Jesús Luzardo trains in the offseason with dozens of major leaguers at a South Florida gym where the televisions are always tuned to MLB Network.
Even so, his father keeps him apprised of all baseball news.
“He makes sure to send me all the latest rumors,” Luzardo said in a guest appearance on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast. “I feel like I’m pretty connected.”
You can be sure, then, that Luzardo was paying attention last week when former Phillies teammate Ranger Suárez agreed to a five-year, $130 million contract with the Red Sox.
Because Luzardo could be in line for a similar deal a year from now — if not sooner.
Luzardo, a 28-year-old lefty, is eligible for free agency after this season. In a wide-ranging conversation on the podcast, he said he’s interested in discussing a contract extension with the Phillies during spring training. He also discussed his impressive first season with the team, J.T. Realmuto’s impact behind the plate, and more.
Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the Phillies Extra podcaston Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Q: What was your takeaway from your first year with the Phillies?
A: I feel like I wasn’t sure what to expect, getting traded over to the Phillies, obviously coming to a new team, new organization, a little bit different from the places that I had been. I loved my time in Oakland and Miami. But obviously [the Phillies are] a little different organization. A lot more expectation, a lot more fans in the stands, the firepower in the clubhouse. But it was just great. The team was great, the organization was great, the fans are great. They obviously will let you know when you’re not doing well, [and] that’s not something that has ever bothered me. And I’ll let myself know before they let me know. So, I had a great time from top to bottom every day going to the field. I was looking forward to it.
I had a great time [with] the guys I worked with, the guys I spent time with. I had a great time going into the playoffs and making the run that we did, just building that camaraderie. And, yeah, I couldn’t have asked for a better first year in my eyes. Obviously, some up and down, obviously some tough moments throughout the year. But it’s a long season, and it’s a marathon, and you’re not going to be your best the whole time. So, I think it’s just a matter of weathering the storm. And I like to go by that saying of ‘bend, don’t break.’ So, I think I learned that about myself in the sense that, when times get tough, it’s just a matter of grinding through it and finding the way out, as opposed to kind of just withering away and being like, it’s over. So, I think that was something that I take away from this year.
Jesus Luzardo had a 3.92 ERA in a career-high 183⅔ innings in his first season with the Phillies.
Q: Can you describe or give an example of how J.T. Realmuto has such a big impact on the pitching staff?
A: There’s really not one specific thing. I think it’s just J.T. as a whole. I really respect the way he goes about his business. He’s a no-B.S. guy. He’s a family man. He is a hard worker. You see him, works hard in the weight room, works hard on the field; always is like, the first one to be out there ready to go. He’s not one to take a day off. They kind of have to pull his teeth out to take the day off. And you show up to the field, he’s already there, doing homework, going over scouting reports, watching video. So, when he goes up back there [behind the plate] and he tells us, ‘This is the plan that we’re going to do throughout the game,’ you have confidence that he knows what he’s talking about and that it’s not he’s just winging it. He has a plan. He understands what his plan is.
And he takes very good care of his body. He’s very mentally aware of the situations, and he’s got a lot of baseball IQ. So, in that sense, I think he’s a full, full-bodied catcher in the sense that he has all his bases covered. And I think that’s something I really respect. And not only me, obviously the whole rotation, bullpen, all these guys. And when he’s hitting, it’s the same way. You could just see all the work he puts in and how smart he is at the plate. And that’s something that we all appreciate.
Q: Your parents live in South Florida, where you grew up, but they’re from Venezuela. Do you have family there? Does everyone know that everyone’s OK after everything that’s happened down there? And are you interested in pitching for Venezuela again in the World Baseball Classic, like you did in 2023?
A: I have family down there, and thankfully everyone’s OK so far. And yeah, it’s been a scary situation down there at times, but thankfully everyone’s all right. And in terms of pitching in the Classic, yeah, I threw in there three years ago. Last year talking to [Team Venezuela], I promised that I would go and pitch. And did get a call from the U.S., and got offered to pitch [for them] as well.
But just this year, I think it’s going to be tough for me, going into a free-agency year [and] made the decision that, unfortunately, [I’m] not going to be able to pitch in the Classic and want to take my time. Take a slow spring training, fully get ready with the team, make sure my body bounced back after a career-high innings. And [it’s] a tough decision for me and my family, because it’s very important for my family, for me, to represent Venezuela. But just in terms of intelligent decision-making and a hard decision after a long last year and looking forward to a long this year, going into the playoffs, hopefully again pitching into maybe November, I think the correct decision would be to take a slow spring training and make sure everything’s along the right line to be prepared for the year.
As Joshua Weikert shared ground rules for quizzes in his early morning international relations class, he sought to put his students at ease.
“I don’t want you stressing out about these,” he said Tuesday, as the new semester got underway at Immaculata University in Chester County.“I myself was a terrible student.”
Weikert, 47, of Collegeville, may not have been a star student, but he sure knows a lot.
The politics and public policy professor will compete onJeopardy! 2026 Tournament of Championsat 7 p.m. Friday on ABC, having won six games when he was on the show in March.
Joshua Weikert teaches a class in international relations at Immaculata University.
Over a couple weeks, Jeopardy! shows will feature him vying against 20 other champions, including Allegra Kuney, a doctoral student at Rutgers University’s New Brunswick campus, and Matt Massie, a Philadelphia lawyer who moved to the area in 2024, who also will appear on Friday’s show.
Friday’s match is a quarter-final, and if Weikert wins, he’ll advance to the semifinals. (Kuney won her quarter-final Tuesday.)
Weikert won about $103,000 when he competed last year, 10% of which he donated to a memorial scholarship fund named for his late friend, Jarrad Weikel, a Phoenixville man who died unexpectedly at age 40 in 2022. The winner of the champions tournament —which will conclude sometime in early February — will take home a grand prize of a quarter million.
Weikert will watch the show Friday among family and friends — including his fellow contestant Massie — at Troubles End Brewing in Collegeville, which named one of its beers after him. It’s an English Bitter, one of Weikert’s favorites, called “Who is Josh?”
At Immaculata, a Catholic college where Weikert has taught since 2016, students and staff are stoked. A campus watch party is planned, President Barbara Lettiere said.
His appearance last year, she said, has put a welcome spotlight on the school and brought an outpouring of enthusiasm from alumni. On tours, some prospective students and their parents who spot Weikert have recognized him, she said.
“I never knew that this show was as watched as it appears to be,” she said. “Win or lose, Immaculata wins.”
Student Ben Divens talks about his Jeopardy-star professor Joshua Weikert.
Ben Divens, 19, said it’s “jaw-dropping” and “surreal” to know his teacher will compete in the Jeopardy! champion tournament.
“I knew from the first time I met him he was a super, super smart person,” said Divens, a prelaw major from Souderton.
“He’s guided us so much in our major already,” added Bailey Kassis, 18, a political science major from Fort Washington.
“He’s guided us so much in our major already,” student Bailey Kassis said about her professor Joshua Weikert.
An early gamer
Weikert said he has watched Jeopardy! ever since he can remember, probably since 1984 when he was 6, and it came back on the air with Alex Trebek as host. He grew up just outside of Gettysburg in a family that loved to play games, he said.
“We took them very seriously, which is to say that they didn’t just let the kids win,” he said of his parents, both of whom had accounting degrees. “We were destroyed routinely in the games we played.”
About his performance as a student, he said he often skipped his homework.
“Just give me an exam,” he said, describing his attitude at the time. “I’ll pass it.”
He got his bachelor’s degree in international relations from West Chester University, master’s degrees from Villanova and Immaculata, and his doctorate from Temple. He also attended the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, where he studied modern standard Arabic while serving in the U.S. Army.
Joshua Weikert sets expectations for students as a new semester gets underway at Immaculata University.
In addition to teaching, he also works as a policy adviser to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives under state Rep. Joe Webster, a Democrat serving part of Montgomery County. He vets legislators’ ideas and offers ideas of his own.
“The only thing they’ve ever told me no on was [when] I tried to abolish the Pennsylvania Senate,” he said.
So many bills pass one body, then die in the other, he explained. If there were one legislative body where all House and Senate members served, that might be different, he said.
Weikert’s office walls are lined with framed newspaper front pages highlighting major events: “Nixon Resigns,” “Nazis Surrender,” “Man Walks on Moon,” “Kennedy Shot to Death.”
“Every once in a while, I just get up and read one of the stories,” he said.
He got them from his mother-in-law’s basement and put them up after his wife told him his office needed some decor.
Weikert’s status as a Jeopardy! champion makes clear he’s a fast thinker. He’s also a fast talker.
“I don’t really drink caffeine. I just talk this fast,” he told his students.
His wife, he told the class, tells him to slow down.
“Keep up,” he tells her, he said.
The road to Jeopardy
Since his mid-20s, Weikert has been trying to get on Jeopardy!. Years ago, he got a call from the game show, but he put the caller on hold to get to a quiet place. They hung up.
“I was like, well, I guess I missed that opportunity,” he said.
But he kept trying and started taking the online tests, which typically draw 200,000 participants annually. In 2024, he got an email, inviting him to take the test again — and then again under Zoom surveillance.
Next came a virtual audition and practice game in August 2024. That earned him a place in a pool of about 3,000 people, of whom a few hundred eventually became contestants.
Weikert got the call last January and was invited to fly to California the next month to compete.
In reality, his varied interests and life path had already prepared him for the show. He reads a lot. He’s a fan of historical fiction, pop culture, and movies. His work as a public policy scholar helps, too.
But to try and up his game, he read plots of Shakespeare plays and a book on great operas. He flipped through lists of presidents and vice presidents. His wife, Barbara, a Norristown School District middle school music teacher, read questions to him from old Jeopardy! shows. He knew about 80% of the answers, he said.
That, however, didn’t stop him from having panic dreams of being on stage and knowing nothing.
The toughest category for him, he said, is popular music. Movies, history, and politics are his strongest.
But the hardest questions, he said, are the ones with four or five strong possible answers.
“Getting a Jeopardy! answer right is more about knowing what it’s not than what it is,” he said.
Ultimately, he said, it’s impossible to really study for the game show.
“The odds that something you study would come up is almost zero,” he said.
It was an intense experience on stage last March, but the staff put contestants at ease, he said. Host Ken Jennings, formerly one of the show’s most successful contestants, told them, according to Weikert: “I promise you something today is going to be a win for you, so just relax and have fun.”
He has a hard time remembering his winning answers. He readily recalls his dumbest, he said.
The answer was “sacred cow.” He uttered “holy cow.”
“Even as it was coming out of my mouth, I knew it was wrong,” he said.
He’s proud that he only froze on one answer involving lyrics from the B-52’s “Love Shack,” he said.
There was less pressure competing in the championship match last month, given he was already a winner, he said. But it was harder in that the contestants were the best of the best.
“During the regular season, it’s a little under a quarter of a second between when you can start to buzz in and when the buzz actually comes,” he said. “In the tournament of champions, that drops to 0.08 seconds.”
This time, he also prepped by reading children’s books on topics such as basic cell biology, a tip he got from another contestant.
“It’s the simplest language they can use to convey the information,” he said.
He also read the book, Timelines of Everything: From Woolly Mammoths to World Wars.
He most enjoyed the camaraderie among contestants, he said. When filming was over, they hung out in a bar and — watched Jeopardy!.
The defense was a strength for the Eagles for most of the 2025 season, though not so much in their playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
The Eagles got to 11-6 and won the NFC East in part because of their ability to win low-scoring games. Their defense bailed out the offense in a few marquee victories, like their 10-7 win over Green Bay, their 16-9 victory over Detroit, and when they squeaked by Buffalo, 13-12.
Vic Fangio’s unit lost a few key players from 2024 and dealt with an injured Jalen Carter, but still managed to finish fifth in points allowed per game despite a pretty tough schedule.
What does that mean for 2026, with a handful of key players set to be back? Here’s one compelling advanced stat for each starter, the second in a two-part series that previously analyzed the offense:
Quinyon Mitchell developed into one of the premier corners in the league in his second season.
Quinyon Mitchell
Let’s start with Mitchell, a first-team All-Pro selection in his second NFL season.
Mitchell emerged as one of the best cover corners in the NFL in 2025, as evidenced by his 42.4% catch percentage allowed, according to Next Gen Stats, a mark that led all corners who played a full season. Mitchell is so good it’s worth including another number: He led all NFL corners with an average target separation of 1.8 yards.
If you were ranking the list of spots on the depth chart you were least worried about, CB1 would probably be at the top.
Cooper DeJean dominated the slot during an All-Pro season.
Cooper DeJean
From one All-Pro to another. DeJean was named first-team All-Pro at nickel, and it’s worth noting that because that distinction is a key one. The Eagles like DeJean in the slot, and DeJean said it’s a spot he’d probably like to remain in.
Why? There’s enough data out there now to suggest that it’s his best spot.
After logging just nine snaps at outside corner during his rookie season (1.5% of his total snaps), DeJean, whom the Eagles kept on the field in their base package, aligned outside on 30.1% of his snaps in 2025.
He fared much better in the slot, where he allowed a .574 completion percentage and 5.9 yards per target, according to Next Gen. Both of those numbers ranked well below the league-average marks of .695 and 6.8, respectively. DeJean allowed a similar .588 completion percentage when he lined up outside, but his 10.9 yards per target ranked seventh among defenders to have faced at least 15 such targets. He was susceptible to the deep ball when facing top receivers outside.
We’ll count Jackson as a starter since the Eagles played more nickel than base and needed another outside corner not named DeJean on the field quite often.
It wasn’t always Jackson’s job. The second cornerback spot was a position with a lot of intrigue in training camp and even early in the season. It was Jackson’s job, then it wasn’t, then it was again.
Jackson was targeted at a higher clip (26.5% of his coverage snaps) through the first eight weeks of the season than any other cornerback in the NFL. After that, though, Jackson was targeted on just 16.5% of his coverage snaps while allowing a completion percentage of .585, slightly below the league average. He did not give up a touchdown during his last five games of the regular season or the playoff game.
Jackson, 30, is a free agent, and the Eagles may need a new cornerback opposite Mitchell next season. But Jackson’s play showed that even an aging and average player can be put in that spot, and the defense won’t fall apart, regardless of the preseason narrative about a certain spot on the depth chart.
Zack Baun generally lived up to his rich new contract in 2025.
Zack Baun
Baun proved he wasn’t a one-year wonder in his second season with the Eagles, who plucked him out of free agency last offseason and turned a player who had mostly been an edge rusher and special teamer into one of the best off-ball linebackers in the NFL.
Baun didn’t earn All-Pro honors like he did in 2024, but he was still really good in 2025. While his tackle total dropped from 151 to 123, his pass deflection number rose from four to seven, and he intercepted two passes in 2025, up from one in 2024. Pro Football Focus ranked Baun as the fifth-best linebacker in the NFL, and the second-best coverage linebacker.
His ability to cover ground may be his best trait. Baun was seventh in the NFL with 17 hustle stops, which Next Gen Stats defines as a tackle during a successful defensive play when a player covers 20-plus yards of distance from snap to tackle.
A quality 2025 season will serve Nakobe Dean well in his next contract.
Nakobe Dean
Has Dean played his last game with the Eagles? And, to that end, can Jihaad Campbell replace Dean’s production?
Because Dean was pretty productive in 2025 after he worked his way back onto the field after surgery to repair a patellar tendon injury, which he suffered in the wild-card round a year ago.
This is what the Eagles could be asking Campbell to replace should Dean not return: Dean’s catch percentage allowed of just 58.3% on targets ranked third among all NFL linebackers who played at least 200 snaps in coverage, according to Next Gen. And Dean was even better as a blitzer: He led all linebackers with a 40.7% pressure rate on his 27 pass rushes and got home for four sacks.
Injuries prevented Jalen Carter from demonstrating his full effectiveness for the NFC East champs.
Jalen Carter
The Eagles will be hoping Carter’s step back is easily explained by the shoulder injuries that limited his production and caused him to miss three games after undergoing procedures on both shoulders in late November.
Carter, according to Next Gen, had a career-low 7.7% pressure rate on the year despite facing fewer double teams (41.7%) than he ever has. Carter generated five pressures against 158 double teams after tallying 12 in 2023 and 15 in 2024. His average time to sack also dropped to 5.32 seconds from 4.85 year over year.
Notably, after Carter returned following his three-game break, he had five pressures and a sack vs. Buffalo and the same output in the playoff loss vs. San Francisco.
Will the shoulder injuries be revisited in the offseason? Will Carter’s slide allow the Eagles to secure him on a long-term deal at a lower price? Lots of intrigue there.
The emergence of Jordan Davis was one of the Eagles’ best stories of the year.
Jordan Davis
Davis was a revelation for the Eagles in 2025, and a big reason that the defense was so successful even as Carter’s play declined a bit.
Davis showed up to camp in much better shape and improved his play in every area. Mainly relied on as a run stopper in the past, Davis showed his pass rushing chops in 2025. Entering the year, Davis had just 3½ sacks on 559 pass rushes through his first three NFL seasons. This season, Davis racked up 4½ sacks on 355 pass rushes.
The run-stopping ability didn’t go away even though he showed up in July a little more svelte. Davis, according to Next Gen, had a career-high 50 run stops (run defenses that result in a negative play for the offense), which was second among all defensive linemen this season.
Davis is in line for an extension, and his play in 2025 earned him a big new deal that will probably come from the Eagles.
Jaelan Phillips played well but was not a sack machine for the Eagles.
Jaelan Phillips
Phillips helped steady the Eagles’ pass rush after he joined the team at the trade deadline, but while he and Jalyx Hunt formed an elite pass-rushing duo — their 61 combined pressures from Week 10 through Week 17 ranked fourth during that span — he had trouble converting his pressures into sacks.
Phillips led the Eagles with 34 pressures after joining the team, but he turned just two of those into a sack. His 5.9% pressure-to-sack conversion rate, according to Next Gen, ranked 10th-lowest among 97 defenders to have generated at least 15 pressures after the trade deadline. Some of that is bad luck. Fangio talks often about the importance of pressures and not getting too hyper-focused on sack numbers.
But the Eagles need a top-end talent at the top of the depth chart to pair with Hunt since Phillips is a free agent. Phillips wants to be back. Is the feeling mutual? We’ll see when free agency arrives.
Jalyx Hunt made an impact as a member of the linebacker rotation in 2025.
Jalyx Hunt
Hunt became the first player in Eagles history to lead the team in sacks (6½) and interceptions (3).
That’s an impressive stat, but this is a compilation of advanced numbers, so let’s point to this one instead: Hunt ranked seventh among all edge rushers who had at least 100 pass rushing snaps with a quarterback pressure rate of 17.3%.
The 2024 third-round pick broke out in a big way in his second NFL season, and the Eagles used his safety background to drop him into coverage with success.
Reed Blankenship was a team leader but the record shows that he struggled at times in coverage.
Reed Blankenship
Blankenship has been a leader on the defense for the last few seasons, but he’s now a free agent and it’s fair to wonder if he’ll be back next season.
Blankenship has been solid against the run, but he’s not great in pass coverage when he’s targeted. After a 2024 season in which he ranked fifth-worst among safeties with at least 500 coverage snaps with an 81.3% completion percentage allowed, Blankenship had the eighth-worst passer rating allowed (116.8) in 2025, according to Pro Football Focus.
It’s unclear what Blankenship’s market will look like in free agency, but it’s a position the Eagles could probably stand to upgrade.
Drew Mukuba’s return from a broken fibula figures to be a training camp storyline.
Drew Mukuba
Mukuba’s first season in the NFL was incomplete. The second-round pick was lost for the season after suffering a fractured fibula in the waning moments of a Week 12 loss to Dallas.
Mukuba wasn’t targeted often in coverage. Before his injury, he was targeted on just 4.2% of his snaps, according to Next Gen. That ranked fifth-lowest among all defenders in the NFL with a minimum of 150 coverage snaps. But when he was targeted, it was on deep balls. He had the fifth-highest total in yards per target allowed (13.5).
While we all wait with bated breath to see who Jalen Hurts’ seventh offensive coordinator in seven years will be (technically, 11th if you count his college years), we’re going to switch gears and talk a little Sixers — specifically the timeshare that has transpired at the center position.
Both Andre Drummond and Adem Bona have been key contributors at the position, both under the backdrop of Joel Embiid, who, despite a litany of injuries, has been the constant at the position for the latter part of a decade.
So how do you compete with that? Well, according to both Drummond and Bona, you don’t; instead, you make the most of your minutes. Drummond, who has even been getting starting minutes recently, knows that “I probably won’t take my warmup pants off some games.”
And while you’d think it would be a battle of the big men trying to occupy minutes on the court, Drummond and Bona have become friends, reveling in each other’s moments, however fleeting or prosperous, night after night.
Inquirer writer Gina Mizell offers this rare look at selflessness on what’s shaping up to be a warmer day across the region, with highs expected to peak into the low 40s in many spots.
Ranger Suárez left the Phillies for a $130 million contract with the Red Sox.
Former Phillies pitcher Ranger Suárez took the podium in a Red Sox jersey for the first time Wednesday when he was officially introduced at Fenway Park.
The 30-year-old Suárez, who signed with the Phillies as a 16-year-old from Venezuela and developed into an All-Star and key rotation piece, departed in free agency this winter. His five-year, $130 million contract with Boston became official Wednesday.
When prompted by a reporter at his introductory news conference, Suárez clarified the traditional Spanish pronunciation of his first name.
In a wide-ranging conversation on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball show, Jesus Luzardo said he’s interested in discussing a contract extension with the Phillies and talked about his impressive first season with the team, J.T. Realmuto’s impact behind the plate, and more.
🏈 Answering: Why were so many people from Indiana University of Pennsylvania so excited about Indiana’s national championship win, even though IUP has no ties to IU?
Lane Pederson made his Flyers debut on Monday against the Vegas Golden Knights. It was his first NHL game since March 2023.
Lane Pederson has ridden a lot of buses in the American Hockey League over the last few years in pursuit of his dream to one day play in the NHL again.
On Monday, that persistence and those long, late-night slogs must have all felt worth it, as Pederson played in his first NHL game in almost three years when he suited up for the Flyers in Las Vegas. The 28-year-old, who signed with the Flyers this summer, hoped he’d get one more chance to prove he belongs at the top level, and he’s got it after Rodrigo Ābols suffered a long-term injury on Saturday.
Can Pederson stick on the fourth line with a coach he knows well in Rick Tocchet? No offense to Allentown, but the centerman hopes he won’t be returning to Lehigh Valley any time soon.
Cavan Sullivan is seen during a Union practice at Subaru Field in Chester. Tuesday, Jan 13, 2026.
There’s no need to remind Cavan Sullivan about all of the expectations placed on his now 16-year-old shoulders. He’s got plenty of reminders. It’s why this season, Sullivan says he’s focusing on the game and less on the pomp that comes with it.
The timing couldn’t be better as there’s a real chance he could see considerable minutes as an attacking midfield presence with the Union, a spot left vacant by his older brother Quinn, who suffered an ACL sprain last season.
Ahead of the team’s two-week trip to Spain, Cavan sat down with Tannenwald to talk about what could shape up to be a transformative season for the Union’s youngest pro talent.
On this date
Jan. 21, 2006: In Kobe Bryant’s legendary 81-point performance, he led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 122-105 win against Toronto. Bryant still holds the mark for the second-highest point total in a game behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962.
Standings, stats, and more
Want the full breakdown from last night’s Flyers game against the Mammoth? Here’s a place to access your favorite Philadelphia teams’ statistics, schedules, and standings in real time.
“[Howie] Roseman might be the best GM in the NFL over the last nine years, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to have the best roster in 2026. Any top OC candidate is looking at the Eagles job as a one-year stepping stone to the 2027 cycle of head-coaching vacancies. The 2026 Eagles are richly talented on paper, but they are saddled with far more questions than answers.” — The latest take from Hayes, who explores why the Eagles’ vacant offensive coordinator position doesn’t have a line around the block.
What you’re saying about the Phillies
We all know Bo Bichette isn’t headed to Philly. That seems to work out just fine for these Inquirer readers.
We asked: What are your thoughts on the Phillies missing out on Bo Bichette?
[I don’t care] about Bichette or anyone else while the flawed hero-culture core remains unchanged and unrepentant. Schwarber did a contract year showing, and we fell for it, as if his biggest night of last year didn’t follow that pathetic series shellacking by the Mets (who were not good). What’s more interesting is how much all the Philly teams have been whiffing on big new additions in recent years — most prominently right now, desirable OCs for the Eagles. The perpetual national media’s lambasting of our town and sports culture feels like it’s winning, and we’re at risk of becoming Pariahdelphia. — D.W. Stone
I believe it’s a great move on the Phillies to force them to start the process to go young. The fact that they did not make the run in September is due to the superstars not performing well. It’s now time to watch the development of the minor league players and analyze their improvement. You are not going to out-pay the Dodgers or Mets. Have fun watching new talent instead of Dave D trying to outspend our competitors. That has been Dave’s history on all his prior teams. — Dick F.
Losing Bichette is a Godsend. We win twice by not getting him. First, we can stop hearing about getting rid of Alec Bohm, whose performance is on par with Bichette, [and who] is young and still improving every year. And then they are able to pay and retain the best catcher in baseball, even though he is a ripe old 34 years old. This roster is much better overall. BTW, why has Bohm been on the trading block every single year? totally undeserved. — John W.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Rob Tornoe, David Murphy, Jeff McLane, Jeff Neiburg, Olivia Reiner, Gina Mizell, Scott Lauber, Ariel Simpson, Gabriela Carroll, Jonathan Tannenwald, Katie Lewis, Brooke Ackerman, and Jackie Spiegel.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
That’s it for today. Enjoy your Thursday. Jim will be back tomorrow to get you set for the weekend ahead.— Kerith
On Dec. 1, 1898, about 1,000 people gathered at a court in Textile Hall — today’s Kensington neighborhood. They were there to watch the Philadelphia Hancock Athletic Association play the New Jersey Trenton Nationals in America’s first professional basketball game.
According to an article in the following day’s Philadelphia Times, the game got a late start because referees were still ironing out the rules of the world’s newest professional sport.
But once the game got underway, it was fast and furious.
Hancock “started with a rush, scoring two field goals before the players had become warmed up to their work,” the story reads.
“Throughout the entire first half, the home team had the better of the argument, taking advantage of every opportunity finishing the half in the lead by a score of 11 to [0].”
In the end, Philadelphia lost by two points, a disappointment Philly sports fans know all too well, even in these modern times.
The final score: 21 to 19.
Daniel Lipschutz blended history into his love of the modern day sport for this sculpture.
That first game of the National Basketball League will be feted this Saturday at a Firstival at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Firstivals are the Philadelphia Historic District’s weekly day parties celebrating events that happened in Philadelphia before anywhere else in America, and often the world. They are part of a yearlong celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
James Naismith, a YMCA coach in Springfield, Mass., invented basketball in 1891 to keep kids active during winter months. The sport incorporated elements of rugby, lacrosse, and soccer. Instead of throwing balls into a bottomless net to score, players threw balls into peach baskets.
(In other words, there was no such thing as a rebound.)
James Naismith, inventor of basketball, with a ball and a basket.
Basketball quickly became popular with college students and in 1898, Naismith was recruited to coach the University of Kansas basketball team.
That same year, Horace Fogel, sports editor of the Philadelphia Public Ledger, organized the first professional basketball league with three teams from Philadelphia and three from South Jersey.
A 12-foot chain-link cage separated players from the fans. Ropes replaced these iron cages in the 1920s.
Fogel’s National Basketball League lasted just five years, folding in 1904 because of quick player turnover eating into profits. A second league was formed in 1937 and was sponsored by Goodyear. In 1946, the Basketball Association of America was established.
And in 1949, the BAA and NBL merged to create today’s NBA.
“This really goes to show that Philadelphia is a sports city,” said Shavonnia Corbin Johnson, vice president of civic affairs for the 76ers. “When people talk about Philadelphia sports rooted in history, tradition, and passion, it’s true, but now we know that America’s true love of sports can trace its roots right back here.”
This week’s Firstival is Saturday, Jan. 24, 11 a.m. — 1 p.m., at Xfinity Mobile Arena, 3601 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, Pa. Premium Access Entrance on the Broad Street side, near Lot C. The Inquirer will highlight a “first” from Philadelphia Historic District’s 52 Weeks of Firsts program every week.
Frank Seravalli was standing behind the players’ bench at Bucks County Ice Sports Center when his phone buzzed. He didn’t reach for it — which is not his usual instinct.
Seravalli, a former Daily News reporter, is one of only a handful of NHL insiders. His job is to talk to athletes and decision makers around the league. Missing a call or a text can mean missing a story, and in a competitive media environment, in which quick, accurate information comes at a premium, being “late” isn’t ideal.
But on Jan. 12, in the midafternoon, Seravalli was busy. He was coaching Germantown Academy’s varsity hockey team. It was the third period and the Patriots were up, 6-2, in a rematch against Episcopal (5-2 on the aging scoreboard, which was missing a number).
Despite their lead, Seravalli’s players didn’t relent. With 35.6 seconds remaining, sophomore Mick Tronoski fired another shot into the net. A smattering of fans cheered.
After the two groups shook hands, Seravalli walked off the ice. He pulled his phone from his pocket, and read that the Columbus Blue Jackets had fired their head coach, Dean Evason.
Coach Frank Seravalli talks with his Germantown Academy team in the locker room at the Bucks County Ice Sports Center on Jan. 12.
He retweeted a team statement, 27 minutes late. The NHL insider shrugged.
“I mean, it’s just life, right?” he said. “What are you going to do?”
Since July, Seravalli, 37, has served as GA’s head hockey coach. It is a daily commitment, one that he takes as seriously as his podcast and TV hits for various outlets. Five times a week, Seravalli oversees hourlong practices, and coaches hour-and-a-half games, with some 7 a.m. morning lifts mixed in.
He is not above doing the grunt work, either, like ordering gear, setting the schedule, and keeping the team’s stats. He reviews film, plans workouts, and runs the middle school program, all while keeping an eye on promising players in the area.
NHL insiders do not have an abundance of free time, so when Seravalli first told his family that he’d be coaching high school hockey, they thought the idea was absurd. And maybe it is a little absurd. Seravalli is not an alumnus of Germantown Academy. He is not doing this for the small stipend he gets halfway through the year.
But he is doing it for a reason. Just over two years ago, Seravalli’s cousin, Anthony Seravalli, died unexpectedly. He was 41 and left behind a wife and three sons.
Frank always looked up to him. Anthony was mature for his age, even as a teenager. He was a team captain and a star defenseman at Germantown Academy in the late-1990s, back when the school was winning Flyers Cups and producing NHL-caliber talent.
GA hockey’s stature has diminished since then. New York Rangers goalie great Mike Richter once played for the Patriots, but for years, the program was essentially dormant. Local recruiting wasn’t a priority. It was unclear whether there would be enough players to field a team in 2025-26.
Until Seravalli arrived. He has told the school he’s willing to make a five-to-10-year commitment to restore the program to what it was. In his mind, this is the best way to honor his late cousin.
“I thought of him, and how big high school hockey was 25 to 30 years ago, and how I could help make that big again,” Seravalli said. “And I was like, ‘Maybe, this was supposed to happen.’”
A ‘fixture’ of GA hockey
Germantown Academy was an unlikely hockey powerhouse in the 1980s, ’90s, and 2000s. The coed school had an enrollment of only 1,200 students, from kindergarten through 12th grade. These numbers allowed the Patriots to fill only one varsity team most years.
It paled in comparison to some of the bigger programs in the area, like La Salle College High School, which was able to fill four teams (one varsity and three junior varsity).
Nevertheless, GA found success. Players took pride in its underdog identity, especially while playing local behemoths like Council Rock and Malvern Prep. Germantown Academy won two Flyers Cups — the hockey championship for eastern Pennsylvania high schools — in 1982 and again in 1983, and a state championship later that year.
The team won three more Flyers Cups in 1991, 1994, and 1995, and went 100-0-6 in regular-season league play for over five seasons in the mid- to late-1990s.
Anthony Seravalli was a key part of GA’s team. He joined thevarsityas a freshman in 1996, and quickly established himself as a leader. Dan McDonald, a defenseman who was two years older, would drive him to school every morning.
Anthony Seravalli (right) was a critical part of GA’s program in the late 1990s.
The underclassman would rarely — if ever — call out sick with an injury or illness. His teammates estimated that he’d be on the ice for about 70% of Germantown Academy’s games (a hefty workload for a young player). Seravalli was a physical presence, standing at 6-foot-2, with a big windup slap shot that was hard to miss.
He carried no ego, despite his abilities. Anthony was inclusive with all of his teammates, including those who spent more time on the bench. In 1999, a few players got injured, and Seth Gershenson, a self-described “bench guy,” was asked to play some shifts.
Before Gershenson took the ice, Seravalli pulled him aside to give a few words of encouragement.
“He respected my effort and willingness to go out there and get beat up a little bit,” Gershenson said.
Many local players also participated in club hockey. They saw it as a way to get noticed in eastern Pennsylvania, which was not exactly a hotbed for the sport. As a result, club teams often took precedence over high school teams.
But this was not the case for Seravalli. GA always came first. Gershenson referred to him as a “fixture.”
“He took being a captain really, really seriously,” Gershenson said, “and he took the success of GA really seriously. He took pride in our success much more than whatever his club team was doing.”
Frank Seravalli grew up in Richboro, Bucks County, just a few minutes from the Face Off Circle, where Germantown Academy played at the time. By age 6, he was attending games and practices to watch Anthony and another cousin, Jason Jobba.
The elementary school student would stand in the same spot, behind the net, with a fizzy Coke in hand, and his face pressed up close to the glass.
“Watching your cousins who are a bit older, those are your heroes,” Seravalli said. “And for me, that’s part of where my love for the game came from.”
The Seravallis were a big, tight-knit group. Almost everyone played hockey, and almost everyone went to work at the family construction business. This was the path Anthony took, but he also found time to give back to his alma mater.
Frank Seravalli fondly remembers watching his older cousins play hockey when he was a child.
In 2004, while Frank was playing at Holy Ghost Prep, Anthony returned to GA as an assistant coach. He had a knack for connecting with the players, most of whom were familiar with his high school career.
One example was Brian O’Neill, a GA alum and former U.S. Olympian who is now playing pro hockey in Sweden.
O’Neill was a talented skater, but he lacked defensive fundamentals. This was one of Anthony’s strengths, and when O’Neill was moved to defense in his sophomore year, he began to work with the assistant coach.
Seravalli constantly reminded him to keep “stick on puck.” It was a message that O’Neill had heard for years but never fully understood. That changed when the coach stepped in.
“It was easy for him to sell me on what he was trying to teach, because I had a lot of respect for him as a player and a person,” O’Neill said. “He didn’t really have to earn my trust. That was already there.”
The goal was to put pressure on his opponent, in a way that didn’t involve hitting or cross-checking. The coach ran drills in which O’Neill would hold a puck in his right hand, and the stick in his left, to focus on keeping the stick down.
“It’s amazing,” O’Neill said. “You would think, ‘OK, I can’t grip the stick with my other hand, so I pretty much am playing with one hand,’ and all you can do with that is pretty much stick on puck.
“You would think you would be way worse at defending, but it’s actually the opposite, because all you’re focused on is stick on puck. And you’re not focused on hitting.”
The concept finally clicked. O’Neill, who went on to play in the NHL, still uses it to this day.
“[Anthony] was the guy that gave me the most advice on defense,” he said, “and that definitely made a huge impact on my career.”
Germantown Academy players celebrate after a goal against Episcopal Academy at Bucks County Ice Sports Center.
‘Please help save our program’
When he was young, Frank Seravalli would visit his family’s construction business in Northeast Philadelphia. He’d often notice workers perusing thick copies of the Daily News over lunch, and dreamed about having a byline someday.
In 2009, that dream became a reality, when the paper hired Seravalli out of Columbia University’s journalism school to cover the Flyers. He stayed for six years, before leaving for the Canadian television network TSN, where he worked as a senior writer and NHL insider.
In 2021, Seravalli started his own business, the Daily Faceoff, which was sold to a media group in Denmark in 2024. He’s now building a hockey network at the streaming service Victory+.
A typical day includes a radio interview in the morning, a podcast taping at noon, and more radio and television hits at night. Interspersed are hours spent texting and calling sources throughout the league.
It is a frenetic lifestyle, one that requires Seravalli to be glued to his phone. Finding time to coach a high school hockey program seemed impractical, if not impossible. But Seravalli was drawn to the idea. So, when he saw the job opening last year, he decided to apply.
The school’s athletic director, Tim Ginter, could only laugh when he read the insider’s resumé. Among his references were two NHL general managers, an executive with the league, and a former NHL head coach.
“He’s like, ‘Call [former Anaheim Ducks head coach] Dallas Eakins,’” said Ginter. “And I’m like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’”
Seravalli interviewed for the position in the spring. He talked to two of the team’s captains, J.P. McGill and Joey Lonergan, who explained that their program was in jeopardy.
Coach Frank Seravalli talks with his team during the game against Episcopal Academy.
GA had lost five playersin 2025. School officials didn’t know how they were going to fill those spots. McGill and Lonergan had heard stories about the 1990s and 2000s teams, but returning to that level seemed like a long shot.
The Patriots hadn’t played in a Flyers Cup since 2009. After years of shrinking rosters and coaching changes, the team was moved for 2009-10 from the Suburban High School Hockey League to the lesser Independence Hockey League, which isn’t eligible for Flyers Cup entry.
“Essentially their plea was, ‘Please, help save our program,’” Seravalli said. “‘We’re not even sure we’re going to have a team next year.’
“I couldn’t say no at that point. I knew I was hooked.”
Seravalli met with Ginter shortly after. He made a succinct but powerful pitch.
“If you don’t have interest in changing your program, and really tearing it down and rebuilding it, I’m not your guy,” the insider told him. “But if you are interested, I’m willing to make a five-to-10-year commitment to build this the right way.”
He was hired in July. Seravalli rarely mentioned his full-time job, but it didn’t take long for the teenagers to figure it out. One day, while McGill was “doomscrolling” on the internet, he spotted his high school coach on Bleacher Report Open Ice.
His reaction: “Oh [expletive].”
“I texted some of my teammates,” McGill said. “I’m like, ‘He’s the Adam Schefter of the NHL!’”
Germantown Academy’s players were not aware at first that their new coach was an NHL insider.
Added junior defenseman Jack Stone: “He’s a reporter, so obviously he knows what he’s talking about.”
The insider started to use his connections behind the scenes. He’d ask current and former NHL head coaches for advice, among them Eakins, who now works for Adler Mannheim in Germany.
Eakins encouraged Seravalli to model the behavior he wanted to see in his team. He emphasized how important it was to show not only that he cared about the program, but about the players as people.
He also shared some mistakes he’d made in his own coaching career, with the hope that Seravalli could learn from them.
“Sometimes people [will] say, ‘OK, I’m a coach, now I have to take on a different persona,’” Eakins said. “And I told him, don’t do that. Don’t go in there and pretend to be [Florida Panthers head coach] Paul Maurice.
“You’ve got to go in there and be Frank Seravalli. Because as soon as you step outside of that, you’re cooked. You can only pretend to take on this other persona for so long.”
The tenor of the program changed almost immediately. Before Seravalli’s arrival, on-ice practices and team lifts were optional. Sometimes, as few as two or three players would show up. Now, they were mandatory, and everyone was expected to arrive on time.
The teenagers learned this the hard way. In October, during preseason workouts, Seravalli organized morning weightlifting. Two players — who will remain anonymous — slowly waltzed into the gym, 15 minutes late.
Coach Frank Seravalli brought a disciplined approach to the Germantown Academy hockey team.
Seravalli didn’t say anything in the moment. But after the workout, he brought the team down to the field house to run sprints. The two late arrivals were put on the sideline, so they could watch their peers suffer on their behalf.
“And I just said, ‘Look, we have a standard here,’” said Seravalli. “‘You have to make the commitment that everyone else is to show up on time and be ready.’
“And I’ll tell you what: Since then, no one’s been late.”
The players have embraced the newfound discipline. Stone said it’s something that they didn’t realize they needed, but they’re grateful to have. McGill agreed.
“He’s way more intense than what we’ve had in the past,” McGill said. “Which, to some people, can be intimidating. But if you want to play at a high level, that can’t be intimidating.
“There’s no getting away with anything around here anymore. Frank has done a great job of holding us accountable to what the new standard needs to be.”
A different type of connection
Not long after he was hired, Seravalli moved the team from the Hatfield Ice Arena to the Bucks County Ice Sports Center (formerly known as the Face Off Circle). The building looks just like it did when Anthony was in high school.
The white-and-blue paint is faded, but intact, and so is the thermostat, set to the coldest possible temperature. Five days a week, Seravalli walks past the spot where he stood as a child, watching his cousins with wide eyes, as they swept across the ice.
Anthony’s death was a shock to the entire family. He no longer roams the halls of the construction firm. He is no longer behind the bench at the Face Off Circle.
Incoming state-appointed Camden school superintendent Alfonso Q. Llano Jr. got a head start Wednesday on his new position running the troubled school system.
Llano met with Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen and other key stakeholders at City Hall for a congenial discussion ahead of taking over the district March 1. .
During a round-table discussion, Llano said his immediate priority will be to provide stability to the district. Camden has been without a permanent superintendent since June 30.
The incoming district leader said it was too early to comment on the district’s budget outlook for the 2026-2027 school year. Last year, the district had a $91 million budget deficit and made cuts affecting nearly 300 positions.
Llano said he was made aware of recent rumors about possible school closures. He said he had not received data about it and declined further comment.
In response to another question, he said he would support immigrant families who have grown increasingly afraid to send their children to school because they fear they may be targeted by ICE. About 56% of Camden’s traditional public school students are Hispanic.
“Schools are a safe place and we want to maintain them as a safe place,” Llano said.
He delicately side-stepped a question about the changing educational landscape in Camden. Thousands of students have left the city’s traditional public schools for Renaissance and charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run.
Enrollment in the Renaissance and charter schools exceeds the traditional public schools. The district has said payments to those schools have increased from $54.9 million in 2013 to $198 million.
“School choice is important to families. Camden is unique” Llano said. “We want to make sure the public school system is stabilized and innovative in a way that families feel comfortable keeping their children in the public school system.”
Camden’s new state-appointed school Superintendent Alfonso Q. Llano Jr. listens as Mayor Victor Carstarphen speaks while Llano makes his rounds Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026 at City Hall, meeting with other city, county and state officials. Currently the Vineland schools chief, he doesn’t officially begin in Camden until March.
Llano said he would focus on listening and learning from educators and the community as his introduction to Camden.
“What does the reality look like? What is every day in the classroom?” he said.
Llano has been making his rounds in Camden. He was in the city Monday and joined Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service activities.
Llano said he was proud to become the first Hispanic tapped to lead the district. He is among only a handful of outsiders to become the city’s schools chief.
Camden’s new state-appointed school Superintendent Alfonso Q. Llano Jr. (left) talks with Davida Coe-Brockington, current acting state superintendent, as he makes his rounds Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026 at City Hall, meeting with city, county and state officials. Llano, currently the Vineland schools chief, doesn’t officially begin in Camden until March.
Llano will receive an annual salary of $260,000 under a three-year contract, making him among the highest paid superintendents in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties.
Coe-Brockington, who will continue as interim chief until Llano arrives, said she was “honored to hold it down” until a permanent superintendent was named. She thanked Llano “for saying yes to Camden.”
Carstarphen and a group of city leaders cleared the path for the state to appoint a new superintendent. Katrina McComb’s contract was not renewed last year after The group said Camden schools needed “a new vision for leadership.”
The primary responsibility of law enforcement is to ensure the safety and security of its citizens.
Cooperation between jurisdictions and among all levels of law enforcement is a key component in obtaining that objective in our democracy. When state and local elected officials prevent their police from cooperating with federal officers enforcing federal law while allowing lawbreaking illegal aliens to roam their streets, it creates a dangerous situation for all involved — as we clearly see now. Through their inflammatory rhetoric, they incite and condone the type of resistance and violence against federal law enforcement that they would not tolerate if directed at their own police officers. Their words “inspire” Renee Good and many like her to put themselves in harm’s way while impeding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts illegally. Liberals decry Good’s death while curiously being silent when members of their community were the victims of murder and violent crime at the hands of illegal immigrants. It is a sad commentary on sanctuary states and cities when the plight of illegals is prioritized over the safety of their actual citizens.
What kind of democracy do we have where so many of these liberal elected officials ignore their oaths of office to defend the Constitution by obeying only the laws that they agree with?
Mark Fenstermaker,Warminster, markfense@gmail.com
Wait, he said what?
“The moment you start dehumanizing people, the moment you start calling people Hitler, the moment you start doing that, it’s a slippery slope to violence,” Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick said during a recent interview with CBS.
If I‘m reading this quote right, Sen. McCormick is saying if you call ICE Hitler, you’re going to get Hitler. That’s the problem in the first place: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is operating like the Gestapo. All rhetoric aside, an American mother was killed on the streets of an American city while exercising her constitutional right to protest. How can anyone be OK with that?
Michael Galante, Philadelphia
Investigation warranted
The U.S. Department of Justice has said it will not be investigating the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who killed Renee Good in Minneapolis. In Philadelphia, if a police officer discharges their weapon, it automatically triggers an Internal Affairs investigation, and I believe that is true for all local law enforcement agencies.
I retired from a federal law enforcement agency under the DOJ, and any use of force automatically triggered an investigation and after-action review by the Office of Inspector General (OIG). ICE is an agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. I have not seen any reports of the DHS OIG investigating this use-of-force incident.
Julio Casiano Jr., Philadelphia
New precedent?
Since Donald Trump’s invasion and arrest (kidnapping?) of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, I have been thinking about an analogy that could put this in a different context for Trump supporters.
Let’s go back to 1970. We are deep in the midst of the war we were carrying out against Vietnam. What if the North Vietnamese sent a secret commando force to Washington, D.C., and captured Richard Nixon, brought him to Hanoi, and put him on trial for crimes against humanity? Whatever we might think of him, Maduro was the head of state in Venezuela. If another country did to our head of state what we did to him, we would be outraged, too.
Peter Handler,Philadelphia
Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’re not trying to be unique or edgy — it just so happens that you resonate with topics that many people haven’t even heard of yet. It will be fun and fortifying to connect with those who share your interest.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’re starting to question your fit in an organization or a particular role. You’re not exactly a fish out of water, but you may be a polar bear out of Alaska. The key here is to limit your time in the environment. Take lots of breaks. Is it possible to get a vacation?
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). These are stubborn conditions, and stubborn people populate the landscape. They have something to give, but you won’t know what it is until you let go of what you want it to be. So instead of needing events to line up a certain way, you let go of expectation.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Socializing will be about answering the very human need to be seen and heard. Your story is an evolving one and you tell it differently depending on who is asking. Today, someone new will be curious about you.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The mood at 10 a.m. is very different from the mood at 4 p.m. — so different, in fact, you may feel like two different people. Does it help you to know it’s not an uncommon phenomenon? The world asks a lot of “a.m. you,” then “p.m. you” will ask a lot of the world.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’ll pull off complex plans with a simple approach: jump into and execute as you go. You’re also well aware that not everyone has access to experiences like this, and you’ll make the most of it.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You’re touched by what’s around you and you’ll reconnect with possibility and a sense of aliveness. Just remember, no one comes into their own doing whatever everyone else does. Your artful approach will set you apart in the best way.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Your work will be better for the obstacles you face today. A lull will give you the chance to consider the part that you usually do automatically. This is just what you need to make things better than ever.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You want a feeling you felt before, but for some reason it’s not there. Don’t force it. This is the new you, not the old you, and you are sensitive in other ways you have yet to learn about.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). It’s nice to have assistance and support, but if you don’t get it today, you’ll get something even better. You’ll learn what you’re made of. You’ll dig deeper for your own true grit, which is the abiding resource that will never leave you.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). The French culinary term “mise en place” will apply to your current project. Get all the elements ready for use. In cooking it means peeling, cutting and measuring your ingredients, but for your current project it’s readying other resources, including your team.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Your imagination is active and responsive. You’ll gather a subtle impression from a situation, then let intuition guide your decisions without overanalyzing. The day will arrange itself in supportive ways.
TODAY’SBIRTHDAY (Jan. 22). It will be fun to know you inspire envy along with the other benefits your hard work reels in this Year of the Big Finish. You’ll be crossing the metaphorical finish line with several projects and goals, and the prize comes in money and position, hearts won and security attained. More highlights: cash through something simple, fun gatherings and beautifully supportive friendships. Aries and Capricorn adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 38, 42, 11, 4 and 18.
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been together 30-plus years. When our love was new, it was all smiles, hand-holding and thrills when we saw each other after a long day at work or school. And, I guess, that’s normal.
Now, three kids and three grandkids later, we’re edging past our mid-50s and there isn’t much left. There are no more smiles and no more hand-holding, only two sad adults. We still love each other. Neither of us wants to be apart from the other, but we don’t know how to bring back happiness.
We hardly touch, and neither of us remembers the last time we smiled or even really laughed. We sit in the same room, living two completely different lives. I am partially disabled, so there are no more long walks or outside activities, which we used to do 20 years ago.
We are now wondering: Is this the rest of our lives? Are we going to spend the next 20-plus years in a depressing marriage in which we love each other but no longer have anything in common? Our youngest daughter is 8, and our youngest grandson is 5. We watch the kids (15, 9, 8, 5) in the evening so our eldest can work. Is there any hope for us?
— SAD SPOUSE IN NEW YORK
DEAR SAD SPOUSE: You say that you and your husband love each other. There is hope for reviving your marriage if you agree to go to couples counseling together. Marriage involves more than smiles, hand-holding and thrills. It is a deep and caring partnership. Few couples can sustain the excitement of their honeymoon years. You and your husband have already done the hard work. Now you need to find your way back together.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I were dining with friends in a high-end restaurant. The food was great, and so was the conversation. My husband leaned close to me and whispered, “She’s brushing her teeth!” I glanced to my left. I had thought the gal at the next table was just using a toothpick. No, she was vigorously brushing with a full-sized toothbrush!
After about a minute, she placed the toothbrush into a cosmetic bag and pulled out a denture container. She then proceeded to insert and adjust her retainer. We were flabbergasted. Never in all my years have I seen such appalling table manners. Perhaps we shouldn’t have been staring, but it was one of those moments in which you are frozen to the spot.
Abby, that restaurant has very nice bathrooms. What is happening to our society?
— SHOCKED IN THE SOUTH
DEAR SHOCKED: I understand why this woman’s performance stopped you cold. But, please, don’t blame “society” for her ignorance of the rules of etiquette, which dictate that to avoid grossing out those around us in public, we should excuse ourselves from the table and take care of our oral hygiene privately, IN THE RESTROOM if needed.
