But while McNabb took the Birds on that first possession, a methodical, 80-yard march in 12 diverse plays to seize a 7-0 lead, my plan was going up in cyber-smoke.
My plan was to have my media dining-room Tastykake and eat it, too. Watch the
Eagles game I was assigned to cover without missing a pitch by the Phillies, who were playing a possible Game 4 clincher in Milwaukee. Due to somebody in a high place overdosing on stupid pills, both the Eagles and Phillies games were teed up just after 1 p.m., a happenstance as rare as total eclipses of the sun. In fact, the Phillies' 6-2 victory over
Milwaukee ended just 30 seconds after the Eagles were counted out in a stunning 23-17 loss to Washington.
OK, just the Phillies being in two postseasons in a row is total-eclipse-rare by itself. But the odds of a clinching game overlapping the quasireligious rite of an Eagles home game . . . well, you're talking lottery odds.
But I had it covered. Or so I thought. The Eagles were deep into Andy's scripted opening drive when Jimmy Rollins led off the Phillies game with a homer to right off Brewers starter Jeff Suppan. You were probably still cheering at home when Westbrook slashed
9 yards for a score.
There was no time to savor this historic confluence, however. Some evil cyber-Genie had firewalled my beloved Slingbox in a bedroom at home. I was supposed to be noting the touchdown that led to a 7-0 Eagles lead at the same time I was watching J-Roll providing the Phillies with a 1-0 lead on their way to the champagne-tossing jubilation of their first division series title ever and first postseason series win since 1993.
Both the Eagles and Phillies use a really neat wi-fi system in their playpens that has made the technology of getting the news into and out of a press box faster than a speeding bullet.
