SYRACUSE, N.Y. — On a cold, snowy Thursday night, St. Joseph’s battled till the final minutes, but fell to Syracuse, 71-63.
“I think [Syracuse] is physical,” said St. Joe’s coach Steve Donahue. “They do a good job of making the game a grind. It takes a lot of energy to guard them for 30 seconds, and then it kind of takes the wind out of your sails to push it.”
Thursday marked the Hawks’ second game against an Atlantic Coast Conference team. They fell to Virginia Tech on Nov. 12.
Next up, St. Joe’s (6-4) will host Delaware State on Thursday in its first of three final non-conference games.
A tale of two first halves
A fastbreak layup from Deuce Jones II, who scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the first half, extended the Hawks’ run to 7-0 and gave them a 14-7 lead at the 13:58 mark in the first half.
During those opening minutes, St. Joe’s made 6 of 9 shots from the field. Getting out in transition played a large part in the Hawks’ early success, but the final thirteen minutes of the half were a different story.
Justice with the rim rocker as the Hawks have climbed back to a point
The Hawks made 5 of 18 attempts throughout the rest of the first, while Syracuse put together a 12-4 run.
St. Joe’s finished the half shooting 11 of 27 from the field, making 3 of 16 three-pointers. Still, the Hawks entered halftime down 34-30.
Shooting woes
The Hawks entered Thursday tied for first in the NCAA in free-throw percentage (at 81.28%), while the Orange were shooting56.8%.
Syracuse had yet another poor shooting night at the line (15 of 28), but St. Joe’s was right there with them. The Hawks made 18 of 27 free-throws (66.7%), which tied their season-low against Penn.
“If we shot fouls like we’ve been shooting, we may have won this game,” Donahue said.
Meanwhile, three-point shooting has been an ongoing issue for St. Joe’s, who’s shooting 27.3%, which ranks last in the Atlantic 10.
The Hawks made just 5 of 26 attempts from deep on Thursday.
“I don’t think [our] strength is ever going to be our three-point shooting,” Donahue said. “However, I do think if we make good decisions around the basket and kick out, and we get more in rhythm and catch and shoot threes, I think we’ll hit a good share of ours.”
Clutch rebounding not enough
St. Joe’s dominated the glass.
The Hawks gave up just six offensive rebounds, which tied their lowest allowed this season. They also had 14 offensive rebounds, leading to 13 second-chance points, and grabbed 44 rebounds total.
Despite being within reach to reclaim the lead, the Hawks could not get over the hump.
Syracuse went on a 6-0 run twice in the second half, which looked to be the difference maker, and with under three-minutes remaining, the Orange opened their lead to 10 points.
After a spring training workout in February, Kyle Schwarber contemplated the likelihood of the Phillies keeping most of the roster’s core intact through the end of the decade.
“I think we would love to all finish our careers together,” he said. “But who would want to come out and watch a bunch of 40-year-old dudes play baseball? Right?”
Well …
Schwarber will be only 37 when his newly minted five-year, $150 million contract expires in 2030. Bryce Harper will be 38 by then; Trea Turner and Aaron Nola 37; even Cristopher Sánchez will be 34. All will have no-trade rights, if they don’t already.
Maybe they will have World Series rings, too. In that case, the 42,000 fans who pack Citizens Bank Park on random weeknights in June won’t mind watching them ease into baseball old age together. Flags fly forever, you know.
But modern front offices obsess over long-term plans more than trying to win a championship one season at a time. Sustainability is their buzzword. Most whiz-kid general managers would look you in the eye and say that five-year contracts for 33-year-old designated hitters coming off 56-homer seasons are bad business. Don’t even get them started on multiyear deals for 35-year-old catchers who still play 130 games per year.
At 69, Dave Dombrowski is no kid. But five World Series appearances with four franchises and two titles make him a team-building wiz. And although he has hitched the Phillies’ hopes in 2026 and probably 2027 mostly to a handful of thirtysomething superstars, he outlined a second part of the plan that’s essential to success in 2028 and 2029, too.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is intent on incorporating more young players into the Phillies’ roster.
“I’ve said this all along, and I still believe this: We need to start working our young players into our [roster],” Dombrowski said this week at baseball’s winter meetings in the shadow of Disney World. “We have good young players, and we’ll be better for it. I do think that good organizations can blend young players with veterans.”
Look no further than the sport’s model organization.
Since 2023, the Dodgers have spent more than $1 billion on player salaries, including a record $415 million this year (calculated for the luxury tax, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts). Yet they had 25 players make their major league debut, including center fielder Andy Pages, infielder Hyeseong Kim, and pitchers Bobby Miller, Gavin Stone, Emmet Sheehan, Jack Dreyer, Roki Sasaki, and World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Conversely, the Phillies had 12 major league debuts in the last three seasons — fewer than any team, based on Fangraphs research — with setup reliever Orion Kerkering and reserve outfielder Johan Rojas having the most impact.
Dombrowski attributed the low graduation rate from the minor leagues to “a combination of factors,” including a veteran-laden roster that stayed mostly healthy relative to other teams and allowed few opportunities for call-ups.
But it will be different in 2026. It has to be.
Because it’s one thing to reunite Schwarber — and probably free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto, too — with Harper, Turner, Nola, Sánchez, and Zack Wheeler on one of the majors’ oldest rosters and take a few more whacks at an elusive championship. It’s quite another to realize that long-term success — beyond, say, 2027, when Wheeler intends to retire — is tied to how good Justin Crawford, Andrew Painter, and Aidan Miller end up being.
“We have some really exciting talent that’s going to be coming up, and you’re looking forward to whenever they can step foot in the big-league locker room,” Schwarber said. “You want to make them feel like they’re going to be welcomed right away and feel like there’s going to be a seamless transition for them.”
And even as the Phillies bring back the band, the maturation of their next core will be an equally important 2026 storyline.
Top prospect Justin Crawford is expected to occupy a spot in the Phillies’ outfield on opening day.
A new ‘Daycare’
When the Phillies returned to the postseason in 2022, the lineup included three, sometimes four players who were 25 or younger: Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh, and Matt Vierling.
Teammates and coaches dubbed them “Phillies Daycare.”
Although Bohm, Stott, and Marsh became solid contributors after Rob Thomson took over as manager (Vierling got traded to the Tigers for lefty reliever Gregory Soto), they’re mostly supporting actors rather than leading men in the Phillies’ ensemble. And as they outgrew their moniker — “They’re not the ‘Daycare’ anymore,” Harper finally declared last spring — there wasn’t another class coming behind them.
“Well, we traded quite a few players that could have been contributing members,” Dombrowski said, citing Vierling specifically. “We traded them for more veteran type of players to help us win at that particular time.”
Dombrowski also noted that five of the Phillies’ last six first-round picks — including Mick Abel (2020), Painter (2021), Crawford (2022), and Miller (2023) — were drafted out of high school, which typically means a longer path through the minors.
And when the Phillies did punch the accelerator and gave Painter a chance to make the team out of spring training as a 19-year-old in 2023, he tore a ligament in his right elbow, had Tommy John surgery, and missed two seasons.
The Phillies planned to call up Painter midway through this past season. But he struggled to regain his preinjury command, common for pitchers in the first year back from surgery. Painter stayed in triple A, and finished with a 5.40 ERA in 106⅔ innings.
“Honestly, some of the expectations we put on players is unfair,” minor league director Luke Murton told The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “A guy that’s just coming back from Tommy John that pitched over 100 innings, was healthy, and at a level he’d never been at, I was very pleased, very satisfied.
“I think he accomplished a ton this year. Next year he’s looking forward to accomplishing more.”
Painter stands a good chance to crack the season-opening rotation, especially if Wheeler needs more time after thoracic outlet decompression surgery. And the Phillies expect Painter’s long-awaited arrival in the majors to help lessen the anticipated loss of Ranger Suárez in free agency.
Dombrowski has all but guaranteed Crawford’s spot in the opening-day lineup, either in center field or left. The Phillies came close this summer to calling up the 21-year-old but elected to leave him in triple A to win a batting title, especially after acquiring veteran center fielder Harrison Bader at the trade deadline.
“I really believe that [Crawford] could have played for us at some point,” Dombrowski said. “But then you also do what you think is best for the player and for us in that time period. You’re trying to win a championship. And it didn’t hurt him to go out and continue to play [in triple A].
“But now, all of a sudden, you’re in a position where you’ve got Crawford and you’ve got Painter knocking on the door. Miller’s close; [outfielder Gabriel] Rincones is close. [Otto] Kemp came up for us last year, and we like Kemp a lot. There’s others that we like. It’s exciting.”
Also, necessary.
The Phillies could fast-track Aidan Miller to the majors in 2026 if he can make a smooth transition to third base.
‘Close your eyes and let ‘em play’
Including Schwarber’s new deal, the Phillies have roughly $285 million in 2026 payroll commitments, calculated for the luxury tax. Bringing back Realmuto would likely push the total past $300 million.
And still, there are holes in the outfield and bullpen.
The Phillies have explored trading from the major league roster to create payroll flexibility, according to sources. Moving Bohm, entering his free-agent walk year, would clear approximately $10.3 million based on MLB Trade Rumors’ salary arbitration projections.
In that case, the Phillies could look inward to find Bohm’s replacement at third base. One possibility: Kemp, who made his major league debut this year and has drawn effusive praise from Dombrowski throughout the offseason.
“He’s a good hitter. The ball jumps off his bat,” Dombrowski said. “He’s a threat when he comes to the plate. He can play different positions. And he’s a tough son of a gun. He’s a championship-type player. What he played through last year, injury-wise, I don’t think that there’s many people that would have done that.”
Indeed, Kemp continued to play despite fracturing his left kneecap in June and finished with eight homers and a 92 OPS-plus. He had knee surgery and a minor procedure on his left shoulder after the season. The Phillies expect him to be ready for spring training.
Before long, third base could belong to Miller. Murton said the touted 21-year-old shortstop will move to third in spring training. Miller spent the last week of the season in triple A and could return for only a pit stop after finishing with 14 homers, 59 stolen bases, and an .825 OPS between two levels.
Could he follow Crawford and Painter as a major league debutant in 2026?
“You never know,” Murton said. “He’s a very talented player. Don’t want to put too much on him too soon. He’ll be a big-league spring-training invite. You bring him in and see what we’ve got.”
The timing lines up. As Harper posts Instagram videos of his elective blood-oxygenation treatments, the Phillies can finally inject fresh blood into the roster, acclimatizing Crawford, Painter, and eventually Miller while the old guard is still elite and bearing most of the pressure.
“We just need them performing to their best abilities,” Schwarber said. “We don’t need anyone feeling like they need to step out and be Superman. We don’t need them worrying about, ‘How does Schwarber, how does Trea Turner, how does Bryce Harper, how does whoever think about what I’m doing?’”
Said Thomson: “I always think, when you bring a young guy up, close your eyes and let him play. No matter what happens, he gets two, three months, whatever you want to give him, and don’t even talk. Just let him go. The guys that we have at the upper level of our system are performers, and eventually they’re going to perform.”
It’s not just overdue. It’s imperative to keeping the Phillies’ roster from going stale.
Cole Hamels is among the greatest pitchers in Phillies history. He’s also on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year. It’s the perfect time, then, for him to join us again on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to discuss the honor of being on the ballot, the Phillies’ offseason so far, his work with Phillies pitchers, and much more. Watch here.
The Eagles’ season has taken a drastic turn in a matter of weeks. The Birds are on a three-game losing streak after losing to the Los Angeles Chargers in overtime Monday night.
However, a matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders may be the perfect remedy to the skid.
The Raiders (2-11) have not won a game in two months and are on a seven-game losing streak. The Eagles enter Sunday’s game as 11½-point favorites.
When the Las Vegas Raiders roll into town on Sunday, they’ll be led by an old friend — former Eagles backup quarterback Kenny Pickett, who’s set to start in place of the injured Geno Smith.
Here’s what Pickett and the rest of the Raiders had to say about the Eagles ahead of Sunday’s game …
‘They have a hell of a team’
The Birds, losers of three straight, will be desperate for a get-right game against the 2-11 Raiders.
Pickett, in his first start of the year, is expecting the Eagles to be ready.
“They’ll be ready to go,” Pickett said. “They have a hell of a team, there’s not a ton of new faces on that team, there’s a lot of really good players, I know the coaching staff, and how prepared they’re going to be for the game, so it’s a great opportunity.
“Seeing what it looks like to be world champions, the dedication, the commitment from every position group, it was really player-led, that was a really cool thing,” Pickett added. “I think we had a great veteran leadership and a lot of those guys are still there.”
With the weather set to reach below-freezing temperatures and snow on the horizon, the Raiders, out in sunny Las Vegas, are preparing for their coldest game of the season so far.
But for Pickett, who spent his college and most of his NFL career in Pennsylvania, he’s used to it.
“I’m a Northeast guy, so this is new to me, going out and practicing in December and it’s 60 degrees every day,” he said. “It’s unbelievable here, but I’m more used to when it hits November, December for it to be more like what it’ll be on gameday, so I’m pretty familiar with it.”
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll shown during a game against the Chargers on Nov. 30.
Carroll on the Tush Push
Despite the never-ending discourse, the Eagles haven’t been nearly as successful on the Tush Push in 2025 as they have in years past.
That hasn’t stopped the play from being a lightning rod of controversy and a point of focus for opposing coaches, including Raiders head coach Pete Carroll.
“If you notice it’s the surge, and the defense does everything they can to throw their bodies at that thing, and then it’s the second surge that usually gets the first down,” Carroll said. “ … It’s the initial, and then it’s the second push that makes the difference.”
Facing one of the NHL’s perennial Stanley Cup contenders, the Flyers hung tough but ultimately fell 3-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights in overtime.
The Flyers are now 2-4 in games decided in the extra session. Philly has also lost three of its past five games.
Travis Konecny fanned on the puck in the Flyers’ zone during the extra period, and Vegas’ Jack Eichel got it before ultimately finding Mark Stone crashing backdoor for the overtime game-winner.
Vegas took a 1-0 lead 6 minutes, 7 seconds into the game on a goal by Zach Whitecloud. The play started when Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin poked the puck away from Christian Dvorak as he skated down on a two-on-two with Konecny, and it went right to Eichel. Vegas’ center, who has already been named to the U.S. Olympic squad, got the puck and sent a stretch pass up to Braeden Bowman at the Flyers’ blue line.
A former teammate of Jett Luchanko’s at Guelph of the Ontario Hockey League, Bowman pulled Emil Andrae out of position and dished the puck to Ivan Barbashev. The Russian winger found Whitecloud splitting Konecny and Jamie Drysdale, and the defenseman flipped the backhand past Dan Vladař.
But, as it usually happens, the line that gave up the goal tied it.
Travis Sanheim knocked away an Eichel pass attempt in the neutral zone, and the Flyers got to work. They got the puck deep and kept it in the offensive zone for the next 38 seconds. It ended with Sanheim skating to the top of the left face-off circle and threading the needle to Trevor Zegras at the right post for the goal.
Flyers center Trevor Zegras scored his team-leading 11th goal on Thursday night.
Zegras now leads the Flyers with 11 goals. He is one off his total from last season, when he scored 12 in 57 regular-season games with the Anaheim Ducks.
Vegas retook the lead in the second period on a power-play goal by Stone. The Golden Knights’ captain scored on his second rebound attempt after Pavel Dorofeyev put a shot from the high slot on goal off the rush.
But the never-quit Flyers tied it again. Carl Grundström put pressure on defenseman Brayden McNabb, creating a turnover along the boards in the Vegas zone. Dvorak scooped up the puck and skated around the right circle and up in the zone before feeding Noah Juulsen for the one-timer from the left face-off dot. The goal is Juulsen’s first with the franchise and registered at 92 miles per hour.
Breakaways
Former Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, who was the World Series MVP in 2008, was at the game in a Tocchet jersey; however, Tocchet was misspelled as Tochett. … Actor David Boreanaz, who grew up in the Philly area and is a noted Flyers fan, and Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly were also in attendance. … The Flyers did not have a tribute video for former goalie Carter Hart, who returned to Philly for the first time. Contrary to what was reported on the ESPN broadcast, a source told The Inquirer there was no extra security behind the Vegas bench. It was the normal NHL-required security.
The Flyers play a home-and-home with the Carolina Hurricanes beginning on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena (7 p.m., NBCSP). Sunday’s game is at the Lenovo Center (5 p.m., NBCSP).
How popular was Allen Iverson during his heyday with the Sixers? The Answer could turn a chain restaurant into a jam-packed nightclub — and Iverson did just that more than two decades ago.
You may remember the fuss around TGI Fridays on City Avenue, when fans would line up around the block, all the way to the bus stop at Presidential Boulevard, just to catch a glimpse of the superstar. This was around the time that Iverson led the Sixers to the NBA Finals in 2001, when the City Line restaurant became “Club Fridays.”
The Sixers had been regulars at TGI Fridays for years because it was close to their practice facilities at St. Joseph’s and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. But when Iverson arrived, the place was incorporated into Philadelphia’s nightlife scene. “It was exactly like a club,” said former Sixers forward Jumaine Jones.
Jordan Davis finishing off a sack of Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert on Monday night.
Aside from that hiccup against the Chicago Bears on Black Friday, the defense has been keeping the Eagles in games. With Jalen Carter sidelined after a shoulder procedure, Jordan Davis has picked up the slack. The defensive tackle collected 1½ sacks and six pressures Monday against the Chargers, although the Birds still lost their third straight.
The offense hasn’t scored more than 21 points in those losses, but Davis is keeping the faith. “Offense is going to have their games,” he says. “And I’m so deep into this faith in the offense that I have, that one day, hopefully very, very soon, it’s going to click. And when it does click, watch out.”
Brandon Graham played a season-high 30 snaps against the Chargers, with more than a third of them coming at defensive tackle. That’s a new twist for the unretired Graham at age 37.
The other side of the ball is where the problem lies for the Eagles, of course. They have often played it too safe in under-two-minute situations this season, and it cost them three vital points in their latest loss.
Maybe the hand-wringing will end on Sunday when the 2-11 Las Vegas Raiders visit Lincoln Financial Field. Here are our writers’ predictions for the Eagles-Raiders game.
Sixers forward Paul George believes his team still has a shot in the Eastern Conference.
The 76ers have coped with injuries and poor shooting from Joel Embiid. Tyrese Maxey has been pushed to the max, leading the NBA in minutes. And supporting players Kelly Oubre and Trendon Watford aren’t healthy enough to play in practice. Still, the Sixers, at 13-10, are in the hunt in the Eastern Conference and sit 1½ games out of third place. All things considered, they like their chances.
“You look at the East, it’s kind of clumped,” Paul George says. “No one’s really pulled away yet, so we do have the opportunity to kind of write our future out from this point forward.”
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart returned to Philly on Thursday night for the first time as a visitor.
Thursday marked the return of Carter Hart to Philadelphia … kind of.
The former Flyers netminder, who was charged and later acquitted on sexual assault charges over the last two years, recently signed with Vegas but did not get the start against his old team.
Hart, now 27, took a leave of absence from the Flyers in January 2024 and was later charged alongside four of his 2018 Canadian World Junior teammates. All five players were acquitted this summer in London, Ontario, but Hart, who was no longer under contract with the Flyers, opted for a fresh start with the Golden Knights.
On the ice, the Flyers hung tough with Vegas but fell short in overtime with a 3-2 loss. The Flyers are now 2-4 in games decided in the extra session.
Speaking of returns, the Flyers could soon get a pair of injured defenseman back in the lineup in Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen.
Quarterback Blake Horvath will lead Navy against Army on Saturday in Baltimore.
Devin Jackson’s weekly notebook looks at the mess created by the College Football Playoff selections, an award for Delaware State’s DeSean Jackson, the Army-Navy game, and more.
Live from Lincoln Financial Field:Beat writers Jeff McLane and Olivia Reiner will preview the Eagles game against the Las Vegas Raiders at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Tune in to Gameday Central.
Sports snapshot
Coatesville’s Colton Hiller has received offers from Alabama, BYU, Louisville, Kansas State, and Maryland.
Girls’ players to watch: Westtown School’s nationally ranked Jordyn Palmer leads the pack.
Coming to Penn: South Jersey’s Isabeau Levito and other Olympic hopefuls will skate Saturday at the Class of 1923 Ice Rink.
World Cup tickets: Here’s what prices are looking like for games in Philly after FIFA’s latest presale.
Our best sports 📸 of the week
Chargers cornerback Donte Jackson intercepts a pass in front of Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert on Monday night.
Each Friday, Inquirer photo editors will pick our best shots from the last seven days and share them with you, our readers. This week, coverage includes a Flyers resurgence, Villanova’s victorious women, and that disappointing Eagles loss to the Chargers.
Who said it?
Catcher J.T. Realmuto is a free agent after seven seasons with the Phillies.
J.T. Realmuto is on the free-agent market and this Phillie clearly wants him back. Think you know who said it? Check here.
What you’re saying about holiday traditions
We asked: What’s your favorite holiday sports-themed tradition? Among your responses:
Not so much now, but in the past the Bowl games were a big part of my holiday times, and especially when Joe Pa’s Nittany Lions were often involved with two national championship bowl games and many other holiday wins. Saw them twice in person at the Rose Bowl, and then twice at the Fiesta Bowl, beating USC 26-10 in [1983] and then upsetting Jerome Brown and the Miami Hurricanes in the 1987 national championship game. — Everett S.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Alex Coffey, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, Keith Pompey, Jackie Spiegel, Kerith Gabriel, Scott Lauber, Devin Jackson, Dylan Johnson, Joe Santoliquito, Ellen Dunkel, Greg Finberg, and Inquirer Staff Photographers.
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.
Thank you for reading Sports Daily. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you in Monday’s newsletter. — Jim
It is ridiculous to think that the Eagles might consider benching their Super Bowl MVP quarterback with four games left in the season and a division title all but assured.
Yet, Sirianni and his coaching staff have a long list of equally ridiculous things they must consider.
It is ridiculous to think that an offense with the defending Super Bowl MVP at quarterback could go five straight games failing to score more than 21 points.
It is ridiculous to think said offense could score the fifth-fewest points in the NFL during that five-game stretch.
It is ridiculous to think that the four teams that have scored fewer points than the Eagles since Week 9 are all teams that have either A) benched their quarterback (Saints, Vikings), B) played with a backup quarterback (Washington), C) or continued to start Geno Smith at quarterback rather than benching him.
It is ridiculous to think that the Jets have outscored the Eagles by seven points over the last five games while shuffling Tyrod Taylor and Justin Fields at quarterback.
In his weekly interview on Eagles flagship station 94.1 WIP after the team’s 22-19 loss to the Chargers on Monday, Sirianni dismissed the notion that he might make a change at quarterback.
“No, I think that’s ridiculous,” Sirianni said. “I know every time I go out on that field with Jalen Hurts as our quarterback, we have a chance to win the game. That’s something that’s been proven. We’ve won a lot of football games.”
But you know what’s really, truly, magnificently ridiculous to think? That any quarterback could play as poorly as Hurts has played in back-to-back losses to the Bears and the Chargers without prompting some level of discussion about whether or not he should continue to start. As good as Hurts has played in his two Super Bowl appearances, that’s how bad he has played over the last couple of weeks.
Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo is shown with A.J. Brown and Jalen Hurts against the Chargers on Monday night.
In the Eagles’ loss to the Chargers on Monday, Hurts did something that only 10 other quarterbacks have done over the last 10 seasons. Here’s the list of names of quarterbacks who have thrown four interceptions on 40 or fewer pass attempts with no touchdowns while averaging six or fewer yards per attempt:
Max Brosmer (2025)
Sam Howell (2023)
Trevor Lawrence (2021)
Davis Mills (2021)
Jake Luton (2020)
Sam Darnold (2018 and 2019)
Nathan Peterman (2017)
Andy Dalton (2017)
Apart from Lawrence, all of those guys eventually either lost their job as starter or never really had it to begin with. It took a couple of years for Darnold and Dalton. But it certainly wouldn’t sound ridiculous now to know that people were talking about benching them at the time. In fact, the two words that might best describe all eight of those players are, “Eminently benchable.”
The rebuttal from Sirianni, et. al. is as follows. None of those eight players have been to two Super Bowls, and they’ve certainly never won one. None of those eight players have ever come close to factoring into an NFL MVP discussion. With the possible exceptions of Lawrence and Darnold, none of those players have ever come close to the quarterback Hurts was in the first nine weeks of the season, let alone at his peak.
If you are going to ding Hurts for throwing four interceptions in his most recent start, you have to credit him for throwing only one in his first nine starts of the season. The Eagles offense didn’t set the world on fire in those first nine games, but it was the kind of unit that plenty of NFL teams would be thrilled to have. They scored 30 points three times, twice against potential playoff opponents (Rams, Bucs). We’ve seen this offense be plenty good enough with Hurts under center this season.
Nobody was talking about benching Patrick Mahomes in 2023 when the Chiefs lost five of eight games and averaged under 20 points per game between Weeks 8-16. It’s a good thing, too. Mahomes recovered to win his last five starts, four of them in the postseason, the last three of them on the road, including a 25-22 victory over the 49ers in the Super Bowl.
Again, so the argument goes.
Sirianni’s head is in the right place. No team in modern NFL history has benched a quarterback this late into a season and gone on to win a Super Bowl. Nick Foles and Jeff Hostetler caught lightning in a bottle, but they were injury-related replacements. It’s absolutely ridiculous to think that the Eagles’ Super Bowl odds would improve with Tanner McKee at quarterback. That’s true even if you limit the discussion to the aptitude of each player. When you broaden the scope to include the ramifications within the locker room and the organization of benching a player of Hurts’ caliber, the discussion does seem more than a tad silly.
What isn’t silly is the thought process of those fans and media members who have floated the prospect of a switch to McKee. The Eagles aren’t going to win a Super Bowl with Hurts playing as he has in recent weeks. Something is broken, and Sirianni and his coaching staff need to figure out a way to fix it. Hurts doesn’t need to be a world-beater to be a quarterback who can lead these Eagles to a second straight title. But he needs to be functional.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni defended his quarterback this week when asked about the possibility of benching Jalen Hurts.
“You always praise the things that they do well, and you correct the things that you want them to improve,” Sirianni said on Wednesday when asked about his approach to coaching Hurts. “That’s our job as coaches. The tone or the energy or whatever you do, won’t get too much into that. You may not coach everything exactly the same as far as demeanor. There’s a time to yell, there’s a time to bring [it] up, but it always goes back to, and I think there’s an art to this, it always goes back to the standard. Did you meet the standard, or did you not meet the standard? Then there’s an art to how you correct it in the sense of that. But it always goes back to the standard. Did you meet it? Great, and you’re going to praise that. Did you not? Then you correct it.”
They need to correct it fast. The Raiders and Commanders are two opponents who won’t offer an opportunity for any excuses. These next two games are an opportunity for Hurts to quiet the noise and get himself back into a rhythm that can carry over into the postseason. If that doesn’t happen, you’ll only need one word to characterize the thought of the Eagles in another Super Bowl.
This is the get-right game of all get-right games. The Raiders are the final boss of get-right games. If you can’t win Sunday, then you’re never getting right.
That’s a little bit hyperbolic, but the Eagles can’t lose this one, can they?
The Eagles-Cardinals New Year’s Eve game in 2023 would like a word. The 2023 comparisons with me will stop there. I think it’s kind of silly to compare the two seasons. But the Eagles are obviously sliding.
The two-win Raiders, however, should be the perfect remedy for all that ails the Eagles.
I can’t see the Raiders scoring enough points to win the game, even with all the troubles the Eagles are having on offense. Kenny Pickett is likely to start, and his best pass catcher, tight end Brock Bowers, should be a manageable opponent for the Eagles. They have one of the best nickel players in the league in Cooper DeJean, and two linebackers, Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun, with coverage chops. The Raiders don’t have enough offensive talent besides him to make you worry. Rookie running back Ashton Jeanty has been mostly a nonfactor in the running game, although he’s been dangerous as a pass catcher.
Pickett, meanwhile, should face a swarm of defenders. The Raiders allow pressure on 36.9% of their drop backs, tied for ninth in the NFL. Geno Smith was pressured on 56% of his 25 drop backs in Sunday’s loss to Denver, according to Next Gen Stats, while Pickett was pressured on 38.5% of his 11 drops.
Expect the Eagles, who generated a 68.3% pressure rate against Justin Herbert Monday night, to get after the quarterback and disrupt Vegas’ offense.
On the other side, I think the Eagles did enough positive things offensively Monday to convince me they won’t have trouble moving the ball Sunday. They just need to avoid turnovers. Easier said then done, of course.
Prediction: Eagles 27, Raiders 11
Can Saquon Barkley keep up the momentum of a 100-yard game in Monday’s loss to the Chargers?
If the Eagles can’t win this game against the Raiders, don’t expect them to win a playoff game this year.
This is a game the Eagles should win, even in the offense’s current state of disarray. But don’t expect it to be a blowout. It’s going to be cold and windy at the Linc (remember how the Eagles fared in those conditions against the Bears?), so it seems unlikely that this game is going to be high-scoring if the weather gets ugly. Perhaps that works to the Eagles’ advantage, seeing as they’ve been practicing in an icebox all week and the Raiders are living it up in temperate Las Vegas.
Pickett is likely capable of keeping the Raiders offense more competitive than GenoSmith could if he were healthy enough to start. In a brief showing to end the Raiders’ Week 14 loss to the Denver Broncos, Pickett went 8-for-11 for 97 yards and a touchdown. He has some trusty receivers — Bowers is one of the best receiving tight ends in the league and rookie receiver Jack Bech has been coming on over the last couple of weeks.
But the Raiders’ running game, led by Jeanty, has been one of the worst in the league this season. The Eagles should be able to contain them on the ground, forcing Pickett to drop back and throw.
The Raiders defense, led by TFL machine Maxx Crosby, will likely look to do the same to the Eagles offense. They’ve had a rough last couple of weeks against the run, conceding 344 rushing yards (172 per game), tied for third-worst in the NFL in that span. Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley showed some flashes in the loss to the Chargers, especially on his handoffs from under center.
Could you imagine the reaction if Pickett beats his former team? I wouldn’t expect that to happen, but crazier things (e.g. two Jalen Hurts turnovers on the same play) have occurred this season.
In July 2024, Tim Hampton was working his shift at TGI Fridays when he spotted a familiar face.
It was longtime Sixers player and coach Billy Cunningham. He was eating lunch with La Salle coach Fran Dunphy and two other Sixers alumni: former forward and coach Doug Collins, and former executive John Nash.
Hampton smiled. Seeing the group brought back memories. There was a time, not long ago, when the chain restaurant on City Avenue hosted everyone from Charles Barkley to Maurice Cheeks to Moses Malone.
This particular Fridays, which opened in 1981, was down the street from where the Sixers practiced, first at St. Joseph’s, and eventually, at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. It became the team’s unofficial hangout spot, a place where they could grab meals in the afternoon or dinner and drinks at night.
By the late 1990s, when Hampton was hired as a host, it had a long list of NBA clientele. Then, a rambunctious rookie named Allen Iverson came to town, and everything changed.
TGI Fridays was incorporated into Philadelphia’s nightlife scene. People called it “Club Fridays.” Women would wear their shortest dresses and their highest heels. Men would don collared shirts and expensive jeans.
Allen Iverson’s famous booth became part of the City Avenue TGI Fridays lore.
At the center of it all was Iverson, who had a designated booth — “Table 70” — a special back entrance, and his own security detail.
“It was exactly like a club,” said former Sixers forward Jumaine Jones. “They would come there with their best outfit on, like they was going to a party.
“We gave Allen the nickname Mick Jagger. Because he was like a rock star. People wanted to be around him.”
There were nights when wait times lasted for hours. Fans would line up around the block, all the way to the bus stop on City Avenue and Presidential Boulevard, just to catch a glimpse of the superstar. Those who were lucky enough to enter would hand napkins to their servers in the hopes that Iverson would sign them.
And most of the time, he did. Despite the chaos, Hampton said that Iverson treated the employees and patrons of TGI Fridays with respect. He became friendly with the general manager, Jeff Tretina, the kitchen manager, Jerry Shott, and the rest of the staff.
When the point guard was traded to the Nuggets in 2006, the longstanding relationship between the Sixers and the chain restaurant faded. But Iverson never forgot it. And neither did his Fridays “family.”
“He could’ve chosen anywhere else to go,” Hampton said, “but he chose us.”
TGI Fridays manager Tim Hampton remembers a time when “Club Fridays” would produce lines around the block.
‘Club Fridays’
Hampton grew up at 33rd and Diamond in North Philadelphia, raised on Dr. J and George McGinnis. He studied business administration atBurlington County College in New Jersey and started working at the restaurant in 1999.
The lifelong Sixers fan climbed his way from a host to a waiter to a cook, and eventually, to a general manager. He quickly realized that this was no ordinary Fridays.
Employees would share stories of Barkley, Darryl Dawkins, Bobby Jones, and more. Players who’d patronized the restaurant during their careers, like Cheeks, would return after they’d joined the Sixers’ coaching staff.
A big part of this was convenience. Fridays was an easy place to stop after practice, and had plenty of parking for big groups.
There also wasn’t as much of a social barrier between players and fans as there is now. This was true even among some of the team’s celebrities.
While Allen Iverson gets much of the credit for launching the Sixers-Fridays legend, Charles Barkley was a loyal patron of the establishment first.
Barkley and center Mike Gminski would go to the movies together in Philadelphia. They’d attend Phillies games and would sit out in the open, rather than a suite.
Eating at a chain restaurant was not uncommon. And in the 1980s and 1990s, it looked a lot different from it did when Iverson was in town.
There was no security at Fridays, no separate entrance, and no reserved table; just a group of extraordinarily tall men, squeezed into a four-person booth.
“Pretty much everybody on the team used to go there or go somewhere,” Gminski said. “If anybody, it was probably Charlie [who went the most].
“And after a while, it wasn’t really a thing seeing us. There were no cell phones. There were no pictures, no selfies.
“We never really thought about shying away. We ate where everybody else ate.”
Most of the players and staff would go to Fridays for lunch, and Bridget Foy’s in Society Hill for postgame drinks.
It wasn’t until Iverson arrived in 1996 that Fridays turned into a nightly haunt. At first, people barely noticed he was there. Iverson would sit in his booth, eat his favorite dish — Cajun shrimp and chicken pasta — and lay low.
Jumaine Jones, who was drafted by the Hawks in 1999 and traded to the Sixers shortly after, usually accompanied him. Iverson quickly gravitated to the small forward, loudly proclaiming that Jones was his “rookie.”
Jumaine Jones (with fellow draft pick Todd MacCulloch and coach Larry Brown) was a familiar face at the City Line Fridays.
They started hanging out off the court. Jones estimated that the two players went to Fridays “every day for two years.” Sometimes, he would go home to take a nap, and wake up a few hours later, only to realize that Iverson was still at the restaurant.
“We probably spent more time at Fridays than we did at the gym,” Jones said.
The rookie wasn’t complaining. If anything, it made Iverson seem more relatable.
“I’d just come from being this broke college student,” he said. “So, to go to Fridays, it was like, ‘Oh, OK, that’s cool. He likes Fridays too!’
“But it was funny that somebody who was making so much money liked Fridays. The fact that he didn’t change what he ate, and the things that he enjoyed doing, really made him human to me.”
After the 2001 NBA Finals, when Iverson famously stepped over Lakers point guard Tyronn Lue, his celebrity grew to new heights. People started flocking to Fridays not to eat, but to see Iverson.
The restaurant had to hire its own security for crowd management (in addition to Iverson’s detail). It changed its hours and staffing arrangements to accommodate the influx of people.
“If it was a game day on a weekend, you pretty much figured he was coming,” said former manager Elan Walker. “We were closing at like 1 a.m. on weekends. So we were open late.
“At most businesses your dinner is from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and you’re down to a skeleton crew by 10 o’clock. That wasn’t the case for us. We still had a full staff on at midnight. Because we were expecting a crowd.”
Even though it was a foregone conclusion that Iverson would be at Fridays after a home game, he still liked to give the staff a heads up.
So, he’d call the restaurant, or Tretina and Shott directly, to let them know he was coming.
The point guard would roll up in his Rolls-Royce or his blue Bentley and step out with anyone from Jadakiss to Fat Joe.
Allen Iverson’s magnetic presence helped make the City Line Fridays a destination.
“You never knew who was going to be with A.I.,” said Jamilah Lawry, a friend of Iverson’s. “So that was really a huge element of surprise. Who does he have with him? Who’s going to get out of that car?
“You didn’t know who was going to be in there. And you had to look good, because the man of your dreams could walk in. You know?”
Lawry’s uncle, Jeff Lawry, owned Luxe Lounge and Club Roar at the time. Jamilah was familiar with Philadelphia nightlife.
But to her, Fridays was the best of both worlds; a place where they could be themselves, in an exciting environment, without too many rules and regulations.
“We’d watch the game, we’d talk loud,” she said. “We’d play too much. Those type of things. You know, you can’t go to Ocean Prime and do that. They’ll be like, ‘Hey, get out.’”
“It was more of what we would call a Greek picnic type thing,” Lawry added. “There was nothing like Club Fridays. Except for Club McDonald’s on Broad Street. And that’s a whole other story.
“If you didn’t want to go to the club, you’d go to Fridays, and that’s what would be going on.”
TGI Fridays manager Tim Hampton is presiding over an establishment that might be undergoing a renaissance in the days ahead.
‘City Line Love’
After Iverson retired in 2013, he rolled out a special-edition sneaker, in collaboration with Reebok and the Philadelphia-based retailer Ruvilla. It was called A Day in Philly.
The tongue had a maroon and gray stripe along the top, as a nod to his favorite restaurant. He held the release party in November 2014 at TGI Fridays on City Avenue.
The staff rolled a red carpet onto the sidewalk. Fifteen security guards roamed the grounds as police officers stood nearby.
At one point, employees had to close the doors, because the restaurant had reached its occupancy level (475 people).
Jadakiss and Styles P gave a surprise performance and a DJ held court after that. To Hampton, it felt like old times.
“It was like a Renaissance moment,” he said. “I felt like I was part of history.”
Now, over a decade later, he’s trying to recapture the magic. In November, Fridays’ corporate branch introduced a membership program called “Club Fridays,” that offers discounts and other perks.
Hampton has asked Iverson if he’ll help the restaurant promote it. He has also reached out to a few current Sixers players to forge some new relationships.
“We’re working on trying to get VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey to come here,” Hampton said. “Because we want to extend that City Line Love.
“That’s our goal. To get the new Sixers in. We want them to know about the legendary 4000 City Line Avenue, because it is a legendary location.”
