Joel Embiid Suspended Three Games

Many of you stayed up far too late to follow election results. We did too. All we have to say about that is what the kids say about everything: Happy for you or sorry that happened.

In this send, we have news on Joel Embiid’s suspension, Dick Allen’s posthumous Hall of Fame case, and a brave Flyers loss.

In the email today:

• ⚖️ Joel Embiid Receives Three-Game Suspension for Hayes Shove

• 💪 Dick Allen and the Hall of Fame

• 🚨 Flyers Lose Heartbreaker in Carolina

  • 📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

  • 📊 Poll

  • 🔗 Links

  • 📺 Coming Up

It didn’t take geniuses to predict that Joel Embiid would be suspended for making contact with a media member. We’re not geniuses.

The incident happened on Saturday night. The remainder of the weekend was quiet, but it was only a matter of time until the NBA disciplinary powers delivered a verdict.

Three games seems about right. This transgression is somewhere between an accrual of too many technical fouls and an elbow that knocks out teeth.

Now we get to show you our absolute favorite part of this story.

That’s right, it’s Joe Dumars making this announcement. Joe Dumars! Of the Bad Boys Pistons! There has never been a more despicable group of basketball players in NBA history than Bill Laimbeer, Isiah Thomas, Dennis Rodman and, sure, Dumars. It’s pretty rich having Dumars decide suspensions on players in the current day.

The suspension begins once Embiid is cleared to play. Based on our completely unscientific projections, we imagine that Embiid’s suspension will begin in February.

With any luck, it’ll be February 2025.

The Baseball Hall of Fame will have a chance to right a wrong this December and put a Dick Allen plaque in Cooperstown.

Allen fell just one vote shy of Hall induction in both 2014 and 2021. He passed away in 2020 at the age of 78, in his home town of Wampum, PA.

The numbers:

• Allen hit .292/.378/.533 (.912 OPS) in his 15-year major league career, with 1,848 hits, 351 home runs, and 1,119 RBI.

• He racked up seven career All-Star selections, won a Rookie of the Year award in 1964, and was the American League MVP in 1972.

• He accumulated 58.7 WAR, as calculated by Baseball Reference, and posted a 156 OPS+.

Allen played for the Phillies from 1963 through 1969, then returned to Philadelphia for the 1975 and 1976 seasons.

The Phillies retired Allen's jersey number (15) in 2020, an honor previously reserved for ex-Phils in the Hall of Fame.

"Let’s be candid here, when you look at the voting of the Hall or the record of the Veterans Committee, it’s not exactly consistent,” said Phillies principal owner John Middleton in 2020. “There’s a lot of times when you scratch your head.”

Alen's case for the Hall of Fame is strong. Two facts that can’t be ignored:

• His career WAR would place him near the middle of the pack when compared to first basemen or third basemen already in the Hall.

• His career OPS+, a metric which adjusts OPS to make it comparable across baseball's various eras and ballparks, is higher than all but two hitters in MLB history who are not in the Hall of Fame (min. 7,000 plate appearances): Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire.

Allen simply dominated his era:

But the BBWAA never gave him more than 18.9% of the vote before he fell off their ballot.

Mike Schmidt believes that Allen was kept out of the Hall of Fame because he spoke his mind as a Black man in the 1960s and 1970s, in the face of racial hostility. "Dick did the wrong thing; he became the best player on his team,” Schmidt said during Allen’s number retirement ceremony. “He became the star of the team. He was a sensitive Black man who refused to be treated as a second-class citizen . . . Dick has had to fight labels his entire life.”

From Middleton: "It makes [Allen's] extraordinary achievement even more special when you consider the circumstances, the conditions under which he had to live and perform."

Now, after falling one vote short in his previous two appearances on the Hall's "Golden Days Era Committee" ballot, a 16-member "Classic Baseball Era Committee" will consider Allen's case at the 2024 MLB winter meetings in December. Allen will need 12 of the 16 members (75%) to vote in favor of his induction.

Now, after falling one vote short in his previous two appearances on the Hall's "Golden Days Era Committee" ballot, a 16-member "Classic Baseball Era Committee" will consider Allen's case at the 2024 MLB winter meetings in December. Allen will need 12 of the 16 members (75%) to vote in favor of his induction.

Let's hope they get it right this time.

The Flyers played an NHL game last night at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, NC. It is wild to think that the NHL considered it wise to schedule 11 games on Election Night in America. But they did. 🚨 

Aleksei Kolosov got the start in goal for the Flyers. Speaking of wisdom, putting Kolosov in goal behind this Flyers team continues to be at best brave and at worse unwise.

The game was tied 4-4 into the last minute of regulation. But they play 60 minutes.

• Martin Necas scored with 31 seconds left to secure the Carolina Hurricanes’ seventh consecutive win.

• Necas’ goal extended his point streak to seven games, while Seth Jarvis added an empty-netter for the final score.

• The Hurricanes also got goals from Jackson Blake, Eric Robinson, Jordan Martinook, and Jack Roslovic.

• For the Flyers, Travis Konecny had two goals and two assists, while Owen Tippett added a goal and an assist, and Sean Couturier had two assists.

Carolina is off to a strong start this season. If there were moral victories in the NHL, this Flyers team taking the ‘canes to the last minute on the road would be one.

Things don’t get easier for the Flyers. They will play the Lightning in Tampa Bay on Thursday night.

📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

30 years ago today, Rich Kotite’s Birds were looking good.

📊 Poll

Results from Tuesday:

🔗 Links

• ⚾️ Shohei Ohtani had surgery and will likely be ready for spring training.

• 📉 Speaking of Dodgers, Steve Garvey’s bid to unseat Adam Schiff in California in the senatorial race there fell short.

• 🏌️‍♂️Rory McIlroy, currently #3 in the world behind Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, revamped his swing.

📺 Coming Up

Games before our next send.

November 6, 2024

• Sixers at Clippers | 10:00 p.m. | NBC Sports Philadelphia

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.

Be sure to follow On Pattison on social media:

• Follow on X

• Follow on Instagram

• Follow on Facebook