News@Noon: Blake Griffin, Brian Williams, Sorkin, Vick, NASCAR Media, Seamheads & Cool Golfers

News@Noon will be a daily link dump of stories we like, from people we like. I’m not going to lie, we’re totally biased in this post and plan to exclusively link to our friends or stories that were shared by our friends. We like a lot of good writers who do a lot of good work. We should be promoting that work.

• Chris Mottram and his SB Nation Twitter promotion machine tweeted and RT’d Tom Ziller’s story about how out-of-town columnists keep writing Blake Griffin stories to get their readers to start thinking about Blake Griffin playing in their town, even though the chances of Blake Griffin playing in their town in the next six years are slim to none.

Ziller lambasts Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in his story, that’s more a veiled shot at mainstream basketball writers who don’t know simple salary cap rules than it is a story about how amazingly great Blake Griffin is as a basketball player. Ziller is savvy, using Blake Griffin as his vehicle to rip the press,READ MORE

Call of the Day: Was Monday Night The Best Game In The History of…Jon Gruden?

Look, I am usually no fan of This Guy, Jon Gruden, but he was nearly perfect in the first quarter of Monday Night’s blowout. He was tipping plays, spot on with his analysis and adding some timely zingers…actual zingers. Sure the game was out of control in the second half and Gruden had his typical superlatives putting half the Eagles team into the Hall of Fame, but that first quarter, wow he was great.

I cannot believe I just wrote that.

Eagles Monday Night Game To Air On ESPN, Bumped For Dancing on ABC

I don’t know why the NFL still has the rule where any game on cable — or not on over-the-air TV — has to be rebroadcast in local markets so everyone can see it. I don’t think the NBA nor MLB have that rule, but the NFL sticks with it so everyone can see the game no matter if you have 1500 channels or a set of old rabbit ears. (Note, this could be some FCC regulation but I’m too lazy to look it up. Not really the point of this anyway).

Philly.com reports that this Monday, with the Eagles traveling to Washington for Monday night’s game against the Redskins, fans can see the game on ESPN or MYPHL17 and not 6ABC. Why? Because of dancing:

Since the semifinals of Dancing with the Stars are scheduled for Monday night on 6ABC, the Eagles-Redskins Monday Night Football game will be shown on MYPHL17, including a pregame special produced by the Action News sports team.

The pregame special is set to start at 8 p.m. on MYPHL17, with the kickoff scheduled for 8:30. TheREAD MORE

DL457: Playoff Baseball, College & Pro Football, Injuries, BCS & Soccer Scandals

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This is a Monday where we can’t get to half the stories we want. We talk about this:

• MLB playoffs, including the Phillies win over the Giants, fans over-reacting to Ryan Howard going to the Eagles game, Cole Hamels being the best Phillies pitcher in the last few months & if the Yankees will really start AJ Burnett in game four if they lose tonight.

• NFL, including the quarterback controversy in Philadelphia and if one of them should get traded. We also talk about the injuries around the league which leads to the awful news that Rutgers defensive lineman Eric LeGrand was paralyzed from the neck down this weekend. Is there anything to stop this from happening in football? With that happening on Saturday, we still saw a ton of helmet hits on Sunday. Players can’t stop themselves. Is the protection — helmets, pads, etc — too good? Do players now think they are actually invincible? Whatever the answer, it’s awful.

• We somehow spin that to more college football, includingREAD MORE

DL454: Jon Tannenwald of Philly.com on Soccer, Charlie Davies and Phillies, Eagles & Popularity

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Here’s Jon Tannenwald’s line to end our show today:

We forget, sometimes, that Philadelphia is the fourth largest media market in the country. And we forget, sometimes, how much influence…I can have.

That’s fantastic, and for those who don’t know, it speaks to the fact that Tannenwald’s job at Philly.com is to layout the site from 6p-5a. Trapped miners on the front page…that’s him. Phillies get top billing on the sports page over the Eagles? Blame that guy.

Or thank that guy. But either way, he does have a fair amount of power at the regions top news site. We get into the Eagles v. Phillies debate, in which I compare Eagles fans who comment on Philly.com and call into sports talk radio to the Tea Party movement. We also talk about the traffic to philly.com for each team and how people pay more attention to the Phillies next opponent than what the Flyers are doing. The Big Four in town has become the Big Two. So which is the Big One of those two?READ MORE

On Vick, Kolb, Reid, Karma & Fantasy Football

I believe in Karma.

It’s a little more complex than simply ‘do good things and good things happen’ (or the converse ‘do bad things and bad things will happen’), but the general principle of being responsible for one’s actions is an important part of everyday life. More than seeking reward for being good, it’s the potential — and propensity — for Karmic retribution that should govern our decisions; do not transgress and you won’t have to pay.

The problem, of course, with believing in Karma is that not everyone else does. Karma — or whatever I’m call Karma — is more a guideline to try and be a positive part of society, and a good influence in every day life. So how can you justify watching people do terrible things — or even moderately bad things — and end up getting rewarded for it? Does Karma tell us that they’ll end up with stomach cancer later in life or that they’ll get hit by a bus or something? Does Karma tell me that I’m going to wakeREAD MORE

Will Donovan McNabb Get Booed This Weekenzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The hot topic in the NFL this week is Donovan McNabb’s return to Philadelphia. And while most people should care about the fact that the Eagles were rebuilding with Kevin Kolb and are suddenly contending with Michael Vick or the fact that McNabb could play at a Pro Bowl level and it still may not help the Washington Redskins avoid a 1-3 start that sure a heck looks like 1-6 if they can’t win on Sunday, it seems most conversation surrounding this game starts with whether or not McNabb is going to get booed when he runs out of the tunnel.

Here’s CSN Washington’s Brian Mitchell — who played in Philly as well as Washington — talking with Andy Reid (via DC Sports Bog):

“They remember the good times,” Reid told Brian Mitchell, when asked about Eagles fans. “They might give him the business during the game or something, but he’ll get a great reception.”

Later, B Mitch asked if McNabb got a fair shake in Philly.

“Absolutely,” Reid said. “I think the organization does these different polls around theREAD MORE

When Rooting For Fantasy Kinda Gets In The Way of Reality

This was the year I decided I was really going to jump in with both feet and root for the hometown Iggles. Now, I’m finding it hard to root for Michael Vick.

See, I grew up a Broncos fan and, over the years, became disenfranchised disenchanted (ed note: had franchise on the brain) with the organization. Besides, it’s not like they  need me with all the Tebow bandwagoneers anyway. Alas, I found myself following the Eagles for years, but never brought myself to root for them. I suppose, in a way, I was like a lot of Eagles fans in this town: I hated them way more than I loved them.

Two years ago, I wrote something like this for The 700 Level, asking if it was okay for me to switch to the Eagles. I got killed for it, and maybe deserved the treatment I got. It turns out, you’re born an Eagles fan or your not, says the prolific commentariat at The 700 Level. Yes, being an Eagles fan is tantamount to being a homosexual. Hey,READ MORE

DL442: I Hate Monday. Plus, Football, Baseball & Dexter Is Back…And Bloody

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The headline says it all. We take a look at the NFL after three weeks — including the Braylon Edwards situation, if fans of the NFL (and Jets) should or shouldn’t be upset that he played this week and how that translates to the morality surrounding the stellar play of Michael Vick. Is it or isn’t it okay to cheer for someone inside the lines even if we find them to be reprehensible outside the lines. And how does this impact our fantasy teams?

We also run down the amazing races in MLB.

And oh yes, Dexter is back. We talk about some other premieres we’ve watched before ruining the season premiere for you with a few notes and comments. If you haven’t watched yet, skip the last six minutes until you do.

Thanks for listening. I hate you too, Monday.

DL439: Twins Win! Plus, Phillies vs. Eagles and Andy Reid vs. Controversy

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Nick and I talk about the Twins completely running away with the AL Central and take a look at the standings now when compared to July 23rd when the Twins were three back in their division, the Phillies were seven back in theirs and the Reds were half a game back in theirs.

A lot can change in a baseball season. It’s good that the Twins still have something to play for (home field) or this could be a long time without meaningful baseball? Did they win the division too early?

SPECULATION STATION:

Phil Sheridan has a fantastic column in today’s Philly Inq. You have to read that. It talks about the power struggle in Philadelphia between the Eagles and Phillies, a topic Nick and I take and run with. The latest, of course, is the quarterback controversy in town — I said earlier in the week it wasn’t a controversy until someone from inside the organization says something, so how about the head coach creating this one? That counts.

What was Andy Reid thinkingREAD MORE