MVN: Most Valuable Network

The Sixers wrapped up camp at Penn State a day early because they accomplished what they set out to do and are now waiting for the preseason games. It starts with Boston on Wednesday. The Sixers will be back in practice on Monday at PCOM.

Looking around the Atlantic Division, the verdicts are in from my fellow bloggers. The season preview I did yesterday was part of the project being conducted by Jeff Clark of Celticsblog. Dannie & Pete from ReclinerGM also previewed the Sixers and came up with 52 wins. So, between my prediction of 53 and ReclinerGM's of 52, we're at 52.5.

As for those Celtics, five bloggers weighed in on the defending champs. Jeff Clark from Celticsblog, Jim Weeks from Green Bandwagon, FLCeltsFan from LOY's Place, John Karelis from Red's Army, and Dustin Chapman from Celtics 24/7 chimed in and all agreed that the team would finish between 58-60 wins. They are still the team to beat in the East.

Don't forget about the divisional champs from two seasons ago. Three bloggers previewed the Raptors. Cuzzy at Cuzoogle, RaptorsHQ, and Ryan McNeill of Hoopsaddict ranged from 48 wins to 52. The average is just below 50. They won the division in 2006 with 47 wins and struggled last year to a 41-41 record.

The other two teams in the division have lower standards for the coming season. The Knicks added Mike D'Antoni at coach, another Italian as a rookie small forward, and Chris Duhon as coach on the floor. Stephon Marbury is still a Knick though. Joey Litman from Straight Bangin' and Seth Rosenthal from Posting and Toasting previewed the Knickerbockers and came up with 30 and 36 wins, respectfully. Dennis Velasco from About.com gave a stab at the Nets and unless I missed it, didn't give a prediction other than to say that they will fake like they want to make the playoffs but secretly be tanking to get a Prime Time Player in the draft. It's all about LeBron in 2010 anyway.

Adding them up, I have 58.8 wins for the Celtics, 52.5 wins for the Sixers, 49.7 wins for the Raptors, 33 wins for the Knicks, and something like 21 wins for the Nets. That gives the division an average of 43-39, which means better than average (41 being average). I'd guess that faking to make the playoffs but hitting lotto is more like 30 wins, but that would give the division close to an average of 45 wins. I suspect that the Celtics, Raptors and of course Sixers predictions are right on. The Nets and Knicks can only hope for 36 wins at best but are likely to finish around 25-30.

Congratulations to the Phillies after putting away the Brewers Sunday afternoon. Jimmy Rollins led the game off with a homer and Pat Burrell hit two more as the Phils beat the Brewers behind Joe Blanton, 6-2. Now it's on to face the pesky Dodgers! They swept the Cubs in their playoff series and with Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre leading the charge, are a very dangerous team to face right now. Hopefully, the Phillies can pull it off.

Unfortunately, the Eagles couldn't hold on after taking a 14-0 lead over the Redskins and lost 23-17. It was nice to see Westbrook back, but Andy Reid's playcalling is becoming more of an issue as the season wears on. DeSean Jackson had a nice punt return, but didn't get involved much in the offense other than reverses. If not for the Eagles, it would have been a pleasant Sunday. Can't win them all.

Check out the previews of the Sixers divisional rivals and see you back here on Monday. Stay tuned to Passion and Pride for all your Sixers coverage, as well as more Eagles and Phillies coverage through the month of October. Send your feedback to jburkett@mvn.com or leave a comment below. Thank you!