Wednesday night’s episode (Part 4) of Philaldephia Comcast Sportsnet’s Philly Villains show continued with numbers seven through four, with a dishonorable mention thrown in for good measure.
Matthew Barnaby - greatesthockeylegends.com
Villain #7 – Former Buffalo Sabre (and other NHL teams) Matthew Barnaby. The words used to describe Barnaby were punk and gnat. He wasn’t a real big guy but he played like he was. He also had an colorful personality that the panel described as cartoonish. And supposedly he rather enjoyed playing in Philly against the Philadelphia Flyers and would be extra pumped up hours before the game.
Many hockey players have lost their front teeth at one time or another, but Barnaby decided to replace his with silver ones that were adorned with the Sabres logo (see image on right). Watch the clip here.
Barnaby was arrested and charged with a DUI back in December 2011.
Villain #6 – the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And why would the Bucs be a villain when they aren’t even an NFC East rival? Well what was slated to be one of if not the biggest game in Philadelphia Eagles history, and to be the last Eagles game to be played at Veterans Stadium turned into one of the worst.
It was the NFC Title Game and the Eagles were picked to take it all. There were many reasons why the Eagles SHOULD have won that game, because basically the Eagles had everything working in their favor. Right down to the cold weather where it was possibly hyped a little too much that the Bucs were NOT a cold weather team. Something I always tell my son when he’s about to play a baseball game, do not ever take a team too lightly or underestimate your opponent. And I think that is what happened to the Eagles. Because what started off as amazing with the Eagles jumping to a 7-0 lead, 52 seconds into the game, turned into a complete disaster.
The Buccaneers went on to win 27-10 and found themselves Superbowl bound, while the Eagles lowered their heads and disappointed the 66,000 + fans at the Vet as well as the rest of Eagles fans. Watch the clip here.
Dishonorable Mention – Former 76ers owner Harold Katz. He was responsible for signing Shawn Bradley (Villain #15) so that is a HUGE reason why he got the nod here.
Villain #5 – Former Boston Celtic Larry Bird. Why is he a villain? Could be that he was a hell of a basketball player and always played hard against the Philadelphia Sixers. Or the fact that the beloved Julius “Dr.J” Erving and Bird had a nasty rivalry going on. One of the stories the panel mentioned was an incident in 1984 where Bird and Dr. J. actually physically fought, and call me a homer but it sure looked Dr. J. got the better of him. Check out the video below and tell me what you think:
http://youtu.be/77ZdzNuz454
Villain #4 – current free agent J.D. Drew. I think you’d have to be living under a rock to not know the J.D. Drew story. Remember when I mentioned Billy Wagner‘s NO-NO, then Scott Rolen‘s…well Drew’s NO-NO was that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with the Phillies. And he flat out said, he did NOT want to play in Philadelphia and for the Phillies NOT to draft him. That obviously fell on deaf ears, because in 1997, the Phillies did the exact opposite and drafted Drew anyway.
When a guy is adamant about not playing for a specific team, and you go ahead and pursue him anyway, nothing good is gonna come of it. The grief wasn’t worth it. And not surprising his agent Scott Boras (Villain #17) was actually the puppetmaster to Drew’s puppet. He perpetuated the mess by stating Drew wouldn’t sign with the Phillies for less than $10 million dollars. So the Phillies countered that Drew wasn’t a proven player yet, needless to say Drew never became a Phillie.
Fans took it personally that Drew dissed Philadelphia and someone innocently suggested that when Drew was in Philly, that fans hurl batteries at him. Not sure the exact source on who came up with this brilliant idea, though Rhea Hughes of 94WIP said that WIP got blamed for it. It didn’t matter anyway, no batteries were ever thrown, though when Drew played in Philadelphia against the Phillies, he was always welcomed with boos!
Drew eventually was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals and for the past few years he’s been with the Boston Red Sox. He is now a free agent, though MLBtraderumors.com are reporting that Drew could possibly be retiring. Watch the clip here.
Part 5 can be seen Thursday night (2/2/12) at 10:30 pm EDT on Philadelphia Comcast Sportsnet.
Heather Carnassale is the Senior Phillies Writer for Aerys Sports. You can email her at viewfromsection116@gmail.com, or follow her on twitter @heatherc531 and @viewfromsec116.
