Temple knew it had a tall task as it welcomed Rice, undefeated in the American Conference, to the Liacouras Center Wednesday night. When an eight-point run by the home Owls trimmed the visiting Owls’ lead to five points entering halftime, an upset felt possible.
But the deficit crept back to double digits by the end of the third quarter, and Rice (25-3, 15-0) ultimately stayed unblemished in the conference with a 77-66 victory over Temple (12-15, 6-9).
“It was a tough game today,” head coach Diane Richardson said. “I think we could have done better. I think we could have shown what talents we have. But again, without the consistency, we come up on the losing end.”
What we saw
Temple and Rice traded baskets throughout most of the first quarter before poor transition defense and a stagnant offense began to plague the home team in the second quarter. Rice used an 8-0 run to take a 13-point lead with four-and a-half minutes remaining before halftime. Rice center Shelby Hayes (19 points) and guard Dominique Ennis (21 points on 8 of 13 shooting) established themselves early for the visitors.
But Temple found momentum on both sides of the ball in the final minutes before halftime. It prevented Rice from getting the open looks it was getting in the first quarter and it found cleaner looks on offense. A 10-2 run sent Temple to halftime trailing 40-35. It shot 44.4% from the field and made all 10 of its free throw attempts in the first 20 minutes.
But Temple could not build on that momentum out of the locker room, and Rice began to pull away again. Temple committed six turnovers in the frame which allowed Rice to push its lead back into double digits. It struggled to find an answer and entered the fourth quarter trailing, 61-47.
Temple never made it competitive in the final 10 minutes, only getting as close as 11 points in the closing minutes.
“This is a talented team, but you can’t let a team take your superpowers from you,” Richardson said. “So we’ve got to build that confidence up.”
Temple head coach Diane Richardson lamented the Owls’ lack of consistency on Wednesday night.
Hayes dominates down low
When Temple and Rice played on Jan. 28, a 65-56 Rice win, Temple could not contain Hayes, who finished with 17 points on 7-10 shooting. Temple looked to have more success against Hayes on Wednesday, but to no avail.
Hayes routinely got behind her defender in the paint for easy layups, with her 19 points coming on 8-11 shooting. When Temple did stop Hayes down low, it required multiple defenders which then left shooters open beyond the arc for easy looks.
“One of the things in our adjustments was not overhelping,” Richardson said. “When they started to spread their offense and have the overload on [Hayes], we overhelped and then they could kick it out for a three.”
Rice was red-hot from the field and three, shooting 53.6% and 42.1%, respectively. The visitors finished with 24 assists on 30 made baskets.
Molina leads Temple’s statistical leaders
Temple did not have a bad shooting day, hitting 47.2% of its shots from the field, but went just 2 of 10 from three and committed 20 turnovers. Forward Jaleesa Molina paced Temple with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Kaylah Turner led Temple with 22 points on 10-18 shooting.
“They were switching on ball screens,” Molina said of her performance. “So I was just posting up my mismatch and that’s what it was.”
Next up
The Owls will hit the road to take on Alabama-Birmingham (10-16, 3-11) on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN+).
INDIANAPOLIS — As soon as the 76ers boarded their flight following a brutal loss at the New Orleans Pelicans, the conversation turned serious.
“What do we want to do? What team do we want to be?” All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey recalled of the message. “… This is a defining moment in our season. It’s not make-or-break, but it’s time to go.”
What began as a woeful three-game road trip quickly flipped into a successful one. The Sixers snapped a four-game skid by pulling off an impressive victory at the Minnesota Timberwolves on the second night of a back-to-back, then took care of business against the shorthanded and tanking Indiana Pacers. Joel Embiid returned from what he called a stress reaction in his right leg against Indiana, totaling 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting, six rebounds, and five assists in an outing he said felt “OK.”
Yet the most encouraging development for the Sixers is that Maxey is officially humming again, after a rough shooting start out of the All-Star break. He totaled 39 points and eight assists against Minnesota, attacking immediately with his speed instead of overanalyzing schemes, coach Nick Nurse said. Maxey followed that by nearly amassing a 32-point triple-double (nine rebounds, eight assists) in three quarters of work, which was bolstered by Embiid’s presence.
“Amazing mental adjustment for him,” Nurse added of Maxey following that victory in Minneapolis. “To come in and have some tough games, and then just kind of know we really need him to have a great one, and he just does it.
“He plays like that, and then all of a sudden everybody else gets lifted, too. And that’s what great players are supposed to do.”
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey carried his team to an important victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Fueling that surge after the New Orleans disaster, Maxey said, were “encouraging words” he received from family back home, who told him there “ain’t no chance you’re going to let your team lose five in a row.” Teammate and close friend Trendon Watford also provided some tough love on that plane ride, saying, “Go help your team win a game, and do whatever it takes.”
The Sixers return home for one game against the Miami Heat while hanging on to the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference standings entering Wednesday (32-26). After that is a marquee showdown at the Boston Celtics, who sit second in the East and are arguably the NBA’s biggest surprise this season.
Until then, here are some snapshots from the road trip …
Tyrese and Ant Man
Dive into the video archives belonging to the mother of Maxey’s best friend, Chris Harris, and one would find footage of them playing against Edwards as fifth-graders.
“Short, chubby, strong,” Maxey said of Edwards back then. “And now, he’s that.”
Since then, Maxey and Edwards have coincidentally remained alongside each other during their journeys into NBA stardom.
They hung out “every single day” at the McDonald’s All American Game as high schoolers. They both played their one college basketball season in the SEC — Maxey at Kentucky, and Edwards at Georgia. They were selections in a strange 2020 draft, with Edwards going first overall and Maxey slipping to 21st. And earlier this month, their young Team Stars won the All-Star tournament. Edwards was the MVP of the event, while Maxey was prominently featured as the top American fan vote-getter.
“[He’s] a guy that I really appreciate talking to,” Maxey said of Edwards. “I appreciate his craft. I appreciate his story. We just kind of clicked.”
So when Maxey and Edwards faced off Sunday, it was all competitive love. Maxey said that when Edwards scored on him early and talked trash, “it kind of woke me up a little bit.” Then Maxey returned the favor by jamming the ball on Edwards — a player known for his thunderous dunks — and gave Edwards the mean mug.
“I didn’t know that he was going downhill,” Edwards told reporters after the game. “I just end up turning my head and I’m thinking he’s going to lay it up, and he punched it. It was a quick little dunk, too. I couldn’t even get a chance to block it.
“That’s why we play the game. I’m not mad at that.”
VJ Edgecombe has been better from three-point range than expected when the Sixers drafted him.
‘Three-J’ Edgecombe
VJ Edgecombe simply did not care — about his three-point shot, that is. If he got an open look against the Timberwolves, he let it fly.
“Thank God I wasn’t missing,” he said after the game.
The result was a career-high six makes on seven attempts, as part of a 24-point night for the Sixers’ standout rookie guard. He followed that up with a 23-point effort at Indiana, including a 2-of-4 mark from long range. Edgecombe entered Thursday shooting 36.4% on 5.7 three-point attempts per game, and has a knack for knocking down clutch deep shots (12-of-22 when a game is within five points with five minutes or less remaining).
“That’s a really great attitude to have,” Nurse said of Edgecombe’s “doesn’t care” approach. “That’s what he should do. Take rhythm shots. Take bailout ones when we need him at the end of the shot clock.”
That combination of confidence and results continues to make Edgecombe’s shooting — the biggest knock against his game before being drafted third overall — a pleasant surprise.
He shot 34% on 4.6 attempts during his one season at Baylor, although coach Scott Drew said that mark improved with a midseason form adjustment. Nurse called Edgecombe’s mechanics “pretty good” during the predraft process. And Edgecombe ignored such critics.
“The people saying I couldn’t shoot,” Edgecombe told The Inquirer from the locker room in Minneapolis, “are the people that are not playing basketball.”
Edgecombe credits the “countless reps” put in with assistant coach Rico Hines, from the summer until now. They achieved a higher arc on his shot. Now, he is working on making his release quicker and getting more comfortable launching off the dribble.
If minor details — such as the ball pickup before shooting — do not feel right, Edgecombe will repeat the repetition. They continue to drill “until I like the make, for real.”
When does that occur?
“All net,” he said. “Like a swish.”
The Sixers outscored the Pacers by 27 points in the 15 minutes Adem Bona spent on the floor.
Bona’s burst
Plus-minus is considered to be a flawed or incomplete stat. But reserve center Adem Bona was a plus-27 in less than 15 minutes against the Pacers, an insane metric that matched the eye test that identified the performance as one of his best of the season.
Bona made an across-the-box-score impact, with six points on 3-of-3 shooting, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block. He was in the middle — literally and figuratively — of the Sixers’ second-quarter run to flip an eight-point deficit into a double-digit advantage, and the second-half surge to extend the lead to as many as 28 points.
“I just do what I do,” he said. “… Inject energy to the team, communicate, and just anchor the defense.
“I realized [my plus-minus] after the game. But that’s my goal whenever I step on the floor, to impact the team positively.”
The Timberwolves entered Sunday’s game undersized, with Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid both out. And when fill-in starter Joan Beringer got into foul trouble, Minnesota went small and then “super small,” as Nurse described.
The Sixers countered at the end of the first half with a three-guard lineup, plus the 6-foot-9 Dominick Barlow at center. Barlow also played that position for a stretch in New Orleans the previous night.
Sixers forward Dominick Barlow has taken shifts at center when teams go “super small.”
Barlow said Saturday that he still has not practiced at that spot much throughout this season, while elevating himself to a starting forward spot and having his two-way contract converted to a standard deal earlier this month. But Nurse sees potential for Barlow to be an offensive “hub” in the middle, because of his ability to handle the ball, roll, and back cut in the middle of the floor.
“I kind of just figured it out,” Barlow said, “and try to have that approach whatever position I’m playing.”
An off-day routine
The friendship between Nurse and Minnesota coach Chris Finch, who both cut their teeth in the British Basketball League and the NBA D-League (now G League), remains a popular topic whenever their teams match up. When asked Sunday if he spends more time watching Timberwolves games, Nurse acknowledged Finch’s team “probably gets double time, just to see what’s going on.”
So what is Nurse’s game-watching routine on nights the Sixers do not play?
He generally focuses on whichever teams the Sixers will face in the near future. He will keep track of other scores on an iPad. And when he notices another game is close in the final three minutes, he will flip over to catch the end.
As veteran guard Kyle Lowry grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from the visitors’ locker room before Tuesday’s game in Indiana, teammate Cameron Payne asked for one, too. Lowry then complimented the bread, calling it perhaps the best he has had this season.
That meal so often associated with childhood is wildly popular across professional sports, either in traditional form or as a Smucker’s Uncrustable. So popular that ESPN published a 2017 feature on PB&J, calling the sandwich “the NBA’s secret addiction.”
But a question must accompany this culinary choice: Grape or strawberry jelly?
Payne and Barlow, who was sitting nearby during the exchange, chose grape. Lowry’s preference is strawberry.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — If the idea had never been floated last year at Chicago Cubs camp that Brad Keller could make the switch from starting to relieving, his life today would probably look completely different.
“I was basically destined to go to Iowa and just be kind of a bulk starter down there and kind of see what happens,” he said. “Definitely a career changer.”
But instead of pitching for the Cubs’ triple-A affiliate in Des Moines, Keller tried out the bullpen. The switch revitalized his career, as he developed from journeyman starter to key reliever for a team in a playoff race, and then signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Phillies this winter to be a high-leverage arm.
Keller pitched the first inning of a Phillies bullpen game on Wednesday, a 5-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. He needed just 11 pitches to retire the side in order.
“It was good to get in there and face hitters, get in front of the stadium instead of just the live backfields and stuff like that. So it was good. Felt good,” Keller said.
Keller’s fastball jumped from 93.7 mph in 2024 to 97.1 mph last season after his move to the bullpen. In his first Grapefruit League outing, he blew two fastballs by Colt Keith clocking 97.3 mph and 96.9 mph to strike him out swinging.
“High velocity, and the slider was really good,” said manager Rob Thomson. “He looked great.”
Rather than paring down his starter’s arsenal when he made the switch to the bullpen, Keller actually added a pitch — a sweeper. He typically uses it as a weapon against righties, throwing one Wednesday to Gleyber Torres that he fouled off, before getting him to ground out on his sinker.
Keller, who will join Team USA to prepare for the World Baseball Classic on Saturday, said he always knew he had the potential for higher velocity.
“I knew it was always in there,” he said. “It’s just my mentality was always starting. I started my whole career, minor leagues and most of the big leagues. And so I just never really reached back for anything. Last year was a little bit of a surprise, because I feel like I didn’t ever have to reach back. It was just there, which was nice.”
Who stood out
Edmundo Sosa hit a ground-rule double to left field in the third inning.
Alec Bohm made a nice play on a sharply hit ground ball at third base, and turned a double play to end the top of the fourth. Bohm finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
“He’s in really good shape this year, and he’s a little bit stronger. He’s done a lot of work, so he’s ready for this,” Thomson said. “He’s been swinging the bat well and hitting the ball the other way. I thought our at-bats today were good.”
Otto Kemp hit a home run onto the center-field berm, and Bryce Harper doubled to right to drive in a run in the fifth inning.
Justin Crawford also made a big defensive play, leaping to catch a deep fly ball from Matt Vierling on the center-field warning track.
On the mound
Following Keller, Zach Pop, Kyle Backhus, Zach McCambley, Tim Mayza, Trevor Richards, and Génesis Cabrera each pitched an inning. Those six are competing for the final two bullpen spots.
Pop, Backhus, and Richards each sidestepped a single for a scoreless frame. McCambley allowed a run on a walk and two straight singles, but induced a double play to escape the jam. A run scored on Mayza after two singles put runners on the corners and a wild pitch went to the backstop.
Cabrera tossed a 1-2-3 seventh.
Phillies shortstop Edmundo Sosa celebrates after hitting a ground-rule double during the third inning against the Tigers on Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla.
Injury check
Infield prospect Aidan Miller (sore back) has continued to get treatment and has begun to ramp up in the weight room. The Phillies are being cautious with him and do not have a timeline for when he will start swinging a bat.
Outfielder Brandon Marsh jammed his hand during sliding drills on Tuesday and has some inflammation and soreness. To be cautious, Thomson said Marsh likely won’t play until after Monday’s off day.
“He’s been throwing strikes and the slider’s good,” Thomson said of Pop. “He’s got a bowling ball fastball, heavy sink to it. It’s a mid-90s fastball. He’s throwing the ball well. Backhus, again, threw the ball well today. So yeah, we’re going to have some tough decisions at the end of this thing.”
On deck
The Phillies host the Nationals at 1:05 p.m. Thursday at BayCare Ballpark, with Taijuan Walker set to start.
The club placed its longtime captain on injured reserve Wednesday. The move comes after Crosby suffered a lower-body injury during the Olympic hockey tournament at the Milan Cortina Games.
The 38-year-old three-time Stanley Cup winner went down in the second period of Canada’s quarterfinal win over Czechia. The Canadians held out hope Crosby would be able to return, but he sat out a semifinal win over Finland and a loss to the United States in the gold medal game.
Crosby, who is expected to miss at least four weeks, does not regret his decision to play in Milan.
“It’s the Olympics and it’s an amazing experience just as an athlete, not just as a hockey player,” he said, later adding, “Obviously injuries are part of the game.”
Crosby did not have an issue with the hit he absorbed from Czechia defenseman Radko Gudas.
“He was trying to be physical and play hard as any defenseman would and it just went the wrong way as far as on my end of it,” he said.
Crosby credited the medical staff in Italy with helping him have a shot at playing in the gold medal game. He believes he came “a lot closer” than he thought he would to suiting up for Team Canada in the final.
Asked if he considered playing in a limited capacity, such as being relegated to strictly the power play, Crosby shook his head.
“If you can’t go out there and do a job and be relied upon … then you can’t force it and that’s really what it came down to,” he said.
The injury comes with the surprising Penguins in second place in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh is looking to return to the postseason for the first time since 2022.
Crosby has been his usually productive self this season. He leads the Penguins in goals (27), assists (32) and points (59) and is on pace to extend his NHL record of averaging at least a point a game to 21 years and counting.
“Obviously, I want to be back out there as soon as possible,” he said. “Just have to figure out what that looks like and how that’s going to be and be at my best when I come back.”
Pittsburgh opens the post-Olympic break at home against New Jersey on Thursday. The matchup with the Devils is the first of 13 games in a 24-day stretch for the Penguins.
“All year we’ve had injuries [and] guys have stepped up,” he said. “To get to where we’re at at this point, it’s because of our team play.”
INDIANAPOLIS — After a five-year hiatus, Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton rejoined the competition committee this offseason. He said he likes “our league” and having a say in the rules that govern it.
But every once in a while, his self-described “B.S. meter” spikes.
Last year’s discussions surrounding the Tush Push struck a sour note with Payton. He claimed the competition committee spent hours highlighting the health and safety risks of the push sneak, all the while introducing the dynamic kickoff in 2024 that would lead to an uptick in returns, and in turn, concussions.
Thus, Payton suggested that furthering the health-and-safety argument to effectively ban the Tush Push would be hypocritical.
“Look, I think if that ever goes away, it’s not a health and safety thing, right?” Payton said on Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “We discussed that last year for two hours, and we just adopted 1,000 more kick returns. Which play do you think is more of a health risk? One thousand more kick returns. So I think if we choose to ever move on from that, it won’t be because of health and safety. It will just be like, we don’t like it, which is OK.”
Broncos head coach Sean Payton said his “B.S. meter” went off with the way a Tush Push ban was being sold last to the league last offseason.
Despite previous leaguewide critiques of player safety and aesthetics, the Tush Push could be poised to live another season. Competition committee cochairman Rich McKay told reporters on Monday that he doesn’t anticipate a team submission of a rules proposal seeking to eradicate the push sneak recently popularized by the Eagles.
While the play had been scrutinized since its inception in 2022, the Green Bay Packers were the first team to take a formal shot at a ban when they submitted a rule change proposal in March. The proposal did not garner the requisite support from the league’s owners to be adopted last season.
The past could stay in the past. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said Tuesday that his team has no plans to revive its proposal, which fell short by two votes last year.
The waning ire directed at the play correlates with the Eagles’ declining efficiency in 2025. According to tushpush.fyi, the Eagles attempted a league-high 33 push sneaks while converting 21, a 64% success rate (the league average is 73.8%). By the end of the regular season, the Eagles decided against running their signature sneak in short-yardage situations.
Even in the red zone, the Eagles opted for variations of the sneak instead of calling upon quarterback Jalen Hurts to drive his legs through defenders and across the line to gain. Tight end Dallas Goedert’s success in the red zone (10 touchdowns inside the opponent’s 20-yard line) in 2025 occurred in part due to the Eagles’ struggles at executing the push play.
The Packers were nominally behind the effort to ban a Tush Push play that was also disliked by the league office.
The competition committee and the teams could still submit proposals ahead of the annual league meeting in late March. But John Lynch, the San Francisco 49ers general manager and another member of the competition committee, suggested that the crusade against the Tush Push has lost steam after defenses caught up to its dominance.
“That’s all we talked about last year,” Lynch said. “And I will tell you, it felt like there was momentum going into league meetings that it would be overturned. And then it kind of flipped, and those things happen. I think now, we went through a year, maybe people have gotten a little bit better at defending it. Maybe they’re doing it less. People aren’t wanting to put their quarterbacks in those types of situations. You’re seeing more variety. They line up in the Tush Push, they run outside.
“So maybe, just maybe, it’s kind of solving itself, but we’ll see. I think you’ve got to monitor those things over time to see the trends, and that’s something we’ll continue to do.”
The Tush Push isn’t in the clear just yet, so Nick Sirianni said he doesn’t “have to cross that bridge” until its legality in 2026 is official. Still, the Eagles coach said he is looking forward to reimagining its fit in a new-look scheme under offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.
“I think there’s some things that teams did this year that they did a good job of being able to stop it and we either have to get back to being able to be as dominant as we were at it, or we find new avenues to be able to convert on third down or in the red zone,” Sirianni said. “And so that’s the fun part about [the] offseason, is to be able to go through those processes. You go through them during the season as well. I think you saw us do some cool things off of it, and you still want to be able to do that.
“We know it took a little bit of [a] step back, and we’ve got to coach it better and we’ve got to execute it better. And looking forward to seeing where that goes in the future.”
Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion played with the Seahawks in his last NFL stop.
Mannion draws praise
As quarterbacks coach with the Seattle Seahawks in 2022, Dave Canales would refer to his cadre of quarterbacks as his “bullpen.” But while the starting quarterback garnered the bulk of the reps, Mannion, the third-stringer, still prepared as if he was the go-to guy, according to Canales.
“Sean wanted to make sure he got all the throws, and then he wanted to make sure he put himself in the most impossible physical positions to try to get the throw done,” said Canales, now the Carolina Panthers’ head coach. “I learned so much in our times [together]. Different progressions, different types of drills he forced himself into were things that I took with me as I continued to coach quarterbacks over the last couple of years. But [he’s] brilliant, asks the right questions, catches the loopholes in protections and different things like that.”
Those interactions over the course of their year together gave Canales the confidence that Mannion had the offensive aptitude to take on a coaching role following his NFL playing career. But his football intelligence wouldn’t be the only determining factor.
“It was just a matter of if he was dumb enough to get into the profession,” Canales said with a smile. “But I guess he is, so here he is.”
Here he is, just three years into his coaching career. After Mannion’s two seasons with the Packers — one as an offensive assistant and another as quarterbacks coach — the Eagles hired him to succeed Kevin Patullo as offensive coordinator in late January.
The precise ins and outs of his prospective scheme remain unknown, although Sirianni has acknowledged it is influenced by the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay scheme, an ode to Mannion’s roots as a player and as a Packers assistant.
New Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski (left, with fellow Philadelphia-area native and Falcons president of football Matt Ryan) had high praise for Sean Mannion.
Despite Mannion’s lack of play-calling experience, his coaching acumen is highly regarded by his peers, including new Atlanta Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski. The Wayne native and St. Joseph’s Prep/Penn product was Mannion’s offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings in 2019. They kept in touch over the years and discussed coaching opportunities, Stefanski said, but Mannion elected to keep playing.
“You could tell right away he was wired to do this,” Stefanski said. “His dad’s a coach. When you’re [in] the backup [quarterback] role, I think great coaches come from that role, because you have to prepare yourself to play, even when you’re not getting the reps. So I think he’s been really developed into it, developed by the different stops that he’s had with the different people that he’s had. But it’s always been in him to coach, and I think that just goes back to how he was brought up.”
Gutekunst said he wasn’t surprised by Mannion’s quick rise up the coaching ranks, either. However, Mannion’s departure was “unfortunate,” Gutekunst said, seeing as he hoped to keep “a young, really talented coach” on staff for more than a couple of years.
“He’s going to do a great job,” Gutekunst said. “The ability to see the game through a quarterback’s eyes because of his playing career, coming from a coaching family, there’s just a lot to like there.”
WASHINGTON ― Once again, Travis Sanheim was on the outside looking in.
And as in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament a year ago, the Flyers defenseman was inserted into Canada’s lineup in Game 2 at the Milan Cortina Olympics and never left.
Maybe the doubters need to stop doubting.
Across his five games, the silver-medal-winning Sanheim averaged 13 minutes, 14 seconds, as he crept up coach Jon Cooper’s depth chart as the tournament progressed. Although it was fewer minutes than he’s used to in Philly — he plays more than 24 a night — the blueliner made the most of his ice time.
Sanheim finished the tournament tied for the fourth-best plus-minus (plus-6) among all players, despite averaging fewer minutes than 10 of the 12 players who were either tied with him or above him; only forwards Jack Hughes and Joel Armia played fewer minutes among that group.
He was not on the ice for any of the 10 goals Canada allowed in his five games and his plus-minus was up there with some of the game’s best defensemen — Brock Faber and Cale Makar (plus-6), Zach Werenski (plus-8), and Niko Mikkola, Devon Toews, and his Flyers teammate and, based on Wednesday’s morning skate, his current defensive partner, Rasmus Ristolainen (plus-9).
“I think that’s kind of why I was brought over, was the ability to kind of be a utility guy and be able to play in different situations,” he said Wednesday at Capital One Arena. “Didn’t get in the first game, and have the ability to step right in and play and give them good minutes.
“And I just thought as the tournament went along, just gained more confidence with playing each game and gained the trust of the coaching staff to earn more minutes, and was happy with how I performed.”
Sanheim also had one assist, and it was an important one. He set up Shea Theodore for the game-tying goal with under 10 minutes to go in the semifinals against Finland after receiving a pass from Tom Wilson, whom the Flyers will see with the Capitals on Wednesday (7 p.m., NBCSP). Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-winner with 36 seconds left in regulation.
He was robbed of a goal by Czech goalie Lukáš Dostál in the quarterfinals, but Sanheim’s name was mentioned over and over again during the gold-medal game by NBC play-by-play man Kenny Albert. A versatile defenseman who can play on the right or the left, he skated more than 15 minutes and had three shots on goal in the finale.
Defenseman Travis Sanheim believes being around some of the league’s best players and playing such high-level hockey can help him as he returns to the Flyers.
But while he won a medal, it was obviously not the one he wanted.
“I’m sure I’ll appreciate the silver years down the road and looking back on it, but obviously right now, disappointment. Thought we did a good job of playing in that tournament and thought that we deserved better,” said Sanheim, who told Unfiltered With Ricky Bo & Bill Colarulo on Tuesday that the medal is currently in his safe.
“So, it’s hard to enjoy the silver when you think that you had a chance to take gold and you come up short. So, like I said, grateful for the opportunity and the experience and what it all entailed, and yet disappointment that comes with it.”
The experience was special nonetheless for Sanheim. He took in speedskating with his Canadian teammates, and traded pins, including swapping with Japan and Italy; however, he didn’t realize how big the pin swapping was at the Olympics and was unable to get a few he had his eye on.
And he was able to spend time with his family. As his mother, Shelly, told The Inquirer on New Year’s Eve, the whole family was headed to Italy to watch Sanheim don the maple leaf.
“Just appreciative of the support that I get. Everyone that came over has been with me from when I was a kid, and happy to be able to share that experience with them,” he said, also mentioning that it meant the world to him that his hometown, Elkhorn, Manitoba, showed its support too.
“ … And, at the end of it, showing them the medal, and them putting it on and getting pictures, you get to see the joy and what it meant for them to experience what I was going through and fortunate to have those guys.”
But while the Olympics are over and he is back with the Flyers as they begin their final 26-game sprint to the end of the season, that doesn’t mean he won’t take what he learned and experienced to the Orange and Black.
“I think how hard you have to play each and every night, the style of play that you need to play, the willingness to do anything to win a hockey game, and different roles that come up throughout the tournament, that guys have to sacrifice for the better good of the team,” he said.
“And then just the skill level that these guys all play with, and how they play, how hard they work, their off-ice training, and what they do, their preparation. There’s a reason they’re the best in their sport and lucky to share the ice with them.
“If I can bring any of that back and share that with our team and try and help the guys … and obviously, we want to continue to grow and take the next step, and being able to see that firsthand is going to benefit me.”
Breakaways
Dan Vladař (17-8-6, .905 save percentage) was the first goalie off at morning skate and is expected to be the starter against Washington. … The Flyers officially loaned defenseman Adam Ginning back to Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.
AJ Brown’s future…Sean Mannion’s hiring as offensive coordinator…Jeff Stoutland’s awkward exit…the Eagles’ strategy for free agency and the draft. These have been the dominant storylines of the Eagles’ offseason. More than a month after the team’s unceremonious exit from the playoffs, its top two decision makers finally weighed in publicly on these topics. Ahead of this week’s NFL combine, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Olivia Reiner participated in beat reporters-only interview sessions with general manager Howie Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni. With the embargo lifted, Jeff and Olivia discuss their main takeaways.
00:00 Roseman and Sirianni speak!
01:13 Roseman and Sirianni address the AJ Brown situation
10:26 Sirianni indicates that offense will be different under new coordinator Sean Mannion
20:15 Sirianni gives his side of the Jeff Stoutland story
26:34 How will coaching changes affect Howie Roseman’s offseason personnel strategy
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.
There shouldn’t be too much to worry about at Subaru Park on Thursday in a Concacaf Champions Cup game against Defence Force FC of Trinidad (7 p.m., FS1, TUDN), with the Union bringing a 5-0 aggregate lead into the second leg. But that doesn’t mean all is well.
Outside back Frankie Westfield, centerback Finn Sundstrom, and forward Agustín Anello are dealing with minor injuries at the moment. Westfield is the biggest concern, both because of how his absence impacts the starting lineup and because it’s a hamstring tweak.
“Frankie’s still working on the side, getting closer to the team day by day, and I think that’s his status: day by day,” manager Bradley Carnell said Wednesday. “It’s pretty much all day-to-day stuff [with the trio], and hope to have them back pretty soon.”
Although the Union have a commanding lead in the series, Carnell isn’t taking this game lightly, especially after a loss Saturday at D.C. United in the MLS opener. Another game also quickly follows this one, against rival New York City FC at Subaru Park on Sunday (4:30 p.m., Apple TV.)
“Tomorrow’s halftime of the series, and we have to be fully focused,” he said. “We have a lot of things that we need to work on, and we have a lot of things that we are still not really happy with right now, with our own performance and putting things in our own control. … Regardless of opponent now, we have to take the baton in the hand and really focus on ourselves right now.”
Milan Iloski, who sat next to Carnell on the podium, concurred.
“I think we’re never going to be where we want to be,” Iloski said. “We’re always going to be chasing perfection, but soccer’s a game where it’s never going to be perfect, I think we’re working every day to improve and to get better — of course, there’s still a lot of good faces, and we’re building chemistry and we’re building relationships every day.”
Carnell also said he has spoken with Ezekiel Alladoh about the striker’s red card on Saturday, and with officials who confirmed it was for “inappropriate language.”
The Winter Olympics were full of exciting moments for Team USA — from the men’s and women’s hockey teams winning gold to Alysa Liu stunning fans every time she took the ice. And one man was there to witness it all: Jason Kelce.
The former Eagles center joined his wife, Kylie Kelce, who attended on behalf of NBC and YouTube. While Kylie was there on business, Jason enjoyed his time as a spectator and had no problem with CBC Olympics labeling him as Kylie Kelce’s husband.
“I really was just there to have fun and enjoy the Olympics,” Kelce said on the latest episode of New Heights. “So, I was 100% — this was the correct way to say it. I wanted to tell them I prefer ‘ball and chain.’”
During his time in Milan, Kelce got some bobsledding experience and attended four Olympic hockey games, the short program for figure skating and short-track speedskating. Here’s everything he had to say about his experience at the Winter Olympics:
Bobsledding experience
Ahead of the games, Kelce had the chance to get some hands-on experience with Team USA’s bobsledding team at their headquarters in Park City, Utah, where he learned about their training and got to see what it feels like going down the track with Team USA member Frank Del Duca.
“The ride itself, way more intense than I imagined,” Kelce said. “Like I thought it would be like a roller coaster. I really did. The energy that you are moving down this thing at over 80 mph. And when you go into these bank turns, it pushes you into the bottom of this thing.
“And on the bottom of the sled, there’s like these metal rails and my [expletive] is so [expletive] wide, they’re sitting on those metal rails. I’m being pinched down onto these metal beams. I’m trying to keep my head up so I can see. [Expletive] is flying by. I have no [expletive] idea how [Frank] was even knowing when to do the turns and everything. Like, you have to memorize it.”
‘The most fun sport to watch on the planet’
After the men’s U.S. hockey team made history, winning the gold medal for the first time in 46 years, Kelce went to social media to express his feelings with a simple, “Let’s [expletive] go!”
“There is just something about hockey, whether it’s playoff hockey or national hockey,” Kelce said. “When guys are like going all out, it’s just the most fun sport to watch on the planet. USA, hockey capital of the world. Men’s and women’s gold medal. Best country on the planet in hockey. I don’t want to hear any arguments.”
Kelce supported both teams in Milan, attending two women’s hockey games and two men’s games — including the men’s dominant 6-2 win over Slovakia in the semifinals, and the women’s gold medal victory over Canada.
“Canada got out to a quick lead and it made it very stressful,” Kelce said. “It was an electric game and then obviously we got to see USA men’s dismantle Slovakia. And I was sitting with the Tkachuk family. Keith Tkachuk was over there on the end of it. Got to shake the hand of a [expletive] legend … We were right by the Hughes family, too. Jack Hughes, who had the golden goal for the U.S. in the gold medal game.”
“After talking to her, you realize she is from the Heights,” Kelce said. “There’s just like this humbleness but also she’s a great person and it comes across very apparent when you speak to her. … They’re a great team, man. They’re tightknit. They’re playing jokes on one another. Just so proud for all of them. It’s an incredible moment to win a gold medal, especially in a team sport like that.”
Speed skating vs. figure skating
Kelce attended the short program for figure skating and he had just one recommendation when it comes to watching in the arena.
“I would have liked to have heard Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir announcing it live,” Kelce said. “When you don’t have that, especially for someone newer to the sport, you like to hear the excitement in the announcer’s voice that they just did something difficult or they just nailed a routine or they just missed something.”
But when it came to speed skating, Kelce had no notes.
“In speed skating, it is a [expletive] party in that speed skating arena,” Kelce said. “There’s DJ’s playing music. It’s fast paced, there’s bells ringing, it is high-stakes action in the speed skating short track.”
Kelce even had the chance to meet Apolo Ohno, a speed skating legend and eight-time medalist.
“Apolo, we watched him all growing up,” Kelce said. “Unbelievable speed skater. … Speed skating was electric as [expletive]. … These things were fast paced, they were moving. They’re doing Tush Pushes because we saw the relay version where they get in there and push the [expletive] of the guy in front of them.”
I, for one, am astonished that several entitled young white millionaires were eager to capitalize on their brief moment of relevance by becoming pawns of a president for whom most of them probably voted, especially if they listened to the most popular podcasters — that is, if they even bothered to vote.
Let’s unpack that sentence.
The average age of Team USA men’s hockey players is 28.43 years, so the chance they voted is less than 50%, according to surveys conducted by CIRCLE, a research initiative based at Tufts University. Among white men between the ages of 18-29, 56% voted for President Donald Trump. If they had no college degree, as is the case with most NHL players, that number jumps to 67%. More than half the listeners of podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience are white men between the ages of 18-34, and, after Trump was elected, Dana White, the CEO of UFC and a staunch Trump ally, thanked those podcasters for getting Trump over the hump.
Let’s throw in the fact that most professional athletes are, necessarily, narcissists. And there you have the reasons that so many members of Team USA have become the latest victims of moral political outrage.
They won Olympic gold in dramatic, heartwarming fashion Sunday, but our sitting president immediately spoiled the afterglow as they celebrated in Italy. Still, most of Team USA accepted an invitation to visit the White House. They met with Trump on Tuesday afternoon and attended the State of the Union address that night.
Jack Hughes (left) and Clayton Keller react after receiving their gold medals after the U.S. defeated Canada in the gold medal game on Sunday at the Winter Olympics.
All of this set social media and TV talk shows on fire: How dare they?
Which is exactly what Trump wanted.
Once again, his theater of the absurd drew fabulous ratings. Snowflakes on both sides melted, as scripted: The left, in anger; the right, in glee.
Perhaps one day Trump’s opponents will understand that the only one who gains from this sort of performative outrage is Trump. Save your energy for the ICE attacks in Minnesota and the acts of war on Venezuela. You’re not converting anyone by attacking Connor Hellebuyck, the goalie in the crowd to whom Trump promised a Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday night.
Everything Trump does is transactional: They showed up for him, he gave one of them a medal.
What, you want him to turn it down? Get real. That’s not who these players are.
You expected a group of guys like this to decline the invitation to see and be seen with the most powerful man on the planet? What planet do you live on? In what world do these guys do the right thing?
Consider Olympic hero Jack Hughes’ considered reaction Monday, after all the heat was on:
“Everything is so political,” he told reporters. “People are so negative out there, and they are just trying to find a reason to put people down, and make something out of almost nothing.”
It’s as if he was trying to define “self-unawareness.” Like most young men in his situation, he is not equipped for the moment.
Nevertheless, as America’s current Olympic hero, Hughes, 24, is the unofficial spokesman for the group that some folks think should have told its FBI director to go home and find Nancy Guthrie. The group that some folks think should have told Trump that they weren’t coming to the White House unless the women’s team came, too, and that the women would have to sit in the front row.
There’s no way a bunch of partying, exhausted, exhilarated frat bros are going to not laugh at a dumb joke from a guy who reminds them of their grandfathers.
Lighten up, folks.
I’m not MAGA. For that matter, you’re going to be hard-pressed to find a sports writer more anti-MAGA than I’ve proven myself to be. When Trump dips his toe into sports, I generally try to stub it.
However, on the Trump scale, Trump acted mildly here. He offhandedly insulted the women’s team — a team whose win I considered the apex of the Games, and wrote as much. He and his minions did far worse to Olympians who dared challenge him.
And if you think the hockey lads are bad, check out Nick Bosa, Herschel Walker, and Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton.
𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: President Donald Trump was greeted by Herschel Walker and UGA QB Gunner Stockton when he arrived in Georgia coming off Air Force One.
Both have been long-term supporters of Trump and the MAGA movement.
This hockey team isn’t perfect, but it isn’t evil, either. It should not be remembered for being the victim of a controversy not of its own making.
It should be remembered as a brilliantly built roster, masterfully coached, which played a spectacular tournament. Its No. 1 goalie gave up six goals total. The penalty kill snuffed all 18 power plays.
The team was incredible.
This outrage, at best, is futile. At worst, it is performative.
Every lefty Twitter warrior knew Trump would politicize a men’s hockey win because Trump knew he and the men’s hockey team were generally of like mind. Most of Team USA appears to be Trump people, unbothered by the misogyny, racism, xenophobia, and corruption of his administrations, happy for every second in the spotlight.
Certainly, it would have been nice if all 25 players had made a different choice. Five did. Twenty didn’t. Twenty percent of a group of clueless twentysomethings is better than nothing.
This contrived controversy obscures how, for about an hour, this was a powerful Olympic tale.
The good feelings emanating from the team’s moving remembrance of Johnny Gaudreau were washed away by the Trump episode.
The facts
Hughes scored a golden goal against Canada in overtime, avenging an identical defeat handed to Team USA by Canadian hero Sidney Crosby in 2010. Afterward, with an American flag draped over his shoulders, Hughes skated around with his brother and teammate, Quinn, smiling through chipped and bloodied teeth he’d suffered during the game. Team members took victory laps carrying the jersey Johnny Gaudreau would have worn had G and his brother not been killed in August 2024. The team invited Gaudreau’s two small children onto the ice for a team photo.
What’s more, social media hyped Hughes’ advocacy of Pride Night last season, which has become a controversial topic in the more reactionary corners of the NHL.
In this 2024 interview, Jack Hughes, who just scored the game-winning goal for the US Olympic hockey team, explains why it was important for him to embrace Pride Night when many other NHL players refused to do so. pic.twitter.com/jLRy5Blqo4
Then, Trump intruded. And, as with most things, he ruined it. This was not just predictable. It was inevitable.
First, FBI chief Kash Patel, who’d said he was in Italy on official business, joined the alcohol-drenched postgame celebration, a moment of indecorum that sent J. Edgar Hoover spinning in his grave. The players partied on. What were they supposed to do? Kick Patel out of the locker room?
Then, Trump called the party and, offhandedly, demeaned the women’s team, which had won gold three days before. The players laughed. Some of them, clearly aware of Trump’s boorishness, laughed nervously. But they laughed.
What were they supposed to do? Chastise the president during his locker-room call?
Be realistic. This was the greatest achievement of their lives. None of them seems particularly woke. And, besides, they’d been partying.
“There’s so many things happening,” winger Kyle Connor told The Athletic on Monday. “We just won the gold medal and things are going on so I don’t really remember what he said. It’s such a whirlwind, just celebrating.”
The boys are getting more abuse than they deserve, especially in the cesspool of social media. Folks called the players morons. They told them they could stick their gold medals up their collective butts. Some said they’d carry the stain of this moment with them the rest of their lives.
No, they won’t. Have we learned nothing from Trump and his associations with the golf world?
American golfers at the Ryder Cup not only welcome Trump at the event, but some actually performed the ridiculous Trump dance. None has suffered.
Tiger Woods’ associations with the president do not appear to have damaged the golfer.
The fallout
You know who were the two most popular golfers before they golfed with Trump? Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. You know who the two most popular golfers are today? Tiger and Rory. In fact, Tiger’s dating Trump’s former daughter-in-law.
The players on the women’s team, bless them, declined their invitation to the White House.
Sure, I respect the five from Team USA who didn’t wallow in the Trump trough more than I respect the 20 who did. In that same vein, I respect the Eagles, such as Jalen Hurts, who refused to visit the White House last spring more than I respect Saquon Barkley, who not only visited the White House, but also went golfing and lunched with Trump the day before.
The fallout: In September, Saquon received the ultimate honor of having a Wawa hoagie named after him.
But there’s not going to be any real hangover effect from this. There never really is.
