Dare I say it?  I shouldn’t, I couldn’t, I mustn’t, I wouldn’t… actually, I think I will.

Overall, it is a great time to be a Philadelphia Sports Phanatic (Canada changed the spelling of center, so we definitely have the right to make changes as we see phit).

I don’t know about everyone else, but despite the baggage and poor reputation we receive (on what seems like a daily basis) from all across America, I’m honored to call myself a Philadelphia sports fan.  Could it get any better than this? It’s a very exciting time for our beautiful historic city, since things seem to be on the up and up on all fronts.  Please, take a moment to digest and let me explain.

Prior to 2008, we had the longest championship drought for a city with teams in all four major sports.  Consistently, year after year, the season would begin with the highest of expectations, proceed through the season with various levels of hope, just to be battered, beaten, bruised, kicked, punched, mollywhopped, and embarrassed come the post-season.

However, the optimist in me implores you to once again bestow your faith in the athletes we have come to love and hate simultaneously.  Let me break it down for you…

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Maybe, somehow, you missed the LeBron tracker on ESPN. Maybe you missed the free agency summit between James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Maybe you missed Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce opting out of their contracts to pursue free agency. And maybe, just maybe, you thought the Sixers had a chance to sign just one of them.

Maybe you also haven’t been paying attention to the Sixers for the past two seasons. If so, congratulations.

Things are looking up for your 76ers, with the drafting of Evan Turner last week, the hiring of Doug Collins and the addition through subtraction of trading Samuel “Don’t blame me” Dalembert, all of which has occurred in the last six weeks.

Unfortunately, Andre Iguodala ($12.3 mil for 2010-11), Elton Brand ($15.96 mil for 2010-11) and Ed Stefanski (the man who gave out those ludicrous contracts) are still here. (more…)

Whoops.

The Sixers may not be going to the playoffs, having finished a mere 14 games out of the Eastern Conference’s eighth spot, but there is good news: Eddie Jordan was fired. Ed Stefanski may soon follow, and maybe the Sixers will be blessed with a GM/coach combination who actually know what they’re doing.

Dwyane Wade must’ve known something about the Sixers’—and Jordan’s—fate when his Heat hosted the Sixers last week. Wade sent Jordan off with a nice parting gift: Fashion advice surely influenced by Sir Charles Barkley himself.

Dwyane: Eddie, you’ve got a little something…

Eddie: Is it a noose?

Dwyane: Nah, man, just fixin’ your tie.

Last night’s 110-93 loss to the Orlando Magic ended all hopes for the Sixers to reach the postseason…assuming there were any hopes at all.

Who are the Sixers, you ask? I don’t think Ed Stefanski could even answer that. The Sixers have been a team struggling to find an identity all season. What’s worse is that the players have given up and the only thing emptier than their hearts are the empty Wachovia Center seats.

One can only hope that the players are throwing these games in hopes of securing a better lottery pick in the NBA draft (a la Boston Celtics). The only problem is, it may be too late for that. Currently tied with the sixth worst record (24-47) in the entire league, they will need to get in the bottom four to guarantee a top seven draft pick. That will mean tanking every remaining game on the schedule, which shouldn’t be too hard to pull off for them.

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Remember this?

Back then, the matchup between Allen Iverson and Michael Jordan added quite a bit of flair to the Sixers-Bulls rivalry.

Now? The rivalry ain’t much. With attendance far below a simple “lacking”, the organization is pulling out all stops to lure fans to the Wachovia Center.

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Tracy McGrady could have been a 76er.

Better yet, Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert could have been Houston Rockets.

Alas, Ed Stefanski declined a deal that would have gone a long way in helping the Sixers rebuild. McGrady’s expiring contract instead went to the New York Knicks at the trade deadline, and he was again prominently involved in the misery and despair of Sixers fans.

One would have thought the Sixers had the game in control at the half with an 11-point lead. This is the 2009-10 Philadelphia 76ers, though, whom even the LeBron James-obsessed Knicks can outscore by 21 points in the second half. That is exactly what happened Monday night, as a 55-44 halftime lead became a 94-84 loss.

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