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  • Letters to the Editor | Sept. 14, 2026

    Letters to the Editor | Sept. 14, 2026

    Shiftless, really?

    As a longtime subscriber to The Inquirer, I am extremely disappointed in the recent editorial about John Fetterman headlined “Fetterman’s shiftlessness is an insult to his office and all Pennsylvanians.” Calling him shiftless is an insult. The editorial was full of the same innuendo from anonymous, disgruntled former staff members, and it didn’t mention the many bills he has successfully sponsored, cosponsored, and introduced in the Senate. His political support for Israel may perhaps be adding to his staff’s burden, but I believe Fetterman is being honest in following his conscience. If the senator’s staff members are so unhappy with their job, why don’t they seek employment elsewhere? I, for one, will be very happy to vote for Fetterman again — he’s the kind of independent thinker the world needs.

    Susie Sommovilla, Elkins Park

    Party defection?

    When I voted for John Fetterman to be my U.S. senator in 2022, I was willing to overlook his disastrous debate performance, his unkempt and undignified appearance, and his frequent use of profanity because I believed he would represent our state well and live up to Democratic values.

    When Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, I expected my senator would challenge and criticize him because of all Trump has done — and is doing — to harm our nation and our fellow Americans. I, and millions of my fellow Pennsylvanians, were duped.

    Fetterman is the only Democratic senator who has met with the president at Mar-a-Lago, and the two apparently developed a meeting of the minds. Fetterman is, to my knowledge, the only Democrat who has referred to those who challenge this president as suffering from “Trump derangement syndrome.”

    Then, last week, Fetterman provided a video for the Republican mini-convention in Dallas in which he praised the president and his fellow Pennsylvania senator Dave McCormick, who seems to always vote to do whatever the president wishes.

    I look forward to the end of the Fetterman era in the United States Senate. It cannot come soon enough.

    Oren Spiegler, Peters Township

    Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.

  • Dear Abby | Two Grandmas go head-to-head over nickname

    Dear Abby | Two Grandmas go head-to-head over nickname

    DEAR ABBY: My grandson is 2 and has started to call me “Mimi.” The problem is that his other grandmother chose Mimi for herself. My daughter-in-law is annoyed and does not want him calling me Mimi. She also doesn’t want me to be called Mom-Mom because he calls her Ma-Ma. Am I wrong to be upset? I’ve been an active caregiver in this child’s life since his birth. His other Mimi does not live nearby and makes no effort to be in her grandchild’s life — not even by phone. She just uses the term Mimi to sound good to her Facebook friends.

    I know this is silly, but is it wrong for me to be upset? He needs something simple to call me when we go to playgrounds and can’t find me. I feel that he can have two Mimis. I grew up with two moms.

    — NICKNAME IN THE EAST

    DEAR NICKNAME: More than one Mimi could be confusing. The most important thing is your relationship with your grandchild, not who has dibs on a certain name. I suggest you let the other grandmother claim “Mimi” while you collaborate with the little boy on a new nickname for you. If he takes part in the decision, it will be easier for him to remember and a lot more special.

    ** ** **

    DEAR ABBY: I have been married for 12 years and have two stepchildren. My 37-year-old stepson is the challenging one. He’s the biggest cheapskate I have come across in my entire life. Although he earns a good living in his profession, he rarely picks up the tab when we go out to dinner or drinks, and he almost never picks up his own tab, either. He seems to expect that we, as parents, are obligated to take care of his expenses.

    My wife has recently begun picking up his portion, but I find it infuriating that he makes no gesture at all to pay his own way. Should I just let it go and continue letting his mother pick up his portion (from her separate account), while I continue to stress about it?

    — CHEAPSKATE’S STEPDAD IN NEW MEXICO

    DEAR STEPDAD: Has your wife asked you not to talk with her son about this? If she hasn’t, have you told him he’s too old for Mom to constantly pay his tab, particularly in light of the fact that he’s a fully employed adult? (One would think he should have volunteered, if only occasionally.) I will assume you have told your wife how you feel about this, that when she picks up her son’s portion it makes you lose your appetite. Start there, but if she continues, remember that that money is hers, and how she chooses to spend it is her business.

    ** ** **

    DEAR ABBY: The manager of the dining room in my senior living center has a habit of shaking hands with residents at their tables. To avoid his hand, I often say my hand is wet or greasy. How can I best decline his unsanitary effort?

    — HEALTHY HANDS IN CALIFORNIA

    DEAR HEALTHY: The manager wants to appear friendly and welcoming. Because you prefer not to shake hands while dining, simply tell him as much. If you say it with a polite smile and a good-natured tone, it shouldn’t cause embarrassment.

  • Horoscopes: Monday, Sept. 14, 2026

    Horoscopes: Monday, Sept. 14, 2026

    ARIES (March 21-April 19). The details are so numerous, you couldn’t be blamed for feeling overwhelmed. Step back, squint your eyes, and let things blur into one overall tone. That’s the thing to protect: a certain level of levity, a feeling that all is well.

    TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You may not be aware of the acknowledgments you would most like to hear, but take a guess. Write it down, say it aloud. Because knowing what you long for is a step toward making it happen.

    GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Preparation will be the most obvious contributing factor to your success, but there’s something else about the win that is much harder to detect: your subtle instinct for knowing what will interest this particular audience.

    CANCER (June 22-July 22). Switching tasks isn’t like turning off one lamp and turning on another. Your brain has to shut down the first task’s rules, details and unfinished decisions, then load up the next thing and decide where to begin. Give yourself grace in the in-between.

    LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The goal has lost its shimmer. It’s really OK to privately focus on the ego-boosting part, such as the prize, the game or the story you get to tell afterward. Wanting it badly will give you the energy you need now.

    VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’ll make something intricate with your own hands, and one tiny detail will have people leaning closer to ask how you did it. There will be praise from someone hard to impress.

    LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Sometimes you forget how socially versatile you are! Today it will be important to choose the right mode — professional, formal, friendly, accommodating… in some situations you’re breaking the rules if you don’t break the rules.

    SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). It’s fine to work harder than those around you. You’re raising the bar. Nothing changes when everyone puts in the exact same amount. You’ll keep track of your own effort and feelings and that’s enough.

    SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You know there’s more than meets the eye, but it isn’t necessary (or nice) to declare “that’s a costume!” or “this movie is fake!” or to poke your finger through the paper scenery to see the other side. You’re right to respect the fragility of people’s constructions.

    CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). The naysayers serve an important role. They find the holes in the plan, point to what needs improvement and highlight the risk. The question is: Are you secure enough in the work to discuss your ideas with a pessimist?

    AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). In matters of surgery or space travel, perfectionism is a must. But in most other endeavors, it’s just fear. Be bold today. Risk the mistake. The worst that can happen is that you’ll learn what to work on next.

    PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Analyze the scene carefully before you make a single change. Maybe nothing needs to change. Maybe you just need to wait a little longer. Remember that inaction is sometimes the best action, and today fortune favors the judicious.

    TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 14). It’s your Year of the Cumulus Clouds in which life is like puffy white clouds that change shape to delight you in long strings of days filled with whimsy, imagination and emotionally fair weather. More highlights: You’ll be awarded, applauded and elected. A new income source overtakes the old. You’ll meet the needs of others and get your own met with efficient modernity. Taurus and Gemini adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 1, 30, 33, 12 and 17.

  • Cavan Sullivan scores two goals as the Union cruise past San Diego in 5-0 win

    Cavan Sullivan scores two goals as the Union cruise past San Diego in 5-0 win

    SAN DIEGO — Cavan Sullivan recorded his first two-goal game in Major League Soccer, and assisted on another goal to help the Union cruise to a 5-0 victory over San Diego on Sunday night.

    Philadelphia (9-10-6) is unbeaten in its last 10 matches, with eight victories, since the World Cup break.

    San Diego (8-11-6) had a four-game home winning streak snapped.

    Sullivan has five goals and six assists in his last seven MLS games.

    Sullivan opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time on a creative back-heel flick that deflected in off the post. Then Sullivan powered a shot through the legs of San Diego goalkeeper Duran Ferree from a difficult angle in the 62nd minute for a 2-0 lead.

    Sullivan set up the third goal. He chipped it over the defense and Frankie Westfield ran it down and passed it back to the penalty spot for a wide-open Bruno Damiani to score his fourth goal in two games.

    Some traveling Union fans celebrate after one of their team’s goals against San Diego FC.Philadelphia Union

    The Union used an own goal by Anibal Godoy to go ahead 4-0 in the 87th and Malik Jakupovic scored his first MLS goal in stoppage time.

    Andre Blake, who made his 290th appearance for the Union, made five saves to record his seventh clean sheet of the season.

  • The Eagles considered pushing Dallas Goedert out the door. He keeps showing why they didn’t.

    The Eagles considered pushing Dallas Goedert out the door. He keeps showing why they didn’t.

    It goes too far to say that the Eagles have been trying to get rid of Dallas Goedert over the last two years, but it is fair to suggest that they’ve been open to other options. They signed him to a one-year contract before last season, then another one-year deal before this one, and those resolutions arrived with the feeling they had settled on him, that they were hesitant to commit to him as they had when he was younger.

    This offseason and preseason seemed to bring their own softly tolling bells for Goedert, who will turn 32 in January, and his time here. The Eagles used a second-round pick on a tight end, Eli Stowers — a move strikingly similar to their decision to draft Goedert in the second round of the 2018 draft, when Zach Ertz was in his prime. They signed Johnny Mundt to pick up much of the blocking slack whenever new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion might opt for a two-tight end set. And as Stowers struggled throughout training camp — a slog that culminated with the Eagles’ placing him on injured reserve 24.5 hours before their 24-22 season-opening victory Sunday over the Washington Commanders — Goedert has remained grounded amid the rumors that general manager Howie Roseman might increase the Eagles’ depth at the position by re-signing Ertz.

    “Howie’s the GM,” Goedert said just before exiting the Eagles’ locker room Sunday. “Got no control over that.”

    His words were sharp and a bit defensive, and who could blame him? He and Ertz respected each other during their three-plus years as teammates but were not the closest of friends, and no NFL player wants to be told in so many words, and with one possible player acquisition, that he needs help doing his job. Besides, Goedert was just minutes removed from a powerful and productive performance against the Commanders: four receptions, 77 yards, and two touchdown catches that showed he still had the ability to pull off a big play or two.

    The first was a 17-yard seam route on third-and-goal, just when it appeared the Eagles might settle for a field goal. The second was a 43-yard catch-and-run. What’s that country lyric from a few years back? I ain’t as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was. Goedert was that good. Twice.

    “Dallas is a phenomenal playmaker who, in my six years with him, just has always made plays in really big moments,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “He brings it every day.”

    He will have to. For now, the decision to draft Stowers looks like a mistake, a swing-and-miss on a player who might be too big and slow to be a good wide receiver but not stout enough to be a good tight end. His absence, whether for injury or ineffectiveness, puts more pressure on Goedert, on Jalen Hurts, on every player on the offense as they labor through mastering Mannion’s offense. And if Sunday is any indication, that process will take a long while.

    “It’s something we’re all experiencing together,” Hurts said. “We’ve got new coaches at almost every position on the offensive side of the ball, especially when it comes to instilling the values and philosophy of this new scheme. And we’ve got new players who are going to make plays for us in new, important roles. The best way to learn is from experience and to reflect upon that experience.”

    He has as much with Goedert as anyone else, and he’ll need it. The Eagles sure needed it Sunday, through three sacks of Hurts and two holding penalties by center Cam Jurgens and a rough game for guard Landon Dickerson. Up 17-16 midway through the fourth quarter, Hurts and Goedert brought that shared comfort and familiarity to bear in a big way. After tackle Jordan Mailata committed a false start penalty that pushed the Eagles back to their 31-yard line, Hurts ripped off a 22-yard scramble on third-and-18. Three plays later, Hurts zipped a pass over the middle on third-and-6 to Goedert, who spun to his left and chugged away from three Washington defenders to the end zone.

    “That’s my brother, man,” said Mailata, the Eagles’ final pick in the 2018 draft, the one in which Goedert was their first. “I was super excited that we brought him back. I was happy. I didn’t want to be the last one here from my draft class. So when Dallas came back, I was very thankful for that. Kudos to him for having a great night tonight. I went up to him after that second touchdown, to him and Jalen, and said, ‘Thanks for bailing me out after that false start.’”

    That he is still here to make such plays might seem a victory for him in and of itself. He does not view it that way.

    “I never lost confidence in myself,” he said. “I always think very highly of myself, and I think everybody in this locker room thinks the same about themselves. If I get an opportunity, I’m going to try to make the most of it.”

    After so much uncertainty about his future, with so much still lingering, Goedert will get more of those opportunities. The Eagles at the moment don’t have another choice, and that’s fine with him.

  • The strength of the defense — its interior — helped the Eagles escape Week 1 with a win over Washington

    The strength of the defense — its interior — helped the Eagles escape Week 1 with a win over Washington

    Eagles defensive tackle Moro Ojomo was lined up across from Sam Cosmi, so he had a clean look at Washington’s right guard to notice when he pulled from the right side of the formation to the left.

    The Commanders were trying a two-point conversion to tie the season opener with the Eagles with 1 minute, 1 second left on the clock. As Cosmi pulled, center Nick Allegretti moved to his right to try to get a piece of Ojomo, who quickly engaged with right tackle Josh Conerly.

    There are keys to follow in these situations, Ojomo said after the Eagles’ 24-22 win.

    “You got to play fast, man, and you can’t play indecisive,” he said.

    Conerly had to bounce to the right to block Nolan Smith on the edge, and Ojomo didn’t let Allegretti get his hands in a good enough position to stop him. Ojomo spun free. Cosmi was in the second level already and never saw Ojomo cutting across the formation to get a clean hit on tight end John Bates, who caught a shovel pass from Jayden Daniels at the 5-yard line and never made it back to the line of scrimmage.

    The Eagles’ defense bent. It allowed a 12-play, 63-yard drive that threatened to send the game to overtime. But Ojomo’s quick thinking and spin move made sure the Eagles escaped a sloppy Week 1 game with a victory.

    “It was amazing, but it was more amazing because we did it together,” Ojomo said.

    It is easy to imagine the result being different. The Commanders had 20 first downs to the Eagles’ 10. The new-look Eagles offense had too many three-and-outs and too few successful blocks, but it made enough key plays when it mattered.

    The Eagles are Super Bowl contenders largely because of their potential on defense, and they won Sunday because of a few key plays made by arguably the defense’s biggest strength: its interior.

    Ojomo sealed it in the end, but the Commanders may not have needed to go for two at the end of the game if Jalen Carter hadn’t gotten a hand on Drew Stevens’ point-after attempt late in the second quarter.

    Carter was in the backfield on the decisive two-point conversion at the end of the game, too, after he knifed past left guard Chris Paul and backup left tackle Brandon Coleman. Carter got a piece of Bates and slightly knocked him off course.

    Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter celebrates a blocked extra point late during the second quarter of the season opener against the Commanders.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    The Eagles, playing without new edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, didn’t often pressure Daniels from the edges, though that could have been partially because the assignments called for more containment against the elusive quarterback. The bulk of the pressure Sunday came from an interior unit that has the potential to be the best in the NFL. Carter and Jordan Davis received big-money extensions from the Eagles in the offseason.

    Ojomo’s rise from seventh-round 2023 draft pick to budding star has him in line for a big payday next offseason.

    The Eagles have a strong duo at linebacker in Zack Baun — who was all over the field Sunday and had 12 tackles — and Jihaad Campbell. They have a secondary with two All-Pro players in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean (though the latter struggled Sunday). But the strength of the defense starts in the middle of the front.

    “It doesn’t matter how we affect the game, but we want to affect the game,” Ojomo said.

    Stevens’ next attempt after Carter blocked his PAT came midway through the third quarter with Washington trailing, 14-9. He sized up a 54-yard field goal try knowing the trajectory of his last kick hadn’t been good enough. Stevens kicked it slightly higher, but it was off course and missed wide right.

    “There’s no way he would’ve made it if he kicked it straight,” Ojomo said. “I think he was just scared.”

    Carter, who did not speak with reporters after the game, now has four blocks through three seasons and one game — two on point-after attempts and two field goals.

    Carter, Ojomo said, has “a knack for the ball” in those situations.

    “It’s who we are,” coach Nick Sirianni said, “and he’s affected the game multiple times.”

    Eagles defensive tackle Moro Ojomo goes after Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels during the second quarter of the season opener against the Commanders.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Ojomo called Sunday’s performance from the defense “scrappy” and said there were “a lot of things to improve on.”

    In the end, he made the play that won the game, but there was at least one play that he wanted back. Ojomo nearly had Daniels down for a sack before Daniels slipped away and scrambled.

    “You only get there so few times,” Ojomo said with a smile and a shake of his head. “I told him I’m going to get him on the next one. So watch out for that.”

  • Foolish Commanders mistake by Stefon Diggs gifts Eagles a season-opening win

    Foolish Commanders mistake by Stefon Diggs gifts Eagles a season-opening win

    The late, great Denny Green said it first and said it best:

    They are who we thought they were.

    The Eagles were pretty good, the Commanders were pretty dumb, and the Birds won, 24-22.

    They both are what we thought they were.

    Green said it in 2006, after his Cardinals blew a Monday Night Football lead, and he said it in frustration, but Eagles fans should be anything but frustrated after this one.

    The difference began with Jalen Carter, who blocked a point-after-touchdown kick in the second quarter.

    That played big.

    Stefon Diggs caught a touchdown pass with 9 minutes, 59 seconds to play, but then hopped onto the goal post and gave it a brief, full-body hug. That behavior is illegal. The Commanders trailed by two points and had the Eagles on their heels after a nearly six-minute drive, so, they go for two, right? Well, the 15-yard penalty would have pushed a two-point conversion try from the 2-yard line to the 17-yard line, so they kicked the PAT and cut the lead to 17-16.

    The Eagles scored, but then so did the Commanders, with 1:01 to play. Forced to go for two, they failed, and that was that.

    “I got a little overzealous, I got a little excited, you know,” Diggs said afterward, smiling sheepishly. “Finally, when we clicked, after not clicking for a little while, it got to me a little bit. So just being smart[er].”

    Diggs recalls when such actions were legal.

    “As soon as I wrapped my arms around it, I’m like, ‘Oh!’ I forgot,” he said. “It’s not back in the day. You know, I’ve been playing for a long time. You used to could do that.”

    Actually, he could never do that. The NFL outlawed goalpost celebrations in 2014 after Saints tight end Jimmy Graham bent a goal post in 2013. But Diggs certainly had seen it done.

    It made a big difference Sunday evening against an Eagles team that was just good enough to win.

    The Eagles, with new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion and old defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, looked like a quality team with quality players that should contend for a Super Bowl berth. They beat a quality team in the Commanders, with a superior quarterback in Jayden Daniels. The Eagles’ head coach, Nick Sirianni, moved to 6-0 in season openers, as did his franchise quarterback, Super Bowl LIX MVP Jalen Hurts. The defense limited the visitors all day, and squashed a two-point conversion when Moro Ojomo sniffed out a shovel pass and tackled John Bates.

    Simply, events followed script.

    “We played a gritty game,” All-Pro cornerback Quinyon Mitchell said. “Obviously got some things that we got to clean up, but the fight was there, and the resilience was there.”

    So was the talent.

    A healthier offensive line gave Hurts enough time to throw three touchdown passes, two to tight end Dallas Goedert, who is a touchdown-catching machine. The line helped Saquon Barkley gain 83 rushing yards. Hurts had 203 passing yards, 46 rushing yards, and no interceptions.

    Middle linebacker Zack Baun remained the team’s most consistent player, as he has been the past two seasons. He finished with 12 tackles, wrecked a third-quarter possession by himself, forced a false start on a fourth-quarter blitz, and deflected a touchdown pass late in the fourth, one of his two passes defensed.

    The Commanders keyed on Barkley, who gained 41 yards on the 14 carries that didn’t include his 42-yarder that set up Hurts’ second touchdown pass. The Commanders cheated coverage toward DeVonta Smith, who caught three passes for 53 yards, but whose presence helped free Dontayvion Wicks for a 64-yard bomb and a 9-yard TD catch.

    It was not all rosy, but then, since Sirianni hides his starters in the preseason and since Mannion — a first-time coordinator who installed a mostly new offense — this essentially was a preseason game. Not bad for a dress rehearsal.

    Mistakes happened.

    Hurts misdiagnosed defenses, as Fox analyst Tom Brady repeatedly noted.

    The offensive line, healthy again, was pretty good, with the exception of Landon Dickerson. The sixth-year right guard seemed a bit slow off the ball and did not resemble the dominant player of 2023 and 2024; he committed a holding penalty in the third quarter. Dickerson, who exited college with a litany of surgeries, this offseason underwent stem-cell procedures on both knees and both ankles.

    Former full-time nickel corner Cooper DeJean, playing safety against two-receiver sets and nickel against trips, seemed lost. He committed two illegal contact penalties and gave up the fourth-quarter touchdown that cut the lead to 17-16.

    But the defense was good, the offensive line was competent, Hurts didn’t turn the ball over, completed 14 of 25 passes, and led the team to a win.

    Which is all they need to do. It’s seldom elegant, and almost never pretty, but a win is a win is a win.

    Jalen Hurts completed 14 of 25 passes in the Eagles’ season opener.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
  • Tom Brady’s evolution, Big Dom’s new endorsement, and the best of the Eagles-Commanders broadcast

    Tom Brady’s evolution, Big Dom’s new endorsement, and the best of the Eagles-Commanders broadcast

    The Birds are back.

    The Eagles played their first game of the 2026 regular season on Sunday and beat the Washington Commanders, 24-22. The win over an NFC East foe extended Nick Sirianni’s Week 1 streak to 6-0.

    If you were at Lincoln Financial Field or its parking lots for the opener, here’s what you may have missed from the America’s Game of the Week broadcast on Fox:

    Home (Field) Security

    The broadcast cut to commercial, but Big Dom was still on the screen. And, no, it wasn’t technical difficulties. Dom DiSandro, the Eagles’ chief security officer, has his own commercial now.

    DiSandro became widely known after an altercation with San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw in Week 13 of the 2023 season, and since has been everywhere, from the voiceover for a PGA Championship introduction video to Pete Davidson’s Netflix show. And both of those appearances were from this offseason alone.

    His latest appearance was in an endorsement for Vivint, a home security and automation company, which came out earlier this week and aired during the first quarter of Sunday’s game.

    “At work, I protect the home turf. At home, I used to do everything,” DiSandro said in the commercial. He continued by saying he was “working overtime” to monitor his home, before endorsing Vivant for helping him with his home’s security and energy uses.

    “Now, I get to leave work at work,” DiSandro said.

    He made another appearance in the actual game, when coach Nick Sirianni shared a few choice words with the referee after quarterback Jalen Hurts was tackled. Big Dom could be seen behind Sirianni making his way toward the conversation, prepared to hold Sirianni back if emotions escalated.

    Lucky for DiSandro, he no longer had to worry about keeping an eye on his house at the same time, per his commercial.

    Brady made strides

    With the first Fox broadcast of the season came Tom Brady’s return as a color commentator alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt. While many were quick to judge Brady for being stiff or awkward in his first games in 2024, his debut season in the booth, the seven-time Super Bowl champion has proven that if it involves football, he’s knows what he’s talking about.

    Brady, who won his first Super Bowl in his third season, has taken strides in his broadcasting to start his third season. While he still has the occasional flub, like saying Hurts dropped the ball into receiver Dontayvion Wicks’ hands like “a butterfly with sore legs,” (and then defending that call on Fox’s postgame show) he’s also brought insight to the broadcasts.

    During Sunday’s game, Brady even pulled out his a call sheet from Super Bowl LI, when the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons in overtime, a Big Game first. With two new play-callers for the Commanders and a new Eagles offensive coordinator, Sean Mannion, calling plays in the NFL for the first time, Brady explained the way call sheets work and how they’re to be read, using his own as a visual aid.

    ‘The Mannion Mobile’

    Entering the game, it was clear all eyes were going to be on Mannion. Pregame, Erin Andrews touched on how Hurts has had a new play-caller every year for the past 11 years, extending back to his college career. Now, as Andrews said, he’s taking the “Mannion mobile” for a spin.

    During the game, the broadcast included a graphic showing every offensive coordinator Hurts has played under, from Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian, Brian Daboll, and Mike Locksley at Alabama to Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma. With the Eagles, Hurts started with head coach Doug Pederson calling the plays, before Shane Steichen took the reins in 2021 and called the plays in 2022. Brian Johnson, Kellen Moore, and Kevin Patullo followed before Mannion’s hire in January.

  • Eagles hang on for 24-22 win over Commanders after two-point stop; Jalen Hurts throws three TDs to open new offensive era

    Eagles hang on for 24-22 win over Commanders after two-point stop; Jalen Hurts throws three TDs to open new offensive era

    During training camp, Vic Fangio asserted that Howie Roseman ought to save some money for 25-year-old defensive tackle Moro Ojomo, who was headed into a contract year.

    In Week 1 against the Washington Commanders, Ojomo reminded the NFL why he is going to command a hefty pay raise when the season concludes.

    His stuff of Commanders tight end John Bates on a short pass over the middle on Washington’s two-point conversion attempt to tie the game sealed the 24-22 win for the Eagles.

    Jalen Hurts was solid in his debut in Sean Mannion’s offense. The Eagles quarterback went 14-for-25 for 203 yards and three touchdowns, good for a 122.2 quarterback rating. He added 46 rushing yards on seven carries.

    Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ season-opening win over the Commanders:

    Eagles wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks celebrates a touchdown with Darius Cooper (left) and DeVonta Smith (right) during the second quarter of the season opener against the Commanders.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Explosives buoy offense

    The new-look Eagles offense started slow, netting just two yards on 10 plays through their first two possessions. Cam Jurgens was called for a holding penalty on the second, his first of two on the day.

    But nearing the second quarter, the Eagles began to contend in the explosive play battle.

    Hurts showed he hasn’t lost his touch on the deep ball. On second-and-4 from the Eagles’ 30-yard line, Hurts lined up under center with the offense in “13″ personnel — three tight ends (Dallas Goedert, Johnny Mundt, and EJ Jenkins) and one running back. Dontayvion Wicks was the lone receiver.

    Wicks ran a vertical route and stuck behind a trio of Commanders defensive backs, hauling in a career-long 64-yard pass from Hurts, bringing the Eagles to Washington’s 6-yard line. After the game, Wicks noted that his route was a “clear-out ‘til it’s not.”

    “With J, if he trusts you, he’ll put it up there,” Wicks said. “So once I broke on the deep one, I seen the ball in the air. Just kept running. And it was put on the money.”

    Another Jurgens holding penalty backed the Eagles up to the 16. But Hurts salvaged the drive, later connecting with red-zone darling Goedert in the slot for a 17-yard touchdown pass to put the Eagles up, 7-3.

    Saquon Barkley had a big run in the second quarter but largely found running room difficult come by. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer

    Saquon Barkley also got involved with an explosive of his own on the ground. On third-and-2 from the Eagles’ 46, Hurts handed Barkley the ball on a zone read and the 29-year-old running back dashed up the middle for 42 yards, forcing a litany of missed tackles along the way.

    Again, Hurts took advantage of the explosive play and the field position, ending the drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Wicks to add to the Eagles’ lead, 14-3.

    The explosives evaporated for the Eagles early in the second half. The offense went three-and-out on three straight possessions. Hurts took two sacks in that span, one by Commanders rookie linebacker Sonny Styles on a blitz and another by outside linebacker Odafe Oweh on a stunt off the left side of the offensive line.

    But Hurts had another explosive in him. His 31-yard pass down the right sideline to DeVonta Smith on third-and-5 from the Eagles’ 45 kept the drive alive. The offense sputtered in the red zone, though, and settled for a Jake Elliott 35-yard field goal to go up, 17-9.

    The Eagles quarterback continued to step up. His 22-yard scramble on third-and-18 later in the fourth quarter kept the drive alive. His play set up a 43-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass to Goedert over the middle to put the Eagles up, 24-16.

    “I think it’s just about meeting the moment when your opportunity comes,” Hurts said of his big plays late in the game. “I think collectively, we’ve got a lot to build on. Obviously, a lot to correct. And I’m excited to get back into the process of becoming the team that we’re supposed to become.”

    Eagles linebacker Zack Baun had multiple big plays but the defense had trouble slowing the Commanders in the second half. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Up-and-down defense

    The Eagles defense in Year 3 under Fangio was as advertised early in the game.

    After conceding a field goal on the Commanders’ opening drive, the Eagles tightened up, limiting their opponent to 13 net yards on four possessions and forcing four straight punts.

    All-Pro inside linebacker Zack Baun was arguably the best Eagles defender on the field. Early in the second quarter, he had back-to-back big plays. First, he had a pass breakup on a pass over the middle intended for Commanders wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

    Baun followed that up with a tackle for loss on a screen to Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt, bringing up third-and-27 from the Commanders’ 10. Washington waved the white flag with a 9-yard run from Rachaad White and punted.

    The Commanders still got theirs. Cooper DeJean had a shaky outing, getting called twice for illegal contact. The first penalty on the Commanders’ opening drive helped set up kicker Drew Stevens’ 55-yard field goal, putting Washington up, 3-0.

    DeJean also conceded a 16-yard pass to Commanders wide receiver Antonio Williams over the middle in the red zone in the second quarter. Croskey-Merritt capitalized by punching in a 1-yard rushing touchdown, with the Commanders trailing, 14-9.

    “Sometimes my eyes get bad and that gets me in trouble,” DeJean said. “So just got to be better with that. Good thing is, it’s Week 1. So got a lot of games ahead of us and I’ve got to continue to get better for our defense.”

    Cooper DeJean (right) was victimized for some big plays in Sunday’s win. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    In the fourth quarter, Jihaad Campbell gave up a 33-yard pass to Williams on third-and-14 to the Eagles’ 14. Jayden Daniels capitalized with a 10-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Diggs, who was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as he jumped onto the base of the goal post in celebration.

    His touchdown pulled the Commanders within two, but his penalty negated the opportunity to go for two points and forced them to settle for an extra point instead to make it 17-16, Eagles.

    DeJean’s struggles continued late in the fourth quarter when he conceded a 17-yard pass to Diggs to the Eagles’ 29. A 2-yard touchdown pass to Williams pulled the Commanders within two, 24-22, with roughly one minute remaining in the game.

    But Ojomo’s big-time play on the 2-point conversion attempt prevented the Commanders from tying the game.

    “You’ve got to play fast, man,” Ojomo said. “And you can’t play indecisive. I’m pretty sure I got off on the ball, I saw [Commanders right guard Sam] Cosmi pull, spun out of it, saw that the tight end was coming, and made the play.”

    Extra-special teams

    The Eagles’ under-the-radar weapon was Braden Mann, the 28-year-old punter who signed a four-year contract extension this offseason.

    He averaged 51.6 yards per punt, with his longest coming on a 64-yarder. Mann helped pin the Commanders inside their own 10-yard line twice — once at their 6 in the first quarter, and later at their 2 in the second.

    Jalen Carter picked up where he left off last year on the field goal block unit. After Croskey-Merritt’s touchdown run in the second quarter, Carter blocked the extra point attempt. He now has four blocked kicks (two field goals, two extra points) in his career.

    The Commanders’ kicking woes continued halfway through the third quarter, when Stevens missed a 54-yard field goal attempt.

  • From Cinderella prom to prison cell — how a New Jersey mom fell from grace

    From Cinderella prom to prison cell — how a New Jersey mom fell from grace

    A New Jersey mom who spent more than $27,000 to create a Cinderella-style castle for her daughter’s prom two years ago will be spending a year in a federal prison.

    Treva Harris, 50, of Medford, was sentenced to 12 months and one day for a pandemic-relief fraud scheme amounting to more than half a million dollars, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has announced.

    While authorities didn’t suggest the fraud proceeds paid for the lavish prom, Harris pleaded guilty last October to one count of bank fraud.

    In 2020, Harris obtained pandemic relief loans backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration including two loans for a childcare business, Child Prodigy Education Center, or CPEC.

    The first was an Economic Injury Disaster Loan that disbursed about $514,900 to Harris. She accurately represented that her childcare business had only three employees with a gross income of $165,907 for the last 12 months, and $113,420 in “cost of goods sold” — meaning payroll.

    But just two months later, she submitted a separate Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, loan application for the childcare business, including fabricated IRS documentation, in which she falsely claimed that the business had 27 employees with a monthly payroll of $214,000, or $2,568,000 annually.

    As a result, she received a $535,000 loan, much of which she misspent on personal luxury retail purchases, cash withdrawals, and checks written to her boyfriend’s business, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

    In addition to the prison sentence, Harris is ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $535,000 in restitution, a $7,500 fine, and a $100 special assessment.

    Harris did not return a phone message from The Inquirer Sunday.

    The case may have flown under the radar except for a prom extravaganza that she rolled out for everyone to see on Instagram that shined a spotlight on her opulent lifestyle.

    The Cinderella theme looked like a glitzy backdrop for Hollywood’s rich and famous.

    Treva Harris built a castle for her daughter’s prom sendoff in 2024 next to her daycare in West Philly.Courtesy of Treva Harris

    Harris had a two-story castle built in a parking lot in the 4900 block of Lancaster Avenue. The set was decorated with chandeliers, 20-foot-long drapes, furniture, and carpeted sidewalks. Harris owns a number of businesses (including Millionaire Minds Childcare Academy, which is adjacent to the lot).

    At the time, she told The Inquirer that the castle alone cost $27,500 and took workers about a month to build.

    Harris produced a video of the send-off for her daughter, Azar. In it, Harris was a fairy godmother who waved a wand over Azar in tattered clothing. Then, a screen door opened and Azar, in a champagne strapless satin gown, walked down a flower-filled runway. Confetti fluttered down as the audience roared in glee.

    Her friends called her “Princess Azar.”

    “Every girl deserves to be cherished and treated like royalty,” Harris wrote on social media. “When we shower our daughters with love and teach them their worth, they grow up knowing they deserve to be respected, valued and adored — and they won’t settle for anything less.”

    She told The Inquirer that the financial sacrifice was worth it. “When we become adults, life gets super hard,” she said. “I do what I can for [my kids] while they’re younger. When they get older, I don’t have so much control over their happiness. I have a little bit of control now. So I do everything in my power to make sure that my kids are happy.”

    At the time, Harris told The Inquirer she could afford it.

    Her LinkedIn account lists her as founder and CEO of Back 2 Healthy HomeCare — a licensed Pennsylvania home care agency contracted with PA Health & Wellness Community HealthChoices. Her Facebook profile lists her as a Pennsylvania real estate agent and a “nationwide commercial finance agent.”

    Azar’s prom wasn’t the first time Harris basked in the spotlight. Her 2011 wedding cost more than $100,000 and also had a Cinderella theme. And in 2023 for her son’s prom, she wrapped the side of a West Philly house she owns with a 30-foot image of him, embellished with orange balloons and flowers.

    In LinkedIn, she sums up her philosophy:

    “I didn’t wait for someone to open a door,” she wrote. “I built the door — and then I built the whole house.”