Congratulations, once again, to Charlie Manuel and the Phillies

I'm on record as rooting for the Rays in this World Series, but at the same time, I couldn't be happier for Charlie Manuel. I certainly would not have predicted in mid-September that his Phillies would be the champs, given that they were still locked in a division race with the Mets.

Chase Utley made the defensive play of the series -- and one of the most savvy defensive plays I've ever seen -- in the seventh inning last night. With the score tied at 3 and Jason Bartlett on second, Akinori Iwamura hit a ground ball up the middle, and Utley fielded it behind second base. He faked a throw to first as Bartlett rounded third, then gunned Bartlett down at home. Absolutely brilliant. If Utley had actually thrown to first, Bartlett would certainly have scored; if he hadn't faked the throw, Bartlett wouldn't have even tried to score, so the Rays would have had first and third with two outs. Either way, the World Series might be headed back to Florida.

I liked what Fox did at the end of the game, when they had a camera trained on each of the Phillies' players on the field, and at least a few on the dugout. They then showed us the reactions from each of those corners at the moment Eric Hinske struck out on a Brad Lidge slider to make the Phillies the champs. Charlie was pretty reserved, but he was obviously thrilled as he shared a group hug with a few of his coaches before heading onto the field.

This was Philadelphia's first pro championship in any major sport since 1983, the year I turned 12. I'm still waiting for Cleveland's first in my lifetime. I'm happy for the Philly fans, but it does make me more than a bit envious.