EaglesFanCast

Show Notes: Episode 28 for Monday, August 11, 2008

Well we kick off the preseason start of the 2008 Philadelphia Eagles football season, and are only a few weeks away from the opening game! We address a bunch of updates on the Eagles players from what’s come out of Training Camp in Lehigh to the first preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday evening.

What we discussed:

• Brian Westbrook’s contract extension
• Donovan McNabb looking relaxed, healthy and confident
• Lorenzo Booker’s potential
• Shawn Andrews coming out about his battle with Depression
• DeSean Jackson’s speed
• Lito Sheppard and his place on the Eagles
• We have Returners!!
• Brian Dawkins

Show Links:

• Jimmy Craichead TV

email: fans [at] EaglesFanCast.net

Voicemail Line: 1(856)335-3675

Happy Birthday, to us! Yes, it was one year ago today that EaglesFanCast, as a reality, was born.  We worked on it behind the scenes for a few months before letting it loose on the unsuspecting public, but on August 6th, 2007, we posted a simple note saying that our first show would be recorded the following night.  It was, and the dorky musings of three Eagles degenerate fans had begun.

All of us Eagles fans expected a much better 2007 season that what transpired, but as the months went on, more people found us, and we now have more show downloads and site visitors than we did at the end of the season in December. Welcome aboard!

I want to thank the other guys responsible for helping to get us to this point, Eric and Todd.  They’ve stuck in there when I slowly got things done behind the scenes, and put up with my plans and prodding for the site and podcast along the way.  I especially want to thank the listeners and those that participate in our show, and the guests that we’ve had over the last year, especially Tommy Lawlor from Scouts Notebook and Jason from Bleeding Green Nation.

Also to celebrate our one year Anniversary / Birthday, we’ve purchased a tree to be planted in the Eagles Forest.  It’s part of the excellent “Go Green” initiative the Philadelphia Eagles are doing. Go read up on it, and participate in any way you can.

Again, thank you for being a part, and Go Eagles!

What’s up Eagles fans!

I just wanted to give you an update as to what’s going on with us.

First, we’ll be recording our show next week, after the first preseason game. (Side note: I need to reiterate that last part - THE FIRST PRESEASON GAME!)  We’ve toyed with the idea of doing one for weeks, but let’s be honest, we’d pretty much be regurgitating what’s already coming out of the Eagles Training Camp notes.  News is light, and typical… the players arrived, they practice, a few get hurt, it’s hot, we’re going to the Super Bowl.  Same as every year.  So after the preseason opener we’ll have some meat to chew on, and can do a proper show.

Second, we’ve hosted some video clips from a great service called Redlasso in the past. Redlasso records, well pretty much everything on TV, and lets us bloggers create clips that we can show and comment on. It’s all pretty much considered “fair use” and allows us to editorialize the clips. Keep in mind, they’re not full shows, nor live, and don’t allow you to watch for hours on end. The clips are limited to ten minutes anyway. Unfortunately, the network boneheads don’t see it that way, and despite bloggers and Redlasso giving credit to the networks, the networks believe that they’re being ripped off. (This can be a huge discussion, and I’m not going to bore you with my extensive opinions on this matter here.) As such, two of the major networks, NBC Universal and Fox, are suing Redlasso for violating copyrights. Because of the legal issues, Redlasso has suspended it’s clipping service, and has halted serving the video clips.
We’ve used Redlasso on a few of our posts here, and it was to show you exactly what we were talking about at the time, as well as comment on the clips. Those posts will all stay, in case Redlasso gains the permission to once again supply the clips to us. Until that happens, those videos will simply show a “temporarily unavailable” message.  Sorry if it’s inconvenient, but it’s something that is out of our hands and we hope is fixed in the near future. I fully support the service Redlasso offers, and hope they can work this out without them becoming yet another casualty.

That’s about it for now. Our new show will be up early next week, and I’m going to be in Vegas for the New Media Expo (and mini vacation as well), so I won’t be at the first preseason game.  I’ll be connected, so I’ll get my updates, and Eric will be at the game, so we’ll be all set.

In the meantime, you can tell us what you think, of the game, the Training Camp, us, or whatever you want… our voicemail line is still (856) 335-3675, or send us an email to fans [at] eaglesfancast.net anytime! Thanks, and here’s to the closing of a long off-season, E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!

That huge gust of wind coming out of the Greater Philadelphia area yesterday evening was a “Eagles Nation Collective Sigh of Relief” as Bryan Westbrook and Lito Sheppard reported to Training Camp yesterday on time. Westbrook held court for about 15 minutes with reporters upon his arrival, reiterating that his newly hired agent is working on the “off the field” issues and he is here to play football, which is his job. I truly hope that this attitude prevails throughout camp and the regular season, and if it does I definitely see both sides coming to a fair and mutually acceptable agreement. No word from Sheppard yet, although it is being talked about that Sheppard and Sheldon Brown will be competing for the starting right cornerback spot opposite Asante Samuel. Since alot of teams are spreading out their offensive attack and going to 3, 4, even 5 WR sets, there should be plently of opportunity to get all three CBs on the field. I hope Jim Johnson finds a way to keep everyone happy there.

The only other real news coming out of Lehigh is that OG Shawn Andrews has not reported to camp yet for “personal reasons”. This is an unexcused absence and it remains to be seen as to whether Andrews will be fined or not. If you remember, Andrews missed part of the last mandatory mini-camp for the same “personal reasons”. Let’s hope everything is OK and he gets into camp ASAFP.

Wednesday on ESPN, Eric Allen and Sal Paolantonio talked about Donovan McNabb’s shoulder tendinitis. It was originally reported by the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday of this week. Sal especially seems to be very concerned about McNabb’s shoulder, and how he’s now sitting out, DESPITE a negative MRI. He wasted no time bringing up the fact that Kevin Kolb will be getting plenty of reps filling in for McNabb while he sits.

Andy Reid, on the other hand, has said that McNabb and the other injured players will be ready for the July 22nd start to camp.

So should we be concerned about McNabb? Or is this simply the media trying to make a story (and controversy?) where there isn’t one? My vote is the latter, and we’ll see a healthy, quick, and ready McNabb in Lehigh next month.

Here is the clip:

Donovan and Howard Eskin don’t seem to think it’s a big deal at all, as seen in this clip from NBC10 Sports Final:

Well you be the judge. Personally, it’s way too early for crap like this from the media. It’s only mid-June! Considering how good the Phillies are doing, I’m surprised this much attention is being paid to how a QB’s shoulder is feeling. Amazing.

Clips were provided by RedLasso.