philly.com watch: Wonderful Story about Pitcher Jamie Moyer

I often criticize the Philadelphia newspapers for what they do wrong. Today I found something that’s done very right–a story about 47-year-old ex-Phillies’ pitcher Jamie Moyer.

Moyer, who injured his arm last summer, plans a comeback. He throws so slowly that batters get anxious. But he’s No. 38 on the all-time wins list.

More important, he and his wife have helped a number of sick children. He says he learned more about baseball when he looked outside of the game. Kudos to Larry Platt for this nice column at http://bit.ly/kocwhp

allmedia.com watch: Where is Willie Mays in the Mainstream Media?

I was a longtime San Francisco Giants’ fan. I actually had a signed baseball from one of the greatest teams that never won a World Series: Wilie McCovey, Juan Marichal, and yes, Willie Mays. I wish I still had it. It might be worth a lot of money.

What is more important is that it is absolutely amazing to me that I found a tribute to Willie Mays on espn.com on his 80th birthday and nowhere else. Maybe some other legacy media site has it buried somewhere. Thank you ESPN and shame on the rest of you for not recognizing Mays today.

philly.com watch: Phanatic is No. 1

Philly has a lot of things going for it, but but you can add a new one. Forbes has selected the Philly Phanatic as the No. 1 mascot in professional sports.

In a “scientific study” the Phanatic beat out all others for his “awareness, appeal, entertainment value and team identification.” He was No. 2 last year. Congratulations!

philly.com watch: My Last Day of Screeds, but You Gotta Lead With Opening Day of the Phils!

philly.com leads with a story about two people who got stopped by police and are now suing the cops for leaving the couple in a “unfamiliar neighborhood.” C’mon! It’s opening day of the baseball seasons. It’s cold, but the Phils are in town. That’s the lead story!

philly.com watch: Why Pols Should NOT Throw Out the First Pitch

Former Gov. Ed Rendell has a wonderful column on why pols should forego throwing out the first pitch at baseball games. Following are some of his reasons:

–You always get booed.
–You usually throw a terrible pitch.
–You usually look funny.

There’a also a great YouTube video on the 10 worst pitches at http://bit.ly/gfqYdV

philly.com watch: The Phillies?

This is Tuesday. Check.

The Phillies open Friday. Check

Why is philly.com leading with a history of the Phillies three days before the season opener rather than the impact of the injuries to Brad Lidge, Chase Utley and others on the beginning of the season? I dunno. I like history, but the approach to the Phillies should have a bit more news if you’re choosing a lead story.

College Basketball and Bad Predictions

I find it interesting to go back to the first poll of the basketball season to look at what the coaches thought about the top teams:

Even though most of these teams will make it into the NCAA tournament, the rankings look decidedly different now:

I guess that’s why they play the games.

Philadelphia: Mecca of Art and Boxing

My colleague, Linn Washington, and I went to the Blue Horizon, one the most famous boxing sites in the world.

Vernoca L. Michael, the promoter and co-owner of the Blue Horizon, is one of the most famous people in boxing despite being is woman in basically a man’s sport. Ring Magazine ranked her site as the No. 1 boxing venue in the world and Sports Illustrated noted it as the last boxing venue in the country other than the famous sites at Las Vegas and other locales, which don’t necessarily concentrate only on boxing.

The Blue Horizon stands on Broad Street in what is primarily an African-American neighborhood just south of Temple University, where Washington and I teach. The Blue Horizon is trying to put together a museum for the great boxers of Philadelphia. They include Joe Frazier, Bernard Hopkins  and others. Take a took at this  Web site and coverage at  Philadelphia Neighborhoods.

I went today with my daughter to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We saw the great collection of art that Philadelphia has to offer.

From boxing to art, Philadelphia is a wonderful place. After living in New York for a decade, the difference is that I can afford to see all of this great stuff. That wasn’t the same in New York, where every move I made cost me more than I could afford.

One Man’s Optimism

Frank Solich isn’t a name most people know unless they follow college football at the University of Nebraska or Ohio University. During his 19 years as an assistant coach at Nebraska, Solich played an integral part in three national championship teams. During his six years as head coach at Nebraska, Solich won more games in that period than his College Hall of Fame predecessors Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne did during the same time frame, with a record of 58-19.

In Solich’s fifth year as head coach, Nebraska had a mediocre season at 7-7 in 2002 and suffered three significant losses the following year.

Solich was fired with his team ranked No. 18 in the country. Ironically, Solich hired Bo Pelini, the current head coach of Nebraska who has brought back some respectability to the program in the past two years.

But the popular Pelini, the defensive coordinator, did not get the job six years ago upon Solich’s departure. Athletic Director Steve Pederson brought in Bill Callahan, the former head coach of the Oakland Raiders, sending Nebraska football into a downward spiral during the next four years from which it is only starting to recover. Fortunately, both Pederson and Callahan were fired two years ago.

Solich took a year off in 2004 and then took a step backward and downward as the head coach of Ohio University, a program in the shadow of the Ohio State University Buckeyes.

As coach of the Ohio Bobcats, Solich built a reputation for the team, which plays in the little-known Mid-American Conference. His team played in the GMAC Bowl in 2006, the first bowl appearance for Ohio University since 1968. Unfortunately, the Bobcats lost.

Solich and his team, with a record of 9-3, will play this Friday against Central Michigan for the MAC championship. Last week, Ohio upset Temple University, where I teach, to reach the championship game.

What is impressive about what Solich has done is that he never looked back. He expressed no bitterness publicly about what happened at Nebraska, where he was a star running back, an assistant coach and a head coach for nearly 30 years. That’s rare in any sport these days. As a long-time fan of Nebraska, which I attended as an undergraduate during two national championship seasons, I wish I had the optimism and enthusiasm that I always saw in the man, who was known as “Fearless Frankie” during his undergraduate years in the 1960s. I just wish his team hadn’t beaten Temple.