A Great Day in Philly

via @bensimmons25

I couldn’t feel much better. I just finished a three-day cleanse where I ate only mung beans/rice/spices (kitchari), apples and water and added in a little castor oil on day two to clean out the old digestive pipes. But that’s just the beginning.

Do you feel it? The tide has changed. The sun is shining at the end of the dreadful losing tunnel. Philadelphia is on the upswing.

TheĀ PHILLIES youth movement looks promising. We all know they are still two years away from making a real push, but it appears as though we got a .500 or better team on the horizon. Are the Phils spending money next year? Yes, just not on players according to team President Andy MacPhail. They’re gonna upgrade the ballpark and improve the fan experience. If that has to happen and is a cash drain, I’m fine doing it next year when they don’t have the pitching to make a run. Next year will be fun to watch. 2019 we’ll have a sparkly, improved ballpark with a team that should be in Playoff contention with the core they have now and few, smart additions.

The EAGLES are in first place. The QB looks legit, not great, but he’s a keeper. They should be in Playoff talks with the stretch of home games coming up. The Giants are 0-4.

The FLYERS opened the season in San Jose and they looked great. They look fast. When is the last time a Flyers team looked fast? People are already rumbling that they need some muscle at the blue line and a bopper. Those folks may be living in the past. These youngsters are still a year or two away from being contenders, but they are definitely heading in the right direction. This is a team with five rookies dressing who went into San Jose, lost a 2-0 lead, and didn’t lose their confidence. They battled back to win. If only they’d get a clue on the goal songs. The Madison Mars track isn’t working and Tampa Bay uses it too, I think. Everyone loved Bro Hymn, but that’s the Ducks. This isn’t that difficult folks. Anyway, the Flyers on the ice are an up-and-comer.

This brings us to the SIXERS. Ben Simmons looked ridiculous last night in the first preseason game. I’ve seen enough. Rest that dude until the regular season. He’s got vision on par with the best passers in the game. He gets to the rim at will and with ease, which makes the defense collapse and allows kick-outs to wide open teammates. Was his assist to turnover ratio 9:1? He’s a very special player and we don’t need any analytics on that. He’s an eye-test guy all the way. Rest him and work on that shot.

Fultz is another story. Fultz’s shot will drop. It was his first game. He had to be tight. The more concerning issues with Fultz are the tendencies we discussed here around draft night. He’s lackadaisical on defense with mediocre intensity. He may have been able to turn it on in the PAC12, but that doesn’t work at the NBA level. He’s always struggled a bit finishing at the rim and I think the contact of the NBA has exacerbated that a bit. And, his off-the-ball movement on offense looks lazy.

Let’s not forget about Jahlil Okafor. Vegan diet and weight loss looks to have paid off a bit. He looked quicker and far more fluid. Dude put up 13 points and SIX REBOUNDS!

With that said, Simmons looks like a guy who is gonna live up to the hype.

Oh, and Merriam-Webster, the dictionary folks, did a piece on “jawn” on word they’re watching. They may end up adding it to the dictionary in the future. That jawn would be a lot cooler if they did.

It’s all good in Philly. Enjoy the full moon of today, the beautiful weather, and give the universe a little gratitude on where we are today compared to where we were three years ago.