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Three Things to Do in Philly this Spring

If you read Hussain al Nowais’s bio, you would be able to tell pretty quickly that he was a Phillies fan. Hussain al Nowais came to America in 2006, and he was the perfect age to start rooting for the Phillies as they were tooling up for a World Series run. Although they would fall short in 2006 and 2007, 2008 would be different. Led by Cole Hamels, Brad Lidge, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and a strong supporting cast, the Phillies were able to defeat the Rays and make a city proud. The Phillies hadn’t won a World Series since 1980, and Philly as a whole hasn’t had a championship since 1983.

Hussain al Nowais was 14 when the Phillies won the World Series and was able to make the trip out to Broad Street to see his heroes hoist the World Series trophy. 2008 was a fantastic time for baseball in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, it’s now 2015 and the Phillies have a lot to be desired. Some members of the 2008 team are still there, including Utley and Howard, but they are much older and injury-prone. Hamels is just hitting his prime, but he doesn’t want to be here. The farm system is essentially broke. Needless to say, the Phillies might not be a hot ticket this Spring and Summer.

Here are three things you should check out instead:

Kennedy Exhibit at the Constitution Center: Anyone familiar with Kennedy’s bio and achievements will find this exhibit fascinating. Jacques Lowe was able to capture photos of Kennedy and his family in rare moments unseen anywhere else. This exhibit will run until September.

Art of the Brick at the Franklin Institute: Nathan Sawaya created a once in a lifetime collection of art creations made out of LEGOs. Yes, LEGOs! Sawaya’s collection includes a T-Rex, Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” and more. In total, there were more than a million LEGO bricks used. The exhibit will run until September as well.

Macy’s Flower Show: If you missed the Philadelphia Flower Show at the Convention Center, you still have the opportunity to check out some of the world’s most beautiful flowers in Philadelphia. The Macy’s Flower Show takes place from March 22 to April 4 at the historic Wanamaker Building, and there will be tours of the building and Grand Court.

No matter your interests you’re sure to find something you’ll enjoy in Philadelphia this spring – even if that means going to a Phillies game.

What Does Hussain al Nowais Think about the Eagles’ Free Agency Moves So Far?

Chip Kelly

So if you were to look at Hussain al Nowais’s bio, you wouldn’t see NFL GM anywhere. Still, he is a little been perplexed about what exactly the Eagles are doing right now. If you aren’t a follower of Crossing Broad or haven’t checked out Comcast Live in the past few days, you may want to sit down. The Eagles have cut Trent Cole and Cary Williams (ehh) and are going to lose Shady McCoy in a trade and Jeremy Maclin to free agency (ahhh!).

Now, not all is lost. The Eagles are expected to sign CB Byron Maxwell and RB Frank Gore. Maxwell is a fantastic cornerback, but it should be interesting to see how well Maxwell will do when he doesn’t have Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Kim Chancellor in the secondary. And Maxwell did not come cheap. He is expected to earn $63 million over the next 6 years

Frank Gore, on the other hand, is much cheaper and probably does have at least a year or two of good football left in him. However, you can never be sure, and even one lost step could result in significant decline. We all remember Shaun Alexander and countless other running backs who went from Hero to Zero in a single season. Unfortunately, a running back’s decline is often sharp and unexpected, so Gore certainly isn’t a sure thing. And he’s no Shady.

The Shady move was done mostly for cap reasons, which does make sense, so it should be interesting to see how well Kiko Alonso fares. He is one year removed from ACL surgery, but in 2013, he was a monster. If he could bring that level of talent to the linebacker corp., it could be a fantastic move. Alonso makes less than a million a year.

The worst part of the offseason so far (not going to address Sanchez, he’s not coming back as a starter. The remainder of his bio will read backup) will be letting Jeremy Maclin go. It makes sense why they won’t match the Chiefs’ offer; he is small and has a history of injuries. Still, we cannot go into 2015 with Riley Cooper as our Number 1 WR. This isn’t college, Chip. You can’t just plug anyone in there.

So far, the Eagles offseason has been an exciting one, but one that Hussain al Nowais can really pin down. We’ll have to wait until Draft Day to see if Chip is serious about getting Mariota and really shaking things up.

Why Ruben Amaro Should Be Fired

It’s time for Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro to exit stage left. While this former Philly and baseball legend has had his moments, die-hard Phillies fans like Hussain al Nowais are ready to watch the Phillies re-emerge as a top contender in the National League this year, and Amaro simply isn’t the guy who can make it happen.

According to Hussain al Nowais:

Amaro is clinging to the past.—Amaro may consider the Phillies to be in a “rebuilding phase,” but in order to rebuild, you actually have to do some building. Amaro famously didn’t make a single trade last year, in spite of the fact that an abundance of young, talented players were available to be acquired from trades. Instead, Amaro held tight to his roster of aging veteran players that, by many accounts, are well past their prime. In short, a general manager that doesn’t know when to shake up his roster is of little use to a Major League franchise.

Hamels hasn’t left.—The highly-sought pitcher Cole Hamels isn’t donning a Phillies jersey this year because he wants to; in fact, he’s made it clear he believes Amaro and the Phillies won’t be able to afford him the winning season he’s looking for. Yet in spite of Hamels’s public disdain for the Phillies and the many trade opportunities that were on the table, Amaro hasn’t been able to relieve Hamels from his roster; Amaro’s unrealistic negotiation terms made trade deals with other interested managers essentially impossible. But even though Amaro’s terms weren’t as well-received as he’d hoped they’d be, he should have realized that any player that’s not wholly invested in his team is outright toxic and an impediment to success. A good general manager would have been more flexible and found a way—any way— to trade Hamels before the 2015 season.

Spending is out of control.—Amaro has spent a total of $107.7 million dollars on just seven Phillies players this year.  What’s more, only one of them is under the age of 30. While there are some players that are worth the expense—take the Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander (who will earn a comfortable $25 million this season)—forking out millions to keep a small segment of players that aren’t exceptional is just a display of poor management.

Though Amaro may be in the final year of his contract, and though spring training is already underway, neither are reasons for Phillies President Pat Gillick to let Amaro lead the Phillies franchise into a fourth year of disappointment and exclusion from the playoffs.