Friday Fryer (October 20, 2006)

Manny gets the nomination for announcing his “retirement” from posting any more material on ArmchairGM. Now, let me be clear with this, it is one thing that, due to circumstances, one needs to cut back, even drastically, on writing articles and stories for this site. It is, however, another thing to quit entirely. This is what Manny has done, and this is why he gets the nomination for the Chair this week.

With that said, I am now calling out Manny. Manny, if you are any type of man, you reconsider your so-called retirement. It is fine for you to cut back on your posting. Posting in the future may even become infrequent. Nonetheless, you should continue to post. This is no retirement, it is more like you are quitting. Do you want to be remember as a quitter, Manny Stiles? The ball is in your court, big boy. Show all of us what you are made of.

A brawl between two college football teams is the last thing the world of sports needs right now. Yet, it still occurred. I am not surprised to see Miami as being one of the teams involved in such a brawl. The “U” has always had a bad boy image since the days of Jimmy Johnson. Back in the day, however, the U could actually win some big games. The U today cannot even beat an average Florida State team.

The only person who benefits from this debacle is Miami’s head coach, Larry Coker, for he is only another step closer from being relieved from his position. Nonetheless, FIU and Miami earns a joint nomination for the Chair this week.

In early September, before the playoffs began, I told some friends that whichever National League playoff team gets hot during the last two weeks of the season would win the NL. Of course, I was dead wrong, for the team that played the WORSE during the last two weeks of the regular season gets the honor of being slaughtered by the Detroit Tigers in this year’s Fall Classic.

But, lets get back to the Mets. The Mets had a great offense during the regular season, however, as soon as some pressure was applied on the team in the playoffs, the offense wilted faster than the French in battle. And the pitching, oh my, the pitching! The Mets, by the end, had exactly one legitimate starter pitching for them. And then the closer, Billy Wagner! As a Philadelphia Phillies fan, I have to thank the Mets from preventing the Phils from blowing money on a guy that is on the rapid downside of his career. The fact that he still has 3 years and $30 million left on his contract should make many Mets fan fear the future.

This season saw the worse quality of play in the NL in at least a generation. The Mets were the only team in the league to win over 90 games. Yet, it is the Cards, who won 14 less games than the Mets, advancing. The Mets, simply put, choked. And for that, they get the nomination for the Chair this week. But like Game 7, they could not win the Chair either this week. That honors goes to the ….

The Flyers, for the season, are 1-5-1. They have shown that they have NO speed, that they CANNOT skate, CANNOT pass, CANNOT shoot straight, CANNOT score, CANNOT play defense, and CANNOT hit. The only thing they CAN do is lose, and losing will be done a lot by this club this year.

The Flyers organization was founded 40 years ago. Right now, this year’s team will be by far the worse team this organization ever had. They are going to be so historically bad that Snider may be forced to clean house. Yes, Mr. Flyer himself, Bobby Clarke, the untouchable General Manager, may be in danger of losing his job. This is actually a good thing for Flyers fans, for Clarke has refused to accept the new style of the NHL, and by failing to do so, has put together a team that would have trouble beating many junior hockey teams.

Hence, in honor of losing 9-1, (HOW CAN A TEAM LOSE BY 8 GOALS IN THE NHL?), and following that performance with another 4-1 lose, the Philadelphia Flyers get the Chair in this week’s Friday Fryer.

Until next Friday, AMF!