The Flyers and Penn Medicine have partnered up to donate 13,750 pounds of food, which accounts for over 9,000 meals, so far this season as part of their Penn Medicine Assist program.
The initiative, which started during the 2023-24 season, donates 50 pounds of food to local hunger-relief organization Philabundance for every Flyers assist — increasing last year’s amount by 20 pounds per assist. So far, the Flyers have tallied 275 assists.
“We needed to do more, plain and simple,” said Todd Glickman, the chief revenue and business officer for Comcast Spectacor. “We felt like we needed to do more and give more because food insecurity is such a big thing in the region. It was important to Penn Medicine and it was important to us. And it was an easy thing to do.”
The program’s numbers continue to grow each year. During the 2023-24 season, the Flyers’ 396 assists donated 11,880 pounds of food. The following year, the Flyers’ 403 assists donated 12,090 pounds of food — making it over 37,000 pounds of food, and over 25,000 meals, that have been donated over the last three years.
“I think we’ll see the numbers go up significantly from last year just by increasing the amount by 20 pounds per assist,” said Lori Gustave, the chief strategy officer of Penn Medicine. “I personally hope they get a lot of assists so that we can donate a lot of food.”
The initiative will benefit Philabundance, which has been operating for 41 years, growing across two states in nine counties, with the mission to bridge the gap between a surplus of food and those in the community struggling with food insecurity.
The foundation started from the back of Pam Rainey Lawler’s Subaru in 1984. Since then, it has grown tremendously — delivering over 40 million pounds of food to the community over the past year.
Gritty at Philabundance last year, packing some of the meals donated from the Penn Medicine Assist program.
“Of the nine counties, which includes Philadelphia, there are approximately 700,000 neighbors that are food insecure,” said Amy Galette, the director of corporate relations at Philabundance. “If you think about the amount of people we serve a week, it’s enough to fill five stadiums full during Flyers games. It’d be like selling out five Flyers games per week.”
As part of last year’s Penn Medicine Assist program, Gritty and some of the Flyers players, including Jamie Drysdale and Bobby Brink, joined the assembly line at Philabundance to help package some of the meals.
“It was fun,” Brink said. “I mean it was nice to get a little day-in-the-life kind of vibe and help out. The environment was great, a lot of great people, and it’s always nice just giving a few hours to help.”
Drysdale added: “We are very fortunate to be in this position that we’re in. And I don’t think it takes a lot for us to give a few hours wherever we can to kind of help out and just show some love back to the community that treats us so well.”
After being named the 2025 Philanthropist of the Year by the Major League Baseball Players Trust, Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola earned a $25,000 grant to donate to a charity of his choice. On Wednesday, he selected Philabundance, the largest food bank in the Greater Philadelphia region, as the recipient.
“Aaron Nola has been helping Philabundance strike out hunger for five years,” said Loree D. Jones Brown, the chief executive officer of Philabundance. “We are deeply grateful for his generosity and partnership. Delivering food, hope, and stability to those of our neighbors who need it most is a collective effort, and we could not fulfill our mission without the crucial, consistent support of donors — and friends — like Aaron.”
Nola has been working with Philabundance since 2019, joining its efforts to battle food insecurity across two states in nine counties. Their partnership will continue into 2026 with Philabundance as one of the beneficiaries for Nola’s charity poker tournament on April 16 at Citizens Bank Park.
“Aaron embodies the Players Trust’s goal of making a positive impact in the world and has demonstrated an extraordinary personal commitment to philanthropic endeavors,” said Amy Hever the executive director of the Players Trust. “Our goal is to amplify the good the Players do in their community, and we hope this grant will help Philabundance reach even more people and families experiencing food insecurity.”
Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola was named the 2025 Philanthropist of the Year by the MLBPA.
Nola was named the Philanthropist of the Year for all his work giving back to the community, working with Philabundance, Team Red, White and Blue — an organization for veterans and service members seeking improved physical or mental health — and ALS research.
Although Nola was unable to attend Wednesday’s Playmakers Classic, the Players Trust’s annual fundraising and awareness event, the 11-year veteran left an important message.
“This award means a lot to me, because giving back has always been a core part of who I am and what I believe in,” said Nola in a video message.
“Baseball has given me so many opportunities, mentors, and teammates who feel like family, and I’ve always felt a responsibility to use that platform to make a positive impact — whether it’s supporting ALS, veterans, kids and families, or doing whatever I can to strengthen communities and help make the world a little bit better. … This is truly an honor, and it motivates me to keep doing more, both on and off the field.”
Following his Rising Stars MVP, VJ Edgecombe joined former NBA star Jeff Teague and co-hosts DJ Wells and Brandon Hendricks on the Club 520 Podcast. But if listeners didn’t know any better, they might have thought they accidentally tuned into an episode of Kylie Kelce’s podcast, as Edgecombe repeatedly made it clear that he was “not gonna lie.”
The Sixers guard candidly discussed his pre-draft workouts, the intensity of Sixers practices, his relationships with his teammates, and his “Welcome to the NBA” moment. Here’s everything you missed from Edgecombe’s appearance on the Club 520 Podcast …
“At the beginning of the year, I’m not going to lie, I thought I wasn’t going nowhere,” said Edgecombe, who averaged 15 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists at Baylor. “I thought I had to stay another year. And then conference [games] came around and I started hooping for real, for real.
“You know the people that be doing all the little rankings and stuff? You know, you pay attention to that. Freshman year, they got me in like honorable mentions. I’m not even in the top 10. I’m like, it’s quiet, bro. I’m like, I’m going to have to run it back. And then conference came around and I just started hooping.”
Once Edgecombe declared for the draft, he participated in the NBA combine and decided to conduct a private workout with only one team: the Sixers.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse (right) talks to Edgecombe during a December game against the Pacers. Edgecombe won MVP of the NBA Rising Stars game over All-Star Weekend.
“I only worked out for one team. I took my chances, I ain’t going to lie,” Edgecombe said. “And that was Philly. I only worked out in Philly. I went in there, I’m not gonna lie, [and] shot four air balls. I was nervous as [expletive].
“But then I was like if they draft me or not, it’s whatever at this point. I wasn’t even trying to trip about it. But, I’m not going to lie, I’ve never been so nervous, bro. Because you got the owners, you got everybody on the sideline just watching you.”
That risk ended up paying off. Edgecombe was drafted third overall by the Sixers and has been one of the league’s top rookies, averaging similar numbers to his lone season in Waco: 14.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists.
Edgecombe joined a team with veteran players like Maxey, Paul George, Joel Embiid, and Kelly Oubre Jr. When asked about the intensity of Sixers practices, Edgecombe responded: “I ain’t going to lie, [expletive] about to throw hands in there at practice.”
However, Edgecombe believes that those high-energy practices — along with his one-on-one battles with Maxey — have helped the team when it comes time to compete.
“I feel like that helps us a lot though,” Edgecombe added. “Me and [Maxey] play ones. That’s the first time, I’m going to be honest, the first time I’m like I’m really losing ones, for real. That [expletive] can hoop. I ain’t going to lie. I didn’t know he was that fast, bro. And he can shoot.”
Edgecombe said he’s continually impressed by Sixers center Joel Embiid (left).
‘They be dropping gems all the time’
When they’re not getting ready to “throw hands,” Edgecombe is learning from some of the vets on the team, including George, a nine-time NBA All-Star.
“They be dropping gems all the time, bro,” Edgecombe said. “Teaching me off-the-court stuff, on-the-court stuff. I ain’t going to lie, I been working with [George] too with ball-handling and all that, just trying to get in that bag, just trying to activate a different part of my game, bro. I mean, I’m able to just run by [guys] sometimes, but you know just trying to be able to break [them] down. … I feel like it will just make it a lot easier for me, if I’m able to get to my spot and be able to break down.”
And when it comes to Embiid, Edgecombe is still impressed by the former MVP’s presence on the court.
“He cool as [expletive],” Edgecombe said. “He just chill. Be in his own little world. I swear, I’ve never seen someone really that good. I ain’t going to lie. He good, bro. I sit there and just watch him. He just be going at people. I told him, ‘Bro, if I was like 7-foot, I probably would have been able to guard him.’ But, he being drawing fouls and all type of different stuff going on, bro.”
‘That’s my welcome to the NBA moment’
When Edgecombe first made the transition to the NBA, he immediately recognized the difference in pace from college. But his true “Welcome to the NBA” moment came on the defensive end.
“I had to guard Luka [Doncic], Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], D-Book [Devin Booker], [Jalen] Brunson,” Edgecombe said. “I got to guard all of them. That’s my ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment. I’m not going to lie.”
When asked who was the toughest player to guard in the league, he responded: “I ain’t going to lie to you, it was Ja Morant. He had 40 [points].”
For the first time in over two years, Major League Wrestling will return to Philadelphia to host two nights of action at the 2300 Arena as part of the promotion’s 24th anniversary.
“With it being our anniversary this June, we felt like there’s no better place to host it than Philadelphia,” said Court Bauer, the CEO of MLW. “And since fans have been asking for two-and-a-half years for us to come back, we’re like, let’s give them a double shot. Two nights of MLW. Let’s make this as big as we can.”
MLW will visit on June 12 and 13, filming a national television taping of the new season of MLW Fusion and showcasing the promotion’s signature event, Summer of the Beasts.
Fans can expect appearances from MLW world heavyweight champion Killer Cross, Shotzi Blackheart, Matt Riddle, CONTRA Unit, and Don Gato.
“From a matchmaking perspective, as a promoter, it really scratches that itch and gets me thinking creatively in ways that challenges me because you know the bar is going to be high,” Bauer said. “There might be some extreme wrestling. There might be some hard core wrestling. There might be some lucha.”
Although the 2300 Arena has given fans plenty of iconic Extreme Championship Wrestling memories, MLW has its own history at the venue.
Major League Wrestling CEO Court Bauer (center) shown at 2300 Arena in 2021.
The company’s debut event, Genesis, was held at the 2300 Arena in June 2002. Since then, it has operated in major markets, including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
“There’s just something special that you can’t really find in another city, that intensity that Philly has for pro wrestling,” Bauer said. “And the 2300 Arena is kind of like the cathedral of pro wrestling in America. There’s no other place that’s held as many great matches and has shed as much blood.”
The last time the promotion was at the 2300 Arena was in February 2024 for MLW’s SuperFight card, which featured an MLW world heavyweight title match between Satoshi Kojima and Alex Kane.
There was plenty of blame to go around after the Eagles’ postseason run ended early, following a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC wild-card round. But a few people are getting more heat than the rest.
One of the main culprits was offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who was fired after one season in the role and is reportedly on his way to Miami. Another person who has taken a lot of the blame is three-time Pro Bowler A.J. Brown.
Throughout the season former Eagles center Jason Kelce defended the receiver. Now, with Brown’s future in Philly still in question, Kelce was asked about the receiver’s perceived lack of effort on 94 WIP.
“How hard is it to play with a player that’s not giving full effort?” Kelce said. “It’s incredibly frustrating, right. I think any player that’s out there when you’re seeing a teammate not go all out, like that’s all you want from your teammates. And that’s all we want as fans. And it’s a really hard thing to optically watch. It’s frustrating to watch.”
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his four seasons in Philly.
Brown finished last season with 78 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. In the wild-card loss, Brown recorded three receptions for 25 yards and had a costly third-down drop late in the game.
“I think whatever was affecting A.J. affected the team,” Kelce said. “And I think that A.J. was clearly affected. I don’t know to what degree A.J. affected the other guys, probably a little bit. Whenever you have somebody who doesn’t have the right energy come through the building and you can just feel it. It’s not good, right? But, I think the reality is most of the words that come out of the building — from players, from coaches, from everybody — love A.J. Brown. … There’s a genuine appreciation for A.J. Do you know how hard that is when it’s so apparent that he’s frustrated on the field?
“ … He’s well respected. I think part of it is that he’s a great player and teammates want him there and know that he can be a dominating force for them. He’s just unfortunately a player who allows his internal frustrations to manifest into his play. And it makes him play worse, and makes the offense worse, and it makes his energy worse. And some guys can block that out and go out there and just play football. He is clearly not one of those guys.”
Jason Kelce on a perceived lack of effort from A.J. Brown this season:
"He's just unfortunately a player who allows his internal frustrations to manifest into his play, and it makes him play worse and makes the offense worse." pic.twitter.com/tsQxzKH1np
Kelce has since clarified his comments with a post on X.
“It seems people are taking this as a dig on A.J. Brown, which wasn’t really the intent of the response,” Kelce wrote. “It was apparent that A.J. was frustrated, and it’s apparent that A.J. lets that affect his play at times. That’s frustrating to watch as fans and people on the outside. But it’s more important that his teammates and coaches for all of this external frustration still love and only say positive things about A.J.
“That probably means that his teammates understand where he’s coming from, and that’s what really matters. If there was an issue with it, teammates would be saying different things publicly. That was the point I was attempting to say. That was the purpose of this response and I worded it poorly. I love A.J. Brown, I loved him as a teammate, and I think if he ends up getting traded, the Eagles, and fans will end up regretting it majorly.”
Brown is under contract with the Eagles through the 2029 season.
When your social media algorithm starts feeding you videos of Snoop Dogg, and Jason and Kylie Kelce learning how to curl, it must be time for the Winter Olympics.
Ahead of the Milan Olympic Games, similar to the Kelces and Snoop Dogg, I had the opportunity to get some hands-on training. Here’s a look about the training that goes into the sport, my own experience on the ice, and some local places to play.
Curling can look effortless on television, but looks can be deceiving.
Daniel Laufer, 19, a freshman at Thomas Jefferson University from Richboro, Bucks County, who has been curling for 12 years, had the opportunity to compete on this year’s Olympics ice at the Cortina Olympic Stadium in Italy during last year’s World Junior Curling Championships as a member of Team USA.
The ice at the Olympic curling center in Milan, like the ice seen here at the Philadelphia Curling Club in Paoli, is pebbled, which is different than the smooth ice you’d find at a Flyers game.
“That was a really great experience,” Laufer said. “[The ice] was really good. Obviously, not as good as it is for the Olympics. They were still figuring out the facilities and figuring out the rocks. We had a really good experience with that venue.”
This year, Laufer again will be competing in the World Junior Curling Championships, just outside Copenhagen, Denmark, from Feb. 24 through March 3. Ahead of the event, he’s been training, working on his strength and cardio.
“I usually try to lift four to five times a week and do a significant amount of cardio,” Laufer said. “When I was training specifically for Worlds last season, I had like three months where I was practicing five days a week. Practices are like two hours long. I probably throw 50 to 60 rocks every practice.
“That’s what a higher level training regiment looks like. But, it looks different for everybody.”
Inquirer reporter Ariel Simpson (center) gets instructions on how to sweep from Carolyn Lloyd (right) at the Philadelphia Curling Club in Paoli.
How hard is curling?
Not everyone trains like Laufer, especially amateurs. So how difficult is curling for the average person? I recently had the opportunity to get a hands-on experience at the Philadelphia Curling Club in Paoli with Carolyn Lloyd, a member for 20 years.
“I love exposing people to something that’s so special,” said Lloyd, who lives in Collegeville. “People don’t realize just how special it is. It’s different from a lot of sports, certainly in its culture. This sport captures my whole heart.”
Before this I had never stepped foot on ice — other than the sheet that covered my driveway for two recent weeks. So, I knew this was going to be a bit of a challenge, but Lloyd was more than up to the task of teaching me.
When it came to delivering the stone, I watched a number of YouTube videos ahead of time. So, of course, I felt like a pro walking in — I didn’t even need special shoes, just some attachments. But once I actually stepped onto the ice, with a gripper covering one shoe and a slider covering the other, I felt like a baby deer trying to walk for the first time.
Walking on the ice was hard enough. Now, imagine having to get into a squat position and push off the hack — a rubber block embedded into the ice — with one leg and balance on the other while holding a deep lunge and bracing your core.
Then you have to aim, release, and spin a 42-pound granite stone. Easy? Trust me, it’s not like they make it look on TV.
Carolyn Lloyd (left) explains Inquirer reporter Ariel Simpson the parts of a curling stone at the Philadelphia Curling Club in Paoli.
It took me a few tries before I was even mentally prepared to push off with enough strength to move myself a few feet. But, once you get over the fear of falling onto the ice, you start to actually enjoy yourself and can focus on the next step — getting the stone to the house — which I did, eventually.
And all of this was only learning how to deliver the stone. Sweeping was a whole other issue. By the time I was ready to try sweeping, I had much more confidence walking on the ice, so that’s a plus. But now I had to run on it.
Afterward, I felt like I had done a full body workout. The amount of core, lower-body, and arm strength needed for curling is substantial and was certainly a surprise.
The one part of the sport I didn’t get a chance to take part in was the social aspect. It’s a game that’s big on camaraderie, including the post-round tradition of “broomstacking,” when the winning team buys the losing team a drink. But, hey, I was on the clock.
Where can I try curling in the Philly area?
If you want to give curling — and its rules and traditions — a try, there are a couple of local clubs where you can learn.
The Philadelphia Curling Club was started in 1957 but didn’t move to its current location until 1965. Since then they have grown, gaining over 200 members.
“This building was built for curling,” Lloyd said. “We bought the land. We built the club. And to this day, what you see here is a lot of the club members’ efforts. Most of the work that we do is not things that other people come in and do for us.”
The club offers a junior program on the weekends where kids can start as early as 5 years old.
“It’s something that anyone can pick up,” Lloyd said. “The game has adaptations for people who have different types of ability needs. You can learn very quickly, and then you can refine that skill for the rest of your life.”
A member of the Philadelphia Curling Club in Paoli delivers a stone during warmups last week.
There’s also the Bucks County Curling Club, located on York Road in Warminster, that was formed in 2010. The four-sheet club also has over 200 members and plays year-round.
Although it’s usually once every four years when the world tunes in to watch curling on TV, there is plenty of curling content that Laufer wants fans to know about.
“We have a ton of events,” he said. “There’s the Grand Slam of Curling events, which are our biggest tour events. There’s the World Championships, the European Championships. There’s a lot of events to watch, a lot of events that U.S. teams play in.”
Philly fans probably weren’t expecting to see Ben Simmons during the Super Bowl — but the former Sixers first-round pick made headlines on Sunday that don’t have to do with professional fishing.
Simmons starred alongside comedian Tiffany Haddish in an ad, which debuted on Instagram before the Big Game, for fantasy sports app Sleeper.
The commercial introduces a fictional “Simmons & Haddish” law firm and pokes fun at Simmons’ ex-girlfriend Kendall Jenner, who starred in her own Fanatics Sportsbook Super Bowl commercial, teasing the Kardashian dating curse.
“Haven’t you heard? The internet says I’m cursed,” Jenner says in her ad. “Any basketball player who dates me, kind of hits a rough patch. While the world’s been talking about it, I’ve been betting on it. How else do you think I can afford all this … modeling?”
Jenner and Simmons were first linked together in May 2018 before calling it quits in May 2019. She has also dated Devin Booker, Jordan Clarkson, and Blake Griffin. Booker responded to the ad on X. But, Simmons had his own response to Jenner’s recent commercial.
“Are your exes subbing you in commercials?” Simmons says in the Sleepers ad.
“If so, you may be entitled to retribution,” Haddish adds. “You need emotional injury specialists Simmons & Haddish. You need the ex-communicators.”
Simmons and Haddish offer their services to help during celebrity breakups. The ad featured many famous exes, including Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s ex-girlfriend Kayla Nicole, rapper Cardi B’s ex-husband Offset, and reality star Chelley Bissainthe’s ex-boyfriend Ace Greene.
Each ex had their own testimony for the work of Simmons & Haddish, including Nicole — and they didn’t have the best reviews.
“Simmons & Haddish promised me that they could put an end to this whole ‘ex-girlfriend’ fiasco quickly,” Nicole says.
Simmons interjected with a reference to Kelce’s current fiancée, Taylor Swift: “That doesn’t sound right … I said ‘swiftly.’ Why is that so hard to remember?”
The ex-communicators even had their own catchy theme song.
When your ex becomes a hater, call the ex-communicators. Simmons & Haddish.
With a return to the NBA currently on hold, Simmons is now a controlling operator of the South Florida Sails Angling Club, a team in the Sports Fishing Championship. When he’s not fixing celebrity relationships, that is.
Those were the first words from 21-year-old former Sixers guard Jared McCain in his latest vlog after getting traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 4 in exchange for a 2026 first-round pick and three second-round picks.
The former Rookie of the Year front-runner was surprised when he received the news on the team bus, which was headed to the San Francisco airport ahead of the Sixers’ road game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
“We were just on the bus,” McCain said in his latest YouTube video. “I get a call saying it might happen. And then like five minutes later [Daryl Morey] calls and says, ‘You’re cooked, Jared McCain.’ He said, ‘Bye, man. Never speak to me again.’ No, they were nice about it but, you know, it’s part of the NBA.”
When McCain initially broke the news to his teammates, they didn’t believe him.
“Right when I found out, I went to the back of the bus and I told Tyrese [Maxey] and nobody, they didn’t believe me,” McCain said. “And then I think management called them and then we were all getting on the plane and then I’m crying at this point. And we get off the buses and everybody is giving me hugs and I’m just crying. It was like a movie scene. Everybody is getting on the plane and I’m just crying. Lot of tears today. Happy, sad, I don’t know.”
Maxey thought it was a joke when McCain shared the news. Afterward, the All-Star point guard publicly discussed McCain’s departure, calling him his “little brother.”
“It was just like, ‘All right, whatever. He’s just joking,’” Maxey said. “Calls start coming in, and then you realize it’s real.”
McCain had a breakout rookie season, averaging 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists before his season was cut short by a torn meniscus in his left knee. McCain struggled in his second season after being sidelined for surgeries on his knee and thumb. In 37 games, the young guard averaged 6.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists.
On a private jet to Oklahoma City, McCain tried to keep a positive mindset on the trade — even if that meant drawing inspiration from his favorite music artist, Drake.
“I’m in shock still,” McCain said. “I’m an OKC Thunder. What did Drake say? ‘It’s raining money, Oklahoma City Thunder. The most successful rapper 35 and under.’ Drake did say that. So, maybe it was destined for me. And it was in Weston Road Flows too. But, shout-out OKC, man. OKC, here we come. I’m excited, blessed, thankful. Let’s go have some fun.”
Throughout the rest of the video, McCain shared his first few days with his new team — whether he was practicing how to say hi to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, visiting the Paycom Center, getting locked out of the Thunder’s training facility, meeting OKC fans, or playing in his first game with the team, when he finished with five points, two rebounds, and one assist — and received a standing ovation.
But the former Sixers first-round pick had one more message to Philly fans and it came in song form. McCain dedicated Olivia Dean’s “A Couple Minutes” to the organization and its fan base.
Jared McCain sang his heart out in a tribute to Philly fans 🥹💙
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is making its way back to Philly on Feb. 7 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena to host KnuckleMania VI. Over a year ago, the event took over the former Wells Fargo Center for KnuckleMania V — setting a local modern day combat sports record with 17,762 people in attendance.
Last year’s headliner was former UFC champion and Kensington native Eddie Alvarez. There was also plenty of love for local Philly talent, highlighting six hometown fighters. However, only two of those six walked out victorious.
In this year’s KnuckleMania card, they’re expecting a different outcome with five Pennsylvania fighters featured — including some who have already competed in South Philly.
Here are three from the Philly area that you should know ahead of Saturday night’s event …
Johnny “Cannoli” Garbarino is one of the featured fights on Saturday’s main KnuckleMania VI card.
Johnny ‘Cannoli’ Garbarino
Johnny Garbarino, a former chef at a Michelin-star restaurant, quickly became a fan favorite after last year’s performance at KnuckleMania V at the then Wells Fargo Center. After the South Philly native knocked out his opponent, Apostle Spencer, in the first round, he proposed to his girlfriend Gianna Scavetti in front of the hometown crowd.
The Italian fighter earned his “Cannoli” nickname by throwing the dessert at Spencer during the weigh-in. Since then, he’s been riding high — picking up two more wins at the 2300 Arena. Now, he’ll have a chance to return to the big stage on Feb. 7.
“I’m looking forward to all of it,” Garbarino said. “Philadelphia brings it the hardest. And I’m only saying that because I see what the Eagles fans do nationwide and they travel everywhere. They’re built different, they have crazy energy. I think a lot of people from Philadelphia are violent and I feel like I’m actually allowed to go in here and catch a body and not go to jail. So, I’m excited.”
Garbarino (3-0) will compete against Kaine Tomlinson Jr. (2-2), who defeated another Philly native — and close friend of Garbarino’s — Pat Sullivan at last year’s KnuckleMania. Heading into this year’s matchup, Garbarino is looking to avenge that loss for the city.
“The question of the day is, ‘Is it personal to fight this guy?’ I definitely feel like it’s personal,” Garbarino said. “But I feel like every fight is personal. This one is just a little bit different because he knocked a dear friend of mine out.
“Anybody from Philadelphia that fights another guy from a different city, I have to step up for them, as long as it’s in my weight class. It’s going to be an honor to put this guy down. And I’m going to raise my hand up and hopefully when Pat’s done his fight, I’ll raise his hand up too and we’ll get the win back together.”
Sullivan (1-1) will also be featured on the card, competing against Charles Bennett (0-3).
Heavyweight fighter Patrick Brady faces Bear Hill on the main card Saturday night.
Patrick ‘The Brick’ Brady
Although Patrick “The Brick” Brady currently resides in South Jersey, the 41-year-old grew up in Delaware County and claims Philly as home. He’s been training at The Forge, owned and operated by Philly UFC fighters Chris and Kyle Daukaus.
To Brady, bare knuckle fighting is just something he does in his spare time. His full-time job is managing his own renovations company called Renovations By Brady.
“This is my crazy, wild hobby, if you would say, that most people do full-time,” Brady said. “My wife hates it. She’s not a fan. Especially when I crossed over to bare knuckle.
“I come from [mixed martial arts], I was 5-1 in MMA and my only loss was when I hurt my knee, and that’s when I made the switch. It’s been a point of contention for my wife just because her position is [that] I don’t have to [do it]. But I love competing. I love elite level competition and this is what I’m doing.”
Brady (2-0) is coming off two straight knockouts — including a quick knockout over Zach Calmus at last year’s KnuckleMania. Heading into this year’s fight with Bear Hill (2-0), he doesn’t plan on playing it safe.
“I fought here last January,” Brady said. “I fought a worthy opponent who was on a four-fight win streak and got him out of there fast in under a minute, and it was a good night. Hopefully the night goes the same way. I’m looking for a knockout. There’s no decisions. I don’t plan on backing up. I plan on coming forward and putting on a show.”
Cruiserweight Lex Ludlow will face Calmus on Saturday, a year after Brady knocked him out.
Lex ‘The Grizzly Bear’ Ludlow
This will be Lex “The Grizzly Bear” Ludlow’s (2-0) first time competing at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. And as the Levittown native prepares for his fight with Zach Calmus (5-4), the cruiserweight is already focused on his post-fight speech.
“This is going to be the craziest post-fight speech ever,” Ludlow said. “I’m really known for it. I’m way better than [UFC fighter] Colby Covington in post-fight speeches. The only person, in my opinion, better in post-fight speeches than me is the guy that I grew up watching do it, Chael Sonnen. He’s somebody that I’ve been trying to get the eye from, to look at me and one day walk down to the ring with me. Just trying to impress Chael, that’s all it is.”
His passion for the promo comes from his love for pro wrestling, growing up studying the words of popular heels (or villains) like “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, and “Ravishing” Rick Rude.
“I was a pro wrestling fan since I was five years old,” Ludlow said. “Weirdly enough, I used to practice doing promos. I would stand up in a mirror and I would practice how I would talk, how I present myself, everything.”
Now, the 32 year old is ready to play both the heel and the face (or hero) when it comes to fighting in Philly.
“I’m definitely going to play to the crowd,” Ludlow said. “Because I’m the most hated man in combat sports — but everybody loves me. So, I guess I have to play the face a little bit.”
Ever since that touchdown helped the Eagles beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, it’s fascinated Eagles fans — the lore, the backstory, and, of course, the confetti that followed. There have been T-shirts and murals designed to commemorate the play, food specials named after the moment, and a number of tattoos inspired by the event that now decorate the bodies of Eagles fans from all over.
“I don’t know of any other play that people have tattooed up and down their bodies,” former Eagles center Jason Kelce says in ESPN’s new 30 for 30 documentary about the Birds’ first Super Bowl win. “I was in a stadium in Chicago, and a cook raised his sleeve and had the Philly Special X’s and O’s tattooed on his forearm. This is in the Bears’ stadium.”
Now, fans will get a new look behind the play and the people who made it happen in The Philly Special, which premieres at 9 p.m. Friday. The iconic moment, which helped an underdog Eagles team bring the Lombardi Trophy to the city for the first time in franchise history, is told through the eyes of the five men involved — Kelce, Corey Clement, Trey Burton, Nick Foles, and Doug Pederson.
“My wife and I sat down and watched it, and I’m not going to lie, it brought me to tears,” Pederson, the former Eagles coach, said on 94 WIP on Wednesday, the eighth anniversary of the play. “I really felt like they did an outstanding job to me catching sort of the essence and the spirit of Philadelphia, the city, the fans, the passion.”
Helping bring the city to life during the hourlong documentary was Shannon Furman, who grew up in South Jersey and is based in Marlton. Furman, a Penn State graduate, was one of the film’s directors, along with Angela Zender.
Although the play is central to the film, its story begins much earlier. It briefly follows each of the five central characters’ journeys to Super Bowl LII, from the moment they were drafted (or in some cases weren’t) to the moment the Philly Special was called at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
While taking a trolley ride through town, with stops at various Philly landmarks, Pederson, Foles, Kelce, Clement, and Burton discuss their first impressions of the city, while Kelce also finds a way to take a shot at Dallas in the process.
“When I got drafted, my agent said, ‘You know, Jason, you’re going to love Philadelphia. It’s got a great spirit to it. I think you’ll fit in pretty well,’” Kelce said. “There’s a humbleness to it. There’s a cockiness to it. A city that was born on the back of blue-collar workers and manufacturing. Stetson hat factory. To all you Cowboys fans, you think cowboy hats is a [expletive] Texas thing. That was created in Philadelphia. So, [expletive] you guys.”
Kelce may have received promising advice from his agent, but Foles was issued a stern warning by former Eagles head coach Andy Reid. He remembers a conversation he had with Reid as a rookie, not long after he was selected by the Birds in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft.
Andy Reid and Nick Foles during the 2012 season.
“I had a sit down with Andy Reid,” Foles said. “I remember he asked me poignantly, ‘Do you have faith or believe in anything?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m a Christian.’ He said ‘All right, you’re going to need that, because this city has torn grown men apart.’”
Some of that “tearing grown men apart” happens on the radio. Burton, the former Eagles tight end who threw the touchdown pass on the Philly Special, recognized that early.
“I remember my first day in Philly,” Burton said. “My cousin picked me up, and he had the WIP radio [station] on. I was like, ‘What is this?’ People calling in from all over the place, talking crazy.”
For Clement, meanwhile, it was a dream to sign with his hometown team. The former Eagles running back, who grew up in Glassboro, remembers telling the team he would be at the facility “in an hour.” Pederson also was familiar with the city, having played for the Eagles (1999) and been an assistant (2009 to 2012) before becoming head coach (2016 to 2020).
“The Philadelphia hiring for me was a whirlwind of emotion,” Pederson said. “You’re a little bit scared in a way because it’s such a big step. I played here. You know the city, you know the fan base, you know exactly what you’re getting into. You’re not going to make everybody happy. You just settle in and you realize, ‘Hey, this is what you’ve been preparing yourself for.’”
The Eagles’ 2017 season was a whirlwind. The team got off to a 10-2 start behind Carson Wentz before the second-year quarterback and MVP favorite tore his ACL in the team’s Week 14 win over the Los Angeles Rams. With their Pro Bowl quarterback injured, Foles was forced into action.
During one of the group’s stops, Foles asked Pederson and Kelce what their confidence level was like with him stepping in.
“Season’s done,” Pederson said jokingly. “I started believing the media.”
Kelce interjected: “Me and a few guys that had been there for the Chip [Kelly] years with Nick; felt confident that Nick could play really well. We had seen it before.”
Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson dons a dog mask as he walks off the field after the team’s 15-10 divisional round playoff win over the Atlanta Falcons in 2018.
With the loss of Wentz, those outside the organization started to count the Eagles out. And that underdog mentality fueled the Eagles, who had printouts of media rankings hanging all over the facility, including in the bathroom, and donned dog masks throughout the playoffs.
But Kelce, Foles, Clement, and Burton were used to being underdogs. It was part of the documentary Furman wishes she had more time to tell.
“I wish we could have really gotten into everyone’s backstory a little bit more,” Furman said. “Because those five characters are really, like, real underdog stories, which is what the whole film is.”
Clement and Burton were undrafted free agents. Kelce was a walk-on at the University of Cincinnati — and hardly a lock to stick with the Eagles after he was drafted in the sixth round. Pederson, a former backup quarterback, was heavily criticized nationally when the Eagles hired him. And then there’s Foles.
Foles’ NFL journey was difficult. The backup-turned-starter was twice cast off, including by Kelly after his first year with the Eagles, despite the team reaching the playoffs. He played for six teams over his 11-year career. After his first stint with the Eagles, Foles found himself in St. Louis, where he began to question whether he wanted to walk away from the sport before Reid brought him to Kansas City and helped revive his career.
“I just said, I don’t know if I can do it anymore,” Foles said. “Then it came over me, which one am I more afraid of? Am I more afraid to leave the game? No, I’m not afraid. I’m trying to leave the game. I’m afraid to go back to the game. And my spirit was like, ‘Well, that’s what you need to do.’ Ultimately, that equipped me for what was to come.”
What was to come was a battle the film likened to Rocky vs. Apollo Creed or Ivan Drago. Cliche or not, Foles found himself standing in U.S. Bank Stadium below giant banners featuring one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Tom Brady, and himself in a moment one can’t help but compare to an almost identical scene in Rocky, when the title character finds himself staring up at a giant banner of Creed.
Eagles quarterback Nick Foles and Eagles head coach Doug Pederson during the second quarter at Super Bowl LII, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018.
‘You want Philly Philly’ — or is it dilly dilly?
It’s fourth-and-goal with 38 seconds left to play in the first half of Super Bowl LII and Pederson sent a play to Foles — only it wasn’t the Philly Special. Players looked out of sync, confused. So the coach decided to take a minute to think things over.
“Here we are fourth-and-goal at the 1, and I called a timeout,” Pederson says. “I’m easing back up to [the] coaches box, just looking, just searching for the right play. I’m just searching. I’m listening to the coaches. And I turn my mic off and now I’m talking face-to-face with Nick, and he just walks up and is like, ‘How about Philly Philly?’ My pause was just like ‘That’s it. That’s the play.’
“The coaches heard it, Philly Special, and it was honestly like crickets. I could hear chirping on the headset. Nobody said a word. It was like, ‘Philly Special? In this moment?’”
Once the play was called, everyone involved admitted they had something to be nervous about — except Foles. Clement was worried the snap would go over his head. Burton hadn’t thrown a touchdown pass since high school. And Kelce was worried how he would snap the ball, although he felt like if they could execute, the Patriots “wouldn’t see it coming.”
Meanwhile, Foles was just trying not to smile.
“In my mind, it was just the play that would work,” Foles recalls. “It wasn’t like a play that I thought would be famous. It was like, this will work for [messing up] the Patriots. The one thing I was thinking about when [Pederson] said, ‘Yeah, lets do it,’ when I turned around was don’t smile. Do not smile. Look serious.
“Because I was so excited. I knew it was going to work. That was my one coaching point. Do not smile.”
The only problem, Foles didn’t actually ask for the “Philly Special.” Instead, he asked for “Philly Philly.” And to this day, he still doesn’t know why he called it the Philly Philly. However, the directors had their own conspiracy theory as to why Foles slipped up: the popular Bud Light “dilly dilly” commercials that were being aired at the time.
“Yes, those were on the TV, the ‘dilly dilly’ commercials,” Foles said. “And there is a very good chance that got engrained somehow into my mind. And that’s why people do commercials. Because it somehow, in your subconscious gets ingrained, even if you don’t want it to. That’s probably what it was.
“It was probably me watching the AFC championship game and seeing commercials. I don’t know how Doug knew what I was asking for though. That’s not — he must’ve seen the commercials too. So, that worked on both of us.”
At one point, the film even shows two Super Bowl officials enjoying a “dilly dilly” commercial on the Jumbotron during a break in the game.
That wasn’t the only way the Philly Special snuck into Foles’ subconscious before he asked for it. He also said watching Tom Brady drop a similar pass right in front of him earlier in the game also reminded him that the play was an option.
Throughout the film, there are plenty of Philly fans, notable citizens, and local spots featured — including Reading Terminal Market, Skinny Joey’s, Termini Bros Bakery, Manco and Manco Pizza, and Zahav, where Foles recalls fans serenading him out of the restaurant with E-A-G-L-E-S chants before leaving for the Super Bowl. The group also makes stops at the Philly Special statue outside of Lincoln Financial Field, as well as atop the Art Museum steps, a location Rocky made famous just over 40 years before Kelce’s unforgettable Super Bowl parade speech that captured Philly and its underdog mentality perfectly.
It was important to Furman for this documentary to not only retell an iconic moment in Philly sports history, but to also represent the fandom behind the team.
“They’re just an important part of everything,” Furman said. “Philly fans get a bad rep sometimes. So we’re hoping this film shows where their passion comes from and why this story was so important to them. The first one was a moment Philly fans, some of them, thought they were never going to see it. So that’s why we wanted them to be a big part of the story.”
