IS GETTING ITS DRAFT BOARD READY
In case you're looking for something to watch between the end of the Eagles-Oakland Raiders game (no disrespect to the Eagles' post-game show on Comcast SportsNet) and the start of Game 3 between the Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers . . .
There's always the 76ers. Their preseason game against the Phoenix Suns at 7 from Monterey, Mexico is being broadcast by NBA-TV, albeit in Spanish.
The Sixers are 4-1 in the preseason after Friday night's 115-113 loss to the Suns in Phoenix. Tonight's game will feature Spanish-speaking announcers and graphis in Spanish, part of an NBA marketing initiative to personalize the game for Hispanic fans.
The Sixers, who won their first four preseason games for just the fifth time since 1963, came from 18 points down in the fourth quarter Friday to challenge the Suns. They were undone, in part, by Suns guard Dan Dickau going 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final five minutes.
The good news was, Marreese Speights scored 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting, swept 12 rebounds and blocked two shots, and rookie guard Jrue Holiday had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in 30 minutes before fouling out. The bad news was, Elton Brand (1-for-7), Samuel Dalembert and Andre Iguodala combined to shoot 1-for-15.
Phil Jasner joined the staff of the Daily News in 1972. He has covered the 76ers and the NBA on a full-time basis since 1981. He won the 2004 Curt Gowdy Media Award, presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions to the sport during his career; he was a finalist for the award in 2001, when he also received a lifetime achievement award from the Professional Basketball Writers Association during the NBA Finals. He is a past president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association and the Philadelphia College Basketball Writers Association. Along the way, he has covered high school sports, the Big 5, the Eagles and the NFL, the World Football League, the North American Soccer League and what was then the Major Indoor Soccer League. He is a proud graduate of Temple University, and spent his early professional days at the Pottstown (Pa.) Mercury, Montgomery Newspapers (Fort Washington, Pa.), the Norristown (Pa.) Times-Herald and the Trentonian.
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for almost 20 years, working in the sports department the past 12 years. This is his first season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he has been the La Salle beat writer for the past six seasons.
