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The 2008 Phillies were a surprising and welcome departure from the Philly sports norm. Let's face it: We've gotten used to coming up short—whether short or barely short. Not long after the Phillies paraded down Broad Street last Halloween, the Eagles returned the cosmos to their rightful balance. (Villanova's Final Four appearance was an unexpected bonus that threatened to upset the recently-restored natural order of things. Fortunately for the universe, North Carolina did not allow the end of days to come about.)
We know you're focused on another sport right now, and the Sixers might know it too. They're offering a 2-for-1 mezzanine tickets deal for their regular season opener against the Toronto Raptors until 11:59 tonight. Just enter promo code DBB01 to get the Buzzer Beater tickets.
Here’s the scenario: It’s a beautiful summer day at Citizens Bank Park. The sun is shining, the air is still, and the scent of hot dogs, peanuts, and beer wafts through the crowd. There’s really not much to complain about on such a picturesque afternoon. Our beloved Fightin’ Phillies, however, are down by one run in the 6th inning and we all know what comes next.
The 76ers drafted Marreese Speights, a 6'10", 250-pound center from Florida, with their only pick in the draft last Thursday. Speights is only 20 years old, and is a bit of a mystery entering the draft as a sophomore who had little college experience, having playing time blocked by NBA lotto-picks Al Horford and Joakim Noah.
If they don't win tonight, they're out of the playoffs. So we'll have our fingers crossed.
The Pistons blew out the Sixers last night 98-81, putting Philadelphia at the brink of elimination. But, the big story from the game was Samuel Dalembert’s new coif. Sammy shaved a fresh mohawk before Tuesday’s game, with the initials “SD” on the side. “SD” stands for “Samuel Dalembert” and “strong defense” according to Sixers play-by-play man Marc Zumoff. Sammy’s nemesis Rasheed Wallace went for 19 points, 6 boards and 6 blocks, so Dalembert might just want stick to telling us it's his namesake.
The much-ballyhooed match-up between Cole Hamels and Johan Santana took place at a sold-out Citizens Bank Park. Santana baffled the Phils bats, fanning 10, and David Wright went 4-4 with 2 RBI’s as the Mets nipped the Phils 6-4.
It's in a Philly sports fan's nature to bitch and moan about the often nonsensical moves made by the people in charge of our sports teams. Of course, we're not always rational beings ourselves. Hell, we're getting excited about the Sixers, who are—let's face it—a mediocre basketball team. So how can we possibly expect the people who run our teams to be rational? But we've just about had it with the Eagles' front office. It's not that Asante Samuel isn't a blue-chip cornerback. But is the guy who dropped an easy interception that would have sealed up the Super Bowl and a perfect season for his team worth $57 million over the next six years? Especially considering that, just last off season, the Birds didn't want to pony up the cash for Donte' Stallworth, who, by the way, signed a seven-year, $35 million deal with Cleveland this week. Maybe Stallworth isn't a true top-tier wide receiver, but the Eagles don't even have a "pretty good" wide receiver. We don't need a receiver who can stretch the field so that defenses don't just lock in on Brian Westbrook or anything. Plus, signing Samuel means that either Sheldon Brown or, more likely, Lito Sheppard will be heading out the door. Some Birds fans are pretty excited about signing Samuel. Anyone else remember when we were excited about getting Jevon Kearse and Takeo Spikes? Yeah, we cut both of them in the course of a week. (The Kearse cut doesn't bother us, but we're a little disheartened by losing Spikes, as it leaves the Birds' linebacking corps without a veteran leader.) Oh, and the whole city was super excited when we got Terrell Owens. That worked out well for us.
Philadelphia, let's start acting like real basketball fans.
The Sixers are still motoring along, posting a win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night (101-89), and fueling… playoff fever? We’ve felt this before, haven’t we Philly? Breathe through it. It’s not worth the morning after remorse. They’re not home again until March 7; hopefully they’ll keep up the winning away against Golden State (tonight 10:30PM), Phoenix (tomorrow 9PM), and the LA Clippers (Monday at 10:30PM); you can catch all on SportsNet.
The Sixers spanked the Knicks (124-84) on Wednesday night at the Wach. Tonight they will be in Orlando, then they’ll turn around and host the Magic on Wednesday at 7PM (get tickets or watch here). Here’s hoping that’ll be two for two. Tomorrow they’ll match up with the Miami Heat, against whom they are 2-0 this season.
The Sixers are still going (for now) as they seek to match their season-high four game winning streak (they’ve won at home against Washington 101-96, Miami 101-84, and the LA Clippers 101-80) with a win over the Dallas Mavericks tonight at 7PM at the Wach (get tickets or watch here). They will host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday at 7PM at the Wach (get tickets or watch here). If you’re going to that game, get there early: they’re honoring Marc Iavaroni (member of the ’83 Championship Team) by giving away a Mr. Potato Head to the first 5,000 fans.
Today we have basketball, masturbation, and ancient, unrequited love. What more can we say?
The Sixers lost to the Orlando Magic Saturday in an excruciatingly close game (108-106). They will try to regroup tomorrow night against the Washington Wizards at 7PM at the Wach (get tickets or watch here), and the Miami Heat on Thursday at 7PM at the Wach (get tickets or watch here).
The Sixers are trying to keep up the home court magic after trashing the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday (112-69), by beating the Orlando Magic tonight at 7PM at the Wach (get tickets or watch here).
Ah, it's a bad photograph of a car! And that can mean only one thing: the Philadelphia International Auto Show is almost here! We're finding it hard to believe that it's already that time again, but it must be true, because whenever we go within a four block radius of the Convention Center, we see dozens of large trucks full of cars. And we snapped this shot this morning of one classic specimen already waiting inside.
If you haven’t noticed, the Philadelphia sports climate is pretty bleak these days. The Sixers suck. The Eagles are golfing. The Flyers are irrelevant. And the Phillies are currently nickel-and-diming perhaps the greatest slugger in a generation, hoping that an arbitrator will make him play for a relative pittance. So there is pretty much no reason to go to an arena or stadium near you to watch our local pituitary cases compete in the games of chance. And yet, on February 1, the lowest common denominator of our fine city will flock to the Wachovia Center. They will begin tailgating at 4 a.m. Come 6 a.m., they will enter the building, whereupon they will take their seats and longingly ogle the “Wingettes” in their bras and panties. They will buy $8 Bud Lights from the concession stands, and will be completely wasted before many of us have stepped in the shower. They will stand and cheer at fat losers as they stuff their filthy gobs with artery-clogging Buffalo wings. When the spectacle has concluded and a “winner” is announced, these fine gents, fresh from the most intimate contact they have had with a woman in eons, will file out of the doors and head straight to the nearest strip club to further sate their throbbing libidos. Bear in mind that this will probably be the most intellectual activity that these fellows will have indulged in all week. At the end of the day, they will vomit in the public common and drunkenly drive their vehicles home in a treacherous version of “Commuter Roulette.” Sound like fun? Then, by all means, head over to South Philly for the 610-WIP-sponsored Wing Bowl 16, “The Showdown in the Hot Sauce.” (To tailgate. This flimsy excuse to get wasted actually sold out a major sports arena... AGAIN.)
After losing to the Knicks (81-89) on Friday and beating the Charlotte Bobcats away Saturday night (103-96), the Sixers hope to score big at home: seven of their next eight games are at the Wachovia Center. Catch them Wednesday battling the Milwaukee Bucks at 7PM (get tickets or watch).
After losing to the Pacers Monday (110-103), and the Pistons Wednesday (86-78), the Sixers are hoping to beat the Knicks tonight. They’re hoping that snaps them out of the losing funk they’ve been in, which has seen them lose 10 of their last 12 games.
The Sixers lost on the road to the Celtics on Friday, but finally beat the Toronto Raptors, the first time this season, 99-95 Saturday. They’re playing the Pacers today at 2PM (watch or get tickets) and the Pistons on Wednesday night at 7PM (watch or get tickets) at the Wachovia Center.
The Sixers weren’t able to pull it out against the Bulls, losing with a disappointing 100-97 score. Unfortunately it seems the Inqy is right: they’re not such a great team this year.
In hoops, the Sixers try to break their five-game losing streak with a win tonight against the Chicago Bulls at the Wachovia Center, 7PM. Broadcast on Comcast Sportsnet, or buy tickets.
The big story this morning is about a young couple - him a Penn grad, her a Drexel student - who allegedly burglarized neighbors' apartments, stole identities, made fake driver's licenses, and opened phony credit card accounts, all in the name of living the high life. The two were arrested Friday, but are free on bail. The Daily News has a more detailed look at some of their scams in an article with a typically...