Sixers, Phillies and the debacle that is Philadelphia sports. It could be worse, it could be cycling!

I will never watch the Tour de France (which should be the limit of any person’s bicycle fanaticism) again. I will admit it, I fell for Floyd Landis. He represented much of the same things I love about college sports: a guy that is going out and competing for the love of the game and the competition, a guy that overcame huge odds (both his family upbringing and terrible hip injury are not conducive to winning the Tour) with his even bigger heart, and a guy that never gave up even when things got virtually impossible. I guess the new saying should be “When the going gets tough, the tough get doping.” Look, at this point I do not really much care whether Floyd was innocent or guilty. All that matters is that I completely bought into this magical story, and either a) it was all a big lie, or b) the publisher that put the story out is so messed up that the relevance of the actual story is tainted. The sport is in shambles, there is a black eye over all their stars, and now nobody can trust any of their riders. Any time you see a great performance, the first question will be, will he get caught? Not if he used, which is bad enough (ask baseball), but whether that probability will be caught or not. I say that until testing can accurately identify all cheaters and eliminate false positives (I mean, we did send a man to the moon over 35 years ago!) let them do whatever they want. If these boneheads want to cut years off their lives for some potential glory, God Bless ‘em! At least we won’t have to ask the questions.

The latest news on the Allen Iverson trade front is that there is no news, he will not be traded, and we are back to status quo. This is a tough call for Billy King. Do you trade a superstar, one of the best 10 players in the league who averaged 33 points a game last year, for $0.60 on the dollar? Or do you stay status quo in a terrible cap situation with a team that cannot contend? This bed was made by Larry Brown, not Billy. Brown should have traded Iverson 3-4 years ago when his value was higher and the trade would have been less lopsided. Now Billy is stuck and taking all the blame. It will be very difficult for Billy to save his job (I would guess he needs to make the playoffs and maybe win a round next year), but there are not many moves he can make here. He has started rebuilding the right way (defense!), and it will just take time with Iverson locked in, and the massive contracts of Webber and AI strangling the GM from an ability to make any moves. For the record, I think it is the right move for Billy not to trade Iverson. The fans would be outraged when they got someone like Carlos Boozer or Al Jefferson back. Then when the team’s record deteriorated further next year, Billy would be gone for sure. I think it is a longshot for Billy to survive past next season, but trading A.I. would have made him a no-shot.

In about four days, Billy King will fade to the background, as the Philadelphia fans are about to shift their entire wrath against Pat Gillick. This is easier to see than the fact the T.O. and Parcells will combust at some point this season. Here is what will happen: nothing much. Abreu will not be traded. Pat Burrell will not be traded. Maybe Jon Lieber or Cory Lidle will be traded….for some guy you will never hear from again. On Tuesday morning, we will wake up and have a team that has no chance of making the playoffs this year, and has not done anything to improve its chances for next year, when they should be a contender. And I know I may have mentioned this once or twice, but how has Pat Gillick kep Jolly Chollie on the job the entire year? This guy is the worst manager I have ever seen, and at least by firing Chollie, who is public enemy #1 (along with being an incompetent bumpkin), you buy yourself more time as GM to implement your strategy. Bad move, by (Stand) Pat. Get used to it…..

On the other hand, if you are a true baseball fan, the American League Divisional and Wild Card Races will be just magical to watch. My predictions heading into August: AL East: Yankees; AL Central: Tigers (I would not have guessed this even at the break), AL West: Angels; AL Wild Card: White Sox. Out: Twins, Red Sox. It will be fun to watch.

Lots of stuff to talk about next week. Look for the blog pace to slowly pick up as we get closer to kickoff!!!

Floyd Landis, Tiger, Donovan McNabb, Danica Patrick: Three Men and an Anna Kournikova

Floyd Landis’ performance yesterday in the Tour de France is perhaps the greatest athletic performance I have ever seen. It was truly remarkable to watch him do what everybody thought was impossible. How anyone in America can not be caught up in his story and rooting for him to win the Tour this weekend (which I believe he will) is beyond me. Landis’ remarkable day was made possible the day before, just after his woeful stage 16 ride, in which he kept his chin up, put no blame on anyone but himself, and got himself into the right frame of mind for a Championship ride and his first ever stage win.

Speaking of comebacks, I guess Tiger has bounced back pretty well from missing the cut at the U.S. Open. 12-under through two rounds, and the greatest front runner in the history of golf, Tiger will be very difficult to beat this weekend. Lost in all the Tiger-mania, however, is that very quietly David Duval, ranked as the #1 player in the world earlier this century, is -4, and will make the cut for the second straight major. The fact that Duval’s demeanor has never cracked during his tailspin, which has been worse than the Phillies season after their 13-1 spurt.

Eagles rookies and selected veterans are in camp. The Birds have signed all their draft choices except first rounder Broderick Bunkly, which everyone seems to think will get done soon. The Birds are flying under the National radar for the first time in about 6 years, so a productive training camp combined with no attention, little pressure, and an easy schedule out of the chute could lead to talk of the Birds at midseason and McNabb as a comeback player of the year and MVP candidate. I am not declaring this yeat, just saying that the stars seem to be aligned if things go well. Stay tuned for further analysis as we get closer to September.

Why the Phillies will not go out and get Shea Hillenbrand is a mystery. Hillenbrand, while not selective enough at the plate and a below average fielder, provides some pop at the plate and a fiery clubhouse presence, which this team needs desperately. On top of everything, Toronto has waived the guy (meaning they have to trade, release or send him to the minors in 10 days) so the price will likely be less than market value, even with other teams trying to work a deal. This guy is an upgrade at third over the pathetic David Bell and a much needed veteran leader in the clubhouse. Make it happen Gillick!

It is amazing to me that racing leagues are fighting over Danica Patrick just because she is an attractive woman. It is clear to me that the teams involved in any bidding are worried more about dollars and cents than winning. What has she proved in her two years, other than she is good enough to be in a car and be an average competitor, and not good enough to win races or championships. If she were a man, she would be happy to get a ride in the big leagues, not get fought over. She is the equivalent to a Casey Mears in the Nascar world. The funny thing is, she will probably go to Penske or Ganassi and have such an equipment and team advantage that she will be able to compete and get even more popular and undeserved praise next year. Ted?

Have a good weekend.

Billy King, Floyd Landis: Both Riding Toward a Title?

Some quick observations while hoping Hezbollah gets demolished worse than the Cubs in the 7th inning yesterday…..

• Billy King has been much maligned during his tenure as Sixers GM, and the criticism has been valid at times. However, he is getting way too much heat and not enough credit for things he has done well. First, to the “heat”. Everyone in town complains about the horrible Chris Webber move, but at the time of the move, fans were hailing Billy as a genius for pulling off a move to bring an unselfish superstar to pair with A.I. On paper, this was exactly the type of partnership that could have thrived. It turns out as a bad deal cause Webber actually only has one leg, but I am fairly certain nobody (save maybe the Kings doctor and he wasn’t talking) knew that his career as we knew it was all but over. Next, Billy did a great job on this year’s draft. He got an athletic player he coveted and simultaneously orchestrated parlaying him into an extra pick in the second round for a proven winner in Bobby Jones, who represents exactly the type of blue collar work ethic that this city thrives on (i.e., Rod Brind A’Mour, Aaron Rowand). In addition, Billy made the transformation towards defense with both selections, something this squad has lacked since 2001, which coincidentally is the last time it had any real success. Of course, Billy’s entire future rides on what he gets for Iverson, who is past the point of no return. Here is the problem: you never get full value when you trade a superstar, especially one with as many red flags as A.I. So, I think Billy is fighting an uphill battle (kind of like the salmon does, and look what happens to them at the end of their trip), one that he will probably lose. I think it is too bad because I think he gets it now and is on his way to turning the team around (a process that will take 3-4 years but unfortunately, even with Ed Snider, Billy will not be there to reap the rewards). The masses will be excited when Billy gets fired next year which just goes to show that they sometimes do not get it either. It will serve them right if he gets replaced by Isiah Thomas, who will be looking for a job by then.
• Everybody embraced Lance Armstrong, mainly because he overcame a terrible disease to win the most grueling bike race in the world, seven times in a row. Nobody really cared that Lance is not that good of a guy who always put himself before his wife or kids. And that is OK, his accomplishment was indeed amazing. My question is: How come America could not care less about Floyd Landis. This guy is unbelievable. He has a degenerative hip condition that will require a hip replacement after the tour. His pain is so bad that he can barely walk. Think Bo Jackson. Think Casey Martin. And this guy is in the best position to win the toughest race in the world, one that makes soccer and basketball players look out of shape. So, follow the tour for the next week. And root for Floyd Landis. He deserves it every bit as much as Lance.
• Things I think about when Brett Myers faced Barry Bonds yesterday: imagine how much worse Brett’s wife would have been if her husband had the same trainer as Bonds. I know, I am not right….could the Phillies have blundered this situation any worse? I cannot wait to see what happens between now and July 31st…

The Phillies: a Disaterous Mid-Season Report Card

All right, I know. I have been very lame the past couple weeks. No posts anywhere to be found. I am trying to get a little creative energy back flowing before Labor Day when football arrives, the Win or Die begins, and all hell breaks loose on the blog. So be patient. We are troughing, and we should begin a slow ascent that results in near chaos shortly. Kind of like the Tour de France as they hit the mountains. And also similar because probably the same number of people care about each at this point.

I could not let the second half of the baseball season start without commenting on the debacle that has been the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phils so far have had recent results kind of like Ben Roethlisberger has had on his motorcycle. In other words, seconds from death. The difference is that I do not see a paramedic in this team’s future to get them on the mend.

First, I guess you have to start off the field. This ownership group has proven over time that they either do not care about winning or do not have the intelligence to do anything about it if the desire actually exists. Now, they have proven they are utter and complete imbeciles. They not only butchered this Brett Myers situation as poorly as humanly possible, but now they have compounded that mistake with Bill Giles this week saying we got it all wrong and that Myers was trying to in fact help his wife. Sort of like Mike Tyson was trying to help Evander Holyfield get the ear wax out of his ear. Bottom line, I would give ownership, between off-field blunders, on-field results and lack of any sign of progress, a grade of ‘F’, except that would be insulting to others who have gotten this grade before…

As for the actual team…..

Insert Jim Mora quote here. They suck. They offense sucks, the defense sucks, the coaches suck, they suck. They can’t do diddly poo. Or something along those lines. Their offense is stagnant, they continue to have underachievers (Abreu, Burrell, Rollins) who cannot hit in important situations and bad contracts who should not be in the major leagues any more (Bell, Lieberthal). This team strikes out way too much, relies too much on the home run, and cannot play good fundamental baseball (things like sacrifices, moving the runners over, taking an extra base). On the offensive side, they have two genuine superstars-to-be in Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. They key is to somehow show a commitment to winning so you do not lose these guys as soon as they are eligible to become free agents and can force a bad trade (see Schilling and Rolen).

Pitching wise, their bullpen, especially considering the lack of talent, has held up reasonably well. On the other hand, this team’s starting pitching is abominable. Jon Lieber would be overpaid this year at $700,000, much less the $7.0 million he is stealing. Brett Myers is a very good pitcher, but he has been in the majors long enough to know that pitchers cannot hit. Cole Hamels is still not ready for the bigs, although I do think he has a chance to be a frontline starter in this league for a long time if the team does not ruin him and he stays healthy. Ryan Madson has been terrible, although he shows just enough flashes (i.e., 2, one as a starter and one in LONG relief) to make you say “maybe, just maybe…” Cory Lidle should be waiting tables at this point in his career, and Gavin Floyd has as much guts as someone whose intestines have been removed. The rest of these guys that have pitched this year may or may not be good enough to pitch on the college level. Bottom line, without breaking the bank, I am not sure how this team can put together a good enough pitching staff to compete.

You already know what I think of the manager. Jolly Chollie is quite simply the worst there is. I know all the experts say that a great manager will only win you 5 or 6 games a year. But if that is the case, a horrible one can lose at least that many, and a 12 game swing is pretty important. I do not know how Manual keeps his job after this season, as the overwhelming sentiment is to get rid of him and he is not one of Gillick’s guys to start with, so he will be gone. I hope this makes all the people who criticized Bowa realize that he may have worn thin on some players after a while, but at least he knew baseball, and how to manage, and what exactly a double switch is.

What would I do? Not that they care, but I would trade Abreu (and Burrell if I could) before the trade deadline. It is also time to make a decision on Jimmy Rollins. This guy is an enigma. He is one of the very best defensive shortstops around, but he fooled us with his hitting streak. Rollins is what Rollins is at the plate, which is not disciplined enough, strikes out too much and walks too little for a lead of guy, does not use his speed enough by hitting the ball in the ground or bunting. This is the guy that probably has the most trade value on your team, but I still probably do not pull the trigger on J-Roll. I do think you move him to 7th in the batting order until he proves he can hit like a lead off guy. So I trade Abreu, Burrell (if possible) and Lieber (if possible). I do NOT trade Aaron Rowand under any circumstances. This guy is the type of player this team needs to win. Then in the offseason I commit to signing one #2 starter, I bring back Brett Myers (who is too talented and I will not get enough for in return now), and have a decent rotation of Hamels, Myers, the #2 they sign in the offseason and what they get for Abreu now. They also need a catcher and a 3rd baseman. On second thought, I do not really want Pat Gillick’s job. He cannot win with this ownership group, this budget, and this current set of contracts and players. I thought he could, but now, I do not think so. I got lambasted for being too pessimistic when I predicted 84 wins for this team in the preseason. Looks now like I was too optimistic.

When does Eagles training camp open?

A new blog read!

First of all, I apologize for my lack of new posts in the last couple weeks. I am using the time to recharge my batteries in time for football season. In the meantime, I will get some stuff up next week with my comments on, among other things, The World Cup, The Tour de France, the Philberts, Jolly Chollie, the Birds, the Sixers, and assorted other issues. In the meantime, to tide you over, my friend Jarrett Wells was so distraught over a lack of posting that he started his own blog. I highly recmomend this blog since a) Jarrett is a sharp guy who is bound to be more interesting than focusing on work, and b) his first post is all about me!!! Enjoy: http://wellsisms.blogspot.com/

And have a good weekend....