While much of the country struggles to pay for gas and groceries, Donald Trump has turned the presidency into a massive enrichment scheme for himself, his family and his cronies while also abusing the power of his office to reward supporters, punish enemies and remake Washington into his own self-aggrandizing image.
In this collection, The Inquirer Editorial Boarddetails many of the schemes Trump has used to grow his wealth by billions since his return to office last year.
Once sparingly used to temper justice with mercy, the presidential pardon has become a get-out-of-jail-free card for Trump supporters, no matter how corrupt or violent.
The invitation to visit sculptor Zenos Frudakis’ studio arrived unexpectedly in my inbox this summer, soon after I included his Freedom sculpture in The Inquirer’s 76 neighborhood gems article.
I’ve always thought the 20-foot bronze piece, on Vine Street near 16th, depicting a human figure breaking free of a wall in four stages, with the final figure on the sidewalk, his arms outstretched and face lifted, makes our city a more interesting place.
Artist Zenos Frudakis’ “Freedom” sculpture on Vine Street near 16th in Center City. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
“I think on my deathbed, if I’m conscious, I’ll think about that piece,” Frudakis, 75, later told me. “That’s something that I’ve done that I feel good about.”
In this 2004 file photo, Mike Schmidt helps unveil the Mike Schmidt statue outside of the third base entrance to Citizens Bank Park on opening day. Sculptor Zenos Frudakis, center, was also on hand for the unveiling. Jerry Lodriguss
It was only after I accepted the invitation and was researching for our interview that I realized Frudakis also created one of the most divisive pieces of public art in Philadelphia history: the statue of highly controversial former mayor and police commissioner Frank Rizzo.
Flooded with art and light
When I arrived at Frudakis’ Glenside studio I was met by his business partner and co-owner of his studio, Rosalie Frudakis. She’s also his best friend and ex-wife (it’s not just Frudakis’ sculptures that are complicated).
Entering the 275-year-old renovated carriage house behind the artist’s home, I was captivated by how the space was flooded with art and light. Frudakis’ 7-foot statues of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine, still in clay, dominated the center of the room, along with similarly sized sculptures of musicians Bobby Rydell and Don McLean. Busts of historical figures by Frudakis lined the shelves and poster-size pictures of his many commissions papered the walls.
Zenos Frudakis in his studio. To the left of Frudakis is a sculpture of Thomas Paine he’s working on and to the right, is his sculpture of Benjamin Franklin. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Frudakis told me he’s juggling a dozen commissions right now, including two full-size replicas of his Freedom sculpture — destined for where, he won’t say, but he promises it’s exciting. He often works until 2 a.m. in his studio with his cat, Mr. Gray, and hopes that sculpting will lengthen his life. After all, his older half brother — noted sculptor EvAngelos Frudakis, who made The Signer statue at Fifth and Chestnut Streets — lived to be 97 and sculpted right up to the end.
For three hours, Frudakis and I talked about his childhood growing up in a Greek family in Gary, Ind., where his first sculptures were made with his mother’s bread dough; about his move to Philly in 1972 on a scholarship to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; and about his commitment to reading because, if Leonardo da Vinci spent time studying every day, he figured he should, too.
“I wasn’t going to let anybody outwork me or have more knowledge if I could … because that’s your resource, that’s where your ideas come from,” he said.
A puzzle piece featuring Albert Einstein is part of a project that Zenos Frudakis is working on in his Glenside studio.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
As if to make his point, Frudakis quoted more than a dozen authors and philosophers by name during our chat including: Albert Camus, T.S. Eliot, Aristotle, D.H. Lawrence, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
He spoke of science and reason, of being a humanist and of the balance between the emotional and cerebral. He talked about life as a working artist, of the commissions he took and the pieces he created. And he spoke of how history is not set in stone, even for a sculptor.
“You live long enough and sometimes pieces come down,” he said.
A pachyderm and people
Frudakis’ first public large-scale commission was in 1982 for a bronze sculpture of a boy riding an elephant in the now-shuttered Burlington Center Mall.
Sculptor Zenos Frudakis looks over his first commissioned piece at the now-closed Burlington Center Mall in Burlington, N.J., in 2018.DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer
In the following years, commissions came for busts of W. Wilson Goode, the city’s first Black mayor, and Joseph E. Coleman, the first Black president of City Council.
In 1989, Frudakis did a commissioned bust of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, and traveled there to present it while the country was still under apartheid. It’s one of many commissioned busts he’s done of King, including a 4-foot bronze one for MLK Park in Chester.
Sculptor Zenos Frudakis in his Glenside studio with the plasticine bust of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that was cast in bronze for the city of Chester in 2010.
It wasn’t until 1994 that Frudakis received his first commission for a public, full-body sculpture of a person in a suit, from the Frank L. Rizzo Monument Committee.
“That’s most commissions that you get, a person who does my kind of work, is men in suits. And the hardest one to get is the first job,” he said.
‘I survived another day’
Rizzo was a polarizing figure as police commissioner (1967-1971) and mayor (1972-1980), and the controversy has only grown since his death in 1991. While some praised his law-and-order style, many see his tenure as an era of unchecked police brutality that targeted members of the Black and LGBTQ+ communities.
But back in the 1990s, the Philadelphia Art Commission approved a public sculpture of Rizzo, which was paid for by private funds. After some controversy about its placement — backers wanted it in a more prominent place like LOVE Park — it was unveiled in 1999 on the steps of the Municipal Services Building.
Sculptor Zenos Frudakis, left, looks on as Rizzo’s statue is placed on the steps of the Municipal Services Building ahead of its unveiling in 1999.Eric Mencher
In 2016, amid the Black Lives Matter movement, a petition began circulating for the statue’s removal and in the following years, it became a lightning rod for civil rights protests and was repeatedly defaced.
But it wasn’t until the civil rights protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020, when then-Mayor Jim Kenney called the statue “a deplorable monument to racism, bigotry, and police brutality,” that it was removed. It remains in storage.
Protesters attempt to burn and bring down the Frank Rizzo statue outside of the Municipal Services Building in Center City during a protest against the death of George Floyd in 2020.HEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
While I’ve received plenty of hate mail in my career, I can’t imagine having a piece of my work so publicly reviled.
Throughout our chat, I tried to ask Frudakis indirectly about the statue — were there any sculptures he struggled with? Any lessons he’s learned from his career?
But he didn’t take the bait.
Finally, at the end of our interview, I asked him about the Rizzo statue. He wasn’t taken aback and in no way tried to skirt my questions. I felt he answered honestly, even if, at times, he seemed conflicted.
Frudakis told me that when the work was commissioned, he had second thoughts — he didn’t vote for Rizzo, and has always been concerned with civil rights and social issues. But the statue was going to be built one way or another, he figured, and he needed the work.
“I got to do a lot of sculptures because I did that [commission],” he said, adding that the Phillies chose him for their ballpark sculptures because of the Rizzo statue.
“I survived another day as an artist.”
‘A weird blip’
Frudakis says he agrees with the Rizzo statue being removed, for safety reasons. He didn’t want protesters to get hurt trying to topple it. “I made sure I put it in so it couldn’t be pulled out very easily,” he said.
But if he had his way, he’d have liked the statue to have remained up, placed next to a statue of a prominent Philly civil rights leader, like the late Rev. Leon Sullivan, to promote education and dialogue.
“If you take it down, they’re not gonna learn anything. People who love him will still love him. People who hate him will still hate him,” he said.
The statue of former Philadelphia Mayor Rizzo is removed from the Municipal Services Building in 2020. Courtesy NBC10
I came to Philly in 2007, and I didn’t really learn about what happened under Rizzo’s tenure until the protests ramped up around the statue. I agree with its removal, but I have to wonder if I would’ve ever learned so much about that dark chapter in Philly’s history if the statue was never there at all.
One of the last things Frudakis said to me before I left was: “I’ve tried to make up for the Rizzo statue.”
Should he have to? Should I feel torn now about my love for his other work? I called up Conrad Benner, founder of the Streets Dept, a local media organization focused on public art. I remembered the popular videos he did in 2024 with Frudakis at the Freedom sculpture and wanted to get his thoughts on the Rizzo statue too.
“It’s this really weird blip in his career. It seems like everything he’s done since then and probably before then supported maybe a clearer vision of what he’d like to see in the world,” Benner said. “My impression was he was young, he made a decision, and then his career grew and he got more opportunity to have more control over his work.”
Benner pointed out that it’s very uncommon to create bronze monuments to people who’ve lived recently and that Philadelphia doesn’t have any other statues of its mayors.
“You might think the monuments in your city and country are some representation of true history when really they are the culmination of powerful and cultural interests,” Benner said.
“But we get to choose. Every generation gets to choose. We don’t have to inherit anything, whether that be a political dynasty, tax policy, or a monument. Just because they’re on a podium doesn’t mean we can’t change them.”
‘A one-man show’
A year after the Rizzo statue was unveiled, Frudakis’ Freedom sculpture was installed on the exterior of what was then GlaxoSmithKline and is now the Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School.
It was a piece born of his own heart and mind. It was the kind of work that taking commissions for other less passionate projects made possible.
“I had to do something more philosophical and poetic for myself,” Frudakis said.
When I thought about our conversation later, I couldn’t help but wonder if in some ways, for Frudakis, the figure in Freedom symbolized his own desire to break free of the art that pays the bills for the art that fills the soul.
Zenos Frudakis’ “Freedom” sculpture on Vine Street near 16th in Center City. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
“It’s not an accident that my favorite piece, my most popular piece by far, is the one that I got the most freedom to do,” he said.
Frudakis sculpted Freedom on a small scale, but he had to get the 20-foot-long version commissioned by GlaxoSmithKline in order to cast it in bronze. When he scaled it up, Frudakis decided to get weird with it.
Details in Zenos Frudakis’ “Freedom” sculpture include part of a face and a cast of the artist’s hand with a sculpting tool. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
“Since I was having trouble getting in a gallery in Philadelphia, [I decided] that I would put about 20 pieces of mine in the background so I’d have a one-man show that was ongoing,” he said.
Among the many Easter eggs Frudakis hid within Freedom are a self-portrait, a cast of his hands with a sculpting tool, and a sculpture of his cat’s head. One of my favorite details is carved into the empty space where the final figure has broken free from the wall. There, the words STAND HERE are written, inviting you to become a part of the piece.
The words “STAND HERE” appear in an empty space in Zenos Frudakis’ “Freedom” sculpture, inviting the viewer to become a part of the piece. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Photos of Freedom have appeared in self-help and scholarly books and it has been cited as one of the most fascinating sculptures in the world by Architectural Digest.
“It’s the most personal sculpture I’ve ever done and it’s the most universal,” Frudakis said.
‘It was creating me’
Of course there are other pieces Frudakis is proud of — his sculpture for the National Air Force Memorial Honor Guard in Washington, D.C.; a statue of Nina Simone in Tyrone, N.C., that includes some of her ashes; and a sculpture of Clarence Darrow at the Tennessee courthouse where the Scopes Monkey Trial was held.
The statues of Franklin and Paine he’s working on now are intended for the U.S. Capitol building and the National Mall, respectively. If pending legislation to approve their placement is ever passed (both were first proposed years ago), the bronze castings will be paid for with private funds, Frudakis said.
Artist Zenos Frudakis in his studio working on his sculpture of Thomas Paine. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
With an oeuvre of work behind him and his larger-than-life-size bronze figures fetching $400,000 or more today, Frudakis now has the freedom to do statues and commissions he truly believes in.
Frudakis still has sculptures he wants to create for himself too. He dreams of doing one of Hypatia, a female scientist from ancient Greece who was “murdered by religious zealots who tore her whole body apart.” He’s got busts of Amelia Earhart in his studio that he’d love to see in bronze someday. And like he did with Freedom, Frudakis wants to tackle another big human concept through his work — time.
One of the subtle details in Zenos Frudakis’ “Freedom” sculpture. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Just like every story I’ve ever written forged me into the journalist I am today, even those that make me cringe in hindsight (and there are plenty), every sculpture Frudakis created made him the artist he is now, including the Rizzo statue.
But I don’t think any of his pieces has had a more profound effect on the landscape of Philadelphia, or people around the world, than the one that had the most profound effect on him as well.
“I was a different person when I finished my Freedom sculpture. I wasn’t just creating it, it was creating me,” he said.
The final figure breaks free in Zenos’ Frudakis “Freedom” sculpture. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Almost two-thirds, 64%, of self-identified Democrats backShapiro seeking higher office, a strong consolidation of support within the party’s base that still leaves room for other prospective candidates. But more than one in five Republicans also support a potential White House run by the governor, a sign of Shapiro’s moderate appeal in a key battleground state.
Those who want him to run ranked his character and competence as their highest factors, with 41% of respondents giving those as reasons they would want him to run. Nearly 20% said they were satisfied with Shapiro’s performance as governor.
“I like him. No scandals. He’s an honest man, and he has a nice, wonderful family, and he doesn’t lie,” said Michael Koller, a 77-year-old Democrat in Pittsburgh. “I think he’s helped the people of Pennsylvania just by being a good governor.”
The survey, conducted Sept. 15 to 21, comes just six weeks before his matchup against Republican State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, whom he has far outpaced in both polling and fundraising. It also arrives before any prominent Democrats have formally declared candidacy for the nation’s highest office, with nearly all vowing to wait until after the midterm elections to make a decision.
Shapiro has said he is laser-focused on winning in November as well as helping fellowDemocrats flip four hotly contested U.S. House seats and take over the state Senate for the first time in more than 30 years. But his fundraising prowess and recent book publication suggest he is well positioned for a run. In interviews with reporters, Shapiro has never outright denied his interest to become commander in chief.
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And yet despite Shapiro’s 60% job approval rating in a politically divided state, poll respondents highlighted the disconnect between his relatively high popularity as governor, where he is focused on the needs of Pennsylvanians, and their interest in him as a possible president, who would oversee the entire country and control foreign policy.
A balancing act on Israel
Kathrine Sidiqi, 77, a Democrat who lives in Delaware County, regards Shapiro as a “competent governor” who impressed her with a quick reopening of I-95 in 2023 after a fiery gasoline tanker crash threatened to close the transportation corridor for months. He expedited government procedures and got it reopened in just 12 days. “Stuff works,” she said.
However, when asked if she would support Shapiro for president, Sidiqi said no.
“I am Muslim, and he is too much of a supporter of Israel for me to do that,” she said. “I have nothing against him being Jewish … but he seems to have an outdated opinion of what’s going on.”
Sidiqi said she does not want the U.S. to provide any taxpayer money for weapons to Israel, a view shared with 60% of Pennsylvania likely voters who are against providing additional American economic and military support to Israel, according to the poll.
Among Democrats, whom Shapiro would first need to win over in a presidential run, 63% of poll respondents said they would support a candidate who opposed aid to Israel.
More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly all Gazans have been displaced in the three years since Israel launched its war against Hamas, the militant group that carried out the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack that killed more than 1,200 people, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Gov. Josh Shapiro talks to patrons alongside Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer out in the back patio of Sam’s Morning Glory Diner in South Philadelphia on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
The war in Gaza has bitterly divided Shapiro’s party, and his positions on Israel may have a played a role in preventing his nomination as vice president in 2024. Shapiro in his book called questions about his relationship with Israel from Vice President Kamala Harris’ team “offensive.”
Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s third Jewish governor, has said his views on the topic have evolved from when he was in college and wrote that peace with Palestinians was “not possible.” The governor now favors a two-state solution, with Israelis and Palestinians “living peacefully side by side, being able to determine their own futures and their own destiny.”
The governor has also repeatedly spoken out against antisemitism at campus protests against Israel and called for an encampment at the University of Pennsylvania to be disbanded in 2024.
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Multiple respondents brought up Shapiro’s Jewish faith unprompted— sometimes in connection with Israel — and questionedwhether the country is ready for a Jewish president.
“I think a Jewish candidate is going to have a hard time winning the election,” said Michael Biello, a 68-year-old Democrat in Philadelphia. “I like his views. I like his policies. I like everything. I just think his religious affiliation will stop him from winning because I think the rest of the country, especially the middle of the country, will rally against him.”
Shapiro is one of several potential contenders who could make history as the first Jewish president, along with former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, and Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin.
An arsonist — who said in a 911 call he would “not take part in [Shapiro’s] plans for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people — attacked the governor’s mansion last year during Passover while Shapiro and his family were inside. (The arsonist’s family said he had spiraled into a mental health crisis.)Since then, Shapiro said, there have been a half dozen more terroristic threats against him and his wife “because of how I worship.”
In his memoir, Where We Keep The Light, published earlier this year, Shapiro wrote that since the Oct. 7 attack in Israel, he and his family “feel both a responsibility and pride demonstrating our faith and living it out loud.”
Hailey Brinnel, who is Jewish, said she does not believe Shapiro’s faith alone would hinder a potential campaign.
“People didn’t think New York was ready for a Muslim mayor,” she said, referring to the 2025 election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “New York right now has really been changing what I come to think of as someone who’s electable. So I do not think it’s out of the question now.”
Brinnel, a 31-year-old Democrat, said she will “always love” Shapiro and said she believes he has strong appeal to older, more centrist Democrats. But she is more interested in whether ideologically progressive candidates are electable.
“After seeing the success of Zohran Mamdani and different democratic socialists, it makes me at least curious if we should be moving in a more progressive direction.”
How does Shapiro compare with Trump and Vance?
Several respondents highlighted Shapiro’s support for education, healthcare, and business development work during his first term as governor as reasons he would make a good president. His recent orders on data centers, which face majority opposition in Pennsylvania, have also been a point in his favor among voters.
“I appreciate that he went and he asked what other people wanted, and then he advocated against the data centers,” said Mac Alasad-Murphy, a 27-year-old attorney in Haverford.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks during a discussion on free expression and civil dialogue at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026nErin Blewett / For The Inquirer
Alasad-Murphy, a Democrat, said she believes Shapiro is capable of approaching complicated situations by listening with a careful and cautious ear.
“He does a really good job of meeting with the people and trying to get an understanding of what the community he’s serving actually wants,” she said.
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Shapiro’s 63% favorability rating trounces that of President Donald Trump, who has pushed for more data center construction even amid opposition from Republican voters. As gas prices climb to $4.55 in Philadelphia, just 38% of likely Pennsylvania voters have a favorable view of the president while they see him taking little action on the economy and cost-of-living concerns, their top issues.
Vice President JD Vance has a slightly higher favorability rating than Trump, 44%, as he is increasingly seen as the Republican front-runner in a 2028 primary. Almost half of respondents view Vance very or somewhat unfavorably.
Among voters in the poll who opposeda potential Shapiro run, 21% said they dislike him personally and 19% they dislike his policies and views.
Susan Roller, 72, of Lancaster, disagrees with Shapiro’s support for abortion access and vaccine policy.
“Our current governor doesn’t respect life at all stages, especially pre-born children, and is trying to push through a lot of health initiatives that would take away our freedom of choice,” said Roller, who is a Republican.
Before making her decision, with the 2028 primaries more than a year away, Alasad-Murphy, the Haverford voter, said she wants to understand Shapiro’s plan to tackle the country’s biggest problems.
“I couldn’t say just because I like him and I like what he’s done for Pennsylvania that I would like what he might do for the country. Those are two completely different things,” she said.
But his temperament and willingness to work across partisan lines to pass legislation go a long way, she said.
“He’s very level-headed. He’s very respectful toward others, even when they don’t see eye to eye. And in the current political climate, I think that having stability and respect is really important,” she said.
The plastic sheets have been rolled up above the lockers in the Phillies’ clubhouse since Wednesday.
It’s like they’re part of the decor.
But they’ll stay there for one more day. Because a team that extends its season after the endurance test of 162 games in 185 days deserves to let loose. A playoff spot, no matter how it’s won, is worth celebrating.
And somehow, someway the Phillies can still make the playoffs. Even after this Saturday Night Massacre — a 12-1 humiliation, in the rain, against the 98-win Rays — near the end of a week from hell in which a $320 million roster has gotten plenty of boos but not a drop of booze.
Heck, they can make it even if they lose again Sunday.
And wouldn’t that be fitting?
“We’ll see,” said interim manager Don Mattingly, who appears more downcast by the day.
OK, let’s get this out of the way: The Phillies will make the playoffs if they snap a four-game losing skid in the regular-season finale … with Zack Wheeler starting on regular rest … and Jesús Luzardo expected to be back from the injured list and available out of the bullpen.
“To me, it just comes down to our offense,” said J.T. Realmuto, hitless in 34 at-bats, four shy of matching an unwanted franchise mark. “We need to be able to score.”
The Phillies’ Justin Crawford loses his helmet while batting in the third inning on Saturday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Easy enough, right? Until Rays second baseman Richie Palacious bobbled a grounder in the seventh inning, the Phillies hadn’t scored in 21 innings, a season-high. They have scored three runs or less in 10 of the last 13 games.
So, what if the bats don’t thaw against Rays starter Nick Martinez, a 15-game winner with a 2.94 ERA? Well, the Phillies can back into the playoffs — can’t you just hear the beep, beep, beep? — if the Diamondbacks lose in San Diego.
But you have to wonder about the collective psyche of a team that has made this all much harder than it ever needed to be.
“Two weeks ago,” Realmuto said, “I wouldn’t have guessed that we’d be in this situation.”
Indeed, when the month began, the Phillies led the Diamondbacks by 6½ games with 23 remaining. At the start of this week, the lead was four games with six to play. The Phillies’ playoff odds were 99.1%, according to Fangraphs.
No wonder Mattingly has looked shaken after the last few games. And although Kyle Schwarber, the Phillies’ de facto captain, often notes in times of trouble that the core of the roster has been through almost everything together over the last five seasons, they haven’t experienced anything like this.
“Obviously we put ourselves in a tough situation where we have to win [Sunday’s] game to keep our season alive, most likely,” Realmuto said. “It’s definitely frustrating. But we have hope in this group, and we have a lot of confidence here that we can get it going.”
If it was to happen, this feels more comparable to the 2007 Mets, who led the Phillies by two games with five left and finished 1-4 (while the Phils went 4-1). Even the 2011 Red Sox finished 2-3 to blow a 1.5-game lead over the Rays on the final night. (Rays finished 5-0).
There isn’t much else to say. And there weren’t many players left in the clubhouse to say it after getting throttled by the Rays.
Aaron Nola was made to start the game on two days’ rest because the fourth-largest payroll in the sport somehow doesn’t include a No. 6 starter. He faced seven batters, got three outs, and gave up three runs on four extra-base hits, including a two-run homer to Rays star Junior Caminero.
“I was actually really proud of him,” Mattingly said. “Taking the ball there on two days’ [rest], kind of just gutting it out.”
But Nola shouldn’t have been in that position any more than the Phillies should be in their overall predicament. In that way, he was a symbol of everything that has gone awry.
The season for interim manger Don Mattingly and the Phillies comes down to one game on Sunday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
So, they turn their lonely eyes to Wheeler, less a stopper than firewall against missing the playoffs for the first time since 2021. The Phillies are 19-8 in his starts.
“We’re always confident when that guy’s on the mound,” Realmuto said.
Never mind that the Phillies will have to burn Wheeler in Game 162 instead of saving him for Tuesday night in Atlanta, when he would’ve been lined up to start Game 1 of a best-of-three wildcard miniseries.
But the only thing more unexpected than the way things have unfolded is that the Phillies might actually live to tell about it. All of it.
Video: J.T. Realmuto: The Phillies are ‘as hungry as we’ve ever been’ to win a World Series
The 9-19 start that resulted in the firing of manager Rob Thomson and the initial revival under Mattingly.
A skid after the All-Star break and a surge that began in an Iowa cornfield.
The 8-14 finish that put them on the brink of collapse.
“I didn’t really picture this, like having to do this,” Mattingly said. “But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do if that’s what it takes for us to get in. And then it’s all square. It’s all even.”
DEAR ABBY: I am a retired executive chef, divorced for many years with three adult children. My son was also an executive chef, but no longer. He is a mean alcoholic. He stays drunk when not at his job, and he says cruel and nasty things to all family members. His older sister has written him off because of all the hurtful things he has said about her and her family. He calls me when he is drunk and wants to talk about cooking, though he hates it. He doesn’t listen to me at all and just goes on and on. His mother passed three years ago, and he has never gotten over it. He was her favorite.
I love my son very much but can’t talk with him anymore as it upsets me for days after. How can I get him to seek counseling? He won’t listen to anyone. He admits that he has an alcohol problem but chooses to do nothing about it. The only other family member who still talks to him is his younger sister, and he is mean to her as well. What can we do to help him?
— ANGUISHED DAD IN TEXAS
DEAR DAD: I am sorry for your pain, but you cannot force your son to deal with his alcohol addiction. Until he faces the full consequences of what it is costing him — in other words, hits rock bottom — he will do nothing about it. I hope you will consider visiting some Al-Anon meetings, which you can find by going to al-anon.org/info. These meetings are everywhere, and you should have little difficulty finding one. If you do, you will find other parents, spouses, siblings and friends of alcoholics who are trying to deal with the same issues as you.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been married for 26 years. I have often felt as if we were growing apart, finding interests in different things. We seem unable to discuss our emotions without one of us getting hurt feelings and the talk devolving into awful arguments. There has never been any real question of extramarital affairs.
One night, I playfully asked if I could go through his computer. He immediately became defensive, saying he just doesn’t like people getting into his computer, messing with his stuff. I get that. I wouldn’t want just anybody getting into my computer, either. However, I am not just anybody; I’m his wife. He has full access to all of my computers, phones and digital accessories. Why do I feel like he’s got something to hide? I don’t know what to do.
— PRESUMPTION OF GUILT
DEAR PRESUMPTION: Pressing your husband on this issue right now will only lead to more arguments. If you want to repair the marriage, you both need to learn to communicate more effectively. Without mentioning his computer, invite your husband to see a licensed family therapist with you. If he refuses, go without him. If he agrees, work on the basics now and save the privacy issues and your suspicions for future sessions.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Some battles sharpen your skill and call forth courage you would have no other reason to find. Others waste good fire. Before charging in, ask what victory would give you. Choose the contest that makes you stronger whether you win or lose.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). It takes time and money to make life pleasurable. Defend those resources because you need more pleasure. The hard stuff is easier when you know the comforts you most enjoy are waiting for you on the other side.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Fight for the open exchange of ideas. Ask the extra question. Entertain the odd theory. Give each person room to change position halfway through. Thought needs movement, fresh evidence and somewhere new to go.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). More than a building, a person or even a country, home can be a state of mind you have with you wherever you are. Accessing that state means protecting the conditions that let you feel like yourself.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). In art, things like societal rules, politeness and even the laws of logic and physics beg to be defied. It’s the one place you can explore without such boundaries, though you may have to remind yourself to push them.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Since you only want to attach your name to work you can stand behind, take the extra pass, check the weak point and correct what bothers you. Your standards protect yourself and the people who depend on what you do.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You’re working toward a lasting kind of harmony. Does each person have a reason to support the arrangement? Look at who gives, who benefits and who keeps adjusting. A small correction now could spare everyone a larger conflict later.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Drama can energize people, make them care and feel inspired to get involved, encouraged to pull out their wallets, moved to donate their time and go out of their way. You’ll use your theatrical flair strategically today.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You’ll tinker with an idea in its awkward stage. It has yet to acquire the language, tools or audience that will make it useful. Give it a trial before asking for consensus. The future tends to enter the room dressed in clothes no one recognizes.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Every request may sound reasonable on its own while the collection consumes the hours meant for your larger purpose. Look at the whole calendar before agreeing. Your ambitions require you to keep the appointments you make with yourself.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You feel like you need to roam. Your body, mind and future need territory beyond today’s obligations. Even if you don’t have the means to go where you’d like to go, books and dreams give you a glimpse of faraway horizons.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). In the weeks ahead, a project or relationship will benefit from a bit of showmanship. Think of it as the extra effort it takes to elevate ordinary life. This is an ideal day conjure up a plan.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 27). In your Year of the Shepherd, you will sometimes be the guide and sometimes be the guided, both roles bringing you into good company and beautiful places. One role develops your judgment; the other introduces you to the broader world. More highlights: Profound healing. You’ll receive funds you’ve had coming to you for years now. You’ll bring home an olive branch: peace gained through intelligence. Cancer and Pisces adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 10, 2, 24, 5 and 14.
The Phillies are on the verge of it. Know that. It can be difficult to recognize when you are living through it. Think of the worst you ever heard. Make it worse. This is it.
For the vast majority of us whose sports consciousness had not yet dawned in 1964, the year has always been one that occupied the same narrative spaces as walking to school in the snow uphill both ways. As bad as things were when they were worse than we ever had it, we never had it that bad. The great Phillies Phold of ‘64 wasn’t an urban legend as much as it was an origin story.
Well, here we are. The 1964 Phillies had a 6½-game lead with 12 games to play. The 2026 Phillies had a five-game lead with eight games to play. It does not get worse than this.
However it plays out, whatever happens on the final day of the regular season, whether the Phillies win, or see the Diamondbacks lose, or the inverse occurs, they have already accomplished something in the least sense of the word. They have forced us to consider what was long held to be the epitome of impossible.
By the end of a 12-1 loss to the Rays on a cool, wet, desperate Saturday night in South Philadelphia, the current era of Phillies baseball had been reduced to the hollow sound of bat on ball that echoed through a near-empty stadium that had long before lost its will.
Pitching on two days’ rest, Aaron Nola gave up three runs in his one inning on Saturday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Embarrassment is not nearly a strong enough word to describe the precipice upon which the Phillies currently stand. It may not even be an emotion they are collectively capable of feeling, given the lack of soul they’ve displayed over the last two-plus seasons. And maybe that’s what you get when you build a team full of players who are here primarily because you offered them more money than anybody else. Maybe that’s your soul.
Maybe.
There have been many instances over the last several years where the Phillies have appeared to be better than that. Much better, at times. They played the first two months of last season at a 106-win place. They played the eventual world champion Dodgers close to even before bowing out in a National League Divisional Series. Nobody can question the individual competitive integrities of guys like Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler and Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto. And, yet, the totality of what we’ve seen since mid-October 2023 suggests there is something lacking in the collective. Whatever that thing is, isn’t there right now.
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The goal now is to avoid infamy. It is to preserve legacy. It is to summon the last shred of political capital they earned in 2022 and escape from Game 162 with a reason to believe. It will be one thing to make the playoffs. It will be another to do so and also offer a reason to believe that they’ve accomplished anything greater than delaying the start of their offseason by another few days.
The biblical tone is warranted. The Phillies are on the precipice of a disaster that transcends even their own lengthy track record of misery. Barely more than a week ago, the math said they had a 99% chance at making the playoffs. With eight games to play, they had a five-game lead for the final NL wild-card spot. They entered Wednesday needing some combination of two wins and Diamondbacks losses to clinch a playoff berth. That number will still sit at one when they take the field Sunday for Game 162.
The Phillies’ Bryce Harper dives safely back to first base after briefly trying to stretch a single into a double in the eighth inning.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
It will sit there in spite of — because of? — their understanding that Game 161 was one they needed to win. Interim manager Don Mattingly’s decision to start Aaron Nola on two days’ rest backfired in a manner as spectacular as it was predictable. By the time a lot of folks realized the Nor’easter-delayed game had started, the Rays were up 3-0, courtesy of a loud home run by Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero. The conditions did not improve.
By the start of the seventh inning, the Phillies needed a touchdown and an onside kick and a field goal just to tie the game. They had the bases loaded in the seventh and eighth. They ended up getting an extra point. Long before then, the focus had turned to Sunday, with an inch of rain predicted to fall.
The metaphors write themselves. As do the hypotheticals. We needn’t dive into them now. They’ll be actualities soon enough. Even if the Phillies win on Sunday, how can we possibly believe in a team that failed to win a game in its most desperate moment? Worse still, what if they lose and still sneak into the playoffs because of a Diamondbacks loss? Does any of it matter now that Mattingly is treating his pitching staff like they are playing Game 7?
Questions like these are what Monday is for.
Mattingly, Gene Mauch, 2026, 1964 …
The only thing to do right now is watch the story unfold.
Above each locker in the Phillies’ home clubhouse is a rolled-up sheet of plastic. They have waited there, lining the room, for the past four days, ready to be unfurled the moment the Phillies secured a playoff spot. But by Saturday evening, the Phillies’ fourth consecutive loss, the plastic and what it represents had become taunting.
Even the old photo of Kyle Schwarber in his high school football uniform that had been taped above the door, presiding over the room for the last month, had been taken down. There is nothing to laugh about anymore.
With the Phillies’ latest 12-1 loss to the Rays, their drawn-out collapse has become a five-alarm fire of humiliation. Every one of interim manager Don Mattingly’s gambles failed on Saturday, a dreary, rainy night befitting perhaps one of the last gasps of the Phillies season.
If the Phillies find themselves playing beyond Sunday, they have Manny Machado and the Padres to thank. While the Rays’ lead grew to double digits, on the other side of the country, Machado hit a go-ahead two-run homer to help beat the Diamondbacks, 10-7. In doing so, he and the Padres shrank the Phillies’ magic number to one.
With a win in Game 162, or another Arizona loss on Sunday, they can still salvage this week from franchise infamy.
“We got to come out and play our best baseball tomorrow,” said catcher J.T. Realmuto. “That’s really all there is to it.”
The desperation move to start Aaron Nola on two days’ rest did not work. Junior Caminero jumped on him with a two-run homer, and back-to-back doubles from Victor Mesa Jr. and Richie Palacios gave the Rays a 3-0 lead before the Phillies’ offense even stepped into the box.
Phillies Justin Crawford loses his helmet while batting in the third inning of the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 26, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies Bryce Harper dives safely back to first base after briefly trying to stretch a single into a double in the eighth inning of the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 26, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies interim manger Don Mattingly met Aaron Nola in the dugout after Nola had a rough first inning during the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 26, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies Bryce Harper brushes the mud off of his gloves after diving back to first base in the eighth inning of the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 26, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies Aaron Nola pitches in the first inning of the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 26, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies catcher JT Realmuto goes to the mound to speak with pitcher Aaron Nola after Nola gave up a two run homerun to Rays # 13 Junior Caminero in the firsrt inning of the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 26, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
All three runs came with two outs. The Phillies had hoped he could give them 40 to 50 pitches; Nola only lasted 21.
“I was actually really proud of him,” Mattingly said. “Taking the ball there on two days’ rest. Just gutting it out. And yeah, it didn’t go as well as we liked.”
A start like that marked a first for Nola in his 11-season career. He said it was an easy yes when the Phillies approached him with the idea, and he skipped his usual bullpen session Friday to stay ready for it.
“Obviously, it wasn’t ideal to start the game off, and get the guys down 3-0 in the first. Tough loss,” Nola said.
The gamble to mix up the lineup didn’t work, either. In a playofflike atmosphere, both in stakes and in temperature, the Phillies folded. They mustered seven total hits. The $780 million top of the Phillies order — Trea Turner now moved to leadoff, Schwarber, and Bryce Harper — accounted for three of them.
Realmuto went hitless again before being replaced by Garrett Stubbs with the game already out of reach in the seventh. His slump has reached 0-for-34.
“I feel like I’m letting a lot of guys down in this clubhouse,” Realmuto said. “So I’ve been working my tail off to try to fix it.”
Aaron Nola only lasted 21 pitches against the Rays on Saturday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
One play in the third encapsulated how things have been going for the offense: With Justin Crawford on second base, Turner hit a 104 mph laser up the middle, but it bounced off the back of Rays pitcher Griffin Jax and directly to shortstop Taylor Walls. He was able to finish the play and the inning.
Jax had to be helped off the field and the Rays called on their bullpen for the fourth, which continued to stifle the Phillies’ bats.
“Two weeks ago, I wouldn’t guess that we’d be in this situation, but that’s this game. It knows how to humble you,” Realmuto said.
Mattingly’s gamble to intentionally walk Caminero in the fifth inning proved to be one of the most disastrous. With José Alvarado on the mound, two runners on, the game still within a three-run margin, the Phillies took the bat out of Caminero’s hands. Alvarado has been better against righties this season — they have a .235 average against him, compared to lefties’ .333 — though Caminero is a power threat no matter the handedness of the pitcher.
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But Alvarado did not throw another strike after that. He gave up a single to Mesa Jr. on a sinker below the zone, and then walked Palacios on four pitches to force in a run. When José Urquidy took over, the bases still loaded, another single scored two more. And before the final out of the fifth, the Phillies had already essentially waved the white flag.
By the time the Phillies finally scratched across a run on an error from Palacios in the seventh, their scoreless streak had reached 21 innings. It surpassed the previous season-high drought of 20 set in April. Back then, the Phillies preached patience. This time, there is nothing to be patient for. There is no time left.
Searching for optimism anywhere they can find it, the Phillies pointed to their at-bats late in the game. Four of their seven hits came in the final three innings, even if they only got one run out of it.
Justin Crawford loses his helmet while batting in the third inning.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
“You probably think I’m crazy. … And I’m not going to say our at-bats overall, but in a game like that, our guys fought the whole way,” Mattingly said. “A lot of fight, at-bats at the end. I was actually encouraged at the end of that game. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic. But I was encouraged.”
The Phillies have one final chance in Game 162 on Sunday, when Zack Wheeler will start. Jesús Luzardo is expected to be activated from the injured list and be available in the bullpen. Jonathan Bowlan could be in play, too.
“We’re always confident when that guy’s on the mound,” Realmuto said of Wheeler. “To me, it just comes down to our offense tomorrow. We need to be able to score, and we need to have good at-bats. And obviously, they have a good pitching staff, so we’re going to have to work that out for us.”
Mattingly is making one more gamble. If this one works, they will be without at least one of their aces for the wild-card series. If it doesn’t, their season is most likely over anyway.
If there was any concern about how the Union would fare with five of their customary starters away on international duty — the answer was emphatic.
Four goals, the first coming in the 11th minute, fueled a 4-2 win over Orlando City on Saturday inside a wet Subaru Park, as a hat trick from forward Milan Iloski paved the way for the Union to set a franchise record with 12 games unbeaten in MLS play.
The outburst came despite defenders Frankie Westfield and Neil Pierre and midfielder Cavan Sullivan made their U.S. senior national team debuts in a 4-1 win against Peru just a few hours earlier. Also missing were midfielder Danley Jean Jacques (Haiti) and longtime goalkeeper Andre Blake, who is on duty with Jamaica.
On Saturday along Chester’s waterfront, Iloski struck first on a penalty kick after being taken down in the box by Orlando right back Zakaria Taifi. Following a delay and a request from referee Sergil Demianchuk to move the ball onto the spot, Iloski blasted home his 14th goal of the season. He scored his second just eight minutes later, taking a ball into space and slotting it past Orlando goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau.
He sealed the match in the 51st with a blast just outside Orlando’s 18 that Crépeau had no chance of saving. Iloski leads the team with 16 goals and is tied for third in the league. Indiana Vassilev also scored in the 48th to set the tone early in the second half. He took a pass from Jesús Bueno in the box and blasted it past the hands of Crépeau.
Orlando notched two second-half goals. Iván Angulo scored in the 78th, and the second came off a well-timed run and shot from Martín Ojeda in the box, courtesy of a smart cross from substitute Harvey Sarajian. Despite the goals, backup goalkeeper Andrew Rick was strong in net and arguably didn’t have to do much, courtesy of an Orlando attack that lacked much bite.
A hallmark of the Union’s remarkable run since the return from the FIFA World Cup break has been their ability to create — and finish — many their chances.
The Union have amassed 35 goals on this run and have scored at least four goals in each of their last four matches, including 5-0 wins over FC Cincinnati (Sept. 9) and San Diego FC (Sept. 13).
Now, a break in league action awaits courtesy of a FIFA international window that extends through Oct. 10, when the club returns to Subaru Park to host Real Salt Lake (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — After No. 13 Penn State took a 10-point lead at the end of the third quarter, it was all downhill for the Nittany Lions in their Big Ten opener against Wisconsin on Saturday.
Wisconsin scored two touchdowns in 3 minutes, 31 seconds to defeat the Nittany Lions , 24-20. Quarterback Colton Joseph found tight end Jacob Harris for a 72-yard go-ahead touchdown with 1:13 to go. That play gave the Badgers their first road win since 2024 and first victory over Penn State since 2011.
Penn State’s offense was inconsistent from the get-go, while its defense couldn’t keep up after three straight three-and-outs on the other side of the ball.
“We just really struggled to find a rhythm,” coach Matt Campbell said. “Never got into the flow of the game.”
Offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser’s first crack at calling plays in the Big Ten didn’t go as planned.
Without top receiver Koby Howard, the passing game struggled. Quarterback Rocco Becht threw his first interception of the season after a ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage and fell right into the hands of Wisconsin defensive end Charles Perkins.
Becht finished 12-for-29 with 129 yards and an interception. He had multiple bad misses and threw it through the end zone on the final play of the game.
“I got to be better for the offense,” Becht said. “I got to be better for this team. I can’t put us in scenarios where our backs are backed up and we got to have a big play. We got to continue to move the chains, stay in front of the sticks, and I didn’t do my part today, so I got to do better.”
The run game couldn’t find the consistency it had last week, and running backs Carson Hansen, Quinton Martin Jr., Cam Wallace, and James Peoples all saw the field in the first quarter in an effort to get something going.
Peoples ended up being the featured back. The Ohio State transfer finished with 67 yards on 14 attempts, good for 4.8 yards per carry.
“I thought James ran the ball really well today,” Campbell said. “I thought he made some really key plays in some key situations. I do.”
Cornerbacks step up
Penn State’s cornerback room was the most stable following an offseason of transfer portal exits and additions, with eight corners from last year’s squad returning this season.
True freshman Josiah Zayas and sophomore Daryus Dixson recorded interceptions on back-to-back drives in the second quarter, resulting in a 14-point swing for the Nittany Lions in just over two minutes. Zayas returned his for a touchdown, while Dixson’s set Penn State up at the Badgers’ 11-yard line.
“Our defense was playing well,” Becht said. “Props to those guys for continuing to go out there and make plays and having our back.”
On Zayas’ pick-six, he read the screen perfectly, and there was only green grass in front of him once the ball was in his hands. The play was eerily similar to his pick-six in Penn State’s Blue-White Game.
Redshirt senior Audavion Collins got involved as well with three pass breakups, two of which came late in the fourth quarter.
Linebacker Tony Rojas tacked on a third interception in the fourth quarter.
Up next
Penn State heads to Northwestern and its brand-new Ryan Field for its first Friday game since 2023 (8 p.m., Fox29).
Northwestern beat the Nittany Lions, 22-21, last season in what ultimately was James Franklin’s last game at Penn State.
