Two members of the Flyers’ prospect ranks are swapping orange and black for red and white.
Hockey Canada announced on Monday that forwards Porter Martone and Jett Luchanko will pack their bags for Minnesota to play in the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.
The Flyers’ top pick in last June’s draft, when he was taken sixth overall, Martone brings “size, strength, power, shot, playmaking, puck skill” in a 6-foot-3, 210-pound body.
A freshman at Michigan State University, the right winger leads the Spartans in goals (11), points (20), power-play goals (three), game-winning goals (three), and penalty minutes (58) in 16 games.
Luchanko, who played for Canada at last year’s tournament, has two goals and five points in five games after being traded to Brantford of the Ontario Hockey League. He was acquired from Guelph, where he had 17 points (two goals, 15 assists) in 11 games, on Nov. 24.
After breaking camp for the second straight season with the Flyers, Luchanko skated in four NHL games and did not register a point before being sent back to Guelph on Oct. 27.
Also named to the roster is projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft, Gavin McKenna, and defensemen Jackson Smith, a Columbus Blue Jackets pick in 2025, who suits up for Penn State.
“They wanted it more.” — Saquon Barkley, after the Eagles blew a lead and lost at Dallas.
“Honestly, I think it’s been awful.” — Saquon Barkley, assessing the Eagles’ game-day juice, after the Eagles lost the following game on Black Friday to the Bears.
What will Saquon say if the Eagles lose a third straight game when the visit the Chargers on Monday Night Football?
Whatever it is, believe it. It’s the truth. His truth.
What we’ve learned in Barkley’s 32 games as an Eagle is he speaks his truth. It is a refreshing and unvarnished truth, and not everyone always agrees with that truth.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni “saw the effort sky-high” all game long in Dallas and has emphasized that the effort level remains high.
Lots of folks criticized Barkley in April when he not only attended the Eagles’ White House reception (several teammates, including quarterback Jalen Hurts, conveniently discovered scheduling conflicts), he also golfed and lunched with President Trump the day before, even as Trump advanced his scurrilously racist agenda.
lol some people are really upset cause I played golfed and flew to the White House with the PRESIDENT. Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand. Just golfed with Obama not too long ago…and look forward to finishing my round with Trump ! Now ya get out my…
Barkley is 28. One day he might regret his words or actions. One day he might speak and act with greater discretion.
For now, even while living as a celebrity in a world of unprecedented scrutiny, he’s saying what he feels and doing what he wants.
For that, he should be commended.
Go, kneecap-biters
In 2021, Sirianni’s disastrous introductory press conference was largely overshadowed by comparisons to Dan Campbell’s outrageous presser, in which he promised his Lions would bite off kneecaps.
Since their memorable arrivals, Campbell has been nearly as successful as Sirianni. Many Eagles players and coaches expected to face the Lions in the NFC Championship game, and they were quietly pleased as the Lions stumbled through the season.
Now, they’re rooting for the Lions.
The Bears’ loss to the Packers on Sunday helped the Eagles’ chances to secure the No. 1 seed and a bye in the NFC. The Packers are 9-3-1 and atop the NFC North. The Bears are 9-4, and the Eagles can move to 9-4 with a win Monday night, through the Bears hold that tiebreaker.
However, after they play the Browns next week, the Bears face the Packers again, then the 49ers, and finally, Campbell and the Lions to end the season. The Lions blew out the Bears in Week 2.
The Rams’ win at Arizona put them at 10-3 and they remain atop the conference with the best chance at the bye, but they face the Lions and the Seahawks, who they barely beat at home, as well as the Falcons and Cardinals.
The Packers face the Broncos, Bears, Ravens, and Vikings.
The Eagles will face the Raiders, Commanders, Bills, then the Commanders again. The only game they won’t be favored in will be at Buffalo. If they finish 4-1, a 12-5 record could secure the top seed. Don’t scoff: The Chargers, Raiders, and Commanders all have injured starting quarterbacks.
What’s the Eagles’ most likely path to the No. 1 seed?
First, they would need the Rams to lose the next two weeks. One of those losses would be to the Lions. That would leave the Rams at 12-5, but the Birds have the tiebreaker since they beat the Rams.
Second, they would likely need the Bears to beat the Packers, then lose to the 49ers … and Lions. That would leave the Bears at 11-6.
Third, they would need the Packers to lose to the Broncos and, probably, the Ravens. That would leave the Packers at 11-5-1.
Where would all of that Lions winning leave the Lions? At 12-5, that’s where. The Eagles beat the Lions on Nov. 17, and so hold that tiebreaker.
So, go, knee-biters.
The curse of replay
Replay stinks.
My stance: Review every play or review nothing, and do so with replay officials located in the booth rather than forcing coaches to challenge.
My point: Too often, reviewing plays to the letter of the law robs us of plays that follow the spirit of the game. Just ask the Ravens.
Leading, 27-22, midway through the fourth quarter Sunday, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers appeared to catch his own batted pass — but he also appeared to lose possession as he fell to the ground and to have the ball snatched from him. The initial call awarded the Ravens an interception at the Steelers’ 31-yard line with 6:26 to play. However, upon mandatory turnover review, Rodgers was ruled down by contact, even though his possession seemed far too flimsy to reverse the call. The Steelers kept the ball and punted.
Certainly, the Rodgers ruling was much more convincing than another play that was reversed upon review four minutes later.
Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely caught a go-ahead touchdown pass, took one step, took another as he extended the ball away from defender Joey Porter Jr., but before he landed a third step, Porter knocked the ball from his hands. The initial ruling of a touchdown was overturned, and, two plays later, the Ravens turned the ball over on downs.
Likely didn’t tuck the ball away, and he didn’t get a third step down, so it was ruled incomplete. The call might have been right, but the rule is dumb, and its enforcement Sunday was ridiculous.
These plays happened minutes apart in the same game that, for the moment, gave the 7-6 Steelers the AFC North lead and bumped the 6-7 Ravens out of the playoff picture.
Replay slows the game. It also it affords officials the chance to interpret plays in a counterintuitive manner. Officials are terrified to not apply the letter of the law, even when the spirit of the law aligns better with common sense.
Zach Ertz, humanitarian, might be done
Zach Ertz, one of the Eagles’ heroes in Super Bowl LII, ended a possible Hall of Fame career when he suffered a torn ACL on Sunday. Ertz planned to retire after this, his 13th season. Ertz only went to three Pro Bowls, from 2017-19, but he ranks in the top 10 in receptions (5th), yards (8th) and TDs (10th) for a tight end.
Zach Ertz dives over the Patriots’ Devin McCourty to score the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl LII.
Ertz and his wife, Julie, a soccer star for the U.S. Women’s National Team, spread goodwill wherever they played and lived, be it in Pennsylvania/New Jersey, Arizona, or the Washington, D.C. area. He might never get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he’s become a Hall of Fame person.
Too tough?
Before Sunday, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones was in the middle of a career resurrection, but he also had played three games with a broken bone in his left leg. He was one of several quarterbacks playing with what appeared to be significant injuries to non-throwing appendages: Aaron Rodgers’ left wrist, Jayden Daniels’ left elbow, and Justin Herbert’s left hand, which was surgically repaired just a week ago but was not expected to keep Herbert out of Monday’s game against the Eagles.
Daniels played with the aid of a brace from a company called Protect3D, begun by two clever former Duke teammates who helped Jones play in college with a broken collarbone by 3-D printing a similar protective device. It was a cool story.
On Sunday, however, Jones collapsed with a non-contact injury to his right Achilles tendon. This brings into question whether playing on the broken left leg created stress on the right Achilles, and whether Jones should have been playing at all.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) grabs his leg after an injury during the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He was anticipating a massive free-agent contract extension in 2026. Now, he’s looking at unemployment and a season lost to rehab.
Extra points
On Sunday night, the Chiefs lost to the Texas in Kansas City to fall to 6-7, with possible losses to the Chargers and Broncos on the horizon. After reaching five of the past six Super Bowls and winning three of them, the Chiefs are likely to miss the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons. … Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders, who played under Deion Sanders at Colorado before falling to the fifth round of the draft, threw for 364 yards and with three touchdowns, an interception, and a rushing touchdown in a 31-29 loss to the Titans. It was his third start. He’d thrown for 358 yards in his first two starts combined. … The NFL has enjoyed the careers of running quarterbacks like Randall Cunningham, Cam Newton, Steve Young, and Steve McNair, but in less than eight seasons Josh Allen holds the rushing TD record, which he extended Sunday to 77. That’s two more than Newton, who played 11 seasons. Notably, Hurts is in third place with 63 rushing TDs, and he’s played less than six seasons.
The feast of the seven fishes, or festa dei sette pesci, has its roots in post-World War II immigration to America, when Southern Italians imported the tradition of La Vigilia — a Christmas Eve feast with no meat. La Vigilia, with its traditional consumption of baccalà, spaghetti alle vongole, and vegetables, has adapted to what we know here as an hourslong dinner with seven (more or less) fish dishes,a number that may refer to the seven sacraments.
But the feast of the seven fishes has undergone another evolution. It is now readily embraced by chefs who specialize inother cuisines, and whosometimes take the emphasis off fish. Like Christmas itself, the feast of the seven fishes has in many cases been shifted away from its religious origins, and they now also frequently occur several days prior to Christmas Eve.
Reservations have been going quickly for these elaborate holiday meals, and some are already sold out, like the feast at Fiorella (you can add yourself to the waitlist). Here are 12 restaurants in Philly serving special menus, celebrating the feast of seven whatevers (mostly fishes). This list isn’t comprehensive, so if you miss out on one of these reservations, keep your eye out on Philly restaurants’ Instagram pages for other feasting opportunities.
Bastia
Chef Tyler Akin will be serving a Sardinian-inflected feast of the seven fishes at Bastia on Dec. 21 and 22 for $125 per person, with an optional $85 beverage pairing. “We are really excited about the dishes, especially the malloreddus with pesto Genovese, swordfish, and gremolata; these are tiny Sardinian gnocchi that is a mainstay of the holidays.” Akin also promises squid ink risotto with blue crab, Calabrian chili butter, and bottarga — a dish “which truly tastes like the sea,” he said — as well as oysters with house sun-dried gooseberry mignonette. Reservations are available on OpenTable.
Bistro Romano is offering two seven fishes set menu options: one for people who want all the fish (“seven fishes tasting menu”), and others who may want to partake in the festivities but are fish-averse (“pasta & turf tasting menu”). For those who are all about the fish, the dinner commences with frutti di mare, leads into pastas like lobster ravioli and fettuccine with bay scallops and baby shrimp, crescendoes with swordfish and branzino, and ends on a tiramisu finale. For those who are anti-fish, expect veal, New York strip steak, sausage rigatoni, and bucatini with duck ragu. Both menus are $89 per person and do not include tax or gratuity. They are only offered on Christmas Eve, when Bistro Romano’s a la carte menu is otherwise not available. Reservations are available on OpenTable.
Chef Joe Cicala sautés blue crabs as he shows how to make spaghetti alla chitarra with crab at his restaurant, Cicala at the Divine Lorraine, in Philadelphia on Thursday, July 23, 2020.
Cicala
This is the first year that Cicala will be serving a seven fishes dinner. “Angela and I believe Christmas Eve is more fun and exciting compared to Christmas Day so we usually close in order to give our staff (and ourselves) the ability to spend it with our families,” said chef Joe Cicala. “However, this year we completely forgot to turn off the reservations and when we went to do so, it turned out that we were almost fully booked. So it looks like we are staying open this year.” Cicala’s entire a la carte menu will be available on Christmas Eve, along with a “menu fisso” of five courses utilizing seven different fish (price TBD). They are still working out the full details, but reservations can be made on Resy.
Heavy Metal Sausage Co. owners Patrick Alfiero (left) and Melissa Pellegrino prepare for the Thursday night trattoria dinner on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022.
Heavy Metal Sausage
South Philly’s Heavy Metal Sausage leans hard into seven fishes, so much so that for years they’ve been hosting feasts of “more than seven fishes.” This year, there are five nights of such extravagant dinners, featuring “more than 12 dishes, more than seven fishes,” from Dec. 18 to 22, with two seatings per night (6 and 8:30 p.m.). A seat at this bonanza goes for $150 per person; gluten and seafood allergies cannot be accommodated, and tickets cannot be refunded or rescheduled. Bookings can be made on Square.
Yun Fuentes and R.J. Smith team up for a Caribbean approach to the Feast of the Seven Fishes at Bolo.
Bolo
This holiday season, Bolo chef Yun Fuentes is welcoming chef R.J. Smith of Ocho Supper Club for a one-night-only Siete Mares, a Caribbean interpretation of the feast of the seven fishes. It will be 7 p.m. on Dec. 16 for $150 per person. Expect hamachi ceviche with scotch bonnet-passion fruit salsa and uni,lobster curry rellenos, red snapper escovitch, and an island-inspired version of surf and turf, or mar y montaña: roasted suckling pig and seafood rice with clams, calamari, and squid ink sofrito. There will also be an Ocho Happy Hour in Bolo’s first-floor rum bar from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Reservations can be made on OpenTable.
Queen Village sandwich shop Farina Di Vita is running a seven fishes catering menu until Dec. 21 at 4 p.m. or until they sell out of their fried smelts, jumbo lump crab cakes, mussel gravy, salmon piccata, shrimp cocktail, Thai chili salmon, and calamari salad. Get them all or get them a la carte. Orders must be placed over the phone (ask to speak with Jason).
Vernick Fish will be celebrating the feast of the seven fishes on Dec. 23 and 24 with a five-course, family-style menu for $195 per person. It includes tuna crudo, bay scallop crudo, and the Tuscan flatbread schiacciata, with osetra caviar, to start. Expect octopus skewers, fritto misto, white mussels, squid ink spaghetti, and whole roasted branzino with blue crab. A la carte options will be available at the bar.Reservations can be made on OpenTable.
Chef Jason Cichonski’s Tulip Pasta and Wine Bar will be serving their seven fishes dinner on Dec. 22 and 23 for $100 per person with an optional $55 wine pairing. The menu includes tuna carpaccio, mussel toast, prawns, baked clams, crab ravioli, squid ink pasta, black bass, and fried chocolate ravioli with gingerbread ice cream for dessert. Reservations can be made on Resy.
The “snack” course of Messina Social Club’s Feast of the Seven Fishes tasting menu in 2024.
Messina Social Club
Semi-private Messina Social Club, also by Jason Cichonski, with chef Eddie Konrad, is offering a six-course seven fishes tasting menu on Dec. 21, 22, and 23for$135 per person. “There will be plays on traditional dishes, like last year we did an octopus bolognese and a series of ‘snacks.’ We always do more than seven actual fishes,” said Konrad. For dessert, Konrad has been working on a “terrine-a-misu,” consisting of ladyfingers in an “amaro-based soak that I stack, layer, press, and cut like a cake and serve with a whipped mascarpone.” Reservations can be made on Resy.
Fork’s feast of the seven fishes occurs only on Christmas Eve. It’s $125 per person, not inclusive of tax and a 20% service charge. Courses include brandade toast, crispy Prosecco-battered smelts, two handmade pastas, and a choice of a family-style entree for two, like a whole roasted branzino. There will also be additional starter options for $22 each, such as fluke crudo with a brown butter pear vinaigrette and half a dozen oysters on the half shell. Reservations are available on OpenTable.
Liz Grothe speaks to guests at the friends and family opening of Scampi in Queen Village.
Scampi
Scampi in Queen Village may be named for one of those potential fishes, but chef Liz Grothe’s signature move at the holidays — this is the third year — is to serve a feast of the seven pastas, featuring lots of fishes. The menu is available on Dec. 23 (Dec. 22’s dinner is sold out), with dinner starting at 6:30 p.m. Reservations must be made via Google form, which cautions, “Do not let the lucky number seven fool you, this is at least a nine-course dinner and it takes about 2.5 hours. This is as ritzy as it gets for us.” It’s $150 per person and BYOB. Menu includes Grothe’s Caesar toast, lorighittas (small Sardinian ring-shaped pastas) with calamari and peas, spaghetti gamberi crudo (raw shrimp), smoked trout culurgiones, clam chowder gnocchi, and tiramisu for dessert.
Percy owner Seth Kligerman, Percy chef Jack Smith, and Fishtown Pickle owners Niki Toscani and Mike Sicinski.
Fishtown Pickle Project x Percy
Fishtown Pickles will be hosting its feast of the seven pickles for the fifth year on Dec. 16 with two seatings, at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. It will be held at Kensington restaurant Percy, which recently rebranded as a diner, and thus this will be a “Diner Edition” of the celebration. Tickets are $105 per person, with $10 per ticket going to Sharing Excess. The menu is a collaboration between Percy chef Jack Smith and Fishtown Pickle Project co-founder Mike Sicinski. There will be a Hanukkah nod of a deviled egg and latke with smoked fish and pickle slaw, pumpkin soup with winter squash kimchi, corned pork belly with sweet onion pickle glaze, fermented red cabbage kraut and rye bread gremolata, antipasto made with Fishtown Pickle Dip, and a pickle-brined chicken schnitzel. In Percy’s Sound Lounge, there will be a Pickle Sundae Bar with wet walnuts (made with fermented honey), tea-pickled golden raisins, hot fudge, whipped sour cream, and fermented fruit. If the main event sells out, you can still participate in the Pickle Sundae Bar by purchasing tickets on Fishtown Pickle Project’s website.
Percy Diner and Bar, 1700 N. Front St., 215-975-0020, percyphl.com
ORLANDO, Fla. — Whether or not he needs it, Chase Utley’s Hall of Fame bid just got a boost.
Pete Rose’s? Forget about it.
Those were the Phillies-centric takeaways Sunday night from the voting results of the Hall’s Contemporary Era Committee. A 16-person panel of Hall of Fame players, major league owners and executives, media members, and historians elected Jeff Kent — and only Jeff Kent — from a field of eight candidates that included Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
Kent, a former MVP and five-time All-Star, is only the 22nd second baseman to gain election after topping out at 46.5% on the writers’ ballot in 2023. Utley is already marching toward becoming the 23rd. His name was checked on nearly 40% of the writers’ ballots last year, only his second cycle of eligibility (75% is needed for election).
Without a strong first-time candidate this year, Utley is expected to make another jump.
But the iconic former Phillies second baseman has an even gustier tailwind now. Because although Kent is the only player to appear in at least 75% of his games at second base and total at least 350 homers, 550 doubles, 1,500 RBIs, 1,300 runs, and 800 walks, Utley was considered a better all-around second baseman. The overall numbers:
Kent: 56.0 WAR (Fangraphs); .290/.356/.500; 123 OPS-plus; 2,461 hits; 377 homers; 1,518 RBIs in 2,298 games over 17 seasons.
Utley: 61.5 WAR (Fangraphs); .275/.358/.465, 117 OPS-plus; 1,885 hits; 259 homers; 1,025 RBIs in 1,937 games over 16 seasons.
Jeff Kent, a former MVP and five-time All-Star, hit 377 home runs mostly as a second baseman.
Kent received 14 votes from the committee, a resounding correction of the writers’ 10-year oversight that historically extends to other second basemen. Neither Lou Whitaker nor Bobby Grich lasted long on the ballot despite multiple Gold Gloves and All-Star appearances and copious WAR totals.
None of the other candidates came close to the 12 votes that were needed for election. The Hall doesn’t disclose the vote total for players who receive less than 25% of support from the committee. But Bonds, Clemens, and Gary Sheffield, who all played under the cloud of suspicion of performance-enhancing drug use, received fewer than five votes.
It was a repeat of 2022, when Bonds and Clemens got fewer than four votes apiece from a committee that didn’t include anyone on this year’s panel. And it reaffirmed that the committee process is even less forgiving than an electorate of nearly 400 writers, even for the all-time home-run leader and a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, because Hall of Famers tend to be ultraprotective of the doors to Cooperstown.
Bonds and Clemens made incremental progress in 10 years on the writers’ ballot, eventually reaching 66% and 65.2%, respectively. If the Hall of Fame hadn’t reduced the term of eligibility to 10 years from 15, they might have eventually gotten to 75%.
The writers never got an opportunity to vote for Rose because the Hall of Fame didn’t put him on the ballot after he was banned from baseball for gambling on games. And although he was posthumously reinstated earlier this year by commissioner Rob Manfred, the Hall’s voting rules stipulate that players who are retired for more than 15 years may be considered only by the era committees.
Rose is eligible to come before the Classic Era committee in 2027.
Despite being reinstated by commissioner Rob Manfred this year, Pete Rose’s Hall chances remain uncertain.
Even Mike Schmidt, who supported Rose’s reinstatement and previously backed him for the Hall of Fame despite what he describes as a “tumultuous life,” has his doubts about how it would go.
“I don’t know that it’s any more than 50%,” Schmidt told The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast in September when asked if fellow Hall of Famers would open the door to Rose. “There are as many detractors as supporters in Pete’s case. However, [Hall of Fame chairman of the board] Jane Clark forms the committee that will determine Pete’s fate. And even if they put 16 ex-players, members of the Hall of Fame on it, I still think it would be 50/50.”
The latest overwhelming repudiation of Bonds and Clemens by a committee of their peers suggests that 50% for Rose would be generous.
Tyronn Lue chuckled before the reporter could even finish the question.
Do memories of the 2001 NBA Finals — more specifically, being on the wrong end of Allen Iverson’s iconic step-over in overtime of Game 1 — flood back whenever he returns to Philly?
“Every single time,” said Lue, the former Los Angeles Lakers guard who now coaches the Clippers. “You never forget it.”
The 76ers will wear their black throwback jerseys throughout this season, as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of that Eastern Conference championship team. Donning them against the Lakers on Sunday night was most fitting.
Those jerseys are synonymous with that Finals series, and AI’s signature moment. Iverson sent Lue to the court by pulling back to fire a baseline jumper. After drilling the shot, Iverson stared at — while stepping over — a seated Lue in front of the Lakers’ bench. Though the Lakers won that series, four games to one, as part of the Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal dynasty, Iverson delivered an all-time highlight play in franchise and NBA history.
The Inquirer recently asked some of today’s Sixers about their memories of that sequence. Kyle Lowry was a North Philly kid at the time. Paul George was growing up in Southern California and would eventually be coached by Lue. Tyrese Maxey, whose exceptional start to the 2025-26 season is drawing comparisons to Iverson, was barely born.
And, of course, Lue also provided his perspective 25 years later.
Kyle Lowry: “I remember everybody driving around, beeping their horns”
Today, Lowry considers Lue “one of my closest friends in the world.”
Yet back in 2001, Lowry was a young teenager feeling like the basketball universe had counted out his Sixers. He was watching the game at home when Iverson went right, created the space for the shot, and “[stomped] with the big dogs,” he said.
“Everybody in the whole city of Philadelphia, at the same time, jumped up and cheered,” Lowry recalled. “ … And then after the game, I remember everybody driving around, beeping their horns.”
Now, it is “special” for Lowry to wear those black jerseys in his return to his hometown to (likely) close out his NBA career. He is tight with Lue, whom Lowry reminded may have changed that Finals series with his ability to guard Iverson full-court.
And Lowry “knows for a fact” that Iverson and Lue have a good relationship today.
“I don’t think it was nothing disrespectful,” Lowry said. “I think it was just a great moment for the game of basketball, and an amazing basketball play for the city of Philadelphia.”
Paul George: “He was the Man in the Arena”
George was an Iverson fan growing up. But as a Southern California kid, he said Bryant “was everything to us.”
So George was rooting for the Lakers during those 2001 Finals. He was “amazed” at how Iverson challenged the team led by his favorite player and the equally dominant O’Neal.
And when the step-over happened, “it kind of was just, like, ‘This smaller guy is a giant,’” George said.
Sixers star Paul George played for Clippers coach Tyronn Lue during his five seasons in Los Angeles.
“It just solidified how good he was and his magnitude and just his swagger,” George said. “That’s what I kind of took away from it, was just his confidence and his swagger. In that moment, he was the Man in the Arena.”
George then was coached by Lue during his five seasons playing for the Clippers. Though George said the step-over never came up in conversation, he is not surprised Lue does not view it as a source of shame.
“Kobe said it best: You play against the best players, you’re going to get embarrassed sometimes,” George said. “It comes with it. It’s fun. I look forward to being embarrassed, because I know I’m going to come back for you the next time. It comes with the territory of being a defender.”
Tyrese Maxey: “That was a crazy play”
Maxey was born Nov. 4, 2000 … aka, during that magical Sixers season.
Which means he obviously has no in-the-moment memory of the step-over. The first time he remembers watching it and “actually [knowing] what’s going on,” he believes, was in middle school.
“That was a crazy play,” Maxey said. “ … A wild moment in history. It will never be forgotten.”
Since becoming a Sixer, Maxey has gotten to know Iverson, who is a regular visitor at games and team functions. As a fellow scoring (and smaller-framed) lead guard, Maxey said Iverson’s best advice has been to “just be ultra-aggressive every single time you step on the court.” And Maxey’s torrid start to the 2025-26 season — through Sunday he ranked third in the NBA in scoring (31.5 points per game), while also averaging 7.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds — has been Iverson-esque.
It is poetic that, during this celebratory season, Maxey dressed up as Iverson for the team Halloween party. Asked why that was his costume of choice, Maxey said, “I just thought it was funny.”
Tyronn Lue: “It couldn’t have happened any better”
Lue said he can now thank Iverson for the step-over. Or, at least, for the opportunity to guard him.
Had the Toronto Raptors advanced to the Finals instead of the Sixers, Lue deduced, he likely would not have played in that series because their starting guards were the bigger-framed Vince Carter and Alvin Williams.
“I could have been out of the league,” Lue said. “ … It definitely was a blessing. Without that matchup [with Iverson], I probably wouldn’t have had as long of a career as I had.”
As that play unfolded, Lue did not think it would become such a “big deal.” After attempting to contest the shot, Lue slipped and fell in front of Iverson’s legs while turning around to see if the ball had splashed through the net. But then “Doug Collins went crazy” on the television broadcast, Lue said, generating even more buzz for those outside the arena.
Lue jokes that he and Iverson were “probably still mad at each other” a couple of years after the play. But since then, Lue confirmed they have become “really good friends.”
“We’re close in age,” Lue, 48, said of the 50-year-old Iverson, “but I still idolized him when I was coming up through college, and when I got to the league. Just idolizing somebody who was only two or three years older than you is kind of crazy, but I looked up to him.
“Having an opportunity to play against somebody you idolized was a great moment for me.”
That moment did propel Lue into a successful career as a complementary player, which spanned 11 seasons across seven teams. He is now regarded as one of the game’s most respected coaches, winning the 2016 championship leading the Cleveland Cavaliers and earning a reputation for impressive tactical adjustments.
Twenty-five years later, Lue looks back on that flashpoint of his career — which some might expect would spurn irritation or embarrassment — with fondness.
“It couldn’t have happened any better,” Lue said. “I tell people all the time, he could step over me 50 times, if I get the opportunity [to guard him] again.”
Send some thank you notes to Detroit (8-5). The Lions’ 44-30 beatdown of the Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1) Thursday night gave the Eagles a much-needed playoff boost. But they’ll need more help to move back into the NFC’s top spot.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get any help from former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, now the embattled head coach of the Arizona Cardinals (3-10). The Cardinals were blown out 45-17 at home by the Los Angeles Rams (10-3), moving Matt Stafford and company back into the NFC’s No. 1 spot.
Regardless what happens, the Eagles will end the week in the No. 3 seed. The Green Bay Packers (9-3-1) moved into first place in the NFC North and the NFC’s No. 2 seed thanks to their 28-21 win against the Chicago Bears (9-4).
As a result, the Bears slide down six spots, from No. 1 all the way down to No. 7, the NFC’s final wild card.
The good news is the Eagles hold tiebreakers against the Rams, Packers (though it likely won’t come into play because of Green Bay’s tie), Lions, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-6), and just two of the Birds’ final five games are against opponents with a winning record.
The bad news is the Eagles would need the Rams to lose two of their final four games to have a chance at overtaking them. That could also create more headaches for the Eagles, with the Rams tied with the Seattle Seahawks (10-3) and just one game up on the San Francisco 49ers (9-3) in a tight NFC West.
Nick Sirianni and the Eagles have the NFC East all but wrapped up.
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To win the NFC East and clinch their fifth-straight playoff berth, the Eagles’ magic number — combined Birds’ wins and/or Cowboys’ losses — is now three. That will drop to two with a win Monday night against the Chargers.
Barring a 2023-level collapse, the Birds will become the first team in 21 seasons to win the NFC East in back-to-back years. That would mean hosting at least one playoff game at the Linc.
As for the Cowboys, may the odds forever be in their favor. With four games left on their schedule, Dallas has just a 9% chance of making the playoffs, according to the New York Times. That would drop to 6% with an Eagles win Monday night.
Even if the Cowboys win their four remaining games — at home against the Chargers and Minnesota Vikings (5-8), on the road against the Washington Commanders (3-10) and New York Giants (2-11) — Dallas would still need the Eagles to lose three of their final five games to take the division.
NFC playoff picture
Caleb Williams and the Bears slid all the way down from the No. 1 seed to the No. 7 spot Sunday.
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With nine teams bunched together atop the NFC, there were no playoff clinching scenarios in Week 14.
But a couple of teams were eliminated.
The Commanders slim playoff hopes were extinguished Sunday in a 31-0 blowout loss to the Vikings.
The same goes for the Atlanta Falcons (4-9), who were eliminated from playoff contention after being defeated by the Seattle Seahawls (10-3). That will make it eight straight seasons without a postseason appearance for Atlanta.
Meanwhile, the Carolina Panthers (7-6) are still in the hunt, thanks to their upset win against the Los Angeles Rams last week and Sunday’s Buccaneers loss. Carolina has a bye this week and faces Tampa Bay twice in the final four weeks of the season.
AFC playoff picture
Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos moved up to the AFC’s No. 1 spot.
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As with the NFC, there were no clinching scenarios in the AFC this week, but a couple of teams were eliminated.
The Cleveland Browns (3-10) were officially eliminated from playoff contention by the Tennessee Titans (2-11) Sunday, while the New York Jets (3-10) were eliminated by the Miami Dolphins (6-7), who have won four straight games and are trying to remain in the hunt for a wild card.
The loss also guarantees this will be the 15th straight season the Jets miss the playoffs, the longest current streak in the NFL.
If the Eagles do turn around their season, it’s looking less and less likely they’ll have yet another rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs (6-7). Andy Reid’s squad lost to the Houston Texans (8-5) Sunday night and are currently two games back in the hunt for the AFC’s final wild-card spot, their only remaining path to the postseason.
The Jacksonville Jaguars (9-4) moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC South thanks to their win against the Indianapolis Colts (8-5) Sunday. With everyone in the AFC bunched at the top, the winner of the division might be the only team from the AFC South that advances to the playoffs.
The Denver Broncos (11-2) moved back into the AFC’s No. 1 seed thanks to their win against the lowly Las Vegas Raiders (2-11). While the Broncos are tied with the New England Patriots (11-2), Denver has a better conference record (7-2 vs. 6-2) and Sunday’s win guarantees they’ll have a better record among common opponents (the Patriots lost to the Raiders back in Week 1), the next tiebreaker if Denver ends the season with the same record as the Patriots.
When do the NFL playoffs start?
We’re still more than a month away from the first playoff game, which will take place on wild-card weekend beginning Jan. 10.
Six games will take place in the first round of the playoffs, airing across Fox, CBS, NBC, and ESPN/ABC. Amazon will also exclusively stream a wild-card game on Prime Video for the second straight season.
Full 2025 NFL playoff schedule:
Wild-card round: Saturday, Jan. 10 to Monday, Jan. 12
Divisional round: Saturday, Jan. 17 to Sunday, Jan. 18
AFC and NFC championship games: Sunday, Jan. 25
Super Bowl LX: Sunday, Feb. 8
Where is this year’s Super Bowl?
Fans watch from a general view at Levi’s Stadium during the first half of an NFL football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Jacksonville Jaguars in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Super Bowl LX (or 60, for those who don’t like Roman numerals) is being held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., home of the San Francisco 49ers. NBC will broadcast this year’s Super Bowl.
It will be the third time the Bay Area hosts a Super Bowl, and the second played at Levi’s Stadium. The first was Super Bowl 50 in 2016, with the Broncos defeating the Carolina Panthers in a defensive battle best remembered as Peyton Manning’s final game.
You would think that freshmen at a top-ranked university could do basic math. You would be wrong. According to a recent analysis at the University of California, San Diego, one in eight cannot meet minimum high school standards. This story is repeating itself across America. As a proud product of Pennsylvania’s public schools, it pains me to say: Our nation’s public education system is failing miserably.
Fortunately, we have an opportunity to begin to fix it, thanks to the school choice tax credit passed into law in the Working Families Tax Cut Act in July.
The trick? Governors must opt in. So far, four governors — from North Carolina, Tennessee, South Dakota, and Nebraska — have signed up or signaled they will. Will Pennsylvania support giving free money to families? Or will it double down on a failing educational system that disproportionately hurts the poorest among us?
Access to a good education levels the playing field, giving students an equal opportunity to chase the American dream. It forms kids into citizens. And it not only gives students book smarts, but also the ability to wrestle with hard problems at a time when every American must be ready to adapt to a rapidly changing world.
The inverse is equally true. Trapping students in bad schools robs them of the opportunity promised to each generation and unduly harms people of color and students from lower-income families.
According to a 2024 national assessment, 45% of 12th graders could not complete even basic math. Roughly one-third of 12th graders could not read at a basic level. Pennsylvania students performed similarly: 37% of eighth graders did not have basic math skills, and 31% lacked basic reading ability. Students of color and those from low-income families struggled most.
The COVID-19 pandemic made this all so much worse and set back a generation of Pennsylvanians. The commonwealth’s children have still not recovered from the damage done by school closures foisted on them by the national teachers’ unions.
Our public school system too often puts the interests of the system over the interests of the students, Sen. David McCormick writes.
Not only are we falling behind as a nation, we’re also falling behind other states. Florida, Arkansas, and others have busted the education monopoly. By embracing this new federal tax credit, Pennsylvania’s leaders can follow suit.
One of my first acts in the U.S. Senate was to cosponsor the Educational Choice for Children Act. One of my proudest moments was voting to pass this school choice provision into law alongside childcare tax credits for working families.
The bill established a $1,700 tax credit for donations to organizations that give educational scholarships to families. The program offers families true opportunity, as these stipends can be used to pay tuition, hire tutors, buy school supplies, and otherwise expand educational opportunities for students. It could inject tens of billions of new funding for our schools.
Not everyone will agree with me. Some may say we shouldn’t take money away from public schools. Well, this tax credit doesn’t redirect any existing federal or state funds. It allows Americans to support other Americans’ right to a good education.
It also recognizes that a certain class of people already have the privilege of school choice: those who can afford it. If Pennsylvania opts into this tax credit, it will provide low- and middle-class families with the same opportunity.
Others might question the quality or accountability of private and charter schools. They have it wrong. The public education system has failed for decades without consequence. School choice introduces accountability through competition. It lets parents choose what’s best for their children instead of being forced into failing schools by fate of geography.
Finally, I understand the fears that promoting private and charter schools risks hurting teachers, but what I’m proposing is entirely pro-teacher. As the son of two Pennsylvania public school teachers and the product of the commonwealth’s public school system, I have immense respect and admiration for educators.
The problem is the system, not the teachers. Our public school system too often puts the interests of the system over the interests of the students — and educators. Teachers do the Lord’s work and deserve our thanks. They also deserve to work in schools that value their talent. This program would put more money into education and provide greater choice to teachers, too.
There are many details to iron out still, but this program has the potential to transform education in Pennsylvania at a moment of incredible change and consequence. It will both allow Pennsylvanians to support their neighbors and invite national investment in our commonwealth’s future.
The choice is clear. Pennsylvania families have been offered a door to a better education for their children. Will the governor and our leaders in Harrisburg open it?
David McCormick is a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania.
When Christina Vassallo was head of the Fabric Workshop and Museum, she landed several substantial grants from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
Now she is moving to the other side of that donor-recipient relationship.
Vassallo is the newly named executive director of the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, starting Jan. 5, Pew announced Monday.
“The center embodies everything I value about arts leadership — intellectual curiosity, rigorous support for artists and arts organizations, and a true commitment to public life,” said Vassallo. “So for the center, I’m drawn to its dual identity as a grantmaker and as a hub for ideas, and for the opportunity to connect the arts with civic purpose.”
Leadership and operational changes at the Pew arts center are closely watched in Philadelphia’s arts and culture community since the center, along with the William Penn Foundation, accounts for some of the largest foundation giving in the area.
Pew’s center, for instance, also announced on Monday that it has awarded $8.6 million to 44 Philadelphia-area groups — nearly $180,000 to the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra for a project on Black women composers, $360,000 to Monument Lab for the creation of environmental soundworks as a “living monument to Philadelphia’s birds,” and to projects by Mural Arts Philadelphia, Philadanco, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, theater companies, dance troupes, and museums.
After leaving the Fabric Workshop in 2023, Vassallo became director of the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. Before the Fabric Workshop, she was executive and artistic director of the alternative art gallery SPACES, in Cleveland. She was born in the Bronx and grew up in New York City and northern New Jersey, and holds two degrees from New York University — a bachelor’s in art history and a master’s in nonprofit visual arts management.
Vassallo arrives as Philadelphia’s arts scene grapples with a number of challenges. Many groups are facing the double whammy of attendance numbers that are still lower than pre-COVID levels, and cuts in federal funding under the Trump administration.
The Pew arts center specifically has undergone a significant change with the 2024 collapse of the University of the Arts, which had been its operational partner. In June, Pew announced that the Barnes Foundation would take UArts’ place, and Vassallo suggested that the Barnes — which also had a hand in her hiring — could take on a more significant role.
“I think there is tremendous potential there programmatically beyond their administrative role,” said Vassallo, who called the relationship between the Pew center and the Barnes an “evolving” one.
Dancers from Philadanco, which received a grant from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
One significant change has already occurred. Vassallo will report to Barnes Foundation executive director and president Thomas Collins, whereas Marincola reported directly to Pew. The Barnes isn’t seen as getting involved with the Pew center’s grant-making process, but, rather, could work with the center on creating new programming.
“We could imagine partnerships between the [Pew Fellowships in the Arts] fellows … being able to engage in the collection at the Barnes, for example, we can imagine the center and the Barnes partnering on community conversations,” said Elinor Haider, senior director of Pew’s Philadelphia Program.
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage will continue to be based in its offices on Walnut Street, Haider said.
Vassallo called Philadelphia’s arts scene “incredibly rich and vital.” About its challenges, she said — while noting that she needs to relearn Philadelphia’s arts and culture community — that “we are having to find new ways to fund our work. I have seen this in the form of creating new business models, coming up with innovative ways to increase ticket sales and engage current and new audiences to create new revenue streams.”
She said she has “always been a strong believer in nurturing the next generation of art enthusiasts, ensuring that kids have access to the arts across disciplines.”
As for future funding priorities, the center has not yet determined whether it will undertake a strategic planning process, she said.
“Not only are we assessing feedback from grantees and external parties, but we’re also understanding the state of the city, and then you have the various partners involved — you have Pew, you have the center staff, and now you have the Barnes. So I think within that there’s going to be a very special alchemy that starts to further determine the future of center funding decisions.”
When Villanova hosted the first women’s Big 5 Classic tripleheader last year, the Wildcats intended to cap it off by winning the title.
Instead, the Temple Owls spoiled the party plans and left the Main Line with the title in their hands.
This year, the Wildcats delivered. Led by Brynn McCurry’s 21 points, they topped St. Joseph’s, 76-70, Sunday in a title game that was close throughout. It marked ’Nova’s 22nd women’s Big 5 crown, the most of any City Series team.
For as much as rosters in college basketball change by season these days, coach Denise Dillon admitted she had kept last year’s loss in mind.
“That’s the responsibility of myself and our staff, to explain to our players, because of so many new players on the roster, and not recognizing what Philly basketball is,” she said. “Yeah, the taste stuck with me, and I think some of the others who were playing in that game. Denae Carter and Jasmine Bascoe last year, they knew they gave something up here on our home court, and wanted to make sure we took care of business here today against St. Joe’s.”
Villanova’s players celebrate with the Big 5 champions’ banner.
The Hawks were more than valiant. Rhian Stokes totaled 23 points and six assists, while Gabby Casey had 19 points and eight rebounds.
At the other end, St. Joe’s held Bascoe to 4-of-16 field-goal shooting, though she still had 13 points. McCurry, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, delivered her third straight 20-point outing.
“Kudos to [McCurry] and to her teammates for stepping up, because I thought we did a hell of a job on Bascoe,” Hawks coach Cindy Griffin said,
December obviously isn’t March, but Villanova is on some national bracketologists’ early NCAA Tournament bubbles. Though the Wildcats lost at Princeton last month, they made up for it with a win at then-No. 25 West Virginia last Monday, and followed it with a win at Georgetown on Thursday to open Big East play.
Villanova’s Jasmine Bascoe defending Rhian Stokes of St. Joe’s, who led all scorers with 23 points.
Their next game, following exams, should be another solid barometer: home vs. Seton Hall on Dec. 19. The Pirates were picked third in the preseason conference poll, with ’Nova fourth.
“We gave up a tough one to Seton Hall last year in this place,” Dillon said of a 56-55 defeat. “We’ll remind them [at practice] on Tuesday.”
The rest of the day
Drexel topped Temple in the third-place game, 59-52. With Dragons star guard Amaris Baker held to just seven points on 2-of-13 shooting, Deja Evans stepped up with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting, plus seven rebounds and three assists.
“Things weren’t going our way, our scorers weren’t making shots, but they still found a way to lock in and stay focused on what we needed to do to win the game,” Drexel coach Amy Mallon said. “And to me, that’s what Drexel basketball is about, and how we find ways to win.”
New York Liberty star Jonquel Jones, the adopted daughter of Temple women’s coach Diane Richardson, sat courtside to watch the Owls. That was a reminder of how big women’s basketball is nationally these days, though the stardust hasn’t landed on the Big 5.
Jonquel Jones (second from left) sitting courtside during the Temple-Drexel game.
“Well, I’d love to have her on the court, but we have already exhausted that eligibility,” the always-charismatic Richardson said. “It’s great. She loves our kids and she’s got some time off because of her [ankle] injury, so she’s been spending a lot of time with me. We’re glad to have her here, and not only just for us, but for women’s basketball — and here at the Big 5, where we want to shine a light.”
Penn won the fifth-place game over La Salle, 65-52, led by Katie Collins’ 20 points and nine rebounds. The Quakers led by 21 points in the third quarter, but the Explorers rallied to within five at the end of the period before Penn pulled away in the fourth.
As The Inquirer confirmed a few days ago, the women’s tripleheader will change location next season. Sunday marked Villanova’s second straight year, and the second straight year of disappointingly small crowds on the Main Line: 1,242 fans over the three games.
Though it’s not official yet, the Palestra is the favorite right now to host as part of the arena’s 100th birthday celebration. Penn’s coach isn’t alone in hoping that moving the games to the city’s most famous college basketball venue will draw more fans to watch them.
“I know one thing: Penn would put on a first-class event, just like Villanova has done here,” said Mike McLaughlin, who has long championed having the women’s tripleheader at the city’s most famous venue. “This has been a great event for our athletes, and Penn will do the same if it’s at the Palestra.”
LOS ANGELES — The sky is falling in the city of Philadelphia, just not between Broad and 17th Streets, from Pattison Avenue to Hartranft Street. There, at the NovaCare Complex, the laws of gravitational pull and atmospheric pressure remain normal.
The 8-4 Eagles have lost two consecutive games, their second such losing streak of the season. Their offense, under first-year coordinator Kevin Patullo, can be generously described as inconsistent and harshly described at times as incompetent. The defense, normally a steady strength, got tossed around on Black Friday against the Chicago Bears.
“They sky’s falling outside the locker room,” Saquon Barkley said after that game.
Not inside.
The Eagles, Barkley included, say the energy at the practice facility reflects that. The Eagles have been attentive in the meeting room. They have had spirited practices. They feel like they have the right game plans.
“But [you’ve] got to go out there Monday and do it,” Barkley said Saturday after the Eagles finished their final practice before their Monday night matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. “That’s where we’re at.”
That’s where the translation hasn’t occurred. The Eagles are struggling, and the vibes on the sideline reflect a team that is trying hard to correct its issues without success.
“Honestly I think it’s been awful,” Barkley said when asked what the sideline energy has been like. “I think if you asked anybody, if they’re being honest, we’ll all agree on that.”
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is stopped by the Bears on Nov. 28.
To be fair, who could blame them? The Eagles, with one of the highest-paid offenses in the NFL, haven’t scored more than 21 points in four consecutive games. Barkley ran for 2,000 yards last season but is finding it difficult at times to top 50 during a given game. The principals in the passing game haven’t been able to get on the same page, as evidenced by the sequence in which Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith didn’t have their signals down and missed a potential touchdown in the loss to the Bears.
“We haven’t been playing well,” Barkley said. “It’s easy to come on the sideline and have great energy when you rip off a 60-yard touchdown. That’s the truth. We know that.”
Barkley went back to a saying he picked up from offensive line coach and running game coordinator Jeff Stoutland. “Execution fuels emotion,” Barkley said. “When you make plays and score touchdowns it’s going to get the energy going on game days. Energy has been great throughout the week of practice.
“We got to carry that to game day.”
There’s an argument to be made that Barkley and the running game can lead the charge in changing those vibes. The Eagles have faced defenses that have keyed in on stopping the run. Only four teams are pitted against a stacked box more often than the Eagles, who see eight or more defenders in the box 32.7% of the time.
Patullo and Stoutland haven’t yet figured out a way to consistently break through against the opposition, and the passing game hasn’t been good enough for defenses to change their approach. Barkley’s blockers have been banged up, which has certainly affected the outcomes, but Barkley does not look like the same runner, either. He has had a nagging groin injury that hasn’t forced him to miss any time, and he has repeatedly said he is healthy.
New wrinkles are on the way, left tackle Jordan Mailata said earlier in the practice week leading into Monday’s game vs. the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Barkley smiled Saturday when asked about the topic. “I don’t know what change they’re talking about,” he said.
“I really love the game plan.”
Barkley said he thinks positivity is important on the sideline.
“It’s kind of been a role I’ve tried to take on ever since I came into the league,” he said. “I feel like it’s big. Sometimes it’s just the sense of having confidence and having great energy is going to help us out on the football field. I’m a believer in that.”
A few feet away from Barkley’s locker stall as he spoke Saturday in the locker room at the NovaCare Complex was a large inflatable Easter bunny. Barkley said he didn’t know how it arrived there. Earlier in the day, though, AJ Dillon took the credit. The backup running back, who has been a healthy scratch, has anointed himself the “vibes guy.”
“I was told that it’s a vibes bunny,” Barkley said. “And the vibes are high.”
The Eagles have installed the “positivity rabbit” into the locker room
It showed up today and the offensive line stressed to me they are not sad they just wanted a good vibes bunny 👍 pic.twitter.com/zJi0M93SEr
The Eagles on Sunday waived wide receiver and returner Xavier Gipson. They now have an open spot on the 53-man roster, which will likely go to safety Marcus Epps, who is expected to be activated from injured reserve and could start next to Reed Blankenship on Monday night.
Gipson missed the Eagles’ Week 13 game with a shoulder injury, one he suffered during a mistake on a punt return that helped flip the result of the team’s Week 12 loss to Dallas. The team will continue to use Britain Covey as a returner.
The Eagles also downgraded Myles Hinton (back) to out for Monday’s game. Hinton’s 21-day practice window is nearing its end. The Eagles have until Wednesday to activate their rookie offensive tackle or he will be sidelined for the rest of the season — like fellow rookie lineman Willie Lampkin, whose window expired on Nov. 27.
