Dom DiSandro, the Eagles chief of security started off as the guest star on Friday’s episode of The Pete Davidson Show on Netflix.
In his standard uniform of a track suit and hat, DiSandro and Davidson spent the 23-minute episode discussing everything from players retiring to his relationship with other security guards in the league, and finished with a FaceTime call to Mike Tyson.
In his longest — and, as far as we can tell, only — extended on-camera interview, the normally reserved DiSandro spoke about his relationships with players throughout his years with the Eagles and how he tries to learn everything about the player when recruiting, something that continues after they’re signed. He shared how that translates into helping players once they’re part of the organization, whether it’s on the mental side of the game or helping them manage their contracts.
Despite being a behind the scenes guy, Big Dom gained notoriety around the city — and the country — following his suspension stemming from a sideline altercation with San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw in Week 13 of the 2023 season. During the Eagles’ visit to the White House last year, President Donald Trump even shouted out DiSandro and offered him the chance to speak.
Although Big Dom’s cultlike following extends beyond the city limits, the South Philly native has no plans on leaving.
“I’ve been offered jobs in the past to go to other teams, but I don’t even think about it,” DiSandro said. “Philly’s just always gonna be home for me.”
While it was the first time DiSandro opened up on camera, it wasn’t the first time the pair has been connected. In December 2024, Davidson was spotted at a Sixers game wearing a Big Dom hoodie with a photo of the security guard on it in a spoof of The Godfather movie poster.
“Big Dom” DiSandro shows off his new Italian flag sock collection, a collaboration with comedian Pete Davidson.Courtesy of Tim O'Connell
A few months later, in February 2025, Davidson told NBC Sports Philadelphia about how he loves Big Dom, calling him the “real life Tony Soprano.” That summer, the pair teamed up for a limited edition sock collaboration through Davidson’s brand, DoubleSoul. The socks were a nod to DiSandro’s Italian heritage.
DiSandro’s heritage came up multiple times throughout the episode with Davidson, including when he shared one of his pregame superstitions: eating “at least four, five, six cannolis” from Termini Brothers Bakery before every game.
On Saturday, ahead of the Eagles preseason game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, DiSandro shared this tradition with another Italian figure in the NFL.
Sean Stellato, agent of noted Italian and current Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito, shared cannolis from Mike’s Pastry, a famous bakery in Boston’s North End, with Big Dom on the field ahead of the game.
Stellato even added a “Go Birds” to the end of the video — but followed it up with a “Go Patriots.”
TRENDING: #Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito’s agent Sean Stellato and #Eagles security chief Big Dom went viral after sharing cannolis together on the field before the game.
Eagles center Cam Jurgens kept himself busy growing up in Pickrell, Neb., whether he was harvesting on the family farm or making deer jerky with his father’s homemade smoker.
That’s why it should come as no surprise that Jurgens would enter the beef jerky business.
“If I told myself as a little kid that, ‘Hey, not only are you going to have your own beef jerky brand, but you’re going to play in the NFL and be a Super Bowl champ,’ I would be like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have to go do chores,’” Jurgens said.
Jurgy is a farm-raised beef jerky line founded by Jurgens and his family. The brand features five flavors: original, hot honey, teriyaki, cracked pepper, and Jurgens’ favorite — mango habanero.
And now Jurgy is introducing a new flavor to the lineup in its first flavor and bag collaboration. Its partnering with Oceans Casino Resort to launch a limited-edition blueberry BBQ flavor. The flavor is a nod to the region’s roots, with Atlantic County being one of the largest blueberry-producing areas in the country.
“It’s been in the works for a while, and we’re happy that it’s finally at the point where we can talk about it and get this new stuff out there,” Jurgens said.
Ocean Casino Resort has partnered with Cam Jurgens’ beef jerky line, Jurgy, to release a blueberry BBQ flavor.Jurgy
Jurgy, a reference to Jurgens’ college nickname “Beef Jurgy,” was created when he was a senior at Nebraska.
It started with his mom, Beth, making T-shirts and hats on a Cricut machine and shipping them out from their family farm. Eventually, Jurgens’ best friend, Matt Sichterman, set up an online store to expand their reach.
“I saw Cam and his mom building this T-shirt and hat brand, and Cam’s mom was staying up all night shipping orders from the farm, taking orders, like pen-and-paper type of deal,” Sichterman said. “I was like, ‘I think I can add some technology in the loop.’ So, that’s always what I’ve done. I’ve always worked at technology companies and built websites. So it helped us get digital, and then we’ve continued to expand the brand.”
They entered the jerky game by finding a meat locker in Nebraska that was willing to work with them. Jurgy fully launched in 2024. Since then, Jurgens and Sichterman have been working to build the brand.
But with Jurgens preparing for the Eagles’ season and Sichterman running Flamel.ai, Jurgy will have to take a backseat.
“This is like our side job that we’re trying to build up and grow and have fun with it,” Jurgens said. “When we started Jurgy, the main thing was to stay connected with Matt, he’s one of my best friends. … And then also the No. 1 thing is just to make my mom a little bit of money through the business. It’s us three that own the LLC together.
“I try not to worry about balancing it because my No. 1 job is playing for the Eagles and taking care of that side of things. And then this is the fun side of the job. … So it’s really helpful when we get a partner like Ocean and meet all these new people and grow along the way.”
Though Cam Jurgens has been working to grow Jurgy, his “No. 1 job is playing for the Eagles.”David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
The Ocean Casino Resort flavor is available at Bottled in Ocean Casino Resort, on the resort’s website, and at Jurgy.co.
“I’ve been down to Ocean and see how passionate they are in Atlantic City and just how many Eagles fans flock down there,” Jurgens said. “So I’m excited. I mean, I saw their partnership with Hanks and how that grew and just how neat it looked. I’m really excited about our product and this packaging and how it benefits both of us.”
The release comes less than three weeks before the Eagles’ season opener against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field. Jurgens says he’s ready to compete. That confidence comes from the “harvesting” the team has done leading into game day.
“The harvest is the fun part of the season,” Jurgens said. “You do your planting and taking care of the weeds throughout the year and making sure the crops grow. And then when you get a harvest, the whole family comes together, and you’re spending all the time together. It’s kind of similar to football.
“You work so hard in the offseason, and then you finally get to the season, you get to play a game, and it’s like you’re harvesting your own crop every Sunday, and then you get to the postseason. It’s like even more of the whole family coming together.”
The Phillies are the hottest team in baseball, hotter than they’ve been all year, winners of nine straight for the first time since May of last season and just the second time in the Schwarber Era, which began in 2022.
We’ll call it the Schwarber Era because it was Kyle Schwarber’s 459-foot, two-run, walk-off Schwar-bomb that extended the winning streak Sunday afternoon, and because, with due respect to Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler, Schwarber is the soul of this ballclub.
Everybody always loves Schwarber. Not everybody loves these Phillies.
Maybe you don’t. Who can blame you? Whether it’s collapses against the Diamondbacks or Mets, or an inexplicable bunt or an unforgivable error against the Dodgers, these Phillies have a way of breaking your heart.
Once bitten, twice bitten, thrice bitten … goodbye?
Paul told the Galatians, “Be ye not faint of heart,” but the greatest apostle would be ashamed of Phillies fans today. Why?
Because these Phillies are for real.
They’re beating good teams by playing mature, sound baseball, and they’re doing it generally without the best efforts of their best players.
Nevertheless, they’re 16-5 in their last 21 games and a season-high 15 games over .500 going into Monday’s series opener in Seattle. They were 9½ games behind the Braves in the NL East when the streak began, but now they’re just three games out with 31 games to go, seven of them head-to-head with Atlanta. The Phils held the No. 2 wild-card slot, two games behind the Cubs, two ahead of the Padres, and four games ahead of the Diamondbacks, the first team out.
The Phillies on Monday began a nine-game, 10-day road trip three time zones west. They face the Mariners, then the Angels, two relatively poor American League teams, by the time they get to Arizona.
They swept Miami, St. Louis, and Minnesota, all teams with valid playoff aspirations, at least until they played the Phillies. That’s the biggest reason why you should learn to love again.
Here are four more.
The Phillies are winning despite middling performances of late from their aces, including Cristopher Sánchez.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
2: They’re streaking without good starts from the Big 3
During the streak, top three starters Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and Jesús Luzardo all left the game while trailing after an ungainly outing. They surrendered a combined 10 earned runs in 17⅔ innings. The Phillies won anyway.
All three are healthy. They just faced decent offensive teams in the dregs of summer. The Mariners have scored the fewest runs in baseball. The Angels have the second-worst OPS. The next seven days should be a feast for the Big Three.
Luis Arraez is an unconventional but productive cleanup hitter for the Phillies.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
3: The Arraez Affect
Since three-time batting champ Luis Arraez, a deadline addition, joined the lineup Aug. 4, the Phillies have mimicked his approach. Their swings are more controlled. The hitters are more on balance.
The result: fewer home runs, but more hits.
They’ve hit nine homers in the nine wins, a rate of 1.0 per game. They’d hit 148 home runs in their first 123 games, a rate of 1.2 homers per game. Sometimes, less is more.
Since Arraez’s arrival and his insertion in the No. 4 spot, No. 3 hitter Bryce Harper has a .506 on-base percentage with 25 walks. No. 5 hitter Alec Bohm saved his season: He’s hitting .393 with a 1.015 OPS and 15 RBIs in 17 games. Bryson Stott, who bats sixth, is hitting .295 with 15 walks.
Bryson Stott has been great at third base since his move there following the Arraez trade.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
4: The defense got better
The Phillies chose to play Arraez at second base. This meant Stott had to move from second to third base, Bohm had to move from third to first base, and Harper had to move from first back to right field.
The unintended consequence: This is the best Phillies infield since 2011, when Placido Polanco won a Gold Glove at third base and Jimmy Rollins should have won it at shortstop. Granted, this is a low bar — Phillies infields have been atrocious for 15 years — but Stott, a shortstop by birth, already was an elite second baseman, and his play at third has been otherworldly. Bohm is an unnatural third baseman but a natural first baseman, unlike Harper, who is a very good outfielder. Arraez is a fine second baseman, and even Trea Turner looks better at shortstop.
Aaron Nola has been solid of late after a very slow start to his season.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
5: Andrew Painter and Aaron Nola settled in
Andrew Painter, who is 23, spent all of 2025 in triple A coming back from elbow surgery that cost him all of 2023 and 2024. His big-league debut was March 31. He was inconsistent, and was sent back to triple A in mid-June.
We call this “normal.”
Aaron Nola, who is 33, threw more innings than anyone else from 2018-24. In 2025 he suffered his first significant injury since 2016, which cost him three months in the middle of the season. He struggled the first three months of this season.
Nola’s ERA in his last nine starts is 3.63. He’s had one bad start. He’s learned to lean on his knuckle-curve.
You know what happens when you get 3.6-ish ERAs from fourth and fifth starters? You win divisions, you win pennants, and you win back the hearts of your fans.
Love Hurts
I get it. It’s hard to love a team with a $300 million shortstop hitting .245; a team that had to release $20 million outfielder Nick Castellanos and $18 million starter Taijuan Walker; a team with a bullpen that is injured and ineffective and, with the exception of the closer, utterly maddening.
But in matters of the heart, there are no guarantees. You take a chance, you ride the thrill, and, as fate decides, your devotion is rewarded … or not.
“ ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
Lord Tennyson was English, and he died in 1892. His grandson, Lionel, became England’s cricket captain, and Tennyson simply wallowed in heartbreak: It took him 17 years to finish the elegy.
In a different time the poet properly known as Alfred, Lord Tennyson — a moderate conservative rashly bearded — surely would have been a baseball fan.
Given his predilection for misery, he probably would have followed the Phillies.
For many Philadelphia sports fans, finding community is as easy as yelling, “Go, Birds!” into a crowd. But for those who participate in niche sports, it isn’t always that simple.
However, inside a South Jersey gym during one of the hottest weekends of the year, one group has found a way to flourish.
PhillyAcro SkillShare is a collection of locals and travelers connected to teach and learn what they know about acrobatics. The group of 12 that assembled at Power Athletics in Atco for a PASS event on July 5 spent the afternoon practicing skills ranging from headstands and hula-hooping to handstands 10 feet in the air while perched on someone else’s shoulders. Newcomers and regulars alike were there not just to train, but to find and build community.
“The best part is a combination of connecting with different people and working on different skills,” said Robert Li, the founder and organizer of PASS. “It’s so unique and special to see people come together and be supportive of each other’s goals.”
Eric Swanson, of Raleigh, N.C., and Bri Beil, of Bath, Pa., work together during a Philly Acro Skill Share.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Different forms of skill shares have developed across communities in Philadelphia as a way to make sports more accessible in cost and experience. Li, who is based in Old City, turned to the skill-share model to grow deeper roots in Philadelphia’s acro scene.
The PhillyAcro SkillShare charges around $20, but the club also hosts acro jams, free sessions in which members gather to swap balances and tricks in public, often at Independence Park or in Rittenhouse Square. The jams are open to all and often are the first exposure many people have to the sport. Once they get bitten by what PhillyAcro members call “the acro bug,” many go on to attend the group’s more structured skill-share events.
“Everyone’s friendly and nice,” Li said. “Even at the jams, you just show up, and if you’re new you can say, ‘Hey, my name is so-and-so. I want to try acro.’ And then people will show you, whether you’ve never tried anything like it or you were a gymnast for years.”
Robert Li lifts Dawn Trucksess in a skill called the “High Hangle Dangle,” during a Philly Acro Skill Share.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
The trade-and-barter system isn’t new. It’s most common in the arts world; Philadelphia’s public libraries even offer crafting skill shares built on the same principle. But small local sports communities — including acro, arm wrestling, ultimate Frisbee, and even foosball — have begun following a similar method, offering an alternative to adult clubs that can be expensive or provide few opportunities to learn a new sport.
For many of those involved in PhillyAcro, the sport is new, but the skill set is not. The group attracts many former gymnasts, dancers, and cheerleaders, who repurpose foundational abilities in their adult lives.
“I was a college cheerleader and cheered all growing up,” said Juliana Martell, a real estate broker and longtime PhillyAcro member. “I coached for a while just to stay in the sport because it’s a lot of fun. Then I found acro and I was like, ‘Wow, this is safer, it’s easier on your body, and the people are amazing.’”
Cam Gutgsell, of Laurel, Md. (center) watches Bri Beil and Eric Swanson work on a skill called “L-basing.”Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Holding on to the sports played in youth is what has many people turning to skill shares to reconnect with their roots and teach others.
Erike De Veyra, the founder of Design Gym, a creative studio in Olde Kensington, was once a competitive swimmer. A friend’s request for help training for a triathlon’s swimming leg inspired her to reconnect with the sport by starting her own skill swap club.
“When we began, I realized swimming was a skill I could teach,” De Veyra said. “So we started first with a form that kind of said, ‘Hey, what skills do you have?’ and went from there.”
At one of the recent skill-swap events, De Veyra held swimming lessons at the local public pool. Since then, people have volunteered their knowledge in rug making, folk dancing, Pilates, weightlifting, and more.
Like other skill-sharing leaders, De Veyra says the goal was more than learning new things, but creating an accessible community.
“Skill swap is completely free,” she said. “The only thing that I ask is to bring a snack to share. Whether we’ve had three or eight people, somehow we still talk for the whole two hours.”
Though skill swap is open to all skills — one person teaching plumbing in exchange for lessons in powerlifting — sports come up frequently as a need in the community.
“Beyond kids, the outlet for adults in sports diminishes even further,” De Veyra said. “There are adult rec leagues, but not often for beginners or people wanting to learn a sport or learn a skill. How daunting is it to go into something and be like, ‘Hey, I want to play pickleball, but I have no idea how to play?’ You see people say, ‘Oh, these are for beginners,’ but is it?”
For those beginners not ready to join a rec league, some sports offer skill-share-type platforms in the form of pickup games. One of the most popular sports doing so is ultimate Frisbee. There are 18 pickup groups in the area, and one of the most popular is Penn Park Pickup, which has gathered more than 1,600 members since forming more than 20 years ago.
“Pickup is less commitment and less money, and this pickup plays four times a week,” said Vishu Doshi, an HVAC technician who’s been playing pickup at Penn Park for 13 years. “I didn’t know anything about it before I started playing, but it’s a great, welcoming, and supportive community. I’ve met a lot of friends there that I’ve remained friends with over the last almost 15 years.”
The exposure to the sport often leads to further investment in the sport, but also in the athlete’s community.
That draws people to Val’s, a lesbian bar where a table is set up in the back once a month. The table is a designated arm wrestling platform, and patrons who approach shake out their wrists and prop up their elbows to find out who has the strength to pin their opponent after receiving a quick lesson from Jett Biggert.
Biggert is the founder of Queer Arm Wrestling. After launching QAW as a live show in 2024, Biggert and other participants found themselves drawn to the informal skill-sharing and community-building that grew around it.
QAW now hosts skill shares once a month, and the event quickly became the group’s most popular. Anyone is welcome to come learn how to properly arm wrestle and then compete after self-dividing into two groups: Noodle Arm and Popeye.
The groups hold low-stakes competitions throughout the night to swap and learn techniques and find the best wrestler of the night. But Biggert says it’s really about meeting new people while trying new things.
“Skill shares in particular I like a lot more because there’s no stakes in this,” Biggert said. “We’re doing this to have fun. We’re doing this to meet people.”
As adult recreational sports leagues continue to rise in popularity, skill shares provide an easy way to learn new sports and reconnect with old ones, while supporting the community appeal of being part of a team.
“I think there’s a new wave of Philadelphians coming in,” De Veyra said. “People looking for a place to start to get connected to physical activity and others, and when you don’t know where to begin, skill swaps are a great option.”
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Kyle Schwarber sent a jolt through Citizens Bank Park with the team’s first walk-off home run in more than three years, securing a 6-4 win and a sweep against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“We have watched hundreds, if not thousands, if not tens of thousands of Phillies games together,” longtime NBC Sports Philadelphia host Michael Barkann said to open Sunday’s postgame show. “That might be the greatest regular-season finish I’ve ever seen.”
It was October vibes on 94.1 WIP, with longtime play-by-play announcer Scott Franzke reaching “Bedlam at the Bank” levels with his call of the historic “Schwarbomb.”
“It’s over! It’s over! Kyle Schwarber with a walk-off home run into the hedges of dead center field,” Franzke yelled during the broadcast. “And the Phillies have absolutely stunned the Cardinals!”
His partner, former Phillies pitcher Larry Andersen, added in joyous disbelief, “Wow! It does not get any better than that.”
Over on NBC Sports Philadelphia, John Kruk was uncharacteristically silent when Schwarber’s game-winner sailed out of the stadium. But Tom McCarthy, in his 20th season as the TV voice of the Phillies, wound things up when he realized Schawarber’s ball was gone.
As McCarthy noted, Schwarber’s home run was hit so hard it went off the top of the batter’s eye in center field, about 460 feet from home plate. According to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark, it was the first Phillies home run to travel over the batter’s eye into Ashburn Alley since Darick Hall’s blast in 2022.
“He’s a strong human being,” Hamels said of Schwarber.
“Are there any words to capture this?” McCarthy asked Schwarber following the game.
“That one’s wild,” Schwarber shot back. “That’s why you never quit.”
Spanish radio announcers Angel Castillo and Bill Kulik had a tremendous call of their own, captured and shared on social media by Phillies clip king Nick Piccone.
As with most their calls, you don’t have to understand Spanish to feel the energy and excitement of Schwarber’s game-winning blast.
All the excitement is warranted. The Phillies, who lost 10 straight games in April, have quickly won nine straight and are closing in on the division-leading Atlanta Braves.
It’s also been a minute since the Phillies have had a similar comeback. The last time they won a game trailing by four or more runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth was more than four decades ago, when Bo Diaz hit a walk-off grand slam to win it against the New York Mets.
Schwarber’s bomb was the 209th walk-off home run hit by a Phillies player since 1900, according to Larry Shenk, the team’s former public relations guru. In total, 131 Phillies players have hit walk off homers, with Mike Schmidt leading with 10. Sunday’s was Schwarber’s second with the Phillies.
Schwarber is also closing in on Babe Ruth. Since having joined the Phillies in 2022, Schwarber has hit 226 homers, second-most in the first five seasons with a team in MLB history. He’s now just nine behind The Bambino’s 235 homers with 29 games remaining.
The Phillies have swept three straight series for the first time in 16 years. They’re also 16-5 in August so far, tops in all of MLB.
The Phillies were last in the majors with a .303 on-base percentage through the end of July. In August, they're first at .370, which would be the highest monthly mark by any team since the Braves in June 2023 and by a Phillies team since July 2007.
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NL wild card
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John Rais was out for one of his weekly rides with a group of Philadelphia cyclists when he struck up a conversation with Carlos Rogers.
Rogers, a hair salon owner and former competitive cyclist, was trying to revive the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic, which began in the mid-1980s and contested its final race in 2016.
Rais and Rogers were discussing the costs of staging the new Philadelphia Cycling Classic when Rais realized he could take something off Rogers’ plate.
“I was like, ‘Carlos, I’ll make the trophies for free for you,’” Rais said. “‘I’ll just do that.’”
Carlos Rogers (from left), Brian O’Reilly, Eric Robbins, and former mayor Michael Nutter toast after tapping the ceremonial first keg of Mainstay Brewing’s Philadelphia Classic Lager.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Rais, a Massachusetts native, has worked as an artist and metalsmith in a studio in North Philadelphia since moving to the area in 2013.
Rogers took Rais up on his offer. So when the Classic’s winning riders take the stage near the finish line on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Sunday, they will hoist trophies hand-hammered and forged inside Rais’ studio.
Rais designed and produced six trophies for the tournament. The men’s and women’s winners will lift bronze trophies designed to invoke a pair of wings.
John Rais’ trophies for the men’s and women’s winners of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic are designed to invoke wings.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
There are two stainless-steel trophies for the sprint winners that resemble a quill in an inkwell, while the trophies for the king and queen of the mountain winners represent the steep inclines of the course’s infamous Manayunk Wall.
Rais said he doesn’t usually make trophies, but he was excited by the opportunity to design and forge the awards for the Classic. His usual work includes metal sculptures and wrought-iron railings and doors.
Rais’ experience as a metal artist, which began as a student at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in the mid-1990s, informed the choices he made in forging the trophies.
“[Trophies are] this great kind of intersection between decorative art and fine art,” Rais said. “They usually have some decorative elements on them, and historically they’ve been a little bit kitschy. That’s fine. You win whatever event you’re doing, you hold the trophy up, it symbolizes your victory. Usually it goes in someone’s trophy room, or in a closet, or in a box.
“I felt like if I could do something that had a little more intersection with fine art and design, that it might be something that someone would at least have the option of displaying in a different place in their house. That’s the goal.”
John Rais set out to create trophies that “had a little more intersection with fine art and design.”Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The sprinter trophies are made from stainless steel and weigh between 5 and 6 pounds, including the base that each feather, loosely based on the feather of a peregrine falcon, slides in and out of.
The overall winners’ trophies each weigh about 10 pounds, and Rais estimated the king and queen of the mountain trophies weigh somewhere between 3 and 4 pounds.
While each trophy has a matching pair for the men’s and women’s winners, no set is exactly alike. That’s because each piece is hand-forged, hammered, filed, and polished by Rais and the employees of his studio.
No two trophies designed by John Rais are alike.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Rais wanted some small differences and imperfections to come through as a sign that each trophy was handmade. From design to the final touches, Rais estimates that 25 to 30 hours of work went into making the trophies for the overall winners.
Rais designed the awards with a trophy lift in mind. The artist said he is excited to see how the winners interact with the hardware after the race.
“I want to see how people hold them up,” Rais said. “Whatever happens, it’ll be interesting. Whether they get confused by how they do it, or whether they get it right away, whether they don’t want to lift them up because they’re heavy. … They’ll just be so excited to win, they’re not going to be thinking about the trophies at the time. … My hope is that they just think about them later, once they’re in their home.”
Playing a small part in the tournament’s return to Philadelphia is meaningful for Rais. He had some interest in cycling while living and working in western Massachusetts, but the community of cyclists he found in Philadelphia helped him develop a passion for the sport.
“Through all my 20s and early 30s, I was just a workaholic,” Rais said. “I just worked all the time. I didn’t think I had time for hobbies. But you get to a certain point in life where you realize you need something else. You need an outlet.”
John Rais developed a passion for cycling after moving to Philly.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Rais participated in some casual cycling races after moving to Philadelphia. He also has fond memories of watching the International Cycling Classic in its final years.
In 2016, Rais took in the race from a spot along the Manayunk Wall, close enough to the road to overhear Philadelphia-born cyclist Robin Carpenter during the climb.
“Someone was in front of him, and he told the person in front of him, ‘Hey, go faster,’” Rais said. “It was hilarious. That’s the kind of thing, you get to overhear that. It was just amazing.”
One of the things Rais enjoyed most about the race was that it was open to anyone who wanted to watch.
Viewing areas along the race course are open to the public, and the Classic’s fan fest also is free to attend.
“There’s [cycling] or a marathon,” Rais said. “Those are the only two I can think of where you can walk up to the sidewalk and see what’s happening for free and be a part of it.”
Outside of the 76ers, one of the biggest winners of the LeBron James’ sweepstakes is NBC Sports Philadelphia.
We won’t know how much of a boon James will be for the city or the network until the 41-year-old takes the court in a couple of months. A lot will depend on the future Hall of Famer’s health during his unprecedented 24th NBA season, but James has remained remarkably healthy, averaging over 62 starts a year over the past five season.
If the Sixers match expectations and James can remain on the court, NBC Sports Philadelphia can expect a big boost in viewership based on what happened at his previous stops, according to an Inquirer analysis of Nielsen data previously reported by Sports Business Journal and provided by its media reporter, Austin Karp.
Before James famously made his decision to join the Miami Heat in 2010, games on the city’s now-defunct regional sports network, FanDuel Sports Network Sun (known then as Sun Sports), averaged a 2.51 rating, roughly 40,000 households. After James joined the team, ratings nearly doubled to a 4.92. By the 2012-13 season, after James helped lead the Heat to two straight NBA championships, games were averaging a 7.14 rating on Sun Sports, nearly three times higher than before he came to town.
In 2014, James decided to leave Miami to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Ratings tripled on the now-defunct regional sports network, formerly known as Fox Sports Ohio, jumping from a 2.79 rating (roughly 41,000 households) before James to a 9.31 rating (roughly 139,000 households) as he led the Cavaliers to their first and only NBA championship in 2016.
In 2018, James took his talents to Los Angeles to join the Lakers, whose local TV ratings were already among the strongest in the NBA. Lakers ratings still increased 31% on Spectrum SportsNet, the highest since 2013.
NBC Sports Philadelphia averaged 86,000 viewers per Sixers game last season, according to Nielsen numbers obtained by The Inquirer. If James can provide the same spark he did in both Cleveland and Miami, you can expect upward of 250,000 fans tuning in locally to watch the Sixers on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
“I think you need a voice on the court where Alaa and Kate can’t be to give us insight, do pre- and postgame interviews, analysis, all of that,” Alexandra Matcham, the vice president of content for NBC Sports Philadelphia, previously told The Inquirer.
The only bad news for NBC Sports Philadelphia is that ratings tanked for the markets James left.
When he left the Cavaliers for the Heat, ratings in Cleveland dropped 54%. The same thing happened when he returned to Cleveland — ratings on Sun Sports in Miami dropped 28%.
After James joined the Lakers, Cavaliers’ ratings on Fox Sports Ohio dropped 58%. It remains to be seen whether Spectrum SportsNet will suffer a similar fate this season.
Just 15 of those games are exclusive to national broadcasters, including the Sixers first two games — Oct. 20 against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden (NBC), and the Sixers’ home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Oct. 22 (ESPN).
That means the first Sixers regular-season game that will air on NBC Sports Philadelphia will be Oct. 24 against the Milwaukee Bucks in South Philly.
NBC Sports Philadelphia will air at least 67 Sixers games this season, but the full schedule needs to be approved by the NBA before it’s released publicly. There’s also some juggling that needs to happen, since the network also broadcasts Flyers games.
The network will air all four Sixers preseason games, beginning Oct. 5 against the Knicks at Xfinity Mobile Arena, which could be the first time fans see James suit up for Philly.
Regardless of when he plays, the expectations are sky-high for the Sixers this season.
“Championship or bust,” Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Shaquille O’Neal said during a recent interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter. “I know LeBron wants to get one last one. … If they don’t win the championship, I think all those players will be very, very disappointed.”
WASHINGTON — When the New York Liberty waived Betnijah Laney-Hamilton earlier this month, it caused quite a commotion around the WNBA.
The transaction wasn’t too much of a surprise, since her playing time had fallen sharply from years past. But the 32-year-old with roots in the Philly area was a Liberty fan favorite, and a key piece of the team’s long-awaited first title in 2024.
Now the rest of the league had a shot to sign a former WNBA and FIBA world champion, All-Star, and first-team all-defense player with a reputation as a great teammate.
It turned out that the moving van didn’t have to go too far. The Washington Mystics won the race to claim her, jumping at the chance to add a veteran to a team full of young promise.
“The transition’s been pretty easy, just in terms of how everyone’s embraced me and just made it easy,” Laney-Hamilton said. “It’s nice always being able to be close to home, where my family can get here and everything.”
Washington has been the biggest surprise in the league this year. On a circuit full of sizzling stars, the Mystics have a lot of good players, but not a household name yet. Still, they started the week in seventh place, and clinched a playoff spot Sunday night with a win in Portland.
From there, they could look down at Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale’s Dallas Wings in eighth, and two marquee squads already eliminated from playoff contention: Nneka Ogwumike and Cameron Brink’s Los Angeles Sparks, and Kahleah Copper and Alyssa Thomas’ Phoenix Mercury.
The feed inside and the finish 🤝
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton finds an open Lauren Betts in the paint for two
The Mystics still have a ways to go until they’re real contenders, and they showed it in last Friday’s loss to the first-place Minnesota Lynx. Though Washington battled gamely throughout, the decisive moments were the little things down the stretch: a missed shot here, a turnover there, a basket conceded on a break the other way.
Perhaps those things will come in time for former college greats like Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, and Lauren Betts as they develop in the pros. Coach Sydney Johnson can hope Laney-Hamilton’s presence alongside the team’s other veterans, Shakira Austin and Michaela Onyenwere, will help the process go even faster.
“She’s hit the ground running here,” Johnson said. “They really respect her, they look up to her, they understand her playoff experience. She speaks with a high level of command with the players and coaches.
For now, Johnson is simply thrilled to have her, and he does not take her easy integration for granted. Sometimes, a veteran’s arrival to a new team can upset existing chemistry. That hasn’t happened here.
Sydney Johnson is a leading WNBA Coach of the Year candidate thanks to the Mystics’ rise this season.LM Otero
“We are about toughness and togetherness,” Johnson said. “When you watch her, you watch her career, it’s pretty clear that she’s as tough as nails out there. You see her interacting with her teammates on the court, and then all the intel behind the scenes, she’s an outstanding person and a giver — she’s really giving to her team. So we felt like we got a steal, we really do.”
Laney-Hamilton in turn praised her new teammates for “the energy, the intention behind everyone.” And she called Johnson “great,” helping with the transition then being clear about his expectations.
The Mystics are spending this week on the west coast, with two games to come at Phoenix and one at Los Angeles before the WNBA pauses at the end of the month for the FIBA World Cup. When the season resumes, there will be just four games left to jostle for playoff positioning.
Whatever happens along the way, it’s clear those expectations Laney-Hamilton mentioned have changed, thanks to her arrival.
Though off to a disappointing start after losing their opening game Friday, nothing could dampen the fun for West Chester’s East Side Little League team Sunday as they hung out with the pros alongside their teammates during the Little League World Series MLB Classic.
Players from the Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves came to Williamsport before their specialty game Sunday evening to sign balls, give high-fives and even play ping pong with the 12-and-under players from around the world.
“I got to play ping pong against Jacob Misiorowski and I beat him,” said Dillon DiGiulio, a first baseman and pitcher for East Side. “I was a little nervous. I was shaking.”
A highlight for many young players during the 12-day Little League World Series is the MLB Little League Classic. Started in 2017, the event brings two MLB teams to Williamsport to play a friendly game and celebrate the youth that fuel excitement in baseball.
East Side players were divided on who would win that night’s game, some cheering for the Brewers and some for the Braves, but they were all thrilled for the chance to talk with players they look up to.
East Side will play a team from Alabama in their next World Series matchup.Ralph Wilson / For The Inquirer
“My favorite part today has been getting all the signatures from the pros,” said Adam Zenis, a left fielder on the team. “We’re all really excited for the rest of the week, too.”
East Side will get its shot at redemption Monday, playing in the elimination bracket against the Southeast Region team from Phenix City, Ala. Ahead of the game, the 12-year-olds are feeling excited and confident.
For many of the players, though, the experience of playing in the World Series is the best part of it all, win or lose.
“My favorite part is just getting to hang out with all the different teams,” said Colton DeGrazio, a catcher on the team. “We’ve created so many bonds with teams and people around the world that we never even knew like Japan, Korea, and I just feel like that’s probably the coolest part.”
A loss on Monday would eliminate East Side from the tournament.Ralph Wilson / For The Inquirer
Though many of the boys root for different teams back home, from the Mets to the Phillies, it’s clear that every kid playing at the Little League World Series loves baseball to the bone.
“It’s just a dream come true, to be honest,” said East Side coach Bob Hennessey. “That’s every Little Leaguer’s dream. It was my dream growing up to see these boys get here and get to experience it. Nothing but amazing. I heard Colton say it’s an amazing experience to meet all these players and teams from around the world. So we’re lucky. We’re very lucky.”
It’s not just the pumpkin spice everything beginning to pop up on store shelves and coffee menus that’s signaling autumn’s impending arrival. It’s also the football. The Eagles are now two-thirds of the way through their preseason schedule, and by this time next week, the team’s initial 53-man roster will be set.
One of the players vying for a spot on that roster — and doing his best so far to earn one — is interior offensive lineman Willie Lampkin. Originally signed by the Rams as an undrafted free agent, the Eagles picked up Lampkin, who missed all of last season with injuries, after he was waived by Los Angeles.
But so far this summer, their low-risk bet on Lampkin appears like it could pay dividends, as he’s stood out in each of the Birds’ first two preseason games, including Saturday’s 24-21 loss to the New England Patriots. Even in practice, Lampkin has been causing problems for the starters he’s going up against.
“I call him a bowling ball of knives, ’cause he’s so short, he’s so small, he’s so stubby, but he is so quick and powerful and precise with his hands that for a taller guy like me, it gives me a lot of trouble,” defensive tackle Jordan Davis said. “It gives me a lot of fits. That’s one of the things that keeps me up at night with Willie. He has a certain tenacity about him when he goes and plays a game.”
According to Lampkin, that tenacity comes from his background as a high school wrestler. Olivia Reiner caught up with some of his former coaches, who reveal why the former state champ in football and wrestling is more than meets the eye.
Kyle Schwarber hugs Bryan de la Cruz beating the Cardinals on Sunday.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Referring to the Phillies’ win Sunday as merely “a comeback” would be selling it way short. The Phillies trailed by four runs and were down to their final out — but they weren’t done yet. The team strung together a walk and a trio of hits to tie the game and put the winning run on base. Enter Kyle Schwarber.
The major-league leader in home runs fell behind 0-2, putting the Phillies down to their final strike. And even that wasn’t enough for Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien to get the job done.
Schwarber launched a two-run walk-off home run over the batters’ eye in center field, flipped his bat — and his helmet — and gave the Phillies their ninth straight win. Schwarber’s home run was his 39th of the season, and the team’s first walk-off homer since June 2023 (also Schwarber).
Don’t look now, but the Phillies haven’t lost since before their trip to Iowa for the Field of Dreams Game and are closing in on the Braves for the NL East lead.
Next: Zack Wheeler and the Phillies face Logan Gilbert and the Mariners (9:40 p.m., NBCSP) as they kick off a nine-game West Coast trip.
What we’re …
🏀 Learning: Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, the daughter of Philly hoops pioneer Yolanda Laney, has been thriving with the Mystics since her shocking release by the Liberty.
🎾 Following: The Ennoble Care Philly Open, a WTA 125 event, is in Philly this week, and there are plenty of storylines to follow.
🍗 Remembering: A new documentary about Wing Bowl is coming. While it highlights some of the ugliness, it mostly chose to focus on the positives.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman will be busy over the next week as he and head coach Nick Sirianni work on trimming the roster to 53 players.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
If any player is hoping to make a lasting impression on the Eagles’ decision-makers, he better hurry. The Birds are entering their final week of training camp and have just one preseason game remaining before the team’s initial 53-man roster is due Sunday by 6 p.m.
What will Ariel Hukporti bring to the Sixers this season? We asked someone whose been covering the former Knicks center for the last two seasons.Sue Ogrocki
To help Sixers fans get acquainted with the newcomers on this revamped roster, we reached out to reporters who covered those players on their previous teams.
East Side Little League from West Chester faces elimination Monday night in Williamsport.Ralph Wilson / For The Inquirer
Though off to a disappointing start after losing their opening game Friday, nothing could dampen the fun for West Chester’s East Side Little League team Sunday as they hung out with the pros alongside their teammates during the Little League World Series MLB Classic.
Players from the Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves came to Williamsport before their specialty game Sunday evening to sign balls, give high-fives and even play ping pong with the 12-and-under players from around the world.
Andrew Painter had his best start of the season Saturday night against the Cardinals.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
A little past 6 o’clock on Saturday evening, Andrew Painter delivered a couple of pitches that could have some serious implications for the Phillies. Both of them were four-seam fastballs that registered 97 mph on the gun and crossed home plate at the sternum of Cardinals leadoff hitter J.J. Weatherholt. The important thing is where those pitches ended up: inside the mitt of Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto, rather than in play, or in the seats. Weatherholt swung at both. He did not make contact with either.
That two-pitch sequence may sound like a small thing. It mostly was, at least within the context of the game. But it was a very big thing with regard to the futures of both the Phillies and their prized pitching prospect. It was a reason to believe.
On this date
Over 100 years ago, a pitcher was struck by lightning and finished a game against the Phillies.YONG KIM / Staff Photographer
On Aug. 24, 1919, the Phillies were in Cleveland for what was shaping up to be a mostly ordinary game. They were facing pitcher Ray Caldwell, making his first start for the club after being waived by Boston and signing a contract in Cleveland that included one of the strangest clauses in sports history — it required him to get drunk after his starts.
Making that clause even stranger was that Caldwell’s career had been derailed largely by drinking problems. However, on that day, Caldwell appeared to be turning back the clock, and had the Phillies on their heels through the first eight innings, allowing just eight hits.
Like a certain character from Caddyshack, Caldwell’s impressive outing was abruptly cut short by Mother Nature — when he was directly struck by a bolt of lightning so powerful it caused his Cleveland teammates to dive to the ground and left Caldwell unconscious and electrified to the touch. Everyone thought he was dead.
But then Caldwell rose to his feet and demanded the ball back — “I have one more out to get,” he reportedly said.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, Alex Coffey, Jonathan Tannenwald, Gabriela Carroll, Matt Breen, Gina Mizell, Becca O’Reilly, and David Murphy.
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