Round-up: McNabb; Westbrook; Fightin's; Olympics

A few random thoughts from around the COBL:

Sure, the play-calling was vanilla, which was to be expected with the Birds and Steelers scheduled to face each other for real on September 15th, but I was impressed by Donovan McNabb last night in the Eagles 16-10 exhibition loss in Pittsburgh. McNabb went 10-13 for 97 yards and a touchdown, spreading the ball around to six different receivers, none of which was named Reggie Brown or Brian Westbrook. A healthy McNabb could be the key to this team making the playoffs, so it was encouraging to watch.

Speaking of encouraging, the aforementioned Westbrook inked the new contract he was seeking yesterday, keeping him in the nest through 2013. Westbrook is an elite NFL back and McNabb's best weapon. Props to Jeff Lurie and Joe Banner for getting it done before the season and not letting this situation drag on and become a distraction.

Because I live outside the greater Philadelphia area, I was relegated to a local watering hole and the NFL Network's coverage of the game last night. I don't know if its standard operating procedure, but they showed the Steelers feed for the first quarter and the Eagles Television Network feed for the second quarter. The bright side to viewing the game in a loud bar? I couldn't hear Dave Spadaro slurping the players during his sideline interviews. Steve Coates thinks Spadaro is too much of a homer.

I was able to convince my man Troy the bartender to put the Phillies game on the flat screen next to the one showing the Eagles game. Glad I didn't sit there all night waiting for the Phillies to score. 23 consecutive scoreless innings for a line-up featuring Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard is unacceptable.

The Fightin's wasted a nice effort by Joe Blanton and lost a game to the Mets, who beat Florida. The three teams are now separated by a game and a half, and the pessimist in me doesn't see it ending well for the Phils.

One more note about the bar. They had the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics on a majority of the TV's and the sound system. It didn't seem to draw a lot of interest. Thought it was just me.

Welcome to the "Guys I Can't Stand Thanks to Overblown Media Coverage," Brett Favre! Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and David Beckham will show you to your room.

When I heard Jason Smith tore his ACL, I was concerned. Then I realized they were talking about the Sixers' Jason Smith, so I was relieved. Then I remembered the Flyers' Jason Smith is not a Flyer anymore, so I don't care if he tears his ACL.

Knowing that they have Carolina's first round pick next year, is there any chance the Eagles have someone fall on Jake Delhomme's legs Thursday night?