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Photo credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning. The Phillies blew a chance to sweep the Mets. The Flyers aren’t playing hockey. The Eagles completed a solid draft and signed a guy nicknamed “Murderleg.”

Let’s hit it!

 

But first, a word from our sponsors:

T-shirts. We’re selling Sidney Head Bleed anyway. Get one.

Doc. Meet Roy Halladay at Sports Vault this September. Details and tickets here.

Bringin’ Hexy Back. Philly Phaithful’s oh-so-fitting jam.

Tickets. Great deals on Phillies tickets at Crossing Broad Tickets.

 

The roundup:

Sheil Kapadia’s pick-by-pick draft review.

Chip Kelly is in love with wide receiver draft pick Jordan Matthews. Here’s why:

You may have heard the story by now about how Jordan Matthews broke down four Eagles’ game tapes before heading to Philly for his official visit. Chip Kelly said he was armed with a notebook for his interview with the coaches “and came in with questions for us.” Equally impressive to Kelly was the receiver’s recall when some of his own tape came on.

“Jordan Matthews could tell you the play that was being run before he ran it. We’d have the tape and he’d look at the screen and say, That is the Ole Miss game. I remember this. It’s 3rd and 13, here’s the play call. I ran a dig. You hit play and that’s exactly what happened,” he said.

Jimmy Kempski grades the Eagles draft using stick figures and animated GIFs.

Sexy GIFs that include Maria Menounos shimmying in a green bikini. [Do we think she and Mario Lopez have ever boinked? They had to have, right?]

Meet Casey Spear – Murderleg – who was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Eagles. No idea if he can kick, but he murders people:

And hey, he can’t be worse than Alex Henery, right?

The Eagles are interested in hosting the NFL Draft, and probably won’t get it because, by rule when Philly hosts a big event, an outdoor concert must occur on the Parkway or Riverfront and a fully-sanctioned Ben Franklin must be present. From the New York Times, via Philly Mag:

After Goodell said recently that the league would consider moving some or all of the draft to another location, he received calls from civic leaders in Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as Cleveland, Green Bay, Houston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Orlando, Fla., the league spokesman Brian McCarthy said. Not to be outdone, the Dallas Cowboys called last week and offered their stadium in Arlington, Tex., as a site.

For a league bent on monetizing every potential opportunity, the response was an embarrassment of riches. Given the draft’s growing prominence, cities may even subsidize an event that is already swimming in network and sponsorship dollars.

Photo: Deadspin

Photo: Deadspin

Tipsters tell Deadspin that Mitch Williams went off on an umpire at a 10-year-old’s game:

He has been arguing balls and strikes and was upset about a play at the plate where his team was called out. In the top of the 5th while he was coaching first base he yelled to another parent that he would have the umpire fired. The Umpire confronted him and Mitch went off. He threatened the umpire called him a motherfucker in front of 10 year olds. They were faced to face inches from each other arguing. He had to be restrained by other coaches. The umpire rightfully kicked him out.

He refused to leave the field until speaking to he spoke to management. He left the field took off his jersey and watched the rest of the game from behind home plate without incident.

Mitch talked about it on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/WildThingMLBN/statuses/465463482305888256

Deadspin has the full story and more images.

Cliff Lee is officially better than Stephen Strasburg:

In fact, sabemetrician Tom Tango runs a Lee vs. Strasburg poll almost every year. Lee was a 3-to-1 favorite to out-WAR Strasburg in the wunderkind’s rookie season of 2010 and again in 2012 (Strasburg was out most of 2011 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2010). But in 2013, it was assumed the much younger Strasburg would finally pass Lee if he came anywhere near the 159⅓ innings he’d tossed in 2012. Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projection system estimated there was better than a 77 percent probability that Strasburg’s park-adjusted ERA would be better than Lee’s.

It wasn’t. Strasburg put up an ERA 20 percent better than average; Lee’s ERA was 24 percent better than average. Lee also came out ahead in Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), while also pitching 39⅔ more innings than Strasburg. That’s why Lee crushed Strasburg by two to four WAR, depending on which system you look at.

So the Chicago Blackhawks also ripped off the G shirt, and what a terrible job they did of it:

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via (@BriMcL17)

The Eagles had been eyeing Marcus Smith for a month.

Sidney Crosby consoles (CONSOLs?) Ranger and former Team Canada teammate Martin St. Louis over the death of his motherand later he gets squirted by Henrik Lundqvist.

 

CBGA Tour

We have something like 34 signups for the CBGA Tour, which officially begins today. The first event is at Westover and you may play your round anytime between now and June 1. THERE IS STILL PLENTY OF TIME TO SIGN UP. All the details are here. It costs $15, but you may sign up for FREE and play around (and a round) before paying. There will be another post on this today or tomorrow.