Last week I was delivered a package from the Philadelphia Flyers. Now most of you would think that’s a good thing but as a Flyers season ticket holder I knew it was a nothing more than a joke. As I opened the envelope and reviewed the tickets for all the great games in my season ticket package I knew it was a long shot I’d actually attend any, not because of other obligations but because once again the lights have gone dark on the NHL. Rinks and practice facilities around North America have officially gone dark as of 12:01AM Sunday Sept 16th with no end in sight.

This is the second lockout facing the NHL in the past decade. The last one in 2004-05 wiped out the entire season and it was the first time since 1919 the Stanley Cup was not delivered to any team. Because of the severity of the last lockout there is a great amount of fear surrounding what may happen with this one. Die hard hockey fans like myself around the country fear the worst. Commissioner Gary Bettman said it himself that hockey fans are the greatest, most loyal fans in the world which I absolutely agree with him on. Hockey is a niche sport and those of us that watch daily live and breathe with it. The problem is that loyalty is now being used against us. The commissioner and owners know for a fact fans will return no matter how long the game stays inactive. Arenas will fill whenever a new deal between the players and owners is struck and both sides will capitalize on our wallets. Sadly the only way to make a statement is for fans to stay away from the game they love once it’s returns.

The 2012 NFL season is once again upon us as America’s game takes center stage. In addition to the usual Sunday games and Monday night game the NFL will also include a Thursday night game each and every week starting in September. It’s the first time ever the NFL will do this which will guarantee an additional football timeslot on everyone’s calendars which may infuriate wives/girlfriends around the country. Regardless, it’s that time of year when football trumps over everything else in your life and with that said the 2012 season is shaping up to be full of excitement and competition till the very end.

Our Philadelphia Eagles have been in the discussion quite a bit this offseason and have received positive reviews from the national media. The experts of national networks such as ESPN and NBC are choosing the Eagles to go very far this season. Personally I don’t quite get that prediction. The Eagles did a nice job of locking up talent this offseason for long term deals. For the first time in a long time not a single player is entering the season with a contract issue. DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy both are pretty happy to be entering 2012 with new deals which I believe will pay dividends for the team on the offensive side of the ball.

I can’t believe I’m actually writing a blog post about the Sixers in August. Usually this time of year in Philly is reserved for the Phillies and Eagles but 2012 has been one crazy thing after another when it comes to Philly sports. The Phillies are playing out the string while the Sixers are making bold moves and stealing the headlines from everyone else in town. It all sounded too good to be true. The Philadelphia 76ers landed Andrew Bynum in a 4 way deal that saw the team send long time Sixer Andre Iguodala to the Nuggets. Aside from Iguodala the Sixers also sent Nikola Vucevic, and this year’s first round draft pick Maurice Harkless along with a lottery-protected first-round pick to the Magic. The Sixers also received veteran sharp shooter Jason Richardson in the deal. The deal is probably the first legitimate acquisition since the team acquired Dikembe Mutombo in a trade over a decade ago. Sure the Sixers did strike a deal for Chris Webber and signed Elton Brand but lets face it both of those players were over the hill by the time they reached Philly. Bynum comes to town at 24 years of age entering the prime of his career which could be scary for the rest of the Eastern Conference.

I love this trade for many reasons, first and foremost it shows me this team is not only making strides to exit the state of mediocrity they’ve been stuck in since the exit of Allen Iverson but they want to make the moves necessary to build a championship caliber team. Sure the Sixers gave up their best player in Iguodala and some young talent in Harkless and Vucevic but that’s all they were was young, unproven talent. No one knows for sure how either of their careers will play out but the fact is you gave up something that may happen for talent that’s a sure thing.

The Philadelphia Phillies have been making all the headlines in recent weeks and mostly for all the wrong reasons. As I write this blog entry I think about the past 5 seasons of Phillies baseball and how it all came crashing down so quickly in 2012. Like many fans around the Delaware Valley I started asking how did this happen to our team and what does the future hold for baseball in Philly.

The recent trade of the Flying Hawaiian Shane Victorino was one that really got to me. Victorino was a huge part of the Phillies success over the past 5 seasons especially during the memorable 2008 World Series run. I remember like it was yesterday when Victorino stepped up to the plate and knocked a grand slam off then Milwaukee Brewers pitcher C.C. Sabathia in the division round of the 08 playoffs. That same post season Victorino played the role of the villain as he started a benches clearing brawl against the Dodgers in the NLCS when he was thrown at during an at bat in game 3. He hit the game tying homerun in game 4 of that same series which set up the game winning home run by Matt Stairs.

It’s official folks, training camp is underway at Lehigh University for your Philadelphia Eagles. Sunday July 22, 2012 marked the arrival of Eagles rookies, coaches, and selected veterans such as QB Mike Vick. This is now the 17th camp in a row to take place on the grounds of Lehigh. The fields are cut, the air is crisp, and you can now hear the sound of helmets popping throughout the region. It’s a beautiful time of the year to be a football fan.

Training camp has always been significant to me for many reasons. It signals the end of summer is near so enjoy those final beach days. Crisper, cooler weather is right around the corner. And soon enough my Sundays (and Thursdays/Mondays nights) will be jam packed every week starting the second Sunday of September through the first week of February. This might be the most anticipated training camp I can remember in quite some time for the Eagles. Thanks to the pathetic display of baseball we’ve had to endure this summer with the Phillies the Philadelphia sports fan has been eager to get camp going for a while.

We’ve now entered the dog days of summer here in Philadelphia Sports. The Flyers and Sixers are now in the midst of the free agent period of the off season as they prepare to fill out their rosters for 2012-13. The Eagles are now in flux as they prepare to enter training camp at the end of the month. Then we have the Phillies who appear to have made plans already for the off season. With that said I began thinking which of the 4 major teams in Philadelphia have the best chance at bringing the next championship to town. I decided to rank them from 4 to 1, 4 being the furthest away 1 being the closest in my opinion. For all the Union and Soul fans out there hopefully they’ll gain enough popularity to make it to this list one day but for now we’re keeping it to the 4 major pro teams in town.

The 2012 Phillies are not the Phillies we’ve been used to watching over the past five years. They aren’t winning games like they used to, and the brand of baseball we’re seeing on the field isn’t exciting like years past. Injuries obviously haven’t helped the situation, but all good things do eventually come to an end. I hope I’m wrong with everything I’m about to say, but the signs I’m seeing so far this season down at the ball park lead me to believe 90’s baseball is making a return to South Philadelphia.

I grew up attending Phillies games at the Vet year in and year out, so I know what it’s like to watch a bad baseball team like many others in the Delaware Valley. Fans are growing weary of this ball club very fast. Tickets aren’t selling the way they did last season because of the team’s performance, and the gloomy outlook for the rest of this season and the future. This team is aging at a rapid pace, and it’s a scary thought for fans that have invested so much time and money into the Phillies since 2007 when they started this glorious stretch of baseball. As a Phillies season ticket holder I’m seeing firsthand the demand for tickets beginning to drop this season. Tickets used to sell easily on sites like Stub-Hub but so far this season it’s been a struggle to sell any games I can’t attend even at below face value. The fans are beginning to realize this could be the beginning of the end for this run of special baseball.

Last week the Los Angeles Kings won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history by defeating the NJ Devils in 6 games in what was a very competitive series. The Kings have been in existence for nearly 45 years and before last week have never hoisted the oldest trophy in North American sports. LA has had some phenomenal players over the years including “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky who is without a doubt the greatest player to ever step on NHL ice. Even with the “The Great One” though the Kings never were able to lift the 36 pound trophy until this season when a group of former Flyers began calling LA home.

The Kings, now known as “Flyers West” to many around the Delaware Valley, went on a remarkable run through the NHL postseason becoming the first ever 8 seed to win the cup. They also lost only one time on the road during the playoff run which is absolutely remarkable in today’s day and age of sport. Many hockey fans in the Philly area came down with some very conflicting emotions during the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals. On one hand we had the division rival NJ Devils who ended the season of our beloved Flyers and on the other hand we had the LA Kings filled with Flyer connections not only on the ice but off the ice.

Last week long time Eagles president Joe Banner stepped down from his post which was a shock to everyone around the Delaware Valley. This change is nothing short of monumental for the organization. Banner was president for 18 years and was a key component in turning the Eagles into the powerhouse NFL franchise they are today. Many around the region including myself thought Banner would be a lifer within this organization and would surely outlast head coach Andy Reid.

Banner has told the media the move was very amicable as he’ll remain on staff as a strategic advisor to owner Jeffrey Lurie while he plans to pursue a major new opportunity within the sports field. Banner was a member of the Eagles front office since May 6, 1994 when Lurie purchased the team. Since that time Banner was overseeing day-to-day operations of the team and was named team president on August 1, 2001. Lurie advised last week “There is no better executive in sports than Joe Banner”. That statement alone is where I have an issue.

The 8th seeded Philadelphia 76ers finally saw their improbable playoff run come to an end last weekend when they lost game 7 against the rival Boston Celtics. It was a game that saw the Sixers come up with plenty of opportunities and they kept it close throughout the first half. In the end though, as many suspected, the experience of the Celtics would overcome the youth of the Sixers.

For most of the basketball faithful in Philadelphia this season was something that was somewhat surprising for all. The team started off strong after the lockout forced the season to start during the holidays instead of the usual early November tip-off. The Sixers for the first month of the season played great ball and held on to first place. They beat some quality teams during the tough home stretch in February including the Lakers and Bulls but then they began to struggle. They nearly missed the playoffs entirely but managed to get in as the 8th seed where they would find themselves matched up with the top seeded Bulls and that was when the excitement began.