Archive for October, 2013

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6 or 7 Reasons to Watch the 76ers This Season

October 31st, 2013 by Jim Chesko | Comments Off on 6 or 7 Reasons to Watch the 76ers This Season | Filed in Basketball, General, Sixers
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To Watch the Sixers

Your town, your team, your 76ers – but why bother to pay even a little bit of attention to a team that may approach losing that number of games (76) in an 82-game season?  Wait, they’re young, they’re inexperienced, but they can’t possibly be that bad, can they?  Who are these guys who open their 2013-14 season tonight against the two-time defending champion Miami Heat, and why should we care about what happens over the next six months?

Here are six or seven reasons to invest your time in this season’s 76ers:

1. Michael Carter-Williams. The development of the 6-6 rookie point guard out of Syracuse will be the main reason to monitor the Sixers this year, since his growth is crucial to the team’s long-term progress.  We already know MCW, the 11th pick in the draft last June, can play, but the key things to watch will be whether he can improve his shooting and how he handles playing the toughest position in the NBA on a largely inexperienced team.

2. The “old” veterans, Thaddeus Young and Spencer Hawes. To casual fans, these two guys and Evan Turner will be the only familiar faces on a 76ers team that has been nearly completely turned over in recent years.  Hard to believe that Young is entering his seventh season, all with the Sixers; this is Hawes’ seventh year as well, his fourth since leaving Sacramento to join the Sixers.  The 6-8 Young and the 7-1 Hawes will both play big roles on this year’s team, and will need to show some leadership with an otherwise inexperienced group.

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Sixers 2013-14 Season Preview

October 30th, 2013 by Sam Shipley | Comments Off on Sixers 2013-14 Season Preview | Filed in Basketball, General, Sixers

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It is no secret that the Sixers are going to struggle this year. They traded away their best player, Jrue Holiday on the night of the NBA draft to acquire a first round pick in next seasons loaded draft and big man Nerlens Noel. Down the road was this a good deal? Most likely, but it certainly does not benefit the Sixers this season in anyway especially with Noel not even suiting up this season.

Last year on opening night, the city was filled with optimism. The Sixers were supposed to finally take that big leap after acquiring Andrew Bynum and become contenders. We all know how that story played out.

New General Manager Sam Hinkie, has made it clear that this season will be the first year of a rebuilding process, and nothing makes that more clear than the team slogan “Together We Build”. The Sixers currently have four rookies on the roster, headlined by first round drafts pick Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel. And only two players have been in the league for more than six seasons, Kwame Brown and Jason Richardson who have played 12 seasons each.

The goal is obvious this season, see the development of the young players, but ultimately win the sweepstakes for Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins is talked about to be the next big thing in the NBA, and when I say big I am talking Kobe Bryant and LeBron James big. The kid has just pure talent and will make an instant impact for years wherever he lands.

So what are the Sixers odds of being the worst team in the NBA this year, which gives them the best shot to get Wiggins? A Las Vegas sports book has the Sixers over/under for win total at just 16.5 this season which is the lowest for any team in about a decade.

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Philadelphia Flyers Trade Rumors: Ryan Miller to Flyers?

October 29th, 2013 by Mike Pantaleone | 1 Comment | Filed in Flyers, General, Hockey

According to Hockey Central insider Doug MacLean and Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the two believe the Philadelphia Flyers and Ryan Miller could potentially be a good fit.

From the article:

Hockey Central insider Doug MacLean suggested the Philadelphia Flyers as a good fit for Miller, who could finally stabilize the team’s crease issues. In order for Philly to make a trade for Miller, however, MacLean believes Miller would need to be willing to sign long-term with the Flyers. It won’t make sense to surrender future assets for a rental.

More from Nick Kypreos:

Miller, who has a no-trade clause, won’t approve a move to Canada. Philly is a team willing to deal before Christmas. Ray Emery, say, could be sent to Buffalo in a package centered on draft picks and become the backup to Jhonas Enroth — who deserves a shot at being a full-time starter.

It has been said that Miller would like to relocate to a “warmer climate”, more specifically, somewhere in California. But with the money that the Flyers would be willing to throw at him, I wonder if that changes his mind a little bit.

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Philadelphia Flyers Trade Rumors: Sean Couturier or Brayden Schenn?

October 28th, 2013 by Mike Pantaleone | Comments Off on Philadelphia Flyers Trade Rumors: Sean Couturier or Brayden Schenn? | Filed in Flyers, General, Hockey

The Philadelphia Flyers have finally managed back to back wins for the first time it what feels like forever. While it seems like the Flyers have begun to turn this ship around, they’ll need to do a lot more than “play a full 60 minutes” if they want to be taken seriously.

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“View from the Philly Pressbox” – Can the Eagles make the Playoffs?

October 27th, 2013 by Philly Pressbox | Comments Off on “View from the Philly Pressbox” – Can the Eagles make the Playoffs? | Filed in Eagles

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As we reach the half season mark the question looms, can the Eagles make the playoffs?

We will provide a hypothetical breakdown of what needs to happen from here on out between the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys to win the NFC East and make the playoffs.

Here’s our view from the Philly Pressbox:

The Eagles have won 3 games going in to today. They’ve beaten the Redskins, Giants and Buccaneers who are a combined 3-17. They’ve lost to the Kansas City Chiefs who are leading the AFC West at 7-0, the Denver Broncos who are 6-1, and possibly the best team in football, the San Diego Chargers who are 4-3 and the Cowboys who are 4-3 and leading the NFC East. The combined record of those teams is 21-7.

What does that tell us? The Eagles are a middle of the road team. They can beat the bad teams and not the good teams!!! So lets run with that thought for both the Eagles and the Cowboys through the rest of the season by looking at the schedules of both teams and see how it sorts out.

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New NBA Finals Format Voted For

October 24th, 2013 by Sam Shipley | Comments Off on New NBA Finals Format Voted For | Filed in Baseball, General, Sports

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The NBA has had the same format for the NBA Finals for nearly 30 years, but starting this season it will change.

No longer will we see the 2-3-2 format that we are so used to, now it will go to the new 2-2-1-1-1 format after a unanimous owner vote today. The move will now make the format for every series the same way, and as a result of the rest period an extra day off has been added between games 6 and 7.

I was never a big fan of the format, because I felt like in a 2-2 series, if the away team in game 5 wins the series is basically over since they go home for games 6 and 7 needing just one win. For example, if this format was in place last season Game 6 of the NBA Finals would have been in San Antonio, not Miami.

Here is a quick breakdown of how the series will go if you are confused (based off last years finals):

  • Game 1: Miami
  • Game 2: Miami
  • Game 3: San Antonio
  • Game 4: San Antonio
  • Game 5: Miami
  • Game 6: San Antonio
  • Game 7: Miami

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Red Sox and Cardinals Could Provide a Real Fall Classic

October 23rd, 2013 by Jim Chesko | Comments Off on Red Sox and Cardinals Could Provide a Real Fall Classic | Filed in Baseball, General, Sports

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Remember how much fun it was in and around Philadelphia in late October in 2008 and 2009? The Phillies won their first World Series in 28 years in ’08, beating the Tampa Bay Rays, and returned to the “fall classic” the following year, coming up short in a six-game series loss to the New York Yankees.

Unfortunately, the Phillies have fallen further and further from returning to the Series over the past four seasons, but this year’s Red Sox-Cardinals matchup – pitting a couple of storied franchises that have met three times previously in October – could be a dandy.

And that would be a welcome event for true sports fans locally, considering the current state of the city’s four major teams. The Phillies are coming off their worst season since 2000, the Flyers can’t seem to score goals (and are a good bet to miss the playoffs for a second-straight year if things don’t change quickly), the rebuilding 76ers may be the NBA’s worst team, and the Eagles are trying to resolve a major quarterback quandary.

How they got here: The St. Louis Cardinals finished a National League-best 97-65, earning another Central Division title, then held off the Pittsburgh cardinalslogoPirates in the Division Series and took care of the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-games-to-2 in the National League Championship Series.

The Boston Red Sox, after finishing 69-93 in 2012, hired John Farrell as manager to replace the fired Bobby Valentine, and the BoSox started the season strong and never relented. Like the Cards, the Red Sox had a league-best record of 97-65, then disposed of Tampa Bay in the ALDS and the Detroit Tigers in the Championship Series, sending Jim Leyland into retirement. Of course, the deciding blow in Boston’s Game Six victory was a grand slam by former Phillie Shane Victorino, who now gets to play in his third World Series in six years.

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