Brian Urlacher caught you a delicious bass. (The site I found the pic at describes it as a "King", but of course, I'm gonna use a movie line.)

I have the Eagles winning a low scoring game. There is nothing less exciting than having to watch the Bears offense work. At least when Rex Grossman was under center, you had something to watch for (in the inevitable dumb pick or two per game.)

The Eagles will start at the 20, and Brian Westbrook isn't in today with that bum ankle. McNabb's first is incomplete to the back-up TE (the one who isn't L.J. Smith.) 2nd down means not much, and Danyel Manning sacks Donny Mac on third down. Sav Rocca punts it, bouncing away from Devin Hester at the Chicago 41.

Orton hits Rashied Davis inside the Philly 30, Matt Forte gets seven more on the next play to get within the 20....and Orton rifles it to Greg Olsen for the TOUCHDOWN!

That was Sex Cannon-esque right there.....although they are gonna challenge it....what??? No flag?? I guess so. 7-0, Bears.

WTF?? Where did that offense come from? Is Neckbeard drunk or something? - Rob in WI

Plasma power, son. Plasma power.

Philly brings the ball back to their 28 on the kickoff. After a false start, Correll Buckhalter gets a few yards on first and 15. McNabb fires a bullet to DeSean Jackson. That thing looks like it makes hands hurt. 1st down after a gain of 23. Buckhalter brings out a screen pass past midfield to the Bears' 48. Reggie Brown gets five more after the catch for another 1st.

Sneaky, sneaky, end-around for DeSean Jackson, who sweeps around to the Bears 18. McNabb goes for it over the middle to the TE Schobel (?), who gets walloped by Mike Brown while trying to make the catch. Not much for Buckhalter on 2nd and 10. Donny Mac airs it to Jackson right in the back of the end zone, TOUCHDOWN. Kick by Akers is up and good, 7-7 tie.

Did I say something about this being a defensive game? Not right now, anyway. And that's very sneaky (or cliche) of you, NBC: using Steve Miller's "Fly Like An Eagle."

I'll say this much - love or hate the bears - you gotta admit their defense brings the lumber in the first quarters. Wow those boys can hit.

of course, they don't do much about protecting the endzone, but at least they hit.... - Gibbon Jockey

Sheldon Brown would like to speak up for the Eagles also delivering blistering hits. Twice.





Matt Forte starts with a short rush, and 2nd down will now move back 5 yards. Forte gets 13 of those back and then picks up the first down on the 3rd down carry. The ball's now out at about midfield. A short pass to Hester gets across midfield. Orton misses Forte on the sideline, and here comes the first punt of the game from Brad Maynard. DeSean Jackson is back to receive.

He fair catches at the 20. Jon Runyon gets flagged for the first time in 24 games, which Al and John apologize for jinxing (they mentioned it when they talked to Andy Reid last night.) McNabb hits Jackson for another first down; the next pass is incomplete to Buckhalter. Not much for Buckhalter on the rush, it's 3rd and 10 from the Philly 30. Alex Brown and Israel Idonije get the sack. Rocca punts all the way to the Bears 30; Hester fair catches, but there's a flag.

This looks like the 15-yard variety of roughing the kicker on Charles Tillman -- but there's an illegal formation on Philly, so they offset and they kick again. Hester brings the second punt out to the Bears' 45.

AA, what are the odds of NBC throwing in "Waltzing Matilda" as bumper music after a punt by the Eagles' Aussie punter? I hope they're not THAT cynical. - Jim Williams

We'll be on the lookout for that.

How does a personal foul and illegal formation offset? I thought the PF trumped the other penalty? - Rob in WI

A flag on each team on a play negates the other automatically, regardless of severity.

Forte starts with a rush and the Bears will get 15 extra yards thanks to a face mask. Orton skies one a bit too high for Hester (well, it looks like it went right through his hands.)

That prompts John to say, "Maybe there's a reason he was a corner." 3rd and 11 brings the first Eagles sack of Orton tonight, and Brad Maynard will be punting again. Jackson goes out of bounds at the Philly 12.

"There's Donovan's mom, she came to the hotel last night and made dinner for the whole team." - Al
"I must say, I had some of that meal." - John

(a bit later)

"She didn't make any soup, though, huh?" - Al

Three and out for the Eagles, here comes Rocca. Good coverage by the Eagles keeps Hester from advancing past his own 45. Forte gets two yards; Orton then gets sacked by Chris Gocong. By the way, Al and John, I know Gocong said "Cal Poly San Luis Obispo," but the university freaking hates that.

I heartily encourage all of you in the comments who are bitching about them talking about Mama McNabb and her cooking for way too damn long. There is a football game going on, gentlemen. While the greens and sweet potatoes looked good, there is a game on.

Like say, DeSean Jackson muffing a punt, and the Bears getting it back. (D'OH!) Bears start again at the 24, Forte grabs two yards. Orton just went all PLASMA POWER to Marty Booker, and that's a 23-yard SCORE!!!!

Kick is up and good, 14-7, Bears.

And, the Jekyll and Hyde complex that is Desean Jackson has returned.

Sincerely,
Frustrated Eagles Fan - Jim Williams

Brian Dawkins visited the Roy Williams School of Safety Coverage this week. - Rob in WI

+1.

Demps brings it out to the 33, McNabb incomplete to Reggie Brown. He then goes right back to Brown for a 16 yard gain and 1st down at midfield. Donny Mac must be a fan of UPS -- because Brown can get him another 31 yards on the next play. Touch floater to Buckhalter gets 19 yards, and Philly has a 1st and goal. Buckhalter then busts his way into in for the TOUCHDOWN. Kick up, kick good, 14-all.

American Hi-Fi's "Flavor of the Weak" for a bump -- the frontman used to drum for Veruca Salt, which was based in Chicago, but...not enough of a connection.

Hester brings the kick out to the 20. Orton rolls out and throws it away. He then hits Brandon Lloyd for a 1st down across the 30. Kevin Jones takes the next two carries and gets first down yardage.

3rd and 12 at the 50 -- and Orton gets picked off by Darren Howard, because he was under pressure and held the ball too long. McNabb threw to Brown for 4, but the third down rush by Buckhalter isn't close. Here comes Akers for an FG try...50 yards....up and wide right.

"Juqua Thomas changed his name to Juqua Parker. Tra Thomas changed his name to William Thomas and now back to Tra Thomas. It's a good thing Chad Johnson doesn't play on this team." - Al

Unlike the Bengals, the Eagles actually recognize it when players legally change their names. - JFein

I don't think that was so much the Bengals so much as it was the NFL insisting that Chad Johnson buy all the jerseys Reebok made with his now former last name. Let's just say that I don't think Juqua Parker's name moves a lot of merch.

Forte gets stuffed at the Chicago 40, goes on a screen for five tough yards, and then Orton goes all long bomb to Brandon Lloyd again, deep into Eagles territory -- and then Lloyd tweaks something.

DIE, FRANK CALIENDO, DIE.

Short passes to Jason McKie and Devin Hester follow. Matt Forte's screen pass looks short of the first down, honestly, but here come the sticks -- and that was enough for the first. The next two plays gain a yard total -- and Orton hits Devin Hester down the line, who keeps his feet in bounds for the TOUCHDOWN!!!

Kick up and good, 21-14, Bears.

Jim Williams alerts us to Al's use of "Rappin' Roberto Costas" when describing the upcoming halftime show. I proceed to gag. McNabb hits Jason Avant at the 28 yard line. Reggie Brown drops the 2nd and 5 pass. The 3rd down pass comes up short, and Devin Hester will get another shot at the football before the half. Short kick, ball winds up at the Chicago 37. He hits Forte for a few yards, and spikes it. 3rd down pass is incomplete....wait, they're calling that a fumble? At lesat they're reviewing it, but sheesh.

Of course, it's ruled an incomplete, Maynard punts, and it's downed at the 4 yard line of Philly with one second left. McNabb kneels, and we've got 21-14, Chicago at halftime.

See you in the second half post.

Quite possibly one of my favorite Kyle Orton-related images. Anyway, Philly and its manic blitzing defense is in Chicago tonight, as DA BEARS look to come back from two straight losses.

See you in an hour or so, and have it out on the best and worst of the day so far -- and the rest of the Skins-Boys contest.

CC Sabathia gave up one run and four hits in his seventh complete game since being traded to Milwaukee, got a 2-run homer from Ryan Braun in the 8th, and then watched as the Mets' bullpen gave up 2 solo homers in the eighth to lose to the Marlins. Thus, the Brewers will be heading to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies, and the Dodgers are on their way to Wrigley for a series with the Cubs.

That leaves the AL Central yet to be decided, because both the Twins and White Sox won today. The Sox host the Tigers tomorrow; if Detroit wins, the Twins will head to Tampa Bay to take on the Rays. If Chicago wins, there will be a play in with the Twins on Tuesday.

As for the Mets themselves......blarrrgghhh. That stupid bullpen was going to be the death of them, and honestly, I'm shocked that Jerry Manuel could get them that close to a playoff spot with a pen that blew saves with that kind of regularity. As a fan, I don't think we need to change too much offensively -- a few more clutch hits wouldn't hurt anyone -- but Omar Minaya needs to spend money to revamp the pen.

Our condolences, Mets fans....and goodbye Shea....

Only three games this afternoon, and if you're in St. Louis or the close-by area, you're really dicked, as you're getting stuck with watching the Rams get beat up by the Bills today. Choo Choo hopes Trent Green survives the game with his head intact. I'll be flipping back between the SD/Oakland game along with Skins/Boys, because I have three Chargers in my fantasy line-up.

CBS:

San Diego at Oakland - Jim Nantz, Phil Simms
Buffalo at St. Louis - Ian Eagle, Solomon Wilcots

FOX:

Washington at Dallas - Joe Buck, Troy Aikman

Do it to it, everybody, and stay tuned for the Eagles-Bears live-blog!

Update: Here's the Boldin vid. Pretty scary, but word is that he's moving all of his extremities at the present time. Hopefully he and Bronco receiver, Clifford Russell, make full recoveries.

Hey, it's NFL Sunday, but we can't ignore baseball today because we have some DRAMA!!!! for you! The Mets are finishing up against the Marlins on TBS today (if the rain lets up), and the Brewers take on the Cubs an hour later for NL Wild Card rights (those of you with WGN on the cable or satellite or the appropriate Fox Sports channel will get to see this). Both teams wins, both teams lose, it means a play-in game.

Hopefully Oliver Perez can be as "gangsta" as Johan Santana was yesterday. LET'S GO METS!

The AL Central's a bit more complicated. Minnesota is a half game up on the White Sox, so if the Twins beat the Royals and the White Sox lose to the Indians, it's done. If both teams win or the Twins lose and the White Sox win, the South Siders host Detroit for a make-up game, which could lead to a tiebreaker game.

Treat this as your baseball open thread.

Hi, folks! S2N here with you for another Sunday of NFL action, due to end with a live-blog of the Eagles taking on the Bears in the Windy City tonight. So, for a refresher, here are the broadcast maps from earlier this week, and Fox has the doubleheader today. I'll be trying to get a pirated view of the Denver-KC game here in my West Coast bunker, because I don't care one bit about the Niners and the Saints (however, since it is the only game on my teevee, it will be on.)

CBS

Denver at Kansas City - Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf
Houston at Jacksonville - Dick Enberg, Randy Cross
Cleveland @ Cincinnati - Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon

FOX:

Green Bay at Tampa Bay - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa
Arizona at NY Jets - Dick Stockton, Brian Baldinger, Brian Billick
San Francisco at New Orleans - Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan
Atlanta at Carolina - Ron Pitts, Tony Boselli
Minnesota at Tennessee - Chris Myers, J.C. Pearson

You know the drill. Tell us what you're watching, how it's going, talk about your fantasy team, and of course, if your announcing team says anything monumentally stupid.