Trade Deadline

INDIANAPOLIS - Over the past week, as today's trade deadline crept closer, 76ers president Rod Thorn has been pestered repeatedly by reporters as to whether his team would be an active participant. Usually his answer has been the same, saying that nothing major appears to be on the horizon. Speaking with Thorn yesterday afternoon, it was pretty much the same, although he did seem to get into a little more detail that makes you think the Sixers might do something before today ends.

The New Jersey Devils and the Dallas Stars swung a four-player deal just before yesterday's NHL trade deadline, capping a day in which 17 trades were completed. In all, 35 players were involved. Dallas sent Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner to New Jersey for Jason Arnott, Randy McKay, and a first-round draft pick. Boston made three trades, as did the NHL's worst team, Atlanta. Columbus made two. Pittsburgh sent Darius Kasparaitis to Colorado; the New York Rangers acquired Tom Poti and Rem Murray from Edmonton for Mike York; the Montreal Canadiens ended their search for a backup goalie by acquiring Stephane Fiset from the Los Angeles Kings; and the New York Islanders picked up defenseman Darren Van Impe from the Florida Panthers.

If the statistics are any indication, the Eagles didn't have a lot of confidence in their depleted running backs corps yesterday. With Duce Staley missing the first game of his career because of a foot injury, the Eagles ran the ball only 18 times, with the tailbacks getting only 11 carries. The Eagles finished with 79 yards and a 4.4 yards-per-carry average yesterday, but 43 of those yards came from quarterback Donovan McNabb. Now, with Staley out indefinitely and possibly for the season, the Eagles are in a little bit of a jam. The NFL trade deadline is tomorrow at 4 p.m. Coach Andy Reid said he and Tom Modrak, director of football operations, would look at the game film and decide whether additional help was needed.

Who's left to audition for Phillies manager Jim Fregosi in the last two months of the season? Which prospects does he still have questions about? The none-too-surprising answer is nobody. That's why as tomorrow's trades-without-waivers deadline approaches, virtually all Phillies veterans, particularly Terry Mulholland and Benito Santiago, are considered to be available for the right prospects. Other than soon-to-be-promoted third baseman Scott Rolen, the cupboard is bare of players who could help next season.

The 76ers, who weren't especially eager to make a deal before last night's NBA trade deadline, walked away without making one. Did they come close? Sort of. A source close to the situation indicated that the Sixers shopped guard David Wingate, but were unable to drum up any interest. Wingate is currently on the injured list, recovering from soreness in both knees and is believed to have visited a doctor in the Baltimore area. Sixers general manager John Nash would not address a rumor that Wingate had fallen into disfavor with owner Harold Katz.

The weakest division in the NBA suddenly looks a little stronger, with Antoine Walker back on the Celtics and Chris Webber with the Sixers. The NBA trade deadline passed yesterday with a total of 11 deals involving 35 players being agreed to in the final 24 hours before the cutoff. Baron Davis was traded from New Orleans to Golden State for Speedy Claxton and Dale Davis, Keith Van Horn went from Milwaukee to Dallas for Calvin Booth and Alan Henderson, and Houston acquired several veterans to add to the league's oldest roster.

As the 76ers finished their game-day shoot-around yesterday, the KeyArena clock read 12 noon, the NBA trade deadline on the West Coast. Amazingly, no one disappeared. Allen Iverson was still a Sixer. So was Aaron McKie. Ditto Eric Snow. Billy King, the Sixers' president and general manager, had feverishly worked the phones over much of the last month. He had fielded several calls in the last two days inquiring as to Iverson's availability in light of the all-star guard's rift with interim coach Chris Ford.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Flyers stood pat at the trade deadline on Monday, feeling the two recent deals they made - acquiring massive defensemen Pavel Kubina and Nick Grossman - will help make them a Stanley Cup contender. Provided, of course, that goalie Ilya Bryzgalov gets his game in order. "There wasn't anything that was pitched to us that . . . would have made us as good a team as what's on the board right now," general manager Paul Holmgren said in a conference call from the team's training facility in Voorhees.

Two members of the Phillies organization laughed when told of the latest rumor sweeping through cyberspace yesterday - that lefthander J.A. Happ was involved in talks for Cubs lefthander Ted Lilly. Lilly, a free agent after the 2010 season, would be a 2-month rental. Happ, meanwhile, has at least 4 years until he reaches free agency. But while the Phillies are not willing to pay a premium price for a rental player, one person familiar with the Phillies' thinking said yesterday that the team has been readying backup plans in case they are unable, or unwilling, to pull the trigger on a deal for Astros righthander Roy Oswalt before Saturday's trade deadline.

Reserve catcher Brian Schneider had been showing signs of increased offensive production even before his first home run in more than a year during Tuesday's 4-3 Phillies win in 10 innings over the Houston Astros at Citizens Bank Park. Schneider, now hitting .303, began the season 0 for 8, but he was 8 for his last 21 at-bats entering the game and then went 2 for 4 with a two-run home run in the win. That was his first home run in 145 at-bats since April 21, 2011, against the San Diego Padres.

A sheepish grin appeared on Cole Hamels' face when somebody broached the subject of his recently completed five-game suspension. "I'm past that," Hamels said, almost as if he was reading from a cue card. Clearly, the 28-year-old lefty spent part of his five-day reprieve getting some media relations guidance. While that was probably a wise move, considering the fallout from his comments about his decision to hit Nationals prospect Bryce Harper with a pitch, Hamels showed Sunday why everybody's focus will soon return to his immense talent.

If this season is anything like Ruben Amaro Jr.'s first three as Phillies general manager, there is going to come a time in July when he starts looking for help from another organization. You may not like the fact that the Phillies have failed to win a World Series since Amaro succeeded Hall of Famer Pat Gillick as the team's GM, but that does not change the reality that the current GM has significantly strengthened the team at the trade deadline every year since he took control.

Forward Andre Iguodala missed his second straight game Tuesday night as he continues to be plagued with patellar tendinitis in his left knee. Against the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers, and also for the second consecutive game, Jodie Meeks took Iguodala's place in the lineup. "He came in [to the shootaround Tuesday morning], got some treatment, got on the bike to warm up a little bit, and then we were doing our walk-through and he went back and got some more treatment," said coach Doug Collins.

FORWARD Andre Iguodala missed his second straight game Tuesday night as he continues to be plagued with patellar tendinitis in his left knee. Also for the second consecutive game, Jodie Meeks took Iguodala's place in the lineup against the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers. "He came in [to shootaround Tuesday morning], got some treatment, got on the bike to warm up a little bit and then we were doing our walkthrough and he went back and got some more treatment," coach Doug Collins said.

This is not the point in the season when the 76ers expected to hear their coach using negative adjectives to describe their recent play. But following a loss Sunday to a shorthanded San Antonio Spurs team that was playing its third game in as many nights, the Sixers' subpar play left Doug Collins with precious few words other than the one he used most frequently on Monday to describe them. "We looked disconnected," Collins said at practice. "When we are connected mentally, physically and spiritually we have a great vibe about ourselves.

It is an article of faith now in professional sports. The regular season is relevant only as a means to gain entry into the postseason. First place, eighth place, top seed, fifth seed - none of that matters, as long as you get in. The St. Louis Cardinals weren't better than the Phillies or the Texas Rangers last season. They were hotter in October and that's what mattered. The New York Giants were a steaming mess in the middle of the season, but rode a wave through the NFC playoffs and into another Super Bowl title.

AFTER WINNING five NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers, Derek Fisher chose the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder as the team where he wants to go for No. 6. Fisher signed with the Thunder for the remainder of the season on Wednesday, not quite a week after he was traded to Houston by the Lakers and subsequently bought out of his contract instead of playing with the Rockets. Fisher, who picked jersey No. 37, the same as his age, had five points in 19 minutes in last night's 114-91 win over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.

ON A DAY when Roger Goodell took a sledgehammer to the head of coach Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints and reaffirmed the NFL's deep concern for the safety of its players, you'll be happy to know that tackling still will be legal next season. NFL competition committee co-chair Rich McKay and NFL vice president of football operations Ray Anderson held a conference call with reporters Wednesday to go over the 14 rule-change proposals that will be discussed and voted on at next week's owners meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. None of the proposals includes putting skirts on quarterbacks or requiring defensive players to curtsy before hitting a ballcarrier.