PHILLY SPORTS CORNER

- The Phillies were rained out last night against the Mets. The game will be made up as a single-admission doubleheader on August 16, as part of a five-game series.New Yoek fans ar ethe worst, rude and obnoxious. Imagine  those  stinkin'Mets' fans crawling down the turnpike in the heat of mid-August for five big games?

- Bug game today for the Phils on this Mother's Day. Don't want to lose yet again to the Mets and another NL East foe. Want to finish 5-1 on the home stand before heading to Baltimore and St. Louis this week.

- The Nationals have won 5 of 6 games on West Coast this week ( including 3 in a row at tough Arizona), thanks last Sunday to the Phillies and hector Neris, who blew a key game.

- Let's face it: Sixers' GM Brian Colangelo screwed up the Markelle Fultz pick and the draft last June. He poorly evaluated both Jayson Tatum and Fultz as players. Plus he gave Boston a high first round draft pick next year ( via Sacramento).I'm not a Sam Hinkie fan, but Colangelo is no genius either.

- Aftermath thoughts on Sixers' season: Game 2 loss to Boston was eventually the key to the series. Can't throw a game away and expect to make it up later. Can Fultz play? Is he physically hurt or a head-case? Will Ben Simmons improved his mid-range game? Who goes and who stays? What happens in free agency and the draft? Expectations will be high this fall. The Coach and GM need to step up.

- Ex-Phillie Charlie Morton struck out 14 Rangers Saturday night. Shame he got hurt so early in his brief Phillies stint. He never really had a chance to shine in Philadelphia.  Cole Hamels is also pitching better. Could he bound Philly-bound in July via deadline deal?

- It's hard for me to root for the Celtics in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. The again, i don't want to see the Cavs or LeBron win either. Doesn't matter. The winner of the Warriors- Rockets series will win the NBA title in the end.

- Could it be Winnipeg vs. Washington for the Stanley Cup? I'm rooting for the expansion Vegas Golden Knights. It's hard to find the games on TV. Is hockey still a minor league sport without all the game son a major network?

- Will both the Red Sox and Yankees win 100 games? Close races in baseball everywhere. Surprise good teams: Mariners, Phillies, Pirates, Braves, A's. Surprise bad teams: Dodgers and Indians.

- Having a closer on a bad  baseball team is a luxury. Having a bad closer on a good baseball team is a killer. Phillies need a good closer to contend this summer.

- Ex-Phillie pitcher Jim (Kitty) Kaat purposes a unique fix for baseball: 7-inning games. it would benefit starting pitchers. A starter can go 5 innings, then turn it over to  a set-up guy and closer. Kaat believes the four-man rotation would return, and there wouldn't be a need for so many hurlers on a staff. 7-inning games would speed up the game, ideal for young fans and millinials. Record books would be effected but Kaat feels the records are tainted anyway, with the DH, inter league games and other changes in baseball within the last 40 years or so.  It will never happen, as the layer's union would never allow, but it's an interesting proposal.

Speaking of Kaat, he was a good pitcher and fun to watch. He won well over 200 games in his 25 years in baseball. He won the gold Glove 16 times. Kaat was known for pitching fast, many of his games completed in less than two hours. His motto was "Think long, think wrong."