Forget about April Fools posts, it’s kind of a big day for Philadelphia sports. The surprisingly competent 76ers take on the New Jersey Nets tonight at 7PM and can clinch a playoff spot with a win. A Charlotte loss gets them in as well and while I’m not expecting much in the postseason, this team did beat San Antonio, Chicago and Boston this season. They were even able to hang with Miami until the Heat decided they wanted to win that game. That’s just the tip of the Philly Sports iceberg though.

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I’ve gone on record professing my love for the MLB AtBAt app for the iPhone. I’ve listened to countless games that I would have otherwise missed and caught up on highlights I didn’t get to experience live using their incredible condensed game videos. Imagine my dismay when I attempted to download the 2011 version of the app this afternoon and was met with a message saying MLB AtBat 2011 requires iPhone OS 4. I’ve been hanging on to an original iPhone since launch and I have no real reason to upgrade. In fact, upgrading would represent a significant loss.

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Last weekend, the Phillies”traveled” to Philadelphia for their weekend series “at” Toronto. Prior to the games, we knew the Phillies would bat in the top of the order and the game would follow American League rules using the designated hitter, even though they were playing in their home park. To further sell the idea that these were “away” games, the Phillies even wore their road uniforms, but the teams did not go so far as to switch dugouts nor did the concessions sell typical Canadian baseball fare. Although, that’s probably the same as American baseball fare at this point.

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So let’s be honest… some fans in Cleveland may have been a little upset that the Indians traded their best player, Cliff Lee, to Philadelphia last year just in time for the Phillies’ unsuccessful World Series title defense. The trade turned out to be Philadelphia just renting out Lee for that playoff run, before shipping him off to Seattle for way less than the Indians got for him.

Cleveland fans may have felt like they didn’t get enough in return for Lee, but that argument should end tonight. Because tonight that trade saved the Indians from the ultimate humiliation of being “perfect gamed,” when former Phillies’ prospect and current Indian Jason Donald avoided being the 27th straight out recorded by some nobody Detroit Tigers pitcher. Donald achieved this by barely beating out an infield single. Read more of this article »

The Phillies were scheduled for an inter-league series with the Toronto Blue Jays at Toronto’s Rogers Centre over the last weekend in June. The dates coincide with the G20 summit also hosted in Toronto, and after a lot of back and forth MLB has acquiesced to the City of Toronto’s request to move the game. So now, the Phillies will be playing an away inter-league game in Philadelphia under American League rules.

What does this mean? The Phillies will bat in the top of the inning, and we’ll see a Designated Hitter in the game for the first time ever at Citizen’s Bank Park. This may even be the first time this has ever happened at any National League Field. It’s like everything will be turned upside down! No word yet on whether the Phillies will wear their road uniforms or use the visiting dugout.

Is it the biggest deal in the world? No, although Jeff Francoeur and the Mets may think it is since it gives the Phillies three extra “home” games. No NL East team is within three games of the Phillies record at the moment, and we’ll see if the Mets or any other team is at the end of the season. Regardless, this is one of those bizarre things that I just have to see for myself. Tickets are on sale now.