Fairweather Zealot

Marty November 20th, 2006

I won’t pretend that I’m the biggest Eagles fan in all the land - but I have come to enjoy and root for them after being exposed for all of these years.  The fact that Andy Reid and the team were doing all of the things that I wanted to see from a good sports franchise - ignoring the whining of players, managing the cap, putting together a TEAM not a group of individuals, recruiting good, solid people.  And it was hard to argue with a team that was (for the most part) made up of guys that seemed to stress team instead of the ‘ME’ (besides the obvious exception).

So it was really hard to watch how bad they looked yesterday.  Even before Donovan McNabb went down with the career-ending injury, they were struggling on all sides.  McNabb is a great quarterback, and goes out and gives everything every week.  I have my gripes about him (his avoidance of running, despite his great legs; his lack of touch on a lot of passes), but he’s a good leader and has often come up with something to win a game when it didn’t look like there was anything to come up with.

But lately, both he and Andy Reid have looked lost.  Donovan’s touch passing has been worse, and his decision-making has been suspect, at best.  Worse, Andy Reid - the architect of 4 straight NFC Championship game appearances, and 1 Super Bowl, has seemed to lose his lustre.  Unlike a lot of other, more die-hard, fans, I don’t think Reid needs to go.  However, he does need to start looking at what he has to work with and use it more effectively.

First in a (growing) list is that fact that he seems allergic to the run.  Consider that their running back - the dynamic Brian Westbrook - is averaging a fantastic 5.2 yards per carry.  Even Corell Buckhalter, their backup, is running a respectable 3.9 ypc.  In fact, the Eagles have the second best rushing average as a team in the NFL (4.9 ypc).  But yet, when it’s crunch time - 3rd and 1, 3rd and 2, etc. - they consistently turn to the pass, often to a missed opportunity.  Why aren’t they putting that running ability to use more?

Reid’s inability to change his style to reflect the styles being used against him is concerning.  Instead of a more balanced attack to start with, they start and finish with mostly passes, even when the passing game has been keyed on and made almost ineffective.  Sure, they get their 1 long play a game, but for the rest of the game they struggle to get even first downs, let alone touchdowns.  If it weren’t for the fact that Westbrook is also a heck of a receiver, he would be the most underutilized starting RB in the league.

The evidence was shown yesterday when Donovan went down and Jeff Garcia, who hadn’t played with the starters at all this season, even in practice, had to come in and run the offense.  He didn’t do poorly, but you could tell that the lack of reps was there, and even though they were working the running game fairly effectively, they still refused to use it.  THAT is what makes for ugly games like the one shown yesterday.

• Philly , Rants , sports
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Marty August 28th, 2006

Well, we’re back from vacation in N. Topsail Beach, NC, and had a good time not only relaxing, but also getting out and seeing some of the natural sights. We didn’t venture out as much as either of us would have liked, but we did get a chance to see some new things while we were there. A short list of what we saw:

BIRDS

• Willet
• Brown Pelican
• Sanderling
• Black-bellied Plover (adult + juv)
• Least Sandpiper
• Ruddy Turnstone
• Dunlin
• Great Black-Backed Gull (adults + var. juvs)
• Lesser Black-Backed Gull (adults + var. juvs)
• Herring Gull (adults + var. juvs)
• Laughing Gull (adults + var. juvs)
• Ring-billed Gull (adults + var. juvs)
• Royal Tern (adult + juv)
• Sandwich Tern (adult + juv)
• Green Heron
• Great Egret
• Great Blue Heron
• Snowy Egret
• Belted Kingfisher
• European Starling
• Boat-tailed Grackle (adult + juv) ‡
• Song Sparrow
• Carolina Wren

BUTTERFLIES & MOTHS

• Palomedes Swallowtail
• Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
• Black Swallowtail
• Monarch
• Viceroy
• Phaon Crescent
• Pearl Crescent
• Salt-marsh Skipper
• Cloudy Skipper §
• Clouded Sulphur
• Orange Sulphur
• Southern Dogface (waiting verifiication) §
• 2 un-ID’d skippers
• Zebra Conchylodes (moth) §
• Un-ID’d yellow-and-black moth

DRAGONFLIES

• Four-spotted Pennant (M, F, imm) §
• Seaside Dragonlet (M, F)
• Carolina Saddlebags (M, F) §
• Swamp Darner †
• Eastern Pondhawk (M, F, imm M)
• Wandering Glider

Other STUFF

• Velvet Ant ‡
• Fire Ants ‡
• 5-lined Skink
• Un-ID’d snake
• Snapping Turtle
• Loggerhead Turtle (hatchling)

key: † New species | ‡ Lifelist photo | § New species and photo

• Birding , Photography , Play , Travel
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Marty August 22nd, 2006

It’s been a long time since I had a proper vacation - almost a year, in fact. Being a consultant/contractor has its benefits, but also had the downside of a lack of paid holiday time. When I wasn’t working, I was looking for my next position, leaving precious time to go to places that had sand, sun and margaritas (although not necessarily in that order). Luckily, for us, the destination that we head to each August is simple enough - my parents’ beachhouse in N. Topsail Beach, NC. It’s big enogh for a good portion of the family and is located in a place where there is little to do other than relax. Of course, that would be in a normal family situation, which is rarely the case here.

Still, it was nice enough to get away from work after working a LOT of hours over the last 5 months. I love my job, so it’s not a bad thing to work that many hours, but the opportunity to recharge was welcome and needed.  And for me, the beach is a perfect place to relax and enjoy some down time.

So, after a few days of sun and fun (and a few of rain), I’m medium rare and I’ve seen some cool new stuff (which I was hoping to do).  I’ve had some fun doing some photographic things out of the norm - family shots, landscapes, etc., as well as my normal nature shots.  Expect to be subjected to them soon.

• Play , Travel
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Marty August 15th, 2006

I was born in Delaware, but spent most of my growing up years in SE Pennsylvania. The region - being where it was with Delaware having NO pro sports teams at the time - went mostly with Philly teams, although there were some Baltimore fans thrown into the mix as well. That meant that I followed the Phillies, Flyers and Sixers pretty regularly (well, much less so with the latter, although Dr. J was the man). Strangely, I was a Cowboys fan due to a set of odd circumstances¹, but otherwise I was Philly through and through.

My youth was spent following the classics - Schmidt, Carlton and Luzinski; Clarke, Barber and Lindbergh, Erving, Cunningham and Cheeks. Those were the heydays of Philadelphia sports - the teams were perenially contending, although with only limited Championship success. Between 1974 and 1983, the Philly teams were at or near the top almost all the time:

So, since that 1983 World Series appearance by the Phillies - almost 23 years ago, the composite 4 major pro sports teams in this town have gone to the finals only 6 times (Flyers 3, Sixers 1, Phillies 1, Eagles 1) all resulting in losses, meaning that the 76ers 1982-83 World Championship represents the last parade down ol’ Broad St. 23 years, 91 seasons and exactly ZERO championships. Heck, 7 expansion teams (well, 2 expansion and 5 ‘moved’ teams) have won 8 championships in that time.

It’s not just the dirth of championships - it’s the combination of constant teasing, unfallably coming up short and droughts of even winning seasons. The Philly sports fan has learned to exude unbridled enthusiasm mixed with cautious pessimism, invariably leaning toward the former against all reason and history only to be crushed when the final tick of the clock comes down. From the 3 years of almosts of the Eagles NFC Championships to the endless great Flyers teams who choked without a championship (14 years in the playoffs without one), the spirit of the fan is battered and bruised.

We are a passionate fan base, quick to cheer and apt to boo in equal volumes, harsh to players even that we love, evil those those we dislike but hopelessly loyal to even those mediocre players who show us what we want the most - heart. Rod Brind’Amour, Hugh Douglas and now Chase Utley don’t necessarily produce league star numbers but stand loved by Philly fans because ever game was (or is) at 100%, every game important to their very soul, every emotion raw and open to us. We embrace them as one of us even as we push the prima donnas aside as inconsequential at best, or crucify them from the stands at worse.  We are sometimes fickle but always full of heart.  But we’re also VERY tired.

How long must we suffer through this lack of winning, this utter desperation for a hint of victory.  The playoffs seemed assured in all sports only a few years ago - and even then the teams we love (and love to hate) seemed to fail us in the end.  When they did make it, they were teasing us, giving us false hope only to leave with with the bitter taste of disappointment again.

Where it will end?  No one knows - despite our best efforts to divine a path, a solution, a bit of hope for a roster that doesn’t include 43-year-old castoffs, it hasn’t happened.  So, we anesthetize with cheap beer, cheesesteaks and Wing Bowl, and continue the Philly mantra: “Well, next year we’ll be right in the hunt.  Maybe.”

• Philly , Rants , sports
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Marty June 27th, 2006

On Friday, Phillies pitcher Brett Myers was arrested in Boston for allegedly assaulting his wife on a crowded Boston street. There’s little doubt that he did it - it was in the middle of the street in front of multiple witnesses, but technically he is innocent until proven guilty.

There’s no defending the act. None. Beating your wife - or any women - is always reprehensible. But there are good ways and bad ways to deal with the aftermath of the situation, and the only person who did anything right was the Boston police spokesman when he refused to comment on specifics of the case. From the Phillies’ and Myers’ side of things, they couldn’t have done a worse job at dealing with this. Continue Reading »

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Marty June 21st, 2006

I know that it’s early in the season. I know that the Phillies are in the midst of tossing the season down the tubes. And I know that Albert Pujols is injured. But the more I see of Ryan Howard, the more that I like the guy - and think that he might be a major part of the Phillies for some time to come. Continue Reading »

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Marty June 9th, 2006

I’ve been pretty psyched seeing some my shots on the Philadelphia Zoo website, but this is kind of special - my first picture in a magazine. The magazine is the quarterly journal for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), and they saw my picture here on Flickr and asked if they could use it.

Being a non-profit, I donated the image so I won’t be swimming in the copious earnings of a professional photographer, but I’m pretty excited nonetheless.

• Birding , Family , Photography , Play , Travel
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Marty May 1st, 2006

After watching my wife go through her third bout of Lyme Disease in 10 years, I have a natural dislike and distrust of ticks. Not that anyone actually likes the little blood-sucking creatures (well, other than that odd entomologist) but my disdain for them has grown. The ticks responsible for this devestating and completely under-researched disease are deer ticks (sp. Ixodes), who pass along the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria in their bites, are quite common in our area - in fact, the majority of the cases of Lyme Disease in the U.S. are in the northeast, although the rest of the country is catching up quickly. And this summer is shaping to be one of the worst that I can remember. Continue Reading »

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Marty April 23rd, 2006

Amur Leopard
Panthera pardus orientalis

Shari and I went to the zoo today to see if we could add to the donated pictures we are giving to them.

This leopard was beautiful, taking in the attention without really paying too much mind to it. However, I was able to get his focus for just long enough here…

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Marty February 15th, 2006

This is Dakota, one of the three new mountain lion cubs at the Philadelphia Zoo. Dakota is the only male, while there are two females, Cinnabar and Sage. All three were extremely cute playing in their enclosure today.

All three were orphaned when their mother was shot during a puma hunt in Montana. Luckily, someone found the cubs or they would have probably starved or become prey for other animals. They ended up here where they will become part of the Zoo’s new carnivore exhibit scheduled to open this summer.

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