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  • Can Trea Turner rescue his season despite career-worst stats at the plate? His manager and teammates believe so.

    Can Trea Turner rescue his season despite career-worst stats at the plate? His manager and teammates believe so.

    Trea Turner pulled his hands in, turned on the hanging sweeper from Paul Skenes, and lifted it into the left-field seats. It was July 1, the third game in a row that he got two hits and homered.

    His numbers at day’s end: .239/.287/.368.

    “They’re not going to look good,” Turner said then of his batting average and on-base and slugging percentages, “probably no matter what I do, for a while.”

    Ten weeks later, it’s evident the Phillies’ $300 million shortstop’s stat line will never look good.

    At least not this season.

    From June: What if the Phillies’ most impactful addition was a resurgent Trea Turner? He’s working to make it happen.

    In baseball, nothing brings more comfort to struggling superstars than their track record. The season is so long, and failure is so common, that sometimes it’s all they have. Maybe that’s why the numbers are printed on the back of bubble-gum cards, as a reminder.

    And even if the path is filled with potholes, the best players usually reach their standards. In Turner’s case, a .291 average and .812 OPS since he got to the majors 11 years ago with the Nationals. He’s a three-time All-Star, a two-time batting champion, and twice a fifth-place MVP finisher, including last year. Only Freddie Freeman has more hits in the 2020s.

    Occasionally, though, the slumps get too deep and last too long and a season is unsalvageable. For Turner, a .241 average and .681 OPS through Thursday qualify as career worsts. Factor in defense — he led all players with 20 errors — and he was valued at only 1.1 wins above replacement, tied for 113th among 143 players with a minimum of 450 plate appearances.

    Phillies shortstop Trea Turner was leading the majors with 20 errors through Thursday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Turner, 33, knows all this. Maybe too well. Intelligent and self-aware, he’s prone to overthinking. And while he believed earlier in the season that he could boost his production to its typical level, he also realized weeks ago that he was running out of time.

    Yet that doesn’t mean that his season is lost, because the Phillies are closing in on the postseason for the fifth consecutive year. Entering the weekend, they were one game ahead of the Cubs for the top NL wild card and still within sight of the Braves for the NL East crown.

    And for Turner, the playoffs represent an opportunity to redeem a substandard regular season.

    “Nobody’s going to remember if he had a bad April, a good May, a bad June if we play well down the stretch,” said interim manager Don Mattingly, who has stuck with Turner in the No. 2 spot in the order. “Nobody ever remembers anything besides that. I think you see guys like [Turner] who have been around long enough, they know they don’t stop trying to get better and feel right.”

    A fifth straight postseason is in sight. Here are the big things to watch from the Phillies over the final month.

    So, Turner buries his head in an iPad to analyze video from each at-bat. He swings in the cage with hitting coach Kevin Long before and after batting practice, with grounders from infield coach Bobby Dickerson in between.

    “If you get to know Trea a little bit, he does think a lot and he puts a lot of pressure on himself,” Dickerson said. “He wants answers scientifically a lot of times, and he starts to search for that more than actually playing the game, which is what he does well. When he lets his skills show up on the field, plays aggressively, we get a better version of him. And we’ve seen it.”

    Turner’s hard-hit rate, defined as pitches that exit his bat at 95 mph or more, was 39.7% entering the weekend, down from 42.1% last season. He also swung at a higher rate of pitches out of the strike zone (34.8%, up from 31.2% last year) and was more susceptible to curveballs and sliders (.207 average, down from .250).

    Trea Turner after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning against Houston on Tuesday night.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    But Turner also had hit into some rotten luck, including a .281 average on balls in play (compared to .350 last season). He was hitting .427 on balls that had an exit velocity of 95 mph or more; league average was .488.

    Turner’s search for answers led to a meeting with Ichiro Suzuki when the Phillies played in Seattle in late August. And he peppered the Hall of Famer with questions. How do you hit the ball the other way? What’s your approach in certain situations? If you’re doing this wrong, what would you do?

    “I didn’t realize but kind of now looking at it, we’re pretty similar in our games in the sense that he didn’t walk a lot, he wanted to hit, hit the ball all over the field, could hit it out of the park sometimes,” Turner said. “Talking with him and his mindset and what he physically does, a lot of it kind of applied to me in my game. So, it was kind of nice.”

    Maybe it helped. Because entering the weekend, Turner had 14 hits, including five doubles and two homers, in 13 games since the series in Seattle. He went deep in back-to-back games this week against the Astros and drove the ball the other way to right field for two hits Wednesday night.

    Batting practice … in a hotel room? It’s part of the ‘routine’ for Luis Arraez, baseball’s most unique hitter

    It’s too late to rescue Turner’s season statistically. But after months of wondering whether any trace of a hot streak represented a return to normalcy, maybe it’s a building block for October.

    “He’s handled it very well for the caliber of the player he is,” Kyle Schwarber said. “You see a guy that has had so much success in the big leagues, and he might not be getting the results. But it’s really refreshing to see a guy at his age, how much he’s been through in this game, you see him keep grinding. You can’t say enough about him.”

    It’s not like Turner is alone. Across the sport, other underachievers may get a chance for an October rewrite. Call them the Second Chance All-Stars, players who can erase six frustrating months with a few strong weeks.

    Braves third baseman Austin Riley has struggled through the worst season of his career.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    1. Kyle Tucker, Dodgers: Even after coming within a triple of hitting for the cycle Wednesday, he entered the weekend batting .225 with a .684 OPS, full-season career worsts in his first year in Los Angeles — all for the low, low average annual salary of $60 million. The four-time All-Star outfielder has been especially putrid at home: .187, four homers, .572 OPS. “You’ve just got to keep going,” he told reporters. “Try and at least pick out the positives and just try to ride with that.” Something tells us Dodgers fans would forgive if Tucker repeats his two-homer Game 1 of the 2022 World Series for the Astros.

    2. Austin Riley, Braves: The two-time All-Star third baseman dragged a .223 average and .658 OPS into the weekend against the Phillies, the nadir in a three-year decline since Atlanta locked him up to a 10-year, $212 million extension, the largest contract in franchise history. He would be wise, then, to take the advice of infield coach Ron Washington. “[He’s] always saying, ‘Say, hey, no one cares what you did yesterday. It’s about today. Close the yearbook,’” Riley told The Athletic in June. A few big October hits would make it easier. A potential start: Riley beat the Phillies last Sunday with a go-ahead triple in the ninth inning off Jhoan Duran.

    3. Christian Yelich, Brewers: The former MVP stands out on a roster that lacks star power. But he has been barely above replacement level, with a .241 average, .712 OPS, and 0.4 WAR entering the weekend. It’s little wonder that manager Pat Murphy told reporters that he walked in on Yelich taking swings in the batting cage at 1 a.m. after a recent game. “You can say, ‘That’s not enough. He’s getting old.’ No, he’s not,” Murphy said of the 34-year-old face of the franchise. “He’s got another gear.” Maybe it will resurface in the postseason.

    Bryce Harper had his best month as a Phillie in August, and even he is not quite sure how he’s done it

    4. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays: It’s up there with any of baseball’s 2026 unsolved mysteries. How can it be possible midway through September, after 132 games, that the $500 million masher still hasn’t hit a homer at home this season? Woe, Canada. Guerrero went into the weekend slugging .352, 128th among 139 hitters who qualified for the batting title. He had only eight homers after averaging 31 over the previous five seasons. But the Jays were only one game out of a wild card in the mediocrity-riddled American League. Imagine if they get in and he finds the power switch.

    And then there’s Turner, who can be the Phillies’ biggest difference-maker in October.

    “The games that Trea gets going, it’s like a different dynamic with our offense,” Mattingly said. “We’re seeing him hopefully find a groove of hitting the ball hard for a number of games here in a row. It’d be huge for us.”

  • The PPA gives money back, Philly has an $88 potato, and the Eagles go 12-5? | Weekly Report Card

    The PPA gives money back, Philly has an $88 potato, and the Eagles go 12-5? | Weekly Report Card

    The PPA is giving money back: A+

    Somewhere in Philadelphia, thousands of people are about to experience something they never thought possible: getting money back from the PPA.

    The Parking Authority voided 23,195 speeding tickets and is refunding $1.25 million in fines after discovering that a required speed-camera warning sign was missing from a stretch of North Broad Street. A construction crew had knocked it down, and somehow it took about three months to get a new one up.

    To be clear, the drivers were still speeding. The PPA would very much like everyone to know that. But state law requires a sign warning drivers about the camera, so the tickets had to go.

    There is something deeply satisfying about this. Philly drivers have spent generations feeding parking meters, sprinting back to expired spots and discovering orange envelopes tucked under windshield wipers. The PPA is usually where your money goes, never where it comes from.

    So check the mail, 12,214 lucky speeders. Somewhere out there is a refund from the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

    And really you should frame the check, this may never happen again.

    SEPTA bus passengers direct bus driver to drive through wet concrete
    Video: SEPTA bus passengers direct bus driver to drive through wet concrete

    Philly’s respect for construction barriers: D

    A SEPTA bus got stuck in freshly poured concrete outside Termini Bros. last week, just two minutes after city crews finished pouring it.

    How did it get there? Two passengers hopped off the bus, moved the street-closure barricades themselves, and then helped direct the driver around the construction. Shockingly, that did not go well.

    It gets even better when you learn that the pothole-turned-sinkhole had been there for 14 months, long enough that it had started swallowing traffic cones. The city finally showed up to fix it, poured the concrete, and blocked off the street at 7:21 p.m. The 47 bus drove into it at 7:23.

    Fourteen months waiting for a repair, and it took two minutes to ruin it.

    And to once again make this story even better, it happened outside a century-old Italian bakery, the bus was covered in Top Dog Law ads, and when city workers returned the next morning to fix the fix, Joey Termini brought them cannolis.

    An updated rendering of the new Flyers arena released Thursday appears to show more women fans following backlash this week against the original rendering.Courtesy of the Flyers

    Our new sports home comes into focus: A

    We’ve known for a while that the Sixers and Flyers are getting a new arena in South Philly. Now, we finally know what the thing is supposed to look like.

    The first renderings dropped this week, and there’s plenty to like: a facade inspired by the old Spectrum, a huge outdoor plaza, food and drink pavilions, and a giant screen outside.

    But the coolest part might be seeing three teams attached to it. When the doors open in 2030, the Sixers and Flyers will be joined by Philly’s still-unnamed WNBA team, which will begin play that same year.

    Four years away suddenly feels a little more real. Now, we just need a name for the team (and, eventually, the building).

    Eagle Saquon Barkley runs the sidelines during an open Eagles practice at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Tuesday, August 25, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    The Eagles go 12-5, according to science: A

    The Eagles season starts Sunday, which means this is the last beautiful moment when absolutely anything can happen. So Mike Sielski did the responsible thing and predicted all 18 weeks — mostly through song lyrics and increasingly unhinged scenarios.

    His forecast has Jalen Hurts doing the macarena on the first play of the season, Vic Fangio throwing up on a Dollywood roller coaster, Aaron Rodgers blaming a loss on Anthony Fauci and the illuminati, and Brandon Graham once again considering coming out of retirement. Somehow, amid all of this, the Eagles finish 12-5 and win the NFC East for a third straight year.

    And you know what? Wouldn’t that be great? Twelve wins, another division title, football at Christmas, and several months spent planning Sundays around the Birds again. After an offseason of roster moves, coordinator questions, and endless predictions about what this team might be, we finally get to watch actual football.

    And if we get to keep the 12-5 season, Hurts doing the macarena would just be the cherry on top.

    The baked potate loaded with lump crab au gratin and a caviar “blackout” at Mr. Edison in the Bellevue costs $88.Kiki Aranita / Staff /

    An $88 potato?!: F

    There are certain things an $88 potato should be able to do. Like maybe change your life or fix your credit. At minimum, make you briefly forget you just spent $88 on it.

    The baked potato at Mr. Edison in the Bellevue starts at an already pricey $48, stuffed with nearly half a pound of crab au gratin. Add a “blackout” of caviar and suddenly you’re sitting in front of an $88 spud.

    And according to Inquirer food writer Kiki Aranita, it wasn’t good.

    An $88 potato should be so delicious that you spend the next week becoming an annoying person who tells everyone, “OK, but you have to try the potato.” Instead, Aranita described hers as “all mush” and pointed out that better baked potatoes can be found a few blocks away for a fraction of the price.

    Caviar or no caviar, at the end of the night, it is still a potato.

    Temple’s $55 million gift disappears: F

    Less than a year ago, Temple was celebrating the largest donation in university history: $55 million from alumnus Christopher Barnett. This week, the school announced it was terminating the gift, removing Barnett’s name from its College of Public Health and other programs, and accepting his resignation from the board of trustees.

    The reason is quite a turn. Barnett’s company, ABA Centers of America, is under federal criminal investigation over allegations including money laundering and wire fraud. Investigators allege the autism-services provider improperly billed insurers, including for treatment while clients were napping or watching television. Barnett has not been charged and “strenuously denies” the allegations.

    There is a small piece of good news buried in this mess, though. Temple hadn’t gotten any of the $55 million yet, which makes it a lot easier to give the money back.

  • Eagles-Commanders will be U-G-L-Y. At least they have an alibi.

    Eagles-Commanders will be U-G-L-Y. At least they have an alibi.

    You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. You don’t have to be a longtime travel agent to have looked at the Los Angeles Rams’ Australia itinerary and thought, Hey guys, might be a tough turnaround there. And you don’t have to be a football savant to suspect that the Eagles’ season opener Sunday against the Washington Commanders is going to be a hard watch.

    If the first two games of this NFL season weren’t enough to tell you just how rocky these opening weeks will be, Eagles-Commanders ought to drive home the point. Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye were so terrible, so far from the MVP (Stafford) and MVP runner-up (Maye) they were last season, that it would have been fair to check whether either of them had signed an endorsement deal with a prediction market earlier in the week.

    The Patriots took a double-digit lead and couldn’t hold it. The Rams might as well have been on walkabout with Mick Dundee. Sam Darnold and A.J. Brown suffered serious injuries. Of the four teams that made up the NFL’s marquee matchups, only the 49ers were ready for prime time. Jeez, it’s almost like, even after a full offseason, having teams play on Wednesday and Thursday nights — or having two California teams start their seasons on a continent roughly 7,300 miles from their home state — leads to lousy football.

    The game between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia, wasn’t pretty.Scott Barbour

    No one should expect the quality of Sunday’s game at Lincoln Financial Field to be much higher. The Commanders have a new offensive coordinator and a new defensive coordinator, neither of whom has ever coordinated anything in the NFL until now, and aside from Jayden Daniels, their roster resembles a piece of abstract art: You have to stare at it for a long time for it to make any sense (Odafe Oweh for as much as $96 million?), and in the end, it really doesn’t.

    The Eagles ought to win, and win handily, because their defense is so strong and, relative to these teams’ other units, so stable. Their offense is a mystery and will remain one until their new coordinator, Sean Mannion, starts calling plays and reveals whether he’s a rookie who’s out of his depth or a nascent genius who’s been sandbagging everybody since training camp began. And whether Jalen Hurts can thrive in this latest new system. And whether any wide receiver other than DeVonta Smith can make a big play.

    “Part of our goals for this week are to understand that … there are things that happen in Week 1 that you have to be ready for,” coach Nick Sirianni said Friday, “whether that’s live fundamentals, whether that’s errors in the kicking game, or whatever it may be. The standard doesn’t change [for] what we accept and what we require and what our guys do on the field. We practice like that every day. Anytime there’s something loose with the ball, or we miss a tackle, or whatever it may be, or miss our approach on a tackle, if we’re not tackling to the ground, it’s discussed. It’s watched. It’s critiqued. Our standard — your goal — is to be playing your best football by the end of the year. Our standard does not change.”

    No, but the circumstances will. Starters who spent most, if not all, of the preseason sitting out eventually will kick off all the rust. It’s just that eventually likely will take more than one game. That’s the NFL now, with its three-game preseason and its 17-but-soon-to-be-18-game regular season and its insistence that its teams journey across oceans and, quite literally, suit up on every night of the week except Tuesdays.

    The players themselves know better than anyone: You take the early victories if you can get them, and the crisp, clean performances probably will have to wait.

    “You’re always striving for that,” said wide receiver Hollywood Brown, who is in his first season with the Eagles but his eighth in the league. “But I’ve played a lot of football, so I know that they’ve got a new defensive coordinator, and we’ve got a new offensive coordinator. You can try to study each other as much as you want, but there’s not much out there to go off of. You can go out there with everything we’ve studied and they’ve studied, and it could be something completely different.

    “So it’s about knowing our principles, knowing what we’re trying to do, and knowing that’s just the stepping stone. Win or loss, it’s a stepping stone. You learn off it, and as we get into the year, you’re really trying to perfect your craft and identity.”

    Is Sean Mannion ready for his big moment with the Eagles?

    At what point in the season do players and teams find that identity?

    “Usually, around Thanksgiving,” Brown said. “Around Thanksgiving, a lot of players are like, ‘That’s when the real football starts.’ That’s when we know what we are. We know what each team [is]. And it’s about executing the game plan and being at your best once December and January come around.”

    Until then, everyone will just have to suffer through some sloppy football. It’s the price of this multi-billion-dollar business now. So if the Eagles win ugly Sunday, even if they somehow lose, don’t panic. Yet.

  • Jeff McLane’s keys to Eagles vs. Commanders in Week 1 and a game prediction

    Jeff McLane’s keys to Eagles vs. Commanders in Week 1 and a game prediction

    The Eagles open the season against the Washington Commanders at 4:25 p.m. Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:

    When the Eagles have the ball: The biggest uncertainty coming into this season will be how Sean Mannion does as a first-time offensive coordinator and play-caller and how the Eagles — specifically, quarterback Jalen Hurts — adapt to his new scheme. We saw many of the changes throughout camp and in the preseason: more of Hurts under center, more outside zone runs, more motion, and more play-action. Expect more of all of it in the regular season. But how far will Mannion go, and how much of a previous Eagles offense that had highs and notable lows last season, will be kept? The Eagles have understandably kept the answer to that question close to the vest, with the element of surprise one possible benefit heading into the opener.

    unCovering the Birds: Is tight end the biggest area of concern?
    Video: unCovering the Birds: Is tight end the biggest area of concern?

    What wouldn’t be a shocker is a run-heavy offense, especially against a Commanders defense that is still not that imposing up the middle. The Eagles’ offensive line is about as healthy as possible. Mannion will likely lean on them and running back Saquon Barkley, despite the new wide-zone blocking scheme. Washington’s defense should be better than last season. It would be hard to be worse. They hired a new coordinator in Daronte Jones and went faster and more athletic with six new starters. Jones has worked under several notable coaches, but he was last with Brian Flores in Minnesota and is expected to employ Flores’ base system. That would mean a 3-4 front, lots of pre-snap disguise, and frequent blitzing.

    Daron Payne, who’s questionable with a knee injury, returns as Washington’s best interior lineman, but he’s never been a dominant force against the run and now the unit will be without veteran middle linebacker Bobby Wagner. First- round rookie Sonny Styles was drafted as his replacement, and could end up one of the better two-way linebackers in the game. But he’s young and an unknown. Frankie Luvu is a chess piece for Jones at the second level. And speedy edges Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson were added in the offseason. But I don’t see a front seven that can match up with the Eagles’ O-line if Mannion plays it straight-up on the ground. Barkley has had some of his best outings against the Commanders. I’d stay with that formula.

    If forced to throw a lot in Week 1, how comfortable will Jalen Hurts look? Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    Jones will likely want to be aggressive and not let the Eagles dictate the flow. If he can force Hurts and Co. to play behind the sticks then it could get interesting on offense, because the pass offense may not yet be where coach Nick Sirianni wants it. If there’s going to be a fair amount of play-action and Hurts turning his back to the defense — something he hasn’t done a lot of over his career — Jones could alter the picture post-snap by rotating his safeties. That was a Flores calling card, but it’s also worth noting that Hurts had one of the best throwing halves of his career against Flores and the Vikings last season.

    There’s little doubt that Jones will create pressure when Hurts drops. I’d expect more simulated blitzes than extra rushers considering how the Eagles struggled against that tactic last season. Will the protection adjust and will Mannion give his quarterback better answers than he had last season? If so, Hurts could have opportunities to exploit a secondary that isn’t strong on paper. Washington’s best corner, Trey Amos, is on injured reserve. Former Eagle Rasul Douglas is his likely replacement. I’d expect a double move or two from receiver DeVonta Smith when he lines up opposite the 32-year-old cornerback.

    When the Commanders have the ball: Washington’s other new coordinator is more of a mystery, because David Blough is so young. He’s an ex-quarterback only a few years removed from playing who’s been on the coaching express train. If that doesn’t sound similar enough to Mannion, he is also implementing a Kyle Shanahan-Sean McVay-type offense that will ask his quarterback to major in schemes he’s only minored in before. Jayden Daniels thrived in former coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s shotgun-heavy, run-pass-option system as a rookie. But he put himself in harm’s way too much in his second season and missed tons of time to injury. Can Daniels remain as effective in an under-center system, while maintaining his mobility as a threat?

    Jayden Daniels is back after an injury-plagued 2025, but is working with a new offensive coordinator in David Blough. Nick Wass

    That’ll depend on how much Blough plans to take from Ben Johnson, under whom he played with the Detroit Lions. The expectation is that he will certainly adopt the marrying of the run and pass through the outside zone, but it’s unlikely he’ll want to make Daniels completely uncomfortable. Blough probably spent some time watching Johnson and the Bears rip the Eagles’ run defense apart last season. Chicago used movement up front to get the front out of its gap assignments and take advantage of overpursuit linebackers and safeties at the second level. Vic Fangio will know as much, and should have a counterplan. Will he lean on his preferred light box count that has prevented borrowing a safety in run support? Or will he help Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, and Co. knowing that Daniels will still be a plus-one factor?

    Commanders coach Dan Quinn has typically favored a run-based attack. He has a couple of solid running backs in Jacory Croskey-Merritt (early downs) and Rachaad White (passing downs). The Eagles have mostly done well against dual-threat quarterbacks, but the edges have to keep their integrity on their rushes and when they’re backside vs. zone-read run plays. Could linebacker Jihaad Campbell or others spy on Daniels?

    Fangio doesn’t rotate his safeties post-snap as much as some other coordinators. But he can certainly mix that element in to confuse Daniels on play-actions. He has two trustworthy, veteran receivers in the returning Terry McLaurin and the arriving Stefon Diggs. The Eagles have one of the best cornerback trios in the league, but McLaurin got the best of Quinyon Mitchell two years ago, not so much last season. Cooper DeJean will have his hands full vs. Diggs when he lines up in the slot. Blough has a collection of versatile tight ends that could allow him heavy “12” personnel and further mask whether he’s calling run or pass. Safeties Andrew Mukuba and Marcus Epps are sure to be targeted on throws down the middle.

    Jordan Davis (left) and Jalen Carter (right) could cause problems for a Commanders O-line that is without its best player in Laremy Tunsil. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer

    The Eagles should have a decided edge up front. The Commanders lost their best O-lineman (left tackle Laremy Tunsil) early in camp and are suspect at several spots. Replacement Brandon Coleman moved from left guard. Right tackle Josh Conerly is coming off an underwhelming rookie season. And new center Nick Allegretti missed most of camp with a calf injury. Right guard Sam Cosmi is good. But Carter has to be licking his chops. If the apparently healthy defensive tackle can push the pocket — or one of the other interior guys, if Carter is doubled — Daniels will likely struggle and Fangio won’t have to blitz much.

    Extra point: Jonathan Greenard was declared out on Friday after being a limited participant in practice all week. The outside linebacker missed all of camp with a pectoral injury and wasn’t expected to be ready by the opener. He also has to learn a new scheme that asks him to drop more than ever. The season is a marathon and Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith Jr. are more than capable on the edges in his absence.

    On offense, Mannion should be prepared for all scenarios, but Jones is probably going to stack the box to stop Barkley. It worked for most defenses last season, and until the Eagles show they can win consistently through the air, I don’t imagine opponents will drift from that approach. If Hurts has to drop more than expected, Mannion could go with a quick pass game to make Washington’s leaky secondary tackle in space.

    The Eagles are surprisingly only 5½-point favorites, but Vegas usually plays it safe in Week 1. Sirianni-Hurts are 5-0 in openers, though, and have mostly had their way against the Quinn-led Commanders. Unless amateur magician Blough can pull off some tricks, I see the Eagles pulling away in the second half and covering the spread.

    Prediction: Eagles, 27-20.

  • She put in an offer on a ‘granny special’ in South Philly before her partner set foot inside | How I Bought This House

    She put in an offer on a ‘granny special’ in South Philly before her partner set foot inside | How I Bought This House

    The buyer: Joanna Jaeger, 32, general manager at Bart’s Bagels.

    The house: A 894-square-foot rowhouse with two bedrooms and 1½ baths built in 1920 in Lower Moyamensing.

    The price: Listed for $236,900; purchased for $233,000.

    The agent: Martha Lutz, OCF Realty.

    Adrian Schraufnagel and June on the first floor. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    The ask: Joanna Jaeger and her boyfriend, Adrian Schraufnagel, were tired of their one-bedroom in West Philly and fed up with renting in general. When their landlord announced a $200 rent increase in 2022, they notified him they would be moving out in 90 days.

    The clock was ticking to find a new home.

    They wanted a move-in ready place that wouldn’t immediately require expensive repairs. And after renting in West Philly for six years, they were eager to move across the river, to be closer to restaurants and more public transit. They also wanted to live within walking distance of a dog park.

    With a ceiling of $250,000, they hoped to find something closer to $230,000.

    Joanna Jaeger’s mother paid for the floors to be redone. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    The search: Jaeger enlisted a friend and coworker to be her real estate agent. They visited a series of newly renovated houses because Jaeger thought they would require the fewest repairs after move-in. She put in an offer on one but didn’t get it. She was becoming increasingly panicked.

    “I was like, ‘Oh my god, we’re running out of time!’” Jaeger recalled.

    Then, in April she saw an intriguing house on Zillow. It was a “granny special,” she said, featuring wall-to-wall purple shag carpeting and an upstairs bathroom paneled in dark wood with a ’70s floral motif around the sink. When she visited, there was a framed portrait of Frank Sinatra on the basement wall.

    Jaeger immediately loved the ’70s floral motif around the bathroom sink and the pale blue sink and tub. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    “It felt so cozy,” Jaeger said. “You could tell whoever lived there took a lot of pride in the house.”

    Though she had been looking at recently flipped houses, she especially liked the old-school South Philly features, including the awning out front and the amber-colored textured glass in the vestibule.

    The house was walking distance to Marconi Plaza and close to the bus and the Broad Street Line.

    Joanna Jaeger immediately loved the textured amber glass in the vestibule of the South Philly house. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    The deal: Jaeger told Schraufnagel that because of their tight deadline, he wouldn’t get to see the house in person before she put in an offer. He trusted her.

    “He usually follows the vision that I propose,” she said.

    She put in an offer for $233,000, an amount slightly under asking that her agent still deemed “respectful.” The sellers accepted the next day.

    Whoever lived there took a lot of pride in the house, Joanna Jaeger thought when she visited the home. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    An inspection found the house in good condition. The main issues were an electrical system with cloth insulation — a feature in many older homes that would make an electrical panel upgrade more expensive — and basement tiles likely made from asbestos. They were already painted over by the previous owners.

    “We’ve never tested it because we don’t really want to know,” Jaeger said.

    Adrian Schraufnagel and Joanna Jaeger ripped up the purple shag carpeting on the floors themselves. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    The money: A friend advised Jaeger not to buy a house with a boyfriend, and Schraufnagel’s credit score would have negatively impacted their interest rate.

    So Jaeger decided to buy the house herself. She qualified for a first-time homebuyer loan for $11,650 through Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and was able to negotiate a $2,500 seller assist after the inspection. The closing costs on the house were $13,364.

    Though she had saved up $15,000 to put toward the house, she ended up withdrawing only $9,214 from her savings for a $10,000 down payment.

    Schraufnagel contributes to the monthly payments, though the deed is in Jaeger’s name. With a 5.625% interest rate, the couple’s monthly payments are $1,274, plus $121 per month for mortgage insurance.

    Joanna Jaeger said buying her South Philly home made her feel grounded enough to have a child. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    The move: Jaeger closed on the home in early June 2022, and she and Schraufnagel moved in the day before their West Philly lease ended.

    They rented a U-Haul for large items and packed smaller ones into Jaeger’s Prius. A new neighbor saw them unloading boxes and offered to help, a sign of the close-knit community they were joining.

    “They are still very fabulous neighbors,” Jaeger said.

    When Jaeger’s parents visited for the first time, her dad suggested replacing the dated bathroom. “This bathroom is why we bought the house!” she told him.

    The bathroom is paneled in dark wood, one of the old-school features Joanna Jaeger loved about the house. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    Life after close: Jaeger and Schraufnagel ripped up the purple carpets from the first floor, the bedrooms, and the hallways themselves, and Jaeger’s mother contributed $10,000 to install new vinyl plank floors. But the work wasn’t done by the time they moved in, so they had to camp out in a corner of the living room for two days.

    The house has already been a site of major life changes. Jaeger and Schraufnagel married in 2023 and welcomed their first child, June, last year.

    A set of June’s paints. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    “If we hadn’t bought our house, we probably would have decided not to have a kid,” Jaeger said. “Moving into our house gave me a big sense of grounded-ness.”

    The house still has its quirks: The bedrooms are connected by a closet, so if both closets are open, there’s a passageway between them. And sometimes Jaeger and Schraufnagel will come across something like mismatched molding that was clearly done by an amateur in a DIY spirit.

    Even so, they don’t plan to move any time soon.

    “We’re gonna own this house forever,” Jaeger said, “and probably live in this house forever.”

    Did you recently buy a home in the Philadelphia area or South Jersey? Share the story of how you did it. Email Inquirer real estate reporters at properties@inquirer.com.

  • How to have a Perfect Philly Day, according to former Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin

    How to have a Perfect Philly Day, according to former Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin

    Connor Barwin has a tattoo of the Detroit skyline sketched on his right arm, but in nearly every other way, he’s a Philly diehard. (Some fans have wondered online whether it’s actually the Philadelphia skyline — it’s not.)

    The former linebacker moved here in 2013 to play for the Eagles and “fell in love with Philly pretty quickly,” he said.

    During his first season, Barwin, 39, launched the Make the World Better Foundation to fund revitalizations of city parks and playgrounds. He lived in Center City and rode SEPTA to practice.

    Even when he left to play for the Rams in Los Angeles in 2017 and the Giants in New York in 2018, he maintained his civic devotion, reminding Pennsylvanians from afar to register to vote. In 2018, he moved back for good, settling in Fishtown with his wife, his now 8-year-old son and his 5-year-old daughter. He reads The Inquirer in print every Sunday.

    His foundation hosts a yearly benefit concert and has transformed the Vare Recreation Center in Grays Ferry and Waterloo Playground in Kensington, among others.

    Barwin now works for the Eagles as head of football development and strategy. On his perfect day, he orders the same breakfast he’s eaten roughly 199 times before, (quietly) roots for his kids from the sideline of their soccer games, and spends several happy hours at the Linc.

    A perfect day for Connor Barwin involves biking to breakfast with his wife and two children. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer

    7 a.m.

    I’m sleeping in, and waking up around 7 — on my own and not with my kids jumping in my bed. I have quiet time with my wife. I still get the physical paper delivered on Sundays, and if I can get 30 minutes to read it before my kids wake up, that’s the start of a perfect day.

    8 a.m.

    All of us get on our bikes and ride over to Cafe La Maude. I don’t know how I discovered it, but I’ve been going there for about 12 years. I get the open-faced burrito. I’ve probably been there 200 times, and I’ve ordered the open-faced burrito 199 times. I hear they have a lot of other great things on their menu, but I don’t waver.

    9:30 a.m.

    We bike home. It’s about a mile, and when you’re with two young kids, you have to take your time. Cycling is the perfect thing because it gets me outside, it gets me with my family, and we’re all getting some exercise.

    11 a.m.

    We go watch my kids play soccer in a local club. You just can’t forget the chairs because there’s usually not seating. On my perfect day, I’m sitting and watching both of them from the same vantage point.

    I try to let them have that space and for their coach to do the coaching, and I just try to observe. There’s three things that are most important: to have fun, be a good teammate, and play hard. And if kids are doing that, they’re getting what they should be getting out of sports.

    Connor Barwin sits for a portrait in his backyard, where his kids like to play soccer. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer

    12:30 p.m.

    Around the block from where we live is a great little corner store, D&C Deli. We’ll walk down and get hoagies from there. I get the Italian, my wife gets the turkey. My kids get turkey and cheese or tuna. It’s one of the great parts about living in the city.

    1 p.m.

    I drop off the family. I get dressed and get whatever I need. Then I’m heading down to the Eagles stadium to be there three-plus hours before the 4:25 game.

    1:30 p.m.

    I run the stadium stairs, taking in the stadium before it fills up. It’s a tradition that I like to do since I stopped playing.

    I love seeing and talking to the people who work in the stadium. I have some fun conversations with them about what they think about the game. They play a big role in the game day experience, so I enjoy that. And then I have my responsibilities before a game.

    4:25 p.m.

    I’m locked into my role. There’s a focus and intensity to it. I often get asked, do I miss not being a player anymore? I would say I don’t really miss it because I enjoy still being a part of it, and the intensity and competition that comes with it.

    7:30 p.m.

    The Eagles win. After the game, I hang out with my family and other families in the stadium for an hour or so to let traffic die down. Maybe on a perfect day it’s not a close game, so people leave early and there’s less traffic.

    8:30 p.m.

    When I played, I always got Santucci’s pizza after home games. Now I go back and forth between Santucci’s and Pizzeria Beddia. If I’m ordering Santucci’s, it’s a mushroom pizza. If I’m at Beddia, we’re usually getting the corn pie. My wife’s favorite is the pizza with greens. And we get the plain as well.

    10 p.m.

    We put the kids to bed, and then my wife and I have a Lambrusco.

    The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

  • The best thing Mike Klein ate last week: Retro burgers and fries at one of Joe Biden’s go-to restaurants

    The best thing Mike Klein ate last week: Retro burgers and fries at one of Joe Biden’s go-to restaurants

    The Charcoal Pit has been serving burgers on Concord Pike in Wilmington since the Happy Days of the Eisenhower administration, when a 4-ounce hamburger was considered a meal rather than an appetizer. (Funny how, in the GLP-1 era, that portion suddenly seems just about perfect.)

    This is honest food. The signature flame-broiled burger, ordered medium at my recent stop, arrived precisely that way — juicy and properly pink inside, speared by a charming retro toothpick helpfully confirming “medium.” The fries were similarly old-school: unevenly golden, crisp at the edges but softer through the middle.

    Charcoal Pit, 2600 Concord Pike, Wilmington, on Sept. 6, 2026.Michael Klein / Staff

    Everybody heads to the Pit’s soda fountain, where we all skipped the idea of the 20-scoop “kitchen sink” sundae in favor of a more manageable three dips: Pistachio and peanut butter swirl are two winners.

    Burgers, shakes, and sundaes never go out of style, and neither does this dining room. The Charcoal Pit looks less like a re-creation of a 1956 diner than one that never got the memo the 1950s ended.

    Despite renovations, enough survives that the nostalgia feels accumulated rather than contrived: red vinyl booths, a black-and-white checkerboard floor, saucer-shaped pendant lights, and mirrors multiplying the chrome stools and booths.

    Charcoal Pit, 2600 Concord Pike, Wilmington.Michael Klein / Staff

    One bit of history is more consequential. An oft-retold story holds that around 1960 or 1961, Joe Biden and several Archmere Academy football teammates walked out after the restaurant refused indoor service to their Black teammate, Frank Hutchins. Teammate Michael Fay later recalled Biden leading the walkout. As an adult, Biden frequented the Pit, stopping particularly for its butter pecan ice cream.

    And one practical tip survives from a more innocent part of the past: Always put the kids on the inside of the booth, so they can reach the free-play jukebox and flip through the 1950s hits.

    Charcoal Pit, 2600 Concord Pike, Wilmington, 302-478-2165, charcoalpit.net

  • Should I slide to the middle seat on a crowded train or can I stand up and force someone else to take it?

    Should I slide to the middle seat on a crowded train or can I stand up and force someone else to take it?

    This week’s question (Have your own? Submit it here.):

    On Regional Rail, I often sit in the aisle of a three-seater, knowing the car will fill up at rush hour. When it does, I stand up so another passenger can take the middle seat, then return to my aisle seat. My friend says that’s awkward on a busy car, and I should just slide over. Who’s right?

    Beatrice Forman, Food & Dining reporter

    I feel like sliding over is one of those things that’s baked into the social contract of riding public transit, TBH.

    If it’s a busy car, it’s your moral duty to slide over and free up the aisle seat. Sitting at the end of the row is a defensive posture that makes it seem like you don’t want someone next to you.

    Abigail Covington, Life & Culture reporter

    The right thing to do is slide over.

    Beatrice Forman

    I think it’s weird because it treats the middle seat kind of like a punishment? And most Regional Rail rides aren’t long enough to the point that it matters. One of my favorite facts about Regional Rail is that none of the trains have bathrooms because the trips aren’t that long.

    Abigail Covington

    I would absolutely do what the writer does. Everybody knows the middle seat is terrible. The window is better because you don’t have people on either side of you. The aisle is better because it makes it easier and faster to get off the train. The only reason to sit in the middle is if there is nowhere else to sit. If the aisle was open when you got to it, you hold onto that seat for dear life. It’s basically like riding first class for free.

    Beatrice Forman

    I don’t know that taking the middle seat makes it that much slower to get off the train. It’s like when people stand as soon as the airplane lands! It doesn’t help you move any quicker. The real prime real estate is getting a seat close enough to a door. First class does still have middle seats, after all.

    I always slide over because of the golden rule. I would hate to be relegated to the middle seat for the rest of my life just because my stop is closer to the end of the line.

    Abigail Covington

    Yeah, Bea, you’re correct. The right, polite thing to do is slide over. If you’re getting up to let someone else in, you’re causing commotion in the aisle, forcing others to move, or shoving them closer together. Trains work best when everybody on them works together to create a seamless, efficient experience. Like stepping off the train at a stop if you’re standing by the door. By not scooting over, you’re being a bottleneck.

    Beatrice Forman

    And no one likes a bottleneck.

    Abigail Covington

    Exactly. And I say that with love, as a fellow aisle seat-addicted bottleneck.

    Beatrice Forman

    You know, at least they’re not one of those people that take their shoes off on the train. Those people deserve the middle seat for life.

  • Dear Abby | Relative’s gift came with strings attached

    Dear Abby | Relative’s gift came with strings attached

    DEAR ABBY: About 15 years ago, my nephew gave me a birthday gift of a baseball bat signed by a top player. I love baseball, so it was a lovely gift. After I thanked him, he said, “When my son is older, I would like you to give it to him.” We have been estranged now for at least 10 years because his spouse dislikes our family for some reason.

    Am I obligated to find a way to get the bat back to him? Looking at their Facebook over the years, I see no signs that there is any interest in baseball in this son or their family. I am in my later years and have been trying to downsize and pass on some of my things. I would rather pass it on to a grandchild of mine who loves and currently plays baseball and would treasure it.

    — DOWNSIZING BASEBALL FAN

    DEAR FAN: This family has chosen to cut ties with you. They cannot reasonably expect you to track down a grandnephew with whom you have no relationship. In fact, it was crass of your nephew to put a stipulation on the gift in the first place. Pass the bat to the grandchild you know and love.

    ** ** **

    DEAR ABBY: I’ve been married for 20 years. My in-laws and I have had a decent relationship. My husband, our three teenage children and I have been living with them for 10 years. It was rough at first, but things got better. My in-laws received and spent three cushy inheritances (close to $3.5 million) over the last 22 years. They also maxed out a reverse mortgage within the past two years. Abby, they have not one dime of it left! Things started to go downhill about four years ago. My husband and I have bailed them out financially too many times to count. We’re not financially struggling, but our nest egg (that we worked hard for and was to go toward buying our own home) is nearly gone. The in-laws have slid back into their old ways again — not paying bills, not cleaning up after themselves, not helping with household chores, neglecting their health, etc.

    My in-laws gave us their powers of attorney for health and finance a few months ago. They agreed to allow us to help them get organized, make a budget, clean up their house, make appointments and hold them accountable. They invariably play the victim and complain when we try to discuss things. Over the past eight months, I’ve had two breakdowns. This is affecting my mental and physical health. My kids want nothing to do with their grandparents. I’m not perfect, but I do have self-respect. Please help!

    — ON EDGE IN WASHINGTON

    DEAR ON EDGE: It’s time to recognize that your in-laws may have a problem that you and your husband are not equipped to handle. That you now have their powers of attorney may (or may not) save all of you. For everyone’s sake, stop enabling them and enlist the help of a licensed financial counselor to help straighten out this mess. Go online and look for an accredited or certified credit counselor affiliated with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (nfcc.org.). Their “slide back into their old ways” may have a medical explanation, which means your in-laws need to be evaluated medically and neurologically. Please don’t wait.

  • Horoscopes: Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026

    Horoscopes: Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026

    ARIES (March 21-April 19). The usual things need to be tended to before you can move on to the “fun stuff.” Doing the chores in a different order will make it go better, if only because the novelty quickens and sharpens you.

    TAURUS (April 20-May 20). When you’re uncertain, resist the pressure to answer right away. You probably don’t yet know what people really want. Slow the conversation down so you can hear the clues, like a change in the voice, and themes that repeat. Follow the tension.

    GEMINI (May 21-June 21). To aim and miss is hard enough when done in private. Missing in front of people takes real guts. But if most people around you aren’t even trying, any mistake you make proves you’re braver. You’re actually living.

    CANCER (June 22-July 22). Your experience isn’t isolated. Many people are navigating the same kinds of obstacles. Changes in your own life really do mirror something happening all around you. Communities are forming.

    LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You discover that compatibility has less to do with agreeing about everything and more to do with enjoying ordinary days. Routines become cozy. Greetings become warmer, goodbyes become shorter, and home starts looking like another person’s face.

    VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You are like the universal key that can, with a certain amount of jiggling, fit into a lot of different situations today, so you can afford to be choosy. There’s that one that will click like it’s made for you.

    LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). It will feel good to shed some of the things you’ve stored for year. Your efforts to need less, appreciate more and be generous in any way you can be will not only make life better for you, but also influence all around you.

    SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You’re caring less about what people think of you, and the less you care, the more they like you. Without the distraction of having to please, small, wonderful things happen today, including the fact that you simply have more energy.

    SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). “Do as I say, not as I do” may be uniquely human, as the other animals don’t spend nearly as much time directing each other. You’ll follow your advice to others and teach them twice.

    CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). What you need most today is willpower — not because times are hard, but because they are not. Staying on track can be much more of a challenge on ordinary days, but surround yourself with good examples and you’re golden.

    AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). It is said that ability is nothing without opportunity. The trick is in pursuing the opportunity, even before you know what it looks like. You can practically smell it now, like cookies baking in the distance.

    PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). To demand perfection of yourself is hardly fair. Even if asking for perfection nets you better results than if you hadn’t, the stress is too high a cost to be worthwhile today. A gentle, tolerant spirit takes you further.

    TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 12). It’s your Year of the Zephyrs, when pleasant surprises drift in on the westerly wind. Change is easy, love is breezy; prepare for storms and then enjoy when they dissipate before they can ever reach you. Someone’s always having a good time; this year, it’s you. More highlights: Children inspire. Businesses meld, benefiting all. You’ll change your financial strategy and do what you wanted to do with less. Cancer and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 42, 31, 26, 9 and 3.