Friday, December 31, 2010

The Year that was for Only Time Will Tell

Its been a big year at the home offices of Only Time Will Tell from baseball games to football game to soccer matches, its been a year of tailgating and enjoying what the fabulous world of sports has to offer. During the past year the home office has grown with the birth of my wife and I's son, he will be starting as a contributor in the coming years. Here are some of my favorite sporting moments that I was able to experience live.
  • Dr No Roy Halladay's no-hitter against the Reds in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. It was the first baseball playoff game that I had every been to and boy did it work out well
  • Strasmas in Philly: As a Nats fan it might be the highlight of the baseball year, seeing Strasburg in person, little did I know that it would be the final time that he pitched all season and maybe next. 
  • Glory, Glory, Glory Man. United: Manchester United visited Philadelphia to take on the Union this year and of course we where there. It was great to see Berba in person and if all goes well I got to see the Premier League Champions before the season even kicked off.
  • Don't Tread on Me: There is nothing better then seeing your national soccer especially if its their last game before they head over to the World Cup. Singing the National Anthem that day is something that I will never forget.
  • MLS Here We Come: First trip to the new Red Bull Arena, simply amazing. A world class facility. 
  • Doctor is in the House:  First time seeing Roy Halladay pitch in person, as per most of the season, he was simply fantastic.
  • Rutgers Spring Game: It was the first game for the Little Guy. It could be the day that he falls in love with football.
  • The Legend of Chas Dodd Grows:  It was my first time at the New Meadowlands Stadium and boy was I not impressed.
  • Eli Learns how to slide again: First time seeing a Eagles/Giants game in person and we learned again that Eli still has no idea how to slide. 
It's been a busy year both in sports and in our lives for the Only Time Will Tell Family, so from the home office Happy New Years to all.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Ok Enough is Enough

Nothing positive came out of the Eagles loss to the Vikings, but one thing became increasing clear when it comes to the Birds this season, the play of DeSean Jackson as a wide receiver. I know what people are thinking, what say a bad word about DJ, I know its hard but sometimes your best offensive players have to take the blame for what happens.

Against the Giants, Jackson made on of the most memorable plays in Eagles history with his punt return, but against the Vikings, Jackson's faults as a receiver came to light. For all of his talents Jackson is not a big time receiver, he is a big time play makers and there is a huge difference between the two. During the Vikings game, Jackson failed to get across the defensive backs several times almost leading to several interceptions. Another thing that became clearer during the game was when Mike Vick started to get flushed from the pocket Jackson never worked his way back to the Vick, like you are taught to do when your quarterback takes off. At one point during the game, Vick was talking to the Jackson and being really animated, I could only guess it was about the same issue.

Something is also becoming clear, when Vick needs to convert a big third down he looks for one man and its not DJ10, its Jeremy Maclin and the reason is simple. Maclin might be on the best route runners in the leagues and always gives Vick a good target to throw and the yardage that is needed.

Maybe over the next couple of years Maclin can teach DJ how to be come a big time receiver and not just a big time play maker.I know some people will never say anything bad about DJ, because of his play making ability, but the time has come for him to develop into the player that everyone thinks that he can be.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Professional Tailgating: Was that a regular season game

The Eagles fresh of their clinching of the NFC East title took on the Vikings in a Tuesday night game last night. It had the look and feel of a preseason game.


The cold makes you wear weird hats just ask former Eagle Ike Reese
 The cart cam was in front of us, not good
 The crew at the Linc did a great job in making sure all of the snow was gone, could you imagine if snow was around, Andy and the gang would have been ducking snow balls the whole night.
The introductions of the NFC East Champs  

An Epic Shootout

In honor of the World Junior Championships starting, I take you back to the 2007 shootout between the United States and Canada in the semifinals. Just a classic as Canada won on the way to the gold medal. The interesting thing about the shootout was that players that were involved. 

Monday, December 27, 2010

World Juniors Championship's in Newspapers

In Canada the start of the World Junior Championships is a big deal from Toronto to Calgary its a huge event no matter its location. Across the country, front pages were dedicated to the event. Here are some: 





Sunday, December 26, 2010

It must have happened there is a shirt for it

It's Official

A year that started with a lot of question has given the Eagles a NFC East Division title, I hope this is the first of more championships to come our way.

Something is missing

This time of the year can only mean two things college bowl games and the World Junior Championships. Last year the World Junior Champions were fantastic with Team USA winning the gold medal on Canadian soil. While the event continues to be great, its lacking something.

When the NHL decided to go with a salary cap a bunch of years ago it had a huge impact on the World Junior Championships. Now when an under 20-year player can play at a NHL level, they are put on a NHL roster because they have a low entry level salary that works with the cap. In the past no matter the skill level, playing the WJC was part of a players development. Its like two different views of player development.

Just look at the rosters of the United States and Canada. In the past players like Tyler Seguin of Canada and Cam Fowler of the United States would be playing in tournament but now they are playing minor minutes in the NHL. While the quality of the players has dropped a bit, the passion and love of the tournament has not.