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  • ‘Heated Rivalry’ is introducing hockey to a new, gayer audience — and it was the talk of Flyers’ Pride Night

    ‘Heated Rivalry’ is introducing hockey to a new, gayer audience — and it was the talk of Flyers’ Pride Night

    The biggest crowd pop at Xfinity Mobile Arena during Monday’s Pride Night was for Christian Dvorak’s breakaway goal, the Flyers’ only goal of the game.

    But the second-biggest was for “All the Things She Said,” a song that, only two months ago, was just another early 2000s club hit — until Heated Rivalry turned it into a phenomenon.

    Heated Rivalry, the hit Crave original series that quickly became an international sensation during its six-episode run on HBO Max, is an adaptation of a novel by the same name, written by Rachel Reid. It’s the love story of two fictional hockey superstars, Canadian Shane Hollander and Russian Ilya Rozanov, who were the top two picks in the same draft.

    The show has become one of HBO Max’s top series in the two months since its first episode aired, jumping from 30 million streaming minutes in its opening week to 324 million streaming minutes by its sixth. Casey Bloys, HBO Max’s CEO, described the show as a “word-of-mouth sensation” to the New York Times.

    “There are so many ways to get hooked on hockey and, in the NHL’s 108-year history, this might be the most unique driver for creating new fans. See you all at the rink,” an NHL spokesperson said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter.

    A small cottage industry of hockey podcasts analyzing the show has emerged, with What Chaos! and Empty Netters earning hundreds of thousands of views on episodes about the show, including interviews with the cast and creators.

    But has the show — which wouldn’t exactly win awards for an accurate on-ice depiction of the game — led to real growth in hockey fandom?

    According to StubHub, it has. The ticketing site said last week that it saw a 40% increase in interest in hockey tickets during the show’s run and there’s no shortage of fans online who claim they found the game through Heated Rivalry, which has already been renewed for a second season.

    The LGBTQ+ community has had a challenging relationship with the NHL over the last several years, following former Flyer Ivan Provorov’s decision to opt out of wearing a specialty jersey on Flyers’ Pride Night in 2023, which led to a brief ban on optional Pride tape and a ban on wearing any specialty jerseys on the ice.

    The Flyers hosted their annual Pride Night on Monday.

    But other former Flyers, like Scott Laughton, were extremely involved in Pride initiatives, something Philly natives Trish Grow and Autumn McCloskey, both lifelong Flyers fans, said helped them feel like the Flyers community was inclusive. The explosion of the show helped draw in more of their friends.

    “I have people who would never come near a hockey rink texting me like, ‘You’ve watched this, right?’” Grow said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, honey, do you want to come to a game? You can see them do the stretches, but you’ve got to learn the rules.’”

    One of their friends took them up on their offer, and, after reading the book and watching the show, attended his first-ever hockey game for Pride Night.

    He wasn’t the only one. Dale Lyster, who is from Coatesville and came to the game wearing a Rozanov jersey, said he’d attended a few games over the years, but after hearing friends talk about Heated Rivalry on social media, he decided to tune in and quickly fell in love with the show — and then with hockey.

    “I’ve always liked it, but I’ve never really been into it,” Lyster said. “Now, seeing more representation in the hockey world, it opened my eyes more.”

    Newlyweds Kary and Kate Van Collins of Fairmount feel similarly. Their last hockey game was Flyers Pride Night a year ago, and Heated Rivalry renewed their interest in the sport. Kary made them custom Hollander and Rozanov sweatshirts to wear to the game.

    “I am a queer, neurodivergent, half-Asian person, so I really saw myself in the character of Shane Hollander,” Kary said. “I think it’s just very needed right now, especially in the political climate, to have these positive stories surrounding queer love.”

    Added Kate: “It’s also reassuring that queer people belong in sports. I think a lot of people in the community maybe don’t feel welcome in the sports scene, so maybe it’s a door that’s open so people feel more welcome.”

    The show’s viral success has even caught its stars off guard. Connor Storrie, who plays Rozanov, said Tuesday on Late Night with Seth Meyers that one of the biggest surprises was the show’s reach, and how it hasn’t just been gay men who have enjoyed it.

    “You think of male romance, you think it’s for gay men,” he told Meyers. “But there’s been all walks of life, predominantly women, who enjoy it.”

    Groups are even popping up to help bring fans together. Shannon Herbst of Mount Laurel has loved hockey and been a Flyers season ticket-holder for years, so she knew Heated Rivalry would be right up her alley.

    “There’s actually a group of us through Threads that got together that are from Philly and South Jersey, and there’s so many people on there that really want to get into hockey, specifically the Flyers, and really want to learn more about the game from the show,” Herbst said.

    Hudson Williams (left) and Connor Storrie star as hockey players who fall in love in “Heated Rivalry.”

    Heated Rivalry also has reached the world of professional athletes. Hudson Williams, who plays Hollander, told Andy Cohen on his radio show that multiple closeted athletes have reached out to him and to Reid since the show’s premiere to share how the show has impacted them. No NHL player has ever come out as gay, although NHL draft pick Luke Prokop, who came out in 2021, currently is playing in the American Hockey League with the Edmonton Oilers’ organization.

    That might not change any time soon, but fans felt that the success of Heated Rivalry was a first step for improving inclusion in the sport for players and for fans.

    “It’s definitely opened the door,” Herbst said. “Obviously, there’s still more work that needs to be done, but I think it really planted that seed and made more people comfortable with having that conversation within the NHL and the sport itself.”

  • Founding Father Ben Franklin also founded America’s first volunteer fire department

    Founding Father Ben Franklin also founded America’s first volunteer fire department

    Colonial Philadelphia — a community of wooden dwellings and businesses along the Delaware River back in the 1700s — was under constant threat of burning to the ground. Fires could and did start from the haphazard fling of a cigarette, or burning the soot out of chimneys, or sometimes the accidental drop of a lantern.

    By 1730, the city had just one fire engine — a steam-powered box car — and dozens of buckets for carrying water to extinguish flames. When a fire that year on Fishbourne Wharf nearly destroyed the city, causing 5,000 pounds in property damage, Ben Franklin took notice.

    The incident prompted him to advocate for fire prevention in his newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, coining the still-used fire safety mantra, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

    On Dec. 7, 1736, Franklin and 24 other prominent Philadelphians established the Union Fire Company.

    The formation of the Union Fire Company will be remembered Saturday at the Firstival to be held at Fireman’s Hall Museum. Firstivals are the Philadelphia Historic District’s weekly day parties celebrating historic events that happened in Philadelphia before anywhere else in America, and often the world. They are part of a yearlong celebration of America’s 250th birthday.

    Artist Jenn Procacci’s sculpture incorporates maps of 1700s Philadelphia highlighting routes volunteer firefighters would take to extinguish blazes.

    The Union Fire Company, also called the Bucket Brigade, was modeled after mutual aid firefighting organizations in Boston. In its early years, the company only helped its members put out fires in their homes or properties.

    In 1742, the members voted to help any Philadelphian whose home or property was ablaze. The fact that they helped all Philadelphians, not just members, made the company America’s first volunteer fire department.

    Within the decade, Philadelphia had eight volunteer fire companies.

    These early volunteer fire companies were elite organizations that capped their memberships at about 30, explained Carol Smith, curator and archivist at Fireman’s Hall Museum. Members provided their own equipment: buckets for carrying water to put out fires and bags to salvage items from being destroyed. Companies had several meetings a year and members were fined for absence or tardiness.

    As the home of the country’s first volunteer firefighting outfit, Philadelphia was progressive when it came to fighting fires — they were among the first companies in the country to experiment with innovative hoses. The city also was unique in establishing ways to support Philadelphia residents impacted by fire.

    In 1752, Franklin started the nation’s first property insurance company, the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire, still operating today.

    Philadelphia’s early network of volunteer firefighters stopped major fires, like the 1794 burning of Zion Lutheran Church, and prevented extensive fire damage to the city.

    “A lot of it was because of the advances in firefighting technology like updated hoses,” Smith said. “Our volunteer fire departments were very proactive.”

    Today’s fire houses are descendants of Ben Franklin’s Union Fire Company.

    The Union Fire Company housed its equipment on Old City’s Grindstone Alley and was active through the early 1800s, disbanding in 1843. Its remaining members joined the Vigilant Engine Company, that, in 1871 became Engine 8, one of the city’s first municipal fire stations.

    It remains open.

    This week’s Firstival is Saturday, Jan. 17, 11 a.m. — 1 p.m., Fireman’s Hall Museum, 147 N. Second St. The Inquirer will highlight a “first” from Philadelphia Historic District’s 52 Weeks of Firsts program every week.

  • FBI searches a Washington Post reporter’s home as part of a classified documents investigation

    FBI searches a Washington Post reporter’s home as part of a classified documents investigation

    FBI agents searched a Washington Post reporter’s home on Wednesday as part of a leak investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of taking home classified information, the Justice Department said.

    Hannah Natanson, who has been covering President Donald Trump’s transformation of the federal government, had a phone, two laptops and a Garmin watch seized in the search of her Virginia home, the Post reported. Natanson has reported extensively on the federal workforce and recently published a piece describing how she gained hundreds of new sources — leading one colleague to call her “the federal government whisperer.”

    While classified documents investigations aren’t unusual, the search of a reporter’s home marks an escalation in the government’s efforts to crack down on leaks. The Post was told that Natanson and the newspaper are not targets of the probe, executive editor Matt Murray said in an email to colleagues.

    “Nonetheless, this extraordinary, aggressive action is deeply concerning and raises profound questions and concern around the constitutional protections for our work,” Murray wrote. “The Washington Post has a long history of zealous support for robust press freedoms. The entire institution stands by those freedoms and our work.”

    Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the search was done at the request of the Defense Department and that the journalist was “obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor.”

    “Leaking classified information puts America’s national security and the safety of our military heroes in serious jeopardy,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X. “President Trump has zero tolerance for it and will continue to aggressively crack down on these illegal acts moving forward.”

    The warrant says the search was related to an investigation into a system engineer and information technology specialist for a government contractor in Maryland who authorities allege took home classified materials, the Post reported. The worker, Aurelio Perez-Lugones, was charged earlier this month with unlawful retention of national defense information, according to court papers. He has not been charged with sharing classified information, and he has not been accused in court papers with leaking.

    Perez-Lugones, who held a top secret security clearance, is accused of printing classified and sensitive reports at work. In a search of his Maryland home and car this month, authorities found documents marked “SECRET,” including one in a lunchbox, according to court papers.

    An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on Wednesday. The Washington Post said Wednesday that it was monitoring and reviewing the situation. An email seeking comment was sent to lawyers for Perez-Lugones, who is expected to appear in court on Thursday for a detention hearing.

    First Amendment groups expressed alarm at the search, saying it could chill investigative journalism that holds government officials to account.

    “Physical searches of reporters’ devices, homes, and belongings are some of the most invasive investigative steps law enforcement can take,” Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press president Bruce Brown said. “While we won’t know the government’s arguments about overcoming these very steep hurdles until the affidavit is made public, this is a tremendous escalation in the administration’s intrusions into the independence of the press.”

    The Justice Department over the years has developed, and revised, internal policies governing how it will respond to news media leaks.

    In April, Bondi rescinded a policy from President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations — a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.

    The moves again gave prosecutors the authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make “unauthorized disclosures” to journalists. A memo she issued said members of the press are “presumptively entitled to advance notice of such investigative activities,” and subpoenas are to be “narrowly drawn.” Warrants must also include “protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities,” the memo states.

    The aggressive posture with regard to The Washington Post stands in contrast to the Justice Department’s approach to the disclosure of sensitive military information via a Signal chat last spring involving senior Trump administration officials. A reporter was mistakenly added to that chat. Bondi indicated publicly at the time that she was disinclined to open an investigation, saying she was confident that the episode had been a mistake.

    Bondi also repeated Trump administration talking points that the highly sensitive information in the chat was not classified, though current and former U.S. officials have said the posting of the launch times of aircraft and the times that bombs would be released before those pilots were even in the air would have been classified.

  • Kevin Hart, Dawn Staley, and WURD are among Philadelphia-area NAACP Award nominees

    Kevin Hart, Dawn Staley, and WURD are among Philadelphia-area NAACP Award nominees

    Several Philadelphia-connected entertainers have been nominated for the 57th NAACP Image Awards.

    The nominees, announced Monday, include Philly-based filmmaker Chisom Chieke and WURD Radio.

    Chieke, whose projects explore romance and identity across Black diasporic communities, earned a nomination for outstanding short form (live action) for her film, Food for the Soul.

    The film, which follows a couple navigating the challenges of their relationship amid family pressures, premiered at the BlackStar Film Festival in August. It won the award for favorite short narrative at the annual fest.

    “Receiving this nomination is indescribable,” Chieke said. “I’m so grateful to BlackStar for giving me the opportunity and trusting the vision. They really are the foundation of the project. I’m doubly grateful for my crew, the support I got from Philly, and just being able to grow my network of collaborators.”

    “Food for the Soul” by Chisom Chieke, who is based in Philly, is up for an NAACP Image Award. The film won the award for favorite short narrative at the 2025 BlackStar Film Festival.

    WURD, the only Black-owned and operated talk radio station in the state, was nominated in the outstanding podcast — scripted/limited series/short form category for its six-part podcast series, Exonerated: The Cost of Wrongful Conviction. WURD is the only local radio station nominated in the category.

    “We’re in a category that has some real heavy hitters, but we’re telling the story of everyday Philadelphians who have overcome extraordinary barriers and obstacles, and still are,” WURD president and CEO Sara Lomax said.

    The podcast series, hosted by author, consultant, and educator James Peterson, highlights the experiences of wrongfully incarcerated people and the support they draw from their own communities.

    The series also spotlights the work of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, which has secured the release of more than 30 people and provides reentry support and advocacy.

    Peterson said the nomination is a credit to Lomax and others’ hard work, but also to the Philadelphians who have supported the station over the years.

    “It’s validation for the people who listen to WURD when they wake up in the morning and until they go to sleep at night,” he said. “And there’s a level of dedication from some of our listeners that sets the bar for what we’ve done throughout the years. It’s a team win and team effort, but it’s really a community win.”

    WURD’s podcast series, “Exonerated: The Cost of Wrongful Conviction,” is nominated for a 2026 NAACP Image Award.

    Other Philly-connected nominees include Temple University graduate Jalen Blot, whose film, Before You Let Go, was also nominated for outstanding short form (live action). Also competing in the same category is Ella, starring Jill Scott, who’s affectionately called “Jilly from Philly.”

    The Kevin Hart-produced Kingsland was nominated in the outstanding podcast category. Also, Hart, who grew up in North Philadelphia, stars in the animated sitcom Lil Kev, which was nominated for outstanding animated series.

    Philly native Kevin Hart, seen here in 2017, has two NAACP Image Award nominations, for outstanding podcast (“Kingsland”) and outstanding animated series (“Lil Kev”).

    Other Philly-linked nominees include Colman Domingo for outstanding directing in a comedy series for Netflix’s The Four Seasons. And Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockman, whose podcast Shawn Stockman’s on That Note, was nominated in the outstanding podcast — arts, sports, and entertainment category.

    Philly’s own Dawn Staley received a nod for outstanding literary work — biography/autobiography for her memoir, Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother, and the Life Lessons I Learned From All Three.

    The winners will be announced Feb. 28. Public voting is available through early February.

    The 57th NAACP Image Awards will be telecast live on BET and CBS on Feb. 28.

  • This year’s Philadelphia Flower Show will tell the story of American gardening

    This year’s Philadelphia Flower Show will tell the story of American gardening

    Pennsylvania Horticultural officials have billed the 2026 Flower Show — Philly’s first major event of its yearlong festivities planned for the 250th anniversary of America — as a celebration of the history of American gardening.

    The show’s theme, “Rooted: Origins of American Gardening,” honors the people, places, and traditions that have shaped gardening — and invites visitors to consider where their own gardening stories began.

    A rendering of the 2026 Philadelphia Flower show is on display during a press conference at Union Trust on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. The theme of this year’s flower show is called ‘Rooted: Origins of American Gardening’.

    “Gardening knowledge does not appear out of nowhere,” said Matt Rader, president of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which hosts the show annually at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. “It’s shared, adapted, and passed forward. It reflects our culture, memory, ourselves, our experiences.”

    On Wednesday, planners revealed first-look renderings of this year’s iteration of the Flower Show, the nation’s largest, and the world’s longest-running horticultural event, which runs Feb. 28 to March 8. At the event held at the historic Union Trust Building in Market East, built on the site of the inaugural Flower Show in 1829, officials honored the city’s role as the birthplace of democracy and America’s first Flower Show. The Horticultural Society will mark its 200th anniversary in 2027.

    “It is fitting that we gather here as we prepare for an extraordinary moment in our history in 2026,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. “The Flower Show offers a first impression of our city. It’s creative, it’s inspiring, and it’s deeply rooted in who we are as a people and a place.”

    Mayor Cherelle L. Parker speaks at a press conference during an unveiling of the first look at the 2026 Philadelphia Flower Show, ‘Rooted: Origins of American Gardening’ at Union Trust on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.

    This year’s show represents the third in a series of themes exploring gardening over time. Earlier shows celebrated present-day gardening communities and envisioned bolder ones for the future.

    “This theme is very much an opportunity to reflect on the origins of American gardening,” said Rader. “‘What is the story that we tell through gardening,’ and ‘how do we want to use it to shape Philadelphia, the country, and the world moving forward?”

    The show will debut a reimagined Marketplace shopping destination, located in a new street-level space below the main exhibit halls. It will also feature an expanded Artisan Row, where guests can work alongside nearly 40 vendors and craftspeople to create everything from fresh floral crowns to dried bouquets and terrariums.

    Popular attractions and events, like early morning tours, Bloom Bar, and “Fido Fridays,” where four-legged friends find time among the flowers, all return. The Flowers After Hours dance party, scheduled for Saturday, March 7, transforms the show into an enchanted, fairytale forest setting, with guests encouraged to wear “fantasy-inspired attire,” planners said.

    With America’s 250th anniversary fast-approaching, planners felt it was the moment to “pause and acknowledge” the roots, traditions, and resilience of American gardening, said Seth Pearsoll, vice president and creative director of the Philadelphia Flower Show.

    Those roots shape the show’s entrance garden, a sprawling, misty forest floor creation drawing on the diverse inspirations of American gardens, and featuring mossy stonework, Zen-like sculptural plantings, water displays, and crowned with a towering, twisting root structure.

    “That garden sets the tone dramatically,” Pearsoll said. “We wanted it to feel timeless, grounded. We wanted to create a place to allow guests to slow down before moving forward.”

    A participant creates pressed flower art following a press conference for the unveiling of a first look at the 2026 Philadelphia Flower Show, ‘Rooted: Origins of American Gardening’ at Union Trust on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.

    This year’s special exhibition, “The American Landscape Showcase,” celebrates the national milestone, also known as the Semiquincentennial, with four gardens highlighting how gardening has shaped communities and evolved over 250 years.

    “It reflects the influence of shared knowledge, cultural traditions, and regional practices that continue to shape how we garden today,” he said.

    Other gardens will feature exhibits from acclaimed international florists. Each year, thousands of exhibitors compete in more than 900 classes or categories, ranging from horticulture and arrangement to design and photography.

    “Whether you come for the artistry, the education, the family experiences, or simply to be surrounded by some of the most gorgeous beauty in the middle of the winter, there’s a place for you here,” Pearsoll said.

    Matt Rader, President of the Philadelphia Horticultural Society, speaks at a press conference during an unveiling of the first look at the 2026 Philadelphia Flower Show, ‘Rooted: Origins of American Gardening’ at Union Trust on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.

    With more than 200,000 guests expected at this year’s milestone show, the event represents the Horticultural Society’s biggest fundraiser, supporting its greening efforts across the city, said Rader.

    “This is the home of American horticulture,” he said. “The Flower Show is our invitation to the world to join us here.”

  • Jeffrey A. Woodley, internationally celebrated celebrity hairstylist, has died at 71

    Jeffrey A. Woodley, internationally celebrated celebrity hairstylist, has died at 71

    Jeffrey A. Woodley, 71, formerly of Philadelphia, internationally celebrated celebrity hairstylist, scholar, youth track and field star, mentor, and favorite uncle, died Wednesday, Dec. 10, of complications from acute respiratory distress syndrome at Mount Sinai West Hospital in Manhattan.

    Reared in West Philadelphia, Mr. Woodley knew early that he was interested and talented in hairstyling, beauty culture, and fashion. He experimented with cutting and curling on his younger sister Aminta at home, left Abington High School before his senior year to attend the old Wilfred Beauty Academy on Chestnut Street, and quickly earned a chair at Wanamakers’ popular Glemby Salon at 13th and Chestnut Streets.

    He went to New York in the mid-1970s after being recruited by famed stylist Walter Fontaine and spent the next 30 years doing hair for hundreds of actors, entertainers, models, athletes, and celebrities. He styled Diahann Carroll, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, and Tyra Banks.

    He worked with Denzel and Pauletta Washington, Eddie Murphy, Jasmine Guy, Lynn Whitfield, Pam Grier, Melba Moore, Jody Watley, and Karyn White. His hairstyles were featured in GQ, Vanity Fair, Ebony, Jet, Essence, Vibe, Vogue Italia, and other publications, and in advertising campaigns for L’Oréal and other products.

    Mr. Woodley poses with actor Lynn Whitfield.

    For years, actor Terry Burrell said, “He was the go-to hair stylist for every Black diva in New York City.” Pauletta Washington said: “He was responsible for so much of who I became as an artist and a friend.”

    Mr. Woodley worked for Zoli Illusions in New York, Europe, Africa, and elsewhere around the world, and collaborated often with noted makeup artists Reggie Wells and Eric Spearman. Model Marica Fingal called Mr. Woodley “uber talented” on Instagram and said: “He was one of the most skilled artists, creating stunning, innovative styles for models and celebs alike.”

    Friendly and curious, Mr. Woodley told Images magazine in 2000 that learning about the people in his chair was important. “A woman’s hairstyle should take into account the type of work she does, her likes, her dislikes, and her fantasies,” he said. “I’m a stylist, but I never impose hair styles on any client. When we arrive at our finished style, it’s always a collaboration.”

    His hairstyles appeared on record albums and at exhibitions at the Philadelphia Art Museum and elsewhere. He was quoted often as an expert in coiffure and a fashion forecaster. In 1989, he told a writer for North Carolina’s Charlotte Post: “Texture is the key. … Cut will still be important, but the lines will be more softened and much less severe.”

    Mr. Woodley (right) handles hair styling for singer Anita Baker while makeup artist Reggie Wells attends to her face.

    In 2000, he told Images that “low maintenance is the way of the future.” He said: “Today’s woman is going back to school. She has the corporate job. She has children that she needs to send off to school. She doesn’t have time anymore to get up and spend 35 to 40 minutes on her hair. She wants something she can get up and go with.”

    He retired in 2005 after losing his sight to glaucoma. So he earned his General Educational Development diploma, attended classes at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, and studied literature, Black history, and spiritual writing.

    “The entirety of his life was inspired by an insatiable thirst for knowledge,” said his friend Khadija Kamara.

    He was working on his memoir and still taking classes when he died. “He lived life on his own terms,” Burrell said, “and my respect and admiration for his determination will forever be inspiring.”

    Mr. Woodley smiles with track stars and celebrities Jackie Joyner-Kersee (left) and Florence Griffith Joyner.

    As a youth, Mr. Woodley excelled in sprints, relays, and the high jump at St. Rose of Lima Catholic School and Abington High School, and for the Philadelphia Pioneers and other local track and field teams. He ran on Abington’s 440-yard relay team that won the PIAA District 1 championship race at the 1970 Penn Relays and helped set a meet record in the four-lap relay at a 1971 Greater Philadelphia Track and Field Coaches Association indoor meet.

    Family and friends called him authentic, generous, and proud of his Philadelphia roots. He mentored his nieces and nephews and hosted them on long visits to his home in New York.

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    “He was one of the most talented people around and always a lot of fun,” a friend said on Facebook. “A beautiful soul and spirit who made others beautiful.”

    Jeffrey Alan Woodley was born May 30, 1954, in Philadelphia. He had an older brother, Alex, and two younger sisters, Aminta and Alicia, and ran cross-country as well as track in high school.

    Mr. Woodley (left) worked with actor and musician Pauletta Washington and makeup stylist Eric Spearman.

    He was always an avid reader and loved dogs, especially his guide dog Polly. He was a foodie and longtime member of the Abyssinian Baptist Church choir in Harlem. His close family and friends called him Uncle Jeff.

    “He was a fun-loving, spirited, and passionate individual,” his brother said. “Uncle Jeff loved the Lord and poured his heart into his work as well as family.”

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    His sister Aminta said: “He had a wonderful spirit. He knew the Lord, lived life to the fullest, and was a joy to be with.”

    In addition to his mother, Anna, brother, and sisters, Mr. Woodley is survived by nieces, nephews, and other relatives.

    Mr. Woodley doted on his nieces and nephews.

    A celebration of his life was held Dec. 22.

    Donations in his name may be made to Abyssinian Baptist Church, 132 W. 138th St., New York, N.Y. 10030; and the Anna E. Woodley Music Appreciation Fund at Bowie State University, 14000 Jericho Park Rd., Bowie, Md. 20715.

  • Art Commission approves plan to move Rocky statue to top of Art Museum steps

    Art Commission approves plan to move Rocky statue to top of Art Museum steps

    Yo Adrian, they did it.

    The city’s famed Rocky statue has been cleared for installation atop the Philadelphia Art Museum’s iconic steps later this year following an Art Commission vote Wednesday. Four commissioners voted to approve the move, while one disapproved and one abstained.

    With final approval granted, Creative Philadelphia, the city’s office for the creative sector, can move forward with its recently proposed plan to once again place the statue in one of the city’s most prominent locations. Since 2006, the statue has sat at the base of the museum’s steps, attracting an estimated 4 million visitors per year, agency officials have said.

    “I think people come not because they’re told to — they come because it already belongs to them, and that kind of cultural legitimacy cannot be manufactured,” said commissioner Rebecca Segall at Wednesday’s meeting. “And by that measure, I believe it’s one of Philadelphia’s most meaningful monuments, and I believe we should just get him out of the bushes and put him up top.”

    Now, Philly’s original Rocky statue — commissioned by Sylvester Stallone for 1982’s Rocky III and used in the film — will do just that sometime in the fall, per Creative Philadelphia’s plan. Its move to the top of the steps will come following its exhibition in “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments,” an Art Museum program slated to run from April to August that will see the statue displayed inside the museum building for the first time.

    Meanwhile, the Rocky statue that currently stands at the top of the Art Museum’s steps — which Stallone lent to the city for the inaugural RockyFest in December 2024 — will remain on display outside. Once the exhibit concludes, that statue will go back into Stallone’s private collection.

    Sylvester Stallone’s “second casting” of the Rocky statue version atop the museum steps Jan. 7, 2026. It will return to the actor’s collection once the original statue is relocated.

    Another statue will be installed at the bottom of the Art Museum’s steps, though what statue that will be has not yet been determined. Last month, chief cultural officer Valerie V. Gay said the spot would not be filled with another Rocky statue, leaving Philadelphia with sculptures of the Italian Stallion at both the top of the Art Museum steps, and in Terminal A-West of Philadelphia International Airport.

    As part of the original statue’s installation in the fall, Creative Philadelphia plans to develop a shuttle service for visitors with mobility limitations that will take passengers from the bottom of the steps to the top. The service, referred to as the “Rocky Shuttle,” will be run by the Philadelphia Visitor Center, and will operate similarly to the Philly Phlash bus service, which arrives at 15-minute intervals, Creative Philadelphia officials said.

    Additionally, the statue will be placed on a pedestal roughly 14 feet back from the edge of the top step, next to where a small installation depicting Rocky’s shoe prints is currently embedded in the museum’s stone walkway, Marguerite Anglin, the city’s public art director, said Wednesday. The project has a budget of $150,000 to $250,000, though final costs were not available, she added. In its proposal last month, Creative Philadelphia indicated the project would cost about $150,000.

    Wednesday’s vote came following about an hour of discussion, during which some Art Commission members raised concerns over whether moving the statue would strengthen the relationship Philadelphians have with art or increase attendance at the museum. Commissioner Pepón Osorio said many visitors have indicated they were coming to see the statue because it represents Rocky, and not because it is a work of art.

    “I don’t think that people see it as a work of art,” he said. “People see it as an iconic structure.”

    Debate over the statue’s merits has been going on since before it first arrived in town for the filming of Rocky III in 1981. In 1980, local artist and then-Art Commission member Joseph Brown referred to the statue as “unnecessarily strident,” and indicated the Rocky franchise didn’t lend any particular cachet to Philadelphia’s cultural standing. Inquirer columnist Tom Fox, meanwhile, in 1982 called the statue a “monument to schlock, chutzpah, and mediocrity.”

    The display of the Rocky statue has been controversial for decades

    Public opinion has also been divided. In a September Inquirer poll, 46% of respondents said no Rocky statue belongs at the top of the steps, but the one at the bottom should stay. Roughly 20% said the city should not have a Rocky statue at all.

    Now, however, with the installation plan approved, it appears the debate can continue with Rocky once again atop the Art Museum’s steps. As part of approval, Creative Philadelphia agreed to undertake community engagement efforts examining the public’s interpretation of the statue.

    “This really isn’t, for us, about getting the statue up there and then we move on,” Gay said. “This really opens the door to how public art can be used in civic discourse, in the ethos of our city right now, to think about both contemporary [times] and the past, as well as how we think about the future.”

    Tourists pose with the original Rocky statue in July 2022. The statue will move to the top of the steps in the fall.
  • Jalen Hurts’ vow, Nick Sirianni’s home life, Saquon’s ‘Whiplash,’ and more from the ‘Hard Knocks’ finale

    Jalen Hurts’ vow, Nick Sirianni’s home life, Saquon’s ‘Whiplash,’ and more from the ‘Hard Knocks’ finale

    HBO released its final episode of Hard Knocks covering the NFC East on Tuesday after the Eagles’ season-ending wild-card playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

    The finale of the docuseries, which unlike past episodes spent the majority of its 45-minute run time focusing solely on the Eagles, covered Saquon Barkley’s new favorite motivational movie, Nick Sirianni’s home life, and what the team talked about after the loss. (Don’t worry, we tried to keep the parts about the actual game to a minimum.)

    Here’s what you may have missed from the final episode of Hard Knocks: In Season With the NFC East …

    Not quite my tempo

    Most people likely know that actor Miles Teller is also a huge Eagles fan. But did you know that one member of the Eagles is a huge fan of his?

    Saquon Barkley was caught speaking to backup quarterback Tanner McKee, detailing how he was motivated by Teller’s hit film Whiplash ahead of the Eagles’ first practice leading up to the team’s wild-card game.

    “I feel good,” Barkley said. “And I watched this movie called Whiplash. That [expletive] had me doing sit-ups and push-ups in my house. I went outside, and I was running hills. Like, I got to chill out, bro.”

    Eagles running back Saquon Barkley found inspiration in a Miles Teller movie.

    The 2014 film won a trio of Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for J.K. Simmons, who plays an uncompromising professor at the prestigious music academy Teller’s character attends. It stresses the need to push back against mediocrity in pursuit of greatness, a theme that Barkley applied to the Birds offense as a whole.

    “I do feel like there’s potential that we haven’t tapped into, especially on the offensive side of the ball,” Barkley said, with a Whiplash-style drumbeat playing in the background. “I am excited about that. That we still get to go out there and put in a complete game. I believe that with the men and people we have in this facility, it’s time, and we are going to get it going.”

    The extra motivation led the reigning offensive player of the year to his fourth 100-yard game of the season with Barkley rushing for 106 yards, 35 above his average.

    ‘Effort is free’

    Speaking of tempo, Hard Knocks revealed a moment during practice in which Jalen Hurts implored his offensive teammates to get to the huddle quicker so they have more time at the line to assess the defense and change the play if need be.

    Barkley and Hurts also spoke of their different approaches to practice, with the running back keeping things light while the quarterback is all business. Barkley called it “a beautiful mix.”

    “It’s not anything new in terms of the habits I’ve built,” Hurts said of his stoic demeanor. “It’s just a matter of doing those things consistently. That’s how I’ve always known to get myself ready to go out there and play.”

    Hurts, the son of a football coach, explained why he prepares and carries himself the way he does, saying one of his father’s lines that stuck with him is “Effort is free.”

    “Effort is something that you can control,” Hurts said. “And so, as a quarterback, what’s my effort in the way I execute? What’s my effort in the way I lead? What’s my effort in the example that I set? And trying to put yourself in positions to get ready for whatever the moment may demand. And so, you like to take your mind to a place where you can see it or visualize it, and then you can go out there and react with an intense and competitive mindset, and find a way to win.”

    Sirianni coaches his kids

    As tensions rose inside the Eagles organization, with a playoff game looming and many calling for the job of offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who was removed from his position Tuesday, Hard Knocks did a great job of reminding viewers that coaches are people, too.

    Halfway through the episode, Sirianni, who has also come under fire from Eagles fans, is featured alongside his wife, Brett, and their three children, Jacob, 10, Taylor, 8, and Miles, 5. The Eagles head coach seems to be training his children to be wide receivers, following in their father’s footsteps. Sirianni was a receiver himself in college at Division III Mount Union, as the series highlighted in an earlier episode.

    “All right, now we do this last game,” Sirianni says. “I throw as hard as I can, and then you throw as hard as you can, whoever drops first.”

    His youngest, Miles, is wearing the jersey of A.J. Brown, who got in a sideline spat with the Eagles coach on Sunday.

    With Sirianni and his wife sitting on the couch, the coach has his children running routes and directs Taylor into open space, where she catches the pass over her two brothers.

    “Are you as competitive at home as you are at the facility?” one of the filmmakers asks off camera as Sirianni smirks.

    “Yeah, he is,” Brett says with a laugh and little hesitation. “With everything possible.”

    Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham leaves the field after the playoff loss to San Francisco.

    Letting down BG

    Brandon Graham may be an Eagles legend, but he is for sure not a fortuneteller.

    The 15-year vet who came out of retirement to rejoin the Birds was mic’d up during practice, exuding his trademark enthusiasm while optimistically predicting the outcome of the playoff game.

    “I ain’t going to lie, I’m hype for the offense,” Graham said. “Things just about to keep building, we’ve just got to stay locked in and have fun out there and run to the ball. I ain’t going to lie, that clip when they was running to that sidelines right there, I said, boy, we fly like that, we’re going to be smothering.”

    Graham doubled and tripled down on this prediction, going as far as saying that he’d come back after winning the Super Bowl in 2026 just so he could win it in 2027.

    “Man, let’s go get us another one, man,” Graham said to defensive line coach Clint Hurtt. “Why not? I mean, I’m coming right back. I say 3-for-3, come on, let’s go! Let’s just get this one, but I’m with you, though.”

    Of course, that didn’t happen. But maybe Graham has one more season in him?

    Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and linebacker Zack Baun in happier times: a Sept. 28 win against the Buccaneers.

    The Bald Eagle

    All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun got a special highlight leading into the Eagles’ final game of the season, starting in practice when some friendly razzing was caught on tape.

    “Hey Zack, let me see your head,” rookie Jihaad Campbell asked during practice.

    “Nah,” Baun said. “I haven’t shaved in a couple of days, man.”

    “The thing about being a bald guy is you either are ashamed of it or you own it, and that’s just your personality,” Baun said. “So I’m a bald guy. What can I say?”

    Baun is also seen at home with his wife, Ali, and son, Elian, flipping through a scrapbook Ali made to celebrate his “storybook” 2024, a year in which he went from a special-teams player to an All-Pro and Super Bowl champion.

    Baun also spoke on his fan-given nickname, the Bald Eagle, saying that he and his wife approve of the name. But the real star of this segment? Baun’s son, who was shown on the field adorably celebrating the Eagles’ NFC championship game victory last year.

    The end of the line

    Next up, the game.

    Hard Knocks offered some insight into the Eagles’ season-ending loss, including Baun taking blame for the 49ers trick-play touchdown — “That’s me; I lost him,” Baun admitted — and Sirianni exerting himself in the offensive play-calling.

    “Hey, what about [deep] shots, Kevin?” Sirianni asked Patullo before a third-and-9 shot to Brown, who dropped the ball.

    But the moment that got the most attention from fans came after Sirianni’s final meeting with his players.

    “We didn’t end the way we wanted to end,” Sirianni told his team. “I know that’s tough. I can feel it in the room, you can feel it. We all feel the same feeling. Use that adversity, use that pain. All that is necessary for our growth. I have no doubt in my mind that we will get better from this.”

    The episode then cuts to just two men remaining in the auditorium at the NovaCare Complex: coach and quarterback.

    “We’ll be back,” Hurts vows.

    “I have no doubt,” Sirianni responds.

  • Philly music this week with Public Enemy, Schoolly D, Neko Case, and a Bob Dylan tribute

    Philly music this week with Public Enemy, Schoolly D, Neko Case, and a Bob Dylan tribute

    This week in Philly music features an old-school hip-hop extravaganza in Atlantic City, an intriguing Bob Dylan tribute, and two shows each with powerhouse vocalist Neko Case, British post-punk band Shame, and mysterious indie singer Jim E. Brown.

    Thursday, Jan. 15

    Jim E. Brown

    Who is Jim E. Brown? According to his own ad copy, he is a “19 year pop sensation” who is launching “his latest opus, I Urinated on a Butterfly, in the American city of Philadelphia.” His Bandcamp page, however, identifies him as a “Poet and Artist/activist” who “was born in Manchester in Sept. 10, 2001, just one day before the 911.”

    If that were true, that would make him 24, not 19. However, sampling the dozens of his releases online with titles like “Sheep in a Jeep,” “The Sky Is Ugly,” and “I’m Weirder Than ‘Weird’ Al” might lead one to believe that Brown is actually a 40-something performance artist from Philadelphia with an abundance of ideas and an affection for electro-pop.

    Brown, whose self-mocking wit flourishes on tracks like “I Dreamed That You Liked My Instagram Post,” has two shows in Fishtown this week, with Bugger opening Thursday and My Wife’s an Angel and Null playing Friday. 8 p.m. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 Frankford Ave., johnnybrendas.com

    Bill Kirchen

    The singer and guitarist for Commander Cody & his Los Planet Airmen, best known for their 1972 pop hit “Hot Rod Lincoln,” is touring with a full band and a Bob Dylan-at-Newport-themed show. Kirchen may be a bit crustier than A Complete Unknown star Timothée Chalamet, but the ageless guitar whiz has the advantage of having firsthand experience of Dylan’s acoustic and electric iterations at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964 and 1965. In Sellersville, he’ll do one set of Commander Cody material, and another of Dylan songs. 8 p.m., Sellersville Theater, 24 W. Temple Ave., Sellersville, st94.com

    British post-punk band Shame play Free at Noon at World Cafe Live on Friday and the First Unitarian Church on Friday night.

    Friday, Jan. 16

    Shame

    Shame is a British post-punk band fronted by (not that) Charlie Sheen. They are touring behind a spirited, spiky fourth album, Cutthroat, which was produced by John Congleton, who has worked with Philly’s Mannequin Pussy and the Districts, among others.

    On Friday, the band will perform a WXPN-FM (88.5) Free at Noon show at World Cafe Live, where the radio station’s FAN shows have moved back to since the West Philly venue renewed its lapsed liquor license. And then the South London quintet will play that evening at First Unitarian Church, with Ribbon Skirt opening. Noon, World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St., xpn.org and 8 p.m., First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., r5productions.com

    Neko Case

    Torch and power-pop singer Neko Case released a powerful memoir called The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You in 2024, and followed that last year with an introspective and imagistic new album, Neon Grey Midnight Green. Its color-coded title is inspired by the meeting of slate clouds and piney forests on the Pacific Coast skyline.

    Case, who has also sometimes sung with the Canadian power-pop band the New Pornographers, played the Met Philly last fall along with buzzy D.C. band Des Demonas, led by Kenyan punk-poet Jacky “Cougar” Abok, as the opening act. They’re back together at the Queen in Wilmington on Friday and at Archer Music Hall in Allentown on Saturday. 8 p.m., the Queen, 500 N. Broad St., Wilmington, thequeenwilmington.com; 7 p.m., Archer Music Hall, 939 Hamilton St., Allentown, archermusichall.com

    Peabo Bryson

    Veteran soul balladeer Peabo Bryson is on tour marking the 35 years that have passed since his Grammy-winning duet with Celine Dion on the title song to the 1991 Disney movie Beauty and the Beast. Bryson also picked up a Grammy for “A Whole New World,” his duet with Regina Belle from Disney’s Aladdin the next year. 6 and 9:30 p.m. City Winery Philadelphia, 900 Filbert St., citywinery.com/philadelphia

    Owen Stewart / J.R. Everhart

    Philly bandleader Owen Stewart draws from rugged, 1960s counterculture rock acts like John Fogerty and especially recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Joe Cocker. He’s following up the release of his album Done and Dusted by celebrating a new EP, Glider. J.R. Everhart — also known as Jimmy Scantron — is the leader of Philly band Cosmic Guilt and is a former Low Cut Connie guitarist. His new single, “Golden Hour,” is more evidence of his songwriting chops. With Squawk Brothers. 8 p.m., Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill St., undergroundarts.org

    Flavor Flav (left) and Chuck D of Public Enemy perform during a Pre-Grammy Gala in Beverly Hills in 2024. Public Enemy tops the AllStars of Hip-Hop bill at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Sunday night. ( Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP )

    Sunday, Jan. 18

    AllStars of Hip-Hop

    Public Enemy — arguably the greatest politically-minded rap group of all time — will headline the AllStars of Hip-Hop multiact bill at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Saturday.

    Chuck D and Flavor Flav — the latter of whom is most visible these days for his Taylor Swift fandom and hype man duties for the U.S. Olympic water polo and bobsled and skeleton teams — will be joined by several other old-school hip-hop and R&B acts.

    R&B will be covered by “This Is How We Do It” singer Montel Jordan. Veteran rappers performing include Boogie Down Productions emcee KRS-One and Philly’s original gangsta Schoolly D. Also on the bill is Furious Five — note the absence of “The Message” rappers’ DJ leader Grandmaster Flash — and “Rapper’s Delight” collective Sugarhill Gang. 7 p.m., Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, 23021 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, boardwalkhall.com

    Schoolly D acknowledges onlookers during the Philadelphia Music at the 2025 Walk of Fame ceremony, Philadelphia Music Alliance induction in front of the Suzanne Roberts Theater on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. The Philly rapper plays Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Sunday.
  • The Avenue of the Arts to break ground on an ambitious $150 million streetscape to make Broad Street greener

    The Avenue of the Arts to break ground on an ambitious $150 million streetscape to make Broad Street greener

    Lush landscaping and public art will soon line Broad Street, impromptu performances may pop up, and vehicular traffic will be calmed with a new Avenue of the Arts south streetscape about to take shape.

    The project — estimated to take $150 million and a decade to realize — will begin modestly.

    The groundbreaking ceremony was held Wednesday morning in front of the Kimmel Center and was attended by more than 200 dignitaries, including Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, and other members of City Council, state representatives, and officials from groups along the Avenue of the Arts.

    The actual construction is slated to start at the end of January on a small portion of the project: remaking the median strip between Spruce and Pine Streets. That phase is expected to be completed by June.

    In 2027, after the end of an anticipated swell in tourism and street activity during the Semiquincentennial, sidewalk beautification will begin on both the east and west sides of that block.

    Eventually, pending funding, all of the blocks between City Hall and Washington Avenue will be remade.

    Looking north toward City Hall, a rendering shows the completed first phase of a South Broad Street streetscape project slated to break ground in January 2026.

    The current streetscape of planters, pavers, and retro light fixtures was designed and installed more than three decades ago. In addition to the wear and tear of the existing scheme, the thinking around public space has evolved since then, said Carl Dranoff, board chair of Avenue of the Arts, Inc., which is overseeing the project.

    “It’s become somewhat aged and dog-eared,” said Dranoff. “In 1993 you didn’t need to have outdoor cafes. We need to activate the street, not just make it palatable. We have the opportunity to really elevate the Avenue of the Arts into one of the world’s great streets.”

    The project was announced in July 2024 at $100 million, but inflation and a more detailed cost analysis has now put the total price tag at about $150 million — $15 million per block. These numbers include not just the planters, lighting, public art, street furniture, and aesthetic elements, but also infrastructure work beneath the surface, said Dranoff.

    “A lot of it is things you don’t see. There’s a lot of underground construction,” he said. “Right now water is leaking from the median strip into the subway concourse. One of the reasons we got support from SEPTA and PennDot and [the Philadelphia] Streets [Dept.], is as we are building the median strips, we are improving deficiencies in the street in each block.”

    In addition, some utilities will have to be moved. One PECO relocation, for instance, will cost the project $250,000, he said.

    Dranoff has a vested interest in the vitality of the Avenue of the Arts. He has led several development projects on South Broad Street, including Arthaus, which is on the same block as the first phase of the new streetscape, and, one block south, Symphony House. He compares the investment in the new streetscape to the ones made in the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia Navy Yard, Kimmel Center, and Schuylkill River Trail.

    “If we don’t make investments in the future, which are going to increase revenue and population, we are relegating ourselves to second-place status.”

    The new $15 million streetscape in the block from Spruce to Pine, which includes a $1 million endowment fund to underwrite maintenance, native-species plants, a rainwater-collection cistern, lighting, curved raised planting beds, public art, seating, way-finding devices, and artist-designed banners.

    Of the $15 million needed, $5 million has been raised so far: $3 million from the city over two budget years, $1 million from the state, and $1 million from private donors. Other funding requests are pending, which planners call “very promising.”

    A sidewalk garden on the east side of Broad Street between Pine and Spruce Streets is planned for installation in 2027 as part of a new Avenue of the Arts streetscape.

    Dranoff says that construction of the median between Spruce and Pine — which is the block occupied by the Kimmel Center and defunct University of the Arts — won’t cause “a lot of disruption. They’re only working business hours, not on weekends.” Any blocked lanes will be reopened after work is done for the day, he said.

    The next block to be redesigned hasn’t been decided, but it will likely be north of Spruce Street, Dranoff said. “Part of it will depend on funding. If we get a donor, someone whose offices are near the Academy of Music and is donating $15 million for that block to be next, we might accommodate that,” he said.

    Funding for the entire project is expected to be a mix of public money, corporate and individual donations, and foundation support, he said.

    The goal isn’t to have the mile-plus between City Hall and Washington Avenue end up with a streetscape that looks uniform, Dranoff said. Instead, design firms Gensler and OJB Landscape Architecture may come up with different ideas for different blocks.

    “You don’t need a master plan that’s set for 10 blocks. Every block is different, the institutions are different. It lends itself to block-by-block planning tied together by a common theme.”

    Dranoff said once the block from Spruce to Pine is done, it will show the potential, which he expects will spur fundraising to complete the streetscape for the entire Avenue of the Arts south.

    “The difference between now and the first block being finished is, you’re going to be driving down a tree-lined boulevard.”

    The article has been updated with details from the groundbreaking ceremony.