Coatesvillain

Right now, this is a very huge year for the Philadelphia 76ers, not only is there a new coach, and a new direction as the team is looking to make it back to the postseason. There's also the very real shroud of the NHL lockout looming overhead. For those of you who aren't familiar with the situation, the 76ers and Flyers of the NHL are both owned by Comcast-Spectacor. The man in charge of both teams is Ed Snider, but for years his attention has been more towards the Flyers as he has ties with the franchise going back to it's glory years during the 70's.

If there's one player who is safe, this season, it's Allen Iverson. Snider despite not being a huge basketball fans, knows that Iverson sells, but Iverson and two consecutive seasons don't. So the Sixers have to not only reach the playoffs again, but they have to have a style of play that will draw fans to the arena that weren't coming in the past few seasons. It might not seem like much to those on the outside, but with the hockey lockout looking like more of a possibility everday, this is a lot of added pressure to the Sixers, even if they don't realize it yet.

If there's one person who does realize this pressure, it's Billy King. For all the negatives we've all had to say about Billy King, there's one thing that we all know, and that he's a very smart man. Maybe not the best team executive, but he's smart enough to realize a false move this season and his job is very much in jeopardy. Why else would he be attacking the pre-draft months so actively, when the last time we drafted this early he wasn't anywhere near this active, when he didn't have the same workload.

I might not be telling you anything,you don't know, but it needs to be said. If this team doesn't produce, we're bound to see a boatload of offseason changes headed into the 2005-06 season, and who knows who will be safe. This possible lockout, could also mean that Snider's pockets are a lot tighter than they would've been, which isn't surprising considering a rumored luxury tax after the season.

For these reasons, I think there might be some surprising names on the expansion list. Might even be some mainstays who won't see this upcoming season in a Sixers uni. Of course, this is all speculation, but it's all very real.

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Who cares about a championship drought?:
My teams will never win a championship anyway, so why don't you discuss everything else at my forum? Good idea, right? Yeah, I thought so. It's called.. Booing Santa Claus. See you there.

BEEZ

Ive been tempted to call you PP(Pee-Pee):laugh, for a long time. Just kidding by the way. That being said your posts get better and better and more indepth by the day. Great great poster. Anyway to echo your sentiments, this is a telling year for the Spectracore or whatever the new name of the organization is, because if an NHL lockout happens which is most likely MAJOR marketing and promotion is going to HAVE to go behind Iverson and the Sixers. They can NOT put that same kind of team out there again or nobody will come to the games. PERIOD. Philly fans turn on you quick and they wont tolerate another losing season with a Superstar at the helm.

The Sixers are going to have to run, play exciting defense. Get other players in here that the people want to see besides AI. We have a nice little core we could build around but we have to get more. I look around the league and it seems that every team has a young guy on the team that could possibly a superstar. Not saying that this guy would be but everyone except the Sixers seems to have a “Potential” guy. Well we need that and hopefully for the fans and Sixers sake they do that.

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I have no clue!

Eagles in 2003

I am dying for the Philadelphia title drought to end, and recently we've come close with the Eagles,Flyers and Sixers....and maybe even the Phillies this year(very possible).

The Eagles are poised to win the Super Bowl this year, if they don't it will be a big failure. This is the year to do it. That may seem off the topic, but it really isn't. After the Super Bowl, it is sort of a dark time in the sports world. Football is over, Spring Training hasn't started and it isn't even midseason for the NHL or NBA. If the NHL does indeed have a lockout, there will only be the NBA for us fans to watch. This is why i think this is a big season for the Sixers. Just Three seasons ago, we were in the NBA finals, looking like a very good team. But two years later, the team doesn't even make the playoffs. The Sixers need to prove they are competitors in the East to stay for a little while. With them being the only team playing(without the nhl), the city will need to root for them. And hopefully it isn't just rooting for them to be the 8th seed in the east. Iverson needs to step his game up and return to his Mvp form. THe sixers have battled injury problems so much, and they really need to stay healthy. The team needs success now.

They don't need to keep making moves every offseason. IF they are going to trade Robinson, do it now. THey need to get a team together and keep them together a few years. The Sixers need to make a solid run, or we will be headed for the lottery year after year again.

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"I've missed over 9000 shots, I've lost more than 300 games, 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I have failed over and over in life, and that is why I succeed." Michael Jordan