Welcome to the DeFranco Post!
Football and Baseball, and Life, with a Philly bent
DeFrancoPost.com / ChrisDeFranco.com
Hey there. I'm DeFranco. And I post. My full name is Christiaan DeFranco. Most people call me Chris. Some folks call me other names when I’m not around.
I'm a Philadelphia native who prefers his Italian roast pork with sharp provolone and long hots on a freshly baked seeded roll.
I'm a writer, journalist, and occasional cartoonist. I employ the Oxford comma on a case-by-case basis. I’m into baseball, football and comfortable shoes.
I cover the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies for MediaNews Group/Tribune Publishing in the Philly metro market, spanning eastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey.
MediaNews Group owns 77 daily newspapers and websites across the United States — from the New York Daily News and Baltimore Sun to the Chicago Tribune and San Francisco Chronicle — including about a dozen in this region.
The Eagles are my primary beat, but I love covering baseball as well. In fact, baseball was my first love.
This isn’t a blog. It’s a repository — a running collection of my work after it appears on my company’s platforms, plus some of my favorite and most popular clips. I don’t post everything. I try to be choosy while staying current.
Occasionally I post content exclusive to this site about a wide range of topics — sports and otherwise.
Credentials: National award-winning writer and journalist covering the Eagles, Phillies and other sports in the Philadelphia metro market for MediaNews Group.
In my 20-plus years in journalism, I've covered professional and college sports, major crime, government corruption, the 2016 elections in Florida, Hurricane Matthew, mismanagement in the healthcare system, music, religion and many other subjects.
I've made numerous radio and podcast appearances through the years. My columns and investigative work have garnered recognition from the Associated Press, Keystone Press Association, Columbia University, FS1, ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio and 1210-WPHT AM Philadelphia.
More blathering about myself
I believe in the stolen base, the hit-and-run and pressuring the defense by putting the ball in play. I believe we’re enduring the insufferable Analytics Era of baseball, in which statistics are both overused and misused, and I can prove it. And I believe Bill Walsh is the greatest coach in NFL history.
Also, despite the ESPNification of sports language, the correct plural form of “RBI” is “RBIs” — with an “s” (except in box scores and other agate, of course). It’s an acronym that stands on its own and takes a plural form, like POWs, CEOs, ATMs, IEDs and SUVs.
More importantly, when are we getting a sequel to “The Nice Guys”?
Among my favorite career highlights so far… I covered right-hander Matt Cain when he was drafted in the first round out of high school by the San Francisco Giants, where he went on to win two World Series, was named to three All-Star teams and threw a perfect game. I covered John Calipari when he was rehabbing his career at the University of Memphis, and I covered the Memphis Grizzlies in their early years there. I interviewed John Chaney one-on-one and a grumpy Allen Iverson one-on-one, among others, at pivotal times in their careers.
I was up-close and personal with the Philadelphia Eagles during their 2024-25 championship season, including their spectacular Super Bowl win in New Orleans. I’ve done clubhouse and press interviews with Michael Jordan, Larry Brown, Larry Bowa, Rob Thomson, Bryce Harper, Nick Sirianni, Howie Roseman, Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and a virtually endless list of other luminaries.
My coverage of the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State, with inside reporting and commentary that went against the media frenzy, was picked up nationally and included appearances on ESPN Radio.
My other loves include film and music. I think film is one of the greatest art forms because it involves so many art forms. I’ve seen U2 in concert 18 times. I was the lead singer and lyricist for a two-man band in college. (My total lack of singing ability didn’t deter me!)
I’ve watched every episode of “The Office” at least 12,689,487 times and “Seinfeld” — through Season 7, before Larry David left — even more times. I like all sorts of stand-up comedy. And I love my dog Sam.
Below is a semi-favorable mug of me.
Way back in the mid-to-late aughts, I founded a self-hosted website called Philly Sports Journal, which a few of you might remember. It included daily posts, multiple sections, a live news feed, pop culture discussions, food reviews and up-to-the-minute betting odds. It steadily grew for three years and made money, but eventually became too much to maintain at the standards I wanted.
This site isn’t that, but hopefully you’ll like it.
