Big Hits

BECAUSE HE stands within a smidgen of 6 feet, 6 inches, Michael Mooney gets hit with the basketball question. Again and again and again and . . . Yes, he knows the difference between a dunk and a trey and, as recently as two winters ago, he started for Malvern Prep's junior varsity. Even now, he appreciates a spirited game of two-on-two or three-on-three with schoolmates and/or family members. But Mooney's sport of choice is football, and it would appear, strongly, he has made a wonderful decision.

Here are some observations and ruminations about the Eagles' victory over the Redskins:   LANDOVER, Md. - It took six games, but the Eagles defense had its first big hit of the season when cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha clobbered Redskins tight end Chris Cooley after Cooley caught a screen pass. All season long, the defense has lacked the intimidation factor. But Asomugha brought it on that play. Cooley went to the locker room and returned to the game briefly before leaving for good with a hand injury.

It's a new season, but if Week 1 is any indication, some of the same questions will follow the Eagles and Michael Vick this year. Can he and his offensive line handle blitzes? Can Vick punish teams for sending extra rushers? And can he remain in one piece when defenses gets their hits on him? Vick acknowledged Monday that it could be a key to the Eagles season. "Over the last month was the first time I really tried to learn defenses more and more as far as where they can come after you, where they can get you, who's the free guy coming, what protections pick up what blitzes," Vick said on WIP-FM (94.1)

NDAMUKONG SUH has been fined a third time for roughing up three different quarterbacks in less than a year. The Detroit Lions defensive tackle doesn't plan to change his game. "Not by any means," he said yesterday after he was fined $20,000 by the NFL for a hit on Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton last week. He didn't like it much, tweeting: "$20,000REALLY???!!!" The former Nebraska star said he plans to appeal the fine. "Who wouldn't?" Suh asked. The reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year grabbed Dalton and threw the rookie to the turf after he had gotten rid of the ball late in the first quarter of Friday's preseason game.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Kurt Coleman looks ready for real games. On the last day of practice before the Eagles open the preseason, Coleman delivered the hit of training camp, crushing LeSean McCoy. The play came near the end of 11-on-11 drills. Coleman started near the line of scrimmage, darted back at the snap, but quickly read a screen pass to McCoy. He raced forward and leveled the running back as defensive coordinator Juan Castillo and his teammates on the sideline went wild.

THE ATLANTA BRAVES' biggest offseason addition is finally coming up with big hits. Dan Uggla belted a tiebreaking three-run homer in the seventh inning, Brandon Beachy combined with two relievers on a three-hitter and Atlanta beat Florida, 5-0, last night to end the Marlins' five-game winning streak. Uggla extended his hitting streak to 20 games and leads Atlanta with 19 homers. He entered July with a .176 batting average but is up to .206 after going 1-for-4 against his former club.

It was a taut pitchers' duel between senior lefthanders who kept tossing zeroes on the scoreboard. One swing changed the Non-Public South B championship game. Gloucester Catholic junior catcher Elliott McCummings drove an 0-1 pitch over the fence in left-center field in the bottom of the fourth inning to snap a scoreless tie and spark the Rams to a 3-0 victory over Holy Cross. "Fastball, right down the middle," McCummings said. "It was the best feeling in the world. " In a game with just four hits total, McCummings' blast loomed large.

It was a taut pitchers' duel between senior lefthanders who kept tossing zeroes on the scoreboard. One swing changed the Non-Public South B championship game. Gloucester Catholic junior catcher Elliott McCummings drove an 0-1 pitch over the fence in left-center field in the bottom of the fourth inning to snap a scoreless tie and spark the Rams to a 3-0 victory over Holy Cross. "Fastball, right down the middle," McCummings said. "It was the best feeling in the world. " In a game with just four hits total, McCummings' blast loomed large.

The second-largest crowd to ever cram into Citizens Bank Park for a regular-season game came in search of the real Cliff Lee Monday, almost certain that was either Matt Beech or Omar Daal or some other forgettable lefthander who had confiscated Lee's uniform in recent starts. Lee gave the kind of performance that has so endeared him to this city's baseball fans, pitching seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and one walk as the Phillies opened a 10-game homestand by scraping past the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1. Early on, it was no breeze for Lee. He used his resourcefulness to fight his way out of a couple of early jams before settling into the kind of groove that had been missing in some of his recent starts.

Only moments after defeating the University of Utah, the tournament's defending champion, members of the Army rugby sevens team were refueling with chewy granola bars. Sweating onto the grass just a few yards short of the Delaware River, the Black Knights were multitasking: not only digesting the energy they'd need a few hours later against Dartmouth, but also digesting their impressive come-from-behind semifinal victory over the Utes. But in the championship match of the 2011 USA Sevens Rugby Championships, the Big Green brought more to the table in a 32-10 victory at PPL Park.