3 “Sports Lists” I Don’t Need, And 2 I Would Love To See

One of the best parts of an NFL season in the life of a sports radio host in Philadelphia is that from Labor Day through at least early January the storylines write themselves. There aren’t needs to do many of the crutches that hosts who avoid show prep love to do in the off-season. Some of my favorites are of course, Mount Rushmore shows and the dreaded “Win-Loss” day after schedule release.

In print media the cycle is pretty relentless too. We refer to it in radio as “List season”. This is where every media outlet comes out with their lists of just about anything.

Now many of these can be creative, funny and interesting. Unfortunately, some are just a writer trying to meet a deadline with a creation of things that never deserve such attention. I’d love to hear about some that you love and hate. Here are a few of the lists I never need to see again!

This is one of my favorite targets of slander. Why? First, the NFL SOS ranking list does not take into account anything but LAST season's results! Each year about 35-40% of the playoff field changes in the NFL so the data is immediately skewed. Secondly, it does not take into account WHERE you play the opponent. Facing the Chiefs in your stadium is far easier than heading to Arrowhead! It’s a statistical folly that is disproved season after season.

I swear I get this one pitched to me from a media outlet every year. The reasoning is always skewed and the data could change from year to year. The typical one is based on social media content and that only accounts for about 25% of the population anyway.

Let’s do a list in early 2022, the Phillies fans weren’t very enthusiastic and involved then the miracle run happened. In 2024 the Mets had 4 sellouts and now you can’t get a seat in Queens! Memo to all writers, bandwagon fans exist everywhere. The 76ers were near dead last in attendance over many years now they constantly sell out. Teams CREATE bandwagon fans.

I’m sorry INSERT RANDOM WRITER HERE, you didn’t try all that stadium food from every major league park. You didn’t roll into 30 stadiums and sample their entire menu. Most likely, you went and read what each stadium has and ranked them on the desirability of how that food sounds. I’m sorry, menus make food look great at even the most mediocre chain joints. Even if you did try some items in every stadium, your own preferences kept you from trying them all.

I would love to see this list and I bet thousands of fans would bookmark it for buying seats affordably on the secondary market. Anyone want to do it?

What lot gets you out of traffic after the game the quickest? Which one has the best tailgate vibes?

The local bars where on a game night it feels like game night. What spots have an Eagles Gameday atmosphere that make road games feel like the Linc?

IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A LIST TO SHARE WITH ME, I WOULD LOVE TO SHARE IT WITH THE FANATIC AUDIENCE! PLEASE SEND IT ALONG TO ME (YOU WILL GET ALL OF THE CREDIT) AT JOHN.KINCADE@BBGI.com

In general, we want sports to be played on as even of a playing field as possible. Mother nature does not always let that happen though. Occasionally she has different plans and drops snow, rain, or other weather events onto our heads while we are trying to enjoy our team's play. The truth is, we kind of love bad weather games.

There is something special about playing sports in the worst conditions possible. Who doesn't love a football game in the snow? Or maybe even heavy rain. Most of the time we want good weather. But now and then, you have to love a game in bad conditions. And our teams have had some great ones. So I put together a list of some of the best ones.

I only included ones we actually have good memories of. The list could be much longer if I included bad weather games where our teams came up short. I could have listed the Fog Bowl. Or the infamous Joe Webb game after a snowstorm forced the Eagles into playing on Tuesday night. But we dont need to drudge up those bad memories. Besides, thinking of Joe Webb somehow beating the Eagles still gives me shivers.

I wanted to talk about games we can celebrate instead. Times where despite the bad weather, our team still came out on top. Some of the games on this list even led to championships for the city. So from the Snow Bowl to the the 2008 World Series, and a few Eagles Championships back in the day, we took a look at some of our favorite bad-weather games. These are the times Mother Nature was against our teams, and they still triumphed.

Before a blizzard of confetti fell over Lincoln Financial Field in the 2004-2005 NFC Championship game, an actual blizzard hit it. And while it was not snowing during the game itself, the stadium was blanketed in snow ahead of the game. Fans had to come out to help shovel the snow, and chilly winds made the 17-degree temperatures feel closer to 0 during the game. But it was all worth it. The Eagles beat the Falcons 27-10 and advanced to the Super Bowl.

Looking back, the tone for the game was set when Brian Dawkins put a hard hit on Falcons Tight End Alge Crumpler. Getting hit by Dawkins in normal conditions is bad enough. But getting leveled by him in the freezing cold? Can't imagine that was very fun.

This is not a game that was played in the rain. But several rain delays did set up an unforgettable Phillies moment. The Phillies and the Padres were scheduled to play a doubleheader. But the rain delays meant game 1 didn't end until about 1 a.m. Instead of moving game 2 to the next day, they started playing it at 1:30 a.m. Those who stayed up to watch both games were treated to a special moment. At 4:40 a.m. Mitch Williams of all people knocked in the walk-off hit.

This game is exactly why we love playing football in the snow. Despite the snow, though you could argue it was because of it, LeSean McCoy put on quite the show for us. A franchise-record 217 yards, including two 40+ yard TD runs. All on the way to a 34-20 victory for the Eagles. The Eagles started out the game down 14-0. But the two McCoy TDs, as well as TDs by Desean Jackson, Nick Foles, and Chris Polk, eventually led the Eagles to a win.

Bad weather is not just snow, rain, and freezing temps. A heat wave counts too. And few games in Eagles history were as hot as the Pickle Juice game. Temperatures in Dallas reached 109. On the field, they reached as high as 130. The Eagles dominated the Cowboys that day, in no small part due to them drinking pickle juice before the game. It turns out drinking pickle juice can help avoid muscle cramps, and gave the Eagles an edge that day. An edge they rode to a 41-14 victory, with Duce Staley racking up more yards (201) than the Cowboys entire offense (167).

The Phillies and Reds had no business playing that Tuesday night in the rain. But thankfully they did. Because in the miserable rainy conditions, Bryce Harper put on a show. Three home runs, including a grand slam to cap it off. He went hitless over the first 4 games of the season but made up for it in a big way.

Something about the rain seems to bring out the best in Bryce Harper. As we will see with the next moment.

Rain almost ruined game 5 for the Phillies in the 2022 NLCS. It pushed Zach Wheeler out of the game and brought in Seranthony Dominguez. Dominguez had been dominant in the playoffs before that day, but it was clear he was having g a hard time finding his control in the wet conditions. A wild Seranthony let the Padres take the lead. But maybe that was meant to be. Because once the rain cleared, it set up one of the best single moments in Phillies history.

In the bottom of the 8th, with JT Realmuto on base, Bryce Harper had "the swing of his life." He crushed the ball to left field, putting the Phillies up for good, and sent them to the World Series. A moment that would have never happened were it not for the rain letting the Padres back into the game.

Before there ever was a Super Bowl, the Eagles racked up a few Championships. The first of which came amidst a Winter Storm. Shibe Park in Philadelphia was blanketed in snow, and it kept both the Eagles and the Cardinals from scoring for most of the game. 1 TD, carried in by Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren, was all the Eagles needed to win their first-ever Championship. And as we are about to talk about, their next Championship was no prettier in the weather department.

Worth noting is the commute Van Buren took to the game. He rode a bus, a train, and a subway to get in, before walking several blocks to get to the game. Thankfully he made it, so he could score this game-winning TD.

There was no snow the next year when the Eagles repeated as champions. But there was rain and lots of it. The LA Coliseum was turned into a giant pit of mud. This time the Eagles managed two TDs though. One by Pete Phios from Tommy Thompson, the other a blocked punt that they returned for a TD. Steve Van Buren did not find the endzone this time, but he did rack up 196 rushing yards. More than the Rams' entire offense.

With the Phillies on the verge of winning their first World Series, Mother Nature tried to rain on our parade. Literally. Game 3 has already endured a 91-minute delay. But then game 5 saw a rainstorm get in its way too. They tried to play through it. And like it later would in 2022, the rain saw the Phillies blow a lead. The game was suspended at a 2-2 tie, and we had to wait to see the Phillies' fate. We waited two days. But it was worth it. Because it eventually led to this.