Bill Lyon | McNabb, Sapp on collision course
Mass times velocity equals, well, it's what makes dents in your bumper. And in your quarterback. It's what sells tickets in the NFL and keeps things humming in the orthopedic wards.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 10/20/2002 02:37 PM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Paterno may have overdone it this time
He admits it makes him sound paranoid. He admits it suggests a persecution complex on the part of Penn State. He knew what the reaction from opponents would be even before they spoke it, which was that Joe Paterno was whining, the Nittany Lions were sore losers, and Happy Valley, fabled in legend and song, was in the midst of a bumper harvest of sour grapes.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 10/17/2002 06:27 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Eagles find a way to win without having to suit up
Sometimes, the best thing you can do really is nothing. Any number of politicians have discovered this over the years, of course, and have profited greatly from such knowledge.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 10/15/2002 07:26 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | The Flyers have used up their last excuses
All available evidence suggests rather strongly that Ken Hitchcock is impressively accomplished when it comes to getting rid of things - through relentless, dogged dieting, he lost the equivalent of a 250-pound person, a laudable feat indeed.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 10/10/2002 07:44 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Eagles deserve to stew in their own juices
On a day when they were supposed to stand up and make a ringing statement about themselves, the Eagles couldn't even get out of their seats, and then could barely choke out a whisper.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 10/07/2002 05:57 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Careful, Birds: Jags will be shaking your perch
At the quarter mark of the 2002 season, this is where the Eagles sit, one game away from a rest stop. With a wink and a seductive smile, the bye week beckons invitingly to them. There it is, over there, just under that next street lamp. Extra days in the soothing luxury of the whirlpool, extra days for the limping to mend, the gimping to heal.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 10/06/2002 03:29 PM EDT)

Bill Lyon | At this point, Birds are where they should be
The result was fine. The performance wasn't. The Eagles were, by turns, lethargic, uninspired and sloppy yesterday. Fortunately for them, the opponent was not equipped to take advantage.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 09/30/2002 07:15 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Eagles QB may be worth every penny
Even by the Monopoly money standards that prevail in sports today, the deal that the Eagles have negotiated with their quarterback is a monster.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 09/28/2002 08:08 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Iron men of the gridiron are merely flesh and blood
This time around, September Song seems especially melancholy and hauntingly mournful. For while the days dwindle down to a precious few, one by one they have gone. Johnny U. Bullet Bob. Iron Mike.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 09/26/2002 06:41 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | At 75, a new way to win for Paterno
Once upon a time there was a football coach at a place where they did a lot of happily-ever-aftering. So much of it, in fact, that the place came to be known as Happy Valley.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 09/24/2002 07:06 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | No sweat at the Vet
For an Eagles fan, this was as sweet as it gets. A perfect, sun-splashed September afternoon. A cooler on ice. And Cowboys on the barbie.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 09/23/2002 08:16 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Eagles fans are an easy target
In one of the more lurid and arresting scenes ever depicted in football, here is how the director of security for the Eagles described the sideline scene during the Birds' Monday night game at Washington:
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 09/19/2002 07:17 AM EDT)

A bad loss, but it's only the start for Eagles
NASHVILLE - So the bandwagon isn't even out of the driveway and it has thrown a wheel.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 09/08/2002 08:37 PM EDT)

Bill Lyon | We just might get off that merry-go-round
The four stages of life as an Eagles fan: Stage One. It is cold, so cold you can see your breath, and on one side, your father hugs you to him and says: "Maybe this will be the year." And on the other side, your grandfather pulls you to him and looks up into a slate-gray sky and beseeches: "Just once, that's all. One time before I die, Lord. One Super Bowl. Is that asking too much?"
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 09/08/2002 07:12 PM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Sampras finds that missing step, after all
There he is, cheetah-sleek and jaguar-quick again, just as in the days of old, lunging, leaping, stalking, chasing... but chasing after what, exactly?
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 09/07/2002 09:32 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Despite ifs, Reid's team can succeed
The mustache is the key. Don't listen so much to what he says, which is always very guarded anyway, as much as watch the mustache.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Sports Columnist, 09/05/2002 03:15 PM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Baseball does the right thing for a change
For once, the mulishly stubborn were willing to relent and concede some ground. For once, the prideful were willing to swallow a portion of their pompous pride.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 08/31/2002 08:17 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Spurrier losing friends but influencing people
Already he has them seething in San Francisco. Peeved in Pittsburgh. Ticked off in Tampa Bay. And the season hasn't even begun yet.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 08/27/2002 03:29 PM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Self-effacing Pepto Kid easy to like
The Pepto Kid shot a 66 yesterday. Tied the course record. Shot himself right on up the leader board at the PGA Championship. His name is Rich Beem and just before each round he takes the pink bottle from his bag and swallows a slug of Pepto-Bismol.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 08/17/2002 06:53 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Bumpy play no disaster for Woods
The thunder echoed like cannon fire. The lightning streaked the sky with violent slashes. The prairie wind danced in capricious, treacherous swirls.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 08/16/2002 10:27 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Woods restarts quest for history
On a course long and lush, the last major professional golf tournament of the year begins today. The PGA may lack the mystique of the Masters, the age of the British Open, and the everyone-invited openness of the U.S. Open, but it is a major and it looks imposing on the mantel and it counts as history, and that's enough for Tiger Woods.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 08/15/2002 01:47 PM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Don't scoff - they are athletes
First of all, you have to be more than a little brave. And a generous dose of temporary insanity helps, too. Somewhere between matador and wing walker, somewhere between stunt pilot and parachutist, somewhere between bomb defuser and bull rider, somewhere between mountain goat and bungee jumper, there is the X Games athlete.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 08/14/2002 10:32 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | It's past time for this show of good sense
Baseball has suffered a rare sudden attack of common sense. There is nothing in its history to suggest that there will be a repeat, but we can always hope.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 08/13/2002 07:43 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Sixers hoping this trade is answer
The 76ers have finally emerged from the era of the two-handed set shot and admitted they need more offense. The New Jersey Nets, who were overpowered and overwhelmed by the Lakers in the NBA finals, decided they needed defense.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 08/08/2002 02:52 PM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Emotional Kelly has the heart of a linebacker
First law of sports and tears: The tougher they are, the harder they cry. So there, on a broiling August day in Canton, Ohio, stood Jim Kelly, newly minted Hall of Famer. The same Jim Kelly that Joe Paterno had tried to lure to Penn State. As a linebacker.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 08/06/2002 09:01 AM EDT)

Bill Lyon | Another star taken from Philly's fans
He was going to be their cornerstone, the foundation of the franchise, the once-and-future savior. But now Curt Schilling churns out 20-win seasons for somebody else. Oops, wrong cornerstone.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 07/30/2002 02:39 PM EDT)

Bill Lyon | He defies the critics once again
They tried to stack it against him, and they were shamefully, unconscionably blatant about it. He is tireless and inexhaustible and thrives on the pain, so they shortened the distance. He is a peerless, pitiless climber, so they saved the mountains, where he is unbeatable and indomitable, until the very last. They front-loaded the race with those flat stages that make it difficult to shake free from the pack.
( By Bill Lyon, Inquirer Columnist, 07/29/2002 09:06 AM EDT)