The Rush: The Philly Special 2: Defending the Title

Football is back! After a long offseason, interminable training camps, and one excruciating hour waiting for lightning to pass through the Philadelphia area, the 2018 NFL season finally got underway. The Eagles raised their first Super Bowl championship banner and then kicked off their title defense by outlasting the Falcons 18-12. The game won’t go into any time capsule to represent crisp, entertaining football. There were 26 total penalties and uninspired play all around. It seemed like the defending champs might drop the first game of the year, until they called on a familiar friend: The Philly Special. Nick Foles caught a pass on the same trick play from Super Bowl 52. The backup QB turned starting QB turned receiver sparked the offense and ignited the crowd, helping set the tone for the eventual Eagles victory.

When Mets third baseman Todd Frazier tumbled into the crowd on Monday, it appeared as though he made a spectacular catch. A closer look at the video however appears to show that a fan ended up with the real ball while Frazier ended up with a fan’s rubber ball. Yesterday, with pressure to tell the truth mounting, the slugger finally came clean. He admitted to deceiving the umpire. Can such rule bending really be surprising from a player who’s nicknamed The Toddfather?