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  • NBA free agency updates: Sixers add a guard; Jaylen Brown speaks out; LeBron linked to Philly; Lowry retires

    NBA free agency updates: Sixers add a guard; Jaylen Brown speaks out; LeBron linked to Philly; Lowry retires

    // Timestamp 07/02/26 4:58pm

    Report: Kyle Lowry to retire as a member of the Raptors

    Sixers guard Kyle Lowry passes the basketball against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, April 12, 2026 in Philadelphia.

    A bit of unsurprising news: Kyle Lowry, the Philly native-turned-Sixers veteran guard, is officially retiring from the NBA, per a report from Sportsnet.

    Per Sportsnet’s report, Lowry will make good on his long-publicized commitment to sign a one-day contract with Toronto, where he became a franchise icon and won the 2019 NBA title, to retire as a member of the Raptors.

    At the end of the 2024-25 season, Lowry said he wanted to play one more season to reach 20 for his career, though was more coy when asked about that plan in recent months.

    Lowry, who played in 14 games last season, was almost exclusively a trusted and enthusiastic veteran on the bench and locker room, particularly for All-NBA point guard Tyrese Maxey. Lowry initially joined his hometown Sixers off the buyout market in 2024, and averaged 4.7 points and three assists in 72 games with the franchise.

    — Gina Mizell

    // Timestamp 07/02/26 4:25pm

    Could Tyrese Maxey help lure LeBron to Philly?

    Shortly after ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Sixers are making a pitch to LeBron James, his ESPN colleague Brian Windhorst also linked James to the Sixers and discussed how the Sixers might go about trying to recruit James: by using Tyrese Maxey’s connection through agent Rich Paul and Klutch Sports.

    “A key factor in any sort of Philadelphia pursuit of LeBron is Tyrese Maxey. That is not only because of his talent, which is awesome, but he’s one of Klutch’s core clients,” Windhorst said. “He’s basically a part of LeBron’s extended family, so you would not only have Jaylen Brown as the addition, you would have Tyrese Maxey as your drawing card.”

    — Matt Mullin

    // Timestamp 07/02/26 3:36pm

    Shams: Sixers are ‘trying to make a pitch to LeBron James’

    LeBron James’ connection to Mike Gansey, how the Sixers can afford him, and what happened the last time they tried to sign him

    // Timestamp 07/02/26 2:50pm

    Jalen Brown says he’s ‘still processing’ in first statement since trade

    Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown is ready to get after it in Philly.

    New Sixer Jaylen Brown has spoken. On Thursday, less than 24 hours after he was traded from Boston to Philly, the veteran released a statement on social media. Here it is in it’s entirety:

    “First and foremost, thank you to the Most High, even in the midst of adversity. I’m here with gratitude.

    “I’m still processing how this all went down. I’m excited and disappointed at the same time. I earned my respect from this city. I never asked for shortcuts or special treatment. I simply showed up every day, put my head down, and accepted every challenge.

    “The relationships I built here, the battles we fought together, the championship we brought to this city, and the connection I shared with the fans, I’ll carry on with me.

    “Saying goodbye isn’t easy when you’ve invested your heart into something.

    “I’m big on respect and actions speak louder than words. To the people of Boston, thank you. To the community I built here I love you, and to the shiftaz we are locked in for life

    “As one chapter closes, another begins.

    “I’m excited for what’s ahead and grateful for the opportunity to join Philadelphia. Every city has its own identity, its own passion, and its own expectation. I respect that, and I’m looking forward to earning that respect the only way I know how.. through the work.

    “Philly – throw the ball up let’s get it!”

    — Matt Mullin

    // Timestamp 07/02/26 2:26pm

    Sixers to sign guard Anfernee Simons

    Anfernee Simons has agreed to sign a two-year, $12.3 million contractwith the 76ers, a source confirmed to The Inquirer Thursday afternoon.

    After trading for star Jaylen Brown Wednesday night, the Sixers turned to bolstering their bench after losing sixth man Quentin Grimes, who will reportedly sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. Simons has shot 38.1% on 6.6 career three-pointers during his eight-year career with the Portland Trail Blazers, Boston Celtics, and Chicago Bulls.

    Simons also one of Brown’s former teammates with the Celtics last season. Simons averaged 14.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 49 games before being traded to Chicago for reserve center Nikola Vucevic.

    To sign Simons and stay under the first apron, where they are hard capped, his contract will come out of the nontaxpayer midlevel exception. Ariel Hukporti’s one-year, $3.4 million deal, which was agreed to Wednesday, will come out of the $5.5 biannual exception.

    — Gina Mizell

    // Timestamp 07/02/26 1:07pm

    LeBron’s connection to Sixers president Mike Gansey

    Sixers president Mike Gansey (left) and NBA star LeBron James competed in high school, where James beat out Gansey for Mr. Basketball Ohio in 2001.

    The prospect of James coming Philadelphia was already picking up steam on social media following the Brown trade. Then, Steven Gansey, the younger brother of new Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey, looked to add fuel to the fire.

    On Wednesday, Steven posted a throwback photo of his brother (far right) alongside James (second from the right) in high school on X. He captioned the post with the eyeballs emoji, insinuating a connection.

    As the photo shows, Gansey and James have crossed paths. The two Ohio natives competed in high school. Gansey, who went to have a memorable collegiate career at West Virginia, finished as the runner-up to James in the 2001 Mr. Ohio Basketball race.

    Over a decade after facing LeBron on the court, Gansey served in a variety of roles in Cleveland during James’ second stint with the Cavaliers. In 2016, when James willed the team to a 3-1 comeback over the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, Gansey received a ring as the team’s director of development league operations.

    Signing James would also be in line with the Sixers president’s resume. Gansey has previously shown that he is not scared of making splashy moves — and bringing in one of the NBA’s all-time greats is a cannonball.

    As the Cavaliers general manager, Gansey was part of a front office that traded for stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. Now, during his first offseason leading the Sixers, he executed a trade for Brown — another top-tier player. So it wouldn’t appear Gansey is too risk-adverse to add another star to the Sixers roster.

    LeBron James’ connection to Mike Gansey, how the Sixers can afford him, and what happened the last time they tried to sign him

    — Conor Smith

    // Timestamp 07/02/26 12:38pm

    Jaylen Brown trade grades: Yikes, Celtics.

    The Sixers swapped Paul George and four draft picks for Celtics forward Jaylen Brown.

    Wednesday’s trade between the Sixers and Celtics has left many puzzled, especially in Boston. In exchange for Paul George and four draft picks, the Sixers are getting Jaylen Brown back from Boston.

    So who won the trade? Here is what the national media is saying …

    ESPN — Sixers: A- | Celtics: D+

    ESPN wrote that — with two guards like Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe and a center like Joel Embiid — Brown could be the fit that the Sixers needed, but that’s also not guaranteed. Meanwhile, the Celtics didn’t fair nearly as well.

    “Swapping Brown for George makes the Celtics worse. It clearly makes them worse,” Zach Kram wrote.

    The Athletic — Sixers: A | Celtics: D+

    Swapping out George for Brown is what the Athletic predicts to be a big difference maker for the Sixers and their role in the Eastern Conference, especially when comparing their most recent seasons, in which Brown had one of the best of his career.

    “The Sixers can now roll out a perimeter attack of Maxey, Brown, and Edgecombe, which is going to be nearly impossible for teams to match up against,” Zach Harper wrote. “On the nights Embiid is available and active, they could be one of the best teams in the East. On the nights when Embiid is struggling or unable to play, they’ll still be fine.”

    CBS Sports — Sixers: A+ | Celtics: D-

    When ranking the worst contracts in the NBA in March, the now-36-year-old George’s deal was No. 4. Moving off that contract and adding Brown is a win-win in CBS’s eyes.

    “Brown is coming off a Second-Team All-NBA season. There is a credible reason to believe that the season was fool’s gold,” Sam Quinn wrote. “… He is not, in fact, a Kevin Durant-level individual scorer. But the 76ers did not pay a Durant-level price.”

    However, not all outlets were quite as critical of the Celtics.

    Yahoo! Sports — Sixers: A | Celtics: B

    Yahoo! Sports minced no words in declaring that Philly got the better player in the deal, while also dumping a worse contract. There are, however, still concerns with Brown’s fit with the Sixers.

    “Brown isn’t necessarily a strong outside shooter, which is a necessity alongside Maxey and, in particular, Embiid,” Morten Stig Jensen wrote. “Overall, though, Philly takes a step forward here with a pretty durable 29-year-old coming off an outstanding season.”

    Bleacher Report — Sixers: A | Celtics: A

    Like the rest of the experts, Bleacher Report gave Philadelphia high marks on acquiring Brown, but they also gave the Celtics an A, largely because of what they got back.

    “For the Celtics, things had clearly gotten untenable between Brown and the organization. And getting multiple first-rounders for him, considering how widely accepted his future departure was, is good value,” the Bleacher Report staff wrote. “Plus, though he’s entering his age-36 season, George can still be helpful in a complementary role next to Jayson Tatum (and will be more willing to be in that role).”

    — Mia Messina

    // Timestamp 07/02/26 9:38am

    Murphy: The Sixers are suddenly contenders again

    Swapping Paul George for Jaylen Brown is a major upgrade.

    The 76ers did the unthinkable on Wednesday. They did it to such an extent that it still isn’t thinkable. In fact, it’s barely believable.

    Not only did the Sixers come from out of nowhere to stun the NBA by acquiring Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown, and not only did they do it for a criminally cheap price, they also somehow managed to ship out the remaining two years and $110 million remaining on Paul George’s contract.

    And, just like that, a new window of title contention has arrived.

    That’s the most important takeaway for Sixers fans. Brown is a player who transforms the Sixers in both the short and long term. The 2024 NBA Finals MVP and a sixth-place finisher in regular season voting this year, the longtime Celtics wing is basically the exact player you would create in a lab if you were dreaming up the prefect star to maximize a team with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe in the backcourt. He has the size, versatility and defensive chops to help make up for however much of that they give away at the guard position. He is a straight-line player who can get to the rim through traffic with or without the ball in his hands. He is an adequate and willing three-point shooter who showed signs of being much more than that earlier in his career. He can alternate seamlessly between primary and secondary scoring roles. Basically, he is the exact player the Sixers would have been crossing their fingers to have a chance to draft at some point in order to make the Maxey-Edgecombe pairing a legitimate contender.

    Even if only half of that was true, the Sixers would have still been justified in making this deal. The unprocessable thing about this deal is the mind-bogglingly low price that Gansey somehow managed to finagle from a Celtics team that doesn’t make many bad decisions.

    The Sixers just turned Paul George into Jaylen Brown and transformed themselves for an unbelievable price

    — David Murphy

    // Timestamp 07/02/26 9:26am

    What moves can the Sixers still make — and is LeBron one of them?

    LeBron James is a free agent. Do the Sixers make sense?

    Swapping out Paul George’s contract for Jaylen Brown’s still creates a top-heavy cap sheet. The Sixers are now about $2 million under the luxury tax and $10 million below the first apron, where they are hard-capped. And assuming Hukporti’s salary comes out of the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, the Sixers still have $2.6 million from that to spend along with the $5.5 million biannual exception.

    The Sixers could add two more players to reach 15 on the full-time roster, though they have often only carried 14 to stay under the luxury tax.

    It is reasonable to expect the Sixers will focus on adding one more guard — unless LeBron James wants to come to Philly, of course.

    James’ agent, Rich Paul, told Max Kellerman during the pair’s Game Over podcast released Wednesday that he had spoken to between 12 and 14 teams about James. The Sixers would be silly not to be among that group that has reached out, or to join it after the addition of Brown. Gansey’s brother, Steven, also threw gas on the social media speculation when he posted a photo on X of Gansey and James as high-schoolers in Ohio and the eyeballs emoji.

    Additionally, Bona’s $2.3 million salary for 2026-27 becomes guaranteed on July 7, while Jabari Walker and Dalen Terry’s deals become fully guaranteed Jan. 10.

    — Gina Mizell

    // Timestamp 07/02/26 9:14am

    Resetting the Sixers depth chart after Jaylen Brown trade

    The Sixers have added a few pieces — and lost a few more — so far in free agency, with players like Jaylen Brown and Dean Wade arriving and Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Quentin Grimes all moving on.

    Here’s a look at how their depth chart pans out after those deals:

    Point guard: Tyrese Maxey, Labaron Philon Jr.

    Shooting guard: VJ Edgecombe, Dalen Terry

    Small forward: Jaylen Brown, Justin Edwards

    Power forward: Dean Wade, Dominick Barlow, Jabari Walker

    Center: Joel Embiid, Adem Bona, Ariel Hukporti, Johni Broome

    Resetting the Sixers’ roster after their blockbuster trade for Jaylen Brown and free-agency moves

    — Gina Mizell

    Recapping Sixers free agency so far: Who’s in, who’s out?

    New Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey has already made a big splash.

    Free agency began slowly for the 76ers, with zero news until Dean Wade agreed to a four-year contract late Tuesday night.

    Legitimate movement occurred Wednesday, when the Sixers added Ariel Hukporti but rotation players Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes reportedly decided to join other teams.

    Then the Sixers smacked the NBA with a blockbuster stunner, acquiring Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics in exchange for Paul George and four draft picks.

    It was a seismic winnow swing for new president of basketball operations Mike Gansey, banking on the Joel Embiid-Tyrese Maxey era rather than toggling between two timelines or fully pivoting into a rebuild around the Maxey-VJ Edgecombe backcourt. It also was an effort to keep up in an Eastern Conference that already boasts the NBA champion New York Knicks, along with revamped Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors teams that recently traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard, respectively.

    To recap …

    • In: Jaylen Brown, Dean Wade, Ariel Hukporti
    • Out: Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr., Quentin Grimes
    • Unsigned: Andre Drummond, Trendon Watford, Kyle Lowry
    Resetting the Sixers’ roster after their blockbuster trade for Jaylen Brown and free-agency moves

    — Gina Mizell

    // Timestamp 07/02/26 9:03am

  • Philly’s final World Cup game is going to be hot. Here’s how fans can beat the heat.

    Philly’s final World Cup game is going to be hot. Here’s how fans can beat the heat.

    Philadelphia’s final World Cup game on July 4 will feature plenty of red, white, and blue both inside and outside the stadium when tournament favorite France returns to the city for a round-of-16 knockout round against Paraguay on Saturday (5 p.m., Fox29).

    But the fans will be enduring another day of a brutal heat wave when temperatures are forecast to top out near 100, with steamy, shirt-soaking humidity.

    In addition, potentially strong storms are possible around game time.

    With another anticipated sold-out crowd packing Philadelphia Stadium, FIFA says it is proactively taking steps to help fans beat the heat, planning to place cooling tents with water available to fans “within the stadium footprint at the Stadium Fan Experience,” located just inside the main gates.

    Lincoln Financial Field, known as “Philadelphia Stadium,” is set to host its final game in this World Cup, a Round of 16 game between France and Paraguay on Saturday.

    Additionally, FIFA reminds all fans that they may bring one 20-ounce soft-plastic water bottle into the stadium upon arrival. For those who recall, the resized bottle came only after FIFA last month reduced the size from 1 liter to 20 ounces, following an initial pullback from allowing fans to bring in water altogether. After much pushback, soccer’s governing body relented and allowed the reduced size of an unopened bottle upon arrival as the guideline for all 16 venues.

    France and Paraguay will meet on July 4 in Philadelphia’s last World Cup game

    “FIFA is committed to protecting the health and safety of all players, referees, fans, volunteers and staff through a tiered heat mitigation model,” a FIFA spokesperson told The Inquirer via statement. “Through close collaboration with the City of Philadelphia, medical experts and emergency authorities, FIFA remains committed to delivering a safe, resilient and memorable tournament experience for everyone involved.”

    Fans attending matches have found ways to beat the heat through metallic cups, keeping drinks colder for longer, offered at the stadium with the purchase of a beverage.

    Where to find water inside Philadelphia Stadium

    If you’re looking to refill your water bottle once inside or just don’t want to wait in long lines at concessions for one, here’s a listing of where all of the water fountains are located in the concourses of each level.

    • 100 Level: Sections 103, 118, and 122
    • 200 Level: Sections 204 and 222
    • Club Level: Sections C3, C19, C24, and C38
    Four of the five matches in Philadelphia have been announced sellouts with Saturday’s final Philly game expected to be the same amid high temperatures.

    What time can fans enter the stadium?

    Fans can enter the stadium and seek shade in the concourses as early as 2 p.m. when gates will officially open, according to a FIFA spokesperson. Teams will emerge for warm-ups one hour before kickoff, and the pregame ceremony will begin 30 minutes before kickoff. For fans looking to head down early via SEPTA’s Broad Street Line, there will be select express trains to the stadium, with SEPTA planning to run additional trains on game day. Fare will be $2.90 as customary, with the return ride after the game free for all fans for up to two hours after the match.

    Made by History: After a century of false starts, soccer has taken off in the U.S.

    What’s happening at the FIFA Fan Festival?

    FIFA’s Fan Festival, organized by Philadelphia Soccer 2026, will be just one part of a host of activities planned on July 4 along the Parkway, including the scheduling of a massive concert currently under a bit of controversy.

    However, passing all of that, the last stop on Philly’s PHLASH bus that goes along the Parkway will stop at the Fan Festival, which is scheduled to open its gates at noon on Saturday, showing the first round of 16 match of the day between Canada and Morocco (1 p.m., Fox29).

    Event officials say soccer fans gathering to watch Philly’s final game at the FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill will have several ways to beat the heat.

    Nothing is expected to change from what fans can bring onto the festival grounds from the items clearly marked on a longstanding list that was promoted during the Fan Festival’s Know Before You Go campaign released in early June.

    Bottles are allowed on Fan Festival grounds and don’t have to be of the disposable variety, as canisters up to 32 ounces are allowed — but they must be plastic. Additionally, FIFA Fan Festival allows fans to bring their own personal misting fans as well, but the water container can’t exceed 1.5 liters, and handheld fans cannot be battery-operated.

    Pennsylvania’s tourism office believes Philly could exceed visitor and economic impact goals at the World Cup

    Melissa Ferdinand, spokesperson for Philadelphia Soccer 2026, told The Inquirer that times are already being adjusted for Thursday and Friday to mitigate fans entering at the hottest part of the day, with temperatures expected to reach triple digits. On Saturday specifically, Ferdinand reiterated what’s on-site and what fans can bring to stay cool and enjoy the match.

    “FIFA Fan Festival Philadelphia has a variety of ways to help attendees beat the heat and enjoy the event safely,” Ferdinand said. “Cooling tents, misting tents, free water refill stations, shaded areas and multiple medical stations are available for anyone feeling the effects of the heat. Additionally, attendees are encouraged to bring a refillable water container with them.”

  • A year ago, Matt Turnbull was watching BKFC from the crowd. Now, he’s ready to bring ‘controlled chaos’ into the ring.

    A year ago, Matt Turnbull was watching BKFC from the crowd. Now, he’s ready to bring ‘controlled chaos’ into the ring.

    In January 2025, Matthew Turnbull sat in the crowd as a fan to watch as Eddie Alvarez headlined KnuckleMania V at Xfinity Mobile Arena, then known as the Wells Fargo Center. Despite a tough loss in his hometown, Alvarez, a Kensington native and former UFC champion, received a hero’s welcome from the crowd.

    “It was one of the craziest sporting events I’ve ever been to live,” Turnbull, a Northeast Philly native, said. “The energy in the building, especially for the main event when Eddie was fighting, I never experienced anything like it. I mean, there’s no one bigger than Eddie. I already saw the best come out of the area. So I’m just going to follow his footsteps.”

    Philly Muay Thai fighter and artist Gianna Vadino has a new medium: Kicking butt

    Over a year later, with a ring set up in the middle of Stateside Live! for open workouts, Turnbull hit mitts with Alvarez as he prepared for his own Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut Friday at the same venue.

    “Bare Knuckle was never on my radar, but then I saw the Eddie Alvarez main event and I was like, ‘This is incredible,’” Turnbull said. “And then they hit me up, and I was like, ‘Why not?’ … There’s no lies. You can do the talking and all the fun aspects of getting eyes on you, but when you get into there, it’s nothing but the truth. And I’m a big fan of the truth.”

    Matt Turnbull (left) working out with Eddie Alvarez at BKFC open workouts at Stateside Live!

    Turnbull describes his fighting style as “controlled chaos.” He got his start after he was kicked off Franklin Towne Charter’s high school wrestling team. Afterward, his coach recommended training in jujitsu, which led to him competing in the Philly area-based MMA promotion Art of War Cage Fighting. Three months ago, Turnbull successfully defended his featherweight championship with a submission win against Ryan Yapsam.

    Now, he’s focused on bare-knuckle fighting, which comes with a different training regimen.

    “We’re just using our hands and trying to get used to conditioning our hands for bare knuckles without hurting them in the process,” Turnbull said. “So training with hand wraps as opposed to gloves and doing hand strengthening techniques that I wouldn’t do when I’m going to have a pair of gloves on my hands when I fight. But the discipline is still there. It’s just a little bit different of a path than I’m used to.”

    Turnbull has been training with Alvarez out of his gym, Underground Kings MMA in Newtown.

    Eddie Alvarez has been an inspiration for Matt Turnbull’s fighting career.

    “In order to do this sport, one of the leading things you need is toughness,” Alvarez said. “You need to be able to take a shot and take damage and keep going. There’s guys who are very technical boxers who don’t do well here. You’re going to take damage. You’re going to get hurt. You got to be able to overcome. You got to be able to keep going in the face of adversity.

    “Matt Turnbull is that guy. He’s that guy that keeps going, no matter what is going on. He’s built for it. For him, it’s just about honing his skills in boxing. Over the last two months, I’ve never seen a guy grow so much in one sport. So I’m excited to see his showing on July 3.”

    Johnny ‘Cannoli’ Garbarino to headline BKFC’s ‘Liberty Brawl’

    Turnbull originally was scheduled to compete against fellow Philly native Pat Sullivan, who recently pulled out of the fight. The two share some bad blood, including an altercation at open workouts that resulted in Sullivan allegedly biting Turnbull in the back of the head.

    “We’re not going to talk about [someone] who pulls out from a fight because he realized he bit off more than he can chew,” Turnbull said. “Now, I’m fighting Brandon Honsvick. … He’s not as big as a name because he’s not a clown like that. So he doesn’t have a bunch of eyeballs on him and stuff like that. But he’s a much more skilled fighter and someone more deserving of being in the ring with me.”

    Matt Turnbull posted a photo of a scar on the back of his head, following his altercation with Pat Sullivan at BKFC’s open workouts at Stateside Live!

    Sullivan still will compete on the card against a new opponent, Colin Reeser. Meanwhile, Turnbull is set to make his debut against Honsvick on the night before Independence Day in the birthplace of America at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

    “If you’re from Philly, you dream of fighting in that arena,” Turnbull said. “That’s what the goal is. And to be able to do it, especially after people like Eddie, it’s a lot of pressure. So it’s an exciting thing for me.

    “I think I embody what it is to be a Philly fighter. My Instagram name is thephillyfighter. So I try to embody the rawness of it, the intensity, the leave it all in the cage or in the ring mentality, not turning down opportunities or opponents, believe in yourself, and keep fighting until the end.”

  • Jaylen Brown 🤝 Sixers | Sports Daily Newsletter

    Jaylen Brown 🤝 Sixers | Sports Daily Newsletter

    The 76ers stunned the NBA world on Wednesday.

    It wasn’t just by simply acquiring the stellar Jaylen Brown from the rival Boston Celtics, it was the manner in which they did it. Four draft picks and Paul George? Wild.

    In Brown, the Sixers receive a 2024 Finals MVP who finished sixth in the voting for this season’s regular-season award. They got someone with the size, versatility, and defensive skill to complement the Tyrese Maxey-VJ Edgecombe duo. And they unloaded George’s contract. Predictably, the internet had plenty to say about the deal.

    There’s always risk. There’s always the question of Joel Embiid’s health. But for now, we can step back and consider a world in which the Sixers are legitimate title contenders as David Murphy shares his take on the trade.

    — Maria McIlwain, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    ❓Do you think Jaylen Brown will be a good fit with the Sixers? Why or why not? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

    Big, bad Flyers

    Flyers goaltender Dan Vladař is back in the fold.

    Over the years, it’s been clear that physicality is part of the Flyers’ DNA — just look at the franchise’s two best players, Bobby Clarke and Eric Lindros.

    So as Danny Brière, who was 5-9 and 174 pounds as a player, builds the next iteration of the Flyers, it’s no surprise he goes to a tried-and-true playbook.

    Is he trying to build this millennium’s Broad Street Bullies? Not exactly. But bringing back big guys like Dan Vladař (6-5) and Tyson Foerster (6-2) gives us an idea of what the brass is looking for.

    Jackie Spiegel has more on Vladař and Foerster, as well as the newest members of the organization.

    A new dawn

    Phillies pitcher Brad Keller could return before the All-Star break.

    A few weeks ago, Phillies reliever Brad Keller knew something was off before he even got out of bed. He’d just had a rough outing the night before vs. Milwaukee, and when he woke up, he couldn’t straighten his elbow.

    He ended up going on the injured list with right forearm tendinitis. But on Wednesday, he was eager to see how he’d respond after facing live hitters for the first time in more than two weeks. The result? “A night-and-day difference,” he said.

    Trea Turner homered for the third straight game as the Phillies handled the Pirates, 10-6, for their seventh win over the last nine games.

    Next: The series vs. the Pirates wraps up with a matinee today (12:35 p.m., NBCSP). Pirates righty Jared Jones (1-1, 5.76 ERA) will face off against Alan Rangel (0-1, 4.50).

    Ring the bell

    Eagles’ Markel Bell practice during rookie camp on Friday, May 1, 2026, at the Jefferson Health Training Complex in Philadelphia.

    Today’s Eagles newcomers aren’t just new to the Eagles, they’re new to the NFL. Offensive lineman Markel Bell was drafted out of Miami in April and surprisingly took first-team reps during OTAs. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be a Week 1 starter, but he could see meaningful snaps as a rookie.

    The next newcomer is new to football. Joshua Weru is an undrafted free agent from the International Player Pathway program who joined a pro rugby club at age 14 and has represented Kenya internationally in the sport. He may have a long path to the 53-man roster, but he definitely seems like an interesting story.

    Speaking of Eagles linemen (or former Eagles linemen), Jason Kelce helped raise $1.26 million for the Eagles Autism Foundation in four events across two days in Sea Isle City.

    Round of 16 bound

    U.S. striker Folarin Balogun encourages the crowd after scoring his goal in the first half of Wednesday’s game.

    The U.S. men’s soccer team finally ended its 24-year wait to win a World Cup knockout game, though it came at a cost.

    Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina featured goals by Folarin Balogun and Malik Tillman, but also a red card to Balogun that means he’ll miss the round of 16 matchup against Belgium in Seattle on Monday.

    On this date

    The Phillies’ Ed Delahanty.

    OK, this is a bit of a weird one. Ed Delahanty dominated the National League in the late 1800s and at the turn of the century. Primarily an outfielder, he spent 13 of his 16 major league seasons with the Phillies and slashed .348/.415/.508 (and .346/.411/.505 for his career, which also included stints with the Cleveland Infants and Washington Senators). He also was the first major league player to hit over. 400 three times.

    But drinking issues began to loom large after he moved on to Washington. While the team was in Detroit, he boarded a train bound for New York but was kicked off after drunken and disorderly behavior, according to the Society for American Baseball Research. He then fell from a bridge spanning Niagara Falls and died on this day in 1903.

    He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame via the Old Timers Committee amid World War II in 1945, but his induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., wasn’t held until 2013, 110 years after his death.

    What you’re saying about upsets

    We asked: Tell us about the biggest upset you’ve ever witnessed in any sport. What made it so special?

    Three upsets that I watched on TV. 1969 Joe Namath and the Jets upset the unbeatable Baltimore Colts. Because of the great Lenny Moore I was a Colts fan. 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid when our young college guys carried the U.S. to a stunning upset of the USSR’s supposedly unbeatable team. And 1985 on April 1 my 47th BD Villanova Wildcats upset highly favored Georgetown 66-64 with an incredible 79% shooting percentage. I would guess that Pope Leo then Robert Prevost was cheering on his Wildcats. — Everett S.

    Not the most personally sentimental, but biggest upset in my book has to be the Brady-era Pats’ first Super Bowl loss, some ragtag Giants spoiling an undefeated season with such tools as an off-brand Manning and a football pinned on a helmet. It had seemed unfair that Randy Moss had joined New England, but it all led to nothing more than this. — D. Stone

    We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Gina Mizell, David Murphy, Jackie Spiegel, Mia Messina, Scott Lauber, Jeff Neiburg, Becca O’Reilly, Jonathan Tannenwald, and Marcus Hayes.

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

    Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back tomorrow with one last newsletter before the holiday weekend! — Maria

  • Resetting the Sixers’ roster after their blockbuster trade for Jaylen Brown and free-agency moves

    Resetting the Sixers’ roster after their blockbuster trade for Jaylen Brown and free-agency moves

    Free agency began slowly for the 76ers, with zero news until Dean Wade agreed to a four-year contract late Tuesday night.

    Legitimate movement occurred Wednesday, when the Sixers added Ariel Hukporti but rotation players Kelly Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes reportedly decided to join other teams.

    Then the Sixers smacked the NBA with a blockbuster stunner, acquiring Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics in exchange for Paul George and four draft picks.

    It was a seismic win-now swing for new president of basketball operations Mike Gansey, banking on the Joel Embiid-Tyrese Maxey era rather than toggling between two timelines or fully pivoting into a rebuild around the Maxey-VJ Edgecombe backcourt. It also was an effort to keep up in an Eastern Conference that already boasts the NBA champion New York Knicks, along with revamped Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors teams that recently traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard, respectively.

    The Sixers just turned Paul George into Jaylen Brown and transformed themselves for an unbelievable price

    After a dizzying Wednesday, here is a reset on where the Sixers’ roster stands.

    Moving in

    Jaylen Brown

    A five-time All-Star and the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, Brown is an elite attacker and shotmaker along with a stout defender. He has demonstrated he can create a successful tandem with a fellow star and be the top scoring option when needed. Last season, he finished sixth in MVP voting, after averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists to spearhead the Celtics’ surprising 56-win season to finish in second in the Eastern Conference.

    After spending his first 10 NBA seasons cultivating a wing partnership with Jayson Tatum, it will be fascinating to track how the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Brown fits with the Sixers’ roster construction with Maxey and Edgecombe in the backcourt and Embiid (presumably) in the middle. Brown also is one of the NBA’s more outspoken personalities — even his comments on Twitch streams have caused past stirs — which will need to mesh within the Sixers’ locker room.

    Dean Wade (32) is another strong on-ball defender that will bring size and versatility to the Sixers.

    Dean Wade

    Wade instantly projects into the other starting forward spot next to Brown. The 6-9, 225-pound Wade is another strong on-ball defender with size and versatility. The 29-year-old also averaged 4.2 rebounds in less than 23 minutes during the past two seasons, and is a career 36.7% three-point shooter.

    The knock on Wade? Health. He has played in more than 60 games only once in his nine-year career.

    Ariel Hukporti

    Hukporti is the latest contender to become Embiid’s backup center. The 24-year-old was the third-team big man behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson on the Knicks’ title squad, and averaged less than 10 minutes across 79 games in his first two NBA seasons.

    Early reactions to the Jaylen Brown-Paul George trade: ‘The East offseason is crazy’

    An athletic 7-footer, Hukporti offers more pure size than Adem Bona, though Bona might be more switchable defensively and capable of playing power forward next to Embiid. And it is a bit troubling that Hukporti has struggled in similar areas — too many fouls, not enough consistency — as Bona.

    Perhaps an opportunity for increased playing time will kickstart Hukporti’s development — and productivity.

    Moving out

    Paul George

    Once a perennial All-Star and splashy free-agency signing, George’s two seasons with the Sixers will go down as a disappointment. He sustained numerous injuries in 2024-25, and last season was suspended 25 games for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy.

    Though George was terrific on both ends of the floor down the stretch of the regular season — including in the Sixers’ rally to upset the Celtics in the playoffs’ first round — his contract had been considered difficult to trade because of his age and injury history.

    Until Wednesday, that is.

    Kelly Oubre Jr., who played three seasons in Philly, will reportedly join the Indiana Pacers.

    Kelly Oubre Jr.

    Oubre’s three-year Sixers tenure, meanwhile, should be considered a success. He morphed from late-offseason addition on a veteran’s minimum contract, to starter who played with force and flair, to veteran who put together his most efficient season at age 30.

    Before (and after?) the Brown blockbuster, it was puzzling that the Sixers decided not to match (or offer a similar deal) to the two years and “nearly” $17 million that ESPN reported Oubre agreed to with the Pacers. The Sixers held Oubre’s full Bird rights, which allows teams to re-sign their own free agents even if they are already over the salary cap.

    It is possible Oubre wanted a change of scenery — Indiana, which made the 2025 NBA Finals, is expected to regain contender status once All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton recovers from Achilles surgery — or that Gansey did not value Oubre as much as former lead executive Daryl Morey. But the most cynical observer could conclude that letting Oubre walk was a move to help stay under the luxury tax.

    Quentin Grimes

    Grimes’ four-year, $60 million reported deal with the Lakers is a significant raise on the $8.7 million qualifying offer he played on this season following a messy restricted free agency.

    Quentin Grimes reportedly agrees to $60 million deal with Lakers, ending Sixers contract saga

    Grimes flashed his “attack mode” scoring punch and tenacious defense in spurts as a sixth man. But he shot a career-low 33.4% from three-point range last season, and, other than an excellent Game 5 performance on both ends in Boston, was not good enough during the playoffs for a Sixers second unit that desperately needed scoring production.

    His departure means the Sixers likely will need immediate contribution from new draftee Labaron Philon Jr., whom many evaluators considered a first-round steal at 22nd overall.

    Moves still to come

    Final roster spot(s)

    Swapping out George’s contract for Brown’s still creates a top-heavy cap sheet. The Sixers are now about $2 million under the luxury tax and $10 million below the first apron, where they are hard-capped. And assuming Hukporti’s salary comes out of the nontaxpayer midlevel exception, the Sixers still have $2.6 million from that to spend along with the $5.5 million biannual exception.

    The Sixers could add two more players to reach 15 on the full-time roster, though they have often only carried 14 to stay under the luxury tax.

    LeBron James is a free agent this summer. Could the Sixers’ recent moves interest the 21-time All-Star?

    It is reasonable to expect that the Sixers will focus on adding one more guard — unless LeBron James wants to come to Philly, of course.

    James’ agent, Rich Paul, told Max Kellerman during the pair’s Game Over podcast released Wednesday that he had spoken to between 12 and 14 teams about James. The Sixers would be silly not to be among that group that has reached out, or to join it after the addition of Brown. Gansey’s brother, Steven, also threw gas on the social media speculation when he posted a photo on X of Gansey and James as high-schoolers in Ohio and the eyeballs emoji.

    Additionally, Bona’s $2.3 million salary for 2026-27 becomes guaranteed on July 7, while Jabari Walker and Dalen Terry’s deals become fully guaranteed Jan. 10. As of Wednesday night, unrestricted free agents Andre Drummond, Trendon Watford, and Kyle Lowry (who is expected to retire) had not committed to signing with any team.

    Current depth chart

    Point guard: Tyrese Maxey, Labaron Philon Jr.

    Shooting guard: VJ Edgecombe, Dalen Terry

    Small forward: Jaylen Brown, Justin Edwards

    Power forward: Dean Wade, Dominick Barlow, Jabari Walker

    Center: Joel Embiid, Adem Bona, Ariel Hukporti, Johni Broome

  • They were owned by Peter Frampton and hung with The Rolling Stones, but the Fury couldn’t make soccer happen in Philly

    They were owned by Peter Frampton and hung with The Rolling Stones, but the Fury couldn’t make soccer happen in Philly

    The word spread through the Veterans Stadium locker room: The Rolling Stones were at the bar across the street, and the Fury were invited.

    The Philadelphia Fury played on artificial turf that goalkeeper Bob Rigby said “might as well have been black rocks on Iwo Jima.” The crowds, Rich Reice said, often were so sparse that he could point to the people he knew in the stands. The players didn’t make much, the team lasted only three seasons, and the losses piled up.

    The team’s publicist, Thom Meredith, said a few years ago on a podcast that the Fury — a North American Soccer League franchise that debuted in 1978 — were “a poster child for what not to do.”

    Philly’s path to the World Cup was paved at Newt’s, where playing on cinder was a ‘badge of honor’

    But the players still had someone waiting for them at the back entrance of the Holiday Inn, opening the door and ushering them to where the Stones were hanging while a mob of fans were kept in the hotel lobby.

    The Fury was owned by rock stars — Peter Frampton, Paul Simon, and Rick Wakeman of Yes had stakes — and rock executives like Stones manager Peter Rudge and music agent Frank Barsalona. They entered when the NASL was riding the momentum of Pelé, who had retired a season earlier.

    But that wave faded, and the Fury struggled to grab Philly’s attention before moving to Montreal in 1980, leaving Philadelphia without a first-division men’s soccer team until the Union arrived in 2010.

    “The Fury is a story in and of itself,” Rigby said. “Oh my God. Really. There’s aspects of it that are mind-boggling. It’s a fascinating tale.”

    Peter Frampton, one of the owners of the Fury, performs during a concert at JFK Stadium in 1977.

    The sport has been met this summer in Philadelphia with fanfare as the city hosts its sixth World Cup match on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. But the game still was a curiosity to most of the region in the 1970s. Philly had soccer hot spots — places like Kensington, Frankford, and Roxborough, along with ethnic clubs in Bucks County — surrounded by soccer deserts.

    The Fury players grew up in those soccer neighborhoods, and that was enough to get them a drink with the Rolling Stones.

    “They were just as excited to talk to you as you were excited to talk to them,” said former Fury player Bill Straub. “You were a professional soccer player, and they were wide-eyed. What’s it like to play professional soccer? It was nothing to us. It was just what we did.

    “These rock stars all grew up wanting to be professional soccer players in the Premier League. And we were here, we wanted to be rock stars.”

    Kevin Murphy when he played for Philadelphia Fury. He now owns Varsity Pizza and Subs in Lawrenceville, N.J.

    A mini-circus

    Philadelphia had an NASL team for four seasons, but the Atoms flamed out shortly after winning an unlikely title in 1973 as an expansion team. The local owners sold the team in 1975 to a Mexico-based group that stocked the roster for a season with Mexican players. Interest dipped lower, and the team folded with $90,000 in unpaid bills.

    The NASL returned to Philly a year later when the league added six expansion franchises. The Fury signed Irish midfielder Johnny Giles, 1966 World Cup champ Alan Ball, and former Chelsea forward Peter Osgood.

    “They have books written about him,” former Fury player Brooks Cryder said. “The Wizard of Os, they used to call him. But it was a little soon for soccer in the United States.”

    Rick Wakeman of Yes with Philadelphia mayor Frank Rizzo and Fury player Peter Osgood.
    Benny McLaughlin was a Philly soccer pioneer. He couldn’t get off work to play in the World Cup.

    The real attractions were the stars in the crowd. An Amtrak train brought a cast of A-listers from New York for the season opener at the Vet. Gilda Radner, James Taylor, and Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band joined owners Frampton, Simon, and Wakeman in a super box.

    “It wasn’t the Cosmos with Pelé,” Straub said. “That was a real circus. But this was a mini-circus here in Philly because you never knew who was going to show up.”

    The Fury drew 18,191 to their opener, but the crowds soon dwindled. The Fury averaged 8,075 fans in 1978 and had the league’s lowest attendance in the 1979 (5,624) and 1980 (4,465) seasons. They had cheerleaders, held free clinics at schools, and even tried to spice up their uniforms. Nothing worked. Veterans Stadium felt cavernous.

    “It was tough because it seemed like everyone was far away from the actual field,” Dave MacWilliams said. “It was a different environment, for sure. I wanted it to succeed and do well, but it was tough.”

    Philadelphia’s World Cup love affair shows just how far we’ve come

    The team’s uniforms were designed by fashion designer Sal Cesarani after Ralph Lauren outfitted the Cosmos. Barsalona told The New York Times in 1978 that the Fury wanted their uniforms to have “a touch of show business and a lot of sex appeal.”

    They were inspired by the wife of owner Larry Levine, who Barsalona said struggled to follow the play at a soccer game but enjoyed seeing “guys running around in what looked like their underwear.” Cesarini had simple instructions: the tighter, the better.

    The burgundy and gold jerseys, which were made by Adidas, had a three-button collar and capped sleeves. The shorts were two inches shorter than the usual soccer shorts. It was as close to underwear as Cesarini could get.

    “Looking back, they do show a lot of leg,” Reice said.

    Kevin Murphy, shown at Varsity Pizza and Subs in Lawrenceville, N.J., displays his Fury jerseys from the 1970s.

    The stars

    Kevin Murphy was a senior at Pennington Prep near Trenton when a group of Fury decision-makers visited his home to meet his parents and ask if he was willing to turn pro. The new franchise planned to use its draft pick on Murphy as the NASL introduced a rule allowing teams to draft high schoolers.

    Murphy was in, as Walt Chyzowych — “Philadelphia soccer royalty,” Murphy said — told him earlier that year that he had the skills to be a pro. A few months later, he sat in a suite at the Vet with Frampton to sign his contract.

    “It was Frampton’s birthday,” Murphy said. “I thought, ‘Well, I probably made a good decision.’ That was pretty amazing.”

    Pelé retired in 1977, but the NASL still was filled with some of the game’s biggest names. The Cosmos had Giorgio Chinaglia, Carlos Alberto, and Franz Beckenbauer. The Los Angeles Aztecs had George Best. Johan Cruyff played for the Washington Diplomats, Gerd Müller was with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, and the Tampa Bay Rowdies had Oscar Fabiani and Rodney Marsh.

    Bill Straub playing for the Fury at Veterans Stadium.
    Mark Franek quit being a lawyer to teach the history of U.S. soccer to the future of U.S. soccer

    The foreign Fury players had great careers overseas but were past their primes and did not draw in Philly. They filled their roster with a cast of locals. Straub went to Germantown Academy, MacWilliams played on a cinder field in Kensington, and Bobby Smith was from Trenton. Rigby grew up in Ridley and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Cryder learned to play at a YMCA in Roxborough, and Pat Fidelia went to Rancocas Valley Regional High School.

    “It was exciting because as American players we had a chance to play in a professional league,” Fidelia said. “But you knew sooner or later that it wasn’t going to last because we weren’t getting paid much at all. It was like we were amateur players in a professional league. My first contract was $20,000. They gave you a car and an apartment to share with two other players.”

    The Fury could not match the star power of the other NASL squads, but they did have actual rock stars. The players could score tickets to any concert they wanted. They were backstage at JFK Stadium, in boxes at the Spectrum, and saw the Stones at a tiny theater in North Jersey.

    “We would drive back and we’d say, ‘This is unbelievable. How are we in these places?’” said Straub, who was working at his family’s jewelry store while playing for the Fury.

    The Fury played a charity game at Franklin Field with Wakeman and other members of Yes. Frampton, whose industry-shifting live album Frampton Comes Alive! was released in 1976, regularly popped into the locker room after games. And Murphy found himself backstage at Madison Square Garden standing with Dan Aykroyd before riding an elevator with Meat Loaf, Debbie Harry, and the Wailers.

    “That was pretty good,” Murphy said. “It was more than pretty good. It was awesome.”

    Kevin Murphy’s photograph of the Fury.

    ‘No sun. No sun.’

    The Fury fired their first manager midway through the season, finished the year with a player-manager, and hired Marko Valok in 1979. The former Yugoslavian national team coach didn’t speak much English.

    “I used a line from him for years on the kids I coached,” said Reice, who coached soccer at Neshaminy High School for 17 seasons. “If I took a bad shot at goal, he would say, ‘Reach, why you make present to goalie?’ He would be thinking in Yugoslavian and then it would come out in English.”

    Rigby, the goalie for the Atoms’ title squad, returned to Philly during the 1979 season after being traded from the Aztecs. He was told by the Fury to join the team in Houston, but they said Rigby would be on the bench. That was good by Rigby, since he had not practiced in a week while his trade was finalized and spent his final night in L.A. at a going-away party with his Aztecs teammates at Best’s bar in Hermosa Beach.

    World Cup fans are spending money in Philly. How much will actually stay in the city?

    And then Valok approached him in the locker room and asked through an interpreter if he was ready to go.

    “I have no clothes and no intent to play,” Rigby said. “I’m literally not playing. I’m just coming in. Honest to God. I played a half. I’m thinking, ‘If this is the onus of coming back to Philadelphia, I probably made the biggest mistake of my life.’ But what was I supposed to say, ‘I’m not going to play’ in front of a new team?

    “Then I’m sitting during the pregame meal, and Marko Valak stands in front of the team with a chalkboard for 45 minutes just drawing arrows all over the place. Speaks no English. I’m going, ‘I just left five guys who played in the World Cup final and the most tightly run team,’ and I’m like, ‘What is this?’”

    The Fury’s 1979 playoff game at Franklin Field against the Tampa Bay Rowdies headlined the back page of the next day’s Daily News.

    Frank Worthington, a Fury forward from England, left the team that season when Valok had the team practice at the public fields in FDR Park instead of the Vet or JFK Stadium. He flew to Memphis, visited Graceland, and returned to the Fury after a few days.

    The Fury advanced that season to the playoffs despite having a losing record and played the Houston Hurricane at the Astrodome. The team practiced at the stadium and then returned to their hotel. Valok told his players to stay inside — “No sun, no sun,” he said — and rest for the game.

    These Philadelphians planned the perfect World Cup weekends for their families. Then their tickets never came.

    “I look out the window when we get back, and Frank is laying out, reflecting himself with a sun blanket,” Reice said. “All of the energy is being zapped out of his body. Frank was a free spirit, to say the least.”

    The Fury still had enough energy to win that game before falling in the next round to Tampa Bay. The franchise lasted one more season before soccer left Philadelphia again.

    A cast of rock stars tried to make soccer happen in Philadelphia, but it proved to be too tall a task. Nearly 50 years later, the game has found its place in Philly. The Linc has been a happening this summer. If only the Holiday Inn — which was razed in 2019 — was still here to see it.

  • Spoiler alert: New technology brings TV sports moments to viewers in record time, and before others see it first

    Spoiler alert: New technology brings TV sports moments to viewers in record time, and before others see it first

    Joe Krell still remembers getting a call from his brother celebrating after Brandon Graham sealed an Eagles victory with a strip-sack of Tom Brady in Super Bowl LII.

    Krell, the vice president of engineering at Comcast, had not seen the play when his brother called. His feed of the game was delayed, and the surprise of the play was spoiled.

    Now, Krell is leading the team of software engineers that helps some fans watch games with as little delay as possible.

    This summer, the company’s Realtime 4K technology is delivering live action from matches at the FIFA World Cup to Xfinity customers’ TVs roughly 17 seconds after it takes place on the pitch. The broadcast is 20 seconds faster than a standard high-definition stream and two seconds faster than an over-the-air signal, according to Vito Forlenza, Comcast’s vice president of sports entertainment.

    “It’s about how we limit that amount of buffering and get those video segments to the device as fast as possible,” Krell said Wednesday from the Comcast Technology Center.

    France and Paraguay will meet on July 4 in Philadelphia’s last World Cup game

    The technology debuted ahead of Super Bowl LX in January, and Krell’s team has continued to develop it (alongside other sports initiatives) in an effort to create a spoiler-free viewing experience.

    “Now I don’t have to worry about turning my phone over, or turning it off,” Forlenza said. “Nobody’s going to spoil it on me. I could actually be on social media if I wanted to be and not have the experience ruined. I could have all my notifications on; I could be in all my chats with my friends and family [and] not have the experience ruined. Maybe I’ll ruin it for them.”

    A demonstration of the RealTime 4K technology on Wednesday on a TV at Comcast Labs.

    New for the World Cup is a feature called “Smart Boost” that allows Xfinity internet customers to automatically prioritize their TV on their server when watching a Realtime 4K broadcast of a World Cup match.

    Forlenza said the company got good feedback from customers who used the technology to watch the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics in February.

    Rob Stone has spent half his life broadcasting World Cups. This summer, he leads what could be Fox’s last.

    During the group stage of the World Cup, the customizable multiview function, which was developed by software engineers in Philadelphia, allowed Xfinity customers to take in multiple matches at once. When it launched in 2024, the multiview platform was not customizable, but Krell’s team, after feedback from customers, has engineered it to allow viewers to watch any combination of games across traditional broadcast options and streaming.

    “You get something out there, you learn from it, build into it,” Krell said.

    Instead of having preset combinations for multiview options, the technology assembles the combination of channels a viewer wants to watch as they request them, allowing Xfinity to offer the service with more channels on a larger scale.

    The National Association of Broadcasters recognized Xfinity’s multiview as one of its products of the year for 2026 in April, and in June it won a Stream TV award in the category of innovation in content delivery and distribution.

  • Eagles newcomers ’26: How soon might Markel Bell contribute along the offensive line?

    Eagles newcomers ’26: How soon might Markel Bell contribute along the offensive line?

    With Eagles training camp drawing nearer, The Inquirer is taking a closer look at the more than three dozen new faces who are expected to report along with the rest of the team on July 28.

    Player: Markel Bell

    Position: OT

    Age: 22 (when camp starts)

    Previous experience: Bell’s lone season as a full-time starter was this past one, when the 6-foot-9, 346-pound offensive tackle helped Miami reach the national title game. Bell is sort of a late bloomer. He started playing football in seventh grade. In part because he grew up in a small town in Mississippi, he was a zero-star high school recruit who went to junior college before blossoming into one of the most sought-after offensive line prospects two years later.

    Bell was a rotational tackle in 2024 before earning the left tackle gig at Miami last year. He dominated. He did not surrender a sack while playing more than 1,000 snaps. He also was named second-team Academic All-America last season.

    Path to a roster spot: Bell’s spot on the 53 is not in doubt. Surprisingly, it was Bell taking first-team reps during OTAs (with Lane Johnson absent) and not Fred Johnson, the swing tackle the Eagles brought back for another season. Sure, OTA reps are relatively meaningless, but it’s a sign the Eagles think Bell possibly could step in right away to that swing tackle role. We’ll see where things stand come training camp, but given recent injuries over the last few years to Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson, Bell could see meaningful snaps as soon as 2026.

    Fun fact: Bell grew from 5-foot-9 to 6-foot-4 during a summer growth spurt between eighth and ninth grades, according to The Athletic.

    Quotable: “Typically when you get guys out of high school and they come in the door, they’re not as driven or as focused,” Les George, Bell’s offensive line coach at Holmes Community College, told The Inquirer in April. “They kind of have an idea of what they want to accomplish just based off of what they see on social media or see other people accomplish and they’ll kind of be all-in with it, but Markel was different than any other guy I’ve coached. Extremely focused, very humble. He was a guy that didn’t want to settle for mediocrity.

    “I don’t know how to explain it. He’ll make you a better coach.”

    Markel Bell practices during rookie camp on May 1.

    Player: Joshua Weru

    Position: Edge rusher

    Age: 22

    Previous experience: Football experience? None. Rugby experience? Plenty. Jordan Mailata proved that path is possible. The Eagles signed Weru after he went undrafted. He is one of two players on the training camp roster who come with International Pathway Player designations, the other being seventh-round pick Uar Bernard.

    Weru, a native of Kenya, attended Arizona State University last year. He showed off his athleticism at the International Player Pathway program pro day, where he ran a 4.45 40-yard dash (with 1.59 10-yard split) and had a 41.5-inch vertical and 11-2 broad jump. The Eagles are hoping those traits translate into an edge rusher capable of playing NFL snaps.

    Path to a roster spot: Nothing is impossible, but Weru’s chances of making the 53-man are long. The Eagles are a bit crowded on the edge, with four shoo-ins and a few players with real football experience pushing for the bottom of the depth chart. Weru, however, will have a chance to make a good first impression on the Eagles and show them why he’s worth carrying on the practice squad while they continue to mold him into a football player.

    NFL teams can carry 16 players on the practice squad and have a 17th spot available for players with IPP designations. Bernard seems more likely than Weru to make the 53-man roster, but there’s a world where both of them end up on the practice squad after passing through waivers. One would count toward the normal 16-player practice squad roster, and the other would be the IPP designation.

    Fun fact: Weru joined a professional rugby club at age 14 and has represented the Kenyan national team on the international stage.

    Quotable: “I’d say my playing style is fast and aggressive,” Weru told a Kenyan radio station. “One of the reasons I enjoy this game is that it’s 100% all the time. I was used to rugby, where the game was longer and it would be too tiring to go 100% every single phase. But in football, especially in the few times we’ve gone full contact, it’s nothing like that.

    “The way I think about it is that you’re like a sprinter and a boxer at the same time, you’re going full speed and trying to hit people as hard as possible. I enjoy that, and that’s how I’d describe my playing style: fast and aggressive.”

  • Broad Street Bullies, Redux: The Flyers are getting bigger as they’re getting better

    Broad Street Bullies, Redux: The Flyers are getting bigger as they’re getting better

    If we’ve learned anything lately from smallish Flyers GM Danny Brière, it’s that size matters.

    The Flyers were swept out of the second round of the playoffs by the fast, physical, slightly bigger Carolina Hurricanes, and often struggled against bigger, heavier teams. Their defensemen were particularly unimposing, and Brière has been on teams where the bigger, the better. His teams as a young player in Buffalo brought the beef and laid the wood. The 2010 Flyers made their Stanley Cup runs with 6-foot-6, 220-pound Chris Pronger and 6-5, 224-pound Braydon Coburn lying in wait for unsuspecting forwards.

    Flyers sign agitator Noel Acciari to bolster the team’s bottom six

    The Flyers’ most promising prospect is 5-10, 172-pound wing Matvei Michkov. Brière, who was 5-9 and 174 pounds as a player, knows little guys need big guys to protect them.

    For all the beautiful hockey witnessed in South Philly, physicality is part of the Flyers’ DNA. The franchise’s two best players, Bobby Clarke and Eric Lindros, were known as much for their guts as their skill.

    Brière recognizes this.

    His two, er, biggest pieces last offseason were 6-5 veteran goalie Dan Vladař and 6-3 first-rounder Porter Martone, both of whom pushed the Flyers into the playoffs and past the Penguins in the first round.

    Darnell Nurse, Donovan McNabb’s nephew and a defenseman who asked for a trade out of Edmonton, landed with San Jose but the Flyers were in the mix. He’s 6-4, 215, and he would have been the second-biggest skater on the roster if he came to Philadelphia.

    Porter Martone’s late-season addition to the Flyers helped push them to the playoffs and to a series win over the Penguins.

    The third: Tyson Foerster, a 6-2, 215-pound winger. He’s 24. The Flyers just signed him to an eight-year, $56.8 million extension.

    Vladař also signed an extension, for five years and $27.5 million. Only four other full-time starters are as big as he is; his nickname, “Darth Vladař,” certainly fits.

    Retaining Foerster and Vladař underscored the club’s commitment to heft. The most significant move before those deals included trading talented defenseman Emil Andrae, who, at 5-9, was the shortest of a legion of Lilliputian blueliners. Cam York, the overtime hero who eliminated the Penguins in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series, is listed at 6-foot, perhaps measured while wearing his helmet. Jamie Drysdale, the No. 2 scoring defenseman last season, is 5-11 … ish.

    “It did make our defense a little small at times,” Brière said when Andrae was dealt. “We have Jamie and Yorky there, so the three of them — it wasn’t ideal.”

    It’s notable that Brière recently has traded sizable wingers Garnet Hathaway, who is part wolverine, and Nic Deslauriers, who is not. And Brière will always choose exceptional skill in a smaller package over modest skill in XXL.

    When the Flyers were hopeless, Travis Konecny promised boss Dan Hilferty they’d make the playoffs

    But XXL occupies more space on the ice and carries a lot more punishment in the corners than small/medium. These Flyers are growing by leaps and bounds in performance, expectation, and laundry bills.

    Team Canada defenseman Travis Sanheim, the Flyers’ best player at 6-4 and 222 pounds, is the biggest skater on the roster, and he’s under contract for five more years. The back end of that deal could see the back end of the hockey team grow like Jack’s beanstalk.

    The Flyers used their first-round pick on Maksim Sokolovskii, a 6-7, 240-pound bulldozer with the attitude of that bulldog you see on the grills of Mack dump trucks. Properly fed, he could occupy most of the defensive zone by himself. He doesn’t even turn 18 until July 12.

    Apparently, neither his speed nor his skill warrants a first-round grade, but, as Brière noted, speed and skill can be developed.

    “He was also a big defenseman, something we don’t have a lot of. We don’t expect him to be the next big point producer. We see him as a big physical force, a defenseman that’s going to be tough to face,” Brière said. “The way our development has worked the last few years, we feel confident that it’s going to come. We know there’s a lot of work to be done, but there are things that you can’t teach.”

    Things like size. Things like grit.

    The Flyers selected 6-foot-7 defenseman Maksim Sokolovskii in the first round of the NHL draft last week.

    “He’s still going to be 6-foot-7 two years from now,” Brière said, “and that internal physicalness is something you can’t really teach.”

    That was true when 6-6 Kjell Samuelsson and 6-5 Chris Therien helped the Flyers to the 1997 Stanley Cup Final.

    It was true when — in a different era, when a 200-pound defenseman was imposing — the Broad Street Bullies went to three straight Cup finals from 1974-76, and won twice.

    Will Brière’s strategy revive the Broad Street Bully ethic and swagger?

    No. Nothing will ever do that. The NHL has grown softer than playoff ice, and won’t allow it.

    That doesn’t mean little Danny can’t try.

  • Summer of sports continues

    Summer of sports continues

    After he and Phillies star Bryce Harper unveiled the 2026 All-Star Game logo last July, the team’s managing partner and CEO John Middleton gushed about how “very, very real” hosting the Midsummer Classic felt a year out from first pitch.

    “It was real in Atlanta,” Middleton said, three days after the 2025 All-Star Game was played at Truist Park, home of the Braves. “And became a lot more real this afternoon, with the celebration, and the kickoff and everything else. It’s so much bigger than it was in ’96.”

    Baseball’s All-Star Game was last staged in the City of Brotherly Love three decades ago, at the since-demolished Veterans Stadium, when there was only a home run derby and the game itself to enjoy. The 2026 edition is expected to be a “Rocky”-sized draw, especially with the festivities coinciding with the country’s 250th birthday.

    “It’s great for baseball to be able to, kind of, piggyback right on top of the July Fourth celebration,” Middleton said. “There’s gonna be millions of people in town.”

    The sports fan masses will continue to flood Philly into late summer when two marquee sports events close out August: the University of Pennsylvania hosts the “Tennis Classic” Aug. 23-29, a showcase featuring some of the top women’s professional players; and after a 10-year hiatus, the Cycling Classic returns to Philadelphia on Aug. 30, when top male and female riders cycle through the city and its outskirts — including the famed Manayunk Wall — en route to a dramatic finish on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

    Best of all? The Cycling Classic is free.

    While the FIFA World Cup leaves Philly after this weekend’s July 4 match, there will be lots of places in town showing the Final on July 19 from East Rutherford, N.J. And, lest we forget the Birds. The NFL preseason kicks off Aug. 13.

    The logo for the 2026 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Philadelphia.

    MLB All-Star Week: July 10-14

    The five-day All-Star extravaganza starts with the HBCU Swingman Classic on July 10. In its fourth year, the Swingman Classic features 50 Division-I players from historically Black colleges and universities, selected by a committee that includes Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.

    The opening rounds of the Major League Baseball draft follows on July 11 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, while the All-Star Futures Game is played July 12 at Citizens Bank Park.

    The Home Run Derby and All-Star Game round out the festivities on July 13 and 14, respectively, with both events also at the Bank. Diehard Phillies fans can see some of the team’s legends at the Capital One All-Star Village, including scheduled appearances by Hall of Famer Steve Carlton and 2008 World Series champions Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, and Jimmy Rollins.

    MLB announces full All-Star week schedule for Philadelphia

    “I’m old enough that I was here [in Philadelphia] as an adult in ’76 [the bicentennial],” Middleton had said. “It’s gonna be a spectacular year for Philadelphia.”

    Philadelphia Tennis Classic: Aug. 23-29

    Tennis fans can see some of the top-ranked women’s players compete at the University of Pennsylvania’s Hamlin Tennis Center. The WTA 125 tournament features rising stars and established players in a somewhat compact venue, meaning up-close views of the action from most seats.

    Philadelphia Cycling Classic: Aug. 30

    During his pro cycling career, Freddie Rodriguez rode to great success in this city, winning in 2001 (then called the Philadelphia International Championship).

    “I made a career out of this race. It’s the closest thing we have to the Tour de France,” Rodriguez, 52, said. After a 10-year pause, the premier U.S. cycling event returns to Philly, and Rodriguez will be on the other side this time, as a TV commentator.

    Philly native Eric Robbins, one of the race organizers, said that from the outset, the mission was to not only bring back the event, but eschew public funding (the race is presented by AmeriGas).

    “It was really important to give back to the city,” Robbins, a co-owner of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic said. “All these other wonderful sporting events, there’s a price tag that comes with them. This is an absolutely free event. We’re bringing the stadium to the streets.”

    The Cycling Classic is back, and with it, a reminder of what Philly is all about

    Fans can line the Philly streets and see elite international men’s and women’s riders tackle the 14.4-mile loop that includes the grueling Manayunk Wall. The women’s race is 62 miles total, and the men’s is 120 miles. The race dates to 1985 — then known as the CoreStates — won by Olympic speed-skating gold medalist Eric Heiden. Other iconic riders who have competed in Philly include Tour de France legend Greg LeMond.

    Pro cyclist Robin Carpenter, a member of the Modern Adventure team competing this year, grew up steps from the Manayunk Wall summit and competed in the last edition in 2016, when riders finished on the Wall. Carpenter, 33, said he’s thrilled the race is back, and that the course organizers have restored the Benjamin Franklin Parkway finish.

    “The Wall changed the dynamic of the race a fair bit,” Carpenter said. “Going up the wall every time was always bananas. It is a tunnel of noise. Super loud. The Parkway finish makes the race more open from a competitive standpoint.”

    Rodriguez added that the Parkway finish is comparable to the dramatic last stage of the Tour de France, along the Champs-Élysées.

    “It feels like that,” Rodriguez said. “When it comes to U.S. racing, this is probably our best classic race. It’s right up there with the quality of riders and the quality of the event.”