All goads lead to Lito

Remember back in the day when you wanted to fight someone at school? You almost never called the guy out face-to-face. You used intermediaries. You talked trash about your adversary through the grapevine until he didn't have a choice. Jimmy picks his nose. Jimmy was adopted. Jimmy plays with Barbies and listens to show tunes. That kind of thing. Before you knew it, you were throwing down out near the swings. Right now, Lito Sheppard is trying really hard to get Andy Reid to meet him on the playground. Any minute now, everyone's favorite part-time corner will start making cracks about the coach's mother. Yesterday, Sheppard was sitting at his locker at the NovaCare, engaged in the usual foreplay with the media. Total banality. At first. But as more reporters gathered, as the cameras turned on, Sheppard popped off. Again. He said he feels great and healthy and ready to play, though where he might be playing this season is "yet to be determined." Hmm, yes, very clever - luring us in the way he did. We were like a bunch of hobos lumbering after a cheese sandwich that Sheppard had tied to a string. Tug, tug. Might you still be traded, we inquired? "There's a chance for anything," he replied. The fun part, however, came next. "I can definitely showcase my talent," Sheppard said when questioned about what the positives might be to staying in Philadelphia. "And if I'm not starting, prove that I should be so that you guys can ask the questions [about] why I'm not. Given the reasons - supposedly, my injuries and not being able to stay on the field - with that not being an issue, what is the issue? That's a good question for y'all to bring up. Sweet? Sweet." Reid's beef is with Sheppard's ability to stay healthy during the regular season, not just the preseason. But, then, this isn't really about logic for Sheppard. He wants what he wants and, until he gets it, he's going to provoke the boss. Andy Reid's mama is so fat. . . And with that, Sheppard walked off, ostensibly to wait in the parking lot for Big Red. The question, though, is whether Reid will show. At this point, does he have a choice? Reid has tried letting it go in the past, but pacifism doesn't work in the school yard, and it sure as heck doesn't work in football. How can Reid keep Sheppard around and allow him to dump all over management every few days? No, it's fight or flee now for Reid. Trade Sheppard or answer the challenge. Because it's like Jimmy Rollins said recently: In Philly, can't be no punk