BOTTOM? So seven days and a handful of hours ago, the Eagles were leading San Francisco 20-3 at halftime, and the Phillies were up 1-0 on the Cardinals with Cliff Lee scheduled to start that evening.
Things have changed.
Look, it's possible that the Eagles can turn things around, that the Phillies will restock appropriately for 2012, that the 76ers will play this season and be inspiring, and I guess it's even possible (however remotely) that I will develop a hockey jones again.
I know we're spoiled. After all, as Isaac would surely note, at least we still have all our teams. And I never thought Philadelphians could develop the sense of sports entitlement that New Yorkers have always had and Bostoners have cultivated in the past decade. Where our teams are right now is still better than where they were in 1999 -- Doug Pederson, QB; Paul Byrd, Chad Ogea and Robert Person starting for the Phillies; Allen Iverson, a season away from magic; and Eric Lindros, multiply-concussed and properly bitter. We are not there yet, and the Phillies in particular may not be a "bad" team for at least the next three years.
But there is a distinct chill in the Philadelphia sports air. Winter is coming.
