BOSTON — Tyrese Maxey scored 40 points and VJ Edgecombe added 34 in his NBA debut to help the 76ers rally to beat the Boston Celtics 117-116 in their season-opener Wednesday night.
Edgecombe scored the most points in an NBA debut since Wilt Chamberlain had 43 on Oct. 24, 1959.
The Sixers led by four with 22 seconds left, but it was down to one when Edgecombe missed a pair of foul shots with 9.1 seconds to play. Payton Pritchard missed two potential game-winning shots.
Joel Embiid played for the first time since February, scoring four points on 1-of-9 shooting. The 2023 NBA MVP and a two-time league scoring champion had six rebounds in 20 minutes in his return being limited to 19 games during the 2024-25 season because of a sprained left foot, a sinus fracture, and arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe (left) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown during the second quarter of Wednesday’s game.
Jaylen Brown returned from a hamstring injury in the preseason finale to score 25 points. The 2024 NBA Finals MVP is expected to carry a heavier load this year with fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum, who watched the game from the bench in street clothes, recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Derrick White scored 13 points of his 25 points in the third quarter, when the Celtics scored 16 straight points to turn a five-point deficit into an 11-point lead. The Celtics led 94-84 with nine minutes remaining before the Sixers scored eight straight points to make it close.
Up next
The Sixers will host the Charlotte Hornets for their home opener on Saturday (7:30 p.m., NBCSP). The Celtics will travel to New York to face the Knicks on Friday night.
Inside the NBA made its highly anticipated ESPN debut on Wednesday during the league’s second night of action.
The hit show was originally televised on TNT before the network ended its NBA coverage following the 2024-25 season. But thanks to a licensing agreement between TNT Sports and ESPN, the show lives on.
Throughout its years on TNT, the show created plenty of iconic moments, from Charles Barkley’s comments on women from San Antonio to Shaquille O’Neal falling into a Christmas tree — multiple times. Now, it’s still making headlines on ESPN.
Here are some of the best moments from Wednesday’s show …
Barkley kissing up to ESPN
The original cast, featuring Ernie Johnson, O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Barkley, were excited to make their debut on ESPN. But Barkley may have been a little more excited than others.
“I was nervous today, I’m not going to lie,” Barkley said. “Every person who has ever touched a ball wanted to be on ESPN. They are the greatest sports network ever and to be working for these guys is an honor and a privilege. It is.”
Smith responded: “Do you want a napkin for all that kissing up you just did?”
Charles Barkley: "I was nervous today…Every person who's ever touched a ball wanted to be on ESPN. They are the greatest sports network ever."
Kenny Smith: “Do you want a napkin for all that kissing up you just did?”
Of course, the show wasn’t all about teasing Barkley. In fact, O’Neal gave the 11-time NBA All-Star a few compliments during the show.
“Chuck was fat last year,” O’Neal said. “Now look at him. He’s a sex symbol.”
Barkley responded: “He got a point about the sex symbol. … Shout out to my doctors at Ro.co. I’m working out too, now. You’ve got to work out. You can’t just take a shot.”
We got the very first race to the board between O’Neal and Smith on ESPN — if we can even call it a race.
“We’re going to do it a little different,” Smith said. “You know how you do the fast walk? So you don’t hurt yourself. So, we’ll do a fast walk to the board.”
During the halftime show of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks game, Johnson counted down and the two walked quickly to the board. Within seconds, Smith took the first win of the year.
Barkley has created a number of unhinged moments — from comparing O’Neal to Shrek to discussing Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Now, he’s done it again. When discussing the playoff picture, Barkley said the Miami Heat were out of the eighth spot.
Smith responded: “No, they play too hard.”
“They play hard,” Barkley said. “That’s like when you go out with a girl and you say she has a great personality. That just means she’s ugly. The Heat play hard. The Heat are not going to be in the top eight.”
Charles Barkley: The Miami Heat are out the 8th spot
Kenny Smith: Nah they play too hard
Charles Barkley: That’s like when you go out with a girl and you say she has a great personality that just means she’s ugly
Those three things stood out in the Sixers’ 117-116 season-opening victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday at TD Garden.
Dominant duo
Maxey and Edgecombe were fun to watch.
Maxey had 40 points on 13-for-25 shooting from the field and 7-for-9 from the three-point line to go with six assists. Edgecombe, the third pick in June’s draft, added 34 points on 13-for-26 shooting to go with six rebounds. He is the first Sixers rookie to have at least 30 points in his debut since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson did so on Nov. 1, 1996.
It was also the third-highest scoring debut in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 43 points on Oct. 24, 1959, and Frank Selvy’s 35 points on Nov. 30, 1954.
Sixers fans have to love the duo’s pace. The two guards put a lot of pressure on the Celtics. They also took over the game during stretches.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey (left) scored 40 points against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
Edgecombe scored 10 straight and 13 of the Sixers’ final 16 points in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Maxey took over where Edgecombe left off, scoring 19 second-quarter points on 7-for-10 shooting.
The Sixers will have one of the league’s most explosive backcourts if the duo can keep this up. Their athleticism, speed, and ability to take over are unmatched on many teams.
“I feel like we both [play] really well in the open court,” Edgecombe said. “Playing fast is something that we want to do. Ain’t [many who] can keep up. Joel was out there here and there. But when Joel is fully back, it’s going to be a different game. It’s going to be better if you ask me, because he requires so much attention.
“You go one-on-one all night, that’s not night and day for whoever’s guarding him. And one on one for Tyrese, it’s night and day for whoever’s guarding him too.”
In Friday’s preseason finale, Embiid flirted with a triple-double in a little over 18 minutes of action. However, that performance came against a Minnesota Timberwolves team composed mainly of NBA G-League talent.
So his first actual test came in Wednesday’s contest against the Celtics.
Embiid failed to have the same impact against Boston centers Neemias Queta and Xavier Tillman. He finished with four points and six rebounds in 20 minutes. The performance paled in comparison to his night against Minnesota, when he scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out eight assists, and blocked three shots.
Embiid missed his first four shots en route to shooting 1-for-9 on Wednesday.
“I’m super happy that he was out there,” coach Nick Nurse said. “I think that he played good. I know that’s going to sound silly, 1-for-9. He just didn’t shoot it very good.
“I thought he transferred the ball good. I thought he made some good decisions. I thought he took good shots. I thought he protected the rim. So, again, he hasn’t done much. He’s kind of played in a scrimmage and a preseason game. I think there’s some rust there, but I thought he moving good and made good decisions.”
Sixers center Joel Embiid (center) is still working his way back into form after a long layoff because of knee injuries.
While Nurse raved about Embiid, the 7-foot-2, 280-pounder didn’t show a lot of lateral movement on defense. He also rarely jumped to contest shots or go after rebounds.
Embiid is resorting to using his massive frame to overpower opponents in the post. The 2023 MVP is also clogging everything up on offense. He has to either roll hard or launch three pointers from the top of the key. When he doesn’t, the offense stalls and the Sixers came away with bad possessions.
They actually played better without Embiid in the fourth quarter. He sat out the final 9 minutes, 17 seconds due to a minute restriction.
We’ll find out shortly whether this is the player he’s become or if he’s getting back into the groove after being sidelined since February.
“I’m good,” Embiid said. “You know, it’s going to take a while, you know, obviously, being on a minutes restriction, playing shorter stints, it’s harder to kind of get into a rhythm. But I got to figure it out. That’s the way they got it set up.
“It’s annoying, but if I want to play, I don’t really have a choice. But I want to be out there as much as possible.”
Embiid said there’s a lot he can do until returning to his old form. He wants to use his “gravity” to get teammates open.
“There’s still so much more I can contribute to other than scoring,” Embiid said. “So just using myself as a decoy to allow all these guys to do whatever they have to do to win.”
The two-way impact
With multiple seasons of NBA experience, Barlow and Walker weren’t your typical two-way players when they signed deals in July. At the time, the thought was that one of them — if not both — would garner a standard contract several months into the season.
What we didn’t know was that the Sixers would have to rely heavily on the duo, with Paul George (left knee) and Trendon Watford (left hamstring) both sidelined.
Sixers forward Dominick Barlow (left) had 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds on Wednesday.
The big question was whether Barlow could duplicate the energy he displayed in the preseason. Based on Wednesday’s game, the answer appears to be yes.
Barlow attacked the glass, ran the floor, and was a solid role player. He had three points, three rebounds, and an assist before being subbed out for Walker with 3:14 left in the first quarter. Walker also provided solid energy while setting picks and hustling for loose balls and rebounds.
Barlow finished with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds while Walker had six points and four boards.
They are both making the most of their opportunities and will make the Sixers a deeper team once George and Watford return.
“This is my fourth year in the NBA,” Barlow said. “You can say I’m a two-way or whatever the case may be. But I know how to play basketball. I know what this team needs me to do. It’s just my job to play with energy and pick us up when we are down, or we are on those runs, get into actions and crash [the boards] and guard.”
Pause the city’s facilities master planning process, a grassroots coalition said Wednesday, weeks before the Philadelphia School District has said it would release a draft of that plan — which will include school closures.
Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. and school board president Reginald Streater have said the long-promised planning process would be different than the 2013 incarnation, that they would consider the harm done then, and would use an equity lens.
Watlington in September said “there are no fixed decisions at this point, and the short answer is we can’t answer any of those questions right now about which schools will close, but we can surely say some will.”
But Councilmember Kendra Brooks, who was a school activist fighting the closures on the front lines 12 years ago, said this process feels similar, despite officials’ assertions that their aim is to organize city schools in a way that best advantages children.
Philadelphia has complex facilities needs — 70,000 excess seats in schools across the city, some schools that are more than half-empty, and some bursting at the seams. Its buildings are old, and many have environmental problems.
“This seems like a school closure process,” Brooks said in an interview. “We’ve been here before, and the conversation should be about the future we want for our children — it should include plans for investment, not just closure.”
City Council woman at large Kendra Brooks, speaks in front of parents, teachers, and public school advocates during a Stand Up for Philly Schools event in Philadelphia, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.
Brooks joined members of Stand Up for Philly Schools — a coalition of organizations including Parents United for Public Education, the Philadelphia Home and School Council, and Asian Americans United — outside the Barnes Foundation on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Wednesday night, where members of the Council for Great City Schools met for an opening reception.
“We are being given an extremely limited set of options about the future of our schools. We are being told that school closures are a foregone conclusion. We’re being told to sign off on a plan that we haven’t even seen,” Brooks said to the crowd of dozens ofeducators, parents, students and other supporters gathered for the cause.
“We don’t know how many, we don’t know which ones, but we know that every school closure hurts a community,” she said.
‘A big contraction of the school district’
Those who rallied Wednesday made several demands of the district, which is playing host to the Council for Great City Schools conference. Those asks includedpausing the planning process, creating a new strategy for public engagement, and committing at least $250 million annually to keeping district schools well-maintained.
So far, the process has played out poorly, members of Stand Up for Philly Schools say. There’s been engagement on paper, but many in advisory groups said they felt their work was merely lip service, and community meetings have been sparsely attended.
The school board has authorized spending over $5 million on contracts for community engagement, the planning process itself, and the construction and hosting of a data warehouse for all facilities information.
“We feel like we’re not getting the whole picture, we feel like whatever ideas and feedback we gave are not being heeded, and we don’t think there’s enough time in this process,” said Adam Blyweiss, a district parent and teacher who sat on an advisory committee.
Laurie Mazer, a member of Parents United for Public Education, said the process feels “weird, and rushed.”
Getting information has ”been a real teeth-pulling exercise,” Mazer said.
‘When schools close, communities pay the price’
It appeared like an early Halloween celebration at the Stand Up for Philly Schools rally.
Coalition members wore tombstone signs around their necks, each representing a Philadelphia public school that was closed during the district’s last closure plan.
“After months of delays and missing data, it’s clear why so many families don’t trust this process,” said Melanie Silva, the mother to a fourth grader at Rhawnhurst Elementary School in Northeast Philly and a member of 215 People’s Alliance.
Melanie Silva, mom to a fourth grader at Rhawnhurst Elementary School, speaks during a Stand Up for Philly Schools event in Philadelphia, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.
Wearing a tombstone sign around her neck representing George Wharton Pepper Middle School and its closure in 2013, Silva described the overcrowded and under-resourced conditions at her daughter’s school. She said the school’s library was a meeting room, and classrooms were so full there was “no room to breathe.” She said the district ought to invest in its schools rather than close them.
“We deserve transparency, we deserve trust, and real investment, not excuses,” she said.
Charles Hudgins, an algebra teacher at Abraham Lincoln High School in Northeast Philly, warned that the district would make problems that schools face today worseby closing more of them. He said that some of his students already travel more than an hour.
Barbara Dowdall, of Germantown, Retired teacher of 36 years, holds up a sign to show her support for Philadelphia public schools during a Stand Up for Philly Schools event in Philadelphia, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.
“The potential and talent of students is being lost every single day because our school system is focused on quality and numbers. The numbers we care about are the number of excellent schools where our children have opportunities to thrive, to think creatively and to pursue their passions,” said Ruth Kuriloff, 17, a senior at Science Leadership Academy at Beeber.
She and her classmates said students would only be hurt by closing schools to save money.
“These obvious inequities will not get better by closing schools,” said Jordyn McGriff-Laduna, 17, also a senior at the school. “Quality education should not be a privilege. It should be a promise for all students in all areas.”
The Eagles who were around before this season knew what to expect when Brandon Graham rejoined the team for his first practice Wednesday after coming out of retirement earlier this week.
The newbies had only heard the stories. Maybe they had met Graham in passing. Fellow edge rusher Joshua Uche recalled swapping jerseys with Graham after an Eagles-Patriots game in 2023. But when Uche joined the Eagles, it was in part because Graham was no longer with the team. “I just missed him,” Uche said.
Graham had been around the NovaCare Complex before this week and had been working out, but this week he’s back in the meeting rooms and on Wednesday he went through his first practice. The Eagles tried to fill the void he left behind when Graham retired from football in March. They signed veterans like Uche, Azeez Ojulari, and Ogbo Okoronkwo in the offseason. They then added an even more experienced veteran in Za’Darius Smith after Week 1. But Smith, 33, lasted only five games before hanging up the cleats himself.
Nothing could really replace all of the things Graham brought. And on Wednesday, make no mistake about it, Graham was back.
“The energy he brings, the leadership he brings, and the juice he brings out there on the field, we needed that part of the engine back,” Uche said.
Uche said Graham practiced normally and went through the day just like any other player in the position room.
“It feels good today,” Graham said, still dressed in his pads outside his old locker stall after practice, the same stall recently vacated by Smith. “I’ll just say that. I ain’t going to go too crazy. But I felt good.”
Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham practiced Wednesday for the first time since unretiring and said he felt good.
Graham, who was listed as a full participant on the Eagles’ practice report, said he didn’t feel too far away from being in football shape because he has spent the last few months working out, many times at NovaCare. He did joke that he tapped his helmet to come out after only a few plays. Is he in good enough shape to play Sunday vs. the New York Giants?
“We’re going to see, man,” Graham said. “I’m going to let Coach do that. Honestly, I’m just here to continue to keep affirming everybody with what they are and their ability.”
How and when Graham performs remains to be seen, but that part — the leadership and the positive energy — should have an immediate impact.
“It was a vibe, man,” rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell said of his first practice with Graham. “That’s the OG. I was fortunate enough to have a relationship with him outside of being here in his early retirement, I guess you could say. He brings nothing but positive vibes, man, great energy to the brotherhood that we have here. He’s just an all-around great dude. He’s like a guy where it’s like, you look at him and you smile and you got to say what’s up. He never has bad intentions, he’s never talking about nothing negative, he’s always going to bring you up.”
And the trash-talking?
“It’s safe to say it ain’t no act,” Campbell said. “That’s just organic, exactly who he is, and I saw it for myself.”
Campbell said it didn’t seem like Graham had been away from football “for three months or however long it was.”
It was seven, but Graham said he knew he “wasn’t all the way done.” He was hoping the Eagles wouldn’t need him, but opportunity knocked as injuries piled up and Smith stepped away from the game. The Eagles reached out to him, and he and his wife, Carlyne, agreed it was right.
Graham said he told his teammates that he’s “here to give you affirmations every day and work hard and let’s all be professionals and try to build this thing and get us another one.
“It don’t matter how you start, it’s how you finish.”
Graham knows that well, both from the perspective of the totality of his career — a draft bust who turned into the franchise’s all-time leader in games played — and in the micro sense of last season, when the Eagles started slowly and eventually won the Super Bowl.
Brandon Graham announced his retirement from the Eagles in March. He unretired on Tuesday after just seven months out of football.
Graham retired on top. He cried and gave a heartfelt speech next to two Super Bowl trophies. As far as storybook endings go, he had a perfect one after making a surprising return from injury to play in the Super Bowl in February.
“Reality set in,” Graham said. “That story book will still be there, but reality set in. I still had the urge, and of course, I felt like I was still on my game last year. I still feel like I could help the team. If I didn’t feel like that, I wouldn’t be back and Howie [Roseman] wouldn’t have picked me up.”
There is the risk that the ending to that story changes, and it’s something Graham said he talked about with Carlyne.
“When you think about it, when Tom Brady and all them boys came back, you still say he got seven rings and he’s still going to tell the story,” Graham said. “If I still feel like I can play, why not?
“I just feel like I still got a duty to come in and help because I feel like I still got a lot of juice left.”
The Eagles, new and old, got a taste of that Wednesday.
The Eagles were down a few prominent starters at practice on Wednesday, including Cam Jurgens (knee), A.J. Brown, and Adoree’ Jackson (concussion), as the week of preparation began for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.
Jurgens, the 6-foot-3, 303-pound center, exited the game against the Minnesota Vikings with a right knee injury after the Eagles’ second possession. He appeared to sustain the injury on the first play of the game. Still, Jurgens finished the rest of the drive and returned for the next one with a brace on his knee.
Brett Toth took over for Jurgens at center for the rest of the game, starting with the Eagles’ third possession. Toth said after the game that Jurgens would require an MRI for his knee. Coach Nick Sirianni declined to reveal the extent of Jurgens’ injury or his anticipated status for Sunday’s game.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Sirianni said Wednesday. “He’s always going to do everything he can do and our trainers, our doctors and our strength staff will do everything they can do to get him back going as soon as possible. We’ll see where we are. You’ll get the injury report later [Wednesday], but we’ll see where we are as the week continues and where Cam is.”
If Jurgens can’t play, the Eagles have a variety of options to consider to replace him. They could start Toth at center, leaving the rest of the offensive line intact.
Landon Dickerson could also slide over from left guard to center, a move the Eagles made when Jurgens was out for the start of the NFC championship game last year against the Washington Commanders with a back ailment. The Eagles would have a few options to consider at left guard in Dickerson’s place, including Toth or Matt Pryor.
The Eagles drafted Jurgens’ apparent backup at center in Drew Kendall this year, but the fifth-rounder out of Boston College has only been active for one game and has yet to take an offensive snap in the regular season.
“You’re constantly trying to think of what the best thing is for the football team,” Sirianni said of the Eagles’ backup options at center. “So you have options because of the guys that we have there, with Landon, with everybody, you have options there. You want to keep continuity as much as you possibly can, but you also want to give yourself the best opportunity to win.
“So, all those things are weighed, how practice looks is weighed, how practice goes, and walk-throughs for that matter. But we got a lot of confidence in the guys that if Cam can’t go, we have a lot of confidence in the guys that would be filling that spot.”
Meanwhile, Brown stood on the sideline in a sweatshirt alongside Dom DiSandro during the brief portion of practice open to the media on Wednesday. The reason for Brown being sidelined will become public when the Eagles release their first injury report of the week on Wednesday afternoon.
The star receiver played 46 offensive snaps (92%) against the Vikings and was on the field until the final passing play of the game, his 45-yard dagger on third and 9 with one minute, 45 seconds remaining.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr., who dropped out of the Vikings game with an ankle injury, was also sidelined.
Additionally, Jackson and Azeez Ojulari (hamstring) were not present for practice. Both players exited during the Vikings game.
On Tuesday, Vic Fangio expressed doubt about Ojulari’s availability for Sunday’s game against the Giants. He also noted that Kelee Ringo may get more opportunities to play at the starting outside cornerback spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell, putting Jackson’s status in question, too.
Fangio may have another option to consider at cornerback in Jakorian Bennett, as the Eagles opened his 21-day practice window on Wednesday. He was present and participating as he works his way back from a pectoral injury that placed him on injured reserve following the Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Grant Calcaterra (oblique) was practicing in some capacity on Wednesday for the first time in two weeks. The 26-year-old tight end exited the Week 5 game against the Denver Broncos and missed the two games that followed.
Brandon Graham, who ended his retirement and signed with the Eagles on Tuesday, was present for his first practice of the season on Wednesday.
Bette E. Landman, 88, of Glenside, Montgomery County, the first female president of Arcadia University, award-winning professor of anthropology at Arcadia and Temple Universities, longtime board member, lecturer, and volunteer, died Thursday, Oct. 16, at Jefferson Abington Hospital. The cause of her death has not been disclosed.
An expert in cultural anthropology, Dr. Landman joined Arcadia, known then as Beaver College, from Temple in 1971 as an assistant professor of anthropology. She was promoted to dean of students in 1976 and rose to vice president of academic affairs and then acting president in 1982 before her appointment as president in 1985.
For the next 19 years, until her retirement in 2004, Dr. Landman doubled the university’s enrollment to more than 3,000 students, increased its endowment from $267,000 to $26 million, supervised construction of seven buildings, and expanded international study programs. She also maneuvered successfully through an eight-month maintenance staff strike in 1993 and initiated the school’s name and academic status change from Beaver College to Arcadia University in 2001.
She adroitly addressed the school’s thorny financial issues, strengthened its liberal arts program and College of Global Studies, and diversified the student body. “The school has come up from the floor, and it’s because of her,” Joseph Castle 2nd, then chair of Arcadia’s board of trustees, told The Inquirer in 2004.
When she retired, Arcadia colleague Gene Bucci said: “It’s a sad day. Bette is the college.” Another colleague, Norman Johnston, said: “Without her, there might not even be a college here anymore.”
In a recent tribute, current Arcadia president Ajay Nair praised Dr. Landman’s “extraordinary vision and unwavering dedication to access and inclusion.” He said: “Her spirit, vision, light, and legacy will forever remain a central part of the university.”
Dr. Landman studied marriage, child-rearing, and other social constructs for nine months on the remote Caribbean island of Canouan for her doctoral dissertation in 1965 and ’66, and she lectured for decades around the country on evolution and human relationships. She evaluated academic programs and advised colleges around the world, and said often that expansive educations are vital for everyday success.
“A baccalaureate degree must expose men and women to arts and sciences,” she told The Inquirer in 1992. “It gives breadth to what they do. I realize people work and need job skills, but the really basic skills are critical thinking, problem solving, and the ability to make judgements and effective communication, oral and written.”
Dr. Landman became president at Arcadia in 1985.
She was also effective in improving Arcadia’s athletic program and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2009. She held leadership roles in the National Collegiate Athletic Association and Pennsylvania Athletic Conference, and Arcadia officials said on the Hall of Fame website: “Bette Landman put our university on the national map in athletics.”
Over the years, Arcadia officials named their new Landman Library in her honor, awarded her an honorary doctorate of education, and created the Bette Landman Award for students dedicated to academic success, community service, and global learning. Before Arcadia, she was an assistant professor of anthropology for five years at Springfield College in Massachusetts and then at Temple from 1969 to 1971.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and graduated first in her class of 1959 at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. At Ohio State University, she earned a master’s degree in physical anthropology in 1961 and a doctorate in cultural anthropology in 1972.
“She treated every student like we were part of her family,” a former student said in a tribute. “She knew us by name. All university presidents should aspire to be like Bette.”
Dr. Landman taught anthropology at Springfield College and Temple and Arcadia Universities.
As a volunteer, Dr. Landman was president of the charitable Arcadia Foundation and chair of boards and commissions for the Association of American Colleges, the American Red Cross, and other groups. She was on boards for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, Abington Memorial Hospital, and Wilson College.
She was named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania in 1992 by theFoundation for Enhancing Communities and earned a lifetime achievement award in 2003 from the Pennsylvania Council on International Education. In 1992, the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Council on Education created an award in her name to honor a leader in women’s education in Pennsylvania.
She never really enjoyed fundraising, colleagues said, so she assembled a formidable staff around her. Her brother, Todd, said: “She was a tremendous team builder.” A former colleague said on Facebook: “Everyone who worked around Bette loved her.”
The Springfield Union wrote about Dr. Landman’s doctoral dissertation in 1966.
Bette Emmeline Landman was born July 18, 1937, in Piqua, Ohio. She grew up with an older sister, Patricia, and a younger brother, Todd, and she told memorable bedtime stories to her brother when they were young.
She worked odd jobs during her high school years, earned a teaching scholarship to Bowling Green, and taught fifth grade in Ohio before joining Springfield College in 1963.
At Arcadia, she liked to host student gatherings at the president’s residence, and her personal library was filled with books on history, art, and architecture. Friends noted her “infectious smile” and called her “a wonderful woman” and “an incredible lady.”
Her brother said: “She was a very compassionate person. She was committed to success.”
This article about Dr. Landman appeared in The Inquirer in 2003.
In addition to her brother, Dr. Landman is survived by other relatives. Her sister died earlier.
The NBA season is here, with the 76ers’ slate kicking off at 7:30 p.m. against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. As has become customary, there are more questions than answers about this team at the moment.
Last season ended with a tank job that delivered prized rookie VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey got another year of experience under his belt. But Joel Embiid and Paul George spent much of their time in street clothes, and Quentin Grimes, who experienced a star turn after coming to Philly at the trade deadline, did not get a deal done with the team over the summer and will play on a qualifying offer.
The Inquirer’s staff writers took all of that information in mind as they considered the Sixers’ season and tried to project what 2025-26 might look like for Nick Nurse’s team at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Sixers season outlook: Can I insert the shrugging shoulders emoji here? Not because of apathy, but because I genuinely have no idea how this is all going to unfold. So much, of course, hinges on the health of Joel Embiid and Paul George. And just far better injury luck, in general. But even if this championship window essentially closed before it opened, the Sixers’ desired style of play and influx of young talent should make this season far more enjoyable. The guard rotation of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes and, eventually, Jared McCain is worth the watch alone.
Schedule highlights: The Sixers play 16 of their first 26 scheduled games before Christmas at home, depending on how the In-Season Tournament shakes out. That means getting off to a strong start is crucial to this team’s quest for a turnaround. January is a particularly challenging month on paper, with three back-to-backs and matchups against the New York Knicks (twice), Cleveland Cavaliers (twice), Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic, and Houston Rockets. So is February, with eight of 11 games on the road, including their primary Western Conference swing.
Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe has impressed the coaching staff and is set to start in his first NBA game.
Player to watch: The obvious answer here is Edgecombe, the electric rookie who is on track to be an opening night starter. Or Embiid and George because, well, you know. But I’m fascinated to see how Maxey responds after a season he acknowledges was trying from a basketball and emotional standpoint. Coach Nick Nurse constantly reiterates that he believes the 24-year-old Maxey still has plenty of room to blossom. This season, he will be tasked with spearheading an offense aiming to play at a much faster pace — and with being a bridge between the aging stars and an intriguing crop of young players. (My deep-cut answers, for the record, are Adem Bona and Dominick Barlow, after the way they played during the preseason.)
Hot take on the 2025-26 season: When the Sixers are the NBA team whose outlook is toughest to predict, is everything considered a hot take or is nothing considered a hot take? How about this: Edgecombe wins Rookie of the Year, even if overwhelming favorite Cooper Flagg remains healthy the whole season. Edgecombe may eventually move to a reserve role once Grimes is fully reacclimated and McCain returns from thumb and knee injuries, but that might be an ideal initial fit for Edgecombe. He can empty the tank during every stint by flying down the floor in transition, and being an absolute pest on defense.
Keith Pompey
Sixers season outlook: The 76ers might be the toughest team to give a prognosis for. A lot of that has to do with the uncertainty surrounding Joel Embiid. Due to left knee management, the Sixers are basically taking a game-to-game approach with his availability. Meanwhile, Paul George, who is also dealing with left knee issues, could miss some time at the start of the season. And there’s no telling how the forward will perform once he returns. So at least early on, a lot of the team’s success could fall, once again, on the shoulders of Tyrese Maxey.
But the squad is going to need Maxey, Embiid and George all playing at a high level to become an Eastern Conference contender. If that doesn’t happen, this could be another long season.
Schedule highlights: Dec. 28 at the Oklahoma City Thunder. Assuming the Sixers are healthy, the defending NBA champions will be an accurate barometer of the Sixers’ competitiveness. We will see how the big-man pairing of Joel Embiid and Adem Bona stacks up against Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. We will also see if the Sixers have an answer for reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and third-team All-NBA swingman Jalen Williams.
Player to watch: VJ Edgecombe. The third pick in June’s NBA draft has been better than expected throughout the preseason. Known as an athletic shooting guard at Baylor, the 6-foot-4, 195-pound has shown that he can handle point guard duties for the Sixers. He’s also been arguably their best perimeter defender. If he continues to develop, Edgecombe could blossom into one of the NBA’s best young players.
Hot take on the 2025-26 season: Dominick Barlow becomes an all-time Sixers fan favorite. Fans are already raving over the power forward’s stellar play in the preseason. That in itself is one reason why the Sixers need to strongly consider converting his two-way contract into a standard NBA deal. Barlow has mastered how to make an impact without having plays called for him. His offensive rebounding, solid attention to detail, and athleticism makes him a solid fit to play alongside Maxey and Embiid.
Gabriela Carroll, Inquirer staff writer
Sixers season outlook: This season feels virtually impossible to predict, because the variance in outcomes is so wide. The Sixers could keep Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, and VJ Edgecombe mostly healthy this year, and get just enough games from Joel Embiid and Paul George to stay playoff competitive. They could have the disastrous injury luck of the 2024-25 season, and end up back in the lottery. Who knows, maybe they get supremely lucky and almost everyone is available all year? That feels like a bridge too far even for the Sixers. But in what looks like it could be a down year for the Eastern Conference, making the Play-In and winning a game feels doable.
Schedule highlights: Dec. 7 vs Lakers. Look, LeBron James baited everyone with his “Decision” that turned out to be a Hennessey commercial, but there’s no denying that at age 40, his career is nearing its end. No matter how good or bad the Sixers end up (and there are so many different ways this year could go), you’ve only got so many chances to see one of the all-time greats play in Philadelphia.
Sixers guard Jared McCain will miss the start of the season with a thumb injury.
Player to watch: Jared McCain. McCain immediately popped in his 23 games last year, working himself into the starting lineup and becoming one of the few bright spots of a disappointing start before he tore his meniscus and had to miss the rest of the year. Heading into camp, he tore the UCL in his thumb. If McCain can continue to improve and develop from where he finished his 24-25 season, that will be a huge boost for the Sixers’ chances, but it could take him some time to round into form.
Hot take on the 2025-26 season: VJ Edgecombe will win Rookie of the Year. All eyes will be on Cooper Flagg, but Edgecombe should get a ton of minutes right away. The Sixers are already experimenting with Edgecombe as the primary ball-handler to open up more opportunities for Maxey, and he’s flashed his elite defensive skill in preseason.
Syvir Hill died April 15 while taking a bath with two other children, according to the complaint, which was filed last week in Common Pleas Court. The children were unsupervised by their foster mother, who had left the bathroom to cook in the downstairs kitchen.
The lawsuit accuses the foster mother, Tabor Children’s Services, and Northeast Treatment Centers of negligence that contributed to Syvir’s death.
Tabor Children’s Services had certified the mother and the Harrowgate rowhouse as eligible to foster Syvir, the suit says. The city had contracted Northeast Treatment Centers to monitor the child’s progress.
“We are deeply saddened over this tragic loss of life,” Regan Kelly, president and CEO of Northeast Treatment Centers, said in a statement. “In the meantime, we are doing everything possible to support the family as they deal with their grief.”
Tabor Children’s Services did not respond to a request for comment.
Syvir entered the city’s foster-care system before he was 6 months old and “eventually” was placed in the Harrowgate home, according to the complaint.By December 2024, the rowhouse was crowded, with three foster children — including Syvir — in addition to young family members of the foster parent living in the house.
When Syvir’s sister needed a foster home, Northeast Treatment Centers sought to place the girl with her brother despite noting that the foster parent was “at her max with the children in her home,” according to the complaint.
The foster parent emptied a storage room, which the lawsuit calls a “closet,” to make room for the sister, who was just a few months old.
In visits to monitor Syvir’s progress, Northeast Treatment Centers staff noted the varying number of children living in the house. The complaint accuses the caseworkers of “failing to remove Syvir Hill and other children in an already overcrowded foster home.”
The lawsuit details the horrific last moments of Syvir’s young life based on Philadelphia Department of Human Services investigation records obtained by A.J. Thomson, the attorney who filed the lawsuit.
Three children were splashing in the water, the suit says, when at one point a 2-year-old turned to Syvir and said, “You are not my brother!” The child held Syvir’s head underwater, while a 4-year-old “screamed in terror,” according to the complaint.
When the foster mother came back to the upstairs bathroom, Syvir was submerged. She called police, who found Syvir nonresponsive upon arrival. He was pronounced dead at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.
No arrest has been made in connection with the death, the lawsuit says. Court records show no criminal charges against the foster mother.
“All three of these children are victims of the acts of the Defendants in this case and a system that simply piles children into homes without supervision, training, or enforcement of rules,” the lawsuit says.
A judge had removed Syvir from his parents because that house was deemed unsafe for him, Thomson said. The parents visited Syvir and followed the protocols in an effort to get their children back.
Thomson accuses the agencies of failing to inform the parents of their son’s death.
“When he dies, they are the last to find out,” the attorney said.
Both child welfare nonprofits have been previously involved in cases where children were abused, severely injured, or died.
Northeast Treatment Centers settled a lawsuit for $6.5 million in 2022 following the death of 3-year-old Hope Jones, who was beaten to death in foster care. The nonprofit also settled a case involving the death of Su’Layah Williams, a 1-year-old who was allegedly kicked to death in a West Philly foster home. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
“There has to be a better way than to put these kids with people who are killing them,” Thomson said.
The Union had planned for some time to let teen phenom Cavan Sullivan go to next month’s under-17 men’s World Cup, the biggest stage he’ll have played on yet.
But between Quinn Sullivan’s ACL injury and other players being banged up – including fellow attacking midfielders Indiana Vassilev and Jeremy Rafanello – the club faced a lack of depth heading into the playoffs.
The Union still wanted to let Cavan go to the tournament. But they also knew they might need him, not just want to have him, for their first-round playoff series against Chicago or Orlando.
Multiple sources told The Inquirer that with agreement from Sullivan and U.S. Soccer, he will stay with the club for the first two games of the best-of-three set. Game one is Sunday at Subaru Park (5:55 p.m., FS1, Fox Deportes, and Apple TV), and Game two is Nov. 1 on the road (5:30 p.m., Apple TV).
Cavan Sullivan (right) had one of his best games for the Union this year last Saturday at Charlotte, even though the team lost.
Sullivan won’t actually miss any of the tournament, as the U.S. team’s opener against Burkina Faso isn’t until Nov. 5. He’ll mainly miss the pre-tournament camp, which will take place in Abu Dhabi before the tournament is played in Qatar. That no doubt made it easier to get a deal done.
The Americans’ group games after that are against Tajikistan on Nov. 8, then the Czech Republic on Nov. 11. The tournament runs through Nov. 27, so if the U.S. goes on a long run, Sullivan could be gone until the MLS conference finals.
Though the U.S. has played at every under-17 World Cup but one since the event started in 1985, the program has not reached the quarterfinals since 2017, and hasn’t gone farther since 1999 — when Landon Donovan led the way to the only semifinal in team history.
Donovan won the tournament’s Golden Ball award as the most outstanding player, and was one of many famous names on that U.S. squad. It also included DaMarcus Beasley, Kyle Beckerman, Oguchi Oneywu (who finished his pro career with the Union 18 years later), and Philadelphia native Bobby Convey.
This team has the potential for a deep run. Sullivan is one of its top names, along with forward Mathis Albert of Germany’s Borussia Dortmund and the New York Red Bulls’ Julian Hall. There are also three players from the Union’s youth academy, defender Jordan Griffin and forwards Jamir Johnson and Kellan LeBlanc – the last of them the son of former Union reserve team coach Marlon LeBlanc.
Fox and Telemundo have the broadcast rights, in English and Spanish respectively, with games airing on their cable channels and streaming platforms.
A clipping from The Inquirer’s sports section of November 25, 1999, highlighting Bobby Convey’s play for the United States at the under-17 men’s World Cup.
