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| Posted By | Discussion Topic: Further proof that Phily is the worst sports town in America | ||||
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| Cluster F | posted on 08-14-2001 @ 5:06 PM |    | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Oct. 00  | Game postponed because of turf problem PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Vet didn't have a chance to claim any victims this time. The preseason opener for the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles was postponed Monday night because of problems with the turf at Veterans Stadium. Officials from both NFL teams thought uneven cutouts in the field could affect players' footing. ``I'm embarrassed,'' Eagles coach Andy Reid said. Some disappointed fans, among the estimated 45,000 in attendance, smashed windows outside the 30-year-old stadium. Six people were arrested for unruly behavior. That was just one problem. Then, the press elevator then got stuck for 41 minutes, but none of the 18 passengers was injured. This was just the latest trouble to beset Veterans Stadium. The turf has been blamed for causing numerous breaks and tears over the years, including a career-ending injury to Chicago Bears receiver Wendell Davis in 1993. Davis tore the patella tendons in both of his knees on the same play. Eagles linebacker Byron Evans broke his tibia and tore up his knee attempting to make a tackle in 1994. Several other players have gone down since. The biggest catastrophe came during the Army-Navy game in 1998 when a railing collapsed and injured nine Army cadets. ``We've been going through this for years. It's not acceptable,'' Eagles president Joe Banner said. ``The conditions this team is forced to play in is absolutely unacceptable and an embarrassment to the city of Philadelphia.'' Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will decide Tuesday if the game will be made up. Both teams have two games to play within the next 11 days so it's unlikely the game would be rescheduled. The start time Monday, scheduled for 7:30 p.m., was originally pushed back 35 minutes. At 8:09, the stadium announcer said the game was ``temporarily suspended.'' Fans, who were offered a full refund, immediately began booing. At least one object was thrown on the field. Fifteen minutes later, the game was officially postponed by Peter Hadhazy, the NFL's director of game operations. No one questioned the decision. ``It was completely unanimous from everybody's perspective,'' Banner said. ``The field is not suitable to playing.'' Said Ravens president David Modell: ``The risk to the players was too great, and it really is a shame.'' The last NFL game canceled without starting was Aug. 19, 1995, at the Astrodome. The San Diego Chargers were unable to play the Houston Oilers because the turf was determined to be unsafe. The Super Bowl champion Ravens were hoping to get a look at a couple running backs and the offensive line because Jamal Lewis went down for the season with a knee injury in practice last week, and right tackle Leon Searcy is out 10-to-12 weeks after tearing a tendon in his arm early in camp. James Brookins, who spent last season on three team's practice squads, and Chris Barnes, a fifth-round pick, were set to get a bulk of the carries. The Ravens signed veteran Terry Allen on Saturday, and were waiting to see how Brookins and Barnes fared before deciding whether to pursue free agent Chris Warren. ``The most important thing to note is the safety and well-being of the players will be the No. 1 determinant in everything we do,'' Ravens coach Brian Billick said. Eagles running back Duce Staley also was to see his first action since last Oct. 1 when he went down with a foot injury. ``The players were disappointed we weren't able to play,'' Eagles cornerback Troy Vincent said. ``The field conditions were horrendous.'' Vincent said players actually sunk into the turf on parts of the field near the infield cutouts. The Eagles, who share Veterans Stadium with baseball's Philadelphia Phillies, use large squares of turf to cover the areas surrounding infield dirt patches. Banner said the problem involved three areas of the new NexTurf, installed for this baseball season, covering the pitcher's mound and first and second base. Players noticed the uneven turf during a routine walk-through before the game. Grounds crews added layers of dirt under the cutouts to try to remedy the problem, to no avail. ``The surface underneath the turf was not smoothed properly, so that when you lay the turf on it you've got, not a ripple, but ruts to the point where it was unsafe,'' Banner said. ``You could twist an ankle or a knee too easily.'' Before the game was called off, players and coaches from both teams conferred with referee Tom White about the field. They included Billick, Modell, and players Tony Siragusa and Harry Swayne, along with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, Reid and Vincent. ``Multipurpose stadiums never work, never have worked,'' Billick said. City managing director Joe Martz said workers practiced converting the stadium between its baseball and football orientations for three days last month and that the transition went smoothly. ``I guess what we didn't expect, and what we didn't account for, at least, was the amount of rain that we've received over the last three days and specifically over the last 24 hours,'' Martz said. The Eagles are slated to move into a new, football-only stadium for the 2003 season. The quality of the Vet's playing surface was such a concern that the league instituted a turf review program to make sure it was up to standards. In January, the Vet's surface was rated the league's worst in an NFL Players Association survey. But those problems were supposed to be resolved when the old surface was torn up after last season and replaced with the softer NexTurf. The Phillies haven't had any problems with the new surface. | ||||
| short hills mall | posted on 08-14-2001 @ 7:05 PM | | |||
| Psychopath Registered: Mar. 01 | quote: Typical Philly. They treat there town like the Rodney King Riots!! Lizzie Grubman has a case here. touche' Jewdown!!:) 
BIG THANKS TO MEATBALLNIP FOR EXPOSING THIS WHORE FOR THE TRASH SHE IS! | ||||
| jewdown | posted on 08-14-2001 @ 8:03 PM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Jan. 01 | shm, who is this Roddy you speak of? "We don't take kindly to not takin' kindly around here." | ||||
| Lil Dirty | posted on 08-14-2001 @ 8:25 PM | | |||
| Psychopath Registered: Oct. 00 | As if sending death threats to Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams home after he gave up the homerun to Joe Carter in the '93 series. Running him out of town the next season after he caused John Kruk to have a testicle removed due to a wild pick-off throw to first. Throwing batteries at J.D. Drew for refusing to sign with the Phil's and demanding a trade. Cheering when Michael Irvin was down on the field paralyzed. (Well what Cowgirl hater wasn't?) Booing Destiny's Child for wearing both teams jersey's in the NBA finals. And the worst is they boo Santa Claus on X-mas. Syndication to Tampa when Sick Boy is allowed back on the show. Bubba the Lovesponge Sucks!!!!! This message was edited by Lil Dirty on 8-14-01 @ 8:42 PM | ||||
| Francine Banger | posted on 08-14-2001 @ 10:40 PM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Dec. 00 | And Im just so thrilled that Philly's Next Home game is against the Jets. the last week of the Pre-Season. So The Jets are going to have to play on that awful turf and somebody is going to get injured.  | ||||
| TeenWeek what's a status? | posted on 08-15-2001 @ 7:02 AM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Oct. 00 | FB, you are probably right. Let's take bets? Curtis Martin= even Vinny Testerverde= 2-1 Wayne Chrebet=5-1 other= 10-1 | ||||
| F the S out of her A | posted on 08-16-2001 @ 5:13 PM | | |||
| Psychopath Registered: Jun. 01 | I don't know what's worse: the turf at the Vet or the fucking idiot fans. Philadelphia- the town for people too stupid to live in Boston and too scared to live in New York! "You take tuberculosis - my smoking doesn't go over there at all." | ||||
Displaying 1-7 of 7 messages in this thread. |