I'm watching (well, listening to) this Iverson press conference in Philly right now, and I'm seeing a guy with tears in his eyes describing what the Philly fans mean to him. While I respect that, and probably even believe it, it's still an even that brings up some mixed feelings for me.

I should preface this by saying that Iverson means a lot to me as a Sixers fan. The man has arguably* sparked more interest in the team -my favorite team- more than any other player in history, and as a fan I owe him that. I can't think of a player that threw himself into the game as hard as he did for the better part of a decade, and he took us to the finals. So please don't mistake what I'm about to say as hatred of Iverson.

I was against him coming back. I think I still am. His leaving was tumultuous at best, and we're still getting over the ramifications of building a team around him before he left. We have a bunch of young players now that need to learn the game in their own way, and I think Iverson could damage that in a way that could never be fixed. There's also the off-court drama associated with Iverson. I've had four people send me the "practice!?" clip in the past week, and it's not like I needed reminding the first time. I think Iverson will sell a shitload of tickets, but in the long run bringing him back might be detrimental to the young talent.

But watching this press conference... watching him picking up that uniform -the uni that he should've been wearing in his first run here- and seeing his smile when he did it... I can't help but feel a little hopeful. It might be the desperation of a horrified fan who has seen his favorite team in shambles all season following the coaching style of a lunatic. I might be grasping at whatever optimism I can pull out of the situation.  But there's also something else, something that I forgot about a while back.

This is Allen Iverson.

This is a guy who in the past has thrived on defying odds and proving people wrong. This might be the last stop in the league after dropping lower and lower on the the ladder, but he might just be able to rejuvenate this team and smack some sense into them. And if we're really lucky, he might just get Eddie Jordan fired. It's a longshot, but it's still the best shot I, as a fan, can have at the moment.

Sure, there's a strong chance I'll be eating these words (not literally) in a few months, but for now I'm kind of excited. the way I see it, the team can't possibly get worse than they've been so far, so let's give him the shot.

*with apologies to Charles, Julius and Wilt

oops

Also, Philadelphia Will Do had one of the best/and most infuriating sports posts ever the other day.

Though, I detest Philadelphia Magazine (and pretty much all of its ad-heavy overblown counterparts in other cities), there's a pretty interesting article in the new issue about what's happened to the Philly mob.

It's been a long time since they blew up the Chicken Man...

Whatever happened to the South Philly Mob?

(via Secret Dead)

and thus I find myself in the completely unexpected role of defending Michael Vick. As someone who is almost absurdly fond of animals and will readily admit that he's the least dedicated male football fan he knows, I can say it's a strange position.

Still, I can't pretend to be outraged by the Eagles' choice to sign Mike Vick. He's a talented guy and they got him for cheap. and I while I'm horrified by what happened at his house or farm or whatever, I also believe in second chances and rehabilitation. Vick did what he did (and while I read those initial reports, I'm not going to pretend to know just how involved he was in the whole thing), and he got caught and then punished for it. He got punished more than anyone has ever been punished for a crime like that. His fame and money put him in front of a bus, and he paid the fines and served his time. He lost a fortune and two of the most profitable years of his life, and I haven't heard him complain once.

Look. I'm sure that Vick regrets his little dogfighting adventure more than anyone. And I'm even more sure that considering the scrutiny, he's not going to think about so much as sneezing towards an animal for the foreseeable future.

So I'm fine with signing Vick. Shit, we have a better chance now than we did yesterday, right? Vick didn't circumvent the law. He didn't manipulate jurors. He did his time and how he's ready to play ball again. Good for him. and good for us.

I can't blame the Eagles for signing him. On the contrary, they'd be foolish to pass up on the offer. They're not condoning what he did. They're not harboring some unrepentant killer. They're giving the guy a second chance. and while I'm proud of the progressive mindset, I think it has far more to do with the Eagles organization's desire to win, and I'm just as proud of that. I want my team to have that desire. I want them to be willing to do almost anything to win, aside from cheating or doping or whatever. If you take a few knocks from PETA, so be it. There were worse people in the NFL than Vick 3 years ago, and there are worse people than him there today. I think he knows what he has ahead of him, and I hope we can help him do it. and maybe we'll impress everyone in the process.

update: there's a good article by John Gonzalez here that does a good job of summing up what you just read here. I'm pretty sure he wrote his first.

Looking back with hope for the future

As a Philadelphia sports fan, it seems like draft day is usually the most positive, where we get a new addition to the team, and usually a cheap one at that. I was happy with the Eagles picking up Pitt alumn Shady McCoy, and despite the relatively low pick in a far from sensational draft, I remain optimistic for the Sixer's pick. Partially because of the new uniforms (it's for real, and Sonny Hill was there for proof!) and partially because of the fact that it's the Sixers, and I gotta look upwards. It's almost certain we're going for a guard, and if the mock drafts around the internet are believed, it's practically a lock that we'll go after Ty Lawson (though I saw one somewhere with us taking Chase Budinger, which terrifies me). I like Lawson, and I like pretty much every name I've seen thrown around (Maynor, Ellington, Maynor, Holiday, etc...), so I can't really complain as long as things go to plan.

Of course, it's the Sixers, so I'll probably have somehting to complain about tomorrow night. But for now, I remain hopelessly optimistic.

incidentally, there's a great bunch of photos over here of Philly throughout the 60s. There's legends, there's riots, there's everyday life, there's sports, and there's... Candice Bergen. It's honestly some great pictures, and I recommend the view. If you go over there, though, and look at the zombie prom pictures instead... I don't know you.

How awesome was that Sixers game?

I have to say, every time I think Sammy D is picking up his D and picking it up again, he does something completely stupid on the court and looking confused. Right around the third quarter, it was killing me. If you had told me that a Donyell Marshall and Theo Ratliff were going to come in and make everything okay when they were down by 18, I wouldn't have believed you.

In any case, I'm going to bed a happy happy man.

Also, Reggie Evans is my favorite player to watch on the the bench ever. Not that I necessarily want him benched, but he really maintains this energy that I love. He's on the edge of his seat the whole time shouting his support and you know he's just one of those hearts of the team that goes much further than a box stat would lead you to believe.

Apparently, my hometown newspaper is publishing op-eds by John Yoo.

That's about as embarrassing as it gets.

Herb Magee: Basketball legend

Posts have been sparse, and probably will be for the next few days, as I attempt to help get my mother and grandparents moving as well as myself. This week already has me utterly exhausted, and there's plenty more of it. Anyway, I think the Globetrotters thing on the roof of the Spectrum today has been cancelled, seeing how there's 6 inches of snow on the ground (and presumably, the roof). In related news, Philadelphia Will Do has apparently been shuttered, which is a huge blow to area-themed absurdity.

Anyway, I should be back later with more.

Anyone who's been on Columbus in the last ten years has noticed the SS United States. You know, the giant rusty tub of a cruise ship that's been docked on the Delaware since 1996. Anyway, there's been a lot of controversy over whether or not to rebuild this trip, since it still holds speed records (!) and was apparently some pretty hot shit in the early 50s.

The most fascinating thing about this to me is that this thing was moved as recently as 1996. I know that rust doesn't really affect whether or not a ship is seaworthy, but I actually shudder when I drive past it. I think at this point we should all accept that nobody's going to restore it and plan one of the following course of action:

Set it loose.

That's right. Just untie the fucker and give it a nudge out to sea. Let it roam the high seas as a ghost ship. Just like that movie Ghost Ship, only without Gabriel Byrne and you know, scary. I know what you're thinking:
"Cotton, that's completely wreckless and irresponsible. This ship could do untold damage if not properly maintained or disposed of. the shipping industry is too large and important to jeopardize with a massive rusty missile being pushed around the Atlantic".

Killjoy. You know what else you probably hate? Bumper Cars.

Fine then, we'll have to launch it into space. Who's gonna pay for that, huh?

Anyway, SS United States is a great google image search, and you can get a shockingly large view of it from above on maps. So yeah, there's that.

Waitasecond...

The Harlem Globetrotters are playing a game on the ROOF of the Spectrum?

This sounds like the most interesting recipe for disaster EVER. How will people even know it's happening? I wonder if I can sneak onto the roof of the big house and watch it from there. Either way, I'm not missing it.

Also from PWD, another middle finger found its way to the Daily News.

PNL files for bankruptcy

PNL is the publisher of both the Daily News and the Inquirer, so Philadelphians are suddenly faced with the prospect of losing their 2 largest newspapers.

(Al Día is fine, people)

Anyway, Will Bunch writes about being on the inside of it here.

If you live in the area, people, buy a paper.

Speights lookin' great

Nice little roundup of the recent Sixers' success over at Philadelphia Will Do. I still wanna go to that last game in the Spectrum more than anything, but if that Nova game was any indication, I'm wearing one of those inflatable sumo suits. Screw the seats, I'm not walking through that bottlenecked crowd by the merch booth again.

But for real, Young and Speights are looking fantastic. There are definitely some changes to be made, but I like the way our guys are hustling out there.

I haven't made any mention of the Coatesville arsons here because there isn't anything I can say that hasn't already been said. It's disgusting and I can't imagine how hard this is for the people that live there. This sort of thing should always be abhorred, and that it's being done in such trying economic times (not to mention the middle of winter) is just salt in the wound. To the person lighting these fires: These people are going to tear you to fucking* pieces when they find you. Furthermore, nobody will want to stop them.

I truly hope this situation gets resolved as soon as possible for the sake of Coatesville and its residents. It's a terrible situation that nobody should be subjected to.


*my profanity reform has gone off the rails**, but I'm trying to use it only when I feel really strongly about something.

**the fucking rails.

The last college game ever at the Spectrum. It did not end well for me.

Awesome: Sixers to return to their old uniforms

When I was 13, the Philadelphia 76ers changed their uniforms and logo. It was bad enough that they were changing the uniform, which had been the same for all of my life and to me was pretty iconic. The logo, which will always be among my favorites in sports history, was wiped and the uniforms replaced with what can only be surprised as the ugliest uniform EVER. Seriously:

ugh. And you wonder why Barkley spat on a young girl and wanted to be traded.

Anyway, since that season, we flirted once with going back to classic-looking uniforms (remember the Weatherspoon years? Or a pre-cornrows Iverson?), but for the most part have punished our players and fans with some hysterically ugly uniforms and logos. Well, the dark days are over! I personally think that all of our teams should revert back to their late-70s, early 80s uniforms. Maroon and powder blue for the Phils! Kelly green for the Eagles! Orange and black for the...nevermind*.

Anyway, it's a happy day for me, because I've always hated the current uniforms. It isn't that I want to deny the Iverson years, but I can certainly forget the current uniforms. Who goes from red, white and blue to red, black and blue, anyway? Man, I'm surprised more people didn't freak out about that.

Well, that time is over, and I'm happy to see that our boys will look like basketball players again. I personally would've preferred the old Wilt-era PHILA jerseys (not the ones with the red band around the waist), but I'll take these with a smile.

*in their defense, the Flyers have stood by their classic logo and uniforms with little variation (these abominable concept jerseys notwithstanding). Hockey teams tend to have the best logos to me, and the Flyers have always had one of the best. Good for them.

No updates today because I wasn't near a computer. None tonight because I'm going to be at a football team, 40 years to the day after Philadelphia gained an unfair reputation as the worst sports fans in the country.

It doesn't sound like our weather will be any better, though. Oh well.

I'll be back later with my new sudden obsession!

on City Hall, downtown.

YES!