🏀 Hoop dreamin’ | Sports Daily Newsletter

If you grew up in Philly, then you vividly remember when The Palestra was the Mecca for all things college basketball. Days spent patiently waiting for 7 p.m. weeknight tip-offs to see Temple, Villanova, St. Joseph’s, La Salle, and Penn battle it out for Big 5 supremacy.

Shoutout to Drexel, but the heyday we’re speaking of predates its inclusion into this storied city rivalry.

Those days were also synonymous with some of those programs being among the elite in NCAA basketball. When the allure of a school was about how many times they had gone dancing into March Madness, and not about how much they were offering.

So in today’s college hoops landscape, how big is the Big 5, really? That’s what columnist Mike Sielski unpacks in his latest piece that tips off (pun intended) our Thursday rundown.

You’ll need that umbrella again today as rain is in the forecast, but we’re expected to see temps reach into the upper 40s across the region.

Complete aside: Have you seen Andre Drummond’s new line of basketball shoes? Interesting.

— Kerith Gabriel, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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❓Do you have a Big 5 hoops memory? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Rojas has returned … for now

Johan Rojas was back in Phillies pinstripes less than 24 hours after he’d reportedly tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. On Wednesday, a source told the Inquirer that the center fielder plans to appeal what’s anticipated to be an 80-game suspension.

Until then, he’s in Clearwater, working out and even taking part in Grapefruit League games. He was in the lineup for Wednesday’s exhibition game against Team Canada.

Inquirer writer Alex Coffey has more on Rojas’ situation and what’s expected to happen next.

What we’re…

🏀 Applauding: Merrimack freshman guard and Father Judge alum Kevair Kennedy was named the men’s basketball player of the year in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

⚽ Sharing: Wrexham, the English soccer team owned by Philly’s Rob Mac, will play an exhibition game at Subaru Park on Aug. 2.

👏🏾 Wondering: Who the Flyers might be looking to move ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline?

🏈 Examining: Whose stock rose and fell during the NFL Scouting Combine, and how, if at all, some of these moves affect the Eagles’ draft strategy.

The Sixers made history…

There’s no shame in losing a game. In fact, there’s sometimes no shame in losing a game by 40. But there’s plenty shame in losing a game by 40 when you don’t play hard. That’s what the Sixers did this week, creating history in the process as the first team to lose three home games in the same season by at least 40, according to basketball-reference.com. The Inquirer’s Marcus Hayes takes a deeper look at the Sixers’ dubious milestone and the lack of effort that got them there.

The Sixers bounced back from an ugly showing on Tuesday by beating the “tanking” Utah Jazz on Wednesday night behind Tyrese Maxey’s 25 points.

Waving the flag

Amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, Fanatics might opt to move its Flag Football Classic from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to somewhere in the United States, according to Front Office Sports.

Kevin Hart is scheduled to host the event organized by Tom Brady, which was said to feature Saquon Barkley along with other NFL notables. The event aims to raise awareness of the sport, which will be part of the Summer Games in 2028.

Ariel Simpson has more on the event and where it could land now that heading to Saudi Arabia is off the table.

‘Other things to focus on’

Phones will definitely be on silent for many players around the NHL, and for members of the Flyers, it’s no different.

The NHL trade deadline is fast approaching, with the final horn sounding on Friday at 3 p.m. But while everyone speculates and debates what Flyers general manager Danny Brière and management will do, the players are trying to stay in the moment.

“Focus on what we do on the ice and play some good hockey, try to win some games. Those are things that we don’t control,” said Flyers captain Sean Couturier. “It’s more you guys [the media] that talk about it and make big stories out of it. In the locker room, it’s not something we really talk about. We’ve got other things to focus on.”

Jackie Spiegel has more with a trade deadline hovering in the background.

On this date

March 5, 2021: The Wells Fargo Center (now Xfinity Mobile Arena) began preparations to welcome just 3,100 fans back to the 21,000-seat arena after a 359-day shutdown of events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Standings, stats, and more

Want to know more details from last night’s Sixers-Jazz game? Here’s a place to access your favorite Philadelphia teams’ statistics, schedules, and standings in real time.

What you’re saying about the Phillies

We asked: What are your thoughts on Rojas’ potential suspension and how it will impact the Phillies?

Why didn’t we keep Harrison Bader! — Joanne G.

I have not pictured Rojas as a major part of the Phillies outfield plans. Pinch runner or defensive sub as needed was going to be his role. Why are so many of the players who continue to think they can get away with taking these banned substances Latino? Are they getting bad advice regarding this in their native countries? — Everett S.

Given their history of violations, the Phillies need to include a special PED clause in all their contracts, in addition to the standard MLB boilerplate. As for Rojas, it’s time to trade or release him. He’s always been too cool for school. And now the cool kid is a druggie. Let’s move on. — Tom O’D.

Johan Rojas’ suspension is unfortunate, but not devastating to the Phillies. He was a non-factor the second half of last year, finishing the season in AAA, and it was uncertain if he would make the big league team this year. This places much more pressure on rookie Justin Crawford. — Bob C.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Alex Coffey, Gina Mizell, Mike Sielski, Ariel Simpson, Devin Jackson, Jonathan Tannenwald, Marcus Hayes, Jackie Spiegel, Gustav Elvin, and Ryan Mack.

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.

Thanks for reading. Here’s hoping we prepared you for all those watercooler sports conversations today. Enjoy them; we’ll see you tomorrow. — Kerith