Houston Rockets

Injured Reserve. The opening of the new ballpark brought hope to fans, but the hope has quickly faded as general manager Ed Wade has once again been the target of criticism as the team has failed to meet expectations in the '00 decade. Bench. A series of terrible managers and general managers was briefly interrupted by 1993's magical run. Starters. Since the 1980s, team management has been consistently criticized as being cheap and uninterested in winning. Their season ended in the first round of the playoffs as they lost to their in-state rival, the Dallas Mavericks 4-3 in the Western First Round. This is mainly due to the fans' appreciation of players who give maximum effort; many of the Phils' most popular players have not necessarily been the best or most talented, but rather the scrappiest.

McGrady and Yao let their team to their best record in 10 years, finishing the year at 51-31 and seeded 5th in the Western Conference Playoffs. While some players have openly complained about a segment of fans who routinely boo their own team, it must also be said that Phillies fans are among the most loyal in the major leagues, turning out to support the team despite a multitude of losing seasons. Then during the offseason the Rockets trio ended as Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley and other familar teamates were traded to the Orlando Magic, but in return was Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, and many others. Phillies fans have endured a reputation for generally rowdy behavior (an old saying was "Phillies fans would boo a wedding or a funeral"), but the stereotype of them as rampant hellions is far overblown. The next 2003-2004 season was totally similar season, with another familiar record of 45-37, but the only difference was that they finally made their 21st Century playoff debut, however they were eliminated in a similar fate as their preceeding teams, being knocked out with a 4-1 record in the first round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers. There are only fifteen times that this has happened. The Phillies have had three batters with four home runs in a game, this is more than any other team, past or present. However the season ended in a familar record of 41-38. A rare distinction in baseball is to have hit four home runs in one game.

The 2002-2003 basketball season was a big clean up and a definite return of a winning team reputation which was lost during the turn of the century and a new "Rockets trio" (Yao Ming, Steve Francis, and Cuttino Mobley). The Phillies' recent failures have contributed a resurgence in the belief of the Curse of Billy Penn. People conidered him as the "New Hakeem" due to his height and the ability to shoot the ball easily, and his tough blocking defense. This collapse is widely known as one of the most notable collapses in all of sports history, only surmounted by the Boston Red Sox blowing a 14-game lead to the New York Yankees during the month of September, 1978 and by the play-off collapse of the New York Yankees to the Boston Red Sox in 2004. But then Yao Ming a tall 7 foot and 6 inches Chinese basketball player from the Shanghai Sharks decided to participate in the NBA draft of 2002, eventually he was picked and was ready for the job. Manager Gene Mauch was criticized for panicking down the stretch. The losing season of 2001-2002 brought dishonor and a total loss of faith of the Rockets nationally and locally in Houston. During this stretch, the Phillies found new ways to lose.

The first "Hakeem-less" season in almost 20 years was tied up at a disspointing record at 28-54. The Cardinals won that last game, and the Phillies had lost theiur chance at the National League crown. Then the aged Hakeem Olajuwon was traded to the Toronto Raptors in 2001 which only leaves Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley as their successors in being the head stars in the team, but the following 2001-2002 season was no success, as their team was moslty made up of young Rookies and bench players which made Steve and Cuttino's job of making the team a winning one more difficult. It was not to be. The Rockets during the this era were a total blowout, and in return brought loss of national respect they once had, the Rockets however in the year 2000 brought a 45-37, but it still didn't cut them into the playoffs. Louis Cardinals had lost on the final day, the Phillies would have been included in a tie (along with the Cincinnati Reds, forcing an unprecedented 3-team playoff for first place. They got into the playoffs in 1999 with a record of 45-37 on a 7th place seed, but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round with a series of 4-1, this ended the Rockets winning years as the the years ahead would bring a series of losses and a bad reputation. Then they started to win again, and if the St.

Then in 1999 brought the fall of the winning team reputation they had, as Charles Barkley was injured and planned to retire after the injury, but the fall also brought some once thought new hope, Scottie Pippen was traded from the Bulls after Micheal Jordans 2nd retirement, and Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley arrived into the team that year. Up by 6 1/2 games with 12 left to play, the Phillies dropped 10 consecutive games, dropping behind. They were good, but the Utah Jazz eliminated them from the Western Conference Finals in 1997 and in the Western Conference Semifinals in 1998, dimished any chances of holding an NBA title again. And of course, the famous collapse in 1964 is legendary. Some of the role players like Sam Cassell and Robert Horrywere traded for Charles Barkley from the Phoenix Suns and Matt Maloney drafted into the team in 1996. His explanation: "I was released by the Phillies!" If the cartoon had been done a year later, it would have said "Mets", as the Phillies were starting to improve while the Mets lost 120 games in their first year. The post championship years declined the team as Hakeem Olajuwon was aging. In a 1962 baseball magazine, there was a cartoon showing a ballplayer arriving at a French Foreign Legion outpost.

Like his old friend Olajuwon did the previous year, Drexler experiences the joy of winning an NBA championship at last. The small size of Baker Bowl used to be blamed for their problems, but the continuation of their losing ways after moving to the normal-sized Shibe Park undercut that theory. However, Houston comes back to win the last three games of the series, and then gets past the Spurs to reach the Finals, where they are matched up with the Orlando Magic. With Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, the Magic is expected to win the championship, but Houston sweeps the series in four straight games. From 1919 to 1947, a stretch of 29 seasons, the Phillies finished last 17 times and next to last in 7 of the seasons. In fact, the Suns lead the second-round series 3 games to 1 (just as they did in the same round the year before). One hallmark of the Phillies throughout history is losing and inept management. They are not expected to defeat the Utah Jazz in the first round, the Phoenix Suns in the second round, or the San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals. Indeed, following their 1983 World Series loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the team neglected to post back-to-back winning seasons until finally doing so in 2003 and 2004; the 2004 team also was second in the NL East, only the third time the Phillies have finished that high since the 1994 realignment (including a joint second-place finish with the New York Mets in 1995).

Houston struggles in the regular season, and they enter the playoffs as a sixth seed in the Western Conference. But with that season's (1994) players' strike, most of the Phillies' fan base was greatly offended, and since then the Phillies have had little success either on the field or at the gate - the realignment of the Atlanta Braves into the National League East in 1994 having had a negative effect on both as the Braves have won the division every year since joining it, often by lopsided margins. In a midseason trade with Portland, the Rockets obtain star guard Clyde Drexler, who had played alongside Olajuwon at the University of Houston. The team was often described as "shaggy," "unkempt" and "dirty." The previous year, noting the presence of the clean-cut Dale Murphy, Kruk himself described the team as "24 morons and one Mormon." Their character endeared them to Philadelphia, and attendance records were set the following season. After being down 3 games to 2 in the NBA Finals, the Rockets win the last two games on their home court, thanks to the misfortunes of New York's best shooter: Knicks guard John Starks misses what would have been a series-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in Game 6 after the shot was blocked by Olajuwon, and he shoots a cold 2-for-18 from the field in Game 7, missing all six of his 3-point shot attempts. Losing to the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, giving the Canadians two consecutive World Series titles, was nonetheless disappointing. With Hakeem Olajuwon as their center, the Rockets defeat the New York Knicks in seven games. Beloved by the city of Philadelphia, this team with names such as Darren Daulton, John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra also known as Nails, and Curt Schilling surprised the city and the nation with their achievements.

The Celtics defeated the Rockets again in the 1986 NBA Finals. After Mike Schmidt retired in 1989, the Phillies had a decade of losing seasons, save for a World Series berth in 1993. Unfortunately, the Celtics with Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Cedric Maxwell, and Kevin McHale were too strong. The Phillies franchise historically had four strong winning periods:. The championship series with Boston was fought to six games. So, Phillies it was, and Phillies it remains to this day for the National Leaguers. The Houston Rockets finally made it to finals, the first time a team from Houston played for a championship in basketball, football, or baseball. The time-honored team name in the city had been "Athletic of Philadelphia", but that name was already taken by the American Association entry and would later be adopted by the new entry in the American League.

The Kings, led by Otis Birdsong, Scott Wedman, and Phil Ford fell to the Rockets in five games. Reach was the man to give the Phillies their name. This set up an unlikely conference finals matchup with Kansas City. Their initial owners were John Rodgers along with Al Reach, the sporting goods magnate and the first ever professional baseball player according to many definitions. The Rockets upset Los Angeles, two games to one, then got past the Spurs and George Gervin, four games to three, in the western conference semifinals. The name has absolutely nothing to do with horses, even if contemporary sportswriters sometimes called them "Fillies" just to be funny. Houston playoff run began by drawing the defending NBA-champion Lakers and Magic Johnson in the first round. However, the team was not relocated - the Worcesters were expelled from the league, and the new Phillies were given their spot.

Houston tied with Kansas City for second place in the Midwest behind San Antonio with regular season at 40-42. Named for a verbal shorthand of their city of residence ("Philly"), the Phillies replaced the Worcester, Massachusetts Brown Stockings in the National League. Other members of the 80-81 team were Rudy Tomjanovich, Robert Reid, Mike Dunleavy, Sr., Allen Leavell, Billy Paultz, Bill Willoughby, Calvin Garrett, Tom Henderson, and Major Jones. Founded in 1883, the National League's Philadelphia Phillies are the longest standing, one-name, one-location team in all professional American sports. Murphy, the shortest player in the league, sets two NBA records, sinking 78 consecutive free throws to break Rick Barry's mark of 60 set in 1976 achieving a free-throw percentage of .958 breaking Rick Barry's record set with the Rockets in 1979. They play in the Eastern Division of the National League. Malone carries the Rockets to NBA finals. The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The arrival of a third NBA team in Texas, the Dallas Mavericks, caused a reshuffling in 1980-81 that sent Houston to the Midwest Division of the Western Conference, which also included San Antonio, Kansas City, Denver, Utah, and Dallas. Gulf Coast League Phillies. After beating the Spurs, two games to one, in the first-round playoff series, they were swept by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Clearwater Threshers
Lakewood BlueClaws
Batavia Muckdogs. The Rockets finished the year at 41-41, tying the San Antonio Spurs for second place in the Central Division. Reading Phillies. Del Harris replaced Nissalke at the helm for the 1979-80 campaign. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons.

The Rockets went 47-35 in 1978-79, Nissalke's last season as coach, finshing second in the Central Division losing two straight to Atlanta in a best-of-three first-round series. National League
. He would play one more year for the Rockets before retiring in 1980. Pitching saves: José Mesa, 45 (2002). He did set a new NBA record, however, by posting a .947 free-throw percentage for the season. Pitching shutouts: Pete Alexander, 16 (1916). The future Hall of Famer, now in the twilight of his career, averaged a modest 13.5 points. Pitching ERA: Pete Alexander, 1.22 (1915).

Rick Barry also joined the team that year as a free agent, with the Rockets sending John Lucas to Golden State Warriors as compensation. Pitching strikeouts: Curt Schilling, 319 (1997). Malone, Murphy, and Tomjanovich (who had returned to average 19.0 points) all played in the 1979 NBA All-Star Game. Pitching wins: Kid Gleason, 38 (1890). Malone, not exceptionally big or quick, used subtle moves, perfect positioning, and bulldog determination to become a superb center. Strikeouts: Jim Thome, 182 (2003). Malone receives the league's MVP Award. Walks: Lenny Dykstra, 129 (1993).

Tomjanovich, displaying the "heart of a champion", spent the next five months in rehab returning to play as an NBA all-star. OPS: Chuck Klein, 1.123 (1930). That shocking scene became the defining moment of not only the Rockets' 1977-78 season (a conference finals team the previous year, collapsed into last place with a 28-54 record) but also of two basketball players' professional careers. On-base percentage: Billy Hamilton, .523 (1894). The powerful blow landed squarely on the face of a running Tomjanovich, causing massive jaw, eye, and cheek injuries; Tomjanovich's skull was also fractured when his head hit the floor. Total bases: Chuck Klein, 445 (1930). As Tomjanovich ran over to the two, Washington turned and blindly swung his fist. Extra-base hits: Chuck Klein, 107 (1930).

In a December 9 game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Kunnert got into a fight with the Lakers' Kermit Washington. Slugging average: Chuck Klein, .687 (1930). The Rockets' hopes ended against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals on a controversial charging call against Lucas in the final moments of Game 6. Hitting streak: Chuck Klein, 26 games (1930-twice). Malone, then a novice 21-year old, outbattled Wes Unseld and Hayes to help the Rockets to a playoff victory in six games against the Washington Bullets. Stolen bases: Billy Hamilton, 111 (1891). The Rockets, now led by Tomjanovich, Murphy, Newlin, Malone, Kevin Kunnert, and rookie guard John Lucas, took the Central Division title. Triples: Sam Thompson, 27 (1894).

At the insistence of new coach Tom Nissalke, a trade was completed with the Buffalo Braves to acquire Moses Malone, who as a high school star made the unprecedented decision of bypassing college basketball to sign on as a professional with the Utah Stars of the ABA in 1974. Doubles: Chuck Klein, 59 (1930). The rockets defeated the New York Knicks (with Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Bill Bradley, and Jerry Lucas) in the first round and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals before losing to the Boston Celtics. Singles: Richie Ashburn, 181, (1951). With Coach John Egan's guidance and Tomjanovich, Murphy, and Mike Newlin leading the way, the Rockets made their first appearance in the playoffs since arriving in Houston. Hits: Lefty O'Doul, 254 (1929). The lack of winning did little to capture the city's attention. Runs: Billy Hamilton, 192 (1894).

After trading Hayes to the Baltimore Bullets for Jack Marin, the Rockets went into a rebuilding mode for the next two seasons. RBI: Chuck Klein, 170 (1930). Despite this, the team played well, acquiring two promising young players in Calvin Murphy and Rudy Tomjanovich. Home runs: Mike Schmidt, 48 (1980). A local legend has it that some days the local churches in Waco drew more people than the Rockets. Batting average: Ed Delahanty, .410 (1899). The Rockets began playing at the Astrodome and AstroHall, both in Houston, the HemisFair Arena, in San Antonio, the Hofheinz Pavilion, on the University of Houston campus, and at Waco. However, fan support was also scarce in the football-dominated city, and the Rockets averaged less than 5000 fans per game the first season. Harry Kalas (2002).

In 1971, real estate broker Wayne Duddleston and banker Billy Goldberg bought the franchise for $5.6 million and relocated the team from San Diego, where there was a lack of fan support, to Houston, Texas, the home town of Hayes. By Saam (1990). Hayes led the team to the franchise's first ever playoff appearance in 1969. Ford Frick (2):