By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

If you don’t raise a banner for it, you shouldn’t pop a cork.

Can we all just agree on that rule? Please?

For the last couple of years it’s irked me that teams like the Phillies run into the locker room and started pouring the bubbly over each other for an NLDS series win. Granted, the Phillies rode a Doc Halladay no-hitter and Cole Hamels playoff statement game to a series sweep of crybaby Rolen and his cohort Orlando Cabrera. Still, was this champagne worthy?

Are NLDS wins really champagne worthy? If you don't raise a banner for it, leave the cork on the bottle.

Winning a division title, conference championship or league championship are no-doubt celebratory situations. Anything else is uncivilized.

Do NBA, NHL or NFL teams pop corks for each playoff series win? No. They settle for maybe — maybe — a Gatorade bath. And, that’s fine.

Why do MLB teams feel their initial playoff series win is different and worthy of a championship-style celebration?

If you don’t raise a banner for it, leave the corks on the bottle.