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Showing posts from November, 2016
Books by Rob J. Quinn
Cover for Reach Past Your Limits Cover of The Birth of Super Crip Cover for Reach Past Your Limits

Rob’s Rants on Sports: Giving Thanks in Philly Sports

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It’s that time of year that we gather together to watch football . . . I mean, give thanks. Depending on your viewpoint, that might be a tough task at the moment. Leaving real world concerns aside, here’s what I think Philly sports fans should be thankful for this year. Carson Wentz: I’m not 100% sold that he’s going to be “the guy” for the next 10 to 15 years, and there’s obviously no guarantee he brings the Lombardi Trophy to Philadelphia at long last. But at the very least, he’s the Eagles quarterback for the next 5 years. He is the guy they need to build around. They don’t even have to think about drafting a starting QB for quite a while. “The process” is, essentially, over: It seemed endless. It was stupid. And it never should have happened. But it is, finally, over. Sam Hinkie’s process of tanking, and tanking, and tanking, and tanking, to acquire talent . . . because Sammy couldn’t pick his nose, let alone NBA players, without making the process absolutely mistake-free .

Remembering a Great Day with Dad

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Action shot of Johnny Dawkins My mom just happened to be cleaning out the storage area last week and wanted to throw out the frame that held pictures from a day that my dad and I got into a Philadelphia 76ers practice. (We kept the pictures, of course.) I think of this day from time to time, and it seemed apropos to post the pictures as I think of him this week, especially. It was 19 years ago that he passed. I don’t post this to dwell on the sadness, but to remember one of my last great memories with him. I originally wrote the below in a post on my old sports blog. It was called “Remembering Charles Barkley.”   Dad and I were out for a weekend drive just to get out of the house, when he suddenly asked if I wanted to go to the Sixers’ practice. It was closed even to the press, I said, egging him on. We had been to the one win the 76ers managed against the Chicago Bulls in the 1990 playoffs the night before. Of course I wanted to go, and I knew that on rare occasions dad could be an im

Rob’s Rants on Sports: Mid-season Grades for the Eagles; NFL “Pretenders and Contenders”

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I thought I’d try something a bit different this week as the NFL hits the halfway point of the season. I have a few mid-term grades for the Eagles, and some thoughts on which teams are “pretenders” and who are the actual “contenders” in what has been a confounding year so far in the NFL. Here’s my latest Rob’s Rants on Sports: Carson Wentz: C+. He started out looking like he was already a veteran franchise quarterback, but has shown that he really is a rookie lately. I think perception would actually be better if he didn’t start 3-0, and, I admit, the grade would be a little higher. But with 4 interceptions in the last two games and the team having lost 4 of 5, it’s time to wonder if teams finally having video on him is a problem. To be fair, he has absolutely no weapons around him. Doug Pederson: C-. I’m being generous. Twice, he punted games away, and apparently tried to make up for it last week by “going for it” on a couple occasions where doing so was just ridiculous. Seriousl

Rob’s Rants: Donald Trump and “The Hand Thing”

I had no intention of writing an election rant. I’m as tired of Donald, and Hillary, and, locally, Katie McGinty and Pat Toomey, and the commercials, and the e-mails, and the rest of the nonsense, as anyone else. Then my phone rang on Saturday morning. Someone from the Republican party asked, “Will you be able to make it to the polls, and will you be supporting Donald Trump?” I don’t know why I didn’t just hang-up, but, instead, I replied, “I’ll be voting, but certainly not for Trump.” “You will be voting for Trump?” the woman asked. I do have a speech disability, so I could understand why she might not have heard me correctly. But then I thought, I do have a disability that the woman had clearly picked up on. And, well, I couldn’t resist. “I have a disability,” I said. “Why would I possibly vote for him?” “Ohhh, the hand thing,” came the response. The hand thing? Really? She presumably was referring to the campaign rally in which Trump stood in front of a podium, spe

Rob’s Rants on Sports: Huff Released; Bad Losses for Eagles, Sixers; Plenty of Dumb Comments

Bad losses for the Eagles and Sixers marked the week until Josh Huff got arrested. Time for a sports rant: John Clark’s tweet showed Fletcher Cox looking stunned after the loss Eagles have lost road games by 1, 7, 6 points... Gotta learn how to close out games. #EaglesTalk pic.twitter.com/R6U3b3PNsQ — John Clark CSN (@JClarkCSN) October 31, 2016 Josh Huff was waived by the Eagles, but not just because he’s a bad wide receiver. On Tuesday, he was “charged with speeding, possession of a small amount of marijuana, unlawful possession of a weapon” and more, according to Philly.com and other outlets. Writing on Thursday afternoon, I haven’t heard any specific reason for why Huff was released—Eagles GM Howie Roseman called it “the right decision for the Philadelphia Eagles”—but clearly they didn’t want to deal with the distraction. The official reason ought to be stupidity. Huff initially said , “What professional athlete don’t have a gun? I have a wife and I

The Birth of Super Crip - Chapter 1

  The Birth of  Super Crip Chapter 1 \ Red closed his locker, the clang of the metal door being slammed shut coming just before the bell signaling the end of lunch for juniors. He stopped at his locker once a day after lunch because he knew he could steal a little extra time in between periods. Kids with disabilities were always allowed to leave class a minute or two early to try to get a head start on reaching their next class before the halls filled with students at the bell. Some teachers were sticklers about them not leaving too early even if the lesson ended a few minutes before the bell. But lunch monitors rarely said anything even if they left as much as five minutes early, and even then a request to use the restroom always sufficed. He pushed the lock up, pressing the shackle against the inside of the hole in the handle of the locker to clamp it down, and he used his thumb to move the dial away from the final digit of his combination. He put his book bag over the back of the se