In case you didn’t stay up, the Sixers faced the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night and snapped a losing streak with a 109-105 victory. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid looked spectacular with the latter leading all scorers with 32 points. Robert Covington, who should be expecting a big pay day this week, dropped 31 points. Simmons logged his eighth career double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Off the bench, Willie Reed had 9 points, but fouled out for the Clippers. He was guarding Joel Embiid and wasn’t memorable for the big man:

Our Kevin Kinkead will have his takeaways dropping later today.

In a classy move, the Clippers aired a welcome back video for J.J. Redick inside Staples Center:

In maybe not a classy move, the NBA stopped the Sixers from speaking out on Meek Mill’s situation:

https://twitter.com/freedarko/status/930292633783513089

The Sixers are at the Lakers on Wednesday night. Tip is at 10:30pm. Set your Keurig now, unless you’re a fan of Sean Hannity.

Let’s go.

The Roundup:

Keeping with the Sixers…well sort of. Don’t Just Trust The Process on the court, trust it with cleaning as well.

Now real Sixers news…HoopsHype analyzed how Ben Simmons is faring so well in the NBA without being a good shooter:

He’s putting up numbers unheard of for a first-year contributor and doing so without any semblance of a jump shot.

According to Synergy Sports, Simmons has taken 18 jumpers all season, and made just seven of them. What’s more, he’s 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.

So how is it possible for a rookie to efficiently put up over 17 points per contest without a jump shot as part of his arsenal?

For starters, it helps that Simmons is shooting 63.8 percent from within five feet of the rim, the 10th-best rate among players with at least 40 shot attempts in that zone.

His mixture of brute strength and explosiveness near the basket borders on unfair, but when you also factor in his craftiness as a ball-handler, it becomes truly insensitive towards the opposition.

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The latest Crossing Broadcast came out Monday with the guys talking Flyers, Embiid, and the NFC playoff picture.

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That NFC playoff picture looks good for the Eagles, but will look even better if the Birds beat the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. Do you support the Cowboys? If you do, you are probably a poser, according to Kevin Kinkead.

The Eagles had off on Sunday, but Kinkead didn’t as he compiled takeaways from the bye week, including this:

The Rams look like the real deal as well, with an emphatic 33-7 win against Houston yesterday. Shame nobody is in their stadium to see it.

Anyhow, Jared Goff threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns while Tom Savage looked like Tom Savage on the other squad. They’ve got the Vikings next week and the Saints after that, so we’re gonna learn if this team is for real or not.

Right now, I think I’ve got the NFC ranked something like this:

  • 1A – Eagles
  • 1B – Saints
  • 3 – Rams
  • 4 – Vikings
  • 5 – doesn’t really matter

The Eagles made one roster move on Monday, adding LB Dannell Ellerbe and waiving CB Dexter McDougle. The Birds can afford to let McDougle go as CB Ronald Derby confirmed to the media on Monday that he is good to go and will play against the Cowboys on Sunday night.

Lane Johnson threatened his grandmother’s life (jokingly) because she roots for the Cowboys.

Vegas must like that Darby news as the Birds’ Super Bowl odds slightly improved after this past week’s of games:

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Former Eagles long snapper Jon Dorenbos did his first interview since open-heart surgery. He appeared on Ellen yesterday where he discussed the trade, the discover of the medical condition, and more.

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Jerry Jones and the Cowboys have always been one in the same for as long as many of us can remember. Well if the outspoken owner continues to feud with Roger Goodell and the NFL, he may be forced out of ownership:

A league source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that multiple owners already have been discussing the possibility, which flows from Article VIII of the NFL’s Constitution & Bylaws. Specifically, Section 8.13 authorizes the Commissioner to determine that an owner “has been or is guilty of conduct detrimental to the welfare of the League or professional football.” If the Commissioner believes the available sanction (a $500,000 fine) is “not adequate or sufficient,” the Commissioner may refer the issue to the NFL’s Executive Committee, which has the power to compel “[c]ancellation or forfeiture of the franchise in the League of any member club involved or implicated,” with a directive to sell the team.

It’s obviously an extreme outcome, and it surely would trigger years of litigation. But the possibility has emerged primarily because Jones has opted to take family business outside the family. As the source explained it, the primary affront comes from the belief among owners that Jones instigated Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter to disparage the NFL, blaming league leadership for ratings declines and, in turn, a reduction in Papa John’s revenues.

(H/T ProFootballTalk)

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Another round of ESPN layoffs are reportedly coming in the next few weeks. What lies ahead for the Worldwide Leader? Our Philip Keidel breaks it down:

It seems like every time ESPN shoots itself in the foot these days, the first thing the network does is to get another gun and aim at the other foot.

So what is the plan for ESPN’s future? Maybe showing less live sports. According to James Andrew Miller, who literally wrote the book on ESPN, NFL games on the Worldwide Leader might not be long for this world as the rights fees the NFL demands outstrip ESPN’s willingness to pay to air many of the league’s least desirable games.

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RADIO WARS! WFAN’s replacement plans for Mike Francesa will affect the Philly radio landscape and 97.5 appears to have a new lead man. Kyle has the details.

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Some baseball news now…the Phillies have a manager, a hitting coach, and other assistants. Their next big move should be hiring a pitching coach, but are they also in the market for a first baseman?

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In college football, now both Florida and Tennessee are looking for head coaches. The favorite right now for the Gators’ gig? Chip Kelly:

There are some quirks to Kelly, many of which revolve around his stated preference of being locked in on coaching his team. Kelly isn’t keen on the booster glad-handing, rubber-chicken banquet speeches and general day-to-day hysteria that come with high-profile coaching jobs. Kelly has a low-key personality off the field, and he’s reiterated to friends that “fit and people” will be the ultimate determinations of where he coaches next.

On the field, a Tennessee State player socked his strength coach right on the sidelines and everyone let it happen:

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In non-sports news…

New charges are filed in the Penn State hazing case.

Rumored details on the 2018 line of iPhones are trickling out.

A “The Lord of the Rings” T.V. series could be coming to Amazon.

Menendez jury is deadlocked, deliberations continue