clinton's weblog of the present and near future

In the Fall, everyone was excited that this was finally the Flyers year. After season after season ranging from “almost” to “disaster” this was finally time for them to come through and make a run to the Stanley Cup. Then the regular season happened to erase all of our hopes and put the season into the “disaster” category. Falling behind 3-0 to the Bruins just confirmed that – BUT THEN – the greatest comeback in the history of earth put everything back on course. Last night, Michael Leighton carried the Flyers to a win that they have historically lost, and now they should go back to the Finals for the first time since 1997. I’m still not convinced they can beat Chicago or San Jose. It will depend on Leighton and whether or not he is the real deal. They do still need to get rid of Hartnell and upgrade some key positions. Let’s hope this run doesn’t convince Holmgren et al. that they don’t have to do anything during the offseason. All will be lost at that point.

In the fall, everyone expected the Sixers to suck. They did. My fear was that they didn’t suck enough. They finished with the sixth worst record in the league. That usually doesn’t result in winning the lottery. But last night was our lucky night, or as lucky as you can get during the playoffs for Sixers fans. With the second pick, they should end up getting Evan Turner from Ohio State.  If they trade Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert for a center, or cap space to get a center the roster would be pretty exciting.

Guards: Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, Lou Williams

Forwards: Thaddeus Young, Elton Brand, Marreesse Speights and the Center they trade for.

Now, if Evan Turner turns out to be Jimmy Jackson the Sixers will continue to be irrelevant in front of 5,000 people a night for until the next time they win the lottery. But, if Turner is the next Brandon Roy this team can take a huge step forward.

Who in the East is really scary right now? LeBron is going to…? Rajon Rondo is great but the rest of the Celtics are old/role players. I hate Orlando and refuse to acknowledge them as significant. Chicago? Maybe.  The chance exists for the Sixers to contend. All they need is Evan Turner to be a transcendental superstar that carries them on his back like Jordan, Magic, Russell. That’s all. No pressure though.

All season the Flyers have annoyed me with their inability to win games. I’ve given up on them numerous times and really don’t believe in them right now. However, they should still be able to get by a dirty Boston Bruins team that should scare no one except Evander Holyfield. What is most aggravating is watching dogs like Scott Hartnell vanish into the mist as they come off the bench.  It’s bad enough we have to suffer through non-existent performances from guys that shouldn’t be in the league, like Asham and Nodl. But they aren’t supposed to be able to play.

Hartnell scored a mighty 14 goals this year, down from 30 last year. So far in the playoffs he is a -5 with 2 assists. He’s only 27 and his career is now on the decline. He’s one of the prime examples of the wasted opportunity this team has displayed for the last 2 years. It’s time to shake this team up and get rid of guys that just think they can show up, score a point every other game and cash a check. Send him back to Nashville where they don’t care if he sucks. I would rather watch the Sixers start Iguodala and Dalembert for the next 5 years than one more disappearing shift from Hartnell.

Let’s hope by tomorrow night word gets to Hartnell that the series has already started and he needs to do something besides not scoring goals.

Order was restored to Earth yesterday when the FCC ruled that Comcast would have to provide Sports Net to DirecTV.

This solves the greatest dilemma in my life. Every summer I have to evaluate what is more important, switching to Comcast so I can watch the Flyers (and an occasional Sixers game) or keeping DirecTV to watch the Jets. Since I work at night, I’ve always sided with DirecTV and the Jets. But now I am no longer forced to decide between overpaying for football games and watching mediocre goaltenders ruin my spring.

The next step is for Comcast to file 1,000 lawsuits that don’t go anywhere. But rest assured that come the spring of 2014, everyone will again be able to watch the first round of the NHL playoffs.

I decided today to adopt a new cause and that is finding a way to convince the Sixers they need to trade up and draft Ricky Rubio in next month’s NBA Draft. In case you’re not aware, Rubio is a point guard from Spain. He’s 18 and has been playing in their Pro League for four years already. He’s the next big thing to hit the NBA and the Sixers need to make a move to get him because, right now, they suck.

Andre Miller is going to sign somewhere else, which leaves them with one legitimate guard, Lou Williams. Work out a way to trade Andre Iguodala to Memphis for the second pick in the draft and take Rubio. I understand that it won’t be easy to do, but it’s a move they have to make to become relevant again. Rubio is a dynamic offensive force that can do everything, including shoot from the outside. Right now, the Sixers have no one that can do that. Put him together with Williams and their back court is young and explosive. Put them with Thaddeus Young and Elton Brand and the Sixers can win games despite starting Samuel Dalembert at Center. By the way, if you’re keeping score at home, Dalembert has three years left on his contract and will make over $11 million next year.

Rubio, as mentioned, has already been playing professionally, so even at 18, he should have no problems adjusting the pressure of playing in front of a half empty Wachovia Center. In fact, he might even be able to sell more tickets. Who would the Sixers rather have on billboards, Rubio or Iguodala?

In the next few days, I’ll attempt to start a campaign of action intent on convincing the Sixers to act now to get Ricky Rubio and dramatically change the direction of the franchise.

Here’s a Rubio highlight reel, I’d suggest turning down the Skynyrd.

It looks like Andre Miller is still a Sixer. Leaving last night’s game early couldn’t have helped improve his value. The Knicks on the other hand worked out two trades, getting Larry Hughes from the Bulls and Chris Wilcox from Oklahoma City. Have you noticed that they’re not even hiding the fact that their only goal as a franchise is clearing cap space for after next season to sign Lebron James. Half the league started doing this a year and a half ago. The Knicks at least are up front about. I wonder if this is what the league intended (multiple teams tanking for three+ years to sign a superstar) when they instituted their impossible to calculate cap. Now imagine if the Knicks don’t sign a superstar after next season. I know they probably will, but lets say something happens and it doesn’t work out. You’ve wasted the decade chasing a chance that got away.

Orlando, Houston and Memphis three-wayed a deal that sends Rafer Alston to the Magic and Kyle Lowry to Houston.

Sacramento completed an inconsequential deal, this time involving Minnesota. What was interesting is that they almost traded Andres Nocioni, whom they acquired yesterday, to Boston. But the length and finances of his contract killed negotiations in the end.  I’m still upset at the Kings for taking Sam Cassell from Boston. Who’s going to come off the bench, take bad shots and turn the ball over in the playoffs?

Interestingly, there was some Shaq to Cleveland discussions, but nothing materialized.

There will continue to be a few more deals that leak out involving 9th and 10th men on non-contenders. But I’m done worrying about that for now.

The Sixers came so close to beating the Celtics last night, only to leave Ray Allen open and get beat on a 3 with half a second left. This was hard to watch after watching them outplay Boston for much of the second half.

On the bright side, they are continuing to get better and they did have a chance to win tonight after getting blown out in previous matchups with Boston. Still, something is wrong when they’re -15 with Andre Iguodala on the floor. That’s my stat of the game and it should be yours too. Tell your friends.