The second half begins

For me, the backside of the baseball season is when the Major-league baseball trade deadline has passed. I am pleased that the Philadelphia Phillies made some aggressive moves. They decided to try to upgrade their second baseman and their catcher positions. For second base, they acquired Asdrubal Cabrera from the New York Mets. He will bring some needed consistency to the defense. And for catcher, they acquired Wilson Ramos from the Tampa Bay Rays. I remember him when he played for the Washington Nationals. He was very good before his knee injury, so let's hope that doesn't become any kind of an issue. Up to this point, the current Phillies catchers have been quite disappointing.

In order for the Phillies to stay in first place, the offense needs to produce more runs per game. This will bring more support to their pitching staff that have really stepped up. The lack of hitting is making the games way too hard to watch. Thankfully they have pulled off enough wins to keep them in first place.

I can't believe it's time to talk about football, but the Philadelphia Eagles have started their training camp already in order to defend their position as Super Bowl champs. So far, there have been no significant injuries. This is always the biggest concern at the start of training camp for every football team, not just the champions.

Since the Eagles are the Super Bowl champions, they will play in the first regular-season game of the year against The Atlanta Falcons. This should be a good first matchup for the official start of football. This game is on September 6th, so they only have just over a month to prepare for the season. Hopefully the team will stay healthy.

This weekend marks the Hall of Fame ceremony for the NFL. Former Eagle safety, Brian Dawkins will be enshrined. This event goes on for 4 to 5 hours and can be watched live on the NFL Network. I won't be watching, but I did want to bring attention to the honor being bestowed. Brian Dawkins has definitely earned this award.