The 76ers relish the opportunity to play the Cleveland Cavaliers again on Friday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The matchup will be two days after the Sixers lost, 133-107, to the Cavaliers at the same venue. It was the Sixers’ fifth series loss in six meetings against Cleveland.
“So, absolutely [excited] to get a chance to play them again,” Paul George said. “It’s a test for us. And, you know, see how we respond.”
Donovan Mitchell finished with a game-high 35 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists on Wednesday. The six-time All-Star has scored 35, 46, and 37 points in his last three games vs. the Sixers. And he’s averaging 28.0 points and 6.6 assists in 10 games against the Sixers (22-17) after being traded to Cleveland (23-19) from the Utah Jazz on Sept. 3, 2022.
Meanwhile, Evan Mobley had 17 points and game highs of 13 rebounds and four blocks on Wednesday for his 15th double-double of the season. The 7-foot power forward and reigning defensive player of the year has averaged 19.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in his last five games against the Sixers.
But the All-Stars aren’t alone in their dominance.
Cleveland had five double-figure scorers, shot 53.3% — including 18 of 44 three-pointers — in a 132-121 victory over the Sixers on Nov. 5. On Wednesday, they shot 52.6%, and made 20 of 46 three-pointers. Their 41 assists on Wednesday were the most an opposing team has posted against the Sixers this season.
Tyrese Maxey was shut down in the Sixers’ loss to the Cavaliers, producing only 14 points on 5 of 16 shooting.
“It wasn’t just a win, but how we played,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Forty-one assists on 50 made baskets is kind of college basketball [numbers] the way we moved it.
“And defensively, we were good.”
They shut down Tyrese Maxey (14 points on 5-for-16 shooting) and VJ Edgecombe (nine points on 3-for-10) on Wednesday.
The Cavaliers showed Maxey two defenders several times to get the ball out of his hands quickly.
“I started off slow, kind of, energy-wise, and let them kind of box me in a little bit,” said Maxey, who had nine points on 3-for-10 at halftime. “But, yeah, sometimes you just got to make the right plays. I felt like some times I came off, and there were two or three bodies, and I just got off the ball.
“That’s how I play basketball. If I see multiple bodies and I don’t think I have an advantage, like, somebody else on my team should have an advantage.”
And as in the teams’ previous meeting, Wednesday’s outcome was all but decided after three quarters.
Nick Nurse is eager to see how the Sixers respond on Friday.
“I think it’s a great test for us,” the coach said. “It’s a great test for us to see if we can snap out of the energy funk that we were in [Wednesday night] and dig in and guard something and execute something on offense because we didn’t … scheme right or execute right.”
Sixers power forward Dominick Barlow missed most of Wednesday’s game after suffering a back contusion early in the third quarter. Barlow was expected to have an MRI on Thursday. His injury is a tough blow for the Sixers, as he is a solid glue guy who started alongside George, Joel Embiid (20 points), Edgecombe, and Maxey.
Meanwhile, Cleveland’s Darius Garland (right foot) and Sam Merrill (right hand) also left the game because of injuries. Atkinson said he doubts that they’ll play on Friday.
“Dom is a big piece for us, but it is, it’s another gut punch, man, that somebody else goes down,” said George, whose squad has dealt with injuries all season. “Soon as we finally start to get healthy and there’s some consistency with the starting group. It’ll be another starting group come Friday, so that has been a challenge.”
As anyone who keeps tabs on their bottle shop selection knows, craft beer has seen better days: Sales are down, and, in an industry now rife with consolidations and acquisitions, more breweries are closing than opening.
The outside of 4323 Main St., an 1880s-era Manayunk grocery store turned five-and-dime that was most recently home to Fat Lady Brewing.
But the taps in Manayunk won’t be dry for long: Love City Brewing signed a lease on the historic two-story building at 4323 Main St. last week. The Callowhill brewery is targeting a spring opening following some cosmetic changes, according to co-owner Melissa Walter.
The new taproom will have room for about 60 seated (more standing) and an upstairs space used mostly for private events to start out with. An in-house food partner, like Love City has with Old City’s Viva Pizza, has yet to be determined. All beer will still be brewed in Callowhill.
Walter said she and her husband/co-owner, Kevin, have been on the hunt for a second location for about two years, prompted by the desire to expand their own retail business.
Love City produces about 2,900 barrels a year at its Hamilton Street home, which opened nearly eight years ago. Around 60% of that liquid is funneled to beer stores and other bars. But the profit Love City makes off the beer it distributes pales in comparison to its margin on beer sold from its own taproom. “That’s a big part of the thought behind this expansion,” Walter said. “It’s always going to be good for us to sell our products over our bar. So how can we make that happen? Where can we make that happen?”
Love City Brewing owners Melissa and Kevin Walter. The couple is expanding to a second taproom in Manayunk.
When the Walters first scoped out Fat Lady’s space in the fall, it met all their criteria for a second location. “We wanted to be in a place that already had good energy and good foot traffic,” which Main Street brings in spades, Melissa Walter said. Add to that the physical space itself — an 1880s-era brick-faced storefront with towering curved-glass windows outside and tin ceilings and hardwood floors inside — and the Walters were sold.
Another point that resonated, on both sides of the deal, were the two breweries’ mutually shared values: “I’m super-excited to be able to not only carry on an awesome historic building, but to carry on the torch of this small, woman-owned, queer-friendly brewery,” Walter said. “We’re like, ‘Yes, we can do that! We are that.’”
Fat Lady Brewing owner Jane Lipton, whose mother bought 4323 Main St. in 1986, said she feels equally positive about passing the baton to Love City. “From the moment they came and looked at it, I was really hopeful, because I thought it was such a good fit,” Lipton said in an interview this week. “In their beer and their brand and how they operate, I just feel there’s some kind of symmetry.”
Inside the Fat Lady Brewing space at 4323 Main St. in Manayunk.
A brewery for all
Lipton has been a fixture in Manayunk’s business community for 40 years — ever since her mother deployed her to oversee a second location of her South Street antiques store, Two By Four. “My whole life was around that South Street corridor then, and mom said, ‘I’m moving you to manage Manayunk and I want you to do in Manayunk what you did in South Street,’ which was her way of saying, get involved in the business association, get involved in whatever way,” Lipton recalls. “And I was like, ‘Oh my God, Manayunk?’”
In the years that followed, Lipton did just that, eventually serving as the executive director of the Manayunk Development Corp. from 2009 to 2019. Aside from running Two By Four, she also launched her own antiques business and a co-working space in the 6,000-square-foot Main Street building before leasing it as a satellite taproom to Bald Birds in 2019. When the pandemic forced the Audubon brewery to break the lease, one of the owners suggested Lipton get her own brewery license when she had trouble finding another tenant.
Thus in 2021 they launched Fat Lady, a pet project that was immediately near and dear to Lipton’s late, beer-loving wife, Karen Kolkka, an artist and art teacher. The couple threw themselves into making the brewery a warm, community-oriented space: “We picked the circus theme because everyone’s welcome at the circus,” Lipton said. “I just wanted Fat Lady Brewing to be a place where everybody and anybody could feel good and happy and safe and accepted.”
Over its four years, Fat Lady hosted scores of events. Lipton rattles off a long list: speed dating, fashion shows, live music, open-mic nights, bingo, Quizzo, dance parties, drag shows, and burlesque shows, and community beef and beers, among others. “It was really fun,” she said.
“And then in 2023 my wife’s cancer returned, and I had to step away, and the rest is kind of history, and it’s not the same without her,” Lipton said. “It took me a year to come into the taproom that she had picked every color for and every paint. She hung every light bulb in this beautiful fixture that we made ourselves.”
After Kolkka’s passing, Lipton decided it was time to retire. She wound down Fat Lady’s operations at the end of 2025, just before the lease with Love City was finalized. She’s confident Kolkka — who had been to Love City with her in years previous — would strongly approve of the coming transition for the space.
“She would be very happy about this, and that makes me feel good,” Lipton said.
Memphis held on for a 55-53 victory over visiting Temple on Wednesday, snapping the Owls’ seven-game win streak.
Down by as many as 13 points in the second half, Temple (11-6, 3-1 American) relied on free-throw shooting and timely defense to get within two points with 13 seconds left. Guard Jordan Mason got an open shot near the basket that would have tied the game, but he missed it to give Memphis (8-8, 3-1) the win.
Guard Gavin Griffiths’ 15 points led the Owls, who had a 41-35 rebounding advantage. The game was Temple’s first since assistant coach Bill Courtney died suddenly on Tuesday at the age of 55.
First-half struggles
Both offenses struggled in the first half, combining for just 17 field goals.
Temple forwards Jamai Felt and Babatunde Duradola picked up two fouls in the first, forcing them to sit for extended periods.
Owl guards Aiden Tobiason and Derrian Ford struggled to get into a rhythm against the pressure of Memphis, which is third in the conference in turnovers forced per game (14.3). The Tigers attacked Temple with a full-court press that set its offense out of sync and forced Tobiason and Ford into tough shots. Tobiason was 1-for-7 in the first half, and Ford was 1-for-4.
The Tigers forced eight second-half turnovers and 14 total, a season-high for Temple.
Guard Jordan Mason, shown during a Jan. 7 game against East Carolina, scored a season-low five points against Memphis on Wednesday.
Cold from three
An important factor in the Owls’ seven-game win streak was their three-point shooting. They shot over 40% from beyond the arc in every game and made at least 10 threes in three of them.
But Temple’s three-point touch disappeared against Memphis.
The Owls went just 1-for-13 from three and missed their final 10 attempts from deep in the first half. Griffiths, who entered shooting 41.4% from three and had 11 threes in the last two games, shot just 1 of 5 from deep in the first half.
Temple limited its three-point attempts in the second half, going 1 for 6 as it put more of an emphasis on driving to the rim and getting to the free-throw line. That change of pace on offense helped guide the Owls back from a 13-point deficit and nearly pull off the comeback.
Griffiths got an open look from three with 1:44 left and Temple down by two, but he missed, part of a 1-for-8 night from long range for the junior guard of the game.
Overall, the Owls shot just 2 for 19 from three-point range.
Uncharacteristic play from Mason
Mason has been a revelation for Temple’s offense since transferring in from the University of Illinois-Chicago.
He typically provides the Owls with a steady hand at point guard and excels at finding open teammates and directing traffic. His play was a major factor in Temple’s win streak as he scored in double figures in every game, including a double-double with 15 points and 12 assists against UTSA on Jan. 3.
But against Memphis, Mason shot just 2 of 9 for a season-low five points. He also committed a season-high five turnovers with three assists.
Next
Temple will host another top team in the American in Florida Atlantic (11-6, 3-1) on Sunday (noon, ESPNU).
In the waning minutes, St. Joseph’s allowed St. Bonaventure to take a one-point lead, after the Hawks carried a double-digit lead in the first half, which had the crowd at Hagan Arena roaring on Wednesday night.
Then guard Darryl Simmons II launched a three-pointer, hoping to give the Bonnies (11-6,0-4) a four-point lead with 36 seconds remaining, but the ball clanked off the rim. Hawks guard Dasear Haskins grabbed the rebound.
He threw the ball to guard Jaiden Glover-Toscano, who finished with a game-high 23 points. Glover-Toscano made a layup and free-throw to reclaim a two-point lead.
Hawks coach Steve Donahue reacts with the crowd after his team’s 68-64 win against St. Bonaventure on Wednesday.
However, there was still time, and Simmons wanted redemption. He had an open three-pointer, but Glover-Toscano swatted the ball away to seal the Hawks’ 68-64 victory to extend their winning streak to three games after starting off conference play 0-2.
“I was really just trying to win,” Glover-Toscano said. “I was hungry. The whole team was hungry.”
The Hawks (11-7, 3-2 Atlantic-10) will visit Virginia Commonwealth University (12-6, 3-2) on Monday (3:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
Push the pace
A dunk by Haskins to open the game showed St. Bonaventure how the first half was going to go.
The Hawks’ offense, which made 14 of 27 attempts (51.85%) in the first half, had the Bonnies on their toes. St. Joe’s had nine fast break points in the first off of forced turnovers.
St. Joe’s guard Derek Simpson finished with 11 points and five rebounds against St. Bonaveture.
The Hawks also had eight players contribute in scoring.
However, the Hawks’ speed led to sloppiness. They gave the ball up nine times, allowing the Bonnies to catch up after establishing an 11-point lead, it’s largest of the game. St. Joe’s entered the half up, 35-28. .
Entering Wednesday, St. Joe’s ranked last in the Atlantic-10 in three-point percentage (27.7%). Against St. Bonaventure, it showed in the first 30 minutes, where the Hawks made 4 of 11 three-pointers.
St. Joe’s went cold in the second half, while the Bonnies began to heat up.
First it was forward Frank Mitchell, who finished with a team-high 22 points. He got St. Bonaventure within five points before the end of the first half.
St. Bonaventure guard Cayden Charles (24) reacts after making a three-point basket on Wednesday.
The Hawks contained Mitchell in the second, but Simmons and guard Cayden Charles stepped to add 14 and 17 points, respectively.
The Bonnies bounced back from shooting 11 of 33 in the first to going 14-for-34 in the second, as the Hawks went 9-for-28 in the final frame.
“I just didn’t think we were gritty enough in the first half, even though we were ahead,” said coach Steve Donahue. “I thought we weren’t making shots in the second half, but we were grittier. We got loose balls, and we made it really hard for them to score.”
Battling back
Despite being down four points with about three minutes remaining, St. Joe’s battled back.
After Simmons made a miracle floater to push the Bonnies’ lead to four, Haskins knocked down a three-pointer to cut it to one.
But, it was Glover-Toscano who took over.
Before he got his go ahead and-one layup, he knocked down back-to-back shots that tied the game at 64.
Jaiden Glover-Toscano helped propel St. Joe’s to a victory over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday.
Derek Simpson also connected on crucial free throws, while Haskins, who finished with a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds), grabbed key defensive rebounds.
“They showed great resilience,” Donahue said. “I thought six weeks ago, this group would have hung their heads and we’re not going to be able to do it, type of attitude. I don’t have to say it now, they know what it’s about.”
U.S. Reps. Chrissy Houlahan of Chester County and Chris Deluzio of Allegheny County are among the Democrats who say they are being investigated by President Donald Trump’s administration for appearing in a video that calls on service members not to follow “illegal orders.”
Deluzio, a Navy veteran, said in a Thursday interview that the investigation is “part of a harassment or intimidation campaign against me and my colleagues.”
“The fact that you’ve got members of Congress, all who’ve served the country, being targeted in this way because we stated the law shouldn’t just worry but terrify the American people, and I’m not going to be intimidated or back down in the face of that,” he told The Inquirer.
“The six of us are being targeted not because we said something untrue, but because we said something President Trump and Secretary [of Defense Pete] Hegseth didn’t want anyone to hear,” Houlahan, a former Air Force officer, said in a statement Wednesday.
“This investigation is ridiculous on any day but especially so on a day the President is considering launching airstrikes against Iran in retaliation for their crackdown on free speech,” Houlahan said.
The four representatives and two senators, all of whom served in the military or intelligence agencies, said in the video that the Trump administration is “pitting uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens.”
In response, Trump posted on social media two days later that the lawmakers were engaging in “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” along with a string of hostile messages toward the lawmakers.
U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D., Mich.), a former CIA analyst who appeared in the video, said Wednesday that representatives for U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in Washington, had contacted her last week requesting an interview.
Houlahan told reporters that prosecutors want to “sit down” with all the lawmakers who were involved in the video.
U.S. Reps. Jason Crow (D., Colo.), a former paratrooper and Army Ranger, and Maggie Goodlander (D., N.H.), a former intelligence officer, also appeared in the video, as did U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D., Ariz.), a former Navy captain.
Kelly filed a lawsuit Monday against the Pentagon and Hegseth over the defense secretary’s attempts to punish Kelly in particular for his participation in the November video.
Kelly claims the Trump administration is violating his constitutional rights to free speech after Hegseth censured the Arizona senator. Hegseth said the Jan. 5 censure was “a necessary process step” to proceedings that could result in a demotion from Kelly’s retired rank of captain and subsequent reduction in retirement pay.
“The First Amendment forbids the government and its officials from punishing disfavored expression or retaliating against protected speech,” Kelly’s lawsuit says. “That prohibition applies with particular force to legislators speaking on matters of public policy.”
Deluzio said that Trump and Hegseth’s pursuit of Kelly is about more than just the senator.
“They are trying to intimidate retired service members to signal to them that if you speak up and say something that the Trump administration or Pete Hegseth doesn’t like, that they’re going to target your retirement and your pension that you’ve earned after 20 years of service,” he said.
A 2016 video circulated last month of Hegseth citing the same military law the legislators refer to in their video: Don’t follow unlawful orders. As a member of Trump’s administration, Hegseth has pointed to other aspects of military law that emphasize following orders and that say orders should be presumed lawful.
When asked whether he also would sue the Trump administration over how officials have handled the lawmakers’ video, Deluzio said he was “not going to detail my legal strategy in all of this.”
“But I will just be crystal clear that I am not intimidated by what they’re trying to do,” he added.
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
A week after authorities arrested Jonathan Christian Gerlach on charges of stealing human remains from Mount Moriah Cemetery, the consequences of the case continue to unfold — from a small police department fielding frantic pleas from families to a coroner’s office now responsible for safeguarding more than 100 unidentified bones and body parts.
Since the arrest, the Yeadon Police Department has been inundated with calls and emails from relatives fearful that the graves of their loved ones were disturbed, Police Chief Henry Giammarco said. The remains recovered during the investigation — including skulls, bones, and other human fragments — were seized from Gerlach’s basement and from a separate storage unit, both in Ephrata, and are now in the custody of the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office.
Gerlach is accused of systematically removing skulls and bones from graves at Mount Moriah, a sprawling historic cemetery that spans Philadelphia and Yeadon Borough. The case has drawn national attention, prompting widespread media coverage and intensifying concern among families with relatives buried at the cemetery.
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As of Wednesday afternoon, Giammarco said, his department had received more than 200 calls and emails from people across Pennsylvania and from as far away as Montreal and Hawaii, many asking whether authorities could confirm whether specific graves had been disturbed or whether their loved ones’ remains were among those recovered.
Inside the coroner’s office, the remains have been cataloged and placed in secure storage, Coroner Stephen Diamantoni said. They will remain there until Gerlach’s criminal case is resolved.
Diamantoni said his office does not plan to attempt to identify the remains — a task he described as virtually impossible given their age, their condition, and the circumstances in which they were recovered.
When the bones were seized from Gerlach’s home and storage unit, Diamantoni said, they were not labeled or organized in any way that would indicate where they came from or whom they belonged to. In many cases, he said, remains from different individuals were mixed together, a condition known as commingling, “on a scale that I’ve never encountered.”
Compounding the challenge, some of the remains are believed to be hundreds of years old, Diamantoni said, and are in advanced states of decay. Even under ideal conditions, identifying such remains would be difficult. In this case, he said, it would be “a herculean task” to attempt to match the bones to specific burial sites — let alone to determine whose remains they were.
Even if that were somehow possible, Diamantoni said, identifying a living family member would present another nearly insurmountable hurdle, given the age of the remains.
Back in Yeadon, Giammarco said he has tried to provide as much clarity as possible to families reaching out in distress. While the investigation is ongoing, he said, authorities have identified thefts only from mausoleums and underground vaults — structures that are larger and deeper than standard graves and are constructed differently. He spent much of the weekend returning calls and responding to emails, he said, hoping to ease fears.
“If it would have been my family,” Giammarco said, “I would have wanted someone to contact me.”
Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse, whose office is prosecuting Gerlach, said Wednesday the investigation into the crimes was ongoing.
Some fans would put Tim Weah on the list, or Chris Richards thanks to his recent rise in the English Premier League. They have good cases, as does Folarin Balogun with his talent at striker.
Does Antonee Robinson also merit a claim? That might become a barroom debate as the World Cup nears, over those early-morning Premier League games on the big screen.
It might not help that he’s a left back, a position that’s often easy to overlook — even though the U.S. didn’t have a really good one for years before he arrived in 2018. (His senior U.S. debut happened to arrive at Subaru Park.) Nor does it help that he has been injured in recent months.
But no American currently in the Premier League, the top domestic league in the world, has played more games there than Robinson’s 145 since 2020. That ranks No. 8 all-time among U.S. men’s national team players in English top-flight history, and four of the men above him are goalkeepers.
Antonee Robinson (right) on the ball for Fulham against Manchester City last season.
Robinson is widely regarded as a leader in the U.S. locker room, but those injuries have kept him from conveying it for over a year. He hasn’t played for Mauricio Pochettino’s squad since November 2024 because of knee issues. The closest he came was last October, when he made the squad but was ruled out of games.
Now, though, he’s finally healthy. He returned to action last month and started six straight games. If he stays healthy until the summer, every World Cup roster projection will have him in ink.
Robinson said he isn’t thinking about that yet. But he is thinking about the March FIFA window when the U.S. will play its last games before the World Cup is set, high-profile friendlies against Portugal and Belgium in Atlanta.
“The goal is obviously going to be that at the end of the season,” he told The Inquirer. “I’ll have my eye on March for now, trying to make sure I’m fit for that and get back in the team. Because realistically, I’ve not played for the States in over a year now, so my position’s kind of gone. I need to earn it — I need to get back, called up in the squad, healthy, and playing the game again.”
Antonee Robinson at work during last October’s U.S. national team camp, when he made the squad but wasn’t fit to play in games.
An easy fit in Pochettino’s playbook
Robinson should look very good in the 3-4-2-1 formation that Pochettino has used lately. The 28-year-old has played the setup’s left wingback role for clubs over the years, and knows its combination of defensive hustle and charging forward to help the attack.
“You never know what each game’s going to demand, but I think it definitely suits me,” he said. “The team’s been playing it really well, so I’m looking forward to hopefully getting back in the team, playing it, and just getting to grips with getting that chemistry back with the boys.”
Watching film of the November U.S. wins over Paraguay and Uruguay, Robinson said “it looked really fluid — it looked like they’d all got to grips with how ‘Poch’ wants us all to play.”
Robinson generally plays a more traditional left back role in a back four at Fulham, but he has similar liberty to get forward. This reporter attended the Jan. 1 game at Crystal Palace, a London derby to ring in the new year, and focused on Robinson’s work on and off the ball.
It was a good game to pick, played at one of England’s many great old stadiums. Selhurst Park’s main stand was built 101 years ago, with the press box perched in the back. No one minds that the view is occasionally blocked by cast-iron columns that hold up the roof.
The 101-year-old main stand at Selhurst Park, with columns supporting the roof near the front and the press box at the back.
Down on the field, Robinson had three tackles and two clearances, won four of his six duels, and completed 50 of 61 passes. Five of those passes went into the attacking third, and he created three scoring chances for teammates — including a terrific cross that Mexican national team striker Raúl Jiménez headed off the post.
Off the ball, it was a lesson to watch Robinson’s positioning. An outside back is always waiting for the split-second moment when everything could change. Unfortunately, that happened in the wrong way on Palace’s goal, as Nathaniel Clyne cut past Robinson before teeing up Jean-Philippe Mateta’s finish.
But Robinson made up for the lapse with a big role in Fulham’s 81st-minute equalizer. He gave a key pass before a teammate’s assist, then continued his run to pull apart Palace’s defense.
Fate denied him the chance to play against another U.S. stalwart, Palace centerback Chris Richards, who was deservedly just named U.S. Soccer’s Male Player of the Year for 2025. Richards suffered a foot injury in late December and missed four games. (His first game back made the wrong kind of headlines: the Eagles were stunned by sixth-tier Macclesfield in the FA Cup.)
While Antonee Robinson plays in west London for Fulham, Chris Richards (left) plays in south London for Crystal Palace – though he’s out injured right now.
Asked if it would have been better or worse to play against Richards, Robinson answered with a hearty laugh.
“It would have been worse,” he said. “I don’t want them at their strongest, and he’s a big part of that. Disappointed that I didn’t get to see him, but for us, their team not being as strong as they could have been is a benefit.”
Robinson has continued playing well since, helping Fulham to a seven-game unbeaten run through this past weekend. But at that point, he didn’t think he was all the way back yet.
“I’m just trying to get up to speed, really,” he said. “I haven’t had a lot of training sessions since I’ve been back at the team, and it’s been a lot of games over this period.”
Asked how far off his best he thinks he is, he said “it’s hard to tell, really — I feel good physically, which helps.”
The mental side was the next step.
“It’s just all the little details in games that have come from playing a lot of games … obviously I haven’t had a long spell out of the [club] team for years now,” Robinson said. “I’m sure it’ll come back soon enough, but happy enough that I’ve been in the team … I feel like I’m contributing, so that’s the main thing.”
He referred to absences from Fulham specifically, scattered games for the club from last April through September. The nine games missed from mid-October to mid-December were indeed his longest time out with the club, but that doesn’t measure his summer shutdown that cost him the Concacaf Gold Cup.
“He’s a crucial player for us right now, like he was last season, two seasons ago, three seasons ago,” Fulham manager Marco Silva said. “He’s getting better and better. Of course, it was a long absence from a player like him that …was always ready, week in, week out, going to the national team, coming back, always ready to play.”
Fulham manager Marco Silva (center) gives instructions to centerback Issa Diop during a game earlier this month.
Robinson said he’s been “keeping in touch” with U.S. Soccer’s medical team, and the men’s program’s top assistant coach Jésus Pérez.
“Just to kind of check on how I’m feeling,” Robinson said. “I think it was a surprise to them as much as me how quickly it kind of turned around, from not being involved to playing 90 minutes back-to-back-to-back [upon his return]. So they’re just checking in making sure I’m OK, and making sure that I feel good in how I’m doing, how I’m playing.”
There’s a long way to go until March. Fulham has 11 Premier League games before then, including visits to Manchester City, Manchester United, and Brenden Aaronson’s Leeds United on Jan. 17. The club could also play two more FA Cup rounds after Saturday’s win over Middlesbrough, where Robinson came off the bench to face U.S. midfield candidate Aidan Morris.
But it’s no surprise that Robinson is thinking ahead. The World Cup is the sport’s pinnacle, and playing one on home turf is an honor like no other.
“For [the] boys, myself included, lads who have been in and out of the team, it’s the last sort of audition to put yourself forward to be in that World Cup squad — which is going to be a huge honor for whoever gets called up,” he said. “It’s a big goal for everyone who’s in the pool. … I’m just, for everyone’s sake, myself included, hoping that everyone stays in form, stays healthy and gives themselves the best chance to link up with the team and make sure we have the strongest squad possible.”
John Harbaugh and the New York Giants are working on an agreement to make him the team’s head coach, two people with knowledge of the decision said early Thursday morning.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been finalized. Negotiations are ongoing, but Harbaugh is expected to end up in New York.
Harbaugh has plenty of options if the sides can’t reach an agreement but the goal is to “reach the finish line.”
Harbaugh interviewed in person with the Giants on Wednesday, spending hours at the team facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Super Bowl-winning former coach of the Baltimore Ravens was believed to be New York’s top candidate in the search for Brian Daboll’s full-time successor.
Fired by the Baltimore Ravens after missing the playoffs on a missed field goal attempt at the buzzer in the season finale, Harbaugh is on track to pick the Giants over other possible landing spots, including Tennessee and Atlanta.
The Ravens made the playoffs 12 times during 18 seasons with Harbaugh in charge and won the Super Bowl in the 2012 season, a year after the Giants’ most recent championship.
General manager Joe Schoen, who’s back for a fifth season running the football operations department, said he would cast a wide net in the coaching search. Interviewing Raheem Morris and Antonio Pierce satisfied the NFL’s Rooney Rule requirements for minority or female candidates, and Harbaugh’s visit to northern New Jersey paved the way to make a hire before any of the more than half-dozen teams with a vacancy.
There are plenty of value-priced wines to choose from these days. Indeed, there are so many that it can be a challenge to select a bottle with any confidence, since wine quality can range quite dramatically within each price tier. It’s tempting to simply spend more to increase your odds of drinking a well-drafted wine, but if you are willing to do a little homework, there is a reliable way to identify wines that are likely to overperform.
The lowest-priced wines from respected, top-notch winemakers will almost always be superior to similarly priced wines from less ambitious competitors. This entry-level Willamette Valley pinot noir from Ken Wright is a perfect example, offering a wine that is more nuanced, more complex, and has far more integrity than most pinot noirs available at this price.
Ken Wright was among the earliest Oregon winemakers to earn recognition for the quality of his wines. A stint working in high-end restaurants inspired him to study winemaking in California in the 1970s. There he made lifelong friends, some of whom made the trek north to Oregon in search of terrain and climate that could produce better pinot noir than what was then possible in California. Inspired by their experiences, Wright brought his family to the Willamette Valley in 1986 and quickly became one of the region’s rising stars. Ken Wright Cellars was founded eight years later and to this day is revered for the richness, grace, and fine-tuned balance of its single-vineyard pinot noirs.
This wine is their most modestly priced cuvée, a blend that includes barrels that don’t make the cut for the winery’s top bottlings. Wright’s wines are known for their plush generosity of fruit and lithe, food-friendly balance. This dry, midweight red offers bright blueberry and cherry flavors that feature a faint whiff of cinnamon and cocoa rarely found in wines that see no aging in new oak barrels.
Ken Wright Pinot Noir
Ken Wright pinot noir
Willamette Valley, Oregon; 13.8% ABV
PLCB Item #100032864 ― on sale for $22.99 through Feb. 1 (regularly $24.99)
Howie Roseman says Eagles will make ‘sacrifices’ this offseason
Howie Roseman and Nick Sirianni will have to balance the team’s roster needs with financial pragmatism.
The Eagles are at an interesting point in the state of their roster. They have an aging and expensive offense that is underperforming relative to its cost, and a young and inexpensive defense. That will change soon. Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis are in line for extensions. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are right behind them. The Eagles need to improve at edge rusher and have other holes to fill.
“As you get better you have a natural arc of the team, and I think that, when you look at our team, we drafted a lot of offensive players, we re-signed a lot of offensive players,” Howie Roseman said when asked if the team had the resources to keep the players it wants to. “We drafted a lot of defensive guys that were young and on rookie contracts. There’s natural transition in what we do … in terms of where you’re paying your guys, which side of the ball you’re paying your guys who are coming up.
“The important thing for us is, there are players we can’t lose — obviously we’re going to do what’s best for us … but within reason — and that we want to keep around here because they’re really good players, homegrown players that are really good people, that are part of our core. With that, you’re going to have to make sacrifices. That’s on me to make sure the sacrifices we make are filled in with really good players again.”
“If it doesn’t end with confetti falling on our head, I don’t feel like it’s good enough,” Roseman said. “I know we’re not going to win the Super Bowl every year. I think I know that from a broad perspective, but I believe we can. I go into every offseason thinking we’re going to do whatever it takes to win a Super Bowl and when we fall short I look at myself. I look at the things that I could have done different and I look to improve.”
It was not Roseman’s best offseason coming off of last year’s Super Bowl. The Eagles did not get great production from their 2025 draft class, though they also had a roster without many openings. It’s worth noting that their first two picks in 2024 were All-Pro selections this season, and the jury is still out on their first two picks from the most recent drafts. They did not, however, make adequate upgrades on the edge and twice had to lure players off their couches to join the team before being forced to use a draft pick to acquire Jaelan Phillips. They don’t have obvious answers for what’s next for an aging and declining offensive line.
They need to get younger and cheaper at some positions, but they also have the talent to try to push for another championship. Finding the next offensive coordinator is a big part of that, but roster construction is critical. Roseman’s offseason task is to balance it all.
“You can do whatever it takes to win now and still build for the future and still have those parallel paths,” he said. “I just don’t want it to get confused that we can’t do whatever it takes to build a championship-caliber team next year and also continue to have really good players on this team for the future.”
Murphy: Roseman’s forceful vote of confidence in Sirianni speaks volumes
Eagles GM Howie Roseman shared his support for head coach Nick Sirianni Thursday.
There isn’t a whole lot of literal truth you can glean in most press conference settings. That’s especially true in the NFL, where the shield on the logo carries more than a little metaphorical weight. They are messaging platforms, not intelligence briefings. It can be frustrating. It can also be instructive, in certain moments.
Take Howie Roseman, for instance. On Thursday afternoon, the Eagles general manager was sitting next to Nick Sirianni listening to the head coach wind down an answer to a question about the team’s search for a new offensive coordinators. As soon as Sirianni was finished speaking, several reporters began talking over each other to ask the next question. But Roseman had something he wanted to add, and so he jumped in.
“I’ve got a lot of things I could say about coach and the job that he’s done here,” the general manager said. “I’m incredibly proud of him. He’s shown that when we bring people in he’s open to doing whatever’s best for this football team. That’s all he cares about is winning. When he’s brought in people he’s given them the flexibility to put their own spin on things. Obviously I sit here and I feel incredibly grateful that I’m working with someone who as a head coach is elite at being a head coach, elite at building a connection with our team, elite about talking about fundamentals, game management, situational awareness, bringing the team together, holding people accountable, and when you’re looking for a head coach those are really the job descriptions.”
The strongest votes of confidence are usually the unsolicited ones. It would be hard to interpret Roseman’s statement as anything else. Two years ago, the Eagles did Sirianni a disservice with the way they handled the fallout from their late-season collapse and one-and-done showing in the 2023 playoffs. From their decision to wait nine days to announce that Sirianni would return amidst rampant speculation that his job was in jeopardy, to their external hunt for an offensive coordinator, the Eagles left the impression that the coach was being Office Spaced out of power. Not only was it an indignity, it led to an offseason full of distractions that easily could have metastasized during the Eagles’ 2-2 start to the 2024 season.
This time around, Roseman made it a point to eliminate any doubt. As he should have.
One-time Eagles defensive coordinator might end up back in the NFC East.
Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon was scheduled to interview with the Washington Commanders Thursday for their defensive coordinator position, according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.
Gannon, fired after three subpar seasons with the Cardinals, is also expected to interview with the Tennessee Titans for their head coaching job Sunday, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
The Commanders are looking for new offensive and defensive coordinators after moving on from Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt Jr. following a disappointing 5-12 season one year removed from appearing in the NFC Championship game.
Lane Johnson is under contract with the Eagles through 2027.
All-pro offensive lineman Lane Johnson missed the final eight games of the season, including the wild-card game, after suffering a Lisfranc injury in Week 11 against the Detroit Lions.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said prior to the injury, the 35-year-old was playing “at an elite level,” but couldn’t say whether Johnson would be back with the Birds next season.
“I think all those conversations that we have with our players are between us,” Roseman told reporters. “Obviously, you’re talking about a Hall of Fame player who has been a huge, huge part of any of our success we’ve had. And when you watch him play, he’s still playing at an elite level.”
Eagles GM Howie Roseman called A.J. Brown “a great player.”
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman stopped short of saying the team wouldn’t trade A.J. Brown, but suggested there was still a place on the roster for the star wide receiver.
“It is hard to find great players in the NFL, and A.J. is a great player,” Roseman said. “I think from my perspective, that’s what we’re going out and looking for, when we go out here in free agency and in the draft, is trying to find great players who love football, and he’s that guy. So that would be my answer.”
Sirianni on what he’s looking for in a new offensive coordinator
In terms of the potential offensive coordinator candidate, Nick Sirianni said he’s looking for someone who will help Jalen Hurts and the offense evolve going into next season.
“I think there are many different ways to be successful on offense, and everybody has different styles, has different players, and there’s many different ways to be successful,” Sirianni said. “It’s about going out and finding the guy that best fits us. I’m looking forward to that interview process and being able to go through some really good candidates.”
As for who will call plays, Sirianni said it’s way too early for those decisions to be made.
“This year, I got involved more in the offense as the end of the season came, because that’s what I needed to do as the head football coach,” Sirianni said. “So we’ll see where all that goes as far as that goes. … But we’re not there yet.”
Sirianni on not moving on from Kevin Patullo sooner
Nick Sirianni speaks to reporters Thursday.
Speaking to reporters at an end-of-year news conference Thursday, Nick Sirianni explained why he didn’t move on from offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo during the season as the offense struggled.
“We did some different things as we continued to go through, like I told you guys I did more, got involved more,” Sirianni said. “At the end of the day, I thought I did what was best for the football team.”
“We didn’t reach our goals, so obviously it didn’t work out,” Sirianni added. “I think it’s important to continue to evolve as an offense and that we go out and do what’s best for this football team.”
Sirianni said he appreciated Patullo and everything he brought to the staff during his five years with the team. But said it was time to move Patullo out of the offensive coordinator role.
“At this particular point I just felt like that’s what I needed to do to be the best thing for the football team.”
Nick Sirianni on why he didn’t make a move earlier in the season, and what led to Kevin Patullo’s eventual dismissal: pic.twitter.com/l07WwMnPzO
Watch: Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman speak to reporters
// Timestamp 01/15/26 12:35pm
Eagles reportedly interested in Ole Miss offensive coordinator
Former Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.
While the Eagles are reportedly seeking an experienced NFL play caller to replace Kevin Patullo, at least one college coach’s name has been linked to the team’s coaching search.
As of now, Weis is following Lane Kiffin to LSU after spending four seasons with him at Ole Miss. Weis was Jaxson Dart’s coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ole Miss and is the son of former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis.
Eagles have a decision to make on their free agent punter
Braden Mann averaged a career-high 49.9 yards per punt in 2025.
A punter is like someone’s breath — you likely only notice it if it stinks.
The Eagles have taken whiffs of poor punters in the past. Just a few years ago, one of the team’s biggest concerns entering the offseason was Arryn Siposs, who struggled in Super Bowl LVII with his botched punt in the fourth quarter that contributed to the Eagles’ loss.
The Eagles don’t have to have that concern anymore. Siposs’ successor, Braden Mann, is fresh off his third season with the Eagles, from which he emerged as the most consistent of the team’s specialists. Mann registered a franchise-best 49.9 yards per punt in 2025 and has averaged 49.5 yards in his Eagles career, the best mark in team history.
Will he have a chance to continue that dominance? Mann, 28, is one of the team’s 19 pending unrestricted free agents. On Monday, even with the season’s demise still fresh, he wasn’t hiding his hopes for the future.
“I’ve loved my time in Philly, and hopefully that continues,” Mann said. “It’s just been a blast for me, personally, just kind of working my craft and seeing what happens. Excited to see any opportunities here or anything that comes.”
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown hasn’t spoken with reporters in over a month.
Former Eagles center and current ESPN analyst Jason Kelce thinks A.J. Brown needs time to clear his head.
“Aaron Rodgers goes on the darkness retreat? Kelce said on 94.1 WIP Thursday morning. “A.J. needs to step away.”
Like everyone else, Kelce saw the incident on the sideline during the Birds’ wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers, where Brown got into a heated argument with Nick Sirianni.
“The frustration was palpable watching it,” Kelce said. “I don’t think it is completely unwarranted… Some guys just let these things affect them more.”
“Receiver is a very frustrating position, because ultimately there are so many things that need to go right for you to have success on the football field,” Kelce added.
Jason Kelce thinks A.J. Brown needs to step away:
"I think he needs to get away from things. I think that whole team needs to kind of step away for a second and re-evaluate…and get ready to attack it when they all get back together." pic.twitter.com/kUluSMhnyU
Jonathan Gannon lasted just three seasons with the Cardinals.
A familiar name to Eagles fans might not be finished as a head coach yet.
Former Arizona Cardinals head coach and ex-Birds defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will reportedly interview with the Tennessee Titans Sunday, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Gannon went just 15-36 (.294) in three seasons with the Cardinals, and his team was completely uncompetitive in the NFC West (0-6). In fact, the Cardinals lost more games last season (14) than the rest of the NFC West combined (13).
He isn’t the Titans’ only candidate. Tennessee will also reportedly interview former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
Potential Eagles offensive coordinator target heading to the Giants
Former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken is expected to join John Harbaugh in New York with the Giants, per source. This has always been the plan.
Giants set to hire John Harbaugh as new head coach: reports
The #Giants will spend the morning finalizing a 5-year deal with former #Ravens coach John Harbaugh, making him one of the NFL’s highest-paid coaches. But Harbaugh has accepted the job, as the first opening is filled. pic.twitter.com/AG8s3tpPyz
Eagles reportedly have had some initial talks with coaching candidates
Former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is reportedly among the candidates the Eagles are considering for offensive coordinator.
It remains quiet in Philly on the offensive coordinator front nearly two days after the Eagles parted ways with Kevin Patullo
The Birds have yet to announce any interviews with potential candidates, though the team began reaching out to coaches Wednesday, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
Two candidates are reportedly at the top of the team’s list – former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel (columnist David Murphy’s favorite) and former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who spent time with Jalen Hurts at Alabama.
Former ESPN and CBS Sports NFL insider Josina Anderson reported Wednesday night initial talks with some candidates “have gone well,” with some looking to make sure they’ll have “complete autonomy” over the Birds’ offense.
All accounts point to the Eagles adding an established play caller. In addition to McDaniel and Daboll, other names mentioned in multiple reports are former Cleveland Browns head coach (and Philly native) Kevin Stefanski and Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, whom the team previously vetted, according to Jeff McLane.
What about QB whisperers Josh McCown or Cam Turner?
Josh McCown has served as the Vikings quarterbacks coach for the last two seasons and was a big part of Sam Darnold’s resurgence in 2024.
The Eagles don’t just need an offensive coordinator. They need a quarterback whisperer.
They need Josh McCown. Or maybe Cam Turner.
Kevin Patullo wasn’t ready for the OC job in Philly, but then, Bill Walsh and Sid Gillman wouldn’t have won a Super Bowl the way Jalen Hurts played in 2025.
Hurts’ development has stalled. He might even be broken. He’s largely the same quarterback at the end of the 2025 season as he was at the end of 2022. Defenses know that, and they exploit it. As the offensive line deteriorated, and as Saquon Barkley and A.J. Brown started to show their age, more was asked of Hurts, who delivered ever less.
No, the Eagles don’t just need a play-caller.
They need an offensive coordinator who can invigorate a veteran quarterback whose career is idling. Both McCown, a former Eagles backup quarterback, and Turner, who has the bluest of NFL bloodlines, have done just that.
— KYW Newsradio – NOW ON 103.9 FM! (@KYWNewsradio) January 14, 2026
Jason Kelce clarifies Kevin Patullo comments
Former offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo (left) chats with Jason Kelce in December before the Eagles-Rams game.
Former Eagles center Jason Kelce played under Kevin Patullo after he became the team’s passing game coordinator in 2021. A year after Kelce’s retirement in 2024, Patullo was promoted to offensive coordinator for this season.
“The expectations [for the offense] should be much higher than what they put out this season,” Kelce said on the latest episode of New Heights. “I know I made some comments on Monday Night Football, and I do love Kevin Patullo. I’m not trying to absolve him of blame. … The offense wasn’t up to the task this year. It regressed. The main reason it regressed was the run game, and the offensive line’s inability to stay healthy, and to open up holes.”
While removing Patullo as coordinator was one of the franchise’s first moves after Sunday’s 23-19 playoff loss to the 49ers, Kelce suggested that players should also take accountability for the disappointing finale.
“It’s one of the highest-paid offenses in the NFL, and they were mediocre across the board,” Kelce said, echoing some of his comments from Monday. “The bottom line is this offense didn’t live up to what it should have. Patullo, as the offensive coordinator, bears responsibility, and so do the players. …
“I don’t think it’s ever fair to just throw it on one guy. Jalen [Hurts] said it after the game: Right now isn’t the time to put it on any one person.”
“It would probably behoove the Eagles to bring in somebody with a fresh perspective on where it’s at currently,” Kelce said. “When you’re in it, you’re thinking about how you’ve had success in the past. When you bring in somebody else, we can bring in some fresh ideas and find ways to maximize things.
“I don’t think it needs to be anything that drastic. We probably want somebody who’s been proven offensively as a successful coach, and he could come in and look at things under a new lens with a lot of similar pieces.”
The two seasons the Eagles went to the Super Bowl under Nick Sirianni, they had offensive coordinators with experience at the position: Shane Steichen and Kellen Moore, both of whom were hired as head coaches the following year.
