The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

 I think Spike Lee is one of the greatest modern-day directors; Samuel L. Jackson is an Oscar-caliber actor; and Charles Barkley is a Hall-of-Fame basketball player and oddly entertaining commentator. However, combining all three talents in Capital One commercials this March Madness has resulted in me getting headaches while providing the expression which will be in the dictionary next to WTF-face . In one commercial, the three are in a car, singing "Home of the Brave," as Barkley incorrectly sings about the deer and the cantaloupe playing. In another, they're singing "I've Got Friends in Low Places" while on donkeys and horses. Yes, Spike Lee is the shortest of the three of them and is on the donkey. Get it? To their credit, the three stars try to make the best of what they've been given, but the writing is so lazy, not even Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks could have made it work. It's like the writers placed a bunch of song titles into a hat, drew a...

In a recent airing of ESPN Radio's Waddle & Silvy show, former NBA great and current NBA analyst Charles Barkley had this to say about the 25-1 and defending champion Golden State Warriors: "That Bulls team would kill this little team. Come on, man. Who is going to guard Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan? What about Dennis Rodman?" He added: "Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman -- let me just start with those three. First of all they would love playing the way the Warriors play. It's a much easier game now. Could you imagine how many points Michael would average if you couldn't touch him? Dennis would get so many rebounds against that team. They are a very small team." I'm sorry, but isn't this kind of silly? Why do so many sports fans find it necessary to debate impossible hypotheticals? It'd be one thing to ponder about and debate hypotheticals of a single season. In college football this year, it made sense to ask,...

There's been a lot of talk at ESPN and elsewhere regarding the Philadelphia Eagles and who their starting quarterback is going to be heading into the coming season. I've read columns making a case for Michael Vick, Nick Foles, and Matt Barkley. Dennis Dixon hasn't even been ruled out in some of these articles. Well, I'll announce Chip Kelly's decision right here and now - barring an injury, Michael Vick is going to be the starting quarterback heading into the season. This is Vick's last chance with the Eagles. He was signed for one year and nearly $8 million. Former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly and his spread-option offense came to Philly so the team could experiment, take a different path, and also to see what he could do with the explosive, yet risky Vick. If the veteran Pro-Bowl quarterback doesn't produce and the team isn't contending for a playoff spot toward the middle to latter portion of the season, expect 2nd-year quarterback Nick Foles and ro...