GENEVA — North America’s soccer body on Thursday rejected FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors, joining European nations in opposition.
The 41-member Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) held an urgent meeting Thursday after UEFA members agreed to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions to protest Infantino’s plan.
“During the meeting,” CONCACAF said in a statement, “the membership expressed deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short deadline imposed, and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governance bodies.
“In addition, the need for private equity investment to fund new and existing FIFA Forward programs following the most profitable FIFA World Cup in history was questioned.”
U.S. Soccer offered a grand total of a one-sentence statement: “U.S. Soccer stands with Concacaf and its members.” A spokesperson said that was all the federation will say for now.
UEFA made its declaration after an urgent online meeting of the confederation’s 55 members.
“UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions,” the European soccer body said in a statement. “Some things are simply too important to sell. The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.”
The strategy meeting was called to counter Infantino’s offer of $20 million to each of FIFA’s 211 global members that has to be accepted by mid-September.
Infantino’s secret proposal was revealed Tuesday to spin off its commercial operations in a new $20 billion subsidiary 20% owned by private investors. The core investor would be a New York investment firm created by Joshua Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
“This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA’s duty as the custodian of world football,” said UEFA, where Infantino was a longtime staffer and its CEO-like general secretary when he was first elected to lead FIFA in 2016.
“The moment external investors acquire ownership interests in FIFA competitions, football changes forever,” UEFA said. “Commercial return becomes a permanent obligation. Investor expectations become a daily pressure.”
Infantino has presented the private equity offer as a chance to “turbocharge” funding development of soccer across the world. A majority of the 211 FIFA members rely on its funding.
Officials from about 40 UEFA members spoke at the urgent meeting, with anger expressed that FIFA is not using some of its multibillion reserves to fund extra development programs.
The next scheduled FIFA tournament is in Europe — the Women’s Under-20 World Cup hosted by Poland starting Sept. 5. The following month, Europe stages its last qualifying playoffs for next summer’s women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Inquirer staff writer Jonathan Tannenwald contributed to this article.
Howie Roseman said Wednesday the pectoral strain that landed 29-year-old edge rusher Jonathan Greenard on the Physically Unable to Perform list isn’t a “long-term injury.”
But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be able to participate in training camp.
On Thursday morning, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio noted that it “remains to be seen” whether Greenard will return to the practice field before Week 1 against the Washington Commanders. Still, like Roseman, Fangio didn’t express too much concern over Greenard’s absence from practice.
“He’s a veteran player, so he knows the league, knows how to play,” Fangio said. “But we’re going to be asking him to do some different things that he hadn’t had to do in his career, and that’s really what he’s going to be missing with this time off. He’s going to miss a good bit of camp.”
Those different tasks include dropping into coverage. Greenard has taken 203 coverage snaps throughout his six-year career, according to Pro Football Focus, but he is new to Fangio’s scheme and the way he coaches the responsibilities at each position.
A timetable for Jonathan Greenard’s (52) return to football activity has not been set. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Regardless, Fangio said he thinks Greenard is capable of dropping once he is back on the field.
“But he’s got to learn it,” Fangio added. “And the only way you learn it is to do it. He does a good job in the meetings. He’s paying attention. He’s focused, watching practice. But it’s not the same.“
The Eagles acquired Greenard this offseason from the Minnesota Vikings and signed him to a four-year extension, identifying their top edge rusher after Jaelan Phillips departed for the Carolina Panthers in free agency.
Greenard’s absence in camp will lead to opportunities for other players. Third-year edge rusher Jalyx Hunt had a strong start on Wednesday, winning a handful of reps against Jordan Mailata. Fangio said he thinks Hunt is “very capable” of having a big year after he led the team with 6½ sacks last season.
Fangio also lauded 27-year-old A.J. Epenesa, whom the Eagles signed in June. While he said it “remains to be seen” how Epenesa can help the depth of the group in the absence of Greenard, he made a strong impression on the first day of camp.
“For a guy that’s being asked to do a few things that he’s never done before, I thought he did a nice job [on Wednesday] with it,” Fangio said. “He was very encouraging.”
Eagles safety Marcus Epps (29) works out during training camp at the Jefferson Health Training Complex. A starting job is Epps’ to lose. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Safety competition continues
Throughout the offseason program and during the first two days of training camp, 30-year-old Marcus Epps has been holding down the starting safety spot alongside Andrew Mukuba in nickel defense.
Cooper DeJean is still occupying the starting safety spot in base defense, then shifting to the slot in nickel. Despite the continuation of those trends from the offseason program to training camp, Fangio wasn’t ready to anoint Epps the starter in nickel on Thursday.
Carter, 27, has rotated in at safety with the starting defense over the last two days. While the competition remains open for that spot in nickel, Fangio seemed to stand firm on keeping DeJean at safety in base instead of outside cornerback, a role he occupied last year.
Unsurprisingly, Fangio is more inclined to keep Riq Woolen on the field for every down than he was Adoree’ Jackson, who came off in base in 2025.
“But things can change,” Fangio said. “If we lose guys or guys aren’t playing good.”
Zack Baun’s leadership was formalized when he was given green-dot responsibility. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Baun to wear green dot
Zack Baun enters the 2026 season with a new responsibility. Well, a semi-new responsibility.
Fangio revealed that the 29-year-old inside linebacker will wear the green dot on his helmet as the primary signal-caller for the defense, a responsibility that was previously held by Nakobe Dean.
The job isn’t totally foreign to Baun. While Dean was sidelined for the first five games of 2025 and didn’t take a defensive snap in the sixth, Baun was tasked with relaying the play calls he received through the radio in his helmet.
Fangio expressed his confidence in Baun at mastering any challenge within the defense, not just his newest full-time responsibility.
“Whatever you ask Zack to do, if he’s not good at it right now, he’ll fight through to get good at it,” Fangio said.
Moro Ojomo (97) is headed into a contract year.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Money matters
Jalen Carter became the highest-paid defensive tackle in league history when he agreed to terms on a four-year, $152 million ($106 million guaranteed) extension on Tuesday.
Fangio reiterated Roseman’s remarks on Wednesday, when the general manager emphasized that he paid Carter based on his future performance, not on what he has accomplished in three seasons with the Eagles.
“Obviously, Howie’s confident that in this case, hopefully, he’ll pick his game up even more,” Fangio said.
Carter won’t be the only Eagles defensive tackle looking to elevate his game in 2026. Moro Ojomo, who turns 25 in August, is headed into a contract year. With extensions looming in the not-so-distant future for 2024 draft class members such as Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, Fangio made his feelings about Ojomo’s future in Philadelphia clear.
“Howie needs to save some money for him, too,” Fangio said.
Ojomo had a breakout season in 2025, finishing second on the team with six sacks. But as the Eagles defense becomes more expensive, it is unclear if Roseman will prioritize keeping the 2023 seventh-round pick out of Texas beyond this season.
To witness the reaction to LeBron James’ decision to play in Philadelphia the next two seasons, you might have thought we’d beaten the Russians to the moon or ended the next world war. Folks drove down Broad Street honking their horns, heads hanging out of their cars. Total strangers standing on subway trains staring at their phones got the notification, looked up, and high-fived. Somewhere, lions lay down with lambs.
This, for a 41-year-old coming off the worst of his 23 seasons?
Yes. Yes. A thousand times, yes. But why?
Because Philadelphians won. They won the LeBron Sweepstakes.
The King chose Philly.
The King chose us.
James chose a franchise that hasn’t won an NBA title in 43 years, has only one title in almost 60 years, and hasn’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs in 25 years. He chose a city with three total championships since James was born in 1984; James himself has won four. He chose a city with a national reputation for abrasiveness, confrontation, and, above all, losing — a reputation resented by the residents of Philadelphia and its region.
Still: He chose us. He might occasionally commute to Philly from Manhattan, but he’s paying his taxes here.
If Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe again fall short in the playoffs, LeBron still chose us. He could have joined Steph Curry in San Francisco, Giannis Antetokounmpo in Miami, James Harden in Cleveland.
But no. We won. And we acted like it.
Phil Martelli, revered basketball coach and lifelong Philadelphian, knows why.
“I’ve had this in my head forever. People think we’re bad losers. That’s not what we are,” Martelli said. “We are insufferable winners.”
Validation
I’ve been a Philadelphian for 31 of my 57 years. Martelli’s been a Philly guy for all 71 of his. I told him that, in my three decades, I’ve observed that Philly has an inferiority complex, a chip on its shoulder, and a healthy sense of pride.
“No doubt,” Martelli agreed. “No doubt.”
So, when good things happen, a dam always breaks. From climbing greased streetlights to eating horse manure (this really happened), Philly fans have earned a reputation of, well, overexpression when the rare championship finally lands at their feet.
It is that rarity, that desperation for validation, that generates euphoria when a big name decides that Philly is good enough for him.
That’s the key: The decision must belong to the player.
LeBron James validated Philadelphians when he picked us. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
That’s why Reggie White doesn’t qualify. Eric Lindros, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Roy Halladay, all trades or purchases.
Bryce Harper, however, already had won an MVP by the spring of 2019. The Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, and White Sox courted him. So did the Padres, until they signed Manny Machado, who, folks might not remember, was the Phillies’ first choice. But the fans always preferred Harp, and, ultimately, Harp preferred them. And he was only 26.
Similarly, by the 1978 offseason, Pete Rose had been a National League MVP, but he also was the MVP of one of his two World Series titles with Cincinnati. He was a stone-cold winner, and, even though he would be 37 in 1978, he was still the top free agent. The Phillies’ four-year, $3.24 million offer was the worst he received — others included more money, a lifetime $100,000 annual pension, oil and beer investments, and racehorse ownership — but Rose saw a winner in Philly, and Philly utterly rejoiced.
Compared with Harper and Rose, there was less excitement (and less competition) when Saquon Barkley signed with the Eagles in 2024. The Bengals, Texans, Ravens, and Bears contended but the Eagles won, and Barkley, a Lehigh Valley native, came home, to much rejoicing. That season Barkley produced record-setting numbers and pushed the Eagles to a Super Bowl win, so it’s tempting to recast his choice as being a bigger deal than it was. He’s still never going to have to buy his own beer in Philly.
Saquon was the centerpiece of a run to the Eagles’ second Lombardi Trophy. Rose pushed the 1980 Phillies to the first World Series win in franchise history. Harper won a second MVP, in 2021, and led the Phillies to the 2022 pennant.
They delivered on their promise.
This seldom is the case.
Unfulfilled promise?
Age, injury, and Ryan Howard made Jim Thome redundant in the mid-2000s. Cliff Lee rejected the Yankees and took less to return to the Phillies in 2011, but to no good end. Jake Arrieta was a big-time bust, Lance Parrish was a late-80’s disappointment, Al Horford was a bad fit with Embiid, and Nnamdi Asomugha was cooked by the time he became a “Dream Team” Eagle in 2011.
LeBron never will be classified among Philly’s worst signings, if only because his two-year, $8 million contract earns him 33% less than Anfernee Simons (for casuals, Simons is the new backup shooting guard). LeBron would be a magnificent value at $4 million a year if he was an assistant coach.
Still, there are expectations. After LeBron signed, the Sixers’ aggregate odds to win the NBA title jumped from tied for sixth-best, at 20-1, to third-best, at about 9-1.
“You know there’s people already staking out spots on Broad Street for the parade,” Martelli said.
When Rose, Harper, and Saquon signed, everybody got excited. Nobody staked out spots on Broad Street.
The LeBron-mania is palpable. Ticket and jersey sales have been inflated beyond sanity and availability, with no real end in sight. Don’t expect Knicks fans to take over Xfinity Mobile Arena this season.
There has been excitement surrounding arrivals before, but never anything like this. The only arrival that might cause a similar disruption would involve a biblical rapture.
Like that king, this King will be expected to raise his following from the dead.
When LeBron James signed with the 76ers, he wasn’t just bringing his talent to the roster, he was bringing a whole new fan base to Philadelphia as well.
As one of the most famous basketball players of all time, James’ fans run deep and wide. So if you’ve spent the past few years rooting for the Los Angeles Lakers after multiple stints as a Cleveland Cavaliers fan and experienced a couple championships while rooting for James on the Miami Heat, here’s what you need to know about being a Sixers fan:
Here come the Sixers
There’s a chance you’ll be hearing a lot of the Sixers victory song, “Here Come the Sixers” this season, so be prepared to know every word.
The tune was commissioned in 1975 by the then-general manager Pat Williams as a way to bring energy into the arena. Randy Childress, Terry Rocap, and Joe Sherwood, better known as the band Fresh Aire, created the song that’s still used today and encourages fans to “clap your hands” and “stomp your feet” for the Sixers.
In 1986, when Williams left the Sixers, the song became less used until the early 2000s, when WIP host Angelo Cataldi repopularized it on his show.
If you can remember the hand clapping, the feet stomping, and can count “one, two, three, four, five, Sixers,” you already know the basics of the song.
If you’ve ever watched an episode of The Pitt, Grey’s Anatomy, or any other medical drama and thought that some of the ailments seemed a little far-fetched, then you don’t know the Sixers.
Shortly after Markelle Fultz returned after a monthslong shoulder injury, he collided with Joel Embiid during a game, breaking Embiid’s orbital bone in 2018. And it wouldn’t be the only time Embiid broke that facial bone. He did so again in 2022 after an elbow to the face in Game 6 of the first round of playoffs against the Toronto Raptors. He also dealt with Bell’s palsy, or facial paralysis, on the left side of his face during the 2024 playoff run. And these are just Embiid’s face-related injuries.
Sixers center Joel Embiid adjusts his mask during a game against the Charlotte Hornets in 2024.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
But if those aren’t convincing enough, there also is the time in 2018 Zhaire Smith ate a chicken dish during his rookie season and suffered a severe allergic reaction because of sesame in the dish. Fortunately, Smith was OK.
With Ben Simmons’ fractured foot after rolling over his ankle in training camp as a rookie, or the time Kelly Oubre Jr. reportedly being hit by a car, the injury list goes on and on.
Yes, on a team with Constitutional-esque branding, the mascot is a dog. Franklin the dog to be exact.
But there’s still a founding father tie-in there. Franklin gets his name from none other than Ben Franklin, whose legacy lives on in the Constitution, electricity, and a giant dog with blue fur.
Franklin was introduced in 2015, marketed as a “fan’s best friend,” after the Sixers went four years without a mascot.
Before Franklin, there was Hip-Hop, the acrobatic rabbit known for slam dunks. Hip-Hop, who reigned as the primary mascot from 1998 to 2011, was brought back as a secondary mascot for the 2025-26 season.
The first Sixers mascot, however, was Big Shot, a fuzzy blue creature with red hair and big sunglasses, who came from the same creators as the Phillies’ mascot, the Phillie Phanatic. Big Shot was the Sixers’ mascot from 1982 to 1996.
“Trust the Process” has become a slogan closely associated with the Sixers’ rebuild process, starting in 2013 under former general manager Sam Hinkie.
During the Hinkie years, “The Process” became synonymous with tanking for draft picks in an attempt to rebuild. Despite some big trades, like trading the team’s only All-Star at the time, Jrue Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans for the sixth overall draft pick, some continued to trust.
Sixers GM Sam Hinkie (left) and coach Brett Brown oversaw the early Process years.Steven Falk
Others weren’t so sold, and the phrase became divisive among Sixers fans.
“The Process,” however, has since led to the Sixers acquiring Jaylen Brown and James during this offseason, with James even hinting during Fanatics Fest a few weeks before signing with Philly that he wanted to go somewhere that he could “trust the process.”
Love it or hate it, “The Process” is part of the Sixers lore.
Learn the language
If you’re going to fit in at a Sixers game, or really any Philly sporting event, it’s important to know that it’s OK to boo. It’s even encouraged.
This doesn’t just apply to opposing teams or bad calls by the refs, it goes for the Sixers own players, too. If a player — or the team at large — isn’t performing well, Philly fans aren’t afraid to let them hear it.
When the Sixers are playing against the top talent from an opposing team, especially the Knicks or the Celtics, you better let them hear it as well.
A Phillies fan boos after the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the 2025 NLDS at Citizens Bank Park.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
And while being a Sixers fan doesn’t automatically mean being a fan of other Philly teams, it’s best to learn the words to the Eagles chant as well. Those aren’t resolved for Lincoln Financial Field, and more often than not, they’ll ring out at any Philly event, sports-related or not.
It’s especially common after a loss by one of the other big four sports teams, so start studying.
North Philly’s Dawn Staley rings the Sixers’ bell before Game 4 of a first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks in 2024.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Fast facts
Those are some of the big things that make up the basic knowledge of a Sixers fan, but these are some other fun facts to keep in mind as well:
Sixers managing partner Josh Harris also owns the NFL’s Washington Commanders and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.
The Sixers’ practice facility is in Camden.
A major series win in the playoffs, like an Eastern Conference championship, will be celebrated on Broad Street.
The Sixers Stixers is the official drumline of the Sixers and performs at games and events.
The Sixers share an arena with the Flyers, and a new arena is slated to open in 2030 that will accommodate the WNBA expansion team as well.
There is a pregame tradition for home games that includes local celebrities, athletes from other sports, and more ringing a Liberty Bell replica before games to fire up the arena.
Former Phillies catching prospect Logan O’Hoppe was traded by the Los Angeles Angels to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday along with reliever Chase Silseth for third base prospect Angel Arredondo.
The Angels acquired O’Hoppe, 26, from the Phillies in exchange for outfielder Brandon Marsh just before the 2022 trade deadline. At the time, O’Hoppe was the Phillies’ fifth-ranked organizational prospect. Marsh was named a starter in his first All-Star Game appearance earlier this month.
O’Hoppe had his best season with Los Angeles in 2024, when he hit 20 home runs and had a career-high 2.7 wins above replacement. He is batting .209 with a .565 OPS in 256 plate appearances this season.
Out of the 20 catchers with 250 plate appearances, O’Hoppe ranks 18th in on-base percentage, 19th in batting average, and tied for last in home runs. Texas plans to option him to triple A, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Silseth, 26, was an 11th-round pick by the Angels in 2021 and is having a breakout season. He led the Angels with 47 appearances and had a 2.72 ERA.
Arredondo is a 19-year-old third baseman who has spent all of 2026 with single-A Hickory. He is slashing .247/.372/.397 in 361 plate appearances. Arredondo wasn’t ranked among Texas’s top 30 prospects, per MLB.com, although pipeline rankings have not been updated since the start of the season.
This season, South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito is branching out for her programs.
Previously, her coach, Yulia Kuznetsova, would suggest the music and choreograph the programs for Levito, 19, who grew up in Mount Holly and lives in Mount Laurel.
For the 2026-27 season, Levito announced on social media that three choreographers had created her programs. Her short program will be to the song “Memória” by Rosalia, choreographed by Lori Nichol and Carolina Kostner. Levito went to Canada to learn that program.
Her free skate will be to the soundtrack from Pirates of the Caribbean, choreographed by Benoit Richaud.
Skaters used to keep programs strictly under wraps until their first competitions in late summer or early fall. Sometimes, their final costumes wouldn’t be ready yet and they would skate in older costumes or elevated practice clothes.
But now, program announcements are more like movie trailers, getting fans eager to see what’s coming. This has been especially true after the Olympics this past winter in Milan, Italy. Many skaters have retired — or in the case of pairs and ice dance, switched partners. Some talked about taking a year off. A small number of skaters, including Levito, toured in prominent shows such as Stars on Ice.
But it was a big transition season and a time when many people forget about winter sports.
Levito has said that she’s barely been home in months. Along with the tour and Canada, she returned to Italy to participate in Richaud’s Peak Ice Camp in Courmayeur.
She also may start the season without her final costumes. Despite releasing a video on Instagram that includes a thumbnail of her in a pirate costume, that is not what she will be wearing. In an interview on Peak Ice Camp’s YouTube page, she said she called costume designer Lisa McKinnon to discuss her new programs and that it would be a minute before they could move forward.
“Benoit proposed the idea of pants” for Pirates, Levito said, “and I was like, ‘No.’”
Levito released a portion of her free skate step sequence on Instagram, and her programs are the subject of much speculation on social media. She is known as an elegant, balletic skater with beautiful spins and a lot of personality.
Pirates of the Caribbean music is considered overdone. There is a long list of skaters who performed to Pirates, including 2008 U.S. champion Mirai Nagasu, Spain’s Javier Fernandez (a two-time World champion and 2018 Olympic bronze medalist), eight-time Polish champion Ekaterina Kurakova.
But certain pieces of music are used frequently in skating for a reason. In the case of Pirates, it is lively and fun. Richaud also is a popular choreographer for a reason, and there is room for him to have made Levito’s Pirates different and special.
Richaud, a French former ice dancer, is one of the hot choreographers of the moment. At February’s Olympics, he worked with 16 skaters from 13 countries and was frequently seen with them in the kiss and cry, wearing jackets from different countries. His skaters included American ice dancers Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, French skater Adam Siao Him Fa, and Georgian skater Nika Egadze.
Nichol, who is Canadian, also has been a hot choreographer. She created many fan-favorite programs for Michelle Kwan and more recently two-time Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama. She works often with Kostner, the 2014 Olympic bronze medalist from Italy.
Levito has said that she wants to increase her difficulty and is eager to eventually land a triple axel and a quadruple jump, whether or not she does them in competition.
The app he was using to track his rowers’ stroke length and the amount of force they were using from the team’s ergometer rowing machines stored the information in different locations. Krakic wanted it on one screen.
Eventually, Krakic contacted and paid the app’s developer to make the fix — which caught the attention of one of his rowers.
“I was like, ‘Dang! My coach is paying $500 for something I could have done in 20 minutes,’” said Will Tran, a senior who primarily rows in the second varsity eight boat. “There’s a real gap in the market here. I used the app as well. I know I could improve this in so many different ways.”
Tran, a computer science major, decided to build his own app.
The final product became known as RowIQ. The app is an all-encompassing data ecosystem that uses artificial intelligence to pinpoint where and how rowers can improve. The app processes data from Concept2 ergometer rowing machines, smartwatches, and RowIQFuel — Tran’s nutrition app. In the future, RowIQ will also be able to collect data from on-water rowing monitors.
“We have hundreds of thousands of data points that no one ever looks at,” Tran said. “In rowing, these races are sometimes won by a hundredth of a second, so you need that 1% sometimes. Actually, a lot of the time you need that 1%. What we’re aiming to do is give rowers a complete picture of their training with data that’s never been seen before.”
Will Tran displays the training app he created. In the last two months, the RowIQ has received over 1,000 downloads.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
The app also allows rowers to create groups, so coaches have access to their entire team’s data in one location. Tran noted that this feature lets coaches “see trends in less than a second,” allowing them to understand areas of improvement and create lineup decisions with ease.
“It gives you really good data feedback on your [rowing] curve, how you’re rowing, and essentially what you’re doing and how you’re transferring your power,” Krakic said. “We’re able to match the guys indoors and then transfer that onto the water. We’re lucky to have it. It puts us ahead a little bit.”
In the last two months, the app has received over 1,000 downloads. More importantly though, the app boasts impressive user retention. Tran noted that top users are logging over 200,000 meters per week on the app.
Yin and yang
For the first few months of RowIQ, Tran worked alone. But while he tinkered with the app’s coding, Tran found that he had little time to dedicate to RowIQ’s marketing, so he put together a small team. Fittingly, they all have a background in rowing.
A few members from Penn’s lightweight crew team are developing a telemetry system to fully integrate RowIQ’s data into one central location. Meanwhile, former Harvard lightweight rower Zarret Mills is working as a consultant for the app.
One of the most important members of the team has been Sergej Čipak, a former La Salle rower who moved back to his home country of Serbia to pursue electrical engineering. Tran and Čipak spent one year as teammates at 20th and Olney.
“You spend a lot of time together, even when you’re not like racing or training,” Čipak said. “You’re eating together. You go to parties together. So I really grew close with Will over some time. Will has a very interesting personality. He can be kind of cold sometimes and give not-detailed-enough instructions. But I think we have some kind of dynamic that makes us really productive.”
After starting part-time, Čipak’s role with RowIQ has grown exponentially. While Tran focuses on more big-picture endeavors, Čipak leads the app’s development. With the app’s success, Tran has been able to compensate Čipak — something Tran did not think he “would ever be doing at 22.”
“It’s a yin, yang,” Tran said. “On one side, it’s awesome that someone pays for their apartment and their food via your idea and creation. It’s such a wonderful feeling to be able to provide that for someone and do it through something that you are so passionate about.
“And then the other side of it is, I never want to go to sleep and I never want to get outworked because this person is relying on me, and I feel an obligation to always be on, always be working, always progressing. I never feel off. Sometimes I’m with my girlfriend and I say I’m present, but I’m not. I’m thinking like, ‘Shoot, we got to pay Sergej his monthly paycheck so he can pay his rent and buy his groceries.’”
While Tran is adjusting to the added pressure of managing employees, Čipak is working full-time for a company that is not aligned with the career path he expected to pursue in Serbia. Still, he is on board with RowIQ for the foreseeable future.
“We just crossed 1,000 users a few days ago, so I mean it’s really exciting,” Čipak said. “I never really worked on something like this in my life, and I do plan on keeping on working on this.”
Can’t tell this kid no
In the tech world, “college dropout” is somewhat of a lauded title.
Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard to run Facebook full-time; Bill Gates did it before him, leaving Cambridge to co-found Microsoft; and Jack Dorsey left NYU a semester before his graduation to move to California, eventually starting Twitter.
The list goes on and on.
Today, chasing the AI boom, tech venture capital firms like Y Combinator and Antler are known to provide college students with hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund their startups. Meanwhile, industry giants like Palantir and Elon Musk’s xAI encourage students to ditch their formal education to work for them instead. Tran is no exception to this pressure.
Will Tran, a rising senior at La Salle, has spent this summer growing RowIQ in the area.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
“I’ve seriously debated taking this fall semester off,” Tran said. “Like genuinely — we’re continuing to close deals with high school clubs, college clubs, recreational clubs. We’re onboarding probably 70 new athletes a day from clubs. It’s huge, and I don’t know if I will have the time in college to do schoolwork, be a Division I athlete, be a boyfriend, and run RowIQ at the same time.
“I have seriously debated taking the fall off and joining some sort of Y Combinator, coming back to school later. Do I think I’m going to do this? Probably not.”
Tran has already sacrificed opportunities to focus on RowIQ. This summer, he turned down an internship offer from a data analytics company. For now, even if the balancing act can seem impossible at times, Tran will try to have it all at La Salle.
“You can’t really tell this kid ‘no’ or ‘you can’t do it,’” Krakic said. “The more you say ‘don’t do this’ or ‘it’s not possible,’ the more he tries to prove you wrong.”
Everyone can see that the Phillies need, at minimum, a right-handed hitter, a late-inning reliever, and another starting pitcher. The front office is aware; 29 other teams know it, too.
Some of it is the consequence of bad luck. The Phillies’ most expensive offseason additions — right fielder Adolis García and reliever Brad Keller — went down with season-ending injuries. Mostly, though, it’s an indictment of Dave Dombrowski’s Jenga-tower roster that a team with a $317 million luxury-tax payroll has so many holes.
And, well, take it away, Bryce.
“I think we’ve proved pretty much all year, we’ve done a pretty good job, but any time you can get some help in here and reinforcements, I think it helps,” he said. “… I think obviously everybody knows what we need. We need both [hitting and pitching].”
Bryce Harper (left) and Brandon Marsh have struggled at the plate since representing the Phillies in the All-Star Game.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Harper shared that opinion during All-Star week and reiterated it to MLB.com and The Athletic a few days ago. But because his latest comments were on camera, and because the deadline is Monday, his words were amplified.
So, can the Phillies get everything they need?
“I don’t know,” Harper said. “We’ll see. I mean, that’s a Dave question.”
As in Dombrowski, who irritated Harper after last season by wondering if he was still elite. They talked it out in spring training, and as owner John Middleton said, “I’m confident that everything’s behind us now.” Clearly it isn’t. As long as Harper hits and Dombrowski builds a contending roster, they will co-exist. But Harper’s cry for help, five days before the deadline, likely annoyed the front office.
In reality, there’s only so much help available on the trade market, with right-handed bats especially scarce.
Entering play Wednesday, 22 teams were no worse than 3½ games out of a wild-card spot. Within that extreme seller’s market, neither Mike Trout nor Byron Buxton is willing to waive no-trade rights. Buxton (hip) went on the injured list Wednesday, and two more available right-handed bats — Spencer Steer of the Reds and the Giants’ Casey Schmitt — suffered major injuries this week.
Last weekend, the Red Sox dealt Connelly Early, a 24-year-old lefty with six quality pitches and five years of club control, for infielder Curtis Mead, who was having a breakout season for the Nationals after getting designated for assignment in March. And even before Mead broke his wrist in his first game, rival scouts agreed that Boston overpaid to gain access to a right-handed hitter.
There’s a larger supply of available starting pitching. The Phillies scouted Giants lefty Robbie Ray last weekend and Mets righty Clay Holmes’ two injury rehab starts in the minors. They reportedly sent scouts to observe the Blue Jays’ Kevin Gausman, the Nationals’ Foster Griffin, the Mets’ Freddy Peralta, and others.
But the Phillies really need offense. They’re tied for last in the majors in on-base percentage (.303), including a worst-in-the-majors .279 mark and .639 OPS from their right-handed hitters.
In that case, no matter what Dombrowski does before 6 p.m. Monday, Harper’s plea for help must extend to his teammates, too. Because although he’s right about the need for reinforcements, it’s really the stars — three hitters, in particular — that must shine brighter.
Phillies shortstop Trea Turner has made seven errors since the All-Star break.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
After winning the batting title and finishing fifth in the National League MVP race last season, Turner is playing at less than replacement level, according to Baseball-Reference’s WAR calculation.
Turner’s value is dragged down by his defense. He has seven errors since the All-Star break and leads the majors with 19, a striking regression from the best defensive season of his career last year.
Lately, the Phillies hold their breath on every grounder to shortstop.
Help!
“He’s just in a place where he’s searching, and he’s too internal with his thought process,” infield coach Bobby Dickerson said this week on The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “The ball’s put in play, and he’s thinking more about what to do with his body than engaging with the ball. … You can see he’s a step late, not as aggressive, not as decisive.
“Right now he’s in a bad place. And it puts us all in a bad place, really. We just need to get him back to what he can do, and it’s my responsibility to get it done.”
Not coincidentally, Turner’s problems in the field have come in the midst of his career-worst season at the plate.
Through June 15, he was batting .216 with a .268 on-base percentage and a .595 OPS. The last six weeks have been better. In his last 35 games, Turner is batting .296 (43-for-145) and slugging .524 with eight homers.
A midseason position change isn’t under consideration. So, as the Phillies try to fix Turner’s defense, they need at least a high level of production at the plate.
Turner, as intelligent and self-aware as any player, often overthinks his struggles. Dickerson wants him to “be an artist instead of a scientist.”
“He wants answers scientifically a lot of times,” Dickerson said. “The more scientific he is, the more he locks himself up. … We had his confidence flying high last year. He felt real confident. Now, he’s almost anticipating, don’t mess up. We’ve got to get it right.”
Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh has struggled since starting the All-Star Game.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
It took only 19 days for the Phillies to climb from the 9-19 start that got Rob Thomson fired to the .500 mark.
Marsh batted .381 during that stretch.
Kyle Schwarber hit 32 homers before the All-Star break, and yes, Harper was elite. But there wasn’t a more consistent Phillies hitter than Marsh, who played himself not only into the lineup against lefties but also into the cleanup spot for Don Mattingly.
But Marsh is 5-for-43 with one homer since the break. He stopped hitting lefties, too, and was on the bench last week against the Dodgers’ Eric Lauer and the Yankees’ Ryan Weathers, hardly Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal.
“I was talking to some guys around the All-Star Week, and I was like, ‘Would you rather be an All-Star or win a World Series?’ And the answer is easy. You’d rather win a World Series,” said Marsh, 4-for-30 against lefties since June 25. “… If that means having to take a step back and be more of a role player, then that’s what I’m going to be.”
Actually, the Phillies need Marsh to be a costar again.
Because Dombrowski could trade for, say, Lane Thomas from the Royals to split time with Marsh as part of a triple-platoon in the outfield. But it would be easier if the Phillies could count on Marsh every day and add lefty-hitting Daulton Varsho from the Blue Jays or Jake McCarthy from the Rockies, or righty-swinging Jo Adell from the Angels or Taylor Ward, if the Orioles sell.
“I do believe that [Marsh] is going to be a guy that can be an everyday guy,” Mattingly said. “Something we talked about is understanding how to hit lefties and what you need to do. Understanding ball movement, what do you want to hit, where does [the swing] have to start. He’s a guy that, honestly, at the big league level has really not had the opportunity to continue to do that.
“But at some point, we’re trying to win games. We need to be better against lefties.”
Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper is 8-for-43 (.186) with 16 strikeouts since the All-Star break.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Harper
Help me if you can, I’m feeling down …
… and I do appreciate you being ’round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won’t you please, please, help me?
Harper’s candor is refreshing. He speaks his mind, even when it ruffles feathers.
“I mean, Dave’s been doing this a while,” Mattingly told reporters Wednesday. “He’s never really backed away from trying to get guys. We’re going to try to get better at the deadline.”
Asked if he was bothered by Harper’s comments, Mattingly, whose son, Preston, works under Dombrowski as general manager, said he only was concerned with what they implied.
“If you say something about our team,” Mattingly said, “then you’re saying something about one of our players that you don’t like.”
“Bryce is Bryce,” Mattingly continued. “He’s going to say what he wants. I’m not really concerned about it. I take it kind of with a grain of salt, knowing how players are over the years.”
But Harper also isn’t satisfied with how he has swung the bat lately. He’s 8-for-43 (.186) with 16 strikeouts since the break, even after homering in the first inning Monday and tripling home a run in the fifth inning Wednesday.
As Harper likes to say: “Not enough.”
The Phillies need more, even if help is on the way.
Jalen Carter plodded off the dais late Wednesday morning with a look of relief on his face, as if he were a student who feared public speaking and had just delivered an oral presentation for class. The Eagles’ first practice of training camp, at the Jefferson Health Training Complex, had ended minutes before. It was humid, and Carter wiped his brow with a towel. To his left were Dom DiSandro, who is the Eagles’ chief security officer, and Toni Brown, who is Carter’s mother. Dom and mom. Maybe the two most important people in making sure that the Eagles get their money’s worth from Carter, who is, for the moment, the highest-paid defensive tackle in the National Football League.
“I messed up a little bit,” Carter said to Brown and DiSandro, “but it was good.”
The Eagles had announced Tuesday that they and Carter had agreed to a four-year contract extension that reportedly guaranteed him $106 million and could pay him as much as $160 million. When a modern professional sports franchise holds a press conference, it does so not just to acknowledge the news that has already broken. The point and purpose of the event, from the franchise’s perspective, are to send subtle signals about what the angle on the news is supposed to be.
So there was Brown near the dais. And there was tackle Jordan Davis, Carter’s teammate at the University of Georgia and with the Eagles, hanging near the back of the media tent, ecstatic for his friend. And coach Nick Sirianni and vice president Howie Roseman had been there hours earlier, making no mention of the risk the Eagles had taken on with this commitment to Carter.
And there is risk here — plenty of it. Carter is just 25, and he has been a great player at times for the Eagles. He was the primary reason they beat the Los Angeles Rams in the 2024-25 NFC divisional round, and he has the power, strength, and raw talent to be the league’s best defensive tackle if he can stay healthy and keep his head on straight. But from the road-racing accident in January 2023 that led to two people’s deaths and caused him to drop far enough for the Eagles to trade in that year’s draft, to the decline in his play in the second half of his rookie season, to his dumb decision to spit in Dak Prescott’s face in last season’s opening game, to the two shoulder procedures that cost him a month of time, Carter has given the Eagles ample cause to cross their fingers here and hope.
Roseman likes to consummate such deals — extending the contracts of players whom the Eagles want to retain for years — as early in an offseason as possible. Carter’s, though, took much longer, and the reasons go beyond the ones Roseman cited Wednesday, the suggestion that he and Drew Rosenhaus, Carter’s agent, were simply waiting for the market to settle.
At just 25, Jalen Carter has the power, strength, and raw talent to be the league’s best defensive tackle if he can stay healthy.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“We felt like [defensive tackle] was one of the strengths of our team,” Roseman said. “We want that to be one of the strengths of our team going forward. The defensive tackle position in the league, in college football — it’s a deficient position. It’s hard to find guys like that. So we feel like it was a priority.”
Understand: That’s why Carter got this extension, and that’s why the Eagles didn’t have much of a choice in giving it to him. He’s that talented, that vital to Vic Fangio’s defense. “The attention he draws is incredible,” linebacker Zack Baun said. “You’ve got to have four hands on him,” meaning the opposing offensive line has to double-team Carter at all times, opening up possibilities for his teammates to make plays. There’s no replacing a player like Carter, and if he commits another awful mistake off the field, if he does something dirty on the field and the NFL doesn’t go easy on him again — as it did last season after the Prescott incident — he will cost the Eagles dearly. As Roseman and more than one player said Wednesday, the Eagles don’t pay you for what you’ve done. They pay you for what you’re going to do.
To his credit, Carter said all the right things Wednesday, even pausing, after taking two questions, to thank the Eagles and chairman Jeffrey Lurie and even the media members in attendance. Any teacher or professor would have passed him on his assignment.
“When you get picked in the first round, a top-10 pick, you get a little bit of decent money,” he said. “That didn’t change me. I still came here. I had a goal. I let the team know and the fans know that the goal was to get a championship. It happened, but it’s a new contract, and it’s time to get more championships for the city of Philly.
“My goal wasn’t to come out and ‘Let me be the highest-paid defensive tackle.’ My goal was to build team chemistry and win a championship. I think that all falls in line with getting to where I’m at now.”
The proof was never going to present itself Wednesday. The easy part is over for Jalen Carter. He got his extension, and now he has to earn it. Now he has to keep every day clean. “I don’t think money is ever going to change me,” he said. It was an assertion that could cut either way, for good or bad, and it’s on him, his support system, and the Eagles themselves to make sure they don’t regret that he said it.
Saquon Barkley has long been an admirer of the wide zone run scheme. He’d study film of running backs like Todd Gurley — who thrived with the Los Angeles Rams under Sean McVay — and think about what he might look like in an offense like that.
Now he doesn’t have to daydream.
The Eagles held their first training camp practice of 2026 on Wednesday, which means Barkley and Co. got another important taste of life under first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, whose playbook looks similar to McVay and Kyle Shanahan’s. It’s only Day 1, but the play calls were a major deviation from the inside zone-heavy Eagles offenses of the past. This was evident from the very first play, when Jalen Hurts — lined up under center — ran a stretch toss in “12″ personnel (1 running back, 2 wide receivers, 2 tight ends).
How fired up is Barkley about these changes? He spent nearly a minute lauding them after Wednesday’s practice.
“I’ve always been intrigued with this kind of system,” Barkley said. “Watching it kind of from afar and seeing a lot of guys have a lot of success in it. The thing that changes for me is we coach it a little bit different. Outside zone and wide zone, the read is pretty much the same, but just trying to get more of a one-cut mindset.
“I feel like naturally in my career, unless you are in a system like in college, most of us come from gun and playing shotgun. … You’re more natural to a duo, or to like an inside zone. Then, when you get into the NFL, you see a lot of guys struggle with outside zone in the beginning, but I’ve been working on that the whole time and just having that one-cut mentality, but still doing it in a way that I like to get out of the cut and being efficient and being aligned with the offensive line and in the play and making it work.”
Saquon Barkley’s ability to click in the running game will take pressure off Jalen Hurts (right) and the passing attack. Chris Szagola
Barkley’s excitement for a new system likely stems from his struggles (relative to his usual success) in the Eagles’ offense last season. The 29-year-old rushed for 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns under OC Kevin Patullo, as the Eagles went 11-6 and lost to the 49ers in the wild-card round. This came one year after Barkley’s dream first season in Philadelphia, during which he became the ninth player in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 yards and logged 13 rushing touchdowns en route to a Super Bowl crown.
Of course, it’s only Day 1. Growing pains and adjustments are inevitable. But with Mannion in the mix, Barkley feels rejuvenated — even if it means “starting from scratch.”
“I think it’s pretty cool that you start it from scratch again,” Barkley said. “Learning a new language, getting familiar with a new system. It’s fun. The way you take notes is a little bit different than you would … It’s going to put you in a spot to do something new, something you may not be used to. But as a competitor, you welcome that challenge.”
