The Sixers are good, but not that good, yet.

Coming off a win over the Spurs, in San Antonio, just a few days ago the team battled the streaking Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday evening on ESPN. They led for a good portion of the contest, except for when it mattered. In the end, the Thunder were too much and extended their win streak to eight games with a 122-112 win.

Philly shot better than OKC from the field, beyond the arc, and was just out-rebounded by one. However, they committed 18 turnovers to the Thunder’s 11.

Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 27 points and battled foul trouble as he had three fouls just midway through the second quarter. However, he did unleash this emphatic dunk:

Ben Simmons had 22 points and Dario Saric chipped in 16 in the losing effort.

Some more Embiid highlights to start off your day:

The team visits the Bucks tonight at 8pm.

Now to what else went down this weekend.

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The Roundup:

Going back to the Sixers and the team’s win over the Spurs, the first in Texas in over a decade, Kevin Kinkead has his four observations:

Now to the Sixers, who were phenomenal last night – suffocating defense, solid shooting, and mostly mistake-free basketball. They built up a big lead, held that lead, and closed out the game like a group of seasoned veterans. Brett Brown’s team shot 48.1% overall and 42.9% from deep while holding San Antonio to 40% from the field and a 3-24 three point mark (12.5%). Philly is now 9-3 since Christmas and occupying 6th place in a very average Eastern Conference.

It’s officially Super Bowl Week! BWanksCB says, it’s time to get serious now.

It may be time to get down to business, but that business is apparently getting a lot of free stuff:

The team is in Minny:

And the fans here in Philly are ready:

Tom Brady’s hand should be ready as well as he had the stitches removed earlier this week.

Last week was mostly Vikings fans trying to get over the beatdown in the NFC Championship Game. One North Dakota radio host ripped Philly. Kevin Kinkead talked to him.

Although the Eagles are on the road for the first time in awhile, they’ll have one familiar item in Minnesota:

Chickie’s & Pete’s Crab Fries will be in section 118 EndZone Main Concourse of the stadium, according to NBC10’s Vai Sikahema. Eagles fans will definitely be there in full force. And despite some saying they’d stay away from Philly foods, we have a feeling Patriots fans won’t be able to resist the power of the crab fry either.

Doug Pederson is getting a lot of praise in the media now for getting the Birds to the Super Bowl through the adversity, but it was Howie Roseman who put together this deep team. Albert Breer of MMQB gave Roseman a shoutout:

When Eagles vice president of football operations Howie Roseman signed Sam Bradford to a two-year, $36 million deal in March 2016, inked Chase Daniel to a three-year, $21 million deal days later, then traded up twice to get Carson Wentz the next month, plenty of folks on the outside looked at the reinstated Eagles personnel boss like a drunk guy with a machine gun. Two years later? He looks more like an assassin.

Wentz’s impact is obvious, and Roseman’s moves influenced the Bears to copycat him with a similarly heavy commitment to the position a year later (bringing in Mike Glennon, Mark Sanchez and then Mitch Trubisky). But what really puts all this on another level is the trade Roseman pulled off a week before the 2016 season kicked off, getting first- and fourth-round picks from the Vikings for Bradford, after Teddy Bridgewater suffered his freak knee injury and Wentz proved himself ready to play. Roseman went into the 2017 draft with a need at corner, but recognized the depth at the position, and got pieces in the second and third rounds (Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas), after using the Vikings’ pick on difference-making pass rusher Derek Barnett.

Meanwhile, the Bradford trade also cleared cap space that allowed the team to pursue Alshon Jeffrey in free agency, the kind of move that likely would have been put off for a year had it not been for that financial flexibility. And the cherry on top? Carrying two quarterbacks on the roster gave the Eagles a better look at Daniel, who was deemed to not be a great fit, which led to the pursuit of Nick Foles.

Put all this together, and it’s easy to see where Roseman’s handling of the position during March and April of 2016 could set up the franchise for a long time to come, and not just because it made Wentz an Eagle.

Thanks to tax laws, Jimmy Garoppolo will make more from the Patriots’ Super Bowl appearance than Tom Brady:

Enter Garoppolo, who was on the Patriots roster for eight games before being traded out of conference to the San Francisco 49ers. The CBA entitles Garoppolo to the same pay as Brady and Bademosi for the AFC championship game ($51,000) and the Super Bowl ($112,000 if the Patriots win; $56,000 if the Patriots lose).

Garoppolo, however, should take home more pay than Brady after income taxes. Garoppolo, unlike Brady, will not be travelling to Minnesota and will not be subject to Minnesota’s state income tax of 9.85%. Among states that have an NFL team, Minnesota has the second-highest income tax in the country after California (13.3%). Garoppolo, obviously, is no longer traveling with the Patriots; if he attends the Super Bowl it will only be as a fan and not for work.

The Phillies invited Francisco Rodriguez to spring training.

Tiger Woods started his PGA Tour comeback this weekend and one fan pissed him off:

A tournament volunteer suggested fans should beat up the guy who yelled.

Michigan State is in a lot of shit.

The AFC beat the NFC in the Pro Bowl.

Ronda Rousey signed with the WWE and appeared at the Royal Rumble last night.

In non-sports news…

A man was stabbed to death near Temple University.

Four died in a shooting at a carwash in western PA.

It’s getting too hot in herre: Nelly files suit against a fan who alleges he raped her and sexually assaulted two others on another occasion.