Although there wasn’t much country music blaring from the sound system inside Xfinity Mobile Arena, there was some honky-tonk goodness for the home team on Thursday night.
Despite losing captain Sean Couturier to injury after the first period, the Flyers skated away with a 4-1 win against the visiting Nashville Predators. The Orange and Black have now won three straight and six of their last eight games while improving to 6-1-0 at home.
This win was backed by Trevor Zegras’ second two-goal performance in three nights, Matvei Michkov’s first two-point performance this season, and 32 saves by Dan Vladař.
"When you come to a sports town like Philadelphia, you don't want to embarrass yourself."
Trevor Zegras has become the second player in franchise history to begin their tenure in Orange & Black with a seven-game home point streak. #LetsGoFlyerspic.twitter.com/24NHYotHTy
Couturier did not return after the first intermission due to an undisclosed injury. He took a shot from teammate Noah Juulsen with 14 minutes, 37 seconds left in the opening frame, and, while he was shown on the broadcast in pain, he played the rest of the period.
Zegras gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead in the second period with his third goal of the season. After Michkov gained the offensive zone, he withstood pressure from Predators defenseman Nick Blankenburg to control the puck and chip it to Zegras. The New York native carried the puck to the center and sent a whipping wrister from above the circles past goalie Juuse Saros.
He extended the Flyers’ lead to 3-1 with a one-timer on a power play in the third period. Noah Cates won the faceoff back to Cam York, who fed his former United States National Team Development Program teammate in the right circle.
Zegras now has six points in his last three games and 10 points in seven games at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
On Wednesday, Michkov was practicing the famous “Michigan” lacrosse-style scoop shot in Voorhees. Maybe the Predators saw that because when the Russian winger got the puck behind the net less than 3 minutes later, everyone in the building — including them — looked like they thought he was going to attempt it.
Instead, Michkov — who did confirm postgame he was thinking it initially — faked everyone out and fed Jamie Drysdale for a quick shot from just above the goal line. The goal is the blueliner’s first of the season, to accompany his three assists.
Vladař was once again impressive. He made 10 saves in the opening frame, including stoning Erik Haula atop the crease after he received a nifty between-the-legs pass from Jonathan Marchessault. With time winding down in the first, he stopped Ryan O’Reilly’s one-timer with a kick save during a delayed penalty.
In the third period, with 5:28 left and the Flyers holding on to a two-goal lead, he made a big-time save on Michael Bunting from 12 feet out. The netminder allowed one goal to Matthew Wood after Owen Tippett’s clearing attempt was intercepted by Haula at the Flyers’ blue line.
The Flyers placed goalie Sam Ersson on injured reserve due to a lower-body injury.
Breakaways
Emil Andrae played his second game of the season. … Aleksei Kolosov, who was recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Thursday, served as the backup. Sam Ersson went on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. … Travis Konecny powered through Predators defenders along the boards to score an empty-netter during four-on-four action.
Call it Reunion Weekend. Scott Laughton returns with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m., NBCSP) and Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, and the Calgary Flames visit on Sunday (7 p.m., NBCSP+).
The Flyers may be without their captain for a bit.
Sean Couturier did not return after the first intermission Thursday night against the Nashville Predators because of an undisclosed injury.
With 14 minutes, 37 seconds left in the opening frame, Couturier took a sharp wrister by defenseman Noah Juulsen off the torso. He was spotted on the broadcast in pain on the bench and was seen by head athletic trainer Tommy Alva.
However, Couturier skated another four full shifts, including two well over a minute. A key penalty killer, he was on the ice after getting hit by the puck for a 59-second shift when Jamie Drysdale was called for hooking Jonathan Marchessault.
After the game, coach Rick Tocchet said he did not have an update but did confirm the injury came off a shot from the point. “We’ll evaluate. Can’t tell right now,” he added.
Couturier has been off to a solid start, entering the night with two goals and nine points in the first nine games. Under new coach Rick Tocchet, he had been averaging 19:35 of ice time. It is the most since the 2021-22 season, when he played 29 games before undergoing two back surgeries and missed the entire 2022-23 season.
Milan Iloski’s opening salary with the Union is just over $550,000, according to data from the MLS Players Association released on Wednesday.
It’s a healthy raise from the $156,000 he was earning at the start of the year with San Diego FC, until he was released from that contract by mutual agreement. The Union acquired him in early August, signing him to a deal with funds from MLS’s Targeted Allocation Money system.
That was the big local news in the autumn edition of the labor union’s salary data. The twice-yearly release is always welcomed by fans and amateur capologists as they dig into the big earners, the bargains, and the busts.
Topping the list of summer newcomers, both in salary and name recognition, is Los Angeles FC’s Son Heung-Min. The South Korean superstar’s paycheck is $11,152,852, second-highest in the league behind Lionel Messi’s $20,446,667.
Messi has stood at No. 1 since his arrival at Inter Miami two years ago, and with the same number. He just signed a new contract that will keep him on the field in South Florida through 2028, including when the Herons open their new stadium next to Miami’s airport next year. We’ll find out the numbers in it next spring.
Son Heung-Min immediately became one of MLS’s biggest stars when he joined Los Angeles FC this summer.
The second-biggest summer arrival was Thomas Müller in Vancouver. His starting salary with the Whitecaps is $1,436,956, just below the threshold for loading up a contract in MLS’s Targeted Allocation Money system without hitting Designated Player status.
Müller agreed to a deal that would give him less money up front in exchange for a bigger paycheck next year. The arrangement got the German legend in the door without Vancouver having to make other roster moves.
Next on the marquee is another Miami newcomer, and another of Messi’s good friends, Rodrigo de Paul. His guaranteed compensation is $3,619,320, despite not being a Designated Player.
How is that possible? Plenty of people will say it shouldn’t be. It was no secret that the Herons had to do some pretty serious gymnastics when they signed him, with all three of their DP slots already taken: Messi, Jordi Alba (an even $6 million), and Sergio Busquets ($8,774,996). All three of those numbers are way too big to buy down with Targeted Allocation Money (TAM).
Rodrigo De Paul in action with Inter Miami earlier this month.
Let’s start with a reminder that the MLSPA always publishes two numbers: base salary and guaranteed compensation, which includes signing and guaranteed bonuses, plus marketing bonuses and agents’ fees, annualized over the term of a player’s contract, including option years.
Also, the numbers in these databases are also always annualized, which means they don’t necessarily reflect what a summer signing takes home down to the cent.
De Paul’s base salary is listed as $1.5 million, the maximum you can earn with TAM without being a DP. But even with that number being prorated to something lower, a lot of skeptics will say Miami is getting away with one.
The trick, it seems, lies in Miami signing de Paul on loan for the rest of the year before signing him for good this winter. That passes some of the salary burden back to his previous club, Spain’s Atlético Madrid.
Inter Miami will no doubt claim innocence over how it fit Rodrigo de Paul (left) into a roster already loaded with Lionel Messi (right) and other stars.
ESPN reported when de Paul moved that MLS rules mandate “that no promise has already been made to exercise the permanent deal following the loan spell.” The Herons supposedly claimed that was the case, but no one believed them — and that same report said a new contract is ready for de Paul to sign this winter.
But at that point, things will be much easier, because Alba and Busquets are retiring after this season.
Miami has been caught bending the roster rules too far once before, in 2021. (The punishments were part of how Julián Carranza ended up with the Union.) But Messi and his friends weren’t in town yet back then. Now that they are, it seems the club might get away with this one.
Other names to know
The rest of the big summer signings leaguewide include two notable Americans: Medford native Paxten Aaronson and longtime U.S. national team goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Paxten Aaronson (right) in action with the Colorado Rapids earlier this month.
Aaronson is earning $2,228,063 in his first year with the Colorado Rapids, which paid a nearly $8 million transfer fee to bring him back to the U.S. from Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt.
Turner is earning $1,942,886 with the New England Revolution, which signed him on a year-and-a-half loan from France’s Lyon so he can have regular playing time before nex tyear’s World Cup.
Among international arrivals, New York City FC’s Nicolás Fernández is earning $3,650,000, and he paid some of that back by helping the Pigeons win at Charlotte in Game 1 of their playoff series on Tuesday.
Portland’s Kristoffer Velde is earning $3,027,000, and he scored his first Timbers goal in Sunday’s Game 1 at San Diego. Alas, it was too late to salvage a 2-1 loss.
Matt Turner came back to New England this summer to try to regain the U.S. men’s national team’s starting goalkeeper job.
Columbus’ Wessam Abou Ali is earning $2,157,375, but unfortunately he suffered a fracture in his right ankle in late September and is out six weeks. That might not be enough time to save the Crew’s first-round series against arch-rival Cincinnati, which won Game 1 at home on Monday.
Game 2 is Sunday in Columbus, and Game 3 would be Nov. 8 in Cincinnati.
Speaking of Cincinnati, they’ve got a case study on how to bring back a former star on a midseason deal. Brenner was a Designated Player striker from 2021-23, with a salary of over $2.2 million. He was sold to Italy’s Udinese, then reacquired this summer on a loan for the rest of this year with a purchase option.
His salary for now is just $280,120.
Brenner (left) in action during Monday’s Game 1 of the Cincinnati-Columbus playoff series.
The Union’s payroll
Each player’s salary figure officially includes two numbers: the base salary and guaranteed compensation. The latter number includes signing and guaranteed bonuses, plus marketing bonuses and agents’ fees, annualized over the term of a player’s contract, including option years.
For conversational and reporting purposes, the guaranteed compensation number is the one usually used here and around the league.
Along with the team’s summer signings (Iloski and third-string goalkeeper George Marks) and departures (prospects Nelson Pierre and David Vazquez), you’ll notice that another name is missing.
Centerback Ian Glavinovich agreed to a mutual contract termination a few weeks after being given season-ending injury status for his rehab from a torn meniscus.
The only Union player who got a raise this summer is Jakob Glesnes. He signed a new contract in August, and his pay for the year went up by $71,875, where he’s pulling in $1.31 million this season.
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The annotations in parentheses mean the following:
(1) — Senior roster player; (2) — Supplemental roster player; (3) — Supplemental roster spot 31, loaned to the Union’s reserve team for the entire year; (4) — Off-roster supplemental player
(5) — Designated Player; (6) — Young Designated Player (age 23 or below); (7) — Cap hit bought down with Targeted Allocation Money; (8) — International status; (9) — Homegrown Player status
(10) — Under-22 Player status (via age) to reduce salary cap charge; (11) — Also has a “professional development role” with the team for work beyond the field; (12) — Currently loaned out
Across the landscape, MLS teams are paying a total of $597,372,429 to 944 players.
The average salary is $632,809.78, down a little bit from the spring, the first time that number has exceeded $600,000. The median salary of $300,000 has not changed. The lowest salary in the league, which is set by the CBA, is $80,622. It’s also the most common salary leaguewide, as it often is, with 78 players earning that sum.
Atlanta has the most players on the minimum with eight, followed by Dallas with seven. Colorado has five, followed by Nashville, San Diego, St. Louis, and Seattle with four. The Union have none.
Thomas Müller structured his contract with the Vancouver Whitecaps so that the team could stay within MLS roster rules this year.
Team payroll comparison
This section is often unpleasant reading for Union fans, and it is again this time. The team’s payroll of $13,365,549 is the third-lowest of MLS’s 30 teams right now, ahead of only Dallas and Montréal.
Salary data do not include transfer fees, which occupy a significant portion of MLS team budgets and, these days, are often bigger than salaries. But the payroll comparison is still a snapshot of how teams handle the salary part of the equation. To learn more about teams’ histories with player sales and purchases, check out the data at Transfermarkt.us.
It’s also important to note that players loaned out internationally are usually still counted on the MLSPA’s books. That can have a significant impact on the payroll rankings. For uniformity’s sake, all players listed in the MLSPA’s records are included in the calculations here, whether they’re big names or not.
The most attention here usually goes to the top of the table, but this time the big headline is near the bottom. Toronto finally freed itself of big-money busts Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi, cutting the payroll from over $34 million in the spring — the second-highest total leaguewide — to $13.6 million now.
That’s fourth from last, and just over $200,000 above where the Union have been all along. The Reds will no doubt reload this winter, but it’s quite a sight for now.
Click here to see the team payroll comparison from the previous data set this past spring.
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The millionaires club
The number of millionaires leaguewide is up to 138, another record, from 131 in the spring and 126 at the end of last season.
As with the payroll rankings above, the table below may include some players who are loaned to clubs outside the league, but technically still on MLS teams’ books.
The positions listed here come from the MLSPA’s database. They might not all be perfect matches, but they’re close enough.
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Historical charts
Here are the latest versions of other charts that are recurring features in this analysis, showing changes in key MLS salary metrics over time.
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By most measures, Erica Deuso’s campaign for mayor of Downingtown is unremarkable.
She spends Saturday mornings greeting residents at the farmers market and her weekend days knocking on doors in the Chester County borough. Most of the time, she’s talking about traffic and community events.
Democratic supporters pose with current Downingtown Mayor Phil Dague, center, Chester County Commissioner Josh Maxwell, center left, and mayoral candidate Erica Deuso, center right.
For most voters, though, those facts didn’t even register.
Deuso, who works in management at a pharmaceutical company, has lived in Downingtown for 18 years.
She is a committeewoman in the local Democratic Party, and board member for Emerge Pennsylvania, which trains women and LGBTQ+ people to run for office. Her platform centers on traffic control, domestic violence, community engagement, and sustainable development.
The Downingtown mayor has relatively limited power, overseeing the police department and acting as a tiebreaking vote on borough council. Deuso has promised not to sign an agreement between Downingtown police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and said she wants to work on enhancing mental health services for officers while expanding their reach in the community to address concerns over traffic violations and e-bikes.
As she knocked on doors on a Saturday morning in October, Deuso’s gender identity rarely came up in her interactions with voters.
“I’m not running on being trans, that’s not something I ever do or ever wanted to do. I wanted to make it about the neighbors,” Deuso said. “It’s the other side making it about who I am, my identity.”
Going door-to-door looking for votes in Downingtown in October, Erica Deuso meets Nicole Flood at her door.
The historic nature of her campaign has likely driven attention and funds to the race. She has earned endorsements from several organizations that back LGBTQ+ and women candidates. And she’s received donations from outside the state and outside Chester County, including a $3,000 donation from Greater Than PAC, which supports progressive women.
But a scan of comments in community Facebook pages shows her identity has also driven more vitriol.
“There are people who refuse to use my correct name or pronouns, they’ve deadnamed me, all those sorts of things. But it’s been 16 years since I transitioned; I don’t really care,” Deuso said. But she’s mindful that LGBTQ+ youth are watching her. She engages in some of the posts, but not all of them.
“I want to handle it with grace.”
Those efforts are already influencing at least one local teen. Nicole Bastida-Moyer, a 39-year-old voter, told Deuso her candidacy had inspired her 14-year-old daughter to volunteer to help other students with their mental health. Both she and her daughter are pansexual.
“She deals with a lot of hate,” Bastida-Moyer said through tears about her daughter.
“Having Erica’s voice, it means a lot,” Bastida-Moyer said.
Nicole Bastida-Moyer gets a hug from Downingtown mayoral candidate Erica Deuso while campaigning in October.
Impact on voters
Deuso responds to comments on her Facebook page and other groups occasionally. She said she tends to do so only when she thinks a true conversation can come of it.
Door-knocking in her neighborhood, Deuso encountered just one voter who appeared to be hostile to her because of her gender identity. When Deuso approached one house, a woman came to the door and glanced at the candidate and her fliers through the screen door without opening it.
“I’m not voting for him,” the woman said. “For who?” Deuso asked as the woman turned and walked away.
Episodes like this are relatively rare, Deuso said
“People are generally much nicer in person than online,” said Jenn Fenn, who managed U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan’s 2024 reelection campaign in a district that includes Downingtown.
Deuso’s opponent, Republican Rich Bryant, says he doesn’t condone those who attack Deuso based on her identity.
But Deuso has shared several screenshots on social media that appear to show Bryant insulting transgender women and making misogynistic remarks about cisgender women. At a canvass launch at the local farmers market, the township’s current mayor, Democrat Phil Dague, referenced these posts while comparing Bryant to Trump.
Current Downingtown Mayor Phil Dague talks with supporters for Erica Deuso listening at right. Saturday October 18, 2025.
Bryant claimed 90% of these posts are AI-generated but refused to say which posts are real and which are fake.
“I don’t like mud-slinging misinformation,” Bryant said. “I try to stay focused on what’s good for Downingtown.”
Rich Bryant is running as a Republican for Downingtown mayor.
He sought to present himself as better experienced than Deuso to be mayor, contending his career in cybersecurity has prepared him for the mayor’s primary duty of overseeing the local police department.
Alice Sullivan, an 80-year-old neighbor and donor to Deuso, had noticed some of the nastiness on social media and said she was voting for Deuso because, unlike her opponent, she wasn’t a “bigot.”
She lamented the online attacksagainst Deuso as disappointing — but unsurprising. The candidate’s gender identity shouldn’t matter, insisted Sullivan, who has lived in Downingtown for decades.
“Other people’s lives, genders, whatever is not my business,” she said.
Josh Maxwell, a Democratic county commissioner and former Downingtown mayor who had joined Deuso to knock doors, asked if Sullivan thought others would disagree in the historically Catholic community. But the people who cared, Sullivan argued, are “not going to vote Democrat anyway.”
“There might be some,” she said. “I don’t know very many.”
Campaigning in the west end of Downingtown Erica Deuso greets Alice Sullivan on Oct. 18.
As Deuso walked door to door, her conversations focused on local and community issues. She greeted every dog she saw and spoke to their owners about their safety concerns — drivers had been racing down quiet neighborhood streets — and their concerns about the community. Deuso is proposing a program to offer hotel rooms for one night to those facing domestic violence.
She also made it clear that she would be a resource, even on issues that went beyond the mayor’s official duties. She showed one voter how she had started a youth-driven art project at a recent township festival. And pointed to a home that, just weeks prior, she’d brought a misdelivered package to on behalf of a voter.
For weeks, Raul Hurtado, Deuso’s neighbor who immigrated from Colombia in the 1990s, has been rolling down his windows when he sees Deuso, telling her he’s voting for her.
“She is from this town, my neighbor, and we need someone to help us,” Hurtado told The Inquirer.
If she’s elected, Deuso told Hurtado, her goal is to be available to all residents through office hours at Borough Hall.
“We can have a face-to-face discussion,” she said. “Not through your car window.”
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
Nick Nurse’s summer mood has long been dictated by how the just-completed season unfolded. So naturally, the 76ers’ coach spent much of this past offseason in a state of, in his words, “[ticked]-off-edness.”
The Sixers’ woeful, injury-plagued 24-58 season sent Nurse and his team home much sooner than they ever would have anticipated months earlier, when they had championship aspirations. The irritation lingered.
And lingered.
“It kind of fatigues you mentally and you’re just kind of constantly thinking about it,” the 58-year-old Nurse recently told The Inquirer. “And then, at some point, you’re like, ‘OK, tomorrow I’m getting up at 5:30, and we’re going to start going to work. We’ve got to make a move here.’
“And then that’s kind of what the rest of the summer becomes.”
That methodical approach has yielded a surprising 4-0 start to the Sixers’ 2025-26 season, even with Paul George and Jared McCain sidelined with injuries and Joel Embiid limited while working his way back from an ongoing knee issue. They rallied from a 19-point deficit to top the Washington Wizards in overtime Tuesday night, already their third double-digit comeback victory of the season.
Last season, it took the Sixers until Nov. 30 to record their fourth win. And though it is far too early to make sweeping declarations of a guaranteed turnaround, the Sixers have flashed an on-court identity — and palpable juice — that make good on Nurse’s public vow that “I want you to walk away from the game saying, ‘Jesus, they played their [butts] off tonight.’ That’s it.”
“You could feel his frustration, feel his pain,” said Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, one of Nurse’s close friends. “And, generally, when we’ve all been through a season or a situation like that, there’s an incredible focus on where we need to start going into it the following year. …
“You [could] sense the confidence in their ability to do that when I talked to him this summer.”
Sixers coach Nick Nurse determined that his team needed to play faster this year.
For Nurse, that summer evaluation always begins with a self-debrief, which he acknowledges is not unlike how his brain operates daily. He is constantly thinking about the puzzle of fusing his coaching philosophy — “what you think is the absolute best way of doing anything, regardless” — with roster strengths and weaknesses.
Tactically, Nurse concluded that the Sixers must play a faster-paced, free-flowing offense that could succeed even when Embiid — the perennial All-Star and 2022-23 MVP who has been the franchise’s centerpiece for much of the past decade — inevitably missed time. That emphasis was first raised to dynamic point guard Tyrese Maxey (who totaled another 39 points and 10 assists Tuesday in Washington) during his exit interview with Nurse, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, and general manager Elton Brand. It became even more imperative when the Sixers drafted VJ Edgecombe, a hyper-athletic guard.
But pace does not only mean how quickly the ball travels up and down the floor. Nurse said he, simply, “just wanted more passing. I just wanted the ball to touch more hands.”
The coaching staff began to implement those concepts — and individual skill development plans aligned with them — with younger players during summer league and workouts in Los Angeles, where assistant Rico Hines stages renowned pickup games. When everybody reconvened in Philly after Labor Day for informal team sessions, Nurse harped on the strength and conditioning required to attack the basket and play relentlessly on both ends of the floor. They scrimmaged without calling fouls, a style veteran center Andre Drummond called “prison ball.”
“All those things that kind of enable you to play with some toughness [and] physicality,” Nurse said, “push through when you think you’re tired, that you’re not.”
Returning players such as Adem Bona and Quentin Grimes described Nurse as more “direct” and “intense” while teaching schemes and principles during training camp practices. Kelly Oubre Jr. added that “Nurse has been putting us through the wringer.”
Yet newcomer Dominick Barlow said Nurse’s style and personality falls between his previous two NBA coaches, San Antonio Spurs legend Gregg Popovich and the Atlanta Hawks’ Quin Snyder. Jabari Walker, who also is in his first season in Philly, said he recently swung by Nurse’s office to thank him for giving him the confidence to shoot three-pointers.
“He stopped practice a couple times, saying, ‘That’s the one I want you to shoot,’” Walker said. “I think that’s just so helpful for players, because we overthink the game and we’re playing with such great guys [that] we don’t know when we should shoot sometimes.
“Having a coach that really believes in you allows you to just take that step back and trust your work. [You] even want to play harder for a leader like that, just because he instills so much in you.”
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse showed early confidence in rookie VJ Edgecombe and it appears to be paying off.
Nurse also can tap back into past experiences on his wide-ranging coaching journey of when a team responded to a disappointing season with a significant bounce-back.
After five years coaching in the British Basketball League, Nurse went 22-28 his first season with the D-League’s Iowa Energy, from 2007-08, while adjusting to a “totally different” playing style and roster “merry-go-round [that] was unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” He flipped that record to 28-22 the following season, won the 2011 league championship, and then was hired to coach the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the D-League affiliate of the Houston Rockets, then run by Morey. Nurse went 24-26 that first season, before winning the title the next year.
Nurse, though, has been candid about what faces the Sixers this season. They must “earn their way back” into the playoffs, he said on media day. “We’re digging ourselves out of a pretty big hole,” he reiterated following recent practices. When asked before Saturday’s home opener against Charlotte how much pressure he felt entering this season, Nurse said, “Not more than any other time.”
“I’m going into every game trying to win,” Nurse said, “and that’s been going on for 35 years. … That’s really all I think about.”
Even before this impressive start, Nurse could pull optimism from a practice day just before the season opener. When he walked into the Sixers’ facility at 7:30 a.m., the coach said, two players already were watching film in the chairs that line the practice courts. Another was moving through an individual workout.
“It’s not easy to get all that stuff: the work ethic, the togetherness,” Nurse said. “I keep saying I’m happy with it. Am I surprised? A little bit, because it’s not that easy.”
Perhaps those Sixers were mirroring their coach and the way his offseason mood propelled him into 2025-26.
“You go through these [times] as a coach, for sure,” he said. “And you just do all those things I said. You debrief. You regroup. You brush the dust off and get back to work.
“And you let that [ticked]-off-edness fuel you a little bit.”
ARIES (March 21-April 19). The fix you’re looking for isn’t new. It’s not even new to you, really. You’ve solved this problem before (or one just like it) and the answer is tucked away in memory. Close your eyes and the solution will be right there waiting for you.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You make people feel special without even trying. It isn’t a performance; it’s your genuine curiosity. Today your interest spreads warmth and sets the tone for lasting goodwill. But more importantly, you’ll have fun getting to know people better.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’ll do the practical thing, but that doesn’t mean it’s boring. Even the most routine task takes on an air of significance because you care to understand the process, get to know the people and even learn a bit of the history that brought you all to this moment.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Once again, you’ll be shown the positive aspect of limits. When you pile on more tasks, include more people, get more items, these additions don’t necessarily make things better. Expenses drain. So the real win today is in editing.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Today you’ll be struck by the richness of your inner life. Reflection and imagination may be a solo mission, but you won’t feel lonely because you’re such a good friend to yourself that self-sufficiency can feel surprisingly social.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Someone seems to enjoy pushing your emotional buttons. They care enough to pay attention to what bothers you and on some level it feels good to be known. Even so, if you want it to stop, your best reaction is not to react.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). People change when they feel included. Your inviting gesture flips the whole mood. Maybe you’ll ask the thoughtful question, save a seat or share a joke. Belonging is a cheap gift to give and a priceless one to receive.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You’re drawn to love like some people are drawn to the ocean: Ceaseless movement and unfathomable danger magnetize with mysterious and mesmerizing power. You must have the beauty, despite the risk, or perhaps because of it.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). As animals at both ends of the food chain know, hiding isn’t weakness, it’s a survival strategy. Today you may hide for fun or to protect your energy. You may also hide because it allows you to observe the unvarnished truth.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Conditions will never be perfect. Start where you are. The rough draft, the first call, the messy attempt — they might feel awkward or even quite embarrassing, but they separate the dilettantes from those who eventually become masters.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Many around you today will care about surface qualities, appearances and immediate pleasures. You’re looking for what’s sustainable, not just what dazzles in the moment. This quest for value will pay you back sooner than you think.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Titles don’t guarantee actual influence. Someone can be “the boss” but not command respect, or “the leader” without followers. Today, you’ll see something that isn’t being handled. Step up and take charge and you’ll become the one people trust.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Oct. 28). Welcome to your Year of Unlikely Breakthroughs. What seems impossible now becomes second nature in months. Work turns profitable after a strange experiment. You’ll fall for someone’s quirks and be delighted when they love yours too. More highlights: An old habit breaks, replaced with something healing. A negotiation goes your way. Creative work draws applause and new fans. Taurus and Sagittarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 5, 11, 33, 48 and 17.
DEAR ABBY: My sister has always been a liar and a manipulator. She has lost jobs because of her toxic behavior. Our parents passed away 20 years ago, and ever since, she has trashed their memory to anyone who will listen. She claims she was unwanted because she was female, that my parents refused to name her and wouldn’t take her home from the hospital until police were called. None of that is in any way true.
Now, she’s claiming our mother slept with multiple men and my biological father could be nearly anyone. I have a DNA test that proves that my father was the man who was married to my mother for more than 50 years. She dismisses this proof as a “lab mistake” and maintains her tale about my parentage.
How do I respond to this? Do I contact members of our large extended family and tell them what she is doing? I suspect that what she wants is a reaction from me, which she will then weaponize against me as she often does. How do I handle such a liar, who has no concern for the impact of her allegations?
— FRUSTRATED BROTHER IN TENNESSEE
DEAR BROTHER: Your sister appears to be mentally unbalanced and unwilling to accept you as her full brother. She may also be trying to upset you. If you think she has been spreading these rumors among your relatives, by all means reach out and tell them you have proof that what she has been saying is untrue. One can only imagine what else she has been lying about.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: A close relative has been diagnosed with incurable cancer. Friends are now sending me articles and clippings about cancer research and the promise of new therapies. If they had actually READ these articles, they would see that clinical trials on humans are far off, or that the type of cancer referred to in the article is different from what my relative has. Why offer hope when there is none? The same thing happened to me when I had cancer 20 years ago. In one instance, I received an article about how to prevent the cancer I already had!
Please remind your readers that although these items are most often sent with love, they do little to help the individual experiencing the illness and treatment and can cause anger and pain. Doctors, especially oncologists, provide their patients with the best treatments available. It’s best to let them handle it. Thank you.
— SAD RELATIVE IN CALIFORNIA
DEAR RELATIVE: Many people, upon hearing that someone they care about has a terminal illness, feel sad and helpless. Out of a need to do SOMETHING, they will send articles, some of which are inappropriate. While I agree that the most reliable source of information about cancer is your relative’s oncologist, and that readers need to be aware of the message they are trying to send, please understand they are being sent out of a desire to help.
Fortunate and exciting are the best ways to describe the Sixers. They know it. So do their first three opponents.
Yet that shouldn’t take away from the unexpected excitement surrounding the team.
After beating the Magic on Monday night, the Sixers are 3-0. It’s their best start since opening 5-0 during the 2019-20 season.
The Sixers are fortunate because they’ve had a favorable schedule to start the season, facing the Magic (1-3), Charlotte Hornets (2-1), and Boston Celtics (1-3). And they’ll travel to the 1-2 Washington Wizards on Tuesday to complete their first back-to-back of the season.
Yet, the undermanned squad is fun to watch thanks to having one of the league’s best young backcourts in Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe.
According to ESPN, the duo’s combined 186 points are the most by any team’s starting backcourt through the first three games of a season since starters were first tracked during the 1970-71 season.
“That’s a long time ago,” Maxey said with a chuckle when asked his thoughts. “Nineteen-seventy that was like … a long time ago. All I have to say is that was a long time ago.
“But I mean, listen, we are just trying to go out there and be aggressive to help us win. As long as we are doing that, then we are doing a good job. VJ is doing great.”
Several gritty, athletic, defensive-minded role players surround the duo.
As a result, this team has shown more heart than all of last season when they finished with a disheartening 24-58 record. And things should only get better once the team gets healthy.
Joel Embiid missed Monday’s game due to left knee injury management. Dominick Barlow was also sidelined while having a procedure for a left elbow laceration. Paul George (left knee surgery recovery), Jared McCain (right thumb surgery recovery), and Trendon Watford (left hamstring injury management) have yet to play this season.
Sixers guard Eric Gordon scored eight points off the bench on Monday night.
On Monday, Jabari Walker (four points, five rebounds, one block) got his first start of the season. Eric Gordon (eight points, 2-for-3 on three-pointers) and Hunter Sallis made their season debuts.
“Last year, I think lineups changed a lot. Guys in and out,” Kelly Oubre Jr. said of the team’s ability to bring it together so quickly. “But this year, I think Tyrese has been hitting it on the head. It’s like no matter who’s out there, we have this constant that we won’t waiver from. That goes into our culture and the things that we do on a daily basis.
“It’s still early. But at the end of the day, man, if we can have the next man step up, or anybody come in there and be an impact to winning, I think that we’ll be better off than we were last year.”
But like they’ve done in their first two games, the Sixers came up with big fourth-quarter plays to pull out the victory.
On this night, Maxey scored 13 of his season-high 43 points in the final quarter to give the Sixers breathing room. He also finished with a game-high eight assists and four rebounds. The 2023 All-Star is averaging 37 points.
He received MVP chants during the game.
”I’m just trying to close games out,” said Maxey, who is in his sixth season. “Joel has been on me recently about that, probably since my fourth year, about how I can help close games out and have the ball in my hand and make decisions whether I’m shooting or whether I’m passing.”
Meanwhile, Edgecombe finished with 26 points, seven assists, four rebounds, one block, and a steal. He’s averaging 25 points. And the Sixers’ backcourt is a problem for teams to defend.
The team will be tough to beat if Oubre can duplicate Monday’s performance, finishing with 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting, along with 10 rebounds and two blocks.
The Magic didn’t help their case by taking too many poor shots and only playing hard in spurts. That’s where the Sixers were fortunate in this game.
But this team is exciting and has a refuse-to-lose attitude that could benefit them once the schedule toughens.
Sixers center Adem Bona shown blocking one of his three total blocked shots on Monday night against the Magic.
Bona’s impact, excessive fouling
Bona got the start at center for Embiid. The 6-foot-8, 235-pounder was flying around on the defensive end. That enabled him to sandwich two highlight blocks around one by Oubre on consecutive defensive possessions.
However, as Bona tends to do, he got caught for reaching and jumping into players he’s defending. Bona picked up his first foul with 8 minutes, 18 seconds left in the first quarter. Then the second-year player picked up his second foul 30 seconds later and was immediately subbed out by Andre Drummond.
“Like we all know that, like even from last year, try to avoid the early fouls to avoid going to the bench, you know?” Bona said. “Sometimes it happens. Sometimes, I just got to let some stuff go. It’s just not part of my mentality. My mentality is like no one scores on me, no one scores on the team while I’m on the floor.
“Sometimes I got to know when to switch it on, switch it off. … For me, I think that’s like the next step to know when to attack everybody and when to slow down.”
Bona returned to the game early in the second quarter.
The former UCLA standout was back to his aggressive self in the third quarter. He scored on two acrobatic alley-oop dunks, grabbed three rebounds, and blocked Desmond Bane’s layup before being subbed out with 5:50 left in the third.
“That’s huge, not just for me, but the whole team,” Bona said of highlight plays. “Not just for the whole team, but for the fans. It brings excitement. It brings juice.
“When you get the fans going, the fans are behind you and bring excitement to the team. We want to play harder. We want to play faster. So that’s really big, and that’s what I do, just bring that for the team and the fans.”
He finished with seven points and four rebounds to go with his three blocks.
Bona is a considerable asset for the Sixers. He brings unmatched energy, excitement, and rim protection. He needs to cut down on committing early fouls.
Quentin Grimes continues to thrive as a scoring threat off the bench for the Sixers.
Grimes is thriving in a reserve role
After being acquired in a trade from the Dallas Mavericks in February, Grimes proved that he’s capable of starting for the Sixers.
The 6-5, 207-pounder with elite three-point shooting and solid defense would be a great compliment to Maxey in the backcourt. He would also stretch the floor to create space for Embiid and George.
But coming off the bench has enabled him to play more as a playmaker and less as a stander in the corner, waiting for catch-and-shoot opportunities.
It’s also better for him and the team in that role. There’s less competition if he’s playing for the second unit. And his impact has been felt in each of the last two games.
Grimes finished with 14 points on Monday while making 3-of-4 three-pointers, to go with five rebounds and three assists before fouling out. He made an impact shortly after checking into the game with 6:53 left in the first quarter.
He also buried three foul shots to give the Sixers an 118-113 lead with 4:52 remaining.
This comes after Grimes finished with 24 points in Saturday’s 125-121 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. In that win, Grimes gave the Sixers the lead for good on a three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining.
“I know I’m going to get starters minutes and everything [despite coming off the bench],” Grimes said. “I’m going to do my thing. I just get the opportunity to go out there and play my game … go out there and help the team win.
“We got a lot of good guys on the team, a lot of versatility. So it’s all going to play itself out. It’s going to work out for sure.”
A woman was shot in the wrist and a man was arrested after what police say appeared to be a road rage incident Monday evening in Bucks County.
Around 6:30 p.m., police responded to a reported shooting in the area of the Newtown Bypass and Woodbourne Road in Newtown Township.
The woman, who was driving one of the vehicles involved in the incident, was transported to St. Mary Medical Center and was listed in stable condition, police said.
A few minutes later, the man and the vehicle he was driving were located at Washington Crossing and Stoopville Roads, and he was taken into custody, police said. A gun was recovered for evidence.
Police said both vehicles reportedly were traveling east on Newtown Bypass during the initial encounter and then south onto Woodbourne Road.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information helpful to the case can contact the Newtown Township Police Department at 215-579-1000 ext. 317.
Jared McCain, who is recovering from right thumb surgery, has been out of his split for two days. But the 76ers guard put on a solid shoot display following Monday’s shootaround, and looked like someone who could make a solid impact upon his return.
“That’s the progress,” coach Nick Nurse said before Monday night’s game against the Orlando Magic at Xfinity Mobile Arena. “He’s going to have to go through a series of days of contact and all that stuff, too.”
The second-year player was cleared to switch from his initial split to a smaller one and partake in drills after being reevaluated a couple of days ago. As was the case prior to injury, he shot the ball at a high percentage during the workout.
He began his session by shooting three-pointers with VJ Edgecombe and Eric Gordon. After Edgecombe and Gordon cleared the court, McCain participated in solo drills, attempting more threes and concluding with foul shots.
“Inserting him in with the VJ, Tyrese [Maxey] and [Quentin Grimes guard] group is the plan,” Nurse said of how he wants to use McCain. “That was sort of the plan going into the season. Again, I think they all can do a variety of things, and give us a chance to have some more depth. Gives us a chance to, again, play some shorter stints so the energy can stay high and all those things.
“We need him back. We look forward to having him back.”
McCain suffered the injury while working out on Sept. 25, the day before the unofficial start of his second season. He underwent surgery on Sept. 30 at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
McCain had previously been cleared as a full training-camp participant after missing the final 4½ months of last season with a torn meniscus in his left knee. He suffered that injury on Dec. 13 during a home loss to the Indiana Pacers.
McCain, now 21, was a revelation for the Sixers last season and would have been a major contributor for a struggling team if he had remained healthy.
Despite playing in just 23 games, he finished tied for seventh in the NBA’s rookie of the year voting. McCain was awarded a third-place vote from the media panel of 100 voters. Before the injury, he was the favorite to win the award.
McCain averaged 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. He also shot 46% from the field — including 38.3% from three. The California native joined Hall of Famer Allen Iverson as the only Sixers rookies to average at least 15 points and two made three-pointers.
He made three or more three-pointers in eight consecutive games from Nov. 8-22 to set an NBA rookie record.
Sixers guard Jared McCain gets up shots with VJ Edgecombe and Eric Gordon after Monday’s shootaround: pic.twitter.com/J9sst9RDVo
McCain was named the Eastern Conference rookie of the month for games played in October and November last season.
Joel Embiid sidelined
It wasn’t surprising that Joel Embiid missed Monday’s game.
The 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star won’t play on both nights of back-to-backs, and the Sixers will face the Washington Wizards at the Capital One Arena on Tuesday.
Embiid playing “is always going to be our best version of our basketball team,” Nurse said. “He’s still obviously working his way back into being the guy that can play. I don’t know if we’re ever going to get to 48 minutes, but working his way up the ladder a little bit.
“I think we know the situation like we’re in with back-to-backs that he’d be missing one of the two games, and we got to go play, knowing that is probably better than finding out another way.”
Barlow’s procedure
Nurse said Dominick Barlow was undergoing a procedure on Monday to address a right elbow laceration while his teammates were facing the Magic. The power forward will also sit out Tuesday’s contest.
Barlow averaged 7.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists as the starting power forward in the first two games.
“It was kind of a nice fit,” Nurse said of Barlow being in the starting lineup. “He was guarding tough. He was rebounding tough. He was offensive rebounding really well. We just got to move on. And again, it affects your depth.”
