Inquirer.com – Zurich DR

Tag: sports-trending

  • A.J. Brown reportedly left a message on the wall of Eagles’ facility: ‘The best to ever play here.’ But was he?

    A.J. Brown reportedly left a message on the wall of Eagles’ facility: ‘The best to ever play here.’ But was he?

    The long-awaited A.J. Brown trade to New England finally went through on June 1, ending a national distraction for fans and the players themselves.

    “Thank God it’s over,” Jordan Mailata said last week. “It was a slow pain of just, is he in, is he out?”

    But NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday that Brown, who caught passes from Drake Maye at Patriots camp less than 24 hours after the trade, stopped into the Eagles’ facility after the deal to pick up a few items, say his goodbyes, and leave a parting message on the wall.

    Throughout the Jefferson Health Training Complex, the team has lifesize photos of franchise greats lining the walls. Underneath his picture alongside other Eagles Pro Bowlers, Brown reportedly wrote: “The best to ever play here. Always open.”

    Don’t get it twisted: A.J. Brown, like Carson Wentz, betrayed Philadelphia and his Eagles teammates | Marcus Hayes

    In an organization that’s had wideouts like Terrell Owens, Harold Carmichael, DeSean Jackson, and Mike Quick — not to mention DeVonta Smith still on the roster — that’s high praise he’s giving himself.

    Despite rumors of a rift between Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts, the veteran wide receiver told NBC’s Maria Taylor in his first interview after the trade that he and Hurts had “no beef” — even if they are not as close as they once were.

    In four seasons in Philadelphia, Brown had 5,034 receiving yards, 32 touchdowns, two Pro Bowls selections, and three All-Pro nods — plus two Super Bowl appearances and one win.

    A.J. Brown left the Eagles because he wanted what was best for himself. You’d do the same thing. | Mike Sielski

    So how do those numbers compare to other Eagles receivers? Here are the team’s all-time receiving leaders, sorted by total yards. Fifteen players have recorded at least 4,000 yards with the Birds, and Brown ranks ninth, although he likely will be passed this season by both Smith and Dallas Goedert.

    In addition to being ninth in total yards, Brown ended his Eagles career 13th in receptions and tied for 12th in receiving touchdowns. Where he really stands out is in yards per game — his 81.2 yards rank second behind Owens (93.5) among players to appear in at least 20 games. However, Owens, who i played parts of just two seasons in Philly, also averaged nearly a touchdown per game (0.95), while Brown averaged a little more than half of one (0.52).

    The Eagles will next see Brown at joint practices with New England on Aug. 19 and 20 in Foxborough, Mass.

  • New York restaurants are rebranding their Philly cheesesteaks to support the Knicks. Wimps.

    New York restaurants are rebranding their Philly cheesesteaks to support the Knicks. Wimps.

    Restaurants across New York City and Long Island are striking the word Philly from their menus to support the Knicks as they face off against the Sixers in the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinals, according to the New York Post.

    “Philly needs to understand, New York is the king‚” Louis Cretella, the owner of Dario’s Pizza in West Hempstead, told the tabloid.

    The restaurant — which purportedly sells 2,500 cheesesteaks a week — is rebranding the sandwich as the “Philly SUCKS” cheesesteak for the duration of the series. For hard copy menus, Cretella reportedly instructed staff to scribble “F— Philly” in black marker over the item.

    The online menu at Dario’s Pizza in West Hempstead, NY. The Long Island restaurant is sold out of “Philly SUCKS” cheesesteaks.Scree

    This is exactly the sort of over-the-top behavior expected from the bridge-and-tunnel crowd. Y’all want to prove you’re NYC tough so badly that you forget how to act.

    Still, the whole gimmick raises a couple of questions: Why are you bragging about selling Philly’s signature sandwich if you hate us so much? And is your ego really that fragile?

    The Philly cheesesteaks we genuinely want to eat

    Other New York City area restaurants have joined in. At Birdie Bar in Northport, it’s now the Big Apple Cheesesteak. At G’s Cheesesteaks in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, their entire livelihood now revolves around whatever a New York Knicks cheesesteak is.

    And at Wogies — a traitorous Philadelphia-themed bar with locations in the Financial District and the West Village — it’s now called the Appendix Burster. It’s an homage to the appendectomy that kept Joel Embiid out of the first three games of the Sixers’ playoff series against the Boston Celtics.

    To this, I say: Our culture is not your costume.

    A sad-looking Philly cheesesteak from Wogies in FiDi, 44 Trinity Place, New York City.Michael Klein / Staff

    I know: New Yorkers are allowed to be petty. The Knicks whooped the Sixers 137-98 in Game 1 at Madison Square Garden Monday, and Embiid is out again with more injuries. Plus, the Sixers restricted ticket sales to Games 3 and 4 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena to only fans from the Greater Philadelphia area, all but shutting out New Yorkers from attending. Players even begged Philadelphians to not resell their tickets.

    Sixers release single-game tickets with restrictions for second-round series vs. Knicks

    Perhaps this is all just an eye for an eye. Still, this trend smacks of one thing: fear.

    “We just sat around, and all of a sudden we see the word ‘Philly’ there, and we’re like, ‘ugh!’ Teeth are grinding, and we didn’t want anything Philly. That’s weak,” Lure Group CEO Aristotle “Telly” Hatzigeorgiou told the New York Post. At the restaurant group’s lounge Slate and bar Clinton Hall, “Knicks” has been added to the front of each establishment’s cheesesteak empanadas and sliders, respectively.

    Do they hear themselves?

    What’s weak is the mere mention of a city making your teeth grind. Might as well just stand on business and pull cheesesteaks from your menu entirely at this point.

    After all, it’s not like Philly restaurants are wiping the words “New York” from our menu — mostly because we have no need. You don’t see people lining up at Pat’s or Geno’s and demanding a chopped cheese. There’s plenty of hoagies and real cheesesteaks to go around.

    Still, if erasing the word “Philly” is what it takes for Jalen Brunson to actually play to his potential, go for it. Cope harder.

    Just remember, Knicks fans: Like the cheesesteak, all of the team’s best players technically come from Philly.