That’s the number of times UFC has held a sanctioned main event bearing its name inside what is now Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Saturday will be the fourth, and just the second numbered event when UFC 330 comes to South Philly with two massive title fights.
Any MMA enthusiast knows its arrival is a big deal.
But for anyone who has known Philly as a fight town — one with legendary boxers and mixed martial artists, rubber-stamped by a fictional boxer who has personified the culture — realizing that Philadelphia hasn’t been considered fruitful for the MMA giant is surprising.
It’s not for lack of trying to get more UFC events, and combat sports in general, to choose the city’s largest arena. For over a decade, that fight has been fought by two main people: Xfinity Mobile Arena senior vice president and general manager Mike Sulkes and Brett Reopell, who has been the venue’s chief booker of talent and events since 2022.
Brett Reopell (left) and Mike Sulkes say that winning the right to host major events is an ongoing and sometimes arduous process. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
This UFC event is the latest highlight, but it’s been a steady progression of combat sports events flooding the arena since Philly’s own Jaron “Boots” Ennis decided to host multiple title fights at the venue when it was known as the Wells Fargo Center in 2024. He has had three title fights since, including a first-round TKO of Uisma Lima last October.
Lately, the arena also has been the home of David Feldman’s Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships, which has considered making its main events a quarterly fixture at the arena.
Brandon Honsvick (right) takes a hit from Matt Turnbull in a lightweight BKFC Liberty Brawl fight at Xfinity Mobile Arena on July 3. Turnbull beat Honsvick by technical knockout.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
To Sulkes and Reopell, UFC and combat sports historically have been a chase. But that hasn’t stopped them from trying.
They noted conversations with Matchroom Boxing, the promotion company associated with Ennis. Having the Philly fighter choose Xfinity Mobile Arena to host his title fights alongside other notable fighters on Matchroom cards felt serendipitous.
“A lot of it was timing,” Reopell told The Inquirer this summer. “We’ve always been chasing boxing and UFC, but there are a couple of factors with that. UFC has a limited amount of events that they do outside of Vegas and internationally. So it doesn’t leave much for the rest of the domestic arenas to fight over.
“With boxing, you really just need a draw, and with Boots being local, that was the hook. We’ve been in conversations with Matchroom before, and it was just that nothing really made sense. But when they landed [Boots], it was an easy [choice] for us here.”
Philly native Jaron “Boots” Ennis before his fight against David Avanesyan at the then-named Wells Fargo Center in July 2024.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Since Ennis’ initial fight in 2024, Xfinity Mobile Arena has hosted seven combat sports events in less than two years.
Make that eight, courtesy of UFC 330.
Additionally, UFC parking its caravan outside Xfinity on Saturday keeps the Philly area at the epicenter in a summer of world-class sporting events. From the PGA Championship to the MLB All-Star Game to six FIFA World Cup matches, there has been no shortage of major events that have come through the region.
But getting UFC to consider Philly is no easy task, Sulkes said. Stakeholders to get 330 to come to Xfinity Mobile Arena included not just organizations, arenas, and promoters, but politicians.
“It’s an extensive process,” Sulkes said. “We are constantly pitching our arena and pitching the city of Philadelphia to promoters. We’re always out there, whether it’s [conversations at] industry conferences, traveling to meet with them in person where they’re at. The pitch never really stops for us. [In the case of UFC], these are contacts that we’ve had for many years. It was a long road to convince them to come back with an event of this size and magnitude.
“We had tremendous support from Gov. [Josh] Shapiro as well with his desire to add this to all the USA 250 celebrations. That was a big part of getting this major UFC fight; Philly is really going to be the epicenter of the sports world this summer, and landing a UFC event just felt like a natural hook.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro, seen here at Citizens Bank Park earlier this year, has been a key figure in pulling for more events to come to South Philly, including fundraising for infrastructure improvements to reduce congestion on event days. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Both said discussions are ongoing with BKFC to keep Xfinity as “their home base,” according to Reopell, who noted that the promotion is growing rapidly. Earlier this year, BKFC revealed plans to host smaller events at 2300 Arena and fight camps in the area.
A source also revealed to The Inquirer that Xfinity Mobile Arena could play host to another World Wrestling Entertainment event later this fall.
Sources have told The Inquirer that the next combat event at Xfinity could be hosting a WWE main event this fall.Monica Herndon
Reopell and Sulkes did not confirm the timeline but told The Inquirer that they have agreed to be on a “regular cycle with WWE, doing 2-3 events a year.” The last event was held across the street at Lincoln Financial Field when WWE’s marquee event, WrestleMania, held its 40th battle royale in Philly in 2024.
“Philly is such a great fight town, and it has been for generations,” Sulkes said. “It just felt natural to lean in at this time and host these big events. So it really goes back to our mindset that we’re always looking for great content for the Delaware Valley, and right now, combat sports are having a great moment, specifically here in Philadelphia.”
Striker Pence was one of the 46,000 fans in attendance when the Phillies took on the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park during the National League Division Series in 2011. His uncle, Hunter Pence, was the Phillies’ starting right fielder, batting third in the lineup.
Striker doesn’t remember anything from his visit to the stadium. He was just 2 years old at the time and hadn’t been back since. But on Friday, it was his turn to be on the field at the Bank as the players for the Perfect Game All-American Classic took batting practice and scrimmaged ahead of Sunday’s game. And Pence said he was ready to “enjoy every minute of it.”
Wearing two gloves for batting practice and his socks hidden under his pants, Pence didn’t appear to have any of the oddities his uncle was recognized for. But when he’s back home in Corona, Calif., Pence said he’ll wear his socks above the knee like his uncle does — just one of the quirks the two have in common.
“Our swings are both funky. Everything we do is funky,” said the younger Pence. “But we get it done.”
Pence’s left-handed swing involves bringing his knee up high, similar to how a pitcher would, which makes sense for the two-way player.
The 17-year-old, who throws right-handed, has a four-seam fastball that maxes out at 101 mph and usually sits in the high 90s. His changeup clocks in the high 80s, and his slider hits the mid-80s.
Striker Pence while his uncle played for the Phillies.The Pence Family
He said he’s never wanted to choose between pitching and hitting the way most players do when they get to high school. In an era of baseball with most players having a specialty, he said Shohei Ohtani is changing things. But his desire to be a two-way player predates Ohtani, and said he “must have had something click,” when he was younger, giving him a love for both roles.
“I’ve always wanted to be a two-way, and then [Ohtani] showing it, showing teams it’s possible, makes it awesome,” Pence said. “I’m good at both. I’m going to keep doing it as long as I can.”
That’s what makes him one of the top prospects in the 2027 MLB draft. Currently ranked seventh overall in the nation and second for right-handed pitchers in the Class of 2027 by Perfect Game, Pence reclassified from the Class of 2028 to the Class of 2027 on June 4.
Rather than spend another year in high school, Pence said the decision comes from being “content” with playing at the next level, whether that be within an MLB organization or a college team.
Being drafted seems like the probable next step. MLB.com and Perfect Game list him as a first round-pick at 19th and 23rd, respectively, in their mock drafts.
Jered Goodwin, Perfect Game’s vice president of scouting operations, said Pence is “a complete unicorn.”
“Unique is the absolute word for Striker,” Goodwin said. “We, as a company, have not seen somebody that young throw as hard as he does, typically around the zone, and be able to have the left-handed power that he does. There have been a handful of two-way guys that have been high draft picks over the last couple years, but nobody that has had his power profile that we’ve seen, at least in the last 10 or 15 years.”
Striker is the nephew of Hunter Pence, a former Phillie.The Pence Family
Pence plans on improving his speed offensively and his command when pitching before next year’s draft. Off the field, his poise doesn’t need much refining.
Since he’s attended Perfect Game events at around 13 years old, Goodwin said Pence has always known what he wants out of an experience and how to get it.
This disposition translates to the field and in the clubhouse. Earlier this summer, Pence went to a national showcase with Perfect Game just to field balls at first base and help his team out. Goodwin said Pence’s pedigree, and learning how to be both a competitor and a teammate from a young age, explains his demeanor.
“Nature and nurture is both a big thing,” Goodwin said. “The Pence family are tremendous people, so it’s no doubt that he picked up a lot of those qualities from first off, his parents, and then, obviously, secondly, his uncle.”
The “quiet confidence” Goodwin described Pence demonstrating was learned from his uncle, who taught him the importance of uplifting himself as a player.
“Confidence is one of the highest things that you could do,” Striker said. “It makes you perform the best, and all it takes is you to just think about it and believe in yourself.”
While it was his uncle who passed down his idiosyncrasies and mindset, Pence’s father and Hunter’s brother, Howard, helped him with the rest. Howard helped his son throw and hit in the backyard and with workouts. Striker said his dad taught him “everything that I know.”
Jered Goodwin, Perfect Game’s vice president of scouting operations, said of Striker Pence: “We, as a company, have not seen somebody that young throw as hard as he does, typically around the zone, and be able to have the left-handed power that he does.”Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Howard Pence also was a pitcher and played in the minor leagues with the Astros and Padres affiliates. He threw a cutter that reached up to 97 mph, according to Striker.
Now, Striker said his teammates and opponents are also playing a role in aiding in his development. Being surrounded by top-level talent is helping him hone his skills as he prepares for his draft year, and he expects the Perfect Game All-American Classic on Sunday to help, too.
“Playing against the best talent, seeing the best pitchers, and facing the best hitters, it just makes you better, overall, more prepared,” Pence said. “These guys are all going to be at the next level. So am I, so you got to get used to it.”
MINNEAPOLIS — John Middleton got up from his seat in the front row behind the visitor’s dugout at Wrigley Field when a Phillies fan approached.
“You’ve got to believe!” the fan said.
“Listen, I believe,” the owner replied. “But we’ve got to play better.”
Middleton retells the story every so often because he knows now that it has a happy ending. But nobody foresaw a World Series run in the Phillies’ future on Sept. 29, 2022. Not after a sweep by the Cubs left them clutching a half-game lead for the last National League wild card with six games remaining.
So if you’re down on the Phillies now, think about how you felt then. They hadn’t been to the postseason in a decade, a drought that weighed heavy and negated all benefit of the doubt. Things seemed bleak.
Four years later, they’ve been through some stuff. And because the guts of the roster hasn’t changed, Kyle Schwarber believes they can lean on those experiences to guide them through the season’s final six weeks.
But the Phillies also entered the weekend here against the Twins with four losses in seven games. They were 11-15 since the All-Star break, a skid that took them from two games behind the division-leading Braves to a tie with the Diamondbacks for the last NL wild card.
Everything feels like it’s headed in the wrong direction.
The Phillies won Thursday, 7-1, over the Twins in the third iteration of MLB’s Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
And for the first time since 2022, it might come down to the final week of the regular season.
“I think we know what’s at stake,” Schwarber said. “We all know the writing on the wall. We know that, for where we need to go, that we need to step up in a lot of different ways, in a lot of different areas. And I feel like our team is ready for that.”
But now, it’s a 39-game sprint to the finish. The Phillies started 9-19 and got their manager fired. They went on a 45-24 heater under Don Mattingly to climb back into the race. And the latest stumble has them in a five-team cluster for two wild-card spots.
The Braves, Brewers, and Dodgers lead the NL East, Central, and West, respectively. The Cubs are comfortably atop the wild-card standings, with a seven-game lead through Friday.
Behind them, the Padres are surging. The Phillies are trying to ward off challenges from the Diamondbacks, Marlins and Cardinals. It didn’t help that they lost two of three in St. Louis this week.
Kyle Schwarber (right) got the Phillies started with a leadoff home run in the Field of Dreams Game on Thursday night in Iowa.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Entering the weekend, the Phillies had an 87.9% chance to make the playoffs, based on Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA projection model. Baseball Reference had them at 61.2%. Fangraphs split the difference, at 73.9%. A good week at home in back-to-back series against the Marlins and Cardinals would go a long way to boosting those odds.
“We know the road ahead that we’re going to have, and we know that everyone’s going to be pulling on that same rope every single day and trying to find different ways to execute and win ballgames,” Schwarber said. “It doesn’t have to be one area every single day. I feel like that all different areas are going to be coming together at a really good time.”
Said Bryson Stott: “We know we have to win games, especially now and coming down the stretch. We’re in a tight race right now.”
It feels like the right time, then, to look closer at the race for the last two wild-card spots. Let’s dive in, with all numbers through Friday’s games.
Fernando Tatis Jr. has been hot since the All-Star break for the surging Padres.Gregory Bull
Padres
Record: 66-57, second place in NL West, second in wild card (one-game lead).
Strength of remaining schedule: .496
Playoff odds: 59% Fangraphs; 58% Baseball Prospectus; 51.1% Baseball Reference.
Key series: Sept. 25-27 vs. the Diamondbacks.
The big question: Will A.J. Preller’s go-for-it trade deadline spur San Diego’s third consecutive playoff berth and fourth in five years?
Ten days before the deadline, officials from multiple teams were still guessing about Preller’s approach. But the Padres went 8-1 against the Marlins, Rockies, and Giants, and allowed Preller to be Preller. Not only did the hyperaggressive executive hold star closer Mason Miller and reliever Adrián Morejón, but he sacrificed two of the organization’s top four prospects for rental starters Robbie Ray and Casey Mize, who joined Michael King and soon-to-return Joe Musgrove in an experienced rotation. The Padres came into the weekend having won six games in a row and 16 of 20.
Outlook: Remember the team that went 0-6 in a span of 11 days against the Phillies in late May and early June? Well, these aren’t your father’s Padres. For one thing, their stars have shined. Entering the weekend, Fernando Tatis Jr. had seven homers and a 1.002 OPS since the All-Star break; Jackson Merrill was batting .343 with a 1.032 OPS. Imagine if Manny Machado ever figures it out this season.
Starting pitchers Cristopher Sánchez (left) and Jesús Luzardo (right) would make the Phillies a formidable postseason team in a short series. Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Phillies
Record: 65-58, second place in NL East, tied for third in wild card.
Strength of remaining schedule: .506
Playoff odds: 73.9% Fangraphs; 87.9% Baseball Prospectus; 61.2% Baseball Reference.
Key series: Aug. 31-Sept. 2, at Diamondbacks.
The big question: Will they run out of major league-quality pitching?
In the playoffs, with short series and frequent days off, the Phillies are a dangerous opponent because of their Three Aces — Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler, and Jesús Luzardo — and stud closer Jhoan Duran. That’s enough pitching to scare even the Dodgers. But it takes a stockpile of arms to make the playoffs. Dave Dombrowski came up empty at the deadline for a starter (from among a bountiful supply of available starters) and a setup reliever. And so, it’s hardly catastrophizing to wonder if Mattingly has enough trustworthy pitching at his disposal to navigate the next six weeks.
Outlook: At various times, Bryce Harper has used four words that may as well serve as the Phillies’ rallying cry: “Just get us in.” Never mind the divisional-round disappointments of the last two Octobers. The Phillies are actually built for the postseason, with a Jenga-tower roster that’s top heavy with stars. But getting there requires layers of depth on the roster and in the farm system. One injury, especially in the pitching ranks, could cause the whole thing to unravel. Keep an eye, too, on Harper and Schwarber, who have dealt with a sore knee and lower back, respectively.
Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo leads a high-powered offense in Arizona.Sue Ogrocki
Diamondbacks
Record: 65-58, third place in NL West, tied for third in the wild card.
The Diamondbacks were close to adding righty Clay Holmes to their rotation, but the Mets reportedly backed out over health concerns about one of the prospects in the deal. Arizona’s lone deadline move was for lefty-hitting outfielder Lars Nootbaar, and general manager Mike Hazen didn’t hide his frustration. “In the end, I could have kept adding,” he said in a radio interview. “I could have kept putting more in to get the deals done and it just didn’t happen.”
Outlook: Unless these Phillies finally win it all, they will be haunted by the 2023 NL Championship Series, when they lost Game 6 and 7 at home. Three years later, the Diamondbacks present many of the same challenges, notably a pesky offense led by Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo, Ketel Marte, and Gabriel Moreno. They added Nolan Arenado this year, and he’s pushing 20 homers. But the lineup may have to carry them given the rotation depth behind Eduardo Rodríguez. Rookie lefty Brandyn Garcia recently took over as closer and has been dominant.
Eury Pérez is one anchor of the Marlins’ starting rotation, along with veteran Sandy Alcantara.Marta Lavandier
Marlins
Record: 62-61, third place in the NL East, fifth in wild card (three games back)
Strength of remaining schedule: .510
Playoff odds: 11.4% Fangraphs; 10.8% Baseball Prospectus; 17.1% Baseball Reference.
Key series: Sept. 14-16 at Diamondbacks
The big question: Can they reel off another hot streak?
Since June 17, the Marlins won 16 of 20 games, lost 12 in a row, won six out of seven, lost four straight, and won four straight before losing Thursday and Friday. If they were an amusement park ride, they would leave their patrons nauseous. It’s probably the sign of a young team that’s not quite ready for primetime. And the competition will harden, especially in September. The Marlins’ last 15 games are against the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Padres, Cubs, and Braves. How’s that for a gauntlet?
Outlook: The 12-game losing streak turned the Marlins from potential deadline buyers to fence-sitters who leaned toward selling. If they get on a roll, it will be because of the starting pitching, led by Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez. Max Meyer, an All-Star and emerging ace, has been sidelined with a neck strain since July 19. It’s unclear whether he will return before the end of the season. The Marlins traded catcher Liam Hicks to the Rays but held on to Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards, the most underrated middle infield in the sport.
Alec Burleson and the Cardinals won three series in a row after they were sellers at the trade deadline.Scott Kane
Cardinals
Record: 61-61, third place in the NL Central, sixth in wild card (3½ games back)
Strength of remaining schedule: .499
Playoff odds: 8.6% Fangraphs; 4.2% Baseball Prospectus; 15.8% Baseball Reference.
Key series: Aug. 21-23 at Phillies
The big question: Can an accidental contender keep contending?
Not only didn’t the Cardinals plan on contending this season, but at the trade deadline, president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom acted as if they weren’t. In addition to sending Nootbaar to the Diamondbacks, Bloom packaged starter Dustin May and reliever JoJo Romero to the rival Brewers for prospects. Yet the Cardinals won three series in a row since the deadline, taking two of three from the Yankees, Rockies, and Phillies. If they’re still in the race after next weekend’s series in Philadelphia, maybe they will actually have staying power in September.
Outlook: The Cardinals have balance in the top half of the lineup, with rookie sensation JJ Wetherholt and Alec Burleson from the left side of the plate and Home Run Derby champ Jordan Walker and Iván Herrera from the right. And they’re calling up outfield prospect Joshua Báez, who is bringing 34 homers from triple A to the majors this weekend. But an unexpected strength has been the young starting pitchers, chiefly Andre Pallante, Kyle Leahy, and Michael McGreevy. Never heard of them? If the Cardinals are able to hang in there, they will be big reasons why.
As of 2:15 p.m. Friday, a post from the Eagles’ official Twitter/X account showing a slow-motion replay of Quinyon Mitchell intercepting a Jalen Hurts pass during practice Wednesday had accumulated nearly 17 million views on the site. There are no typographical errors in that sentence. An interception at practice garnered 17 million views without Christopher Nolan or Abraham Zapruder having filmed the sequence.
X users reposted the clip more than 3,000 times. Many of them included comments suggesting, or saying outright, that the interception was indicative of the quality of Hurts’ play or that the Eagles were disloyal or disrespectful to Hurts for posting the clip at all.
Former Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho, now a professional podcaster and poo-stirrer, wrote that “given my experience with the lengths people go to protect Jalen, somebody getting cussed out for sure and then may get fired.” ESPN’s Mike Golic Jr. quipped: “guys, people can see this.” Ben DiNucci, whose NFL career comprised three games with the Cowboys in 2020, wrote: “Why would they post this lol These social teams have a direct impact on what fans think / believe / see.”
A lot can be said about these people and those who responded similarly to the interception post. None of what can be said is kind. DiNucci at least tiptoed toward a reasonable and accurate point: That many fans, especially those so hungry for information and insights about their favorite teams that they spend hours scrolling through social media in the middle of the day, would blow such a play out of proportion. That’s fine. They’re fans. No one should expect them to be measured and reasonable.
But if you’re going to hold yourself up as an expert and try to earn a living from that purported expertise — and that’s what these media members and influencers and former players are doing — then you ought to have enough knowledge and integrity to treat an interception in practice with the gravity it deserves. Which is to say, next to none. If training camp mattered that much, Paul Turner would be closing in on his 11th consecutive season with at least 1,500 receiving yards, and Sam Bradford would have been a Super Bowl MVP before Hurts or Nick Foles.
Hurts has his strengths as a quarterback, and he has his shortcomings, and, yes, this will be an interesting and important season that could chart the course of his future with the Eagles. But no matter how sensitive Hurts and his camp might be, he has handled situations that were far more pressure-packed than a post intended to praise one of his teammates. And the notion that throwing a pick during training camp should serve as any kind of referendum on any NFL starting quarterback is so stupid that it could gain traction only on X.
It was practice, people. Cue the Allen Iverson rant, and go freak out over another not-so-big deal.
So the NFL has scheduled one game on the night before Thanksgiving, three on Thanksgiving itself, one on Black Friday, one on Christmas Eve (between the Eagles and Texans at 8:15 p.m.), and three on Christmas. Meanwhile, the NBA has nine games on Thanksgiving Eve, 11 on Black Friday, and five on Christmas.
Sorry, count me out, or as out as I can be as someone who covers the Eagles and 76ers. These leagues are attempting to capitalize on the captive audience they believe they’ll have on these holidays, but having those days and the traditions within them consumed by a bunch of games is crass and greedy. The only benefit to this overstuffed sports schedule is that it might keep family members and friends from arguing about politics over the apps and turkey.
Quick hitters
For the Sixers’ sake, it’s good to see so many LeBron James murals popping up around the city. They should serve as a nice counterbalance to the one at 30th St. and Eighth Avenue, around the corner from Madison Square Garden, that depicts Mitchell Robinson — a key member of the New York Knicks’ 2025-26 championship team — dunking over Joel Embiid. …
Based on their offensive output in their 7-1 win over the Twins on Thursday night in Iowa, the Phillies should play all their remaining home games this season at Shady Brook Farm. …
Oh, and for the record, Field of Dreams is among the most overrated sports movies ever. Joe Jackson hit left-handed, not right-handed as the film depicts him. Kevin Costner’s Ray Kinsella was an unsympathetic jerk to his father. And James Earl Jones’s “People will come, Ray” speech is overwrought. Costner’s “Dad, wanna have a catch?” scene is touching, but it does a lot of heavy lifting in making the film watchable. Give me The Natural, Eight Men Out, and Bull Durham every time.
The field at the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship is down to four.
Eight golfers competed in the quarterfinals of match play on Friday afternoon at Merion Golf Club.
All four of Friday’s matches were decided before the 18th hole. The first pairing of the day, Brandon Knight and Carter Loflin, made it the furthest before Loflin closed out Knight on Hole 16.
Loflin will tee off against Jack Whaley at 2 p.m. Saturday, while Jay Leng Jr. will face Logan Reilly at 2:15 p.m. for a place in Sunday’s final.
In addition to a place in the final match, the four remaining golfers are playing for exemptions to the U.S. Open and the Masters. The winner and the runner-up from the Amateur will gain entry into both tournaments in 2027.
Michael Lugiano, the only Pennsylvania native to make the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals, had the biggest following of the day, but he dropped his match to Reilly, 6 and 4.
Reilly won five of the last six holes to beat Lugiano, who hails from Jackson Township, Pa. and plays college golf at Liberty.
“I actually really enjoyed it,” Reilly said of playing in front of the crowd supporting Lugiano. “I loved how many people there were out there. Just gave me a little extra motivation, honestly. Thank God I got a couple of my friends that came out, so they were trying to get loud. But yeah, it was great. Unbelievable atmosphere.”
Loflin, a Duluth, Ga., native who played his collegiate golf at Georgia, won six holes against Knight. Birdies on holes Nos. 7, 8, 10, and 13 helped Loflin lock down his match early.
Jack Hopkins has 35 years of experience caddying at Merion and has carried Carter Loflin’s bag at the Amateur this week.Clem Murray / Staff Photographer
Loflin is the last player remaining with a local caddie. Jack Hopkins has 35 years of experience caddying at Merion and has carried Loflin’s bag at the Amateur this week.
Loflin hopes that gives him an advantage on Saturday.
“[Hopkins] knows this place so well,” Loflin said. “He’s an incredible green reader, and he’s a very calming influence. He doesn’t talk very much. He’s very quiet, which I like because I talk a lot. … Whenever he says stuff, it really means something. If he tells me no, then I’m not going to do it. It’s been a lot of fun.
Leng, who plays at Stanford, was the first golfer off the course Friday after winning, 6 and 5, over Jack Turner.
After a tie on the ninth hole, Leng, a San Diego native, made four consecutive birdies, including hitting a near-perfect drive on 13th hole with a sand wedge, to cement his spot in the semifinals.
“I knew since I was pretty far up, I didn’t want to do anything stupid,” Leng said. “Hit a full sand wedge, and it was the perfect number, spun back nicely.”
Leng is two weeks removed from winning the Western Amateur in Chicago. If he can put together two more winning efforts, he will become the 10th player since World War II to win the Western Amateur and the U.S. Amateur in the same year.
Other players to accomplish the feat include Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
Stanford’s Jay Leng already won this year’s Western Am. Now he’s in the Elite 8 at the U.S. Amateur.
He could become the 10th player since World War II to win both in the same year, and the first to do so in 18 years.
After his round on Friday, Leng said improved putting has unlocked extra confidence this summer.
“Just knowing that I have a chance, no matter where I am on the green,” Leng said. “It’s really helping me free my game up a little bit.”
Whaley beat Adam Bresnu, 5 and 4, to secure his place in the semifinals. Whaley, an Englishman who golfs at Florida State, did not drop a hole to his Moroccan opponent Bresnu.
Whaley, a rising senior, is two seasons removed from playing at NAIA school Dalton State in Dalton, Ga. Now, he’s one win away from earning a place in two major tournaments.
“Obviously it would be a huge thing to go and play in those prestigious events,” Whaley said. “I’m trying not to think about it as much as I can because obviously it can add a little bit more pressure, but at the end of the day, I’ve still just got to go out and play my own game, and if that comes at the end of it, then I’ll be very, very pleased.”
East Side Little League, a 12-and-under baseball team from West Chester, is headed to Williamsport, Pa.
On Friday, East Side defeated Wilmington’s Naamans Little League, 3-1, to punch its ticket to the Little League World Series. East Side was powered by pitcher Cole Warner, who allowed just one run on four hits and struck out eight in five innings.
“Feels really good, just representing Pennsylvania,” Warner said on the ESPN broadcast. “Little kids who play for East Side, we set the example. Hopefully, they can carry on.”
Warner set East Side up, but relief pitcher Ryan Donnelly made the game-clinching play.
In the final inning, with runners on first and second, Naamans second baseman Joey DeCaro hit a short roller toward third base. Donnelly slid to grab the ball, and his throw beat DeCaro to first for the game’s final out.
East Side went to celebrate, throwing their gloves and piling on top of each other, but a challenge delayed the party. Eventually, after an almost four-minute review, the call was confirmed. East Side was heading to the World Series, and the team got to celebrate for a second time.
“It felt really good waiting there,” Warner said. “We all knew he was out.”
East Side scored all three of its runs in the first inning. Center fielder Ryan Hennessey got his team started, launching a ball to center to bring in Donnelly and — following a Naamans error — Warner. East Side would score once more in the inning with third baseman Jack Cassidy hitting a single to bring Hennessey home.
Naamans scored its run in the second when utility player Taj Amobi doubled in left fielder Charles Puit.
East Side will look to become the first team from Pennsylvania since 1960 to win the Little League World Series, when Levittown American defeated Fort Worth, Texas, 5-0, in the championship game. However, a few area teams have reached the series in recent years: Glenmoore Eagle Little League (from Upper Uwchlan Township) last year, Council Rock Newtown Little League in 2024, and Media Little League in 2023.
Chris DiJulia never played a minute and he never coached a game, but at 11 a.m. Wednesday, he was the king of Philadelphia basketball.
More than 600 people crowded into St. Denis Catholic Church in Haverford for an 80-minute celebration of 56 years of life well-lived. DiJulia, a fixture at St. Joe’s basketball games, had cerebral palsy, and so spent his life in a wheelchair, and died July 27 of natural causes related to his condition. A few people have ever lived a fuller life; the DiJulias prayed Chris would live to be 5, much less 56.
As was the case for so many of the Phillies games Chris attended, it was standing room only for his memorial service Wednesday; more than 100 folks leaning against the walls and watching from the knave. They came from Chicago, Atlanta, Buffalo. It was streamed online, and it got views from as far away as Alaska. There were more college basketball coaches at the funeral than there were at LeBron and Kobe’s high school games.
The event was more than a home-going for a man of unequaled strength and unmatched faith. It was a testament to the close-knit family of Philly college hoops.
There is nothing like it, not anywhere in the world. It is a club, a cult, and, as the kids say now, a vibe. It goes beyond just the Big Five, beyond just the City Six (hello, Drexel), beyond men’s basketball. It is D-I and D-II and D-III and junior college. It is all of it.
“Chris was unique,” said Don DiJulia, the retired athletic director at St. Joseph’s University. “But having all this happen, to even think there would be 600 people at 11 o’clock on a Wednesday … couldn’t even think that.”
Legendary Temple coach John Chaney would have been there too, but he predeceased Chris by five years. How can you be sure? Because Chaney famously once said that Chris was the only person from St. Joe’s that Chaney liked.
St. Denis was the site on Wednesday, and Wednesday will be remembered as a quintessential Philly hoops moment, even though there were no refs and no clock.
More than anything, Philly basketball is its sites and its moments. It is the Palestra, the best place to shoot on God’s green earth, and Lynn Greer leading Temple back from 16 down to beat St. Joe’s in double OT there in 2002.
It also is the DAK at Drexel and Gola/Glaser at La Salle, and it has been the smoky Philadelphia Civic Center, where I covered La Salle’s men years ago, and, of course, St. Joe’s Alumni Fieldhouse/Hagan Arena, where the DiJulias watched their Hawks play and soar and crash. All of these places can be deafening and intimidating and, by city requirement, always over-warm.
On Wednesday, it was a gray stone Catholic church. For once, Chris was the star.
DiJulia was the son of retired St. Joseph’s University athletic director Don DiJulia, and, despite his disability, for more than five decades Chris was everywhere basketball was played, loud and critical and present. Family and friends overfilled the pews, crammed shoulder-to-shoulder with giants from the media and, more than anything else, with Big Five royalty.
You’ve probably been to funerals where there wasn’t a dry eye in the place, but most of the tears shed at St. Denis were tears of laughter and of joy. Chris was known best for his wry wit. In their eulogies, Chris’ siblings and parents proved again and again that wit is genetic.
Chris loved the local pro teams and he was nuts about golf, so more than half the assemblage, to honor his fandom, wore jerseys instead of mourning clothes. The best: A shamrock-green Tug McGraw No. 45 and a pinstriped Richie Ashburn No. 1. Chris suffered and celebrated the maddening Phillies, and he so adored baseball that the service began with the national anthem and included a seventh-inning stretch complete with God Bless America.
Chris DiJulia, with his parents and siblings.provided by Kath DiJulia Cloran
It was in his blood
But as much as Chris loved the pros he was of college hoops, especially Philly college hoops. It was in his blood. Don played basketball (and baseball) at St. Joe’s, and he coached college basketball before he directed college programs.
Don played for Jack Ramsey’s 26-1 team in 1965. He is a charter member of the Philadelphia basketball aristocracy. Chris is a legacy member.
Membership can be earned.
The first sporting event I attended after I arrived in Philly in February 1995 was a 30-point Penn men’s win over Brown at the Palestra, but that didn’t earn membership. It takes decades as a fan, years as a media member.
My wife, Dr. Shelly Bowers Hayes, scored more than 1,100 points as Penn’s point guard until 1995. We met playing pickup on the Palestra floor that March, started dating a year later, and we’ve coached our kids the last six years (mostly, she coaches).
I’ve done this job for 31 years. I’ve belonged to lots of clubs and organizations and associations. There’s no community like the community of Philly college hoops. Proved again for 80 minutes of joy, and a little pain, at St. Denis on Wednesday.
This year Philly has hosted the NFL playoffs, the men’s NCAA Tournament, the NBA playoffs, the NHL playoffs, the Unrivaled women’s 3-on-3 league, the PGA Championship, the FIFA World Cup, and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
Wednesday’s sellout was the most deserving of them all.
The Union will want to forget their Leagues Cup finale, a lethargic 2-0 loss to Santos Laguna on Thursday night at Subaru Park.
Fortunately for Ryan Richter’s squad, there isn’t long to dwell on the loss or its Leagues Cup run, which ended with a win and two losses.
The Union will travel to Yankee Stadium to face New York City FC on Sunday (6 p.m., Apple TV), kicking off a crowded stretch of the schedule that features three games in seven days.
“We have to take this one on the chin,” said Richter, the Union’s interim manager. “We have to have some honest conversations tomorrow, and we have to start preparing right away and get ready to start MLS play again in the way we left off in the last game against Atlanta.”
The Union already had considered their busy schedule before getting the ball rolling against Santos Laguna.
While they weren’t mathematically eliminated from the Leagues Cup entering Thursday, they would have needed to win by at least four goals and have favorable outcomes in other matches.
“That is something that we’re capable of, but not many games are going to go exactly that way,” Richter said of winning by four goals. “If you push for that, you win, 3-0, and you don’t get it, that leaves you now tired on Sunday.”
So Richter took the opportunity to rest many key players. Quinn Sullivan and Japhet Sery Larsen put in 90-minute shifts, but the likes of Milan Iloski, Cavan Sullivan, Danley Jean Jacques, Frankie Westfield, and Kai Wagner rested their legs as the Union prepare to enter a key stretch.
“Including tonight, that’s four games in 10 days,” Richter said. “That’s tough, to play with the same team through that kind of stretch. … We turn around Sunday against New York City. [It is] a big game to try and keep the form that we’ve had in the league. To keep that going, we wanted to make sure that we were fresh going into that.”
Quinn Sullivan (left), on the ball as Santos Laguna’s Salvador Mariscal defends in the first half, was among the Union’s regulars who played a full 90 minutes in Thursday’s Leagues Cup group-stage finale.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
After they travel to NYCFC, the Union will host Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on Wednesday. The Union then travel to Texas to face Austin FC next Saturday.
While Richter was disappointed not to get a better effort from his Thursday night selections, based on how Thursday night’s games played out, there was no way for the Union to advance, even with a win against Santos Laguna, as Real Salt Lake, the fourth-place MLS team and the last one to advance, finished with seven points.
NYCFC found itself in a similar situation to the Union when it came to its Leagues Cup finale, but manager Pascal Jansen took a more aggressive approach.
NYCFC needed to win big against Necaxa and get some help from the out-of-town scoreboard to move on to the knockout rounds and set its lineup accordingly. Jansen started usual MLS starters like Nicolás Fernández, Keaton Parks, and Andrés Perea.
NYCFC lost, 2-1, to Necaxa and was eliminated.
The approach each team took to their Thursday night Cup games could give the Union a rest advantage when it comes time for the two sides to meet on Sunday, with the Union needing every point they can get to claw back into the playoff picture.
The Union (4-10-4, 16 points) won one game before the league’s summer FIFA World Cup break, leading to the dismissal of manager Bradley Carnell in May. Richter took over as interim and coached the Union to three consecutive league wins after returning from the international break in July.
Despite their recent run of good form, the Union are still chasing the rest of the Eastern Conference. They sit seven points behind D.C. United, which currently occupies the ninth and final playoff spot in the East.
The Union will play three matches against the East before the end of August, two of which are away.
Since their return to the league schedule, the Union have looked like a different team than the one that lost, 2-1, to NYCFC (7-6-5, 26 points) in March.
But can the momentum the team built through its first three post-international break league matches carry through a poor Leagues Cup campaign? Richter hopes so, but he didn’t see it in his team on Thursday.
“I didn’t see that fire, in the end of the game, that I saw in the last few weeks,” Richter said. “We can’t lose that. We can’t lose that piece.”
The Union currently are 13th in MLS’s 15-team Eastern Conference.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
It’s homecoming weekend for the Premier Lacrosse League’s Philadelphia Waterdogs at Subaru Park, and there’s a lot on the line.
The Waterdogs (7-3) are competing for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in the final weekend of the regular season, needing one more win to secure it. The top seed will give the Waterdogs a bye to the semifinals on Sept. 7 in Salt Lake City.
Philly will play the New York Atlas (3-8) on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN), followed by the Women’s Lacrosse League championship between the Maryland Charm and California Palms (5 p.m., ESPN). On Sunday, the Waterdogs will face the Maryland Whipsnakes (5-6) at 1 p.m. (6abc). The Denver Outlaws (6-5) and California Redwoods (5-6) will play at 3:30 p.m.
Defender Gavin Adler is no stranger to Waterdogs-Atlas games. But this year, he’s on the other side of things.
Adler, last season’s Dave Pietramala Defensive Player of the Year, helped the Atlas beat the Waterdogs in the PLL semifinals at Subaru Park en route to a league title. Then, in the offseason, Adler signed with Philly and will face his former team for the second time this season. The Waterdogs previously beat the Atlas, 11-10, on July 24 in Denver.
“[Last time] I made it a point to not let my personal feelings become a distraction for my teammates, and we approached it like any other game, and this weekend will be the same,” said Adler, a New York native. “Obviously, we’re competing at the top, and we’ve all got the same goals. So, just taking it game by game, and not letting that be a distraction, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t personal.”
Gavin Adler has been on both sides of the New York Atlas-Philadelphia Waterdogs matchup.PLL
While Adler will be playing his first game in front of Philly fans as part of the Waterdogs, others are familiar with the environment and will be having their own homecoming this weekend.
Here are some local players to watch during the Waterdogs’ homecoming weekend:
Michael Sowers, Waterdogs
Attackman Michael Sowers leads the PLL in points (41) and assists (20) and is a five-time All-Star.
The Dresher native led the Waterdogs to their first PLL championship at Subaru Park in 2022 and is an MVP contender this season. Sowers graduated from Upper Dublin High School and played at Princeton and Duke.
“It’s really special, and I’ve been fortunate to be able to do it for a couple of years now,” Sowers said. “It never gets old, frankly, and the opportunity to play in Philly, we’ll probably have like 50 to 60 people in the crowd in front of friends and family. It’s awesome.”
Matt Traynor, Atlas
Traynor returns to Subaru Park with the Atlas after being a part of its 2025 championship team.
Traynor, a Penn State graduate, grew up in Downingtown and attended Malvern Prep. The two-time All-Star is tied for the most goals (17) among New York’s midfielders and has 23 points this season.
Malone, a West Chester native and Haverford School alumnus, has 23 goals, tied for the fifth-most in the league, and seven assists (30 points).
The left-handed attackman was a 2025 All-Star selection and the 2024 Rookie of the Year after coming back from three surgeries during his time at Penn State where he was tabbed as the 2023 Big Ten Player of the Year.
Wierman, a West Chester native and Henderson graduate, is fourth in the league in ground balls (68) this season. The faceoff specialist’s best game of the season came against the Whipsnakes on Aug. 1, when he won 25 of 28 faceoffs for an 89.3 faceoff percentage. He has a 52.3% faceoff winning percentage, good for sixth in the PLL this season.
Wierman graduated from Maryland in 2024 and was part of the 2022 perfect season and NCAA championship team.
Big 5, big names
Several players competing this weekend are not originally from the Philadelphia area but attended college here.
Penn and Penn State have the most nonlocal athletes playing this weekend. Penn has Whipsnakes James Shipley and Emmet Carroll, as well as the Redwoods’ BJ Farrare.
In addition to multiple local players, Penn State also features Alex Ross (Atlas), Jack Posey (Whipsnakes), and Kevin Parnham (Outlaws).
New York’s Reid Bowering and Liam Kammar played at Drexel, while Levi Anderson played at St. Joseph’s.
CJ Kirst in action for the Philadelphia Waterdogs as a rookie last season.Courtesy of PLL
History watch
Along with Adler, several other PLL stars will be playing at Subaru Park this weekend. That includes fellow Waterdog CJ Kirst, who is on the brink of setting the league single-season goals record. He’s at 30 goals through eight games, tied with the Boston Cannons’ Marcus Holman’s record of 30, which he set in 10 games in 2023.
Kirst, the 2025 No. 1 overall pick in the PLL draft and a northern New Jersey native, will have many friends and family in the stands of Subaru Park as he chases history.
“Super excited to have that opportunity, and regarding what’s ahead, regarding the milestones, I’m not trying to think too much about it,” Kirst said. “I think just going out there and trying to go win two games is the mentality I’ve had these past couple weeks … I know we’re super excited for what’s ahead.”
Normally, this time of the summer is a slow period for sports, but you wouldn’t know that if you’ve been spending time around Philly. Not only are the Eagles in camp and the Phillies and Union about to hit their seasons’ stretch runs, but there’s also the U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club, Tyrese Maxey and his friends showing out for charity, the Rumph Classic, and much more to come.
But before we look toward events still ahead — like UFC 330, the Philly Cycling Classic, and the Ennoble Care Philly Open — let’s take a look back. Each Friday, Inquirer photo editors pick the best sports images from the last seven days. Here’s what we saw this week …
Justin Matthews, of Canada, hits out of a bunker on the first hole during the Round of 64 at the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club on Wednesday.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerGolf fans watch players tee off near the 17th hole during the U.S. Amateur at Merion.Jose F. Moreno / Staff PhotographerCharlie Barrickman, 18, of West Chester, tees off on the sixth hole on Monday.Jose F. Moreno / Staff PhotographerGolf fans watch players tee off during the second day of the U.S. Amateur at Merion. Jose F. Moreno / Staff PhotographerEagles quarterback Jalen Hurts warms up before a training camp practice on Tuesdsay at the Jefferson Health Training Complex.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerTeam TBB’s Collin Gillespie, a former standout at Villanova, drives to the basket during the Rumph Classic men’s final at Drexel’s Daskalakis Athletic Center on Monday.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerMembers of Team TBB hold the 2026 Danny Rumph Championship trophy after winning the Rumph Classic on Monday.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerThe Union’s Bruno Damiani (left) heads the ball against Necaxa’s Alexis Peña during the second half of the teams’ Leagues Cup group stage game at Subaru Park on Sunday.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerDanley Jean Jacques (right front) runs with the soccer ball past Necaxa defenders.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerFormer Phillies Shane Victorino (center) and Bobby Wine (seated) talk during the team’s Alumni Weekend festivities at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerPhillies center fielder Derek Hill celebrates after hitting a walk-off RBI single during the 12th inning of Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Phillies won, 7-6.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerLuis Arraez avoids the tag by Toronto Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela to score on a sixth-inning sacrifice fly on Saturday.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerKyle Schwarber (left) tags out Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jesús Sánchez. Schwarber, typically the designated hitter, has been getting some reps at first base following Bryce Harper’s move back to right field.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerDerek Hill, with his arms raised, celebrates with teammates after his walk-off hit on Sunday.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerSixers guard Tyrese Maxey (right) held his Friends & Family Weekend that included a skills camp at William Penn Charter School on Saturday.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerTyrese Maxey plays defense as he works with young kids at his 1% Skills Camp, a part of his foundation’s Friends & Family Weekend.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerPedestrians walk past a new LeBron James mural by artist Chenlin Cai at 10th and Arch Streets in Chinatown.Jose F. Moreno / Staff PhotographerFormer Phillies second baseman Chase Utley thanks fans while getting inducted into the team’s Wall of Fame on Friday.Yong Kim / Staff PhotographerA rainbow sits over Citizens Bank Park before Chase Utley’s Wall of Fame induction ceremony.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
