Four Issues

July 10, 2006 | By Chris White | Discuss

So there I am, on the cusp of my yearly bike-a-thon. I'm perched just shy of the Ben Franklin Bridge with now over four thousand of my best friends, contemplating the task ahead (64 miles, no training, oye).

I check over my trusty Schwinn and think of how she had served me well. I thought back and calculated how many years it has been. Just about the same time as Philadelphia's last Championship, brought to life daily by the PhillyPurge home page.

I ascend the bridge thinking of the day ahead and how great the cause is (American Cancer Society at www.acsbike.org). Philadelphia is an awesome city, which has a ton of good in its heart.

Just not our teams.

Anger sets in as I wiz past the free toll. What the hell is really wrong with these teams anyway? I thought how each team has been unable overcome their personal demons, on a day celebrated for those that have overcome sickness with hope.

Between now and Lake Lenape with my trusty sidekicks Tom and Jerry (no, I'm not kidding, two real buddies), I was going to do a lot of thinking and sort this mess out. That is if I lived of course.

The more I thought the more I realized this is a baseball town at heart. Sure, the Eagles are right there as well, but that is a lusty love affair. The Phillies and baseball in general with all its flaws are still the love of a majority of us. It's a commitment, a relationship. The other two major sports don't come close. The Flyers have a solid fan base, but its hockey for goodness sakes. The Sixers teased us a few years back, but we were more excited about having a potential winner in town, and it didn't' necessarily have to be them. With that in mind, I top off the Phillies as my biggest nut to solve.

The biggest problem with this team is a lack of heart.

The Jack Haley Phenomena. In late June Billy Wagner once again blessed us with his thoughts, and like him or hate him, I think he's right. You can't pull that in this city. We will root like mad and come to games if you get us a bunch of guys who at least show they care. You can't blame the players, they are just being themselves. The old or new GM's? Maybe, but these guys like many of us are wowed by the numbers, and not the guts of the guy. Can you expect Charlie Manuel to change his stripes at this point and try to fire them up?

Nope. For that, Gillick needs to step to the plate and starting putting some key pieces together. First and foremost, find me a manager that can do that. Resume be damned, get me a young guy who played hard and has a brain is his head for baseball. Somebody who can slap his brand of baseball on some decent talent. Who's that guy? Don't know, but if you do feel free to email it over.

The biggest problem with the Eagles is their division this year.

Here's a team that I really thinks does a nice job in the business side of the game. I'm not going to kill them for not showing loyalty to aging players. That may be wrong with some of those selections, but they have a plan and they stick to it. For the most part, (barring some very unlucky crucial injuries) it's a strategy that has kept the team in the upper echelon.

Unfortunately this year, the rest of the NFC East is packed. Two games each against a maturing Giants team that believes in itself, a Cowboy squad that got how much better by adding TO (and no, I don't think he will be a problem there. Parcells is excellent at gaining respect and not taking shit from anyone), and the Skins just may have all the pieces with excellent coaching to make a big push this year.

The Philadelphia Eagles need a solid Wide-Out and some serious misfortune by the rest of the division this year to make the big dance. That's their biggest issue (okay maybe two).

Bobby Clark, like George Bush really should not be employed right now, that's the Flyers biggest deal.

I know I'm going to take a beating for this one. How can you say that about Bobby? How can you say that about George? This isn't a place to make a big political statement, blah, blah, blah.

George W spent his whole first term scaring us into believing Iraq was a threat. It wasn't, he should have gone in 2004.

Bobby Clarke hasn't won a championship in twelve years, in a top five market. Every year some piddling about with a player or coach. Yet every year it's the same result. It isn't going to work Mr. Synder, let's move on. His vision for this team is not a winning combination.

Until then, the Flyers will impress us all September thru February when it doesn't matter, and disappoint us in the end when it does. That's their deal in a nutshell.

Now last and probably least.

The NBA is the biggest problem with the Philadlphia 76ers.

Huh you say? This is not a problem solely to be laid upon the 76ers. This is an NBA wide failure, and that's why the 76ers won't be a solid playoff contender for years to come.

With the current way the NBA is set up, it is nearly impossible for teams that have made personnel and payroll mistakes in the past, to undo those mistakes. Guaranteed contracts and a tough salary cap are the reason for this. The NBA should scrap the current plan and adopt the NFL's policy, arguably the best for the state of the game.

Give bad teams a way to become competitive at least with some heady management and luck. The way it is now, teams trade one bad deal for another. Right now our team has too many bad deals, and that is their biggest problem.

All this thinking got me to only the first rest stop. 49 more grueling miles with Tom and Jerry. I'm sure I'll be able to solve another of the world's problem by then.

Then again, assuming I make it.

Bored? Stop in for a mental cocktail at Whitey's Pub!

www.geocities.com/crwhitey2000

Email Chris White at cwhite@phillypurge.com