After years of rebuilding. Philly sports are on the rise

With 76ers constantly rebuilding, the Eagles retooling and the Phillies crumbling, the Philadelphia sports scene has become a perennial construction site and a sore spot for a city that has always taken stubborn pride in its athletic tradition. However, with the recent completion of the 21,000-plus capacity CoreStates Spectrum II which will house the Sixers and Flyers beginning this fall, the rebuilding job may finally be coming to an end. Here is a short profile of each of Philly's four major sports franchises. Catch them now while they are still on the rise. Football To define the Philadelphia Eagles, you need look no further than the stern countenance of Ray Rhodes, the National Football League's Coach of the Year last season in his first year as an NFL head coach. In little over a year, the former defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers has torn apart a team that struggled through the early 1990's on the strength of its aging defense and whimsical arm of Randall Cunningham, and rebuilt that team in his own image -- tough, relentless and dedicated. The Eagles should be slightly improved over last year's team that willed itself to an 11-5 record and 58-37 playoff victory over Detroit. Its defense, ranked No. 4 in the NFL last season, is anchored by a deep defensive line which led the Eagles to an NFC-best 48 sacks last season and features veterans William Fuller and Andy Harmon. The linebacking corp and secondary are more suspect, particularly at middle linebacker and free safety, although cornerbacks Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor form one of the most promising young tandems in the League. On offense, the Eagles' strength is in its backfield where superstar Ricky Watters and lightning-quick Charlie Garner are joined by Kevin Turner, a hard-nosed fullback who missed most of last season with a knee injury. The passing game -- virtually non-existent last season -- should be improved with injury-prone veteran Rodney Peete throwing to big, young Chris T. Jones and veteran free agent Irving Fryar. The Eagles play at Veterans Stadium, located at the corner of Broad and Pattison in South Philadelphia. The stadium is easily accessible by car off the Schulkyll Expressway or by subway on the Broad Street (orange) line. For tickets or more information, call (215) 463-5500. Basketball With a new stadium, a new owner, a new coach and reportedly a new attitude, the Philadelphia 76ers look nothing like the abysmal outfit that won only 18 games last season. Head coach Johnny Davis takes over a team that promises to be entertaining, if not competitive every night. The team's centerpiece is the extraordinarily talented malcontent Derrick Coleman, who is arguably the National Basketball Association's best power forward when he actually plays -- which last season amounted to only 11 games after being traded from New Jersey. A healthy Coleman will join veteran workhorses Clarence Weatherspoon and Michael Cage in the frontcourt in an effort to temper the Sixers' talented young backcourt. After leading all rookies in scoring last season, the 76ers hope Jerry Stackhouse will mature into the superstar everyone projected him to be when Philly made the 6-foot-6 shooting guard from North Carolina the third pick in the 1995 NBA draft. With the No. 1 pick overall in this summer's draft, the Sixers seem to have filled their most glaring weakness by selecting the explosive, street-smart Allen Iverson out of Georgetown to handle the point guard duties. The 76ers will play their home games at the new CoreStates Spectrum II, located two blocks south of Veterans Stadium, behind the old Spectrum. For tickets or more information, call (215) 339-7676. Ice Hockey The Philadelphia Flyers have been the city's most successful franchise over the past two years, and the 1996-97 season only promises to be better as the Flyers are again poised to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup. Led by superstar center Eric Lindros, the Hart Trophy winner two years ago, the Flyers may be the most exciting thing on ice these days with a hard-hitting lineup that has many Philadelphians comparing them to the fabled Broad Street Bullies of two decades ago. Joining Lindros to form the vaunted Legion of Doom line are wingers John LeClair and Mikhael Renberg, while the ever-steady Rod Brind'Amour and the talented Pat Falloon give the Flyers a potent second line. In the crease, the fiery veteran Ron Hextall has been re-signed after proving he is still one of the National Hockey League's premier goaltenders. Philadelphia's defensemen may be its weakest link, though veteran Eric Desjardin and rising star Chris Therien are both solid performers. The Flyers will play their home games at the new CoreStates Spectrum II. For tickets or more information, call (215) 755-9700. Baseball The Philadelphia Phillies have been in an endless slide ever since a ball off the bat of Joe Carter soared over the leftfield fence nearly three years ago and ended the Phillies' dream season of 1993 in stunning fashion. Riddled by injuries and scraping the bottom of an already-depleted minor league system, the Phillies seem to have hit rock bottom in this summer of discontent. The future is not so bleak. With a veteran nucleus composed of staff ace Curt Schilling, switch-hitting Gregg Jefferies, steady second baseman Mickey Morandini and veteran outfielder Jim Eisenreich, the Phillies already possess some of the pieces to reconstruct a quality franchise. Add to the mix 21-year-old third baseman Scott Rolen, a star in the making, and Wendell Magee, Jr., who led all minor leaguers in hits two years ago, and future looks even brighter. Consider then owner Bill Giles' pledge to "open the purse strings" in the free agent market in the off season, and the odds of the Phillies putting a playoff contender on the field next year don't seem so long after all. The Phillies play their home games at Veterans Stadium. For tickets or more information, call (215) 463-1000.