Your Seventy-Sucksers

Rant by R.H.

Very disappointing, but not too surprising, that Stiffanski stood pat yesterday (unless you count the Primoz "Chicken Whacked" Brezec and Royal "With Cheese" Ivey blockbuster). I'll miss the Primoz Brezec era. I'm suddenly hungry.

I was happy when they hired Stefanski, mainly because of the atrocities Billly King had committed. And Stefanski said all the right things when he was hired. Since then, just about EVERY move he's made has been bad. I'll give him credit for Speights and Drew Djrue Dru Jrue Holiday, who seem like they can play and were decent picks from where the Sixers were in those drafts (although Speights may need a brain transplant, so glad Iverson's here to mentor him). And granted, he inherited Dalembert's toxic assets. "But wait, Sam's had a good 3 weeks!!!" "Good" meaning he kind of seems to care and has gotten some rebounds.


I can't blame Eddie Jordan too much. We knew it was a terrible hire to begin with. But they were buddies from their Jersey days. Stefanski's big-ticket signings (Iguodala and Brand) have been awful. Anyone with a brain knew the day they did it that the Iguodala contract was outrageous. And poor Brand looks like damaged goods at this point (I think, at this point, even if you brought in Wojo to pound the court excitedly Brand would shrug his shoulders apathetically).
It's pretty telling that Stefanski basically immediately tried to get out from under both contracts quicker than you can say "Isiah". Jason Kapono for $6 million a year? Seems steep as hell. Were teams lining up for him? Can he play here? We don't know, Jordan never plays him.
The team is unwatchable, but still winning kind of enough games to be in the mix for a 7 or 8 seed in the wretched bottom of the East. Who cares? It's just another year in David Stern's purgatory. Stern needs to go. Maybe he'll get shot by Arenas. He has really ruined the league and I can't stand looking at his stupid face anymore. The trade deadline was basically one team (Cleveland) trying to add a guy to get better and about 20 teams trying to get rid of bad contracts. (Sigh).

Which brings us to yesterday. This team should've been imploded like the Vet. Stefanski should've made every effort to make that happen. But his logic was backwards and completely flawed. Every statement I heard him make, he's said "we're only gonna make moves that make us better on the court right now" or something to that effect. For who? For what? This team is going nowhere this year or the next five years if you don't do anything drastic. If the report that the Rockets would've taken essentially Dalembert and Iguodala for Tracy McGrady (aka Tracy McGrady's Expiring Contract), and the Sixers passed on it, that's a disgrace. That's just what the Sixers needed to begin to turn this around. How could he pass on that? Would've given them alot of money for next year (or the year after), and made them a little worse on the court this year, increasing their chances for a better lottery pick. But no, the Knicks moved in and are in prime pouncing position for free agents. Not that Lebron or Wade was coming here, but the Sixers needed to take some baby steps and did nothing instead.

Stefanski needs to go. They're just running in place with him. Bring in Rod Thorn (who may be leaving Jersey) or try to lure Jerry West out of retirement. Somebody proven that has some creativity (fleece Minnesota somehow for Kevin Love). I think Ed Snider/Comcast has the money. Jordan and his You-don't-need-a-true-point-guard Princeton offense should also be shown the door. They need a point guard. Shit, I'd take a Hinrich or a Kyle Lowry right now. Or see what Holiday can do.....oh wait, he barely plays either....need to get minutes for A.I.!!! Iverson's really bought the crowds back to the Wachovia Center as well.....well, at least for that one night.

Bring in Jeff Van Gundy (who I wanted last year) or a Lawrence Frank. Who gives a shit if the players don't like them. Maybe they'll get them to play a little defense and give this team some kind of identity. They could've taken a big step forward yesterday, but now we're stuck in this nightmare for who knows how much longer.
And can Donyell Marshall fit any more marbles into his mouth on the postgame show? Yeesh.

Celtics with a weird move picking up Nate Robinson. Maybe he'll do underwhelming dunks in practice or something and be banished there as well. Good luck with all that. How did that Sheed signing work out for them? Has he moved inside the 3-point line all year? KG's intense woofing act is kind of sad anymore. Assholes.
Oh well, as long as the Lakers don't win it all again, I'll be happy. Two Kobe titles sandwiched around an A-Rod World Series title may be too much for me to recover from.

The All-Star game/weekend was sickening drek. As if the game wasn't horrible enough, we had to endure Jerry Jones mugging as a basketball game was played in his cavernous football dome. Not that I watched or anything.

I could not care less about this Tiger Woods "press conference". This has contrived sham written all over it. A prepared statement written by lawyers and no questions allowed. No thanks. It will be about as informative and fullfilling as an Andy Reid press conference.

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Let's Blow it Up Already

Just over 2 weeks until the NBA's trade deadline and the rumors are picking up. Stefanski has said that there are "no untouchables" and we all have to think that he is included in that. Word is that the Sixers are initiating phone calls involving Igoudala and recent Lou Williams rumors have been popping up.

The NY Daily News (via depressedfan) reports that its not just the players who may be on the move.

The struggling Sixers have been mentioned in the Tracy McGrady sweepstakes, but the bigger rumor involving the team is that ownership wants to clear out president Ed Stefanski and coach Eddie Jordan at the All-Star break. If that's the case, they'd probably install Tony DiLeo for a second straight season as the interim coach.

How about this one? NBA.com's Sam Smith has his theory that a package of Igoudala and Sammy could bring Amare Stoudemire. On top of that he thinks that Elton Brand could be swapped for Gilbert Arenas..Wow.

Here is hoping that they can shed some salary and lose some games. The draft looks like it could be a 3 man party and right now the Sixers have the 5th worst record.

What do you think? Can we get some Sixers talk going?
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Top Moments of 2009

Igoudala beats Orlando in Game 1 of the Playoffs.
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Rant from R.H.

Temple gave Seton Hall their first loss in Jersey the other night. In Jersey. Temple's my new favorite team in case you haven't noticed. This game was Sat. night at 7. I couldn't find it anywhere at all on TV. There was high school football on, but not this. Whatever. Good point by Jerardi, rematch of the 2000 Tournament game where Temple laid an egg and lost in OT. Ty Shine (pre- Eddie Griffin black eye) and Dalembert on SHU. Ugh, what a nightmare that was.
I was looking forward to Duke- Gonzaga at MSG, and only saw bits and pieces, but had to tune out quickly. Zags didn't show up. Duke is even more nauseating when up 30 in front of their shitbag fans. Jon Scheyer.....little p***y.

Nova gets Redding back, clean and sober hopefully. They needed him too. Needed his leadership and stability with all these young guards. Plus they'll need to him to win games with the Big East schedule coming up. I guess Syracuse is good, but I can't believe they're as good as they've looked so far. Jackson and Jardine-- Neumann connection. I still can't shake the fact that they lost to that DII team at the dome in a scrimmage.
Speaking of the Nova game, this from Mushnick in the Post:

* Villanova-Fordham, Saturday, on YES. A camera found a sweet picture of a kid, 9 or 10, holding ice cream. The kid gave the camera the finger. . .

Pretty funny, but sign of the times I guess with disrespectful punk kids. Don't get me started! Shades of Costanza with the ice cream on TV....



Drexel-Kentucky tonight at Rupp. Line is now at 58 and a half. I assume Bruiser and Calipari are buddies or something. Ick. Oh well, at least Drexel gets an ESPN game that doesn't start just before dawn. How bout Calipari, coming out and saying he "disagrees" with Knight, but nothing else? If you were innocent and someone said that about you, you would come back with guns blazing. But he knows what Knight said is true, and he has no comeback. Slimy fraud. I read an article about John Wall today. Towards the end there was a blurb that he was arrested in May for breaking and entering. Sounds like a nice kid. Maybe that's why Roy Williams didn't recruit him at all (and why Cal jumped on him) even though he played in his backyard.
St. Joe's held on to beat Lehigh at home. So, um, yeah.

I actually watched the second half of Sixers-Celtics Friday night--sans Iverson. Surprisingly entertaining and they actually played pretty well and won. Also, Sheed got tossed with two T's in the first half and had to be restrained by half the Celtics bench when he got tossed. What a complete stooge. Every time I think he's done amusing me with his childish, boorish behavior, he comes through with a stunt like that.
Anyway, this Speights guy looks really good. He should easily play the bulk of the minutes at center and Dalembert should be sent to Siberia or the wilds of his native Canada. I don't care how much he makes, let's not compound the mistake by starting the guy. It was Speights' first game back from injury and he played great. I could see him being a potential headcase down the road, but he has alot of ability. His postgame interview with Zumoff and Easy Ed was tough to get through without closed-captioning. Sweet Jesus!!! Gotta love the "student"-athletes the University of Florida churns out.
Brand has also been very spry off the bench lately. And this Holliday guy looks like a keeper as well. Wait, what's this? Are the Sixers becoming watchable again??? I thought so, just for a second, until they lost at home to the Clip-Joint the very next night. Wow. Sixers-Clippers in the midst of a blizzard!!! NBA Basketball, it's fantastic!!! I'm surprised anyone showed up for that game. Oh, also, the Sixers play no defense whatsoever, and it doesn't appear they ever will. And fuggetaboutit when Iverson is on the court. It takes 4 on 5 to a new level. It's like they're trying to kill off a power play or something.

Choppy Eagles game, but a win is a win. Actually was closer than it should've been. The Niners had no chance. Coming across the country on a short week after playing on MNF. If that Walter guy didn't fumble down inside the Eagles 10, it could be a whole different ballgame. This of course was after Reid's incomprehensible decision to go for it on 4th down from his own 30!! Stunning even for him. It's dumb even when Belichick does it, and he has 4 rings. The defense was better I guess. Couldn't be any worse. Tony Siragusa, the fat moron that stands on the field and screams dumb comments/observations every minute or so, said the Eagles defense was "unbelievable". Let's calm down. I'm pretty sure they were going up against Alex Smith.
Does Asante Samuel irk anyone else? I know he makes alot of plays (although that fumble recovery was all Sheldon Brown, he just fell on it). His "tackling" is horrifically bad. How bout when he completely whiffed on that tackle? What should've been a 3 yard gain turned into a 30 yard gain. Gambles a ton too. Can't have that against competent teams or you'll get burnt. Look at the Giants game. I know he's a good CB, but he annoys me sometimes. And stop dancing after you fall on a fumble!!!

Is anyone else giddy that the wheels are starting to come off Favre and the Vikings? Brad Childress is wound tighter than Reid's belt. Crazy that the Birds could possibly move ahead of them in playoff positioning. 4th and 26 game punts thrown up by Favre, here we come! It's a shame snowball-throwing fans didn't storm the booth and bombard Kenny Albert (Son of Gay Back-Biter) and "Moose" (Moose....Christ) Johnston with snowballs. Two jackasses.


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Sixers meet with Iverson

Sixers management has given the "basketball-side" the go-ahead to sign Iverson if they want. (David Aldridge) Kate Fagen of philly.com spoke to Eddie Jordan , who said the meeting with A.I. was intriguing.

Stefanski just released a statement about the meeting that said "At this time, both parties remain non-committal regarding a final decision and we will continue to discuss internally whether or not to pursue this course."

We know what R.H. feels about it. What do the rest of you think?
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Wrong Answer

Rant from R.H.

Warning- this is kind of long and about basketball. So, um, yeah....

I wasn't gonna dignify this Iverson story with a response, but I can't hold it in any longer. Too bad for the Sixers that it's come to this, although it's their own fault. I could've used a nice distraction too until baseball season. Especially since I just can't get fully emotionally invested in the Eagles like I used to until Reid and McNabb are gone, which will probably be never (Gimmicks like starting the game with an onside kick against a crappy team you should just line up against and steamroll??? And then, just to prove it wasn't a disastrous acquisition, they have to trot the encrusted remains of Michael Vick out there every now and then. That pass to Celek was classic. Thanks dude, but we already have a QB that fires 90 mph passes behind receivers from 5 yards away. Whatever. Don't get me started).

In case you guys missed it, Stephen A. Smith broke the news that Iverson woke up this morning and took a big dump. My God, does that joker just keep "breaking" stories to correct his previous, incorrect "breaking" news? If these Iverson rumors are true it's unfortunate, and not just because it would mean one less handicap parking space available each day around here. I'm not gonna jump up and down about it, but I wouldn't do it. Smacks of desperation. For who? For what? Nightclub owners, casino heads, and fast-food managers are clamoring for him to return.

Obviously, the Sixers are broken and a long, long way from being good. But bringing Iverson in here would just postpone the rebuilding. Why should we just throw away the last 5 or so months of the season? That's just pissing away 5 months to sell a few extra tickets. If they plan on keeping Eddie Jordan, which at this point they might as well give him a chance, this time should be used to develop the younger guys and to learn his Princeton offense (Iverson and Princeton anything should never be used in the same sentence). Any learning curve or development of Holiday, Lou Williams (possible already too far gone), etc. will stop as soon as Iverson comes in. It's like locking a bunch of guys in AA in a liquor store with Keith Richards.

But the majority of the fan base will be for it, and management will probably succumb to them. At the risk of generalizing, most of the NBA fans in this town are idiots. All thoughout the Iverson era and still today, they'd rather see Iverson cross someone over in a 20-ponts loss than watch a cohesive group play as a team and win consistently. I got news for management, if you put a good team out there that wins, people will show up. Iverson or no Iverson. But they're a long way from that so I guess this is their stop-gap solution.

Ed Snider has said he'll signoff on anything Sixer-related at this point. He's too busy scouring the AHL ranks for a 4th line winger for the Flyers.

Iverson has proven time and again that he's incapable of conforming to being a team-player. Oh, he says all the right things. He cares about winning, he'll come of the bench, yada-yada-yada. The he goes out and does the opposite (Costanza would be proud). In Detroit and Memphis, he said he would have no problem coming off the bench, then proceeded to sandbag both teams. Three games in Memphis?!? That's shocking even for him. It's a shame it didn't work out, him and Zach Randolph could've done some great and horrible things together on Beale Street.

It's also no coincidence that Denver took off right after they got rid of him last year.

Oh yeah, if Bubba Chuck returned it would be all fun and games in the beginning, especially with Lou Williams out a couple months. Iverson would act like he's still the man, push Holiday aside (go learn the game somewhere else, rook), and pick up right where he left off here. Lots of 30-shot, 27 points games.....and 20-points losses. We've seen this movie a thousand times before.

People say he'll put fans in the seats, and they're probably right. I know I'm probably in the minority, but that's even more of a reason NOT to go for me. And really, who cares that no one is going to the games? If anything, the Sixers deserve what they are getting with the product they've been putting out there and the decisions they've been making the last few years. Maybe empty seats will wake them up a bit. Just look at the Knicks, another horrible team with absolutely nothing to lose. Could've bought Iverson in for the rest of the year for a measley $1 mill. to fill-up some seats. They did about 24 hours of due-diligence on him (talked to Memphis I'm sure) and quickly said thanks, but no thanks (made me wish Isiah was still there and recklessly signed him to a 6 year/ $64 million deal in between groping MSG employees. Good times). Speaks volumes. The guy is a disease that infects teams on and off the court. Practice? Good luck.

Retiring to spend time with his family? Wow, that's rich. I know he's always been a pillar of family values, but he's retiring because no one wants him. He almost had to "retire" over the summer when no one wanted him until Memphis took a flier. The rest is history. I can't think of another future hall of famer that was not wanted by anyone when he still had something left in the tank. Even Rasheed Wallace, the posterboy for angry, selfish malcontents everywhere, got the point and went to the Celtics knowing damn well he'd be coming off the bench. Iverson has been his own worst enemy throughout. If he was smart, starting in Detroit last year, he would've used it as an audition for good teams to see him. He's obviously a shell of his former self, but he can still play. But no, he only knows his way, dominating the ball and undermining coaches. Good teams don't want him because he'll disrupt chemistry immediately. Bad teams (see: Memphis) also now know to steer clear of him.

Now John Thompson and Larry Brown are trying to reach out to him to talk him out of retirement? (like it was his decision). Yo Larry, please shut up and go away, you phony. You hated Iverson when you were here. And if you like him so damn much, bring him to Charlotte. Now start figuring out which team you're gonna jump ship to next. Eddie Jordan can't be for this. The only reason Stefanski would be for it is because he's desperate and out of ideas after taking over the mantle of Horrible GM from Billy King. If Jordan and Stefanski are on the fence about it, they should consult with, in no particular order, Randy Ayers, Chris Ford, Jim O'Brien, Mo Cheeks, Michael Curry, and Lionel Hollins. I think the only one that survived AI's wrath to get another head coaching job was O'Brien. I would've thrown George Karl in there but he's been in paycheck mode for years now.

Again, if Iverson was smart and not surrounded by a posse of yes-men, he would've long ago sucked up his pride and went to a playoff team that could use him. The funny thing is, he'd be an absolute killer coming off the bench for a good team. Talk about instant offense, he'd be like Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson on crack (possibly literally). It's really the perfect role for him- come in, shoot constantly and play no defense.If he's hot, keep him in. If not, take him out (and then the games begin). But that decision is out of his hands now. The damage is done. Beggars can't be choosers. Kind of sad in a way. I would pity him if he didn't bring it all on himself.

He should go kill a few dogs, maybe that would pique Andy Reid's interest.

But, whether the rumors are true or not, I guess the Sixers wanted to create a buzz, which they've accomplished.

Tiger's Geico Agent
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Lou Williams is OUT

Lou Willams suffered a broken jaw in last nights loss to Washington. Early reports said he was going to miss 2-4 weeks (700level) but now they are saying that he will be evaluated on Thursday.(csnphilly)

Lou had been playing well, scoring 26 points last night including 10 in the 4th. This should mean more PT for impressive rookie Jrue Holiday. Holiday scored 11 in 9 minutes last night.
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Philly Tonight

Bobcats at 76ers 7pm: Charlotte looks to snap their 5 game losing streak tonight against the Sixers, who themselves have lost 2 straight. Should be a good one!

Flyers at Kings 10:30pm: Here is a better matchup. Flyers have won 5 of 6 and the Kins, 2 straight. The Flyers are 80-37-16 all-time against the Kings including 38-22-8 in L.A. (broadstreethockey)
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Somebody Wants Dalembert?

Maybe Kenny Thomas wants to retire as a Sixer. Whatever - make it happen. ESPN.com reports that Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings, in considering the feasibility of a Samuel Dalembert-for-Kenny Thomas swap, have discussed expanding that concept with Boston by trying to draw in the Celtics on a potential three-way deal that would land Andres Nocioni with the Celts. (espn)

But the full deal as it stands, if it eventually gets that far, would send Nocioni to Boston, Kenny Thomas, Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine to Philadelphia and Dalembert and J.R. Giddens to Sacramento. All threee of the guys heading to Philly have expiring contracts.

They can move Brand to Center for the time being and maybe Jason Smith to the PF position until Speights comes back. I guess you could also go small and start Thaddeus at the 4. I don't know, I don't care...somebody wants Sammy. Make it happen!


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Speights Out 6-8

Sixers backup center Marreese Speights, one of their most consistent players this season, had to leave Saturday night’s game against the Bulls with a partial MCL tear and will be out about 6 to 8 weeks.

Speights is averaging 13 points and 6.4 rebounds in 23.4 minutes of play on the season, and has been one of the few bright spots on this mediocre Sixers squad. He was injured in the fourth quarter of the Bulls game in what appeared to be a routine play. His left leg bent awkwardly as he turned his body to adjust to the ball on defense and immediately went down and grasped his knee. This is a shame for Speights, hopefully he can come back in 2010 and continue to impress.

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76ers @ Nets

The 3-4 76ers travel to the IZOD Center to face the 0-7 New Jersey Nets tonight at 7:30pm. The Nets have lost by an average margin of just inder 12 points per game but the Sixers needed a clutch performance by Andre Igoudala to beat them last Friday night. (Cbssports) The sixers have lost 2 straight since that game.


Devin Harris, Yi Jianlian and Jarvis Hayes remain out for Jersey. Harris is expected to miss another two weeks, Yi may be a month away from returning and Hayes could be sidelined for another week. Chris Douglas Roberts has tested positive for the H1N1 virus with no timetable on his return. Courteney Lee is expected back tonight.

Top Players:

Sixers: Andre Igoudala: 20.0 PPG, 51.4 FG%, 6.4 RPG

Nets: Brook Lopez: 18.0 PPG, 55.4 FG%, 7.7 RPG

Sixers win 102 - 89

(nj.com)
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Suns @ Sixers

The 6-1 Suns are in town. The Sixers are coming off of a split this weekend, knocking off Jersey and falling to Detroit.


The Suns seemed to be a team that didn't know which direction to go but have jumped out as one of the hottest teams in basketball. [yahoo.com] NBA.com has Pheonix as the #1 team in the weekly Power Rankings. The Sixers are sitting at # 19. Ouch.

Lookin like a loss tonight.
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Igoudala Cups and Throws it Down

In an otherwise unimpressive win against the winless Nets..playing without 2 of their best players.


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Nets @ 76ers

The 2-2 76ers host the 0-5 New Jersey Nets tonight at the Wachovia Center. Switching Gears! The Sixers are in the Top 10 of the NBA in both PPG and in shooting percentage, while NJ is in the bottom 3 in both. The Sixers have beaten both bad teams that they have faced and have been killed by both good teams. New Jersey is classified as a bad team. I smell a W

Matchups:
Elton Brand > Eduardo Najera: Seriously? Eduardo Najera, I thought he retired 5 years ago. Rare reader and almost never commenter, Moose will be divided watching this game. He nicknamed his Dad, Eduardo Najera and he has strong alligences to Duke. Tough, tough decsion for him. I hate Duke. Namesake will be in attendence in hopes to catch a glimpse of his boy Yi.

Thaddeus Young > Chris Douglas-Robers: tough one because CD-R has averaged over 21 ppg over his last 3.

Sam Dalembert < Brook Lopez: Lopez is averaging 16, 7 and 2. Sammy is not.

Lou Williams = Skip to my Lou: Rafer is better suited to provide a spark off the bench. The same could be said about Lou, although he has been pretty good so far.

Andre Igoudala > Courteney Lee: Lee is struggling in his second year, shooting 30% from the field.
Prediction: Sixers 107 - 93
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Sixers to bring back Ivey

The 76ers continue their push to the NBA Finals (what?)by re-signing guard Royal Ivey, a month and a half after he opted out of his contract with the Sixers. In case you missed it, Mr. Ivey averaged a steller 3.0 ppg in 2008-09, almost a full point per game less than his career 3.8 career average. Royal is a decent defensive guard but this picture is of him being dunked on by Philly native, and guy who recently spurned the 76ers, Hakim Warrick.

I would imagine Ivey took a peek at the Sixers roster and figured, if I can't play here, I can't play anywhere. Welcome back Royal! Welcome back.

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Miller "probably" headed to Portland.

The New York Daily News is reporting that Andre Miller is probably headed to Portland in a sign and trade, with the Sixers recieving Steve Blake. Nothing has been confired at this point.

On the surface, this looks like a pretty bad deal for the 76ers but Blake will be heading into the last year of his contract. The Sixers are clearly not winning anything this year so I would be fine with it.
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Jrue

Ty Lawson was still available. So was Eric Maynor, Jeff Teague and Darren Collison. Each of these guys would have helped the 76ers reach the NBA playoffs next year as a # 6 or # 7 seed, you know NBA Purgatory. Each of these guy’s, the Sixers, more or less would have known what they were getting, solid players but not necessarily difference makers.

Instead they took a chance on a guy’s upside. Jrue Holiday could very well turn out to be a bust but he also has the potential to develop into a top PG in the league. It is tough to get better when drafting at #17 but the Sixers picked with an eye to the future, took a chance, and hopefully will be rewarded down the road.
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The Morning After

Blue Jays 8 Phillies 7: Rod 'friggin' Barajas hit a pinch hit home run leading off the ninth inning to give the B Jay's an 8-7 win and a three game sweep over the defending champs. Joe Blanton gave up 4 runs in 5+ innings as the Phillies continue to not get any consistant innings from their rotation. It is a developing problem. Rollins, Werth, Mayberry Jr and Dobbs all homered for the Phillies who lost their 5th out of their last 6 games. Scott Rolen, 6 hits in the series and Rob Barajas, 4 hits, 2 hrs continued the trend of Ex Phils hurting the Phillies this year. Wes Helms anyone? Ronnie Paulino? Their still bums

O's 5 Mets 4: K-Rod blew his second save in a week as the Mets lost to Baltimore 5-4. The Mets have lost 10 of 14. Rookie phenon Matt Wieters led off the inning with a hustling double and after a walk, a bad defensive play and another walk, Aubrey Huff hit a game winning single. The Phillies are blowing a golden opportunity to bury these frauds.

US Open: The first round of the US Open was suspended Thurday due to inclement weather. Friday's forcast calls for morning rain before dry conditions move in during the afternoon. Saturday looks like it could be more like Thursday. Maybe they can get one of those retractable roofs that they have in Arizona? Why would they have a retractable roof in Arizona? Nevermind...Namesake's boy Mediate will pull through once they get going. Heard it here first. Play resumes at 7:30 am

Sixers: Moved training camp from State College to St Joes this year. Camp opens on September 29th and runs thru Oct. 4th. Its because Penn State didn't want YOU Dalembert.

Arizona St 12 North Carloina 5: Hero Kole Calhoun hit a game tying Salami in the fifth and the go ahead double in the 7th to lead ASU over UNC in the College World Series. Calhoun ended with 6 RBI's in the game and has homered in each of the Sun Devils CWS games. The # 5 seed Sun Devils plays # 1 Texas on Friday night. ASU would have to win Friday's game and another Saturday also against Texas to advance to the best of 3 final. UNC is eliminated, finishing 48-18.

NHL: Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals beat out Evgeni Malkin, winning the Hart Trophy for the second straight year. Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins was voted as the NHL's top goalie. The Flyers Mike Richards was robbed by the Red Wings Pavel Datsyuk as the Selke Trophy winner, NHL's top Defensive Forward. Datsyuk edged Richards 945-942 into total votes, but Richards received more first-place ballots. Its rigged.

NFL: Donte' Stallworth has been suspended indefinitely by Roger Goodell and the NFL. Stallworth was sentenced Tuesday to 30 days in jail, a controversial ruling that drew a great deal of criticism.

The conduct reflected in your guilty plea resulted in the tragic loss of life and was inexcusable. While the criminal justice system has determined the legal consequences of this incident, it is my responsibility as NFL Commissioner to determine appropriate league discipline for your actions, which have caused irreparable harm to the victim and his family, your club, your fellow players and the NFL

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Recap

Mets 6 Phillies 5: The Phillies hit 4 home runs off of Johan Santana but the bullpen could not hold a 4-3 lead, on the way to a 6-5 loss. The Phillies are now 1-5 aginst the Mets and 0-3 at Tax payer Field. Before the game, the Phillies announced that they put Closer Brad Lidge on the 15 day DL. Ryan Madsen will take over closer responsibilities while Lidge is out. Phils called up AA catcher Paul Bako.

Magic 108 Lakers 104: The Orlando Magic won game 3 of the NBA Finals Tuesday. Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis each scored 21 to pace the Magic. Orlando shot an NBA Finals record 75% from the field in the Second Quarter on their way to their first ever NBA Finals Win. Kobe had a chance to tie the game late in the 4th but had the ball stolen from him. In 76ers news: The 76ers acquired sharp-shooter Jason Kapono from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Reggie Evans. Jason Kapono struggled mightily in the Raptors system because he is not capable of creating his own shot but the Sixers hope he will fit in to Eddie Jordans motion offense where he will be able to run off screens, catch and shoot. I play better defense then this guy though.

Penguins 2 Red Wings 1: The Pittsburgh Penguins jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held off a late Wings barrage to lock up the series at 3 heading to Game 7 on Friday night. Nothing better than a Game 7. Might break out the good beer for this one.

Minors: Kyle Drabek gave up 2 runs in 5 innings but also walked 5 in a 5-4 Win over Trenton. Drabek moves to 2-0 at Reading. Carlos Carrasco gave up 6 runs in 3 innings in a 7-4 loss to Louisville, to drop to 1-7 for the Iron Pigs.

Amateur Draft: The Phillies drafted outfielder/1B Kelly Dugan and outfielder Kyrell Hudson with their 2nd and 3rd round picks. Both figure to be future bums in the eyes of Sec202. The Phillies forfeited their first round pick when they signed Raul Ibanez. Dugan has signed with Pepperdine and Hudson has signed on with Oregon State to play baseball and football. Both will have to decide to either forgo college or sign with the Phillies. The draft resumes today at noon. The Phillies next pick is in the fourth rd 137, overall. Read More

Jordan and other NBA thoughts

It's interesting that a better part of a week has gone by here without the mention of new Sixers head coach Eddie Jordan. I'm a Sixers fan, but I just cannot get excited about this news. I remember him as a highly touted assistant on the Jersey teams that were losing to the Lakers in the Finals years back but he didn't do too much in Washington when given a chance. 4 playoff berths and subsequent quick exits don't create excitetment in the Eastern Conference. I guess my problem is that while the Sixers keep shuffling coaches year in and year out they are going to have to realize that maybe coaching isn't thhe problem. The Sixers are stuck in NBA purgatory - not bad enough to get good thru the draft and not good enough to advance the way they are. I think we will be seeing #6 or #7 seeds and 1st round eliminations until something gives. That may be good enough in Jersey or DC but not Philly.

Very nice to see Jameer Nelson returning to play in game 1 of the NBA Finals. I don't think Orlando can rely on him too much but he could serve as a sparkplug behind 'Skip to my Lou'... I think the Magic can hang with the Lakers and may knock them off if Howard can stay out of foul trouble. That being said, they were hanging with them until a questionable offensive foul on Howard forced him out of the game and the Lakers jumped to a 10 point half time lead.

Do you think the Magic players rip assistant coach Patrick Ewing for his ridiculously terrible Snickers commercial? Patrick Chewing? Horrible Read More