The Vet takes a great fall

PHILADELPHIA — Ed Rendell was sweating.

He was also having a bad hair day.

Philadelphia’s Democratic mayor, of course, had the flu and on top of that
even his so-called political pals from the state to the guys with their fingers on the heat controls in the belly of the decrepit 27-year old Veterans Stadium had, seemingly, turned their backs on him.

On Wednesday night, in the state capital of Harrisburg, Pa., Republican
Gov. Tom Ridge phoned Rendell that the bill authorizing $150 million in public funding for Philly (NFL Eagles, MLB Phillies) stadiums was going down the tubes. It was definitely no dice. Rendell had been trumped.

From there the situation deteriorated.

Governor Ridge peered into the television camera in the wee hours of the
morning and told his subjects that Pittsburgh and its mayor, Tom Murphy,

would be floated millions in loans without further review from the legislators.

It had now switched from House Bill 907 to the “stealth bill” with big
bucks going for new digs for the NFL Steelers and MLB Pirates.

Someone in Pittsburgh pulled a fast one and Philly got the shaft.

Rendell 0-1.

Thursday, Rendell took a back seat in Dick Vermeil Country.

The ol’ coach, Vermeil, once the so-called messiah of the Eagles, arrived
at the Vet with his St. Louis Cardinals to settle a score with Ray Rhodes’
bottom feeders. Who would be the best of the worst? As it turned out, the
Eagles pulled it out, 17-14, on the concrete battleground.

Along the way to the Vet, a Philly visitor was bound to notice Vermeil’s
smiling face on billboards for mainly health-care services. The blunt-speaking tutor brought along with him a number of ex-Eagles, now his
assistants, and among them were Dick Coury, John Bunting, Carl Hairston,

Lynn Stiles and Wilbert Montgomery.

Also on his dance card was the former owner, Leonard Tose, along with Jaws
Jaworski, John Spagnolo, Bill Bergey, and Vince Papale. Then there was Spanky, a retired Polish groundskeeper, who used to sip wine with coach Vermeil under the bleachers, and chef Georges Perrier from Le Bec-Fin.

Rendell 0-2.

When the Vet caretakers found out that Pittsburgh had been favored instead
of the City of Brotherly Shove, they turned up the heat, literally. That’s
right, they let their fingers do the walking with the heat controls. With
the temperatures hovering at an unseasonable 70 degrees, these men of vision made both the Eagles and Cardinals sweat.

Of course, the Vet sauna has been a main concern to the NFL for years and
the Eagles staff might wish they were in the desert air of Phoenix since

they are subjected to such torture day in and day out. It would definitely
be cooler. Anything is better than 150, right?

Rendell 0-3.

Then came the play-by-play clock fiasco in the west-end of the stadium.

It’s essential to a quarterback in getting the plays off in time.

But surprise, surprise, it didn’t work when a TV crew inadvertently cut a
cable.

At first, the Eagles and ESPN claimed the city didn’t have the bucks to fix
it.

However, Mayor Rendell was quick to respond to such an accusation.

“The idea that we don’t have the money to fix it is pure bull,” Rendell
told the Philadelphia Daily News. “This city has a budget surplus of $169
million. The story was ridiculous.”

The rumor originated in the Eagles’ P.R. department although team owner
Jeffrey Lure told the Daily News: “It was an embarrassment on national TV
(ABC-ESPN). It’s just a part of the battle of being at the Vet. I have no
idea who’s to blame, although obviously we have nothing to do with the clock.”

Rendell 0-4.

Then there was Saturday.

Probably the greatest rivalry in sports as 67,000 plus jammed the creaky
confines for the 99th annual Army vs. Navy showdown.

There was no hype needed. The drama had already been prior to the opening kickoff before a CBS audience.

It see-sawed back and forth, and then when Army zoomed into a 31-30 lead on
Ty Amey’s 70-yard TD run, The Fall happened in the east end zone.

More than a dozen cadets from the Academy at West Point and “preppers” from
nearby Fort Monmouth, N.J. were leaning against a 20-foot section of railing in the temporary stands when it broke free.

They started to tumble in a bone-crunching heap some 15 feet to the rock-hard carpeting.

One second the youngsters were smiling and yelping and in a surreal scene
they fell with a look of joy and fear on their faces. The stadium collectively gasped.

The game was delayed 31 minutes as nine cadets were taken to Thomas Jefferson Hospital, Methodist Hospital and the Hospital of the University
of Pennsylvania, mostly for cuts and bruises, although one had a broken bone in his neck, stated West Point spokesman, Army Capt. John Cornelio.

Fortunately, the cadet with the neck injury didn’t have any spinal cord injuries.

No names of the injured have been released.

However, the stadium throng was never told of the extent of the injuries.

Army won, 34-30.

Rendell 0-5.

After such a tragedy, will the Army-Navy tradition move out of the Vet for
more friendly confines?

And will Philadelphia ever get its long-awaited stadium for the Eagles and
the Phillies?

It would be a resounding “yes” if Mayor Ed Rendell had his way.

But first he’d have to get over his cold and a bad hair day.

PHILLY MEANDERINGS: The anticipation level had reached a fever pitch for
one of South Street’s favorite delights — the cheese steak sandwich. Comedian David Bremer had touted it for a week on the Travel TV channel.

After slipping into Jim’s the other night and trying one on for size, it

rated about a 4 or a scale of 1 to 10. Tasted like bad hamburger to yer obedient servant … with Ray Rhodes expected to be history after the Eagles’ dismal season, Steelers’ defensive coordinator Jim Haslett is expected to take over … Rhodes has committed to a 4-3 up front, but with
new blood, the more reliable (methinks) 3-4 formation could be the successor’s best option.

EVEN WITHOUT MOSS: While Randy Moss (Minnesota Vikings) dazzles the NFL with his play, his ex-alma mater, Marshall University, out of Huntington,
W. Va., seems to have a lock on the Mid-American Conference championship. A year after Moss, Marshall (11-1) stopped Toledo 23-17 Friday night. QB Chad Pennington was 23 of 38 for 249 yards for the Herd. Coach Bob Pruett and Marshall next head for Pontiac, Mich. to clash with Louisville (7-4) in
the Motor City Bowl on Dec. 23.

DID YOU NOTICE?: When Buffalo Bills topped Cincy in Sunday’s game, there
were no disputed calls such as in last week’s fiasco against the Pats when
Walt Coleman’s officiating crew blew two major calls that cost the Bills

and Flutie the much-needed victory. If I were NFL czar Paul Tagliabue, I’d
have fined the officials instead of sticking a $50,000 fine on Buffalo’s

respected owner, Ralph Wilson, Jr., one of the class people in the league.
Wilson had every right to nail Tagliabue’s hide to the nearest wall.

FINALLY: When will they ever bring back instant replays? Even if it has
imperfections, NFL replays deserve another chance. And “on further review”
will not extend the games by three or four hours … Well, Tennessee and