June 28, 2026
I was accused of many things during my radio days, but no one ever called me indecisive.
Oh, sometimes I would change my mind about a big issue rippling through the Philadelphia sports community, but never about the biggest stars. About them, I always had a strong opinion, pro or con, that never wavered.
For example:
Jalen Hurts, hero.
Donovan McNabb, zero.
Wilt Chamberlain, hero
Joel Embiid, zero.
Cole Hamels, hero.
Jonathan Papelbon, zero.
OK, I’ll admit it’s a stretch to include Papelbon on a list of superstars, but I couldn’t resist one more shot at a player who disgusted me like few others over my two generations in the Philly sports media. All these years later, the memory of that obnoxious look on his defiant face still makes me cringe.
All of this is a preface to my current thoughts about Bryce Harper, because my opinion of him has been in flux now for all eight seasons he has dressed in Phillies pinstripes. I just can’t make up my mind about this polarizing player with Hall of Fame numbers and no championship rings, with a reputation for being outspoken on important issues and infantile on at least one lesser one, with a player who makes a strong case pretty much every week for both sides of the argument.
Take the past week, for example. Harper pulled off one of the rarest of single-game achievements, hitting for the cycle in a big win against Arizona on June 21. He was also a major contributor in a troika of exciting late-inning comebacks against the truly awful Nationals bullpen. It’s not a stretch to say he was worth every penny of his $330-million contract over the past seven days.
But, of course, the story doesn’t end there; with him, it never does. Harper also chose the moment after he hit a big ninth-inning homer on June 25 to hold up his ring finger in response to a Washington crowd that had been chanting “Bleep Bryce Harper!” all week. You see, unlike me, the DC fans are not at all ambivalent about their former slugger. They can’t stand the guy.
Why did Harper hold up his ring finger? He’s no dummy. If he raised his middle finger, he would get fined for making an obscene gesture.
“Ring finger, though,” he said. “Make sure that’s out there.”
Unfortunately, the totally unnecessary act only confused me more. Maybe I’m obsessed with championships, but holding up an empty ring finger only reinforced the fact that he wears no championship rings on it. Even more ironic, at least to me, is that he flashed the ring finger in Washington, where the Nationals celebrated a World Series win the year after Harper left for Philly as a free agent. Hey, at least they’ve got one.
But that’s Harper for you. He can provide awesome moments like the home run in the 2022 NLCS (Bedlam at the Bank!) that sent the Phils to the World Series. And he can follow up that thrill by audaciously asking for an extension on a contract that had nine years left on it. He can have a huge week like the most recent one, and raise his batting average up to a still-unspectacular .275. Last year, he became petulant when GM Dave Dombrowski said his .261 average and the rest of his 2025 numbers were not elite. (Dombrowski was right.)
Harper is a superstar. If you don’t believe this, well, go ahead and try to switch the channel when he’s stepping into the batter’s box. He has a charisma that only the biggest stars can offer. The potential for a thrill is a mere swing away – majestic home runs landing in the far reaches of the seats. Only during the replay do we get to see him preening at the plate, allowing his suffocating arrogance to overshadow his athletic prowess.
In his 15th season, Harper should know better by now. He should know how to act, and what to say, given that he has been a big name in his sport from the time he made the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was 16. If you’re doing the math, that’s 18 years in the spotlight, 18 years of experiencing the highest highs and lowest lows. And 18 years of watching a team other than his celebrating a championship.
There’s only one way I am ever going to make up my mind about Bryce Harper.
The next time he’s holding up his ring finger, it needs to have a championship ring on it.
If that doesn’t happen here, he will never be a hero to me.
By all accounts, the first move by new Sixers GM Mike Gansey was a major success. With (I hope) the input of his new boss Bob Myers, Gansey drafted LaBaron Philon Jr. of Alabama with the 22nd pick in the first round. Bravo.
Also by all accounts, Philon is an explosive point guard with a terrific attitude – qualities that also describe his new partners in the backcourt, Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe. It would be no stretch to say, right now, that the Sixers have the fastest backcourt in the NBA.
They are going to be so quick, so dazzling, so . . . .
Wait a second.
Now wait one more second.
OK, now that the anchor of the offense, Joel Embiid, has finally caught up with the rest of his court partners, we can continue.
Do you see the problem? It doesn’t matter how talented the backcourt is if the three gazelles are impeded by the albatross playing center in his 12th season on the Sixers and 33rd on the planet.
How fast can the Sixers be with Embiid still on the court?
Not very. Between the myriad of leg and feet injuries he is constantly battling and the conditioning issues that have plagued his entire career, Embiid is the governor on the accelerator of the Sixer offense. He is cement sneakers on Usain Bolt. He doesn’t fit the new post-Process direction of the organization.
If I can see this, surely Gansey can. And if not Gansey, I have to believe the owner’s new right-hand man, Bob Myers – who has four championships on his resume – understands the disconnect between the old philosophy and the new.
Something is wrong with this picture.
I’ll give you a clue. He wears number 21.
You know, the guy over there whining at the refs before grimacing in pain at his latest health crisis.
Joel Embiid still has a lot to offer, if his delicate psyche and brittle body are in rare alignment. His stats still hold up, even though the Sixers haven’t sniffed the conference finals yet during his tenure. There must be some team out there that can see what he offers and is willing to ignore all of the other issues. Hey, teams keep trading for James Harden, who will never win either a championship or a personality contest. The idea of ex-GM Daryl Morey putting together two losers like Harden and Embiid and expecting to win is more hilarious now than ever.
But Morey, thankfully, is part of the Sixers past. Myers and Gansey are the present and the future.
And they can show just how adept they are at running an NBA franchise by finding a sucker to take on the $200 million left on Embiid’s insane contract, thereby freeing the Sixers of both that salary-cap crusher and that drama queen.
There must be somebody out there stupid enough to still believe in Joel Embiid.
Hey, has Morey found a new job yet?
Thinking positive, for a change. . . .
- In today’s world of incessant hype, where everything is the best, the greatest, the most incredible, I must say I can remember no catch more spectacular than the one made by new Phillies outfielder Derek Hill on June 26 in Washington. Hill leaped high over the wall at Citi Field and snagged the ball as it was about to become a two-run homer. The look of disbelief on Mets batter Juan Soto’s face only made the amazing catch that much sweeter. What a play!
- The best media person covering sports right now in Philadelphia (other than Rhea Hughes) is Jimmy Kempski of Philly.com. He does a series every year at this time that explores why each team in the NFC East could become a dumpster fire. Then he rolls out a dazzling array of stats and videos that prove the team is going to be awful the next season. His pieces this year on the Cowboys and Eagles are a rare mix of serious analysis with pithy humor. Check them out. This is the way Philly sports should always be covered, but rarely is anymore.
- Danny Briere is a walking, talking cure for insomnia, but now that the Flyers have become a promising new contender in the NHL, I see the GM differently than I did a year or two ago. Back then, I saw him as just another ex-Flyer performing a job he did not deserve. Now, I regard him as a quiet sage. Maybe Briere will break the chain of lousy ex-player GMs (Bobby Clarke, Paul Holmgren, Ron Hextall) who have weighed down the organization for half a century. Until further notice, I choose to believe so.
- Jason Kelce is re-writing the rule book on how to remain relevant after a great playing career in Philadelphia. Last week he was back in the spotlight raising more money for the Eagles Autism Foundation. Over the six years he has held his summer fund-raising event in Sea Isle, Jason and his helpers have collected an incredible $3.4 million for the cause. Plus, he is still a contributor on ESPN and a partner with brother Travis on the incredibly popular New Heights podcast. I also hear he’s about to add a famous sister-in-law to the family. Jason Kelce is proving the cheering doesn’t have to end after you walk off the field for the last time.
- I’m sorry. I thought I had five positive thoughts this week. It turns out, I only had four.