Paul George will sit out the first game of the 76ers’ back-to-back to end the week.
The forward will miss the game against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday at Xfinity Mobile Arena due to left knee injury recovery, which has included holding him out from playing on back-to-back nights.
The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder could be available to play on Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.
Sixers forward Paul George is averaging 13.5 points and 4.8 rebounds this season.
He’s not the only Sixers player unavailable to face the Warriors.
Kelly Oubre Jr. (sprained left knee) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain) will remain sidelined. Joel Embiid (left and right knee injury recovery) was upgraded to questionable. And Quentin Grimes (right calf tightness) is available to play.
George has already missed 14 games due to his left knee and a sprained right ankle. He missed the first 12 games of the season with left knee injury recovery, then he sat out the Nov. 19 loss to the Toronto Raptors because it was the first game of a back-to-back. And George missed the Nov. 25 loss to the Orlando Magic with a sprained right ankle.
He is averaging 13.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.8 steals in 22.2 minutes.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Jocelyn Nathan, a defensive specialist in her third season with Penn State women’s volleyball, is from Delaware, a state not known for its volleyball prowess.
Her graduating class at Wilmington Friends had just 50 students, a “second family” she had attended classes with since elementary school.
“I think that [family-like] dynamic is something that I really wanted to bring to the rest of my life,” said Nathan, a Wilmington native. “Penn State is huge, but I wanted to bring a close-circle vibe to campus. I wanted to bring that small-town aspect to a bigger stage. And I feel like I’ve done a really good job of it.”
Nathan enjoyed her upbringing, but it didn’t help her gain traction on the recruiting trail. She wasn’t on a top club team, which meant she wasn’t invited to U.S. training sessions and didn’t attend nationals every year like most high-profile recruits.
So, the 5-foot-6 defensive specialist took charge.
She switched club teams to Conshohocken-based East Coast Power, an uncomfortable change for a then-15-year-old who went from knowing nearly everyone in her hometown to knowing none of her teammates or coaches.
But that move set Nathan up for success she never dreamed of.
“When I set my hopes out, I was like, ‘Maybe I’ll get noticed by some lower Division I teams,’” Nathan said. “And it never had anything to do with not believing I could get to that level. It was just, you see what you are working with because not many people knew who I was.”
Her father, Len, who played soccer and baseball at Swarthmore College, compiled highlight tapes to send to college coaches. Nathan sent countless emails to schools in search of offers.
And with the help of Roberta McGuiney (née Holehouse), who played volleyball at Penn State from 2005 to 2008 and coached Nathan with East Coast Power, Nathan secured an offer from the Nittany Lions.
She appeared in just two sets during her freshman year. She said she spoke “maybe 100 words” all season as she acclimated to a her new, environment.
But during her sophomore campaign, Nathan broke out. Penn State coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley lauded Nathan’s “fiery” personality, one she noticed during the recruiting process and has only grown since.
“I think [Nathan] is one of the best teammates around,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “I never question if she’s ready or if we should put her in. She knows the game well. She competes hard. She’s a great teammate. And I’m really happy for her success.”
Nathan tallied 69 digs in 59 sets across 22 matches as a sophomore. And she saved her best for last.
In the national championship match against Louisville, she totaled a season-high-tying 10 digs as Penn State won its eighth NCAA title. Nathan believes she’s the first Delaware native to win a national championship in women’s volleyball.
“It gives me goose bumps to think about it, just knowing where I came from,” Nathan said. “I think it just made everything feel so great. Not only could I represent Delaware, but [I could] also be a symbol for the little girls who are trying to get to a Division I school.”
One year after adding an eighth star to their uniforms, the Nittany Lions are back in the NCAA Tournament for a 45th straight season. As the No. 8 seed in the Texas Region, Penn State will face South Florida at 5:30 p.m. Friday in Austin, Texas. If the Nittany Lions advance, they will face the winner of No. 1 Texas and Florida A&M.
Nathan is having another strong season in Happy Valley. She has appeared in all 30 matches and tallied career-highs in digs (130), sets played (94), and assists (17).
And through her success at the national level, she has remained grounded in her roots.
“I’ve always wanted to make people feel welcome,” Nathan said. “And I strive to do that with one new person every single day. That was something I wanted to carry with me, not just to the volleyball court, but to school and to everyday life.”
Penn State’s Jocelyn Nathan celebrates during a game against Iowa.
Lydia Hope Victor often jokes about how much worse off she’d be if she’d grown up in Ohio instead of Philadelphia.
Her parents arrived there from India before settling in Philly. Her father learned about American culture through Ohio State and then Eagles football. He came to love the brutal sport and passed his fandom down to his children, but who knows what would have happened if the family had been forced to root for the Cleveland Browns.
“Obviously, thankfully [he] became a Birds fan,” she said.
Victor, 22, is a graphic designer and multimedia artist based in Elkins Park whose work is focused on sports and the overlooked elements that shape them. Her work across mediums is for the casuals and diehards alike, including an Allen Iverson sweater vest, fan zines, and banners reading, “Find a New Slant” and “I’m Sorry I Just Wanted a Frosty”.
She’s in the middle of a season-long Sixers project that she’s sharing on social media called 82 Games. After every contest, Victor is creating an illustration based upon what happened on the court, with easter egg references, too.
Victor’s passion for basketball was molded by post-The Process-era Sixers and Allen Iverson YouTube highlights, despite being born after his 2001 MVP season. She was raised on Philly talk radio car rides with her dad, and her fondest sports memory is watching people flood the streets from her brother’s Temple University dorm after the Eagles’ first Super Bowl win.
“It’s hard to live in Philly and not be an insane Philly sports fan,” she said.
Victor spoke with The Inquirer about her 82 Games project and how it represents relentless Philly fandom and community, being a Joel Embiid truther, and aspiring to consume sports a little more healthily.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
This is an endurance art project. How do you come up with a new design every game? And how do you stay committed to it, even when the Sixers are more or less a fringe playoff team?
I think that’s the fun of it, pushing myself to think of new ways to interpret the story. Some of the joy of it is also being able to look back and be like, I committed to doing that, I was able to finish it.
I originally did this project in high school, it was honestly to teach myself how to draw. [Now] I have a lot more experience in design and illustration, and I’m just seeking out some of the community again. I think that’s what really brought me back to it. Even the most niche reference I try to make in games, someone will understand it somewhere.
Victor shows off one of her illustrations for the 82 Games series, featuring Tyrese Maxey.
That fandom is so important to finding a community of people.
Philly fans are all a little crazy, we’re all so committed to support our teams. Even if we’re in a slump. I think Philly fans have a reputation — oh we booed Santa. But it’s coming from a place of — I’m still here and I’m gonna show up no matter what.
A through-line of your work is holding a player-centric point of view. Why do you feel like that’s an important perspective to emphasize? What do you think of the way sports are typically covered in media or online?
It’s kind of just rage-baiting. They want people to engage, but there’s no intention to do it through healthy conversation. People watch sports because they enjoy it at some level and sometimes those perspectives take away from that joy.
It’s easy to center the fan, but none of these things would exist without the player, too.
Victor’s custom-made banners with various Jalen Hurts quotes made after the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory.
I’m a Joel Embiid truther ‘til the day I die. People give him a lot of flack for not giving his all for the team, and I don’t think you can really point to his history and in good faith say that about him. He was playing with a mask. He was playing with [Bell’s palsy].
You made a sweater vest inspired by Allen Iverson and his tattoos. How did that project come to be?
I’m 4’11, so I immediately connected to Allen Iverson and his story and just the way he played. I remember watching his Hall of Fame speech and crying. When you think about how the media treated him or general narratives about him as a player, it all seemed negative. And I think it’s exciting to see him get his flowers.
I just love experimenting with different mediums. If I have an idea in my head, I wanna get it out into the world. Last season I was like, a jersey looks just like a sweater vest, what is something I could do to explore that? I immediately was like, do something about Allen Iverson.
Victor displays her Allen Iverson sweater vest, modeled after his iconic Sixers jersey. The embroidered designs mimic several of A.I.’s tattoos.
What are some of other ways you’ve focused your work on player perspectives and other overlooked parts of sports?
I try to think of things from systems point of view. I think there’s really a story behind every single thing in sports.
The project I’m working on right now is about the Women’s Basketball League, which was the first women’s basketball league in America in the 1970s. It only lasted for three seasons, but there was a team that was based in Philadelphia called the Philadelphia Fox, which only lasted for 10 games.
Victor is working to tell more multimedia stories about the subtle structures that impact sports.
Some of those people are doctors and lawyers and basketball coaches, their lives took such a different turn. Title IX was just starting, so there weren’t a lot of [opportunities] for women to play sports in general. I’ve been interviewing some of those women which is pretty cool, getting to hear their stories.
So just thinking about how these systems exist and operate and how to make them more equitable. Understanding where we started is so important.
Who are your Letterboxd-style four favorite Philly athletes of all time?
Allen Iverson, Nick Foles, Joel Embiid, and Michael Vick.
Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter will miss Monday’s game in Los Angeles and be considered week to week after undergoing a procedure on both of his shoulders, a source confirmed to The Inquirer on Thursday.
ESPN was first to report the news on Carter, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury since the beginning of training camp. It has bothered him at times during a season that has featured a slight decline in production.
“He does have a shoulder issue,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said Wednesday. “He has been playing with it.”
The Eagles were dominated by the Chicago Bears’ rushing attack Friday, and Carter was ineffective at times. He was removed from the field on some first- and second-down plays.
“There was some runs out there I got drove back or I wasn’t making an effect on the play,” he said.
“It’s my problems to deal with. I ain’t fitting to tell y’all what I’m going through.”
Apparently the shoulder injury reached a breaking point.
Jalen Carter has been dealing with a shoulder injury since training camp.
In October, Carter described the injury as “a little serious, but I’m working through it, fighting through it.” That came after a game at Tampa Bay in which he was forced to the sidelines for some defensive snaps because of the injury.
“Everybody has injuries, depending on if it’s small or if it’s big, but when the right time comes, if I need to stop and take a little break to work more on my shoulder, that time is going to come,” Carter said.
Two months later, his words were proven true.
“It’s always hard when you don’t feel 100% or not healthy,” defensive tackle Moro Ojomo said. “I think that it’s most important to get your body right. This is a sport that wears and tears on you, so that was kind of the whole idea.”
It does not appear that Carter is heading toward a stint on injured reserve, which would force him to miss at least four games. The Eagles play the Chargers on the road Monday before returning home for a game vs. the Las Vegas Raiders on Dec. 14. The Eagles’ priority probably will be getting Carter as healthy as possible before the postseason begins, but they’re still trying to clinch a trip to the playoffs.
“I think he should get right and get his body feeling as good as possible, and we’re going to be ready when he gets back,” Ojomo said.
Carter had a breakout 2024 season and emerged as one of the better interior defensive linemen in the NFL. He was selected to his first Pro Bowl and was named second-team All-Pro.
Fangio was critical of the shape Carter was in earlier this season, but Carter had worked his way back to a large workload after playing more snaps last season than any other interior defensive lineman. Carter has missed two games this season. He was ejected before the first snap of the Eagles’ Week 1 game vs. Dallas after spitting at Dak Prescott, and he missed a Week 6 loss to the New York Giants with a heel injury.
While his pressure rate has dropped (8.9% to 7.8%, according to Next Gen Stats) and he has at times not been as effective against the run, Carter’s presence is still a key factor for the Eagles. They are a much better defense with him on the field than with him off.
Any length of absence with Jalen Carter is significant.
The Eagles' defensive EPA per play changes drastically when Carter is on the field (0.12) and when he is not (-0.14), per TruMedia.
With Carter out, expect to see rookie defensive tackle Ty Robinson, who has at times been a healthy scratch, in the rotation for depth. Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo, and Byron Young likely will see an uptick in snaps. The Eagles could also use Brandon Graham on the interior, especially on obvious passing downs.
Ojomo, who is playing nearly 65% of the snaps on defense, said he was expecting to see more time on the field with Carter out. Since Carter likes to line up on the left side of the ball, Ojomo said there are “little nuances” and different things to study to prepare for a bit of a change.
The Eagles entered the 2025 season with limited depth on the interior after losing Milton Williams to free agency. They drafted Robinson to backfill, but he has played just 35 snaps. Gabe Hall made the initial 53-man roster after spending last season on the practice squad, but he has played 13 snaps and has spent most of the 2025 season back on the practice squad.
The Eagles also in August traded Thomas Booker, who could have been a rotational piece, to the Raiders for cornerback Jakorian Bennett, who has been used sparingly and also missed time because of an injury.
The depth will be tested greatly with Carter out. Davis and Ojomo have made improvements, but Young hasn’t been consistently effective when he’s on the field.
The Bears racked up 281 rushing yards on the Eagles last Friday. That happened partially because of Carter’s weakened shoulder, but there were other factors. Ojomo said the mistakes were seen on film.
“As a defense, we just have to have accountability,” he said. “Everybody look themselves in the mirror and realize, ‘OK, we have to be more accountable. I’m not going to mess up here, take this chance here,’ and get back to the defense we know we can play.”
That won’t be as simple without Carter, and it comes at a critical juncture in the Eagles’ season.
Ash Roberts remembers the dark. Some nights he would sob in a pillow, wondering if he lost his one love, football.
The 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior receiver at Roman Catholic never wanted anyone to hear or see him during those restless moments alone that kept him up burdened by self-doubt. He was the only one, he thought, who would forge through it.
Three years ago, major college recruiters would flock to see Tyseer Denmark, now at Penn State, work out when he was with Roman. But someone else also caught the scouts’ attention — a skinny, fast-twitch freshman. That’s when Roberts began receiving scholarship offers from programs such as Penn State, Alabama, Pittsburgh, and Michigan.
Something happened along the way. He broke his left collarbone before playing a down his freshman year, wiping out the season. Six games into his sophomore year, he snapped the same collarbone again. After 10 months of recovering, looking forward to a breakout junior season, he lost another year when he tore a meniscus in his right knee. The attention slowly dissipated. He found himself in a recruiting wasteland.
Roberts had only his senior year to prove himself — and he did just that. In Roman’s second game, Roberts scored three touchdowns in the Cahillites’ 49-35 victory over Cardinal Newman (Fla.). Against Catholic League champion and PIAA Class 6A state finalist La Salle College High School, he scored three touchdowns on two TD receptions and an 81-yard kickoff return. In Roman’s 39-36 win, he had 225 all-purpose yards, 130 yards receiving, and 95 return yards, looking arguably like the best player on a field filled with Power 5 recruits like La Salle’s Joey O’Brien, a Notre Dame signee, and Gavin Sidwar, who is heading to Missouri. In Roman’s 48-20 Class 5A state semifinal victory over Springfield (Delco) last Saturday, he had two touchdowns and a game-high five catches for 114 yards.
Temple football coach K.C. Keeler was not about to let a talent up Broad Street slip away from him, and on Wednesday, Roberts signed to play for Keeler and the Owls.
Roman Catholic receiver Ash Roberts doing some drills during practice on Wednesday.
, Roberts will play a vital role Friday in Roman’s quest toward its first PIAA state football championship. The Cahillites (11-3) face District 3 and defending state champion Bishop McDevitt (12-2) at Cumberland High School in a rematch of last year’s Class 5A title game, won by McDevitt in overtime, 34-31.
As the days wind down toward his final high school game, Roberts said his injury ordeal sometimes causes him to pause and reflect on where he might have been if he did not encounter adversity.
“There were a lot of nights I was up and emotional, where I would question myself, ‘Why me, why is this happening to me?’” Roberts said. “I didn’t want anyone to hear me or see me like that. I had to stop feeling sorry for myself. I was not about to quit. I had people there for me, but you can only do the work and get through it yourself.
“I kept telling myself, ‘Everyone is going to see soon, everyone is going to see soon.’”
Once a 5-foot-7, 140-pound freshman, Roberts found the weight room — with a little push from former teammate and current Duke freshman linebacker Will Felder, one of the Cahillites’ team captains last season.
“I couldn’t even lift 95 pounds when I started,” Roberts said, laughing. “I can hit 245 pounds for a couple of reps now. I never liked lifting. Being around Will, I wanted to put in the work and gain that confidence. I would do anything to get out lifting. I would go in there and just do leg presses and try to avoid the coaches.
“I wanted to play football and didn’t think I needed to lift. I would lock myself in the bathroom stall and get on my phone. The times I got caught in the bathroom, I would tell my coaches, I’m studying plays on my phone. They never believed me.”
He’s added three inches and 35 pounds.
Roman Catholic receiver Ash Roberts only had his senior season to prove himself on the field.
In March 2024 when he was working out, he felt discomfort in his right leg. He had a torn meniscus, which could heal through rest, doctors told him.
It was another setback, after building himself up to squat 405 pounds, and power clean 265 pounds.
“Ash always had the talent, he needed to put the work behind it,” said Felder, who is getting playing time as a true freshman and carrying a 3.6 GPA at Duke. “We only live about five minutes away from each other, and I would take him to school every day. We would have long talks, and I think that helped him. Ash is like my little brother. I’m really proud of him, because he hated to lift. The biggest thing I wanted to reinforce to Ash was he’s still ‘that guy,’ and God would not put him in a situation he could not handle.
“Ash was so talented [that] he did not feel he had to lift. I stressed to him that if he got bigger and stronger, he would be a better player. I finally convinced him to do the work. Now look at him.”
Roman coach Rick Prete said he could have played Roberts late last season, but knowing he would be back his senior year, he was not about to risk Roberts’ future. Prete saw him tiptoeing around the weight room to become one of the team leaders there.
“It all came together, and a lot of college coaches are beginning to see what we knew about Ash here at Roman,” Prete said. “I think Ash is a great fit for Temple and Coach Keeler. Coming out of high school, considering Ashdan’s path, this has been great for him. Ash is on the quiet side, but with his teammates, that changes and he is outgoing. Beyond the shadow of doubt, Ash is the best wide receiver in Pennsylvania. He is bringing a level to his game that I love to see, adding something physical to the receiving room.”
That manifested in the state semifinal game when Roberts caught a pass on the sideline, lowered his shoulder and rammed through a couple of Springfield defenders during the second quarter. That showed the trust Roberts has in himself. It showed he conquered the doubts of whether he could withstand a hit. He woke up at 5 a.m. three days a week throughout the summer and into September to work out, a routine he built with Felder.
Ash Roberts and Roman Catholic will compete in the PIAA Class 5A final on Friday night.
Though he sat out his junior season, Roberts was on the sideline last December when Roman lost to McDevitt in overtime. He remembers seeing the tears stream down the senior’s faces, strengthening his resolve to come back the next season and make an impact.
“I know what it is like having football taken away from me,” he said. “It’s something I took for granted. I took my talent for granted. I took my health for granted. I don’t take anything for granted anymore. With the breaks and tears, I learned something you love can be taken away from you in a split second. I want more. If I didn’t go through the injuries, I would not be as hungry as I am. I’m looking forward to working out with Will this summer. I want this state championship for him, for every senior who lost last year.
“Winning this state championship will be for them. We’re going to get the job done. We cannot let the work we put into this season go to waste.”
The injury bug has finally caught up with the Flyers.
After losing Tyson Foerster to an upper-body injury for the next two to three months on Monday, Cam York is now day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
“I think he got hit behind the net, or something,” coach Rick Tocchet said after the game. “We were trying to look for it. But I think he got hit behind the net a little bit late or something. I haven’t talked to the doctors.”
After Trevor Zegras was boarded by Buffalo Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin in the offensive zone, York was involved in a scrum. Dahlin was assessed a five-minute major and was ejected from the game, but the Flyers did not score on the power play.
York did not return after the scrum that occurred with 3 minutes, 10 seconds left in the second period.
It’s also possible that the high hit by Buffalo Sabres forward Jason Zucker behind the Flyers net with 13:50 left in the period is the hit that Tocchet is referencing. The hit was a little late, as the blueliner skated back for the puck.
York, 24, went on injured reserve on Oct. 6 with a lower-body injury, two days after playing more than 25 minutes in the preseason finale. He missed the first three games of the season but has played in 23 games, posting 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) while averaging the second-most minutes (23:31).
Paired with Travis Sanheim, who had a maintenance day on Thursday, they are the Flyers’ best duo and skate against the opposition’s top lines. According to Money Puck, among the 19 pairs in the NHL that have skated at least 300 minutes together, they have the fourth-lowest expected goals against (14.1). Offensively, they are 18th in expected goals for (12.9) while skating the 10th most minutes together (368.4).
The Flyers do not return to game action until Sunday, but face a formidable task against the best team in the NHL, the Colorado Avalanche, who have lost just once in regulation across 26 games this season (1 p.m., NBCSP).
Some pluses for the Flyers? The one loss in regulation was on the road, and the Avalanche, who play Thursday at the New York Islanders and Saturday at the New York Rangers, have lost six of seven games that went beyond regulation. The Flyers have won seven of 10.
But if York cannot go, it leaves a big hole on the blue line.
“Obviously, it challenges your depth,” Tocchet said on Thursday. “It’s the same thing, that everybody wants a chance to play, so when it’s your number, be ready. That’s why I always tell players be ready. Practice hard, off the ice do the right things, your number will be called.
“So, there’s a possibility he might not play, so whoever’s going to come in there, as a group, we’re going to have to make up for those minutes.”
Two seasons ago, when the Flyers ranked among the best teams in the Eastern Conference, they lost 5-3 to the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 21.
Yes, it was amid a five-game losing streak, but entering that game, the Senators were not just last in the conference; they were 23 points back in the standings from the Flyers. At the end of the season, the Flyers missed a playoff spot by three points, and that game could be circled as a missed opportunity.
This season is still in its infancy, but the Flyers are maintaining a postseason spot and currently sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division. If they want to be a team to be reckoned with, they need to beat up on the bad teams. And the Sabres, who are ninth in the conference, are a bad team.
The Flyers power play cashed in twice on Wednesday night against the Buffalo Sabres.
Good teams stop losing streaks
It wasn’t a losing streak, per se, but the Flyers lost one game for the fifth time this season and ended it there. The most they’ve lost this season is two straight, which hasn’t been seen during the first chunk of the season since 2011-12.
So why hasn’t the losing snowballed like in years past?
“I think that’s just showing our maturity as we’re growing. I think that we work really hard, practicing, trying to keep our momentum going. You practice hard, you play hard. So those things kind of translate,” alternate captain Travis Konecny said.
“We also had some days off, too, right now, so that’s given us a little bit of our legs tonight, and we have a little stretch coming up here to get going again. So it’s kind of a combination of things, to be honest.”
Tyson Foerster, who officially went on injured reserve on Wednesday after sustaining an upper-body injury on Monday, was in the locker room after the game, high-fiving his teammates. But while he’s around, not having him on the ice leaves a pretty big hole in the lineup.
Entering the night, he was the Flyers’ top goal scorer with 10 goals. At the end of it, he was tied with Zegras, with Tippett breathing down their necks after potting his ninth.
“That’s a big hole that we have to fill with him out,” Tippett said of Foerster. “Obviously, you hate to see a guy like that go down, but anytime, all of us can kind of pitch in, and guys contribute throughout the lineup, it’s good to see. And, I think everyone kind of steps up a little bit when a guy like that’s out of the lineup.”
Bobby Brink connected with Noah Cates down low to extend the Flyers lead to 4-1. Sidenote, don’t ever separate those two again. Goal: Cates (6) pic.twitter.com/4AM6NoUsMX
But the best sign of the night was that Bobby Brink and Noah Cates both got on the board, with each logging an assist on the other’s goals.
Brink’s goal came off a shot by Cates after he dropped it to the centerman — neither could remember if Cates called for the drop pass — and while it was his seventh of the year, it was just his second in the past 13 games.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s not really fun scoring one point in 12 games,” said Brink, who is inching closer to his career high of 12 goals. “I mean, it’s one game, so probably should start scoring more in the other ones, too.”
While Cates had been playing primarily with Foerster, he was reunited with Brink on Wednesday, and the chemistry was immediately rekindled. Brink fed Cates for the redirect and his sixth of the season. And they did so with Nikita Grebenkin, who finally moved up to the top nine, on the left wing.
“He makes some good plays. He’s in good spots. He’s always flying out there and making plays,” said Cates of Grebenkin, who created the turnover and got an assist on Brink’s goal. “So just kind of, the more we play together, the more we can learn and build that chemistry and that trust. And I thought he was awesome tonight.”
According to Natural Stat Trick, Tocchet rolled all four lines evenly, with each line getting roughly 6½ to 8½ minutes despite a disjointed game with a ton of penalties called. It’s important that, as the schedule gets heavier because of the pending Olympic break, the Flyers can continue to roll four lines and generate offense from throughout the lineup.
Good teams score on the power play
Last season, of the 16 teams that made the postseason, only the Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, and Dallas Stars were in the bottom half of the league’s power play rankings. The two teams in the Stanley Cup Final, the Edmonton Oilers and champion Florida Panthers, clicked at 23.7% and 23.5%, respectively.
The power play has been a thorn in the Flyers’ side for years, but right now, it’s out of the basement and tied for 18th with the Anaheim Ducks at 18.7%. It’s a critical step forward for the team to not just have confidence in their units but to know that it can help them either get back into games or extend leads.
Travis Konecny snapped his 11-game goalless drought and it’s 1-1. Goal: Konecny (6) pic.twitter.com/OhwUnb3CxZ
And if they don’t score, as they did twice on Wednesday night, going 2-for-5, it also helps build momentum in the game.
With Foerster out for 2-3 months, one of the units now has Konecny, Zegras, Travis Sanheim, Matvei Michkov, and Tippett. Sean Couturier took a neutral zone faceoff and then went right to the bench for Zegras to hop on.
They scored two goals.
“Just moving it, I think try not to hold on to it too long. I thought Sanny did a great job tonight of being confident up top, moving the puck, and I think just being direct, trying to get shots to the net,” Konecny said.
“When you look at a lot of the top power plays, other than some of the really skilled ones, you look at all the top power plays, it’s just like getting pucks to the net, deflections, having bodies there, outnumbering them. And I think we focused on doing that tonight a lot.”
“We had some looks up top. Obviously, he got a few blocked, so we might have to change some angles there, but at least we’re shooting the puck,” added coach Rick Tocchet.
“If it hits a shaft or something, I can live with it, but we’re getting more shots from the middle. … I’d like to see a little bit more movement earlier on the power play, but, being picky. But yeah, it was good for us tonight.”
He became the bar’s owner before he could legally drink, taking it over at 16 years old when his dad died. The two-room corner bar with wood paneling and a jukebox soon became the place to watch the Kansas City Chiefs, a South Philadelphia haven to watch a Midwestern football team just a few blocks from where the Eagles play.
But many of the people who packed Big Charlie’s Saloon every Sunday had a secret: They weren’t really all that crazy about the Chiefs.
“I get heat for being a Chiefs fan,” said city councilman Jimmy Harrity, who does not miss a game at 11th and McKean Streets. “But I wasn’t a Chiefs fan. I’m a Paul Staico fan. If I could name three players, that’s a lot. I was there cheering for him. Some are there to watch the game. But for the most part, they were there for Paul.”
Mr. Staico died suddenly Sunday morning, a few days after his bar stayed open on Thanksgiving night because the Chiefs were playing. He was 59.
“It was sudden,” Harrity said. “Nobody saw it coming. He had no problems. No issues. The bar did well. I was with him the day before. I knew he wasn’t right, a little depressed. But I didn’t think it was like this. It was shocking to everyone. It’s so tragic. He didn’t deserve to go out like that. He protected people. He didn’t let bad eggs around.”
Mr. Staico was born on March 10, 1966. He attended Bishop Neumann High School, boxed as a teenager, and stayed in shape as a bodybuilder. He looked like a linebacker but was as gentle as a kicker.
Kansas City Chiefs fans, including Big Charlie’s Saloon owner Paul Staico (far right) celebrate their teams Super Bowl win at the bar in 2024.
He became a Chiefs fan as a boy when his dad — Big Charlie — hit on a bet in 1970 for the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl. Big Charlie told his boy he would buy him a bike if the team in red won. The Chiefs won, giving Big Charlie’s boy a new ride and a new favorite team.
The Chiefs fell off after that championship, but Mr. Staico remained loyal to his team. The South Philly Chiefs fan bought a satellite dish in 1986 to air games at Big Charlie’s, slowly converting his friends from the neighborhood like Anthony Mazzone to cheer for the red and gold instead of the Birds.
The bar was dubbed “Arrowhead East” as Mr. Staico covered the walls in Chiefs memorabilia, turning the corner bar into a shrine for the team that helped him land that bike.
Mr. Staico’s bar was packed shoulder-to-shoulder for big games (a back room is invite-only) and even shut down 11th Street a few times to watch the Chiefs outdoors on a projector screen.
He paid a guy from the neighborhood to sweep the sidewalk every day and offered wisdom to anyone who sat at his bar.
“We make people feel at home,” Mr. Staico said in an NFL Films feature about the bar. “It’s not like it’s just our thing. Everyone is invited.”
Harrity moved into the neighborhood when he was 18, living in an apartment on Emily Street. He was an outsider — an Irish kid from Southwest Philly dating an Italian girl in deep South Philly — but Mr. Staico made him feel welcome. Harrity would walk his dog past Big Charlie’s and talk to Mr. Staico outside.
“I didn’t drink. I was sober,” Harrity said. “The reason they have water in there is because I didn’t drink. He bought spring water so I’d have something to drink when I went in to watch the games. That’s the kind of guy he was. If you met him once, you were his best friend.”
A memorial appeared on the front step of Big Charlie’s Saloon, located at 1953 S. 11th St. in Philadelphia.
The guys at Big Charlie’s root for the other Philly teams but not the Birds. They have Chiefs tattoos, Chiefs jerseys, and raised their children to be Chiefs fans.
Charlie Staico’s winning bet spawned a generation of Chiefs fans. The allure of Big Charlie’s continued to grow, almost like a quirky roadside attraction. Is there really a spot in Eagles country devoted to a team from 1,100 miles away?
NFL Films stopped by occasionally, TV news trucks pulled up whenever the Chiefs were gearing up for a Super Bowl run, and even some Chiefs players and coaches sat at the bar. The regulars made pilgrimages to Arrowhead Stadium and wore Big Charlie’s sweatshirts with pride. Mr. Staico’s South Philly bar was known as a place to watch the Chiefs, but the brick building was more than that to the people who filled it.
Photos of Paul Staico are part of a memorial for the late owner of Big Charlie’s Saloon.
“It started out with 10 of us in the back bar crying every game because the Chiefs stunk,” Harrity said. “Then it grew to 300, 400 people for the first game every year. That’s not because of the Chiefs. That’s because of Paul. He made you feel at home. He made you feel like part of the family. One time in there, and that was it. The kind of place where you walked in there, threw $20 down on the bar, bought a round, and didn’t pay for another drink all day. It was just a friendly place.”
Mr. Staico is survived by his longtime girlfriend, Gloria Quinone; his sister, Linda Staico; and brother-in-law, Mark Mancini. A funeral service is planned for 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Epiphany of Our Lord Church at 11th and Jackson Streets.
The award recognizes players who excel on the field and make an impact off it. Mailata is one of 32 nominees (one from each team). The winner will be announced during the NFL Honors ceremony on Feb. 5 during Super Bowl week in the San Francisco area.
Since the award was established in 1970, three Eagles have won it: Harold Carmichael in 1980, Troy Vincent in 2002, and Chris Long in 2018.
“Jordan Mailata’s recognition as a Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year club winner is truly well deserved and speaks to his profound impact, both on and off the field,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a news release. “One of the highest honors bestowed upon players in the National Football League, this award celebrates those who proudly represent their teams with class and dignity — all in the name of the great Walter Payton. We congratulate Jordan and thank him for always being a person of high character who leads with kindness, compassion, and integrity.”
The team also revealed how it informed Mailata of the honor earlier this week:
Mailata is a converted rugby player from Australia who was a seventh-round pick by the Eagles in 2018 and has developed into a reliable long-term starter at left tackle. Besides his run of success on the field, Mailata, a second-team All-Pro selection in 2024, has been involved in multiple charitable endeavors. Mailata and his wife, Niki, were honored at the Philadelphia Children’s Alliance’s Bear Affair this year for their ongoing support.
Mailata also supports the American Association for Cancer Research and has been involved in the Eagles Autism Foundation. Additionally, his “Jeff Stoutland University” vignette on Sunday Night Football that went viral in 2022 inspired the creation of an apparel line that has raised more than $200,000 for the foundation.
Mailata also lent his singing chops to Christmas albums with Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson that have raised more than $10 million for local charities. Last year, the trio organized Operation Snowball, a project aimed at providing a gift to everystudent in the Philadelphia public school system thanks to funds raised by the singing group’s third album.
The charitable beneficiary of each team’s WPMOY nominee will receive $40,000, and the nonprofit chosen by the national winner will receive $250,000. All donations are courtesy of the NFL Foundation and the Nationwide Foundation.
Mailata will wear a Man of the Year decal on his helmet for the rest of the season.
After driving hours from Connecticut, 25-year-old Tristan Howard walked toward the back of Lapstone & Hammer with a large canvas covered in wrapping paper. He approached Sixers center Joel Embiid with the gift, and the former league MVP gladly accepted — opening the present on the spot.
As the wrapping paper slowly fell to the floor, a painting of Embiid was revealed. The 7-foot center could be seen dunking on an opponent with one hand while holding his MVP trophy in the other, wearing sunglasses, sporting his Olympic gold medal — and of course, wearing his new Skechers shoe, the SKX JE1.
25-year-old Tristan Howard made the trip from Connecticut to deliver his painting to Embiid at Lapstone & Hammer pic.twitter.com/cgeoB5se6B
“I know he’s a very powerful player,” Howard said. “So him dunking the ball is very important. And I know that he won a gold medal and was MVP. So, I wanted to incorporate that somehow. And then obviously the new shoe, I put that on him. I’m happy with how it came out.”
Howard, who happens to be a New York sports fan, spent six hours the night before painting the gift for Embiid. It was one way the Sixers player was able to celebrate the launch of his latest sneaker and Skechers first-ever signature basketball shoe.
Joel Embiid’s first signature shoe from Skechers, the SKX JE1, feature his initials on the tongue.
“It means a lot [to have a signature shoe], especially when you look at where I come from, everything that I’ve been through, and what it took to get here,” Embiid said in a news release. “I always say, my life is a movie, everything happened so fast, one thing after another. Honestly, I wasn’t even supposed to be here. So, to be sitting here now, with my own shoe, it just shows that people believed in me. And that feels great. It’s truly amazing.”
The shoe was released exclusively at Lapstone & Hammer on Saturday, just a day before Embiid debuted his new sneakers during the team’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Wednesday’s event gave fans another chance to purchase the shoes ahead of its global release on Thursday.
And as a way to celebrate the release in the city, Embiid met with a number of those fans at the Center City store, signing sneakers and posing for photos. Sixers forward Jabari Walker, a fellow Skechers athlete, even made an appearance to show his support.
“The message I want to send is that anything is possible,” Embiid added. “When you look at where I started, I wasn’t even supposed to play basketball — I was playing volleyball. And now, here I am. I’m just so thankful for all the opportunities I’ve had.
“Like I said earlier, this shoe represents the belief that people had in me. It’s about showing that as long as you put the work in, you can achieve your goals — you can achieve anything you want. That’s what happened to me, and that’s what I want for others.”
A side view of the SKX JE1 shows the upper cage, as well as the three heel points that were a critical part of the shoe’s design.
The design, according to Skechers, is inspired by Embiid’s non-traditional path to the NBA. It features an abstract multidirectional traction pattern with their signature Goodyear outsole and a mesh body with a 3D-printed silicon lockdown cage. The three heel points represent Embiid’s three keys of life: heritage, sports, and family.
“I’ve been working with Skechers on fine-tuning every detail of the SKX JE1 and I’m excited to share it with the world,” Embiid said in the release. “Skechers strives for excellence in performance and comfort, so I couldn’t ask for a better partner in creating this signature shoe.”
In addition to being on sale at Lapstone & Hammer, the SKX JE1s are now available at Skechers.com, select Skechers stores, and other specialty retailers. They retail for $130.
Different designs of Joel Embiid’s SKX JE1 sneakers were on display during the release event at Lapstone & Hammer on Wednesday.
