Rich Hofmann: Jauron brings veteran support to Eagles defense
- 02/04/2010
MIKE HOLMGREN. Jon Gruden. Steve Mariucci. Ray Rhodes. Fritz Shurmur. Greg Blache. Sherman Lewis. Andy Reid. That is some list of coaches, some staff that Dick Jauron was a part of with the Green Bay Packers in the 1990s.
Rich Hofmann: Eagles new GM Roseman rose from the ranks
- 02/01/2010
THEY ATTRACT no publicity in a public profession. When you count up their hours and do the long division, many of them work for little more than minimum wage in an industry awash in billions. Nobody tells their stories, nobody knows their names, and nobody wants to acknowledge that the business could not run without them. Guys like the Eagles' new general manager, Howie Roseman, a decade ago.
Rich Hofmann: Goal or not, Villanova dangerously close to becoming No. 1
- 01/28/2010
THEY HAVE been No. 2 in the polls twice, the Villanova Wildcats have, in December of 1995 under Steve Lappas and in February of 2006 under Jay Wright. That is as close to the top as this basketball program, an outfit that oozes history, has gotten.
Rich Hofmann: Can Phillies' Hamels handle the curves?
- 01/27/2010
IN THE BACK of "The Bill James Handbook 2010," where the author predicts the future based on the numbers of the past, they occupy consecutive lines on a page: Roy Halladay followed immediately by Cole Hamels. That sounds about right, alphabetically and otherwise.
Rich Hofmann: No comparison when rating McNabb, Favre
- 01/26/2010
JUST BECAUSE Brett Favre might have been overrated does not mean that Donovan McNabb has been underrated.
This undercurrent has already begun and it needs to be stopped. One guy has nothing to do with the other guy, other than the Andy Reid connection. If anything, Favre's failures do not somehow burnish McNabb's resume by comparison. Instead, they demonstrate the dangers of hanging on too long.
Rich Hofmann: Two hot teams on ice: Flyers rolling, Rangers riled up by Carcillo
- 01/22/2010
GRANTED, IT IS only a month. It is a period of time bracketed by a sewage leak that canceled a practice in Tampa on Dec. 22 and the full card of professional boxing that was staged last night at the Wachovia Center. It is one-sixth of the season. It is 3 months before the start of the playoffs. All appropriate perspective will be honored.
Rich Hofmann: Rex Ryan is slightly tamer version of dad Buddy
- 01/21/2010
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - "This looks a little different than when we were 4-6 or whatever - there are a few more guys here," said Rex Ryan, opening the store for business yesterday. The New York Jets' coach was looking out at a big bunch of television cameras and reporters, 4 days before the AFC Championship Game. Everybody in the makeshift auditorium laughed.
Rich Hofmann: To fix Eagles defense, start with secondary
- 01/19/2010
A WEEK LATER, as the city basks in the glow of another successful football season - the Cowboys are done and, yes, you take your successes where you can get them - the small question of the Eagles remains. The quarterback thing remains unresolved. The general-manager thing remains unresolved. The defense needs the most work. The club president, as on the night his team was eliminated, declined an interview request yesterday.
Rich Hofmann: Hanging out in the NHL replay room in Toronto
- 01/15/2010
TORONTO - It doesn't take long, less than a minute. They all have settled into their chairs in a dark room that glows from the light of about 30 television and laptop screens, settled in for a long night that will feature a dozen NHL games and the potential for at least a few controversies. The easy conversation of co-workers combines with three play-by-play announcers droning on simultaneously in two languages.
Rich Hofmann: Lessons, hope amid Eagles season's wreckage
- 01/11/2010
ARLINGTON, Texas - If you are of a certain age, you have seen this movie before. The date was Jan. 10, 1993.