"Hate Hate Hate" & Howard Come Home

When I think about the fact that the New York Giants are in the SuperBowl, I literally recoil in disgust. I am an Eagles fan, so it should come to no surprise that I am bitter, jealous, and angry that a completely mediocre team like the Giants are in the Superbowl. Yeah, they've been good in the playoffs, but i truely believe, despite my biases, that 8 times out of 10 both the Cowboys and the Packers beat the Giants in those situations. It all comes down to that saying: You don't have to be the best team, you just have to be the best team on that day. I think that's exactly what the Giants have been. So, yes, I almost feel that the Giants being in the Superbowl, and my most hated quarterback, Eli Manning, playing well is some kind of freak occurance. Some kind of Bizarro World.

So given my hatred for the New York Giants, that leaves me no choice to root for the Patriots. I've been hoping the Patriots lose all year. Again, bitterness, spitefulness play a huge part in why I root against teams. Being a Philadelphia sports fan, sometimes spitefullness and hatred are the only things you have when you watch sports. Cause most of the time, your teams suck and rooting against teams is the only thing that makes watching games worth while. My entire playoff experience this season has been hoping that the Patriots lose in the AFC, while the Cowboys lose to the Giants and then the Giants lose to the Packers in the NFC. It kind of sucks to have to use negaivity to enjoy sports, but what are you gonna do?

Meanwhile, in baseball, the Phillies and Ryan Howard are trying to negociate a deal. In my opinion, there isn't anyone in the league who deserves to be paid more then Ryan Howard. He's made what accounts to basically pennies over the past three seasons, given his production. So the Phillies come to Howard with a 7 million dolllar deal while Howard's camp comes to the Phillies asking for 10 million. That is a huge gap to cross.

So the question is, is Howard asking for too much? That's basically what arbitration will decide if it goes that far, and I certainly hope it doesn't. I think that would put a huge strain on the Phills relationship with Howard. Ryan Howard is a superstar, and he deserves to be among the top paid first basemen in the league. I understand his strikeouts and his fielding at times is shakey, but Phillies absolutely need to lock this guy up long term.

So I'm siding with Howard on this one. He's been a bargain for the past 3 years and the Phillies need to show their appriciation by paying him off. It's as simple as that.

Leave it too the Phillies to screw this up....