PHILLY SPORTS CORNER

June is on our doorstep. June is decision time in sports, especially Philly sports. After a dreadful May, June should prove to be very interesting.

Nationally, the NBA and NHL Finals will finally take place in June. Golden State and Pittsburgh should be crowned world champions. The Belmont Stakes, the third jewel; of the Triple Crown, will occur in June, but the race won't be as exciting this year since there won't be a Triple Crown contender.

Locally, June is decision time for all four Philadelphia teams.

For the Phillies, their season is already over. The front office needs to start clearing the way for the younger players in Lehigh Valley to be promoted and finish the year at Citizens Bank Park. Time for prospects like Nick Williams, Roman Quinn, Dylan Cozens and Rhys Hoskins to get their feet wet nad give whatever fans left who care something to watch for the summer.

The Phillies front office hopefully is planning future trades and releases, namely of washed-up, broken-down vets like Michael Saunders, Howie Kendrick and Jeremy Hellickson. All are on one-year contracts and won't be a part of the Phillies' future.

Time to think out of the box. Move Cesar Hernandez to shortstop, play Kendrick at second or promote Scott Kingery, make Freddie Galvis the super-utility guy. Time to demote Obdubal Herrera and Michael Franco. The team is in a bind. Sending these underachieving bums to triple A may send them a wake-up call message, ut who would want to trade for that garbage come July or during the upcoming odd-season?

Speaking of binds, the organization butchered their plan regarding manager Pete Mackanin. They didn't give him a contract extension in the spring, instead letting him be a lame duck for a few months, then finally extending him in May, then seeing the team free-fall. Now, they would look like complete idiots if they end up firing Mackanin, which may not be a bad idea.

The team is lifeless. Mackanin has no discipline, no fire. It would be nice to see the skipper get mad at somebody, to quit making excuses for his failing players and start to call them out.

Or maybe even the manager sees that they just aren't good enough. maybe that's why he strove for mediocrity in the spring by hoping the squad come at least play .500 baseball.

Losers mentality. That sums up the entire Phillies organization. Losers- and they know it.

Meanwhile, June will be decision time for the Sixers. They have the third pick in the NBA Draft. Unless they get lucky and both Boston and Los Angeles pass on point guard Fultz from Washington, the Sixers will have a decision to make at no. 3. They have maybe 5 players who could go at that spot. Or Lonzo Ball ( and his pain-in-the-ass father) fall to Philly. Either way, that choice will go a long way to determining the team's rebuilding success.

Also drafting in late June are the Flyers. They have the second overall pick, a lucky draw considering they were originally destined to have the no. 13 selection. The Flyers will get one of two quality scoring forwards, which should go a long way to kick-starting their rebuilding process.

Add the Phillies into the June drafting mix. The Phils have the no. 7 pick ( and may again have the overall no. 1 pick next summer). They should especially focus on left-handed starting pitching, third base and power.
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June will also be decision time for the Eagles, who will have a mandatory OTA session coming up. Getting ready for full training camp in July will be paramount. Players will be released. Additions may still catch on, as corner back help is desired. With the Phils being the worst team in baseball, and a hopeless summer is ahead, the Birds will savor the summer as the next-big-hope -on-the -horizon. Fans will be stoked for September. Until the Eagles start playing, then we will all look forward to spring training.

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A recent poll online ranked Lincoln Financial Field, home  of the Eagles, as the 4th best  stadium in the NFL. One was Lambeau Field in Green Bay; 2 was Seattle's loud and fan-crazy park; and third was old Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
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The Linc is almost always full, no matter what the Eagles record. It's more of a modern field, aside from Green Bay and Kansas City, but it does have it's charm, and isn't sterile like other "new" stadiums in the NFL. For instance,it's not gaudy and faceless like the huge stadium in Dallas.And yet, it's fresher than an old relic like Soldier Field in Chicago.

 Football stadiums will never have the personality of baseball parks. The dimensions can be different in each baseball venue. But the Linc has it's own charms. Plus the fans  ( like in Seattle) enhance the venue. You know the Philly fans will always have the Linc rockin', especially when the Giants or Cowboys come to town.