lucky bank-shot with 3.5 seconds left. Ron Artest won the game with a lay-up off the glass off a Kobe Bryant missed three pointer; and the love-fest ensued.

Just before the start of the last period, TNT side-line reporter Craig Sager, wearing a nuclear powered sports coat, was doing his lead-in to a short interview with Lakers' Head Coach Phil Jackson . Jackson,with his chin to his chest and eyes closed, appeared to LITERALLY be sleeping as Sager was talking.

The Zen Master's power-nap was confirmed by the glorious DVR. Perhaps Jackson's Staples office throne, on the bench for him due to back problems, is a little too comfy.

Ronnie Loco set the stage for Richards unsightly display of marksmanship by entertaining all viewers with his customary craziness.

After Artest missed a long two-point attempt Pau Gasol got the offensive rebound for the Lakers and passed it out to Artest, who was now behind the three-point line.

"Don't you dare," said our Engineer before the pass reached Artest; as if one is capable of predicting what the certifiably mad forward will do next.

Sure enough Artest, just as crazy as he wanna be, got the ball back and fired up a three as the Lakers' home-crowd collectively yelled, "NOOO!"

And sure enough it was a miss that was rebounded by the Suns, who then called a time-out.

Again the DVR proved to be the greatest thing in analytical sports viewing as our Conductor grabbed the remote control.

"I hate him," he blurted.

"Who," asked asked our Engineer.

"Kobe. I hate to see him succeed."

"Why do you hate him,"

"I hate how he stands there with his arms up on the rare occasions that he hits a game-winner. I hate how he walks to the bench. I hate..."

"Yeah, but WHY do you hate him?!"

"I hate Kobe because... he's a bitch."

"Fair enough."

As Artest launched the ill-advised three Bryant raised his hands, dumbfounded by the attempt like everyone else except Ronnie Loco. Then as the shot clunked off the basket, Kobe threw one of his patented mini-tantrums.

When Artest sat next to Bryant during the subsequent timeout, Bryant got up and walked away in utter disgust.

On the Lakers final possession of the game, Bryant took the inbounds pass and prepared to shoot, but Grant Hill put a timely hand in his face. Bryant got the shot off and held his follow through as though his 28-foot, double clutch, fade away was about to be all net.

After Artest's game-winner put him back in the good graces of Jack Nicholson, Bryant was the first to hug L.A.'s favorite "302" candidate.* And Artest held the hug long enough for Kobe's jubilation to fade and discomfort to set in.

In Artest's defense, one should be prepared for such things when hugging a crazy person.

*: "302" references the voluntary/involuntary commitment of someone suffering a mental health crisis in PA.

Yes!

Break out the aluminum-foil Stanley Cup replicas, attach it to the top of your car, add some orange and black streamers, and cruise down Broad Street!

The Philadelphia Flyers are making perhaps the franchise's most unlikely appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals after defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 in game-five of the Eastern Conference Finals at home, and winning the Prince of Wales Trophy.

They will face the Chicago Blackhawks in Chi-town Saturday in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Montreal looked to jump on the Flyers early and grab some type of foot-hold in the series. The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead 59 seconds into the first period.

Three-plus minutes later Mike Richards, once again, proved why the captain's "C" is on his jersey.

Breaking for the puck as it headed into the Canadien's zone, Richards eluded Montreal Goalie Jaroslav Halak. Halak made an all or nothing gamble that he would beat the hustling Richards to the puck. Instead he ran into his own defenseman like a Keystone Cop. Richards was sliding along the ice when he saw the puck, sprang to his feet, and put it in the net to tie the game.

That goal was not only huge in that it tied the game, but how and when it was scored. Richards made the type of play that lifts a team. Oh, and appropriately, it was a short-handed goal.

The last five minutes or so had to be nervous ones for Flyers fans as their team, up 3-2, seemed content to tempt fate taking icing call after icing call. Philadelphia had visibly not been doing a good job with face-offs in their own zone all night. And just as they have done during this gloriously wild ride of a post-season, the Flyers persevered.

The story lines that permeate this Finals run for Philadelphia are plenty tremendous:

The Road Here: Dec. 14 and 14th place in the Eastern Conference is a faded memory at this point.

-The shootout against the New York Ranger.
-Overcoming long-time nemesis New Jersey.
-The comeback against the Boston Bruins.
-Defeating fellow bottom seed Montreal.

The Flyers journey through this year's tournament has had the type of high drama one would expect in a sports movie.

The Journeyman: Who was that masked man? The masked man between the pipes for Philly that seems to think he's Bernie Parent 2010; Michael Leighton. Leighton probably keeps a bag packed by the front door of his residence since this is his seventh NHL stop.

Leighton is only here in Philly (2nd stint) because the Flyers needed an experienced backup after Ray Emery was injured. And he's only starting because Brian Boucher sprained his MCL.

By the way, the Blackhawks were the team that drafted Leighton into the NHL.

A little fun fact about Leighton: He has the AHL record for saves in a game with 98 (on 101 shots) in a five-overtime playoff game.

He's always had potential if not a chance... until now.

Injuries: feet, ligaments, gunshot wounds, the Flyers had been losing guys to all types of injuries this year. And many of those players have made timely returns to give significant contributions. Most recently, Jeff Carter who scored the key third goal in only his second game of the series.

The Man With The Plan: Peter Laviolette was 2-8 in his first 10 games with the Flyers. That was the set-up move. From there the composed Laviolette put his finger on the pulse of his team, and has essentially pushed all the right buttons since. Usually a team takes on the personality of its coach. So to praise this Flyers teams' resilience is to praise Laviolette as well.

Captain My Captain: What is there to say regarding Richards and his play? HE'S THE MAN!

All of it in the Flyers playoff run suggests a certain... In traditional Philly superstition and pessimism we will avoid a certain "D" word.

"I think this team is a team of destiny." -Comcast Spectator Chairman Ed Snider after the Flyers Game 7 victory over Boston.

NOOO!

"I don’t want to say destiny or anything, but we have a great team and we feel we have a good chance." -Richards after last night's game.

We will grant that Captain. It was different in 1997 when the Flyers last played for the Cup. You couldn't help but have the feeling that Steve Yzerman, Sergei Federov and a loaded Detroit Red Wings team were going to skate circles around Philly's hulks; And they did as they sweept Philly.

This year, it is impossible not to believe. If you've seen these games, belief is mandatory.

This news just in: Sylvester Stallone was spotted buying printer ink and paper. Sounds like someone's FINALLY getting a new idea for a script. If we suggest a title, "Broad Street Badasses."

What A Day!

Yesterday, in cafe car on the D-train, the staff sat around brainstorming about how we could hypnotize Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban into trading Dirk Nowitzski for Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert, when the teletype machine began to go nuts.

Of course the Lawrence Taylor story was the first feed to go through.

It was initially reported that Taylor was suspected of rape, however "third-degree" should have preceded it. Taylor was arrested and released on $75,000 bail for patronizing a prostitute, among other charges. According to TMZ, Taylor admitted to police that he had sex with the 16 year-old girl who was under the control of a pimp. No drugs or paraphrenalia was found in the room.

We are curious to know what went through LT's mind when he heard the police knock at the door.

"The cops are at the door of my out of the way hotel room in the wee hours... AGAIN," is our guess.

The next feed was that the Oakland Raiders had the "this isn't going to work out" talk with JaMarcus Russell yesterday. Well "talk" might be a bad description. NFL players usually find out they've been released from a reporter.

It is not like Al Davis to give up so easily. At the press-conference where he fired Lane Kiffin, Davis said, "I realize that you (Kiffin) did not want to draft JaMarcus Russell. He is a great player. Get over it, and coach this team on the field."

Russell rewarded Davis' faith in him by never working on his craft and constantly being overweight. Russell seriously looked like he had been to three family reunions in a month.

Russell was bound for disaster. A holdout in which he was not under contract until after his team's first game made his rookie season a wash. And a disaster Russell was from then on. Last season, he completed 48.8 percent of his passes, with three touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Russell's 50.0 passer rating was the lowest since 1998 when three players finished below 50. The three players were: Ryan Leaf, Craig Whelihan, and... wait for it, Bobby Hoying.

This season, Davis gave current coach Tom Cable permission to bench Russell for the second-half of the season. The move paid dividends in the locker room as it was popular with the team. And off as well as the Raiders had comeback wins over playoff-bound Cincinatti and Pittsburgh (needing wins) in the last few weeks of the 2009 season.

So after acquiring Jason Campbell, having a solid draft, and attempting to correct the Russell mistake it would seem that the old man just might finally be listening the people he pays. Seven straight seasons with at least 11 losses can have that type of effect.

And finally, break out your flak jackets because Gilbert Arenas was released from his 30-day stay in a halfway house. Washington fans have to chew on the fact that the Wizards have neither attempted to trade Arenas void his contract which means he will be back at the Verizon Center next season; hopefully unarmed.

This Is When The NBA Is Worth Watching

There was a Sheed citing Cleveland yesterday. Rasheed Wallace, who Columnist Bill Simmons recently said, "showed up for training camp wearing a fat suit," had 17 points and played above his usually horrid defensive standard as the Boston Celtics dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-86, and even the series at 1-1.

After being called out by Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers for essentially doing paycheck work Sheed responded to being called out like a true North Philadelphian.

The real story of the game was Celtics guard Rajon Rondo. Rondo scored 13 points and demonstrated extraordinary control of a game with 19 assists. Rondo's defense was not shabby either; Cleveland's Mo Williams was held to 1-9 shooting. Rondo was a Nor'easter if you will.

To say that Rondo has improved his game substantially since the Celtics title run '08 title is a gross understatement. The point-guard match-up already looked like a mismatch before the series began and now it is evident.

Lebron James' elbow was not the Cavaliers problem as much as the 40 percent they shot as a team. It appears as though James' march to his coronation is fraught with treacherous obstacles. Now that his team has lost home-court advantage he will have to rally his subjects to surmount the supposedly brittle Celtics. And after that, Orlando will likely be waiting; And that is just to get to The Finals. Orlando must first get past the Atlanta Hawks in a series that starts tonight.

So far it does not appear that the third time will be the charm for the Utah Jazz. In Sunday's series opener the L.A. Lakers used their size advantage to control the game when they needed to. Utah is on its way to losing to L.A. for the third consecutive year in the playoffs.

L.A. obviously learned the perils of not exploiting their height in their first-round series with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Basketball is after all, a big man's game and these guys are long. Having the basketball equivalent to Yankee's closer Mariano Rivera in Kobe Bryant doesn't hurt the cause either!

The Phoenix Suns, as said before on The D-train, is going to run circles around the San Antonio Spurs. Well it was not quite that bad for the Spurs in their Game 1 defeat. The Suns did jump out ahead at the start holding a nine-point lead after the first period. Phoenix then held serve the rest of the way winning 111-102.

Soon the Spurs will get a taste of what they have done to so many TV audiences over the years, and be put to sleep.

Mr. Money Bags

The old dog tried a new trick. In the second round of his fight with Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather Jr. mixed it up in the ring for a minute. Rocked by a hard right "Pretty Boy's" knees buckled and it looked as though what many had hoped would happen would come to fruition.

"It would be unfair to expect "Money" to stand in the middle of the ring and slug it out with "Sugar" Shane. He is not that type of boxer, and he would get killed." - D-train Daily, 4-30, "A Mouth Made of Money"

Well shut our mouth!

Mayweather not only withstood the punishment, but went on to dominate. He won every round but the eventful second. In fact by the ninth round it was "Money" who was moving forward and Mosley was the one backing up.

Mayweather masterfully executed the fundamental purpose of boxing: hit and don't get hit. He doused Mosley with punches landing 208 of 477 punches to 92 of 452 for Mosley. It was an impressive display by perhaps the best technical fighter of this generation. Mayweather said earlier this week that he not Muhammad Ali is the greatest. Saturday he fought like a boxer who wanted to be known as such and not as a good boxer.

However, the opponent was Shane Mosley; hardly worthy of the moniker that was used previously by two legends (Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard). Is it us here at the D-train or is this guy always smiling? Mosley's incessant grinning just does not suit a boxer.

Mosley said before the fight that Mayweather chose him as the replacement opponent for Manny Pacquiao because he was the best fight for Floyd. And he was right. Mosley's past association with BALCO and his admission that he took "the cream" and "the clear" before his career's biggest victory over Oscar De La Hoya helps lend creedence to Mayweather's argument about Pacquiao.

Now, instead of it appearing as though Mayweather is ducking "Pac Man", the pride of the Phillipines will have to prove he is clean if he wants the fight to happen.

"I never knew a guy that didn't wanna take a 25 million dollar drug test." - Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Otherwise Paquiao vs. Mayweather will be titled, "What should have been."

This is so complicated. It used to be that what was ruining boxing was simply Don King's patented brand of greed and corruption!

A Mouth Made of Money

Floyd "Money" Mayweather has always been the epitome of braggadocio, particularly in interviews leading up to one of his fights. This past Tuesday, in an interview leading up to his fight against Shane Mosley, Mayweather took the money out of his mouth and stuck his foot in it.

"I don't care what fighter you're going to name, I'm the best," Mayweather said.

Throw a name at me and I'll break his stats down. Whatever they've done I've done it quicker, with no losses."

When no name was offered for Mayweather to debate, being "Money", he carried on the debate with himself as everyone observed.

"I take my hat off to Sugar Ray Robinson, and Muhammad Ali, and Sugar Ray Leonard, all the legendary champions. But I gave the sport of boxing my whole life to be the best, and I feel I earned the right to say that I’m the best fighter that ever lived. And I proved myself and I think that they say that women and men lie, but my numbers don’t lie."

It got better, or worse depending on your perspective when Mayweather focused on Ali and his 1978 loss to Leon Spinks in what was Spinks eighth professional fight:

"Leon Spinks with seven wins beat you?"

Cue thunderbolt from up above to strike Mayweather for blasphemy.

Yes Ali lost to the young Spinks, in a fight that took place when he was 36. However, he gave Spinks a lesson in the rematch as he won by unanimous decision to become champ for the third time.

This kind of mouth work is exemplary of the kind of stuff that makes Mayweather so reviled. That and tossing money everywhere to show how it meant nothing to him. Although said practice has since mysteriously ended since the IRS put "Money" in his place.

It confounds how he becomes so annoyed by detractors and always feels the need to defend his legacy. Do not get this man started on the fact that boxing writers chose Manny Paqcuiao as the "Fighter of the Decade" over him. Mayweather will counter with his record of 40 wins and zero defeats.

The fact remains that Mayweather's fights are snoozefests. In his most recent fight against Juan Manuel Marquez, Mayweather bullied his smaller opponent for 12 BORING rounds. If he was "The Greatest" there would be great fights on his record.

In the aforementioned Marquez match, our Engineer (hardly a Mayweather fan) fell asleep during the later rounds. He only woke when our Fireman (a big fan of Mayweather) would shout praises of Mayweather's speed.

It would be unfair to expect "Money" to stand in the middle of the ring and slug it out with "Sugar" Shane. He is not that type of boxer, and he would get killed. He is a boxer. A boxer, always in shape, and always working on his craft. And another facet of Mayweather that is ALWAYS in shape is his tongue.

"There’s a blue print in how to beat Shane. If you have five losses, there’s a remedy and code in how to beat you. There’s no code or remedy on how to beat Floyd Mayweather. I’m here to clean up the sport of boxing. We’re not cheating over here. We want to separate the ordinary from the good, and great. And I’m a great one, because I never used no drug enhancement drugs, and all those fighters in this time and different athletes are cheating. If you have to cheat to win, I don’t that’s cool at all. How you going to call yourself an all time great if you cheat?"

The last bit about performance-enhancing drugs was a nice verbal body-shot at Mosley. In 2003 Mosley went before a grand jury during the BALCO hearings and testified of how he "inadvertently" took EPO, a banned substance provided by BALCO founder Victor Conte. Mosley said he did not know what he was taking.

Duped into doping?

Everyone will be watching Saturday's fight with a curious eye. If Mayweather loses, we can finally put to rest hopes of seeing him take on Pac-Man in a mega-fight. If he wins in his customary style of banking rounds he can hardly expect anyone to laud more accolades on him. After all, shouldn't "The Greatest" continue to vanquish all who dare challenge him?

At the moment it would seem "Money" is trapped by his mouth. Appropriate.

Hey Kid, Is Your Mother A Whore?

Man the pre-draft interview questions are tough! According to multiple reports Miami Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland asked Dez Bryant in one such interview if his mother was ever a prostitute.

Ireland said that he tests a potential player's mental toughness, and he did. By asking such a heinous question Ireland invited Bryant to cave his face in and Bryant passed.

Toot of the horn to Dez Bryant. Who says this kid has character issues?

This whole incident begs the question, "What did Ireland hope to find out?"

What if he got an answer he was not prepared for. Suppose Bryant had said, "No, but she was a 'fluffer' for a local porn production company."

What then Mr. Ireland?

What we here at the D-train want to know most of all in this bizarre situation is, what did Bryant say to answer this most offensive question?

This Is So Exciting

Rumor has it that after the Chicago Bulls got stomped by the Cavaliers Sunday, GM Jon Paxson walked up to Head Coach Vinny Del Negro and asked him, "Head or gut?"

Chicago need only suffer one more loss as LeBron and his minions march to the final. At least that how it appears at the moment. The Magic are certainly worthy of consideration. However Dwight Howard has to get himself under control and out of foul trouble. If the waves of big bodies that Charlotte ran at Howard were a problem, then Cleveland and their bigs are going to win the key match-up if things go according to plan.

We thought that Denver would threaten the L.A. Lakers chances of a repeat. We forgot to inform the Utah Jazz of our prediction. Please forgive us dear passengers. We were so mesmerized by Carmelo Anthony's stellar play that we ignored the fact that the Nuggets abhor playing defense.

The Mavericks/Spurs series is reminiscent of 80's NBA playoffs. These guys are bangin' out there. The Mavs just have not been able to close games like the Spurs and it has cost them an almost insurmountable series deficit. Once again Dallas is about to drop a series to a much lower seeded team.

The Spurs will not have time to catch their breath because the Suns will run circles around them. The emotional high of Brandon Roy's return in game four aside as well as the Trailblazer victory in game one, the Suns are in control of this series.

The Pau Gasol and the Lakers sound as if they are gonna just flip a switch and dispose of OKC starting with tonight's game five. The problem with that thinking is now the young lion has tasted blood it wants more. The Lakers just might have to go seven games with the Thunder before it is all said and done.

Our Mel Kiper Imitation

With respect to Count Mel Kiper (and his raging hair), here's the assessment of this year's draft on the D-train starting with the local stop and subsequent teams in first-round order.

After the ambushes in Dallas to end the season sent up the signal that the Birds were no longer the team to beat in the NFC East, and the best quarterback in franchise history was shipped to a division rival, Eagles fans were watching this draft with keen "interest."

Philadelphia Eagles: Brandon Graham and two other d-ends, plus two linebackers, AND two safeties had to make Jim Johnson smile in that war room in the sky. Nathaniel Allen is more of a finesse safety than Birds are used to. However, he is also more of a playmaker on the ball than what they are used to. And the Eagles also got a receiver with size. Overall fans can come away feeling alright about this class.

St. Louis Rams: The Rams were almost trapped by the number one pick. After passing on, and seeing the subsequent work of, Matt Ryan and Mark Sanchez the past two seasons they had to take a quarterback. We'll just go ahead and stamp Sam Bradford a bust right now. Other than that, the St. Louis brain-trust were pragmatic and sound in NY.

Detroit Lions: Ndamukong Suh. Oooh mommy get me that! Suh is proof that Reggie White and "Mean" Joe Green had a baby together in secret. Seriously though, two words: CAN'T MISS. And Suh was the only pick that the Lions did not seem to reach on.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: These guys did not go to New York to mess around. The Bucs addressed their weakest unit, dedicating six of their nine picks to the defense (two DT's in a row with their top two picks). And the Bucs got two new receivers with size for their young QB.

Washington Redskins: Uncle Danny's free-wheeling with the draft picks left his team with two picks in the first four rounds. Washington did address their porous offensive line though. Donovan McNabb is going to have a nightmare flashback of Todd Pinkston when he gets a look at receiver Terrance Austin(172 lbs. listed).

Kansas City Chiefs: You have to look at this class and say, "Not bad." Eric Berry is the headliner as the Chief possibly picked up four starters with their first five picks. That is selecting and not settling.

Seattle Seahawks: Coach Dude and the new regime in Seattle did good in their first draft. Seattle added QB protection and productivity. They also addressed the gaping hole at d-end and the back end of their defense.

Cleveland Browns: The Browns got a backup for their best offensive player Jerome Harrison, secondary help, a versatile o-lineman, and the dreamy Colt McCoy. Our engineer routinely touts his "man-crush" for McCoy. No reaching here. Just solid drafting.

Oakland Raiders: This draft was so deep that not even Al Davis could have created a disaster out of it. Although the two o-lineman picks say "potential" more than anything, they picked up speed and linebacker depth.

Buffalo Bills: The Bills sort of bumbled a little bit this past weekend. With two solid backs already they go for C.J. Spiller in the first, and reach on Torell Troup in the second. They added a WR which begged the question, "who will throw to him?" The Bills must hope Levi Brown is another 7th-round QB that takes a team to the promised land.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Ugh. D-line and not much else. The D-train Staff feels bad for Jacksonville fans since the front-office does not appear to watch Jags games; Otherwise they would have had a better plan than this.

San Francisco 49ers: The Niners figured the best way to stop Larry Fitzgerald is draft a safety that can obliterate him on contact so they drafted Taylor Mays. They picked up o-line help and a backup for Frank Gore. Niners games are gonna be real physical. if nothing else, in 2010.

San Diego Chargers: The Chargers did not hesitate to fill their biggest need and do it early. They traded up to take the RB Ryan Matthews and then drafted the third-strongest player at the NFL Combine in LB Donald Butler (only two lineman benched 225 more times). And they picked up replacements for Jamal Williams and Brandon Malumaleuna. Arguably the most effecient team of the weekend.

New York Giants: Not happy with their defense, and for good reason, the Giants set out to fortify that side of the ball. Hopefully we are wrong, but the G-men appear to have good class here.

Tennessee Titans: This class is exemplary of the Titans; Nothing really stands out, yet it will still be solid on Sundays. Derrick Morgan and Rennie Curran immediately bolster the defense. To every one's surprise, they didn't draft a backup runner after trading away Lendale White.

Pittsburgh Steelers: The "Stillers" selected an offensive lineman for the first time since 2002. After the first round they adhered to their customary m.o. by stockpiling pass-rushers like mutual funds. And they got a power-back to help revitalize the running game.

Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons gave an effort at to address their sieve of a defense with their first two picks then used a third and fourth on areas that didn't really upgrade the team. That defense is still gonna lose games for Atlanta this fall.

Houston Texans: Prudent picking here as the Texans stayed steady with multiple value picks.

Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals have simplified the drafting fraction by ignoring need and picking up the best players available when they pick. The Bengals have discovered a draft-day formula that will keep them from continued blunders. And that strategy seems to have worked for two years in a row!

Green Bay Packers: They got Aaron Rodgers an o-lineman in the first and did not go back to that area until the late fifth. They should have grabbed o-lineman like the Steelers draft linebackers.

Denver Broncos: What the deuce?! Josh McDaniels had a savior complex and picked Tim Tebow in the first-round. Tebow is a project, but apparently the Broncos are not concerned. Also, they took a raw receiver who did not run during the scouting process in the first-round. And the Broncos did not do much to help an old defense that faded down the stretch of last season.

Arizona Cardinals: Arizona picked Dan Williams to pair with Darnell Dockett at DT. Then nabbed one of the draft's fastest linebackers in Daryl Washington to step in to Karlos Dansby's spot. And picked up two players who can contribute immediately, as well as an intriguing QB prospect. Although more could have been done for the o-line, descent work was done here.

New England Patriots: C'mon! All twelve of these guys can't make the team. Their first-round pick is not a starter, however they got their new starter at tight end as well as a backup one. Like with Jerrod Mayo, in Brandon Spikes they picked a productive college linebacker with bundles of potential.

Miami Dolphins: In a recurring theme throughout the draft a team went for defense, defense, and more defense. Seven of Miami's eight picks went to the defensive unit. Beef on the front line was acquired with the first pick, then some hybrid pass-rushers (typical for a 3-4 defense) and a solid corner prospect. This was a very "stick to the plan" draft for Miami.


New York Jets: Top Jets pick, Kyle Wilson, will jump right in at nickelback. He should be busy considering that Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie will man the outside spots. If Wilson is up to the task, and he very well may be, he could wind up the Defensive Rookie of the Year. The Jets did not have many picks due to their recent spate of trades, but they did their best with what they had.

Indianapolis Colts: After seeing what Dwight Freeney's injury meant to their defense, the Colts chose another havoc-wreaking, under-sized DE in the first. And they kept going defense after that. And why not with no obvious needs on this team.

New Orleans Saints: For the second year in a row the Saints take a cornerback in the first-round. They acquired depth at TE for the oft-injured Jeremy Shockey, and their back up QB in the seventh. As they say in Mexico, "Asi, asi."

Chicago Bears: The Bears did not pick until round three, however they did nab one of the most productive safeties in the nation in Major Wright. And their next pick might be better than advertised. The Bears also picked up a backup QB.

Baltimore Ravens: By drafting Mt. Cody to go with the monster they already have at DT, the Ravens have outlawed running on them for the 2010 season. Cody will not have a weight problem anymore because Ray Lewis is going to bark it out of him.

Tsk, Tsk, Tsk Holmeslice

First, the picture and his other shenanigans (D-train Daily: Takin' One For the Team" 3-31) show how Santonio Holmes does not employ common sense on a regular basis. Second, clearly Holmes' agent needs to sit him down for a serious discussion. "Santonio, pretty soon you'll be effing with my money."

The trade of Holmeslice from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the New York Jets for a fifth-round pick was announced today. The Steelers had had enough of Holmes, not after he was accused last month of assaulting a young lady with a glass, but after they learned he was going to be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.

A recent post on his Twitter account divulged his plans to "wake and bake."

HOLY FRONT STREET BATMAN!!!

Now Holmeslice will have to appear before Judge Roy Bean, er, NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell where the former Super Bowl MVP will likely get the "you're on thin ice" talking to.

We here at the D-train bet that the NFL's drug testers were knocking at Holmes' door a half-hour after the aforementioned Twitter post. We are also betting that the substance of Holmes' violation is not an anabolic steroid.

Barber takes a Tiki-torch to His Marriage

We never liked him. We never liked him when he was flashing his toothy smile, his arrogant persona, and of course when he was hurting the Philadelphia Eagles' defense. And now The D-train has even more disdain for former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber.

According to a report released Monday by The New York Post, Barber is leaving his attractive-ish wife, Ginny, of 11 years for former NBC intern Tracy Lynn Johnson. We should not trifle with the fact that Barber's wife is eight months pregnant or that Johnson is 23 (11 when Barber began his annoying NFL career).

An intern?! As people say in a text conversation, "WTF?!"

Let's make this clear, a person of Barber's "stature" that scoops up an intern obviously has no game. And we mean "game" in the sense that former pimp Fillmore Slim would mean it. Barber apparently lacks an "in" with the ladies aside from who he is hence, he picks up an intern at work. An intern?!

So not only is Sneaky Tiki a heel just because is a heel, but because he is worse than the person that he claims to despise... his father. In a 2004, Barber had this to say regarding his father:

"Not only did he abandon her, I felt like he abandoned us for a lot of our lives. I have a hard time forgiving that."

Sounds like someone is throwing stones from inside a glass house. And we thought that Barber had no onions in his grocery sack.

The Today Show correspondent released this damage-control statement in response to the news of his ending marriage, if not to the news of his extra-marital affair:

"After 11 years of marriage, Ginny and I have decided to separate. This decision was a painful one, but we are moving forward amicably and will continue to work together to raise our children with the love and dedication they have always known."

Nice half-hearted try sir, but everyone sees through you and that fake-ass smile now. When Barber says that the decision was "painful" he likely wanted to add that having a hot young piece around like Ms. Johnson will help ease that pain.

"...moving forward amicably" indeed. Ronde is now the good son.

Meanwhile, On the Other Side of the Road

Yesterday after listening to Donovan McNabb's press-conference in Redskins Park (eloquently described by 610 WIP's Anthony Gargano as, "nauseating"), we were curious as to what was being said about the trade in the D.C. area.

After listening to the mid-day shows on 106.7 The Fan and ESPN 980 in Washington as well as reading a Washington Post op-ed by Mike Wise, one could surmise that Redskins fans are not particularly thrilled with the exchange.

Mr. Wise's article, while informative, needs a title that rolls off the tongue better than "Redskins Trade for McNabb Continues Off-Season Tradition Unlike Any Other" We suggest: "Redskins are April Fools."

They have a point. On the surface, Daniel Snyder and his nieces and nephews seem to think that Donny #5 has catapulted them into contention. McNabb did not come with an offensive line, and Washington's was a sieve last season. Will McNabb and Mike Shanahan's coaching translate to seven more wins? Highly unlikely.

No it appears as though this might be another case of Uncle Danny oiling the turnstiles for the dupes that follow his team. Albert Haynesworth was the big "boom/crash" of the Redskins and they were trying to unload him to the Eagles in the McNabb deal. Nice try Washington.

Former Redskin and Hall of Fame member John Riggins, an extremely vocal critic of Snyder's, is looking more and more like a prophet with each move by the generous owner.

Say what you will about Snyder, no owner can do product placement like this man. It is as if the NFL has met NASCAR with this guy.

So therefore, the D-train staff, has concluded that if the McNabb trade is looked at unfavorably in Washington... IT HAS TO BE A GOOD DEAL FOR US!!!

Suckers!

Transition

We all had a feeling in the pit of our collective stomachs, after back-to-back bitch slaps from the pimp hand of the hated Dallas Cowboys, that this moment was almost upon us. Hardly anyone employed outside of the NovaCare Complex could have envisioned that Donovan McNabb would be packaged yesterday for some draft picks to the Washington Redsinks.

Throughout his career McNabb has had to deal with the venomous angst of Eagles fans, however he is not alone in that regard. When Ron Jaworski was under-center for The Birds, fans wanted Randall Cunningham. When an injured Cunningham was replaced by an aging Jim McMahon, and experienced some success, the mob wanted McMahon. When a Cunningham returned from injury, fans wanted Rodney Peete, and so forth.

For whatever reason, inferiority complex with repect to New York and D.C., the patented pessimism of Philadelphia, Eagles fans have constantly found every shortcoming in their quarterback's play and beat that dog until it died.

Will Kevin Kolb be spared the same fate? Unlikely dear passengers.

When people speak of what troubled them most with McNabb they site his performance in Super Bowl XXIX when he could not lead the Eagles to victory against the New England Patriots.

51 is the number that stands out in that game to The D-train Daily Staff. "51" as in the number of pass attempts that McNabb officially logged that night. A 10-point deficit in the fourth-quarter aside, Andy Reid had McNabb throw early and often in Jacksonville. In fact, if you count sacks and McNabb scrambles, there were 56 called pass plays that game.

And that, Reid's (and anyone under him who calls plays) tendency to go mad bomber when it is even a distant thought of a team being vulnerable to the pass, has held the Birds back more than McNabb's play.

So say what you will about McNabb, things will not change with Kolb as the Eagles QB unless REID changes his ways.

And we here at the D-train Daily will show him the errors of said ways when the Eagles convene for training camp this August.

Devil with the Blue Jersey On

College Basketball's quintessential quartet will take to the hardwood tonight to conclude the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Yesterday, the host city's news paper, The Indianapolis Star garnished The Final Four with a little bit of spice by doodling on Duke's Coach K on front of its sports section.

The newspaper pulled the cartoon and apologized Friday afternoon when according to The Star's Senior Editor/Sports Jim Lefko, "...we realized it didn't meet our standards."

Seriously, what does The Star have to apologize for?

Duke, as the highest seed and most villified team left in the tournament, does have a target on it. The Star merely misplaced the target on Coach K's forehead instead of on his team's back.

Also, it is not out of the way to paint Krzyzewski as a sort of devil. The devil is after all, Duke's mascot.

Also consider all of the players that, when they were under Krzyzewski's charge, were veritable world-beaters. Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Trejan Langdon, Sheldon Williams, and so forth; all great players under Coach K however, average at best when they moved on to the NBA. Could they have been possessed by some sort of... demon that powered their highly successful college careers?

So, is it not implausible to think that Krzyzewski has some underworld help in building and coaching his teams.

Therefore, the Indianapolis Star has nothing to apologize for.

If the cartoon of Krzyzewski was the garnish, Coach K provided the sauce when he took the podium at a function tipping off Final Four festivities. He said, "We have great kids who go to school, who graduate. If we're going to be despised or hated by anybody because we go to school and we want to win, you know what, that's your problem... Keep drawing pictures. Just keep drawing pictures. Try to do them a little bit better than that, though."

Sounds like someone is deflecting the attention from the source of his coaching powers.

Coach K does have a point. The picture could have used a cape, horns, and pitchfork.