Posted on 11 January 2012. Tags: article, atlantic, down-the-knicks, game, knicks, national, philadelphia, real, spencer-hawes, team, yahoo, youth
The Philadelphia 76ers are 7-2 on the season and have won six straight games. But the completion gets a little tougher when they visit the New York Knicks on Wednesday, January 11. This is the third game in three nights for the 76ers and that will only make it more difficult. As a 76ers fan, I would love to see this team go on the road and shut down the Knicks. It would do a lot to validate the fact that the 76ers are a legitimate team in the eyes of the national media. But I also think that they are that kind of team even if they don’t win this game.
Let’s be honest. It is asking a lot for a team to win three games in three nights. The 76ers have had a very busy week and they are not going to win every game. Therefore, a loss against the Knicks would hardly be a sign that their fast start isn’t the real deal. But I am willing to bet the national media will be quick to say that the 76ers only beat bad teams. That might be true, but the 76ers have shown me that they are the real deal. I think they are the best team in the Atlantic Division no matter what happens against the Knicks.
That said the 76ers are fully capable of winning this game. They are built to succeed in this condensed schedule because of their youth and depth. Even if center Spencer Hawes can’t play because of his back strain, the 76ers still have enough depth to handle the Knicks. New York might have more star power, but the 76ers are a better team. The shoot the ball better and are easily better on defense. Entering this game, the 76ers look like a team that can handle the Knicks.
I would love to see the team pick up this win even though it is the fifth game in six nights. Getting a road win against a division rival under these circumstances is huge for this team. I think they can do it. Doug Collins knows how to rotate his players so fatigue shouldn’t be a huge issue. The 76ers are the rare team that has seven or eight players that can step up and dominate a game. That makes them hard to defend. For those reasons, I see the 76ers pulling out the win in New York.
* – Mark Paul is a Philadelphia resident and 76ers fan. Follow him on Twitter here.
Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.
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Posted on 21 July 2011. Tags: city, companies, david-blitzer, financial, london, national, opportunity, philadelphia, team, wesley-capital
Posted on 13 July 2011. Tags: agreement, apollo-global, approval, city, joshua-harris, management, national, opportunity, ownership-group, philadelphia, press-release, wells, wells-fargo
According to a press release from Comcast-Spectacor, the group has reach an agreement to sell the Philadelphia 76ers to a group led by Joshua Harris, Co-Founder of Apollo Global Management, LLC.
The sale, which is subject to the approval of the National Basketball Association’s Board of Governors, does not include the Wells Fargo Center or the Philadelphia Flyers, but the team will remain as a tenant of the Wells Fargo Center.
“We are honored to have the opportunity to be affiliated with this storied franchise,” said Harris. “As a basketball fan who attended college in Philadelphia, and with family roots here, I have always felt a strong connection to this City and the 76ers. We look forward to helping the 76ers organization build on this past season’s accomplishments in the years ahead. The ownership group also looks forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Comcast-Spectacor.”
The sale is expected to close later in 2011. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
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Posted on 07 July 2011. Tags: blackstone, european, holding, management, michael-preston, national, neither-harris, office, pennsylvania, people, story
The Philadelphia 76ers likely will be
sold to a group led by Joshua Harris, a director at Apollo
Global Management LLC, in the next few business days, two people
familiar with the negotiations said.
Harris will pay about $280 million, according to one of the
people, who were granted anonymity because they weren’t
authorized to discuss the sale publicly. Harris co-founded
Apollo Management in 1990, and holds a bachelor’s degree from
the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and
a master’s degree from the Harvard Business School.
Apollo went public in March.
Comcast-Spectacor, the holding company that owns the
National Basketball Association team, said a month ago that it
was exploring a sale.
Harris’s group includes David Blitzer, who moved to London
from New York in 2002 to create the European office of the
Blackstone Group LP (BX), the biggest private-equity firm.
Michael Preston, a spokesman for the 76ers, declined to
comment. Ike Richman, spokesman for Comcast-Spectacor, didn’t
immediately respond to a voice mail left at his office or an e-
mail. Neither Harris nor Blitzer immediately responded to e-
mails seeking comment.
Comcast-Spectacor also owns hockey’s Philadelphia Flyers
and the Wells Fargo Center, where both clubs play. The 76ers’
deal doesn’t include the hockey team or arena, which will still
be operated by the holding company.
The 76ers finished 41-41 last season, seventh in the
Eastern Conference.
To contact the reporter responsible for this story:
Scott Soshnick in New York at
ssoshnick@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net
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