Welcome Back To Philadelphia, #3, Allen Iverson!

What a scene in and what a moment in the Wachovia Center this was.



"ALLLLLLLLLEN IIIIVERRRRRRRRRRRRRSON!!!!!!!!!!!"

I love Matt Cord.

And here is his first bucket with Sixers PbP announcer and big-time homer, Marc Zumoff on the call.



Let me tell you what. This Sixers team is an entirely different team iwht him in the line up. Say what you will about him and his work ethic, he is making this team a million times better and it shows in the way they are beating Denver midway through the 3rd quarter. How can you not love this?

Update: Well that ended badly. After being up for 3 quarters, the Sixers completely collapsed and Chauncey Billups ran amok all over the Sixers in what turned out to be a 10-point win for the Nuggets. All in all, Iverson did not play bad and you have to feel that a lot of good will come from this. The Sixers have not exactly had an easy schedule and it does not get much easier down the road. If they can go .500 in the next 20 games or so, it will be truly amazing and the Sixers can say that they are poised for a playoff push.

The Allen Iverson Presser Complete With Tears!

Damn it's good to have him back!

HE'S BAAAAAAAAAACK!!!

After announcing his retirement through Steven A. Smith on Mike Missanell's radio show a week ago today, Allen Iverson is not only out of retirement but he is back in the city where he belongs, the city that loves him, the city of Philadelphia. Yes, Allen Iverson is once again, a Philadelphia 76er. From CSN Philly

Allen Iverson is rejoining the Philadelphia 76ers and is expected to make his debut Monday at home against the Denver Nuggets.

Iverson’s brief retirement is over after signing a free-agent contract with Philadelphia on Wednesday, three years after their acrimonious split led to his trade and seemingly ended any chance of his return.

The Sixers needed a replacement once they lost starting point guard Lou Williams, who’s expected to miss eight weeks after jaw surgery. Williams, who averaged 17.4 points and 5.1 assists, broke his jaw in a loss to Washington on Nov. 24.

Iverson, his agent and business manager met with team president Ed Stefanski, coach Eddie Jordan and two other members of the organization Monday to talk about returning.

“Without really seeing him on the floor, I would like to compare him to Brett Favre, a guy who people think is too old to play and he’s almost having an MVP year,” Jordan said. “That’s off the top of my head. When I woke up this morning, I said, ‘Maybe he can be that.’ It’s not a big maybe. I think he can be that.”

The 34-year-old Iverson announced his retirement last week after a stint with the Memphis Grizzlies. The 10-time All-Star was NBA MVP in 2001, when he led the Sixers to the NBA finals.

“We had, at times, a rocky road with Allen Iverson, but we also had a fantastic run with Allen,” Peter Luukko, COO of Comcast-Spectacor, which owns the 76ers and Flyers, told The Associated Press. “The expectations with Allen have changed dramatically. We’re not looking for Allen to individually lead this team the way he has in the past.”

[...]

Jordan said Iverson will likely start in place of rookie Jrue Holiday.

“I told him I would like for him to start, and that’s where it sort of ended,” Jordan said. “And he was really like a kid at Christmas. That’s how he sort of explained it to me. He’s really excited and we’re looking forward to it.”

The man who is all but shunned by the rest of the league is back in the city that loves him. This is great. And so what if this is not the best way to build a championship team, the Sixers are currently a car wreck of a team that is getting nowhere way too fast. A change needs to be made. While there were no expectations of this team to win a championship, there was and maybe now still is the expectation that they can be a bottom of the pack playoff team that can win a playoff game or 2.

This may not make the most sense basketball wise but financially speaking they need it and for the first time this year, Sixers tickets are selling like Philly cheesesteaks and also for the first time this year on Monday, I will do something that I have not done all season: watch a Sixers game.

A.I. is back in Philly. I love it.

BREAKING NEWS: Allen Iverson Retires

Stephen A. Smith just reported on 97.5 The Fanatic with Mike Missanelli that Allen Iverson is going to retire from the game of basketball. I'll have more as details become available.

While I await for some quotes and what not to post, I guess I'll offer my 2 cents.

Darn I was hoping the Sixers would bring him back! A 1-year contract with AI would have been awesome and would have gotten people in Philly interested in the NBA again. But alas, this is AI's decision and I wish the best little man to ever play the game of basketball all the best in the future.

He may not have too many fans in Detroit, Denver, and Memphis, but Philly fans will always remember and always love AI. Here's hoping that one day not too far away he will at the very least he will sign a 1-day contract with the team and the city that loved him so he can officially retire a Sixer.

Did he get the NBA title he so badly wanted? No. Will he end up in the basketball Hall of Fame one day? You betcha.