The 76ers have dropped down to No. 8 in the Eastern Conference standings! Their goal should be to get back up to the sixth position so they don’t have to play in the Play-In Tournament, and so they don’t have to play either Boston or Cleveland in the first round if they actually advance from the Play-In. That goal is getting harder and harder to achieve since Tyrese Maxey is out for three weeks with an injured pinky finger. I also think the 76ers are not being completely truthful in terms of how bad Joel Embiid's injury has been. He has not played in at least two weeks. For right now, the best player on the team that's not hurt is their rookie VJ Edgecombe, who is just coming off a back injury. No more more bad news, please.
On Tuesday, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo scored 83 points in a game against the Washington Wizards. He is now second all time for points in a single game in NBA history, behind Wilt Chamberlain, who scored a ridiculous 100 points in a game in the1960s. Kobe Bryant was second for a long time with 81 against the Toronto Raptors.
The NFL free agent season has begun. It goes by so fast. I can’t possibly keep up with it. I only focused on the Eagles’ moves. They lost a whole bunch of players on defense, including Nakobe Dean, Jaelen Phillips and Reed Blankenship. So far, they’ve only signed one significant player, Riq Woolen, who played for the Seattle Seahawks as a backup cornerback. I expect the Eagles to try and get one edge rusher to be the second backup for Nolan Smith Jr. and Jalyx Hunt. Apparently Brandon Graham is coming back for his 17th season with the Eagles, but he hasn’t officially signed yet. I expect the Eagles front office to draft some offensive linemen and wide receivers in the draft starting in April.
The Players Championship is this week in men’s golf. This is the flagship event for the PGA Tour, at their headquarters at TPC Sawgrass. They have made one significant change from the past few years. They’ve made the rough a lot thicker around the whole golf course, similar to the typical U.S. Open. I think that is a good move. The winning score should be a lot closer to par as opposed to 20 under for such a significant tournament on the tour.
I hope the weather holds up. There is a possibility for thunderstorms Sunday. Monday finishes always take a lot of drama out of the results of the tournament since there are a lot fewer fans on the property on Monday morning. This happened last year when Rory Mcllroy beat JJ Spaun in a Monday three-hole playoff, and that had to be a bummer for the players, especially Rory.
And a non-sports comment just had to be said for this week. What the heck is going on with the weather!? I sure hope this mess brings a great long summer. Have a good weekend everyone.
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
