What has been a depressing NBA season is winding down, and tonight at 7PM the Sixers face the New Jersey Nets for the final time.  I just received an e-mail from the Sixers (yes, I’m still willing to be on their mailing list. I also get a text after every game which normally begins “Sixers fall to…”) with the message “SIXERS LOOK TO NUDGE NJ TOWARDS INFAMY” as the lowly Nets could still finish with fewer wins than the 1972-73 Sixers and their 9-73 record.

Regardless of the outcome tonight, I just don’t think the Nets will set the record. They’ve been on fire since the All-Star break with 3 wins in 15 games, and with 15 left to play I don’t see how they only come away with one victory. Especially considering they’re facing teams with 23-44 records like the Sixers, and only five of the remaining teams they face have winning records.

On the season, the Nets are on pace to win 8.5 with a current overall record of 7-60. So mathematically it could still happen. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. If nothing else, the Nets’ run at infamy has given me something to follow during a miserable Sixers season.

As if I wasn’t already addicted to my iPhone (my wife wants to throw it against the wall), ESPN released their Streak for Cash iPhone app late last year and I can’t seem to put it down.

ESPN Streak for Cash is a game that originated on the ESPN website. Each day, they post of series of scenarios in sports ranging anywhere from who will win a certain soccer match to which player will score the most first-half points in an NBA basketball game. I even saw a curling matchup the other day. You choose who will win the scenario and your goal is to put together the longest winning streak possible. There are around 7 scenarios posted each day. You are able to choose as many or as few matchups as you want, but you can only choose one scenario at a time. You are locked into your choice when the game starts and you have to wait until your first game is over before you can choose your next matchup.

Seems fairly easy, but this is probably one of the most difficult sports-related games that I’ve ever played. For the entire month of January, I had a record of 60-42-1 with my longest win streak going 8 matchups. The participant with the longest streak for the month scored $100,000 for a 20 wins in a row. So far this month, I’m 18-28-1 with a 3 win streak. The leader has 21 wins in a row.

No matter what kind of strategy I employ or how much research I do on certain matchups, I can’t seem to find a system that works for me. That’s what is so great about this game. I don’t think that any person, no matter how knowledgeable, has an advantage. It’s a guessing game. You can look up every wacky statistic in the book, but the simple fact is that anything can happen in sports.

I recommend this game for everyone that loves sports. It is so addicting. The iPhone app is extremely buggy and crashes quite often, but I am able to look past that simply because I enjoy playing the game so much. If the app becomes frustrating, take a look at the version on ESPN’s website.

While a number of Super Bowl parties were going on today, the two+ feet of snow that fell this weekend kept us home for the game.  As a result, I’m essentially alone with my thoughts since Angie hates football with a passion.  I will now inflict them on you.

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The New Jersey Nets have already set the record for consecutive losses to start a season. Could the Nets break the all-time season loss record?

The Nets record is currently 3 and 36, giving them at a winning percentage of .077. This puts them on pace to win 6 or 7 games and finish with 75 to 76 losses. The all time loss record is 73 held by the 1972-73 Sixers (on pace to win a miserable 27 this season).

At nearly the halfway point in the season, it’s very possible that the Nets could win less than 9 games. I’ll be keeping my eye on the their numbers this season to see if they could take this distinction away from my beloved Sixers.

The Nets play today at 3:30PM against the LA Clippers as part of the NBA‘s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day schedule of afternoon games beginning at 1PM EST across the league.

What a treat for the end of the week!  The Sixers played the Boston Celtics on the road tonight at the TD Garden and came away with a one-point win in the last 23 seconds of the game.  This is clearly the Sixers biggest win of the season.  Hell, they only had six wins going in.  This was the first to come against a team with a winning record, and not only are the Celtics over .500, they have the best record in the NBA and came in with an 11-game winning streak.  I’m not saying this is anything more than one win, but what a fun win.  I’d say that merits a post.