Lito News

It's no secret that Lito Sheppard is now being shopped around to the likes of Tampa Bay. He would be a decent fit there. However, I just don't approve of the trade value being offered, namely a second rounder and Michael Clayton.

I just don't see it. Clayton had one good year 3 years ago when he was a rookie. Since then, guvna, as my grandmother would say.

It's also being reported now that St. Louis wants to get in on this hot action. Meh-they really don't have any players worth it, unless they are willing to give up their first round pick, which I doubt is going to happen.

Or maybe, just maybe, I am overestimating the trade worth of an All-Pro corner with injury/toughness problems.

Personally, I kind of would like to see how the trio of Brown, Samuels, and Sheppard would perform together. Hell, we get a good safety, and we might have a pretty formidable defense.

Speaking of draft picks, tomorrow is the first day of the NFL Draft, which is right in my wheelhouse for things I so do love. Classify it under the "flesh market", right next to strippers. My opinion of my Iggles' needs are as follows:

1rst round, 19th pick-need here is either OL or S. Phillips, the All-Conference S from Miami, looks like the best bet right now. He looks great on paper, but I just don't like football players from Miami. Except for Jerome Brown.

However, in looking at his stats and bio, he can cover, hit, catch, and blitz well. He would be a great fit for us.

Otherwise, I say go with Jeff Otah, out of Pitt. Big and nasty, but we will most likely have to offer trade bait at this point ot get him. He will not be available at 19. However, I would be just as happy with Chris Williams out of Vandy.

If none of the above are available, we could go for value with Rogers-Cromartrie. Guy's got all the tools, and he would be learning from all-pros. Or we could trade him away. Whatever they do, the Eagles had best not pull that shit from last year where they trade away the 26th pick to the f'n Cowboys. Who did the Cowboys get? Anthony Spencer, the man two top-5 draft picks (Joe Thomas and Levi Brown) called the "hardest DE to stop". But hey, we got some guy named Kolb.

My final thought is that I cannot believe the amount of people that are stating that the Eagles will be taking a WR with their first round pick. More often than not, first round WR are busts. Ol' Andy tried this once with Freddie Mitchell, with horrible results.

uh-oh

Figure 1-1: Don't say "blood". It only gets him excited.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3362701

To be brunt, the man is a beast. The good? The Eagles made a legitimate bid for him, which is nice to see given that the offseason usually revolves around who we are NOT trying to pick up. Still we didn't get him. Funny how the littlest offerings can mean so much when the bar is set that low.

The bad? Jared Allen is now in the NFC, which means there is a distinct possibility that we will play him. Further, the Vikes' d-line was pimp to begin with-having Allen just ups the "oh-shit" factor.

As for the Vikes: did they make the right choice? Let's see: the Vikings give up the 17th pick of the draft, and had to restructure his contract to 6 years, 74 million, 31 of which is guaranteed. Besides the massive cap hit they are going to have to deal with when purple Jesus comes up for negotiations, it could prove deadly. Further, the Vikings still do not have a consistent quarterback.

So, I guess the game plan here is to rely on defense and running the ball while NOT developing a quarterback. Where have I heard that before?

Have the Vikings improved? Yes. Have they improved where they really need to? I am not sure-I perceive them as being a little short in the OL as well as QB and WR: losing their first round pick means they will not pick up a pricey first rounder, but also risk the lack of redundancy that multiple first and second round picks provide.

So yes, they have gotten better-New York has fully proved that even a competent QB can win the super bowl provided their defense dominates. Let's just hope for the Vikes sake that ol' Jared can stay away from the booze. 3 DUIs in 4 years = Jared on the short leash of the commissioner.

EDIT: if Jared stays out of trouble until September, two of his strikes are going to be erased. If I was in any way dependent on him, I would have taken his keys away a long time ago. Probably while he was passed out.

As for the Chiefs-look for them now to bolster their lines in the first round. Losing Allen is going to kill their line, so DE at 5th pick, OL at 17th. Should work out.

Favorite Talgate Food/Drink

"Gluttony ain't a sin if it's good and you ain't full".

In an ongoing effort to destroy your cholesterol count, the second post in this reoccurring feature will be dedicated to that subtle little appetizer...

Marinated Mozzarella

Figure 1-1: Lactose intolerant people would find these worth it.

PSU Tailgate Experience:

• 2005: B & W, Minnesota, Ohio State, Orange Bowl
• 2006: Central Michigan (i think)

Suggested Purchase Amount: Go for the big container, fatboy. Cram that shit in.

Purchase From:

Claudio Specialty Foods

924-26 South 9th St.

Philadelphia, PA 19147

Toll Free 866-313-FOOD • Tel:(215) 627-1873 • Fax:(215) 627-2320

Notes: Ask the nice Italian lady behind the counter for storage tips. She is a nice woman, but virtuous. Further, most supermarkets now offer good knock-offs of the fresh made stuff. Just rinse it, add a few tablespoons of olive oil, and some dried basil, oregano, and red pepper to get the suitable clone.

Pros:

• Easy to store
• Keeps fresh remarkably well
• Watching Richard (not pictured) lose it when I used to bring them to his apartment for games
• Tastes clean
• Everyone loves mozzarella
• Dick jokes

Cons

• Some jerk will loudly announce his stupidity by alluding to something made by Polly-O. You may correct them in any suitable fashion, which for me would be tossing the obligatory vegetable dish at their heads, because nobody comes to a tailgate for rabbit food. In fact, I recommend you toss it regardless. Hi jinx ensue...
• Jerks who will start popping them in their mouth, and then reach back in the container for more with their bare hands.

Implements:

• Toothpicks. Don't bring many, because the above-mentioned jerk will eventually show up, leading to a bare fingered free-for-all-slobber-fest. Insert genital humor here.
• Napkins. They are covered in olive oil.

Serving Instructions: Buy them, rotate'em every 6 hours if need be. Place them anywhere in the tailgate. Start seeing who can sink one in their friend's mouth from long distance. Again, genital humor.

Conclusions: You really can't mess up with these. Everyone likes them, and it works in all weather conditions.

If you really want to appease the salad folk after throwing their dish at them, just tear up some fresh basil, halve some grape tomatoes and the mozzarella, and add all components to a large bowl. Thoroughly mix, and add some drops of Balsamic Vinaigrette to it. Remember, chicks dig someone who can cook.

I was really down...

...this morning. I was hungover, the Flyers pulled one of the greatest choke-jobs in history, and RUTS and BSD were both reporting that Sean Lee had seriously injured his knee. Verily, my mood matched this awful weather.

Then I got the great news over at GCobb. No more Gumble f'ing up my good time on the NFL network. Raise your screams to heaven, chilluns, because this is proof that there are football Gods. Bryant Gumble, hands down, was THE WORST football broadcaster ever. EVER. At first sitting, listening to him was laughable, if not a little annoying. Kind of like a dog humping your leg.

Then he starts making errors that nobody involved in football should ever make. For example, he called the QB of the Dallas Cowboys "Rick Romo". That is just inexcusable.

Bryant should just go back to what he knows:

Figure 1-1: Street Justice

If you have never heard of GCobb before, you should definitely make it a daily ritual. The guy has great contacts-he was the first one to break the story of Asante Samuel going to the birds.

Favorite Tailgating Food/Drink

In this new section of the blog, i will shamelessly hawk food/establishments that I personally feel are relevant to the ultimate tailgating experience. Most of my selections will up the risk of premature diabetes, but well worth the risk. Some areas of consideration in the pros and cons include cost, taste, mess, and ease to prepare while possibly intoxicated.

As my father once told me, "Gluttony ain't a sin if it's good and you ain't full". And with that sentiment, the first food of relevance is.......

Roasted Pork Sandwich

Figure 1-1: I will knock down your pregnant wife to get to one of these

Should be served on/with: Amoroso roll. This is not negotiable. Toppings include extra sharp cheese, peppers (roasted or hot), raw onion, and/or broccoli rabe.

PSU Tailgates Experienced:

• Boston College 2003
• Blue and White 2005 (people were fighting over the juices. Zac won)
• Temple 2007. Bought too much, we didn't have the table space, and limited time killed this one. plus, when the game was over, John G stepped on it while he was stealing rolls from me. Asshat.

Suggested Purchase Amount: 5 lbs will easily feed 15-20 people

Purchase From:

Lennys Italian Deli

900 Fayette Street

Conshohocken, PA 19428

(610) 825-4569

Notes: Make sure to tell them that you are taking it to a tailgate within a certain time frame. This way, they can freeze it for you if you don't have refridgeration means. Have lots of napkins ready.

Pros:

• It's pork. On an Amoroso roll.
• It is incredible.
• It's pork.

Cons

• Expect non-Philadelphians to shy away from the extra sharp cheese. Harass them.
• Time limit. You'd better eat quick before it soaks through. Shouldn't be a problem (for men), unless you have a slow eater. Screw them, more for you.
• Table limitations. You need some catering equipment.

Implements: Catering tray stand, catering tray, water, tongs, chafers, incendiary device.

Serving Instructions: Let tray of seasoned swine defrost overnight. In the morning, make sure you do all your prep work before heading out, and clearly mark your spot on the table for the stuff. Start early-it takes about an hour to fully heat up.

Conclusion: This was pulled off successfully twice; once by myself, and once by my parents. In both cases, the weather accommodated, and there was plenty of forethought. The Temple game was a nightmare; i bought too much, it was brought out too late, the table was small, and people didn't know what they were doing.

Still when it worked, it was bliss.

And so begins....

...another year as a PSU fan. Like the cherry blossoms that chicks dig here in DC, rebirth for PSU happens about every time this year.

Signing day for recruits has come and gone. If they opted for PSU, they clearly showed faith and good decision making by choosing the foremost producers of men outside of a military academy. Anyone that didn't is a loser and we don't need'em.

The obligatory know-nothing JoePa retirement fluff pieces produced at a rate of 3 a minute are published. What is substantiated? Nothing. What is conjecture? Everything.

Regrettably, the obligatory legal infractions have also occurred, leaving most of us too stunned with Quarless' stupidity to properly react. Snapping us out of the daze was Ridenour letting us know that he still exists, albeit in his own original way.

And spring practice has started, which gives us reasons to remember why we root for PSU in the first place. And that is the promise of football, and tailgating. Actually, that order is wrong; it should go tailgating, football, tailgating.

We look at these kids in spring training and savor every morsel that comes out of practice, like Stephon Green's blistering 40 yard run, the enthusiasm of our returning lineman (all starters!).

In the football doldrums that is February-April, we are reminded, on April 1, that spring is indeed smiling at us once more, with promises of sunshine, women wearing less, sitting outside at the cafe enjoying an iced-t, and enjoying a peek at our upcoming glory in the fall.

On a more personal level, autumn is now even more exciting in that this is the time of year we get together for our annual trip to a PSU away game. Pictured above is the crew who went to Michigan last year. Note the boundless enthusiasm displayed by all at 9 AM (Not pictured: same group at 7 PM staring at each other and silently fueling each others anger. Also, Sameena vomiting. Damn girl, you got soft).

This year we will be traveling to Purdue, and hopefully erasing the 0-2 curse these trips have wrought on our beloved Lions. So here's to 15 friends in two Winnebagos, all looking to a magical weekend in Purdue with eyes full of hope. And Old German.

You may have noticed...

...the new banner above. If you have a problem with it, remember this:
-We finally beat Michigan in something football related. I need this little victory bad.