INDIANAPOLIS — Former Temple guard Hysier Miller placed dozens of bets on Owls games, including some against his team, the NCAA announced Friday.
The NCAA deemed Miller, a graduate of Neumann Goretti, permanently ineligible after finding he placed 42 parlay bets totaling $473 on Temple games during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Three of those bets were against his team, the NCAA said.
Miller started every game for the Owls during those seasons. The NCAA found he used sportsbook accounts belonging to other people to bet.
The NCAA’s enforcement staff interviewed Miller on Oct. 10, 2024, and he admitted to placing parlay bets on Temple games but did not remember placing any bets against his team, the NCAA said.
Additionally, former Temple special assistant coach Camren Wynter and former graduate assistant Jaylen Bond were found to have violated NCAA rules by betting on professional and collegiate sports. The NCAA did not find any bets involving Temple by either Wynter or Bond. Both coaches received one-year, show-cause orders and a suspension of 10% of regular-season contests during their first year of employment.
The NCAA did not find the three cases to be connected.
Temple President John Fry and Director of Athletics Arthur Johnson released an announcement Friday, saying the NCAA found no evidence of point shaving or any wrongdoing by the university.
This is the latest gambling infraction uncovered by the NCAA, which revoked the eligibility of six men’s college basketball players earlier this month as a result of three separate sports-betting cases that involved a power-conference school in Arizona State and allegations of players throwing games to lose by more points than the spread.
That followed nearly three dozen people being arrested last month, including an NBA player and coach, for what federal law enforcement officials described as their involvement in various illicit gambling activities. Just this week, UFC President and CEO Dana White said he was in touch with the FBI regarding a match that involved unusual betting patterns.
For its part, the NCAA said last month it was investigating at least 30 current or former players for gambling allegations. The NCAA also banned three college basketball players in September for betting on their own games at Fresno State and San Jose State.
Across the Flyers’ long practice on Friday, Nikita Grebenkin spent a lot of time skating with fourth liners Garnet Hathaway and Rodrigo Ābols.
It’s too soon to determine whether or not that means he will be in the lineup on Saturday when the Flyers host the New Jersey Devils (7 p.m., NBCSP).
But it is fair to say the young Russian winger needs to get consistent playing time.
Grebenkin did not play in the Flyers’ 3-2 overtime win against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, a game in which the head coach said afterward that he wanted to see his team be better at wall work and puck possession, two things Grebenkin often does well.
“He did early in the season and training camp, but he’s been OK with that [since],” Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said Friday, adding he can be a “hashmark down guy.”
Noted Hathaway, “He’s really good at controlling the puck, working through guys, battling with guys. His puck possession, I think it helps any line that he’s on. He can hold on to and then he can make plays out of it, too. And he’s not shy to get in the mix and go win a puck battle.”
Grebenkin, 22, has skated in 12 of the Flyers’ first 19 games, averaging 9 minutes, 35 seconds. It is consistent with the other players on the fourth line, including Nic Deslauriers, with whom he rotates.
And the rotation, formulated by Tocchet and his staff, does follow what the head coach said on Nov. 1: “I like that we played him a couple of games, work with the coaches when you can really work with them, get him back in — hopefully he can string some good games together for us.”
Added Tocchet on Friday when asked what he needs to see from Grebenkin to play consistently. “We’re trying to make him an NHL player. He spent a lot of time with the coaches. More predictable to his game, good angles, being a good first forechecker. [When] he’s more predictable, it’ll help the line in general. It’s hard, I get it, 9-10 minutes, but there’s only so much ice to go around. It’s the world we live in right now.”
Grebenkin was a big piece of the return in the trade that shipped Scott Laughton to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Flyers organization is OK with how things are going in terms of the winger’s development. If he does start sitting out stretches, Grebenkin, who is waiver-exempt, could get sent back to Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League to play a ton of minutes.
But that shouldn’t be the case. Grebenkin deserves a chance to work things out at the NHL level. He brings energy and jam to the lineup with some skill.
And, for now, the Flyers are trying to find him time in Philly. But is he a fourth liner or should he play up higher? Grebenkin has the skill to play higher in the lineup; he just needs to play more consistently. And the crux is, is there really anyone he can supplant in the top nine?
Flyers right wing Nikita Grebenkin is at home along the boards.
Across his first six games, when he often skated on the fourth line, he averaged 8:53 of ice time, picked up one assist, and logged a plus-minus of minus-4.
After sitting out for a pair of games, he averaged a minute more in the next five, posting a goal, an assist, and a plus-1 rating. When Tyson Foerster was out, the Russian winger was often deployed higher in the lineup. He skated a season-high 12:24 in the Flyers’ loss to the Dallas Stars on Nov. 15, and wasn’t on the ice for a goal against despite the Stars scoring four at even strength.
Tocchet has said that Grebenkin has communicated to him that he’s been thinking too much on the ice. He wants him to be “sticky” and stay in piles. The winger can also bring skill to a fourth line that has not scored a goal this season when on the ice together.
“Especially at the start of the year, feel like you can’t get him off the puck down low, or if two guys go on him, you feel like he’s going to lose it, but he comes out with it,” Ābols said. “I think that’s one of his strong attributes, and obviously, quite skilled with the puck. It’s maybe, at some points, [something] we lack on our line, realistically. Once he’s on his game, he can make those little plays and bring some skill.”
Ābols has also played a key role in helping Grebenkin work on his game. The Latvian speaks several languages, including Russian, and told Tocchet in training camp that he can help translate.
The bench boss said the center even helps during games, something he was often spotted doing last season with Matvei Michkov.
“Yeah, those situations you can see when they talk to their coaches, and you kind of see their lost face, then I kind of slide in,” Ābols said. “I’m going to try any way I can, whether it’s translating or helping anyway I can.”
Forwards Owen Tippett and Foerster did not skate on Friday. Tocchet said they are a “little banged” up. Both had maintenance days, and Tocchet expects them to play on Saturday.
Cam Jurgens (concussion) is questionable to play in Sunday’s rematch against the Dallas Cowboys, according to the Eagles’ final injury report.
The 26-year-old center practiced in a full capacity on Friday for the first time this week. He had been a limited participant in practice on Thursday and did not participate on Wednesday.
“Anytime these guys can get back out there coming off things, that’s huge,” coach Nick Sirianni said Friday of Jurgens’ return to practice. “We will see where he is today, but excited to have him back out there when he was.”
Jurgens exited the Week 11 game against the Detroit Lions late in the fourth quarter with the concussion, requiring Brett Toth to take over in his place. The concussion was the latest ailment that Jurgens has navigated this season. He missed the prior two games with an injury to his right knee, which still requires him to wear a brace.
Additionally, Jurgens is just nine months removed from the offseason back surgery he underwent in late February. He played through that injury in the NFC championship game and the Super Bowl.
Jurgens isn’t the only Eagles offensive lineman who has dealt with numerous injuries this year. Lane Johnson was officially ruled out for Sunday’s game after sustaining a Lisfranc injury in the first quarter against the Lions. He is expected to miss at least four to six weeks. Fred Johnson, the 6-foot-7, 326-pound swing tackle, is slated to start at right tackle in his absence.
This will be the first game that the two-time All Pro Johnson has not started this season. He has dropped out of games with various ailments, including a neck injury in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams, a shoulder injury in Week 4 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and an ankle injury in Week 10 against the Green Bay Packers (he ultimately returned to action).
Tackle Myles Hinton (back) and center/guard Willie Lampkin (knee/ankle), who are both on injured reserve, are listed as questionable to play.
The Eagles are at capacity on their 53-man active roster, so they would need to make corresponding moves to open up spots for Hinton and Lampkin if they are activated. One of those moves could be placing Lane Johnson on injured reserve.
Jaelan Phillips, who popped up on the injury report this week with a shoulder issue, is available to play.
Assuming the sports scientists have it right, the temperatures should be near the performance sweet spots for the runners participating in the Philadelphia Marathon Weekend races on both Saturday and Sunday morning.
At showtimes, 6:55 a.m., just moments after daybreak, temperatures Saturday are expected to be in the upper 40s to near 50 degrees for the half-marathoners, and in the upper 30s to around 40 for Sunday’s main event.
Light rain is expected through the early-morning hours Saturday, and forecasters have been on the fence about when it will shut off. Nick Guzzo, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service said Friday afternoon that rain was likely at the start of the race, but that probabilities would drop precipitously once the event was underway.
AccuWeather Inc. and weather.com were posting about a 50-50 shot that the rain would continue through the morning. The hedging isn’t surprising; timing the onset and end of precipitation has been a longstanding forecast problem.
Nor would it be surprising for those running the 13.1-mile race to experience conditions different from those logging 26.2 miles the following day, points out Kathleen Titus, the race director and runner who has been involved with the marathon for 20 years.
This time of year is a busy one for frontal passages, this being a transition period when the atmosphere isn’t quite sure what season it wants to be. The temperature has reached 74 degreeson Nov. 22 (1883), and plunged to 14 (1880), and snowed 4.6 inches on Nov. 22-23, 1989.
However, nothing momentous is expected this weekend.
Like the rains, winds are forecast to be light, under 10 mph, from the north on Saturday, and northwest on Sunday, although runners allow that on the course, the wind can be way more capricious than the temperatures.
Various studies have concluded that temperature is the most important weather variable in runner performance and that the ideal range for marathoning is 39 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit — give or take a few degrees.
“Your body is always competing between a couple of different things,” said Philip Skiba, sports medicine specialist at ThomasJefferson UniversityHospital, who helped train Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan who became the world’s first runner to complete a marathon in under two hours.
During exercise, muscles demand blood to work, while for the body to stay cool, blood has to flow to the skin. If it’s too hot, more blood flows to the skin. When it’s cold, blood is diverted to heat the body’s core.
With temperates in that 39-to-50 range, the blood flow can more easily serve both the muscles and skin. Said Titus, racers love that temperature range because, “It regulates your body. It just works.”
Skiba said the temperature ranged from 51 to 55 degrees on the October 2019 day Kipchoge broke the two-hour barrier in a Vienna event that wasn’t held under record-eligible conditions.
Had the temperatures been lower, Kipchoge could have shaved a few more seconds off his time,Skiba said.
The wind also is a player in marathons
While not as dominant as temperature, “wind resistance … is worth a few seconds per mile,” said Skiba, a former triathlete.
“The more you stay out of the wind, you can save considerable energy,” he said.
“It’s really important to learn how to draft,” that is, get behind a group running close to your pace and using them for wind-breakers,he said. (Not sure how the wind-breakers feel about that.)
On the Philly course, the winds can be wild cards, especially on Kelly Drive, Titus said.
One instant, the wind “hits in your face. Now it’s at my back!”
Titus said she actually likes running uphill into the wind — and she is believed to be a member of a distinct minority — but agrees that “it is nice to have it at your back when you’re coming into the home stretch. Because it does give you a little boost.”
Before the start of Tuesday’s team practice on Boathouse Row, a couple of teenagers filmed their own TikTok dances. The boy was sheepish about showing his adult coaches the final product on his phone, while a group of girls compared hairstyles. After a quick warmup in the cold air, with some students moving more enthusiastically than others, the group went off on its three-mile run.
It was one of the last steps remaining for the teenagers to get their criminal records expunged.
On Saturday, the group of mostly high schoolers will complete their program by running the 13.1 miles of the Philadelphia Half Marathon.
They are members of MileUp, a juvenile diversion program operated by the nonprofit Students Run Philly Style in partnership with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and Drexel University’s Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice. MileUp gives youth ages 11 to 17 who are charged with certain offenses the opportunity to learn and practice distance running to clear their criminal records.
MileUp intends to teach the students about accountability and responsibility through running, while creating a supportive community. According to Students Run Philly Style, about 92% of MileUp students have completed the program since 2020, which puts them on the path toward having their records expunged.
“You see young people change their mindset over how much control they have over what’s ahead of them,” said Students Run Philly Style executive director Lauren Kobylarz
“This is a chance to let that choice that maybe wasn’t the best … to leave that behind you and move forward,” she said.
This weekend, 128 Students Run Philly Style youth will run the half marathon, including eight from MileUp, and others will do the marathon or 8K, all wearing the same SRPS T-shirts.
For students, the program starts with a referral from the district attorney’s office, where the teenagers are identified as candidates for diversion programming. Some of the most common charges for MileUp students include auto theft, assault, and vandalism. For most, it is their first offense.
The teenagers are given their choice of diversion program. Under District AttorneyLarry Krasner, the officehas expanded the initiative to about 30 programs in sports, arts, and trades.
MileUp has cohorts in the fall and spring, where students meet for practice three times per week for 12 weeks with Students Run Philly Style staff, trained adult volunteers, and peer mentors, who are program graduates paid for their work.
District Attorney Larry Krasner has expanded the use of juvenile diversion programs since coming into office in 2018.
For the fall cohort, milestone runsinclude a 5K, the All-City 10 Miler, and the half marathon.
After the first race, they earn restitution fees associated with their case, which can often be a financial burden.
Afterthe second, the charges get dropped, as long as they ultimately complete the program.
And for a student who finishes the final race, writes a reflection, and is not arrested within six months, the case is expunged, erasing all records of it.
“These are honestly great students … they’re not beat down by what’s happened to them,” said volunteer Juan Batista, 25, whose mother works for The Inquirer in human resources. He said he fell in love with running after he began participating in Students Run Philly Style’s standard program when he was 12.
Batista grew up in Juniata under similar circumstances to many of the MileUp students, and started working with them after he finished college. Their shared background helps them connect, Batista said. He noticed that, in many cases, it has been just a matter of wrong place, wrong time.
“Sometimes bad things happen, and that could be on your record for the rest of your life,” he said.
Second chances
When Lucas from Northeast Philly joined MileUp two years ago, he struggled. It wasn’t fun, and the 16-year-old,whose full name is not being used because he is a juvenile, said that he had been treating his body poorly up to that point. But he showed up to nearlyevery practice, and felt himself maturing as he got stronger as a runner. His record was expunged, and he said having his restitution fees paid was a major help.
“It’s really worth it,” he said.
Now, Lucas is back with MileUp as a peer mentor. He enjoys serving as an example for the other teenagers, and said it feels good to encourage and give advice to those who need it. Lucas said that lots of kids don’t have enough people they can rely on.
“It’s good to have people you can go to for help,” he said.
MileUp diversion program participants have already completed a 5k and 10 mile race together. Their last milestone is the Philadelphia Half-Marathon on Saturday, Nov. 22.
He arrived at Tuesday’s practice with Na’Sean, another 16-year-old from Northeast Philly who is also being identified only by his first name because he is a juvenile. Na’Sean is a current MileUp student who said he came back from a family trip to learn there was a warrant for his arrest, stemming from a years-ago incident.
His focus at the half marathon will be on keeping a steady pace, without starting too fast. It happened to him during the 10-miler and he struggled near the end, but said one of the adult leaders helped him push through. He said he valued the support he has gotten and will miss the group after the program ends.
Na’Sean appreciated how his future remains wide open, and how his ability to get a good job one day won’t be limited by something he may have done when he was a young teenager.
Sixers announcer Alaa Abdelnaby had high hopes this Sixers team would erase the memory of disappointment from last season. So far, he’s gotten his wish.
Coming off a thrilling overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Sixers seem rejuvenated this season behind young talents Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe. Though things have slowed following their red-hot 4-0 start, newfound interest in the Sixers is showing up in the team’s TV ratings.
Through nine games, Sixers games on NBC Sports Philadelphia and NBC Sports Philadelphia+ are up 73% compared with the same point last season, according to Nielsen numbers obtained by The Inquirer. That works out to an average of about 138,000 viewers tuning into each game.
As a result, Philadelphia has the fourth-strongest growth in NBA TV ratings this season, trailing behind only Portland, Chicago, and Denver.
Not surprisingly, the most-watched Sixers game this season was last week’s win against the Boston Celtics, which, along with Denver Nuggets vs. Sacramento Kings on the West Coast, averaged 2.9 million viewers across NBC and Peacock.
A large reason behind the surge of interest is Maxey’s MVP-caliber performance. In his sixth season in the league, Maxey is averaging 33.4 points, up big from the 26.3 per game he put up last season.
Edgecombe, the Sixers’ energetic rookie, has dropped back down to Earth a bit after his 34-point debut against the Celtics. Still, Edgecombe is averaging 15.6 points and six rebounds and has been a workhorse for the Sixers, averaging 37.4 minutes per game, the second-most in the NBA behind Maxey.
NBC Sports Philadelphia’s pre- and postgame coverage, featuring Amy Fadool, Marc Jackson, and Jim Lynam, has also benefited from the increased interest in the Sixers. Viewership for Sixers Pregame Live is up 150% compared to last season’s average, while Sixers Postgame Live is up more than 60%.
Podcasts are also enjoying a bump. The Rights to Ricky Sanchez, the popular Sixers podcast co-hosted by 94.1 WIP’s Spike Eskin and Mike Levin, tends to have a loyal audience that doesn’t surge or sink too much. But Eskin said the podcast has seen a “pretty good jump,” especially during the Sixers’ hot start.
“The Ricky listeners are die-hards so they’re always there,” Eskin said, “but the hot start certainly gave the pod a lift as the people who checked out of the team last year seemed excited to get back in.”
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Eastern Conference
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Sixers news
Sixers center Joel Embiid hasn’t been on the court much so far this season.
After four days off from NHL action, the Flyers returned to the ice on Thursday night.
Although they — once again — didn’t have the best start, they battled back and skated away with a 3-2 overtime win against the St. Louis Blues.
Here are two big things we learned.
Rookie on the rise
It feels like every game lately has been a career game for Emil Andrae, and Thursday night was no different. The defenseman played a key role in tying the game and saving it, all after being promoted to the second pairing alongside Jamie Drysdale.
“When you’re playing more, the more confidence you have. I think me and Jimmy played great when we played together those shifts we had,” Andrae said.
Andrae started the game with Noah Juulsen on the third pair, but according to Natural Stat Trick, played 11 minutes, 48 seconds with Drysdale at five-on-five — and it did feel like they were out there every other shift in the third period. They were on the ice for 11 chances for and eight against, and each of the Flyers’ goals in regulation.
“I was talking to [defensive assistant coach] Todd [Reirden] after the first. I said, ‘Let’s make the switch here,’” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “I just felt, Emil, he’s been playing pretty good for us, right? And he’s one of our better guys who goes back and wheels the puck and makes an outlet pass. Even on the blue line [he was] faking, jukin’ players and stuff like that. So, keep working with him; he’ll get some more ice time.”
On the goal by Rodrigo Ābols, the Swedish blueliner had just hopped on the ice. But on the tying goal by Tyson Foerster, Andrae read the play properly before using his quickness to track down a desperation clearing attempt by Robert Thomas. He did a quick 180-degree turn and fed an open Foerster for the one-timer.
“Yeah, he’s making a bunch of great plays, D zone, and transitioning into the offensive zone,” Foerster said. “He made a great play to me, and [Noah Cates] had a great screen. But, yeah, Email’s been playing great.”
Yes, Andrae’s nickname is “Email,” but he’s not mailing anything in. He may just stand at 5-foot-9, but Andrae doesn’t shy away from contact, plays the proper body position on bigger guys, and as Travis Sanheim said, “he makes good reads” and is “not afraid to make them.”
In fact, he sacrificed his body to stop a sure-fire goal by Dalibor Dvorský with three minutes to go. On the play, he was probably on the wrong side of Pavel Buchnevich atop the crease, which allowed the big Russian to get a Grade A scoring chance. However, because he was not on top of Buchnevich, he was able to turn and block the shot with goalie Dan Vladař sprawled on the ice.
“I probably owe him some steak, for sure,” Vladař said.
“A great player and you can really tell that he wants to be here. I think that he showed that he's a regular guy and can play a lot of minutes in this league…I probably owe him some steak for sure.” – Dan Vladar on Emil Andrae’s game-saving block. pic.twitter.com/jb3pmfrrff
After skating in 42 games last season, Andrae has now played in nine games and has three assists and a plus-minus of plus-4. Across the past three games, as the new coaching staff gains confidence in the defenseman, he is averaging 19:34 of ice time; his season total is 14:31.
“I think, still, I have stuff that I can improve from tonight,” Andrae said. “I think the things I did well was get up in the play. I created a lot of offense and moved the puck quick. But I think just overall defense and being strong on the walls can be a better improvement going from here. But yeah, I think it was a step forward.”
The fourth line is alive
There’s no denying the fourth line has been struggling. And considering the four guys who have played on that line, Ābols, Garnet Hathaway, Nic Deslauriers, and Nikita Grebenkin, entered the night with 131 goals across a combined 1,363 NHL games, they are not expected to bury the biscuit every night.
But, they still need to do what they do best: pressure, forecheck, wreak havoc.
“I mean, that should be our motto as a line,” Ābols said when asked about their uptick in pressure against the Blues. “I think, obviously, nothing fancy, just tilt the ice that we’ve been talking about.
“We had some good meetings this week where we talked about it. Todd grabbed us yesterday, said we should play more predictable, and I think we did that today, where it was quite easy to read off each other and just kind of put constant pressure on their D.”
According to Natural Stat Trick, the fourth line had the best Corsi For percentage (86.7%) with 13 chances for and just two against. They had seven scoring chances to none — none — for the Blues. And it gets better. While it is subjective what determines a high-danger shot, the statistics site had the line notching four high-danger chances and zero against.
They threw the body around, with Deslauriers leading the way with six hits. And Ābols scored his first of the season, albeit on the ice with Trevor Zegras and Owen Tippett after jumping on the ice when Christian Dvorak went for a change.
“Fourth lines especially have to play predictable; everyone knows where the puck is going,” said coach Rick Tocchet. “You watch, they were on the forecheck. They were connected, right? I think in the past, they were a little too wide. Tonight, they were connected. More predictable.
“They had some big shifts there for us when the game kind of went the other way, and they got to regain the momentum. For us, they did a nice job.”
Union manager Bradley Carnell said at his weekly news conference Friday that he has “never personally experienced” the discriminatory behavior alleged against sporting director Ernst Tanner.
“I’d be remiss to not briefly to address the reports that surfaced earlier this week and the subsequent announcements from the club,” Carnell said of the allegations published by the Guardian. “First of all, on a professional level, I want to say that I’ve never personally experienced anything like what’s been reported in my time with Ernst. But as an organization, we fully recognize the seriousness of the situation, and that’s as far as I’ll go to discuss the topic that’s ongoing during this investigation.”
Asked if the investigation has been a distraction to the team this week as it prepares for Sunday’s Eastern Conference playoff semifinal against New York City FC (7:55 p.m., FS1, Fox Deportes, Apple TV), Carnell said it has not been.
“The players have been amazing,” he said. “Over the last three weeks, 20 days [since the Union’s last game], whatever it’s been, [they] have been incredible. And then, obviously, we were informed about the situation, but for the players on the ground and the day-to-day organizational operations, we haven’t skipped a beat. The train is moving, and the players are engaged and excited about the prospect of playing on Sunday.”
Union head coach Bradley Carnell said he has “never personally experienced” the discriminatory behavior alleged against sporting director Ernst Tanner.
Longtime captain Alejandro Bedoya said the same.
“Yeah, of course everybody knows what’s happening on the outside, but the team is focused on this weekend’s game,” he said. “And we control what we can control as players, and we’re focused on that.”
Sunday’s game will be Danley Jean Jacques’ first action at Subaru Park since his Haiti team qualified for next year’s World Cup for the first time since 1974.
Jean Jacques missed Tuesday’s clinching game because of yellow card accumulation, which unintentionally gave him a bit more rest before Sunday. Carnell said the midfielder is “fit, he’s healthy, he’s strong, he’s happy with the emotions of qualifying for a World Cup.”
Cette équipe le mérite tellement, on a tout donné. Ce qu’on vit, c’est pour vous, pour tout notre pays ! 🙌🏽
It also will be goalkeeper Andre Blake’s first game since Jamaica’s heartbreaking failure to finish the job on home turf. Friday was Blake’s 35th birthday, and Carnell said the Union held a celebration to lift his spirits.
“I think ’Dre carried Jamaica on his back — he made some crucial saves, he kept them in the game, he made big, big plays,” Carnell said. “We’re celebrating his birthday and making sure he has all the mojo around him, and the good feeling of being back around our group. I think he’s excited to hopefully have a good experience on Sunday and lead his team to a winning game.”
Gio Reyna (left) had the opening goal and the assist on the game-winning goal against Paraguay at Subaru Park.
“I think you’re slowly seeing, and based on all the quotes and what the guys on the team have been saying, it’s Poch’s team now, and he’s definitely put a stamp on it,” Bedoya said, referring to U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino. “I think it took a little bit — and it takes time, right? To change a little bit of the culture inside and out — but you have to be pleased with the effort and the intensity and the way the guys played. Especially with kind of new faces back in the team, and different guys being put in different positions.”
Bedoya noticed, as many people did, how Pochettino took exception to being asked Tuesday night about winning that game without many “regulars” — not just absent stars like Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams, but a lineup with nine changes from the starters vs. Paraguay.
Pochettino was adamant that he doesn’t believe in such a hierarchy, even if the valid part of asking about winning with so much rotation got lost in the moment.
“When you instill a certain culture, and you talk about putting your stamp on a team with your principles [and] the philosophy, whichever player comes in and takes a certain role, they already have a good understanding of what it takes and what’s expected out of them,” Bedoya said. “So it was great to see some of these other guys come in and perform very well. And you have to say, I mean, whenever you beat a national team like Uruguay, 5-1, there’s a lot to get excited about and a lot of optimism.”
Mark McKenzie (left) celebrates with Tanner Tessmann after Tessmann scored the U.S.’s fifth goal against Uruguay.
Bedoya also praised former Union teammate Mark McKenzie, who wore the captain’s armband for the first time against Uruguay.
“That was awesome — I texted him on the side after the game, being happy for him,” he said. “Knowing him from his early years here in Philly, I mean, the guy was always mature beyond his years … It just shows the trust and the faith that Pochettino has in him, which is amazing, and he’s been playing well in Europe since he left, especially now at Toulouse [in France], getting a good run of games.”
After Tuesday’s game, McKenzie called being captain “a huge honor, a real blessing, [and] also a great moment because it shows the level of trust that the group has in me, but also Mauricio and the staff.”
Between the scheme, the quarterback, the coaches calling plays, and the rest of the players responsible for executing them, the Eagles’ offense has been a well-documented, inconsistent mess this season. But what if there were a smaller area, one that isn’t getting much attention, that could hold the key to getting the much-maligned unit on track. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane zooms in on the Eagles’ back-up tight ends, and explains why they aren’t giving the team what it needs. Plus, Jeff shares what he’s learned about the increasing noise surrounding Jalen Hurts, and the reported frustration members of the organization are feeling towards the quarterback.
00:00 Why the tight end position (especially the back-ups) is so crucial to fixing the offense
16:55 What to make of recent reports surrounding growing internal frustration with Jalen Hurts
unCovering the Birds is a production of The Philadelphia Inquirer and KYW Newsradio Original Podcasts. Look for new episodes throughout the season, including day-after-game reactions.
Twenty-four hours after throwing 96 pitches to shove the World Series to a seventh game, the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto ran in from the bullpen to this: ninth inning, one out, winning run at second base.
It was a legend-making moment.
Halfway around the world, Tora Otsuka chuckled.
In 2023, his first season as a Japan-based scout for the Phillies, Otsuka hosted three team officials, including assistant general manager Jorge Velandia, on a scouting visit. Among their stops: Chiba, a short drive from Tokyo, to watch Yamamoto pitch for the Orix Buffaloes.
“He threw a no-hitter in that game,” Otsuka said this week, laughing into the phone from Japan. “We had all our people watching this one game, and he threw a no-hitter. Only special players do that, you know? I feel like some players have ‘it.’ He’s one of those guys that has ‘it.’”
Otsuka laughed some more.
“When I saw that,” he continued, “I was like, ‘Yeah, I know he will do good in the States.’”
Just not for the Phillies.
Oh, they tried. The Phillies took a Bryce Harper-size swing at signing Yamamoto two years ago. They flew a seven-person delegation to Southern California to meet him and make a $300 million guarantee, plus add-ons that boosted the offer to more than $325 million, multiple sources said at the time.
The Phillies tried hard to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto as a free agent out of Japan two years ago.
But the Phillies have never signed a player out of Japan to a major league contract.
And Yamamoto wasn’t interested in being the first.
It’s a common sentiment. When Shohei Ohtani was courted by teams in 2017, he famously told MLB.com that he wanted to snap a selfie with the Rocky statue but didn’t want to play here. Last year, right-handed phenom Roki Sasaki wouldn’t even meet with the Phillies, a snub that owner John Middleton described as “hugely disappointing.”
And with a trio of Japanese stars available this offseason — right-hander Tatsuya Imai entered the posting system this week, joining slugging infielders Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto — the Phillies are at a disadvantage relative to teams that have been active in Japan over the years, notably the Dodgers but also the Mets, Yankees, Cubs, Mariners, and Red Sox.
“Well, you still compete,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “Sometimes there’s a little bit more of an obstacle we’re facing. Maybe [Philly] is not the No. 1 place, first and foremost. But you don’t give in to that. You try to create an atmosphere that people want to join, and you’re hopeful that at some time it works out for you.“
Dombrowski maintains that the Phillies have made inroads, even though it’s difficult to see. They employ two full-time scouts in Japan now after years with one or none. Otsuka, the son of former major league pitcher Akinori Otsuka, is based near Tokyo; Koji Takahashi, hired away from the Twins, lives 300 miles to the southwest in Osaka.
With Otsuka and Takahashi building connections on the ground, at the amateur level and especially within Nippon Professional Baseball, the Phillies believe they’re better positioned to attract players.
But when?
“I feel like it’s going to happen sooner or later for the Phillies,” Otsuka said. “Timing-wise, it just hasn’t happened yet. We’re very close, I would say.”
Assistant general manager Jorge Velandia heads up the Phillies’ international scouting efforts, including in Japan.
Playing catch up
It all started with “Nomomania.”
Hideo Nomo signed with the Dodgers in 1995, bringing a distinctive pitching style that translated into major league success. Since then, 72 players have gone from NPB to MLB, with seven teams (Mets, Dodgers, Mariners, Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees, and Rangers) accounting for more than half those deals.
Conversely, the Phillies, Rockies, Astros, and Marlins have been shut out. (Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and outfielder So Taguchi played for the Phillies. But Iguchi was traded over from the White Sox in 2007, and Taguchi signed as a free agent a few months later after six seasons with the Cardinals.)
The Phillies fell behind other teams in scouting Japan. After getting hired in December 2020, Dombrowski felt that he lacked adequate information about available Japanese players. He appointed Velandia to lead international scouting, with a directive to “build a better infrastructure in how we approach the Far East.”
Velandia tasked scouting director Derrick Chung with interviewing talent evaluators. Chung, who joined the Phillies in 2017 as an interpreter for South Korean outfielder Hyun Soo Kim before moving into scouting, recommended Takahashi.
Otsuka was clinging to hopes of playing professionally in Japan when Chung met him at a tryout for an independent league team. A former outfielder for the University of San Diego, Otsuka impressed Chung with his knowledge of the game and fluency in both Japanese and English.
After a formal interview process, the Phillies hired Otsuka, now 27, as a full-time scout.
Tadahito Iguchi became the Phillies’ first player from Japan after being acquired from the White Sox in a 2007 trade.
Velandia and Chung each make two or three trips per year to Japan. The Phillies send their special assignment scouts, too. Otsuka said this was a “very busy year, with scouts coming in and out” to watch Imai, Murakami, and others in “a very, very solid class of guys.”
“The stuff we were doing three years ago and now, I’d say we have gotten better just understanding more about the market,” Otsuka said. “We’re more dialed in now compared to maybe before. We send scouts all the time to come to Japan. Just the process of everything has gotten smoother and smoother as the years have gone by.”
Otsuka claims that the Phillies’ brand recognition has improved in Japan, too. Amid four consecutive playoff appearances, and with popular stars such as Harper and Kyle Schwarber, the Phillies are often featured on television in Japan.
They aren’t the Dodgers, of course. For 30 years, from Nomo through pitchers Kazuhisa Ishii, Takashi Saito, Hiroki Kuroda, Yu Darvish, and Kenta Maeda, Japanese baseball culture has extended to Los Angeles. And after signing Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Sasaki in the last two years, the Dodgers might as well be Japan’s national team.
The connection extends to the players. Yamamoto cited a desire to play with Ohtani as a reason for choosing the Dodgers’ $325 million over similar offers from the Mets, Yankees, and Phillies. Sasaki made no secret that he wanted to be alongside Ohtani and Yamamoto.
And social media was buzzing this week over a photo of Murakami, who holds Japan’s single-season record with 56 home runs, dining with Yamamoto.
“There is the difficulty of we have not had a player straight from Japan,” Otsuka said. “Players do talk with each other, saying what is a good organization, what is not a good organization. It would be nice to have one player be signed from Japan who plays in the big leagues to have more viewership from the Japan side for the Phillies.”
For a brief time last winter, Otsuka thought he might have found that player.
The Phillies signed Japanese reliever Koyo Aoyagi to a minor league contract last winter but released him in July after he struggled in triple A.
Chicken-or-egg situation
Koyo Aoyagi was a three-time all-star in nine NPB seasons. He won a gold medal in the 2020 Olympics. Three years later, he started Game 7 of the Japan Series and spun 4⅔ scoreless innings for the champion Hanshin Tigers.
But his dream was to play in the majors.
At 31, coming off a 2024 season that he said didn’t meet his standards, Aoyagi signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies. The side-arming reliever attended major league camp but agreed to go to triple A.
Upon arriving in spring training — his first visit to the United States — Aoyagi said through an interpreter that he “wasn’t too aware” of the Phillies’ inability to break through in Japan. But he also acknowledged that “me pitching on the big-league mound will definitely bring some attention to the Phillies that would be able to recruit Japanese players more.”
It was a low-risk, high-reward union of player and team.
And it didn’t work out.
Aoyagi struggled to throw strikes all spring, and it carried into the season. He had a 7.45 ERA with 23 walks in 19⅓ innings in triple A. After getting demoted to double A, he posted a 6.91 ERA and 15 walks in 14⅓ innings. The Phillies released him in July.
But Otsuka, who recommended that the Phillies take a flier on Aoyagi, stands by the team’s process. He also believes in what Aoyagi represented.
“Even though he didn’t make it to the big leagues, just him being on the team [in spring training], that still brought some attention in Japan,” Otsuka said. “I see a lot more Phillies hats walking around town. That’s all I can say. And I hear a lot of people talking about the Phillies just being a really good, strong team.”
Japanese reliever Koyo Aoyagi pitched in the minors for the Phillies last season before getting released.
Maybe. But the Aoyagi experience re-raised a chicken-or-egg conundrum: Do the Phillies have to gain more traction in Japan in order to attract an impact player? Or must they sign a Japanese player to a major league contract in order to really penetrate the Far East market?
The answer might not be found in this year’s class.
Murakami, 26, has prodigious left-handed power but also strikes out a lot and is a poor defender at third base. Okamoto, 30, is a right-handed hitter with less upside than Murakami who also profiles best at first base.
Imai, 28, draws intriguing comparisons to Yamamoto. The Phillies aren’t prioritizing the rotation. But that was the case in each of the last two offseasons, and they made a mega offer to Yamamoto and discussed trading for Garrett Crochet before acquiring Jesús Luzardo.
“When most teams talk to me about Imai, they say, ‘Oh my,’” agent Scott Boras said at the recent GM meetings. “He’s that kind of guy. … He loves big markets. We go through a list of places he may want to play, and, believe me, he is someone who wants to be on a winning team and compete at the highest level.”
But whether it’s now or in the future, the Phillies’ biggest challenge in mining talent from Japan is selling players on Philadelphia.
Velandia said the pitch highlights the city’s restaurants, doctors, and other resources that would make a Japanese player feel comfortable. Otsuka likes to emphasize the area’s golf courses, such as Pine Valley and Merion East.
The fact is, though, Philadelphia has a smaller Japanese population than many other major league cities. As one team official said, it makes sense that a Japanese player coming to the U.S. would be drawn to L.A. or New York, just as an American soccer player going to Spain would focus on Barcelona or Madrid.
“We just spit out all the good things about Philly,” Otsuka said. “We give the most information about Philadelphia, where it is as a city, what it’s like to play for the Phillies. It’s not like the worst sell ever. It has its difficulties, but it’s good. We can make it work.”
It might take a trail blazer, a player who wants to forge his own path. Otsuka intends to find him.
“That’s actually one of those selling points, that you could be ‘The Guy,’” Otsuka said. “You can be the first. When they think about Phillie Japanese players, you could be that player. Definitely the right player’s out there, the player that we want to go after.
“When the time’s right, it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time. We have the right processes. We’re doing everything possible now. I think we have all the necessary resources now to actually make it happen. I’m not frustrated about it. I’m just patiently waiting.”
