For the first time since Feb. 6, 2018, Penn has defeated Princeton in a men’s basketball game.
The Quakers entered the matchup sitting sixth in the Ivy League, one game behind Princeton, which beat them in their Ivy League opener in January. The longtime rivals have had a lopsided affair in recent years, with Princeton winning the last 14 matchups.
On Saturday, the tide turned. The game came down to one final possession, and after Princeton’s Dalen Davis’s potential game-winning 9-foot jumper clanged off the rim, Penn’s bench stormed the court as streamers fell to celebrate its 61-60 victory at the Palestra. Now, Penn (11-10, 4-4 Ivy) has finally started a win streak of its own. Princeton fell to 8-15, 4-4.
“I don’t concern myself with what happened in 2018,” Quakers coach Fran McCaffery said in reference to snapping the program’s skid against the Tigers. “This team, we’re going to prepare them to win the next game on the schedule. That next game happened to be against Princeton. Kids really fought hard today. I’m really proud of [them]”
QUAKERS TOPPLE THE TIGERS.@PennMBB wins a thriller in front of an @ESPNU audience with a 61-60 win over Princeton. T.J. Power recorded 18 points and seven rebounds to lead the Quakers. 🌿🏀pic.twitter.com/gdRVyzh0Az
Fans should expect highlight performances from a player as talented as TJ Power, with the former Duke forward being the highest-ranked high school recruit to ever play for the Quakers. So far this season, he ranks 10th in the league in scoring (14.9 points per game) and third in rebounding (7.9).
But for the Quaker faithful, none of that matters unless you show up against Princeton — and that’s exactly what he did.
Power started the game 4-for-4 from the field, anchoring the offense while his teammates struggled. In the final two minutes with the lead at one following four straight points from Princeton’s Malik Abdullahi, Power would come through once again, lacing a corner three with 1 minute, 19 seconds left to give the Quakers a four-point lead that the Tigers couldn’t completely erase.
Penn’s TJ Power (12) splits a pair of Princeton defenders in Saturday’s win for the Quakers that snapped an eight-year losing streak to the Tigers.
“It’s kind of a blur when I think back on it,” Power said in reference to his winning shot. “We got some penetration. They kicked it out to AJ [Levine], and AJ had a good shot, and he made the unselfish play and passed it up for a great shot. And that shows what our team chemistry is like right there.”
Power finished with a team-high 18 points as well as seven rebounds and three assists — one of which led to a highlight slam from center Augie Gerhardt with 4:33 left.
The night before the game, Power recalled how the team spoke to alumni about the importance of the Princeton rivalry, which he said helped fuel the team.
“That’s when I really got a sense for this rivalry and what it means to past players, students, and coaches,” Power said. “So that was really cool to get some background and context heading into the game. I think it motivated a lot of our guys.”
Ethan Roberts and Michael Zanoni, the team’s No. 1 and 3 leading scorers, scored a collective five points against Princeton — with Roberts failing to notch a singular point for the first time in his Penn career.
McCaffery hinted at a lack of foul calls being the cause of Roberts’ offensive struggles.
“What’s happening to Michael and Ethan is disappointing,” McCaffery said. “A lot of physicality there. They should be shooting free throws.”
Solidified starter
At the start of the season, there were plenty of question marks regarding who would be the starting point guard for Penn. Now, following an injury to guard Dylan Williams, AJ Levine finds himself excelling in that role.
The 6-foot sophomore guard has improved in conference play, going from 5.5 points per game against nonconference competition to 12 points per game against the Ivy opponents, which showed against the Tigers.
Levine finished the game with 13 points, three assists, and three steals.
Penn’s AJ Levine has been strong in-conference play and continued that against the Tigers behind a 13-point performance.
“He got off got himself off to a good start in both halves today,” McCaffery said. “But it’s his decision-making that is just so much improved. He’s playing under control. He’s playing with great confidence, and that’s how we’re going to have to continue to play, because there’s going to be nights when guys are off.”
It was Levine’s strong defensive play which led to Princeton’s missed final shot.
“After he shot it,” Levine said. “All I thought in my head was I did everything I could in that moment, I put my entire effort out there all game. There was not a moment where I let up. I can’t really focus on the results of that. I put everything into that stop at the end. Once it missed, it was the biggest relief ever.”
Up next
The Quakers now look for back-to-back wins when they welcome Columbia (14-8, 3-5) to the Palestra on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN+).
St. Joseph’s trailed Dayton by as many as 11 points early in the fourth quarter after the Flyers shot 90% from the field in the third. But the Hawks didn’t fold, trimming the deficit and setting up a late push.
Guards Gabby Casey and Jill Jekot pulled the Hawks within three points with four minutes to play, but Dayton answered back. Casey’s basket made it a two-point game with 25 seconds left, but St. Joe’s couldn’t get any closer.
Dayton (13-11, 6-7 Atlantic 10) came up with a stop and made timely free throws in the final seconds to beat St. Joe’s (15-8, 6-6), 75-73, and hand the Hawks their second straight loss.
St. Joe’s coach Cindy Griffin yells to her team against Dayton on Saturday.
“I thought our defense really failed us today,” said St. Joe’s coach Cindy Griffin. “It’s no discredit to Dayton, I thought they came in and shot the ball really well. We put ourselves in a position where we gave up way too many threes to start the game and we were playing catch-up again. That’s kind of been our thing the last couple of games in our losses.”
Statistical leaders
Casey guided the Hawks with 29 points on 12-for-20 shooting, with 13 coming in the final 10 minutes. Forward Faith Stinson added 11 points.
Guards Nicole Stephens and Jayda Johnson led Dayton with 18 and 15 points, respectively. The Flyers’ offense shot 54.9% from the field and went 9-for-19 from deep.
What we saw
Dayton built an 18-12 lead near the end of the first quarter, but the Hawks pulled within one point at the start of the second. The Flyers held the lead for nearly the entire second half before St. Joe’s finally pulled even at 31 with a layup from Casey.
Dayton took a 35-33 lead at the half after a jumper in the final seconds from guard Nayo Lear.
The Flyers opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run to take a 45-35 lead before the Hawks trimmed the deficit to three.
Dayton pushed its lead to 11 after two straight three-pointers and opened the third quarter by hitting its first six shots, taking a comfortable nine-point lead into the fourth.
St. Joe’s made it a game again in the final five minutes behind six points from Casey, pulling within three several times before Dayton answered each push.
“We showed a lot of resolve today. I think we competed and were right there at the end,” Griffin said. “But we’ve proven that we have to play from ahead. It’s tough for us to play from behind and we haven’t been overly successful in that area.”
Clutch play
With about two minutes left, St. Joe’s trailed, 69-66, and had momentum after holding a 10-3 edge on the offensive glass through three quarters. But Dayton came up with two key offensive rebounds late, including a putback by Flyers center Fatima Ibrahim off a Stephens miss that kept the Hawks from tying.
St. Joe’s guard Gabby Casey gets her shot attempt blocked by Dayton center Fatima Ibrahim and forward Maliyah Johnson on Saturday.
On the Flyers’ next possession, Stephens missed a three-pointer, but Ibrahim was there for the putback and the free throw to make it a two-possession game again. Her two offensive rebounds gave Dayton three second-chance points in the Flyers’ two-point win.
“You look at it and they only had five offensive rebounds and we won the second chance points battle, but they got the timely ones,” Griffin said. “I think that was really a deal breaker.”
Up next
The Hawks will host George Washington (13-11, 5-6) on Wednesday (11 a.m., ESPN+).
WASHINGTON, D.C. —Acaden Lewis finished with a career-high 26 points to guide Villanova to an 80-73 road victory over Georgetown on Saturday.
Lewis was the only Wildcat to score a field goal in the final ten minutes of the game, when he dropped back-to-back three-pointers to separate Villanova (18-5, 9-3 Big East) from Georgetown. It was his fifth 20-point outing this season. Lewis also contributed six assists and is now averaging 5.3 per game.
Villanova shot 28-for-57 (49.1%) from the field, including 10-for-29 (34.5%) in three-pointers.
Junior guard Tyler Perkins added 15 points, marking his seventh straight game with double digits. He is averaging 17.4 points over his last seven games.
“I think [Lewis is] really growing up as the season progresses,” Villanova coach Kevin Willard said. “I have the utmost confidence in him. He’s progressing the way you want any freshman point guard to progress. And he had it going tonight, and he had been making great plays. He’s been getting everybody involved, which has been great. And then tonight, we need him to score.”
Lewis also contributed six assists. He is now averaging 12.4 points and 5.3 assists per game.
“I’ve actually seen it, like, my little freshman,” Villanova forward Duke Brennan said. “At the start of the year, seeing him in those big-time games, sometimes he wasn’t feeling it. And now we get out of here, and he’s ready to go, ready to score. I’ve been seeing his growth and stuff like that, but he’s always been capable of that.”
Junior guard Tyler Perkins scored 15 points, marking his seventh consecutive game with double digits. He is averaging 17.4 points over his last seven games.
Brennan continues to dominate
Brennan posted his 10th double-double of the season, totaling 13 points and 13 rebounds (six offensive). It is the most double-doubles by a Villanova player since Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had nine during his freshman season in 2019-20.
“Oh, goodness. I mean, I’m pretty banged up and bruised up,” Brennan said when asked about the physicality of the Big East. “Just keep on getting in and covering, and we know every single game coming up is going to be physical. So, knowing that, preparing for that, is allowing me to come out ready to go.”
He is now averaging a team-high 10.7 rebounds per game, which ranks second in the Big East. Brennan is fifth in the country and leads the Big East with 98 offensive rebounds.
First-half paint defense
In the first half, Villanova struggled to limit Georgetown’s paint scoring. At one point, Georgetown shot 63% from the field to make it competitive against a high-scoring Villanova offense.
Georgetown had 16 first-half points in the paint. However, in the second half, Villanova limited Georgetown to four points in the paint through the first 14 minutes. The Hoyas finished with 10 paint points in the back half.
Free throws
Willard simply said “free throws” when asked about what the team can improve upon.
Villanova had its worst performance from the line in recent years. On Saturday, the Wildcats shot a season-worst 14-for-28 from the charity stripe.
Kevin Willard said Villanova needs to improve on its free-throw shooting.
The free throw misses almost ended up being costly in the final four minutes of the game. Georgetown kept the margin within four points, and Villanova could not gain much separation.
Historically, Villanova has been one of the best free-throw shooting teams in the country. The Wildcats led the league in free-throw percentage from 2021 to 2023.
Up next
Villanova returns to Finneran Pavilion on Tuesday to face Marquette (8-15, 3-9) for the second time this season (7:30 p.m., TNT/truTV).
The Wildcats won the previous meeting in January, 76-73.
When it comes to the Winter Olympics’ traditional sports, there’s nothing quite like Alpine skiing’s downhill race.
For decades, the sight of people flying down the slopes as fast as cars on a highway has been one of The Games’ signature spectacles. This year’s stage will make the show even more spectacular: the Stelvio ski course in Bormio, Italy, up in the Dolomite Mountains.
Bormio has been a tourist attraction for over 2,000 years thanks to its thermal baths. But as the Wall Street Journal wrote on Friday, the Stelvio course is renowned for an icy surface and steep drops, earning the nickname “The Ribbon of Death.”
That will add more unpredictability to an event with a long history of it. The Olympic men’s downhill has never had a repeat champion since starting in 1948. Even some of the most famous skiers of all time, like France’s Jean-Claude Killy, have only won it once, if at all.
The last American to take the title was Tommy Moe in 1994. Will that wait end this year? It could, because Vermont native Ryan Cochran-Siegle is among the favorites. He’s challenging Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt, the top name on the board, and Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris.
Marco Odermatt flies down the Stevio course during a training run on Friday.
You’ll have to wake up early to watch the event live, as it starts at 5:30 a.m. Philadelphia time on USA Network and Peacock. But you can also catch a rebroadcast during NBC’s prime-time show.
NBC’s live coverage during the day includes women’s speed skating’s 3,000-meter race, which is likely to be dominated by the Netherlands on the ice and in the stands. The Dutch fans are a show on their own. There’s also figure skating’s team event, the women’s Skiathlon with American Jessie Diggins, and the first luge runs on the icy sliding track.
USA Network’s live coverage includes snowboarding, curling, freestyle skiing, and the U.S. women’s ice hockey team’s second group game against Finland. The Americans routed Czechia, 5-1, in their opener on Thursday.
How to watch the Olympics on TV and stream online
NBC’s TV coverage will have live events from noon to 5 p.m. Philadelphia time on weekdays and starting in the mornings on the weekends. There’s a six-hour time difference from Italy and here. The traditional prime-time coverage will have highlights of the day and storytelling features.
Germany’s Timon Grancagnolo slides down the track during a luge training session on Friday.
As far as the TV channels, the Olympics are airing on NBC, USA, CNBC, and NBCSN. Spanish coverage can be found on Telemundo and Universo.
NBCSN is carrying the Gold Zone whip-around show that was so popular during the Summer Olympics in 2024, with hosts including Scott Hanson of NFL RedZone. It used to be just on Peacock, NBC’s online streaming service, but now is on TV, too.
Every event is available to stream live on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app. You’ll have to log in with your pay-TV provider, whether cable, satellite, or streaming platforms, including YouTube TV, FuboTV, and Sling TV.
Hilary Knight (left) watches her shot go in for the fourth goal in the U.S. women’s ice hockey team’s 5-1 rout of Czechia on Thursday.
Saturday’s Olympics TV schedule
As a general rule, our schedules include all live broadcasts on TV, but not tape-delayed broadcasts on cable channels. We’ll let you know what’s on NBC’s broadcasts, whether live or not.
NBC
7 a.m.: Cross-country skiing — Women’s Skiathlon
8 a.m.: Freestyle skiing — Men’s slopestyle qualifying
10:05 a.m.: Speed skating — Women’s 3000-meter
11:30 a.m.: Freestyle skiing — women’s slopestyle qualifying (tape-delayed)
12:30 p.m.: Luge — men’s singles, run 2
1:45 p.m.: Figure skating — team event, men’s short program
3:15 p.m.: Snowboarding — men’s big air final (delayed)
4:05 p.m.: Figure skating — team event, free dance
The ones that tie a skate or hold up hockey pants. And the ones that some jerseys have near the neck.
But then there are the invisible ones that matter all the same — maybe even more. For Flyers coach Rick Tocchet, there’s an invisible string pulling him across the ocean.
“My parents emigrated from Italy, and I’m really excited to go back there,” said Tocchet, who understands poco, or a little, Italian. “I love the food. … I’m excited to go over there and see a beautiful country.”
Tocchet’s late parents, Norma and Fortunato ‘Nato’ Tocchet, immigrated to Canada from outside Venice. They settled in Scarborough, Ontario, bringing a blue-collar work ethic — Norma was a seamstress, and Nato a mechanic — that Tocchet carried with him across his 621 games with the Flyers and 1,144 in the NHL.
A member of the Flyers Hall of Fame, he accumulated 232 goals,508 points, and a franchise-record 1,815 penalty minutes across two stints in Philly while being beloved and revered by the fans for his grit and in-your-face style.
It is the same work ethic he has carried with him as a coach, including the first 56 games of his tenure behind the Flyers’ bench. And the same one he will carry 173 miles west of Venice, as an assistant coach for Canada’s men’s team at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
“Yeah, an unbelievable moment. To be a part of that, to coach for your country, with the talent that we have, it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Tocchet told The Inquirer in Utah after a recent Flyers practice. “So it’s a great honor, and I’m really excited.”
‘Sense of pride’
Across his 61 years, Tocchet has always watched the Olympics. He remembers Sidney Crosby’s golden goal at the 2010 Vancouver Games and captain Mario Lemieux leading Canada to its first gold in 50 years at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. And, for the dual citizen, he’ll pop on Miracle, about the 1980 U.S. Olympic team that stunned the Soviet Union before winning gold in Lake Placid, to get motivated.
But the most impactful Canadian hockey moment for the Scarborough kid wasn’t on the Olympic stage. In the 1972 Summit Series, as the Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie would sing in Fireworks, Paul Henderson scored “a goal that everyone remembers.”
In Game 8 of an eight-game series, pitting Canada’s best against the Soviets’ best, Henderson clinched the series. The Flyers’ Bobby Clarke — who infamously slashed Valeri Kharlamov during the series — was linemates with Henderson, but was not on the ice because Phil Esposito stayed on for an elongated shift.
“So I was 8 or 9 years old and in school, and they actually brought a TV into our classroom to watch that; that’s how the whole country’s eyes were on that series,” Tocchet recalled.
Rick Tocchet is renowned around the league for his one-on-one instruction with players.
“But when he scored the goal, the sense of pride — the whole country went crazy, obviously. But what a series. … You go down the list of great players and it impacted my life, because I loved hockey even more when I saw that, and I started to train and wanted to be an NHL player.”
Fast forward to the present, and on Thursday, like many of his players, including Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim, Tocchet will make his Olympic debut when Canada plays Dan Vladař and Czechia (10:40 a.m. ET, USA Network). But like all of his players, he has worn the maple leaf before. The forward played in a World Championship and two Canada Cups, winning gold each time.
“It wasn’t about money. It wasn’t about status. It was about playing for your country,” he said. “To be part of that, I was very lucky as a young kid to play with Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Paul Coffey, guys that I idolized and learned a lot from.
“And then playing in front of the Canada crowd, how loud it was. Just the sense of pride, it was incredible. Had nothing to do with anything, it wasn’t about individual goals, it was about playing for your country.”
Tocc-eye
Tocchet is no stranger to coaching for his country, either. Last February, he was part of Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper’s staff at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Canadians, which included Sanheim and Flyers forward Travis Konecny, won gold by beating the U.S. in overtime.
Rick Tocchet hasn’t coached any of the current #Flyers in the NHL but he did coach Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Canada won the title. pic.twitter.com/BcYl3NbRI1
At that tournament, Tocchet was a jack-of-all-trades, focusing on the structure, faceoff planning, and in-game adjustments. But what impressed Cooper the most was how he would often meet with players one-on-one or in small groups to watch videos — over a garbage can.
As Tocchet explained, he would put his laptop on a garbage can and go over things, as he did when he was an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins and his Flyers’ assistant coaches do now.
“I couldn’t have surrounded myself with a better guy,” Cooper told The Inquirer in late November. “I will tell you this, because his eye for the game and what happens in real time, having that talent is a real thing. And Tocc has that. He sees it, he processes it, and then gives you the information.
“And there were countless times at the 4 Nations that he made me think of things, or I saw things in a different light, or I missed something, and he caught it. And so many little adjustments we made in between periods, because of what Tocc did.”
He’ll have the same role in Italy with Cooper rolling over the same staff in Tocchet, Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy, former NHL coach Pete DeBoer, and former NHL assistant coach Misha Donskov.
After winning last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, Canada enters this year’s Olympics as the favorites.
Tocchet will assuredly have one eye on the Flyers, who get back to work on Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. in Voorhees, five days before the men’s gold medal game is scheduled. But he may not have his eyes on the Flyers, outside of Sanheim, in Milan. As Vladař said with a laugh, he’s blocking numbers right now.
He’ll also be taking in other events like speedskating, Canada’s women’s hockey team, and figure skating, which includes South Jersey’s Isabeau Levito, who is co-coached by Slava Kuznetsov, the Flyers’ Russian translator.
But, with it being 12 years since Canada last won gold in Sochi, Russia, Tocchet’s whole focus will be finishing with a string around his neck and a gold medal hanging from the end. After all, as the winningest country in men’s hockey at the Olympics with nine triumphs, it is the Canadian way: Gold or bust.
Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is making its way back to Philly on Feb. 7 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena to host KnuckleMania VI. Over a year ago, the event took over the former Wells Fargo Center for KnuckleMania V — setting a local modern day combat sports record with 17,762 people in attendance.
Last year’s headliner was former UFC champion and Kensington native Eddie Alvarez. There was also plenty of love for local Philly talent, highlighting six hometown fighters. However, only two of those six walked out victorious.
In this year’s KnuckleMania card, they’re expecting a different outcome with five Pennsylvania fighters featured — including some who have already competed in South Philly.
Here are three from the Philly area that you should know ahead of Saturday night’s event …
Johnny “Cannoli” Garbarino is one of the featured fights on Saturday’s main KnuckleMania VI card.
Johnny ‘Cannoli’ Garbarino
Johnny Garbarino, a former chef at a Michelin-star restaurant, quickly became a fan favorite after last year’s performance at KnuckleMania V at the then Wells Fargo Center. After the South Philly native knocked out his opponent, Apostle Spencer, in the first round, he proposed to his girlfriend Gianna Scavetti in front of the hometown crowd.
The Italian fighter earned his “Cannoli” nickname by throwing the dessert at Spencer during the weigh-in. Since then, he’s been riding high — picking up two more wins at the 2300 Arena. Now, he’ll have a chance to return to the big stage on Feb. 7.
“I’m looking forward to all of it,” Garbarino said. “Philadelphia brings it the hardest. And I’m only saying that because I see what the Eagles fans do nationwide and they travel everywhere. They’re built different, they have crazy energy. I think a lot of people from Philadelphia are violent and I feel like I’m actually allowed to go in here and catch a body and not go to jail. So, I’m excited.”
Garbarino (3-0) will compete against Kaine Tomlinson Jr. (2-2), who defeated another Philly native — and close friend of Garbarino’s — Pat Sullivan at last year’s KnuckleMania. Heading into this year’s matchup, Garbarino is looking to avenge that loss for the city.
“The question of the day is, ‘Is it personal to fight this guy?’ I definitely feel like it’s personal,” Garbarino said. “But I feel like every fight is personal. This one is just a little bit different because he knocked a dear friend of mine out.
“Anybody from Philadelphia that fights another guy from a different city, I have to step up for them, as long as it’s in my weight class. It’s going to be an honor to put this guy down. And I’m going to raise my hand up and hopefully when Pat’s done his fight, I’ll raise his hand up too and we’ll get the win back together.”
Sullivan (1-1) will also be featured on the card, competing against Charles Bennett (0-3).
Heavyweight fighter Patrick Brady faces Bear Hill on the main card Saturday night.
Patrick ‘The Brick’ Brady
Although Patrick “The Brick” Brady currently resides in South Jersey, the 41-year-old grew up in Delaware County and claims Philly as home. He’s been training at The Forge, owned and operated by Philly UFC fighters Chris and Kyle Daukaus.
To Brady, bare knuckle fighting is just something he does in his spare time. His full-time job is managing his own renovations company called Renovations By Brady.
“This is my crazy, wild hobby, if you would say, that most people do full-time,” Brady said. “My wife hates it. She’s not a fan. Especially when I crossed over to bare knuckle.
“I come from [mixed martial arts], I was 5-1 in MMA and my only loss was when I hurt my knee, and that’s when I made the switch. It’s been a point of contention for my wife just because her position is [that] I don’t have to [do it]. But I love competing. I love elite level competition and this is what I’m doing.”
Brady (2-0) is coming off two straight knockouts — including a quick knockout over Zach Calmus at last year’s KnuckleMania. Heading into this year’s fight with Bear Hill (2-0), he doesn’t plan on playing it safe.
“I fought here last January,” Brady said. “I fought a worthy opponent who was on a four-fight win streak and got him out of there fast in under a minute, and it was a good night. Hopefully the night goes the same way. I’m looking for a knockout. There’s no decisions. I don’t plan on backing up. I plan on coming forward and putting on a show.”
Cruiserweight Lex Ludlow will face Calmus on Saturday, a year after Brady knocked him out.
Lex ‘The Grizzly Bear’ Ludlow
This will be Lex “The Grizzly Bear” Ludlow’s (2-0) first time competing at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. And as the Levittown native prepares for his fight with Zach Calmus (5-4), the cruiserweight is already focused on his post-fight speech.
“This is going to be the craziest post-fight speech ever,” Ludlow said. “I’m really known for it. I’m way better than [UFC fighter] Colby Covington in post-fight speeches. The only person, in my opinion, better in post-fight speeches than me is the guy that I grew up watching do it, Chael Sonnen. He’s somebody that I’ve been trying to get the eye from, to look at me and one day walk down to the ring with me. Just trying to impress Chael, that’s all it is.”
His passion for the promo comes from his love for pro wrestling, growing up studying the words of popular heels (or villains) like “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, and “Ravishing” Rick Rude.
“I was a pro wrestling fan since I was five years old,” Ludlow said. “Weirdly enough, I used to practice doing promos. I would stand up in a mirror and I would practice how I would talk, how I present myself, everything.”
Now, the 32 year old is ready to play both the heel and the face (or hero) when it comes to fighting in Philly.
“I’m definitely going to play to the crowd,” Ludlow said. “Because I’m the most hated man in combat sports — but everybody loves me. So, I guess I have to play the face a little bit.”
Because of the Winter Olympics, the Flyers won’t play again for another two-and-a-half weeks, not that anyone is all that broken up about their impending absence. They’ve been a lousy hang for a while, losing 12 of their last 15 games, falling out of the playoff picture, and drawing attention primarily for the six degrees of debate around Matvei Michkov’s playing time.
The Michkov issue has been fascinating and revealing. Everyone acknowledges that, after his often-impressive rookie season, he came into training camp out of shape. That reality has precipitated a months-long discussion about how he has played, when he has played, how much he has played, and whether coach Rick Tocchet might be mishandling him and sabotaging Michkov’s career before the kid has a chance to become the star the Flyers and their fans hope he will be.
Tocchet, general manager Danny Brière, and team president Keith Jones have made it clear that they are taking, or trying to take, the long view about Michkov’s development. They have also made it clear that they consider it valuable to put him through a kind of rite of passage, to compel him to learn and practice good habits on and off the ice.
One can make a case that such an approach is too old school, won’t be effective, and risks angering and alienating Michkov. That’s possible, I suppose, but it’s just as reasonable to think the Flyers’ methods are correct and will work.
There are plenty of 76ers fans and former members of the franchise, for example, who wish their team had treated Joel Embiid and other since-departed players with a firmer hand earlier in their careers.
It’s safe to say, though, that within at least a portion of the Flyers’ fan base, a measure of paranoia has arisen when it comes to Michkov and the organization’s handling of him.
Earlier this season, anodyne comments about him, by team captain Sean Couturier, were taken out of context and treated as a major controversy. Tocchet then offered a frank assessment of Michkov’s conditioning and performance during a recent interview with PHLY Sports. And while it wasn’t the smartest media-relations strategy for the head coach to criticize such an important player so brusquely, the reaction to Tocchet’s comments suggested that people were afraid Michkov would be so offended that he would catch the first flight to Little Diomede and hike the Bering Strait back to Putinland.
That fear is irrational, of course, and it’s easy to chalk it up to the longtime overzealousness of the Benevolent Order of the Orange and Black. But in this case, it’s understandable that those fans who have stuck with the Flyers over the last 15½ years — that’s how long it has been since that 2010 run to the Stanley Cup Final — would be a little on edge about Michkov. Even more than a little.
Danny Briere addressed the noise about drama between Rick Tocchet and Matvei Michkov.
“(Tocchet) wants Matvei to succeed. He wants to develop him to be the best player he can be. Along the way, there’s tough lessons that comes with that. It’s like raising a child.”
All anyone has to do is look at the Flyers’ draft history over the last quarter century to understand why their fans want Michkov treated like a prince and shielded from any emotional boo-boos. Because that history is … ugh.
Let’s start with 2001. The Flyers’ first-round pick that year, defenseman Jeff Woywitka, played 278 NHL games in his career, none with the Flyers. Their third-round pick, Patrick Sharp, turned out to be a terrific player … after they traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks.
With the fourth-overall pick in 2002, the Flyers took defenseman Joni Pitkänen. Eh. Their subsequent six picks in that draft played a combined total of one game in the NHL.
The 2003 draft was a red-letter one: Jeff Carter and Mike Richards in the first round. After those two, the Flyers took nine other players. Alexandre Picard, a third-round defenseman, turned out to be the best of the bunch.
If, in 2004, the Flyers were actually trying to tank the draft, no one could tell. They picked 11 players who appeared in a total of 23 NHL games.
Over the ‘05 and ‘06 drafts, they selected 16 players, two of whom had lengthy NHL careers: Claude Giroux and … Steve Downie.
For three straight drafts, 2008 through 2010, the Flyers picked 17 players. Just nine made it to the NHL and two others played only one game. The player who played the most games for them was Zac Rinaldo.
The Flyers took Couturier with the No. 8 overall pick in 2011. Excellent. They found Nick Cousins in the third round. OK. None of their other four picks that year played for them.
Left wing Oskar Lindblom was drafted by the Flyers in 2014.
From 2012 to 2014, the Flyers drafted Travis Sanheim, Scott Laughton, Shayne Gostisbehere, Anthony Stolarz, Oskar Lindblom, and Robert Hägg. They did not draft anyone who could reasonably be called a star.
When the Flyers took Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny in the first round, 2015 looked like a draft they could take pride in. But Provorov’s gone, and goalies Felix Sandström and Ivan Fedotov couldn’t cut it.
Two words about the 2016 draft: German Rubtsov. Two more words: Carter Hart.
With the No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft, the Flyers selected Nolan Patrick. There are no words for how that decision turned out. But hey, Noah Cates!
The Flyers’ crown jewels from the 2018 draft were Joel Farabee and Sam Ersson.
In 2019 and 2020, the Flyers got Cam York (cool), Tyson Foerster (promising but injured), Bobby Brink (we’ll see), and Emil Andrae (don’t you need more from a second-rounder by now?).
So far, the Flyers’ best pick in the 2021 draft has been Aleksei Kolosov. Which tells you all you need to know about the Flyers’ 2021 draft.
We’re up to 2022. The Cutter Gauthier draft. Best to move on quickly and quietly …
The Jones-Brière regime has overseen the 2023-25 drafts, and yes, it’s early yet to judge the results, and yes, the Flyers were bold in ’23 in taking Michkov. But it’s worth noting that, of the 26 players the Flyers picked over those three years, just three have suited up for them so far: Michkov, Denver Barkey, and Jett Luchanko.
It’s not just that the Flyers have had opportunities to mine the draft for elite talent and failed. It’s that they haven’t even stumbled into a late-round pick or two who ended up becoming cornerstones.
A team that does not draft well cannot win. The Flyers have been proving that maxim true for a long time. No wonder their fans are so protective of the one player who represents even a glimmer of possible greatness.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Milton Williams was autographing Super Bowl LIX merchandise about a week after the Eagles routed the Kansas City Chiefs when general manager Howie Roseman sidled up next to him.
Williams had four pressures, two sacks, and a forced fumble as he and his fellow linemen pounded quarterback Patrick Mahomes a year ago in New Orleans. Roseman had come to congratulate the defensive tackle, but also to intimate that the Eagles would not be offering a contract extension to the free-agent-to-be.
“That was when all the players sign the Super Bowl merch,” Williams said to The Inquirer on Wednesday. “[Roseman’s message] was like, ‘Get the most you can.’ Once I heard that — and, meanwhile, I was talking to my agent about the deal — I thought, ‘They’re probably not going to offer.’” (Through an Eagles spokesman, Roseman confirmed that the exchange occurred.)
He was right. Williams said he was crushed. He said he wanted to stay in Philadelphia.
“We had just won a Super Bowl. Of course I didn’t want to leave,” Williams said. “But I got to do what’s best for me. They had their agenda of what they wanted to accomplish, and I wasn’t part of it. So they let me go.”
Williams ultimately signed a four-year, $104 million contract with the New England Patriots — the largest amount given to any free agent last offseason and the most in franchise history. He said he knew it would have been difficult for Roseman to match, but to him, the silence was deafening.
Milton Williams (93) helped terrorize Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX in his final game as an Eagle.
“I wanted to see, like, what the interest was,” Williams said. “I had been there four years, giving all I can, playing hurt, putting my body on the line. It wasn’t business. I wanted to see what they had, but they probably knew I was out of their price range.
“Still, an offer would have [meant] maybe they do want me to come back. No offer is ‘We good.’”
Roseman had difficult decisions to make last offseason, particularly on the defensive line. The Eagles allowed end Josh Sweat and Williams to depart in free agency, with three first-round D-linemen slated for eventual pay increases.
Tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis have yet to sign second contracts, but extensions could come this offseason. The Eagles also had the younger Moro Ojomo, a 2023 seventh-round pick, waiting in the wings.
But for Williams and his father, Milton, Sr., the lack of an offer was a slight.
“What pissed me off [is] they didn’t even offer him, offered nothing,” the elder Williams told The Inquirer. “They didn’t even entertain it. They just straight up told him — Howie Roseman said, ‘Milton, go get the bag, man, because we’re not going to be able to pay you.’
“That’s what he said to my son. … My son — it was like he wanted to cry. He said, ‘Dad, all I do …’ I said, ‘I understand, son. It’s a business. You’ll get yourself something.’”
Milton Williams (93) expected the Eagles to tender him an offer, but the team addressed other priorities.
The younger Williams got plenty. But he desired more than just to increase his bank account balance, his father said. He wanted to be wanted by the organization that drafted him in 2021. Williams felt he never got the opportunity to show his abilities because he always had higher draft picks or high-priced free agents ahead of him.
“They had their agenda. They drafted them boys in the first round and invested a lot of money in them boys,” Williams said. “I was a third-round pick, and they didn’t invest as much in me. That’s what I tell [my teammates], in the NFL it’s all about money. Money makes everything go. That’s how you see who’s going to play and what percentage of snaps.
“It’s all about money, and I wasn’t making that much.”
Williams is making a lot now. At $26 million per year, he’s behind only the Chiefs’ Chris Jones among NFL defensive tackles. The larger salary meant more playing time, but also more responsibility and more pressure.
The 26-year old has met and exceeded those expectations, according to most observers. He was at the center of the Patriots’ remarkable one-year turnaround — led by new coach Mike Vrabel — from basement-dwellers to the cusp of winning a championship.
Williams is one of only three players on the team to have previously won a title and he would become just the fifth player in NFL history to win consecutive crowns with different teams if New England upsets the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in Super Bowl LX.
“About three weeks ago, Coach Vrabel asked everybody in the organization, ‘Who here was in this situation last year in the playoffs?’” Milton Williams Sr. said. “And my son was the only one to raise his hand in the entire organization — nobody, coaches, staff — nobody else in the playoffs.
“That was powerful right there. And now they’re in the Super Bowl.”
Milton Williams (97) and linebacker Christian Elliss (53) are two former Eagles who have helped turn the Patriots around.
‘He’s a grinder’
Williams admitted that he initially felt some pressure when he inked his deal, which included $51 million guaranteed. But the Patriots had done their homework. Vrabel said he knew a lot about Williams’ character from pre-draft evaluations the Titans did when he was in Tennessee.
“We did a lot of work on him coming out of the draft … and the type of person that he was, and the family that he’s come from,” Vrabel said Monday. “So we knew the person that we were going to get, and we were confident that he was somebody that we were going to add to our roster.”
But it wasn’t until the Patriots actually got Williams in the building that they realized how hard he worked.
“It was most surprising the more I’ve been around him,” defensive line coach Clint McMillan said. “There’s a lot of talented players, but how he’s wired is the thing that I was most excited about. He’s a grinder. He puts his nose down, and he keeps working. He’s never satisfied.”
Williams wasted little time making his presence felt. He had seven pressures in the season opener, according to NextGen Stats, and 32 total through 10 games with a 13% pressure rate that was among the best at his position.
But he suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 11 and missed the next five games. It was first time he had been sidelined by injury in his career. The Patriots suffered as a result, particularly in defending the run. When Williams was in the lineup, they held offenses to just 3.7 yards per carry. When he was out, they allowed an NFL-worst 5.0-yard average.
“It was a big change because a lot of guys [offensive game-planners] were focused on where I was at,” Patriots defensive tackle and Neumann Goretti product Christian Barmore said of Williams’ absence. “But when he came back, it was an epic time because that man right there, he’s a good player. We already knew he brought a spark to our defense.”
He’s elevated his performance in the postseason and had four pressures and two quarterback hits in the AFC championship game vs. the Broncos. He told The Inquirer that he was randomly tested for drugs after the game.
“We don’t do drugs, man,” Milton Williams Sr. said. “We don’t do drugs right here. We work, man.”
Vrabel has used Williams like a chess piece up front, having him swap sides in the interior and even occasionally jump out to the edge. Roseman highlighted Williams’ versatility when he drafted the Louisiana Tech prospect who lit up the NFL combine almost five years ago.
But the majority of his snaps in Philly came at right defensive tackle because Fletcher Cox and Carter preferred to rush primarily from the left. Williams also wasn’t asked to take on a leadership role with the Eagles. He’s had to learn on the job in New England.
“I was never the guy that you would come ask questions,” Williams said. “We had other vets on our team who had done it before. I’m only 26, but I’m one of vets in the room because of my experience playing — it’s crazy.
“I’m just trying to spread the knowledge like some of the vets in Philly did when I was there.”
Williams endured a slow start to Eagles career to eventually become a Super Bowl hero.
‘Make plays on this stage, it’ll change your life’
Williams had some struggles as a rookie, and he and the team faced criticism because he was drafted just one pick after Alim McNeill, a bigger-bodied defensive tackle who became a high-impact rookie with the Detroit Lions. Senior scout Tom Donahoe preferred McNeill, and the Eagles were in position to draft him but traded down from No. 70 to No. 73 in exchange for a sixth-round pick. McNeill went 72nd, and the Eagles took Williams 73rd. Donahoe, who left the team in 2022, was caught by TV cameras begrudgingly shaking Roseman’s hand in the draft room after the pick was made.
Roseman’s projection panned out, and Williams became one of the league’s more explosive interior rushers and a high-motor guy. But he often felt idle.
“He would get frustrated because he was like, ‘Dad, I’m putting in my work,’” Milton Williams Sr. said. “I’ve been at practice before, and I see these guys and they can’t finish a drill and land on their backs or whatnot. And I see that, and he finished the drill and got 15, 20 seconds left still.
“And I said, ‘I understand. But you know what? Whenever you’re on the field, make them call your name. Bottom line.’ That’s our saying right there: ‘If they’re calling your name on the field, that means you’re doing something.’”
But when the Eagles extended their first- and second-round draft picks from 2021 — wide receiver DeVonta Smith and guard Landon Dickerson — after their third seasons, Williams wasn’t next in line. He thought he would be.
“I was waiting. I was in the last year of my deal. I’m like, ‘It’s now or never,’” Williams said. “Every time I step out on the field, if I wanted to be there I was making sure I was making plays. But I was also putting out good tape for a situation like this.
“If they don’t want me to sign [early], I was going to change that, and watch me be a professional and get better every year as a player.”
Milton Williams (93) struggled at times as a rookie but would vindicate the Eagles’ decision to select him in the third round.
Williams said he watched the Eagles regress without him this season. Their issues were many, but mostly on the offensive side. Williams said he kept in touch with various players and coaches and that Brandon Graham recently reached out to tell him he was proud of him.
The Patriots have leaned on Williams’ knowledge of Super Bowl week since he had experienced it twice previously. Vrabel put together a roster of underdogs. Williams may be the highest-paid, but he knows how it feels to be overlooked.
“We got a lot of guys who got released because they thought they weren’t good enough or they wanted to go in another direction,” Williams said. “So they got a lot of stuff in the back of their minds to motivate them and push them. ‘OK, you didn’t think I was good enough? I’ll show you.’ You make plays on this stage, it’ll change your life.
The journey started in Crowley, Texas, about a 20-minute drive south of Fort Worth. At Bicentennial Park, Williams would run hills with his father. He still goes back there to maintain the hunger he first had when he felt disregarded.
“He’s had a chip on his shoulder all his life, from little league on up,” Milton Williams Sr. said. “He’s not the rah-rah type person. He’s just going to put the work in. And now that people are finally seeing what he can do, he’s just working. It ain’t over. They ain’t seen nothing.
Last week, with the trade deadline looming, Joel Embiid made a public plea to the 76ers’ front office. He begged them to ignore the luxury tax for once, and to get him the help he needs for what has turned into an unlikely impending playoff run.
“In the past we’ve been, I guess, ducking the tax,” Embiid said last week. “So, hopefully, we think about improving. Because I think we have a chance.”
Embiid made this plea knowing that Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and Embiid himself cannot sustain their high level of play if they have to maintain such a high number of minutes.
Embiid’s plea coincided with the 25-game drug suspension of fellow veteran and max-salary player Paul George, who, like Embiid, was rounding into form after more than a year of debilitating injury issues. George will not be eligible to return until only 10 games remain in the season.
In fact, not only did the Sixers fail to make a significant move to improve the roster, they actually got worse: They traded last year‘s first-round pick, sharpshooter Jared McCain, for future draft picks.
So, despite asking, and asking nicely, Embiid got no help.
Daryl Morey’s message to Embiid:
Trust the process.
“I think we all wanted to add to the team, and, you know, we took his comments to heart,” the Sixers’ president said Friday.
And?
“We were trying to add to the team,” Morey said, “and we didn’t find a deal that made sense — one that we thought could move the needle on our ability to win this year.”
So: Still processing.
McCain trade
Maxey is the team’s most important player, so he was never a trade consideration, but Morey acknowledged that both Edgecombe and Embiid were essentially untouchable, too.
McCain was not untouchable. His departure provided salary-cap relief. Further, though, Morey painted McCain as a long-term project who might not develop faster than whomever the Sixers draft in June with the first-round pick the Sixers got in the trade.
That seemed harsh. True, but harsh.
Sixers guard Jared McCain was shipped after only playing one full season in Philly.
As a rookie, McCain averaged 15.3 points in 23 games mostly as a bench player last season, which was cut short by injury. More injury issues limited his participation this season, and he was averaging just 6.6 points. Morey traded him Wednesday to Oklahoma City for the Thunder’s first-round pick in June, as well as three future second-round picks.
McCain simply was not in the Sixers’ immediate plans, and Morey insisted that they would not have gotten a better return on McCain in the offseason.
Morey also said the Sixers hoped to immediately flip some of the draft picks they received in the McCain deal and improve the team thus.
The emergence of Dominic Barlow, who is starting in place of George, and the continued strong bench play of guard Quentin Grimes convinced him that there were no players available for a sensible asking price that would appreciably improve the Sixers.
Certainly, there were no players that would have warranted the Sixers exceeding the luxury tax, though Sixers ownership had given him permission to spend whatever he needed to spend.
“If we had found an [addition] and we were going to end up higher [than the tax], we would have ended up above it. We’ve done it several times,” Morey said. “We didn’t see something that did.”
So: Still processing.
The Process
The catastrophic, scorched-earth strategy of rebuilding the Sixers, begun in 2013, eventually became known as “The Process.” Trusting in it became the mantra of both the franchise and a cult of devoted, long-suffering fans for whom no sacrifice was too outrageous.
Embiid then hijacked the phrase as his nickname in 2016, after he’d missed his first two NBA seasons due to injury. Personalizing the phrase was an ostentatious act, but, considering the nature of his turbulent career, Embiid has come to embody it.
Now, 13 years and five decision-makers later — Sam Hinkie, Bryan Colangelo, Brett Brown, Elton Brand, and Morey — the Sixers must ask their best player, the last vestige of The Process, to spend one of his twilight seasons hoping the current chapter of The Process has a happy ending.
“This team, we think, can make a deep playoff run and is one of the top few teams in the East,” Morey said.
He’s right.
The Process has a window. It’s a small window, like that triangular side window on old cars, but it’s a window nevertheless.
If you remember opening that little triangular "wing window" in the car to get a breeze right in your face, you must have gray hair. pic.twitter.com/DCZhJJc5VP
As of Friday night the Sixers stood sixth in a sagging Eastern Conference. Injury has diminished both the Celtics, who won the NBA title two years ago, and the Pacers, conference champs last season. The Pistons are in first place, 4½ games ahead of the flawed Knicks and Celtics, but nobody really believes in them. The Sixers are just one game behind the Raptors, who have five players averaging double figures, and 1½ games behind the Cavaliers, who, despite having won seven of their last eight games, were so desperate that they traded for — wait for it — 36-year-old James Harden.
James Harden, formerly of the Sixers, was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As predicted when Celtics star Jayson Tatum and Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton suffered severe injuries in the 2025 playoffs, the East is weak and vulnerable. These are adjectives that often have been used to describe the 76ers during The Process.
Now, though, the Sixers have won five of their last six games. They’ve ridden Maxey’s MVP campaign, Edgecombe’s Rookie of the Year campaign, and what would be Embiid’s Comeback Player of the Year campaign if the NBA had such an award.
Can they keep it up? We won’t know for months whether the conference is so bad that even the Sixers can win it.
So, until then: Still processing.
You gotta believe
“I believe in myself, so I’m always going to believe I have a chance, as long as I’m healthy,” Embiid told reporters Thursday night, after McCain had arrived in Oklahoma and no new player had joined the Sixers on the road in Los Angeles. “I believe that we can beat anybody. We hold down the fort until [George] comes back. He’s really needed. He’s irreplaceable.”
He’s not in demand, though. League sources indicated that no team was interested in trading for George. No surprise there. At 35, not only is George suspended, but he is also owed almost $110 million over the next two seasons, and he has an injury history as bad as Embiid’s.
That’s OK with the Sixers. George, when not taking banned substances, is probably still very good. Morey adores George, especially as a defensive difference-maker.
“We really like what Paul gives us,” Morey said.
Well, he won’t give them anything for the next 21 games. Which, for the moment, is exactly what the Sixers will get from the 2026 trade deadline.
Muriel Crescenzo finally earned her United States citizenship Tuesday morning, after more than three years of waiting and more than seven with her husband, James. On Tuesday evening, they celebrated by watching the Flyers take home a 4-2 win against the Washington Capitals.
The Crescenzos met at the Okemo Mountain ski resort in Vermont in 2018. Muriel was working there for the season, and James was on a snowboarding trip. He’d fallen down on one of the hills, and Muriel came to help him. They instantly clicked, and James asked her out. They went on their first date at a bar called Mr. Darcy’s, in Ludlow, Vt., which Muriel said she felt was a sign — Pride and Prejudice is her favorite book and Mr. Darcy is a main character in it.
So when Muriel returned to her home in Santiago, Chile, in the offseason, James, an Egg Harbor Township native, traveled to see her.
“For me, it was no more winter,” he said. “In the winter, I would go to South America for three or four months, and I was working on a golf course, so you were laid off in the winter anyway. It actually worked perfectly.”
The couple took turns visiting each other every year, with Muriel coming up to New Jersey and James heading down to see her in Chile. The two also took a number of international trips together, to London, Prague, Amsterdam, and Buenos Aires.
But when the pandemic hit, those annual plans were upended, and the Crescenzos decided to start the process of getting married and getting Muriel permanent residency in the U.S. They got married in Las Vegas, and have been living in the Philadelphia area ever since. James is a lifelong Philly sports fan, and he has turned Muriel into one as well since their move back to the area.
“When we first moved here, everything was just magical right away,” said James, 43. “That first year we saw [Michael] Lorenzen throw his no-hitter. Every Flyers game we went to, they would win in overtime, sudden death. It was always a magical, special game that first season. It’s been a little rough since, but we still believe.”
Flyers national anthem singer Lauren Hart (left) meets James and Muriel Crescenzo at Tuesday’s game.
So when Muriel, 34, got her naturalization interview date, they knew they wanted to celebrate at a Flyers game.
“It felt different because I could sing the song,” Muriel said. “Before, I didn’t know it that well, the anthem. But now, I could sing it and I’m a part of it.”
The Crescenzos even met Flyers anthem singer Lauren Hart, and of course, Gritty. They also got to take in a Flyers win.
The next step will be going back to Chile to visit her family. During the citizenship application process, she was not allowed to leave the country, so the Crescenzos haven’t been able to take any international trips for more than three years.
“We’re not worried anymore,” Muriel said. “I finally feel secure. We finally can be together. Nothing’s going to stop that happening.”
