That's One Giant Leap......

Today is leap day.  In what has become an Obstructed Views tradition, we figured we have some fun with leap day and leap years.  What is exactly is leap day or a leap year?  Well, most people assume that it takes the Earth 365 days to go around the sun.  Most people would be wrong. It actually takes a little longer than a year to go around the Sun — 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, to be exact.

History

courtesy of musicfortenews.com

So why not add an extra 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds to each year?  First of all that’s not practical.  Besides, it would mess up Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve.  The ancient Egyptians were the first to realize that man screwed up and that the solar calendar and the manmade calendar didn’t’ match up.  The Romans were the first to designate February 29 as leap day, but a more exact formula was adopted in the 16th century when the Gregorian calendar included a leap day in years only divisible by four.  2012 for example.  Another part of the formula is that no year divisible by 100 would have a leap year, except if it was divisible by 400.  So 1900 = not a leap year and 2000 = leap year.  Confused?  There will be a test at the end.

Fun Facts

·         People born on Leap Day are Pisces and are said to have unusual talents and personalities reflecting their special status

·         People born on Leap Day are called leaplings

·         Women are supposed to propose to men today – a tradition that dates back to St. Patrick and St. Bridget in Ireland

·         U.S. Presidential Elections and the Summer Olympics occur during Leap Years

courtesy of brideheaven.com

·         In Greece it is considered bad luck to get married during a leap year…..thank god I’m not Greek

·          The chances of having a leap year birthday are 1 in 1,461

·         George Washington put Jay’s Treaty into effect in 1796

·         Gone With the Wind won 8 Academy Awards in 1940

·         The first Playboy club opened in Chicago in 1960

Leap Day Birthdays

1916 – Dinah Shore, Singer

1936 – Henri “Rocket” Richard, Hockey Player

1944 – Dennis Farina, Actor

courtesy of http://my-success-guru.hubpages.com

1960 – Tony Robbins, Motivational speaker

1968 – Bryce Paup, Football Player

1972 – Antonio Sabàto Jr, Actor

1976 – Ja Rule, Rapper 

1980 – Simon Gagne, Hockey Player

1984 – Cullen Jones, Swimmer

Well that’s all for the Leap Day edition of Obstructed Views.  To my local Philly fans out there, keep in mind that during the last Leap Year back in 2008 our Phillies became World Champs.  Just saying.  Until next time this is Jimbo saying, Happy Leap Day.

Hatorade

Courtesy of uncyclopedia.wikia.com

The Super Bowl is over and with it the NFL season ends.  It won’t be long now before the Eagles send me the invoice for next year’s season tickets.  Spring training is right around the corner and that means the weather should be getting warmer.  I say should be because after these “spring” like temps this winter, perhaps spring will bring blustery cold temps and snow.  There are a few loose ends I’d like to tie up about this year’s Super Bowl.

Root, Root, Root for the……..

As much as it pains me to say and see, the Giants are champs for the second time in four years.  If this isn’t bad enough to deal with as an Eagles fan, I have to hear people telling me I should be happy for them.  Huh?  All week leading up to the game and today after the game, I have had to hear people tell me that I have to root for the Giants because they are “NFC East”.  First of all, that is the reason I’m not rooting for them.  They are one of the three NFL teams I hate the most because of the fact they play in my division.  Sorry, but as a self respecting fan I just can’t do it.

Courtesy of philavania.com

  Secondly, since the Giants won I now have to deal with the Giants fans talking trash about their team’s victory.  That’s like rooting for a migraine.  Wouldn’t do that so why would I root to hear the Giants fans talk shit?  Finally, the truth is I’m a hater.  If my team can’t win I don’t want anybody to win.  Childish?  Sure, but since somebody has to win I’d rather it not be my enemy.  Rooting for the Giants is like helping an ex-girlfriend pick out lingerie for her new boyfriend.  Just doesn’t make much sense.

New York, Dallas, and Washington 12 – Philadelphia 0

Now that the Giants have won Super Bowl 46, the NFC East has now won 12 of 46 Super Bowls.  Of those 12 the Eagles have won a whopping 0.  Awesome.  Still think I should be rooting for the Giants?  Don’t even tell me that the Eagles have won “NFL” championships before there was a Super Bowl.  Who cares?  There should also be a statute of limitations on Super Bowl wins and bragging rights.  10 years is about right.  Listen, if you weren’t born when your team won you shouldn’t be bragging about it.  Perfect example was Steelers fans.  Of course now they have two more to brag about but you get the point.  

Speed Dating

Hands down the funniest commercial of the night was the E-Trade baby who was “speed dating” in the nursery.  Second funniest?  The Doritos one with the dog paying the man off to keep quiet about the missing cat.  The Matthew Broderick commercial would've been good if I hadn't already seen it 1000 times leading up to the Super Bowl.  What's up with that?

Vogue

I must say that Madonna’s halftime show was pretty good.  The MIA “flip” off thing is being blown out of proportion.  I didn’t personally see it but it wouldn’t have offended me if I had.  Meanwhile, there’s nobody to blame but NBC anyway.  After the whole Janet Jackson “wardrobe” malfunction, NBC should’ve been on high alert.  Somebody dropped the ball.  You want to be mad at MIA?  Be mad at her for her music.

The NFL season is over.  I could say congrats to the Giants, but it wouldn’t be heartfelt.  Yes I drank plenty of Hatorade today, so what? Until next time this is Jimbo saying for all of my Phillies fans out there, here’s a little bit of silver lining; the last time the Giants won the Super Bowl, the Phillies won the World Series. 

The Aftermath

Well it’s over.  As with any disaster the day after is a time to reflect and assess the damage.  Here’s what we know:  The 2011 Philadelphia Phillies season was a bust and a huge disappointment.  At this point I don’t care about any of the records.  102 wins?  Who cares?  5 straight division titles?  Does it really matter?  Maybe someday we can look back on the 2011 Phillies and smile.  Right now looking back just makes me sick.  The Phillies have reached the point that anything less than a championship is an epic failure.  Sure it was a fun ride this season but so is riding a roller coaster that crashes after a big hill.  It was fun until the bottom of that hill but the fact remains the coaster crashed.  So forgive me if I’m speaking out of emotion right now rather than logic but as far as I’m concerned the 2011 Phillies crashed and burned, just like that coaster.  A complete and utter waste.  I’ve been in attendance for a few epic crushing losses as an Eagles season ticket holder.  This one hurts worse than the 2002 and 2003 NFC Championship games combined.  Everyone has been talking about how the Eagles are the all hype team in the NFL this year.  I say the 2011 were the ultimate all hype team.

As we look ahead to 2012, the Phillies will still be a good team.  Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Oswalt, and Worley are still under contract.  So is Joe Blanton.  Maybe you can trade either Oswalt or Blanton for something.  What I’m not sure.  Hamels is eligible for arbitration and should get a good payday.  The bullpen is still shaky.  Can Bastardo pitch like he did during the regular season or was he just out of his mind and the pitcher we saw down the stretch is what they’ll get?  Madsen is a free agent.  I’m sure the Phillies will try to resign him but he will get a lot of offers and with Scott Boras as his agent may be too expensive for the Phillies to bring back.  The closer market will be deep so maybe they sign someone cheap but Madsen will be hard to replace.  Bullpen should be a high priority this off season.

Will 2012 bring disappointment?

Offensively the Phillies are all one year older.  In 2011 the Phillies had the oldest roster in baseball.  Raul Ibanez is a free agent so that should drop the average age a bit but the fact remains that most of the core of this team are all in their 30’s.  Having Hunter Pence and Chase Utley in the lineup for a full year will help.  Pence is eligible for arbitration this year.  Jimmy Rollins is a free agent.  Other than Jose Reyes there are no good shortstops available.  Personally I think they should try to re-sign Jimmy but I’m not sure they would be able to afford to as Jimmy will want to get paid.  The Phillies have their future shortstop in the minors with 21-year old Freddy Galvis.  Will he be ready for prime time in 2012?  Probably not.  If you don’t sign Rollins then what to you do while you wait for Galvis?  Re-sign Michael Martinez and another journeyman until he’s ready?  That’s why I believe you need to re-sign Rollins. 

Ryan Howard most likely tore his Achilles tendon.  If he has surgery the recovery time is 6-9 months.  That takes you well into the 2012 season.  If John Mayberry Jr. is ready to play an entire season, he can fill in at first but now this means you need to find another outfielder.  Placido Polanco has been often injured the past 2 seasons and was obviously affected by the sports hernia he played with.  Can he stay healthy for 2012?  Let’s hope so if not 3^rd base becomes a concern.  With Utley, Victorino, and Ruiz you hope that another year and a long season doesn’t take too much of a toll on their bodies.  So the offense needs to stay healthy and produce or else 2012 could be a long season.

Could we be seeing this in a Marlins uniform in 2012?

I’m not ready to close the window of opportunity on the Phillies yet but it is getting close.  Can they win a 6^th straight division title?  Sure, but it won’t be as easy as this year.  You have to figure the Braves will be back.  I’m sure Ozzie Guillen will have a young Marlins team playing better and with some swag.  Watch out for the Nationals as well.  They won the season series against the Phillies in 2011 and will have Stephen Strasburg back and phenom Bryce Harper will most likely make his debut even though most experts say he won’t be ready until 2013.  So a 6^th straight division title will be tough.  With the starting rotation the Phillies will definitely be competitive.  They undoubtedly need the offense to be more consistent however. 

What will 2012 bring?  Who knows.  The sting of 2011 is making it hard to look ahead.  

Alas the sun will come out and life will go on.  At least now we can focus on the Eagl…oh yeah, never mind.  The Flyers got underway this week and they should be a good team.  Still doesn’t take the hurt away but at least I still have fantasy football.  Thanks for all your continued support and look for Obstructed Views on Twitter and Facebook as well as me on LinkedIn.  Until next time this is Jimbo saying sigh……….