It’s late May, and much later than expected, we have hit the point in spring where the Flyers’ and Sixers’ seasons have come to an end, and the Eagles are still months away from playing games that actually matter.

Right now, all we have each night are Phillies games, and unless Cole Hamels is pitching, the potential for a very frustrating outing from a Phillie starter.

So what better time than now to address the rumor mill that is swirling around our sports teams?

The most intriguing rumor buzzing around this town involves the Phillies and a division rival’s best player. Various reports have the Washington Nationals looking to deal their 23-year-old third baseman Ryan Zimmerman to the Phillies for a package that includes Pedro Feliz.

Obviously our homer-or-bust third baseman isn’t valuable enough to get one of the top up and coming third basemen in the league, so the Phillies sudden depth in the outfield leads me to think that Shane Victorino would be included in that deal, along with whatever prospects the Phillies might have floating around in the minor leagues.

Victorino doesn’t seem to be one of Charlie Manuel’s favorites, as both last year and this year, Jayson Werth (pre-recent injury) bumped Victorino to the bench when the Flyin’ Hawaiian’s legs started giving him trouble. He’s also very cheap at this point in his career, so he would make the most sense to go.

Down on the farm, the Phillies do have two quality middle infielders to dangle in front of the Nationals to make this trade work. Adrian Cardenas and Jason Donald both project as major league infielders, but are blocked by Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley, respectively, so they would be perfect candidates to help reel in a top-five third basemen in the majors.

Brett Myers’ name has also been mentioned in this rumor, but with his $8 million salary and astronomical ERA this year, it is unlikely that he would be coveted by a team that is still a few years away from contending for the National League East crown.

Could you imagine the Phillies infield with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Zimmerman? Without exaggeration, that would be the best infield ever assembled.

Switching over to football, the Lito Sheppard rumor mill is kicking up again because starting cornerbacks around the league are already going down with injury, and it is only the start of voluntary workouts.I’ve said in the past that Chad Johnson’s 2008 salary cap hit drops by $6 million on June 1, so expect the Lito to the Bengals rumors to start up soon.

Also, Anquan Boldin is boycotting workouts in Arizona in hopes of signing a contract extension similar to the one his teammate Larry Fitzgerald signed two months ago.

Depending on these receivers’ actions in the coming weeks, one or both could be available, but odds are that as long as Lito says the right things and keeps a smile on his face, he’ll be an Eagle this year, and they’ll address the issue again in March.

Now that the Flyers have cleared out their lockers for the summer, general manager Paul Holmgren has the task of re-tooling the team for another deep playoff run. Holmgren did a fantastic job turning the Flyers from the worst team in the league into a team that reached the NHL’s final four, but after seeing the Penguins dismantle the Flyers, it showed us all how far they still need to go.

The Flyers have already stated their intentions of re-signing Jeff Carter and R.J. Umberger, but like last year, when Holmgren got creative and traded a first round draft pick for the negotiating rights of Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell, Holmgren needs to get creative again.

Everyone knows that the Flyers will attempt to improve their defense, which could lose Jason Smith, Derian Hatcher, and Jaroslav Modry, but one thought (not a rumor...yet) comes from my friend Rogo, who suggests that the Flyers should go after Pittsburgh’s restricted free agent goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury.

What’s the worst that could happen? If he chooses to sign with the Flyers, he is an immediate upgrade over Martin Biron, who gets traded away, and it takes a huge bite out of the Penguins core group of young stars.

If the Penguins match the Flyers’ offer, then it costs them extra money against the salary cap for the next five to ten years, depending on how big of an offer the Flyers make. Paul Holmgren is pretty savvy, so you know that outside-the-box ideas like this one are floating around in his head as he watches the Red Wings and Penguins battle for the Stanley Cup.

I don’t know what is going to happen, and I doubt that any of these rumors will actually come true, but isn’t it fun to hope?

Seems like each year in Philadelphia, all we have is hope.

But the Phillies look good! Right?