Shallow | Center

Running to Stand Still

Despite New Names, 2008 Phillies Look Much Like the 2007 Version

A power-hitting outfielder who whiffs a lot. A completely average middle reliever/spot starter. A closer with an iffy arm and questionable mental makeup.

Yes, the Phillies made some moves since getting quietly ushered out of the playoffs by the Rockies, but at this point the 2008 team feels an awful lot like the 2007 squad. I'm okay with letting Aaron Rowand get overpaid by the Giants -- Rowand's splendid '07 campaign was a career anomaly and one he's  unlikely to repeat -- but I can't see 33-year-old Geoff Jenkins as replicating his numbers. Chad Durbin? The number of Chad Durbins to churn through Citizens Bank Park since its opening is depressingly large.

Light of Gray

Clooney in Fine Form as an Attorney Caught Between Two Unappealing Choices

Michael Clayton is shot through with gray, starting with George Clooney's hair and continuing with the drabness that saturates the film. At one point one of the characters mentions life as being steeped in that noncommittal color, but one look at Clooney's wardrobe puts the lie to that, at least as far as this movie is concerned. As the titular character, the fixer of a major New York law firm, Clooney hesitantly picks his way through the legal underbelly while trying to cover a debt incurred thanks to the failure of a restaurant he had opened. When a colleague defending an agribusiness corporation accused of environmental malfeasance goes off the deep end and starts spouting the truth, thus threatening the firm's entire case, Clayton is faced with the prospect of choosing to save either his wallet or his soul.

Will Write for Food

A Year In, Assessing the Big Professional Move and Recommitting to What I Want to Do

It was just about a year ago that I bade farewell to The Man and went into business for myself. It turned out to be a terrific decision both professionally and personally. I love my work, I've met awesome clients, I get to see more of my family than I ever have before, and being in charge of my own shit has been incredibly fulfilling.

I set a dollar goal in a business plan I had drawn up, and I've surpassed that goal by a fair amount. I'm never lacking for work. The downside is that most of my jobs are short-term, smaller projects, so I'm hoping that in the new year I can start successfully pitching stories to mainstream magazines. That kidn of larger-scale work will allow me to stretch as a reporter and writer and, I hope, give me even more flexibility to do the kinds of things I targeted when I started this enterprise in the first place. Things like writing a book. Blogging more. Getting my ass in shape. Being a better father and husband. 

Inquirer Headline of the Day

A Mail-It-In Column Inspires Thoughts of a New Blog Feature

I KNOW things have been a little, ah, sparse around here, and I do intend to rectify that soon. Meantime, I couldn't let today go without a note about Karen Heller's Alycia Lane piece in today's Inquirer, whose headline was, I kid you not, "In local TV, sadly, looks are everything."

Make sure you buy next week's Inky, so that you can read:

• "Among government workers, regrettably, effort is lacking"
• "At Shore points, unfortunately, sunburn abounds"
• "In baseball, lamentably, players scratch themselves" 

Picking on the Inquirer is rather a heartless sport, but I've noticed lately that the paper's headline writing has been pretty damn week. Wonder if I could find a new turkey each day ... S|C

Spectacor Sports

In 'A Tale of Two GMs,' It's the Flyers Who Enjoy a Happy Ending

THE 76ERS sacked Billy King today, and the only possible reaction is "It's about time." The Sixers have been in a downward slide ever since Pat Croce was pushed out by Ed Snider, and King could not reverse their fall despite throwing everything he had against the wall to see what would stick. (Chris Webber's contract was about the only thing that did.) Ed Stefanski is getting good initial reviews in what he did with the Nets, but he has a hell of a mess to clean up here.

Elsewhere in Comcast-Spectacor land, the Flyers have been one of the NHL's biggest surprises this season. Paul Holmgren has been a revelation as general manager, engineering creative, effective trades, successfully trusting his young head coach, and overseeing a first-place squad. About the only blemish on his brief tenure as GM is his team's regrettable return to the cheap-shot hockey of its past. There are now plenty of skill players in Philadelphia; it's a shame the national headlines are about the Flyers' goons instead of their stars. S|C