Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. And, I guess, supporting imitators is the sincerest form of flattering those they’re imitating. The Pennypack Park Music Festival is the sincerest form of rocking out in Northeast Philadelphia. Every Wednesday for the summer, the park has been holding concerts for free in the park. Some of the acts that I’ve missed includes a Bon Jovi tribute band, a The Who tribute band, a Rolling Stones tribute band, and a Bruce Springstreet tribute band. I went last week to see the Billy Joel tribute band, and it really exceeded my expectations. The music was well done and the band really did rock. I saw croud surfing, people. There are three concerts left, including Supernatual (the Santana tribute band) tomorrow, and in two weeks, Led Zepplin and Black Sabbath tribute bands.

All the concerts are located in Pennypack Park, and they run from 7 PM to around 9-10 PM. They really are a lot of fun. Don’t mind that they’re not the actual bands, and you’ll have a lot of fun.

If it were up to me, I would make the neighborhoods as the properties instead of landmarks. And, of COURSE, Olney would take Baltic Avenue’s place. (JOKE! Just kidding.)

What do you think?

VS

Chase Utley extended his hit streak to 29 games; Ryan Howard hit his 34th homer; and Cole Hamels pitched through 7.1 innings and gave up only three runs. Sounds familiar, right? Unlike last night, the Phillies had more going for them than just that. The Phils took their mistakes from last night and stuck a harpoon through Dontrell Willis and the Marlins. (The Philadelphia MetBlog does not advocate violence toward fishies.)

The big story of the night all hinges on how positive or negative you want to be. We’re all Phillies fans here, right? Let’s get negative. Left-handed hurler Dontrell Willis collapsed in the bottom of the third inning, with the Phillies sending up 12 men and having 7 cross home plate, thanks in part to Ryan Howard’s 34th home run of the season, Willis walking three men, and Shane Victorino getting hit by a pitch. Willis didn’t make it to end the inning.

Cole Hamels got the win for this game, but not without earning it. Up to the seventh inning, Hamels had pitched rather well, allowing only three runs to score. With the Marlins’ Joe Borchard up to the plate, Hamels delivered a pitch that Borchard smoked back up to the mound. The ball hit Hamels right below his left knee and caused him to be taken out of the game. Later Xrays turned up negative, only showing a contusion. Ryan Franklin finished out the seventh, and Fabio Castro closed the game out.

Hopefully, the Phils can get a good night’s rest and relax those arms, because tomorrow’s double header will test everyone’s stamina and endurance. For the first game of the double header at 1:05 PM, Randy Wolf will take the mound for the Phillies while 4-0 pitcher Anibal Sanchez will start for the Marlins. At 7:05, the 2nd game of the double header will take place, and it’s Dollar Dog night, so first one to barf on the field wins!

Yeah. This was taken in Northeast Philadelphia, where a Rita’s Water Ice was advertising their sponsorship with Alex’s Lemonade Stand. The lemon-flavored water ice at all Rita’s locations has been renamed to “Alex’s Lemonade” and various branches have been holding fundraisers and other fun stuff to raise both awareness and funds for the fight against childhood cancer.

I think the poor guy dressed in the furry water ice suit in 90-degree weather has given enough to the cause.

VS

To start this odd five-game series with the Marlins, Chase Utley extended his hit streak to 28 games; Ryan Howard hit his 33rd homer; and Brett Myers pitched through eight innings and gave up only one run. Sounds like a stellar game, right? When that’s all to speak of, you’re in trouble. Tonight, the Phils got outpitched, outhit, and outplayed, and it showed.

On the mound for the Florida Marlins was right-hander Ricky Nolasco, who had an 8-6 record coming into Friday’s game. Through seven and a third innings of play, Nolasco absolutely puzzled the Phillies, allowing one hit by Abraham Nunez and struck out three.

The Phillies couldn’t find their stride at all, and it showed. Brett Myers pitched through eight innings, letting by five hits (including two doubles), one run, and striking out eight. The pitching was stellar on both sides of this matchup, but the thing the Phillies lacked in this matchup was hitting.

Oh, and a bullpen. In one inning combined, Geoff Geary and Aaron Fultz gave up three runs on three hits, with two walks and no strikeouts. The Phillies bullpen continues its perennial struggle to finish up games, and by the look of things, hope for the Phils’ bullpen is bleak.

With this loss, the Phils fall to 14 games behind the first place Mets, while the Marlins increase their winning streak to two games and come to within 12.5 games of the Mets. Saturday’s game starts at 7:05, with “Hollywood” Cole Hamels starting on the mound against Marlins pitching ace Dontrell Willis.

“Mild strains of avian influenza are very common in poultry, and we have no reason to think this strain is any different. We have the measures in place to detect avian influenza quickly, and this occurrence shows that our procedures are working. As soon as the department was made aware of the positive test, state and federal veterinarians were sent to the site to close the market, dispose of the birds and clean the facility according to state protocols.”

The Aggies (as I like to call those working for the department of Agriculture) are working to find out where the strain came from and to isolate it so it doesn’t spread.

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I’m sorry. No more puns.

Straight from Y100Rocks.com: “As of August 1st, 2006, Y100Rocks.com will become part of WXPN (88.5 FM, member-supported public radio from the University of Pennsylvania). Y100Rocks.com will change its name to Y-Rock On XPN and will continue to operate as a full-time online radio station (at www.YRockOnXPN.org) and will be complemented by a radio show on WXPN 88.5 FM, Wednesday & Thursday nights from 8-11pm and Friday nights from 7-11pm, beginning August 30th.”

I don’t know how I feel about this. On the one hand, i’m glad that Y100 is back on the air in some regards. On the other hand… eeew, XPN.