It’s the end of July and almost August and that means the Eagles start training camp.  Rookies and selected vets reported Sunday, the rest of the team reports tomorrow, contact starts on Friday.

The big story is the absence of Jeremy Maclin.  It may be a while until we see him in camp as 27 other first-rounders have not yet signed deals with their teams.  The uncapped 2010 season has agents overeager and this could end up in a messy situation for most teams.

CB/S Macho Harris and TE Cornelius Ingram are looking solid and have been getting rave reviews.  Jack Ikegwuono was also impressive.  It looks like the Eagles have drafted very well in the secondary in the last two years with Macho Harris, Jack Ikegwuono, and Quintin Demps.

Westbrook’s knee looks like it is recovery well.  Westbrook was seen sprinting, looked good in lateral drills, and was working out without a brace.

The Phillies acquired Cliff Lee in order to bolster their rotation.  The Phillies weren’t able to acquire Roy Halladay and I don’t blame them for not pulling the trigger.  The asking price was way too high and I’m glad they balked at it.

Instead, the Phillies looked at other options and went after reigning Cy Young winner Cliff Lea.  The Phillies sent four prospects to the Indians without departing with their top pitching and offensive prospect.  The Indians get Pitcher Carlos Corasco, Pitcher Jason Knapp, Shortstop Jason Donald, and Catcher Lou Marson.  Now the Phillies keep A.J. Happ, Kyle Drabeck, and Dominic Brown.

Cliff Lee has had a solid season with a 3.14 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 107 K’s, and a 7-9 record with the Indians.  Lee has won his last 3 games, including 2 complete games.

Jim Johnson has passed away this afternoon after a six-month battle with cancer.  Jim Jonson was 68.  We will all miss him.  He was a special person to the fans and the organization, an excellent coach and human being.  The Eagles consistently had a defense that ranked at the top of the league each and every year under his leadership and we hope that his leadership will be seen in new Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott.

I thought the Jay’s asking price of A.J. Happ, Drabeck, and Dominic Brown was way too much to give up for Hallday and so did the Phillies management.  According to ESPN, the deal is likely over between the two teams.

The Phillies are opposed to giving up both Happ and Drabeck and rightfully so.  Happ has been stellar and Drabeck will be a star in the majors one day.  However, talks are not completely done as the Jays are scouting the Phillies system to develop a list of names they would be interested in.  The Phillies are willing to include pitcher Carlos Carrasco in the deal.

Other potential suitors for Halladay include the Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Angels, Dodgers, White Sox, Rangers, and Brewers.  However, Philadelphia is the best match for the Blue Jays.  Although the MLB deadline for trades is July 31, the Jays have set a July 28 deadline to trade Halladay.  We’ll keep you posted.

When it seemed that the chances of landing Roy Halladay were over, ESPN is now reporting that talks between the Phillies and the Blue Jays are not over.  Discussions seemed to die down between the two teams because the Jays GM wanted both A.J. Happ and minor-league standout pitcher Kyle Drabeck, as well as promising young outfielder Dominic Brown, who offers the rare combination of power and speed.

After that trade offer was rejected by the Phillies, the Jays shopped Halladay around to other teams, including the contending St. Louis Cardinals.  I would have to assume that other teams haven’t been able to give the Blue Jays the value that the Phillies are capable of delivering.  As of now, it appears that the Phillies may be offering J.A. Happ, Dominic Brown, and another pitching prospect other than Kyle Drabeck, who was really the deal-breaker in this potential trade.

We’ll keep you posted on any developments on a Hallday tade.

What’s up my peeps.  I’m sorry for not updating the site in a very long time, but I’ve had to deal with moving and starting a new job, so I needed to take a slight break from the action.  Not much has happened recently.  This is the dull part of year when we’re waiting in limbo while the Phillies fight through mid-season and we prepare for Eagles training camp.  We will get back into full swing once the Eagles start training camp.  In the meantime, I just wanted to catch up on some stories.

First order of business is taking a look at the Sixers 2009 draft pick, Jrue Holiday.  Going into the 2009 NBA Draft, we knew the Sixers were coveting a point guard.  Some thought that Ty Lawson would be the pick.  Jrue Holiday was also on the radar.  The consensus seems to be that Jrue was a steal at #17 for the Sixers and it was Lawson who was then drafted at #18.

Let’s take a look at the highlight video:

And then the strength and weaknesses via NBADraft.net:

Strengths: Long and wiry combo guard … A crafty ballhandler that knows how to get defenders off balance with the dribble … Has a good repertoire of moves and mixes them up well to keep the defense guessing … He has a deceptive 1st step and shifty quickness making him difficult to contain on the perimeter … Is adept using both hands, either when attacking or finishing … Uses his body as well as his length to finish around the basket … Utilizes a variety of floaters and runners in the lane … Likes to pull up from the midrange where he shoots with balance and good rhythm … Shows good speed in the open court and the ability to manoeuvre through traffic with the dribble while going full speed … Puts in a good effort defensively, where he enjoys being aggressive and pressuring ballhandlers … Has good hands, anticipates well and uses his wingspan to get many deflections … He is unselfish and possesses good court vision and has shown glimpses of being able to run a team full time …

Weaknesses: Had a very disappointing season in terms of the hype he had coming in from highschool … Played out of position for the majority of the season, and struggled finding his comfort zone … Battled inconsistency with his shot all year and it threw the rest of his offensive game off balance … Defenses showed very little respect for his outside shot, daring him to shoot and taking away his driving lanes … His form is a big issue as it throws his stroke off and makes his release inconsistent … He shoots off the side of his head with the shooting elbow way out, as a result his shot is all over the place …He does not have the superb athleticism or strength like many other combo guards … Tends to waste dribbles on the perimeter, killing the flow of the offense because he can be a ball stopper at times … Gets into trouble by over penetrating and then trying to make the spectacular play while in traffic and under pressure … Settles for contested jumpshots from outside and takes a lot of fading and offbalance attempts inside … Leaves his feet to make passes and gets caught with no options … Is stuck between positions because he has not proven that he can be a consistent scorer or that his decision making will translate to the next level …

I see good things in the future for the Sixers with the young trio of Jrue Holiday, Marreese Speights, and Thaddeus Young.  I like the pick and so does Bleacher Report:

Holiday is a much better prospect than a player like Ty Lawson or an Eric Maynor player. Even with Andre Miller gone, Holiday probably won’t start immediately since he has a ton of upside and must be brought up slowly, which is the only downside to this pick. But I can’t express how much I love this pick.

The former McDonald’s All American, was the best player at number seventeen. He has the largest upside of anybody in the draft. As much as people liked Lawson, he is what he is, he has reached his ceiling. At 19-years old he hasn’t even shown us what he can do. Maynor is 22-years-old, and has also reached his ceiling.

Based on potential and upside of a player, the Sixers get a consensus lottery pick at number seventeen.