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Some observations on a hodge-podge of sports topics:
• With the Phillies deciding not to pick up Pedro Feliz's option, the team is in the market for a new third baseman. Though there's a slim possibility Feliz could still end up with the Phils, I seriously doubt that's going to happen.
General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. let Feliz go precisely because he thinks the market of free-agent third sackers is deep enough that he can sign one who'll represent an improvement over Feliz, without breaking the bank.
A
Philly.com article last week by Jim Salisbury said the club is preliminarily looking at Placido Polanco, Adrian Beltre or Mark DeRosa.
I love DeRosa's bat and versatility in the field, but can't see him playing every day at third. He'd be a great utility guy, though. Beltre has the biggest upside, but with his injury problems he also represents the biggest risk.
So if I had to pick one of the three, I'd choose Polanco — even if he hasn't been a third baseman in years. I liked Polanco a lot when he was with the Phillies before, and he's a good, all-around player.
He's also a better situational hitter than Feliz. Actually, he's a better situational hitter than most anyone else on the team, and that's an ingredient the Phillies' home-run-heavy offense desperately needs.
• There are plenty of reasons to vent about the Eagles these days, so here's one at the top of my list.
Why did the Birds bring Michael Vick on board if they weren't going to use him? I know several Eagles fans who've stopped following the team because of Vick.
If you're willing to endure waves of bad publicity and erosion of your fan base for signing a pariah like Vick, you'd better get something out of it.
What was Coach Andy Reid thinking when he pushed to get Vick? Did he simply view him as a charity case, or did Reid really plan to employ Vick on the field more often than he has?
We may never know, but at this point the Vick acquisition really makes no sense. If he's going to spend all his time sitting on the bench, maybe the Eagles should just release him now.
• On a happier note, college basketball is upon us. The Franklin & Marshall men's team opens its season at 8 p.m. Friday at Mayser Center against New York City College of Technology in the Rotary Tip-Off Tournament.
F&M, which reached the Division III Final Four last year, is ranked as high as fourth in the country in preseason polls and returns four of its starters, including forward James McNally, an honorable mention preseason All-America.
The Dips also are picked to finish first in the Centennial Conference.
• Marcus Lattimore, considered by some scouting services to be the nation's top high school running back, came to Penn State last weekend on a recruiting visit. Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, he didn't appear to mind that PSU got trounced by Ohio State.
Lattimore, from Duncan, S.C., raved about his trip to Happy Valley.
"Ah man, it was a '10,' " he told
BlueWhiteIllustrated.com. "I could see myself up there, really. It reminded me a lot of Byrnes, the school I'm at now. Just the way they do things.
"They really don't care who scores, it's all about team. They always put academics first, like I do here. Coach [Paterno] is real cool. It's just a great place."
He's certainly a legend, but I'd love to know the last time anyone called 82-year-old Joe Paterno "cool."
Paula Wolf, a sports enthusiast who uses a wheelchair because of rheumatoid arthritis, is a staff writer for the Sunday News. E-mail her at pwolf@lnpnews.com.
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