WATERCOOLER CHAT: GREAT NEWS FOR PHILLY FANS, ELI INKS BIG DEAL, AFL SHUT DOWN
BASEBALL
Some great news for Philly fans. Philadelphia has been preparing themselves for the post-season over the past couple weeks by building a dominant pitching staff.  They have last year’s ace, Cole Hamels, and they just added ’08 AL Cy Young Award Winner Cliff Lee to the mix before the trade deadline. Well, let’s not forget that they also have the legend, Pedro Martinez. Martinez joined the Phillies injured, so they sent him to the minors for rehab. Yesterday, he pitched some minor league ball, and struck out nine of his first 12 outs, finishing the evening with 11 strikeouts total. Sure, it’s the minor league, but with him in the pitching rotation, the Phillies are ultra-dangerous come the post season.
FOOTBALL
In the NFL, it seems that the Giants have officially found a franchise quarterback for the next decade. In his first few season, fans were highly critical of Eli Manning. He threw for a lot of interceptions, and was extremely shaky on the road. Then… he beat the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. And the following season, he led the Giants to the best record in the NFC. Yeah, he’s for real. Well, the Giants thought so too, inking him to a $97.5 million deal over the next 6 years. That’s roughly $15.3 million per year. Congrats, Eli, you’re one of the highest paid players in the NFL.
In some other notable football news, the Arena Football League, after 22-years, appears to be going out of business. For those that don’t know, the AFL was a summer league targeted at people who just couldn’t get enough football. It was also played indoors, and on a shorter field, to ensure a lot of points were scored. It was also a minor league system of sorts for undrafted rookies and aging veterans. Kurt Warner began his career there before moving on to a storied career in the NFL. Well, the economy has hit this league hard, as two teams went out of business last season, and ticket sales are down across the board. Sure, it might come back, but for now, so long to a noble experiment.
