http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/rich_hofmann RSS Feed for DN Col Rich Hofmann en-us Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:04:22 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/rich_hofmann/20120210_Sandusky_apparently_thinks_hes_the_victim.html BELLEFONTE, Pa. - A neighbor called the police and wondered if Jerry Sandusky was violating the terms of his house arrest by helping his wife shovel snow out of his driveway. The teacher at an after-school program at a nearby elementary school told an investigator that when children saw Sandusky sitting on his deck, they told her, "That man's out there," and moved away from the windows. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/rich_hofmann/20120210_Rich_Hofmann__Not_even_Amaro_knows_whether_Phillies_are_better.html OTHER THAN the closer - about whom you might only question the salary, not the performance - the Phillies have done their work this winter along the edges. They have tinkered with their 102-win team but done nothing bold. There was no Roy Halladay under the tree this year, no Cliff Lee. Even that excellent closer, Jonathan Papelbon, is only a marginal improvement over Ryan Madson at his best. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/rich_hofmann/20120208_Rich_Hofmann__Briere_looks_like_himself_in_first_game_back.html THE HOCKEY player was two-thirds of the way through his first game since suffering a concussion on Jan. 21, and he still appeared to be feeling his way. But the hockey player is also a father, and Danny Briere knew that his place after the second period was to stand at the end of the bench and open the gate and greet his son, Cameron, and the other participants in a shootout competition. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/rich_hofmann/20120202_Gut-check_game_a_fat_Pat_will_win.html IN ONLY SEVEN of the first 45 Super Bowls was a defensive player chosen as the game's most valuable player. In a quarterback-centric sport, an enterprise where every rule change in anyone's memory has been designed to inflate the scoreboard totals, this does not exactly qualify as a surprise. The Big Supe is America's greatest sales vehicle, and offense sells. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/rich_hofmann/20120201_Rich_Hofmann__Reid_knows_Vick_key_to_not_starting_1-4_again.html IF THIS THING is to get turned around by Andy Reid in his 14th season as the Eagles' head coach, the answers lay in the ashes of the first five games of his 13th season. It sounds as if that has been the focus of Reid's last month. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/rich_hofmann/20120131_Rich_Hofmann__Defense_s_burden_falls_on_Castillo__whether_he_deserves_it_or_not.html FROM THE DAY he was given the job as the Eagles' defensive coordinator, Juan Castillo had a perception problem. You know, that he wasn't qualified. A year later, nothing has changed. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/rich_hofmann/20120126_Rich_Hofmann__BOWA__PHILS_CAN_TAKE_HEAT.html THE CONCEPT HAS been as unspoken these last few months as it is obvious: that the pressure will be on the 2012 Phillies in a way that it has never been before. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/rich_hofmann/20120125_Rich_Hofmann__Ruben_likes_Howard_pact_even_better_now.html WYOMISSING - Word arrived during the afternoon that the Detroit Tigers had made Prince Fielder an emperor - 9 years, $214 million, all hail. Weeks before that, it had been 10 years and $240 million from the Los Angeles Angels for Albert Pujols. Meanwhile, starting this season, Ryan Howard and his recovering Achilles' will begin his 5-year, $125 million deal. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/rich_hofmann/20120123_Rich_Hofmann__A_prayer_for_JoePa.html THERE WILL BE no poetry here, no quotations from the classics or allusions to historical nobility. Even his most ardent supporters would likely acknowledge, given everything, that Joe Paterno forfeited at least that much. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/rich_hofmann/20120118_Rich_Hofmann__MINING_COLE.html THE CONTRACTUAL dance between Cole Hamels and the Phillies is ongoing. The time for panic is not yet near, even if you can kind of see it in the distance. To fret now would be to waste valuable nervous energy that could be better put to use worrying about who is going to call the defense next year for the Eagles (and the offense, for that matter, if Marty Mornhinweg leaves).