If an all-star game includes no all-stars, what is the point?

For a league that has done a masterful job of selling its product, the NFL cannot figure out a way to successfully market the Pro Bowl to advertisers, television audiences and the players themselves. In unprecedented fashion, it has actually made the game even less attractive by moronically deciding to move the Pro Bowl up two weeks, making it a part of the two-week lead-up to the Super Bowl in the game’s host city.

This means no more week-long Hawaiian vacations for the players “honored” to be picked, making them even less “honored” or likely to participate. As a result, the AFC quarterbacks are second, third and fourth alternates for the game, while the NFC’s starting left tackle, Bryant McKinnie of the Minnesota Vikings, was kicked off the team because he did not show up for two days of practice.

The Pro Bowl has always been a stale television event because it is missing the essential elements of football: physicality, competition and aggression. No player wants to get hurt in the Pro Bowl, nor hurt his opponent—and rightfully so. An injury in a meaningless game would be a PR disaster for the league; that is, if the press surrounding the game could get any worse….

Ah, but it can! The league is forcing the Pro Bowl members of the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints to attend the game although they will not be playing. The NFL apparently has no problem interfering with the preparation of the two teams for the Super Bowl in order to have them serve as sideline-reporter fodder, but isn’t requiring the same of players from non-Super Bowl teams who opted out of the game due to injury or lack of interest. (One positive of this: Brett Favre will not be at the game, meaning Favre worship talk will be kept to a minimum.)

Anyway, the video below could be the most entertaining thing to come out of this year’s Pro Bowl. Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is interviewed by the same kid who asked Barack Obama last year, “Why do people hate you so much?” Unlike his subject, the kid has got moxie:

Notice DeSean Jackson with Philadelphia’s favorite sports agent, Drew Rosenhaus, at the 0:37 mark.

While we work up to bringing you cutting, in-depth analysis of the Philadelphia sports scene, enjoy this Top 10 list of Great Moments in Sports Interviewing History. These clips may not be so awkward as they are damn funny, but awkward seems to be the word used to describe everything these days, so we’ll go along with it. Roll the tape film DVD YouTube:

This is sick—pretty, pretty, pretty sick.

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/rvs/1578542466.html

Drive it anywhere; hell, drive it everywhere!

The latest issue of Philadelphia Magazine, the main long-form journalism source in this city, asks “Who Earns What” in Philly, ranging from professional athletes, politicians and regular-ass workers, all of whom are holding down something commonly known as a “job” (unlike the above-it-all editors of Philly Fan Complex).

What can be said with authority, however, is Philly Mag’s aim to re-stoke the fire that was the Anti-Michael Vick Bandwagon, a deluge of criticism lasting until everyone realized Vick had little to no impact on the team this season. According to Philly Mag, though, Vick’s primary occupation for which he earned $1.6 million this season was not toting around a clipboard or weakly attempting to recover a fumble in the playoffs; rather, it was “Dog Abuser,” as he was labeled on the magazine’s cover. This surely was a tactic to sell magazines, as Vick is listed as “Eagles quarterback” inside the magazine.

There is no need to delve into the story of Vick the Convict again; it has been hashed out and dissected to death. By the magazine’s standards, however, each occupation chronicled in the issue should have been labeled by their misdeeds, rather than their actual source of income. Yet, the magazine does not single out any other individuals. With some creative brainstorming among the Philly Fan Complex staff, we came up with a number of other alternative occupations for the issue:

• John Bolaris, Forecast Inventor
• SEPTA bus driver, Professional Picketer
• City of Philadelphia Police Officer, Crooked Cop
• Personal Trainer, Steroid Distributor
• Sperm Donor, Porn Addict
• Pilot, Incompetent Navigator
• Dog Walker, Eagles quarterback Laid-Off Babysitter

This is by no means a defense of Vick, but the man did his time and appears to have put his past behind him (except for the mediocre quarterbacking part). Rather, it is an example of the magazine’s apparent need to showcase its collective cleverness, as editors chuckle amongst themselves in their Center City high-rise, tugging each other while grinning manically at their prize. “Look how damn funny we are, Dick—we’ll show that man exactly what he has done.”

And yes—he has done it, but the Philadelphia Magazine cover was not about reminding Vick of exactly what he has done. It was about showing how smart they could be.

Fortunately, with Vick likely not back with the team next season, we won’t have to hear anymore about this. Good riddance to Vick and the opportunity he presented to the smarmy editors in Philadelphia.

Nice job, Philly Mag.

First Period

No Marty Biron gift-goals for the Flyers: Dwayne Roloson in net for the Islanders; Ray Emery again for the Flyers. Peter Laviolette flips Darroll Powe and Scott Hartnell on the top two lines. Now Gagne-Richards-Hartnell, Powe-Carter-Briere.

20:00—Carcillo-Betts-Laperriere start the game, Timonen-Coburn on defense.

18:44—First appearance of the new-look Richards line, and now the Carter line.

17:38—Choppy play so far. Lots of whistles.

15:36—Flyers get a powerplay. Powe knocked down in front of the net going after a rebound.

15:30—JVR-Giroux-Briere on the power play unit, a new look from Lavvy.

15:10—Briere with a good scoring chance off the rush, but gets his shot deflected up into the net.

14:45—Other power play unit has Richards on the point with Timonen; Gagne-Carter-Hartnell up front.

13:10—Despite the new combos, not much success getting set up in the offensive zone.

12:43—How’s that 15-year deal working out for the Islanders? Shot of Rick DiPietro up in the press box.

12:10—Islanders are still paying Alexei Yashin? Sheeesh.

11:38—Danny Briere scores his patented wrap-around goal. New lines paying off: Carter and Powe with the assists. 1-0 Flyers

9:20—Emery looking sharp with a couple tough saves off NY rushes.

6:31—Scrum in front of Flyers’ net. Coburn shows some physicality.

5:55—Hartnell with a backhand chance in front of Roloson. Slow game so far; not many scoring opportunities.

5:20—Emery makes good save off point-blank shot from Mark Streit.

4:12—Orange Man makes an appearance at the game. Nothing like getting on TV when no one knows who you are.

3:38—Puck somehow stays out of the net on Okposo rush.

3:31—Hartnell high-sticked along the boards off the faceoff. Another power play for Flyers.

2:48—And Hartnell scores—tips in Richards shot from the point. 2-0 Flyers

Between Periods

Coatesy in his element with the ladies between periods. Something tells me he’s going to get hit around. Hard to believe he actually played in the NHL…

Shots in the first: Flyers 16, Islanders 10

Around the NHL: Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green was suspended three games by the NHL for this hit on Florida’s Michael Frolik. Nasty.

Second Period

20:00—Gagne likely to get second assist on Hartnell goal instead of Timonen. Richards with the primary.

17:30—Gagne-Richards-Hartnell line on for all 2:30 of the period so far. That’s a long shift even by beer league standards.

16:10—Flyers have seven blocked shots, all by the Man-Beast, Chris Pronger.

13:15—Islanders controlling the puck for much of the period, with several scoring chances but no real tough saves needed from Emery.

12:05—14 shots for Islanders, 14 saves for Emery.

10:41—Weak slash from Pronger leads to Islanders power play.

9:55—Deflected shot from point hits post behind Emery, Flyers clear.

8:31—Pronger out of box, leads to three-on-two and a penalty to the Islanders.

7:54—Emery with a good save off Okposo shorthanded rush.

7:22—Timonen scores on shot from point. Hartnell bumps Roloson after puck in net, McDonald goes after Hartnell and the classic after-goal pushing and shoving celebration ensues. 3-0 Flyers And the goal is somehow waved off. Classic call going against the Flyers. Hartnell over at Islanders bench jawing. Puck was past Roloson before Hartnell bumped him; now Hartnell in the box.

6:29—FSN Pittsburgh must be involved somehow. Islanders on power play for 1:08.

5:16—Flyers kill off the penalty, but Josh Bailey scores short after for Islanders. Another scrum after the goal, but this one counts. 2-1 Flyers

3:51—Giroux line draws penalty. Another power play for the Flyers.

2:26—Timonen circles down behind the net slowly before centering to Carter, who is denied by Roloson. Another scrum involving Hartnell, who gets four minutes, Andy Sutton with two. Now four-on-four. If the game wasn’t chippy before, it is now.

1:50—Islanders now on power play for 1:30.

0:25—Back to even strength.

Between Periods

Shots on goal: Flyers 26, Islanders 22

Great video of Laviolette reacting to the disallowed goal. Nothing thrown on the ice, but banging on the glass is a nice touch.

Third Period

20:00—Will be interesting to see if there is any public comment by the officials and/or NHL after the game regarding the waved-off goal.

19:22—Carcillo hit from behind into the board, penalty to former-Flyer Freddy Meyer. Car-Bomb stays down for a short period, then skates off on his own. Power play for the Flyers.

18:15—Little happening on the power play.

17:04—Nothing happens on the power play. Carcillo back on the ice, a little pushing with the Islanders.

16:20—Carcillo runs Roloson, another scrum to the left of Roloson. Not a smart play by Carcillo, as he gets a goalie interference penalty.

15:13—A few good chances for the Islanders. Emery having another strong game.

12:55—Flyers kill off penalty. Shortly after, Gagne with chance to the side of Islanders net but tries to pass it through the slot to no one. Tollefsen blocks a shot and limps off the ice.

9:04—Islanders spending majority of time in Flyers zone, but defense doing a good job keeping the puck to the outside. Emery continues to be solid.

7:30—OKT back on the ice. Flyers need this game to end as soon as possible; game has the feel of another late loss despite the lead.

7:12—A side note: Flyers are the only team outside of the top four in the East with a positive goal differential. Tampa Bay is currently the eighth seed in the conference despite being outscored by a whopping 23 goals on the season. Parity, anyone?

5:47—A flurry of chances for the Islanders in the Flyers’ zone, but it looks like the Flyers will get a power play. Carcillo exaggerating? Never.

5:43—Gagne-Carter-Richards up front. Timonen and Pronger on the point.

5:35—Coheed and Cambria the between-plays music at the Wachovia Center. Good ears at the Philly Fan Complex.

4:08—A few chances for the Flyers, including a deflection that just missed, but the Flyers are generally sloppy.

3:27—Carle gets shot blocked on three-on-two rush towards the end of power play. Trent Hunter with a scoring chance from the boards to Emery’s right, but Razor gets a piece.

1:26—Roloson still in the net. Flyers unable to clear puck as Islanders get several chances on Emery, who holds strong.

1:00—Islanders timeout. Roloson will probably be halfway between the bench and goal in case NY gains possession. Check that: Roloson pulled.

0:30—Betts finesses puck down the ice to kill time.

0:15—Adventures Out of the Net: Emery kicks puck in front of the open net, puck somehow stays out. Penalty to the Flyers never comes about, as they never touch up.

0:00—FLYERS WIN, 2-1

PFC’s Three Stars: 3rd—Scott Hartnell, 2nd—Danny Briere, 1st—Ray Emery

14th straight win for the Flyers over the Islanders, moving them to sixth in the Eastern Conference with 57 points.

We liked this Craiglist posting because of the title:

“Bill Ripken 1989 Fleer #616A F**k Face”

This seller must really hate Bill Ripken. Check it out if you’re interested in taking this card off the guy’s hands.

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/clt/1577136667.html

$5 shipped, (Beckett value = $15)

EDIT: We recently learned that “F**k Face” is printed on the bottom of Bill Ripken’s bat on this card…hence the title. Genius!