ARIES (March 21-April 19). As Venus packs her bags for the next sign, express your love through acceptance. Give people room to be themselves. Few gifts are more liberating than feeling welcomed without needing to change or perform.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Venus closes out her Leo chapter with an invitation to express your love through reliability. Show up when you said you would. Follow through on a promise. Consistency may not seem romantic, but it creates lasting trust.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Before Venus changes signs, express your love through adventure. Suggest an outing, explore a new place or try something unfamiliar together. Shared experiences have a way of becoming treasured memories.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). With Venus preparing to leave Leo, express your love through trust. Share something meaningful, listen without judgment or keep a confidence. Emotional intimacy grows when people feel safe revealing themselves.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Venus spends her final hours in your sign, inviting you to express your love through beauty. Share flowers, music, art or a lovely experience. Aesthetic pleasures become a bridge, bringing people together through delight and enjoyment.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Before Venus exits Leo and moves into your sign, express your love through hospitality. Open your door, make room at the table or help someone feel welcome. Few things are more healing than a sense of belonging.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The curtain call from Venus as she leaves Leo is your chance to express your love through appreciation. Let people know what you admire about them. Recognition is a powerful form of affection, and one that lingers long after the moment passes.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). As Venus takes her final bow in Leo, express your love through conversation. Ask questions, tell stories and stay curious. People feel cherished when someone takes a genuine interest in their thoughts and experiences.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). On the last day of Venus in Leo, express your love through encouragement. Be the first to believe in someone, cheer them on or remind them what they’re capable of. Confidence is contagious, and your faith becomes a gift.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). As Venus wraps up her stay in Leo, express your love through practical help. Run an errand, solve a problem or notice what needs doing. Thoughtful effort often speaks more clearly than grand declarations.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Venus leaves Leo with one final request: Express your love through imagination. Write a note, share a poem or create a small moment of wonder. A touch of magic can make affection unforgettable.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Venus leaving Leo is an opportunity to express your love through food. Prepare a favorite meal, share a treat or create a moment of comfort around the table. Nourishment has always been one of your sweetest dialects.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (July 8). It’s your Year of the Scarab. Ancient Egyptians associated the scarab beetle with the daily rebirth of the sun. What appears to be an ending is actually the beginning of a more powerful version of yourself. More highlights: Your mastery of a game brings wins on many levels. You’ll hear words that heal and send your heart soaring. Strategic improvement makes home life better than ever. Leo and Aquarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 8, 2, 11, 40 and 16.
DEAR ABBY: I have been married to my wife for three years. She asked me to fix her old computer. As I was doing that, I saw emails from her ex, “Doug,” dated a few months before our wedding. They started with the usual greetings, then proceeded to steamy back-and-forth emails.
They set up a time to talk, and Doug suggested they use FaceTime. It appears they had several interactions on FaceTime. In his emails afterward (she told him never to text), he described his sexual feelings and how great her body looked and details about what he was going to do to her. She played right back with him. This went on for about a month and a half. When she cut it off, he complained, but she never got back to him.
Doug emailed her several times after the last interaction and asked why she had stopped, adding that he was giving up after receiving no response. I noted his number was also blocked on her phone. He lives in another country, so I know they didn’t physically get together. We have a good marriage, but this is killing me. What should I do?
— BETRAYED IN NEW YORK
DEAR BETRAYED: What you should do is tell your wife you found her correspondence with Doug and how it made you feel. She realized she was making a mistake and ended her inappropriate conversations with Doug before she married you. I presume she has been faithful ever since. Feeling as you do, you may need the help of a licensed marriage counselor to put this matter to rest. Please don’t wait.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: My husband throws a fit over every minor inconvenience, from the trash can being knocked over to the screen door being in his way. He starts yelling and cursing and slamming doors. I don’t understand it. When things like this happen to other people, they simply pick up the mess or move the object and go about their day.
I try to help and move stuff around to avoid his fits, but they are inevitable, it seems. I cannot handle the negativity over something so trivial. Our neighbors can hear him, and I’d feel embarrassed, if I were him, to be heard cursing like a child having a tantrum.
How would you advise I handle this situation? I am at my wits’ end. I feel as though I will have to live with the yelling and anger forever.
— IN THE LINE OF FIRE
DEAR IN THE LINE: Could there be some other stressors in your husband’s life that have caused him to have such a short fuse? When folks are troubled about something they can’t control, they sometimes blame their frustration on the nearest person or object. It’s called “displacement.” I hope you realize that his inability to control his temper (and his mouth) is no reflection on you, and that it is not up to you to handle it. If you manage to catch him when he’s rational, ask if anything else might be bothering him, and then be prepared to listen. If he realizes what’s causing this, it might make him better able to cope.
CINCINNATI — Every year, Zack Wheeler has the same three goals.
Win the Cy Young Award, win the World Series, and make the All-Star Game. After returning from thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition that has ended other pitchers’ careers, he didn’t diminish his own expectations.
And so it rankles the Phillies right-hander that one of those goals is officially out of reach this year due to factors out of his control.
Never mind that Wheeler posted a 2.28 ERA in his first 14 starts since returning from the surgery, including a dominant seven innings against the Reds on Tuesday night. Wheeler was not selected to his fourth All-Star Game through the player ballot, which was announced on Saturday. And because he is lined up to start for the Phillies on Sunday and is therefore ineligible to pitch two days later in the midsummer classic, he cannot be named a replacement like teammate Jesús Luzardo, who was one of three pitchers added to the team on Tuesday.
“It [ticks] me off, and it’s kind of B.S. Maybe if I wasn’t necessarily right in there I wouldn’t be saying this, but I feel like I’ve earned it,” Wheeler said. “Just because I pitch on a certain day, I can’t pitch an All-Star Game, or even be there, or get the recognition for it. They could have did it a few different ways. I didn’t necessarily have to get chosen right away, but I feel like I was right there, so maybe they put me in and automatically just shoot me right back out and put somebody else in.
“There’s certain ways to do it, and you figure they would have a clue about it by now, how many All-Star games they’ve had, and I think it’s kind of just a B.S. rule that just because I pitch on a certain day, I get punished for it.”
Kyle Schwarber (left) celebrates with Bryce Harper after hitting a two-run homer.
Wheeler said he typically throws a bullpen session the second or third day after his start and informed his agent he would be willing to pitch an inning on July 14, but was told he is not allowed.
The Phillies had a similar snub last season. Cristopher Sánchez was passed over for an All-Star selection despite a 2.59 ERA in the first half, due to also pitching the final game before the break. The club activated the bonus clause in his contract for an All-Star selection, but Sánchez did not get league recognition.
“It just [stinks] that we have to deal with it,” said Kyle Schwarber, who is one of six Phillies on the National League roster. “We dealt with it last year, dealt with it this year now, and when someone who’s putting up the numbers deserves it, you want them to just get that nod.”
But even if Wheeler will not earn his third consecutive All-Star selection, he certainly put on an All-Star-caliber performance on Tuesday. He held the Reds to one run over seven innings as he pitched with some extra motivation.
Wheeler’s 14 strikeouts matched a career-high.
“I felt like that’s kind of a reminder,” he said, “for whoever needs to be reminded.”
Wheeler leaned on all six of his pitches to keep the Reds off-balance. He generated 20 swings and misses. Early in his outing, his sweeper was his main strikeout pitch. But by the third time through Cincinnati’s order, Wheeler started throwing his splitter more often late in counts as he tried to give hitters different looks.
“I think that’s the one thing with Zack that I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” said interim manager Don Mattingly. “If a guy’s got a weakness, he can get there with different pitches. It’s either the backdoor sink, he can go four [seam] up, he’s got the sweeper, he’s got the split, so there’s weapons for all different styles of guys.”
Zack Wheeler generated swings and misses with all of his signature pitches against the Reds.
Wheeler did not walk a batter. The solo homer he gave up to Eugenio Suárez to lead off the seventh was just the fourth hit and baserunner Wheeler had allowed all night. But he capped the inning — and his outing — by getting Tyler Stephenson to chase a splitter for his 14th strikeout.
“Definitely had some extra focus today. Looked really good in the bullpen,” said catcher J.T. Realmuto. “From start to finish, that was about as good as I’ve seen him.”
The Phillies’ offense provided all the cushion Wheeler needed against Reds lefty Andrew Abbott. In the third inning, Derek Hill started things off with a double, advanced to third on a single from Justin Crawford, and scored on an RBI groundout from Trea Turner.
Abbott then served up a 3-0 fastball over the middle of the plate to Schwarber.
The Ohio native doesn’t often swing in 3-0 counts. In fact, across the first 28 times Schwarber has gotten ahead 3-0 this season, he swung just once, which resulted in a foul tip. Three times, he was intentionally walked. The other 24 times, Schwarber took the 3-0 pitch.
But this time, Schwarber delivered a 408-foot home run to right field, his 31st of the season and 11th against a left-hander.
“I’m not very good at swinging 3-0, I don’t think my numbers are great at all. It’s just kind of always been a little thing for some reason,” Schwarber said. “Not many successful things happen for me there, which is a weird thing, but it just kind of was the spot, the situation.”
The Phillies tacked on another run in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly from Edmundo Sosa.
After taking over for Wheeler, Orion Kerkering got into some trouble in the bottom of the frame, issuing back-to-back walks to bring the tying run to the plate. He nearly got out of it, inducing a ground ball to Alec Bohm for a potential inning-ending double play, but Elly De La Cruz was ruled safe at second while Sal Stewart was called out at first.
The Phillies challenged the safe call on De La Cruz, believing that he abandoned the base path by continuing toward the outfield rather than turning to third base immediately after the play. After a lengthy review, the call was upheld. Crew chief Alfonso Marquez told a pool reporter that abandoning of the base path is not challengeable, according to league rules.
Phillies infield coach Bobby Dickerson (right) was ejected by crew chief Alfonso Márquez (center) after their failed challenge of Elly De La Cruz abandoning the base path on a ground ball in the eighth inning.
“In our minds, De La Cruz did not turn left toward third at all,” Mattingly said. “I asked for a rules check from that standpoint, to make sure they knew the rule. Because that’s what they explained to us, showed us video in spring training that you cannot continue running.”
Pitching coach Caleb Cotham and infield coach Bobby Dickerson were ejected after the ruling.
Following the delay, JJ Bleday battled Kerkering for a nine-pitch walk to load the bases and Mattingly brought in Jonathan Bowlan for Suárez. Bowlan made the disagreement moot by striking out Suárez with a slider in the dirt, stranding all three runners.
Jhoan Duran sidestepped a soft infield single to strike out the side in the ninth, picking up his 22nd save of the season.
In doing so, he also ensured that Wheeler earned his ninth win.
“I’m sure there’s a little bit of [an] extra thing in the back of his head where he wanted to go out there and have a really good night, and he did it,” Schwarber said. “And I’m happy that he’s on our side.”
On the latest episode of GameDay Central Sixers Extra, beat reporter Gina Mizell and Inquirer columnist David Murphy discuss the blockbuster trade for Jaylen Brown, why LeBron James could choose Philly, and the rest of the Sixers’ offseason.
Angel Reese felt that Atlanta Dream teammates Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray were snubbed by not being selected as All-Star starters.
Now the Dream trio will get to play together in Chicago at the WNBA All-Star Game on July 25 after all three players were selected as reserves by the league’s coaches on Tuesday.
Reese had said after the All-Star starters came out that she felt her two Dream teammates should have been starting. It’s the fourth time that Atlanta has had three All-Stars.
Joining the Dream players as reserves are Washington teammates Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen. Both made the All-Star Game as rookies last season.
Toronto’s Marina Mabrey will be making her first All-Star appearance and gave the expansion franchise a player in the game. She matched the WNBA record with a 53-point game last month.
Other players selected by the coaches were New York’s Jonquel Jones, whose adoptive mother is Temple women’s basketball coach Diane Richardson, Minnesota’s Courtney Williams, Las Vegas’ Jackie Young and Seattle’s Dominique Malonga, who will also be making her All-Star debut.
New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones (center) will join teammate Breanna Stewart in the WNBA All-Star Game.
Los Angeles teammates Nneka Ogwumike and Kelsey Plum also were picked. Ogwumike has been an All-Star 11 times and moved into a second-place tie with Diana Taurasi for most All-Star appearances, only trailing Sue Bird’s 13.
Coaches couldn’t vote for their own players.
Plum has been sidelined for the last few weeks with a leg injury and will be evaluated again later this month. If she can’t play, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert will choose a replacement.
New this year, WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon will serve as honorary general managers and select the two teams from the pool of All-Stars. The pair will select the teams at some point soon.
Chicago, Portland, Connecticut and Phoenix all don’t have All-Stars.
CINCINNATI — The Phillies bullpen shuffle continued on Tuesday ahead of their series opener against the Reds.
Right-hander Max Lazar was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley, while lefty Kyle Backhus was optioned.
Backhus has struggled since returning from an elbow injury at the end of June. In seven appearances since being activated from the injured list, Backhus has a 7.94 ERA.
“We just felt like Back hasn’t been throwing the ball like he did before before the injury,” said interim manager Don Mattingly. “He says he feels great, and I think he understands he’s just not throwing the ball well yet, so this gives him an opportunity to kind of work regularly, get his stuff together, and be prepared when we need him.”
Backhus also pitched an inning in the 15-1 loss to the Royals in the series finale on Monday, while Lazar gives the Phillies a fresh arm. Lazar, who has a 3.93 ERA in 18⅓ innings in triple A, can also be a multi-inning option.
Right-hander Brad Keller joined the team in Cincinnati and is set to be reinstated from the injured list on Wednesday. Keller had been on the shelf since June 16 with right forearm tendinitis, a nagging injury that Mattingly said he had been pitching through for a while before hitting the injured list.
Brad Keller joined the team in Cincinnati and is set to be reinstated from the injured list on Wednesday.
Keller made two appearances with the IronPigs on a rehab assignment, and pitched a scoreless inning on Sunday. Mattingly wanted to give Keller two days off before activating him.
Even after the blowout loss in Kansas City on Monday after Cristopher Sánchez only went 3⅔ innings, Mattingly feels his bullpen is in good shape for the Phillies’ series against the Reds. Garrett Stubbs pitched an inning in the loss, which also helped save an arm.
Wednesday’s game in Cincinnati will be a bullpen game, although the Phillies have not yet announced who will take the ball to start.
Day off for Marsh
With Brandon Marsh due for a day off, and the Phillies facing two left-handers in a row — the Royals’ Noah Cameron on Monday and the Reds’ Andrew Abbott on Tuesday — Mattingly let the outfielder choose when to sit.
Marsh opted to take off Tuesday against Abbott, with Edmundo Sosa taking over in left field and Justin Crawford remaining in the lineup in center field. Derek Hill started in right.
“[Abbott’s] got more of the sweep, which is a pitch that’s given Marshy more trouble from the left side,” Mattingly said.
Marsh has a .256 batting average and .706 OPS against left-handers this season after playing his way into an everyday role.
As the All-Star break approaches, Mattingly thinks the team overall is keeping its focus.
“I’ve had a lot of teams that you go into the break and you know guys are kind of hitting the wall a little bit. They also know these days off are coming,” Mattingly said. “I always talk about playing to the break. … Don’t take it off a series early or something. But I think we’re holding up OK. I think the tone with which we’ve played, not so much the result of the game, but the way you feel, the way guys are going about their business and stuff, you still feel good about.”
Extra bases
Reds All-Star right-hander Chase Burns (10-1, 2.40 ERA) will start against the Phillies in their bullpen game on Wednesday.
CINCINNATI — The first time Don Mattingly managed Jesús Luzardo, the lefty was at his lowest.
In 2021, Luzardo was traded midseason from the Oakland A’s to the Miami Marlins, where Mattingly was at the helm. Across the two teams, the 23-year-old Luzardo posted a 6.61 ERA.
“2021 was by far the worst year of my career,” Luzardo said. “And he saw me when I was struggling.”
It was a full-circle moment when the Phillies interim manager called Luzardo into his office this week, along with pitching coaches Caleb Cotham and Mark Lowy, to let him know he had been named an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Luzardo was added to the National League roster Tuesday along with the Pirates’ Braxton Ashcraft and Cardinals’ Riley O’Brien as replacements for the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski, the Marlins’ Max Meyer, and the Pirates’ Paul Skenes.
Misiorowski, Meyer, and Skenes are all lined up to pitch on Sunday, making them ineligible to appear in the All-Star Game on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park.
“It’s obviously an honor, first one of my career,” Luzardo said. “It’s been a really good year, as a team too, fighting back from a bad start. So it’s a good note, but something to continue to build on.”
Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo looks up as he comes off the mound in the first inning of the Miami Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.
Luzardo lowered his season ERA to 3.75 after holding the Royals to one run over six innings on Saturday. His sweeper, which he developed last season after the Phillies acquired him in a trade with Miami, has become one of the best pitches in baseball. Hitters are batting .141 against it, and the pitch has a 50.4% strikeout rate, which ranks only behind Padres right-hander Mason Miller’s slider.
The news of his selection took Luzardo completely by surprise. He had a sense that something was up when Mattingly summoned him, but wasn’t sure what it could be.
“You grew up watching the All-Star Game and the festivities around it,” Luzardo said. “Just being out there, being in a clubhouse with all the great players around the league, and being in front of the home crowd I think is also going to be very cool.”
It’s all the more special that Luzardo’s first appearance will come in his home ballpark. After being traded three times in his career, he found stability in Philadelphia, and signed a five-year extension with the team during spring training.
“I love everything about Philly, the team, the organization, the city,” he said. “It’s been a great time for me and my family. We’ve enjoyed it a lot. So just a good point on a good first year after signing that, and will look to build on a lot more.”
Growing up in South Florida, Luzardo has fond memories of playing baseball in the street with his friends, dreaming of moments like this.
“It was always big moments, whether it’s an All-Star Game or Game 7 of the World Series,” Luzardo said. “We would always make up these situations in our head at a young age. I did that from when I was like five to even probably almost through middle school. We were out on the street all the time, making up scenarios.”
Luzardo joins Cristopher Sánchez, Brandon Marsh, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Jhoan Duran as the Phillies’ sixth All-Star this year.
Despite a 2.36 ERA entering Tuesday’s start against the Reds, Zack Wheeler remains off the National League roster after he was not selected by the player ballot. Wheeler is lined up to start for the Phillies on Sunday, and would be ineligible to appear in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
Dean Wade lived two houses down from the St. John High School gym, and had a set of keys.
Well, his mother, Trish, did. She was the school’s volleyball and track coach in their town located “in the middle of nowhere, Kansas,” Dean said, and he often swiped those keys to let himself in for his own workouts.
“I lived in the gym,” Dean recalled Tuesday. “That was all I ever really knew was basketball.”
That commitment eventually led Dean Wade to the NBA, where he elevated himself from an undrafted player on a two-way contract to complementary contributor on the Cleveland Cavaliers team that advanced to the Eastern Conference finals this year. The 6-foot-9 forward has earned a reputation as a versatile defender — he guarded point guards, wings, and power forwards during the playoffs — who can space the floor on offense.
“A big reason was just kind of fit,” Wade said of why he joined a team that now boasts All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown alongside entrenched stars Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid.
Wade acknowledged during Tuesday’s introductory session with Philly media that, while growing up in a place with a population of less than 1,200, the NBA felt like a “cool dream” but not exactly a realistic option.
Still, Wade was part of an athletic and competitive household. Older sister Teresa was a standout volleyball player like their mother. Their father, Jay, played college football at Kansas State. Dean, though, was the “worst loser” if a parent beat him in a no-stakes card game.
On the basketball court, Wade developed into the state’s top high school player in 2015 — despite playing for one of its smallest schools — and a four-year standout at Kansas State. After Wade was not selected in the 2019 draft, a Cavaliers front office featuring new Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey signed him to a two-way contract to split time between the G League and NBA teams.
“I think [Gansey] had a big say in that,” Wade said.
Dean Wade has shot 36.7% on three-pointers in his career.
Still, Wade was not regarded as a defensive stalwart when he first entered the NBA. During a candid conversation with Cleveland assistants, he learned that committing to that end of the floor would be his path to earning meaningful minutes.
So he got stronger in the weight room. He embraced his stints in the G League. And in his second NBA season, a barrage of injuries suddenly pushed Wade into 19 starts that made him believe he could “truly stick in this league.”
Now, Wade relishes whenever a ballhandler isolates against him, and the game becomes “head up, and who’s better?”
“I’ve got to play with that little chip on my shoulder,” Wade said. “I love that competitive spirit, where it’s just whose will is going to outlast whose? That’s where I enjoy the defensive part of it. …
“You don’t want to let any of your teammates down. You know how important you are on the defensive end, and you’ve got to do your job so everyone else can do their job.”
Wade averaged 5.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 59 games last season for the Cavaliers, and earned praise from teammates such as All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell for his postseason defense.
Now, Wade gets to play alongside Brown, who is a stout defender in addition to his offensive excellence. Wade called Brown “definitely one of the toughest people I’ve had to guard” because of his blend of size, athleticism, skill, and “edge.” Wade also has experienced Maxey’s blazing speed firsthand, acknowledging the All-NBA guard has blown by him a time or two.
So Wade’s goal on offense is to be enough of a three-point threat — he has shot 36.7% on an average of 3.2 attempts in his career — to give those perimeter scorers, plus Embiid, space to operate. He vowed to put himself in position to grab offensive rebounds. And he brings plenty of experience with playoff intensity, through team success and missteps.
Wade won’t need a set of keys to enter his new home gym in Camden. He will navigate his first Sixers season alongside Gansey, who regularly was among the first faces he saw wherever he walked into the Cavaliers’ practice facility.
And when asked about what he expects from Philly, Wade leaned on a tidbit he picked up from former Sixer and Cavalier Georges Niang.
“It’s the best fans in the world — as long as you’re playing the right way,” Wade said of Niang’s message. “I feel like I take pride in playing the right way.”
Adem Bona’s $2.3 million salary for the 2026-27 season became fully guaranteed Tuesday.
Adem Bona’s contract becomes guaranteed
Adem Bona’s $2.3 million salary for the 2026-27 season became fully guaranteed Tuesday, after the Sixers did not waive the reserve big man before July 7.
Bona, who is entering his third NBA season, is expected to compete with newcomer Ariel Hukporti for the backup center job behind Embiid. Last season, Bona shared that role with veteran Andre Drummond, who left the Sixers in free agency to sign with the New York Knicks.
Bona averaged 4.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 17.1 minutes per game in 2025-26. He impressed with his athleticism and rim protection, but struggled to stay out of foul trouble and limit mistakes. He was a second-round draft pick in 2025.
Hukporti, who on Monday signed his one-year, $3.4 million contract, was a part of the Knicks’ championship team.
Now, the 24-year-old big man is ready to learn from Embiid — and “just do my job.”
Hukporti believes that will encompass the “dirty work” on the defensive end, where his athleticism allows him to switch onto multiple positions. He also plans to be a reliable screen-setter for the Sixers’ guards headlined by Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.
Ariel Hukporti (left) has averaged 2.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in limited minutes across 79 games in his first two NBA seasons.
“Just the little things that make a big impact when it comes to winning,” said Hukporti, who was New York’s third-string center behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson.
Hukporti has averaged 2.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in limited minutes across 79 games in his first two NBA seasons. Still, experiencing the Knicks’ title run — which featured multiple dramatic comebacks including an epic Game 4 of the Finals — reinforced a mantra of “never give up.”
“No matter what happens,” he said. “You can always win in every situation — the playoffs, especially.”
Philadelphia police on Tuesday released surveillance images of the white SUV suspected in a the fatal hit-and-run crash on Kelly Drive last month that killed 20-year-old Temple University student Bryce Wolfe.
The unidentified driver dragged Wolfe for more than a mile on Kelly Drive, police said.
The police department’s Crash Investigation Division released two images of what investigators believe is 2001-08 Chevrolet Trailblazer and a stock image that more clearly shows what the make and model looks like.
Police said the white Trailblazer may have damage on the driver’s side with possible red paint transfer, a broken rear windshield, and a discolored passenger-side front wheel.
A $10,000 reward funded by an anonymous donor is being offered to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver, Temple University president John Fry said last week.
Wolfe, of Conyngham, a borough in Luzerne County, was an actuarial science major in the Fox School of Business and had just completed his sophomore year.
Bryce Wolfe, 20, of Luzerne County, had just completed his sophomore year at Temple University when he was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Kelly Drive.
Philadelphia police said they responded to a report of a crash at Kelly and Reservoir Drives around 11:15 p.m. on June 24.
Wolfe was riding a red 2004 Triumph motorcycle when he was struck by a white SUV on Kelly Drive at Reservoir Drive. The eastbound SUV driver was trying to make an illegal turn onto Reservoir Drive, but then attempted to return to eastbound Kelly Drive when the SUV entered Wolfe’s westbound path.
The 20-year-old became trapped beneath the SUV and was dragged to the area of Fountain Green Drive before he was dislodged from the SUV, police said. Wolfe was transported by medics to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and pronounced dead at 4:41 a.m. on June 25, police said.
Lori Wolfe, Bryce’s mother, said in a text message Tuesday evening that she was hopeful that the case would be solved.
“We feel this along with the 10k reward will help to give our son justice in finding the driver,” she said.
Fry, Temple’s president, in a June 30 joint statement with Jodi Bailey Accavallo, vice president of student affairs, and Denise Wilhelm, interim vice president for public safety, said Wolfe “had quickly established a reputation as both an excellent student and engaged member of the Temple community,” maintaining a high grade-point average while being enrolled in both Temple and Fox Honors program.
“Bryce was also deeply involved outside of class as he was a member of the student professional organization Gamma Iota Sigma and had recently started an internship with United States Liability Insurance Group,” Fry said.
“There is no doubt that he had a very bright future ahead of him, and that’s what makes delivering this news especially difficult,” Fry said.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s office on Tuesday declined to say whether the city will save money after pop star Christina Aguilera, who was scheduled to headline the city’s free July Fourth concert, ended up not taking the stage Saturday due to the weather delays that pushed much of the concert and the subsequent fireworks display into the early morning hours of Sunday.
Parker spokesperson Joe Grace said the city had “no comment as yet” on whether the city would be refunded in light of the change in plans triggered by Saturday’s severe thunderstorms.
Aguilera was the only artist who ended up skipping their set, and Grace emphasized Parker’s role in ensuring the rest of the performers returned to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to restart the show around midnight after it was suspended about 9 p.m.
“We’re focused on the performers who did return and put on a tremendous show once the storms subsided,” Grace said in a statement, noting that the Roots, Kathy Sledge, State Property, Meek Mill, Will Smith, and DJ Jazzy Jeff all performed after the concert restarted. “In the evening, those artists came back, at the request of [concert producer] ESM and Mayor Parker — and put on a great concert. … All the evening artists credited the mayor with bringing them back to perform.”
The decision to restart the concert pushed the fireworks display to about 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
“After the storms passed, there were a lot of people who could have called it a night,” Parker said in a statement Tuesday. “Instead, we made one more call. The Roots and the other artists, including Will Smith returned. Thousands of people returned. Our city employees never stopped working. Our first responders stayed at their posts. Together, we finished what we started. That’s who Philadelphia is.”
Smith, in an Instagram post on Monday, said he returned to the Parkway to perform in the Independence Day concert after midnight after receiving a personal call from Parker.
Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff (left) perform at One Philly: Unity Concert for America on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Philadelphia.
Parker’s administration this year agreed to pay $15.5 million to ESM Productions, a for-profit Philadelphia-based company known for putting on major events on the Parkway, to organize the show. The city paid ESM at least $10 million prior to July Fourth, but it is unclear if any money was paid out to performers in advance of the show.
The annual concert was previously managed by the nonprofit Welcome America, a public-private partnership organized by the city in the 1990s, and cost taxpayers far less.
The last July Fourth concert cost Welcome America about $3 million to produce, according to a person with knowledge of the event who was not permitted to discuss details about its costs. Welcome America’s entire budget for 2024 — its salaries and office expenses, a concert that featured Kesha and Ne-Yo, and several smaller events it organizes — totaled about $6.6 million, about $5.3 million of which came from government grants, according to the group’s most recent federal nonprofit disclosure.
It is unclear how much Aguilera was supposed to be paid for her performance this year.
ESM’s original $10 million contract with the city, which was obtained by The Inquirer, included a nearly $3.4 million budget for “talent.”
The contract between the city administration and ESM did not include a breakdown on how much each artist would be paid, and it did not include details related to artists’ pay in the event of canceled performances.
The city also signed a $5.5 million contract amendment with ESM that did not include budget details.
ESM Productions declined to comment.
Fireworks fill the sky at the One Philly: Unity Concert for America on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Sunday, July 5, 2026 in Philadelphia.
United Talent Agency, which represents Aguilera, did not return a request for comment. The pop star on Sunday posted videos from her rehearsals prior to the show on social media.
“Philly, we had such a special 4th of July show planned for you!! 😭😫☔️🌧️,” Aguilera wrote on Instagram. “We poured so much heart and soul into this one, but safety always comes first—and sadly, the storm meant we couldn’t give you the show we worked so hard to bring to life 💔 Thank you to everyone who came out, and to my team for all the hard work that went into building this show… I hope to be back to Philly soon! xxxx.”
The city’s payments to ESM are only part of the taxpayer costs for putting on the annual concert. The city also increases hours for city workers such as sanitation workers and police officers to put on the event.
Grace on Tuesday declined to share the total cost of the concert, and reiterated Parker’s previous promise to lay out all expenses related to it at a future date.
“As we’ve said previously, we will account for all expenses associated with the concert, along with producing an analysis of economic benefits accruing to the city, and release a report at a later time,” he said. “We want the report to be comprehensive.”
