Celebrities Can Solve All of Our Sports Problems

It seems like everyone has an opinion on whether Michael Vick, Nick Foles or rookie Matt Barkley should be the Eagles’ starting quarterback. Even rappers with surprisingly long careers who have no association with Philadelphia to speak of are ready to chime in.

As we told you yesterday, Snoop Dogg — who has more recently been performing reggae music under the name Snoop Lion — had something to say about the controversy during an interview with NFL.com that for some reason was conducted jointly with the Eagles’ DeSean Jackson.

“Vick, Vick, Vick, it better be Vick,” Snoop said unequivocally. Jackson, who said recently that the team should pick a quarterback early, stopped short of naming a favorite.

Now, he may be better known for rap, acting, and various other ventures, but Snoop is no stranger to the gridiron — he’s actually been sponsoring and coaching youth football for years, and once hosted a championship game called the “Snooper Bowl.” Indeed, the interview took place at the Snoop Youth Football League’s Football & Cheer Camp Family Fun Day. Snoop also appeared prominently in last year’s ESPN 30 For 30 documentary about the late Los Angeles Raiders.

Also, Snoop’s son, Cordell, was recently offered a football scholarship by the University of Southern California — Matt Barkley’s very recent alma mater. (School pride clearly didn’t sway Snoop’s choice.)

This story tells us two things: that Michael Vick — football’s biggest pariah as recently as four years ago —has a lot of friends in a lot of surprising places, and that in the long dead period after the draft and before training camp, silly stories like this are what make NFL headlines.

But, incongruous as it may sound, the Snoop wants what the Snoop wants. So I got to thinking: What could be the next surprising celebrity opinion on the Eagles quarterback controversy and other big questions of Philadelphia sports?

• Charles Barkley favors Matt Barkley, because if one Barkley couldn’t win a championship in Philly, maybe another could.
• The guy who played Napoleon Dynamite is backing Nick Foles, for obvious reasons.
• Ruben Amaro, Jr., isn’t sure who he wants to be the quarterback, but he definitely thinks the Eagles should sign a few more 36-year-olds.
• Lenny Dykstra will tell you what he thinks about this year’s Phillies, but only if you let him borrow your credit card first.
• Yakov Smirmoff really doesn’t want the Flyers to release Ilya Bryzgalov, because Bryz is the only guy out there still doing his style of comedy.
• Nate Silver isn’t nearly as skeptical about the Sixers’ hire of Sam Hinkie as everyone in Philadelphia seems to be.
• City Council supports the NHL’s amnesty provision — in which a player collects a large lump sum on the day he’s released, before resuming his career elsewhere — because it reminds them fondly of DROP.
• I’d tell you what the Inquirer thinks about last night’s Phillies game, but I lost today’s promo code.
• Rick Reilly thinks the U.S. Open shouldn’t be played at Merion, because it’s too small. (No, wait, that one really happened.)
• Donovan McNabb thinks HE should be the Eagles quarterback.

No disrespect to Snoop — whose music and general existence have given me a whole lot of entertainment over the years —but I think I’d rather let Chip Kelly decide.