9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO.
On most days, Roy Oswalt’s line in yesterday’s complete game shutout victory for our FIRST PLACE Philadelphia Phillies would surely earn him/them the lead story on most of our local sports news outlets. Surely right? Disappointingly, this was not the case on this morning’s broadcast of Sports Rise on Comcast SportsNet.
Instead, the victory coincided with Eagles opening week, and the first 15 minutes of the telecast were devoted to the Eagles loss to the Packers. Every possible analysis. Every what-went-wrong? Every injury. Every nook and cranny of this loss was broken down for fans of a team that – at best – will go 7 and 9. Meanwhile, I have to sit and wait for any mention of Sunday’s pitching gem, which helped catapult the guys in red back into sole possession of first place until at least halfway through the program. Did I mention the Phillies are in FIRST PLACE, in the midst of a playoff run, just a few short weeks away from possibly winning the division for a 4th straight year, and potentially going to the World Series for the third straight time? This must have fallen short on the folks at CSN as well as most other local sports media. All because the Birds are back in town.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not an Eagle hater by any means. I honestly have no problem with the team (front office is another issue). I like to see them win, as I do all of our local sports teams. I think they have an exciting, young group of guys, who will be a force in the years ahead. I’m a big proponent of Kevin Kolb, even though yesterday’s performance left a lot to be desired. I like the way he carries himself. I like his demeanor. He possesses a mix of humility with that quarterback-confidence. My main issue is the manner at which our local media deifies this franchise year-in and year-out, a “gold standard” franchise that yesterday celebrated 50 years of futility, above any other team in this city.
I get that opening week in the NFL is huge. I get that this has traditionally been a “football town”. I get that the Eagles are going to garner a large portion of our local sports media’s attention. But when it takes away from, and creates an after-thought of, a team such as the Phillies, that has actually won something within the last few years sans any evidence of letting up, I really have to question whether or not I’m missing something.
SPORTS RISE’S FINAL TALLY
- The amount of time devoted to the Eagles opening week “highlights”/Donovan McNabb’s Redskins debut: 15 minutes
- The amount of time devoted to the complete game shutout victory of our FIRST PLACE Phillies: 6 minutes
But hey, at least Roy Oswalt did get the PECO Powerplay of the day.
