by  Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com
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This was a fait accompli two summers ago.

With Sixers Nation wallowing in pain, anger and frustration, all of it fueled by a second-round playoff loss to the Atlanta Hawks that most fans, media and, apparently, even some players lay at the feet of Ben Simmons and Doc Rivers, the reality is that the state of Philly’s NBA franchise – as it currently stands right now – was sealed in 2019.

Already five years into the process at that time, the Sixers had weathered the storms of season-ending injuries to 2014 overall No. 3 draft pick Joel Embiid and 2016 overall No. 1 draft pick Ben Simmons and the complete mental meltdown of selecting Markelle Fultz with the top pick of the 2017 NBA Draft to emerge as a playoff mainstay by 2019.

Adding Jimmy Butler in November of that 2018-19 campaign actually made the Sixers more than that. His arrival made them title contenders. For as long as they would have him.

As an alpha dog capable, and willing, to take over games he fit a role lacking with the team. For all the promise Embiid showed, and the mystique that followed Simmons, being to close was not part of the repertoire – real or imagined.

But a funny (read: sad) thing happened later that season. The Sixers then got Tobias Harris in a trade, and while Butler was busy pushing the team to the brink of the Eastern Conference finals before Kawhi Leonard’s prayer was answered to end Game 7 in the second round, Harris became a media darling, Simmons became a misused superstar and Butler became the contemptuous lout all those “in the know” professed him to be.

End result: Harris got a max contract that summer, Simmons got the keys to the Sixers’ offense back and Butler got shown the door, with Miami only too happy to be waiting there with a new deal, a new culture, a new roster … and an NBA finals appearance in 2020.

Reality: All bad for the Sixers.

Not for nothing, but as nice a player Harris is, he’s not Butler – in attitude or game – and Simmons is nowhere near the take-control floor general Butler is, either.

Keep one, hell, keep both … but don’t let Butler walk. Under any circumstance.

The missing piece everyone is clamoring for right now, the Sixers had it in Butler.

Frankly, they were better in 2019 – not all second-round, Game 7 ousters are equal – and they were improving.

Now? The process, at least as most view it, is either over, has stagnated or is headed in the opposite direction.

Trading Simmons seems the obvious “first thing to do” at this point. But is it? No doubt, the pairing of him and Embiid, at least with Simmons as the team’s point guard, does not work and Embiid has proven himself to be the far more valuable commodity – when he’s healthy. That caveat is a concern, though – on two fronts. Being injury prone means he offers a shaky foundation. Not only that, does anyone notice how dominant a player Simmons often is when Embiid is out?

The team fares pretty much the same whenever either is out, playing about .500 ball. The Kill Ben Crew may want to step back and grasp that the Sixers have reached the second round of the playoffs in three of the last four seasons. The one time they didn’t is when Simmons was injured in 2020 and Boston booted Philly from the postseason in the first round.

The other issue related to that is this misguided belief that de factor GM Daryl Morey can, and will, fix everything – first and foremost by trading Simmons. When, in the hell, has he ever shown that he could do that? The guy spent 13 years in Houston and has a reputation as some wheeler-dealer wizard based off three main moves, acquiring James Harden in 2012, Chris Paul in 2017 and Russell Westbrook in 2019 – and none of those players remain with the Rockets, nor did any combination of them result in Houston even reaching the NBA finals.

The only thing Morey displayed from his Houston days was an innate ability to craft a disjointed, awkward lineup – which the Sixers have seemed to roll out every season since their last title in 1983.

If anything, hasn’t Philly learned by now that doesn’t work.

How about firing Rivers? See Butler.

by  Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com
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The beach means different things to different people.

For some, it is the spot to worship the sun. For others, it is the oasis from life’s reality, especially with a book hand. Many may see it as a gateway to the fun they can have in the water. A few may just enjoy the existential vibe of being there.

Whatever the reason, it receives a lot of love from a lot of people.

Including me.

With that, I’d like to share my 10 favorite beaches, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in this country and beyond it, after five decades and change of visiting them. No, I’m not claiming to be an expert, but if anyone were to ask, yeah, I’d recommend all of the following.

Honorable Mention: Ocean City, N.J.; Ponce Inlet, Fla.; Long Beach Island, N.J.; Newport Beach, Calif.; Folly Beach, S.C.; Sombrero Beach, Marathon, Fla.; Clearwater Beach, Fla.; Ormond Beach, Fla.; Old Orchard Beach, Maine; Rocky Neck State Beach, Niantic, Conn.; Narragansett, R.I.; Belmar, N.J.; Wildwood Crest, N.J.

10: Siesta Key (Florida). When we hear the words “Key” and “Florida,” the natural sense is to think of the world famous stretch of islands that serve as the southernmost points of the Sunshine State. The reality is, there are other Keys in Florida, and this one resting a bridge-crossing away from Sarasota certainly offers one of the best beaches I’ve ever seen. Clean, eye-catching, accessible, it checks most boxes.

9: Coronado (California). The West Coast vibe flows freely and positively here. Situated across the bay from San Diego, the beach here is a visual dynamo, including the Hotel del Coronado, and presents the same in external sights. Florida gets the best weather year-round in the U.S., for my taste at least, but this area by the Pacific Ocean would rate right up there.

8: Cape May (New Jersey). You have multiple beaches, including Sunset Beach and along North Cape May, but we’re talking the main beach here, with the promenade, facing the Atlantic. Great place for families, or kids, or adults. Seems to still offer a more folksy, perhaps more classy, option than the rest of the Garden State’s coastline. The Victorian homes facing the beach are pure eye candy.
 
7: Sanibel Island (Florida). A nice little getaway, but a hefty toll, from Fort Myers. Whether it’s having sex on the beach under the moonlight or just experiencing a real island feel without being too far from civilization, this gem in the Gulf of Mexico is tough to be. The lights in the distance coming from Fort Myers Beach can add to the ambience once the sun goes down (and the crowd leaves).

6: Brigantine (New Jersey). A revelation within the last decade for me. Atlantic City and its surrounded area had usually been pooh-pooh’d by people I know, or, worse, not even mentioned at all. But, thankfully, I finally checked things out on my own, and Brigantine is dynamite. Easy access, great beach, terrific hangout on the beach, nice town, etc. Bonus: If you want to gamble, just hop over the bridge.

5: Fenwick Island (Delaware). The perfect antithesis to Ocean City, Md.: small, quiet, peaceful, clean, sand that stretches for all the eyes can see unencumbered by anything icky, including humans. The First State offers some really nice beach towns with Lewes, Rehoboth, Dewey and Bethany, but this place is so different – like completely secluded from all the craziness nearby. With a lighthouse to boot.

4: Gulf Shores (Alabama). From here to Panama City Beach, Fla., a stretch of about 130 miles along the Gulf of Mexico that includes nearby Perdido Key and an almost picture-perfect Destin in Florida, offers an incredible string of beach communities, but this place is the one that has it all: white sand, activities for all, concerts, sports, even a ferry to Dauphin Island, Alabama’s more “natural” beach town.

3: Crane Beach (Barbados). The place looks like what every Hollywood producer envisions in a pristine, tropical, Mediterranean, Caribbean-type beach nestled somehow up against a cliff of some hard-to-believe coast. In short, a fantasy. Only this place is real, and the waves coming in from the Atlantic are ferocious. Riding them was treacherous, but worth it. Shades are mandatory … if only because they fit the profile of being in a movie – because you feel like you’re in one when here.

2: Miami Beach (Florida). The area, really, is three separate beaches: North Beach, Mid-Beach and, of course, the world-renowned South Beach. Truth is, you can’t go wrong with any in terms of quality of sand, access and the culture/character/activity nearby. But South Beach is the jewel, not just in this area, region or state, but the entire Atlantic Coast. The art-deco commercial area adjacent to the beach is spectacular at night, and the architecture within the neighborhood is eye-catching day or night. Plus, you have easy access to downtown Miami from here – if you want it.

1: Gulf Islands National Seashore (Florida). With whatever respect I can muster for the region of this that exists just east of Biloxi, Miss., we’re talking about the area that rests peacefully and blissfully east of Pensacola Beach, Fla. The white sand, the open space, the waves, even the brush that creates an organic border between street or lot parking and the beach, to me, just screams “ahhhh” – softly. The national shoreline stretches about 14 miles – from Pensacola Beach to Navarre Beach (two prime spots in their own right) – and, for me, always proved too enticing to pass up on the chance to stop, if only for 10-15 minutes, and enjoy what seemed to be a piece of nature’s perfection, visibly and audibly. Just vibe wise.

by  Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com
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Either getting older or getting more numb.

Fast. Very fast.

That’s the only conclusion I can reach about my ever-devolving state as the “more at risk” minutes tick along in lock step, apparently, with the 2021 NBA playoffs shelf life for the 76ers.

Gotta be honest, Wednesday night’s 109-106 Game 5 loss to Atlanta didn’t faze me or surprise me.

Or, gasp, even bother me.

A 26-point lead … blown.

An overrated player disappeared. A star struggled. Role players were hit-or-miss. The coach mismanaged the whole deal.
Sorry, but, I mean, who didn’t see this coming?

It’s a storyline that has played out either completely or partially the same throughout this second-round series … with the Hawks, in a plot twist, cast in the role of the Sixers in the opener.

I’ve seen this act for so long now, ever since Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons became the core of Philly’s pro franchise, that it just ceases to get a rise outta me.

Whether I’m listening to my father get all fired up about what happened in the Wells Fargo Center at THE most crucial juncture of this best-of-seven series, if not the entire Embiid-Simmons tenure, or the callers to, and hosts of, sports talk radio scream for the heads of Doc Rivers and Simmons, it hits at all once:

What’s up with me?

Why am I not feeling, acting the same way?

The repetitiveness of it all wears on me, I know that. We’re not hearing any new complaints, any new suggestions, any new anything. It’s all been said and done – or not done – before.

Oh, we get some revisionist history thrown in there, like the gripes coming in how the Sixers tried to force the ball inside to Embiid late, putting him in 1-on-3 situations.

Huh? Every situation Embiid found himself in with the clock winding down in the fourth quarter was his own doing. Trip after trip down the floor, he’d get the ball at the top of the key, even behind the arc, and he’d drive to the basket regardless of how wide open he was when he first received the ball. This wasn’t one or two times. This was repeatedly, and, frankly, his lack of success to generate any offense that way was the key factor in a double-digit lead just evaporating.

Well, that and a lot of Swiss cheese defense. Trae Young is great and all, but, c'mon ...

It gets old. The sliding scale of excuses has now shifted from covering Simmons’ lack of aggression and shooting flaws to Embiid’s gas tank. Meanwhile, the bitching about Ben grows after an outing which, clearly, he was a lesser evil than Tobias Harris.
 
It gets annoying. Say the Sixers rebound and win the series – keep in mind, Philly fans, that this “worst loss in your life” did NOT end the team’s season – and what do you think will happen then?

The same stuff. Knock the opponent. Boast on the Sixers. Praise Joel. Rip Ben. Sweat out the series.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Now if a championship somehow emerged from one of the cycles, OK.

Otherwise, ho-hum. They’re just boring me or numbing me to death.