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  • From ‘a Delco girl’ to the Big 5 and South Jersey, the Philly area is well-represented in the WLL championship

    From ‘a Delco girl’ to the Big 5 and South Jersey, the Philly area is well-represented in the WLL championship

    The Women’s Lacrosse League is filled with players tied to the Philadelphia area, so it’s fitting that the league’s inaugural championship is coming here.

    On Saturday, the Maryland Charm (4-3) will face the California Palms (5-2) in the WLL’s championship at Subaru Park in Chester (5 p.m., ESPN). The game will be the finale to a doubleheader with the Premier Lacrosse League.

    The Philadelphia Waterdogs (7-3) will take on the New York Atlas (3-8) at 2 p.m. The WLL, which boasts four teams, is owned by the PLL.

    Here are some notable names from the Charm and the Palms with ties to the area:

    Emily Parros, Maryland Charms coach

    Before she was coaching the Charms, Emily Parros turned heads at Strath Haven. Parros (formerly Emily Garrity) was named a first-team U.S. Lacrosse All-American following her senior year with the Panthers in 2009.

    “I’m a Delco girl,” Parros said. “So it’s special to me. That stadium’s probably no more than 15 minutes from my house where I grew up. So it’s just a unique experience as a coach.”

    Strath Haven girls reach lacrosse final | from 2009

    After high school, Parros was a two-time captain at the University of North Carolina before launching her coaching career. She has made assistant coaching stops at James Madison, East Carolina, and with the Tar Heels. After a season as an assistant with the Charm, she was named the team’s head coach in December.

    As a player, Parros helped lead Team USA to its ninth World Lacrosse Women’s Championship title in 2022. Now, she is looking to win a championship as a coach.

    “I think these players have really put in the time on and off the field with each other to be able to create those electric moments on the field,” Parros said. “We have very good talent, and I think anytime you have talent, it can be interesting to see how it meshes on the field. One of my favorite things about this team is that there is no ego. We all go to bat for each other. We celebrate every success, and it’s just been a lot of fun.”

    Maryland Charms coach Emily Parros (left) rallies her team during a game in Week 2.Nick Ieradi / Premier Lacrosse League

    Anna Brandt, California Palms midfielder

    Anna Brandt, a former standout at Penn, expects to see action on Saturday for the Palms.

    The three-time All-Ivy selection left the Quakers as the program’s all-time leader in goals (206). Brandt, who graduated in 2025, is looking forward to reconnecting with familiar faces this weekend. Penn coach Karin Brower and assistant Nicole Spencer will be in attendance.

    “The four years [at Penn] were the best,” Brandt said. “I had the best time with the Penn coaches and staff. And playing on Franklin Field was always really special. I still remember my last game I played there and just how much that meant. I never knew if I would get a chance to be back, or let alone play a championship game in Philly. So to be back in the cities that really I feel like launched my lacrosse career is super special.”

    This season, Brandt has logged 11 goals. She will play an important role Saturday as she faces off against the upper echelon of women’s lacrosse players.

    “I mean, the level is insane,” Brant said. “It’s like every single person on your scouting report is an All-American, a Tewaaraton winner [honoring the nation’s top college lacrosse player], finalist, national champion. There’s no weak links anywhere throughout this entire league. You really got to put your best foot forward every time you step on the field.”

    Cassidy Spilis, Maryland Charm midfielder

    Tabernacle (Burlington County) native Cassidy Spilis put together an impressive high school career at Seneca before becoming Rutgers’ all-time leader in career goals (266), points (281), and draw controls (313).

    “I got a ton of people coming,” Spilis said. “I think my mom invited probably every person she knows in the South Jersey area, so we’re all really excited. I think playing on the East Coast, there’s just such a big demographic of these girls who are starting to love the game of lacrosse. To have the ability for them to come see a game like this, it’s super awesome.”

    Cassidy Spilis scores goals — and does a whole lot more — for Seneca girls’ lacrosse | from 2019

    On May 29, the Charm and Palms matched up for the only other time this season in Baltimore, and Maryland won, 18-17, in overtime. Spilis scored the game-winning goal with 11 minutes, 40 seconds left in the extra period, and she’s hoping to take lessons learned from that game into Saturday.

    “[The Palms] have a lot of great players,” Spilis said. “I think one of their biggest strengths is just their middies and their speed in the midfield. That was something that we really learned on the fly during the last game, just trying to compete with that midi speed and stopping in transition.”

    Marie McCool, California Palms midfielder

    Moorestown High School alumna Marie McCool has experience playing at Subaru Park. Ten years ago, McCool helped lead North Carolina to a national championship at the Union’s stadium.

    “What made it so much even more special — obviously, winning a national championship is amazing — was the fact that I was close to home and I had so many friends and family in the stands and got to enjoy the win with them,” McCool said. “It’s definitely a full-circle moment. … I get to be back here in a championship game, competing in the place that I call home.”

    How Moorestown ‘shaped’ pro women’s lacrosse star Marie McCool

    The Moorestown native will have reminders of home behind every corner. The hotel that the Palms are staying in hosted McCool’s high school prom. She is also looking forward to ordering cheesesteaks with Charm goalie Caylee Waters, who played with her at North Carolina.

    “I know we’re on different teams,” McCool said. “But when we won the national championship, we got some late-night cheesesteaks together. She’s like, ‘We gotta run it back, no matter what happens.’”

    Moorestown native Marie McCool is a former UNC lacrosse star and was an All-Star this season.Women's Lacrosse League
  • Five fighters to know before UFC 330 at Xfinity Mobile Arena, from an Irish Eagles fan to a ‘jiujitsu girl’

    Five fighters to know before UFC 330 at Xfinity Mobile Arena, from an Irish Eagles fan to a ‘jiujitsu girl’

    It’s fight week in Philadelphia, with UFC 330 taking place on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena. This will be the first numbered event and first title fight held in Philadelphia in a decade and a half.

    The card features 12 fights, including two championship bouts in the men’s welterweight division and the women’s strawweight division. With 24 fighters competing this weekend, here are five you should know before UFC 330 takes over South Philly …

    Ian Machado Garry, welterweight

    Twenty-eight year old Ian Machado Garry will fight No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title in the main event of UFC 330.

    UFC 330 is coming to Philadelphia this weekend. Here’s everything to know, from local fighters to the match schedule.

    Machado Garry is entering Saturday’s fight as a +270 underdog on DraftKings. Despite the odds, he showed complete confidence in himself before the fight by hanging up an empty frame for the championship belt in his home.

    “The empty frame, it’s a manifestation and a visualization that I’ve put in the back of my mind for a long time,” Machado Garry said. “When I signed to UFC, I told everybody now that I’m here, I’m going to be a world champion. It’s a matter of time. It’s inevitable.

    “When we bought our home and I framed my Cage Warriors World Title, I knew that there was going to be space. I knew that there was going to be a frame for my UFC world title. And I wanted to see it empty because every time I see it, it’s going to push me to fill it. This weekend, I’m going to win that belt, I’m going to go straight home and I’m going to put that UFC title in that frame.”

    Machado Garry (17-1) is coming off a big decision win over Belal Muhammad. His only loss in his UFC career was to Shavkat Rahkmandov by decision in Dec. 2024. He is on a two-fight winning streak as he prepares to face his toughest challenge yet.

    “Right now he has absolutely earned and deserved the title as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the planet. It’s inarguable,” Garry said. “His record stands for itself. His achievements, his accolades. He’s done everything he’s needed to do to earn that. That is the exact person that I want to beat to prove that I’m the champion in the world. Because then there’s no doubt. There’s no excuses. It is undeniable that when I beat Islam [Mackhachev] on Saturday night, Ian Machado Garry is great.”

    Machado Garry is hoping his love for the Birds can get the crowd on his side.

    “I love the Eagles,” Garry said. “I’ve always liked the Eagles. I thought they were a phenomenal team. Saquon [Barkley] is absolutely one of my favorite players. I loved watching him when he signed — when he came out of the draft with the Giants, he was unbelievable. And then I thought he needed to go to a better team. And obviously, the second he did, he gets the 2,000 yards, he goes out and he wins the Super Bowl. It’s perfect.”

    Islam Makhachev, welterweight champion

    Saturday’s main event will be Makhachev’s second fight in the welterweight division.

    In his division debut, he defeated Jack Della Maddelana by decision to become the new welterweight champion last November. After completing his second fight camp at welterweight, Makhachev said he feels more comfortable this time around.

    ”[My] opponent is good,” Mackhachev said. “Good skills, good fighter. Has all the skills. And that’s why I think it’s going to be a good fight for all MMA fans. But I will be looking for a finish. Any chance I have, I will finish my opponent. And this Saturday I will show best performance.”

    Islam Makhachev is on a 16 match winning streak and will defend his welterweight title Saturday night in Xfinity Mobile Arena.Yuki Iwamura

    Makhachev (28-1) is cementing his legacy as an all-time great. The former lightweight champion successfully defended his title four times before moving to welterweight. And now, there’s more than just the title on the line. There’s a spot in the history books waiting for him to sign his name.

    Makhachev is currently tied with Anderson Silva for the longest winning streak in UFC history with 16 consecutive wins. With a win on Saturday, Makhachev will surpass that number.

    “I want to be in the history of this sport,” Islam said. “I want to be the best fighter in the world. I want to be in the Hall of Fame. My legacy is still growing and I will fight many years more.”

    Dana White announces two title fights for UFC 330 in Philly. But will a local fighter make the card?

    Mackenzie Dern, strawweight champion

    After winning the vacant women’s strawweight title in October 2025 with a five-round decision win over Virna Jandiroba, Mackenzie Dern, 33, will defend her title for the first time against Gillian Robertson (17-8).

    “I was telling my coaches right in the beginning of camp, man this feels so different than when I was trying to accomplish the belt,” Dern said. “But my level in striking, in grappling. I think taking that pressure out of my head and wondering the whole time if I would be able to become champion, gave a lot of space for me to get better on little things that we have been trying to get better at. So, my level has gone up so much just from this last camp.”

    UFC fighter Mackenzie Dern will defend her strawweight title for the first time on Saturday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    Both Dern (16-5) and Robertson are submission artists. Dern has eight submission victories while Robertson currently has nine — holding the women’s UFC record. Heading into Saturday, Dern is excited to face an opponent with a similar fighting style.

    “I’m super excited to fight another submission artist,” Dern said. “So, for me, being a jiujitsu girl, I’m usually trying to chase the person or they don’t really want to engage in the fight with me. I know that this is going to be very different and then also this being my first title defense, now the belt is mine. Before this, I was just trying to accomplish something.

    “Now, I’m like ‘OK, I got to defend it I don’t want anyone to come in and take what’s mine.’ So, there’s definitely this big motivation behind it but the pressure is off my shoulders and I’m super excited to be able to go and have fun and see who can submit who because I think we’re going to have a big exchange with jiujitsu.”

    Four UFC fighters hailed from the same Frankford gym

    Jeremiah Wells, welterweight

    Thirty-nine year old Jeremiah Wells is the only Philly native featured on the card. He is set to to fight 28-year-old Myktybek Orolbai (16-2) in the early prelims.

    “It means a lot, man,” Wells said. “It’s been a long time coming, just to fight in front of my family and my fans. I do [wish more Philly fighters were on the card], we just got that dog in us. That grit. This town — sometimes we get a little dirty. We get our hands dirty.”

    Wells (13-4-1) trains out of Marquez MMA, located on Worth Street, alongside other Philly UFC fighters, including Pat Sabatini, Sean Brady, Joe Pyfer, and Andre Petroski. He’s currently coming off a decision win to Themba Gorimbo (November 2025) after a 21-month break from competing due to a broken hand and torn Achilles.

    Edson Barboza will fight in his 33rd UFC fight on Saturday night.Jacqueline Larma

    Edson Barboza, lightweight

    Edson Barboza made his UFC debut in 2010, defeating Mike Lullo by TKO. Sixteen years later and the 40-year-old still gets the same “scary” feeling walking out to the octagon.

    “One-hundred percent,” Barboza said. “Always the same feeling. I think if I stopped feeling like that, I would stop fighting. It wouldn’t make sense any more. The same feeling, the same scary [feeling]. The part I really love is all the crazy feelings.”

    Barboza (24-14) is now entering his 33rd fight with the UFC as he prepares to compete against 30-year-old Esteban Ribovics at UFC 330.

    Barboza has given fans plenty of memorable moments throughout his 16-year UFC career. But perhaps his most memorable moment was when he delivered a historic UFC knockout, landing a spinning wheel kick knockout over Terry Etim at UFC 142 in 2012.

    Despite earning 10 Fight of the Night bonuses, there’s only one way he wants to be remembered.

    “I want to be remembered as the guy that really loved my job,” Barboza said. “I really love fighting, guys. I really love it. Every time I step into the octagon, it’s not about the money, it’s about the love. I really love this.”

  • 📍Weekend sports guide | Sports Daily Newsletter

    📍Weekend sports guide | Sports Daily Newsletter

    Three of Philadelphia’s five professional sport teams are not in season yet, but there’s still plenty of sports action happening around the area this weekend.

    First, let’s talk about UFC 330. On Saturday night, Xfinity Mobile Arena will host the city’s first numbered event since 2011. The 12-fight slate includes two title bouts, with the main event featuring Russia’s Islam Makhachev and Irish challenger Ian Machado Garry in the men’s welterweight championship.

    Ariel Simpson tells us more about those fighters, plus other names to know. The main card begins at 8 p.m., you’ll need a Paramount+ account to watch from home.

    Earlier that day, the inaugural Women’s Lacrosse League championship is in town at Subaru Park (2 p.m., ESPN). Becca O’Reilly chatted with Rachael DeCecco, a Delco native who is the senior vice president of the Premier Lacrosse League and WLL, about paving the way for more opportunities in the sport.

    And it’s that time of the year again. The Little League World Series starts next Wednesday. If this team from West Chester wins on Friday, they’ll advance to Williamsport.

    Oh! The Eagles preseason opener is also Saturday night in Baltimore — after Thursday’s heated fight in training camp, the Birds could use some time playing a different team.

    — Isabella DiAmore, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    Competing for a spot

    Rookie tackle Markel Bell has had an impressive training camp so far. How will he look in his first game action on Saturday night?Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Preseason games are generally meaningless from the standpoint that they don’t count toward a team’s regular-season record, but when the Eagles face the Ravens on Saturday, some players will be fighting to make the initial 53-man roster or the practice squad. Here’s 12 who will have the most on the line.

    And Andrew Mukuba is ready to move on after a fractured fibula ruined his rookie season. His resurgence would be crucial to the Eagles finding success in the safety room.

    What we’re …

    🏀 Learning: Archbishop Wood’s Caleb Lundy is staying home to play basketball at Drexel. He’s the Dragons’ first verbal pledge in the 2027 class.

    👕 Donning: The Union unveiled a third new kit, which pays tribute to the rest of Philly’s sports scene. They’ll debut it next Wednesday.

    🏈 Watching: Eagles fans are freaking out after the team posted a video with a helmet they haven’t worn since 1973.

    📖 Reading: While ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson is known for ‘Field of Dreams’ and the Black Sox, his career started in Philly.

    Breaking out of their rut

    Phillies and Twins players walk on to the field from the cornfield before the start of the Field of Dreams game on Thursday in Dyersville, Iowa.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Long before he was a major league manager, Don Mattingly was a kid playing baseball in Indiana.

    One of the ballparks he played in with his brothers, growing up in Evansville, was down a dirt road surrounded by cornfields. And he couldn’t help but be reminded of it as the Phillies filed off their bus Thursday afternoon in Dyersville, Iowa, at the site of their Field of Dreams game.

    The team explored Field of Dreams site like fans pregame, and even played a game of catch with their families.

    “Just kind of seeing the house and making sure when I crossed over the chalk line, I didn’t turn into a normal human being,” Bryce Harper said pregame. “Seeing just all of it. Just really cool to be able to be part of it, and be here, and enjoy it.”

    An excursion to Iowa seemed to be the cure for the Phillies’ recent woes as they delivered a much-needed 7-1 win against the Twins, led by two homers from Kyle Schwarber.

    Schedule observations

    VJ Edgecombe (left), Jaylen Brown and the Sixers will visit Boston on Jan. 21.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    The NBA schedule dropped Thursday, and there are several marquee games to look out for this season. The Sixers are viewed as preseason championship contenders, thanks to the addition of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown.

    The pair will come across their former teams during the season. The Sixers will go to Boston on Jan. 21, and they’ll travel to Cleveland on Nov. 6 and March 1, and Miami on Jan. 30 and April 8.

    Gina Mizell further details the highlights from the remaining slate of games.

    Mike Sielski’s take

    The hazing incident at Cheltenham High School and alleged assaults at Cheltenham Elementary School are not two crises on distinct, parallel tracks. They are linked.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    One parent after another stepped to a lectern at a Cheltenham school board meeting Tuesday night, each of them bemoaning the district’s handling of either the recent hazing incident within the high school’s football program or a string of student-on-student assaults at Cheltenham Elementary.

    In youth and high school athletics, certain patterns, even the worst kind, tend to repeat themselves, especially without proper oversight from the adults who are supposed to be in charge, writes columnist Mike Sielski.

    What you’re saying about favorite sports movie

    We asked: What is your favorite sports movie? Among your responses:

    Without a doubt “The Natural.” Followed by: “Hoosiers,” “Bad News Bears,” “Fear Strikes Out,” and “Rocky.” — Bob A.

    Field of Dreams with James Earl Jones and Kevin Costner is hard to beat, but when you asked this question previously my daughter Lisa reminded me to not forget the classic Brian’s Song, the story of the cancer stricken Chicago Bear’s player Brian Piccolo and his devoted super star friend Gale Sayers. This is the movie that Howard Cosell said allowed men to know it was ok to cry. — Everett S.

    My favorite sports movie was about Shoeless Joe and the Black Sox, “Eight Men Out”. It didn’t excuse their actions but showed how the mostly uneducated players were treated and underpaid was one of the reasons they gave in to gamblers. A close second would be “The Natural”. The ending was a little silly but uplifting just the same – a very entertaining movie. — Tom E.

    It has to be “The Natural”. I get chills when I remember Roy Hobbs saying something like “When I walk down the street I want people to say There goes Roy Hobbs – The best there ever was in the game.” Somebody did a youtube post using Randy Newman’s musical theme with Matt Stairs 2008 bomb at Dodger Stadium. If you don’t get chills watching that you’re dead! — Jerry Miller

    We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Mike Sielski, Matt Breen, Scott Lauber, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, Jeff McLane, Lochlahn March, Gina Mizell, Ariel Simpson, Conor Smith, Becca O’Reilly, Owen Hewitt, and Jonathan Tannenwald.

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

    Thanks for closing out the week with me. Have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday. — Bella

  • The hazing at Cheltenham follows a pattern seen at other schools. The district missed its chance to stop it.

    The hazing at Cheltenham follows a pattern seen at other schools. The district missed its chance to stop it.

    The connection was obvious for anyone who cared to see it.

    One parent after another stepped to a lectern at a Cheltenham school board meeting Tuesday night, each of them bemoaning the district’s handling of either the recent hazing scandal within the high school’s football program or a string of student-on-student assaults at Cheltenham Elementary. The alleged hazing led to criminal charges against four coaches and six players and was brutal: teammates holding down a 15-year-old sophomore so they could step on him with football spikes and poke at his buttocks with a broomstick. The alleged assaults at the elementary school, involving children in kindergarten and second grade, involved conduct and comments that were sexual in nature.

    Leah Mulhearn, the board’s president, announced that the district would review its safety policies and that “football will not return until we address this,” only to duck behind the protective shield of the passive voice — “Mistakes were made” — when it came time to assign responsibility for the dual disasters. The anger among the meeting’s attendees was palpable and universal, and it was justified. These are not two crises on distinct, parallel tracks. They are linked, and there is no separating them.

    As Cheltenham’s superintendent resigns, families say safety problems extended beyond football program

    It was impossible, after listening to some of those parents describe the abuse accusations at Cheltenham Elementary, not to think, What kind of school leaders ignore these incidents? The kind likely to ignore a parent who reports a violent attack in the football locker room. The Cheltenham school district has a culture problem, and that problem isn’t new. Does that assertion seem outlandish? It isn’t. In youth and high school athletics, certain patterns, even the worst kind, tend to repeat and perpetuate themselves.

    “It seems some sort of disconnect,” the author Hank Nuwer, who for decades has been tracking hazing-related incidents and deaths, once told me. “You have to look at it from the outsider position and the insider position. The outsider sees it as sadistic. The people on the inside have the disconnect, particularly if they’ve gone through it themselves. ‘This needs to be done because it has been done to me. So we’re doing it to someone else.’”

    Go to 2002, to Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, where two football players were charged with sexual assault after allegedly holding down a 15-year-old teammate and slapping him in the face with their genitals.

    Go to West Chester’s Arrowhead Day Camp in 1966. The Roman Catholic High School football team was there for training camp. In a hazing prank, three players carried sophomore Lamonte Jenkins to a swimming pool sometime after the pool’s 8:30 p.m. closure, threw him in, then scurried back to their bunks. Jenkins drowned.

    Go back to Pittsburgh, in 1962, when Richard Metz, 16, tried out for the Allegheny High School football team and, after the first day of practice, stayed out of the locker room showers to avoid being hazed. The next day, when two players wielded a pair of scissors and threatened to cut his hair, Metz pulled out a .22-caliber pistol that he had ordered in the mail and fired three shots at the players, hitting one of them in the right thigh. Six weeks later, Metz shot himself.

    In 1962, Richard Metz shot a gun at two football players who attempted to haze him at Allegheny High School.Newspapers.com

    A “psychiatrist’s report showed that Richard had an inability to meet a crisis,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Alvin Rosensweet wrote on Oct. 1, 1962, the day after Metz’s death. “He felt he was only defending himself when his teammates goaded him into shooting.”

    A young, troubled man who brings a gun to school … and turns it on other students … then dies by suicide. It doesn’t sound like something from the distant past. It sounds like the sort of atrocity too common in our time.

    Yes, these episodes are anecdotal. They’re also predictable without proper oversight from the adults who are supposed to be in charge, without awareness and understanding of the conditions that can create them. One would think the omnipresence of smartphones and social media and the possibility that such abhorrent acts would be captured on camera and blasted out to the world would serve as deterrents to hazing. They don’t, and the additional, necessary guardrails didn’t exist at Cheltenham and don’t in too many other locker rooms. Incidents like these seem rare, but there’s no telling how often they actually occur.

    The Cheltenham High hazing incident is another failure of adult leadership. When does this stop?

    “How likely,” Nuwer said, “are students to report this?”

    They’re not likely at all. The victims are often too humiliated to reveal the abuse, and you can be sure that the perpetrators won’t be quick to confess. Somehow those lasting lessons weren’t delivered to enough Cheltenham football coaches and players, and based on the abuse parents described Tuesday night, those responsible for the district’s youngest students need to learn them, too.

    There will be a review of the district from an outside attorney, and the high school football season has already been canceled, just as last season’s was. These are half-measures, and too late at that. Curtailing such cruelty comes down to stopping it before it starts, to cultivating an environment where everyone understands that there will be consequences for those who don’t meet the baseline for basic human decency.

    It takes elected leaders who actually lead. It takes educators and administrators who wield wisdom and compassion and discipline in the proper proportions. It takes parents and students with the willingness to speak up, and it takes parents who have the strength, the humility, and the self-awareness to recognize that their children might be causing the chaos — and who take the steps to stop it. It takes a lot of elements that right now seem in short supply in the Cheltenham school district.

    This column has been updated to reflect the outcome of one accusation of hazing.

  • The Eagles’ preseason slate starts Saturday. These 12 players will have the most on the line vs. the Ravens.

    The Eagles’ preseason slate starts Saturday. These 12 players will have the most on the line vs. the Ravens.

    Preseason games are generally meaningless from the standpoint that they don’t count toward a team’s regular-season record.

    But for nearly half the players on any training camp roster, these games are some of the most important of their careers.

    When the Eagles face the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday in their preseason opener, some players will be fighting to make the initial 53-man roster or the practice squad — either with the Eagles or another team. Others are Eagles roster locks, but they might be in competition for a prominent role.

    Here are 12 Eagles players that have something to prove in the first preseason game:

    Darius Cooper has been a trusted target for Jalen Hurts in camp. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Darius Cooper, WR

    Cooper is practically a roster lock at this point. The 2025 undrafted free agent out of Tarleton State has made the most of his opportunities — arguably more so than any other receiver — in the absence of DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon, who are dealing with hamstring injuries.

    Last year, Cooper was primarily a “dirty work” receiver, as Nick Sirianni described him, responsible for blocking and running clear-out routes. Has he shown in camp that he’s ready for more playing time in Year 2?

    “He’s having a good camp,” Sirianni said Thursday. “There’s still a lot of time left. It’s about being consistent on a daily basis. He’s done a good job being consistent on a daily basis and he makes really good catches, really elite hands and we know he’s tough and things that he can do. But I’ve been pleased with where he is.”

    If he plays on Saturday, Cooper has an opportunity to show why he’s capable of taking on a bigger role in the offense.

    Elijah Moore, WR

    Cooper isn’t the only receiver with something to prove. Moore, entering Year 6 in the NFL and his first with the Eagles, is also battling for a roster spot in a crowded room.

    He’s been showing why he deserves one lately, as his chemistry with Jalen Hurts continues to build. His latest standout moment came Tuesday when he caught a deep touchdown pass from Hurts in an 11-on-11 session.

    While Moore’s stock has risen, eighth-year veteran Hollywood Brown hasn’t made much noise. Hurts has been picked off in consecutive practices while targeting Brown, the latest instance occurring on Thursday in seven-on-sevens when Mac McWilliams undercut the receiver’s route in the end zone.

    Saturday’s game could provide Moore with a chance to further his case for a spot on the initial 53, especially while Brown’s stock is slipping.

    Mac McWilliams is trying to lay claim to a spot in the cornerback rotation. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    Mac McWilliams, CB

    Speaking of McWilliams, the 2025 fifth-rounder out of Central Florida has been the first outside cornerback off the bench for the last three practices as Jonathan Jones deals with a shoulder injury.

    McWilliams got more work with the starting defense opposite Riq Woolen with Quinyon Mitchell sidelined Thursday due to a glute injury. He also took reps at nickel cornerback. Vic Fangio said on Tuesday that McWilliams has “matured” since last season, leading to improvement in his game during the offseason program and training camp.

    Fangio also acknowledged that Jones could “miss some time” due to injury. McWilliams could assert himself as a frontrunner for the backup job in a crowded room that also includes Jakorian Bennett and Kelee Ringo.

    Andrew Mukuba, S

    Mukuba, the 2025 second-rounder out of Texas, is in line to start at safety. But it’s been nearly nine months since he played his last game.

    Saturday could mark his first game since his season-ending fibula fracture in a Week 11 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. But Mukuba, who would not reveal on Thursday whether he’ll playing against the Ravens, said that he isn’t looking at the opportunity through that lens.

    “I’ve already put everything behind me, to be honest with you,” Mukuba said. “I feel comfortable out here. Despite what I had going on, I feel comfortable and I’ve already put everything behind me. Just focused on what’s next and what’s in front of me.”

    Marcus Epps is looking to lock up a starting safety job. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Marcus Epps, S

    Primarily playing alongside Mukuba at safety with the starting defense in camp has been Epps, the 30-year-old veteran. Epps has two seasons of experience as a full-time starter (17 games in 2022 with the Eagles and 17 games in 2023 with the Las Vegas Raiders), plus he also started five games last season (including the playoffs) in Mukuba’s absence.

    Michael Carter II is in competition for the gig, too, but Epps has commanded most of the starting reps with Mukuba in camp. Epps could potentially have an opportunity to tighten his grip on the starting role with a solid preseason performance.

    Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee, QBs

    McKee, 26, was Hurts’ full-time backup in 2025. Could this year be different for the 2023 sixth-rounder out of Stanford?

    The Eagles acquired Dalton via trade with the Carolina Panthers in the offseason, appearing to identify their QB3. But Dalton and McKee have split reps with the second-team offense in the offseason program and in training camp, a reflection of the open competition for the top backup job.

    Andy Dalton will likely see game action as an Eagle for the first time. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer

    Early in camp, Dalton seemed like the better of the two quarterbacks, but he has appeared to falter this week. On Monday, he had a handful of errant throws during team drills. He was picked off on Tuesday in 11-on-11 by Cooper DeJean and the starting defense. Dalton missed a wide-open Danny Gray in the end zone with an overthrown pass on Thursday.

    The competition between Dalton and McKee could continue to play out in the preseason. It’s also worth acknowledging that their preseason performances could serve as auditions for other teams if the Eagles decide to move either player in a trade.

    Eli Stowers (87) has been slow to acclimate to the NFL and will try to make an impact on Saturday. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    Eli Stowers, TE

    Stowers, the second-round tight end out of Vanderbilt, could make his NFL (preseason) debut on Saturday. He has had a relatively quiet camp so far, but he has been reliable lately when the ball has come his way. The preseason could offer him more opportunities to showcase his game, especially his athleticism, which was his calling card coming out of college.

    Markel Bell, T

    Bell, the 6-foot-9, 346-pound tackle, will be another rookie to watch. The Eagles have been evaluating him at right tackle, where he could serve as the primary backup to Lane Johnson if he beats out incumbent Fred Johnson. Saturday could be Bell’s first game at right tackle ever, as he mostly played on the left side throughout college.

    Uar Bernard could play in a football game for the first time at any level on Saturday. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    Uar Bernard, DL

    Bernard has experienced plenty of firsts since he was drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round out of the International Player Pathway program. Is he ready for his first football game ever? Sirianni didn’t directly say whether Bernard would play on Saturday, but he acknowledged how important it is that he goes through a pregame routine for the first time before the season starts.

    Ty Robinson, DL

    Robinson may have begun camp with the developmental defense in team drills, but he has been moving his way up the depth chart recently. The 2025 fourth-rounder out of Nebraska had a strong showing on Monday as a pass rusher, forcing his way into the backfield on multiple occasions against the second-string offense. Robinson could use some standout preseason performances if he wants to make a case for the initial 53.

    Willie Lampkin has had a strong camp despite unconventional size for a lineman. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Willie Lampkin, OL

    Lampkin hasn’t played a football game since Aug. 16, 2025. At that time, the 2025 undrafted free agent out of North Carolina was a member of the Los Angeles Rams. He had a strong start to camp, especially in the preseason opener against the Dallas Cowboys. But Lampkin was injured in the second game of the preseason against the Los Angeles Chargers, and he was ultimately waived at the end of camp with an injury designation.

    The Eagles signed him to the active roster and placed him on injured reserve for the rest of the year. Now, Lampkin is set to return to action this preseason as he vies for a depth role, at both center and guard.

  • Jared Armstrong wants to create unity through basketball. The JAB Classic is his answer.

    Jared Armstrong wants to create unity through basketball. The JAB Classic is his answer.

    The JAB Classic, a three-day pro-am basketball tournament, is looking to use sports as a way to foster unity.

    JAB’s founder, Philadelphia native Jared Armstrong, brought the tournament to Penn following years of campus turmoil in the wake of the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing war in Gaza, which killed more than 70,000 Palestinian civilians.

    “I just think [combating] the rise of hate,” Armstrong said. “Whether it’s racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia — it’s going to start with the next generation and really educating them. It’s more than just basketball for me.”

    Penn, which was jolted into the national spotlight that year following the resignation of university president Liz Magill over backlash from her congressional testimony on antisemitism, saw a multitude of high-profile antisemitic incidents in the aftermath. In 2023, Penn Hillel was vandalized, a swastika was drawn inside of Weitzman School of Design, and a wall near a Jewish fraternity house was defaced with antisemitic graffiti.

    Jared Armstrong had to flee his dream job playing basketball in Israel | From 2023

    Eighty-five percent of respondents from a 2025 Penn Hillel survey of Jewish students marked that they had “experienced, heard about, or witnessed” antisemitism at Penn.

    Meanwhile, members of the Penn community who participated in pro-Palestinian protests received direct threats of violence, and an off-campus residence of pro-Palestinian students was controversially raided by Penn police officers, who said it was in connection to an alleged act of vandalism.

    “This mission is really focused on college campuses,” Armstrong said. “We actually have an idea to just take it not to just Penn, but other campuses. That brings the mixture of the message. You know, sports, culture, entertainment all in one. So kids can understand the importance organically, not being forced to sit in the classroom.”

    The eight-team tournament will tip off Friday and run through Sunday. Nine total games will be played over the weekend with Sunday boasting the Classic’s championship. Each team includes former and current NBA talent. Notable names participating include 76ers forward Dominick Barlow, two-time NBA champion Quinn Cook, two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo, and Philadelphia natives Markieff and Marcus Morris.

    In 2023, Jared Armstrong started the JAB Camp, a basketball program that uses sports to teach children about prejudice.Jared Armstrong

    The first-place team will take home $1 million, though Armstrong noted he hopes the event’s mission will entice players to participate.

    “Most athletes experience hate, whether it’s on or off the court,” Armstrong said. “We’re some of the most influential people in the world. I think every person in this tournament dealt with some sort of racism, and it’s not something new to us.”

    Additionally, the tournament will feature two musical performances. On Friday, Philadelphia rapper KUR will perform between games three and four. On Sunday, prominent Chicago rapper G Herbo will take the Palestra’s court.

    ‘Supporting all kids’

    Armstrong, a professional basketball player in Israel’s second division who played collegiately at Slippery Rock, was living in Ashkelon on Oct. 7, 2023, eight miles north of Gaza and the closest major city to the Gaza Strip.

    With his life in danger and Hamas-led attacks getting closer to his residence, Armstrong fled to Tel Aviv alongside his teammates. Armstrong later returned home to Philadelphia.

    When it was safe to go back to Israel to play, Armstrong witnessed the disarray the community was in. Looking to make a difference, he launched Jared Armstrong Basketball (JAB) Camp, a program that uses sports to teach children about prejudice. Additionally, Armstrong and JAB began renovating basketball courts in Israel and Philadelphia. To this day, 17 courts have been renovated, and this weekend’s classic will help fund another court in Philadelphia.

    Jared Armstrong played professional basketball in Israel.Courtesy of Jared Armstrong

    In the future, Armstrong is hoping to bring his mission to Gaza.

    “[Palestinian children] are going through struggles that kids in Israel during the war are going through,” Armstrong said. “I’m big on supporting all kids. Regardless of your skin color, where you’re from. Like I said, just keep trying to inspire them, giving them some sort of hope, some sort of sanity, and just trying to give them some sort of peace.”

    In the meantime, Armstrong is focused on helping heal the divide on Penn’s campus. A key figure in bringing JAB to the Palestra was Rev. Charles L. “Chaz” Howard, Penn’s university chaplain and vice president of social equity and community. Howard regularly holds interfaith dialogue on campus, focused on squashing prejudice.

    Jared Armstrong has renovated basketball courts in Israel and Philadelphia.Jared Armstrong

    “Penn is no island,” Howard said. “And the world has been a hard place the last several years.”

    Howard believes events like the JAB Classic can help “stitch back together some of the brokenness” the community has felt in recent years. The timing also worked out. Many incoming freshmen and their families are in the city, with first-year student move-in slated for next week.

    “I think what [Armstrong is] doing by using something like basketball as a dialogical space is brilliant,” Howard said. “It’s so simple, but it’s also brilliant. … And I’m a basketball man. So this is really exciting to me personally.”

  • Philly’s Jeremiah Wells learned to ‘be patient’ and ‘level up’ for his UFC 330 fight

    Philly’s Jeremiah Wells learned to ‘be patient’ and ‘level up’ for his UFC 330 fight

    Jeremiah Wells didn’t want any distractions leading up to his upcoming fight.

    The 39-year-old Philadelphia native knew he would have to be hyper-focused for fight camp as he prepared to compete against an opponent over a decade younger, 28-year-old Myktybek Orolbai. And what made matters even more pressing, the fight on Saturday night is in his own backyard at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in front of his friends and family.

    So if that meant he would have to take his 4-year-old French bulldog, Stardust, to live with his family in Hazleton, Pa., during camp, then he would do just that.

    “He’s a handful,” Wells said. “He’s a small little Frenchie. He’s like 4. He wants so much attention. He wants walks every day. I just can’t handle it, dragging him everywhere. … I had to wake up in the morning, take him for a walk, and then drag him to the gym, and then take him for a walk when we got back, all while he wanted me to pet him.”

    Wells has been fighting for nearly 15 years. He was introduced to the sport at 24 years old, watching a fight card with friends. At one point, he looked over and said, “I could do that.” Seconds later, his friends laughed at the thought.

    “They were just arrogant kids, that’s all it was,” Wells said. “I said I could do it, but they didn’t believe me. But now, they do.”

    UFC 330 is coming to Philadelphia this weekend. Here’s everything to know, from local fighters to the match schedule.

    Since then, Wells has competed in different promotions like PA Cage Fight and Cage Fury Fighting Championships. He made his UFC debut in 2021, defeating Warlley Alves by second-round knockout after replacing Ramazan Emeev on short notice at UFC Fight Night 190. But before making the transition to the UFC, Wells said there was one part of his game he really had to work on.

    “Be patient,” Wells said. “I always wanted it now, and wanted it now, and wanted it now. I thought it was, when you were young, this is going to happen, and then this is going to happen. Like, I always said I was going to be in the UFC in like three years. And it took me like, probably 10.”

    Jeremiah Wells (right) trains at Marquez MMA in Philadelphia for Saturday’s UFC fight.TYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer

    Wells won four of his first six UFC fights, suffering consecutive losses to Carlston Harris and Max Griffin before returning to the win column against Themba Gorimbo in November 2025.

    But between the Griffin and Gorimbo fights, Wells faced one of his toughest challenges — a 21-month hiatus from fighting. Wells broke his hand in the Griffin fight. After recovering, he was supposed to fight Niko Price in June 2024, but he was forced to pull out after tearing his Achilles.

    “I went through hell just getting back mentally and physically,” Wells said. “It turned me into a different person, also. Just being grateful for so many things. I had to make a new person of myself. And I leveled up. I slowed everything down. Listened to my body, not overtraining, actually recovering and eating healthy. And also not partying. Just changing up my mindset, my mental clarity.”

    Training at Marquez MMA, located on Worth Street, Wells is surrounded by several Philly UFC fighters who have motivated him in his fight journey, including Pat Sabatini, Sean Brady, Joe Pyfer, and Andre Petroski.

    “All my teammates that started with me, they really love this,” Wells said. “They stuck to it. Everyone like Sean Brady, Pat Sabatini, that’s the ones I started with like day one at Gracie’s and they’re still here today. I’m happy that they’re still here and I’m proud. Definitely, the new guys too, like Pyfer and Andre Petroski. It means a lot to me to just share the mats with these guys.”

    UFC 330 will be the first numbered event and first title fight held in Philadelphia in a decade and a half, dating back to UFC 133 in 2011, which featured Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz as the main event. UFC returned to the city in 2019 for a Fight Night card at the then-Wells Fargo Center, featuring a main event between Justin Gaethje and Edson Barboza.

    Jeremiah Wells, a West Philadelphia native, watches Pat Sabatini, of Bristol, and Philly’s Sean Brady sparring. Sabatini and Brady have been big Wells supporters.TYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer

    The last time UFC was in town, there wasn’t a single fighter from the area on the card, although former Philly fighter-turned-broadcaster Paul Felder was in the booth. This time, Wells will be the only Philly fighter featured, appearing as the first fight in the early prelims.

    “It means a lot, man,” Wells said. “It’s been a long time coming, just to fight in front of my family and my fans. I do [wish more Philly fighters were on the card], we just got that dog in us. That grit. This town is just, sometimes we get a little dirty. We get our hands dirty.”

    Wells has finished three of his seven UFC opponents through submission and knockouts. Once he decides to hang it up, the Philly native hopes to be remembered as a fighter whom the fans were looking forward to watching. And he’s hoping Saturday will be another example of that.

    ”I feel confident and ready,” Wells said. “[I want to be remembered as] that gritty fighter, explosive and always excited to see. To just put it on for the fans.”

  • Two decades ago, Rachael DeCecco reached the peak of women’s lacrosse. Now, she’s helping lead a pro league.

    Two decades ago, Rachael DeCecco reached the peak of women’s lacrosse. Now, she’s helping lead a pro league.

    Rachael DeCecco had long believed that her lacrosse career was over.

    After years of playing at Marple Newtown High School, then at Princeton and for the U.S. World Cup team in 2005, the Delaware County native had reached the pinnacle of women’s lacrosse at the time.

    She had made peace with that and transitioned to work in healthcare administration for senior living facilities. That was until over a decade later, when the Premier Lacrosse League helped her revive her lacrosse muscles, this time on the administrative side, in 2020.

    Now, DeCecco is the senior vice president of the PLL and Women’s Lacrosse League, helping pave the way for other women to continue their lacrosse careers with opportunities she didn’t have.

    “Playing professionally was never something that was even a whisper of possibility,” DeCecco said. “If it had been a real opportunity, I definitely would have tried.”

    Ashley Sessa is already leaving her mark with USA field hockey. Her next goal? Grow the game.

    Dozens of women have gotten the chance to do just that, and several will compete in the inaugural WLL championship game Saturday at Subaru Park in Chester. The Maryland Charm will face the California Palms (2 p.m., ESPN) at the home of the Union, and the venue was chosen to highlight the lacrosse culture in the Philadelphia area.

    “It’s a no-brainer for me, personally,” DeCecco said of the decision. “Philly lacrosse has been something that’s been big forever. It’s a great sports market, and so many of the roots were born in Philly. … It does become sort of this generational expectation that you’re going to play lacrosse. It’s really fun to see that generation over generation.”

    Eight players and a coach from the Maryland Charm have ties to the area. Some of the game’s stars are among this group, including Marie McCool, a Moorestown native who recently became a three-time world champion with the U.S. women’s lacrosse team, which won its fifth consecutive championship Aug. 2 in Japan. Fifteen of the 22 players on the U.S. team now play in the WLL.

    Rachael DeCecco (left) presents a trophy to Moorestown native Marie McCool at the WLL All-Star Game.Women's Lacrosse League

    For DeCecco, who is a two-time NCAA champion and a silver medalist with the U.S. World Cup team in 2005, the WLL championship is an up-close view of female athletes who are playing at the highest level.

    “It’s going to be an incredible display of athleticism and skill and competition,” DeCecco said. “This is the beginning of something that everybody’s worked really hard to get to where we are. You only get one — they will be the first champions ever. That only happens once. It’s a really cool opportunity.”

    How Moorestown ‘shaped’ pro women’s lacrosse star Marie McCool

    Despite her playing days being “long gone,” she says she’s looking forward to watching some of her favorite players on the field.

    “Brigid Duffy, I watch her play and I’m like, ‘Is she on ice skates?’” DeCecco said. “She’s just gliding through it, and then she rips a shot and you’re like, ‘Wow.’”

    “I’m watching the games and helping run the games, and it’s really hard for me to not scream, ‘My gosh, did you see that?’ Like, that was one of the most athletic things I’ve ever seen, and it happens 10 times a game. So I’m a fan as well, but it’s hard. I have to keep my business face on.”

    Saturday’s championship caps a season that featured 10 games between the league’s four teams, both numbers DeCecco hopes will grow in years to come.

    “This isn’t the end goal,” she said. “I think and hope we’ll have more TV distribution, more games, more teams. In 10 years, I fully believe kids will grow up saying, ‘I want to be a professional lacrosse player.’ That didn’t exist before.”

  • The Sixers’ schedule release and the new challenge they face in a radically changing NBA

    The Sixers’ schedule release and the new challenge they face in a radically changing NBA

    The problem with most conspiracy theories is they assume a level of intelligence, cooperation, discretion, and selflessness that is completely at odds with the track record of large groups of humans. There may only be five people on planet Earth who possess the requisite skill set, let alone five who share a motivation to plot some nefarious deed.

    That being said …

    If you are the kind of person who tends to believe in dark, mysterious forces working in concert, you might want to give a little thought to the shifts in the NBA’s competitive environment over the last couple of years.

    Jaylen Brown’s Boston return, LeBron James’ tour, and more Sixers schedule observations

    The Luka Doncic and Jaylen Brown trades have plenty in common. Both were traded from teams less than two years removed from an NBA Finals appearance. Both for a pittance, and both to conference rivals. Of far greater significance is their dual place among the prime movers of a league that could be in the beginning stages of a renaissance.

    The Lakers’ acquisition of Doncic two years ago not only positioned a marquee franchise for a seamless transition into life after LeBron James, it effectively, if improbably, positioned the Mavericks to land the No. 1 overall draft pick that they used to select a generational talent in Cooper Flagg. Meanwhile, the Sixers’ acquisition of Brown was effectively coupled with the acquisition of James, whose minimum contract free-agent deal with the Sixers completed the organization’s wild and near-instant transformation from borderline irrelevance to legitimate title contender.

    New Sixer Jaylen Brown arrives for his introductory press conference at the Francis Myers Recreation Center on Aug. 6.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    Doncic and Brown are just two of the deals that have dramatically flattened the NBA’s competitive landscape heading into the 2026-27 season. From perennial MVP finalist Giannis Antetokounmpo’s trade to the Heat to the Raptors acquisition of Kawhi Leonard to Flagg and Victor Wembanyama’s presence in the West, the league is suddenly chock full of potential counterweights to its behemoths in New York, Oklahoma City, and Boston. The league’s release of its schedule on Thursday crystalized this. It also crystalized the challenge that will confront the Sixers as they embark on a season unlike any they’ve experienced prior. In fact, one need only look at the first 10 days of the season.

    Five of the Sixers’ first six games will come against the Knicks (twice), Cavs, Pistons and Pacers. That group includes the last two teams to advance to the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference, plus two teams who have won 60+ games in one of the last two regular seasons.

    The schedule is full of these sorts of stretches. A month into the season, the Sixers will have played just four games against teams that didn’t win a first-round playoff series in either of the last two seasons. Mid-January brings Anthony Edwards’ Timberwolves to Philadelphia before a home/road back-to-back against the Hawks and Pacers, followed by a trip to Boston two days later. Really, you can pick any two or three-week stretch and find a preponderance of must-see matchups. On paper, at least.

    This is a good thing. For the NBA. For its fans. For commissioner Adam Silver, who has grown increasingly proactive in both word and deed regarding the on-court product during the regular season. It’s not premature to say that we are already seeing the impact of the NBA’s second apron penalties and its soon-to-be-instituted lottery reforms. Both played a role in the Sixers’ acquisition of Brown, whom they acquired for a package of draft picks that included a 2028 Clippers first-rounder that gained immense value from the new draft odds.

    Ten games to watch from the Sixers’ 2026-27 season, including the ‘Nova Knicks and LeBron James’ former teams

    This is also a good thing for the Sixers. Not just from an entertainment standpoint. After a six-year stretch where every NBA Finals featured either the Heat against the Spurs or the Warriors against the Cavs, eight different teams have appeared in the last four Finals. The Celtics are the only team to appear in more than one NBA Finals since 2022. When the league released its schedule on Thursday afternoon, half its teams had a Vegas win total over/under of at least 44.5. A healthy percentage of those teams will enter the season with a valid argument as a title contender. The Sixers are one of those teams.

    Whether they reach those heights will depend on plenty of factors even beyond their obvious health and age-related concerns. Basketball is a sport where rhythm, synergy and on-court chemistry play a huge role in differentiating talented teams from each other. The gauntlet of Eastern Conference rivals the Sixers will face in their first week-and-a-half only underscores the time crunch they’ll face once all of the new faces are on the court together in training camp.

    One way or another, it will be fascinating to watch.

  • Mike Schmidt among 26 Hall of Famers to emerge from Field of Dreams cornfield: ‘Felt like I was in a movie’

    Mike Schmidt among 26 Hall of Famers to emerge from Field of Dreams cornfield: ‘Felt like I was in a movie’

    DYERSVILLE, Iowa — Mike Schmidt was among the first to appear.

    After the modern-day Phillies and Twins had emerged from the cornfields in right field, had crossed the grass, and lined up along the baselines, they turned back to look.

    A steady stream of Hall of Famers from across multiple generations had followed them out of the stalks. Ahead of Thursday’s Field of Dreams game, it was a nod to the scene in the 1989 film where ghostly versions of the 1919 White Sox materialize between rows of corn and walk on a ball field built by Kevin Costner’s Ray Kinsella. Only instead of ghosts, these were living legends.

    The Phillies break out of their rut enjoying the sights of Field of Dreams — and deliver a needed win

    A group of 26 Hall of Famers took part in the ceremony, including Schmidt and fellow former Phillies Steve Carlton, Jim Thome, Billy Wagner, Scott Rolen, Jim Kaat, Tony Pérez, and Ferguson Jenkins.

    “I felt like I was in a movie,” Schmidt said. “I’m looking around at the guys, and I didn’t want to get too far ahead. I was behind them. You know, I really felt like I was Joe Jackson or something walking on the field.”

    While they waited for the ceremony to start, ballplayers past and present had milled about together in the clearing beyond the corn.

    Interim manager Don Mattingly saw many old friends. Brandon Marsh was starstruck by his childhood idol, former Brave Andruw Jones. Kyle Schwarber reunited with some former Cubs who visited spring training during his time in Chicago, and he made some new connections as well.

    “It was really cool to us, a lot of the guys that I haven’t gotten to meet before, just to shake their hands and introduce who I am and say how big of fans we are of them,” Schwarber said. “These guys all laid the groundwork for us before we even thought about playing baseball, or while we were growing up.”

    It was an equally special experience for the old-timers to witness the new generation, and see who might be following in their footsteps.

    Phillies explore Field of Dreams site like fans, and have a catch: ‘Really cool to be able to be part of it’

    “It’s kind of almost like a passing of the torch,” said former Twins catcher Joe Mauer. “Those guys on the first and third baselines, maybe a few of them join this group.

    “That’s why I think the game is so special. They honor the traditions, the people that have come before you and made an impact on this game, and we hope to leave an imprint on the game and make it better than when you found it.”

    Thome’s 18-year-old son Landon was just selected 34th overall by the White Sox in the MLB draft last month. Jim has been spending time with him celebrating that milestone, but couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be a part of a game like Thursday’s, especially considering that his Hall of Fame career included stints in Minnesota and Philadelphia.

    “The word for me is thankful,” Thome said. “Thankful for being able to be in this great fraternity with really special men.”

    Thome, a Midwest native from Peoria, Ill., attended the inaugural MLB at Field of Dreams game between the White Sox and Yankees in 2021. He played catch with Landon by the cornfields, and then they watched the game together.

    He never foresaw a moment like the one on Thursday when he passed through the stalks with fellow all-time greats walking next to him.

    ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson is known for ‘Field of Dreams’ and the Black Sox. But his career started in Philly.

    “In your career, you have moments where it kind of feels like things slow down,” Thome said. “It felt like you just kind of strolled out with these great players, and it just kind of slowed down.”

    The gathering of 26 is believed to be the most Hall of Famers together at one game since the 2008 All-Star Game, which brought together 49 at Yankee Stadium. It accounted for just over one-third of all living members enshrined in Cooperstown.

    “The one constant through all the years, Ray,” James Earl Jones’ character, Terence Mann, says in the movie, “has been baseball.”

    Byron Buxton, addressing the crowd with a microphone alongside Schwarber during the pregame festivities, referenced that line to prompt the baseball legends to step through the corn.

    “I guess to sum it all up,” Schmidt said, “is if I could see my father walk through the cornfields, I tell you what, I’d love to play catch with him.”