* The Sixers swept their back-to-back home games this weekend, beating the Clippers last night at the Wells Fargo Center.Joel Embiid did play, and played well, scoring 29 points and gathering 16 rebounds.
Embiid took a nasty fall in the second half, holding his knee, already hobbled with a sore ankle. Embiid went to the locker room but came back and helped the 76ers win.
Embiid getting hurt, or taking a fall, limping, or stretching on the sidelines, will always have us holding our breathes. He is deemed to be fragile, I suppose. He's great when he is healthy. The problem is staying healthy.
The Sixers are in the midst of a long home-stand. They have won 9 in a row at home, and are slowly developing a home court advantage, ala the Eagles.
Hopefully the Eagles' great Super Bowl championship will carry over to our winter teams, and to the Phillies this spring.
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The Phils are three days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training. With Yu Darvish signing with the Cubs, there are rumors that free agent pitcher Jake Arrieta, formerly of Chicago, is interesting the Phillies.
If they can sign Arrieta for no more than three years, I'm in. He would give the rotation a solid starter behind Aaron Nola. The team has the money to pay him $100 million or so, and still have plenty of cash left over to sign a Manny Machado and/or another significant free agent next off-season. Arrieta would stabilize the pitching staff and give the young hurlers a veteran presence to learn from. ( Signing Cole Hamels next year would also be a good idea).
Alex Cobb is still on the market as well. He is lesser quality than Arrieta, and Cobb has missed two out of the last three seasons to injury. He would come cheaper, but again, the Phils shouldn't worry about money at this point.
The logjam may be broken now that Darvish is signed. With spring training on the horizon, teams will start filling out their rosters now. Signing an Arrieta may make the Phillies contenders for a wild card berth this summer.
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* So, one of the most respected football writers in America, Gary Myers in New York, recently published his predictions for next season.He has Dallas beating New England in the 2019 Super bowl. Dallas? The same Cowboys that failed to make the playoffs this year, and who were in turmoil- both on and off the field- most of the season.
Worse yet, he has the world champion Eagles not even making the playoffs. No division winner, no wild card berth. Forget that the Birds should be even stronger in the fall, with guys like Wentz, Hicks, Peters and maybe Sproles returning.
The media were clueless all year, as was Las Vegas, making the Eagles underdogs in the playoffs. No respect at all. Maybe the Birds need to repeat and show the world they are wrong again.
* Vegas is taking bets as to where Nick Foles will be playing next season. Philadelphia is the favorite ( I think he will stay with the Birds. The Eagles shouldn't trade him, especially since it's not certain when Carson Wentz will be healthy).
Teams needing quarterbacks such as Arizona, the Jets, Minnesota ( their three QBs are all free agents), Denver, Buffalo and Cleveland were all mentioned. GM Howie Rossman should listen to any offers, ask a king's ransom in return, and go form there.
Does Foles want to move on, be a starter elsewhere and make more money? Or is he content with playing out the year left on his current contract, satisfied with being Wentz' back-up, knowing Wentz' history of getting hurt, and knowing he could once again be called on to save the season?
Unless the Eagles steal a high No.1 draft pick from a desperate, quarterback-hungry team,I don't think it would be worth trading a solid back-up like Foles for a marginal draft pick.
* It's fun to speculate who the Eagles will play in their home opener in the fall. It will be a Thursday night game, as is tradition, at the Linc, the first game of the season.
Other then the three division rivals ( Giants, Cowboys and Redskins), the Birds have playoff teams Vikings , Falcons and Panthers at home. The Colts come in ( possibly with Frank Reich as head coach), as do the Texans.
I think an attractive opening game between the Eagles and Minnesota- a rematch of the NFC Championship Game- would be great.The Falcons would be the other choice, but the Vikings- with revenge on their minds- would be the better match-up.
September 6 is the date. The crowd will be pumped, as the Eagles raise their championship banner. It should still be warm. It will be a night to be remembered.
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