Ice the Champagne, Philly

EL HOMBRE KNOWS SPORTS

When it comes to the main characters from the 1919 Black Sox World Series, everybody knows about Joe Jackson, who was banned from baseball, even though his .375 average during the series would indicate he didn’t try to fix anything – except the Sox’ fortunes after their two best pitchers took dives. They should recognize the name Arnold Rothstein, the New York gambler who spread around the dough. They might remember Kennesaw Mountain Landis, the gruff former U.S. district judge who banned Jackson and seven other Sox players from the game.

And, if you saw the movie “Eight Men Out,” you would even know about Hugh Fullerton. Fullerton, then a writer for the New York World, uncovered the scandal, after receiving a tip before the series. Fullerton was played by renowned author Studs Terkel in the movie and was instrumental in exposing the Sox’ misdeeds. It was quite a job by Fullerton, who is credited with being the first person to put athletes’ quotations in newspaper articles and include slang and human-interest items in his reports. Among his protégés were Ring Lardner and Grantland Rice.

Four years earlier, in 1915, Fullerton was covering baseball for The New York Times. That year, the Phillies made their first-ever World Series appearance, after 32 years of futility. Manager Pat Moran’s team had won the National League by overcoming the Boston Braves – known as the “Miracle Braves” a year earlier for their surprising run to the world championship – and prepared to face the Boston Red Sox. Before the first game began in Philadelphia (the teams’ owners convened at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York to flip a coin to see which city would host the first two games), Fullerton weighed in on the series, which he felt would go decidedly in Boston’s favor. “Man for man, [the Red Sox] outclass the National League champs,” Fullerton wrote. He went on to say that the only chance the Phillies had was if Grover Cleveland Alexander, who won 31 games during the regular season, triumphed three times. Alexander won the opener, 3-1, after which he was borne about National League Park as if he had single-handedly ended the First World War. That was it for Philadelphia prosperity. Fullerton had been right. Boston won in five games.

Ninety-three years later, the Phillies have returned to the Fall Classic, for just the sixth time in franchise history. (That used to be a bad decade for the Yankees.) Fullerton is long gone from the journalistic scene, but there are plenty of people still picking against the Phillies. Five of Sports Illustrated’s nine “experts” give the Lucifer Rays the advantage. At espn.com, it’s 8-5, Beelzebub Rays. One espn “authority,” Jim Caple, says a matchup between the Phils (or any NL team) and the Satan Rays “is like the majors versus AAA,” and El Hombre assumes he isn’t talking about the automotive club. Even some scientist from New Jersey Institute of Technology, Bruce Bukiet, gives Tampa Bay a 59% chance of winning, based on his mathematical calculations. What’s next, a Nickelodeon poll?

Yep, the nation is aligned strongly against Philadelphia – again. One gets the feeling that if a Philly team in any sport were littered with Hall of Famers, had a past Mensa president as coach or manager and had won every single regular-season game it contested, the rest of the nation would still favor its championship-round opponent, based on some long-standing bout with futility or the fact that Philadelphia fans booed Santa Claus 40 (that’s 4-0) years ago. If the ’27 Yankees were reincarnated as this group of Phils, most wags would pick Tampa in six. If Cy Young were starting three times for the Phils, it would be Abaddon Rays in seven. This is not to say the pundits have it in for the city, but picking against its teams sure seems fun.

Well, it ends here. Go ahead and choose Tampa. Revel in the city’s previous successes against proud Philadelphia outfits, as if wins by the Lightning and Buccaneers have anything to do with this World Series. Pick the upstarts to take it all and to conclude one of the most amazing transformations since Charlize Theron got ugly in “Monster.” Jump on the bandwagon, along with rest of the people in the Gulf Coast area, who finally decided to become baseball fans when the playoffs rolled around. Say they’ll win in six. Or seven. Call for a sweep.

You’ll be wrong.

After 25 years of sporting futility in Philadelphia, the tide is turning. The Flyers came within a couple wins of the Stanley Cup Finals last year. The Sixers are better. And despite the ridiculous, condescending blithering of team president Joe Banner, who couldn’t make a trade beneficial to the team if his boss’ next B movie depended on it, the Eagles remain a factor in the NFL. And now come the Phillies, ready to usher in a new Age of Enlightenment in Philadelphia sports, as if they were a sporting Voltaire. By hanging a banner, they will not only break a 25-year drought; they’ll make it easier for their local brethren to do the same. Being the first at anything is the hardest. But when the Flyers won the 1974 Stanley Cup, they launched a 10-year run of prosperity that included another Cup, an NBA title, a World Series championship and a Super Bowl appearance. Myriad playoff trips and championship-round qualifications were also included.

This breakthrough will be accomplished by a lights-out bullpen, a clutch-hitting bench, a shutdown ace and a sense of veteran purpose that trumps youthful exuberance every time. The Phillies will win the World Series in six games and return to an adoring city that will have its championship thirst slaked by the finest wine. From there, the city’s sports teams will charge into the next decade with a confidence absent to this point. Take your shots now, America, because your fun is just about over. The championship is on its way to Philadelphia, and you’ll just have to deal with it.

And as for the snowball thing, get over it. Santa has.

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EL HOMBRE SEZ: Strong showing by the Cowboys against the Rams last Sunday. Just goes to show you that character can’t be bought. Dallas has little of it, and that will be its downfall…Speaking of the NFL, the latest rumors have Brett Favre’s providing information to the Lions on how to beat the Packers. First of all, it’s ridiculous to think Detroit can beat anybody. Second, shouldn’t Cowboy Quarterback have been focusing on how to beat Oakland?…Reports out of Phoenix say Grant Hill and The Big Salary Waste want to own the Orlando Magic some day. They should call Tim Duncan and Tony Parker for some advice, because the lately, the Spurs have owned the Suns…Poor Big Brown. The magnificent horse hurt his foot during a workout and will no longer get to take part in the brutal sport of horse racing. Instead, he’ll retire to Three Chimneys Farm and begin his stud “career.” Any other males out there envy Big Brown, too?…Here’s another reason why some people want Communism back in Russia: Seven athletes were recently banned for two years for manipulating doping samples. That never would have happened in the old USSR. They would have done a much better job covering up their cheating.

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YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT? Remember when Philadelphia used to be an NFL town, way back in 2006? Well, the Eagles get a chance to win back some fans against the surprising (4-2) Falcons Sunday. The bye week gave the team a chance to heal its wounds – particularly Brian Westbrook – and prepare for the last 10 games in a season that could well decide the fates of coach Andy Reid and QB Donovan McNabb. Big things remain possible for this team, but a loss to the Falcons would be crushing. It will be interesting to see if Reid can motivate the club he assembled to play consistent, smart football, or if the problems that created a 3-3 start will persist. Fans should expect some prosperity, thanks a light schedule ahead. They shouldn’t, however, expect any help from the front office, which refuses to augment the roster and continues to treat fans with contempt.

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AND ANOTHER THING: Back in September, before his Florida Atlantic team was ready to tangle with Texas, coach Howard Schnellenberger said everybody knew the Longhorns lacked toughness and commitment. Although it’s always tough to understand Howard’s baritone rumble, he was right. The feeling around college football was that the Steers were a little light in the shorts. Well, no more. Their comeback win over Oklahoma and obliteration of Missouri (don’t be fooled by the final score; Texas led, 35-0, in the first half) proves UT is for real. And don’t worry about the gauntlet of ranked teams the Longhorns must face (number seven OK State this Saturday; number eight Texas Tech next week, number 19 Kansas down the road), because this team has the fortitude to handle anything in its path. Looking for one half of the BCS “championship” matchup? Here it is.

-EH-