I just need the Flyers, Phillies, Villanova, and the Sixers to win Championships this year then I'll be satisfied.

https://twitter.com/jasontconnell/status/980961145271005184

Too bad the Flyers are out of it though.

From the Playoffs in 2006 (I was just as excited this year but I haven't been making posts about it):

April 2006

It includes such classic posts like Philadelphia Fans Defined (which goes on to say I hate Buffalo natives and now I work with two of them... it's hockey, they forgave me already), and my Mom's birthday where I talk about how I told the lady at the jewelry store that perhaps she isn't a good mom! It's a classic. Back when I used to get comments on my website (not a blog)! NOAT where are you?!? And of course, NHL playoffs in general which happen "nearly every year" with an asterisk. The year previous was the lockout, so of course the asterisk read "Not last year". Man, I used to be pretty funny :) At least I make myself laugh.

I watch this movie:

It's a good one. It ends with "Flyers win the Stanley Cup!! Flyers win the Stanley Cup!!" But it has a lot of great Philly sports moments, like the 93 NL East Championship, Eagle's in '04 beating the Falcons to go to the Super Bowl, Dr. J's tomahawk dunk or whatever. It was made before the Phils won the NL East last year. Then it has a lot of bad moments... Lindros going down to Scott Stevens, Mitch Williams and the Phils losing the World Series in '93, shots of McNabb (although some good ones when he was athletic), and a bunch of other crap. But it ends on the best moments, and it gets me hyped up for the game. So much that it's 1am and I can't fall asleep.

The Flyers look great so far, and I hope they can keep it up.

Taken directly and without shame or regret from metsblog.com

Comment by Johnny B.
2007-09-28 23:11:08

Too late ? the Brewers are dead. Have y?all finally let it sink in? Jimmy Rollins was right. The Phillies really ARE the team to beat.
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Comment by Lets_Go_Mets
2007-09-28 23:13:05

Rollins walked the walk. Give him credit. He deserves the NL MVP.
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Comment by Trumpzilla
2007-09-28 23:22:55

Jose Reyes comes off just awful by comparison. Rollins is gonna be MVP and Reyes is getting booed off the field in the 7th

Zatko and I went golfing today at Flying Hills golf course in Reading, PA. It was a close match throughout, but I ended up losing by 4 strokes, 87 - 91. It's my putting. My drives were out of this world. I had a slight draw on some, making them just look gorgeous. One I hit 260 yards. Although it was downhill, it was a par 5 and it left me with only 190 yards to go. A 3 iron struck well, with a little luck, got me to the front fringe where I chipped an 8 iron and damn near sunk it for Eagle. I parred the hole, though, because I'm the worst putter ever.

I have to get that down. I hit maybe 1 bad drive up until the 17th hole, then hit two consecutive bad drives (with a mulligan). Luckily I found one and didn't have to hit the ball I had to drop. I got a 6 on that hole. If my putting was on, I would have shot 81. Seriously. If all the holes I three putted, I two putted instead, I would have 81 easily. Either I have to get closer to the pin on my approach, or I have to get better at putting. But, first thing's first, my putter sucks. I looked tonight on the website of Dick's Sporting Goods, and I picked out this one. Should be awesome. My current one has about a 2 millimeter line to line up your putt with, and my eyes just aren't that good.

Funny story... Zatko ended up about 4 feet in front of a sign that stood about 18 inches tall, and was a weak metal, kinda the thickness of a license plate. He only had to go about 40 yards, so the shot would likely get right up and the sign shouldn't come into play. I still said, "Do you want me to move the sign?" He's like "There's no f#@#$%ing way that I'm going to hit it." So I said "Alright." And I was thinking "Just watch your balls when it comes flying back at you :P" Sure enough, CLANK!! I laughed, and he took a mulligan.

I was looking around Dick's site more, out of curiosity. Oooh, Callaway Irons with Graphite Shaft, $599. Damn. I have a set I bought for $400 used. Titleists. 2-PW. The only thing that ever lets me down is my swing, and it wasn't happening that often today. I was all over that flag. Not really, but I was hitting them good.

One thing on clubs, though. I haven't ever used a big headed driver. I don't think less of anyone who does :P But I won't use one. I'll stick with my old, normal sized Callaway Big Bertha driver. Also, I get comfortable with a set of clubs and they're all I need. So I won't get a new set for a long time. What usually causes me to get a new set is if I lose one (either to breaking or leaving it on a course somewhere), or I try another club and manage to hit it better. In this case, ignorance is bliss. If I don't ever hit another set of irons, I have no idea what I'm missing, and therefore don't have to spend $600. Same with a driver. I'm terribly happy with my driver, especially after today. You know you're doing good when your friend calls you an A-hole for putting your drive in the perfect location for the hole. Not only putting it there, but saying, before you hit it, "I should probably put it right there", pointing in the exact direction where you eventually hit it. That's why I'll never get another driver either. When I'm not doing well, it's my own damn fault.

Putters, on the other hand... I'm comfortable with lining up a drive and an iron shot. Even a chip where you set the ball up behind your feet and your feet are aiming way to the left, I know exactly where it's going to go. Of course, picking the right direction on a green is tough. This is a tough game. But I never got comfortable lining up a putt. I need that new putter, and I need to try to play every other weekend. I want to get really good, and that's the only equipment I need.

Before that, I needed a wedge with a high loft. Last week, I put a ball 4 feet 8 inches from the pin and won closest to the pin out of like whatever 8 times 18 is. It was a shotgun start, two foresomes a hole. Lots of people. I won. I picked out a 56 degree sand wedge to fill this need. Absolutely, I didn't go into one sand trap today. Although, this course didn't have many, and I can only remember one time when either of us went in. Zatko got right out of that pickle though with a great shot. I could probably talk about golf all day. Especially after a relatively good round. When I get that putting thing down... well, I'll stop.

I participated in my first "live" draft last night. The first "live" one because the first one I did was over the internet. This one was at Stork's house and 14 of us piled in to take part in the madness. They had a draft board, all the players on sheets by position, each on a sticker to put on the draft board, all color coded. The four Connell brothers in the draft all ended up in the same conference, which ended up being called (by my suggestion) the CFC. It was originally AFC and NFC, so now it's AFC and CFC. After about four and a half hours of sweating, smoking, and waiting, here is what my initial lineup looks like:

1. Shaun Alexander - RB
2. Chad Johnson - WR
3. Philip Rivers - QB
4. Tony Gonzalez - TE
5. Eagles Defense

After the first five picks, not a ton of notables were left, so here's the remaining 11, in no particular order.

Jeff Garcia - QB obviously
Cadillac Williams - RB
DeShaun Foster - RB
Santana Moss - WR
Muhsin Muhammad - WR
Marty Booker - WR
Jacoby Jones - WR
Owen Daniels - TE
Matt Stover - K
John Kasay - K
Buccaneers Defense

Move to 2 back of NL East lead.

I didn't watch today, but whenever the Phils are on I get nothing done. I managed to break out the PSP and play Tiger Woods '07 with the Phillies on. That game has a lot of times that it takes a few seconds to load so I'm more watching the Phillies and shooting 59s secondly.

I ordered clothes the other day and they'll be arriving sporadically. They shipped from 4 different places. I got one package. I noticed the other day I don't have any clothes. I also noticed that the clothes in my drawer stay in my drawer... pretty much since I moved in here 3 years ago. So I wanted to get them cleared out like Tuesday, but the Phillies have been playing at 7:05, like clockwork. I get home at 6 or so, eat or play a video game, then watch the Phillies until 10pm or so. During which nothing gets done except some cheering and other intense fan activities. Then I try to go to bed, but the neighbors' kids and my brother are in bed so I can't do anything that requires listening to loud music, like cleaning or going through clothes and throwing them in a trashbag (they will be dropped off at a good-will collection point soon). I finally fall asleep at 1 or so.

Jeff took out a home equity loan to get some work done. So far we have new windows in the front and back of the house, and we're getting a new bathroom. This week is the bathroom work, until Monday. So, I haven't been able to use the toilet, shower, shave, or anything. We have nothing but a tub with no faucets or any kind of plumbing in the whole bathroom. The sink is in Jeff's room, the toilet is in the basement. It will be done by Monday. A week in all.

Tonight I was over my parents' house because it was Monday when I last had a full shower. I've cleaned my hair twice, washed my face and hands every day, behind the ears too, and used deodorant. I haven't received any complaints from the coworkers, and Jeff and I are recovering smokers so we really can't smell too well still, at least not ourselves. I can definitely smell and taste way better than when I smoked though. I took a shower at my parents' house and it was marvelous. It sucked too because on Tuesday morning, the first of the days where I'd have to go a full day without showering, I woke up at like 5:30 and was like "Man, a shower's gonna be great today!" I remembered then that I wouldn't be able to shower! It was one of those days where it was hot during the night even, and I was feeling sticky. A shower would have really hit the spot. Oh well.

Another thing about no sink is you can't shave. By this morning I had the full Koy Detmer neck beard going. Tonight I got a haircut and shaved.

Two weeks ago on Saturday my friends and I went to the Phillies game. I was coordinator, so I had to buy all the tickets, be there first, supply some beer and food, and collect money and act like I was da bomb. That last part is easy. I had 16 tickets. Zatko and I got there at like 12:40. I probably would have been perfectly fine hanging out with just us two and maybe some girls all day. We were having a good time. Everyone else showed up, fashionably late, at like 2 o'clock. The game started at 3:55. I had about 6 beers before the game, and only one or two after that. I smoked a few, but it's just because I lack any kind of inhibitions or self restraint after 4+ beers. I haven't smoked since. We went to McFadden's afterwards and there were about a million people there. Later Jared vomited on his car :) We all had a great time I think. I'd go again. Good night.

I'm not as literariterically proficient as some people, but I do know some words and make up others. I'm not the best (closer to the worst) at expressing my excitement in real life, and probably one of the best in expressing excitement in writing (on account that I can add more exclamation points than anyone). But, sitting here, I can't hold back excitement either in real life or in fake. The f@%@#$ing Phillies ARE IN SPRING TRAINING!!

I know this has been the case for a few days now, but it's finally sunk in. Things don't sink in quick for me. I can learn anything pretty quickly, but feeling something takes a while. It takes a constant reiteration of knowledge.

When the paper starts putting up articles like this one, and starts mentioning names like Utley, Howard, Rollins, Victorino, and to some extent Burrell (cringe), and the players start talking about their roles and their ability to win, it helps to ignite the excitement, and ... well, I just can't f@%@$ing wait for the season to start.

The Phillies haven't really been my favorite Philadelphia team ever. Although, in '93, I didn't miss a game. It was that kind of energy at the beginning of the season where I couldn't help but watch the first game of the season, all the way to the last game of the World Series. This year I'm sure won't be much different. But, lately, baseball has picked up steam and quickly became my favorite game to watch. Sure, we have the Eagles and football, but this year I really couldn't wait for the Phillies to start, even as Garcia and the crew were marching through the end of the season and into the playoffs. I definitely enjoyed watching and rooting for the Eagles, but in the back of my mind, I wanted to watch some baseball. And this year's Phillies team is awesome. We WILL see some October baseball in this town finally. You heard it here first.

I've believed, ever since the big trades last year, the Phillies would have been in the World Series if they had that team from the beginning of the season. Now they have that team. Now we just have to enjoy every minute of it.

Hanging out until football starts, watching Curb Your Enthusiasm since 11:45am today. Great show. I bought my brother the first five seasons for Christmas, *expecting* him to bring it over to watch :) Man I'm smart. He's said it's the greatest gift ever. It is absolutely hilarious. I watch it and almost immediately realize why he doesn't play himself on Seinfeld, and instead Jason Alexander plays him... him and Seinfeld sound exactly the same at times. If you close your eyes, you almost think it's Seinfeld. It's brilliant though. Today we're watching Season 5. I've only seen 2 seasons out of the five. I plan on doing the same thing tomorrow.

While we would love to get the whole fan-damily down to the Phillies game today, only four of six brothers will be there. Scott, Jeff, Me, and Pat. That's a recipe for disaster, still. We'll be getting there between 11 and 11:30, and the game starts at 1:20 PM. However many Connell brothers go, there's always a chance for a 100% violent removal from the stadium. Either from something that we're all doing wrong, or if one of us gets kicked out, the others will quickly become the judge and jury, prove the guilty party's innocence with violent resolve, and thus be kicked out on their own right. There are only a limited number of chances to see them in the wild, in their natural habitat, doing completely crazy sh@%, it should surely not disappoint this time, simply because it never ever does :)

After the game, it's block party time!! Lots more drinking, celebrating a Phillies' win (or mourning a loss), talking about Howard's home run last night, and hopefully one today, and loads of laughing, live music, and love!! Ok, that sounds Woodstock'ish. Loads of laughing, live music, being wasted, and having a great time! That's better. Tune in tomorrow (God help the internet if I decide to make a post tonight!) for an update on random recollections and hopefully some actual occurrences during the day, and possibly in the order of which they happened, and if all goes well, it won't be memories from other times or lives mixed in with today's story.

Also, the Phillies play at 1pm!! Today could be the greatest day ever. I'm watching the games over at my brother Scott's. I was there last night too, we watched Penn State (Nikki, my sister-in-law, graduated from Penn State and is a fan for life), but they got romped by Notre Dame. I played with my neice, Meghan, and my nephew Danny. Danny did his "E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!" chant. He's 3, so it comes out like "E-L-G EAGLES!!!" It's the cutest thing.

Some people watch the preseason games. I could care less. I'm a huge Phillies fan right now. One time during preseason, they both played at like 7 o'clock one Thursday night, and I didn't turn on the Eagles, not even once, until the Phillies were over. They could make the playoffs, and in baseball, anything can happen after that. A lot of World Series winners have been Wild Card teams. Boston '04 was one... So anything can happen. But baseball will be in the background today. It's f@#%@ing football season!!!

I went golfing with my Dad yesterday. I was out until around 1:30 am on Friday. I was completely bombed. My Dad told me to meet him at their house at 8 am. But instead, plans changed a bit. My Dad tried to call me and I didn't answer. So he came over at 7:55! I woke up right away, got dressed, got some stuff together, brushed my teeth, put the stupid dog in her crate, and met my Dad outside. At this point, I realized how hung over I was. Oh man, golf was not going to be fun today. I had a monster headache for the first 7-8 holes. I wasn't even functional until the 5th or 6th hole, and by the end of the round, I tried to think back to the beginning of the round, and it seemed like a lifetime ago. Being just the two of us, the starter tried to pair us up with this couple, but they didn't want to because they were there celebrating their anniversary or something. God bless 'em. So we got paired with these two guys, probably mid to late 50s. Friendly guys. Of course, you're supposed to be friendly to the people you get paired with, it's a friendly game. Not being functional, I was like "Hi.". I didn't say much other than cracking a joke, like about a bunker that they both got stuck in, saying "You could spend a lifetime in there." It was a brutal, brutal bunker with steep sides. The one guy almost had to go out sideways.

After an advil that my Dad had, a cheeseburger after nine, and a f2#%@ing sh@#%load of water, I felt much better. I was back to myself :P At this point, I explained that I was out celebrating the night before because I got a new job, and was probably still wasted when I started the round! They understood :) One of them actually offered me work since he found out I was a programmer! I gave him my info so we should be in touch.

I had this shot on "the humpback hole" at Paxon Hollow. I drove way left and couldn't get to the green, so I chipped out to the edge of the fairway, around 140 yards away. I took out my 7 iron, knowing it was the exact club I needed. I hit it, and it was beautiful. It bounced, and again, and rolled up and settled right behind the cup, 2 feet away. The two guys I was with cheered and clapped, I took a bow. It was awesome.

The funniest thing about this story, though, is that I scored better on the front nine than I did on the back. And by 9 whole strokes! The back is harder, but still... I was totally out of it for the front nine, shooting a 44! I thank water and food for my miraculous front nine.