Welcome to the winter of our discontent, Philly sports fans.
How bad have things become? How about this for a question of the day? Who do you think we’ll see in action first, Andrew Bynum on the court for the Sixers, or the Flyers back on the ice in a real NHL game?
Yep, it’s that bad.
On Oct. 31, we published a special color centerspread 76ers schedule to mark opening day of the Sixers season. It featured a photo of Andrew Bynum, the star center they acquired in a three-team deal that sent Andre Iguodala to Denver.
Bynum has been the center of the team’s off-season moves, and a huge public relations campaign to spike interest in the team. There’s only one problem. He hasn’t played a second, Hell, forget games. As Allen Iverson once famously pointed out, Bynum has not even been able to practice.
And it doesn’t look like he’s going to be joining the team anytime soon. Yesterday the team gave an update on Bynum’s status. The belief now is that he might be able to resume court activity on Dec. 10. But fans shouldn’t look for him in a game until at least a month later.
And get this. Bynum says this was the plan all along.
“It’s not a setback,” he said of yesterday’s announcement. “This really was the original plan.”
Unless I missed it, I don’t think the team ever passed that little nugget along to the fans who were buying tickets for games not knowing Bynum was not going to be in uniform.
In the meantime, the NHL talks are going nowhere.
And all signs point to Nick Foles being your starting QB on Sunday for the Eagles as Michael Vick continues to deal with concussion symptoms from his beating at the hands of the Cowboys. Vick is not expected to practice, and although Reid is not ruling him out for the ‘Skins, it looks like Foles will be under center. The question that now could be asked is if Vick will ever start again for the Birds.
Foles will take the field opposite another rookie making waves in the NFL. That would be Washington starter RGIII.
If Foles plays well and leads the Eagles to a win, we will of course attain immediate folk lore status. Anyone remember Bobby Hoying? If he struggles and the Eagles lose, the Birds will have officially hit rock bottom.
Like I said, it’s going to be a long winter.
How many days ‘til pitchers and catchers?
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