Philly sports teams offer no holiday cheer

And now it is officially upon us - the long and cold winter of Philadelphia sports blahs.

The Eagles brutal elimination from playoff contention this past weekend ripped like a gust on a day with a wind-chill factor of eight degrees.

I am not saying that Eagles were going to make a long-playoff run. Considering their recent play, a one-and-done postseason was most likely.

But the Birds being in the playoffs would have provided a couple more weeks of distraction before having to confront the cold hard fact that the professional sports scene in Philadelphia basically stinks right now.

It's been a while since the five major professional franchises – Eagles, Flyers, Phillies, 76ers and Union – have collectively inspired such misery at the same time.

Just think about how things would be if the Eagles still had a chance to win the NFC East.

This week, Philadelphia would be talking about the possibility of the Birds beating the New York Giants on Sunday and maybe sneaking by Dallas to win the division.

Even if it was destine to be a cameo appearance, having a playoff at Lincoln Financial Field would have given Philadelphia sports fans something to look forward to going into 2015.

But with the game against the Giants now meaningless, the doom and gloom has sunk in like a grey winter day.

Worst of all, there is little if anything to look forward to during the impending maelstrom of wintery-mix days and nights.

What is there to see now that the Birds are cooked?

If you've been exclusively paying attention to football, you might be shocked to find out that the current state of the Sixers is worse than it was last season, when you thought it could not possibly get in worse.

On Sunday, general manager Sam Hinkie's crew of D-League castaways won for just the third time in 26 games.

Hopeful franchise center pieces Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel got into a heated sideline discussion during the win over the Orlando Magic but that excited coach Brett Brown because it showed him his team actually still had a pulse.

The Sixers have the worst record in the NBA and have not won at home. On a positive note, you only have to wait until June before the Sixers the real season starts at the NBA Draft.

The Flyers are not in tanking-mode like the Sixers, but there isn't a lot of hope coming off the frozen surface.

The Orange and Black are clearly in a transition phase under general manager Ron Hextall and while they are just six points out of a playoff spot, their spotty and inconsistent play a low seed and early exit from the playoffs seem like a high mark of possibilities.

It's only a couple of months before pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater, Fla. for spring training, but the Phillies have publicly confirmed that 2015 is finally the year that organization is finally committed to rebuilding.

The Phillies have turned the page on what was for this franchise a golden era of success and now comes the difficult task of trying to start over.

Unfortunately, the Phillies still have several high-priced contracts that seem to be unmovable and that's going to slow the process and make it more complicated.

The Union is the newest major sports league franchise, but it has quickly learned the Philadelphia way of missing the playoffs and having not clear cut direction for changing things around.

The Union missed the playoffs for the fourth time in its five-year history and Jim Curtin starts this season as the third full-time manager with another new plan to become a force in Major League Soccer.

But hey, the Union has moved its spring training facility to Clearwater so perhaps they'll get some pointers from the Phillies.

Winter is about to kick into full swing and the Eagles are done. I hope you have some extra blankets because none of Philadelphia's sports teams are going to provide much relief from the cold.