With the Sixers and Flyers not playing, there’s not a ton of stuff going on.

Even the Bryce Harper news has died down just a bit. Jim Bowden said a deal could be done by the end of the week, which I feel like we’ve been hearing for the past few weeks.

The Crossed Up gang discussed the Harper saga and more in their new episode.

Baseball will also use a pitch clock in Spring Training. There’s nothing else right now. Maybe Harper/Machado news picks up today. Or tomorrow. Or sometime soon. That’d be great.

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Battle stations?

"…but I keep hearing there's a lot of momentum and traction for Bryce Harper signing with the Phillies. He could be rounding third and heading home shortly.

I think Harper is ready to go."

–@JimBowdenGM https://t.co/9fulzNXel1

— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) February 16, 2019

Bryce Harper, who has been waiting for someone to meet his price, appears to have found that team in the #Phillies. There is no deal yet but he will ultimately receive more than the 10-year, $300 million contract he turned down from the #Nats in September.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 17, 2019

That looks good. I think.

More on Bryce Harper after the jump:

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What to think of the Sixers at the All-Star break?

A lot has changed since the start of their season, mainly the roster. Gone are Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Markelle Fultz (who possibly threw shade at the organization yesterday), and Landry Shamet. In are Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. Despite the unbelievable starting five, the bench still needs improvement. And the team hasn’t done anything in the buyout market so far since the trade deadline last week.

But the team is in 5th place in the Eastern Conference and 1-7 against Boston, Milwaukee, and Toronto. That one win came against the Raptors sans Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka, and Jonas Valanciunas, so that doesn’t really count.

Right now, the Sixers aren’t an elite Eastern Conference team. I’d say they’re a very good team. If they can’t beat the teams above them, it doesn’t make them elite. They look great on paper and they’re all still meshing with each other. They have 24 games to at least get a first round home playoff series.

Elsewhere, Ben Simmons didn’t snatch his shoe from a fan. He gave it to a child. And you can also buy Sixers headphones.

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At least the Sixers can beat the Knicks!

After falling short again to the Celtics Tuesday night, the Sixers took care of New York, as expected, 126-111 at Madison Square Garden. The entire starting five scored at least 13 points, with Joel Embiid leading the way with 26 points and adding 14 rebounds. Tobias Harris was right behind with 25 points and Ben Simmons had 18.

The Knicks suck. We all knew that, and they haven’t won a home game since…probably Vietnam? That’s my best guess. Anyways, if you want to watch something from the game, it’s Embiid (who got fined $25,000 for his postgame comments Tuesday) nearly killing fans:

Joel Embiid gonna accidentally kill someone diving into the crowd like this pic.twitter.com/Ss7Pcven2r

— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) February 14, 2019

All-Star weekend is here, with the Sixers back in action next Thursday against Miami.

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The Sixers really needed a win against the Celtics last night. They didn’t get one.

All five Sixer starters registered 10 or more points, with Joel Embiid leading the way with 23 and 14, but it still wasn’t enough as the Sixers fell 112-109. They jumped out to a 9-0 run to start the second half to take a three point lead and would lead by as much as eight in the quarter. But Boston fought back to retake that lead and go up by as much as seven.

But the team would fight back once again late in the fourth quarter. Joel Embiid registered five points in a span of about 41 seconds to give the Sixers a one-point advantage, before Gordon Hayward would hit a wide-open three after Ben Simmons left his assignment to try and stop a Marcus Morris layup.

After the game, Embiid didn’t have nice things to say about the refs:

Joel Embiid sure knows how to end a post-game presser 🙃 pic.twitter.com/k7o3Evq2Ea

— ESPN (@espn) February 13, 2019

Anyway, the team travels to New York to take on the Knicks tonight at 7:30 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia. It’s their last game before the All Star break. Will the refs suck there?

As for the Lakers/Ben Simmons controversy, Elton Brand called Magic Johnson to apologize and the league found no signs of tampering.

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51 shots. 1 goal. 1 loss.

Despite the numerous chances from the Flyers last night, they couldn’t stop Pittsburgh in a 4-1 home loss to the Penguins. It’s their first regulation loss since January 12 and ends a 10-game point streak.

Philadelphia put up 28 shots in the second, a franchise record for shots in a period. They should’ve had a goal, but this might be the quickest whistle ever:

The Flyers get robbed of a goal and the Penguins announcers can't even believe it pic.twitter.com/4tZY0CqaVM

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) February 12, 2019

Jake Voracek eventually got a goal in the third period, but it was a little too late.

It felt like a crap game when the Penguins scored their first goal. Because nobody, Carter Hart included, forgot how good Sidney Crosby was:

"Look out!"

Sidney Crosby gets the bounce and pots one home 💪 pic.twitter.com/I8F8CnVoQb

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 12, 2019

Pretty bad.

Anyways, the Flyers are now eight points back of the Penguins for the final wild card spot. They have a quick road trip to Minnesota to take on the Wild tonight at 8 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

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