Philly Sports Hall of Fame - Hoop Edition - Maurice Cheeks, Lionel Simmons, Herb Magee

Maurice Cheeks Retired Number Banner - Wachovia Center, Philadelphia PA

It's been a tough week for Mo Cheeks and the 76ers. Cheeks has always been a fan favorite in Philadelphia but, unfortunately, that was not enough to keep him here as the Head Coach of the Sixers.

Maurice Cheeks, however, is a member of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame due to his playing career. He was the point guard for the 1983 NBA championship team and the two other teams that played in the Championship series (1980 and 1982). During Cheeks 15 year career (11 with Philadelphia) he racked up 2,310 steals, which was the NBA record when he retired in 1993. Cheeks also left the game as the #5 all time Assists leader. The 76ers retired Maurice Cheeks number 10 in 1995.

Outside of Philadelphia, and certainly in Portland, Cheeks is likely best known for coming to the aid of Natalie Gilbert when she stumbled singing the National Anthem. The video is worth watching again. Perhaps it is the initimacy and solitude of watching on a PC instead of on television, but I actually got chills watching the video five years later. Towards the end Natalie recovers and finishes quite nicely. I rembering Cheeks mentioning in an interview that as he walked over he wondered to himself if he remembered the words.

The Anthem performance that night was prior to a playoff game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Dallas Mavericks. While Cheeks could lend an assist with the Anthem, he couldn't provide enough help for the Trail Blazers to stop Dirk Nowitzki who scored 42 points in leading the Mavs to a 115-103 victory.

Lionel Simmons was the leader of the 1989-90 LaSalle Explorers who finished with a record of 30-2. Simmons was named the 1990 Naismith college player of the year and also took home the John R Wooden Award. His 3217 career points in the NCAA ranked him behind only Pete Maravich and Freeman Williams when he graduated. Simmons went on to play seven years with the Sacremento Kings. He was named to the 1990-91 All-rookie team in his first year which was probably his best (18 ppg, 8.8 boards). In 1997 retired due to chronic injuries. Simmons is also a member of the Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame.


Lionel Simmons Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame Plaque - Palestra, Philadelphia PA

Herb Magee is the head coach at Division II Philadelphia University where he has coached for 40 years and tallied 850+ victories. This ranks Magee 2nd amongst all active college coaches (Don Meyer - Northern State, SD). His website also has a link to a plug by Bobby Knight. I like Herb just because he comes into a bar near my home for Eagles games early in the season. I have never had the guts to go up and say hi, but he does seem like a real decent guy.

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Spot the Sig! Bonus Base! Since it is cold in miserable here in the Northeast we are going to be adding a small bonus to the Spot the Sig! Contest this weekend.


Here is a chance for somebody to steal a base in the Phungo STS! contest. Tomorrow we are going to be featuring a Masterpieces Pack Bust. I will be opening 1 pack each of Hockey and Football since the Flyers, Vikings, and Eagles are all playing. And I will also open a pack of Baseball - because we are really about baseball here. And we are going to play a variation of Sox or No Sox. Here are the particulars.

Any Hall of Famer +2, Any Phillies or Orioles +1 Each. Vikings or Eagles +1, Flyers +2, Mets, Packers, Devils and New York Rangers (Hockey) all minus 1. Oh and If there is a hit, auto, serial #d, Game used whatever +2 to +10 points depending on what it is. Pack with the most points wins. The football and hockey packs are retail. The baseball is from a blaster.

To get a free base (or walk if you have the bases empty) in STS! simply pick the pack that wins. Two contestants can pick the same pack, if that pack wins they both get the free base.

The Packs will be opened at 10 AM (eastern) Sunday. (Time moved up from noon)

And if you haven't gotten involved in Spot the Sig! click here for more info. You can enter anytime and with the Masterpieces Pack Bust you could get a man on base even before the next round starts!