PHILLY SPORTS CORNER

ALL-STAR HOME RUN DERBY-

Aaron Judge is awesome. He easily won the Home Run Derby last night in Miami, hitting 47 homers, including 4 which traveled over 500 feet. The longest went an incredible 513 feet.

I only heard about Judge until last night.I knew the rookie has hit 30 home runs so far before the break. I know he's big- 6'7- and I know he has hit some titanic bombs.

But watching him was unreal. He has a natural, uppercut swing. He's strong, so balls fly off his bat. He's the next Mickey Mantle, and I don't think I'm over-reacting.

A lot of times a player in the Home Run Derby messes up his swing so bad after the event he needs time to re-adjust once the real games begin. I don't think that will be a problem with Judge.

He's fun to watch, and the New York Yankees fans are lucky to have him.

His teammate, Gary Sanchez, made it to the second round, defeated reigning champ and local favorite Giancarlo Stanton. Sanchez  looked exhausted in the second round.

Cody Bellinger, the 21-year-old star of the Dodgers, made it to the semi-finals. He's got a pretty swing. and should be a regular in the All-Star game for years.

I could see Dylan Couzins in future Home Run Derbys. He's big- 6'6- and also has an uppercut home run swing. He's only 23, but knowing the ultra-conservative Phillies organization, we won;t see him in Philly for awhile.

Watching all of these young players made me realize how inept and stupid the Phillies are. Bellinger is 21 yet has shined in LA. The Phillies are timid in bringing up their young studs, guys like Scott Kingery, 23, and Rhys Hoskins, 24,  players who are starring in Lehigh Valley, on the cusp of greatnes sin Philadelphia, yet the jackass front office, led by Andy MacFailure and Boy Wonder Matt Klentak are afraid the kids will fail.

The Phillies will never win or progress under these guys. They don't think out of the box as others in Baseball do. Look around at the young stars. The Phillies' organization waits and waits and waits until their prospects are at least 25 before they are promoted to Philly.

Anyway, I would've liked to have seen Bryce Harper join the fun last night.He claims he was be in the event next year at Washington. Unless Judge, Stanton and the others become divas and suddenly refuse to participate, the Home Run Derby should be fun for years to come.

The ESPN announcers were really annoying last night. I didn't miss Chris Berman. Hos "back, back, back" schtick grew old after a while. Still, Berman would've been refreshing compared to the garbage last night.

Nothing against female announcers, but Jessica Mendoza was terrible, shrilling and exclaiming in screams, "Oh, my goodness!" to every damn ball. I'm glad I don't listen to her on Sunday Night Baseball.

The res tof the crew were just as bad. I don't watch ESPN much anymore. Coming back to the station I see the decline. The last time I watched the network was during the NFL Draft in late April. After last night I don't think I'm missing much.

Joel Embiid was at the Home Run Derby, catching two balls in the left field stands. He's everywhere. At the NFL draft, at concerts, in Vegas for the Sixers Summer League, you name it and he's there.

Embiid is fun. He's already a legend on social media. You can't take your eyes off of him. You never know what he's gonna do or say next. He's like The Beatles- they were young, dun and unpredictable.

Now, Embiid has to play and stay injury-free. If he only play a handful of games again, or can't do back-to back games, the fans are going to lose interest, personality or not. All talk and no action. Who cares what a guy says or does when he's always hurt?

Embiid already owns the city with his refreshing and quirky ways. He can even be bigger, nationwide, worldwide even, but he''s gotta play, starting this season.

SIXERS-

Is it karma, bad luck or God that the Sixers are being punished? It seems their young stars are always getting hurt- thank God Markelle Fultz seems OK form his sprained ankle. Is this vengeance for the organization purposely tanking for years? As if God is saying, "OK, tank, get great draft picks, I'll let you do that. But will those great draft picks ever play?"

With training camp approaching, the Eagles will garner the spotlight soon. But Sixer talk and interest has never been higher, and the countdown will be on for the start of the season.

EAGLES-

It will never happen, but I miss training camp at Lehigh. It was an annual pilgrimage, a holy football trek. I get it- camp at the Nova Care Center is more convenient for the team. Fans can still see the players at selected work-outs at the Linc. But you can't get nearly as close to the action as you could at Lehigh..

I remember WR DeSean Jackson standing 10 feet in front of me  and being amazed how small he was. I remember long-snapper, famed magician Jon Dornbois kneeling in front of the stands and jokingly spraying the crowd with a shower of water on a sizzling hot afternoon. I remember watching the 11-on-11 drills, so close to the sidelines you could hear the grunts, the pads smacking and the interaction between the players and coaches.

It was also so much fun to mingle with the other fans, talking football in August and dreaming of the season to come.

I'm, still looking forward to the Eagle season, especially with the Phillies sucking so badly. It's just not as much fun without the yearly Lehigh visit.

CHRIS CHRISTIE-

The embattled New Jersey governor was on New York sports radio yesterday. He's trying to get a job on the radio in case Trump doesn't hire him for the administration after Christie leaves office.

I can't imagine Christie lasting long on radio. He is a natural bully and may be a novelty at first. But eventually he will wear off and become just another dopey host.

He went off on a caller yesterday, calling the guy a "communist", lashing out because the caller mentioned Christie sitting on a closed beach during the July 4th holiday.

I've always hated Christie since his days sitting in the owners box with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, high-fiving each other with each Dallas touchdown. Disgusting.

He tore into Phillies fans earlier this year because he is a Mets fan. OK< criticize the Phillies' organization for being a losing, inept franchise, but don't tear into the loyalf ans for no reason.

Makes you wonder if "Bridgegate" wasn't his fault after all.

I can't stand Chris Christie. We will see how tough he is when he's not governor. Then he will be just another regular, fat , obnoxious bully.

PHILLIES_

Maybe Scott Kingery won't be promoted because of Rule 5 concerns, but if the Phillies don't bring up guys like Hoskins, Couzins and possibly Alfaro, I'll be majorly pissed.

John Middleton- where are you? You are an owner, and have been vocal recently. You claim you will do whatever it takes to make the Phillies better. You claim that each loss, every bad season rips your heart out.

Please, don't wait until the end of the season. Let the fans know how you feel and reassure the city that changes will be made soon, and this pathetic, historically-losing season is not acceptable.

Andy MacFailure says the same damn things, when he does come out of his bunker to speak. GM Klentak speaks too much to the point he is annoying. Hearing him spout his nonesense, in his geeky, nerdy, analytical manner only makes fans more frustrated and angry.

John Middleton, i know you are ashamed of this mess that you own. I don't blame you for not wanting to show your face now. But think of the fans and let us know you care.