Sixers fire GM/President Billy King after 10 years with the team.
It came about 7 years too late!
Look, I don't wish for anyone to get fired, but Billy has been bad news for Philly. He was a fine understudy to Pat Croce and an even better puppet for Larry Brown. Once those two were out we saw how completely ineffective Billy really was. Yes, his task was daunting, but too many bad decisions later and here we are.
Frankly, I think that his boss, Ed Snyder is simultaneously one of the best and worst things to happen to Philly sports. On one hand, he almost single-handedly built Comcast SportsNet, the great arena on Broad Street and the franchises that play there-in. On the other hand, He refused to consider Croce's desire to run the entire business and then stuck with Billy King for way too long.
However, Ed is also the man I blame the most for killing my last bit of love for Hockey. What am I talking about? The Eric Lindros vs Bobby Clarke train wreck. Is it Ed or Bobby's fault that Lindros had all those concussions? No. Is it their fault that Lindros was represented by one of the worst agents (Daddy Lindros) ever? No. But while Bobby Clarke might have been the greatest hockey player in Flyers history, he was the biggest dick as team GM.
Clarke was responsible for destroying team chemistry during the Lindros spiral. Clarke was responsible for players not wanting to play in Philly. Clarke just didn't understand that coaches can be dicks, but GM's need to be bridge-builders. I heard too many stories (and several first-hand accounts) of Clarke treating people like shit.
And so I blame Ed. Why? He's loyal to a fault. He built up two great franchises and then let them crumble because he let loyalty and past results blind him to the fact that sometimes change is necessary. He held onto Clarke & King for too long, but failed to keep Croce (at his prime) because he didn't want to give someone else that much control. He let the Lindros years leave a bad taste in the mouths of Flyers fans everywhere and he allowed King to drag the Iverson year on for 2-3 years too long.
OK, now I really start to ramble...
The intervening years between the Lindros affair and now were the nail in the coffin for me and hockey. The strike and the bad TV deal sealed it. I have more interest in NASCAR than hockey now. (Which is to say I have no interest in hockey what-so-ever, but I live in NASCAR country so I get details whether I want to or not.)
Looking back, this is the hell that makes the life of a Philly sports fan. We chew up players and spit them out. Lindros fell apart here. Scott Rolen, one of the finest men in sports, was driven out of town. Donovan McNabb was booed coming into town and the way things are going he'll be booed on the way out too. Charles "Not a Role Model" Barkley ran screaming. The great Mike Schmidt survived, thank goodness. Iverson is still beloved by Philly for reasons that escape me.
Well at least that hell is over. Can't wait to see what new kinds of terror Snider and Ed Stefanksi put me through.
No comments:
Post a Comment