ON THE EVE OF WHAT COULD BE THE WORST DAY IN PHILADELPHIA SPORTS HISTORY SINCE JEROME BROWN DIED: Seriously: if the Phillies lose, Mets win and Eagles lose in prime time to the Giants.... well, one day more. Tonight, la resistance prepares. Tonight, we pray. And we hope.

That is the true genius of Phillies fans, a faith -- a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles; that we can bring our children to the ballgame and know that the Phanatic won't hurt them; that we can yell what we think, blog what we think, without getting kicked out of the park; that we can scream for the Phillies at twelve of the other thirteen National League parks without fear of retribution, and that our all-star votes will be counted -- at least most of the time.

In the end, that’s what this season is about. Do we participate in a Phillies fandom of cynicism or do we participate in a fandom of hope?

Chase Utley calls on us to hope. Ryan Howard calls on us to hope.

I’m not talking about blind optimism here -- the almost willful ignorance that thinks the bullpen problems will go away if we just don’t think about it, or the lack of a fourth starting pitcher will solve itself if we just ignore it. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of kids in the Italian Market sitting around a fire singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"; the hope of suburbanites setting out for Citizens Bank Park; the hope of a young Aaron Rowand bravely patrolling the centerfield; the hope of James Rollins' son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a big kid at first base with the same name as a character on The Office who believes that the playoffs have a place for him, too.

Hope -- Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!

In the end, that is baseball's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.

THERE'S NO FOR A LITTLE PRAYER, BECAUSE THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME CALLED MADONNA'S NAME: Future Rock Hall has collected some of the most painful ledes for stories heralding Madonna's nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Theirs and my favorite is easily: "Like a virgin, Madonna's been touched for the very first time -- by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

IN WHICH A WORLD CLASS NEONATAL SURGEON GETS BIONIC IMPLANTS SO SHE CAN SERVE A WEALTHY NEW YORK FAMILY: Catching up on some new TV that we hadn't covered that I picked up courtesy of DVR and repeats:

• Bionic Woman--Just a complete and utter bore, which you'd think would be hard to do with "Superwoman kicks ass!" I'm not sure if it's Michelle Ryan or how her part is written that's the problem, but Jamie Sommers is completely uninteresting and uncharismatic. Miguel Ferrer and Katee Sackhoff both get to industriously chew the scenery, and it's nice to see Lucy Hale (best known for playing Robin's little sister on HIMYM) again, but I don't regret opting not to DVR original showings, opting for Gossip Girl and Private Practice instead. I'll keep picking up repeats on SciFi for an episode or two to see how the retooling apparently done post-pilot affects things, but am not optimistic. (The change in the sister was obvious, particularly in the scene where Jamie answers the phone, and we see the light and TTY device on the phone.)
• Dirty Sexy Money--Almost as much fun as its title suggests. One part Brothers & Sisters, one part Gossip Girl with grownups, and a whole heaping load of self-aware humor in the mix. We all know Krause can play righteous indignation really well, and it's far better to watch him do this than the kinda repugnant Nate Fisher, Jr. Especially if this gets the sort of jump Brothers & Sisters did with a slight retooling about 6-7 episodes in, could be the best new show of the season.
• Private Practice--Actually watched this Wednesday night, but didn't post. While the three stories were rather disconnected, and I didn't really understand why the Violet/Cooper plotline got started (and if Violet is this woman's treating shrink, how did she not know the information that proved so critical?), the cast overall is so likable and charismatic that I'll keep on watching, especially if we can find some reason to have Audra McDonald sing in an upcoming episode.

Still sitting on the DVR unwatched--pilots for Cane, Journeyman, and Big Shots. I've heard the last is a particular act of masochism to watch, but will probably give a shot off my residual goodwill for Malina, Vartan, and Rob Thomas.

THE MAGIC NUMBER IS TWO: The Phillies have a magic number, and it is two. In five days, the Phillies have gone from having a 4.8% chance of winning the division to a 86.3% chance. Heck, as of September 13, the Phightins had only a 12.4% chance of making the playoffs at all.

Win it for J-Roll. Win it for Chase. Win it for Ryan Howard, and to validate the masterful effort of Cole Hamels last night. And finish it today.

(Oh, you want to know why? Because the curse is dead.)

CSI: RIYADH: There are many reasons to see The Kingdom this weekend. Among them are:

• A cast riddled with ALOTT5MA faves (Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman, and Jeremy Piven all have major roles, with Coach Taylor and Lyla Garrity both having bit parts).
• The direction by Peter Berg, who, despite a rocky start, is turning into one of the more interesting and diverse directors in the business.
• That the final 20 minutes constitute the best action flick since Bourne Ultimatium, while the first act (set almost entirely in Washington) is some of the best backroom politics stuff I've seen in a good while. (Also, it has one of the best and most hyperkinetic main title sequences of the year.)
• That it's a movie set in the Middle East and about America's role there that isn't making any simplistic political statement (No "Iraq Bad!," "Terrorism Bad!," or "Saudis Bad!" messages here). I think there are some (pretty powerful) themes in there, but unlike, say, In The Valley Of Elah, the movie exists and is highly entertaining wholly divorced from the political sentiments, which leave the audience asking more questions rather than giving answers.

This isn't an "Oscar Flick." It's way too popcorn-y and the performances, while solid, are not overwhelming (though Garner again gets to prove that she can kick ass, look pretty, and act wordlessly). That said, it's an entertaining time at the movies, which, sometimes, is all you want and need. Check it out.

WELL, WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? This thread is reserved all weekend long (until we need a new one) for the irrational, giddy, and tense supporters of the Philadelphia Phillies to commisserate.

Three games. A ridiculous number of possibilities, with about half of them breaking our hearts. But there is no other time to push your hearts all-in to the center of the table. Go Phightins!

R.O.C.K. IN THE C.L.E.V.E.: The Roll and Roll Hall of Fame today announced the finalists for its 2008 induction class of 2008:

Madonna, the Beastie Boys, Leonard Cohen, Donna Summer, Afrika Bambaataa, John Mellencamp, Chic, the Dave Clark Five (again?), and the Ventures.

The links will take you to the Keltner profiles already done of this year's nominees, and I doubt there's much need to do one on Madonna other than to demonstrate just how towering her influence is.

According to FutureRockHall.com, among those artists eligible for the first time this year -- but denied -- are Metallica, Sonic Youth, The Cure, Don Henley, 10000 Maniacs, Ice-T, Janet Jackson, Michael McDonald, Wham! and the Violent Femmes. And, of course, again no Replacements. Review our bitching and moaning at last year's ballot, and then let us renew it.