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  • John Cena’s grandfather played for the Phillies and protested when they traded him away

    John Cena’s grandfather played for the Phillies and protested when they traded him away

    Tony Lupien drove to Philadelphia in February of 1946, just a few weeks before the Phillies were scheduled to begin spring training. Lupien missed most of the previous season after being drafted into the Navy during World War II and still didn’t have a contract for the new season.

    There was a good reason: Phillies general manager Herb Pennock told Lupien he was being traded to the Hollywood Stars, a minor-league team.

    Lupien was livid. He believed his job in the majors was guaranteed to him for a year after returning from the service and hired a lawyer to challenge the team’s decision.

    “Who the hell are you to think that you’re above the federal government?” Lupien told Pennock.

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    Lupien’s grandson would become one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling before embarking on a Hollywood career. But John Cena’s grandfather didn’t want to be a Hollywood Star. He wanted to play first base for the Phillies.

    “Lupien, guaranteed a year’s job with Phils under selective service law, gets kick in pants instead,” wrote a headline in The Boston Globe.

    Ulysses “Tony” Lupien graduated from Harvard and joined the Phillies in 1944 after being waived by the Red Sox. He hit .283 in 1944 before being sworn into the Navy in March of 1945. Lupien spent six months on a Naval base in New York before returning to the Phillies in September, just in time for the final stretch of a 108-loss season.

    The Phillies were so bad in 1945 that their manager quit in June. Lupien, a smooth fielder, was a bright spot when he returned at the end of the season, hitting .315 over 15 games.

    Tony Lupien played six major league seasons, including two with the Phillies.

    The Phils ranked last that season in nearly every statistical category, even attendance. The Phils wanted to clean house, declaring that any player who was in the lineup for the final game of 1945 would not be in the lineup for the first game of 1946. So that meant Lupien was gone.

    “The G.I. Bill was designed to protect for at least one year the jobs of men who entered the service. Now that bill either applies to ballplayers or it doesn’t,” Lupien told The Sporting News. “That’s what I am trying to find out, and if it means that I am the goat or the ball carrier, I am perfectly willing to assume that role. If the G.I. Bill does apply, then I may help many other veterans in the months to come by following through with my action.”

    The Phillies disagreed with Lupien as Pennock said the G.I. Bill didn’t apply to baseball. They had signed Frank McCormick, a 35-year-old power hitter, to play first base and the 29-year-old Lupien had a minor-league gig waiting in California.

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    “I think the least the Phils might have done is give me a chance to show what I have,” Lupien said.

    Lupien wrote a letter to the National League commissioner. He hoped to become a free agent or at least get invited to spring training. Lupien already played three years in the minors and didn’t want to go back.

    His letter was returned unopened. Lupien’s lawyer, a former Harvard classmate, said he had a case. The Massachusetts Selective Service Board said the case would have to be heard in Philadelphia since it involved the Phillies.

    The Hollywood Stars sent him a contract for $8,000, which made him the highest-paid player in the minor leagues. He learned the Phillies were kicking in $3,000. The Phillies, Lupien believed, were circumventing the G.I. Bill by making sure he still earned his prewar salary despite not giving him his old job.

    John Cena has said next Saturday night will be the final wrestling match of his career.

    Lupien already had two children and knew it would be too expensive to travel back and forth to Philadelphia to fight his case. He reported to Hollywood at the end of spring training and became a Star.

    Lupien played two seasons with the Stars before returning to the majors in 1948 with the White Sox. He then bounced around the minors as a player/manager and coached basketball at Middlebury College before being hired in 1956 to coach Dartmouth College. He managed the team to the College World Series in 1970 and co-wrote a book in 1980 about the history of baseball’s labor movement. Lupien remained outspoken about labor, believing the sport’s contract structure railroaded his career.

    He died in 2004, two years after Cena debuted in the WWE. Cena, whose mother, Carol, is Lupien’s daughter, said next Saturday night will be the final match of his career.

    Bucko Kilroy was once called the NFL’s dirtiest player. He became much more than that in a six-decade career.

    Cena, 48, once wore a Phillies jersey to the ring and is one of the most popular performers in wrestling history. His celebrity has long crossed over into popular culture as he’s starred in movies and TV shows.

    He spent the last year balancing his WWE farewell with the filming of a new movie. After wrestling, Cena is expected to fully become a Hollywood star. His grandfather, begrudgingly, was one first.

  • The narrative around A.J. Brown, Tyrese Maxey vs. Allen Iverson, and other thoughts …

    The narrative around A.J. Brown, Tyrese Maxey vs. Allen Iverson, and other thoughts …

    First and final thoughts …

    It has been a few weeks since A.J. Brown has been a major topic of consternation and conversation around the Eagles. The easy explanation for the relative quiet is that Brown hasn’t posted anything on social media lately that would get people to raise their eyebrows. The even easier explanation — and maybe so easy that it’s a cheap shot against Brown — is that he caught 18 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears and the Cowboys, and even though the Eagles lost both of those games, Brown must be content that he’s finally getting his numbers again.

    That narrative — that Brown is only about Brown, and his selfishness damages the Eagles — has never held up under much scrutiny. Should he stay off social media more? Of course he should. But they have a 53-18 record (in regular-season and postseason games), have won a Super Bowl, and reached another since acquiring him. At least 29 other teams in the NFL would sign up for that level of damage.

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    What’s more, there’s nothing inherently wrong with Brown wanting the ball more in the name of benefiting himself and benefiting the Eagles. The two goals aren’t mutually exclusive, and it’s understandable that Brown would raise a stink with Jalen Hurts, Kevin Patullo, or both if he didn’t believe he was being used properly or frequently enough.

    Think of it like this: Brown is to the Eagles’ offense as an outstanding reporter or writer is to a news organization, and Patullo and Hurts are his editors. If the editors relegated that reporter to the least important and relevant assignments — when he has produced and is capable of producing well-read, Pulitzer-caliber journalism — he would be within his rights to tell them, Hey, you aren’t maximizing my skills, and it’s hurting the whole news operation, too.

    Would that make him selfish? Maybe. Would it make him self-interested? Yeah. Would it make him right? Absolutely.

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    Kyle and the cash register

    The very simple reason to be optimistic that the Phillies will re-sign Kyle Schwarber comes down to three words.

    Butts in seats.

    Yes, Schwarber has improved as a hitter over the last two years, putting the ball in play more often and raising his batting average without sacrificing any of his power. Yes, he’s an outstanding clubhouse leader. And yes, his presence is necessary if the Phillies are to get over their October bugaboos, get back to the World Series, and win it. Those factors make him vital to the franchise.

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    But a baseball season, despite the attention and excitement that the playoffs generate, is not the playoffs alone. The 162-game march to the postseason matters too. It matters a lot. And Schwarber has overtaken Bryce Harper as the player on the Phillies roster whose at-bats are true can’t-miss theater. If you’re at Citizens Bank Park on a chilly night in early May, waiting to get your hot dog and beer, the chance to see Schwarber blast one 450 feet is probably one of the reasons you’re at the ballpark in the first place. And if he comes up and you’re still waiting, you might just hop out of that long line to make sure you don’t miss one of his lighting bolts. He’s the guy who makes you stop and watch.

    Sports is still first and foremost an entertainment product, and Schwarber provides more entertainment night to night than any other Phillies player. John Middleton isn’t likely to let someone steal such an asset away, for any price. He’d be a fool if he did.

    Allen Iverson was a 40-plus-minute man before the term “load management” entered the NBA vernacular.

    Maxey and A.I. as iron men

    Ahead of the 76ers’ matchup in Milwaukee against the Bucks on Friday night, Tyrese Maxey was leading the NBA in minutes played per game. His average: 40.0.

    All kudos to Maxey for bringing it every night for as long as he does. But just for some perspective, it’s worth noting that for a 10-year period, from the 1998-99 season through the 2007-08 season, Allen Iverson never averaged fewer than 40.8 minutes. And over his six seasons from 2001 through 2007, he averaged 42.5 minutes and led the league in minutes five times. When the man said he played every game like it was his last, he meant it.

  • MLS knows it needs to loosen its roster rules to get better. But how far is it willing to go?

    MLS knows it needs to loosen its roster rules to get better. But how far is it willing to go?

    WASHINGTON — Don Garber said it when MLS announced its switch to a winter-centric schedule a few weeks ago, and he said it again Thursday at his State of the League address.

    The commissioner knows as well as anyone that the league needs to not just change when it plays, but how it plays to truly improve its standing on the world stage. That means loosening the roster rules, letting teams not just spend more money but have more freedom about how they spend it.

    This time, he said to not just the usual audience of domestic media who cover the league all year, but a big crowd of international journalists who came to the nation’s capital for Friday’s World Cup draw. Some of them might have headed to Fort Lauderdale afterward for Saturday’s MLS Cup final between Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and Thomas Müller. (We can only wonder how many would have made the even shorter trip to Chester were the Union hosting.)

    “One of our core principles is that we will do whatever it takes, and make whatever decisions necessary, that will define our future,” Garber said as he started to address the coming changes, including “increased investment in player development, and an evolution of our roster strategy that will elevate the overall quality of the play on the field.”

    Don Garber (left) is no doubt pleased that Lionel Messi (right) and Inter Miami made this year’s MLS Cup final.

    Those were some strong words, and they prompted a natural question. Just how far is the league willing to go to deliver that pledge? And in particular, how much work is the commissioner himself willing to do behind closed doors to push team owners who want to spend less than others do?

    “MLS has had this view, and it’s defined the position that we’re in today, that our owners are partners off the field, and they’re fierce competitors on the field,” Garber said. “And in order to do that, you’ve got to consider the thoughts of teams that are in smaller markets that might have a different view as to what the competitive balance should be, and then those that are in larger markets and newer stadiums. You would say maybe the legacy teams versus the middle teams versus the new teams.”

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    Indeed, many watchers would say that, and some were facing Garber’s podium.

    “Our job is to pull them all together,” Garber said of his circuit’s 30 clubs, “and come out with a competitive format and roster rules that move our league forward.”

    Philadelphia Union Chairman and Majority Owner Jay Sugarman before Union played the Chicago Fire FC in a first round MLS playoff game at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa., on Sunday, October 26, 2025.

    ‘Nudge it a little more’

    He asked the next question himself, before others could.

    “And how do you do that?” he said. “You know, you can listen to noise — and noise is important, because noise is really research — and get an understanding of where fans are and where is MLS in the conversation. But it’s also about metrics. What’s driving our revenue? What’s driving our ratings? What’s driving the overall sale of our commercial [product], which speaks to fan interest and what we call fan avidity?”

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    Garber did not need to use that jargon to back up his point that “that’s all moving in the right direction with the rules that we have.” No one, even the league’s critics, doubts that is happening. It’s just about how quickly or slowly that movement is going. And with the unparalleled opportunity that comes from the World Cup being on home turf, Garber knows it’s time to push the gas pedal.

    “How do you nudge it a little more as the market gets more sophisticated?” he said. ”And that’s our job. And you’ve got to figure out ways that you go into a board room, and you wrangle a bunch of them together, and you do the work in committees, and base it on research. We try to not to be distracted by the loud voice of few, but use data to drive our decisions, and research that drives decisions, and that’s what made MLS successful.”

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    Garber engages more with the rest of the world’s soccer leagues than he ever has. He sits on the management board of the World Leagues Forum, along with English Premier League CEO Richard Masters and Italian Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo.

    That is good company to keep, but it’s also a constant reminder of how far MLS has to go.

    “[MLS is] very different from the rest of the world, which has open rules and basically can do what they want, but they have different competitive formats,” Garber said. “They have their version of the Champions League, which has its own economic value. We’ve got to think about our business and ensuring that our league is stable and moving in the right direction.”

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    Garber concluded his reflection by saying that the league will “continue to do what we’re doing, and push the envelope as much as we can without being reckless.”

    Where the balance of that lands will define the rest of his tenure.

    English Premier League CEO Richard Masters knows MLS commissioner Don Garber well.

    Promotion and relegation?

    Speaking of MLS’s differences from the rest of the world, Garber was given a proverbial open goal to shoot at when a reporter from abroad asked if MLS will ever have promotion and relegation, a cornerstone of the global sport.

    In most of those years, as Garber went on to indicate, he thumped his shot in with a resounding no. But there is growing speculation that he might retire when his contract ends in 2027. He has not stopped that speculation in recent times, by talking about how the league will look after he steps down. He went in that direction again Thursday.

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    “This will be fun,” he said to start his answer. “In every single press conference we’ve ever had, somebody’s saying, ‘When are you going to have promotion and relegation?’”

    That is indeed close to true.

    With a squad including Medford’s Brenden Aaronson, England’s Leeds United has shown in recent years how dramatic promotion and relegation can be.

    “Back in the day, I would say, ‘Never,’” Garber said. “Today I would say, ‘There’s no real point in saying never, because I don’t know what the future will look like.”

    Garber admitted the league’s calendar flip influenced his thinking on that, as something he also “never thought we would adapt to.” But with that now happening, and with the lower leagues of the USL getting stronger over time — albeit in a totally separate business entity — the question continues to arise.

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    He stood on his longtime point that relegation is bad for team owners who invest a lot of money and don’t make it back. But when Americans buy European clubs, as happens often, they know what they’re getting into, and Garber knows a fair few of them from his travels.

    “If I were to ask most European leaders of pro leagues, and many owners, whether or not promotion and relegation was good for their investment and good for the broad, macro view of the sport,” he said, “most of them will say, ‘Well, I’m not quite sure. But as a fan, I think it’s kind of fun and it’s kind of cool.’”

    Don Garber, Major League Soccer Commissioner, speaks at the WSFS Bank Sportsplex Ceremony in Chester, Pa., on Thursday, July 17, 2025.

    From there, he cracked open the door for a moment.

    “So let’s see how it plays out,” Garber said. “Maybe as the development of the lower divisions continues to grow, as they’ve been doing so well over the years, there would be a proper ecosystem. I’m not sure — frankly, I don’t believe that ecosystem consists can exist today. But who knows? I’ve learned, never say never.”

    Then, after taking a breath, he slammed the door right back shut.

    “That doesn’t mean we’re having promotion or relegation anytime soon,” he said, and went on to the next question.

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  • Sixers takeaways: Paul George steps up, Tyrese Maxey gets defensive, and more in victory over Bucks

    Sixers takeaways: Paul George steps up, Tyrese Maxey gets defensive, and more in victory over Bucks

    With Paul George leading the way, the 76ers showed they can win on nights Tyrese Maxey struggles offensively.

    On the flip side, it’s time to stop being critical of Maxey’s defense.

    And Jabari Walker and Dominick Barlow might be the NBA’s best two-way players.

    Those things stood out in Friday’s 116-101 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.

    Taking up Maxey’s offensive slack

    Maxey’s streak of scoring at least 20 points ended with 21 games. The early-season MVP candidate had a season-low 12 points on 5-for-14 — including missing all three of his three-pointers — along with finishing with four rebounds, four assists, a team-high four steals, and one block.

    Maxey’s scoring was a significant drop off from his career-high 54 points against the Bucks in the Sixers’ 123-114 overtime victory in Milwaukee on Nov. 20.

    Big night from Paul George, Sixers bench players headline 116-101 win over Bucks

    This time, Milwaukee (10-14) made a conscious effort to get the ball out of Maxey’s hand. But that tactic led to other Sixers stepping up and contributing.

    Paul George hit several clutch shots en route to finishing with 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists. With the Bucks mounting a comeback, the 6-foot-8 forward hit two straight jumpers to give the Sixers (13-9) a 101-87 lead with 5 minutes, 51 seconds remaining. Then he grabbed a huge defensive rebound to ward off another comeback attempt with 2:52 to play. George scored six points and four rebounds in the fourth quarter.

    George took a lot of the pressure off Maxey while logging a season-high 29 minutes, 58 seconds. He brought the basketball up the court and initiated the offense. His performance had to be refreshing for the Sixers coaching staff to see.

    Sixers forward Paul George puts up a shot against Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. (7) in the first half at Fiserv Forum.

    George missed Thursday’s 99-98 victory over the Golden State Warriors due to left knee injury recovery. And Friday’s matchup was just his seventh game of the season.

    “I just wanted to come out and get us on a good note,” George told NBC Sports Philadelphia following the game. “That was just my mindset. My body is starting to shape back. I’m blessed that I’m healthy, and I’m just trying to stack games.”

    George actually sat Maxey down in the fourth quarter to tell him not to worry. He said that he would finish things out for the Sixers.

    “That’s what he’s here for,” Maxey told the media. “You know what I mean? And we appreciate Paul.”

    Reserves Quentin Grimes (a team-high 22 points on six three-pointers), Adem Bona (10 points), and Walker (a season-high 18 points) also stepped up. The Sixers also led, 61-41, in bench points to help fill the gap.

    Maxey’s defense

    Not too long ago, Maxey was considered a defensive liability. That’s why there was a lot of excitement when the Sixers selected VJ Edgecombe third in June’s NBA draft. That thought was that Edgecombe or Grimes could provide a defensive presence while starting alongside Maxey in the backcourt.

    But if we learned one thing recently, Maxey is quieting his critics.

    On Thursday, the point guard blocked former Sixer De’Anthony Melton’s layup right before the final buzzer to preserve Thursday’s victory.

    Then, on Friday, Maxey finished with four steals for the third time this season. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder put his defensive imprint on the game early, recording three steals in the first quarter. Then he blocked AJ Green’s three-pointer late in the second quarter.

    This comes after Maxey averaged 3.0 steals and one block in his previous two games. He’s averaged 1.8 steals and 0.9 blocks through his first 21 games.

    Milwaukee Bucks’ Kyle Kuzma (18) controls the ball as he drives to the basket between Philadelphia 76ers’ Dominick Barlow, left, and Adem Bona during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

    Two-way stars

    As fourth-year players, Barlow and Walkers aren’t your typical players on two-way contracts. Walker actually signed a multi-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers after being selected by them with the 59th pick of the 2022 draft.

    Meanwhile, Barlow went undrafted in 2022 but had his two-way contracts with the San Antonio Spurs (2023-24) and the Atlanta Hawks (2024-25) converted to standard deals the past two seasons.

    Yet, they both have been huge bargains after signing two-way deals with the Sixers in July. So far, Walker has averaged 4.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in his first 20 games. Meanwhile, Barlow took averages of 8.1 points and 5.8 rebounds into the game.

    Barlow made his 10th start of the season at power forward Friday night. The 6-9, 215-pounder had a rough shooting night, missing five of six shots. However, he finished with six points, four rebounds, and a steal. Meanwhile, Walker gave the Sixers a huge lift, scoring 16 points while making 4 of 6 three-pointers before intermission. Walker made his first four threes.

    Milwaukee Bucks’ Kevin Porter Jr. (7) drives to the basket against Philadelphia 76ers’ Jabari Walker, right, Jared McCain (20), and Adem Bona during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

    The 6-7, 237-pounder cooled in the second half, scoring two points while missing two three-pointers. But his four three-pointers were a season high.

    “He was shooting like he was in Camden,” Maxey said of Walker being a solid shooter at practice.

    Maxey added, “I just want him to shoot it when he’s open. If he’s open, shoot it. That’s what he can do. he’s really good at that. Corner threes, wing threes. I think that would be a good shot for him.”

  • Big night from Paul George, Sixers bench players headline 116-101 win over Bucks

    Big night from Paul George, Sixers bench players headline 116-101 win over Bucks

    MILWAUKEE — Quentin Grimes scored 22 points to lead a productive performance from Philadelphia’s bench as the 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 116-101 on Friday night.

    Paul George added 20 points and Jabari Walker had a season-high 18 off the bench as the 76ers won for a second straight night after beating the Golden State Warriors 99-98 on Thursday.

    Philadelphia’s reserves scored 61 points to make up for the fact Milwaukee limited Tyrese Maxey to a season-low 12 points.

    Neither team had its former league MVP on the floor.

    Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo was out after straining his right calf in the first few minutes of a 113-109 victory over Detroit on Wednesday. With the 76ers playing for a second straight night, Philadelphia rested Joel Embiid.

    Bucks coach Doc Rivers said before Friday’s game that he anticipates Antetokounmpo will miss about four weeks.

    Milwaukee’s AJ Green left with a bruised shoulder in the second quarter.

    Bobby Portis scored 22 points, Kevin Porter Jr. 20 and Myles Turner 19 for the Bucks.

    It was tied until the 76ers began a 15-2 run that started about seven minutes into the game and put Philadelphia ahead 28-15. Jared McCain sank a pair of 3-pointers during that spurt.

    Philadelphia stayed ahead the rest of the way and led by as many as 26 in the second quarter.

    Milwaukee got the margin down to single digits for the first time since the first quarter when Portis hit a corner 3-pointer to cut Philadelphia’s lead to 103-94 with 4:16 left.

    After Ryan Rollins got a steal on Philadelphia’s ensuing possession, the ball went back to Portis, who drove to the basket but couldn’t finish. Maxey made a basket with 3:45 remaining, and the 76ers maintained a double-figure edge the rest of the way.

    Up next

    76ers: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.

    Bucks: At Detroit on Saturday night.

    ___

    AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

  • Jalen Carter’s absence could put rookie Ty Robinson in the spotlight

    Jalen Carter’s absence could put rookie Ty Robinson in the spotlight

    For the past month, Ty Robinson has been grappling with what he calls a “strange feeling.”

    Robinson, the Eagles’ fourth-round defensive tackle out of Nebraska, has been inactive for the last four games. It’s not surprising given the depth chart at the position, but it has been an adjustment for the 24-year-old. After all, Robinson went from being a five-year starter at Nebraska to an Eagles rookie behind Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Moro Ojomo.

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    Still, when Robinson joined the Eagles in April, he said he understood that playing time was going to be hard to come by in a room full of “a bunch of dudes.”

    “I’m a realistic person,” Robinson said Friday. “So just being patient and understanding that football has its tendency to be violent. Guys are going to go down with something. Obviously you never want that, but it’s the reality of the game. So just to continue to work and help that motivates me in a good way to be ready when the time comes.”

    That patience could pay off on Monday. Carter, the Pro Bowl defensive tackle, is week-to-week after undergoing a procedure to treat both of his shoulders. With Carter out of the lineup against the Los Angeles Chargers, Robinson could be active for the first time since Week 9 against the New York Giants.

    Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said on Wednesday that it’s “possible” Robinson could factor into the defensive tackle rotation with Carter injured. Robinson said that the coaching staff hasn’t had a conversation with him about his role against the Chargers. But that isn’t to say he won’t have a role, Robinson clarified.

    “Whatever they’re willing to give, whatever that role’s going to be, I’m here for the room,” Robinson said. “We’ve got an awesome room that’s going to also step up on Monday. I’m excited to be behind those guys.”

    Monday’s game wouldn’t be Robinson’s first, but it could be an opportunity for him to play meaningful defensive snaps for the first time in more than a month.

    The 6-foot-5, 288-pound defensive tackle has played 35 defensive snaps in six appearances. The majority of his playing time came in the Week 6 loss to the New York Giants when Carter was inactive due to a heel injury.

    In his 19 defensive snaps in that game, Robinson made a tackle on Cam Skattebo in the red zone and batted a pass from Jaxson Dart at the line of scrimmage. Even though his last game action was in late October for the Eagles’ second meeting with the Giants, Robinson said he feels better prepared now to step into a more substantial role on defense.

    Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart slips by a tackle attempt by DT Ty Robinson on Oct. 9.

    “I didn’t know nothing coming into this season,” Robinson said. “But being around the guys for halfway through the season, I definitely feel like I’ve grown as a player. And obviously I feel a little bit more ready. It’s a challenge. I’m not going to back away from a challenge. I’m going to take what I can with it.”

    Davis concurred that Robinson is ready for the challenge that could await him on Monday. His confidence is rooted in what Robinson has shown him in practice, going up against the Eagles’ starting offensive line. Now, Robinson must translate his growth on the NovaCare Complex practice field to SoFi Stadium when he faces the Chargers.

    “Just the reps that he’s getting against Landon [Dickerson], against Jordan Mailata, against Cam [Jurgens], all those compound and add up,” Davis said. “So when he gets his opportunity to go against a former Eagles player, Mekhi Becton, or somebody that’s on the Chargers’ line, we have full confidence in him that he can go out there and execute.

    “It’s more about the mindset that he has, carrying it out there and understanding that he is meant to be here. He is here for a reason. It’s the same thing I went through as a rookie. I didn’t have a lot of experience going into this, and looking at the offensive line, I was like, ‘Man, these guys have years of experience on me.’ But as time goes on, the more experience that I have, execution breeds confidence.”

    Robinson (9) is looking to break out as a pro after a decorated five-year career at Nebraska.

    Robinson will need to tap into that confidence to help the defense rebound after a porous Black Friday performance against the Chicago Bears. This time around, the Eagles will face one of the league’s top passers in Justin Herbert — if he’s healthy enough to play — and a strong rushing attack that is poised to welcome the return of standout rookie Omarion Hampton on Monday.

    Even if he hasn’t earned many meaningful defensive snaps this season, Robinson can still detect his own growth. Between his practice reps and his time spent with the Eagles’ developmental program, Robinson said he has taken strides in “everything” related to his game.

    “Just in the kind of aspect of building up the player that I am,” Robinson said. “With awesome people in this building, being able to put in extra work with them and just to see that continued growth.

    “So, time to put it to the test.”

  • The USMNT will play Paraguay, Australia, and a European qualifier at the 2026 World Cup

    The USMNT will play Paraguay, Australia, and a European qualifier at the 2026 World Cup

    WASHINGTON — There’s plenty of history of World Cup host teams getting easy groups. But the soccer gods definitely smiled on the U.S. men’s national team at Friday’s draw.

    The Americans got Australia out of Pot 2, the second-toughest batch, instead of the stars and skills of Croatia, Morocco, or Colombia. In Pot 3, they got Paraguay, instead of Norway’s all-world striker Erling Haaland and playmaker Martin Ødegaard.

    At that point in the glitzy stage show, with President Donald Trump leading the guest list at the Kennedy Center, the U.S. knew it would get a European playoff winner from Pot 4. But even then, they got lucky, landing the bracket of Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, and Kosovo, instead of the one led by Italy.

    Then, as the dust settled and the watching world looked at the results, something else became clear. At least two of the three games will be rematches of recent U.S. games, and all three will be if Turkey wins that playoff.

    Mauricio Pochettino (second from right) in the audience in the Kennedy Center’s historic Concert Hall.

    “It means less work,” U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino said. “We can say we’ve already done the homework because it’s fresh when we played them … It’s still six months. We need to update everything — and we know them, but they know us.”

    The Americans’ opening game will be against Paraguay on June 12, the second day of the tournament, in Inglewood, Calif. The teams met last month at Subaru Park in Chester, and the U.S. won, 2-1, with goals from Gio Reyna and Folarin Balogun.

    The best and worst teams the USMNT could have drawn

    “I know they’re a very difficult, very complex team, one that has found a way to build a solid foundation, a solid base,” Paraguay manager Gustavo Alfaro said. “And that helps us understand the things we need to improve.”

    Seven days later, the U.S. will play Australia in Seattle, a game that should produce a thunderous atmosphere in one of America’s elite soccer cities. In October, the U.S. came from behind to beat a physical Socceroos squad, 2-1, with two goals from Haji Wright.

    “We know what to expect — a top team, a top coach,” Australia manager Tony Popovic said. “It will be obviously different in a World Cup to a friendly, but that also excites us.”

    Then it will be back to the LA area for the group stage finale, on June 25 against the playoff winner.

    The USMNT will play Portugal, Belgium, and Germany in its World Cup warmup games

    Turkey beat the U.S., 2-1 in June in East Hartford, Conn., but that U.S. squad was missing a lot of its stars — deliberately at that point, by Pochettino’s decision. Turkey’s squad was full-strength, including star playmakers Kenan Yıldız of Italy’s Juventus (where he’s teammates with Weston McKennie) and Arda Güler of Spain’s Real Madrid.

    If Romania pulls off the upset in the playoff, memories will come back of the teams’ 1994 World Cup matchup at the Rose Bowl. Romania’s 1-0 win that day was the last of the teams’ four all-time meetings, with the first in 1991 the only U.S. win.

    The Union’s Quinn Sullivan (left) made his senior U.S. debut in June’s game againt Turkey.

    The U.S. has only played Slovakia once, a 1-0 Slovakia win in that country’s capital, Bratislava. The U.S. and Kosovo have never played.

    The European playoffs are in March. Turkey hosts Romania, and Slovakia hosts Kosovo, and the latter game’s winner hosts the finale.

    Philly is one step closer to knowing the World Cup nations headed to the Linc next summer

    ‘Good pressure,’ but realistic expectations

    Pochettino wants his team to believe it can win the World Cup. His favorite slogan lately has been “Be realistic and do the impossible.”

    It’s his job to present that message, even if “realistic” for everyone else is something else. That bears saying loudly because fans who only watch the U.S. men during World Cups might take Pochettino at his word.

    Mauricio Pochettino at a U.S. team practice last month.

    For them, and for the team’s devotees too, Tyler Adams’ words are worth heeding.

    “Everyone’s going to want us to say winning it is obviously the goal,” the veteran U.S. midfielder and locker room leader said. “Our idea is to win — that’s the goal. But I think setting the benchmark of the furthest the U.S. team has gone is also realistic. So we want to go and make a run, but again, it’s a game by game mentality.”

    FIFA won’t put time limits on referees’ video reviews, at least for now

    The farthest the U.S. men have gone at a World Cup was nearly a century ago at the first edition, in 1930, when they finished third in a 12-team field. They have advanced from their group in five of the eight World Cups they have gone to in their modern era, which started in 1990; and their only ever knockout game win was in 2002, against next-door-neighbor Mexico half a world away in South Korea.

    Reaching the semifinals this time would require three knockout-round wins: in the round of 32 in the first 48-team World Cup, the round of 16, and the quarterfinals. The conventional wisdom outside the program is, and likely will remain, that success will be reaching the quarterfinals.

    The U.S. men haven’t won a World Cup knockout game since Landon Donovan (center) scored to help beat Mexico in the 2002 World Cup’s round of 16.

    “We have to focus on ourselves — we have to worry about how we are and who we are and what we are and the connections and the aggressiveness and the intensity and the focus,” said centerback Tim Ream, Pochettino’s captain as the squad’s most experienced player. “At some point, you’re going to have to play the best some of the best teams. So do you play them in the group stage? Do you play with the knockouts? It doesn’t really matter, right?”

    What’s certain is that no matter the opponents, the games matter more now, starting with March friendlies against Portugal and Belgium. Then the U.S. will play its send-off games amid training camp against Germany and a team to be announced.

    Folarin Balogun is living up to the hype as a long-awaited top striker for the USMNT

    As the nation starts to tune in, it will be up to Pochettino and his players to turn that pressure into a force that strengthens them, and potentially powers a history-making run on home soil.

    “I think it’s good pressure,” Pochettino said. “The expectation is good, because it puts good stress in your body.”

    It will only build up over the coming months.

    U.S. men’s soccer team 2026 World Cup group schedule

    June 12: vs. Paraguay in Inglewood, Calif.

    June 19: vs. Australia in Seattle

    June 25: vs. UEFA playoff winner in Inglewood, Calif.

    Mauricio Pochettino reflects on the USMNT’s progress in his tenure so far

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  • Mark Ferrante made Villanova into a regular playoff contender. Can it advance past the second round?

    Mark Ferrante made Villanova into a regular playoff contender. Can it advance past the second round?

    Mark Ferrante wore his usual visor with a smile, but his plastic toothpick, which normally sticks out of the side of his mouth at practices, was missing.

    It was Wednesday morning, and the Villanova coach walked off the field at Villanova Stadium after wrapping practice in preparation for his team’s game against Lehigh in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

    Despite the team’s inexperience after losing more than a dozen starters to graduation, Villanova demolished Harvard, 52-7, last weekend and has won nine straight. Ferrante said postgame that his players might lack experience, but they never lacked confidence.

    Ferrante, in his ninth year at the helm, and the program is making its fifth FCS playoff appearance in the last six seasons and 17th all-time. Ferrante has been around the team since 1987 and watched former head coach Andy Talley build the program from the ground up. That paid off in 2009, when Villanova won its lone FCS championship.

    Gift Share Villanova signs 13 players on early signing day before FCS playoff matchup vs. Lehigh

    In the last three seasons, Villanova has won its first FCS playoff game and then fallen short in the second round. Last season, Villanova traveled to San Antonio, Texas, to face sixth-seeded Incarnate Word in the second round. The Wildcats held Incarnate Word, which last season averaged 33.6 points per game, to 13, but still lost, 13-6.

    Now, Villanova is back in the second round, and Ferrante is tasked with guiding his team over that hurdle on Saturday noon (ESPN+) in Bethlehem, Pa.

    Villanova’s FBS game — against Penn State this season — and tough Coastal Athletic Association matchups helped prepare the team to play into December.

    Wildcats running back Ja’briel Mace (4) carries the ball on Nov. 15.

    “Sometimes it comes down to the health of the team,” Ferrante said. “If you look at last year against Incarnate Word, we’re playing a ton of freshmen [defensive backs] in that game by the time we got to that point of the season. So right now, we’re better than we were a year ago when it comes to the health of the team. I’m not looking to make excuses, because you have to go 1-0 each week. And this idea is to survive and advance.”

    Villanova has lost starters intermittently because of injuries this year. Notably, standout running back David Avit has missed the last three games with a knee injury. Ja’briel Mace and Isaiah Ragland stepped up with no issue, both rushing for career highs during that stretch. Mace even broke the program’s 24-year-old single-game rushing record.

    Villanova trounces Harvard in first round of FCS playoffs: ‘The three phases are playing together’

    On defense, the team started the season without graduate linebacker Richie Kimmel and lost junior linebacker JR Strauss after the Penn State game.

    During Villanova’s 2009 championship season, meanwhile, it lost one notable starter to an injury.

    While injuries are uncontrollable, execution is not, Ferrante said.

    “The bottom line is it has to come down to execution,” Ferrante said. “You have to go out and perform at a high level, regardless of who you’re playing, regardless of the weather conditions, regardless of the health of your team.”

    Villanova coach Mark Ferrante, applauding his team on Nov. 29.

    Graduate linebacker Shane Hartzell has played in all of Villanova’s playoff games these past three seasons.

    “The experience of Shane, I’m sure [the vets] talk to guys behind the scenes,” Ferrante said. “I think we have a good locker room right now. So I think there’s a lot of that going on that we really don’t even see as coaches, but it’s their practice habits that help as well. You have guys that just go out there and practice hard all the time, and that filters down into the young guys.

    “So now you see some of our younger guys are having fairly good success. They see how practice is supposed to be, and then they follow suit, and then they end up becoming pretty good players.”

    It has become a standard for Villanova to retain players for four years or more. Ten of Villanova’s starters last season were five-plus-year players.

    Villanova reacts to earning a bid into the FCS playoffs

    “We just try to set a standard of being good students, good athletes, and good people,” Ferrante said. “Just work hard, be a good person, make good decisions, and good things will happen.

    “That’s our approach when it comes to the classroom. That’s our approach when it comes to practice and playing. If you have a good locker room and you have a team that could lead themselves a little bit, there’s not a lot of drama.”

    As college football coaches ride a merry-go-round of programs, Ferrante has not moved an inch from the Main Line, and that looks to be the case well into the future.

    “If you love what you do, you love where you do it, and you love the people you do it with, that’s a win,” Ferrante said. “And that’s what this place has been for me.”

  • Darius Slay won’t report to the Bills. Is he an option for the Eagles?

    Darius Slay won’t report to the Bills. Is he an option for the Eagles?

    Darius Slay is apparently considering retiring from the NFL after he decided to not report to the Buffalo Bills, the claiming team he was awarded to after the Pittsburgh Steelers placed him on waivers.

    Slay, who will turn 35 next month, told Emmanuel Acho on the Speakeasy podcast Thursday night that he is “50-50″ on whether he will continue playing or not.

    But Philadelphia is Slay’s “second home,” he said, and the Eagles, according to NFL sources, also put a claim in for Slay, who was awarded to the Bills because they had higher priority in the NFL’s waiver order.

    Acho asked Slay if he would have reported to the Eagles, had the team he spent five seasons and won a Super Bowl with in February been awarded his rights.

    “I honestly don’t know, man,” Slay said before mentioning how he has enjoyed being home with his family in the days since his release from the Steelers, who made him a healthy scratch last week vs. the Bills.

    “It just felt good to be there,” he said. “It would have been a hard time to think about it. But Philly is my second home. I don’t know how that would have hit, if that would have hit. But when I got home the other day, I’m like, ‘shoot this feel too good to be at the crib.’”

    Slay also cited the inconvenience of moving to Buffalo and the city’s cold weather as reasons for not initially wanting to report to the AFC contender.

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    There is obvious mutual interest between the Eagles and Slay, should the cornerback decide he wants to continue playing. The Eagles haven’t shored up their second cornerback spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell after letting Slay walk in free agency. Slay looked more his age with the Steelers, who he signed with for one year and $10 million. But his familiarity with Vic Fangio’s scheme and the Eagles’ obvious concerns with their cornerback depth make it a fit.

    Could Slay still end up with the Eagles?

    It’s possible, but there are some mechanics involved that seem to make a reunion unlikely. The Bills placed Slay on the reserve/did not report list on Friday, removing him from their 53-man roster. They will retain his rights if he decides to continue his playing career. That is similar to how the Eagles handled cornerback Jaire Alexander after he decided to step away from football following his trade to the Eagles in November. They put Alexander on the reserve/retired list and retained his rights.

    Eagles cornerback Darius Slay celebrates an interception in the 2025 playoffs.

    The Bills could release Slay if he wants to continue playing, though there’s recent enough precedent under their current regime to suggest that they wouldn’t. Former NFL receiver Anquan Boldin decided to retire before the 2017 season began after signing with the Bills. He later asked the Bills to release him so he could play with another team, but Bills general manager Brandon Beane, then in his first season with Buffalo, declined that request.

    It’s unclear if Slay would have to go back through waivers if the Bills released him.

    It would seem unlikely, however, that Beane would release Slay to appease his desire to play for a potential Super Bowl opponent. The Eagles and Bills also play in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Dec. 28.

    Inquirer staff writer Jeff McLane contributed reporting to this story.

  • Philly is one step closer to knowing the World Cup nations headed to the Linc next summer

    Philly is one step closer to knowing the World Cup nations headed to the Linc next summer

    WASHINGTON — We’re one step closer in learning which teams will head to Philly ahead of next summer’s FIFA World Cup.

    A packed house inside the Kennedy Center featuring world leaders, celebrities, and the delegations of over 40 nations watched as their countries were pulled from pots and slotted into 12 groups in FIFA’s expanded 48 team tournament.

    Lincoln Financial Field is scheduled to host six matches, five in the group stage of the tournament and a Round of 16 game on July 4. Those early-round matches will be in Groups C, E, I, and L.

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    The four nations in Group C were Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland.

    Brazil, which earned its qualification following a win over Paraguay on June 10, kept its streak of qualifying for every World Cup intact. We certainly learned that Morocco, which qualified in September, brings the party, evidenced by the fanfare brought to Philly by fans of the country’s Wydad AC in this summer’s Club World Cup.

    “We’re incredibly excited about the potential for what the match schedule is going to be,” said Meg Kane, host city executive for FIFA Philly 2026, which is coordinating the events in Philadelphia next summer. “I think as we look at the four groups that have the potential of coming through Philadelphia, there are some big name teams, [like] Brazil and Morocco. We got to experience their fans last summer during Club World Cup. We would welcome them back, and I think [fans would] really lean into the excitement of that.”

    Moroccan fans of Wydad AC brought one of the most festive displays of celebration at the FIFA Club World Cup matches at Lincoln Financial Field earlier this year.

    Possibly hosting Haiti and Senegal is exciting for Kane, too. It will be Haiti’s second World Cup appearance, and first since 1974. The Caribbean nation remains on the U.S.’s travel ban list under the Trump administration, however.

    Haiti manager Sébastien Migné said he hopes President Donald Trump, who on Friday was awarded FIFA’s inaugural peace prize, will show diplomacy.

    “[Trump] is a peace prize winner,” Migné said after the event. “Maybe he will continue, and it will open the possibility for our fans to come here.”

    Kane is eager for Haitians living in the Philadelphia area to have the opportunity to see their country at the Linc.

    The USMNT will play Paraguay, Australia, and a European qualifier at the 2026 World Cup

    “When it comes to Haiti, Ghana, and Senegal, I think that’s going to be potentially incredible when you consider the West African and Caribbean diaspora in West Philadelphia and across the region,” Kane said. “But looking at all the prospects, I think this has the potential to deliver [five incredible] group-stage matches. It’s really exciting.”

    Philly’s group C match is on Friday, June 19, coincidentally on the day the U.S. men’s national team has a match in Group D in Seattle.

    There will be two Group E matches at the Linc. That group features Germany, Curaçao, the Ivory Coast, and Ecuador. A match in Group E will kick off the series of World Cup games hosted in Philly on Sunday, June 14, with the second Group E tilt is Thursday, June 25 — another matchday on which the U.S. will have a Group D game in Los Angeles.

    Curaçao, which is making its first World Cup appearance and is the field’s smallest nation by population, will be the first match for Germany, another popular team.

    “I think we’re also excited to potentially see Germany appear in Group E,” Kane said. “That would be an incredible opportunity. France, in Group I, is huge, as well as England [in Group L]. I mean, really, when you think of major teams and the matches that we could have, the potential is there to really draw some of the top two teams.”

    Along with France, Senegal, Norway, and the winner of a March playoff between Iraq, Bolivia, and Suriname could be in the mix for Philly’s Group I match, scheduled for Monday, June 22.

    Finally, along with England in Group L, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama are together. The Linc’s Group L match, the penultimate in the series of games in Philly, will kick off on Saturday, June 27. England will open its World Cup campaign against Croatia in a rematch of the 2018 World Cup semifinal.

    Brian Swanson, FIFA’s director of media relations, told the Inquirer that a decision to extend the draw an extra day to announce the venues was to “allow for greater discussion to take place on the exact locations.”

    It already was known that no host nation will play group matches in Philly as Mexico (Group A1), Canada (B1), and the United States (D1) were predetermined.

    Now, it’s a 24-hour wait before all 16 host cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico find out the nations they’ll host. Kane said that’s when the work begins of outreach to the various federations and understanding accommodation needs while preparing to introduce “Philly to the world” in a little under seven months.

    FIFA World Cup 2026 draw: As it happened

    “Once we see where those matches fall and what comes out, it’s the outreach that we’ll need to start planning in early 2026, related to which nations are coming,” Kane said. “It would have been an amazing opportunity to be in D.C. and start to be able to do that, but given that we’re not going to know until tomorrow, a lot of that outreach will be planned for in January and February.

    “Looking at this list [of potential nations], there’s not a team on here where I don’t go, ‘Wow.’ There’s a passionate fan base with ties to our area on every team, which I find fantastic and is going to really meet the moment incredibly well for Philadelphia.”

    Former NBA player Shaquille O’Neal, actor Kevin Hart, and former NFL player Tom Brady were among the big names at Friday’s draw.

    Draw tidbits

    Kevin Hart, who ended the event on stage with Heidi Klum, Tom Brady, and other celebrities gave a shoutout to Philly: “I know my guys back in Philadelphia are happy who could be coming to Philly next summer.” … Carli Lloyd, who was among the crowd at the draw noted how the men’s game coming to North America bodes well for the growth of sport — on the men’s and women’s side. The Delran native was the hero of the U.S. women’s national team’s women’s World Cup win in 2015 after her hat trick in the final cemented her legacy on the world stage. “I think it’s going to be great for both the men’s and women’s sides and we need to leverage that and harness it … to inspire girls and boys in our country,” she said. … The prize won by Trump is given to individuals who, through their unwavering commitment and their special actions, have helped to unite people all over the world, soccer’s governing body noted. Trump called the award “one of the great honors of his life,” and touted that peace accords he’s helped broker in the Middle East, Africa, and between Israel and Hamas have “saved millions and millions of lives.”

    Follow the Inquirer’s complete coverage of World Cup soccer right here!