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  • New Phillies reliever Brad Keller shows off his starter’s arsenal with strong spring debut

    New Phillies reliever Brad Keller shows off his starter’s arsenal with strong spring debut

    CLEARWATER, Fla. — If the idea had never been floated last year at Chicago Cubs camp that Brad Keller could make the switch from starting to relieving, his life today would probably look completely different.

    “I was basically destined to go to Iowa and just be kind of a bulk starter down there and kind of see what happens,” he said. “Definitely a career changer.”

    But instead of pitching for the Cubs’ triple-A affiliate in Des Moines, Keller tried out the bullpen. The switch revitalized his career, as he developed from journeyman starter to key reliever for a team in a playoff race, and then signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Phillies this winter to be a high-leverage arm.

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    Keller pitched the first inning of a Phillies bullpen game on Wednesday, a 5-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. He needed just 11 pitches to retire the side in order.

    “It was good to get in there and face hitters, get in front of the stadium instead of just the live backfields and stuff like that. So it was good. Felt good,” Keller said.

    Keller’s fastball jumped from 93.7 mph in 2024 to 97.1 mph last season after his move to the bullpen. In his first Grapefruit League outing, he blew two fastballs by Colt Keith clocking 97.3 mph and 96.9 mph to strike him out swinging.

    “High velocity, and the slider was really good,” said manager Rob Thomson. “He looked great.”

    Rather than paring down his starter’s arsenal when he made the switch to the bullpen, Keller actually added a pitch — a sweeper. He typically uses it as a weapon against righties, throwing one Wednesday to Gleyber Torres that he fouled off, before getting him to ground out on his sinker.

    Keller, who will join Team USA to prepare for the World Baseball Classic on Saturday, said he always knew he had the potential for higher velocity.

    “I knew it was always in there,” he said. “It’s just my mentality was always starting. I started my whole career, minor leagues and most of the big leagues. And so I just never really reached back for anything. Last year was a little bit of a surprise, because I feel like I didn’t ever have to reach back. It was just there, which was nice.”

    Who stood out

    Edmundo Sosa hit a ground-rule double to left field in the third inning.

    Alec Bohm made a nice play on a sharply hit ground ball at third base, and turned a double play to end the top of the fourth. Bohm finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

    “He’s in really good shape this year, and he’s a little bit stronger. He’s done a lot of work, so he’s ready for this,” Thomson said. “He’s been swinging the bat well and hitting the ball the other way. I thought our at-bats today were good.”

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    Otto Kemp hit a home run onto the center-field berm, and Bryce Harper doubled to right to drive in a run in the fifth inning.

    Justin Crawford also made a big defensive play, leaping to catch a deep fly ball from Matt Vierling on the center-field warning track.

    On the mound

    Following Keller, Zach Pop, Kyle Backhus, Zach McCambley, Tim Mayza, Trevor Richards, and Génesis Cabrera each pitched an inning. Those six are competing for the final two bullpen spots.

    Pop, Backhus, and Richards each sidestepped a single for a scoreless frame. McCambley allowed a run on a walk and two straight singles, but induced a double play to escape the jam. A run scored on Mayza after two singles put runners on the corners and a wild pitch went to the backstop.

    Cabrera tossed a 1-2-3 seventh.

    Phillies shortstop Edmundo Sosa celebrates after hitting a ground-rule double during the third inning against the Tigers on Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla.

    Injury check

    Infield prospect Aidan Miller (sore back) has continued to get treatment and has begun to ramp up in the weight room. The Phillies are being cautious with him and do not have a timeline for when he will start swinging a bat.

    Outfielder Brandon Marsh jammed his hand during sliding drills on Tuesday and has some inflammation and soreness. To be cautious, Thomson said Marsh likely won’t play until after Monday’s off day.

    The Phillies finally have a ‘true closer’ in Jhoan Duran, and that solidifies the rest of the bullpen

    Quotable

    “He’s been throwing strikes and the slider’s good,” Thomson said of Pop. “He’s got a bowling ball fastball, heavy sink to it. It’s a mid-90s fastball. He’s throwing the ball well. Backhus, again, threw the ball well today. So yeah, we’re going to have some tough decisions at the end of this thing.”

    On deck

    The Phillies host the Nationals at 1:05 p.m. Thursday at BayCare Ballpark, with Taijuan Walker set to start.

  • Josh Shapiro’s presidential prospects and John Fetterman’s eye-popping numbers: Highlights from a new Pa. poll

    Josh Shapiro’s presidential prospects and John Fetterman’s eye-popping numbers: Highlights from a new Pa. poll

    Pennsylvania voters appear to be all in on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s reelection bid, while some are still warming up to the thought of him being president one day.

    Among registered voters, the Democratic incumbent leads his Republican challenger, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, 55-37%, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.

    Meanwhile, 40% of Pennsylvania voters think that Shapiro, who has been bolstering his national political profile and has a job approval rating of 56%, would make a good president, according to the poll.

    But 43% of the state’s voters do not think he would make a good president and 16% did not offer an opinion, despite his high overall approval.

    A strong majority of Democrats and a plurality of independent voters both said he would be a good president, but a strong majority of Republicans disagreed.

    The survey, conducted among 836 registered voters in Pennsylvania from Feb. 19 to 23, offers a glimpse of what voters in one of the most politically consequential states think of top elected officials a little more than eight months ahead of the high-stakes 2026 midterms.

    Pennsylvania voters also shared their perceptions of U.S. Sen John Fetterman (D., Pa.), who has significant support among Republicans but a low rating with his own party, and President Donald Trump, whose job approval rating is sitting below 50% in a state he won two years ago.

    Here’s what else to know from the Quinnipiac poll:

    Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., left, and Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., right, greet before participating in a debate moderated by Fox News anchor Shannon Bream, not shown, Monday, June 2, 2025, at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, Monday, June 2, 2025, in Boston, as livestreamed on Fox Nation. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

    Republicans support John Fetterman. Democrats don’t.

    Fetterman has been known to cross the political aisle, and his willingness to embrace Trump and take key votes with Republicans appears to be costing him with voters in his own party.

    Sixty-two percent of Democratic Pennsylvania voters disapprove of how Fetterman is handling his job, while only 22% approve.

    Those dismal numbers with his own party are worse than Fetterman’s Republican colleague, Sen. Dave McCormick, who has a 54% disapproval rate with Democrats.

    After three years in office, Fetterman does much better with Republicans than his own party. Among GOP voters, 73% approve of the Democratic senator, compared with just 18% who disapprove, according to the poll. Among independents in the swing state, 48% approve and 37% disapprove.

    This dynamic has helped fuel speculation of a future party switch — something Fetterman has repeatedly shot down — or a Democratic primary challenge.

    The progressive Working Families Party has said it will support and, if needed, recruit a challenger. Fetterman has repeatedly sparred with progressives on a range of issues from unconditional support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza to his stance on immigration enforcement.

    He also drew ire from fellow Pennsylvania Democrats for crossing the aisle to support a Republican plan to end last year’s government shutdown without a deal to address expiring healthcare subsidies.

    U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Philadelphia), a potential primary challenger, has repeatedly called Fetterman “Trump’s favorite Democrat,” including on Tuesday night, when the senator shook the president’s hand at the State of the Union address.

    Other names floated as potential contenders include U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio (D., Beaver) and former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, who lost the 2022 primary to Fetterman.

    Which party do Pa. voters want to win the midterms?

    Forty-nine percent of Pennsylvania registered voters want to see Democrats win control of the U.S. House in November, while 43% want Republicans to maintain their advantage.

    November’s midterms are consequential for both parties, especially in the House, where Republicans currently have a slim majority.

    But voters in Pennsylvania have soured on Trump, who receives just 40% approval in the poll, compared with 55% disapproval. And he is losing ground on two key issues that propelled him to office: the economy and immigration.

    According to the poll, only 28% of Pennsylvania voters think the economy is getting better, while 47% think it is getting worse and 23% think it is staying the same.

    Additionally, 56% believe the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement is too harsh in how it treats undocumented immigrants. Meanwhile, 36% think the president is handling immigration correctly and 6% think the administration is being too lenient.

    Democrats believe they can capitalize on these issues and defeat incumbents in key swing districts: Republican U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick in Bucks County, Ryan Mackenzie in Lehigh County, Rob Bresnahan in Lackawanna County, and Scott Perry in York County.

    Trump has endorsed every member of the Republican U.S. House delegation in Pennsylvania except Fitzpatrick.

  • Franklin Mall in Northeast Philly closed because of small fire

    Franklin Mall in Northeast Philly closed because of small fire

    The Franklin Mall, which many locals still call Franklin Mills, is temporarily closed due to required city inspections after a small fire over the weekend at the once-popular Northeast Philadelphia retail destination that is now listed for sale, the property management said Wednesday.

    No injuries were reported after the fire occurred on Feb. 21 within a single tenant space, the management said in a Facebook post.

    The Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections “issued a temporary closure notice while required inspections are completed to ensure building safety and building structural integrity,” the post said.

    The management said it “immediately engaged licensed professionals and qualified vendors to evaluate the affected area and confirm that all life-safety systems are fully operational.”

    City officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

    The management of Franklin Mall said it was “working closely with city officials to complete all necessary inspections and secure the approvals required to safely reopen the property as quickly as possible. The safety of our tenants, employees, and visitors remains our top priority.”

    In the meantime, Walmart, Marshalls and HomeGoods, and Dave & Buster’s remain open for business, according to the mall’s website.

    The Inquirer reported in early December that the mall was listed for sale and the 36-year-old, 1.8-million-square-foot facility at Knights and Woodhaven Roads could be repurposed or demolished for non-retail uses.

    The mall opened in 1989 to great fanfare as the largest outlet mall ever, with a zigzag-shaped, one-story-tall concourse that stretched for 1.2 miles.

    Franklin Mills once attracted 20 million visitors annually, but now has less than a third of that traffic.

    Under new ownership, it was renamed Philadelphia Mills, and most recently it has been called Franklin Mall, though a main entrance sign still says Philadelphia Mills.

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  • 19 people connected to YBC gang feuds to be charged in sprawling indictment

    19 people connected to YBC gang feuds to be charged in sprawling indictment

    Nineteen people are expected to be charged in the coming days in connection with a yearslong West Philadelphia gang war that investigators say fueled nearly two dozen shootings — including at least five homicides — across the city, law enforcement officials announced Wednesday.

    The defendants include members of the Young Bag Chasers, or YBC, as well as people affiliated with the rival crews caught in a multiyear cycle of retaliation.

    Five people were taken into custody Wednesday morning as part of a sweeping investigation by Philadelphia police and prosecutors into the back-and-forth shootings that occurred between 2022 and 2024. Several of those expected to be charged are already behind bars — either awaiting trial or serving sentences for separate crimes.

    Nearly two dozen shootings were linked to the feud between YBC and CCK.

    Officials said investigators linked nearly two dozen shootings to the groups — with a total of 35 victims between the ages of 5 and 42.

    The indictment follows a multiyear probe by Philadelphia police and the District Attorney’s Office’s Gun Violence Task Force into YBC and its affiliated groups — including the Young Face Arrangers and Northwest Philadelphia-based crew PNB — as well as rival members from the Parkside Killers and CCK, a trio of allied crews from West and South Philadelphia.

    The rise and fall of the Young Bag Chasers

    Which cases were solved?

    One of the five homicides solved is that of Zyir Stafford, better known as “Booga,” who was shot and killed by YBC members while leaving work at a North Philadelphia McDonald’s in December 2023.

    Police said he was not involved with the feud, but his brother was affiliated with CCK — and so YBC targeted him.

    Zyir Stafford, a 22-year-old father of two, was shot and killed in December 2023.

    YBC members mocked Stafford’s death online and in songs. They planned to sell weed out of McDonald’s Happy Meal boxes, named albums after him, and filmed music videos inside the fast food restaurants — all attempts to profit off the carnage.

    On Wednesday, police said they linked two YBC members to Stafford’s killing: Stephen Weddington, aka Baby Yopp, and Jymir Burbage, aka Lil Mir.

    Police also solved the killings of two well-known YBC members.

    Tahjae Brooks, 21, a rapper and founding member of YBC known as “Jae100,” was shot and killed in December 2022.

    Police said they charged three CCK members with his death: Anthony Lacey-Woodson, or “Pistol P” — who is serving 45 to 90 years in prison for killing three other people — as well as Ronnie Vincent-Quan and Herman “Cherm” Stigall.

    In this music video filmed by Marlissa Monay, Tahjae Brooks sings his 2020 song “Hear Me Out.” Brooks, or “Jae100,” was a founder of YBC and the original face and talent of the group.

    Six months later, Brooks’ best friend Kameir Scott, or “T.O.,” was shot and killed on the 600 block of North Preston Street. Markees Muhammad, of the Parkside Killers, has been charged with that crime, prosecutors said.

    YBC members were charged in two other homicides.

    Weddington and Burbage — as well as Hasin Muse and Tatiana Edwards — have been charged with killing Qaadir Cheeks, a CCK affiliate known as “55Qua” who was killed in May 2024 near 55th and Baltimore.

    Weddington was also charged with the murder of Sharif King in Parkside in July 2023, as well as several nonfatal shootings.

    Who else was charged?

    YBC and CCK have been in a violent, public feud for years that became fueled by retaliatory violence and social media.

    Most members of YBC and CCK are aspiring drill rappers who write songs about the ongoing shootings and conflicts, trolling homicide victims and their families, and encouraging more violence — and building a social media and music following in the process.

    Bill Fritze, supervisor for Gun Violence Task Force, speaks during a news conference on the arrest of 19 people Wednesday.

    “The same group of people repeatedly were doing shootings, using the same guns … and bragging about it,” said Assistant District Attorney Anna Walters.

    Investigators with the Gun Violence Task Force and police department had been investigating YBC, CCK, and allied groups for at least two years, monitoring their social media pages and music videos, and slowly connecting them to a host of crimes, Walters said.

    They used ballistic evidence, phone records, and social media to solve the cases, she said.

    One of CCK’s most prominent members — Hasaan Stafford, or Saany Goon — was charged Wednesday with committing four shootings in which no one was injured, officials said.

    And prominent YBC member Kasim Brown, aka FSdaBender or “Fat Seem,” was charged with three nonfatal shootings. Brown is currently in federal custody, charged with gun crimes.

    "Bumblebee Gang," filmed by "DJBey215," Abdul Vicks, YBC
    In the music video “Bumblebee Gang,” filmed by “DJBey215,” Abdul Vicks, left, smokes a joint as his friends flash a gun to the camera.

    The indictment comes even as the number of people affiliated with YBC has dwindled in recent years, and the groups’ feuds have quieted. The face of YBC, Abdul Vicks, aka YBC Dul, was shot and killed in August 2024. Many other members are serving decades in prison for murder.

    Still, there were dozens of shootings connected to their feuds that remained unsolved — including the killings of many of YBC’s members.

    Capt. James Kearney, head of the police department’s nonfatal shooting unit, said officers are always working to solve shootings even as years have passed.

    “They might have thought they got away with it,” he said. “But they didn’t.”

  • Philadelphia opens new LGBTQ+ visitor center, one of few in country

    Philadelphia opens new LGBTQ+ visitor center, one of few in country

    It is a simple, sleek storefront in the Gayborhood. And it is now a welcoming spot.

    On Wednesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro, city tourism and marketing leaders, and LGBTQ+ advocates officially opened the Philadelphia Pride Visitor Center, one of the country’s first LGBTQ+ visitor centers.

    “We need happy things in the world,” Shapiro said, during a ribbon cutting at the center. “And we need places like this that bring people together. That is the Pennsylvania way.”

    Gov. Josh Shapiro opens the Philly Pride Visitor Center Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in the heart of the city’s Gayborhood at 12th & Locust. With him, from left, are Mark Segal, Philadelphia Gay News founder; City Councilmembers Rue Landau and Mark Squilla; and Anne Ryan, Pennsylvania Deputy Secretary of Tourism.

    The Philly Pride Center is now just one of a handful of LGBTQ+-dedicated visitor centers in America, including ones in New York and Miami. Opening ahead of Philadelphia’s big summer celebrations for the 250th anniversary of America in 2026, also known as the Semiquincentennial, officials described the center as a symbol that Philadelphia, the city of the nation’s birth, welcomes all.

    “At a time when other states are walking away from their LGBTQ+ community, we are walking toward it,” Shapiro said. “At a time when other states are saying ‘no’ to pride-based tourism, we are embracing it.”

    Located near 12th and Locust Streets, in a storefront connected to Knock Restaurant and Bar, the center offers visitor services, including itinerary planning, attraction ticketing, and travel information, with a focus on LGBTQ+-affirming destinations, businesses, and cultural institutions. Souvenirs made by LGBTQ+-owned businesses and artists are on sale.

    Neil Frauenglass (second from right), chief marketing officer with Visit Philadelphia, is recognized for his work during grand opening of the Philly Pride Visitor Center Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in the heart of the city’s Gayborhood at 12th & Locust. With him, from left, are Donna Jackson Stephans, Philadelphia’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer; Philadelphia Visitor Center President and CEO Kathryn Ott Lovell; and Gov. Josh Shapiro.

    “The Philly Pride Center reflects something we believe with all of our hearts,” said Kathryn Ott Lovell, president and CEO of Philadelphia Visitor Center Corp., which will run the new center. “That every visitor should feel like they are welcome and that they belong. We want the Philly pride visitor center to be both a very practical resource and a very visible statement about who we are as a city.”

    More than a year in the making — and now open Thursday through Monday, noon to 6 p.m., at 1130 Locust Street — the site will represent Philly’s fifth visitor center, including ones at Independence Mall, City Hall, Love Park, and the Parkway Visitor Center & Rocky Shop.

    “Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ history helped shape this country’s story, and the Philly Pride Center brings that legacy forward in a powerful and visible way,” said Angel Val, president and CEO of Visit Philadelphia, which helped found the center, along with Mark Segal, founder and publisher of Philadelphia Gay News. Segal, an activist and author, who was part of the seminal riots at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in 1969, curated the historical information exhibited at the center, telling of Philly’s long and powerful LGBTQ+ legacy.

    Mark Segal, Philadelphia Gay News founder and publisher is interviewed during the grand opening of the Philly Pride Visitor Center Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. At left is a photo (circled) of him demonstrating for Gay rights in 1969, part of his newspaper’s 50th Anniversary.

    It is a point of pride, Segal said, that the Philly Pride Visitor Center comes at a time when many scholars and activists believe the Trump administration is attempting to sanitize American history.

    “At this time in history, there are many people who are trying to erase us and erase our history,” Segal said. “But today, by opening a new Pride Center, which yells and screams ‘visibility and take pride in who you are,’ we’re saying, ‘No, we’re not going to allow anyone to put us back in the closet ever again.’”

  • The NFL might have given up trying to ban the Tush Push (for now). Here’s why, and what it means for the Eagles.

    The NFL might have given up trying to ban the Tush Push (for now). Here’s why, and what it means for the Eagles.

    INDIANAPOLIS — After a five-year hiatus, Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton rejoined the competition committee this offseason. He said he likes “our league” and having a say in the rules that govern it.

    But every once in a while, his self-described “B.S. meter” spikes.

    Last year’s discussions surrounding the Tush Push struck a sour note with Payton. He claimed the competition committee spent hours highlighting the health and safety risks of the push sneak, all the while introducing the dynamic kickoff in 2024 that would lead to an uptick in returns, and in turn, concussions.

    Thus, Payton suggested that furthering the health-and-safety argument to effectively ban the Tush Push would be hypocritical.

    “Look, I think if that ever goes away, it’s not a health and safety thing, right?” Payton said on Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “We discussed that last year for two hours, and we just adopted 1,000 more kick returns. Which play do you think is more of a health risk? One thousand more kick returns. So I think if we choose to ever move on from that, it won’t be because of health and safety. It will just be like, we don’t like it, which is OK.”

    Broncos head coach Sean Payton said his “B.S. meter” went off with the way a Tush Push ban was being sold last to the league last offseason.

    Despite previous leaguewide critiques of player safety and aesthetics, the Tush Push could be poised to live another season. Competition committee cochairman Rich McKay told reporters on Monday that he doesn’t anticipate a team submission of a rules proposal seeking to eradicate the push sneak recently popularized by the Eagles.

    While the play had been scrutinized since its inception in 2022, the Green Bay Packers were the first team to take a formal shot at a ban when they submitted a rule change proposal in March. The proposal did not garner the requisite support from the league’s owners to be adopted last season.

    The past could stay in the past. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said Tuesday that his team has no plans to revive its proposal, which fell short by two votes last year.

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    The waning ire directed at the play correlates with the Eagles’ declining efficiency in 2025. According to tushpush.fyi, the Eagles attempted a league-high 33 push sneaks while converting 21, a 64% success rate (the league average is 73.8%). By the end of the regular season, the Eagles decided against running their signature sneak in short-yardage situations.

    Even in the red zone, the Eagles opted for variations of the sneak instead of calling upon quarterback Jalen Hurts to drive his legs through defenders and across the line to gain. Tight end Dallas Goedert’s success in the red zone (10 touchdowns inside the opponent’s 20-yard line) in 2025 occurred in part due to the Eagles’ struggles at executing the push play.

    The Packers were nominally behind the effort to ban a Tush Push play that was also disliked by the league office.

    The competition committee and the teams could still submit proposals ahead of the annual league meeting in late March. But John Lynch, the San Francisco 49ers general manager and another member of the competition committee, suggested that the crusade against the Tush Push has lost steam after defenses caught up to its dominance.

    “That’s all we talked about last year,” Lynch said. “And I will tell you, it felt like there was momentum going into league meetings that it would be overturned. And then it kind of flipped, and those things happen. I think now, we went through a year, maybe people have gotten a little bit better at defending it. Maybe they’re doing it less. People aren’t wanting to put their quarterbacks in those types of situations. You’re seeing more variety. They line up in the Tush Push, they run outside.

    “So maybe, just maybe, it’s kind of solving itself, but we’ll see. I think you’ve got to monitor those things over time to see the trends, and that’s something we’ll continue to do.”

    The Sean Mannion offense was a major focus of the Eagles’ pre-combine news conference. Here are 10 things we learned about the new scheme.

    The Tush Push isn’t in the clear just yet, so Nick Sirianni said he doesn’t “have to cross that bridge” until its legality in 2026 is official. Still, the Eagles coach said he is looking forward to reimagining its fit in a new-look scheme under offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.

    “I think there’s some things that teams did this year that they did a good job of being able to stop it and we either have to get back to being able to be as dominant as we were at it, or we find new avenues to be able to convert on third down or in the red zone,” Sirianni said. “And so that’s the fun part about [the] offseason, is to be able to go through those processes. You go through them during the season as well. I think you saw us do some cool things off of it, and you still want to be able to do that.

    “We know it took a little bit of [a] step back, and we’ve got to coach it better and we’ve got to execute it better. And looking forward to seeing where that goes in the future.”

    Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion played with the Seahawks in his last NFL stop.

    Mannion draws praise

    As quarterbacks coach with the Seattle Seahawks in 2022, Dave Canales would refer to his cadre of quarterbacks as his “bullpen.” But while the starting quarterback garnered the bulk of the reps, Mannion, the third-stringer, still prepared as if he was the go-to guy, according to Canales.

    “Sean wanted to make sure he got all the throws, and then he wanted to make sure he put himself in the most impossible physical positions to try to get the throw done,” said Canales, now the Carolina Panthers’ head coach. “I learned so much in our times [together]. Different progressions, different types of drills he forced himself into were things that I took with me as I continued to coach quarterbacks over the last couple of years. But [he’s] brilliant, asks the right questions, catches the loopholes in protections and different things like that.”

    Those interactions over the course of their year together gave Canales the confidence that Mannion had the offensive aptitude to take on a coaching role following his NFL playing career. But his football intelligence wouldn’t be the only determining factor.

    “It was just a matter of if he was dumb enough to get into the profession,” Canales said with a smile. “But I guess he is, so here he is.”

    Here he is, just three years into his coaching career. After Mannion’s two seasons with the Packers — one as an offensive assistant and another as quarterbacks coach — the Eagles hired him to succeed Kevin Patullo as offensive coordinator in late January.

    The precise ins and outs of his prospective scheme remain unknown, although Sirianni has acknowledged it is influenced by the Kyle Shanahan/Sean McVay scheme, an ode to Mannion’s roots as a player and as a Packers assistant.

    New Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski (left, with fellow Philadelphia-area native and Falcons president of football Matt Ryan) had high praise for Sean Mannion.

    Despite Mannion’s lack of play-calling experience, his coaching acumen is highly regarded by his peers, including new Atlanta Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski. The Wayne native and St. Joseph’s Prep/Penn product was Mannion’s offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings in 2019. They kept in touch over the years and discussed coaching opportunities, Stefanski said, but Mannion elected to keep playing.

    “You could tell right away he was wired to do this,” Stefanski said. “His dad’s a coach. When you’re [in] the backup [quarterback] role, I think great coaches come from that role, because you have to prepare yourself to play, even when you’re not getting the reps. So I think he’s been really developed into it, developed by the different stops that he’s had with the different people that he’s had. But it’s always been in him to coach, and I think that just goes back to how he was brought up.”

    Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman still noncommittal about A.J. Brown’s future with the Eagles

    Gutekunst said he wasn’t surprised by Mannion’s quick rise up the coaching ranks, either. However, Mannion’s departure was “unfortunate,” Gutekunst said, seeing as he hoped to keep “a young, really talented coach” on staff for more than a couple of years.

    “He’s going to do a great job,” Gutekunst said. “The ability to see the game through a quarterback’s eyes because of his playing career, coming from a coaching family, there’s just a lot to like there.”

  • Flyers’ Travis Sanheim ‘grateful for the opportunity and the experience’ despite coming up just short of Olympic gold

    Flyers’ Travis Sanheim ‘grateful for the opportunity and the experience’ despite coming up just short of Olympic gold

    WASHINGTON ― Once again, Travis Sanheim was on the outside looking in.

    And as in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament a year ago, the Flyers defenseman was inserted into Canada’s lineup in Game 2 at the Milan Cortina Olympics and never left.

    Maybe the doubters need to stop doubting.

    Across his five games, the silver-medal-winning Sanheim averaged 13 minutes, 14 seconds, as he crept up coach Jon Cooper’s depth chart as the tournament progressed. Although it was fewer minutes than he’s used to in Philly — he plays more than 24 a night — the blueliner made the most of his ice time.

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    Sanheim finished the tournament tied for the fourth-best plus-minus (plus-6) among all players, despite averaging fewer minutes than 10 of the 12 players who were either tied with him or above him; only forwards Jack Hughes and Joel Armia played fewer minutes among that group.

    He was not on the ice for any of the 10 goals Canada allowed in his five games and his plus-minus was up there with some of the game’s best defensemen — Brock Faber and Cale Makar (plus-6), Zach Werenski (plus-8), and Niko Mikkola, Devon Toews, and his Flyers teammate and, based on Wednesday’s morning skate, his current defensive partner, Rasmus Ristolainen (plus-9).

    “I think that’s kind of why I was brought over, was the ability to kind of be a utility guy and be able to play in different situations,” he said Wednesday at Capital One Arena. “Didn’t get in the first game, and have the ability to step right in and play and give them good minutes.

    “And I just thought as the tournament went along, just gained more confidence with playing each game and gained the trust of the coaching staff to earn more minutes, and was happy with how I performed.”

    Sanheim also had one assist, and it was an important one. He set up Shea Theodore for the game-tying goal with under 10 minutes to go in the semifinals against Finland after receiving a pass from Tom Wilson, whom the Flyers will see with the Capitals on Wednesday (7 p.m., NBCSP). Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-winner with 36 seconds left in regulation.

    He was robbed of a goal by Czech goalie Lukáš Dostál in the quarterfinals, but Sanheim’s name was mentioned over and over again during the gold-medal game by NBC play-by-play man Kenny Albert. A versatile defenseman who can play on the right or the left, he skated more than 15 minutes and had three shots on goal in the finale.

    Defenseman Travis Sanheim believes being around some of the league’s best players and playing such high-level hockey can help him as he returns to the Flyers.

    But while he won a medal, it was obviously not the one he wanted.

    “I’m sure I’ll appreciate the silver years down the road and looking back on it, but obviously right now, disappointment. Thought we did a good job of playing in that tournament and thought that we deserved better,” said Sanheim, who told Unfiltered With Ricky Bo & Bill Colarulo on Tuesday that the medal is currently in his safe.

    “So, it’s hard to enjoy the silver when you think that you had a chance to take gold and you come up short. So, like I said, grateful for the opportunity and the experience and what it all entailed, and yet disappointment that comes with it.”

    The experience was special nonetheless for Sanheim. He took in speedskating with his Canadian teammates, and traded pins, including swapping with Japan and Italy; however, he didn’t realize how big the pin swapping was at the Olympics and was unable to get a few he had his eye on.

    And he was able to spend time with his family. As his mother, Shelly, told The Inquirer on New Year’s Eve, the whole family was headed to Italy to watch Sanheim don the maple leaf.

    “Just appreciative of the support that I get. Everyone that came over has been with me from when I was a kid, and happy to be able to share that experience with them,” he said, also mentioning that it meant the world to him that his hometown, Elkhorn, Manitoba, showed its support too.

    “ … And, at the end of it, showing them the medal, and them putting it on and getting pictures, you get to see the joy and what it meant for them to experience what I was going through and fortunate to have those guys.”

    But while the Olympics are over and he is back with the Flyers as they begin their final 26-game sprint to the end of the season, that doesn’t mean he won’t take what he learned and experienced to the Orange and Black.

    From trade bait to untouchables, here’s where the Flyers roster stands less than two weeks before the deadline

    “I think how hard you have to play each and every night, the style of play that you need to play, the willingness to do anything to win a hockey game, and different roles that come up throughout the tournament, that guys have to sacrifice for the better good of the team,” he said.

    “And then just the skill level that these guys all play with, and how they play, how hard they work, their off-ice training, and what they do, their preparation. There’s a reason they’re the best in their sport and lucky to share the ice with them.

    “If I can bring any of that back and share that with our team and try and help the guys … and obviously, we want to continue to grow and take the next step, and being able to see that firsthand is going to benefit me.”

    Breakaways

    Dan Vladař (17-8-6, .905 save percentage) was the first goalie off at morning skate and is expected to be the starter against Washington. … The Flyers officially loaned defenseman Adam Ginning back to Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.

    Unhappy with his game, Matvei Michkov got to work over the break: ‘I was training every day’
  • Lower Merion police shot and killed a former child abuse investigator wanted for child rape, authorities said

    Lower Merion police shot and killed a former child abuse investigator wanted for child rape, authorities said

    A former Morton Borough police officer is dead after Lower Merion police shot and killed him when he exchanged gunfire with officers in Bala Cynwyd Wednesday morning, authorities said.

    Francis Connell Collier, 38, who previously served as a part-time officer in the Delaware County borough, was wanted on charges of rape and other sex crimes involving children at the time of the shooting.

    Authorities said Lower Merion police spotted Collier’s vehicle on Old Lancaster Road in the Bala Cynwyd section of the township around 3:48 a.m. When they saw him return to his car, police said, officers confronted him, and he shot at the officers, who returned fire, fatally wounding him.

    The officers had not been serving a warrant for Collier’s arrest at the time of the shooting, but the department was aware of the charges against him, said Lower Merion Police Capt. John Tucci.

    Charges in the rape case had been filed Tuesday in Upper Darby, according to a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office, which brought the case against him.

    In addition to serving in Morton, Collier was previously a member of the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office’s Child Abuse and Exploitation Task Force, a spokesperson for District Attorney Tanner Rouse said.

    Collier’s appointment in 2022 was not made during Rouse’s tenure, and he was removed from the task force the following year during a leadership change within the unit, the spokesperson said.

    When the sex abuse allegations against Collier were reported to authorities late last year, Rouse’s office initially investigated, but later referred the case to state prosecutors because of a conflict of interest.

    In a statement on Collier’s shooting death Wednesday, the Delaware County DA’s Office said he ”reportedly engaged in actions that led to what has been described as ‘suicide by cop.’”

    Police have not released the names of the officers involved in the shooting, which is under investigation by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. It was unclear whether the officers had been placed on leave, as is customary, as the inquiry continues.

    Morton Borough police learned of the criminal investigation in December, department officials said, and Collier was placed on unpaid administrative leave.

    He resigned from the department on Dec. 19, they said.

    The criminal case against Collier began late last year, authorities said, when Delaware County investigators learned that he may have sexually abused children.

    Two women told investigators Collier had touched them inappropriately in the early 2000s, when they were five and six years old and Collier was a teenager, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest. The women said the abuse began in 2001 and 2003, the affidavit said.

    Collier was 15 when he assaulted the first victim the document said.

    The second woman said Collier had assaulted her as well, framing the abuse as a “game” that involved sex toys and sex acts. She said she told her mother at the time that Collier was touching her inappropriately but when confronted, she said, he denied the abuse.

    Years later, the women said, they learned that Collier worked with Delaware County’s child abuse task force, which investigates sex crimes against children. They said they grew worried when they saw social media posts showing Collier posing with children, the document said.

    When investigators interviewed Collier about the allegations in early December, the affidavit said, he failed a polygraph test, but told detectives he “never intentionally touched the girls inappropriately.”

    Investigators referred the case to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office that month because of a possible conflict or interest, the affidavit said. State investigators later interviewed people who said the women had told them of the abuse years ago when they were children, and prosecutors filed the criminal charges against Collier on Tuesday, just hours before his death.

    Lower Merion police said the shooting took place in the area of Old Lancaster Road and City Avenue, a block from St. Joe’s University and not far from Edgehill Court, the apartment complex where Collier lived.

    A neighbor, Liam Riley, said he heard at least seven shots ring out when police confronted Collier.

    “I saw a officer run up, grab something out of his trunk, and then run back up to [Collier’s] car,” Riley, a St. Joe’s University senior, said. “Then I heard them yelling to the guy, ‘Put your hands out of the window, put your hands out of the window.”

    Juliette Palasol, a student at Drexel University who lives a block away with her family, said they didn’t hear the early morning gunfire, but her father left for work at 5 a.m. to find that many of the neighborhood roads closed.

    “I couldn’t believe it — my brother, my cousins — none of us heard it,” Palasol said, outside the Edgehill Court. “I was just surprised to see police bring out firetrucks, drones, and robotic dogs to the scene.”

    Around noon on Wednesday, police officers, assisted by Union Fire Association, raised a ladder to Collier’s third-story apartment, where officers broke through the window and piloted a drone inside to conduct an initial search of his residence. Officers also used a robotic dog to search the apartment “out of an abundance of caution,” police said.

  • City will pay $2,000 toward Philly homicide victims’ funerals in new program

    City will pay $2,000 toward Philly homicide victims’ funerals in new program

    Families of people killed in Philadelphia will be eligible to receive up to $2,000 to help cover funeral costs under a new city program announced Wednesday.

    The initiative, called the Homicide Victim Funeral Assistance (HVFA) Program, will be available to families whose loved ones are killed on or after March 1, city officials said. The money will be paid directly to funeral service providers, with applications reviewed within 48 hours, they said.

    “Grief is not a bill you should have to carry alone,” said Adam Geer, the city’s chief public safety director, during a news conference unveiling the program.

    The program will be administered by the city’s Office of the Victim Advocate, a division of its Office of Public Safety created last year and led by Adara Combs.

    Combs said the initiative grew out of conversations with families who found themselves planning funerals while still in shock, and struggling financially.

    “This program is born out of listening,” she said.

    The average funeral costs $9,100 in Philadelphia, according to data collected by the Senior Rate Registry. When a loved one is murdered, that expense can arrive suddenly and without warning, Geer said.

    To qualify for aid, families must show their loved one was killed in the city and that their death was ruled a homicide, Combs said.

    The city’s program is meant to be a supplement to existing state aid. Families may also apply for up to $6,500 reimbursement through the state’s Victims Compensation Assistance Program, she said.

    The announcement comes as homicides in Philadelphia have fallen sharply in recent years. After peaking at 562 killings in 2021, the city recorded 255 murders last year — its lowest number in 60 years, according to police data. As of Tuesday, 15 people had been killed so far this year.

    Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said the program is a way for the city to move beyond platitudes.

    “I get so tired of telling people that … our thoughts and prayers are with you,” she said. “We’re sending thoughts and prayers, but they’re literally looking at funeral bills, and they’re trying to figure out, in the midst of this loss, how will we pay?”

    “I am proud that we have been able to come together and use government as a tool to help families in need,” she said.

    To receive additional information or apply after March 1, call 215-686-2115 or email OVAfuneralfund@phila.gov.

  • The injury bug has bitten the Union early in the season

    The injury bug has bitten the Union early in the season

    There shouldn’t be too much to worry about at Subaru Park on Thursday in a Concacaf Champions Cup game against Defence Force FC of Trinidad (7 p.m., FS1, TUDN), with the Union bringing a 5-0 aggregate lead into the second leg. But that doesn’t mean all is well.

    Outside back Frankie Westfield, centerback Finn Sundstrom, and forward Agustín Anello are dealing with minor injuries at the moment. Westfield is the biggest concern, both because of how his absence impacts the starting lineup and because it’s a hamstring tweak.

    “Frankie’s still working on the side, getting closer to the team day by day, and I think that’s his status: day by day,” manager Bradley Carnell said Wednesday. “It’s pretty much all day-to-day stuff [with the trio], and hope to have them back pretty soon.”

    Although the Union have a commanding lead in the series, Carnell isn’t taking this game lightly, especially after a loss Saturday at D.C. United in the MLS opener. Another game also quickly follows this one, against rival New York City FC at Subaru Park on Sunday (4:30 p.m., Apple TV.)

    “Tomorrow’s halftime of the series, and we have to be fully focused,” he said. “We have a lot of things that we need to work on, and we have a lot of things that we are still not really happy with right now, with our own performance and putting things in our own control. … Regardless of opponent now, we have to take the baton in the hand and really focus on ourselves right now.”

    Milan Iloski, who sat next to Carnell on the podium, concurred.

    As the Union’s new No. 10, the number generally designated for a team’s playmaker, how does it suit his strengths, and more importantly, his role on the team?

    “I think we’re never going to be where we want to be,” Iloski said. “We’re always going to be chasing perfection, but soccer’s a game where it’s never going to be perfect, I think we’re working every day to improve and to get better — of course, there’s still a lot of good faces, and we’re building chemistry and we’re building relationships every day.”

    Carnell also said he has spoken with Ezekiel Alladoh about the striker’s red card on Saturday, and with officials who confirmed it was for “inappropriate language.”

    MLS teams can appeal direct red cards, and can lose twice in a year. The Union aren’t appealing this one.

    “We’ve addressed the issue internally, and we’ll learn and grow from that and move on,” Carnell said.

    Ezekiel Alladoh’s red card overshadows Tai Baribo’s revenge goal against the Union