The Eagles take the field for their second preseason game Saturday night, facing off against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough (7 p.m, NBC10).
After two days of joint practices against the Patriots, don’t expect either team to run out many starters. That means the next chance Birds’ fans will have to see Quinyon Mitchell covering A.J. Brown would be Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium in California.
If you’re thing is in-the-weeds drama involving roster spots for fringe players, there’s a lot of keep your eyes on. That starts at quarterback, with an ongoing competition between Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee to backup Jalen Hurts.
“The Eagles don’t want to put too much of their offense on film, but they do want to make one of their backup candidates attractive for a potential trade,” my colleague Jeff Neiburg wrote after watching Dalton and McKee practice against the Patriots.
Outside of that, you’re looking at depth chart battles on the offensive line and cornerback, plus a crowded fight among wide receivers for a roster spot. Top pick Makai Lemon returned to practice this week after being sidelined with a hamstring injury, but don’t expect to see him running many routes tonight.
The Birds also re-signed wide receiver Brandon Hayes, who has been on an off the team during training camp, and placed cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields on injured reserve.
Eagles-Patriots will be final preseason game on NBC10
Jalen Hurts watches team drills during a joint practice with the Patriots. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Tonight’s Eagles-Patriot’s preseason game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on NBC10, with Scott Graham and Ross Tucker on the call. Dave Spadaro will report from the sideline at Gillette Stadium just outside of Boston.
It’s the second and final Eagles game NBC10 will air this offseason. The Birds preseason finale next week against the Cincinnati Bengals will air on CBS, with Tucker calling the game alongside Andrew Catalon.
Regionally, Saturday’s Eagles-Patriots preseason game will air on a number of local stations, including:
The game will also air live on the NFL Network and a host of local stations across New England, including WBZ in Boston and WWLP in Springfield, Mass.
If you’re a Birds fan in Hawaii, you’re also in luck — the game will air on KHII in Honolulu as part of a 13-game preseason package.
Fans can also listen to the game on 94.1 WIP, where beloved Eagles announcer Merrill Reese is entering his 50th season calling Birds games. He’ll once again be joined by longtime partner and former Eagles wide receiver Mike Quick.
The game can also be heard nationally on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
Where can I stream the Eagles-Patriots preseason game?
Jalen Hurts and former Eagles receiver A.J. Brown spoke during joint practice Thursday. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Tonight’s game will be free to stream on the Eagles app and PhiladelphiaEagles.com if you live in the Philadelphia or Boston TV market.
The game will also stream in the Philadelphia market on any so-called skinny bundle that carries NBC10, including YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV. Most offer a free trial. You can also stream it on the NBC app, but a cable login is required.
You can also watch NBC10 for free using a digital antenna if you live in and around Philadelphia. Local fans can also stream the game for free on Peacock, the NBC10 app, and on the station’s website.
Fans living outside the Philadelphia market can stream the game on NFL+, the league streaming service. It’ll set you back $6.99 a month, though there is a free seven-day trial.
Philadelphia’s drag scene returns to the TV spotlight this fall in Season 2 of the reality competition show, King of Drag. For a second year in a row, the show has cast a Philly drag king: The new contestant is Cyrus K. Stratton.
The West Philly performer, whose offstage name is Simone Lawrence, follows drag king Henlo Bullfrog, who competed in last year’s inaugural season and landed in third place.
King of Drag premiered in 2025 on the LGBTQ+ streaming service Revry as the first show of its kind for drag kings, following the yearslong success of RuPaul’s Drag Race and its many spin-offs. (Drag Race has also turned its attention to drag queens representing Philly recently, like Sapphira Cristál and Mandy Mango.)
The second season premieres Sept. 20 with actor-comedian Cameron Esposito serving as host and competition judges including Our Flag Means Death actor Vico Ortiz, Drag Race alum Gottmik, and King of Drag cocreator Damian Pelliccione. Ten contestants will face off in weekly challenges showcasing drag artistry, performance, and originality across eight episodes.
By day, Lawrence is a painter and art therapist. Originally from California’s Bay Area, she began performing drag while attending graduate school for psychology in Madison, Wisc. Typically an introvert who shied away from the spotlight, Lawrence found that drag provided a chance to explore and embrace her queerness.
“I’m a pretty quiet and shy person by nature, but stepping on stage, I felt empowered … just trying on a beard or a mustache gives you permission to play with gender, to wear what you want and look how you want,” said Lawrence, 35, who studied art therapy at Drexel University. “The stage was a space to feel liberated as a queer person. I think it gave me the opportunity to reclaim space or to take up space.”
Philadelphia drag king Cyrus K. Stratton, aka Simone Lawrence, is a painter and art therapist.Courtesy of Cyrus K. Stratton
She moved to Philadelphia about five years ago and has appeared on local stages with performances inspired by Black male artists like Prince, Stevie Wonder, and Barry White. She took the name Stratton in honor of the drag king who first inspired her in Wisconsin, Kingston Stratton.
Cyrus K. Stratton has since become a fixture in the Philly drag community, working with Henlo Bullfrog to recruit and train amateur drag kings and producing all-drag king shows around the city. In an effort to build community with fellow Black drag kings in the city, Stratton combined his passion for painting and drag to create the 2024 exhibit “The Coronation” at Prism Arts Philadelphia; it featured portraits of local drag kings including Mister Right, Sir Suavey, and Mo Betta.
“I have seen the king scene grow since I’ve been here — prominent kings in Philadelphia take bigger stages and are more respected, accepted, and celebrated by the wider community,” said Lawrence. “For example, Fabrika [the drag performance space in Fishtown] only ever had [Drag Race] girls or the most prominent queens, and [last year] I was the first drag king to perform on that stage and sort of infiltrate that space.”
Appearing on King of Drag was an intense and stressful experience, but Lawrence believes the friendship she found while competing was worth it. She worked with a team of 10 designers from Philadelphia to prepare her outfits, songs, and choreography for the show.
Cyrus K. Stratton in a promotional poster for Season 2 of “King of Drag.”Courtesy of Cyrus K. Stratton
As the premiere date nears, Lawrence is a bit nervous for all the attention, but she recognizes the power in representing Black drag kings on a national platform. She’s also excited to have Philly’s drag community supporting the show: Center City’s Franky Bradley’s will host weekly watch parties as the season progresses, so fans can see Stratton on screen and in person.
“People are still learning what it means to be a drag king and why people do kinging. It’s about challenging different stereotypes and archetypes of manhood and masculinity,” said Lawrence. “It’s just so important for so many of us [to have] an opportunity to maybe dismantle masculinity and dismantle the patriarchy, and give people sort of a new interpretation of what masculinity could be.”
Season 2 of “King of Drag” premieres Sept. 20 on Revry.
Philly’s favorite people to hate are back on TV this week.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia dropped two episodes on Monday for the premiere of its 18th season and the legendary comedy is already off to a stomach-churning start. (Spoilers ahead.)
Frank (Danny DeVito) has found love with Sam (Carol Kane), whom he met competing on The Golden Bachelor in a crossover episode last season, and they’re getting married at Paddy’s Pub. Much to Dennis (Glenn Howerton) and Dee (Kaitlin Olson)’s delight, Sam is rich and generously offers to leave them money as her new stepchildren. But the bride suddenly dies before she can get to the altar, so Dee makes the depraved decision to drag her corpse down the aisle.
Hence the episode titles “Frank Marries a Corpse” and “Dennis and Dee Don’t Get Rich.”
For America’s longest-running sitcom, it’s an especially fitting way to kick off the latest season of outrageous shenanigans with the gang of morally bankrupt misfits. The show celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and it’s not slowing down anytime soon.
The new season promises even wilder stunts and ever-worsening bad behavior from its cast including DeVito, Howerton, Olson, Rob Mac (Mac), and Charlie Day (Charlie). The group will somehow be allowed to sponsor a Little League team — these people should not be around children, as last year’s crossover episodes with Abbott Elementaryunderscored — and they’ll spoof classic films like Gilligan’s Island and Back to School.
The gang will also be joined by guest actors throughout the season, like Big Mouth comic Nick Kroll, who cameos in a Renaissance Faire episode. Older characters who haven’t appeared in recent seasons also make a comeback, like the McPoyle family — longtime rivals of the Paddy’s Pub crew — including Liam (Jimmi Simpson), Ryan (Nate Mooney) and Pappy (Guillermo del Toro).
It’s not all petty battles and absurd high jinks, though.
In one episode, the show will memorialize Charlie’s mother Bonnie, played by the late Lynne Marie Stewart; last season featured a tribute montage to Stewart and this season will spotlight Charlie as he sings a ballad dedicated to her at the Mummers Parade.
‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ airs weekly on Mondays on FX and FXX and streams on Hulu and Disney+.
Deli Boys, a crime dramedy set in Philadelphia, has been canceled after two seasons, according to Deadline.
The Hulu series followed a pair of Pakistani American brothers, Raj and Mir (played by Saagar Shaikh and Asif Ali, respectively), as they took over their deli-magnate father’s empire — and reckoned with his secret criminal enterprises.
Created by Temple University alum and former Philadelphia Weekly journalist Abdullah Saeed and executive produced by South Philly native Michelle Nader, Deli Boys packed plenty of Philly references into its 16-episode run, from SEPTA jokes to expired Tastykakes and a Super Bowl watch party.
And the titular delicatessen, “ABC Deli,” was inspired by a real Philly institution at Third and Poplar Streets in Northern Liberties.
The show, however, was filmed in Chicago.
Deli Boys also centered on South Asian characters, with the core cast being of South Asian descent — a “rarity in Hollywood in 2026,” Deadline wrote.
“Thank you to every brown and Muslim and Pakistani and immigrant person who saw themselves in my show,” Saeed wrote on Instagram. “I created this world and these characters for YOU.”
Saeed told the next generation in his post: “I hope I helped you see that you deserve the airwaves, no matter how hard you have to fight for your rightful place.”
Queer Eye star Tan France, who played a British Pakistani gang leader on the show’s first season, previously told The Inquirer that the show “represents us [South Asians] so beautifully.”
France reprised his role for season two, and Saturday Night Live alum Fred Armisen also joined the cast as a Philly gambling savant.
Deli Boys “gives us a chance to be real, fully formed humans,” France said.
The show “failed to find a wide enough audience” to justify a third season, according to Variety, and sources told Deadline the show’s cancellation was due to ratings.
Hayden Panettiere, a former child actor who rose to fame and starred in TV shows Heroes and Nashville, died Aug. 16 in South Carolina. She was 36.
South Carolina’s Greenville County Coroner’s Office confirmed her death, saying she was in cardiac arrest before she died. Emergency medical services responded to a 911 call reporting a cardiac arrest at 1:51 p.m. on Sunday at a residence in Greenville, where they found Ms. Panettiere unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m. after lifesaving measures were attempted. There were no signs of trauma, and the cause of death needs further investigation, the office said in a statement.
In May, Ms. Panettiere released a memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, in which she detailed her life growing up in the spotlight, and her struggles with postpartum depression, substance abuse, and domestic abuse.
She began acting as a child, gaining her first television credit before she turned 5 on the soap opera One Life to Live. At 10, she starred in the movie Remember the Titans.
Her big break came when she played a high school cheerleader with regenerative superpowers in Heroes in 2006; the TV series ran for four seasons. She later portrayed rising country artist Juliette Barnes on Nashville. She also had roles in the Scream horror franchise, Bring It On: All or Nothing and the rom-com I Love You, Beth Cooper.
Tributes to the actor poured in Monday. “I wish the world had more time with you because I had a burning curiosity about who you were becoming. I saw this beautiful Phoenix rising from the ashes,” actor Viola Davis posted on Instagram.
In an interview on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast released in May, Ms. Panettiere described her debilitating anxiety, alcoholism, and custody battle over her child, circumstances she said were written into her character on Nashville. “It felt like it never ended. I didn’t know where Juliette began and Hayden ended,” she said.
In her memoir and press tour interviews, she described her struggles with postpartum depression, drugs, and alcohol, and the death of her brother three years ago. She also discussed the pressure to please everyone and her fractured relationship with her mother, who served as her manager for years in her childhood, where “everything was business.”
“I finally feel like I have shaken off all of this darkness and this negativity. … And that means I closed one door and another door is opened,” she said on the podcast. “And I can feel all the … exciting possibilities. I feel like I have a lot more life to live.”
Auditioning before she could walk
Ms. Panettiere began acting when she was 11 months old, auditioning for a Playskool train commercial. By 1994, she landed a role on ABC’s soap opera One Life to Live.
“Part of me just wanted to have friends, a place at a cafeteria table, teachers who were kind to me, and lots of fun at recess. But another part of me loved the rush I got from acting and the fact that it made Mom so proud,” she wrote in her memoir.
At 10 years old, she had caught the attention of the casting director for Remember the Titans. She went on to play Sheryl Yoast, a football-loving preteen. “As Sheryl, I was strong and authentic, and on Remember the Titans I was the happiest I’d ever felt as an actor,” Ms. Panettiere wrote.
Soon after, at 12, she secured a guest role as the nerdy babysitter on Malcolm in the Middle. The role was thanks to her mother, Lesley Vogel, who had played the wife of Bryan Cranston’s character on Loving. In her memoir, Ms. Panettiere recalled Cranston, an episode director for Malcolm, saying, “Hayden is so wrong for this role, but we’re going to make this work.”
Once Ms. Panettiere turned 17, she was well known by casting executives, and she was asked to audition for the role of Claire Bennet — the Texas cheerleader with self-healing powers on NBC’s Heroes. She is best known for her performance in Heroes and her role as Juliette Barnes on Nashville.
Barnes’ struggles with postpartum depression and addiction mirrored Ms. Panettiere’s life. In her memoir, Ms. Panettiere wrote about realizing the Nashville writers were modeling the script after her life; playing Barnes became “looking in a funhouse mirror, seeing a distorted reflection,” and diving “headfirst into my own hell.” She took a leave of absence from the show to seek professional treatment.
Struggles with addiction
Ms. Panettiere had long struggled with body dysmorphia, anxiety, and depression, according to her memoir. In the book, she described one paparazzi photograph of herself that showed the back of her thighs. A magazine published it with a banner over her legs: “CELLULITE.”
At an industry event, when she was about 16, a former representative pulled her aside to offer her a “happy pill” before a press interview, she recalled in her memoir. The pills, Ms. Panettiere wrote, “were the gateway drug that ushered me toward the good of pharmaceuticals and the downfall of addiction.”
While nerves pushed her forward as a child actor, they eventually overtook her, she wrote. She was prescribed Klonopin but turned to alcohol since it interfered less with work.
After the birth of her daughter in 2014, her drinking increased as she dealt with postpartum depression. Antidepressants wouldn’t mix well with alcohol, and “I wasn’t ready to stop drinking,” Ms. Panettiere said on a 2023 television appearance. Around the same time, an old neck injury had flared up, and she’d begun taking opioids, she said.
Ms. Panettiere developed jaundice from alcohol abuse. In the memoir, she recalled a doctor’s warning that she’d be dead in five years if she didn’t stop drinking.
She put herself in rehab during the middle of production for the fourth season of Nashville in 2015. The producers temporarily wrote her character out of the script. By her return, Ms. Panettiere’s personal life matched much of the script: Juliette Barnes had postpartum depression, an alcohol and pill addiction, and an impending divorce.
At the time of writing her 2026 memoir, Ms. Panettiere was in recovery.
A complex personal life
Ms. Panettiere’s personal life was relentlessly complex and often tragic. Her parents separated in 2008 while Ms. Panettiere was starring on Heroes, and their protracted divorce proceedings concluded in 2016.
Ms. Panettiere was in an on-and-off relationship with the Ukrainian heavyweight fighter Wladimir Klitschko from 2009 to 2018. The couple got engaged in 2013 but never married.
After the birth of their daughter, Kaya, in 2014, Ms. Panettiere’s postpartum depression led her to seek treatment for substance abuse. In 2018, Klitschko requested full custody of Kaya in Ukraine; Ms. Panettiere granted it.
From 2018 to 2022, Ms. Panettiere dated actor Brian Hickerson. Their breakup resulted in Ms. Panettiere obtaining a protective order against Hickerson, and her memoir describes their relationship as physically abusive.
Ms. Panettiere’s brother, Jansen — a fellow actor — died in 2023 at 28 from complications of an enlarged heart. Ms. Panettiere, 33 at the time, said she had “lost half my soul.”
In adulthood, Ms. Panettiere had a difficult relationship with Vogel, her mother, she said. A former soap opera actor, Vogel was her daughter’s manager early on, and she disputed Ms. Panettiere’s accounts of being pushed too hard in her childhood acting years.
Besides her father and her mother, survivors include her daughter, who lives with Klitschko. Ms. Panettiere had said in May she maintained a strong bond with her daughter and remained close to Klitschko.
It’s not exactly must-see TV, but that’s where the Eagles will be Saturday night to kick off their preseason schedule against the Baltimore Ravens (7 p.m., NBC10).
Count the Eagles among the teams that rarely let their offensive stars take the field before the start of the real season. The last time Jalen Hurts took a preseason snap was 2022, and even then he was on the field just one series.
On top of that, teams often use limited playbooks to avoid advance scouting and rely on joint practices to run plays and evaluate players. That might allow “talent to show,” as Green Bay Packers defender and Philly native Zaire Franklin recently told reporters, but it tends to make an already meaningless game way more boring.
“That’s just the nature of preseason these days,” said Ross Tucker, who will call Saturday’s game. “Fortunately I follow the Eagles year-round and follow their backups closely exactly for these three weeks.”
None of that will stop Eagles fans from tuning in. Last season’s first preseason game on NBC10 garnered 1.06 million viewers and aired in 669,000 households, according to Nielsen numbers shared by the station. That’s roughly 21% of the entire Philly TV market tuning in to watch a meaningless Eagles game. Not too shabby.
“I grew up a big-time Eagles fan. Ninety-five percent of my friends and family are Eagles fans,” Tucker said. “I get a bunch of texts doing Eagles preseason games from all sorts of people, including my fourth-grade teacher. … It’s really neat to get feedback from people.”
How to watch the Eagles-Ravens preseason game
Nick Sirianni is entering his sixth season as Eagles head coach. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
The Eagles’ first preseason game will air in and around Philly on NBC10, with Tucker calling the game alongside former Phillies announcer Scott Graham. But that’s not the only spot you’ll find it.
Regionally, the preseason game will air on a number of local stations, including:
Elsewhere, the game will also be available on WBAL-TV in Baltimore, WLKY in Louisville, Ky. (due to Lamar Jackson’s collegiate connection to the region), and KHII in Honolulu, Hawaii (whose parent company is airing 13 NFL preseason games).
Fans can also listen to the game on 94.1 WIP, where beloved Eagles announcer Merrill Reese is entering his 50th season calling Birds games. He’ll once again be joined by longtime partner and former Eagles wide receiver Mike Quick.
The game can also be heard nationally on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
Where can I stream the Eagles-Ravens preseason game?
Tonight’s game will be free to stream on the Eagles app and PhiladelphiaEagles.com if you live in the Philadelphia or Baltimore TV market.
The game will also stream in the Philadelphia market on any so-called skinny bundle that carries NBC10, including YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV. Most offer a free trial. You can also stream it on the NBC app, but a cable login is required.
You can also watch NBC10 for free using a digital antenna if you live in and around Philadelphia.
Fans living outside the Philadelphia market can stream the game on NFL+, the league streaming service. It’ll set you back $6.99 a month, though there is a free seven-day trial.
After losing two straight series, the Phillies hope to find a bit of heaven in Iowa.
The Phillies will take on the Minnesota Twins in Dyersville, Iowa Thursday night (7:30 p.m., Netflix) in MLB’s first Field of Dreams game in four years, named after the beloved film starring Kevin Costner.
Costner will be on hand as part of Netflix’s exclusive coverage, with veteran play-by-play announcer Matt Vasgersian calling all the action. He’ll be joined in the booth by CC Sabathia and former Phillies outfielder Hunter Pence, with Lauren Shehadi reporting throughout the game.
Netflix’s pregame coverage will once again be hosted by Elle Duncan and feature Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols, and Anthony Rizzo. Bonds and Rizzo worked particularly well together during Netflix’s coverage of the Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park last month.
Despite that, the pregame show felt overstuffed, needlessly shoehorning in Will Ferrell in an attempt to promote his new Netflix show. They took a similar approach during MLB’s opening night in March, drawing widespread criticism for the number of promos.
Gabe Spitzer, Netflix’s VP of sports, signaled on a recent conference call that Thursday night’s approach for the Field of Dreams game might be different, noting the teams and setting make a case for “not overthinking this and not trying to do too much.”
“It’s a game that matters for these two teams in the playoff chase, it’s an iconic venue, and we want to let that do most of the work,” Spitzer said.
As for the Phillies, they’re certainly testing the whole “if you build it” mentality. Since the All-Star break, the team and its $321 million payroll — fourth most in all of baseball, according to Spotrac — has lost six of eight series, and slumping new addition Luis Arráez has just seven hits and one walk in 38 plate appearances with the Phillies (though he did drive in the team’s only run during Wednesday’s loss to the St. Louis Cardinals)
If the season ended today, the Phillies wouldn’t qualify for the playoffs, missing out on the final wild-card spot to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
At least they’ll get to sport cool 1939-inspired throwback jerseys as part of the Field of Dreams game festivities, which even include a centennial patch all teams wore that season.
Bryce Harper sports the 1939-inspired jersey the Phillies will wear Thursday night. Daniel Shirey
Latest weather forecast for Field of Dreams game
They built it, but mother nature was threatening to show up.
Earlier forecasts were seeing chances for heavy rain and thunderstorms around first pitch.
However, it appeared the rains were backing off Thursday afternoon, said Alex Gibbs, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Davenport, Ohio, and weather prospects were brightening considerably.
“We have a pretty good feeling,” said Gibbs (a diehard Milwaukee Brewers fan). “It looks like a good window.” He said the only concern was the potential for thunderstorms — with lightning, of course — later at night. While chances are they would hold off until the game was over, “We have to keep an eye on stuff,” he said. Timing and location of thunderstorms in summer are notoriously unpredictable, as Philadelphians are aware.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch just south of Dyersville through Friday afternoon, but there remains a lot of uncertainty on the timing or exact location of the potential storms.
If the game is rained out Thursday, both teams will take the field Friday, but showers are again possible in the evening, said Gibbs.
Phillies radio announcer Scott Franzke will call all the action on 94.1 WIP. NBC Sports Philadelphia
While Netflix will exclusively stream the game, Phillies fans can still tune into 94.1 WIP to hear Scott Franzke and Kevin Stocker call all the action.
Despite the hyped-up setting and national spotlight, Franzke hasn’t been told what to expect.
“I don’t have any idea about the broadcast conditions. Is it a big booth or a small booth? I imagine it’s pretty small,” Franzke said. “I’m assuming there’s a booth. There wasn’t in London. We just did it from the seats.”
Franzke said as an announcer, these event-style games are a fun diversion. But he’s not sure how the team feels about them.
“It does create a little different wrinkle in the rhythm of the summer and the travel, and it’s not an exhibition game,” Franzke said. “There’s a lot at stake, both for us and the Twins. One game can make all the difference in the world.”
Phillies TV announcers Tom McCarthy and Rubén Amaro Jr. were to travel with the team to Iowa, despite NBC Sports Philadelphia not broadcasting the game. They’ll call the final two games against the Twins Saturday and Sunday at Target Field in Minneapolis, but don’t expect to hear them on Thursday’s radio broadcast.
“I think they’re just going to hang out,” Franzke said.
One big plus is Franzke and his colleagues won’t have to rely on Porta Potties to get through the night, thanks to recent renovations that added amenities like running toilets and sewer lines.
“I always appreciate some good indoor plumbing,” Franzke said.
Phillies NL East standings
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NL wild card standings
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Phillies news
Phillies slugger Bryce Harper. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
It’s a big promotion for Tucker, a Wyomissing native and former NFL offensive lineman, though for now it’s just Week 1. He’ll replace former Houston Texans star J.J. Watt, who will fill in for Romo alongside Jim Nantz in CBS’ No. 1 booth.
“I’m getting hundreds of text messages from people congratulating me. It’s kind of crazy,” Tucker said.
When Romo comes back is anyone’s guess. CBS placed him on indefinite leave following his arrest in Wisconsin on July 23 for suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence. He’s scheduled to appear in court Monday, Sept. 21, at the end of Week 2.
“I don’t think they have a timeline on anything,” Tucker said. “It sounds like we’re taking it one week at a time.”
One reason CBS bumped Tucker up is that he and Eagle already have a great rapport in the booth. The two have called at least 20 games together on Westwood One, including the Eagles’ playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers last season.
“There’s a real comfort level and familiarity there,” Tucker said. “And he has the quickest wit of almost anybody I’ve ever been around.”
In just one example, during Westwood One’s radio broadcast of a 2024 Thursday Night Football game between the Eagles and Washington Commanders, Ross reacted to a play made by Birds defender Zack Baun with the call, “Baun. Zack Baun.”
“Ian, with no hesitation, said, ‘Shaken and stirred!’” Tucker said. “I wasn’t expecting him to have a follow-up … but he’s just so good.”
In addition to his role with CBS, Tucker will call all three Eagles preseason games — two on NBC10 with Scott Graham and one on CBS alongside Andrew Catalon. He’ll also call his fair share of Thursday Night Football games on Westwood One, which has given him something of an upper hand leading into Sunday’s games on TV.
“Sometimes on the field talking to players and coaches, I’ll ask them about the game I have Sunday and their opinion on it, and I’ll get good insight there,” Tucker said. “So there’s a lot of value in doing both.”
The only downside for now is he will no longer call games alongside Phillies announcer Tom McCarthy, whose friendship with Tucker goes back to calling his college football games at Princeton.
Instead, McCarthy will pair up former running back Robert Turbin, who has been a college football analyst for CBS Sports Network since 2022.
The other new face for CBS is former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last week. Kuechly was also recently hired by Netflix as the streamer’s top NFL analyst, where he’ll call games alongside Noah Eagle.
Romo could miss an Eagles game … if he’s gone that long
Tony Romo, seen here before a 2022 game, is on indefinite leave at CBS. Michael Ainsworth
Romo wasn’t in New York on Tuesday for CBS’ media day event, a result of his indefinite suspension from the network following his arrest in Wisconsin last month.
The former Cowboys quarterback, entering his 10th season with CBS, was arrested and charged with suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence. He was also cited for having an open container in the vehicle and refusing to take an intoxication test. Bodycam footage of his arrest has been widely shared on social media.
David Berson, president of CBS Sports, told reporters it’s an “evolving situation” and there’s “no timetable or final decision” on when — or if — Romo could be back in the booth.
“Fortunately, we have a very deep bench, and I’m really proud of the way everyone’s stepping up and responding,” Berson said.
The Eagles have two games scheduled to air on CBS. Romo had been slated to call the Birds’ Week 11 matchup against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 22, but that’s uncertain until his legal situation is resolved.
Sports media pundits have speculated that this could be a convenient way for CBS to move on from Romo and his reportedly $18-million-a-year contract, which runs through the 2029 season. But police have yet to release the results of his delayed blood alcohol test, and CBS could find itself ensnared in a nasty legal battle if it attempts to force Romo out using a morality clause in his contract.
“There is no extant reality in which CBS fires its No. 1 NFL analyst for ‘unsafe passing on the right’ or ‘crossing the gore area,’” Sportico’s Anthony Crupi wrote.
Other top announcers and sports media personalities have been able to come back from drunken driving incidents.
In 2009, Charles Barkley was suspended by TNT for six weeks after being arrested on New Year’s Eve for driving under the influence. Barkley ultimately pleaded guilty and served three days in jail.
Former Eagles cornerback Darius Slay Jr. is headed to CBS. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Former Eagles defender and Super Bowl champ Darius Slay is headed to CBS as a studio analyst on The NFL Today+, the network’s streaming Sunday pregame show. He’ll be joined by fellow former NFLers Russell Wilson, Antonio Pierce, and Kyle Long. CBS Sports betting analyst Mackenzie Brooks, a Philly native and Central Bucks West alumna, will also contribute to the show.
Former Sunday Night Football sideline reporter Michele Tafoya easily won the U.S. Senate Republican primary in Minnesota on Tuesday night. She’ll face Democrat Peggy Flanagan in November’s midterm elections.
Philadelphia is the latest locale for vigilante Jack Reacher's shadowy dealings in season four of Reacher, streaming now on Amazon Prime. The show, which stars actor Alan Ritchson as the hulking retired Army investigator, was spotted filming around town last year.
Based on Lee Child's 2009 novel Gone Tomorrow, this season has Reacher facing off against the CIA, federal agents, and international mercenaries following a woman's suicide. And while much of the on-screen action appears to have been filmed elsewhere — namely Toronto, which looks a lot like Philly, but with space — the City of Brotherly Love does show up quite a bit.
Here, we'll be rounding up all the Philly spots we can identify this season. Check out the map below for where Reacher and his cohorts took them in the city.
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Philadelphia
City Hall
Michael Bryant / Staff P
Reacher's fourth season immediately sets the scene with a shot of the William Penn statue atop City Hall as a nightscape of Center City shines in the background.
Philadelphia
Uptown Beer Garden
Erin Blewett / For The Inquirer
We catch our first glimpse of our hero, Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson), as he exits Uptown Beer Garden, who walks out of the establishment silently with a beer in hand.
Philadelphia
LOVE Park
MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
Reacher speaks for the first time this season, ordering a "wiz wit" from a nondescript food truck in Love Park.
Philadelphia
Avenue of the Arts
JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
Here, Reacher strolls down the sidewalk on the west side of Broad Street, chomping on his cheesesteak. Canonically, it is just after 2 a.m., and the street is deserted as he descends into the Walnut-Locust entrance B line, which runs along Broad Street.
Philadelphia
Walnut-Locust Station
Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
As he enjoys his cheesesteak, Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) heads down into the Broad Street Line at this Center City station. Several interior shots of the station are shown, including one in which a rat munches on a hot dog.
Philadelphia
Benjamin Franklin Bridge
Thomas Hengge / Staff Photographer
Philly is again shown off in all its nocturnal glory with a low-light shot of Center City from the Ben Franklin Bridge.
Philadelphia
Benjamin Franklin Parkway
For the first time in the season's first episode, the sun rises on Philadelphia. And it does so in this stunning aerial shot showcasing many of the Ben Franklin Parkway's gems — Logan Circle, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the works.
Philadelphia
Parkway Central Library
Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
We get a great glimpse of the exterior of the Parkway Central Library before heading inside, where Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) and Jacob Merrick (Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette) do research on Congressman John Sampson (Marc Blucas), a North Carolina representative who is launching a presidential bid.
Philadelphia
Parc
Courtesy of HughE Dillon
Parc briefly plays host to Reacher, Lila Hoth (Agnez Mo), and Jacob Merrick (Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette) as the trio settles in at an outdoor table to evade police.
Philadelphia
Walt Whitman Bridge
Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Reacher and his cohorts travel back into Philly via this bridge after escaping Washington, D.C. In the background, the old Southwark Generating Station is clearly visible.
Philadelphia
Schuylkill Expressway
Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
As Reacher and his crew traverse Philly at night, the action leads to a shot of the west end of Center City near 30th Street Station from the Schuylkill Expressway.
Philadelphia
Schuylkill Expressway
Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Here, we get another nightscape shot of Philly's skyline, again from I-76 near 30th Street Station looking east. In the foreground, Locust on the Park is lit up green and is featured prominently.
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That was every location we could spot in the opening three episodes. Explore the map of all locations featured. Tap onHover overa pin to learn more.
Staff Contributors
Design and Development: Garland Fordice and Sam Morris
Would you go months without talking to your bestie if they didn’t congratulate you on an Eagles win?
Well, die-hard fan Rob Evors did. And the fallout was captured by camera crews.
The Bala Cynwyd native stars in House of Stassi, a new Freeform and Hulu unscripted show that follows former Bravolebrity and Vanderpump Rules “It girl” Stassi Schroeder as she attempts to come back from cancellation and cement herself as the next Kris Jenner. There’s relationship and friendship drama, explosive fights and humble reconciliations, and elaborate parties — all the trappings of binge-worthy reality TV.
Rob Evors is captured Tuesday, July 28, 2026 , at a cocktail party celebrating Freeform and Hulu’s “House of Stassi” in New York City.Courtesy of Disney/Arthur Gareev
But a through line of the inaugural eight episodes is an ongoing rift between Evors and Schroeder’s husband, Beau Clark, sparked by a perceived slight against the Philadelphia Eagles.
An exasperated Clark explained in episode two: “I haven’t talked to [Evors] in nine months because during football season, I didn’t congratulate him on his team’s wins on a couple group chats.”
Schroeder declared, “This is not about f-ingfootball, and I won’t let either of them convince the world that it is.”
What was left out, however, is that Clark, a Rams fan, actually failed to congratulate Evors — who “bleeds green” and has Boathouse Row and the Eagles logo tattooed on his arm — on the 2025 Super Bowl win.
“It wasn’t like it was Week Six and I was like ‘you’re not texting me about my football team’ — it was winning the Super Bowl,” Evors said in a phone interview.
“I might as well have given birth to a child and you didn’t reach out.”
So, yeah, the snub went deeper than pigskin: Evors and Clark’s decades-long friendship has ebbed and flowed, and Evors ultimately just wanted Clark to take an interest in his life, he said. (Spoiler: The men hashed out their evolving dynamics on camera, and Evors said the duo are cordial — even after a tumultuous season finale.)
Evors, 50, moved to Bala Cynwyd as a toddler and grew up a “stone’s throw” from City Avenue, he said. He graduated from Episcopal Academy and left the Philadelphia region for Syracuse University, eventually landing in Los Angeles to pursue acting full-time. He now lives in Austin, Texas.
His career, however, started on the Main Line doing community theater and training at the Actors Center in Old City. Evors remembers stopping at Roy Rogers on weekly drives to New York City and eventually taking the Peter Pan Bus alone to the Big Apple for auditions; he landed a Dorney Park commercial that “paid for college.”
Rob Evors pictured in his Philly gear.Courtesy of Rob Evors
Reality TV is a new world for Evors, who has since racked up acting credits in scripted shows like Criminal Minds, All American, and FBI: International and the 2012 movie Project X, according to IMDb. He also won a game on Wheel of Fortune.
