http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/michael_smerconish RSS Feed for Michael Smerconish en-us Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:20:33 GMT http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/michael_smerconish/20091104_Michael_Smerconish__A_Phils_Pitch-a-palooza_.html CLIFF OR COLE? Hamels or Happ? The Phillies haven't even forced a Game 7 yet, but already the debate around town about who should start a final game has begun. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/michael_smerconish/20091029_Michael_Smerconish__Wanting_to_score_some_tix_just_isn_t_a_crime.html ABLIND GUY carrying a stick bumps into a buxom blonde trolling for World Series tickets. In any other town, it's the beginning of an off-color joke. Here in Philadelphia, it's a match made in heaven. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/michael_smerconish/20091022_Michael_Smerconish__Rush_to_judgment.html IN 2006, JACK Huberman published a book called "101 People Who Are Really Screwing America." Maybe he should add his own name to the list. In the heat of the debate surrounding Rush Limbaugh and the NFL St. Louis Rams, Huberman initiated a game of 21st-century whisper down the lane. But he didn't wait for the lane to mangle the message. He botched it from the start. The result is a cautionary tale about the recklessness that feeding a 24/7 media can induce. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/michael_smerconish/20091015_Michael_Smerconish__When_playbook_meets_praybook.html DONOVAN McNabb had reason to be thankful. The Eagles quarterback was back on the field for the first time since week one. On the second play of his latest comeback, McNabb dropped back, moved left to avoid a defender and launched a 51-yard touchdown pass to rookie Jeremy Maclin. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/michael_smerconish/20091008_Michael_Smerconish__N_J__race__Boss_vs__Bon_Jovi.html "Well, if she wants to see me, you can tell her that I'm easily found . . ." http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/michael_smerconish/20091001_Michael_Smerconish__What_s_cookin__this_week.html HERE'S A carpool: Jon Corzine, Victoria Gotti, Andy Reid, Barack Obama - and the Grimshaws. Jon Corzine is playing the weight card. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/michael_smerconish/20090924_Michael_Smerconish__Pakistan__the_perpetual_irritant.html EIGHT years after 9/11, it's still all about the P-word. Pakistan. For years, I've questioned the Pakistani government's willingness to eradicate the extremists within its borders and bring Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to justice. So yesterday's New York Times headline "Obama is Considering Strategy Shift in Afghan War" was welcome. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/michael_smerconish/20090917_Michael_Smerconish__A_boy_s_adventures_in_D_C_-land.html DEMOCRATIC City Committee's chairman, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, introduced my 13-year-old son into the corridors of power Monday night. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/michael_smerconish/20090910_Michael_Smerconish__A_day_in_the_sun_for_9_11_hero.html "CUSTOMS officer Jose Melendez-Perez stopped the 20th terrorist, who was supposed to be on Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania. Probably because of the shorthanded muscle on that team, the passengers were able to overcome the terrorists. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/michael_smerconish/20090903_Michael_Smerconish__1-800-Political-Venom.html I'M ON vacation this week. It couldn't have come soon enough. This is the first time-off I've had in eight months, and 2009 has been an incredibly exhausting and newsy year.