🏀 Advocate for the WNBA | Sports Daily Newsletter

Since becoming Temple’s women’s basketball coach in 2022, Diane Richardson has introduced her team to WNBA players and had them participate in community events.

From Philly’s Kahleah Copper attending nearly every practice during Richardson’s first two seasons to having the Owls hold a camp for girls, Richardson has been an ongoing advocate for women’s basketball in the city.

With an WNBA franchise set to come to Philadelphia in 2030, she hopes the fandom will continue to grow. In the meantime, Unrivaled will make its first trip out of Miami and play at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday — in front of a sold-out crowd.

“To get Unrivaled sold out in a matter of days, that tells you we are ready for the WNBA,” Richardson said. “I think we’ll have sold-out stadiums when the WNBA gets here.”

Richardson has been at the forefront of the push to grow women’s basketball in Philly. Unrivaled is another event to get the city ready — and the support has been encouraging.

— Isabella DiAmore, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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Avoiding a repeat

Jeffrey Lurie, Howie Roseman, and Nick Sirianni are tasked with making a variety of staffing and personnel decisions over the next several months to return the Eagles to Super Bowl contention next season. With the coaching carousel spinning and free agency and the draft looming, here’s where the Birds could start with their decision-making.

And there’s a lot of anxiety surrounding the Eagles, particularly about the fact that they haven’t hired an offensive coordinator yet.

Maybe that’s because the NFL’s passing game isn’t necessarily what it used to be. But that doesn’t mean it can’t evolve with the right strategy, and in the Eagles’ case, the right coordinator, writes Mike Sielski.

What we’re…

🤔 Wondering: This year’s Super Bowl will feature the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. Are there any local connections?

📺 Watching: A hometown favorite will appear on your television screens during a Budweiser Super Bowl ad: Lincoln the bald eagle.

🏈 Debating: Who were your favorite NFL color analysts this season? Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes ranks his.

Clap ya hands, everybody

The one big takeaway from the Sixers’ 139-122 comeback win against Milwaukee last night is that despite the on-again, off-again nights from Joel Embiid and Paul George, it’s still electric when those two are on the floor — together. The duo accounted for 61 of the team’s total, with George finishing with a game-high 32 points.

It allowed other important pieces not to be relied on as heavily in what was as close to a team performance as we’ve seen from the Sixers this season. Inquirer writer Keith Pompey has more on the pair and what appeared to also be a revival of Jared McCain.

Next up, the Sixers will look to run it back against Sacramento in the second of a three-game homestand at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday (7 p.m., NBCSP).

Need more from No. 1

The Flyers have been scuffling of late, having lost eight of their last 10, and a big reason why has been the dropoff from their No. 1 line of Trevor Zegras, Travis Konecny, and Christian Dvorak.

The Flyers need more from the high-scoring trio and Rick Tocchet believes it starts with them playing a more honest 200-foot game.

“I hate to use the word cheating; they’re cheating for offense,” Tocchet said of his top line’s game recently.

“You’ve got to play the right way. You’ll get the same amount of chances in the long run, and that’s the way you’re supposed to play the game anyway.”

Speaking of the Flyers’ struggles, here’s what the players had to say after Monday’s disappointing 4-0 loss.

Sports snapshot

• Ending a drought: Will Villanova end its NCAA Tournament dry spell? Here’s what the numbers — and ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi — say.
• Tougher test: Temple men are tied with Tulsa, South Florida, and Charlotte for second in the American. They’ll face two of those teams this week.
• Historic win: Temple women showed resilience and earned their largest comeback victory in program history against Charlotte.
• “The Snow Bowl”: The Union will host a youth tournament with teams including Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund.

David Murphy’s take

The Phillies were always going to enter spring training needing to look inward in order to catch up to the Dodgers. In more ways than one. They are going to need to get some sort of impact from their minor league system.

Aidan Miller is the kind of prospect who can alter a team’s long-term trajectory. It’s the type of production the Dodgers are shelling out billions for, and what the Phillies are aspiring to, writes columnist David Murphy.

Favorite Philly dive bar

Sure, the Super Bowl is basically just another football game when the Eagles aren’t playing, but it is the perfect excuse to scope out a new dive bar to become a regular before next season. Last month, our colleagues on the food team asked for recommendations for Philly’s best and most unsung dive bars.

After combing through more than 400 responses, the final list includes dives of all stripes, from bars that only air the Mike & Merrill broadcast to ones with juicy roast beef sandwiches, pre- and post-game karaoke, and the occasional sub $5 Citywide.

🧠 Trivia time answer

Which athlete has won the most MVP awards while playing with Philadelphia’s professional teams?

A) Wilt Chamberlain, who won four MVP awards — Michael P. was first with the correct answer.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Keith Pompey, Colin Schofield, Olivia Reiner, David Murphy, Marcus Hayes, Mike Sielski, Ryan Mack, Jeff Neiburg, Jonathan Tannenwald, Jackie Spiegel, Jenn Ladd, Beatrice Forman, and Ariel Simpson.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

As always, thanks for reading. Stay warm this week. Kerith will be in your inbox with Thursday’s newsletter. — Bella