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Rhea's Rants

Expect the Cliff Lee talk to rear its ugly head again.  Soon.  Like maybe this afternoon.  From the moment the Phillies made that trade - much to the chagrin of many - the bullseye was placed squarely on the back of one Colbert Hamels.  He has yet to step up to the challenge.  We all saw what Lee did for the Phillies in the playoffs last season and he's due to return from a rehab assigment and start Friday for Seattle .  Hamels starts today against two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.  Let the second phase of the second-guessing begin.  Time's yours.

As much as the starting pitching has not been stellar nor the bullpen for that matter, the offense has been MIA of late.  After an 8-1 start in which the Phils were bashing the ball, they've gone 3-7.  Paging Jimmy Rollins!  Ryan Howard (props on the new deal ) and Chase Utley power this team.  But J-Roll brings a swagger – an intangible – that makes this team different.  Just feels like there's something missing.  5-1 with Rollins in the lineup. 6-7 without.

Flyers onto the second round of the playoffs.  Injuries to key players?  Check.  Jeff Carter done.  Simon Gagne out a couple weeks.  Ian LaPerrier out.  Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

I will loathe this as it happens, as much as it continues to intrigue me.  And that is the possible (impending?) return of Larry Brown to the 76ers.  There is one thing I know – if Sixers Chairman Ed Snider and Larry Brown continue to vociferously deny there's been some dialogue – then they probably have already drawn up a contract.

If Ed Snider continues to tell reporters he hasn't spoken to Larry Brown in years, I'm going to assume Snider has just hung up with Brown.  At the very least, I'm checking the phone records of COO Peter Luukko.

I don't think Larry Brown should be coaching or advising a team as young as the Sixers, but he certainly does have the cache to tell Andre Iguodala he ain't the star he thinks he is and the next time he takes a three-pointer he will sit him down.

And, finally, in the "be careful what you wish for"category – of which I am absolutely a charter member – we have your Philadelphia Eagles.  Anyone seem to think they just aren't that interesting right now?  Lightning rod quarterback Donovan McNabb no longer here for us to kick around.  Love him or hate him, life with McNabb was never dull.  We have no clue what to expect from Kevin Kolb.  Nor do we know if they actually filled the defensive holes in the draft.  And Andy Reid is still the coach.

Normally, there is a tremendous amount of interest following the draft.  Besides the fact I believe the Eagles totally outsmarted themselves with the 25-thousand trades they made on Friday night, they did something else.  They diminished interest.  Really, after going from 55 to 59 to 71 to 86, I was bored.  So, too, was the guy they picked – Daniel Teo-Nesheim.  Lots of draft experts had him tagged as a 4th or 5th round selection.  When asked what he was doing when the Eagles drafted him, Teo-Nesheim said he was laying down, staring at the ceiling.

Or maybe....cause I'm really cynical....just maybe the Phillies took a page out of the Eagles starved-for-attention playbook.  Interesting how that Ryan Howard deal got announced on Monday, huh?  Sure ended all that draft discussion pretty quickly.

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