PREFERS TEMPLE'S OFFENSE TO PRINCETON'S
Elton Brand grew up in upstate New York and played the majority of his NBA career in Los Angeles. He didn't arrive in Philadelphia until last season. So where, as the Phillies prepare to face the Yankees, does he place his World Series allegiance?
''Phillies, absolutely,'' the 76ers' power forward said after practice today at Philadelphia College Of Osteopathic Medicine, completing preparations for tonight's NBA regular-season opener in Orlando.
Not that it was always that way.
''Actually, my grandfather was a (Toronto) Blue Jays fan,'' Brtand said, laughing. ''I think that was when they played the Phillies in the World Series, too, so I was watching the Blue Jays. I don't know why, but he didn't like the Yankees or the Mets. He never had an allegiance to the New York teams.''
Brand admitted becoming a convert as he watched the Phillies in their run to last season's championship.
''I watched that run, and this year's run again, and I'm rooting for them, for sure,'' he said. ''It's amazing, because there's a good vibe around the city that makes you want to be a part of it. It's definitely inspirational.''
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.
