Hoops, There It Is.

     This was a basketball junkie's hoops heaven weekend. The Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament has been paired down to the Final Four on the Men's side and the Women will have decided their semifinalists Monday night. The Warriors hosted Atlanta on Friday night, welcoming back Steph Curry from his ankle injury; they hosted the Jazz on Sunday night.

     I watched many of these games and the surprising outcomes. As it has been repeated--this is why they play the games. More on that later.

     We found ourselves in Philadelphia Saturday, attending the early evening (6:00) start between two playoff hungry teams. The Philadelphia 76'ers hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves in a clash of young and hungry squads. Given the hour of the day, a youthful, boisterous crowd was in attendance inside the Wells Fargo Center, a beautiful edifice in the same South Philadelphia location as its predecessors, the Spectrum and the Wachovia Center.

     After a fun parking job on South Chadwick Street, a narrow roadway surrounded by seemingly unending row houses of the same design, we hung out with my cousin's son and his girlfriend and their wonderful rescue pitbull mix dog. Then we did what South Philly residents and Jews do alike--we headed to Passyunk Avenue for Italian food, which constituted salad, epicurean pizza and beer. And in a nod to the day it was--National Cheesesteak Day--we indulged in cheesesteak egg rolls. How could we not--we were in the city of cheesesteaks. They were delicious.

     We survived our first Uber trip in a car that had a cracked windshield and with a driver who blatantly ran a red light on South Broad Street, leaving us off on Pattison Avenue to the honks of angry motorists behind him. As we approached the building, the first door was a mob scene and we were near game time. However, the next door over was relatively easy to enter.  Such is a classic scenario at sporting venues--the cattle-like slow movement towards one entrance, funneling in a torturous progression, even if an alternate gate is open.

     My last visit to a Philadelphia arena was to the late, lamented Spectrum. Shaped like a hockey rink, and with a capacity of 17,007 for Flyers' hockey which swelled to one 18,000 for Sixers' games, it was a loud place with narrow corridors with some windows to the outside and the bathrooms were small and dirty. Long, grumbling lines of men and women could not easily relieve themselves of  Schmidt's beer.  Such fond memories of the 5 games I saw the Sixers, driving almost 2 hours each way from Highland Park and West Orange, to the grungy area around the Philadelphia Navy Yard inhabited by Veterans Stadium, the home of the Eagles and the Phillies, and JFK Stadium, the 100,000 seat relic that was host to the annual Army-Navy football game.

     Contrast the area now with two stadiums replacing the cookie cutter/artificial turf monstrosity that the Vet was. Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field (The Linc) are two beautiful stadiums rising up amongst the parking lots which surrounds the complex.  Philadelphians take their sports seriously, which is why there is big sign on the stands at the North end of The Linc proudly proclaiming for all of the world flying into Philadelphia or driving on I-95 or in the area that the beloved Eagles won Super Bowl LII.

     As much as Citizens Bank Park is a modern red brick throwback stadium and The Linc is a huge NFL stadium, Wells Fargo Center contrasts the other two with its gleaming white and glass outside. As much as it gives the true appearance of a large indoor arena from the outside, the opulence of the building inside makes it a very attractive venue. The corridors are wide and the escalators are fast; the bathrooms are large and clean; the signage is appropriate for commercial opportunity as well as the banners hanging from the rafters commemorating Sixers' and Flyers' greats and championship teams, as well as Villanova's National Championship (the Wildcats play a portion of their schedule in Wells Fargo Center). There also are banners for consecutive sold out concerts by Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and Pearl Jam. Plus Bon Jovi's Philadelphia Fury Arena Football League championship twin banners are readily visible.

     The scoreboards display all of the vital information and replays are aplenty. The entertainment is constant and geared to a younger demographic. I especially liked the Liberty Bell replica which a celebrity rings to start the Sixers' introductions; Eagles' WR Alshon Jeffrey received a thunderous ovation when announced.

     The place is still loud. But unlike other visits to see the Sixers, there weren't very many boos. That is because the Sixers, wearing '70's throwback uniforms, beat up a tired Minnesota Timberwolves team which had struggled the night before to beat the Knicks in New York and was missing star Jimmy Butler.

     These are two playoff-type teams, full of young talent, and led by 2 very astute coaches. Karl-Anthony Townes, from New Jersey, hits couple of 3 point shots early on to keep Minnesota even with the Sixers. But he developed foul problems which sent him to the bench. His counterpart at the center position, Joel Embiid, outperformed Townes and the entire T-Wolves team. With a bevy of 3 pointers, good defense and rebounds, complemented by the outstanding point guard play from 6' 10" rookie Ben Simmons, the Sixers made the game into a rout--until the Sixers reserves were throughly outplayed by the T-Wolves reserves, which required Simmons, Embiid and some of the other starters to come back in with a little over two minutes left to go to settle things down and preserve the win.

     We left with the spectators who remained to the end, to the streets and to the Broad Street Subway. Once a dirty, unsafe and squalid place, it has been cleaned up and is a fashionable way for the many young men and women to travel back to Center City or to catch a train at the 30th Street Station to ride back to the suburbs. All fitting with the image which Philadelphia wants to project--a safe, fun city for all to enjoy.

     Which I cannot deny. Old neighborhoods are being transformed into retrofitted homes which are pricey without losing the charm of the surroundings. Like other rising cities, the return to the city by young people has started to boom in Philadelphia.

     Thus it is fitting that the rise of the Eagles, Flyers and Sixers mirrors the image of the area. The Phillies will soon join its brethren, making Philadelphia a residential and sports mecca.

     As to the Sixers, they have an opportunity to reach as high as third in the Eastern Conference. I believe the pundits who say that the Eastern Conference is weaker than the Western Conference. I also look at the Toronto Raptors and think that if they reach the NBA Finals, they can give a real test to whomever emerges from the West. I expect that the inexperience of the Sixers will show in the playoffs and they could lose in any given round, but their future is as bright and shiny as the Wells Fargo Center.

     Given the amount of fun we had on Saturday night, the NCAA's almost seemed secondary. Villanova and Kansas, both #1 seeds, made the Final Four. Kansas had to go an extra 5:00 to defeat #2 seed Duke, who lost the game in overtime when they should have won it in regulation. Questionable officiating also hurt Duke.

     The two blue bloods were joined by #3 seed Michigan. Benefactors of a last second shot to get them to the Sweet Sixteen, Michigan put up 99 points in their first game on Thursday, then managed to hold off upstart Florida State on Saturday. Former Williams College D-III All American and National Champion Duncan Robinson seals the win with two clutch foul shots. I am willing to bet that there aren't very many who have won National Championships at the DI and DIII levels. Should the Wolverines win in Saturday's semi-final and prevail over Villanova or Kansas, Robinson's story would be truly unique.

     Then there is the uninvited guest to the Final Four. The Loyola of Chicago Ramblers, winners the Missouri Valley Conference, having lost only four times during the season, have used the support of 98 year old Sister Jean plus some pressure defense and a whole lot of luck to make it to San Antonio, the site of the Final Four. It would be the unlikeliest story for an #11 seed to make it to the final contest should they take down Michigan. But with the many surprise outcomes this year, can we really be the shocked?

     I felt a little bit better knowing that Stephon Curry was returning to the Golden State lineup on Friday night. His return sparked the listless Warriors, missing three All-Stars--Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. After a rough start, going 1 for 6 from the field, Steph righted himself to end up shooting 10 for 18 for 29 points in leading the Warriors to a win over the Atlanta Hawks.

     Except that teammate JaVale Mc Gee rolled into Steph's knee in the third quarter. Saturday's MRI disclosed a Grade 2 MCL sprain. It appears that Curry will miss the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

     Is that devastating for the Warriors' chances to repeat as champs? Not necessarily. In order of importance, the Warriors need a healthy Durant, Thompson healed from the broken thumb on his shooting hand and Green fully ready and able to compete at his hyper speed best.

     Yes, Curry is special. But for Curry to do it without the supporting cast I have mentioned--they stand no chance to win it all. And this takes into account that Curry comes back and is instantly his unstoppable self. Which would be something else considering Curry's late season maladies.

     Teams like Houston, who will now wrap up the top seed in the Western Conference, Utah, easy winners Sunday night over the injured Warriors team, torrid Portland, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Minnesota and even New Orleans are capable of defeating Golden State. I didn't think the Warriors were going to win it all before this spate of injuries and now I am more convinced than ever that they are not going to repeat. What they have accomplished over the past three years is proof of a great team. I feel badly that their run is going to end this way.

     Finally, UConn's women's team defeated defending champ South Carolina Monday night for a Final Four berth. I root for UConn to win--I think that as long as Geno Auriemma remains as their coach, I want them to be dominant. I liked Red Auerbach in Boston, John Wooden at UCLA and Phil Jackson with the Bulls and Lakers. Superior coaches who took the best talent and had the wherewith all to form teams that could win championships. Auriemma falls into that legendary category.

     With the onset of the baseball season upon us, and Yankees' first baseman Greg Byrd again going under the knife, using the same surgeon who extracted a benign tumor from my left ankle at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Still, we all have one more weekend of college basketball ahead and some rugged NBA Playoffs starting in mid-April. By then, my heart and mind will be on baseball.

     At least my thirst for one more basketball game to attend has been quenched. I just hope that someday my cousin's son contacts the Sixers' management to correct the grammatical flaw in this closing remark from the P.A. announcer--"Thank You and drive home safe!"

     While I share his pain, this is what Philadelphians accept when they see their teams play. They have seen too many disasters along the way. Or, with my apologies,  this article had to be entitled "Hoops, There It Is."