Philadelphia broke out at the tail end of last season, ending the year with 16 straight wins. It seemed too good to be true. Things faded in the playoffs, of course. Boston exposed Ben Simmons. Joel Embiid appeared out of shape. Markelle Fultz didn’t play a minute in the second round near sweep. The optimism […]
Author Archives: joe
Powdered Doughnuts
The boy stands up straight like always. His father says doing so exudes confidence. It’s the fifth day of sixth grade, and that’s when confidence is needed most, especially with Aidan lurking. Despite a slouch, Aidan grazed over Tommy by inches. Nobody would have blamed Tommy if he avoided him altogether. After all, Baker Middle […]
Searching: Beware of Spoilers
It’s a daring debut for 27-year-old ex-Google commercial creator Aneesh Chaganty. Initially meant to be an eight-minute ad for Google about a family’s history on the screen of a home computer turned into one of the more impressive movies of 2018. After realizing his vision could turn into a feature film, Chaganty quit the comfort […]
Big Red Machine
Meaningful music happens whenever Justin Vernon has his hands involved in a project. It’s just the way it is. There are certain artists that I have gravitated towards, and Vernon ranks at the top. Lyrically, Vernon always crushes it. He puts you in a sobering mood filled with thoughts about all sorts of things. He […]
Buck Mountain
Memorial Day Weekend I decided to make the short drive to the beginning of the Adirondacks for a hike. I only hiked a few times before, but it’s something I’ve been meaning to get into, and why not take advantage of the relative short distance to Lake George and beyond. It wasn’t a long hike, […]
And another one but at least the 76ers will be on TV
It’s never the same time of year. It’s sometimes the same injury. Top draft picks for the 76ers miss games their rookie season. Zhaire Smith became the latest victim to one of the stranger curses in basketball, fracturing his foot earlier this week. Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid were hurt when the 76ers drafted them. […]
Hall of Fame
Allen Iverson stood tall, emulating a larger than life figure. The barely six-foot guard entered the basketball Hall of Fame two years ago, becoming the first childhood icon of mine to achieve the ultimate honor. Saturday night a second childhood icon will enter the Hall of Fame. He played with intensity, passion and embodied the […]
Defending Super Bowl Champions
Watching the Eagles win the Super Bowl serves as the best sports moment of my life. At times, it doesn’t possibly feel like it happened, even if I’ve watched Corey Clement stiff-arm, Brandon Graham strip sack and Nick Foles catch a pass, dozens and dozens and dozens of times. With training camp in the fold, […]
Eighth Grade (the movie… not the year 2007)
Spoilers ahead. I suggest seeing this movie before reading. It’s a masterpiece. I’m a sucker for coming of age stories. It doesn’t matter if it’s a movie or a novel. There’s something poetic about stories that center on discovering oneself at that age, or at least begin to discover. Eighth Grade does just that. It’ll […]
A Disappointing Summer?
It’s always been two summers. Philadelphia had a chance to add a max guy this year, but failed to sign LeBron James, or trade for Kawhi Leonard. Next summer will be Philadelphia’s last opportunity to sign or trade for a marquee player with cap space. Ben Simmons and Dario Saric will have to be paid. […]
