It’s been 138 days since the Eagles won Super Bowl 52, and I must say that I have yet to tire of anything related to the game. Indeed, I’m still thirsty for it. So when the Eagles released a video earlier today chronicling the team’s Super Bowl ring from its conception to its unveiling at last week’s ceremony, I was quite excited. The behind-scenes-look at the party is worth the watch alone. You, too, can be moved after the jump. Continue Reading
Ever wonder what happens behind the scenes of a radio show? Today’s your lucky day. Apparently something set off Mike Missanelli, leading to a HEATED exchange with his producer Tyrone Johnson as the cameras caught all of the action. Check it out: Continue Reading
Don’t you love the “Skol” Vikings chant getting mocked? Me too. Continue Reading
After an encouraging month of April in which Maikel Franco slashed .278/.304/.500, there was some hope that the much maligned 25-year-old third baseman was perhaps rediscovering the form that once made him an exciting young player during his 2015 rookie season. That hope faded after a mediocre month of May and what has been a miserable June that began with J.P. Crawford replacing him as the team’s every day third baseman. Crawford, of course, is now on the disabled list with a broken left hand, thus giving Franco one last chance to prove he belongs.
I’m not particularly bullish on that happening, and neither is Jim Bowden who had a rather harsh assessment of Franco this morning on Sirius XM’s Power Alley:
He’s gotta either step it up, or they’re going to move on. Certainly, when you look at his on-base percentage at 28 percent, exactly what he did a year ago. He’s hitting .240, .230 last year. He’s hitting for power, he’s going to hit his 24, 25 [home runs] again, but that’s not good enough anymore.
As such, Bowden believes the Phillies are primed to add a third baseman before July’s trade deadline:
They’ve been in on Machado, they’ve had a conversation on Moustakas. They’ve had a conversation on Donaldson, and they’ve had a conversation on Beltre. And when it comes to third baseman, the inventory is so big that you can’t move them all because most contending teams have third base solved.
When asked if Franco was someone that he would want to acquire, Bowden was direct, saying, “No, I’m done. I’m over him, too.”
You can listen to his full thoughts on Franco after the jump: Continue Reading
You take the good, you take the bad. The bad? About a week ago, I mentioned that Markelle Fultz was working with NBA training guru Drew Hanlen, who had previously worked with Joel Embiid, Bradley Beal, Jayson Tatum, and Mo Bamba. In an appearance on the “Talking Schmidt Podcast“, Hanlen declared something that many have believed all along:
“Markelle Fultz had one of the most documented case of the yips of basketball in recent years.”
On a positive note, Hanlen noted that Fultz has made remarkable progress:
“He had forgotten how to shoot and he had multiple hitches in his shot. For me it was, “How do I get this kids who was #1 in last year’s draft back to where he was or better if not better? So, we’ve been working hard every day to rewire his body and get his stroke back in his shot. We’re way ahead of pace with where I thought we’d be. I thought it would take me six weeks before we had a serviceable jump shot. We already started to shoot with a jump in week 2. It’s not perfect yet, but I think by the end of the summer he’ll be perfect and showing why he was the #1 pick. Even though I do give him trouble on a daily basis and remind him that I think Jayson Tatum was the best player in that draft.
I knew [Fultz] because of Joel and work I’d done in Philly. Basically what I told him was, me being me, I said, “You’re going to make me really famous and you’re going to make me a lot of money when I fix your shot and could sell the program.” I said I can’t go down, because it can’t get worse. So, I said, “Give me a chance. Let me help you get back to where you were. He kind of laughed and nodded. I said, “Let’s do this for two reasons: 1. I wanna get you back rolling, kind of loving basketball and finding success. 2. I wanna be able to arrogantly tell everybody, ‘Yeah. That’s me right there. I fixed him.'”
I take this as a huge boost to Fultz’ stock. Lost in all of the LeBron/Kawhi/PG13 talk has been what a healthy, free-shooting Markelle Fultz could mean to this team moving forward.
Well this is certainly something (H/T reader Drew Kingma). The Sixers’ official live stream – featuring Sixers reporter and pre/postgame show host Brian Seltzer, Penn head coach Steve Donahue, and radio play-by-play man Tom McGinnis – were in the midst of gushing about the team’s #10 overall pick Mikal Bridges when the unthinkable happened: he got traded.
Let’s break this down:
Mikal is great. His mom works here. She’s really nice.
Zhaire Smith was drafted by Phoenix, no big deal.
Wait. What? Are you hearing this?!
Oh no.
Disbelief.
Resignation
Zhaire wore yellow sneakers and was our guy all along!
I have to give the guys credit, especially McGinnis. He went from waxing poetic about Bridges, to being dejected, then collected himself, and finally offered up some insight on Zhaire’s workout.
Video after the jump:
Kyle and Russ recap the Sixers’ night at the NBA Draft including:
- Drafting and trading Mikal Bridges
- Zhaire Smith and the 2021 first round pick
- How this affects free agency and trades
- Brett Brown saying the team will be “star hunting”
- Updates on Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs
- What to expect from Landry Shamet and Shake Milton
- Drafting NBA-ready vs. high upside
- NBC Sports Philadelphia’s decision to part ways with Molly Sullivan
- Local telecasts and former personalities
Please subscribe to the show ([iTunes] [Google Play] [Stitcher] [RSS]), leave a 5 star review, and follow us on Twitter: @CrossingBroad@JoyOnBroad
Audio after the jump:
Last night was interesting to say the least. Within forty minutes, the Sixers went from drafting local kid Mikal Bridges:
With the 10th pick of the 2018 #NBADraft the @sixers select… @mikal_bridges! pic.twitter.com/DnmNIeJibm
— NBA (@NBA) June 22, 2018
To trading him:
Sources: Philadelphia is trading Mikal Bridges to Phoenix for Zhaire Smith.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2018
Without anyone letting him know:
Mikal Bridges does not know yet that he's been traded. Still doing media in Sixers hat
— Yaron Weitzman (@YaronWeitzman) June 22, 2018
Mikal Bridges has yet to learn of his trade to Phoenix and is answering questions about staying home in Philly pic.twitter.com/MIoOlAaUUH
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 22, 2018
And the initial reactions weren’t favorable:
Sixers just did the worst Jedi Mind Trick to Mikal Bridges and his family I've ever seen. BRUTAL.
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) June 22, 2018
But then, we got to the real crux of the trade:
Excellent trade for the Sixers. Zhaire Smith is a better prospect than Mikal Bridges, and that 2021 Miami pick is a great trade chip. What a deal. https://t.co/WAZnynGycB
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) June 22, 2018
Heading into what might be their most important off-season ever, the Sixers found themselves with a rather bare cupboard of future draft picks. By virtue of the Mikal for Zhaire trade, not only did they save around $1.7 million against the cap, they snagged a pick that will reportedly be the first draft to allow high school players to be NBA Draft eligible in FIFTEEN years. That draft class could be incredibly deep – though obviously it’s a long way away – and there’s no guarantee the Sixers have any intention of using the pick. In Brett Brown’s post-first-round press conference, he mentioned:
Brown says acquired first round pick could be sealer in a potential trade.
— Jon Johnson (@jonjohnsonwip) June 22, 2018
Not only did Brown allude to a trade, he all but put LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and the entire league on notice: The Sixers are star hunting.
Brett Brown’s audio, trade ramifications, and Spurs’ GM R.C. Buford after the jump:
