Freddy Peralta is the kind of acquisition who can change expectations in a hurry. The Phillies know it as well as anybody. They’ve scored three runs in four starts against Peralta since 2022. Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Trea Turner are a combined 2-for-26 with 10 strikeouts against the veteran right-hander in that four-year stretch. They’ll go from facing him once or twice a year to potentially three or four times now that the Mets have shipped a couple of top-100 prospects to the Brewers in exchange for the 29-year-old Peralta, who had a 17-6 record last season, with a 2.70 ERA and 204 strikeouts in 176⅔ innings.
Wednesday’s trade is the second straight salvo the Mets have fired in the Phillies’ direction. The first was a gut-punch in the form of a three-year, $126 million contract signed by Bo Bichette. The Phillies thought they were about to land the former Blue Jays star on a seven-year, $200 million deal. Instead, the Mets unveiled their unique and devastating spin on the notion of addition by subtraction. Needless to say, it has been a rough week for the Phillies’ NL East odds.
But let’s not go overboard here. While Major League Baseball doesn’t hand out trophies for sensibility, it also doesn’t hang banners for offseason champs. Offseasons are pretty much the only thing the Mets have won in the 40 years since the ’86 Amazin’s did their thing. They are going to need a lot of things to break right for that to change this year.
It should be almost impossible for a team to enter spring training with a projected $360-plus million payroll and Jorge Polanco batting cleanup. Yet that’s exactly where the Mets find themselves with three weeks to go before pitchers and catchers report. The Mets can argue all they want that Polanco is a much better value on a two-year, $40 million deal than Pete Alonso would have been on the five-year, $155 million deal that he signed with the Orioles. But Alonso has hit 72 home runs over the last two years, while Polanco has hit 72 over the last four.
Kyle Schwarber is one of several Phillies who have not fared well against Mets pitcher Freddy Peralta.
And what about the five-hole? Right now, you’d probably pencil in Marcus Semien there. Which would be great, if “right now” was 2023. But Semien has looked nothing like the guy who finished third in MVP voting for the Rangers during their World Series campaign. In 2024 and 2025, the 35-year-old infielder slashed .234/.307/.379 for a .686 OPS that was almost exactly league average. Semien, whom the Mets acquired from Texas in a trade, is making $26 million this year.
Luis Robert Jr. could work his way up in the lineup if he hits like he did over his last 35 games last season (.819 OPS, six home runs, 140 plate appearances). Or, he could be a $20 million eight-hole hitter if he hits like he did over the last two seasons overall (.660 OPS, 28 home runs, 856 plate appearances).
There’s no question the Mets have succeeded in building themselves a different lineup. Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto are the only name-brand holdovers from a year ago. Brett Baty figures to start at designated hitter after the former top prospect rescued his career with a .311./.372/.500 batting line and seven home runs in his last 42 games. Mark Vientos can only hope to factor into the equation after a season in which he failed miserably to follow up on his 2024 breakout. Again, there are things that can break right. But a team’s win total usually has a negative correlation with the number of “ifs” it brings to spring training. And that likely would have been the case with the Mets, until Wednesday.
In Peralta and second-year sensation Nolan McLean, the Mets will have the kind of 1-2 punch atop their rotation that can carry a questionable lineup a long way. In two starts last year, McLean held the Phillies to one run and 14 base runners in 13⅓ innings with 11 strikeouts. Combine his numbers with Peralta’s against Schwarber-Harper-Turner and you get 3-for-40 with 14 strikeouts. If Sean Manaea can get back to his 2024 form (3.47 ERA in 181⅔ innings) and Kodai Senga can stay healthy, the Mets could be a big problem for opposing lineups. And that’s assuming they don’t make another late splash (Framber Valdez, for instance).
But, then, there’s that pesky little word again. The Mets may yet salvage their offseason and move the needle in a more decisive manner. For now, Phillies fans shouldn’t be too hard on Dave Dombrowski’s roster. It’s still better than the Mets, for about 80% of the price.
A Florida fraudster who fooled 60 mostly Philadelphia-area investors into contributing $5 million to develop biometric anti-addiction systems, then fled investigators and spent five years as a multinational fugitive before surrendering, was sentenced Wednesday to 5½ years in federal prison.
Henry Ford, also known as Cleothus “Lefty” Jackson, had pleaded guilty to securities fraud and seven counts of wire fraud for forging documents from insurance companies to inflate the prospects of Fallcatcher, a company he said he was developing to track people in recovery and reduce the risk they would fall back into addiction.
At his plea hearing last year, Ford insisted his idea for a platform that would track people in recovery was legitimate but admitted that he had falsified claims that insurers and state agencies supported the project and would soon make it profitable. The goal had been to sell the company at a big profit for its investors.
He was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Joel H. Slomsky to the prison term, plus three years supervised release and $2.1 million in restitution.
Ford started the business in Florida in 2017 but by 2018 was running out of money, according to prosecutors. He then incorporated the company in Delaware and hired managers and a board. He paid Montgomery County insurance salesman Dean Vagnozzi to recruit private investors from Vagnozzi’s network with email pitches and free meals in Montgomery County and South Jersey. But he gave Vagnozzi and the investors false information about Fallcatcher’s prospects.
Ford fled Philadelphia in 2019 after giving SEC investigators phony documents in an attempt to disprove allegations that he was exaggerating Fallcatcher’s prospects and after learning that he and Fallcatcher were subjects of a criminal investigation.
He went to Miami, then flew to Morocco, according to federal investigators. Ford later told officials he lived and worked in the United Arab Emirates; Thailand; Malaysia; Indonesia; Tunisia; Guinea; and Mexico.
Ford filed a Freedom of Information Act request from Mexico in 2024 with the U.S. Marshals Service to see if they were still looking for him.
Ford crossed the border into Arizona in April 2024, where he was arrested on a warrant for the Fallcatcher case. He was sent to Philadelphia for trial and detained in the federal jail as a flight risk. In 2011, he had been convicted of mortgage fraud in federal court in Arizona as Cleothus “Lefty” Jackson and served a prison term before starting Fallcatcher.
Part of the money Ford raised for Fallcatcher has been collected for investors from business and personal accounts seized from him in 2019 after Scott Bennett, a company executive, became suspicious that Ford was collecting improper payments from the company and reported him to the SEC.
There have been enough Danish players in MLS recently that when the Union reached out to Japhet Sery Larsen, he didn’t have to look far for advice.
“I have a good friend who plays in San Diego, [Anders] Dreyer, who has spoken really warmly about the league,” Larsen said in a news conference this week from the Union’s preseason camp in Marbella, Spain. “I have a former teammate as well in Cincinnati, Evander, who really enjoys his time here.”
Those are very good connections to have. Dreyer was the league’s Newcomer of the Year last year, delivering 23 goals and 18 assists in 41 games; Evander is a two-time All-Star and Best XI honoree.
But Larsen had an even better expert to call, too.
“I talked to Mikael Uhre a bit because he knows the Union very well, which was really helpful for me,” he said.
Mikael Uhre’s last goal for the Union was the one that clinched the Supporters’ Shield.
If Larsen saw all the little boxes with the journalists’ heads on Zoom, he’d have watched a mass springing to attention.
It wasn’t surprising that Larsen and Uhre know each other, because players cross paths in all kinds of ways in soccer. But it would sure be something to learn Uhre’s opinion of a club that didn’t always treat him well in his last two years in Chester.
“He was really happy about his time here,” Larsen said. “He had some great moments here, I think.”
Yes, he did, and he was barely given a chance to say goodbye — or to receive thanks from the portion of fans who liked him. That makes it even nicer of Uhre to say good things about the Union and living in Philadelphia.
The Union moved on from Mikael Uhre (left), Jakob Glesnes (right), and other veterans after last year.
“I had some good talks with the sporting directors and the coaches about what it’s like being in the club, but the hard part is finding out what life is around the training ground and stuff like that,” Larsen said. “So Mikael was really helpful there. Obviously, we talked about [life] in the club as well, but he had only good things to good things to say about the club — he really enjoyed the playing style and the philosophy of the Union.”
It will be up to other players, especially Ezekiel Alladoh, to replace Uhre’s goals and defense-stretching runs. Larsen’s job is to replace another Union stalwart, Jakob Glesnes.
On paper, he has the resumé. Larsen spent the last three years at Norwegian club Brann, won a Norwegian Cup, and played in Champions League qualifiers and the Europa League.
Before that, he spent a year at Bodø/Glimt, a team with a big reputation as a continental Cinderella.
Japhet Sery Larsen (right) wearing the captain’s armband for Brann in a Europa League game in November.
His age matters, too. The Union like to sign younger players whom they can develop and sell later. Larsen is 25, heading toward a player’s peak age period. And the club’s scouts noticed that he wore the captain’s armband at times for Brann, a sign of good intangibles.
“It had a big impact on my decision before joining here,” Larsen said. “I know some more experienced players have left the club now during this winter, so there’s an open spot for taking responsibility and leadership. And I think we have that within the group, but obviously I want to contribute to that as well and help as better as best as possible.”
He arrived in Chester well-briefed on the Union’s high-speed playing style and was excited to play in it.
“I think the coaching staff have a really clear idea of how they want to do things, which I believe suits me quite well,” he said. “[That] had a big impact for me in my decision, which made it easier, but they really talked about their way of thinking in football and their principles.”
Japhet Sery Larsen in action during the Union’s preseason opener Tuesday.
Larsen got his first run in a game on Tuesday, and played the first half of the Union’s 1-1 tie with Czech club Sigma Olomouc. Paired with Olwethu Makhanya on the back line — to form what is expected to be this year’s starting centerback duo — he seemed to fit in well enough.
“I thought it was quite obvious the way the coaches want us to play,” Larsen said. “I think we could see the principles coming to life in the game. A lot of the guys are thinking forward the whole time, trying to really express ourselves.”
On Friday, he played the first period of a 2-1 loss to Danish club Nordsjælland that had three 45-minute frames, this time next to young prospect Finn Sundstrom.
Larsen hadn’t been with the Union for long before heading to Spain, and he spent part of the opening week in Chester working off to the side. So he had to jump quickly into the deep end, “a new way of speaking football” as he put it.
“It has been fun and challenging at the same time,” he said. “I’m learning new things every day, but I’m trying to embrace it all, and the coaching staff and the teammates are really helpful in that process.”
Losers of seven of their last eight games, Rick Tocchet’s men, who have resided in a playoff spot for most of the season, are in free fall and now sit three points out of both the final spot in the Metropolitan Division and the wild card.
With injuries piling up, the latest suffered by indispensable goaltender Dan Vladař, and a condensed schedule, the Flyers are in real danger of falling out of the postseason race before the March 6 trade deadline.
The recent slide has also made painfully obvious what many already knew: The Flyers aren’t nearly as close to contending as they think they are.
Why?
For all their improvement and the savvy acquisitions of Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak, and Vladař, the Flyers have yet to acquire maybe the most important ingredient to any contending hockey team: a No. 1 center.
To make matters worse, they don’t look to have a prospective solution to that problem in their farm system, as Jett Luchanko, Jack Nesbitt, and Jack Berglund all project to top out as middle-sixers.
Florida had Aleksander Barkov. Vegas had Jack Eichel. Colorado had Nathan MacKinnon. Tampa Bay had Brayden Point. The Flyers have … Christian Dvorak? That’s not to say the Flyers are simply a 1C away from doing laps around the ice with a 35-pound silver bowl over their heads, but until they find one, everything else they do is more or less a futile exercise.
That brings us to Robert Thomas, a bona fide top-20 center who some around the league believe could be pried away from St. Louis — he is listed on both the Athletic and Daily Faceoff’s most recent trade boards — for the right price. Thomas, who turns 27 in July, is one of the league’s top playmakers and has tallied 80-plus points in each of the last two seasons.
There’s a lot of speculation that the St. Louis Blues will listen to offers for talented center Robert Thomas.
In addition to his tremendous vision, he’s a sturdy 207 pounds, possesses above-average speed, wins faceoffs (53.4% since 2022-23), and plays a responsible 200-foot game — a trait the Flyers clearly prioritize in their centermen.
In other words, he’s exactly what the Flyers need.
Did I mention he’s already won a Stanley Cup and is signed for five more seasons after this one at a below-market average annual value of $8.125 million?
So is Thomas actually available? That depends on whom you ask, but with the Blues tied for the league’s second-fewest points, it would be surprising if general manager Doug Armstrong wasn’t at least listening on pretty much everybody.
Armstrong all but confirmed that in December when he said, “There’s really no untouchables — not [just] on the St. Louis Blues, [but] there’s really few untouchables in the league. There’s a lot of other guys that, when things aren’t going well, I would say that [trade] list grows.”
Danny Brière and Armstrong are no strangers, as the two did a deal in 2023 involving Kevin Hayes, and infamously had another deal centered on Travis Sanheim nixed at the 11th hour. So with a gaping hole down the middle and armed with a deep prospect pool and three first-round picks over the next two drafts, why wouldn’t Brière blow Armstrong away with a deal he can’t refuse?
Flyers general manager Danny Briere has acknowledged the team’s need to upgrade down the middle. Could Robert Thomas be the answer?
Assuming that Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, and potentially Tyson Foerster are off the table, any deal will start with at least one first-round pick in 2026 or 2027, a center prospect, and a combination of one or two more picks, prospects, or young roster players.
The Blues would have their pick of Luchanko and Nesbitt and would likely covet another first-rounder in a 2026 draft — the Flyers would likely prefer to trade a 2027 first since they have two of them — that features three blue-chip prospects in Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, and Keaton Verhoeff.
It’s worth mentioning that Stenberg’s brother Otto plays for the Blues, and with a closely-contested East and the Flyers’ precarious position at present, St. Louis might gamble that the Flyers’ draft pick would land them a second selection inside the top 10.
St. Louis also is likely to ask for a youngish defenseman to go the other way, which would mean Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, Oliver Bonk, or Emil Andrae.
The Flyers would likely balk at moving York, a key part of their blue line who just signed a five-year extension, while the 23-year-old Drysdale’s value has decreased, not to mention that he’s a restricted free agent at season’s end and would require a new deal. That leaves Bonk and Andrae as the most realistic targets, with the former, a first-rounder in 2023, having the higher upside.
Rounding out the deal would be another draft pick — let’s say a second — or a prospect or young roster player. Would the Blues have interest in Bobby Brink or Nikita Grebenkin as cheap wingers who can play up and down the lineup and have some untapped potential? St. Louis native Shane Vansaghi, a bruising second-rounder from this past June’s draft with a unique skill set, is another player who might intrigue Armstrong.
Flyers defensive prospect Oliver Bonk could be an intriguing player to the rebuilding St. Louis Blues.
The Flyers are in a tough spot, as they need a No. 1 center and are unlikely to have a pick high enough to draft one — 19 of the 27 players I’d characterize as No. 1 centers were top-10 picks, with 15 of them selected in the top three — and there are none available this summer in free agency.
That leaves a trade as the likeliest path, and even those options are largely limited to guys either on the wrong side of 30 or younger, distressed assets looking to rediscover their 1C potential à la Seattle’s Shane Wright.
Thomas represents something different entirely. He’s a proven commodity who not only fits the right age profile but has 5½ years of control. His high-danger passing would also be a tantalizing proposition alongside exciting wingers like Zegras, Michkov, Martone, Foerster, and Travis Konecny. If you have to overpay for someone like that, so be it.
Would a 2026 or 2027 first-rounder, Luchanko, Bonk, and Brink get a deal done? And is that too much for Thomas, who is having a down year with 11 goals and 33 points in 42 games?
The Flyers need to get uncomfortable and take some risks if they are going to address the organization’s biggest need. Until they do, they will be stuck in NHL purgatory, the worst place an organization can be.
While the Eagles’ playoff run has long concluded, Philadelphians may notice a number of familiar faces on each team competing in the conference championships on Sunday.
From former Eagles players, coaches, and front office members to Philadelphia-area natives, all four remaining teams in the playoffs — the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, and New England Patriots — feature local connections.
Here are the names and faces that may ring a bell when they pop up on your television screen. In the cases of the former Eagles players on the list, we’ve also examined why they’re no longer on the team.
Seattle Seahawks
CB Josh Jobe spent two seasons with the Eagles from 2022 to 2023 and appeared in 28 games, primarily on special teams. The 2022 undrafted free agent out of Alabama served as a depth cornerback behind Darius Slay and James Bradberry, but he got buried on the depth chart and was released at the end of training camp in 2024. Jobe, now 27, signed with the Seahawks two days later and earned a starting job this season in Mike Macdonald’s defense.
Josh Jobe evolved from his special teams role with the Eagles to a starting job in Seattle.
The Seahawks often use dime packages to get Jobe, Riq Woolen, and Devon Witherspoon on the field at the same time. According to Next Gen Stats, each member of the trio has allowed less than a yard per coverage snap in dime coverage, ranking among the top five cornerbacks in the league in that metric.
Long snapper Chris Stoll spent six years at Penn State from 2017 to 2022 and played in 48 games. In 2022, he won the Patrick Mannelly Award, given to the nation’s top long snapper. Stoll signed with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2023.
Leslie Frazier has been the Seahawks’ assistant head coach since 2024, serving as a mentor to Macdonald, a first-time head coach. Frazier, 66, was the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2010 to 2013 and has had multiple defensive coordinator jobs, but he got his NFL coaching start with the Eagles as the defensive backs coach from 1999 to 2002 under defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. Among the players Frazier coached with the Eagles were Brian Dawkins and Troy Vincent.
Justin Outten, 42,is a 10-year NFL coaching veteran who is in his first year as the Seahawks’ running game specialist and assistant offensive line coach. He hails from Doylestown and graduated from Central Bucks West in 2002. Outten was a center on the football team and won the state championship as a sophomore in 1999.
Los Angeles Rams
OL Dylan McMahon was the Eagles’ 2024 sixth-round pick out of N.C. State. Somewhat surprisingly, he was the only member of the 2024 draft class who did not make the team out of training camp, instead signing to the practice squad. The Rams signed McMahon to their active roster off the Eagles’ practice squad in Week 2 that year to add depth to their banged-up offensive line. He started in the 2024 season finale at center and has spent the entire 2025 season on the Rams’ practice squad.
Omar Speights emerged as a football star as a Philadelphia high schooler.
ILB Omar Speights hails from Philadelphia and played his first three years of high school football at Imhotep Charter and briefly at Northeast High School. He moved to Oregon for his senior year. Speights, 24, signed with the Rams in 2024 as an undrafted free agent out of LSU and started 16 games this season.
ILB Troy Reeder, 31, is from Hockessin, Del., approximately 10 miles west of Wilmington. He spent his college career at Penn State (2014 and 2015) and Delaware (2016 to 2018). Reeder signed with the Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2019 and won a Super Bowl with the team in 2021.
OLB Jared Verse, the 2024 defensive rookie of the year, grew up in Berwick, Columbia County. Despite playing three years of football at Central Columbia High School in Bloomsburg in northeastern Pennsylvania, Verse was not an Eagles fan (and has declared his distaste for their supporters). The Rams selected Verse 19th overall out of Florida State in 2024. He ranked second on the team in sacks this season with 7½.
Ray Farmer is in his sixth season with the Rams, his first as the senior adviser to general manager Les Snead. He was drafted by the Eagles in 1996 in the fourth round out of Duke and served in a depth role at linebacker for three seasons before suffering a career-ending knee injury. Farmer was the Cleveland Browns general manager from 2014 to 2015.
Drew Wilkins is in his first season as the Rams pass-rush coordinator. He is a Doylestown native and graduated from La Salle College High School in 2006.
Mike McGlinchey (74), pictured with Penn Charter teammates and fellow Matt Ryan cousins Jake McCain, Pat McCain, and Frank McGlinchey, is now considered one of the NFL’s best tackles.
Denver Broncos
RT Mike McGlinchey, 31, is in his third season as a starter with the Broncos and spent the first five years of his career with the San Francisco 49ers. He was born in Warrington and played football and basketball at Penn Charter. He is a cousin of Matt Ryan, the 15-year NFL quarterback who hails from Exton and also attended Penn Charter. McGlinchey was drafted by the 49ers out of Notre Dame with the No. 9 overall pick in 2018.
ILB Alex Singleton signed with the Eagles in 2019 and started 19 games (42 total appearances) in three seasons. He led the Eagles in tackles in back-to-back seasons in 2020 and 2021 (120 and 137, respectively). Singleton, now 32, signed a one-year deal with the Broncos in free agency in 2022 and has been with the team ever since. He started 16 games this season and led the team with 135 tackles, one year after suffering a season-ending ACL injury.
Sean Payton is in his third season as Broncos coach. He got his NFL coaching start with the Eagles as the quarterbacks coach from 1997 to 1998 under head coach Ray Rhodes, working with quarterbacks Ty Detmer, Bobby Hoying, Rodney Peete, and Koy Detmer. Perhaps more notably, Payton spent 15 seasons as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 2006 to 2021 and won the Super Bowl in the 2009 season.
Joe Vitt was hired by Payton in 2023 as a senior defensive assistant. Vitt first crossed paths with Payton on the Eagles, as the assistant was the linebackers coach in Philadelphia for four seasons from 1995 to 1998. Vitt, 71, grew up in Blackwood, N.J.
Jordon Dizon is in his first season as the Broncos director of pro personnel and his eighth with the team. Between two stints in the Broncos front office, he was a national scout for the Eagles from 2022 to 2024.
Milton Williams (93) parlayed a career season that included a Super Bowl ring into a free-agent deal with the Patriots.
New England Patriots
DT Milton Williams spent the first four years of his career with the Eagles, the team that drafted him in the third round out of Louisiana Tech in 2021. He had a breakout year in 2024, amassing a career-best five sacks in 17 games (seven starts). After winning a Super Bowl with the Eagles, he signed a four-year, $104 million contract with the Patriots in free agency, making him the second-highest-paid interior defensive lineman on an average annual basis ($26 million per year).
Williams, 26, missed five games late this season with an ankle injury, but he returned in time for the playoffs. He notched two sacks in the wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Mack Hollins has had a nice year for a rejuvenated Patriots team but appears unlikely to play this week because of injury.
WR Mack Hollins also began his career with the Eagles, selected in the fourth round of the 2017 draft out of North Carolina. He was a member of the Eagles team that beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl that season. Since that year, the 32-year-old Hollins has been a member of four teams and joined the Patriots on a two-year deal this season. He is on injured reserve with an abdominal injury, but the Patriots opened up his practice window this week — he was listed as questionable for this weekend’s game on Friday’s injury report. Hollins had 550 yards and two touchdowns on 46 receptions in 2025, the second-best receiving total of his career.
ILB Christian Elliss spent nearly three seasons with the Eagles from 2021 to 2023. He served in a depth role, even in 2023 on a struggling defense under former defensive coordinator Sean Desai, and he appeared in 19 total games, primarily on special teams. The Eagles waived Elliss in December 2023 after signing Shaquille Leonard, and the Patriots claimed him. Elliss, 27, started 13 games this season (and played 15 games total) and ranked second on the Patriots with 94 tackles.
Christian Barmore is another former Philly high schooler who has reached the NFL pinnacle.
DT Christian Barmore grew up in Philly, starting in high school at Lincoln before transferring to Neumann Goretti. He orally committed to Temple, but he reopened his recruitment in 2017 and attended Alabama instead. Barmore was the Patriots’ second-round pick in 2021. The 26-year-old became a full-time starter this season, and had two sacks in 17 games (16 starts).
OT Caedan Wallace hails from Robbinsville, N.J., spending his high school football career at Robbinsville High School and then the Hun School. He helped the latter to three straight prep state championships (2016, 2017, 2018). Wallace, 25, played for Penn State from 2019 to 2023. He was drafted by the Patriots in the third round in 2024 and has served in a depth role over the last two seasons.
Mikie Sherrill’s inaugural ball was unconventional, but it was very Jersey.
She held it at the American Dream mega-mall in East Rutherford, amid open-for-business stores, an indoor ski resort, roller coasters, a water park, restaurants, and children’s attractions.
Sherrill’s party was held where there’s usually an ice skating rink — “Across from Nickelodeon," one event worker provided as instructions.
Guests in tuxedos and ball gowns roamed past pretzel shops, toy stores, and life-size versions of children’s characters – and even through a candy shop – while searching for the entry.
Sherrill joined New Jersey hip-hop group Naughty by Nature on stage, a Bollywood group performed, and hits from Lizzo and Earth, Wind & Fire, blasted. On their way out, partygoers could pick up “Taylor hams” or “pork rolls” from workers wearing “flight crew” T-shirts.
“May you always be able to have a great future for your kids and your family and get maybe a week at the Shore every year,” Sherrill said in a toast in front of the crowd.
Over the course of the night, about 2,500 people poured out of the dance floor and mingled in front of storefronts and a cell phone case booth. The Inquirer was there to talk with the new governor’s supporters. Here’s some of what they said.
What are you looking forward to in Sherrill’s administration?
John Currie
Passaic County Democratic Party chair
I'm looking for her to continue some of the things that Gov. Murphy has done.
John Walsh
Influencer
I'm looking forward to seeing how she differs herself from Phil Murphy in a positive way. I don't think Phil did a bad job, but I'd like to see a lot of things change.
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Catie McNulty
Special education teacher in Point Pleasant
I'm looking forward to Mikie moving our state in a direction that supports affordable housing for everybody. I work closely with groups with developmental disabilities, so focusing on improving Medicaid and ensuring that our members and our adults with developmental disabilities don't lose out on services due to cuts at the federal level.
Robert Speer
President, The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 827
I'm hoping that she will work with unions to bring good paying jobs to the state of New Jersey and contracts to the people in those union jobs. …. She, I believe, will represent the middle class very well, and I'm hoping she will.
Maritza Walton
Business owner in Bloomfield
I'm looking forward to her improving expenses for business owners, especially our utilities, and the different fees that business owners have to pay, especially small-business owners.
What is an obstacle she might face?
Amber Reed
Co-Executive director of AAPI New Jersey
New Jersey did not become more transparent or accountable after Murphy and change comes really slowly here. Even though she says she's committed to making government more transparent and accountable to the people, I can see her running against some entrenched culture around that in New Jersey.
Tara Buss
Mayor of Colts Neck
She is dealing with a variety of counties with a variety of needs. So I think she'll struggle with different counties and their different needs. We may have different needs in Colts Neck, New Jersey, than she may have in towns that she's from. So I think that's going to be a challenge.
Rhina Cavarez
Worked on Ras Baraka and Mikie Sherrill’s gubernatorial campaigns
She must face our own citizens … 1.4 million people voted for Jack. That means 1.4 million believe that Trump is doing the right thing, which is going to be a problem for the rest of us.
Falguni Pandya
New Jersey-India commissioner and AAPI commissioner
We do have high real estate taxes, some affordability issues, so I think she has to get the financial house in order first.
Kris Ramanathan
Entrepreneur
I think the obstacle she's going to face is the budget issue. I think it's going to be challenging, because there are so many things that we need in New Jersey, and with the Republicans not doing anything with the federal government, basically abdicating on any of their responsibilities, I think it's going to be a huge obstacle for her to find the money to do all the things that I know she wants to do.
What is something you know about Sherrill?
Kathy Bryant
Clinical data manager
I do know she's a humble person. I met her coming from the Democratic convention. We were on the same plane, and we just spoke casually, and she's very easy to speak to. … You could have a conversation with her, and she was really listening to you. So it was nice to be able to say, ‘Oh, you might be our future governor.’
John Walsh
Influencer
Her name is not Mikie. It's Rebecca, and a lot of people don't know that. And I have to out her on that. I told a couple people that today, and they had no idea … when she swore her name and gave the oath, I was like, I'm surprised she didn't say Rebecca.
Catie McNulty
Special education teacher in Point Pleasant, New Jersey
We know her as a very caring mom in our community, as well as an elected leader. She was one of the first electeds who showed up for us as Asian Americans during the pandemic when we were experiencing anti Asian hate, and she brought a lot of real human empathy to that moment.
Thomas Duch
Bergen County administrator and counsel
I just know that she was a very diligent congresswoman. I know that her office was known for constituent service, for constituent response. The state of New Jersey is not really known for constituent response. … so if she brings that mentality, that kind of a service mentality, to state government, by way of example, I think that it will be contagious, and it will help, and we will improve our customer service.
What is something you want to know about Sherrill?
Rhina Cavarez
Worked on Ras Baraka and Mikie Sherrill’s gubernatorial campaigns
Are you running for president in 2028?
John Walsh
Influencer
When she did Colbert and she (said she) gave birth in a taxi, that was shocking to me. And I did a lot of TikToks, I met her, and I was like, why did that not come out during the campaign? So I'm sure there's more minute stories like that that are waiting and I'm looking forward to hearing about them.
Pulkit Desai
Parsippany mayor
What kind of music she likes. What does she do to decompress?
Kris Ramanathan
Entrepreneur
How many G's she can handle in a helicopter, what pressure she's gotten to.
Kathy Bryant
Clinical data manager
I just want to see how she's going to move forward with ICE. Are we going to maintain [New Jersey’s] sanctuary state [policy]? Are we going to prohibit them from coming into our churches, into our schools? Are we going to continue to be our brother's keepers, which I believe she will be.
Falguni Pandya
New Jersey-India commissioner and AAPI commissioner
How she does it all, like what makes her so effective and so productive and so successful. If we were to look at her as a role model, what would she teach young people coming into politics, young people wanting to be in it, or not even young necessarily, but people who are actually wanting to follow her footsteps.
Staff Contributors
Reporting, Photography, and Digital Editing: Aliya Schneider
Chris Coyne had a chance to win $1 million earlier this month, but that wasn’t enough to get him out of reading his son a bedtime story.
His friends were coming over the next afternoon to watch the final slate of NFL games as Coyne neared the prize. So his wife said it was his night to make sure one of their two children was sleeping.
And there was Coyne — a cell phone on his lap so he could follow the Buccaneers-Panthers game on Jan. 3 — reading The Pout-Pout Fish to 2-year-old Charlie.
“I know it by heart now, so I’m just reading it from memory and watching the phone on mute while I’m telling the story,” said Coyne, who also has an infant son named Harrison. “But I have a million dollars on the line. The Bucs missed a field goal, and I’m like, ‘Ahh.’ I had to grit it.”
It was the start of an emotional roller coaster of a weekend that ended with Coyne, a 34-year-old former walk-on for Phil Martelli at St. Joseph’s, winning the $1 million grand prize in a season-long NFL pick ’em contest run by a Las Vegas casino with 6,000 participants.
He lost a game in September when the Eagles returned a blocked field goal against the Rams, picked up a win in December when the Raiders kicked a meaningless field goal to lose by 7 points instead of 10, and then pouted through that bedtime story as the Buccaneers faded.
It was a season-long marathon. But it ended with Coyne, who lives in Brooklyn, flying to Las Vegas during the NFL’s wild-card weekend to claim his oversized check and custom blue jacket at the Circa Resort & Casino as the winner of the Circa Million VII.
“I wasn’t as dedicated to it as many others are,” said Coyne, who was at the playground with his kids when he checked his phone to see how Jordan Davis’ sprint spoiled that game against the Rams on Sept. 21.
“I joke that there were no models, no Excel spreadsheets. It’s just me changing diapers and making picks.”
A team photo of the 2012-13 St. Joe’s team with Chris Coyne (first row, third from the left).
Walk-on Hawk
Coyne was cut from the St. Joe’s basketball team as a freshman and sophomore but was certain that his junior year in 2011-12 would be different.
He could have played Division II hoops but came to Philly because his Manhattan high school followed the Jesuit educational model just like St. Joe’s. Coyne played JV ball as a freshman and sophomore for the Hawks and practiced with Martelli’s crew in the offseason.
He rode his bike home from the gym the night before tryouts and thought it was finally his chance to make the team. Then Coyne hit a curb and flew over his handlebars. His palms were gushing blood and his wrists were banged up.
“I had no skin on my hands,” Coyne said. “There it goes. There goes the dream.”
Coyne arrived early to the tryout, hoping that the Hawks athletic trainer could do something. The trainer wrapped Coyne’s hands and sent him on the court.
“I pretty much looked like a boxer,” he said.
It worked as Coyne — shooting like coaches always stressed with his fingers and not his palms — seemed to knock down everything. Maybe he should always play like a prizefighter, he thought.
Martelli called to tell him that his third try was a success: Coyne was a walk-on.
Chris Coyne played for coach Phil Martelli alongside star Langston Galloway (10) during his time with St. Joe’s.
“It was my dad’s birthday and I called him to tell him,” Coyne said. “He was the one who pushed me to see this through and not just play at the D-III level. He said, ‘This is your dream. Whether you get one minute in a game or 30 minutes, go see this through.’ I couldn’t thank him enough.”
He played two years for Martelli, who told the bench players on the “Pinnie Squad” to give it their all in practice against the starters. The reserves were a bunch of guys like Coyne, who could have played elsewhere but stayed on Hawk Hill with Martelli.
So the future $1 million NFL picker battled every day against Langston Galloway, the future NBA player. Martelli assigned his players to read articles about leadership and teamwork and preached the value of family. It was always more than basketball.
“I never felt like I was just sitting on the sidelines getting guys water,” Coyne said. “You were in the mix every day, which was really cool.”
Coyne played just 12 minutes over eight games during those two seasons. But he did knock down a three-pointer at the Palestra, entering the game late against Penn on ESPN for his first NCAA basket.
“It’s funny looking back and thinking, ‘Why would you ever be nervous?’” Coyne said. “But you’re just sitting there, you’re cold, there’s 15,000 people in the stands, and he’s going to call your name but you don’t know when it’s coming or if it’s coming. You’re just thrown out there.
“My parents were there and it was a dream come true. It was years of seeing your dream not play out the way you wanted to and then have that opportunity.”
Chris Coyne making the first and only three-pointer of his St. Joe’s career in 2013 against Penn at the Palestra.
Winning it all
Coyne entered his first football contest in 2019 after his friend Brian Hopkins signed him up during a trip to Vegas. He split that entry with Hopkins, and they met each week at a Manhattan bar after work, scribbling down the five games they liked on napkins.
The pool has a $1,000 buy-in and requires each entrant to pick five games every week against the point spread. A proxy then places the bets for them in Vegas, as more than half the players live outside Nevada.
Coyne and Hopkins decided to each enter the next season, and they developed their own strategies. Coyne stays away from Thursday nightgames as he would have to pick all five games by then instead of waiting until Saturday afternoon. The lines for every game lock on Thursday morning, which sometimes means a line could move before Coyne sends in his picks.
He didn’t watch a full NFL game until the middle of October because he was usually busy on Sundays with his kids. He read articles during the week and listened to podcasts. Picking games, Coyne learned, is less about breaking down game tape and more similar to the sales job he has on Wall Street.
“You’re aware of trends,” Coyne said. “When the public A.K.A. retail is buying a lot of stock, that’s never a good sign. Maybe in the short term it works out, but over the long term, you try to find those overreactions in the market where the public really likes a team. Especially if the public loves a team and the line is going against the public.
“That’s the biggest telltale sign right there. You have to have a process and you have to know what you’re doing, but so much of it is you have to get the breaks sometimes. The breaks went my ways sometimes.”
That bedtime story would have been a bit less stressful had the Bills converted their two-point try a week earlier against the Eagles, as Coyne would have entered the final weekend with a three-game lead.
Josh Allen and the Bills’ inability to execute a two-point conversion against the Eagles on Dec. 28 made Coyne’s road to the $1 million a little more stressful.
Coyne was in Berwyn for that game visiting the family of his wife, Maddy, which was rooting for the Birds despite knowing Coyne was in the hunt for big money.
“I’m devastated and I’m like, ‘Can’t you for one week just be on my side?” he said “But Eagles trump all in that household.”
He instead had to sweat it out. He won Saturday night with the 49ers after the Buccaneers lost and then won Sunday with the Giants but lost with the Titans and Dolphins. Coyne said he tends to pick bad teams since he’s often going against the popular choices.
The Steelers won on Sunday night, pushing the second-place entry even with Coyne. He thought they would then split the first and second prizes ($750,000 each) and went to bed disappointed.
“It was a long couple of weeks and I was football fatigued,” Coyne said. “I’m all [ticked] off. But I couldn’t complain. It was still $750,000 and it was a great season, but I didn’t know if I was getting the blue jacket. That’s what I really wanted. It’s like the Masters green.”
Coyne woke up at 5 a.m., checked his phone, and saw he finished in first place on a tiebreaker, because he had more winning weeks than the other entry. The $1 million prize was his. The blue jacket was, too.
Chris Coyne (second from the left) with his friends in Vegas on Jan. 9 after he won the $1 million prize.
Coyne flew to Vegas that weekend with his friends, received his prize, spent 30 hours at the resort, and didn’t take his blue jacket off until he got home.
It was perfect, like a walk-on hitting a three-pointer at the Palestra with his parents in the crowd.
“I spent all of November and December saying, ‘How am I going to screw this up?’” said Coyne, who finished 60-29-1 over 18 weeks. “But somehow I came out on top. It was the weekend of a lifetime.”
Think you know your news? There’s only one way to find out. Welcome back to our weekly News Quiz — a quick way to see if your reading habits are sinking in and to put your local news knowledge to the test.
Question 1 of 10
Just in time for what figures to be a monumental year for local tourism, Philadelphia’s Four Seasons Hotel at the Comcast Center has introduced a new luxury floor dedicated to what it calls personalized, “residential-style” living. About how much will a night in the penthouse suite cost you?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
A booking agent on Tuesday said the penthouse suite — which spans some 4,000 square feet and features a sizable outdoor terrace — is currently going for around $25,000 per night (plus tax). See you there?
Question 2 of 10
According to a new law signed by former Gov. Phil Murphy, some New Jersey elementary school students will be required to learn this skill:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Beginning in September, New Jersey public schools must begin teaching cursive writing to students in grades three to five. New Jersey joins Delaware and at least two dozen other states that require cursive writing. Similar legislation proposed in Pennsylvania did not advance.
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Question 3 of 10
Tyrese Maxey is getting his first signature shoe. Which brand is behind the partnership?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Getting his own signature shoe from New Balance is the latest example of Maxey’s rising star power — following in the footsteps of teammate Joel Embiid, who debuted his own signature shoe with Skechers in December.
Question 4 of 10
At 18, South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito is heading to the Olympics. What activity does she do on the side and plan to do in Milan to calm her nerves?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Levito won’t forget to pack her bedazzling kit. Besides all the sparkles she wears on the ice, she enjoys adding rhinestones to her various makeup cases and a comb. “It’s so soothing,” she said.
Question 5 of 10
Nearly all the stars of this new Netflix series have Philly roots:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Four of the five Mar-a-Lago women on Netflix’s Members Only: Palm Beach are from Philly or the Philly region. They include an interior designer who sells real estate, a DJ, a former Bucks County Zumba instructor, and a fashion line owner.
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A fictional copy of The Philadelphia Inquirer was featured on this week’s episode of Abbott Elementary with a photo of the Abbott crew. What is the headline accompanying the article?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Designed by Abbott Elementary’s props and production team, the mock front page pictures the teachers and principal surrounded by students with the headline, “Do schools even need schools?”
Question 7 of 10
The American ___ Tournament is moving from Connecticut to Philadelphia next year.
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New York Times crossword editor and NPR puzzle master Will Shortz announced he’s moving the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament from Connecticut down to Philly next year.
Question 8 of 10
Charlotte Astor, a junior at Cherry Hill High School East, is on the hunt for her mom’s 30-year-old demo tape. What was her mom’s band called?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
For Charlotte, Seed’s tape became a kind of white whale — a relic of her mother’s hard-charging past, something the teen occasionally scoured the web for, to no avail. Now, the hardcore community has stepped in.
Question 9 of 10
The former KYW radio building on Walnut Street sold for about $5 million — a steep discount from the $19 million it sold for in 2019. Which Beatle once worked there?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The building was built for KYW radio in 1937 and, later, its television division. The influential Mike Douglas Show was based out of the building for much of its run, employing Roger Ailes, later of Fox News fame, in the late 1960s. In the early 1970s, John Lennon and Yoko Ono guest-hosted the show from the building for a week, interviewing people including Chuck Berry and Ralph Nader.
Question 10 of 10
A Philly-area university professor is competing in the Jeopardy! tournament of champions. To celebrate, a local business named this menu item after him:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Joshua Weikert will watch the show Friday among family and friends — including his fellow contestant Matt 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?”
Your Results
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Seems like you’ve been skimming more than reading there, buddy. There’s always next week.
You’ve read some articles (or made some educated guesses) but we wouldn’t come to you first for our local news recaps. Better luck next week!
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In the end, the pressure on the family simply became too great.
Johny Merida Aguilara, the detained immigrant father of a 5-year-old son with brain cancer, has decided to drop efforts to stay in the United States and accept deportation to Bolivia.
His wife and three American-citizen children will also leave the country, though they are not required to do so, departing their Northeast Philadelphia home to reunite with their husband and father in the central Bolivian city of Cochabamba.
The decision to go comes as Merida Aguilara, 48, approaches his fifth month in immigration detention ― with no end in sight. The family’s forced separation has been emotionally devastating, friends and supporters said. And with Merida Aguilara in custody and unable to work, the financial situation for his wife and children was growing desperate.
Merida Aguilara had been a main caregiver for his son, Jair, who has been treated at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and whose future is now deeply uncertain. Quality healthcare can be lacking in Bolivia, where the U.S. State Department warns that “hospitals cannot handle serious conditions.”
Jair has autism and a severe eating disorder, surviving on PediaSure nutrition drink delivered through a plastic syringe. He generally would accept food only from his father, and Merida Aguilara would leave work during the day to feed his son.
The father was arrested by ICE for an immigration violation during a September traffic stop on Roosevelt Boulevard near Hunting Park Avenue, having lived in the United States without official permission for nearly 20 years.
“I am tired,” Gimena Morales Antezana, his wife, said in an interview with The Inquirer. “We have been trying to survive, but it is difficult with the children because they miss their dad so much.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials did not reply to a request for comment on Thursday.
The family has received strong community support, Morales Antezana said, but that could not continue indefinitely, and at this point she can no longer afford rent, water, or heat,
Son Matias, 7, cries himself to sleep most nights, calling out for his father to come home. His sadness deepened after Christmas, turning into anger when Morales Antezana finally revealed that his father was not away on an extended work trip, but was being held by immigration authorities at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, an ICE facility in central Pennsylvania.
Gimena Morales Antezana and Johny Merida Aguilar’s wedding photos hang on the wall at their home in Northeast Philadelphia.
Daughter Melany, 13, now feels unsafe in the U.S., her mother said. Teenage insecurities have bloomed into a persistent sense of danger, and she told her mom that leaving might be the only way to feel comfortable again.
Jair cries inconsolably every time he sees or hears his father on the phone, asking why his dad can’t be home, Morales Antezana said.
All three children were born in this country and are U.S. citizens by law.
Some good news came this month. Doctors told Morales Antezana that Jair’s brain tumor had not grown, allowing time to try to find care in Bolivia.
“This is going to be a constant struggle every day until God decides,” Morales Antezana said. “It’s scary to think that if something happens we don’t have a hospital to take him to, but knowing his dad will be there makes it a little lighter to bear.”
Jair Merida, 5, posed for a portrait at home in October. His father, Johny Merida Aguilar, was stopped and arrested by ICE in September.
She has not been ordered deported while she has pursued legal means to stay in the country. Mother and children plan to voluntarily depart this month, while the precise timing of Merida Aguilara’s deportation is uncertain.
“He couldn’t do it anymore; he reached his limit,” said Philadelphia immigration attorney John Vandenberg, who represents the family. “It’s a tough environment in the jail.”
Vandenberg won relief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which issued a Sept. 30 order to temporarily block Merida Aguilar’s deportation. The lawyer also applied on Morales Antezana’s behalf for a T visa, which can bestow a path to citizenship on victims of human trafficking and their families.
But time has gone on with no sign from the government as to when that visa application might be considered.
Vandenberg said Merida Aguilar has no criminal record in the U.S., and Bolivian authorities provided documentation showing he had committed no offenses in that country.
His efforts to remain in the U.S. have been complicated by a previous deportation, when he tried to enter the U.S. east of San Diego in 2008. Immigration officials sent him to Mexico, but Merida Aguilar secretly crossed back into the U.S. almost immediately.
Now he and his wife want their children to be in Bolivia in time for the new school year, which starts in February.
“I want to make sure our kids can study,” Morales Antezana said, “so they can decide who they want to be in the future, and come back [to the U.S.] as professionals with a different story than us.”
Her parents, and a son from a previous relationship, are eager to see them in Bolivia.
She said she is looking forward to what many people might take for granted ― hugging her partner, watching him play with their children, enjoying a meal as a family. That helps ease the pain of saying goodbye to a city she sees as home and to the friends who tried to help.
“They kept me strong and helped me not get more depressed,” Morales Antezana said. “I’m going to miss everything about Philadelphia. It hurts a lot to have to leave because there are good people here.”
As a nasty winter storm bears down on us, it’s a good time to start the newsletter with warm thoughts about baseball.
Could the Mets actually give the Phillies a run for their money in the NL East this season? In the last week or so, they have gotten a little closer.
First they swiped Bo Bichette in a free-agent signing that Phillies president Dave Dombrowski called “a gut punch.” Then the New Yorkers traded for Gold Glove center fielder Luis Robert. Then they dealt for front-line pitcher Freddy Peralta, a noted Phillie killer.
What in the name of Flushing is going on around here? David Murphy takes it all in and provides his analysis: “Offseasons are pretty much the only the thing Mets have won in the 40 years since the ’86 Amazin’s did their thing. They are going to need a lot of things to break right for that to change this year.” Read more of Murphy’s take here.
Still … In Peralta and second-year righty Nolan McLean, the Mets will have a powerful 1-2 punch, and if Sean Manaea can bounce back, their starters could be formidable. At the very least, the flurry of Mets moves has given fans something to talk about around the hot stove … and we’ll need that stove in the next few days.
The Eagles will be spectators Sunday when the NFC and AFC championship games are played, but there will be more than a few Philadelphia connections to the action. The pride of Penn Charter, Mike McGlinchey, is the anchor of the Broncos’ line. Imhotep Charter’s Omar Speights is a top tackler for the Rams. And ex-Eagles DT Milton Williams is lining up for the Patriots. Olivia Reiner gives us the rundown of familiar faces one step from the Super Bowl.
Assistant coach Christian Parker is set to become an ex-Eagle himself, as reports have him heading to the Cowboys to become their defensive coordinator.
Sixers center Joel Embiid drives on Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. during the second quarter Thursday.
Joel Embiid delivered a triple-double with 32 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Sixers fought past the Houston Rockets, 128-122, in overtime at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Tyrese Maxey made only 2 of 10 three-point shots but led the Sixers with 36 points. Gina Mizell has a closer look at the action.
St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas (left) is one of the NHL’s top playmakers and tallied at least 80 points in each of the last two seasons.
The Flyers’ ongoing search for a No. 1 center is no state secret at this point. But do they potentially have a new lead?
With reports that St. Louis pivot Robert Thomas could be available, the Flyers might finally have a path to filling the organization’s biggest hole. Gustav Elvin believes the Flyers should do whatever it takes to land Thomas, whom he calls one of the league’s top playmakers and a bona fide top-20 center.
The Flyers’ need for centers has been apparent in recent weeks as the team has dropped seven of eight games and fallen below the playoff cut line. But blowing a 3-0 lead and squandering a point on Wednesday in Utah represented a new low, writes Jackie Spiegel.
Frank Seravalli added Germantown Academy boys’ hockey coaching duties to an already busy portfolio.
A former Flyers beat writer for the Daily News, Frank Seravalli has become known as an NHL insider who is now building a hockey network at the streaming service Victory+. These days, he is also known as the hockey coach at Germantown Academy, a job that takes up even more of his precious time. A family tragedy was a major part of Seravalli’s inspiration to coach the Patriots. Alex Coffey tells the story.
Sports snapshot
Fans at the Finneran Pavilion honored the life and legacy of coach George Raveling at the Villanova-Georgetown game.
“Unraveling George”: A documentary pays tribute to former Villanova player George Raveling, who became an influential college coach.
Winning bets: A former St. Joseph’s walk-on player strikes it rich in a Las Vegas contest picking NFL winners.
We asked: Thoughts on the Sixers so far this season?Among your responses:
Why would any Philadelphia sports fan, specifically a basketball fan, get fired up over our 76ers? By giving Joel Embiid and Paul George max contracts, the GM has essentially made this team irrelevant in the NBA for thee years. These two “Superstars” don’t play enough to make an impact yet account for almost a half BILLION dollars in salary over the life of their contracts. This franchise is handcuffed for the foreseeable future with two untradeable players who miss more games than they play while making it nearly impossible to add salary/free agents. For this franchise, the new reality is not championships, it’s relevancy. — Tom D.
No one cares. George and Embid will be out of the playoffs with “pain management.” Please move back to Syracuse. — Bill M.
An aging Embiid is transitioning into the complementary center he needs to become to help the young Sixers mesh and morph. They will become a quick guard-oriented offense, with the best total guard talent in the NBA.That set of guards includes Maxey, Edgecombe, McCain, Grimes, Edwards, Gordon and Lowry to mentor all of them. But there is no reason for Embiid to be hoisting 3-point shots, which he does at an awful 26% rate this year. — John W.
Encouraging! After last year’s disastrous season, Tyrese and VJ have stepped up to lead the team. Finishing in the top 6 in the conference would be a very successful season. — Bob C.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from David Murphy, Lochlahn March, Jeff Neiburg, Olivia Reiner, Alex Coffey, Gustav Elvin, Jackie Spiegel, Gina Mizell, Matt Breen, and Owen Hewitt.
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.
Thanks for reading. I’ll see you in Monday’s newsletter, when it looks like we’ll be digging out from a doozy of a storm. — Jim
