“This partnership will allow more Philadelphians to find out as soon as the Phillies sign the Pittsburgh Pirates to a minor league deal or when Danny Briere rips another man’s head off,” said PhillyGameday.com founder and CEO Zaki Edwards. “More importantly, it will give everyone something else to do at work.”

Starting Thursday, February 24, 2011, content from PhillyGameday.com will begin to appear on Philly.com in a new blog called “PhillyGameday.com.” The partnership will provide Philly.com with additional engaging, original content, which will in all likelihood get you fired from your job for spending all day on the site.

“While we are looking forward to this great opportunity, we have to apologize ahead of time to Dave for getting him fired this May,” Edwards continued. “But to everyone else, we just want to say welcome aboard, thank you for reading and please stop driving slow in the left lane. Seriously, just go in the right lane if you’re going to do that.”

The sport — played professionally in the National Philly Dipshits League, or NPDL — has enjoyed a renaissance of late thanks to a record-shattering performance by Matthew Clemmens when he projectile vomited on an off-duty police officer and his young daughter. Two standout players recently followed up that feat with back-to-back field jumping games, giving the league much-deserved national attention and the number one spot on Sportscenter’s “Top Plays”.

Even with the popularity of “the Santa Claus thing” and “booing Donovan McNabb” in the past, the NPDL failed to top the “big four” major sports leagues of MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL in terms of popularity. However, the sport has grown so quickly over the past year that it now draws more fans than all of the four major sports leagues combined.

Media coverage is at an all-time high and Philadelphia dipshits are starting to feel the pressure to live up to the hype and stay on top.

“Without the media coverage, this sport would have died years ago,” said Rich Hopkins, a NPDL star in the 1970s. “Without the exposure, we would just be a handful of douchebags with no lives. Instead, we’re a handful of douchebags with no lives that can get national attention since all eyes are now fixed on our league. Accepting the national challenge to keep the alleged title of worst sports fans in the country is really the only way we can justify our miserable existence as douchebags with no lives.”

Anyone looking to join the NPDL should meet in the middle of the Schuylkill for tryouts.

Howevah…

Before the Phillies even start the 2010 season, Philly’s own “Fast” Eddie Chambers will try to bring home a heavyweight boxing title to this city — and the country as a whole — when he takes on Wladimir Klitschko on March 20 in Germany.

Heavyweight boxing isn’t what it used to be, but when a local guy with a legitimate shot to be the top heavyweight boxer in the world, it’s time to take notice again.

I met Eddie a few years back and have seen him grow from an awkward bowler that struggled to break 100 to an awkward bowler that can top 200 when nobody’s around. So, I thought I’d bring him in for an interview and let folks know what’s about to go down on March 20.

No offense to Freddie Mitchell — since it was kinda last minute and I only came up with one question — but here is Philly Gameday’s first for real-real interview.

Zaki: You’re in Fight Night: Round 4. How does it feel to finally be in a video game, even though they gave you saggy man-boobs?

Eddie: It’s an honor to be on the game but they could have given me more time to get in shape! But it’s a great honor for me being a huge video game fan.

Zaki: If I put Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out in front of you right now, how far do you think you could get?

Eddie: The funny thing is I was just playing online because I didn’t have a joystick but I could get to the second fight with Bald Bull! Then I’m out!

Zaki: That’s it? I actually just saw a video the other day of some guy that beat the game and only got hit once.

Eddie: The reason is I’ve been playing on the internet without a joystick but if I had a joystick I would be dominating!

Zaki: What would it take to get Big Rob (Eddie’s trainer and manager, Rob Murray Sr.) on a bike and you running behind him in a pink jump suit down Kelly Drive?

Eddie: It would take a lot! It would have to be in the summer time and we might need a stationary bike for Big Rob!

Zaki: You also have a brother (Steve Upsher Chambers) that boxes in the welterweight division. When is his next fight?

Eddie: Steve is ready to take the next step. He’s honed his skills and I truly believe he’s ready to compete with the top fighters in the world. He will probably fight on Showbox in the next few months.

Zaki: Do you know what music you’ll walk out to in your fight against Klitschko?

Eddie: Not yet. I came out to Can’t Stop Me by Jadakiss last time and I won. I’m not superstitious but as long as it’s inspirational and I feel it, I’ll go with it.

Zaki: You’re an absolute bowling nut. Are you training to be the first two-sport athlete since Deion Sanders?

Eddie: Yes, I am Dammit! (Laughter) Bowling, along with basketball, gets my mind off of my sport so I’ve learned to really enjoy both. But don’t get mad because I gave you a beat down at Playdrome! Can you say rematch?

Zaki: I don’t recall you ever beating me and I don’t care if Jeff and Paco were there to see it…it never happened. But thanks for that segue into my next question: Will you ever be able to beat me in bowling?

Eddie: Don’t have me going to the alley getting my reps in! You’re lucky I have this fight coming up. After the fight, it’s on!

Zaki: Are there any other sports you think you could turn pro in and become the first ever three-sport pro athlete?

Eddie: I love basketball, but Lil Rob (Eddie’s manager, Rob Murray Jr.) humbles me at Virtua. Other than that, I’m an armchair football coach on Sundays. Let me know if you need any predictions for this week!

Zaki: If you had to decide between building bowling lanes or a personal gym in your house, which one would you choose?

Eddie: Definitely bowling! I don’t like bringing work home with me. I like getting in my car going to the gym and I couldn’t imagine having to workout in my house. With bowling, all my friends and family could enjoy it.

Zaki: Honestly, do you think fame would change you at all with signing autographs and getting noticed more in public?

Eddie: I would say ‘no’. I think everyone wants a certain level of privacy but how many people can actually say that people love and appreciate what they do worldwide? I think like any human being I might have my days but when I think about where I came from and where I am, I would snap out of it real quick and just keep signing!

Zaki: One last question: Are you ready to do this damn thing and bring a belt back to Philly and the U.S.?

Eddie: Honestly Zaki, I truly feel that it’s my destiny. I’m everyone’s underdog except for maybe you and my team. But I train hard and I believe that I will win. So prepare for the victory party at Playdrome!

Photos for this article were provided by Brady Dillsworth.

From myself and the two awesome guys that contribute to the site, have a happy and safe holiday season.

To further augment this list of rude and crude behavior, PhillyGameday.com would like to introduce a new featured called Great moments in ‘typical Philly fan’ history where we’ll take a look at some great overlooked moments from the past involving Philly fans and their outrageous and uncontrollable behavior.

First up is the melee at The Palace of Auburn Hills in  November of 2004. Few people are aware that the incident even had a Philly connection, but according to many sources, Philly is the only place on this here planet to find hooligans. So if something bad happens, the culprit must be from Philly.

After throwing back drink after drink for the entire game (per Philadelphia fan code of conduct), notorious Philly fan Mike Ryan decides to throw his remaining cup of Coors Light at Ron Artest, which incites a riot between the fans and players.

“I was in town on some business and decided to catch a Pistons game,” said Ryan, a professional derelict from Pottstown, PA. “I was enjoying a great game, but then my Phillyness kicked in and I couldn’t control myself. I just had to start some [expletive]. It’s just something we’re born and bred to do I guess.”

Editor’s Note: I would like to extend my condolances to the family of the slain David Sale, the victim of the unfortunate incident outside of Citizens Bank Park last week. I would also like to extend condolances to the Johnson family, the Eagles organization and anyone else that felt the loss of the great Jim Johnson yesterday.

For this edition, we’ll take a look at the “Bash Brothers” of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire and how this town would likely still hold a spot in their hearts for the two poster children of the steroid era had they played for the Philadelphia Athletics.

Would Philly be any different than any other love-struck town like LA, San Francisco and New York if we had a couple of star athletes that were later found to be dirty? I’d like to think so, but the obvious answer would be “no, we’d be no different.”

After Mike Schmidt (who fell off after 1987, coincidentally when the Bash Brothers were just heating up), the Phillies had a major power outage for the next 15 or so years until Pat Burrell and Jim Thome came to town.  Can you imagine how popular the A’s would have been in this town over the lowly Phils teams of the late 80′s and through the 90′s (1993 aside) if we were able to see Canseco and McGwire “across town?”

Now of course, this assumes that we didn’t know anything about steroids back then, and I think the bulk of fans didn’t have a clue (myself included, since I was in high school at the height of the steroid era in 2001). Contrary to what Mike Missanelli would mislead you to believe, the big talk was about a “juiced ball”, smaller ballparks and diluted pitching due to expansion, not about steroids.

I say this because we would have probably accepted the “Bash Brothers” like we do Ryno and Utley today, and even when the news broke that McGwire was catching whatever Jose “The Candyman” Canseco was pitching (take that however you want), we would probably forgive and embrace them just like Oakland did. Sports fans are like naive, abused girlfriends: You can cheat your ass off, but as long as you throw in a couple “please baby, baby, baby please’s”, they’ll take you right back.

If the A’s stayed in town, you know Philly would have gone nuts for the “Broad Street Bash Brothers” or some other corny 90′s nickname. Don’t deny it.

The attack took place on Missanelli’s 950 ESPN radio show when a random caller was quickly robbed of what little self-respect he had and beaten savagely by the radio host for more than seven minutes because of his harmless views on Philly sports fans.

Though the identity and credentials of the caller were unknown at the time of the incident, the victim was later identified as Skip Bayless, but little is still known about his credentials that qualified him to discuss anything about Philadelphia sports.

Philly fans were quick to defend Bayless, despite his sweeping judgment against each of them.

“Mikey Miss should really be ashamed of himself,” said Dane Whitaker of Camden. “That guy had no idea where he was or who he was talking to even though someone had just told him a second ago before he got on the phone. The old cat was obviously having an episode and Mike just lit into him. I thought Mike was better than that.”

Other fans also recognized Bayless’ disability and are calling for Missanelli to be fired.

“Mike’s gotta go after what he did to that old ass man,” said Joel Roman of Bensalem. “Only senior citizens have the right to pummel each other like that. If it was [Howard] Eskin giving him the business, it would be a different story.”

NBC Sports chief Dick Eberhart has selected Chris Collinsworth to replace the man he refered to as “the absolute best sports broadcaster who ever lived.”

When pressed to confirm that Eberhart was actually referring to Madden and not Vin Scully, Howard Cosell, Harry Caray, Jon Miller, Jim McKay, Bob Costas, Al Michaels, Curt Gowdy or the late Harry Kalas, Eberhart responded with “…did I stutter?”

Area Philly fans have taken issue with Ebersol’s comments not only based on the absurdity that Madden would rank higher than any sports broadcaster in the long history of sports broadcasting, but because of the poor timing the imbecile had in making the statement days after the passing of Harry Kalas.

Kalas was the Phillies. He represented the franchise for the past 40 years almost as much as the actual “P” logo itself, but the great thing about such a unique voice as HK’s is that it’s not going anywhere. No one that’s spent any time in front of a radio or TV when Harry K was on will ever be able to forget “Struck him ooooout!” or the great “Oooutta heeeere!”

There’s really no other way to describe the impact that Kalas had on our world other than to say that it was a better place while he was here. It is my personal goal for others to be able to say the same for me one day and I’m grateful to be able to share this planet with folks like Harry K that show us how it’s supposed to be done.

It obviously goes without saying, but he will be terribly missed.

“Maybe other fans enjoy flushing their money down the can while these guys are out there giving 20% some days,” said Eagles fan Brian ‘Booch’ Avallone. “Really though, how many people do you know can give 20% and still keep their job? I can get away with about 35% to 40%…but 20%? Fugettaboddit.”

The reports note that athletes tend to have their best years right before they hit free agency, which suggests that they are able to play at a certain level when they feel like it, but choose to coast when the check clears.

“I’d probably take it easy too if I was guaranteed $10 million this year to play baseball,” said Phillies fan Tommy Hagan. “But if I basically steal millions of dollars from an entire city of people, I think I’m getting off pretty easy if all they’re doing is booing me every night. You can take your ass to Wall Street if you want to pull a fat check and loaf off. This is Philly, bub.”