News Room: 11/03/08

Sorry, I went out to dinner tonight and I was not able to update until late.

Phillies Announce Amaro, JR as new GM.
As if we didn't see it coming, the Phillies announced that Ruben Amaro, Jr. is their new general manager. There is one surprise and maybe it is what Pat Gillick meant by, "We'll do it again next year." Gillick has decided to stay with the Phillies in an advisory role.

Amaro, Jr. will likely be suitable and some Phillies insiders felt that he was the one pulling the strings behind the many moves this year. Amaro, Jr. is definitely suitable and well-trained for the job. He's been an assistant GM since 1998 and he has been groomed by Ed Wade and Pat Gillick. The latter training will likely help him the most. Ed Wade and Mike Arbuckle did fairly well with the draft, but in terms of signing talent via free agency or making trades, he sort of fell off. Something Gillick was very good with, especially in August prior to the waiver trade deadline.

There is bad news. Mike Arbuckle who was responsible for heading the committee that drafted Rollins, Utley, Howard, Hamels, and etc will not be returning with the team. He told David Montgomery that he wanted to be the GM and that he will look for other opportunities.

The Flyers are talking to Brendan Shanahan
The Flyers are looking to add a forward who plays well in his own zone. They have inquired about winger, Brendan Shanahan. The Flyers will have to make a move to sign Shanahan because they are right up against the salary cap. I wouldn't expect it to happen, so don't get your hopes up.

Shanahan can still play and he'd likely only receive a contract for the rest of the season. He's 39 years old and he might accept less than $1 million, but I think the Flyers will be fine if they find a way for their forward to stop being pussies in the neutral zone.

Iverson is back in the Eastern Conference
The Sixers will get to see Allen Iverson multiple times this year because he was traded to the Pistons. In what looks to be a salary dump move for the Pistons next year, they traded all-star guard Chauncey Billups, reserve forward Antonio McDyess, and project Cheikh Samb.

To be honest, I'm not sure why Detroit made the trade, unless it was for the above mentioned reason. We'll see what happens.

Continuing reading...

Sixers Beat A.I. and the Nuggets

What a game, what a game. The entire game was a see-saw battle, but the Sixers prevailed after Andre Iguodala made an amazing "pass", while falling to Samuel Dalembert who put the Sixers up 115-113, which would be the final score.

Before I continue to recap the game, check out the ovation that Iverson receiver prior to the game.



Iverson was definitely given all the respect that he deserves. It makes you wonder if he'll ever return at a bargain price after next season. Iverson kissed the halfcourt logo during warmups.

Back to the game. The Sixers were lead by Andre Miller who had a double-double with 28 points and 12 assists, including when he hit a shot after a he made a shotfake that caused Iverson to flip over Miller's back and onto the floor. Samuel Dalembert had 2 huge blocks late in the 4th quarter on Carmello Anthony. Dalember also added 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 total blocks. Andre Iguodala also pitched in 21 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. The Sixers overcame only shooting 18-33 from the line for 54.5%.



Full Highlights



The game had a fast-paced, playoff-game type atmosphere in front of another sell-out crowd. The Sixers have marched back and are now an even .500 heading into a Friday meeting with the Magic in Orlando. Both the Wizards and Raptors won tonight, so the Sixers did not move up in the standings, but New Jersey beat Atlanta and the Sixers now have a 5 1/2 game lead for the 7th playoff spot with 14 games to play.

Continuing reading...

The Return of A.I.

Former Philly favorite, Allen Iverson, will make his first return to Philadelphia and he will likely be cheered by the sell-out crowd, at least I hope they do. Despite all of the off-the-court problems, Iverson was always a gamer and left it all out on the floor. Today marks the fifteenth month anniversary of the end of Iverson's Philadelphia tenure. The 76ers plan to not show a video remembrance of A.I. and I respect that. Tonight is purely more about the 76ers reaching .500, winning their fourth straight, and attempting to be winners of 16 of their last 20. However, we all did love A.I and below our some videos of our memories.

Continuing reading...