The team behind one of Philadelphia’s most acclaimed new cocktail bars is preparing a larger second act in Rittenhouse.
Almanac co-owners Vy To and Victor Ng and bar manager Rob Scott are building a two-level bar in the former Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. space at 112 S. 18th St. A name and opening date have not been announced. Much more work needs to be done, they said, as the space has been vacant since Franklin left in 2021. It later reopened behind the 1715 Rittenhouse Hotel. The new bar is between Cleavers and Byblos and its upstairs lounge, Vango.
Bar manager Rob Scott making a drink at Almanac’s opening in November 2024.Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
To, Ng, and Scott have been riding high on public acclaim since they opened the 23-seat, Japanese-influenced Almanac in 2024 above its sister restaurant, Ogawa Sushi & Kappo, at 310 Market St. in Old City.
To, Ng, and Scott will be partners in the new venture. They started working together in 2024, when the Drexel Food Lab connected To and Ng with Danny Childs, the James Beard Award-winning author of Slow Drinks. Childs recruited Scott, his former colleague at Cherry Hill’s Farm & Fisherman, to run Almanac.
The Rittenhouse bar will divide its personality between two floors, and each will carry its own name. The long, narrow lower level will be calm, dark, and intimate, with a cocktail menu built around a single theme that could remain for 12 to 18 months. Upstairs will be brighter, livelier, and designed to handle more customers.
Its largely fixed beverage menu upstairs will rely on draft, frozen, freezer-door, nitro, and shaved-ice cocktails. Scott said he hopes to avoid conventional shakers, mixing tins, and jiggers upstairs. Most preparation would occur before service, allowing bartenders to pour and garnish drinks quickly while spending more time with customers.
“You can return in a week, a month, or a year, and it will probably still be there,” Scott said of the upstairs menu selections.
The new approach is partly a response to Almanac’s economics. Its hyperseasonal menu and fermentation and preservation work can require hours of preparation, but its size limits capacity. Scott said Almanac’s cocktails cost $19 to $23 partly because labor and ingredient expenses must be divided among relatively few guests.
The new project would preserve Almanac’s distinctive, intimate experience downstairs while increasing volume upstairs to allow more guests to experience Scott’s hospitality without a reservation, To said. Kitchen and preparation employees would work across both floors. The Drexel Food Lab is developing a small-bites menu.
Rob Scott locks the door at the future bar at 112 S. 18th St. on Sept. 23.Michael Klein / Staff
Behind Bars Agency of Oslo is designing a customized downstairs system allowing two bartenders to work independently in the narrow room. Philadelphia designer Ian Chapin, whose resumé includes Middle Child Clubhouse, R&D, and Pub & Kitchen, is handling the interiors; Kylie Silvestri, who worked on Almanac, Ogawa, and Little Water, will oversee graphic design.
The partners plan to divide the downstairs room into smaller lounge areas while preserving sight lines to the bar. Upstairs will feature custom lighting and metalwork. Scott described the contrasting rooms as “two sides of the same coin.”
To said the larger project is intended to turn the hospitality practiced at 12-seat Ogawa and Almanac into a more durable business with enough revenue to create long-term jobs.
“We want our employees to be able to build careers and have a sustainable lifestyle if they choose to remain in this world with us,” she said.
Workers carrying out tables from Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.’s location at 112 S. 18th St. in May 2021. Franklin later reopened nearby.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Things are starting to line up like a perfectly positioned side-view mirror for the first Philadelphia Parallel Parking Association (PPPA) Championship Saturday, with final details about the event being released this week.
Fifteen drivers, each of whom claims to be the best parallel parker in the city, will go bumper-to-bumper in a series of challenges from 1 to 4 p.m. at Headhouse Plaza in Society Hill to determine who’s telling the truth and who’s full of hot air.
The competition is being held by the PPPA with the South Street Headhouse District serving as co-presenter. Formed this year, the PPPA is a semi-silly group created by self-proclaimed Commissioner Adam Wodka of South Philly that takes the art of parallel parking very seriously. Its executive board is made up of seven of Wodka’s friends.
Philadelphia Parallel Parking Association Commissioner Adam Wodka behind the wheel.Courtesy of Adam Wodka
Earlier this month, Marisa Magnatta from WMMR’s Preston and Steve Show was announced as the event’s emcee and on Tuesday, the PPPA revealed its three local celebrity judges.
Among them is Fergus Carey, the longtime owner of Fergie’s Pub and several other drinking establishments across the city, who’s generally known in Philly by just one name, Fergie, because around here he only needs one, like Cher.
Someone fairly new to the Philly limelight who came onto our screens and into hearts this spring is also serving as a judge — crossing guard Jamele Ransom. In May, Ransom gave an animated interview to NBC10 about witnessing a carjacked truck crash into a playground and he gave that interview while actively eating a soft-serve vanilla ice cream cone the entire time. The clip quickly went viral, with people hailing Ransom as a Philly “legend” and “hero.”
Rounding out the trio of judges is comedian and social media influencer Betsy Kenney, whose ASMR videos, which are spoken with a strong Philly accent and feature sounds like the soft crushing of wooder ice, have been wildly popular online.
Just shy of 900 people entered the competition in the month applications were open, according to Wodka, with many submitting videos in which they illustrated their skills or told tales of their parallel parking prowess. Ten contestants were chosen by the PPPA and the remaining five were voted on by the public.
Many of the drivers are going by nicknames like “Pirate One Shot” and “Missy Parks Good.” One competitor, Mary Zheng, was a contestant on Survivor, and another, who’s going by the name “Dark Transit,” is a SEPTA bus driver. Some filmed their video applications on the street or in their car, and at least one guy, “Joe Cocomo” of South Philly, appears to have filmed his lying in bed.
“I’ve been parallel parking since I was 8 years old,” Cocomo said in his application video, which is posted to the PPPA’s Instagram page along with those of the other finalists.
The contenders hail from neighborhoods across Philadelphia, from Uptown to South Philly and from Eastwick to West Mount Airy, and they range in age from folks in their 20s to people in their 70s. (There was a 90-year-old finalist but she recently backed out.)
Contestants are required to use their own vehicles and will compete in three categories:
One shot: Get closest to the curb in one attempt.
Tight squeeze: With 18 inches of clearance, park closest to the curb using the least amount of moves.
Under duress: Park as fast as you can while faced with distractions.
The judges will score each contestant on a 10-point scale based on speed, competency, proximity to the curb, and flair. The three drivers with the highest scores will move on to the final round, a “pure show me what you got,” where one will be crowned best parallel parker in Philadelphia 2026, according to Wodka.
Initially, the PPPA was going to allow backup cameras in the competition, but it has since reversed that decision.
A sign advertising the 2026 Philadelphia Parallel Parking Association Championship is affixed to a pole across from some fine examples of parallel parking in the city.Courtesy of Adam Wodka
“While going through the contestant applications, so many people took pride in calling out that they don’t need it or use it that we decided for someone to be the Best Parallel Parker in Philadelphia it should be earned through the grit of doing it old-school,” Wodka said via email.
Saturday’s competition will also feature a parallel parking practice for kids, merchandise, and the debut of the PPPA’s mascot, Parallel Pete, who is an orange traffic cone.
The winner of the PPPA Championship will receive best parallel parker in Philadelphia bragging rights for a year, a trophy that will include a piece of a curb, and $76 to cover their next parking ticket.
Former Flyers forward Simon Gagné probably said it best:
“I think every season’s a new chapter. So, whatever happened, even if you had the best power play last year, you need to start all over again.”
The Flyers did not have the best power play last year. In fact, they had the worst. But as the guy who is tied for 12th in franchise history with 74 power-play goals said, the slate is truly clean, and everyone starts from scratch.
But when it comes to the Flyers and the power play, will this chapter have an all too familiar ending?
We’ve used the words tortured, dreadful, and horrific to describe the Flyers’ time on the man advantage in recent seasons. We even joked that they should decline power plays.
The Flyers are trapped in a great depression with the man-advantage. Last season, they finished dead last for the fourth time in five seasons at 15.7%. They finished 30th two seasons ago, but the percentage was a tick worse than last year at 15%.
It may not feel like it, but the Flyers’ power play hasn’t always been bad.
Since the NHL started tracking power-play stats in the 1977-78 season, the Flyers are tied for 16th in power-play percentage (19.2) and tied for 15th in power-play goals per game (0.75).
They’d probably love to finish in the middle of the pack this season.
Those all-time numbers mirror where the Flyers ranked cumulatively over the five years before this recent plummet to the basement: 16th at 19.5%. The only true holdovers from then are Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, and Travis Sanheim (Cam York played three games in 2020-21).
The personnel, including the cycling in of three coaches, has changed over the years. The results have not.
(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();
‘It’s a matter of trust’
Although it’s hard to pinpoint one thing that makes a power-play click, beyond having good players, one word kept resurfacing when talking with Gagné and Hall of Famer Mark Recchi, who ranks 17th in NHL history with 569 career power-play points and ran the Pittsburgh Penguins power play as an assistant under Mike Sullivan after Rick Tocchet left.
Trust.
As Billy Joel sang, “It’s always been a matter of trust.”
“You need to trust your teammate is going to be there because you … don’t see him. He’s supposed to be there, so you need to go blind and say, ‘Hey, he’s going to be there,’” Gagné said.
Former Flyer Simon Gagne believes the most important thing when it comes to a power play is trust.YONG KIM / Staff
This was one of the issues during John Tortorella’s tenure as bench boss. At times, Tortorella noted that Rocky Thompson, who ran the power play, wanted to keep things the same to build connectivity. Tortorella was impatient, and it’s hard to build trust when guys are shuffling in and out of units or the power play as a whole.
It’s part of the reason why teams like the Penguins, who play at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., TNT, truTV), and the Edmonton Oilers consistently find themselves at the top of the standings.
“Simon’s bang on,” Recchi added in a recent phone interview when told of Gagné’s comment. “A lot of it’s trust. A lot of it’s playing together, [meaning] you know what your teammates are going to do, and that’s why it’s nice when you can get a group of players together.
“You might have to bounce one guy in and out, but say you have four guys all the time, four or five guys, just builds that trust and that you know exactly what they’re thinking, what they’re going to do.”
Although there was already one switch in the preseason, with York taking David Jiříček’s spot on the second power-play unit, the plan is to give the groups some time to gel and build that trust.
“I’d be an idiot [if] for a bad couple of games to start the year to abandon [it],” Tocchet said Sept. 23. “I’ve got to give these guys some runway for sure. But they’ve got to get the 50-yard line too.”
Position
Power-play 1
Power-play 2
Net-front
Matvei Michkov
Noah Cates
Bumper
Porter Martone
Travis Konecny
Right Flank
Trevor Zegras
Alex Bump
Left Flank
Tyson Foerster
Owen Tippett
Blueline quarterback
Jamie Drysdale
Cam York
‘This time you’ve got nothing to lose’
While trust is being created on the ice, it is also being developed between the coaches and the players.
This summer, Tocchet and his staff, led by power-play coach Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovský, sent players to their offseason cottages with homework. That included videos of some of the league’s best players with the man-advantage, including Nikita Kucherov, Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Wyatt Johnston.
Outside of the first two or three days, the coaches have been working on the power play at practice every day. After doing unit work, they are pulling guys aside, like Tocchet with Jiříček on Tuesday or, on Sept. 21, when Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov, Tyson Foerster, and Jamie Drysdale were working on plays without Porter Martone, who was in the game group that night.
The Flyers believe the individual talent of Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone could elevate a long dormant power play.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Each side has to do the work, but the onus is on the players to figure it out and produce. And a big part of that is making the right reads. Tocchet has repeatedly said that he didn’t think the players on the power play last season were reading situations properly — on zone entries or once set up — and therefore missing opportunities to move the puck or to strike.
“It’s a fraction of a second,” Gagné said. “The PK is so good that a seam pass is going to be open for a fraction of a second. This is where you need to read that play and make that play. If you wait, the play is going to die there.”
“We spent a lot of time last year on knowing those lanes, and there’s only so many options from each kind of quadrant on the ice or area that you’re in, and it’s just picking the right one,” Drysdale said, noting he also used video.
“It’s making the read sooner before I get the puck, things like that. So it kind of just tacks on to finding the spots that I know I’m going to be in, and just working from those spots, working on my reads from those spots, and just getting ultra-comfortable with my outs, my options, and my shooting lanes.”
Finding lanes, moving the puck, and being patient when needed, are elements that make successful power plays. But trust and confidence are the two biggest factors in building a cohesive unit and the proper muscle memory. “It’s like riding a bicycle,” said Gagné. “When riding a bike you jump on there, and you don’t think about what you’re doing. So on the power play you need to have the right people first, and after that, you need to go with your instinct.”
And the hope is that you get one and then another and another and confidence builds.
“I remember when we struggled on the power play, it was just keep it really simple and get some ugly goals,” Gagné added. “Having traffic in front of the net and hoping that it’s going to deflect off someone and get an easy goal. Or just deflecting and go in, and after that, it’s funny, because it’s the confidence coming back and now you say, ‘Oh, we got one,’ so you just get looser and more on with your stick and making plays.”
‘It took a lot for you to not lose your faith’
Tocchet said he agrees with former NHL coach Bruce Cassidy’s philosophy that 80% of the power play should revolve around plays below the hash marks. For the Flyers’ first power-play unit, Michkov, Zegras, and Martone will be heavily relied on in that aspect. They’ll be asked to score around the net and create enough havoc to open up space for others.
But the biggest cloud hanging over the Flyers is the demons of years past. The Flyers will say it doesn’t bother them, but it’s fair to say those past failures linger in the air.
The Flyers need a power-play quarterback to emerge with Jamie Drysdale the likeliest internal candidate. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“I think pressure hits you when you don’t trust your teammates, or you don’t trust what’s going on, or you don’t trust even yourself,” Tocchet said on Sunday.
“But if you’re confident in what we’re trying to do, like we’re talking about low plays — and they’ll work — trust it, and they’ll start to go in. It’ll bounce off a skate, or Mich will go in there [and] it’ll go top shelf sometimes. That builds confidence.
“So, I think, to me, handling pressure is handling the right things to do, and the system. And power plays, even if you ask [Cassidy], there has to be creativity, too. You can’t tell the guys exactly where to go, but there are certain situations where I feel last year we didn’t take advantage of. [Like] when we had two at the net, we never got the puck there. We were doing all these high plays, and it would hit a stick or a guy would fumble the puck instead of just getting the puck to the net with two guys in front. It’s as simple as that sometimes.”
The puck drops on the season Wednesday, and while general manager Danny Brière wants to quiet the outside expectations of another playoff appearance by saying the team could take a step back, there is no denying that a better power play would help make a postseason berth attainable. As many have said, power plays can make or break teams.
The Flyers, who didn’t make any major personnel changes to upgrade their power play in the offseason, believe they have solutions in-house with the likes of Martone, Michkov, Zegras, Travis Konecny, Foerster, and Drysdale. Will young players growing together and learning through experience be enough to spearhead a turnaround?
Time will tell. As Konecny quipped on Sunday when asked if it’ll be better: “You got a crystal ball for me?”
Kira Coviello grabbed her accordion, strapped on her 18-pound backpack foot drum that was slightly leaning off the edge of the kitchen counter, slowly — and carefully — grabbed the straps hanging from the drum and placed them under the heel of her clogs. Then, the 42-year-old grabbed her kazoo and placed it around her neck.
“Look at me, an independent woman,” Coviello said as her husband, Noah Sullum, and her dog, Winnie, watched.
In a sparkly green Eagles jacket, a striped green dress, and a pair of green polka dot socks, the Doylestown native began to play the Eagles fight song with all of the instruments: her left foot controlling the tambourine, her right foot controlling the foot drum, her right hand controlling the snare drum with a baton twirling at the same time, and her left hand controlling the accordion.
This has become part of Coviello’s gameday tradition as she includes herself in one of her husband’s favorite pastimes: football Sundays.
“I’m a supporter of sports teams,” Coviello said. “I like all the hype around it. I really like the Eagles’ fight song. I like how happy it makes everyone around here. I don’t pretend to understand sports that well. I’m what you might call artsy-fartsy. My husband and I are very different people in every way. He likes the Eagles, and I have found a new way to involve myself with his enjoyment of watching the games. It seems like a new way to connect.”
Coviello, the one-woman band, has been posting consistently on her Instagram page, honest2betsy, for the last three years, growing her platform to about 440,000 followers.
When asked how she would describe her account to someone new, she responded: “nostalgic humor.”
“So, Betsy, the character I created, is kind of a repressed housewife who keeps discovering music, and, unfortunately for her, a lot of that music winds up being very raunchy, or it’s satire, and she doesn’t realize that it’s satire,” Coviello said. “It’s kind of like a silent movie with music. So I do a lot of acting with my face and creating little scenes. So that’s how the page started and blew up. And now it’s turned into a bunch of other silly, whimsical things that happen.”
Kira Coviello demonstrates her one-woman band for Eagles games.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer
She created the character in 2023 after leaving her job at a theatre school. What started as a few video clips getting sent into the group chat with her friends turned into an online persona.
“I actually thought I was going to use it to maybe sell some of the things I was crocheting,” Coviello said. “Like, I was crocheting at one point a giant uterus to support Planned Parenthood. So I thought maybe I’ll do this housewife thing, and I’ll sell some of my crochet products. I haven’t crocheted since I started doing these videos now because the ADHD took me in a different direction.”
Coviello has acted at the Walnut Street Theater. She also plays multiple instruments, including the violin, cello, accordion, a Swedish instrument called the nyckelharpa — and, most recently, the backpack foot drum — which she purchased from Farmer Foot Drum in August.
Video: Meet the one-woman band performing the Eagles fight song on game days
With her musical and theater background, she has created a new series titled “Helping my husband watch the Eagles games.”
“[The foot drum] is a new toy,” Coviello said. “I just got it very recently and haven’t perfected playing yet, but I think that adds to the comedy of it.”
But Sullum and their three kids, Eloise, 15, Esme, 13, and Tallulah, 11, have gotten used to Coviello’s antics.
“She doesn’t do much to shock me anymore,” Sullum said. “I think I’ve seen it all. Our dog is used to the noise, used to the instruments, used to the singing. There’s got to be 15-20 instruments in the house at least it would seem. So, yeah. It’s noisy.”
Inside the house, there’s a room for all the instruments. Stringed instruments hang on the wall, including guitars and banjos, a piano sits toward the center of the room, and instruments like a washboard and a nyckelharpa stand out.
Kira Coviello started her online persona in 2009.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer
Coviello has been teaching herself how to play the foot drum through instructional videos. And as an Eagles fan, it was only fitting for her to learn how to play the Eagles fight song.
“I think that just comes with living in the Philadelphia area for over 20 years,” Coviello said. “It’s just in all of us. And I play instruments by ear, so that just comes out in my blood now.”
Since posting the “Helping my husband watch the Eagles games” series, both videos have accumulated over 14,000 likes, and Eagles receiver/return specialist Britain Covey commented, “I think we need you at the next team meeting [to be honest].”
“As long as they keep winning, I have to do that, because I’ve fallen into the trap of superstitions,” Coviello said. “So now if they win, it’s thanks to me playing my foot drums and helping my husband. And if they lose, perhaps then I’ll have to stop or take a break, or find a new way to help him watch the game. Just add another instrument.”
And with the Eagles suffering their first loss of the season to the Chicago Bears, Coviello is thinking of new ways to add more whimsy — perhaps tap dancing?
“I never know what I’m going to get,” Sullum said. “But, I think she has an upward trajectory for sure.”
When asked where she should perform next, he said “[Eagles] halftime show, where else?”
But in the meantime, Coviello will continue to play at her upcoming honest2betsy live shows at The Birdhouse in Lambertville (Dec. 11), Soul Joel’s in Pottstown (Dec. 18), and Cary’s Music Room in New Hope (Jan. 9).
After a first postseason appearance in five years and a captivating surge to the second round of the NHL playoffs, Flyers hockey returns Wednesday night with the Orange and Black hosting the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2026-27 lid-lifter at Xfinity Mobile Arena (7:30 p.m., TNT, HBO MAX, and TruTV).
Increased success brings increased expectations, and general manager Danny Brière has been the first to caution his young players that it only gets harder the second time around.
On the eve of the Flyers’ opener, Brière sat down with The Inquirer to chat about the momentum around the Flyers, some of his top young players, and much more.
Q: Why were you comfortable running it back with basically the same roster, especially with increased competition expected?
A: We have a young team that took a big step last year. You want to see how far they can take it. I think the players also earned it; they took a big step. I mean, it’s not like we didn’t try to improve the team. You’re always looking. You want to help take that next step. We did, but it just didn’t work out. There’s other things that were in the books. But at the same time, I know fans love to see trades, but I’m not going to make trades just to make trades. It has to make sense. We’ve worked hard building the culture around here. We have a group of young men that bought into that, and we’re not just going to dismantle that just to please the few fans that just think we’re playing fantasy hockey.
The goal is to improve the team, and we think we did that. Maybe not at the top, first line or first pairing, but I think Joseph Woll is going to be a huge addition to our team. I think Simon Benoit and Noel Acciari will bring us a lot of depth. You look at last year, starting the year, our fourth line was putting us in a tough spot at times. I think now we have a fourth line that’s much closer to the other three; whoever you want to use as the fourth line. So to me, I think we’ve improved the team. But like I’ve said [previously], I’m worried. I’m worried all the time about some of our young guys, especially, thinking that they’ve made it. Every team is trying to improve, and we’re still looking to improve if we have the chance.
The Flyers believe goalie Joseph Woll will make a major difference, and alongside Dan Vladař, form one of the NHL’s top goaltending tandems.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Q: Do you look at what other teams in the Metropolitan Division are doing, and does that put any added pressure on you?
A: No, I don’t see it as pressure. You see it as OK, every trade brings in some kind of comparison to other trades. So that’s why we’re always looking at it to see, OK, what’s a fair value now if we’re talking about this guy vs. that guy and what they did? So, yeah, we’re keeping a close eye on everything that [teams are] doing, but I don’t try to make trades to compete with the other GMs. I make trades to improve our team.
I don’t see it as a competition vs. the other GMs; it’s a competition as far as on the ice. The goal is not who makes the most trades; it’s winning. You look at a team like Carolina, they’ve been pretty steady, and they’ve given the chance to their young guys to take the next step. I know it’s not always sexy, but you have to be careful with what you have sometimes. You don’t realize, and one day you wake up and they’re better elsewhere, and you’ve missed. But there’s also a case sometimes where prospects need a fresh start, and they need to go somewhere else to expand their game. So we’re aware of that, too.
Q: You said Saturday that David Jiříček’s camp was ‘OK.’ Are his defensive warts maybe more pronounced than you first thought?
A: No. We’re working with David. We’re going to try to help him. He’s working, he’s trying, and he’s still a young guy. He’s going to make mistakes. Yes, after I had my comments, he had a tough second half of the game [Saturday], and that’s going to happen. It’s going to happen with young guys. It doesn’t change what we think of them. We just have to keep working with him and try to build him up. It’s been a rough go for him the last few years, bouncing around a lot, new systems, new coaches, new teammates. So we’re going to keep working with him.
Q: It seems like Matvei Michkov’s whole mentality has changed. Take us through your first meeting with him this season, and what are your expectations for him?
A: I was really pleased with the way he showed up, the work he put in this summer. It really stood out when you saw him on the ice. It stood out when you saw him in street clothes. He really put in the work, and I’m really pleased with the fact that he’s trying to speak more English. He spoke to you guys [the media] here, in English without a translator; that’s a huge step. And I think it’s all part of it, right?
He feels better about himself. He’s more confident. He’s trying to close the gap with you guys [the media], close the gap with his teammates, and in return, he’s going to feel more confident on the ice. So I think it’s all part of the development that we see in young guys, and everybody has a different path. Not too many players go through what he had to go through in his short career. He’s been through so much already. We don’t have a template to prepare someone to go through what he has gone through. So we’re trying to stay cognizant of that, and again, working with him and realizing everybody has a different path.
The Flyers have been blown away by Matvei Michkov’s preseason, which has been a product of the work he put in this summer.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Q: With Rasmus Ristolainen’s age and contract situation, if the team is in contention, would you be comfortable keeping him and then potentially losing him for nothing?
A: Yes, absolutely, because part of the reason is the protection he gives our young guys, and I’ve said that before. And I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s too early, and so many things can go different ways, but yeah, if we’re in a playoff spot at the deadline, it’s something we have to consider as well. The value of protecting our players, our young players, might be greater than acquiring a future asset. But maybe not, and that’s something that we’ll evaluate as we get closer.
Q: With LeBron James choosing the Sixers, does it have any impact on the Flyers? And do you think having the NBA’s biggest star choosing Philadelphia can help you lure big stars too at some point?
A: That’s a good question. I think it shows, and you look at all four major sports in the city, they’re all very competitive teams. They want to win, and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win. LeBron signing here, I think it shows that Philadelphia is a sports hub. So I think it’s good for the other three major sports to have a superstar-level player come in to Philadelphia like that. So I think it’s a good thing.
The Flyers say they are in the business of trying to lure a star to Philadelphia. They believe LeBron James’ arrival can only help.Gabriela Carroll /
Q: Is there someone who was a big surprise for you at camp?
A: Matvei, the way he showed up. I was very pleased last year with a lot of guys — Dan Vladař to start with. I hope Woll can come in and play at a similar level as he does to have one of the best tandems in the league. I thought Jamie Drysdale took a huge step last year; that was good. Even Cam York, I thought, was a much better all-around defenseman last year than he was the year before, so that pairing was a big reason why we took the step that we did last year as well.
Q: What’s your message to guys like Cole Knuble and Oliver Bonk, who look so ready for the NHL, but were sort of victims to the numbers game?
A: Keep pushing the envelope. We told them, and everybody knows, the short camp has kind of played against them. That’s what it does; it protects the veteran better. But we’re not going to stop evaluating because the season starts. We’re going to keep watching them.
The other message to them and Jett Luchanko was, I don’t think it does any good to keep them in a sheltered role here at this point in their career. We felt it’s better for them to have the chance to play heavy minutes, play against the other team’s top lines, play on the PP, play on the PK, touch every situation. For Jett and Cole, they’re starting their pro career. Oliver has one year under his belt, but he was injured for the first, I think, two months of the season. So I think they’re in a great spot. They’re getting closer to being ready, but they still have a lot to learn, and I don’t feel it’s going to hurt them to spend a little bit of time in the minors.
Q: What is your overall message to the fan base heading into the year?
A: We feel we’re still going in the right direction. We’re still building. They have an exciting team in front of them. Now, I don’t know exactly where it’s going to go, and that’s what happens with a young team. We’re still a young team, but I really feel they have an exciting team that they’re seeing develop right in front of their eyes.
The Eagles are no strangers to getting walloped by the Ben Johnson-coached Chicago Bears. But Monday night’s beatdown seemed more ominous than the Week 13 loss last season.
The offense, hindered by penalties, turnovers, and negative plays, was largely inefficient throughout the game. Seven points scored by the Eagles marked their fewest in a contest since a 13-7 loss to the New York Giants in 2021, which was Nick Sirianni’s first season as head coach.
Monday night’s loss ended the Eagles’ streak of 75 straight regular season games of scoring at least 10 points, according to Next Gen Stats, which was the longest in franchise history.
The bigger surprise through three games, though, is that the Eagles defense has been a shell of itself compared to past iterations under Vic Fangio. Missed tackles, more penalties, and busted coverages marred their performance against the Bears, as Johnson got the better of Fangio once again.
Was Monday a preview of how the Eagles will fare against a slew of tough upcoming opponents, particularly the 1-2 Los Angeles Rams on Sunday? Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about the Eagles heading into Week 4:
Will we see more play action from Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and the rest of the Eagles’ offense?Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Blurred vision
Since joining the Eagles as offensive coordinator, Sean Mannion has laid out aspects of his vision for the offense and the West Coast flavor it would adopt.
Part of that vision included the marriage of the run and the pass, as the wide-zone run game would help set up the under-center play-action passing game. The Eagles largely hadn’t majored in the run action, especially from under center, since Sirianni took over as head coach.
Three games into the season, and the Eagles still haven’t. The offense has attempted 15 play-action passes (12 from under center), according to Next Gen Stats, which is the lowest total in the league. They have a minus-.17 expected points added per play-action pass, which ranks in the bottom six.
Jalen Hurts had four play-action pass attempts on Monday — three from under center, one from the pistol. He completed just one of them, a 19-yarder to Makai Lemon on a crossing route halfway through the first quarter.
The Bears sniffed out the others. Their solution to the illusion of the run was to blitz a linebacker, who on two of the three plays would go mostly untouched and get in Hurts’ face to force an incomplete pass or, in one case, an intentional grounding. The Eagles quarterback still ended up under pressure on the third, as the protection didn’t hold up, so he scrambled away and threw an incomplete pass to DeVonta Smith.
It’s too early to say for sure, but the Eagles offense is threatening to follow a similar trajectory as it did in 2024, minus its dominant rushing attack that carried the entire unit to the Super Bowl. That season, the hiring of Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator offered promise of a revamped, dynamic offensive scheme. It quickly reverted to more of the same from past Eagles offenses under Sirianni.
Can the Eagles implement and execute the scheme that Mannion was hired to install? Or will the ideal of a wholesale change only amount to something half-baked?
Davante Adams was dominant against the Broncos on Sunday night but the Rams fell in a thriller. Jack Dempsey
Reeling Rams
The Eagles must rebound against a ticked-off, yet talented, Rams team if they want to avoid dropping to 2-2.
A questionable defensive pass interference call against the Rams late in the fourth quarter wiped off an interception and got in the way of a prospective victory on Sunday night against the Denver Broncos. Instead, the penalty prolonged the eventual game-winning scoring drive orchestrated by Broncos quarterback Bo Nix.
Now, the Rams are 1-2, an underwhelming start to the season for a team considered Super Bowl favorites before it began.
They still could be, especially considering their personnel on paper, from 2025 MVP Matthew Stafford to their vaunted defensive front headlined by the recently unretired Aaron Donald.
But no player is without their flaws, especially Stafford. The 38-year-old quarterback tossed his 33rd career pick-six in the loss to the Broncos, a new all-time league high (Brett Favre had 32 from 1991-2010). Stafford has thrown four total interceptions through three games, tied for second-most in the league.
It’s worth noting that Stafford didn’t face much pressure on any of his four interceptions. If the Eagles are sound in coverage — even if the pass rush doesn’t get home, which has become a recurring theme again this season — perhaps they can force Stafford into making some ill-advised decisions.
But the Eagles are coming off a defensive performance that included some confusion in the secondary, leading to open receivers and explosive gains for the Bears passing attack. Whether or not that leads to personnel changes this week, especially at safety, the Eagles must iron out the kinks against a Rams passing offense that ranks second in the league in passing yards per game (284).
Puka Nacua has been sidelined by a groin injury. Scott Barbour
Nacua’s return?
That Rams passing offense only stands to improve if Puka Nacua makes his return after missing the last two games of the season with a groin injury.
Head coach Sean McVay said on Monday that he is “hopeful” Nacua will make his season debut against the Eagles depending on his progress this week.
The 25-year-old receiver had an All-Pro 2025 season in which he led the league in receptions (129), receiving first downs (80), and receiving yards per game (107.2). His Week 3 outing against the Eagles was one of six in which he eclipsed 100 receiving yards, as he finished with 112 on 11 receptions.
Davante Adams has stepped up in the passing game in Nacua’s absence. Adams, 33, was a clone of his younger self in the Rams’ 28-6 dismantling of the Giants in Week 2. He finished that contest with 194 yards and two touchdowns on eight receptions, and he followed it up in Week 3 with 137 yards on seven receptions.
Still, the Rams offense is more prolific when Nacua is on the field. Going into Week 3 and dating back to 2023 when Nacua was drafted, the Rams have averaged a full yard per play more with him on the field (6.1) than with him on the sideline (5.1), according to Next Gen Stats.
Their explosive play rate had decreased from 14.9% to 11.9% when Nacua had been out. The Rams even run the ball better with him on the field — they had gained 4.6 yards per carry and picked up first downs on 26.5% of plays with Nacua, while they had amassed 3.9 yards per carry and posted a 24.7% first-down rate without him.
The Rams leverage Nacua’s versatility by lining him up just about anywhere. The Eagles know this well, as he caught his 11 receptions last year against seven different defenders, per Pro Football Focus.
If he is healthy enough to play on Sunday, whether he is on a snap count or not, it will take the entire Eagles defense to keep him at bay.
I’m 16, and I’ve been a volunteer in the Outside In animal exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences museum for the last year and a half. I have met people who contain seemingly endless facts about animals, and have loved learning something new from them every day. Before that, I was a camper, giggling in the back of a room while my counselors taught me about dinosaurs and fossils. I remember when the power went out in the whole building, and the counselors, in all their brilliance, turned it into a scavenger hunt in the dark. I remember straining my neck to see behind the scenes when the staff brought out animals for live animal shows, and standing in line as a toddler to feel the scaly back of a snake. Now I feed the snakes, and I know where these animals came from before they emerged from behind the curtains of the auditorium.
In a world where most people spend hours scrolling on their phones, watching TV, and pretending to be anywhere but here, the Academy brings us back to the natural world — and back to each other. The museum is one of those places that is still fighting to keep our world connected, and we can’t afford to lose it. Drexel cannot close a museum so important to us. The William Penn Foundation offered Drexel money to fund another year of the Academy. Another year of curiosity, wonder, and connection. The other day, I walked from the Academy doors to the steps of City Hall for a demonstration with more than 100 people who don’t want Drexel to close the doors of the Academy forever. Drexel, accept this money. Don’t take the Academy of Natural Sciences away from the people of Philadelphia.
Fiona Jenkal, junior, Science Leadership Academy High School
The writer has been an intern at the Academy of Natural Sciences through her school’s Independent Learning Project.
. . .
I’m a university professor with many years of experience working in natural history museum collections. Before then, I worked in development and fundraising for capital campaigns. The proposed closure of the Academy of Natural Sciences museum is a massive loss to science communication and outreach in the city of Benjamin Franklin. However, my professional experience makes me question the rationale for the decision.
Natural history museums around the world remain popular. Low footfall is not an inevitability in a city of 1.5 million people.
Also, moving collections is time-consuming and expensive. Collections require purpose-built facilities. A rapid sale of the Parkway property is incompatible with responsible collections management. Much of the revenue would presumably be spent on a new building. This short-termist, crisis-mentality approach cannot come at the expense of a 200-year-old institution essential to Philadelphians.
Coming after the collapse of the University of the Arts, well-paid leaders of Philadelphia’s educational institutions appear not up to the task of stewarding this city’s unique heritage. As the Semiquincentennial celebrations end, it is up to the city and its people to defend them, and hold their leaders’ claims to scrutiny.
Francois Gould, Philadelphia
. . .
The 198-year-old Academy of Natural Sciences museum in Philadelphia shut its doors on Sunday with no plans to reopen to the public. The permanent closure was announced just four weeks earlier by the museum’s administrators at Drexel University.
The magnitude of this loss defies comprehension. It is unthinkable that the oldest science museum in the entire Western Hemisphere could be snuffed out with less than a month’s notice. The sheer indignity of it is nauseating.
I was home in Houston when I heard the announcement. After sitting with the shock, I decided I had to see the Academy in person.
I expected a depressing experience. After all, Drexel’s statement blamed the closure on dwindling attendance in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdowns. I thought I’d find vacant halls and tired displays showing all the signs of neglect and apathy.
Instead, I found a torrent of love and support for the legendary museum, as 17,000 visitors flocked to its doors that weekend. Scores of outraged citizens organized protests while grateful staff welcomed heartbroken Philadelphians one last time to the place many call a second home.
I can relate. I cannot imagine what my life would look like today without the lifelong influence of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, from my first visit in a stroller to strolling through the exhibits I helped build as a museum specialist.
The fight to save the Academy has only just begun, and Americans everywhere must join in. If we give up our oldest science museum, it will bring lasting shame on our generation, set a threatening precedent for other cultural institutions, and send a clear message that our American heritage is not worth preserving.
We must save this irreplaceable piece of our history.
Max Anton, Houston
More of the same?
Thank you, The Inquirer Editorial Board, for your series of editorials presenting all the ways Donald Trump, his cabinet, his children, and his associates have abused the Executive Office of the President. You argue that — in addition to the president’s self-absorption and lack of morality — the Republican legislators have also failed their duty to address this president’s rampant corruption. In this election year, we must ask then, how would a new Republican Congress be any different?
Stephen DeLuca, Philadelphia
Shared streets
Regarding the recent article on Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s “Curbside Appeal” neighborhood beautification program, we applaud her statement that “every Philadelphian deserves to live on a block they can be proud of,” reflecting “the priorities of the people who live there.”
Unfortunately, her philosophy stops at residential blocks where the administration installs bike lanes with continuous flex posts or concrete barriers. She ignores safety, community priorities, and previous mayoral promises for access.
The mayor is creating high-speed cycle tracks that encourage dangerous behavior — especially by rapidly proliferating e-bikes that cause serious harm to pedestrians. Forget about safely crossing the street or being dropped off at your house, particularly if you’re elderly or disabled.
Our streets can safely accommodate cyclists without sacrificing the fundamental rights of everyone else.
Brooke Marshall, Philadelphia
Aim higher
The recent article about how voters are split over whether Gov. Josh Shapiro should run for president is well timed. His reelection as governor by a huge margin is expected. He is also on most people’s short list of eligible Democratic candidates for president. He shouldn’t do it even though the itch to run is probably enormous.
Pennsylvania needs him to do what is necessary for Pennsylvania, and that is to unseat John Fetterman, who has been an unmitigated disaster. Whether Fetterman runs for reelection as a Democrat or changes parties and runs as a Republican, there is no doubt many Democrats will join the fray to unseat him. Too many Democrats against Fetterman in a primary could allow him to squeak to a victory. Only one person in the state can stop that: Gov. Shapiro. No one would seriously challenge him. His election would be almost certain.
He is 53 now. Assuming a Republican wins in 2028, he can run for president at age 59 in 2032.
Assuming a Democrat wins in 2028, he could run in 2036 at age 63 (not too old), when hopefully he would be in his second term as senator.
We have seen the devastation caused by a Senate too willing to place judges on the bench who trample the rights of Americans. Putting Pennsylvania’s Senate seat in the hands of someone with sound judgment is imperative.
Andrew M. Rosen, Philadelphia
Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). The items on your to-do list are ordinary enough, but not your approach. Because you have style. They call it “effortless,” but that’s because they don’t know the extra work that goes into being you. It’s your little secret.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). It’s easy to avoid confrontation on your own behalf, but when someone you love needs help, you’re ready to step up, make the call, ask the hard question or stand beside them at the meeting. Your presence gives them courage.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Give play the same respect you give work today. Race someone, make up a game or attempt the trick that keeps making you laugh. You will return to your responsibilities with more energy and a story to tell.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Tell everyone what must happen, then take the position with the most heat, risk or responsibility. People will follow when they see you working under the conditions. Give instructions from the front, where you can spot trouble before anyone else.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You have a big idea, and these days, other people want to help. It’s like you’re a casting director, giving them a part in your grand production. Each gets an entrance and room to add something of their own.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). There’s a difference between commanding attention and earning it. You’re only interested in the kind of attention you get because people are interested, they feel something and they are helped by what you’re doing.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Small projects have kept you busy without using your full range. Choose something with enough size to demand more of you. If it’s a little difficult, all the better. Best yet if the result is of consequence to many.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). There’s a mystery you’re not sure whether to solve or preserve. Some questions are better answered, and others energize you through wonder. Knowing the difference may save you from interrogating what you could be admiring in its ideal state — as a shimmering unknown.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Boredom is an invitation to do the thing you’ve been thinking about, as unreasonable as it may be. Because a stale pattern needs interruption, and even a ridiculous one will do. Tomorrow, you’ll have something new to talk about.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). There’s so much good in a relationship that money cannot buy, including private jokes, familiar touch, shared history and more. Familiarity can make such riches hard to see, which is why a practice of acknowledgment and gratitude is so important.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). There’s a change in the rhythm today. One beat drops out. You keep coming back to the empty space. Notice what absence produces: longing? Relief? A drive to put something different in the rotation?
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Someone has assigned you the supporting role again, perhaps because you perform it so well. Decline. You have learned everything from the wings. Ask for the larger responsibility, the harder material and a place where people can see your range.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Sept. 30). In your Year of the Gamer, you’ll participate in a complex game and win through strategy instead of force, making friends and earning a valuable prize. You’ll have a worthy rival and a useful ally. One will sharpen your skills, and the other will know the secret passage. More highlights: Three instances of uncanny “dumb” luck. A golden turn in the family fortunes. The thrill of being revered. Pisces and Taurus adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 16, 2, 10, 13 and 30.
DEAR ABBY: I’m a senior woman who has been dating someone for three years. He is my age. I recently learned he has been cheating on me with a much younger woman with three kids. We are sexually active and enjoy each other very much, or at least I thought so. She knows about me. Although he treats me well, I have found evidence that he’s having sex with her intermittently. I have never cheated on him, and I dislike cheaters. He wants to marry me, but I told him when we first met I didn’t want to remarry or live with anyone because I’ve been married twice, and so has he. I really care about this man, and I thought he loved me, but I don’t think I can be with a cheater. Should I confront him or leave it alone? I know I’d miss him dearly, as we do everything together. I also don’t want to be alone at this time of my life. Please advise what I should do.
— MONOGAMOUS IN LOS ANGELES
DEAR MONOGAMOUS: You state that you told this man you do not want to remarry or live with him. You have a great relationship, but not once in your letter did you say that you love him. I see no reason why you shouldn’t continue enjoying his companionship. Because the cheating bothers you, consider ending the sex and putting him in the friend zone. If you don’t, be sure to get tested for sexually transmitted infections regularly.
* ** **
DEAR ABBY: I am a 60-year-old male. In my first marriage, my ex had an affair, and during the last seven years of that marriage, we lived essentially separate lives. It was a lonely time for me. I have since remarried, and my new wife has a large family, including two sets of parents, four kids and 10 grandkids. My family is significantly smaller, with two kids and no grandkids.
The issue is that my love language is one-on-one quality time. I have asked my wife to set aside some time for us with no family interruptions. I have suggested date nights (a four-hour time slot two nights or afternoons a month) where we would not take calls or texts from family members. She has struggled to commit to this and instead told me I should “just let life happen.” She has trouble turning her phone off and said I should trust her to make judgments about whether to take a call or text. I would like to know if my request is unreasonable and how else uninterrupted quality time can be achieved.
— MISSOURI HIKER
DEAR HIKER: You will never pry that phone out of your wife’s hand. She has clearly shown you that her extended family is her top priority, so stop trying to take that away from her. On date nights, choose activities that will keep her busy and engaged. Keep the conversation flowing, and demonstrate that your full attention is on her. Most importantly, it is OK to insist on a “phones off” rule when things become intimate.
The weekend is so close. If you need help settling on plans, check out this list of our favorite things to do in South Jersey this weekend.
Come back every week, and you’ll always have something fun on your radar.
Boos & Brews Witches’ Market
Check out this witch-themed market full of themed vendors and activities. Stick around for food trucks, a costume contest, performances, and a beer garden.
⌚️ Friday, Oct. 2, 5-9 p.m. 📍 Rancocas Woods Events and Shops, 118 Creek Rd., Mount Laurel 🌐 facebook.com 💵 Pay as you go
Make & Take: Flower Power Pumpkins
Listen to a lecture about growing your own pumpkins and drying and pressing flowers as you decorate a gourd.
The 24th annual festival is back spanning six blocks of Haddon Avenue. Come to meet booksellers and stay for author and poetry readings, performances, and workshops.
Bordentown’s 36th annual cranberry fest returns with live music, a food court, a beer garden, and more than 100 artisans.
⌚️ Saturday, Oct. 3 and Sunday, Oct. 4, 11 a.m- 5 p.m. 📍 Farnsworth Avenue, Bordentown 🌐 btownfest.com 💵 Pay as you go
Clayton Fall Festival
Celebrate the cooler season with crafts, a trunk-or-treat, and music.
⌚️ Saturday, Oct. 3, noon-4 p.m. (rain date: Sunday, Oct. 4) 📍 Autumn Pasquale Memorial Park, 29 East Ave., Clayton 🌐 facebook.com 💵 Free
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Step into spooky season with The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This event will feature original member Barry Bostwick, who played Brad Majors in the film. The audience will have opportunities to meet him, compete in a costume contest, and interact with a live performance by the local Spooktacular Shadow Cast performing scenes as the film plays.
Brand new this year for Halloween, the Great Pumpkin Glow will feature thousands of glowing jack-o’-lanterns. Walk through the pathway, take festive pictures, and indulge in some treats.
⌚️ Friday, Sept. 25-Saturday, Oct. 31, various evening times 📍 Dalton Farms, 666 Oak Grove Rd., Swedesboro 🌐 greatpumpkinglownj.com 💵 $22.95-$27.95
Live Jazz at blueplate
The restaurant blueplate offers live jazz during the summer on some Friday evenings and Sunday mornings.
⌚️ Fridays, 6:30-8:30 p.m. through the end of September; Sundays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. through the first weekend in October 📍 47 S. Main St., Mullica Hill 🌐 blueplatenj.com 💵 Pay as you go
Yoga at Cooper River Park
Take a free yoga class. All ages are welcome, but bring your own yoga mat.
⌚️ Mondays, 6-7 p.m.; Wednesdays, 9-10 a.m.; and Thursdays, 6-7 p.m. through Oct. 1 📍 Cooper River Park, 5300 North Park Dr., Pennsauken 🌐 camdencounty.com 💵 Free, but registration is required
Burlington County Farmers Market
Come by one of the most popular farmers marketsin the region, offering local fruits, vegetables, honey, cheese, baked goods, and more.
⌚️ Every Saturday through Nov. 14, 8:30 a.m.- 1 p.m.📍 Burlington County Agricultural Center, 500 Centerton Rd., Moorestown, 🌐 www.burlcoagcenter.com 💵 Pay as you go
Collingswood Farmers Market
The Saturday market brings fresh produce, meat, coffee, flowers, and live music to Collingswood and supports the region’s farmers every week.
⌚️ Every Saturday through Nov. 21, 8 a.m.-noon 📍 Atlantic Avenue between Collings and Irvin Avenues (along PATCO), Collingswood 🌐 collingswoodmarket.com 💵 Pay as you go
Haddon Heights Farmers Market
This Sunday farmers market offers multiple vendors selling fresh produce, crafts, and other entertainment from local businesses.
⌚️ Sundays through Nov. 22, 9:30 a.m.–1p.m. 📍 The intersection of Station and Atlantic Avenues, Haddon Heights 🌐 haddonheightsfarmersmarket.com 💵 Pay as you go
