As a part of the 2009 Presidential Inaugural events President-elect Obama, Vice President-elect Biden and their families will ride the train to Washington, DC tommorow, Saturday, January 17, 2009. The trip will begin in Philadelphia where the public will not, much to the dismay of Obama supporters, have a chance to see the President-elect.

The trip will continue on to Wilmington, and Baltimore before arriving in Washington D.C. A group of Americans from different walks of life who represent the vast diversity and varied life experiences of American citizens were invited to join them on the tour.

You can read all of the details as part of Rachel Cooper's blog on our Washington D.C. site.

It is with great sadness that I read yesterday of the death of Jerry Murray, 57. Most of you have never heard of Jerry, but those of you who are fans of the Mummers surely have. Jerry was the captain of the Wild Rovers New Year's Association comic brigade who collapsed immediately following the brigade's performance before the judges at City Hall on New Year's Day.

Jerry had suffered a massive heart attack. He was rushed to Hahnemann University Hospital where he remained until his death on Monday night.

It is an ironic consolation that Jerry suffered his attack doing what he did best, entertain the thousands of Mummers fans who saw his performance on Broad Street, at City Hall or on television. The Wild Rovers march as part of the Murray Comic Club. Jerry's performance so impressed the judges that he was awarded the prize for first place captain. The judging had been completed before Jerry suffered his attack.

You can read more about Jerry in a piece by Dwight Ott in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer. My sympathies go out to Jerry's family and friends.

As indicated in the Inquirer article, "A viewing is scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at Stretch Funeral Home, 236 E. Eagle Rd., Havertown. Another viewing is set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Sacred Heart Church, 109 Manoa Rd., Havertown, followed by a Funeral Mass at noon. Burial will be in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Marple Township."

McGillin's Olde Ale House will throw a Hawaiian Luau during the presidential inauguration on Tuesday, January 20 in honor of Barack Obama, a native of Hawaii. To satisfy Americans' hunger for change, McGillin's will be serving Hawaiian cuisine and drinks and have red, white and blue leis for all. The inauguration will play on eight high definition TVs. McGillin's Olde Ale House is located at 1310 Drury Street, Philadelphia. You'll be able to party from 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 20 until closing at 2:00 a.m.

In honor of the new president, McGillin's will serve Huli Huli Chicken; Macadamia Nut Crusted Coconut Shrimp and Peachy Pork Roast Barbecue. And, will toast the new Chief of Staff with Blue Hawaiians; Red, White & Blue Freedom Cocktails, the new Obama Mama (a tropical concoction of rums and coconut). Or frosty mugs of regional American beer - including Stoudt's American Pale Ale and Victory Hop Devil on draft. Bottles of Presidente will be available for $2.00.

McGillin's, Philadelphia's oldest continuously operating tavern, opened in 1860, the year Abe Lincoln was elected president. It's survived for 149 years – outlasting Strawbridge's, the Civil War and even Prohibition. Obama will be the 28th president to reign since the taps started flowing at the McGillin's. In a recent article on historic taverns, Gourmet magazine named McGillin's "one of the 14 coolest bars in the United States."

It wasn't pretty on offense, but the Eagles got it done largely on another superb effort by the defense. The Eagles defeated the defending World Champion and top seeded New York Giants to advance to the NFC Championship game for the fifth time in eight seasons. The Eagles will head to Phoenix to face the Arizona Cardinals who, much to everyone's surprise, overwhelmed the second seeded Carolina Panthers 33-13.

The NFC Championship game will feature two teams which both failed to win ten games during the regular season. The Eagles ended the regular season 9-6-1 and Arizona ended the regular season 9-7.

The weather at Giants' stadium once again was a key factor in today's game. With swirling winds, neither quarterback had a great day, although the Eagles Donovan McNabb did perform better than the Giants' Eli Manning who had no touchdowns and two bad interceptions. McNabb did throw a touchdown pass to tight end Brent Celek. He also had two passes intercepted, but the second one was on a tipped ball.

The key to the Eagles offense was their willingness to continue to try to run the ball, despite having little success in doing so. The game ended with the Eagles running the ball 28 times for only 59 yards and passing the ball just 22 times for 217 yards. As I said, the offense wasn't pretty, but it was enough to get the job done. When the game was on the line it was the Giant's who turned the ball over, not the Eagles.

Brian Westbrook had a very quiet day with 18 carries for just 36 yards. Rookie receiver DeSean Jackson had four big catches for 81 big yards.

The Eagles defense came up big with three big turnovers and their ability to stop the Giants twice on fourth down with less than a yard to go. It was another in what has been a series of superb games by the Eagles defense.

All that being said, what was Donovan McNabb doing running out of bounds and picking up a phone on the Giants' bench? Instead of a third down and one yard to go, the Eagles had a third down and 16 yards to go after the penalty to McNabb for unsportsmanlike conduct. It was a bad decision at a key point in the game. Luckily it didn't come back to haunt the Eagles.

Now it's off to Arizona for a game that no one could have imagined. The number four seeded Cardinals hosting the number six seeded Eagles for the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl. Coming right upon the miracle World Series victory by the Phillies, can lightening strike twice in the City of Brotherly Love? We'll see next week if the miracle will continue.