2008 Woodie Awards
The annual Saint Joseph's-Villanova matchup is always the most emotional Big 5 game, and for the past two years it provided the most convincing argument that the Wildcats were the city's best team.
The Holy War was no less consequential this year, and the result was a clear reflection of the Big 5's new balance of power.
Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said he was "shocked" that the better team, the New England Patriots, did not win the Super Bowl. He was less shocked that his Hawks beat Villanova easily last night, although the Wildcats' 14-game winning streak in the Big 5 had caused more fickle minds to wonder.
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More than anything, this weekend's opening Ivy League games were a chance for the Quakers to rebound from a rough first half of the season.
And rebound they did.
In the two games this weekend, Penn beat Harvard and Dartmouth on the glass by a combined 88-63.
It is the only true Ivy League duel of the year.
The seven schools with fencing programs met in New Haven, Conn. on Sunday for Day 1 of the Ivy League Round Robin.
The Quakers men and women entered with a combined 18-2 record, and they continued to bout well, defeating both Harvard and Yale.
One is a licensed surgeon wearing scrubs and a black wig. One is 6-foot-5, 320 pounds and has calves the size of tree trunks. One was described as the "biggest, fattest, nastiest pig" that Philadelphia sports radio personality Al Morganti has ever seen.
And they were competing in what was - as far as Philly is concerned - the most significant sporting event of the weekend: Wing Bowl.
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