The Philadelphia Sports Writers Association will host its 106th annual banquet on Monday evening, Feb. 1, 2010.

It is still a long way off, but the PSWA officers, board and membership are hard at work to assure that this will be yet another memorable night for the Philadelphia-area sports fans.

Last year, the Philly sportswriters sold out the huge ballroom at the Crowne Plaza hotel on Route 70 in Cherry Hill, and with the excitement surrounding the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers and Sixers, and the success of the local college teams, we’re shooting for back-to-back sell-outs!

On a sad note, this will be our first PSWA dinner since the passing of Harry Kalas, our long-time Master of Ceremonies. Harry will be impossible to replace, and we will be honoring him on Feb. 1.

As plans begin to come together, the organization will be sending press releases and updates to the media, and you can follow developments on our web site, www.PSWA.org.

On the site, you can purchase tickets (click here) , you can sign up as a PSWA insider and get e-mail updates each time we add something to the site (under the video of Harry Kalas singing “High Hopes), and for those of you who are on Facebook, you can “follow us” simply by clicking on a link at the top of the right-hand column.

Once again, the PSWA Board of Governors and the membership have decided to hold the course and keep the ticket price at $75. Without a doubt, our sports awards dinner remains one of the best deals in the Philadelphia market.

So don’t forget - mark your calendar, and buy your tickets early so you won’t be disappointed when we sell out again.

Click here to order tickets online.

Thank you,

Robbie Kenney
Ticket Chairman
(609) 702-7473
Email: pswadinner@yahoo.com

Tickets are now on sale and available for purchase through the organization’s web site by by clicking here.

Incredibly, this will be the PSWA’s 106th annual Sports Awards Dinner, making it the oldest sports awards dinner in the country.

Last year, in spite of a frightening economic downturn, the Philly sports writers managed to sell out the huge ballroom at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, and the PSWA board is optimistic about our chance of hanging the “sold-out” sign up again this year.

With that in mind, the board and membership have voted to keep the ticket prices the same: $75 per ticket, and $900 for a table of 12.

If you are a sports fan in the Delaware Valley, you will not want to miss this event. Purchase tickets now to assure that you won’t be shut out.

by John Gonzalez / Inquirer Columnist /
A text came in. Then another. Then the whispers started in the press box. Then the phone started ringing. This all happened within seconds.

It was about 8:45 last night when the focus shifted and everything changed. People stopped talking about how good Shady McCoy looked in the Eagles’ preseason opener against the Patriots and started talking about the big news.

Did you hear? The Birds signed Michael Vick.

I didn’t believe it at first. I didn’t believe it until Vick’s agent, Joel Segal, confirmed the rumor to ESPN.com. A news conference is scheduled for today.

The fans at Lincoln Financial Field didn’t seem to believe it either. One guy seated right in front of the press box stood up, knocked on the glass and mouthed the question to me that everyone was asking: “Is it true?” When I nodded yes, he didn’t seem so thrilled. The poor guy put his hands on his bald head and shook it. He did that for a long while. His reaction probably wasn’t unique.

It was barely two years ago that the former Atlanta signal-caller traded his Falcons uniform for government-issue prison garb after being convicted of conspiracy and running a dogfighting operation. Vick was sentenced to 23 months in the federal pen and suspended indefinitely by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The commish has since softened his stance, allowing Vick to look for work and stating that he could be eligible for full reinstatement by Week 6 at the latest.

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And so now Ron Mexico is an Eagle. To say it’s a shocking development is a gross understatement. If anyone in town expected this or knew it was happening, they did a good job keeping it a secret. Vick reportedly flew into town Tuesday night and remained undetected until late last evening. That’s a hard thing to pull off. If his football comeback falls through, he has a terrific career ahead of him as a spy.

Covert operations aside, the Eagles will take a PR hit on this, and it won’t be a small one. PETA and pet owners everywhere will crucify Vick and the Birds for climbing into bed together. Radio hosts will jabber about it incessantly and question what the hell the Eagles were thinking. Columnists and bloggers will write countless words - many of which will be angry and judgmental.

If you’ve already dug in and joined the anti-Vick camp, I won’t blame you or try to change your mind. People love dogs. I’m one of them. I’m a sucker for just about any animal, but the ones that roll over and play fetch and slobber all over me - even when I’m not at my best (which is most of the time) - are by far my favorite. What Vick did to those dogs was cruel and terrible and indefensible.

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But I’m not going to kill the Eagles for signing him, and I’m not going to attack Vick or ascribe some pejorative label to the guy. I don’t know the man. I don’t know why he got involved with dogfighting. But I do know that he went to prison, and he lost his job, and he’s been beaten up quite a bit over the last two years. He’s been beaten up almost endlessly. And for good reason. Don’t get it twisted, he deserved his punishment - all of it. But after doing his time and losing almost everything he’d worked so hard to achieve, hasn’t he paid the price required of someone looking to purchase a second chance?

This Sunday, CBS will air an interview with Vick on 60 Minutes. The full transcript isn’t available yet, but I went over the little bit that has been released. I searched for answers to the same questions we all have: Is he contrite? Does he realize how badly he messed up? Is he willing to take responsibility for his actions and admit his mistakes? Is he capable of changing for the better after all this?

“It’s wrong, man,” Vick says on 60 Minutes. “I feel, you know, some tremendous hurt behind what happened. And, you know, I should have took the initiative to stop it all. I didn’t - I didn’t stop it all.”

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No, he didn’t. And he’ll be forever shamed for that lack of judgment. He’ll never be able to fully shake the stigma of what he did. He’ll always be Michael Vick - the guy who fought dogs and killed them.

That’s a horrible burden to shoulder. He brought it on himself, of course, but I still wouldn’t wish that fate on anyone.

But, ultimately, whether people forgive Vick will have more to do with what happens in the future than what happened in the past. He needs to prove he’s truly, deeply sorry for what he did - and not simply because it irreparably damaged his once-promising career.

“I mean, football doesn’t even matter,” Vick told 60 Minutes.

That’s a start.

Obama, known more for his prowess on the basketball court than on the pitching mound, nevertheless did more than an acceptable job.

The lanky southpaw threw what appeared to be some kind of off speed pitch, reaching St. Louis favorite Albert Pujols in the air.

Check it out for yourself …

According to one of the versions on the Web, this game, between the Flyers and the Ottawa Senators set the record for most penalty minutes in one game.

Not sure if that’s true.

The Flyers throwing fists in this one include Donald Brashear, goalie Robert Esche, John LeClair and Mark Recchi, but the Senators put up quite a fight!

This Otawa broadcast crew is handling the play-by-play.

But this is an entertaining retrospective!

We hope you enjoy it, too.

And just in case you need another does … here’s the Flyers going at it with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

When you think of former Major League Baseball star Rick Monday, what comes to mind?

If you’re like most of us, it’s the time he ripped an American Flag away from two “young men” intent on lighting the flag on fire.

Those of us old enough to remember it may be stunned to learn that it happened on April 25, 1976!

With the Fourth of July fast approaching, and the unique connection between baseball, the national past time, and the nation, we offer this video retrospective.

It’s a well-done piece, with an interview with Monday, and also a brief chat with Tommy Lasorda, who was coaching third base for the Dodgers at the time.

It was 1991, and the United States had just sent our troops into Iraq as part of Operation Desert Storm.

The NHL was holding its All-Star game in Chicago, but the country’s collective mind was on our military men and women and the events in the Persian Gulf.

Anyone who watched the National Anthem on TV that day - let alone in person - would surely never forget the outpouring on patriotism and support for our soldiers.

In honor of the Fourth of July, the following video captures at least some of the moving events of that day.

Regardless of politics or position on the current military deployment, Americans everywhere should appreciate the following clip …

A reporter from Channel 5, NBC’s local affiliate in the Lone Star State, visits the park, and tries his hand at shagging some BP home runs on Greens Hill in centerfield.

The only rule: You gotta wait until the ball hits the turf!

Kind of makes me want to take in some batting practice at the Bank.

The situation on the ground quickly became dangerous, with the tarp blowing up and endangering the grounds crew.

Phillies players responded to the crisis, rushing on to the field to help anyway they could.

And the Rockies’ fans, as shown in this video, appreciated the above-and-beyond effort.

Some are already pegging him as the next Babe Ruth!

But since Bryce Harper is only 16 years old, that tag is a bit premature.

Harper, however, is getting this kind of attention and notoriety because he swings one heck of a big stick.

As a sophomore, he led Nevada scholastic players with a .570 batting average, and in a home run derby competition he slammed an aluminum bat-aided 502-foot blast.

The Las Vegas High School catcher won the International Power Showcase High School Home Run Derby, and his homers are indicated in the photo above.

To see Harper on his way to the championship, watch the video below.

And for more on this future star … watch this …