April 11, 2017
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
The "Rocky" statue near the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The 2017 NFL Draft is going to be a tremendous bash and a success here in Philadelphia but you have to wonder why the city could not have found a way to feature the steps of the Museum of Art, rather than cover them with scaffolding.
Given the fact that the NFL Draft is a celebration of a sports culture that is so important to Philadelphia, there should have been a way to keep the steps featured. After all, for many people who visit the city, a run up the steps is mandatory.
For the fans who attend the Draft, the Rocky statue is the most important piece of art in the city and the run up the steps is an Olympic event.
There are a growing number of residents who are perplexed as to why the city has to shut down so many streets in preparation for the draft, and there is a legitimate argument as to why the whole event could not have been held at the sports complex.
It might be inconvenient but the city has to put on a great face because there will be a lot of faces in the crowd. Despite all the absurd preparations for the Papal visit, it is very likely that the crowds will be bigger for the Draft.
Given the energy of the local fans, and what should be the record-setting the size of the crowds, Philadelphia is going to shine. It would have been nice if one of the shining scenes were the legendary steps.
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The Flyers’ season came to its end on Sunday night in South Philadelphia where the team lost in a shootout to the Carolina Hurricanes. The club had its season-ending media session on Tuesday, and you have to think it will be the last time you’ll see goalie Steve Mason as a member of the club.
Mason, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, is likely to sign with another club. He joins a long line of Flyers goalies who were once considered to be the answer – and then left.
Mason caught some heat for post-game comments late in the season when he suggested the team did not come up with its best effort during a crucial game at Winnipeg. To be fair, Mason had always been willing to criticize his own play when he was subpar, but calling out the players in front of you when you’re a goalie – and your name is not Patrick Roy – is risky business.
So, the Flyers are once again at a goalie crossroads with prospect Anthony Stolarz a likely candidate to be part of a tandem next season with Michal Neuvirth – or not.
The Flyers might be better served by looking into the free agent market while one of their several goalie prospects develops, and it would be worth their time to check out Buffalo Sabres goalie Anders Nilsson, who would be a whole lot more affordable than Ben Bishop or Ryan Miller.
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High marks to the Phillies for a much more interesting start to their season than many expected – and that means interesting in positives and negatives.
With only a little more than a week in the bank, the Phillies have already treated us to a 12-run first inning, a dopey base-stealing decision late in a game, and then manager Pete Mackanin changing his closer and then getting tossed from a game within hours.
Mackanin was ejected from Monday night’s game against the Mets when the clubs were given warning after Phillies pitcher Edubray Ramos threw over the head of Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. The pitch was presumably payback from a bat flip from LAST season – and Mackanin will have to address that selfish decision.
This came hours after Mackanin made an early decision to officially remove Jeanmar Gomez as the team’s closer. There wasn’t much surprise that Gomez would struggle in the role but it was a surprise that Mackanin removed him so quickly and handed the ball to Joaquin Benoit – at least for now.
In the meantime, the Phillies have drawn better-than-expected crowds at Citizens Bank Park and the club has been a whole lot more entertaining than anybody expected at Spring Training.
And seeing that the Flyers and Sixers failed to make the playoffs – which extends the streak of Philly’s pro teams not advancing past the first round of the playoffs to a combined 20 seasons – we could really use the Phillies to provide a summer of interest.
