The U.S. men’s soccer team set another viewership record in its loss to Belgium, despite the lopsided 4-1 defeat.
A combined total of 45.986 million viewers watched on Fox (33.006 million) and Telemundo (12.9 million), whether via traditional television or online streaming.
It is the biggest audience for a television event since Super Bowl LX, and not too far off this year’s NFL conference championship games. The AFC matchup drew 48.6 million viewers, and the NFC drew 46.1 million.
Fox also said its audience alone was the biggest for any non-NFL broadcast since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, when the Chicago Cubs ended their infamous championship drought. That mark was previously held by this year’s college football national championship game, which drew 30.1 million viewers across a range of ESPN channels.
Fans watching the U.S.-Belgium gane at a viewing party in Kansas City, Mo.
Fox noted that Philadelphia was the network’s No. 5 local ratings market for U.S.-Belgium, with a 14.22 rating and a 38 share. That means around 38% of all households watching television at that time tuned in to the game.
It wasn’t lost on U.S. fans that the blowout score turned some casual viewers sour. But the World Cup overall has continued to be a big deal, and that seems unlikely to change.
England’s dramatic 3-2 win over Mexico on Sunday night drew an audience worth a Sunday night NFL game: 44.952 million viewers combined between Fox (21.752 million) and Telemundo (23.1 million, a network record for soccer).
Earlier Sunday, Norway’s upset of Brazil in the Meadowlands drew 28.373 million viewers combined.
Fans watching Norway-Brazil at the official World Cup fan festival in Dallas.
According to publicly-available data so far, 12 games this summer attracted audiences of over 20 million viewers across the two networks, including four in the round of 16: U.S.-Belgium, Mexico-England, Brazil-Norway, and Paraguay-France in Philadelphia on July 4 (22.924 million).
Data compiled by The Inquirer show that the top five soccer audiences in U.S. history, and seven of the top 10, have all come during this World Cup.
We’ll see if the numbers grow again in the quarterfinals, which include a Saturday doubleheader of England vs. Norway and Argentina vs. Switzerland (5 and 9 p.m., Fox29 and Telemundo 62).
If all the favorites prevail, the semifinals would be France-Spain and England-Argentina. The first of those would match two of the sport’s biggest superstars, Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal; the second would pit Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane against Lionel Messi in a renewal of one of soccer’s most famous rivalries.
CINCINNATI — The revolving door in the Phillies bullpen continues to twirl.
Ahead of Thursday’s series finale against the Reds, Tanner Banks was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left forearm strain, and right-hander Chase Shugart was recalled in his place.
On Wednesday night, Banks allowed three consecutive homers to the top three batters in Cincinnati’s order — Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart, and JJ Bleday — as his struggles this season reached a new low. After posting a 3.07 ERA in 2025 and working his way into higher leverage opportunities, Banks has been unable to find his stride this year. His 7.14 ERA is currently the highest on the team, although fellow left-hander José Alvarado — who also allowed four runs Wednesday — is not far behind at 7.03.
The move leaves the Phillies with just two left-handers in their bullpen: Alvarado and Tim Mayza. Kyle Backhus was optioned to triple-A Lehigh Valley earlier this week after going through struggles of his own.
Interim manager Don Mattingly said that he first heard Banks had been dealing with fatigue in his forearm after he was optioned to triple A in June, but was able to pitch through it at that point.
“Just talking to him on the bus last night, it sounds like he was OK during the game, but he was having trouble getting moving and getting it going every day,” Mattingly said. “So that kind of told us something’s going on, and obviously it’s affecting a little bit with balls coming out, so felt like it was time to find out what’s going on.”
Mattingly believes the strain might have been affecting Banks’ performance this year. He said that Banks has undergone testing, and the Phillies hope to have more information after receiving the results.
“I think that’s probably what we’re kind of seeing. This is a possibility that this is what’s been causing some of the lack of command and things like that,” he said.
Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly told ESPN Wednesday that he would be willing to remain at the helm beyond this season, if asked.
Mattingly willing to become permanent manager
Mattingly, who took a 42-23 record into Thursday’s series finale against the Reds since taking over as interim Phillies manager from the fired Rob Thomson in April, told ESPN Wednesday that he would be willing to remain at the helm beyond this season, if asked.
Mattingly had been prepared to retire after stepping down from the Blue Jays bench coach job following last year’s World Series. But he changed his mind after being offered the Phillies’ bench coach role, which came with the chance to work under his son, Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly.
“I like doing it,” Don Mattingly said. “I didn’t come here to do it, but I actually like doing it. And I’d committed two years. In my mind, I told Dave [Dombrowski] two years, right? So at that point you make a commitment with your family and what’s going on with everything, that you’re going to do this for two years. So if that’s something that Dave wanted me to do, I would be fine with it.”
Extra bases
Aaron Nola (3-6, 5.87 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday’s series opener against Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty (2-8, 4.60).
The 76ers are in an enviable position less than two weeks after the open of NBA free agency. They entered the summer hampered by the contracts of Joel Embiid and Paul George and few options other than to run it back with a team that finished seventh in the East and lost to the eventual champion New York Knicks.
The Inquirer’s Gina Mizell and David Murphy talked about the recent moves that changed the Sixers’ fortunes, including the trade of Jaylen Brown, courtship of LeBron James and more.
This was edited for clarity and conciseness.
Gina Mizell: Let’s just start with this… How would you describe this offseason overall for the Sixers? It’s still lots that potentially could happen, which we’ll get to in a little bit, but just overall, what’s your impression of what president of basketball operations Mike Gansey and the Sixers have done so far this offseason?
David Murphy: I’m kind of at a loss for words. I mean, you could describe the Jaylen Brown trade with just, ‘Wow,’ you could go with ‘unforeseen.’ I don’t think anybody really saw this coming. Over the course of the offseason, I’ve been listening to just about every hoops podcast, national podcast, you could possibly think of, and absolutely nobody had this in the cards for the Sixers. And I think that the biggest surprise to me was that that Paul George’s contract was something that the Celtics actually viewed as something that was stomachable or palatable. I watched Brad Stevens’ press conference the other day, and I was surprised that it sounds like they wanted Paul George. This wasn’t necessarily a salary dump, so I think that was kind of the keystone that allowed all this to happen.
But from the Sixers perspective, I think it was a no-brainer. You don’t lose much in terms of financial flexibility. Jaylen Brown was signed for one more year than Paul George, and the Sixers have gone from kind of rebuilding and two timelines to another three-year window here, where they’re going for it. You can’t help but be excited whether you’re a fan or someone like us who covers the team.
I was at the park with my 15-month-old son, Max, and it was, I think, 5:30 p.m. We were killing time before dinner, and I just got a text from a buddy of mine, because we have been group chatting about NBA stuff for four weeks. We had each kind of wagered our bets on where Jaylen Brown would end up, and the text message I got just said, “Wow, didn’t see that coming.”
Where were you when it happened, and what was your initial reaction when that came across your phone or your computer or whoever you saw the news,
GM: I was at home, and what I always share with our fellow NBA reporter friends is that my mom’s birthday is July 1, so it’s actually a miracle that she has not disowned me, given that July 1 is always a busy day in the NBA calendar because it’s the opening day of free agency. But I had called her finally, maybe like about 4:30 p.m. in the afternoon, Eastern time, because the Sixers had a lot of things that happened. Kelly Oubre had moved on, Quentin Grimes had moved on, they had signed Ariel Hukporti, and it kind of reached this point in time where I’m like, ‘OK, I think I can get this like 15-minute phone call in and catch up and do all that stuff.
Jaylen Brown has shared that he’s excited to join the Sixers and get started in Philly.
At that point I wasn’t really expecting anything else to happen that day, and then the news pops about an hour later. And when it came across my phone, I literally said many expletives out loud, loud enough that my apartment neighbors maybe could have heard, because I just could not believe it. And so, no, it was just crazy when it all went down.
But now that we’ve had a chance to sort of marinate on this deal — it’s a few days old — has anything changed about sort of what you wrote in that initial column, as far as the fit financially, as far as building that championship window, like you mentioned, just kind of now that you’ve sort of sat with it? Any new thoughts, any additional thoughts, any deeper thoughts about how this is all going to work out now, adding Jalen Brown to this group?
DM: Not really from the Sixers perspective. I’ve actually spent most of my time, but I’m in the process right now of writing for tomorrow, the end result of that. Just kind of trying to answer the question, ‘What were the Celtics thinking?’ That was my first reaction along with just about everybody else in the world. My reaction first and foremost was, ‘Wow, like that’s all? That’s all they got for Jalen Brown? And I think my thinking on that, more than anything, has changed a little bit. I’m still surprised that you know, look, people want to rip the Celtics, but this is, first and foremost, a story of 28 other teams that did not beat the Sixers offer. So you can absolutely blame the Celtics for trading Brown, if that was the best offer on the table, the fact is that was the best offer on the table, and that’s something to think about.
I think that, you know, one of the key points that, and I believe this before the trade, I think people are underestimating how valuable that the Clippers pick is, that the Sixers traded to the Celtics. And I think Stevens kind of hinted at that yesterday in his press conference. Somebody asked him why Philly, and his response was essentially that this was the best move for the future of the franchise and the assets that we could get. I agree with him 100 percent. You know, I talked to somebody in the Sixers orbit during the season. I was shooting the bull and asking about the new lottery odds, and they said to me that Clippers pick is going to get a lot more valuable with these new odds, and I think you know that’s something that people really need to understand.
GM: The contracts of Paul George for Jaylen Brown are very similar but Brown does have one more year on his current deal, and he is extension eligible on July 26. So the Sixers roster is already very top heavy and is going to continue to be top heavy when you look at Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, obviously still on his big deal, and then potentially coming up if VJ Edgecomb is going to get a payday in a few years. But I think you’re exactly right about that Clippers pick, because you look at what they’ve been and who they are now in the last six months or so with trading James Harden, trading Ivica Zubac, obviously trading Kawhi Leonard right before free agency opened. And that is a team that you would expect that pick to be very valuable.
But just adding Brown to this mix coming off of the best individual season of his career, sixth in MVP voting, really carried that Celtics team that a lot of people thought would take a gap year with Jayson Tatum out with the Achilles injury, and now adding him to this group. Who is he going to enhance the most? Who does his game, when you look at Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid when healthy, VJ Edgecombe, some of these other complimentary players, who do you think Jalen Brown is most going to enhance? Where is he most going to make this team even better, in addition to what he does individually on the floor?
DM: A few years from now, Peyton Pritchard, and that’s really the second apron. This is really a story of the second apron doing what it was intended to do, and it was intended to spread superstar talent, and it’s doing that, so I think that more than anything, from the Celtics perspective. I actually think they made a very tough decision but I admire them for that. I think when you really look at, when you really look at the nuts and bolts of it, this move will leave them better off for the long haul, and maybe even the short and medium term.
I think it’s kind of a package thing. He’s going to make the pairing of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe workable. Edgecombe and Maxey, in the future, and you know, building around them. Anytime I talked about Edgecomb and Maxey in the future, and building around them, you almost have to put Joel Embiid out of it. I’m not convinced at this point that he’s even 100% going to be here next year. It wouldn’t stun me. He’s been conspicuously silent on social media ever since this trade went down. I’m not predicting that. I think it’s more of a possibility now than it was before, you know, especially seeing what we just saw. I’m not ruling anything out is what it comes down to.
HSBE president of sports Bob Myers hired Mike Gansey, Daryl Morey’s replacement. Can he also help bring LeBron to Philly?
So, I think you almost have to put him to the side, regardless of whether he’s here or not, you know, Mike Gansey’s number one priority was to build, start building a team that can win with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe as their back court, and that was going to take, it was absolutely going to take two big wings, and ideally one of them being a guy who could could score, who could slash, who could play some bully ball, who could give them an element that, at least at this point, you know, Maxey probably will never have in terms of strength, and VJ, I think, could but just isn’t there yet.
GM: You wrote yesterday or the day before, just about the basketball fit for LeBron, and how and why the Sixers make a ton of sense, just not to make you regurgitate what you wrote on the Inquirer, but just what are sort of the reasons why, based on everything that you just said, that just adding a guy like Lebron, who obviously is not the perennial MVP contender that he once was, but is still really, really, really good, and would that be the type of piece that would put the Sixers over the top?
DM: Someone made an argument to me that I now buy… I think the Timberwolves are probably the best basketball fit for them, for him, you know, and I think that he would probably have better title hopes with them as well, just because of the presence of Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels on the defensive end. But I think the Sixers are right there with the Timberwolves in terms of pure basketball fit. I think, again, Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo are clunky as it is. LeBron could maybe help alleviate some of that, but at the same time that’s an interesting threesome to have out there on the court, and it certainly has a chance to not be an enjoyable basketball playing experience for LeBron. And I think he’d say the same thing about, you know, Cleveland, assuming Harden comes back. No disrespect to James Harden, but I wouldn’t want to spend the last year of my career watching him dribble, dribble around a basketball court.
I personally think if I was LeBron I would opt for the Warriors and the Nuggets, just because I think playing alongside Nikola Jokic or Steph Curry would be a heck of a lot of fun, and just kind of a neat way to see what happens for the last year of my career. LeBron will fit anywhere, is what it comes down to. If you plug him in at the three or the four for the Sixers, whatever you want to consider, with Jaylen Brown, I think I think they’ve got as good a chance as anybody.
Bryce Harper on Thursday declined to discuss an Inquirer report about a personalized video of the Philadelphia Phillies star that FanDuel Sportsbook sent in November 2024 to a VIP bettor who had a gambling addiction.
The Inquirer obtained a copy of the 21-second video, which is marked with a blue FanDuel logo and shows Harper offering a greeting to the bettor, Terry Thompson, and Thompson’s son.
Harper is not wearing FanDuel merchandise but mentions that he was reaching out at the request of Thompson’s VIP manager — “your host Bryttanni at FanDuel” — who wanted to ensure that he had an “extra special Thanksgiving.”
There is no evidence that Harper had a partnership with FanDuel, nor that he had any indication that Thompson was suffering from an addiction.
FanDuel on Thursday released the following statement:
“FanDuel is committed to fostering a culture of responsible gaming and protecting our customers. Unlike illegal offshore sportsbooks, FanDuel employees are trained to recognize and flag signs of problem gambling and offer resources and tools, and we continue to review and strengthen our policies to ensure we have the industry’s strongest consumer protection initiatives.”
The Inquirer previously shared the video of Harper with his agent, Scott Boras, as well as the Phillies and Major League Baseball.
Each declined to comment.
The Phillies were in Cincinnati on Thursday, preparing to play the Reds. It was there that Harper declined through the team to address the video before a reporter could directly ask him about it. Later in the day, Harper announced on Instagram that he had decided to participate in the All-Star Home Run Derby, which will be held Monday at Citizens Bank Park.
A portrait of Bryce Harper is on display at the 2026 MLB All-Star Village inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The All-Star Game will be held next week at Citizens Bank Park.
Independent experts said the FanDuel video does not appear to be a violation of MLB’s current collective bargaining agreement, which allows athletes to appear in advertisements or make personal appearances for casinos, racetracks, or sportsbook companies, so long as the ballplayers do not encourage betting on baseball.
The current policy, which is scheduled to expire in December, does not specifically addresses interactions with VIP programs or bettors.
Still, the episode raises ethical questions about the league’s relationship with gambling companies, whose business practices are facing increasing scrutiny from state and federal lawmakers, said Jodi Balsam, a former NFL attorney who now works as the director of the Sports Law Clinic at Brooklyn Law School.
“Is this the kind of activity that either the union or the league want their players to be associated with,” Balsam said, “if it leads to addictive and self-destructive behaviors by a fan?”
Beginning in 2020, Thompson wagered $18.5 million with FanDuel and lost $1.5 million, according to a lawsuit that the Public Health Advocacy Institute filed in March in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia on behalf of Thompson and against FanDuel and DraftKings, to which Thompson also lost money.
Harper is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Thompson’s attorneys allege that he became addicted to placing microbets — in-game wagers on something as minor as the speed of a pitch during a baseball game — until he gambled away his final $10,000 on a DraftKings parlay bet in February.
Broke and afraid of disclosing the scope of his losses to his family, Thompson contacted his therapist and indicated that he planned to take his life.
He typically announces new endorsement deals, which in the past have included companies such as Under Armour, Gatorade, and Dairy Queen.
The circumstances of how Harper came to appear in the video for Thompson, and whether he received any compensation, remain unclear.
Staff writer Lochlahn March contributed to this article.
The Inquirer will continue to report on issues related to the growth of gambling addiction — among teens and adults — across Pennsylvania. If you, or someone you know, would like to speak with a reporter, please contact David Gambacorta or William Bender at dgambacorta@inquirer.com or wbender@inquirer.com
CINCINNATI — This year’s Home Run Derby will officially have some hometown flavor.
Bryce Harper announced on Instagram Thursday he will participate in the derby, which will be held on Monday.
“Derby at home? Sure why not?” Harper captioned a video of himself homering off the Pirates’ Braxton Ashcraft.
Harper, who was included on the National League All-Star roster as MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s “Legend Pick,” has 20 homers entering Thursday’s series finale against the Reds.
He last won the Derby in 2018 as a member of the Nationals, the year the All-Star festivities were hosted in Washington, D.C. In the final round, Harper beat future teammate Kyle Schwarber, who was representing the Cubs. Harper tied Schwarber with his 18th homer when the horn sounded before hitting the winner in bonus time.
Bryce Harper won the 2018 Home Run Derby at Nationals Park as a member of the Nationals.
This year will look a little different, however. Rather than using a timer, the Derby is reverting to a swing-based format where each competitor has a set number of swings for each round.
Schwarber, who bashed his league-leading 32nd homer of the season on Wednesday against the Reds, has not confirmed whether he has decided to participate as well. In addition to Harper, the field includes Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker, Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, Yankees first baseman Ben Rice, Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone, and Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras.
Harper will look to become the first Phillie to win the Derby since Ryan Howard in 2006.
Philadelphia is gearing up for a star-studded week with the arrival of MLB’s midsummer classic.
As Citizens Bank Park becomes a temporary home for some of the league’s top players, the Pennsylvania Convention Center will welcome fans to MLB’s All-Star Village, a four-day baseball experience featuring classic ballpark snacks, baseball challenges, photo opportunities, special appearances and more.
Here’s everything you need to know before you visit …
Philly neighborhoods on display
Taking over 500,000 square feet of real estate, the MLB All-Star Village is paying homage to five Philadelphia neighborhoods: Center City, Fishtown, South Philly, Fairmount, and Old City.
“Every neighborhood will have a different vibe,” said Rob Field, MLB’s senior manager of global events. “We have a different look for each of the neighborhoods. You’ll get to see the hometown flavor of each neighborhood.
“Old City is our historical component. Center City is kind of like our town hall, town square where we’ll have an entertainment stage and a diamond. South Philly, where Citizens Bank Park is, is where a lot of our play area is. … There really is something for everyone.”
The World’s Largest Baseball is one of the many attractions fans can find in the Center City section of the All-Star Village.
Unique baseball-themed attractions
The convention center brings fans into each neighborhood, each with its own decorations and attractions.
Center City features the entertainment stage, the World’s Largest Baseball, and one of three mini diamonds, the Playball Diamond, designed for youth activities such as baseball clinics, wiffleball games, and free play. Programming is scheduled to take place every 45 minutes.
Fishtown was decorated with several murals and artsy neon signs. Within this neighborhood, fans will find the MLB Arcade which features a virtual reality Home Run Derby and a number of gaming consoles where fans can play MLB The Show.
Old City takes fans into the history of the sport with an area dedicated to the Pillars of the Game.
South Philly’s attractions include the Deer Park Diamond, batting cages, and pitching challenges. Meanwhile, Fairmount was dedicated to the children — featuring mini batting cages, balloon animals, face painting, and Home Run robber, a game that puts fans in Velcro suits to imitate outfield home run robberies.
The All-Star Village will provide photo opportunities with the World’s Largest Baseball, a replica Liberty Bell, a collection of MLB trophies, and the Home Run Derby chain.
A replica Liberty Bell is one of the many photo opportunities fans can experience at the All-Star Village.
Ballpark food from around the globe
There will also be Ballpark Bites available to fans, featuring unique menu items from MLB ballparks across the country.
“Whether you’re someone who is a collector and wants to see some players, you can come and do that,” Field said. “Or if you’re interested in food, you can certainly come and taste some of the MLB bites. There’s signature dishes from different teams across the league. And it’s indoors. You can certainly come here and enjoy the fresh air, AC that is.”
Some of the food items include: the Texas Rangers’ 9th Inning Rally Sombrero, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Cookies & Cream Cold Brew, Arizona Diamondback’s Korean Pork Belly Nachos, the New York Mets’ Deli Pastrami Sandwich, Houston Astros’ Crawford Dog, Phillies’ Uncle Charlie’s Cheesesteak, Boston Red Sox’s Fenway Lobster Roll, Pittsburgh Pirates’ Manny’s Pierogies, Kansas City Royals’ Footlong Hot Dog Wellington, and Baltimore Orioles’ Banana Pudding.
Fishtown’s section of the All-Star Village will feature a lot of art.
Programming and ticketing
The All-Star Village will open on Saturday and feature a special appearance from Ryan Howard, who will be take photos with fans at the Capital One booth.
Throughout the All-Star Week, there will be appearances from former Phillies like Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Luis Clemente, Shane Victorino, Sam Allen, Bobby Abreu, Dave Cash, and more.
“Saturday is our opening ceremony,” Field said. “We’ll start at 8:45 a.m. right here at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. We’re going to kick things off, we’ll have entertainment. We’ll have mascots from various teams. … In addition to that we have our legends program. So, we invited all our former All-Stars, legends from the Philadelphia Phillies will be here to sign autographs, Q&A’s and be part of the clinics that we have.”
Joanne Graham decorates an exhibit featuring vintage Phillies gear for the Fanatics booth at the MLB All-Star Village inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.
The village is open from Saturday through Tuesday. On Saturday and Sunday, it’ll be open between 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., while the venue will close at 6 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday.
Flood warnings remainin effect in the Philly region as a result of episodic downpours that have been wringing out 2 to 3 inches of rain in a hurry, including in downtown Camden, which was hammered earlier in the week .
Flooding has been reported along numerous roads, with vehicles stranded, including in the vicinity of the Ben Franklin Bridge, the National Weather Service said. The rains could continue until 7 or 8 p.m., said Alex Staarmann, meteorologist inthe Mount Holly office.
Multiple water rescues have been reported in Wilmington.
Philadelphia broke a 74-year-old record for a July 9 with 2.4 inches of rain measured officially, according to the weather service.
Official more rain has fallen in Philly in the last six days than in any entire month since March of 2025.
At one point flood warnings had been posted for the city in all seven neighboring counties.
And the entire Philly region had been under a rinse-and-repeat flood watch Thursday for yet another round of downpours. A severe-thunderstorm watch has been posted until 10 p.m. for Camden and Gloucester Counties and all of Delaware.
But the rain lately has been random. And in the grand casino of the atmosphere, these storms once again are likely to be hit and miss.
“It looks like that’s going to be the case,” said Joseph DeSilva, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, which has the flood watch in effect until 11:59 p.m. Thursday.
Despite those rains earlier this week — close to 4.4 inches in Camden — in the weekly inter-agency U.S. Drought Monitor update posted Thursday, some degree of drought conditions persisted in all of New Jersey, Philly, and the neighboring Pennsylvania counties.
Strong thunderstorms also are possible in the Philly region
The atmosphere is energized, and thunderstorms are likely from midafternoon into the evening.
The federal Storm Prediction Center lists a 15% chance that some may be come severe, with wind gusts approaching 60 mph.
The weather service says the air is so saturated that storms could wring out 1 to 2 inches in an hour in localized downpours.
But, again, rainfall totals can — and likely will — vary radically within the counties.
The drought conditions will be stronger than the storms
The drought monitor has most of the region was in “moderate drought,” with some improvement in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties.
But all of Chester County and most Montgomery County were in “severe drought.” Southeastern New Jersey, including the Shore towns, were in “extreme drought.”
Soil moisture levels will remain significantly below normal during the next week, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
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Showers are possible Saturday afternoon, DeSilva said, but then it appears the atmospheric faucets are going to shut off for a while.
The Union wanted to host a closed-door friendly against the New England Revolution at Subaru Park on Thursday morning to help prepare them for MLS’s return after a six-week break for the FIFA World Cup.
Mother Nature had other plans.
After lightning extended the exhibition’s halftime break, the game entered a second delay in the 66th minute after a loud clap of thunder sent the players off the pitch at Subaru Park. The match, which was initially planned as a 120-minute exhibition, was relocated and finished with a 45-minute half inside the WSFS Sportsplex.
New England won the disjointed friendly, 3-2. Milan Iloski and Ezekiel Alladoh scored for the Union.
Despite the interruptions, the friendly gave an early glimpse of what the Union may look like under interim manager Ryan Richter, who took over after the Bradley Carnell’s dismissal in May.
Here’s three things we learned from the Union’s exhibition against New England:
Union uniformity
Those expecting the dismissal of Carnell to change the Union’s identity will be disappointed.
Richter has kept the Union’s structure and shape the same through the club’s World Cup break.
The Union came out for Thursday’s friendly in their usual shape, with four backs, two defensive midfielders playing centrally, two attacking midfielders stretching wider, and two strikers atop the formation.
Interim manager Ryan Richter kept the Union’s shape the same during Thursday’s friendly.
The club’s shape stayed consistent through both portions of the outdoor friendly. The Union trotted out an entirely different lineup of players after the second delay moved the friendly indoors, but the shape stayed the same.
The Union pressed New England in their own defensive third, as they have done to all of their MLS opponents this season. Richter is well-versed in the way the Union want to play. The Warminster, Bucks County native, who played college soccer at La Salle, has been on the Union coaching staff since 2018 and spent last season as the head coach of Union II.
Players in place
The personnel on the field looked a bit different during the friendly. Olwethu Makhanya and Danley Jean-Jacques, still recovering from World Cup runs with South Africa and Haiti, respectively, did not play.
Andre Blake started in goal, and Nathan Harriel and Frankie Westfield took their usual spots at outside back. Japhet Sery Larsen played in central defense alongside Neil Pierre, the 18-year-old center back currently on loan at Lyngby, a Danish club the Union own a minority share of.
“He can clearly hang with the physicality,” Richter said of Pierre. “He’s improved so much in the way he’s reading the game and his decision making. … There’s no reason why he can’t compete at this level.”
Indiana Vassilev and Jesús Bueno made up the defensive midfield, Ben Bender and Cavan Sullivan started in attacking midfield, and Bruno Damiani and Iloski made up the starting striking partnership.
The lineup remained unchanged after a lengthy lightning delay at halftime. Richter made a pair of changes in the 65th, bringing in Alladoh for Damiani and Jovan Lukić for Bender, shortly before the second lightning delay.
Ezekiel Alladoh, shown in May, scored the Union’s second goal on Thursday when the friendly moved indoors.
The Union made mass substitutions after the friendly moved indoors. Geiner Martinez, Philippe Ndinga, Finn Sundstrom and Agustín Anello, among some Union II players, were brought into the lineup for the indoor portion of the match.
Alladoh scored the Union’s second goal once the match moved indoors. Ndinga made a run into the right side of the 18-yard box before playing the ball across the face of goal to Anello, who set it for Alladoh. The 20-year-old Alladoh laced a shot from close range that beat New England’s keeper.
The Union got a chance to see their depth in a competitive environment, which may prove important as the club restarts its match schedule. After two MLS matches in July, the Union will play eight matches in August as they start the Leagues Cup, a competition between MLS and Liga MX.
“You can train well, but you can’t hide once the game actually starts,” Richter said. “You see exactly how guys fit in, what they’re capable of, what their role could possibly be.”
Sullivan starts
Sullivan played well in the friendly, creating the Union’s first goal with a run down the right flank and a cross into the box for Iloski, who headed the ball in.
Sullivan created a few other chances that didn’t end up in the back of the net and put a free kick from the edge of the 18-yard box on frame. He was brought off the pitch after the friendly moved inside.
Sullivan, 16, made nine starts across all competitions during the first half of the Union’s season, including five of the last six matches before the World Cup break. He scored twice in the Concacaf Champions Cup and scored his first MLS goal against Orlando City in May.
It is yet to be seen if Sullivan, set to depart the Union for English Premier League side Manchester City at the end of 2027, will start to play a bigger role for the Union as they close out the 2026 season.
The Union will return to MLS play on July 22 when they host the New York Red Bulls (7:30 p.m., Apple TV+).
Richard H. Glanton, 79, formerly of Philadelphia, longtime lawyer, onetime executive deputy counsel to former Gov. Dick Thornburgh, business entrepreneur, former Lincoln University trustee, and innovative former president of the Barnes Foundation, died Sunday, June 21, of a heart attack at his home in Princeton, N.J.
Born and reared in rural Georgia and one of the first Black graduates of what is now the University of West Georgia, Mr. Glanton went on to become a prominent Philadelphia lawyer, state government policy and administration expert, corporate vice president, and indefatigable president of the Barnes Foundation’s collection of Impressionist, post-Impressionist, and modern art.
He was elected president of the Barnes Foundation in 1990, served until 1998, and championed a series of controversial initiatives to finance extensive gallery renovations and the operation of its art collection and related educational programs. To raise the money, he suggested, among other things, selling 15 of the collection’s hundreds of paintings, charging million-dollar fees for a worldwide lending tour of 83 paintings, extending visiting hours, increasing admission, building a new parking lot, selling a coffee-table catalog, and renting out its art studios.
All of his ideas, several of which did not take place, drew supporters and critics, and Mr. Glanton, also a Barnes trustee, spoke often of his policy discussions with other Barnes officials, art experts around the world, politicians, and neighbors of the foundation building in Lower Merion Township. In 1990, he told The Inquirer. “I never purported to know anything about art. But I can lead.”
His most successful project turned out to be a two-year world lending tour of 83 foundation paintings that raised about $20 million and drew raves from museum leaders in Washington, Paris, Tokyo, Fort Worth, Toronto, and Philadelphia. The exhibition in Paris drew a then-record 1.5 million visitors, and Mr. Glanton was feted at every stop.
“Richard is somebody who started out by wanting to do something good and important and substantial, and persevered to do it despite a great deal of criticism,” Glenn D. Lowry, then director of the Art Gallery of Ontario, told The Inquirer in 1995.
Some critics said Mr. Glanton and others valued the foundation’s commercial success over its original educational role and what The Inquirer’s Edward J. Sozanski called “the Barnes mystique.” When the lending tour ended at the Philadelphia Art Museum in 1995, Mr. Glanton told The Inquirer: “I never realized or understood that it could be controversial to make available to the public a collection that is a public trust.
“But I think if you think something’s right, you should do it, whether or not people disagree, and whether it is popular or not. … You have to think not only in terms of your lifetime, but in 100 years, 1,000 years. And when you do, these little slings and arrows don’t really matter that much.”
A story and this photo of Mr. Glanton appeared in The Inquirer in 1995.
Mr. Glanton was executive deputy counsel to Gov. Thornburgh from 1979 to 1983, and he met often with constituents and helped fill judicial vacancies. “Richard is a political animal,” Ted Pillsbury, then director of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, told The Inquirer in 1995. “He understands politics. He understands what makes politics work, and he understands people. And he does not take certain things personally.”
Mr. Glanton earned his law degree at the University of Virginia School of Law in 1972 and spent several years with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, United Airlines, and other companies. In Philadelphia, he represented politicians and other notable clients, and specialized in energy, insurance, and real estate cases for firms known now as WolfBlock, and Reed Smith.
He was also senior vice president of corporate development at Exelon Corp., founder of a local TV station, social media company, and consulting firm, and board member at Aqua America, the Morris Arboretum, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and other groups. He ended a workplace sexual harassment suit with a private settlement in the early 1990s and had public policy spats with local government officials and former Lincoln president Niara Sudarkasa.
He considered running for mayor in 1995. Former Gov. Ed Rendell said: “He was exceptionally bright, courageous, and never afraid to challenge the status quo in pursuit of what he believed was right.”
Mr. Glanton was at home in a suit jacket and tie.
One of 11 children, Richard Howard Glanton was born Nov. 21, 1946. He was reared in rural Villa Rica, Ga., didn’t start school until the fourth grade, and he and his siblings worked for years on the family farm.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in English and, in 2005, was awarded an honorary doctorate from West Georgia. He married Scheryl Williams, and they had a daughter, Morgan, and a son, David.
After a divorce, he met Eileen Candia in 1996, and they married in 2009, and had a daughter, Georgia. They lived in Philadelphia and Chicago, and moved to Princeton in 2009.
Mr. Glanton was a doting father, his family said. He taught his children to ride bikes and read Shakespeare. “He taught me that there was no room in which I didn’t belong or couldn’t strive to enter,” his daughter Morgan said. “I love him for that.”
Mr. Glanton was an avid reader and golfer.
Nearly everyone he met remembered his laugh and perpetual suit jacket and tie. He played golf, was an avid reader, and would talk politics for hours.
“He was fearless in his conviction to do what he believed was necessary and proper to achieve his goals and provide for his family,” his son said. His wife said: “He was kind and generous. He made everyone he spoke to feel special. He was always bringing you in.”
In addition to his wife, children, and former wife, Mr. Glanton is survived by two sisters, four brothers, and other relatives. One sister and four brothers died earlier.
Memorial services are to be held at noon Saturday, July 18, at Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church, 119 Thomas Dorsey Dr., Villa Rica, Ga. 30180, and at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18, at the Union League, 140 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19102.
Chester County health officials confirmed two measles cases in residents this week as the highly contagious disease continues to spread in Southeastern and Central Pennsylvania.
The county has now seen four cases since late June, in addition to one case recorded this winter.
The newly reported cases bring Pennsylvania’s tally to 101 measles cases this year, more than six times the cases confirmed in 2025.
An ongoing outbreak centered in Lancaster County, where 52 residents have been sickened since April, is the state’s worst in three decades.
It’s unclear whether the cases in Chester County are connected to the Lancaster outbreak, said Nancy Sullivan, the supervisor of the disease investigation and surveillance program at the county health department.
The latest cases show the virus “is circulating in the community, particularly the western part of Chester County,” Sullivan said.
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Health department staff in Chester County, which borders Lancaster County, have sought to contain the outbreak by conducting contact tracing for months.
But it can be tricky to link patients through their contacts to other confirmed cases.
“It’s difficult for some individuals to establish who they’ve been in contact with. Sometimes they’re unsure,” Sullivan said.
All of the patients infected in Chester County were either unvaccinated or could not prove that they were immune to the virus, which can infect up to 90% of unvaccinated people exposed to it.
Several patients this summer have been hospitalized for serious electrolyte abnormalities and liver and kidney dysfunction, physicians in Lancaster and Dauphin Counties have reported.
Sullivan said that no Chester County residents have required hospitalization so far. All had tested positive for measles after they sought treatment at local healthcare facilities, she said.
Symptoms of measles include a fever, a cough, and a runny nose — similar to other respiratory diseases — that often emerge before patients develop a telltale rash.
But the disease has no specific treatments and can cause serious complications.
County officials had begun preparing for a potential measles outbreak about two years ago, Sullivan said, developing a new software system that made it easier for health workers to track cases and analyze data on an outbreak.
The county is also increasing outreach to residents about the importance of vaccination.
“We’re continuing to push the message of vaccination, checking immunity, speaking to your provider about your potential risk to developing measles, making sure people know where they can get vaccinated,” Sullivan said.
Countywide, 94.5% of kindergarteners were vaccinated against measles in the 2024-2025 school year, the last for which data is available. That’s just below the 95% threshold that scientists consider necessary to prevent the spread of the virus.
The county and state health departments have started recommending that providers offer measles, mumps, and rubella vaccinations to infants at 6 months old.
Typically, children receive an MMR dose at around 1 year old and before entering kindergarten. Under the new recommendation, a “dose zero” is given at 6 months and provides additional protection before children receive two more doses of the vaccine.
Health officials in Philadelphia, to the east of Chester County, are also recommending the “dose zero” for infants whose parents plan travel to Chester County or any of the other seven counties with measles cases.
