NorCo Council and Philadelphia Eagles

Last night, as most of you know, the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Dallas Cowboys in the season opener. Before the game even got underway, defensive standout Jalen Carter was ejected after he inexplicably spit on Dallas QB Dak "Here we go!" Prescott. Then, early in the third quarter, right after Dallas coughed up the ball and the Eagles looked like they were in a position to extend their lead, the game was suspended as a result of lightning in the area.  

I had hoped to be able to watch the game and then watch and write about the NorCo Council meeting. But my report will have to wait until Monday. It looks very much as though the County Council and Executive races are in full swing as Council actually blocked a noncontroversial budget amendment. It also looks as though the animosity between Council and the Executive branch is at fever pitch. I'll tell you about it Monday.  

Go Birds!

Will Philadelphia Eagles Visit White House?

The heads of MAGA world are exploding. "GO F YOURSELVES EAGLES,” proclaims right wing podcaster Megyn Kelly. supposedly in response to an Eagles snub of a White House invitation. Here's what I know.

Only one source, The Sun, has made this claim, citing just one anonymous source. I am unable to locate the story and am unsure whether it it's still there. Nevertheless, in the very fast world of 15-minute news cycles, this rumor is now all over the net and mainstream. 

I have no idea whether the Eagles have been invited. Trump disinvited the team in 2018 after several players said they would boycott. So I have no idea whether he's even invited the team for a visit. 

I do know that following the AFC championship, Trump congratulated both the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills but had nothing to say concerning the NFC championship game played early that day between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders. Trump is petty like that, a small man, but this could simply have been an oversight.

I do know that Trump rooted for Kansas City in the Super Bowl, and lavished praise on QB Patrick Mahomes before the game. But after the game, he acknowledged that the Eagles played "flawless football."

I do know that Eagles OT Lane Johnson said it would be an "honor," to be invited, but added these are team decisions. 

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts said Trump was free to do what he wants when asked about Trump attending the Super Bowl, but I believe that is just his way of blocking out the noise before a big game. I would not conclude animus based on one guarded remark by a QB known for a stoic approach. 

Eagles' owner Jeff Lurie contributed to Hillary Clinton in 2016, and his ex-wife is a Democratic donor. He has contributed to both parties. 

My conclusions? 1) We have no idea whether the Eagles have been invited to visit Trump. 2) We do not know for certain that the Eagles have voted to snub a visit if an invitation has been extended. 3) Trump rooted for the wrong team in the Super Bowl. I previously stated a President should stay neutral. ... Unless he's rooting for the Eagles. 

Philadelphia Eagles (With Local Legends Saquon and Jahon) Will Be Hunting On Sunday

Eagles Packers Game Can Be Viewed on NBC10

 At last night's meeting of Northampton County Council, member Ron Heckman asked perhaps the best question he's ever posed. He's been told, as have most of us, that the Eagles-Packers game scheduled for tonight will only appear on the Peacock network. He asked if anyone knew if the game was being broadcast on any of the local TV networks. 

Council member Jeff Warren, in perhaps his most brilliant answer to a question, responded that the game will appear on NBC 10. I checked, and Warren is correct.

So there's no need for you pay for a Peacock subscription. 

9-1. Need I Say More?

 

And Jason Kelce finally beat his kid brother Travis. 

Superbowl Aftermath: Philly Goes Nutz

Lock up your women and children! Eagles' fans are on the loose!

I've done some cRaZy things back in the day. I've gone skinny dipping at 3 AM in a stranger's pool with a bunch of other drunks. I've done many other things that are pretty shameful, as you might expect from a drunk who lost his license to practice law.

But I never punched a police horse.

When the Eagles hosted Minnesota, two fans were arrested for just such an equine assault. One of the assailants calls Whitehall home.

But that's just one of those things, right?

No.

In the aftermath of the Eagles Superbowl victory, joyous fans decided to steal two police horses. Reports that an ostrich was stolen from the zoo turned out to be false, especially since the zoo has no ostriches. But a car was flipped, and for some reason, a Christmas tree was set ablaze. A cop was accidentally run over by a four-wheeler. The Ritz Carlton awning collapsed, and today I heard one radio personality claim he has a piece.

Good fun.

Then some bastard actually started eating horse shit.

In fairness, it might have been a reaction to Justin Timberlake's half-time show.

Fly, Eagles, Fly!

Underdogs to Atlanta. Underdogs to Minnesota. Underdogs to New England.

A team that never gave up on itself, even after its franchise player went down with a season-ending injury. A team that in fact embraced the underdog moniker.

Superbowl champions.

Yes, it's just a game. But the best games are those that inspire hope and confidence in all of us.

Congrats to the Philadelphia Eagles on an amazing season and brilliant Superbowl against a very worthy foe.

Updated 8 am with comment from Chris Casey on Facebook: NBC should be embarrassed by how their announcers called this game. Al [Michaels] and Chris [Collinsworth] seemed very disappointed that the Patriots lost. They questioned the validity of Eagles touchdowns and overlooked an equal number of calls that went the Patriots' way. Dare I say that the Eagles gave a great effort, played well, and won the game because they deserved to?

Eagles' Underdawgs Going to Superbowl!!

I told you in November that I was boycotting the Philadelphia Eagles this year. My decision had nothing to do with the National Anthem. I was staying away because I was a jinx. If I watched them or even listened to Merrill Reese on the radio, they'd lose. But when I stayed away and only paid attention to tweets, they tended to win. It killed me, but it paid off. The Eagles are going to the Superbowl for the first time since 2004.

Since Carson Wenz was injured, oddsmakers predicted the Eagles would lose to Atlanta and Minnesota. Instead of whining about it, the Eagles embraced their underdog status, which only made them look better to Philly fans. They know what it's like to be underdogs.

Guess what? The Eagles are underdogs for the third time in this year's playoffs, this time against the Patriots.

Good.

This Eagles Boycott is Killing Me!

I often hit a bar on Sunday afternoons. No, I'm still sober. I have no TV and go there so I can watch the Philadelphia Eagles. But not this year. I'm boycotting them. Not because Authoritarian Donald Trump tells me to, but because I'm a jinx. Just as I'm often the kiss of death when I predict victory for a politician, I've noticed that the Eagles tend to lose games that I watch. Even if I just listen to Merrill Reese's always-entertaining play-by-play, they lose. So I stopped watching or listening. Since that time, the Eagles have been undefeated.

This is killing me.

If they suddenly start losing, you'll know why.

While I'm here, I might as well share my top Eagles memory. It has nothing to do with the on-field action.

I went on a bus trip to see them play the Redskins many years ago. My son and daughter were with me, too. So were a neighbor and his kids.

Today, our kids would be taken away from us. 

That was the very first time they were having Magistrate's Court right at the Vet stadium, back in 1988. . There had been sixty fist fights at just one game, one Eagles fan shot a flare gun and some guys were urinating in sinks.  Future Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery brought Eagles Court to restore the rule of law.

Well, the crime problem likely was the result of everyone sneaking in all kinds of booze. Inside shirts, jackets, pockets. They even loaded up little kids with Miller Lite, just like drug mules. Because I was no longer drinking, I was viewed as a beer distributor, and was weighted down with so many cans that I could barely walk.

No metal detectors or wands back then. We showed them our ticket and we were in,even though a can fell out as I walked by.

My son and his best friend loved the scalpers and would return in later years and figure out ways to get in for free.

As we sat there, some obviously-loaded guy in front of us got up and was yelling about this and that play. The young daughters who were with us were unable to see, and I asked the fellow to sit down.

"Fuck you!" was his answer.

Then he complained that our group had cans of illegal alcohol all over the place, which we did. A security guys came and said, "I don't see anything" even though one of my friends was holding a can.

A few minutes later, our adversary pulled out some of the things that he had smuggled into the stadium himself. This included a six-pack and a hoagie that looked very good. Then he pulled out a knife to cut the hoagie in half so he could share it with his wife, who seemed like a very nice lady.

"Oh my God, he's got a knife!" I shouted.  "There are children here!"

Let me tell you, within about three seconds, security people were dragging this guy away.  They came from everywhere. Some of them actually jumped up from the playing field and hauled this poor guy off to Seamus McCaffery's court. His wife and the knife went with him, too.

That left the hoagie, which I ate.

The guy and his wife did return to their seats late in the fourth quarter, minus the knife. Judge McCaffery  apparently decided the matter lacked prosecutorial merit. The guy did apologize for his foul language to me and the young ladies who were with us.

In exchange, he and his wife were offered a beer.

Fortunately, he never asked about the hoagie.

The Black Knights of the Schuylkill

All I'm going to say is that the Philadelphia Eagles need to wear black in every game. 

DA: NFL Coach's Son Possessed 19 Vials of Anabolic Steroids

At a news conference this afternoon, Northampton County DA John Morganelli announced that he has closed the investigation into the death of Garett Reid, son of Philadelphia Eagles' head coach Andy Reid.  Garett, age 29, died of a heroin overdose at Lehigh University's campus on August 5, but inestigators were curious about 19 unmarked vials found in his possession. Thiose vials contained anabolic steroids, according to Morganelli. He stated there was no evidence that Reid was distributing them to Eagles players.

Police alkso investigated calls and texts to and from Reid's cell phone. There was no evidence of any calls placed to or from drug dealers. The one Lehigh Valley contact made by Reid was with a female acquaintance, who had no involvement in any drug activity.

Coroner: Heroin Overdose Killed Son of Eagles' Coach

At a October 18 news conference, DA John Morganelli provided a glimpse into the final hours of 29 year-old Garrett Reid, oldest son of Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid. Just a few hours before his death on August 5, he was fine, according to two witnesses who saw him on Lehigh University's campus. But at 7:20 AM, he was found dead in his private bedroom at Sayre Park Village, where the Eagles were housed during training camp. According to Coroner Zachary Lysek, an autopsy and subsequent toxicology tests reveal that Reid's killer was heroin. Lysek added that Reid was in fact a chronic heroin user.

"Unfortunately, Garrett Reid did have a battle with drug use," stated Lysek.

LU Police Chief Edward Shupp

But how did Reid get the heroin? That's what Morganelli and Lehigh University police are still investigating. Police uncovered 19 vials of a still undetermined liquid substance, 47 syringes and 64 needles in Reid's gym bag. The also found two empty wax papers in which heroin is commonly packaged.

Officers also have Reid's cell phone, from which they continue to investigate calls and texts to and from Reid.

Morganelli wants the identity of Reid's supplier, whether it is in Philadelphia or Northampton County. Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams has pledged to assist Morganelli in any way needed. Morganelli also noted that the Philadelphia Eagles' organization has been completely cooperative, from Coach Reid to the players.

Whether investigators will ever be successful in identifying Reid's supplier is by no means clear. "Every investigation is its own animal," stated Morganelli.