No One Mourns The WICKED In Philly Sports
Before immersing myself in the final five games of the Eagles season, I spent some Black Friday afternoon time with my girls seeing WICKED at the movies.
I’m not much of a musical theater guy, but WICKED was the best I’ve ever seen on Broadway. If you did not want to ever attend a musical and had to, this would be your choice. I bet you would end up enjoying yourself too. It’s fantastic. The movie didn’t disappoint and it was tremendous. I’ll look forward to the second part coming out sometime in 2025.
The story of WICKED is a humorous and interesting spin on the Wizard of Oz. To summarize without spoiling it, think of this as the classic tale told from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West. Everything that you think you know, you don’t until you hear the back story. I am going to try and apply some of the main characters to our shared Philly sports history.
The Flying Monkeys
They are mindless and don’t think for themselves. They travel in packs and are willing to go after anyone who dares to stand in their way. They are not able to be reasoned with. In the show you feel sympathy for them but understand their inherent weakness. My best comparison?
DEFENDERS OF THE PROCESS
Even when faced with the overwhelming evidence that it was a fools errand, the fools continue to try and spin it as a brilliant plan that still isn’t dead. Don’t spoil the ending for them if you are smart enough to already know the correct answer!
Glinda the Good Witch
The good witch is flashy and very self-involved. She says all the wrong things most of the time but down deep you know that she has redeeming qualities. Sound familiar?
DARIUS SLAY
I apologize for not using his stage name like Madonna or Cher. Slay can throw teammates under the bus publicly, but the respect he gets behind the scenes from his teammates tells the true story. He cares about his personal brand but devotes much time to making others better. The young players follow him and learn from him. He takes the time to instruct and share his knowledge. He’s the good guy that far too often paints a contrary picture.
The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard isn’t who everyone thinks he is. He is supposed to be all-powerful. He is supposed to be the leader that can grant you everything your heart desires. In reality he disappoints due to his own shortcomings. He feels victimized by circumstance and can find an excuse for all of his behavior. Who could fit this description?
JOEL EMBIID
Much like the Wizard he had the potential to give everyone what their heart desired. He instead chose his own desires above the common good and spent last summer chasing personal goals while throwing the 76ers 2025 playoff chances down the drain. He proclaims we should be grateful for all he has done for the city, but the actual returns on investment aren’t factual.
The Wicked Witch of the West
She is incredibly frightening and aloof. She gets angry at the drop of her big black hat. She doesn’t care to let anyone into her inner circle. In reality, she allows those closest to her to know that the characteristics the public sees aren’t the whole story. Oh, she can be aggravating and scary as hell but at her core she has good intentions and is a success story. Who could wear that crown?
JOHN TORTORELLA
Despite what you hear from many of the local villagers, the story they tell isn’t based in fact. How many coaches have tenures of more than 5 seasons with three different franchises (he may get to a 4th) in NHL history?
Tortorella doesn’t burn through organizations, he has longer shelf life by almost double the league average at most of his stops. He is a great teacher and his players play hard for him. Yes, he scares the fragile local media members at every job but his resume tells the story that they won’t.
Go see WICKED with your wife, girlfriend or kids. They will appreciate the effort and you just might have fun yourself!
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10 Of The Best Trades Howie Roseman Has Ever Made
Trading Up For Devonta Smith
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
What is better than trading up to get a great player like Devonta Smith? Robbing your division rival of a chance to get the player. It’s a move he has made before when he jumped the Cowboys to take Dallas Goedert in 2018. But this time he worked with the Cowboys to steal Devonta Smith from the Giants. After years of very little talent at WR, the Eagles finally had someone with Star Power.
They just signed him to an extension, 2 years before they actually had to. He has proven to be a true WR1, even while sharing targets with AJ Brown.
Acquiring AJ Brown
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Even after getting Devonta Smith, the Eagles still had a big need at WR. Many people were projecting the Eagles to use one of their 3 1st round picks in 2022 to take yet another WR. Howie had a different plan. Why draft a young guy who may or may not be good when you can go out and get an established star at WR? Howie sent the Titans the 18th pick, and a 3rd round pick, and in return got one of the best WRs in the league.
They immediately signed him to a 4-year extension. This off-season they signed him to another extension. Now he is here for the long haul, and he has a chance to go down as the best WR in Eagles history. Meanwhile, the Titans have been a mess since he left.
Bringing in "Big Play" Slay
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Similar to WR, the Eagles had been desperately searching for a star-caliber CB for a while. Even that Super Bowl year, they were not exactly stocked in the secondary besides Malcolm Jenkins at Safety. They won with guys like Jalen Mills and Ronald Darby. It quickly caught up to them in the following years. So when Slay was trying to get out of Detroit due to a spat with then-head Coach Matt Patricia, Howie pounced.
The Eagles got an All-Pro Caliber Corner, and all they had to give up was a 3rd and 5th-round pick. Even now at an older age, he is still going up with guys like Ja’marr Chase and looking pretty good while doing so.
Trading Down With the Dolphins in 2021
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Sometimes Howie’s great moves have nothing to do with acquiring talent. Like in the 2021 draft. Howie traded down from pick 6 to pick 12 with the Dolphins, getting the Dolphins 1st round pick the following year. It’s the pick that would eventually turn into Jordan Davis. A move we do not have clear answers about. But the trade-down itself was a genius move.
Even after trading down from 6 to 12, they still got a guy, Devonta Smith, who everyone would have been happy with at pick 6. Well done Howie.
Howie Rips Off The Saints
(Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
This trade was weird, and I still don’t fully understand what the Saints got out of this. At one point the Eagles had 3 picks in the first round of the 2022 draft. But they wound up with 2 after they swapped a ton of picks with the Saints. The Saints wound up having two 1st round picks in 2022, but they gave up a lot to get that. There were a lot of moving parts, but here is what each team got back.
Eagles: No. 18 pick, pick 101, Pick 237, 2023 1st round pick (10), and a 2024 2nd round pick
Saints: Pick 16, Pick 19, Pick 194
The Eagles pretty much just gave up one 1st and moved a few picks down with another. And in return, they got Jalen Carter, and that 2nd round pick turned into Cooper DeJean. The Saints were trying to bet on themselves and failed. They ended up taking the bad end of the deal giving up two 1st round picks far more valuable than the two picks they got back, and throwing in a 2nd round pick for good measure.
Acquiring CJ Gardner Johnson
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Yes, it wound up being only a rental, and then he came back a year later. But that rental was a huge boost in the 2022 season. CJ Gardner Johnson was a playmaking machine that season having a league-leading 6 interceptions despite missing time. he was such a huge part of that defense that helped them get to the Super Bowl.
Acquiring Jay Ajayi
(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Ajayi is not a star like Brown or Slay. But his addition brought an extra element to the team that finally won the first Super Bowl in Eagles history. Would they have won it without him? Who knows. But the Eagles needed some help at RB, and Howie was not shy about going out to get it. He sent a 4th round pick to the Dolphins and got back a guy who put over 400 yards for them the rest of the way.
Getting a 1st Round Pick For Sam Bradford
(Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images)
Somehow, someway, the Eagles both offloaded an angry Sam Bradford and got a 1st and 4th round pick back in 2016. The Vikings were desperate for QB help after Tedd Bridgewater suffered a season-ending injury, and Howie cashed in. In one fell swoop he replaced one of the 1st round picks they used to trade up for Carson Wentz and opened up the starting spot for Carson Wentz by getting rid of Sam Bradford.
He did go on to waste that pick on Derek Barnett. But the 4th round pick turned into Josh Sweat who turned out very well for them.
Getting a First Round Pick For Carson Wentz
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That is not the only example of Howie getting a lot back for a QB they didn’t even want. When Wentz’s time had run its course in Philly, there was not a lot of optimism Howie would get much back. But he worked his magic and got a conditional 1st round pick. Thankfully, those conditions were satisfied, and he turned into one of the 3 1st rounders they had in 2022.
They sent that pick to the Saints, and got a haul. They made a lot of other trades with the picks they got back, which makes what they got back for Wentz a bit complicated. Going through all the eventual trades would take a whole article of its own. But all of these players were acquired with picks connected to that original trade of Wentz.
- DeVonta Smith
- A.J. Brown
- Kyron Johnson
- Jalen Carter
- Cooper DeJean
- Jalyx Hunt
- Jeremiah Trotter Jr
- 2025 fourth-round pick
- 2025 fifth-round pick
Pretty good haul for a guy who is now a backup in the league.
Moving Up With Dolphins in 2016 Draft
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Before the Eagles moved up to pick 2 to get Carson Wentz, they made another move to get from 13 to 8. What did they have to give up to get there? Two players they were already trying to get rid of. Kiko Alonso and Byron Maxwell. It not only moved them 5 picks up in the draft but got rid of the bad contract they had just given Byron Maxwell. Not sure what the Dolphins were thinking.
To go from 8 down to 13 and only get two struggling overpaid veterans back. But thank you Dolphins, and thank you Howie.
