Oh hell yeah. Inject this Kyle Lowry-Ben Simmons feud into my olfactory system and let me taste it.

As I noted yesterday in Kevin’s piece, I am so torn here. Kyle Lowry is one of my all-time favorite players and I once met him during a mock interview thing for a student TV station before he was a rich and successful NBA All-Star. That grants him a special place in my soul. Ben Simmons is a superstar from Australia who enjoys a good meat pie. Both are excellent basketball players. One plays for the Sixers. The other just donated $1 million to my alma mater and will have his name adorned outside the locker room. I mean… how can I  root against this:

I want to thank the Sixers… to let Villanova celebrate here.

Guessing that wasn’t too tough of a sell seeing as though the Sixers CEO and President, Scott O’Neil and Chris Heck, are both Nova alums and fine stewards of the Blue and White. I could only imagine the scene if one or both of them were present while Lowry skulked around The Center tunnels looking for Simmons– pretty sure they would’ve taken body blows for each and chosen to leave themselves a bloody mess lest Simmons or Lowry take one in the grill.

If I’m wagering on this fight, my money is on Lowry. Sure, he gives up quite a bit to Simmons in size and reach, but I wouldn’t be shocked to learn Kyle Lowry knows how to kill a man with a forearm shiver. Hell, he once punched a Kansas player and was ejected from the same floor his freshman year during Jay Wright’s first graphic beatdown of Bill Self… in fact, that happened a day before the Eagles won the NFC Championship in 2005. OH HOLY FUCK IT’S A SIGN. I knew Kyle Lowry was one of the good guys! He never forgets where he came from.

Sorry, Ben. Next time. I promise. It’s a Philly (Main Line) thing.