Cole Knuble, Jett Luchanko, Oliver Bonk, and Jacob Gaucher have been sent down to Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League, the Flyers announced Friday.
The Flyers’ preseason roster is down to 26 names. Teams can carry up to 23 players on the active roster in the regular season. The remaining cuts are likely to be third goalie Aleksei Kolosov (assuming Dan Vladař is healthy for the opener), defenseman Helge Grans (who was injured in Thursday’s game), and Garrett Wilson. NHL opening rosters are due by 5 p.m. on Monday.
Knuble, Luchanko, and Gaucher’s line stood out in a good way on Thursday, with Luchanko, 20, using his trademark speed to make plays and Knuble scoring a rebound goal in tight, his second of the preseason.
“They’re stacking some good games together,” head coach Rick Tocchet said after Thursday’s contest. “[Knuble] is really playing well, and I thought [Luchanko] has gotten better every game, so that’s huge for us, that they’re pushing.”
Despite their performance in camp, Tocchet pointed to the competition on the roster when asked if Knuble had a shot at making the opening night roster.
“You know the numbers game, but he’s definitely pushing some people,” Tocchet said.
The Flyers would prefer for Knuble and Luchanko to play every day down in Lehigh Valley, as opposed to sticking around on the NHL roster as an extra waiting for a chance. It’s also worth noting that Knuble, Luchanko, Bonk, and Gaucher are all waiver exempt, while players like David Jiříček, Carl Grundström, and Nikita Grebenkin are not. The Flyers snuck the veteran Grundström through waivers earlier this week, but would likely be hesitant to try the same with Jiříček and Grebenkin.
Young Oliver Bonk looks to be the odd defenseman out as the Flyers begin the season.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Knuble, 22, getting sent down could be a positive sign for Denver Barkey, who Tocchet said could be an option for Saturday’s preseason game after he was injured in Monday’s preseason opener. Barkey, who is still listed as day-to-day with a lower-body ailment, has been skating in a noncontact jersey in recent days.
Bonk, 21, was in competition with Jiříček for the final defensive spot, but it looked like Jiříček, in part due to his contract situation, had the inside track for opening night since the start of camp. Jiříček also got reps quarterbacking the second power-play unit and played with Nick Seeler in Boston on Tuesday. That duo looks to be the Flyers’ third pair to start the season.
LeBron James got his first taste of Philadelphia in his senior year of high school when he played at the Palestra.
Now, he’ll be calling the city home after signing a two-year, $8 million deal to presumably finish his legendary career with the Sixers. James spoke about his decision to join Philadelphia on the first episode of season four of his Mind the Game podcast with Hall of Famer Steve Nash that was released on Friday.
Why Philly?
James doesn’t answer many phone calls, but he always picks up when Sixers point guard Tyrese Maxey rings.
“When I became a free agent and we decided to let the Lakers know that I wouldn’t be returning, he was one of the first people that was on my line,” James said. “Calling me, ‘Yo, what we doing? Yo, what’s up OG? Come on down here, we could use you down here.’”
James said he and Maxey have a relationship that extends beyond the basketball court, which played a big role in his decision to join the Sixers. Maxey even used to play video games with James’ sons, Bronny and Bryce, when he was 19.
LeBron James credited Tyrese Maxey with playing a large role in bringing him to Philly. Bill Streicher, Bill Streicher-I
“I just love everything about Tyrese Maxey,” James said. “Every day you get the same person, and that is very rare in sports and obviously super rare in life. And obviously we know what he brings to the basketball court.”
The Sixers’ trade for Jaylen Brown also caught James’ attention, but the final piece for James was Joel Embiid, who he said was “one of the most important” parts of his decision.
“He’s done everything in our league, and the only thing he has not done is win a championship,” James said. “I want to try to help him get that first one. He has the city on his back. I hope I can be that final little piece that can help him get over the hump.”
After the Lakers were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the 2026 NBA playoffs, James felt good, but he spent a lot of time thinking about whether it was the end for him.
He took roughly six weeks off basketball and felt his body responded well, while his mind responded even better than it did last offseason.
“I’ve always told myself, if I feel like I can’t put in the process of waking up and training the body and training the mind and I feel good after I do that on a consistent basis, then I know for sure that I’m done,” James said.
James’ family was supportive of his decision, even encouraging him to play another year. And he’s still in love with his pursuit of defying the odds.
“If you still have an opportunity to do what you love, then why just say, ‘I’m done?’” James said. “I think that’s what it came down to.”
James’ love for Maxey is clear, but he also had praise for Brown and VJ Edgecombe
James feels Brown is “misunderstood” as a person, as he’s more outspoken than many NBA stars. They have worked out “three or four times this offseason.”
“Any time someone kind of moves to their own beat, it makes people uncomfortable,” James said. “When it becomes misunderstood, then it becomes intimidating. … We’re two of the guys on the team that’s been through the foxhole and been through the ringer.”
Sixers star Jaylen Brown shakes hands with president of basketball operations Mike Gansey as managing partner Josh Harris looks on at Brown’s introductory press conference in August.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
As for Edgecombe, James’ “intel” has told him the 21-year-old is wise “beyond his years” and was one of the leaders of last year’s team.
“He speaks with an intelligent confidence,” James said. “Works extremely hard. He’s a flat-out player. There’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to be contending for an all-defensive team this year. He has all the tools.”
Are the Sixers a superteam?
There is plenty of noise surrounding the Sixers now that James and Brown have joined the team, but James isn’t quite ready to call his new squad a “superteam.”
“A championship is not guaranteed,” James said. “What we control is how we show up to work.”
Although Maxey, Embiid, and Edgecombe have played together, James knows it’s going to take time for the unit to click. He said “there’s going to be trial and error” and added that he’s new to Philadelphia and its surroundings.
James also hopes the Sixers face some adversity throughout the season so they can grow closer.
“I hope we go through a three-game losing streak,” James said. “We have to be able to go through some real-life battle moments in the fight to know who we are and what we want to become. We got to peel the onion.”
The Sixers haven’t won a ring since 1983, the year before James was born, but he hopes they can change that.
“We want a team that can compete for a championship,” James said. “And I think the city of Philly wants that. This is the city of champions.”
ORLANDO — After a week of work in the lush surroundings of U.S. Soccer’s national training center, the fun now begins for the next era of its senior men’s team.
Saturday’s matchup with Peru (4:30 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62) kicks off a four-game, 10-day road show stretching from Florida to Georgia, Missouri, Arizona, and Minnesota. It’s the first time FIFA has held a national team window this long outside of the summer, but it means Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff can get a proper look at the 12 newcomers on this 28-player squad.
It also means all 28 players have a shot at playing time, and yes, that includes Cavan Sullivan. Pochettino was peppered with questions about the Union’s 16-year-old phenom in his news conference Friday morning, as the national media continues to be drawn to Sullivan’s hype train.
Pochettino didn’t say much about Sullivan directly, or any of his other young prospects. But the manager did acknowledge that the Bridesburg native has made a good first impression.
Cavan Sullivan (right) working out with U.S. teammates in a drill on Thursday.Jonathan Tannenwald
“Well, if we only talk about his performance, he’s doing really well in MLS, in his club in Philadelphia,” Pochettino said in one of his answers. “Talking only about that, I think he’s ready. But the rest of the players, too, are ready.”
A few minutes later, he added: “I think he’s doing really well in Philadelphia, and that is why he is here. He’s mature enough on the field to be there and to compete.”
A step back from individuals brought a lot more perspective. It’s clear that Pochettino has embraced bringing in a new era of young players, as the U.S. program looks ahead to the 2028 Olympics and the 2030 World Cup.
“Of course you want to talk about the kids, and it’s amazing to have on board those players,” he said. “First of all, because they have talent — and they are showing their real talent, because they have an amazing capacity and quality. And then the energy was amazing. It’s very contagious, that energy.”
Cavan Sullivan (center) with Mathis Albert of Germany’s Borussia Dortmund (left) and Brooklyn Raines of the New England Revolution, all of whom hope to be part of the U.S. men’s soccer team’s new era.Jonathan Tannenwald
He also spoke of how well the newcomers have blended in with the veterans, including a dozen from this summer’s World Cup team.
“I think the mix between senior players and the young [players] has become very organic and natural now, after a few days,” Pochettino said. “It’s a group of players [where] you don’t feel that someone is called for the first time or someone has 100 caps. … Of course, the younger [players] show tremendous respect to the senior players — they are humble enough to listen. But also, the senior players, they are so good in the way that they treat the young kids, because they also show respect to them.”
There’s nothing new in soccer about teenage pros, but they are especially prevalent in the world’s game right now. The U.S. will likely encounter another marquee one next Saturday in Mexico’s Gilberto Mora. Others are dotted around Europe and South America: England’s Max Dowman, Brazil’s Estevão, Spain’s Lamine Yamal, and many more.
While American soccer has mostly gotten used to them by now, there’s still a novelty element, with Sullivan serving as a clear example.
Neil Pierre (second from left) stretching at the start of Friday’s practice.Jonathan Tannenwald
But one thing these young American newcomers are experiencing? The initiation ritual of singing in front of the team.
We don’t yet know what song Sullivan chose, or Union teammates Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield. Zavier Gozo of England’s Crystal Palace (and formerly Real Salt Lake) admitted earlier this week that he chose “Let Me Love You” by Mario, which was written three years before the outside back was born.
Chris Richards spoke on behalf of the veterans when he said, “there’s some people who are really good singers, and I’ll tell you Zavier did really well … and I’ll say there are some people who probably shouldn’t sing anymore.”
Pochettino was entertained. He also used it as one of many moments to learn about the players off the field.
“When they arrive, the first day on the training ground with us, in the hotel, and how they talk, how they move, how they are,” he said. “How quirky they are when they go in front of 60 or 70 people and start to sing like a pop star. You start to see their personality, their character.”
Mauricio Pochettino has been in a good mood this week.Jonathan Tannenwald
And while some American cultural references still go over Pochettino’s head two years into the job, one thing about his communication with the young players is universal.
“After talking with them, it’s like you feel younger,” he said. “It’s a long time that I didn’t feel this way, talking and working with a group of players. That is amazing for us, for the present and for the future.”
It’s Week 3, and teams are no longer fresh. Injuries and depth chart questions have national analysts divided on who will win this week’s Monday Night Football showdown between the Eagles and Chicago Bears (8:15 p.m., 6abc, ESPN).
The Eagles’ biggest change is the potential return of tight end Zach Ertz, who was signed to the practice squad after starting tight end Dallas Goedert went down with a sprained MCL that’s expected to keep him out for a few weeks. For Chicago, quarterback Caleb Williams’ status is unknown after he was carted off with a hamstring injury, and backup Tyson Bagent is in concussion protocol. That could put No. 3 quarterback Case Keenum on the field.
Video: Gameday Central: What will Zach Ertz bring to the Eagles offense?
QB shuffle
All eyes are on the quarterbacks. For the Eagles, that means relying on Jalen Hurts while the offense works out its kinks. ESPN analyst Ben Solak says the Birds still have a ways to go and predicts the Bears have a chance to win if Bagent starts.
“My overall expectations for the Eagles’ offense will remain tempered until I see the line and the running game return to form,” Solak wrote on ESPN.com, “but if Hurts can use his arm to guide them to wins through September and into October, they’ll have time to iron out their rushing issues.”
Jalen HurtsMonica Herndon
Other ESPN analysts are focused on Chicago’s quarterback situation, with the starter undetermined. Keenum, who hasn’t played in a regular-season game since 2023, told ESPN’s Courtney Cronin he’s confident if he gets the call.
“I feel very prepared,” Keenum told ESPN. “It’s what I do every week. It’s what I’ve done for a long time. I’ve been in this league for a long time. If my name’s called, I’m excited to be out there.”
Keenum, 38, is in his 15th NFL season and is on a two-year contract with the Bears. He has an 84.6 career passer rating and has completed 62.3% of his career passes for 15,175 yards and 79 touchdowns to 51 interceptions. Monday’s game would be his first as a Bear.
But playing their backup’s backup could still result in a win if the run game powered by Kyle Monangai and Philly native D’Andre Swift finds success, wrote Sports Illustrated.
“If Chicago’s running backs are finding openings, Keenum could game-manage for most of the game and pick his spots in the passing game when needed against what has been a lockdown Philly secondary,” Andrew Hughes wrote.
Chicago Bears running back D’Andre Swift (4) is from Philly and played for the Eagles in 2023.Nam Y. Huh
SI betting analyst Peter Dewey is backing the Bears, at least for the spread, citing Goedert’s injury and a defense that’s had issues in Weeks 1 and 2.
“I’ll take the points with the Bears at home,” Dewey wrote.
It’s not all bad news for the Eagles. Despite their slow start, USA Today points to an uphill battle for the Bears in Week 3.
“Philadelphia has too much talent for a Keenum-led offense that managed only three points against Minnesota,” Adam Kaufman wrote. “If Williams unexpectedly plays, the handicap changes. Without him, I don’t see Chicago producing enough offense to stay competitive.”
Much of the talk surrounding the Union has focused on the turnaround the team has shown since returning to league action after a reset courtesy of the FIFA World Cup. It was a seven-week break that left the team searching for answers about how a season with so much promise ended with just one win after 15 matches in Major League Soccer.
On Saturday, the Union will embark on Matchday No. 27 when they host Orlando City inside Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). A win would set a franchise record of 12 straight matches unbeaten in MLS, an impressive run accomplished under an interim coach and with a sizable chunk of the roster away on international duty during the first FIFA window since the World Cup.
The club’s second-half surge has them in great position to earn a trip to the MLS Cup playoffs, with seven games remaining before brackets and seeds are set. However, what’s often overlooked during the Union’s 11-match unbeaten run are the numbers behind their surge up the Eastern Conference standings and the metrics that have made them a contender again instead of an afterthought.
Here are a few figures that stand out.
3
The number of head coaching roles within the Union by current interim head coach Ryan Richter. In addition to once being the director of the Union’s Junior Academy, Richter, 37, was also head coach of the club’s developmental team, Union II, before taking over as interim head coach of the senior team in May.
Cavan Sullivan pays tribute to LeBron James with his celebration after scoring a goal for the Union against CF Montréal on Sept. 5. Philadelphia Union
8
The number of wins and draws the Union have amassed in 23 league meetings against Orlando City. They’ll be looking to avenge a 4-3 loss to the Lions at Inter & Co. Stadium on May 13. It was a game in which Cavan Sullivan scored his first MLS goal, but a last-minute clincher by Orlando sent the Union to their second straight loss in May.
Eight is also the number of goals by a player with the last name “Sullivan” on the roster. Cavan Sullivan has scored seven goals, including six in the Union’s last six matches, while his older brother Quinn has one since returning from a season-ending ACL tear last season.
The number of goals the Union have allowed since their second-half return in MLS play. By comparison, during their slump before the World Cup break, the Union allowed 30 goals. Nestled within that are four shutouts, including 5-0 outbursts against FC Cincinnati (Sept. 9) and four days later on the road against San Diego FC.
Union captain Alejandro Bedoya has been impactful on and off the field. Courtesy / Union
16
Union captain Alejandro Bedoya’s appearances this season. Bedoya, 39, might be considered the elder statesman on the roster, but his work rate, particularly when he enters in the second half, has been a key contributor to the team’s second-half surge. He owns a 65% accurate passer rating and has three assists in league play. However, Richter and several players on the squad suggest the leadership Bedoya brings is the real talent of this chapter of his 11-year career in Philadelphia.
Video: Philly’s Cavan Sullivan reacts to being called up to U.S. men’s national team.
18
The average age of the three Union players who were called into the senior U.S. men’s national team ahead of four matches for the Americans during the FIFA window. Defenders Frankie Westfield (20) and Neil Pierre (18), and midfielder Cavan Sullivan (16) make up the trio who, along with midfielder Danley Jean Jacques (26, Haiti) and goalkeeper Andre Blake (35, Jamaica), will miss time with the team due to international duty.
Frankie Westfield is one of three current Union players in camp for the U.S. men’s national team ahead of four matches. Jonathan Tannenwald
29
The number of points the Union have amassed in this second half of the season. The club limped into the break with a 1-10-4 (seven points) record. Since the break, the Union are 9-0-2 in MLS play.
30
The number of MLS goals the Union have scored since the restart of the season. In total, the club has scored 50 goals in league play, meaning that 60% have come since July 22 when the Union took home a 3-1 win against Red Bull New York at home.
2,321
The number of minutes played by defender Nathan Harriel, who is the only player to have started every league match for the team. Harriel, who has been a bona fide presence at outside back, ranks third in MLS for the most minutes by a player who isn’t a goalkeeper.
The Sixers are moving their Blue X White scrimmage to Xfinity Mobile Arena for the first time ever.
After a summer of big moves that have led to historic demand for Sixers basketball, fans will get their first chance to see new stars LeBron James and Jaylen Brown in action on the court at noon on Oct. 3 at Xfinity Mobile.
Admission will require a $10 donation to the Sixers Youth Foundation, similar to the Eagles’ $10 annual open practice at Lincoln Financial Field. Season-ticket holders will have first access, followed by a general on-sale allotment on Monday, Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. The Sixers will also donate 5,000 tickets to Sixers Youth Foundation grantees. Parking will be complimentary.
The event will kick off with a pregame fan festival outside the arena, which will include giveaways, shooting challenges, and more starting at 9:30 a.m. before the scrimmage.
In previous years, the scrimmage was hosted in Wilmington at the home of the Blue Coats, the Sixers’ G League affiliate. But the unprecedented demand — including unprecedented regular-season ticket prices — led to the expanded interest and capacity for this year’s scrimmage, in collaboration with new team sponsor BodyArmor.
Let’s play a game of Name That Hitter, using statistical hints of batting average/on-base percentage/slugging and other relevant numbers through Thursday.
Hitter A is Bo Bichette, object of the Phillies’ desire in January when they offered the free-agent infielder a seven-year, $200 million contract. Bichette took the Mets’ bid of fewer years (three) but higher salary ($42 million annually, $126 million total), plus opt-outs after this season and next.
If they’d landed Bichette, the Phillies planned to trade Alec Bohm, according to multiple sources at the time. And Bohm happens to be Hitter B, with eerily similar production at a fraction of the salary ($10.2 million).
Sometimes, the best moves are ones that aren’t made.
This isn’t meant to suggest that Bohm had a particularly good season. The Phillies dropped him from the cleanup spot after two weeks and benched him for two games in early May. He had a .593 OPS through June 3. At the All-Star break, he was hitting .215 with a .278 on-base percentage and .632 OPS.
After a rough first half of the season, Phillies first baseman Alec Bohm has had more to smile about since the All-Star break.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
(It was even worse for Bohm off the field. In March, he sued his parents, alleging multimillion dollar mismanagement of his finances. They reached a settlement three weeks ago.)
But Bohm found salvation in the second half. Entering the weekend, he was batting .312 since the break, ninth in the majors, with an .824 OPS that was tied for 33rd.
“I was in a pretty deep hole early on, and I think I just chipped away,” said Bohm, who also moved from third base to first when the Phillies rearranged their infield after the deadline trade for Luis Arraez. “For me, it was kind of focusing less on, ‘What’s my batting average today?’ and more on, ‘All right, let’s go out and try to win a game today.’
“Just one of those things you can always look back on and never get too low or panic too much throughout a season. Right?”
It’s a mature perspective from a 30-year-old whose maturity has been questioned over the last six seasons. But it may also reflect the realization that these are likely his last days with the Phillies.
Bohm will be a free agent. And after the Phillies talked about trading him two offseasons ago and were poised to replace him with Bichette last winter, it would be a surprise if they didn’t let him walk out the door now.
It also makes Bohm the symbol of changes that may be coming to an organization that has been marked by extreme continuity since 2022. Barring a deep run through October, several longstanding players — as well as interim manager Don Mattingly — face a cloudy future at the corner of 11th and Pattison.
Since the start of the 2023 season, Phillies infielder Alec Bohm has driven in 341 runs, 18th-most in baseball.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Third degree
Bohm tends to get judged on things he doesn’t do well, notably his defense and a lack of home-run power for a mountain of a 6-foot-4, 218-pound man.
Yet as one scout said when Dave Dombrowski convened his top lieutenants at the trade deadline, “When you see a player every day, you have a tendency to look at their downside. But if you compare his numbers, how many guys have more RBIs than he does?”
Try 17 since 2023, including only one who plays for the Phillies (Kyle Schwarber). Entering the weekend, Bohm needed two RBIs to reach 90 for the third time in four seasons.
In a sense, then, Bohm represents an organizational success story. Drafted third overall out of college in 2018, developed through the farm system, and brought to the majors in 2020, he has averaged 564 plate appearances per year while batting .274, including a .315 mark with runners in scoring position. He was even an All-Star in 2024.
Along the way, Bohm got demoted to triple A in 2021 and nearly punched a ticket out of town early the next season. After committing three errors in three innings and getting roundly booed, he got caught on camera saying, “I (bleeping) hate this place.” He was contrite after the game and largely forgiven by the fan base.
If anything, the Phillies miscast Bohm as cleanup-hitting protection for Bryce Harper and overvalued him at his peak. But replacing him isn’t straightforward.
Aidan Miller once appeared poised to inherit third base from Bohm. But a back condition sidelined the 23-year-old top prospect until September and limited him to 34 plate appearances, including the postseason with double-A Reading.
Phillies top prospect Aidan Miller missed almost all of the season with a back condition.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
The Phillies have scouted 27-year-old third baseman Teruaki Sato, who mashed 36 homers this season and 40 last year in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. But he bats from the left side, like Harper and Schwarber (and Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh), and some major-league evaluators wonder if he’s better suited for first base.
Oh, and there’s always Bichette, who could opt-out of his Mets deal and reenter the market. But will he really walk away from that $42 million annual salary after a down year? And would the Phillies chase after him again after feeling spurned last winter?
Meanwhile, Bohm is playing out what’s left of his Phillies career back in the middle of the order as the hottest hitter down the stretch in an overall chilly month for the offense. He entered the weekend with a .319 average and .869 OPS in September; as a team, the Phillies were batting .225 with a .655 OPS this month.
“The numbers are what the numbers are,” Bohm said of turning his brutally slow start into a respectable finish. “Can’t really do much about it at this point. So, let’s try to go help the team win and contribute in some way. Getting lost in that for a while, they’ve found their way back to, I guess, more of the norm for myself.”
Phillies lefty reliever José Alvarado has had an inconsistent season.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Seeking relief
Just when the Phillies thought they could depend again on José Alvarado, he entered a 1-1 game in the eighth inning Thursday night and walked the leadoff batter before giving up a stolen base, an RBI single up the middle, and another single to left field.
How’s that for a snapshot of his tenure here?
Dombrowski became the Phillies’ president of baseball operations in December 2020. His first move was the three-way trade that brought Alvarado from the Rays. The big lefty has been dominant at times, injury-prone at others. He gave up the World Series-clinching homer to Houston’s Yordan Alvarez in 2022 and got suspended for 80 games last season for failing a drug test. But he also has unleashed the fifth-most pitches at 98 mph or more since 2021.
In all, Alvarado has a 3.86 ERA and 378 strikeouts and 152 walks in 293⅔ innings with the Phillies. Opponents have hit .227 against him; lefties have hit .219.
This season, lefties are batting .333 with an .865 OPS against Alvarado. Maybe he needs to come inside more to lefties. Maybe hitters are sitting on his signature sinker. Maybe he needs to throw more cutters.
In any case, as Mattingly decides whether he can trust Alvarado in the postseason, the Phillies face a longer-term decision about whether to bring him back (again) in free agency.
Orion Kerkering can’t be a free agent until after the 2029 season. But the righty is eligible for salary arbitration for the first time. And after posting a 9.43 ERA since the All-Star break, including a 10.66 mark since the middle of August, he became “unusable,” in Mattingly’s words.
The Phillies demoted Kerkering to triple A last weekend, prompting a larger question: Would a change of scenery be best for everyone involved?
Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering got demoted to triple A last week.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Let’s come back to that.
The Phillies drafted Kerkering in 2022 and brought him to the majors 14 months later after he climbed four levels of the farm system in one season. Thrust into high-leverage situations in October, he faltered in the 2023 NL Championship Series against Arizona.
Even so, Kerkering dominated for stretches in each of the last three seasons, looking at times like a closer-in-waiting. But he was complicit in the bullpen meltdown in the 2024 divisional round against the Mets and made the ill-fated throwing error that ended last season in Game 4 at Dodger Stadium.
So, about that change of scenery. It’ll surely be a topic during the Phillies’ organizational meetings after the season.
For now, they sent Kerkering to Allentown to continue pitching at their “stay ready” camp, although he’s ineligible for a call-up until Oct. 6 unless there’s an injury.
“It looks like he needs a break to get away from here,” Dombrowski said. “Sometimes you need to step away.”
The Phillies haven’t removed the “interim” label from manager Don Mattingly’s title.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
About the manager
Earlier this week, the Mets and Red Sox removed the interim label from managers Andy Green and Chad Tracy, respectively, with each receiving a three-year contract to stay at the wheel of those clubs.
Has there been more thought to Mattingly’s future in the dugout beyond this season?
“No, there has not been,” Dombrowski said in a text message. “[We] have felt it is better to wait until our season is complete.”
That has been the Phillies’ stance since April 28, when they elevated Mattingly from bench coach after firing Rob Thomson. But the lack of commitment to Mattingly has only fueled speculation throughout the sport that the managerial seat is being held for Alex Cora.
Dombrowski hired Cora with the Red Sox, and they won the World Series in their first season together in 2018. They remain close friends, with Dombrowski calling Cora “one of the finest managers in the game of baseball” and comparing him favorably to Hall of Fame managers Jim Leyland and Tony La Russa.
The Red Sox fired Cora on April 25 amid a 10-17 start. Dombrowski offered him the Phillies’ job the next day, even though he had not yet let Thomson go. Cora, who will be paid by the Red Sox through the end of the next season, opted to take time with his family.
How’s that for palace intrigue?
Video: John Middleton on what led to Rob Thomson’s dismissal
Mattingly, 65, is under contract with the Phillies for another year and has expressed interest in staying on as the manager. His son, Preston, is the general manager under Dombrowski.
In 2022, the Phillies took the interim tag off Thomson and gave him a two-year contract after winning the wild-card miniseries. How many rounds would the team need to win for Mattingly to receive similar treatment?
A Monday Night Football showdown against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field is on the horizon for the Eagles.
The Bears will likely be without starting quarterback Caleb Williams, who hasn’t practiced this week after injuring his hamstring late in Chicago’s 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Williams’ backup, Tyson Bagent, is in concussion protocol and also has not practiced this week.
That means the next man up would be 38-year-old Case Keenum, who lost to the Eagles in the 2017 NFC Championship game en route to their first Super Bowl win.
Despite the quarterback uncertainty for Chicago, the Eagles are just slightly favored. Here’s what the Bears have said this week about the matchup:
Video: unCovering the Birds: A version of Jalen Hurts ‘we’ve never seen’
Defensive line has ‘special players’
A big talking point this week for the Bears has been Eagles defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis.
“Up front, those are some of the best two guys up front that are playing the game right now,” Keenum said Wednesday. “I think all over the board you look at playmakers that they have on the defense. So we got our work cut out for us.”
Carter was limited at practice Thursday with a wrist injury he’s been dealing with since the Eagles’ Week 1 win over the Washington Commanders. But if last week was any indication, he should be good to go for Monday.
Bears offensive lineman Jonah Jackson knows it will take work to rebound from a disappointing offensive performance against the Vikings.
“They got a heck of a group, man,” Jackson said Monday of the Eagles. “They got special players. They got a lot of star power. They also got another [defensive tackle] named Moro Ojomo. They got a lot of good guys up front, and it’s another challenge each week. Every team has their warheads.”
Case Keenum, then with the Vikings, lost to Brandon Graham and the Eagles in the 2017 NFC Championship game.DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
Facing Fangio
A week after putting up just three points against Brian Flores’ elite Vikings defense, the Bears have another challenge ahead in Vic Fangio’s defense, which ranks 10th in yards allowed per game. Fangio served as defensive coordinator in Chicago from 2015-18.
“Coach Fangio is one of the best in the business for a reason,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said Wednesday. “They make it really difficult for you, and it’s sound.”
Keenum hasn’t faced an NFL defense in the regular season since he started for the Houston Texans on Christmas Eve in 2023, but he doesn’t expect to have any rust if he starts on Monday night.
“They play tricks on your eyes,” Keenum said Wednesday. “They do a really good job pre- and post-snap, and there’s not a lot of just tells to tell you what coverage it’s going to be in beforehand. So you have to be on your P’s and Q’s because they’ll mix up the pressure and simulate some pressure.”
The Eagles have three sacks and eight tackles for loss this season, and they’ll look to take advantage of an offensive line that’s coming off a poor performance against the Vikings. Former Eagle D’Andre Swift averaged just 2.8 yards per carry last week, but rushed for 124 yards in a Week 1 victory over the Panthers.
Jalen Hurts
The Bears know what Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is capable of, and they’ll likely have to shut him down if they want to give themselves a chance in prime time.
“Obviously, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL,” Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo said Monday. “They play a physical game, so we have to be at our best on defense as a whole.”
After a comeback victory over the Tennessee Titans in Week 2, the Eagles (2-0) travel to Soldier Field to face the Chicago Bears (1-1). As both teams prepare for a Week 3 matchup on Monday Night Football, here’s a look at updated game odds and some interesting prop bets from two of the biggest sportsbooks:
This time around, the Week 3 matchup was looking like the Birds’ toughest challenge to date — especially following the Bears’ 59-37 win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1. However, that changed in Week 2 after the Bears struggled in a 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings and saw quarterback Caleb Williams get carted off with a hamstring injury.
Williams is not expected to play against the Eagles, forcing the Bears to rely on Tyson Bagent or Case Keenum under center. Meanwhile, the Eagles have escaped their first two games with a win.
Entering the week, the FanDuel and DraftKings sportsbooks have the Eagles as 4.5-point favorites.
As of Friday morning, with questions surrounding the Bears starting quarterback, both sportsbooks only listed the over/under odds for Hurts’ passing yards.
Over the last two weeks, Hurts has thrown for over 200 yards — 203 yards in Week 1 and 264 yards in Week 2. For Monday’s game, his over/under is set at 218 passing yards.
In the Bears’ last meeting with the Eagles, Kyle Monangai rushed for 130 yards, and D’Andre Swift rushed for 125. However, in their Week 2 loss to the Vikings, Monangai rushed for 47 yards, and Swift, a former Eagle and St. Joseph’s Prep product, rushed for 45.
Meanwhile, Tank Bigsby led the Birds in rushing with 33 rushing yards in the team’s Week 2 win over Tennessee. Barkley missed much of the Week 2 win after suffering a stinger, and his status for Monday is unclear.
Receiver DeVonta Smith led the team in receiving with 117 yards on 10 receptions vs. Tennessee. Dontayvion Wicks followed with 74 receiving yards on five receptions.
Swift led the Bears in receiving yards with 54 yards on five receptions last week.
“I had a tape recorder I would sing into,” said the South Jersey jazz vocalist.
“I was one of those kids holding a brush in the mirror, singing Billy Joel songs. I was that kid.”
But it was a roundabout route to the stage for Farnese, whose debut album, Oh No, I’m in Love Again, was just released on Philly jazz pianist Orrin Evans’ Imani Records.
First, he followed his father, Aldo Farnese — the star of Philadelphia children’s television shows Dickory Doc and Adam Android in the 1960s and 1970s — in pursuing an acting career. After a stint in Hollywood working in production and scoring some small movie and TV roles, he came home to Philly in the mid-1990s.
Since then, Farnese has had a day job — actually, usually a night job — as a TV camera operator for the Phillies, first at Veterans Stadium and, since 2004, at Citizens Bank Park. He operates a super slo-mo camera from the left field power alley in front of Ghost Energy Deck (formerly Harry the K’s).
By 2012, Farnese was long settled into that job, and also working Sixers and Flyers games for NBC Sports Philadelphia. In 2012, he won an Emmy for his work on the World Series.
But then he felt — as he puts it speaking via Zoom from his home in Woolwich Township, Gloucester County, while his golden retrievers Bailey and Oliver lounge on a sofa behind him — “a tap on the shoulder.”
The cover image to Greg Farnese’s album “Oh No, I’m in Love Again.”Courtesy of Imani Records
“When I was a kid, my father would sing throughout the house. We would say ‘Dad, you’ve got a great voice, you should be a singer,’” Farnese said. “And he would go, ‘Meh,’ and kind of blow us off.”
Then one day, he said, “I was singing while putting my son’s air hockey table together.” His wife, Laurie, said “Greg, you’ve got a beautiful voice. You should sing.”
“I started to go ‘Meh …’ — and then I stopped myself. Because I remembered that as a child, I thought my father was wasting his talent.
“So I said: ‘Get me a karaoke machine for Christmas, and I’ll start working on my voice.’ And that’s what I did.”
Farnese, who will perform at Tim McCloone’s Supper Club in Asbury Park on Oct. 4 and the Exit 0 Jazz Festival in Cape May on Oct. 23, is a poised vocalist and skilled song interpreter. Oh No! I’m in Love Again features two originals, including the title cut, both written with Alan Gardner, a former collaborator with Farnese’s father.
Greg Farnese, a television cameraman and musician, is photographed Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2026, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, where he works as a camera operator in left field. Farnese, a crooner, recently released his debut album, “Oh No, I’m in Love Again,” on Grammy-nominated Philadelphia pianist Orrin Evans’ Imani Records. Farnese also works as a Phillies television cameraman for NBC Sports Philadelphia, stationed nightly in the left-field power alley.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
‘The magician canceled, can you come down and sing a song?’
The album, whose polish belies that it was recorded in a single day at MorningStar Studios in Montgomery County, features Philly jazz players like drummer Leon Jordan Sr. and horn arrangements by trumpeter Elliot Bild.
Along with a delicate version of Johnny Mercer’s “Dream” accompanied by guitarist Paul Bollenbock, the album includes Green Day, Oasis, and Tears for Fears songs, all artfully rearranged to make familiar sound fresh.
It’s been a long road of confidence building for Farnese to work with a musician as accomplished as Evans, a three-time Grammy nominee who this spring was named artistic director of the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra. (He’ll split his time between Seattle and Philly.)
Speaking between innings during a recent Phillies-Astros game — an 11-7 win, thanks to a Kyle Schwarber grand slam — Farnese calls Evans “so smart and honest, and a great pianist. It’s like having Quincy Jones in my corner.”
Greg Farnese (center) performs at the World Stage in University City on Sept. 18, 2026. Farnese just released his debut album, “Oh No, I’m in Love Again.”Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“I started out singing in pizza parlors,” said Farnese, 62. “My wife is a psychologist and she used to work at nursing facilities. She called me one day and said, ‘The magician canceled, can you come down and sing a song?’
“I told her no, I’m not ready yet. She said, ‘Get the hell down here, just do it!’ I was afraid, and I was so self-conscious about being good.”
But as Farnese sang the 1940s standard “Moonlight in Vermont” to an elderly audience in Egg Harbor Township, he had a revelation.
“The two ladies in the front started crying. I was bringing them back to when they were young. That moment I realized that it wasn’t really about me. It was about the effect the music had on the audience. I saw them crying and I thought: This is what I want to do.”
Since then, Farnese has surrounded himself with first-class musicians and sung in area jazz clubs and private events, while also traveling for gigs in New York and Chicago.
Working with the Phillies suits his ambitions. Knowing his schedule months in advance, he books shows when the team is on the road.
“We’ve brought him on a couple of times to sing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame,’” said Phillies TV play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy. “I love his energy. He just brings so much professionalism and creativity and knows how to get the crowd involved. He’s an entertainer.”
Farnese put an exclamation point on one of the Phillies most memorable wins this year.
‘What would Ray Charles do with a Green Day song?’
Evans wasn’t all that familiar with Farnese’s music before he decided to produce Oh No, I’m in Love Again and put it out on his label, home to artists like Philly keyboard player Luke Carlos O’Reilly and Los Angeles drummer Tina Raymond.
Choosing who to work with isn’t about “it has to be the best vocalist, or the best saxophonist. It’s if somebody asks me to help them, and I believe in them as a human being.”
Though he “wasn’t super-duper familiar with Greg’s singing,” Evans said, “I knew some of the people he was playing with. So I know this person doesn’t play with slouches, so he can’t be a slouch.”
The key to success in recording, Evans says, was trust.
“I just like working with people I like. And I know that if we can vibe off the bandstand, there’s no way we’re not going to vibe on the bandstand.
“One of the best things I can say about Greg is his desire and ability to learn. He has an inquisitive spirit. He’s not done evolving. I really love this record, and I’m excited for the next one because of him.”
“I love jazz and swing music,” Farnese said. “You know, Bennett, Bublé, Sinatra. That’s my wheelhouse. But growing up I was exposed to all these different styles. Everything from Simon and Garfunkel and the Beatles to Curtis Mayfield and Puccini.
“So I’m creating a vocal style that combines songs I really love in jazz arrangements. What would Ray Charles do with a Green Day song? What would Duke Ellington do with a Blood, Sweat & Tears song? I want to be my own artist that creates my own music in my own style.”
“I have a great job at NBC Sports Philadelphia. But when I got that tap on the shoulder, that was God saying. ‘This is not what you’re supposed to be doing.’ And being a middle-aged man, this is not a dress rehearsal. This is it. Now’s the time.”
Greg Farnese will perform Oct. 4 at Tim McCloone’s Supper Club, 1200 Ocean Ave N, Asbury Park, timmcloonessupperclub.com and Oct. 23 at the Exit 0 Jazz Festival, Cape May, exitzerojazzfestival.com.
