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  • Rocky curse? Brazil supporters aren’t taking any chances ahead of World Cup clash with Haiti.

    Rocky curse? Brazil supporters aren’t taking any chances ahead of World Cup clash with Haiti.

    International soccer supporters, be warned — clothe the Rocky statue at your own risk.

    The fans of the Ecuadorian national team learned Sunday what many NFL fans already know about draping their colors over the statue of Rocky on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum.

    Ecuadorian supporters fitted Rocky with a yellow La Tri kit, then saw their team concede a 90th-minute winner in its FIFA World Cup group-stage opener against Ivory Coast on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field (aka Philadelphia Stadium).

    The effects of the “Rocky curse” are well-documented when it comes to football, but it was relatively untested on the beautiful game. Ecuador lost, 1-0, to the Ivorian side, which entered the tournament ranked 10 spots behind La Tri in the FIFA World Ranking.

    Ecuadorian World Cup fans try to break the ‘Rocky curse’ after a fan travels thousands of miles with a handmade jersey for the Italian Stallion

    With Brazil coming to Philly for a Group C match against Haiti on Friday (8:30 p.m., Fox29), Movimento Verde Amarelo, Brazil’s main supporters’ group, went to great lengths to ensure the yellow and green of the Canarinho stayed off the Rocky statue.

    The Rocky statue was roped off with a four-post retractable nylon stanchion, with four members of MVA, sunglasses on and earpiece in, standing at attention at each corner as Brazilian fans gathered for a rally in front of the Art Museum.

    The bodyguards discouraged fans from draping any Brazilian garb on the statue, holding signs that read:

    “Operation Rocky Protectors — Attention: it is forbidden to put Brazilian colors on the statue.”

    Matheus Henrique, 30, was one of the MVA members protecting the statue. Henrique, a native of Belém, Brazil, moved to Los Angeles a decade ago for college.

    On the eve of Friday’s FIFA World Cup Group C match between Brazil and Haiti, Brazil fans rally for their team on the Art Museum steps in Philadelphia on Thursday, June 18, 2026.

    Henrique is friends with the person who helped organize Brazil’s takeover of the steps and responded when a call went out for volunteers to guard the statue.

    “It’s a superstition, we heard,” Henrique said. “We’re enjoying the event as well.”

    There was plenty of enjoyment to go around for Brazilian supporters as they scaled the steps in front of the Rocky statue on Thursday evening. Fans danced, sang, set off smoke flares and drummed for hours, making The Oval feel more like Rio de Janeiro than Fairmount.

    All-American Rejects and Micah Palace are coming to FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill

    And, thanks to the statue guards and forewarnings from MVA and Visit PA, Rocky remained shirtless throughout the evening.

    The MVA Instagram account posted a warning to its members to abstain from clothing the Rocky statue before Brazilian fans gathered at the steps on Thursday.

    “Attention Brazil Fans,” a translated version of the group’s post reads. “It is totally forbidden to put a Brazilian shirt on the Rocky Statue in Philly!!!!!”

    Meanwhile, Visit PA warned international fans about the Rocky curse.

    “Countless football teams (as in American Football, not Fútbol — same curse, different sport) have all dressed the Rocky Statue in their colors and gone on to lose,” its Instagram post read. “Ecuador dressed Rocky last weekend. Coincidence? Sadly, history says no.”

    Henrique was confident about Brazil’s match with Haiti, but he said the team needs all the luck it can get after starting the World Cup with a 1-1 draw against Morocco. Henrique said he had to chide a few people getting too close to the statue.

    “Some people don’t know,” Henrique said. “I didn’t know about the superstition until today. Let’s not play with luck. We need luck.”

    Henrique plans to watch Friday night’s match from the FIFA Fan Festival in Lemon Hill, but he feels as if he’s already done his part to help the Brazilians avoid an upset.

    Gonna Fly Now

    After successfully avoiding Rocky’s wrath, Brazil will enter Friday night’s match as favorites over Haiti, which dropped to No. 85 in the FIFA World Ranking after losing its opener to Scotland.

    Brazil, ranked No. 5 in the FIFA World Ranking, will be without national legend Neymar for the match. The 34-year-old winger, nursing a calf injury, was not among the group of players that arrived at the Sofitel in Center City on Thursday afternoon.

    On the eve of Friday’s World Cup match between Brazil and Haiti, Brazil fans rally for their team on the Art Museum steps in Philadelphia.

    Brazilian supporters welcomed players to the team’s hotel, creating a festive but crowded scene at 17th and Sansom around 4 p.m.

    Brazil’s team bus arrived to the hotel at 5:10 p.m., and a few Brazilian players, including Gabriel and Raphinha, greeted fans as they walked from the bus to the hotel.

    The Seleção will look to secure all three points against the Haitians at Philadelphia Stadium on Friday night. The team and its supporters can rest easy knowing it will not be the next victim of the Rocky curse.

  • Frank Reich reportedly wants Carson Wentz to be the Jets quarterback next season

    Frank Reich reportedly wants Carson Wentz to be the Jets quarterback next season

    Third time’s the charm.

    At least that’s what Frank Reich is hoping. The new Jets offensive coordinator is reportedly eyeing Carson Wentz as New York’s preferred option at quarterback, per SNY’s Connor Hughes. Wentz, a pending free agent, signing with the Jets would mark the third time the pair have crossed paths. Reich previously coached Wentz, now 33, with the Eagles and the Colts.

    A source told SNY that “no one loves Wentz more than Frank.”

    As the Eagles offensive coordinator, Reich coached Wentz during the quarterback’s rookie season of 2016 and then in 2017. In his second year, Wentz was the MVP favorite, throwing for 3,296 yards and 33 touchdowns, before tearing his ACL in Week 13. Without Wentz, the Eagles would go on to win Super Bowl LII behind the heroics of backup quarterback Nick Foles.

    A.J. Brown’s pool of trade suitors is smaller after the Bills’ D.J. Moore move. The Eagles must demand a first-round pick for Brown. | David Murphy

    After the Super Bowl victory, Reich was hired as head coach of the Colts. The offensive guru looked to build a contender behind then-Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, but Reich only got one year out of the Stanford grad. Luck abruptly retired at age 29, leading to a carousel of quarterbacks during the rest of Reich’s five-year Colts tenure.

    In the 2021 season, Reich reunited with Wentz — who was ousted alongside former Eagles head coach Doug Pederson — via trade. Wentz passed for 3,563 yards with 27 touchdowns in 2021, leading the Colts to a 9-8 record. In the final game of the season, with a playoff berth on the line, the Colts mustered just 11 points against the lowly 3-14 Jaguars. Wentz was traded to Washington for draft capital that offseason.

    The Washington Commanders are one of the five teams Carson Wentz has played for since leaving the Eagles.

    After a 2-4 start in Washington, Wentz suffered a broken finger and was replaced by Tyler Heinecke for the remainder of that year. Since then, he has bounced around the league in backup roles with the Rams, Chiefs, and most recently the Vikings.

    Meanwhile, Reich lasted with the Colts until a 3-5-1 start in 2022 led to his firing. He was hired as the Panthers head coach in 2023 but was fired after a 1-10 start. Before taking the Jets OC job this offseason, Reich was most recently the interim head coach at Stanford.

    Eagles free agency roundtable: Who are some realistic targets — and bigger targets — for the Birds?

    In the midst of Wentz’s rookie season of 2016, Reich described Wentz as “mentally and physically very tough” in an interview with The Inquirer. “You’ve got to be able to play the position and certainly to play here in this city, and he welcomes that, and we welcome that,” Reich continued.

    Ten years later, the same can be said for the situation the two would enter together in New York. The Jets have not had a winning season since 2015 and finished last year 3-14 behind the play of Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor and Brady Cook at quarterback.

    NFL free agency kicks off Monday, as players and teams can begin negotiating deals, which can be officially signed on Wednesday.

  • Jordan Mailata wins first Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizens Award, which now bears the name of the late Phillies chairman

    Jordan Mailata wins first Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizens Award, which now bears the name of the late Phillies chairman

    After 65 years of honoring athletes, organizations, and teams for their on-field success, the John Wanamaker Athletic Award is entering its next chapter — and it’s bringing a new legacy with it.

    The newly renamed Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizens Award pays tribute to both Wanamaker and former Phillies president, the late David Montgomery.

    As part of the change, the award — which was previously presented to “the athlete, team or organization which has done the most to reflect credit upon Philadelphia and to the team or sport in which they excel” — will now focus more on athletes’ off-field accomplishments. It will honor recipients’ work in their communities and their love for the city.

    This year, that’s Jordan Mailata. The Eagles offensive tackle will be the first to receive the Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizens Award, in recognition of his work with The Philly Specials.

    The award, which was previously presented by PHL Sports, is now under the direction of the Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative, a group with the mission to enrich the lives of every child through the power of sports.

    ‘He truly cared about everyone here’: Late president, CEO David Montgomery added to Phillies’ Wall of Fame

    The name change is intentional. And the inspiration behind it came to Beth Devine, the executive director of PYSC, when she was walking through City Hall and saw the Wanamaker statue.

    “It just came crashing into my brain,” Devine said. “This article was written after Dave died, and the author said in his opportunity working with Dave, he asked him how he wanted to be remembered. And Dave never liked to answer that question. … But, then he finally answered by saying, ‘Go to Wanamaker statue at City Hall and see what it says. That’s how I want to be remembered.’

    “There’s only one word besides his name and it’s ‘Citizen.’ Dave was just a true citizen of Philadelphia. Everything he did was for the betterment of the city and the people of the city. That was when my hesitancy on the whole thing just melted away and I said of course, that’s what it is.”

    Former Phillies president and CEO David Montgomery (right) and chairman Bill Giles attend Pat Gillick’s 2011 Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y.

    While the Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizens Award is named after two native Philadelphians, its first recipient was born halfway around the world. Still, Mailata’s contributions to the city are undeniable.

    The Philly Specials, the holiday band featuring fellow Eagles tackle Lane Johnson and former center Jason Kelce, raised over $4 million with their first two albums, and used the proceeds from their third to launch “Operation Snowball,” which provided Christmas gifts to every public and charter school student and teacher in Philadelphia.

    Jordan Mailata named Eagles’ 2025 Walter Payton Man of the Year

    But it’s about more than just the former Australian rugby player’s charity work.

    “There are a lot of worthy people, but I think that the way people take to him is a little different,” Devine said. “He comes across as just this down to Earth guy. If you think about his path, it’s almost accidental. He was a rugby player from another country. But I think the way he has embraced Philadelphia is important.

    “He seems like the down-to-Earth guy that reminded me of David. I think he shared his love for the city and I think it’s interesting that he’s not a Philadelphian, certainly, because he has embraced Philadelphia as his own. He’s ours and I think he knows that and embraces that too. He makes you feel good about what he is and what he’s doing and that’s how Dave was.”

    Montgomery was the team’s president when it moved to Citizens Bank Park in 2004.

    Montgomery, who was the president of the Phillies for 17 years, passed away from cancer in 2019 at 72 years old. During his tenure, he oversaw the team’s transition to Citizens Bank Park and its most recent World Series title in 2008.

    In 2020, Montgomery was posthumously named the winner of the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 2024, he was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame.

    There are plenty of accolades Montgomery will be remembered for, but Beth will always remember him for his dedication to the community. He always showed up — even if that meant making meetings right after cancer treatment.

    “We had a meeting [scheduled] in this really specific place, and I was like, that’s interesting,” Devine recalled. “But me and two other board members went down to meet him and it turns out he wanted it there because he had treatment. He came across the street from treatment to talk through next steps for the organization. He definitely was not a chair in name. He did the work.”

    Phillies chairman David Montgomery was the face of courage and grace in his final years | Mike Sielski

    Now, under the stewardship of PYSC, his impact will continue to grow with the Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizens Award.

    “We couldn’t be happier that PYSC, an organization that does fantastic work, is taking the torch and moving forward with the award and connecting it to David and his family,” said Larry Needle, the executive director of PHL Sports. “It just feels right and David would be so proud of the legacy of PYSC and the thousands of young people that they impact every year.

    “It’s just the perfect time, perfect fit.”

    Jordan Mailata has gone from a seventh-round pick to an All-Pro left tackle and Super Bowl champion.

    The Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizens Award will be presented to Mailata, who was also the Eagles’ 2025 nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year, at the new Philadelphia Sports Legacy Honors on May 20 at the Alan Horwitz Sixth Man Center.

    As the award enters its next era, Devine is excited to preserve the Wanamaker Award’s tradition, while also being able to honor Montgomery.

    “The legacy doesn’t change, it just shifts,” Devine said. “I don’t look at this lightly by any stretch because it couldn’t be more like the stars have aligned. And I feel that every day.”

    Needle added: “The idea that the award will carry on in his name just couldn’t be more special and more perfect.”

  • Woman hit in face by foul ball at Little League Classic field is suing MLB, Williamsport, and the Crosscutters

    Woman hit in face by foul ball at Little League Classic field is suing MLB, Williamsport, and the Crosscutters

    Every summer, Williamsport, Pa., becomes the epicenter of youth baseball as the Little League World Series hosts its annual tournament.

    And since 2017, Major League Baseball has brought in two teams to play an August regular-season game at Historic Bowman Field, giving Little Leaguers a chance to take in major league action just five miles from the Little League complex.

    But in addition to making memories for Little League ballplayers, the home of the Little League Classic has also been a hazard to fans, a new lawsuit says.

    Deborah Barbella, of Livingston, N.J., attended Bowman Field for a Penn College of Technology baseball game on May 2. She sat behind the first base dugout when a foul ball hit her in her face, breaking her jaw, nose, and eye socket, according to the complaint, which was filed Monday in the Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas.

    The suit accuses MLB, the Williamsport Crosscutters, and the city of Williamsport of carelessness and recklessness leading to the injury.

    MLB and the Crosscutters did not immediately return requests for comments regarding the lawsuit. Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter declined to comment on the lawsuit.

    The Crosscutters, one of six teams in the MLB Draft League, have used Bowman Field as their home stadium since 1994. The team was the class A short-season affiliate of the Phillies from 2007 until the MLB restructured its minor leagues in 2021.

    However, the injury at the center of the suit did not take place during a Crosscutters game. Barbella was struck by a foul ball during the second game of a United East Conference playoff doubleheader between Cairn University and Penn College, which used Bowman Field as its home stadium until 2026.

    Bowman Field, which opened in 1926, is owned by Williamsport and leased to MLB to host its Little League Classic games.

    Barbella was struck because Bowman Field did not comply with a 2022 dictate that all minor league baseball stadiums install protective netting that extends from foul pole to foul pole by opening day 2025, the suit says.

    The Seattle Mariners played the New York Mets in last year’s Little League Classic at Bowman Field.

    The netting at Bowman should have been extended even before to comply with major league rules because it hosts games between MLB teams, the suit says, such as the Little League Classic.

    But when Barbella attended a game at Bowman, the suit says, only those sitting behind home plate were covered by a netting canopy. The net in front of Barbella was lower and stopped at the end of the dugout.

    “Our goal is to achieve justice for a woman whose life was permanently altered by an allegedly foreseeable and preventable incident, and to hold the League and the stadium accountable for their delay,” John Morgan, founder of Morgan & Morgan law firm representing Barbella, said in a statement.

    Williamsport officials discussed the netting problem in a Feb. 13, 2025, city council meeting, according to the complaint. Council approved a contract with a construction company for the netting that day, saying the project needed to be done “very quickly,” but the work never started. The city reopened its bid for netting installation in March 2025 but couldn’t find a company that would agree to take on the project with opening day as a deadline, the suit says.

    The city decided to install a temporary netting system to allow more time for the permanent netting’s installation.

    “Despite being aware that the netting at Bowman Field needed to be changed prior to opening day in 2025, the Defendants failed to make any changes to the netting system at Bowman Field,” the suit says.

    With the exception of the 2020 season, the Little League Classic has brought a regular-season MLB game to Williamsport to open the final week of the Little League World Series since 2017. This year’s edition of the game will feature the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves on Sunday, Aug. 23.

    The Phillies have played in two Little League Classic games. They lost, 8-2, to the Mets in the second annual Little League Classic in 2018 and lost, 4-3, to the Nationals in the game’s 2023 edition.

    When the Phillies took the field for the Classic in 2018, it was the first time the team had played at Bowman Field since it suffered a 5-1 loss to the club’s class A-affiliate, the Williamsport Grays, in an exhibition game on July 31, 1962.

  • The Stoop Pigeon, a women’s sports hub and cafe, has a new location and plans to open in June

    The Stoop Pigeon, a women’s sports hub and cafe, has a new location and plans to open in June

    After more than six months of searching, The Stoop Pigeon has finally found its home. The women’s sports hub will be located at the intersection of Broad and Pine Streets — giving Philly fans a view of City Hall, and the perfect place to reminisce on past championship parades.

    “It’s a location that people immediately identify with,” said Lori Albright, the managing partner of The Stoop Pigeon. “As soon as we say Broad and Pine, people are like, ‘Oh my God, that’s where I watched the Phillies parade.’”

    The Stoop Pigeon has been in the making for a few years. It all started with Jen Leary’s creation in spring 2024: Watch Party PHL, which hosted monthly events at local sports bars to bring fans together and provide a safe and inclusive place to watch women’s sporting events — with the sound on..

    Since then, they’ve continued to grow — and so has the city’s women’s sports team, including the announcement of its own WNBA team — and Leary realized it was time for a brick-and-mortar location.

    “It’s been truly amazing to go from where we were two-and-a-half years ago when I started doing this,” Leary said. “I could not find a single place in the city showing women’s sports at all, let alone with the sound on, to where we are now — packing places with like 700 people wanting to watch women’s sports. It’s incredible.

    “It just shows you that if you give people a space, they will come out and support women’s sports, but you have to give them the opportunity to do that. And we are doing that here in Philly.”

    Watch Party PHL founder Jen Leary holds the “Philly is a women’s sports town” shirt that went viral after Aubrey Plaza wore it to a Liberty game.

    The women’s sports hub, which will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to midnight, will double as a cafe by day and a watch bar at night. The cafe includes partnerships with several Philly-based companies, including coffee from Rival Bros, pastries from Crust Vegan Bakery and Second Daughter, and drinks, including locally brewed beers, ready to drink cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages, from Sterling Pig Brewery, with whom they previously partnered for a women’s sports themed beer.

    They’ll serve a number of items named after women athletes and Philadelphia favorites. Some of the items include: The Dawn Staley latte, the Victory Veggie Burger (named after Victory Brewing), Ora-cini balls (named after Ora Washington), Vivian Shoe-Stringer fries, a KFC pulled-chicken sandwich in honor of Kahleah Copper’s “KFC” nickname, and a Tastykake bread pudding as an homage to the Philadelphia-based snack brand.

    “The goal was to have a local take on a menu,” Leary said. “This isn’t going to be a restaurant, but we’re definitely going to have things that will make people want to come back. We want to make sure they enjoy their time with us and stay. So we’re going to have vegetarian options, we’re going to have vegan options, we’re going to have allergy-free options.”

    With a number of big sporting events coming to Philly in 2026 — including the MLB All-Star Game, the PGA Championship, and the FIFA World Cup — Leary, Albright, and their partners, Fawn McGee and Megan DiTolla, plan to open in June.

    “We really want everyone to feel welcome,” Leary said. “So we want it to be family-friendly. You can bring your kids. The whole reason we’re very intentional about not calling it a bar is because we want people who don’t drink to feel comfortable there.”

    When The Stoop Pigeon opens, it will join Marsha’s on South Street, which opened in September, as the latest sign that “Philly is a women’s sports town.”

  • Andre Drummond always wanted a signature shoe. Instead, he got an entire brand.

    Andre Drummond always wanted a signature shoe. Instead, he got an entire brand.

    Andre Drummond was in the 76ers’ locker room after shootaround on Tuesday when a couple of his younger teammates approached the center about his recent shoe deal news.

    “All the young guys are already asking me for shoes like, ‘Yo, you signing guys?’” Drummond said with a laugh during a video call with The Inquirer. “I said, ‘Listen, man, I just announced it yesterday. Let me get my things in the works.’”

    Drummond’s teammates were referring the Sixers center’s big news, which was announced a day earlier. The 14-year NBA veteran joined Stria Sport, a Chicago-based apparel and shoe company, as the company’s creative director and investor. Stria Sport, founded by Eric Porter in 2021, is described as an “athlete led performance, footwear, and apparel brand,” and has its roots in basketball, but has also released walking and pickleball shoes.

    When his deal with the Jordan Brand was set to end two and a half years ago, Drummond, a two-time All-Star, began searching for his next move and had one goal in mind for his next sports apparel deal.

    “I always had this dream in my mind of getting my signature shoe and I’m like, ‘Damn, how do I get to this goal?’ And it’s not going to get it through Nike, obviously, they have a ton of guys already. Jordan already has a ton of signature athletes already. I was with Adidas already,” Drummond explained. “I don’t think people in general understand how difficult it is to have your own signature shoe. And not only just one, having your own signature, but two, getting it to sell.”

    Tyrese Maxey is getting his first signature shoe from New Balance later this year

    As Drummond scrolled social media, he noticed that his stepbrother, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who plays professional basketball overseas, was a Stria Sport athlete and thought his shoes “were kind of cool.” He quickly sent out a message to Porter, but Drummond says the timing wasn’t yet right for a partnership.

    A few months ago, Porter reconnected with Drummond to offer the Sixers’ center an opportunity to have a signature shoe and an equity stake in Stria Sport, which is also the official performance shoe for the Harlem Globetrotters’ 100th season. Drummond called the proposal “a home run.”

    Eric Porter (left) and Andre Drummond will work together closely on Porter’s brand Stria Sport.

    “We’ve been very patient on who we want to partner with,” Porter said. “We spent the last couple years really laying out our foundation of where we really want to take this thing and what is our niche. To me, we’re partnering with Andre Drummond the creative, more than just the basketball player. … Very few people make [it to] the NBA, and he’s worn all these brands. And who else would you rather get information from than someone who’s been doing this their entire life? And so it’s exciting that he gets to bring his experience with my experience, and we’re teaming up.

    “This isn’t just a shoe endorsement deal or he has equity. It’s, he’s going to be overseeing everything, and that’s what he had asked. He was like, ‘I don’t want to just do my own shoe, and that’s it. He wants to be a part of it all.’”

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    For Drummond, who is averaging 6.8 points and 8.6 rebounds across 46 games for the Sixers, the opportunity to be hands-on in the process of creating a signature shoes and building up the brand was a key part of joining Stria Sport. He’ll be a key decision maker for not only the brand’s basketball division, but will work directly with its pickleball players, including Gabe Tardio, the No. 1 ranked men’s doubles pickleball player in the world.

    Beyond having a signature shoe, Drummond says he wants “to fully immerse myself and truly show the brand that I believe in it.”

    “This is something I want to pass down to [my kids]. It’d be cool for them they play basketball to have their own shoe. Who can say that?” Drummond said. “That’s when people can go to school and say, ‘Damn, I got my own shoe. Like, my dad owns a shoe company.’ Like, that’s not normal. So for me, that’s how I envision it. I’m thinking about the later in life.

    “It’s about building a community, building something that’s way bigger than the Andre Drummond brand … I’m not doing it to get fans. I’m not doing it for people to just buy my shoe. I want to build a real, organic community of people who genuinely care about what this brand is about.”

    Andre Drummond signed on with Stria Sport on Monday as the company’s creative director.

    The next step for Drummond and Porter is creating a signature shoe for the 6-foot-11 center, which they say is already in “the design and development stage now.” Drummond, who will be an unrestricted free agent this year, hopes to unveil the shoe by the beginning of the next NBA season, with plans to tease the shoe throughout the summer and training camp.

    There are also plans for Drummond and Porter to expand and bring on more athletes down the line, too.

    Jordan unveils the Heir Series 2 shoe, which will make its on-court debut at Unrivaled in Philly

    “People want to be different, and not everyone wants to wear what everyone else is wearing. And that’s where we’ve had our success,” Porter said. “The notion of being different, and having the confidence to wear something that no one else is wearing, or because we’re a smaller brand giving us a chance. We’re confident in what we’re making, I think what we have in the works right now over the next 12 months, is really exciting.

    “We are going to look to grow, whether it’s bringing on more athletes, signing teams, groups. All of that is in the works.”

  • The Flyers helped renovate the home of a Northeast Philly teen battling leukemia. He’s ‘gobsmacked.’

    The Flyers helped renovate the home of a Northeast Philly teen battling leukemia. He’s ‘gobsmacked.’

    One word would describe 19-year-old Ethan Ruiz’s reaction to his newly renovated home: “Gobsmacked.”

    “I don’t know how you turn what was here before into such a large space,” Ruiz said. “I guess it involved knocking down walls, but seeing it in its full extent — completely open. I love the open-air design of everything.”

    Ruiz was the 10th recipient of the Building Hope for Kids grant, an initiative in which Flyers Charities and Michael’s Way partner to renovate homes for children battling cancer.

    Flyers Charities and Michael’s Way to team up to renovate the home of a local teen with cancer

    The initiative led to Ruiz’s home in Northeast Philadelphia being renovated to create a more comfortable, accessible, and uplifting space as he continues treatment for his leukemia diagnosis.

    “Every year we work with St. Christopher’s Hospital,” said Blair Listino, chair of Flyers Charities and an alternate governor of the Flyers who is the chief financial and administrative officer for Comcast Spectacor. “We work with social workers there who select a family that they think it would make a very big impact on in their lives to have a new home.

    “This is the 10th house we’ve done and we’ve worked with a lot of organizations day in and day out. There’s different organizations here who’ve helped with the house. IKEA donated all the furniture. Sprouts [Farmers Market] stocked the kitchen. And we have Rheem who did the HVAC system for us.”

    The basement at newly renovated home for 19-year old Ethan Ruiz and his mom features a home gym.

    In 2025, Flyers Charities increased its financial contribution to the initiative to $100,000 due to the increased cost of building materials and the success of previous home renovations.

    Flyers Charities financially supports Michael’s Way, a local nonprofit whose mission is to improve the lives of children with pediatric cancer, for the project while the wives and girlfriends of Flyers players act as interior designers for the house.

    Ethan and his mother, Yomayra Carrer, were surprised with the news in October. Construction began in January with Flyers Charities and wives and girlfriends working alongside Fastrack Construction and IKEA to complete a full-scale renovation.

    Brandon Graham, Jaelan Phillips among athletes working with organization to prepare for post-playing career

    The renovation includes a new HVAC system, a new roof for long-term structural security, engineered hardwood flooring to reduce dust and allergens, new cabinetry, a home gym, walk-in closet, and new tile.

    When asked what his favorite part of the renovation was, Ruiz said: “My room.”

    Ruiz’s room was decorated with forest green walls, featured a gaming setup in the corner, and personalized with some of his favorite items — including a “Ghost of Yotei” poster, and album artwork from Tyler, the Creator’s “Chromakopia.”

    One of the masterminds behind Ruiz’s room was Alex Sanheim, Travis Sanheim’s wife.

    Ethan Ruiz’s newly renovated bedroom was decorated with forest green walls, featured a gaming setup in the corner, and personalized with some of his favorite items — including a “Ghost of Yotei” poster, and Tyler, the Creator’s “Chromakopia” album artwork.

    “It’s tough to design something for someone else and still hope it’s exactly what they envisioned,” Alex Sanheim said. “And by his reaction, I think we nailed it. It was to be green and moody and have a gaming [setup]. I think the space works for him to enjoy gaming between school. Everything now, it’s just completely different.

    “It truly wouldn’t be possible without every single person. I just truly don’t think that we give enough credit to everyone because it takes a village for sure.”

    After getting to know the family, the Flyers’ wives and girlfriends took both Ruiz and Carrer’s interests in consideration to make their vision come to life. For instance, plants were something Carrer loved to have in her home. Going into the renovation, she was a little worried she would have no place for them.

    The Eagles Autism Foundation raised more than $10 million last year. It’s needed ‘now more than ever,’ Jeffrey Lurie says.

    “From my exact sitting position [in the living room], I can count like six of them,” Ruiz said.

    Little did Ruiz know, he missed an entire cabinet of four additional plants to his right. Although the plants were a must have, for Carrer, the kitchen was the main star of the house — but it may take some time getting used to.

    “I don’t know if I’m just like of a different tax bracket, so I don’t know this, but like, I didn’t even know that ovens could come in — dude, there’s two. And it’s split into one big one,” Ruiz said.

    Carrer added: “We’re going to figure it out.”

    Flyers Travis Sanheim (left) and Owen Tippett attended the unveiling of Ethan Ruiz and Yomayra Carrer’s renovated home on Tuesday.

    When asked what would be the first thing they make in their new kitchen, they responded: “Empanadas.”

    Despite the rainy conditions Tuesday, Gritty and Flyers players Jamie Drysdale, Bobby Brink, Owen Tippett, and Sean Couturier were there to witness the big reveal.

    “Oh, they did a great job,” Couturier said. “I would probably let them redo our house altogether. They did an amazing job. Everything kind of fit together and I’m sure they’re happy with the end result.”

    For the Ruiz family, the renovation was a dream come true.

    “The way that I saw all the wives show up, the contractors, I know how stressful it was,” Carrer said. “But they were like, ‘No, this is something we want to do. We do it with joy in our hearts.’ So, to me it’s like they will forever be in my prayers. The contractors, the wives, the Flyers, Michael’s Way. It’s been a long journey, but it’s a beautiful one.”

  • The Gaudreau family’s journey to Milan for Team USA’s men’s hockey gold medal started in Philly

    The Gaudreau family’s journey to Milan for Team USA’s men’s hockey gold medal started in Philly

    As the U.S. men’s hockey team skated around with Johnny Gaudreau’s Team USA jersey after its 2-1 overtime win over Canada in the gold-medal game of the Milan Cortina Olympics, Meredith Gaudreau looked on from the stands.

    Meredith knew her late husband’s jersey had a place in the USA Hockey locker room in Milan, Italy, just as it had at the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025. But she didn’t expect the team to bring the jersey to the ice as it celebrated USA Hockey’s first men’s Olympic gold since 1980.

    As the team celebrated on the ice, Meredith’s phone rang. It was Matthew Tkachuk, asking if the team could get Meredith and Johnny’s two oldest children, Noa and Johnny Jr., onto the ice for a picture.

    Johnny Gaudreau’s former Calgary Flames teammate, Matthew Tkachuk, skates with Gaudreau’s daughter, Noa, after the United States won Olympic gold on Sunday in Milan.

    “I just was blown away that they wanted to do all that,” Meredith said. “They were really thinking of John. I was just very blown away by John’s impact, the way they want to honor him and have a lot of respect for him as a hockey player, a friend, an American hockey player. I was very, very proud of him for that.”

    Johnny Gaudreau, who spent 11 seasons in the NHL and likely would have been on the team’s Olympic roster, and his younger brother, Matthew, died after being hit by an alleged drunk driver while riding bicycles near their South Jersey hometown on the eve of their sister Katie’s scheduled wedding in August 2024. Johnny was 31, and Matthew was 29.

    Johnny Gaudreau’s dream was to be an Olympian. His family lived it for him, in a moment fit for a ‘movie.’

    From Philly to Milan

    Team USA honoring Johnny Gaudreau and his family was one of the most impactful moments of the Winter Olympics.

    But the Gaudreau family might not have made it to Milan without the efforts of Brian Roberts, the chairman and CEO of Comcast.

    Before the Olympics, Roberts read that the U.S. hockey team was planning to honor Gaudreau at the Games the same way it had during the 4 Nations Face-Off, by including a No. 13 Gaudreau jersey in the team’s locker room. Once the U.S. won its group, Roberts thought the Gaudreau family should have the opportunity to be at the Games in Milan.

    Roberts first called Keith Jones, the president of hockey operations for the Flyers, to see if he knew how to get in contact with the Gaudreau family. Jones recommended that Roberts call Gary Zenkel, the president of NBC Olympics, and coordinate the Gaudreau family’s travel with USA Hockey.

    After some hesitation, Jane and Guy Gaudreau made the trip to Italy to honor their son and root on his former U.S. teammates.

    ”In the wake of an unthinkable loss, witnessing the Gaudreau family find a moment of pure joy at the men’s hockey final was a profound honor — that’s the magic of the Olympics,” Roberts said in a statement to The Inquirer.

    Meredith said she got a call from her in-laws, Jane and Guy Gaudreau, on Feb. 17. They told her that USA Hockey had offered to take them to Milan. Johnny’s parents were hesitant, but Meredith knew immediately that she had to go.

    “I have, kind of, two roles right now I want to focus on,” Meredith said. “That’s giving my kids a special life and honoring my husband. When those two things can overlap, it’s more than I can ask for right now. It just means everything to me.”

    Team USA honors the late Johnny Gaudreau after winning Olympic gold in Milan

    Meredith’s in-laws changed their minds, canceled a trip to Las Vegas with friends, and boarded a plane to Milan on Feb. 19. The family arrived in time to see the U.S. beat Slovakia, 6-2, in the semifinals the following day.

    As the gold-medal game against Canada approached, Meredith couldn’t help but feel the U.S. was destined to win gold. The game was on Feb. 22, which happened to be Johnny Jr.’s second birthday.

    “I just was like, ‘This is going to happen,’” Meredith said. “I just was reflecting on everything, and it was just the ultimate gift from John, the ultimate birthday present he gave to us for Johnny.”

    ‘We were really hoping for this together’

    Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau grew up in Carneys Point Township in Salem County and played youth hockey for the Little Flyers and Team Comcast.

    Meredith also is a Philly-area native and grew up with five siblings in Malvern. She and her sisters went to the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur in Villanova, while her brothers went to St. Joseph’s Prep in North Philly.

    Meredith was a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia when she met Johnny in 2018 at her sister’s birthday party in Avalon, N.J. The pair got married in September 2021.

    Johnny, a forward, played nine seasons with the Calgary Flames and two with the Columbus Blue Jackets and was hoping for a spot on Team USA’s Olympic roster.

    “We weren’t getting too ahead of ourselves, but we were talking about planning our pregnancies around it,” Meredith said. “I was like, ‘It’d be hard to be out there with a newborn; it would be kind of hard to be out there pregnant, at the end of a pregnancy.’ … All those memories flushed into my mind thinking, ‘We were really hoping for this together.’”

    Photographic memories

    While the trip to Milan was a bittersweet moment for the Gaudreaus, Meredith said she’s glad that her children have the photos on the ice with Team USA to look back on.

    Meredith’s 11-month-old, Carter, did not make the trip to Milan, but 3-year-old Noa and Johnny Jr. got a chance to celebrate with “the team that is all of Daddy’s friends,” which is how Meredith described Team USA to her children.

    South Jersey reacts as Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey is displayed in Team USA’s golden victory

    “I said, ‘They want to take a picture with you. It’s for Daddy,” Meredith said. “[Noa] was smiling really hard, and I was really proud of her for that because I think she’s at a stage right now where she’s starting to piece things together, and she’s very, very proud of her father.

    “We look at pictures every single day, and she’s still super young and wasn’t even 2 when he passed. I try to tell her stories with the photos that she sees. I think she remembers pictures more than the actual memories.”

    Dylan Larkin (21) holds Johnny, the son of the late Johnny Gaudreau after Team USA beat Canada in the gold-medal game in Milan.

    Meredith hopes the pictures that came after the team’s win will be something Noa, Johnny Jr., and Carter can look back on as they grow up to help them remember and connect with their father.

    “I was thinking into the future, too,” Meredith said. “That they’re going to look back on this and hopefully be blown away.”

  • FIFA held a surprise World Cup presale this week aimed at select fans — but ticket prices were again sky high

    FIFA held a surprise World Cup presale this week aimed at select fans — but ticket prices were again sky high

    Many soccer fans hoping to score early World Cup tickets have been unable to do so after missing out on previous presale windows. In an effort to appease those fans, FIFA offered a 48-hour special opportunity for supporters to purchase tickets to select matches in their desired markets. But prices remained sky high, availability was severely limited, and details — like where you’d actually be sitting — were minimal.

    Over the course of three separate presales, which began in September with a special draw for Visa cardholders, FIFA claims more than 500 million fans have expressed interest, with many registering in ticket lotteries. These lotteries and presales come before what’s expected to be a free-for-all in April, FIFA’s last-minute sales phase, in which tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, “processed as real-time transactions.”

    So the surprise that FIFA offered a special, unannounced 48-hour presale to select fans — starting at 11 a.m. on Wednesday and ending the same time on Friday — came as a welcome shock for those looking for seats before they hit the secondary market.

    Philly bars open past 2 a.m.? A new push for late-night bars amid FIFA World Cup

    However, for some fans, the real shock arrived after they bypassed FIFA’s queue and gained access to the ticket portal. By Friday morning in Philadelphia, the only game left available was the Group E match between the Ivory Coast and World Cup first-timers Curaçao on June 25 (4 p.m., FS1).

    It’s unknown if FIFA offered more than one match during this special presale or if it was just that one match, and requests for comment to its media team regarding the number of matches made available, as well as the number of matches in neighboring markets like New York for this presale, went unanswered at the time of this report.

    Select fans looking to attend the World Cup in Philly were granted a special presale this week, but were still faced with high prices for match tickets to one game by Friday.

    FIFA, which offers tickets in three categories ranging from Category 1 (the most expensive) to Category 3 (the least expensive), had seating in this special presale only for Categories 1 and 2 remaining on Friday morning. They started at $360 per ticket. For a seat in Category 1? $450.

    These prices mirrored the original ticket prices for matches in Philly when they were first released in December, with Category 2 tickets in this latest special presale just $20 cheaper than the original $380 asking price.

    Following global backlash in that same month, FIFA offered what they called a Supporter Entry Tier ticket, selling off a few hundred Category 3 seats across all 16 venues for just $60.

    Lincoln Financial Field will host six World Cup matches, including a July 4 Round-of-16 knockout match.

    However, it appears prices, fueled by FIFA’s employment of dynamic pricing for the first time in World Cup history, are back in the hundreds of dollars.

    To some in this latest presale, the juice just didn’t feel worth the squeeze.

    “Who can afford that for that game?” said Daniel Quinn, a Northeast Philly native who works in retail management. Quinn said he didn’t even notice the email from FIFA until Thursday night, as it hit his spam folder.

    He rushed to the portal on Friday morning to see what was left.

    “I just stared at my phone and laughed,” Quinn said. “Listen, I know it’s the World Cup, but I can’t justify paying $360 to watch a game where I can’t tell you a single soul playing on the field. Like, I know the Ivory Coast has good players, but for that to be the only game available and then to offer seats at those prices, just felt silly.”

    U.S. Soccer aims to build buzz for this summer’s World Cup, but many fans care about ticket prices

    One more surprise remained. The presale still only guaranteed fans what’s known as a “right to buy” ticket, meaning that seat selection, even after purchasing, remained a mystery and would only be made available as the match drew closer.

    “Why are these still right to buy tickets?” Quinn continued. “This late in the game, I should know where I’ll sit so I can make an informed decision. Does a Cat 1 seat get me in the back [of the lower bowl] at the Linc, or a Cat 2, where I’m sitting up higher, but I might be in front? If you’re going to spend that type of money, I feel like you should at least know that.”

    The total cost for two tickets for the June 25 game between the Ivory Coast and Curaçao inclusive of taxes and fees through a special presale FIFA offered select fans on Wednesday.

    Earlier this week, a FIFA spokesperson told The Athletic that the fans chosen for its latest presale were “a defined group of applicants” selected in order to maximize fairness and acknowledge fans who have already demonstrated strong interest in the tournament.”

    But the fact that, with just hours left before the Friday mid-morning deadline, the opportunity was availability for one game across the five group-stage matches coming to Philly beginning June 14, and that the cost to attend was still so high, rubbed soccer fans like Quinn the wrong way.

    Follow the Inquirer’s complete coverage of soccer right here!

    “Listen, shoutout to the people who can afford these [tickets],” he said. “I’m a lifelong soccer fan, and I’ve been to a lot of [soccer] games at the Linc. I went to the Club World Cup last year, and having the World Cup not just here in the States but literally where the Birds play feels like a bucket list [item]. But I think I’ll wait, man. Either these [ticket prices] drop because there are people like me who are laughing at what they’re charging, and prices will go way down, or people will snatch these up, and I’ll watch it for free on TV.

    “At this point, either way works for me.”

  • Jason Kelce’s experience at the Winter Olympics, from hockey to figure skating: ‘I really was just there to have fun’

    Jason Kelce’s experience at the Winter Olympics, from hockey to figure skating: ‘I really was just there to have fun’

    The Winter Olympics were full of exciting moments for Team USA — from the men’s and women’s hockey teams winning gold to Alysa Liu stunning fans every time she took the ice. And one man was there to witness it all: Jason Kelce.

    The former Eagles center joined his wife, Kylie Kelce, who attended on behalf of NBC and YouTube. While Kylie was there on business, Jason enjoyed his time as a spectator and had no problem with CBC Olympics labeling him as Kylie Kelce’s husband.

    “I really was just there to have fun and enjoy the Olympics,” Kelce said on the latest episode of New Heights. “So, I was 100% — this was the correct way to say it. I wanted to tell them I prefer ‘ball and chain.’”

    During his time in Milan, Kelce got some bobsledding experience and attended four Olympic hockey games, the short program for figure skating and short-track speedskating. Here’s everything he had to say about his experience at the Winter Olympics:

    Bobsledding experience

    Ahead of the games, Kelce had the chance to get some hands-on experience with Team USA’s bobsledding team at their headquarters in Park City, Utah, where he learned about their training and got to see what it feels like going down the track with Team USA member Frank Del Duca.

    “The ride itself, way more intense than I imagined,” Kelce said. “Like I thought it would be like a roller coaster. I really did. The energy that you are moving down this thing at over 80 mph. And when you go into these bank turns, it pushes you into the bottom of this thing.

    “And on the bottom of the sled, there’s like these metal rails and my [expletive] is so [expletive] wide, they’re sitting on those metal rails. I’m being pinched down onto these metal beams. I’m trying to keep my head up so I can see. [Expletive] is flying by. I have no [expletive] idea how [Frank] was even knowing when to do the turns and everything. Like, you have to memorize it.”

    ‘The most fun sport to watch on the planet’

    After the men’s U.S. hockey team made history, winning the gold medal for the first time in 46 years, Kelce went to social media to express his feelings with a simple, “Let’s [expletive] go!”

    “There is just something about hockey, whether it’s playoff hockey or national hockey,” Kelce said. “When guys are like going all out, it’s just the most fun sport to watch on the planet. USA, hockey capital of the world. Men’s and women’s gold medal. Best country on the planet in hockey. I don’t want to hear any arguments.”

    Kelce supported both teams in Milan, attending two women’s hockey games and two men’s games — including the men’s dominant 6-2 win over Slovakia in the semifinals, and the women’s gold medal victory over Canada.

    “Canada got out to a quick lead and it made it very stressful,” Kelce said. “It was an electric game and then obviously we got to see USA men’s dismantle Slovakia. And I was sitting with the Tkachuk family. Keith Tkachuk was over there on the end of it. Got to shake the hand of a [expletive] legend … We were right by the Hughes family, too. Jack Hughes, who had the golden goal for the U.S. in the gold medal game.”

    The outrage over Team USA’s connection with Trump is dumb — and it’s what he wants

    After both teams’ wins, Kelce was able to meet the entire women’s hockey team — including Laila Edwards, another Cleveland Heights native whose family was helped to Milan by a donation from the Kelce brothers.

    “After talking to her, you realize she is from the Heights,” Kelce said. “There’s just like this humbleness but also she’s a great person and it comes across very apparent when you speak to her. … They’re a great team, man. They’re tightknit. They’re playing jokes on one another. Just so proud for all of them. It’s an incredible moment to win a gold medal, especially in a team sport like that.”

    Speed skating vs. figure skating

    Kelce attended the short program for figure skating and he had just one recommendation when it comes to watching in the arena.

    “I would have liked to have heard Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir announcing it live,” Kelce said. “When you don’t have that, especially for someone newer to the sport, you like to hear the excitement in the announcer’s voice that they just did something difficult or they just nailed a routine or they just missed something.”

    But when it came to speed skating, Kelce had no notes.

    “In speed skating, it is a [expletive] party in that speed skating arena,” Kelce said. “There’s DJ’s playing music. It’s fast paced, there’s bells ringing, it is high-stakes action in the speed skating short track.”

    Kelce even had the chance to meet Apolo Ohno, a speed skating legend and eight-time medalist.

    “Apolo, we watched him all growing up,” Kelce said. “Unbelievable speed skater. … Speed skating was electric as [expletive]. … These things were fast paced, they were moving. They’re doing Tush Pushes because we saw the relay version where they get in there and push the [expletive] of the guy in front of them.”