Sixers’ GM Ed Stefanski announced Wednesday that the team has agreed to terms with their former number one pick, Allen Iverson. The deal is reportedly a non-guaranteed prorated contract for the league minimum, meaning the Sixers would owe Iverson approximately $600,000 and would be free to cut him before January without being responsible for the remainder of his contract.
Iverson, agent Leon Rose, and his personal manager, Gary Moore met with Stefanski, assistant GM Tony DiLeo, coach Eddie Jordan and assistant coach and former teammate Aaron McKie on Monday to discuss the possibility of his return.
Stefanski and Rose met again on Tuesday.
Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider gave his approval for the deal on Monday, saying that the final decision was up to Stefanski and the basketball operations people.
The Sixers, losers of seven straight, are in desparate need of a pick-me-up. Point guard Lou Williams will be sidelined another seven weeks with a broken jaw. Starting in his place is rookie Jrue Holiday. They have the second worst attendance …
There are currently two debates raging in the Philly sports world.
First, who wants Sixers’ center Samuel Dalembert out of the city more: Dalembert, or the city? According to a report this morning by ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Sixers are in talks with the Sacremento Kings, and possibly the Boston Celtics, about a deal that would send the embattled center to the Left Coast for Kenny Thomas. The Celtics would get Andres Nocioni. Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine would also come to the Sixers, and the Kings would get J.R. Giddens.
According to the Philadelphia Daily News’ Sixers’ beat reproter, Kate Fagan, the deal does not appear to be close to happening. She also remarked, “don’t think Dalembert is content being a Sixer. His party is actively looking for a new home for the Sixers’ center.”
On the flip side, a comment by The 700 Level’s Enrico Campitelli aptly sums up the city’s feelings on the possible departure of the former Seton Hall grad:
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Consider your suffering eased, I have returned. After a month and a half hiatus, I am back at Hot Stove Philly, and you may all now breath a collective sigh of relief. Woo. Good.
Unfortunately, it seems I may have returned to the Philly sports world with little to be excited about. The Phillies season is over. The Eagles are inconsistent at best, and embarrassing at worst. The Sixers make the Eagles look good. The Flyers are the best thing going, and they’re in fourth place in their division. Could it be possible that the Phillies’ off season is the most interesting thing in Philly sports right now?
As the kids say today, wtf mate?
Despite another incredible season that saw the Fightins get to their second straight World Series, they were clearly outmatched by a superior Yankees team. The Bronx Bombers had better hitters, better starting pitching and a better bullpen. Hard to win when under those circumstances.
The series put into sharp contract the glaring holes that need to be addressed by GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and …
One debate about the postseason roster ended Wednesday as veteran left hander Jamie Moyer was officially declared done for the season.
The 46-year old pitcher suffered three torn tendons in his groin and lower abdomen on the final pitch of his win over the Houston Astros at Citizen’s Bank Park on Tuesday. Moyer got four outs in the sixth and seventh innings of the Phillies 7-4 victory, setting up Ryan Madson for a six out save.The injury occurred when Moyer fell awkwardly to the ground on a pitch that got Houston’s Jeff Keppinger to fly out to deep centerfield to end the inning, and for Moyer, the season.
The injury will require surgery, and team doctor Michael Ciccotti said he was optimistic that Moyer would be ready to return by the start of spring training. He also noted that this was a timetable common for all players suffering this injury, and had little to do with Moyer’s age.
“This is an injury that does occur at all …
The Phillies will defend their World Series championship this October as they won their third straight National League East division title with an 10-3 win over the Houston Astros at Citizen’s Bank Park Wednesday.
The game was started by Pedro Martinez, who threw 84 pitches through four innings, allowing three earned runs. He got into trouble early, loading the bases in the first inning. But he managed to get out of trouble relatively unscathed, only allowing one run in the inning. He was lifted after four innings as a precaution. He left his last start early with stiffness in his neck.
The biggest story of the night belonged to the bullpen, who threw a combined five scoreless innings. Kyle Kendrick replaced Martinez and continued pitching like the 2007 pitcher that went 10-4 with a 3.87 ERA. Kendrick pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just two base runners while striking out four. He continues to look like he has turned things around from a rocky 2008 and is making a case to be on the big league squad in …
Jeremiah Trotter has officially returned to the Eagles, again.
This will be the veteran linebacker’s third go around in Philly and is a surprising twist in young season already chock full of incredible twists and surprises. It’s not surprising that Trotter wants to play again, as he has always had a hard time with the idea of hanging up the cleats, but more that the Eagles actually signed him. President Joe Banner, GM Tom Heckert, and coach Andy Reid are renowned for cutting ties with players who are on the verge of being past their prime (i.e. Brian Dawkins, Duce Staley, and Trotter).
“At some points, like last year, when I was sitting at home . . . I was like, ‘Should I give it up and start doing something else?’ Something just kept telling me to work out,” Trotter said.
The Eagles signed Trotter to a one-year deal for the veteran minimum. He will wear his familiar No. 54.
Trotter underwent surgery in 2008 to cleanout his right knee, …
The Phillies announced Friday that Pedro Martinez would skip his scheduled start on Saturday, and would be replaced by right hander Kyle Kendrick.
The announcement was made before the team’s Friday night game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Martinez left his last start, last Friday in Atlanta, in the third inning with stiffness in his neck. He did not throw a bullpen session during the week, which is unusual for most pitchers, but not Martinez.
“A lot of times I don’t throw a bullpen,” he said. “I only need it if there is a pitch that I need to work on.”
His neck has not totally healed, obviously, but Martinez says that it is improving.
“It’s still sore, but it feels better,” he said.
He is expected to only miss Saturday’s start against the Brewers, and will pitch Thursday against the Houston Astros. The move appears to be more of a precautionary measure than a cause for alarm. With the Phillies likely to wrap up the division over the next couple days, manager …
In a somewhat surprising twist, the Eagles invited former linebacker Jeremiah Trotter to workout with the team on Thursday.
“We had a chance to work out Jeremiah yesterday and I just wanted to see where he was at,” coach Andy Reid said. “He had his knee taken care of after he left here, so I wanted to get him in here and see him move around a little bit, which I thought he did a good job with.
“I haven’t made any decisions on it one way or another, I wanted to make sure that I had a pulse of where he was at.”
By bringing Trotter in for a workout, it is clear that Reid and the Eagles’ coaching staff are not content with the defense’s current run-stopping capacity. After the loss of safety Brian Dawkins to the Denver Broncos this offseason and middle linebacker Stewart Bradley to a season ending injury suffered during training camp, the Eagles are looking for a veteran presence up the middle.
Trotter, who …
Dr. Robert Watkins confirmed to Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer Thursday that Shawn Andrews’ back injury is indeed serious and is not all that uncommon for someone who underwent the kind of surgery that Andrews did last season.
“He has flared up,” the physician said in an interview with The Inquirer. “He does not have an injury to the nerve, and there is no bad sciatic, but he is real stiff, and there is a lot of pain in his back. As he is right now, he’s unable to play football because his back is hurt too badly.”
According to Brookover, Watkins confirmed that no further surgery is required, but that he plans on administering one or two more cortisone shots to Andrews in the near future.
“Then he’ll go into the rehab program that focuses on core strength,” Watkins said. “I don’t anticipate any more surgery. That’s not the current plan. He should start the rehab program by Monday.”
So when should we expect Andrews …
In case you were wondering how serious Brett Myers’ strained back was, see the eighth and ninth innings of Wednesday night’s game in Florida.
Leading 6-4 coming into the eighth inning, Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel brought Ryan Madson into the game to set the table for Brad Lidge’s entry in the ninth. A year ago, this would have been a foregone conclusion with the game in the bag.
Unfortunately, this is 2009 (or perhaps 1993), not 2008.
Madson allowed a run on a Cody Ross single to left, scoring Jorge Cantu and cutting the Phillies’ lead to a tenuous one run.
Lidge entered the ninth inning having saved his previous three attempts, despite allowing at least a run in each. Unfortunately, Lidge had zero room for error, as the Phillies failed to add any insurance runs in the top of the ninth.
The formerly Lights Out Lidge started the inning by allowing a double to backup first baseman Ross Gload, who moved to third base the following at bat on a …
The results of an MRI taken Tuesday show that Phillies pitcher Brett Myers has a Grade 1 shoulder strain of the lattissimus dorsi muscle in his upper back. This puts Myers’ status for the remainder of the season into uncertainty.
Myers will not attempt to throw again until next Tuesday, which is just five days before the end of the regular season.
A hip injury was discovered in Myers in mid-may. He underwent surgery in early June and was expected to miss the rest of the season. Myers, however, rehabbed ahead of schedule and returned to the Phillies on September 5. He pitched scoreless baseball in the first four of the five outings since his return. However, in his last time out he allowed three runs in just one third of an inning.
The strain was discovered last Sunday after the series finale in Atlanta. The plan is, according to GM Ruben Amaro, to keep Myers on the shelf until he is healthy.
On the other side of the plate, …
