On Sunday afternoon, 14 Philly dogs gathered at Philadelphia Brewing Co. in East Kensington to compete for one coveted position: spokesdog for the Philadelphia Water Department.
The contestants and their humans arrived at 2 p.m., and proceeded to mingle with other attendees, answer trivia questions, pose for a caricature artist, and munch on snacks — hoagies for the humans and dog treats for the pups.
At 3:30 p.m. on the dot, the dogs perked up as two hosts took center stage to begin the competition.
For over 10 years, the Philadelphia Water Department and Partnership for the Delaware Estuary have hosted a competition where local dogs compete to serve as spokesdog, a designation that involves attending events to spread awareness of dog waste pollution.
The annual event was created to complete a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulatory requirement for municipal-level outreach on dog-based pollution by the water department.
Rich Levering holds his dog, Banjo, before the Philadelphia Water Department and Partnership for the Delaware Estuary held a competition Sunday to find a spokesdog for 2026 to raise awareness about poo-llution.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
People don’t realize the impact of dog waste, said Kate Layton, communications manager for Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. “Dog waste is not a fertilizer; it’s not the same as manure. If dog owners are educated, they will be more mindful about picking it up and putting in the trash.”
“A mascot can rally around [the city] and folks pay attention to the issue,” said Ben Bristol, community initiative specialist at Philadelphia Water Department. “Dog waste pollution is not a charismatic topic. But when people think about and notice it, they might actually do something different.”
Eager to win the coveted position, humans walked their dogs up to the hosts and introduced their tail-wagging contestants who showcased fun tricks, while the humans answered a few questions.
When Gracie Girl, an 8-year-old cane corso, walked up, the hosts asked her human Joe Kenny what her superpower would be.
“She picks winners — she was there for all three Phillies games and they were all three wins,” Kenny said.
For the final assessment, Gracie met with the judges standing nearby. She leaned in for cuddles and embraced the judges’ pets. “She was super calm and chill, and I also appreciated the owner talking about how Gracie goes to all around Philly trails,” said Sally Ehlers, a science and engagement specialist at Partnership for the Delaware Estuary.
Gracie Girl receives a cape from Elizabeth Manner (left) as owner Joe Kenny looks on at the Philadelphia Brewing Company after Gracie Girl was chosen the spokesdog for 2026.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Gracie Girl and her owner eventually landed the gold medal at the end of competition.
“I had no doubt — that’s my girl,” said Kenny. The Mayfair resident heard about the competition on his usual walk on the Schuylkill River Trail with Gracie. “When she goes out, people stop and take pictures of her — that’s just the way she is. Everyone always tells me how congenial she is and she gets me outside everyday.”
It was a tough competition, Kenny said, but the dogs were getting along and eager to take a position to represent the importance of dog waste pollution.
“It’s not about winning, right Gracie?” he asked the winning pup resting on the ground sporting the spokedog sash. “Although, that don’t hurt either.”
In a Rock Hill, S.C., restaurant last Wednesday night, during a recruiting road trip to the Nike 100 Camp, Ashley Howard locked his eyes on a television above the bar, enthralled by the most dramatic comeback in NBA Finals history, his mind recalling a more modest rally from nine years earlier.
Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and the New York Knicks kept chopping into that 29-point San Antonio Spurs lead. Madison Square Garden kept getting louder. And as Game 4 slowly shifted from a series-tying rout to the surest sign that three former Villanova stars would soon bring about the end of a 53-year championship drought, Howard remembered a college basketball game from January 2017, from the season between ’Nova’s ‘16 and ‘18 national championships.
An assistant under Jay Wright then, an assistant under Kevin Willard now, Howard reminisced with the friend sitting next to him — former Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune, now an assistant with the Charlotte Hornets — about a 61-59 Wildcats victory over Virginia. Villanova had trailed that day by 12 points with less than 10 minutes to go, an imposing deficit given how Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers teams could slow a game to a crawl. But Hart and Brunson had pulled ‘Nova back from the brink, and Donte DiVincenzo had tipped in an off-target Hart layup at the buzzer, and Howard saw the residue of that win in OG Anunoby’s soaring-eagle tip-in and the Knicks’ 107-106 stunner in Game 4. In Brunson’s 45-point masterpiece Saturday night in the clinching Game 5. In the title run of a team that was smarter, tougher, and tighter than every other in the NBA playoffs.
“After winning the first national championship, every game these guys played together in ‘17 was the biggest game for whoever they played,” Howard said in a phone interview. “They have everything to lose, and their opponent doesn’t. There’s a different type of mental toughness and mental fortitude you have to have to not only play under that pressure but answer the call in those moments.
“Now they’re all back together, and it’s almost like déjà vu where that Villanova connection is back. The other pieces are different. The coaches are different. But when you look at that Knicks team, you say, ‘Yo, those dudes are playing Villanova basketball.’ It’s really all about how they play hard. They compete for the entire game. They never, never quit. They play unselfishly, and you can tell that they love each other. That just makes my chest stick out as wide as all outside.”
Josh Hart (right) won the 2016 national title with the Wildcats.Charles Fox / Staff Photographer
Howard was at the nexus of the origin of the ‘Nova Knicks, and the irony of his role in that story is that he, with such deep Philadelphia hoops roots, had left town when he made his first connections with Brunson, Hart, and Bridges. A standout guard at Monsignor Bonner and Drexel, he was climbing the college coaching ladder — first four years at La Salle, then four back at Drexel — when in 2013 he accepted the chance to assist Chris Mack at Xavier. It was a more highly regarded mid-major, a better shot to jump to a bigger program, and in that one year he spent in Cincinnati, Howard recruited that trio before reuniting with them again at Villanova.
In Hart, Howard saw a relentless and tenacious guard who pulled down as many as 25 rebounds in games at Sidwell Friends in Washington and for his AAU club, Team Takeover. He also met a low-maintenance kid who, when Howard coaxed him to Xavier for an on-campus, didn’t need a fancy dinner at an exclusive restaurant. No, when Howard offered to buy him lunch, Hart instead was desperate for a sack of double-cheese sliders from White Castle. “Shows what a freak of nature he is,” Howard said.
Bridges’ and Brunson’s recruitments were more personal for Howard, starting at Xavier and continuing after he joined Wright’s staff at ’Nova. Howard was friendly with Bridges’ cousin Bernard Tyler, who forwarded him a video of the kid’s highlights from Great Valley High School and Team Final, one clip after another of Bridges cutting to the basket and creating shots within Great Valley’s motion offense, with an enticing text: This is the next one. Make sure you get this dude. And Howard could only chuckle when Mack called him one day after attending a high school holiday tournament in Chicago and asked him, Hey, Ash, do you know Rick Brunson? His kid is really good.
“Reached out to Rick,” Howard said. “We caught up, and I jumped on Jalen from that point on.”
There’s a chicken-or-egg aspect to the greatness that Wright’s program achieved during that stretch in the mid-2010s and to the qualities that Brunson, Bridges, and Hart developed there and still carry with them. Would these players, because of their inherent strengths, have thrived in other programs? Or did they need to learn under Wright and his staff and his culture? A dash of both, of course, and the conditions and choices that led to their flourishing at Villanova — and to those two national championships — aren’t likely to be duplicated in college basketball’s current era of status seeking and coin chasing.
Mikal Bridges was on both the 2016 and 2018 Villanova championship teams.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Bridges went to Wright and Howard and suggested that he redshirt as a freshman, that he sit out an entire season for the sake of his growth as a player and person. Hart started just three games over his freshman and sophomore seasons, could have transferred out of frustration and a search for more playing time, and didn’t. Brunson as a freshman took a secondary role alongside Ryan Arcidiacono, then ran the Wildcats’ show for two years before entering the NBA draft. Good luck being so patient in developing players and building a program now.
“It was a period of time where you could build off your failure and mistakes and learn from them collectively,” Howard said. “You could develop young people over a course of time and nurture and appreciate the process. … All these guys in their own way trusted us and allowed us to push them to limits. Parts of their experience at Villanova, man, it was tough, but they allowed us to make them uncomfortable.”
It was the perfect preparation for these playoffs, for these NBA Finals, for a remarkable run capped when Brunson took control of Game 5, when the sub-6-foot guard with the impeccable footwork, with the endless array of head fakes and midrange shots, with the glorious old man’s game was once again the coolest customer on the court.
“You could see the Spurs getting tight,” Howard said, “and you could see Jalen saying, ‘Yo, get me the ball. I’m gonna make these plays.’ Me being around J, it’s like, ‘Here he comes. It’s on.’ When the stakes get high, that dude is coming.”
It had been 53 years, long enough for any franchise and its fans to wait for that kind of ride, and all it took was something Ashley Howard and everyone at Villanova had seen a million times before. All it took was Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges doing what they’ve always done.
MILWAUKEE — In the midst of it all, as Bernie Brewer barreled down his slide and another sold-out crowd roared, Cristopher Sánchez bowed his head.
It turns out the Phillies’ ace is fallible after all.
Who knew?
One out from escaping the fourth inning here Sunday, two days after Brewers rival Jacob Misiorowski pitched the best game in baseball this season, Sánchez gave up a backbreaking three-run homer to .113-hitting Blake Perkins on a slider, his third-best pitch.
That’s one way to beat Sánchez. Here’s another: Start a left-hander against the Phillies, held to three hits by Kyle Harrison and four overall in a rubber-game 4-0 loss to the powerhouse Brewers.
“Everything was off today, especially my energy,” Sánchez said through a team interpreter. “I’d say it wasn’t as it usually is. But not to use it as an excuse.”
Hmm. That’s odd. It was one of those measuring-stick series — for the Phillies against a National League heavyweight, and for Sánchez in the middle rounds of what’s shaping up as a Cy Young Award fight with Misiorowski, who submitted a one-hit, 15-strikeout shutout Friday night.
Why, then, the low energy?
“I didn’t have the best sleep last night,” Sánchez said. “I think it’s only that. But no excuses again.”
OK, so the Cy Young race won’t be decided in June. But after permitting a total of five runs and one homer in 59⅔ innings over his previous eight starts, Sánchez gave up four runs and two homers against the Brewers, hiking his ERA from 1.54 to 1.82.
(Misiorowski leads the majors with a 1.34 mark.)
“A little bit uncharacteristic,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “Just velo was down a touch, and with that, it gives [the hitter] a little more time up there. Other than that, you take the homer away, just a breaking ball there, even when it doesn’t look like he has his best stuff, he’s still hanging in there.”
Oh, about that breaking pitch. Sánchez has baseball’s best changeup and a bowling-ball sinker. But Rafael Marchán called for a slider in a 1-0 count to Perkins. Marchán, who left the game in the eighth inning and was going through concussion protocol, was catching Sánchez for only the third time this season.
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Derek Hill (49) and Edmundo Sosa, right, field a double hit by Milwaukee Brewers’ Blake Perkins during the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)Kayla Wolf / AP
“I felt good with calling that pitch at that moment,” Sánchez said. “It just stayed in the middle. I hung it. But at the moment that we called it, I felt good with it.”
Said Mattingly: “I never question what pitch he’s throwing or picking. They’re all good. It’s just a ball that he kind of left up. He tried almost like a get-me-over-breaking-ball, and the guy hit it.”
The Phillies didn’t do much hitting against the Brewers’ top starters. Misiorowski and Harrison bookended the series by allowing a total of four hits in 15 scoreless innings.
Harrison became the latest left-handed pitcher to mute the Phillies’ bats. Three of their seven shutouts this season have come against left-handed starters.
Trea Turner, in particular, continued to struggle. The star shortstop went 1-for-13 with six strikeouts in the series — 3-for-26 with 10 strikeouts overall on the road trip.
For the season, he’s batting .219 with a .599 OPS.
“Definitely frustrated,” Turner said. “It feels like I’m just missing every pitch I could possibly miss no matter what I try, approach-wise, physically, mentally. It feels like it’s just not getting the job done.
“I feel like the last two or three weeks I’ve been getting pitched really well, and then this series, finally I felt like I got some pitches to hit in the middle of the zone and just fouled them all off. So, that’s what I’m most frustrated with.”
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber pops out with a broken bat during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)Kayla Wolf / AP
Would it help if the Phillies dropped Turner from the No. 2 spot in the order to relieve some pressure?
“I haven’t really thought about moving him at all,” Mattingly said. “I don’t really know what the answer to moving him down is. Somebody’s going to have to hit there. Not sure who that would be right now.”
Onward, then. The Phillies are 38-33, 29-14 under Mattingly, but only 3-9 against the Brewers, Dodgers, and Braves, the cream of the NL crop.
As measuring sticks go, the Phillies surely must have learned something from three days in Milwaukee?
“I don’t think we played our best,” Turner said. “To come out with a win, I think, is kind of a positive outlook at it. I think we all think we could’ve played a lot better in all three games, but that’s what happens if you don’t show up against these good teams. They beat you.”
LONG POND, Pa. — Almost 20 years ago, when NASCAR driver Michael McDowell was coming through the racing ranks as a young driver, he first encountered Pocono Raceway as part of the ARCA Series.
The race, which he won by passing Jeremy Clements with about a half-mile left in the 2½-mile track, helped grow McDowell’s recognition as a young driver and made him an early fan favorite when, a year later in 2008, he returned to the track as part of NASCAR’s Cup Series.
“For whatever reason — as the new guy, no one really knows who you are — but here I had sort of like a following, and I had fans, and it was my first experience having real fans, because I remember walking out for qualifying, you walk that fence line as you’re going out to the grid, and I must have stopped for like 15 or 20 minutes signing autographs,” McDowell told The Inquirer in his car hauler at Pocono on Saturday. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is cool.’
“Most of the time people don’t know who you are that first year, especially because I was really a newcomer, and [one] that nobody saw — I didn’t run the [formerly named] Xfinity series or truck series. I’ve always had a really solid fan base here, which is really interesting, because other than that ARCA win, I don’t know what would have caused that. … Pocono is one of the best ones for me, as far as fan interaction.”
Every year since 1974, NASCAR has descended on the “Tricky Triangle” tucked away in the Pocono Mountains, and though it’s no longer a biannual racetrack, fans still come in droves.
Denny Hamlin, who won the pole for the Great American Getaway 400 race during qualifying on Saturday, won his third consecutive race and eighth overall at Pocono, extending his record at the track during Sunday’s Cup Series race.
NASCAR’s Cup series Denny Hamlin comes in the pit row during qualifications on add Pocono Raceway, Saturday, June 13, 2026Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
For the fourth straight year, Pocono Raceway was sold out, with a record-setting 115,000 people coming through the racetrack across the three-day weekend, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Sunday. Drivers, fans, and the sport’s leadership executives laud the “family atmosphere” of the track and its grounds, which features more than 1,000 acres of land. It’s part of the reason why Pocono has been voted No. 1 by NASCAR fans for three years running, according to USA Today.
“We want everybody to feel like family, want everybody to feel welcome. We want nobody to go hungry. We want everybody to have a good time,” Pocono CEO Nick Igdalsky told The Inquirer recently. “We know people are spending hard-earned money to come here. This may be their only vacation or trip of the year.”
Added Hamlin after his win Sunday: “When I see my career highlights [on my social media algorithm] … there’s so many Pocono memories, like it’s replaying Pocono wins, or when I put somebody in the wall for a win, or something like that. It’s always been part of my highlight reel, and like it’d be so cool to, [in] my last year, whenever that is, I guess next year, win [at Pocono] my first year and win it my last year, that would be pretty cool.”
‘It’s a party’
Pete Lanzilotta, a man affectionately known around the racetrack as “Pocono Pete,” has made the trip to Long Pond annually since 1999. For the last 25 years, excluding the fan-less 2020 Pocono races due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pocono Pete and his group of friends have camped out on the track’s infield.
They each have a specific role they play during the trip — from entertainment to food to a communication director — and they’ve returned to the same camping spot, located between turns 2 and 3 on the track.
Pocono Pete (center, sitting down) with his friends and camping neighbors at Pocono Raceway on Saturday.Devin Jackson
“It’s a party,” Lanzilotta said. “It’s the cars, it’s the racing. These are true NASCAR fans. People that do [camping like] this are dedicated … you ask somebody [on the] infield about one of the cars, and this or that, they’re going to know everything, especially about their favorite drivers, favorite teams.
“Nobody leaves here Sunday, because they’re drinking. Everybody leaves Monday. That’s always been a rule.”
Pocono Pete, in the early 2000s, would make the trip from Long Island. He now lives in North Carolina, and flew up this weekend to meet his friend, Scott. The pair have traveled to other racetracks, like Martinsville Speedway in Virginia, Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, and others — but at Pocono, “it’s very rare to see everybody doesn’t get along.”
“As much as we don’t know these people all year long, you become part of their family for that weekend, one big family for the weekend. They share food around here,” said Mike, the group of friends’ entertainment director who did not wish to share his last name.
Added Pocono Pete: “We’ve always had so much fun here. We look forward to it every year. Every year gets bigger and better, and we all believe that [Pocono Raceway president] Ben May and the whole team are doing a great job.”
Fans watch NASCAR’s O’Reilly Auto Parts series at Pocono Raceway on Saturday.Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
‘Lifelong memories’
Part of Pocono’s charm may be rooted in its motto, which Igdalsky says they treat like a mission statement. It includes words like “exciting experiences,” “lifelong memories,” and, perhaps most notably, “beautiful and sustainable.” And it’s for the whole family.
Since fans were welcomed back post-pandemic, the racetrack has expanded to add 1,000 camping spots, which puts the total at about 3,400. It’s also added grandstands on the infield, and amenities like a dog park and a playground for kids.
All of that comes with access to NASCAR drivers that “you wouldn’t be able to do at other places.”
“[We] highly encourage families to try Pocono for the first time with the kids free program — two adults can bring 6 to 8 kids for under 100 bucks,” said Igdalsky. “You’re not going to find that in any professional sports venue in the country. … [You have] the experiences you have at Pocono with the kids’ zones, with the autograph sessions, with being able to get on the track and sign the track and walk the track.”
And although it’s about 100 miles away from the city, you might just get an authentic Philly fan experience.
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell has some personal experience there. Early in his career, when he worked in marketing for the sport in the late 1990s, he handed out hats to the winning drivers in victory lane.
O’Donnell, a New Jersey native, remembers one year in particular where fans at Pocono Raceway took exception to Jeff Gordon winning yet another race at the track. Gordon won at least one of the two yearly races from 1996-98.
“I remember there was maybe two or three floors above you. A couple die-hard fans, who maybe weren’t Jeff Gordon fans at the time, poured beer down on Jeff, wanting to see a new winner. But it just shows the passion of the fans. They were into it,” O’Donnell recalled. “It was probably the hardest victory lane I ever worked, just because it was packed, just the passion of the fans. Everyone wanted to be in there and be near the car, so I just love the track … It’s one big family atmosphere at the racetrack with people just having a ton of fun with a lot of different things you can do.”
For drivers like McDowell, who has five kids with his wife, Jami, the racetrack’s amenities, the nearby water parks and the lodging location relative to the racetrack creates a “fun experience” for his family.
“Early on in my career, I drove the motorhome to a lot of the races with my wife and I, and our son at the time, and we kind of went from track to track, and this was always a great place to come up to, and we’d make a trip out of it, and go sightseeing or hiking or fishing, and kind of make the trek around this area,” said McDowell, who finished 17th on Sunday. “ … [We have] lot of great memories here and it’s just a super nice area, lots to do, whether it’s water parks or just getting out of the South heat is always nice.”
The images coming out of Belfast — the city in Northern Ireland made famous by decades of ethnic violence that came to be known simply as “the Troubles” — were horrific enough. The sight of cars and homes ablaze and hordes of masked, young men roaming the city streets brought back painful memories for old-timers.
“I lost my teenage years to the Troubles,” a shell-shocked 71-year-old, Paul Sharkey, told the New York Times, after watching a flaming van crash near his home on the outskirts of Belfast. “I thought moving out here I had got away from them — from the bombs and bullets, all the rest of it …”
Remarkably, no one seems to have been killed in a couple of nights of riots that targeted Belfast’s Black and brown immigrant communities after a Sudanese migrant was charged with a stabbing — captured on video — that left a white man in a coma. But terror was felt across Northern Ireland’s largest city, as volunteers raced to rescue families from burning homes, immigrant addresses were posted online, and workers were afraid to go to work after a nurse was attacked.
And yet, there was something about this anti-immigrant pogrom in Belfast that was just as appalling as the pictures of burning streets and fleeing children. Their biggest cheerleader was not some street thug in a balaclava, but the richest person in the history of Planet Earth, urging the rioters on from some posh hideaway on the other side of the Atlantic.
Tuesday morning, as news of the stabbing attack spread across the United Kingdom, Elon Musk took to X — the influential social media site that was called Twitter when he bought it in 2022 for $44 billion — to amplify a post by U.K. far-right extremist leader Tommy Robinson. It called for white people “to hit the streets” that night and protest what Robinson called “yet another invader attack on our people.”
Musk’s tweet was hardly a one-off. In a flurry of X posts attacking immigration, he told his 240 million followers that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer “hates white people,” while sharing an image of the Black suspect that simply said, “Millions must go.” When his diatribes started provoking a backlash, he wrote, “Murderous migrants beheading innocent people in their hometown is what’s making people angry, not ‘social media’!”
Unfortunately for the star-crossed Musk, investors’ shock and revulsion over the entrepreneur’s vile posts caused …
OK, if you follow the news, you know that the unfinished sentence above was a little bit of cynical misdirection. Wall Street, from the biggest investment banks to starstruck small-time day traders, could not wait to throw their cash at SpaceX and its founder. They acted as if Musk the anti-immigrant hatemonger and Musk the tech visionary were two different human beings, even as they also ignored the fantastical malarkey of SpaceX’s dream to build data centers in outer space.
By the end of a tumultuous week, the tulip-mania demand for SpaceX stock — with the market valuing the money-losing company at a gobsmacking $2.1 trillion — made the already world’s richest person wealthier in a way that defies comprehension. The man who wanted to burn everything down on Tuesday became the planet’s first trillionaire on Friday.
Even as the globe — excepting that island of basketball joy in Gotham City — watches a decadent Donald Trump turn 80 by tarnishing the White House with a tacky ad-draped display of barbaric blood sport that would have embarrassed Caligula’s Rome, Elon Musk is truly the ultimate story of our modern empire’s decline and fall.
The problem is which Musk story to tell. Each narrative is more shocking than the next.
The saga I’ve started to recount here, about a man whose wealth is now greater than the yearly gross domestic product of all but the 21 richest nations, who uses that power to urge poor white people to firebomb and assault their Black and brown neighbors, isn’t even the worst thing Musk has done. Not by a long shot.
The prequel to Belfast came just over a year ago, when Musk — after spending some $288 million, an all-time U.S. election record yet the equivalent of sofa-cushion change for a future trillionaire, to put a dictatorship-minded Trump back in the White House — was handed an all-access pass to our federal government for what was dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Musk and his young DOGE dudes took a chain saw — as Musk boasted by brandishing a real one — to any program that advanced world peace or the plight of its most underprivileged. In particular, the utter destruction of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which Musk bragged about tossing into a proverbial wood chipper, has been blamed by a number of experts for an unthinkable hundreds of thousands of deaths across Africa, Asia, and elsewhere from disease or hunger, with children as most of the victims.
And yet, there’s another Musk storyline on top of the obvious question of, why are so many people betting their money on literally the world’s greatest purveyor of hate speech, and the alleged architect of a born-in-the-USA genocide? That question is, why are we collectively throwing all this money at Musk at all?
The 1990s Wharton School graduate started with some good ideas — an early stake in PayPal that gave him the funds to launch SpaceX and take over early EV leader Tesla. But his revenue stream is increasingly from the crony capitalism of government contracts, not the free market — as Chinese EV makers have been cleaning Tesla’s clock. And it’s almost lazy, yet true, to describe SpaceX’s business model as pie-in-the-sky science fiction.
The openly racist tycoon isn’t even a good businessman, and yet he has failed upward to $1.1 trillion. I think there’s one question about Musk that towers over all the others.
What are we even doing here?
It’s easy to look at Musk as an amalgamation of the many, many things that are wrong with the world right now. He is a poster child for the policies that have enabled an Epstein class of billionaires with more dollars than we have the ability to count, even as thousands starve and his fellow Americans can’t pay the rent. He has so many scandals that some of them — his data center polluting a predominantly Black neighborhood in Memphis, or the DOGE cuts that could have slowed the spread of Ebola, or stopped the arrival of the screwworm striking Texas cattle — couldn’t even fit into this longer-than-typical column.
Musk’s destructive abuse of his massive X platform has given him the power to manipulate the struggling massesinto attacking each other — instead of the small circle of people hoarding the world’s wealth, led by Musk himself. When buying Twitter wasn’t enough for his obscene ambitions, he decided to buy the White House.
When I wrote about Musk for the very first time two years ago, I reached for the obvious cliché and called him a Bond movie villain, but that was far too generous. He has devolved into one of the most problematic entrepreneurs in human history; Henry Ford behind the wheel of a Cybertruck.
It’s past time to look inside ourselves and ask one more question: Now that Musk has shown us who he really is, why do we continue to support him? Why do millions of investors pay so much for the magic beans of Tesla and now SpaceX to endorse the lead spreader of racist ideology — putting aside the fact that his stock bubble will burst any day now?
Why do so many leading politicians across the United States and the U.K. — liberals as well as conservatives — and supposedly socially conscious corporations, among others, still use X to convey information, when its owner uses it to promote views that really aren’t any different from David Duke or the Ku Klux Klan?
That’s also a question for myself. In November 2024, when Trump was reelected with Musk’s support, I moved about 98% of my social media posting over to Bluesky. But I didn’t close my X account, which still had 80,000 followers, because I wanted to keep posting my columns there so a few more folks might read them.
Today, I will make one last post on X — a link to this column, in the vain hope that the platform’sproprietor might see it, and that other folks will join me in quitting. Tonight, sometime before I sit down to watch Les Éléphants stomp Ecuador, I will delete my account for good.
You should, too.
We’ve all helped to create this monster, and we all can do our small part to slay the dragon. There are hopeful signs, led by the thousands who came out this weekend in Belfast and elsewhere in the U.K. to protest Musk-fueled hate. If we don’t act quickly and nonviolently to undo the massive policy failure of the world’s first trillionaire, the raging fires of Belfast are going to look like child’s play.
MILWAUKEE — Justin Crawford has started once against a non-opener lefty since Don Mattingly began managing the Phillies, so let’s not call it anything other than what it is.
“We’re pretty much platooning him,” Mattingly said.
That wasn’t the plan when the season opened, except that Crawford, a left-handed hitter, is 4-for-28 (.143) with three walks and no extra-base hits against lefties. And so, the Phillies changed their plan for the 22-year-old rookie center fielder.
But in relegating Crawford from an everyday role, a familiar chicken-or-egg question has resurfaced. What comes first for a young left-handed hitter: Producing against left-handed pitchers or facing them?
The Phillies went through this with Brandon Marsh after trading for him at the deadline in 2022. Kyle Schwarber dealt with it early in his career with the Cubs. Mattingly even sat against lefties as a rookie with the Yankees in 1983 before becoming Donnie Baseball.
For them, and other left-handed hitters who eventually solve lefties, it’s a rite of passage. For many others, it becomes a more permanent condition, especially if they don’t eventually get more at-bats against lefties.
Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford bats the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
And Mattingly, as much as anyone, is aware of the two edges of that particular sword.
“I kind of rely on my own history because when I first came up, I platooned, and it wasn’t a terrible thing for me,” he said. “I probably would’ve struggled with the lefties. [Crawford]’s a guy that I think is going to hit lefties. But the amount of lefties we see, we don’t see a ton. So, it’s days where he can step back and keep working on his swing.”
Besides, it’s not like Crawford is exactly teeing off on righties. He went 15-for-44 (.341) with four doubles, one triple, and an .885 OPS in his first 14 games. The league adjusted to him, and Crawford hasn’t adjusted back, going 29-for-150 (.193) with a .528 OPS in his last 50 games.
Crawford was a polarizing prospect due to his extreme tendency to hit ground balls. Sure enough, among 253 hitters with at least 150 plate appearances, he has the second-highest ground-ball rate (59.6%).
“There’s been ups and there’s been downs, but we knew that was going to happen with him,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “He has somewhat of an unusual swing. We knew that all along. Kind of sprays the ball all over the place. He’s working through it.
“He started off a little bit quickly, but lately it’s been a little bit more of a struggle. But he keeps working, and we think he’ll work his way through it.”
Justin Crawford reacts after he’s called out following an ABS challenge last month.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Maybe. For now, though, it will have to happen against primarily right-handed starting pitchers.
“When you’re on that side of the platoon, you’re getting between 450 and 500 at-bats, so you’re playing regular,” Mattingly said. “I don’t think it’s something that sets him back. It will set him back a little bit from my standpoint of dealing with lefties.
“But this is more about him having success, giving him the best chance, and then let him grow into the lefties.”
Not out of left field
Edmundo Sosa remains a work-in-progress left fielder. But making only his seventh start of the season there Saturday night, he made a diving catch — and replaced a sizable divot — in the fifth inning.
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) June 14, 2026
“I’d say like, in general, he’s an infielder who we’re kind of getting more and more time out there in left, and he hasn’t hurt us, right?” Mattingly said. “He’s caught everything he should have caught. He’s made some nice plays. He throws the ball where he’s supposed to throw it. So, he’s been solid for us.”
Sosa started again in left field against another lefty, the Brewers’ Kyle Harrison, in Sunday’s series finale here. In the outfield alignment against lefties, the Phillies prefer moving Marsh to right field and using newly acquired Derek Hill in center.
(Marsh plays left field, with Crawford in center against righties. Gabriel Rincones Jr., recalled from triple A on Friday, will take over in right field for injured Adolis García.)
The Phillies are expected to explore trading for a righty-hitting outfielder before the Aug. 3 deadline, especially after losing García to a torn lat muscle near his right shoulder. The Phillies are lining up additional medical opinions before García elects season-ending surgery.
“It’s an important one for him and his career,” Mattingly said. “So, everybody wants to get it right and not have to rush into anything right now.”
Phillies outfielder Adolis Garcia and teammate Edmundo Sosa celebrate in the dugout against the Washington Nationals earlier this season.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Extra bases
Mattingly said the Phillies may consider using a day off Friday to separate Andrew Painter and Aaron Nola in the rotation to avoid taxing the bullpen on back-to-back days. … The Phillies return home Monday night to face the Marlins. Zack Wheeler (5-1, 2.22 ERA) is scheduled to start at 6:40 p.m. against right-hander Ryan Gusto (0-1, 6.00).
Lincoln Financial Field has been renamed “Philadelphia Stadium” for the duration of the event. In addition to five group stage games, the city will host a Round of 16 game on July 4.
On Friday night, the U.S. national team got its World Cup started with a bang: a 4-1 win over Paraguay on home soil.
// Timestamp 06/14/26 10:15pm
Philadelphia was the star in its World Cup debut
Ecuadorian fans react at a missed scoring chance against Ivory Coast during Sunday’s World Cup match. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
It took 96 years, but the most sacred version of the beautiful game came to Philadelphia.
Both the city and the match met the moment.
Extra public transportation, hydration stations, and modest traffic framed an evening of graceful and powerful football, the kind every other nation reveres except ours.
Amid the spectacle of team jerseys, flags, and team benches covered by vibrant roofs identifying the sides in national colors, the grass was the star. The stadium’s normal turf is a ragged Bermuda thatched with 5% plastic to withstand the cleated NFL rhinoceroses who usually play there.
For the World Cup, it was transformed into a flawless pitch, golf-course quality ryegrass and bluegrass, the sort of surface you could imagine Jason Kelce lying on his back and making snow angels.
Viewed through an international lens, even a soccer game this insignificant still was the most significant sporting event in the history of the city. A town that has seen two World Series titles and a Stanley Cup won within its borders has never hosted anything that riveted folks on six of the continents.
What comes close? Maybe Rocky Marciano, when he knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott in 1952, and won the heavyweight championship. Maybe not.
Long wait at NRG Station following Philly World Cup match
Soccer fans wait to enter NRG Station outside Lincoln Financial Field following Sunday night’s World Cup match.Michelle
Hundreds of soccer fans waited outside NRG station, a bottleneck at the turnstiles not appearing to break apart anytime soon. Fans chatted in Spanish, sat on plantersm and leaned against yellow gates waiting for entry into the train station.
A SEPTA worker who asked not to be identify said there were already almost 1,500 fans in the platform, so people had to weight until it clears out.
Meanwhile, Ubers to City Hall were ranging between $70 to $78 a ride. On a normal night, they’d run about $15.
Fans hurry to their cars, trains, and buses as storms move into Philly
Fans wait outside SEPTA’s NRG Station near the stadium following Ivory Coast’s victory over Ecuador Sunday night.Michelle Myers
Fans hustle to their cars in South Philly as lighting can be seen in the distance.
For subway riders trying to move closer to the station, the wait might be lengthy, as hundreds of of Ecuadorian fans await by the doors for their turn to get it.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Philadelphia and the surrounding counties Sunday evening that will remain in effect until 1 a.m. Monday morning.
Along with lightning and rain, forecasters say wind guts up to 60 miles per hour are possible, as is quarter-sized hail and potentially a tornado.
Over at FIFA’s Fan Festival at Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park,, crowds walked along Girard Avenue and Kelly Drive up to Fairmount to access rideshare pickup zones and the Philly PHLASH.
Crowds are funneled to these roads to stay on main thoroughfares, where many impromptu street vendors awaited to sell water and snacks and merchandise. Ice cream trucks also took this as a hint to set up shop.
At Pennsylvania and Fairmount, SEPTA had additional 32 and 48 Busses waiting as additional transportation and were waiting to fill up in order to take the maximum amount of passengers. A total of 4 buses were at the intersection waiting to take passengers at one point.
Police were stationed at various exits and intersections near the festival.
Ivory Coast defeats Ecuador in first-ever Philly World Cup match
Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo is congratulated by teammates after scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Ecuador Sunday in Philly.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Amad Diallo will go down in the annals of Philadelphia sports history as the first goalscorer in a World Cup hosted in the City of Brotherly Love. More importantly, his first-time shot in the 90th minute sealed three points in Ivory Coast’s Group E opener against Ecuador on a beautiful night for soccer inside Lincoln Financial Field.
He broke the hearts of a pro-Ecuadorian crowd of 68,274 who sang, cheered and for some even cried to take part in a game that is arguably the biggest sporting event the venue has ever held.
Next up for Ivory Coast, a trip to Toronto to face Germany on Saturday (4 p.m., Fox29), before making their return to Philadelphia to take on World Cup first-timers Curacao on June 25 (4 p.m., FS1).
Ecuador is also back in action this Saturday against Curacao in Kansas City (8 p.m., FS1)
Thousands of cheering fans bathed in stadium lights at Lincoln Financial Field could been seen through a gap between stadium walls from across the street at Stateside Live!
Inside the food court a sea of yellow shirts populated the tables and bars. As Ivory Coast scored, a small but rowdy crew cheered loudly, pumped fists in the air and slapped each other as Ecuador fans sighed.
“Ivory Coast! Ivory Coast! Ivory Coast!” the crew chanted inside, through the doors and out on the patio. They passed two people dressed in green and orange, the two groups screamed excitedly at each other, and the original chanters went on their way through the patio.
Fans also celebrated Ivory Coast’s 1-0 victory outside FIFA’s Fan Festival at Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park.
With the final whistle, thousands of people – some cheering after an Ivory Coast win, others with their heads hung low after the Ecuadorian loss – walked in calm crowds to the exit.
Within half an hour, crowds walked back to their cars, rideshare pickup zones, and SEPTA and PHLASH bus stops with no issue.
As opposing teams fans walked by each other they shook hands, laughed, and went about their night. Just an hour before, Lemon Hill was shaking with horns blasting and fans screaming.
Now the neighborhood is returning to a calm quiet, before the party eventually picks up again during the next World Cup match.
A resounding “No” echoed through the stadium as Ecuadorian fans covered their faces in disbelieve as Ivory Coast took a 1-0 lead in their World Cup matchup in South Philly.
Ivory Coast fans, scattered across the stadium amid a sea of yellow, screamied with emotion after Amad Diallo’s strike.
Ecuador and Ivory Coast remain scoreless, but fans remain confident
Ahmadou Dia holds the Ivory Coast flag above him at FIFA Fan Festival on Sunday, June 14, 2026.Henry Savage
With the score still 0-0, Ecuador and Ivory Coast fans at FIFA Fan Festival were just as confident as they started the match.
“The first half was 50-50 in terms of possession. It was a great first half,” said Ivory Coast-born Philadelphian Ahmadou Dia. “But the second half, we will for sure beat them.”
At halftime, crowds at Fan Festival flocked to the bathrooms, food vendors, and interactive exhibits to pass the time as DJs on the main stage kept the remaining crowd jumping.
Martin Alfaro, who has Honduran heritage, said he’s cheering for Ecuador, as Honduras doesn’t usually qualify for the World Cup. While Ecuador didn’t seal the deal in the first half, he’s optimistic they’ll score in the second. But, if they do, he’s preparing for the entire Ecuadorian fan section to “lose their minds.”
“I love that it’s 0-0 still, and I think, we’re hoping for a goal, but I’m afraid that if Ecuador does score, everyone’s going to lose their minds celebrating,” Alfaro said.
Ecuador fans also flood famed German beer hall in Philly
Soccer fans watch Ecuador take on the Ivory Coast at Brauhaus Schmitz on South Street Sunday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
With the score still zero-zero the Caddick family eagerly watched the screen and rang red, black and yellow cowbells at Brauhaus Schmitz on South Street when Ecuador closed in on the net.
Karina Caddick, a 56-year-old Horsham resident, was born in Ecuador, just outside Guayaquil, a port city and the country’s largest metropolis. She moved when she was only one year old, but her family instilled in her the importance of soccer to the national culture.
To watch her native country’s team compete on her home country’s soil is quite special, she said.
“It’s unbelievable that we’re able to watch here,” Caddick said. “To be in Philadelphia and see all the yellow shirts, it’s incredible.”
Seeing all the Ecuador fans on the train into the city on Sunday and exploring the tourist attractions around Center City and Old City was especially inspiring, she said.
“It’s cool. It’s like what are the odds that Ecuador is playing in the city that we live,” said 23-year-old Kayla Caddick, a recent Temple graduate and Old City resident.
Not everyone gets the hype.
“Why does everyone like soccer so much,” one young man asked his friend as he walked down South Street outside Brauhaus.
For those with familial attachments to one of the participating countries outside the U.S., the answer is obvious.
“Soccer is everything to Ecuador. It is the main sport. It’s their spirit. It’s what calls them,” said Karina Caddick.
At the World Cup, picking $20 beer over $20 chicken tenders
The price of concessions at Lincoln Financial Field for Sunday’s World Cup match.Michelle My
With fries and beer in the $20 range, fans are having to pick between eating or drinking at the stadium.
For Ecuadorian resident Sebastian Muller, 49, the idea of spending $19.49 on chicken tenders feels ridiculous, and paying almost $7 for a water that will cost him less than a dollar back home, even more.
Beer on the other hand, he couldn’t do without.
He put aside his hunger and bought a $20.85 craft beer.
“Prices are really high, but I still had to buy the beer,” Muller said. “It’s tradition, you can’t watch a match without the beer.”
The sentiment resonated with Jared Chiliquinga, 31, and his brother Rommel, 41.
They came from New Jersey and are used to the MetLife Stadium food prices, they said.
“I usually pay $10 for a can,” Jared said. “But what we can’t watch the game without beer, even if we have to pay more than $50 for two cans,” Rommel added.
The siblings opted for no water or food so they don’t miss out on the beer.
Cynthia Argueta, 29, was not into following their steps, but also didn’t want to give up on the beer.
The New Jersey resident spent nearly $40 to buy herself a hot dog, a bottle of water, and a beer.
“The hot dog tastes very basic,” Argueta said. “but I am starving so I have to eat, and they don’t let you bring water so I have to buy it here.”
Philadelphia finally gets its big World Cup moment, and looks amazing
Soccer fans cheer at Lincoln Financial Field with the Philly skyline in the background. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
IRVINE, Calif. – As the minutes ticked down toward kickoff, I was sitting in my hotel room while on the road covering the U.S. team. Then a moment came that I’ve been waiting years to see.
Soccer fans cheer during the national anthems before the World Cup match between Ecuador and Ivory Coast.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
I still remember the day 15 years ago when FIFA punched the U.S. in the gut and gave the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. Though it didn’t take long to learn how much alleged bribery and corruption there was, that specific moment is still vivid in my mind, especially for those of us who’d gathered at Tir na Nóg in Center City to watch the announcement.
It would be another eight years before the combined bid of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico finally prevailed to bring the 2026 tournament here, in 2018. And Philadelphia wasn’t picked as a host city until four years after that, in 2022.
Now, another four years later still, the culmination has finally arrived.
Ecuador takes the field ahead of their World Cup match against Ivory Coast in Philadelphia. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
I know not everything has gone perfectly, including the last few days for residents around the Fan Fest site. But I could tell in recent months that on the whole, the city was really embracing this moment on the global stage that’s unlike any there’s been before.
I could tell that despite all the challenges posed by brutal visa rules for visitors and exorbitant ticket prices for everyone, Philadelphians were ready to open their arms and welcome the world to town.
Now the world is finally here, and the party is only just beginning.
Referee Francois Letexier gives Ivory Coast’s Seko Fofana (6) a yellow card during Sunday’s game against Ecuador. Matt Rourke
The referee for this game, François Letexier of France, is one of the sport’s top officials. He has done lots of big games in his career, including in the French league, the Champions League, the Olympics, last year’s Club World Cup, and the 2024 European Champions League final.
But he wasn’t supposed to be doing this game.
It was originally signed to England’s Michael Oliver, who would also know plenty of Ecuador and Ivory Coast’s players from his years in the Premier League. But FIFA announced on Friday that Oliver is injured.
The announcement said it’s a minor injury, and Oliver won’t be sidelined for long. But it’s still a reminder that the referee has to run just as much in the heat and humidity as the players do.
Letexier has a notable side job away from soccer: he’s a court officer in the French city of Rennes, where he lives. (Maybe he’ll find South Philadelphia a little familiar in a certain way.)
FIFA selected 52 referees, 88 assistant referees, and 30 video officials from around the world for this World Cup. Eight are from the U.S., with Philadelphia’s Kathryn Nesbitt among the assistants.
And as you may have heard, Somalia’s Omar Artan had to withdraw from the tournament after the U.S. government barred him from entering the country. Though FIFA notably did not reassign him to games in Canada or Mexico, it announced Sunday that he’ll get his full tournament pay.
At the FIFA Fan Festival, an Ecuadorian singer and good vibes
Ecuadorian fans watch Sunday night’s World Cup match at the FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill Park.Henry Savage / Staff
Ecuadorian singer Johann Vera commanded center stage at FIFA Fan Festival on Sunday, performing directly before the 7 p.m. kick off between Ecuador and Côte d’Ivoire at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia.
In Lemon Hill, Vera roared to the crowd, “¿Listos?” and received resounding cheers of joy in return from the crowd. Fans blared horns across the sea of thousands of yellow jerseys, showing an exceptional turnout for Ecuadorian fans. Small pockets of bright orange jerseys signaling Côte d’Ivoire fans made their presence known among the crowd.
“I thought there were more Ivorians in Philadelphia but I guess not,” said Swann Nemin, a Temple University student from Côte d’Ivoire, visiting Fan Festival with her two Ivorian friends Ornella Kouame and Naïke M. and their friend, Phoebe Mattes, who they joke isn’t from Côte d’Ivoire but is “Ivorian by preference.”
The World Cup brought the friend group together to dance and celebrate in a festival of people from all over the world. “I feel like it’s not only people from Ecuador but also people from South America that are cheering for Ecuador, in the same way that people from all over Africa are repping Côte d’Ivoire,” Nemin said.
“We’re just really happy to be out here celebrating,” Kouame said. “Even if we don’t win, honestly, we’re just here to dance.”
Aleyda Alvarado, a Fishtown resident originally from Mexico, said that while Mexico isn’t playing tonight and she admits she isn’t the biggest soccer fan, the World Cup gets her and her friends out to celebrate the heart of soccer.
“Everyone is here from different countries, but during the World Cup, we’re all just fans,” Alvarado said before kick-off. “That’s how soccer bring people together, and what makes me love it.”
After the 5 p.m. SEPTA Orange Line express was taken out of service at Race-Vine because a door wouldn’t close, the 5:15 local train was inundated with Ecuador enthusiasts when it hit the City Hall.
The cars were full to bursting by the time they hit Walnut-Locust, yellow jerseys shoulder to shoulder and chest to chest, men and women alike. As the train pulled out a song arose, full throat and deafening in the hot, cramped subway car:
“¡Vamos, vamos ecuatorianos, esta noche tenemos que ganar!”
Or:
“Let’s go, let’s go Ecuadorians, tonight we have to win!”
As the throng exited up the stairs of NRG Station, their hearts and voices swelled again.
Giant Lincoln Financial Field signs on stadium’s roof also covered
Normally there are two giant Lincoln Financial Field signs facing skyward on the roof of the Linc. As Fox's cameras show, they had to be covered for the World Cup, along with everything else. pic.twitter.com/eNCitublcd
At the Linc, issues with expensive tickets purchased on resale websites
Jayden Quezada, 17, and his parents came to Philadelphia from Bensalem hoping for an Ecuadorian victory. But they were turned away at the door.
“They said there were problems with our tickets because they weren’t on the FIFA app,” Quezada said. “We have been trying to fix it for the last four hours.”
Last night, the trio spend $4,350 to get three tickets through the TickPick app. But, by the time they arrived to the stadium at 1 p.m., the tickets were yet to be transferred to their FIFA app.
As his mom passed on the phone, trying to reach a TickPick representative, Quezada fears his parents won’t be able to see their national team.
“They have been the biggest fans since before I was born and they don’t get to go back often because of work,” Quezada said. “We are probably going to try to get a refund but missing the game would be really sad because we were looking forward to feeling the Ecuadorian pride.”
The Quezada’s weren’t the only ones struggling. In a line of over 50 people, fans waited for help with their failed tickets.
Spanish speakers Monica Rojas, 22, and her friend Jose Avil, were concussed on what to do after the ticket office explained the problem with their ticket in English.
The pair drove two hours from New York, after buying a pair of tickets on Stubhub for $2,000 including parking.
After a FIFA volunteer interpreter intervine, the pair found out their tickets had been refunded, despite having a fifa confirmation email.
“I don’t know what we are doing to do,” Avil said. “It feels defeating, now all we have is the tickets and the desire to watch them.”
‘I’m actually an Eagles fan’: World Cup fans hit the tailgating lots in Philly
Three months from now, the South Philadelphia Sports Complex will be covered in Eagles green as fans hit the tailgating lots to prepare for their home opener in September. But, for now, the lots surrounding the temporarily renamed Philadelphia Stadium were engulfed with fans from Ecuador getting ready for Philly’s first World Cup match.
Although the environment looked a little different from Philly’s typical football Sundays, the tailgating culture was still alive and well on a more international level.
“I’m actually an Eagles fan,” said 18-year-old Ecuador native Natalia Vegas. “I’ve been here a couple times to watch the football games. I’ve tailgated once. It’s also crazy. Everybody is so prideful to be Eagles fans. So it’s kind of the same thing, being prideful as an Ecuador fan.”
With Ecuador facing off against the Ivory Coast for the first of six matches in Philly, both international and local soccer fans came in hordes to witness the historic sporting event making its way to the city.
“It’s been amazing,” said Ivory Coast native Abdoul Ouattra. “Everybody has been really nice to me. I’ve seen a bunch of Ecuadorians. I thought I was going to be intimidated but they were quite welcoming and said whatever happens, we’re friends. So, I love that.”
There is no length Ecuadorian native Pacho Flores wouldn’t go for his national team.
Despite living in New York City, Flores, 62, and his family of eight paid $650 dollars each to watch “La tri” play in Philly.
“It’s the most beautiful thing in the world,” Flores said. “We have to follow the team to every game. It’s a blessing to have them play so close.”
Despite the 90 degree weather, Flores and his son, Alex, danced wearing a thickly knit Diablo Uma masks — an indigenous protective spiritual figure from the highlands of Ecuador— to represent his native town of Cañar.
“It’s not that hot inside the mask, and it’s worth it because we have to win, at least 3 to 0,” Alex said wiping sweat of his for head. “Either way, we will still live the team,” Flores added.
No matter the score, the family won’t have too much time to celebrate. They leave New York City tomorrow morning to pack for the next Ecuadorian game in Kansas City Saturday against Curaçao.
Out front of Stateside Live, a group of Ecuador fans dressed in regional traditional clothing held their own mini flash mob ahead of the first World Cup match in Philly.
Among the dancers was 22-year-old Juliana Padilla, who stepped in last minute to join the flash mob from New York. After days of practicing, Padilla was excited to finally show off Ecuador’s culture ahead of the team’s World Cup match.
“We wanted to represent Latin America,” Padilla said. “We’re wearing the regional, traditional gear. We wanted to bring it to the people here to feel connected with their roots.”
Four hours ahead of tonight’s Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador match at a rebranded Linc, Ecuadorian fans arrive at NRG station chanting: “Let’s go Ecuadorians for we must win tonight.”
Four hours ahead of the Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador match, Ecuadorian fans arrive at NRG station chanting: “Let's go Ecuadorians for we must win tonight.” Via @PhillyInquirerpic.twitter.com/ls3vuiKdKs
Thunderstorms in Philly could interrupt tonight’s World Cup match
Ecuadorian fans flood Lincoln Financial Field Sunday night for the city’s first-ever World Cup match. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Severe thunderstorms could make their way through the Philadelphia region later this evening, potentially catching the tail end of tonight’s World Cup match between Ivory Coast and Ecuador.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Philadelphia and the surrounding counties Sunday evening that will remain in effect until 1 a.m. Monday morning.
The most organized swath of thunderstorms are expected to move through the area between 9 p.m. and midnight, potentially bringing severe gusty winds and heavy rain, according to Jessica Storm, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Mt. Holly office.
A tornado is also possible, as it isolated hail up to the size of a quarter.
FIFA will pause play if there is a lightning strike within eight miles of the stadium. The match will remain paused for 30 minutes, with any subsequent lightning strikes resetting the clock.
The FIFA Fan Fest at Lemon Hill Park in Fairmount would also be forced to close if lightning is detected within an eight-mile radius. Fans would need to exit the grounds and move to a safe location, FIFA said in a statement, and could re-enter after 30 minutes if no additional lightning is detected.
IRVINE, Calif. — Since the game ended at 2 in the morning Philadelphia time, you might have been asleep when Australia’s win over Turkey ended.
Then again, if you’re enough of a soccer diehard, you might well have stayed up to be sure you watched all four of Saturday’s games live.
Regardless, the Socceroos’ 2-0 upset in Vancouver blows the United States’ group wide open. Now those two teams have three points each, with the U.S. in first place on goal difference by +3 to +2. (That’s what made Gio Reyna’s late strike in the 4-1 win over Paraguay actually important, not just a cherry on top.)
It also makes Friday’s U.S.-Australia game in Seattle an even bigger deal than it already was. American fans have been waiting ever since the draw to watch their team in one of the nation’s best soccer cities, and now the game has huge stakes.
The winner will be in the driver’s seat to take first place. And if the U.S. prevails, it will only need a draw against Turkey in the June 25 finale back in Los Angeles to win the group.
Curacao players celebrate after scoring during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Germany and Curacao in Houston, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)Eric Gay / AP
If you just saw Curaçao score a tying goal against Germany, you need to understand just how wild it was.
CURAÇAO SCORES ITS FIRST-EVER FIFA WORLD CUP GOAL 🇨🇼
The island nation, a former Netherlands territory, is the smallest country ever to qualify for a World Cup by both population (just over 150,000 people) and land mass (171 square miles).
Germany, by contrast, is a four-time World Cup champion and three-time European champion.
Curaçao’s squad is built mainly of players in global diasporas who have family roots on the island. None of the 26 men play in the world’s five best domestic leagues: the top divisions in England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France. They pulled off an upset in qualifying too, with a scoreless tie at Jamaica (including Union goalkeeper Andre Blake) on the last day that clinched their World Cup ticket.
Germany, by contrast, has 25 of its 26 players in those circuits — and the other one plays for a bit team in Turkey after many years in the League and Bundesliga.
As I was writing this post, watching the game on TV while on the road covering the U.S. team, Germany just retook the lead. But I promise, those big sections of Blue Sharks fans at the stadium in Houston are having the time of their lives. And everyone around North and Central America who appreciates Curaçao’s underdog story is rooting for them.
What to know if you’re going to the FIFA Fan Festival
Soccer fans gather to watch Mexico play South Africa on a giant screen during the opening day of the FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill on Thursday, June 11, 2026, in Philadelphia.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
A crowd packed with thousands of cheering fans, the 60-foot-wide screen playing the latest fiery matchup, and dozens upon dozens of food vendors await the FIFA Fan Festival, the cheapest and most immersive way to enjoy the 2026 World Cup in Philadelphia.
The Fan Festival is open daily to 15,000 fans, for free, to roam the million square feet of festival grounds that have transformed quaint Lemon Hill into an almost unrecognizable extravaganza of global soccer.
The main spectacle is the 60-foot screen that takes over the main stage in Lemon Hill, where the majority of fans will congregate to watch the match. But, throughout the festival are multiple smaller screens playing the game, so fans don’t miss a moment when they roam for food, fun, or the bathroom.
“Even if you’re not a soccer fan, you can still come out and have a great time,” said Michael DelBene, executive producer of FIFA Fan Festival for Philadelphia Soccer 2026. “You can come and listen to music or eat delicious food, or shop.”
The festival is intended for fans of all ages and promises to be kid and family friendly.
An active Union player finally played in a World Cup game
Scotland’s Lawrence Shankland (20), and Haiti’s Danley Jean Jacques (17) battle for the ball during the World Cup Group C soccer match between Haiti and Scotland in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)Martin Meissner
Halfway through the Union’s 17th season, midfielder Danley Jean Jacques became the first active player from the club to play in a World Cup.
Jean Jacques started for Haiti on Saturday night against Scotland in Foxborough, Mass., in what was also Haiti’s first men’s World Cup game since 1974 and Scotland’s first since 1998.
Haiti lost the game, 1-0, but played well, outshooting Scotland 15-9 and holding a majority of the possession. Jean Jacques was often at the center of the action, with four tackles, two clearances, one interception, eight duels won in 12 contested, and 44-of-53 passing.
The 26-year-old from the small coastal town of Petit-Goâve is in his third season with the Union. He has been a regular with Les Grenadiers since 2023, earning his 31st cap for the country in this game.
Jean Jacques is the third active Union player to be on a World Cup team. The first was right back Olivier Mbaizo, who made Cameroon’s squad four years ago but did not play.
Members of the Ivory Coast national football team react while watching the Sixers Stixers drum line perform following their practice at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa. on Friday, June 12, 2026Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
The waterfronts of Chester and Wilmington are roughly 5,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean from Abidjan, the Ivory Coast’s largest city. But, for at least three weeks during the FIFA World Cup, the Ivorian men’s national team will call the banks of the Delaware River home.
Les Éléphants hosted an open training session at Subaru Park on Friday evening, two days before they begins their World Cup campaign with a match against Ecuador at Philadelphia Stadium (aka Lincoln Financial Field) on Sunday (7 p.m., FS1).
Ivory Coast is the only nation scheduled to play at the Linc twice during the World Cup’s group stage, and it is the only team that will stay and train in the Delaware Valley during the tournament.
The team has set up its base camp at Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington and will train at Subaru Park in Chester.
Ivory Coast’s open training session Friday evening was the second free event it has staged for the Philadelphia community. Les Éléphants beat Union II, 2-0, in a tuneup friendly on Monday that was open to the public.
Ecuador fans take over the Art Museum steps before World Cup kickoff
Ecuadorian soccer fans show support for their national team ahead of Sunday’s game against Ivory Coast.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
After decades living in New Jersey, Ecuadorian native Magaly Moreira, 60, said she had never seen such a display of her country’s people.
“It fills me with happiness, pride, and so much joy,” Moreira said, Ecuadorian flags painted on her face. “It’s our opportunity for us and the players to represent Ecuador.”
She was one of thousands of Ecuadorians attending “El banderazo Ecuatoriano” outside the Art Museum. An event organized by group +593 (the country’s international calling code) that made fans put aside the traditional “Ecuadorian hour” to show up more than on time to support their team.
“Ecuador, Ecuador, Ecuador, vamos Ecuador,” resounded through the Rocky steps as the fans chanted, many sporting the Ecuadorian soccer jersey.
Defeating the heat, a crowd of all ages — from newborns to seniors — cheered and danced to the traditional highland dance “Zapateando Juyayay,” showcasing pride for their country, waving flags, and hugging each other with hope.
With a broken leg and dragging a wheelchair, Darío Galarza and his friend Marco Gallardo flew in from Ecuador two days ago to support their home team. They did not expect to see such an outpouring for their national team.
“The U.S. is accessible for us because we share the same currency and it isn’t far, but we didn’t expect to see so many people,” Gallardo said.
For Galarza, skipping the World Cup wasn’t an option. After undergoing surgery for his leg last month, he made it a point to be as recovered as possible to fly to Philadelphia.
“I guess it’s true, you will always find an Ecuadorian in every corner of the world,” Galarza said. “At least I knew it was going to be me because I wasn’t missing this for the world.”
As a man inside a guinea pig costume began a conga line around the Rocky statue, 77-year-old Ecuadorian Francisco Castellanos couldn’t help but reflect on the wonder of seeing so many Ecuadorians together and the weight of representation.
“There are so many of us here that now we must win,” Castellanos said. “Whatever it takes,” he added, as the crowd erupted chanting the Ecuadorian national anthem.
Everything you need to know about the World Cup in Philly
The first World Cup game in Philadelphia is Sunday night.
Nine nations will compete in five group stage matches over the next two weeks, plus two more in a knockout game on July 4. Here’s what you need to know about those countries — and what those fans need to know about Philly …
Former Union announcer JP Dellacamera will call Philadelphia’s first World Cup game.Fox Sports
The first of six World Cup matches will take place Sunday night in Philadelphia, with Ivory Coast taking on Ecuador (7 pm., FS1) in Group E action.
Group E also includes Germany, which most experts predict will make it out of the group stage. So tonight’s match could be an early look at who finishes in second place (no offense to Curacao, the smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup, edging out Iceland).
It seems like Ivory Coast will be the natural team for fans in the Delaware Valley to root for, outside the U.S. It’s the only country scheduled to play two matches in Philadelphia (they’ll take on Curacao on June 25), has made Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington it’s home away from home, and is training at Subaru Park in Chester.
From horses giving way to cars and the invention of television, to the election of more than a dozen presidents, World War II, and even the sale of sliced bread — the 45 Chester County centenarians who gathered for an annual luncheon this week have watched the world remake itself time and time again.
“I saw a lot of things. A lot of wars, and a lot of popes. There’s a lot of good things,” said Anne Caporale, who will turn 100 in July. “I got married, had a family. I had a good life.”
The annual luncheon celebrated Chester County’s group of centenarians — a total of 57 residents reaching or surpassing the milestone. Tuesday’s celebration saw a dozen who would turn 100 this year, plus quite a few returning attendees, including 108-year-old Evelyn Fair, who still writes poetry.
“You are the builders, the teachers, the parents, the neighbors, and the foundation of the Chester County community,” Josh Maxwell, chair of the board of county commissioners, told attendees. “Every single comfort and freedom we enjoy today is a direct result of the hard work, sacrifice, and grace you poured into the world decades and decades ago. We are walking today on paths that you have all cleared.”
Meet some of Chester County’s longest residents.
Henry Jacks, 104
Henry Jacks, 104, enjoys the annual centenarian luncheon hosted by the Department of Aging. Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
Henry Jacks moved to South Coatesville when he was 4 years old, and has called it home ever since. He’s witnessed “quite a bit of change.”
He remembers watching deliveries come by horse and wagon and recalls the hard days of the 1930s during the Great Depression (“cost of living wasn’t as bad as it is now,” he noted). Jacks joined the Army in 1940 during World War II, serving in the 92nd Engineers Regiment, and was stationed in Africa and Italy. He came back home to have three children, a boy and two girls.
He was a Boy Scout leader, the first Black mail carrier in Coatesville, a city council member, and a judge of elections. He still sings in the church choir. (His advice: “Treat people right. Go to church.”)
“So many changes that I’ve seen in the days,” he said. “I remember when I first saw TV; one of the neighbors had one, and all of the kids used to watch through his window. I’ve seen from the horses, to the cars, to the jet airplanes. And it’s been a wonderful life.”
Letitia Hemphill, 103
Letitia Hemphill, 103, at Tuesday’s luncheon. Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
Letitia Hemphill started her working life at the candy counter at the former F.W. Woolworth’s five-and-dime in her hometown of West Chester. Though her father remarked she wasn’t good at math, she’d go on to have a long career using her skills while filling the registers and doing the end-of-day count in a department store and later at the treasurer’s office.
She retired in 1986 but had trouble sitting still.
“I got bored of not working,” she said.
She started cleaning houses. It was something she’d always done: help her mother clean in the morning, and then go to the park in the afternoon. She kept up the tradition with her two grandkids and her two great-grandkids, whom she babysat for 14 years.
An active life has been key to Hemphill, who did 10 years of ballroom dancing and more than 20 years at the gym.
“Keep your body moving and keep your mind moving,” she said.
She keeps her mind active by painting landscapes in watercolor, a hobby she took up in 1995.
Hemphill was born in West Chester to a stonemason father and a stay-at-home mother. Once, someone asked Hemphill if she had a lot of friends. With 11 brothers and sisters, she remarked she didn’t need any.
When she journeys through West Chester, she points out all the stores that have changed over time.
Still, Chester County is “beautiful,” and much of her family is still around to keep her moving: two children, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Joseph Donia, 100
Joseph Donia, 100. There were 45 centenarians in attendance at Tuesday’s luncheon.Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
Up until last year or so, Joseph Donia’s hobby was building boats. He constructed a 20-foot wooden cabin cruiser from scratch. He had it for 40 years.
“The only reason I sold it — my wife couldn’t get on it anymore,” he said.
He had a lifelong love of boats, and spent five years at sea for the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II. His time in service was the only time he wasn’t living in West Chester, where he bought a house and raised three kids. He also has six grandkids and three great-grandkids.
His most recent project was a 35-foot sailboat. It’s still sitting behind his West Chester home, but he’s given it to his son to finish.
It kept the 100-year-old active — something he advises.
Eleanor Hammond, 101
Eleanor Hammond, 101, enjoys Tuesday’s annual luncheon. Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
Eleanor Hammond has always been a fan of creative pursuits: a voracious reader who knitted and sewed. She stitched her daughter’s wedding gown, and, perhaps more memorably, a jacket for her husband.
“He insisted I make him a jacket because I sewed for everyone else. He picked out the material; looked like Liberace. It was horrible,” she said. “I wouldn’t go out with him when he wore it.”
A graduate of Coatesville High School, Hammond would go on to work there until she was 81, in the principal’s office. She was once a disciplinarian, and truancy officer. She’s watched the county change over time, marveling at the amount of development. And, less positively, the traffic.
“The way to get here, I used to zip here,” she said. “But I can’t do that now.”
Still, she likes it, and the changes that have come with time.
“I’ve been here a long time. Everything about it is beautiful. The people are friendly, and it’s a beautiful place,” she said.
And as much as she loves home, she recommends travel. If you don’t know the language, be nice, smile, and “use your arms” to convey your meaning.
Anne Caporale, 99
Anne Caporale, who turns 100 in July.Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
Anne Caporale graduated alongside Hammond at Coatesville High School. She went on to raise six kids, and has 10 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.
“We have quite a group,” she said. “I love them.”
She has found Chester County to be a good place to live and “wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”
She lives at home, right by one of Downingtown’s high schools, which she loves because “the kids are great.” She still does her laundry and cooks every day. The luncheon Tuesday was a treat for her. “Let somebody else do the cooking,” she said.
Keeping active is the secret, she said.
“I know we’re here for a reason, but I don’t know it. I don’t question it,” she said.
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The Urban League of Greater Philadelphia is opening a free clinic in West Philadelphia for people without health insurance. The $8 million Center for Well-Being will also offer workforce development, housing, and other services, Urban League officials announced Friday.
The clinic will be open to all Philadelphia residents and expects to serve residents of eastern Delaware County as well, Urban League president Darrin W. Anderson Sr. saidat Friday’s kickoff event.
“Across Philadelphia, too many residents continue to face barriers to good health, economic mobility, stable housing, quality jobs, and the resources needed to thrive. These challenges are deeply interconnected and require more than isolated solutions. They require a comprehensive community center approach,” Anderson said.
The Urban League acquired the building in March for $1.6 million — attracted by the proximity to the Market-Frankford El and its parking lot, both of which make the building accessible to people outside the immediate neighborhood. With internal demolition about half finished, the center is expected to open in the first quarter of next year.
U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans secured $1.2 million in seed money for the Urban League of Philadelphia’s Center for Well-Being in West Philadelphia. He spoke Friday at an event announcing the project.Erin Blewett / For The Inquirer
The center — in a former Mercy Hospital of Philadelphia building — will employ around 30 people when it is fully operational, said Chetan Panda, vice president of community and economic impact for the Urban League.
The hires for the 4,500-square-foot clinic with eight exam rooms will include a medical director this fall, he said.
The project’s funding comes from a federal tax credit program designed to encourage private investment in economically distressed neighborhoods.
Finanta, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution and credit union in Philadelphia, arranged the financing.
Three years ago, U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, a Philadelphia Democrat retiring at the end of his current term,secured $1.2 million in seed money for the project.
The role of free clinics
The Urban League modeled its free clinic on those in Cherry Hill, Phoenixville, and West Chester. The city’s numerous free primary care clinics are only open periodically, as opposed to being open daily.
Philadelphia has 110,000 people without insurance, according to Panda. Many of them earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, yet don’t have access to insurance through their jobs. Their jobs pay too poorly for themto afford insurance on the state’s Affordable Care Act exchange, Panda said in an interview Thursday.
The clinic will refer people who have Medicaid, Medicare, or private insurance to the federal health clinic closest to them. In West Philadelphia, that could be Spectrum or PHMC at the former Mercy Hospital of Philadelphia.
Urban League of Greater Philadelphia officials, politicians, and other supporters sign a beam that will be used in the the refurbishing of the the Urban League’s planned Center for Well-Being.Erin Blewett / For The Inquirer
Federal clinics, known as federally qualified heath centers, have a sliding payment scale for people who don’t have insurance. “We see that a lot of uninsured people forgo care at the FQHCs because they don’t want to pay the sliding scale. That’s a cost burden,” Panda said
When they need care, they often seek it in high-cost emergency departments, he said.
Free clinics rely on nearby hospitals for some of their staff and for donated services, such as X-rays and other diagnostic tests. Penn Medicine will support the new clinic in West Philadelphia, just as it does existing federal health centers, said Richard Wender, Penn’s chair of family medicine, who was at Friday’s event.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct Chetan Panda’s title to vice president, and with the correct name of Community Volunteers in Medicine in Chester County.
As global supplies of Chartreuse dwindle, its mystique only deepens and its popularity increases. Luckily, Philadelphia bars have concocted not merely ways to get their hands on the spirit, a botanical liqueur produced by Carthusian monks in the Chartreuse Mountains in southeastern France, but even their own, Philadelphia-made versions.
In 2021, the monks of the Carthusian order, an extremely secluded Roman Catholic order founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 who adhere to a life of absolute silence and solitude, announced a cap on the production of their cordial, which they had been making since the 18th century. The recipe is culled from an ancient manuscript on the “Elixir of Long Life.”
The iconic green liqueur is made of 130 plants— there is also a Yellow Chartreuse that is milder and sweeter due to the inclusion of honey and saffron —and is the base for several famous cocktails, including the Prohibition-era Last Word and the Naked and Famous (a classic cocktail from New York’s Death & Co.). With robust alpine notes, it is also commonly served neat. It’s also a favorite of bartenders and mixologists nationwide.
“It adds depth and character to cocktails,” said Neill Laughlin, a partner and manager at Old City’s Sassafras.
With the rise of the craft cocktail movement in the early 2000s and then drinking habits during the pandemic, which drove people to start shaking up more cocktails at home, Chartreuse has only gotten increasingly more popular.
The monks’ decision to limit their production has had a trickle-down effect for Philadelphia’s cocktail programs, like the one at Sassafras, run by Laughlin and Donal McCoy. Philadelphia’s bars already struggle with obtaining specialty liqueurs due to Pennsylvania’s Liquor Board restrictions. But Sassafras, who maintains its own long history (almost 50 years in business), doubled down on Chartreuse-based cocktails, adding four to their new bar program (which changes quarterly). It’s no easy feat: a search of the PLCB’s Fine Wine and Good Spirits site shows no bottles of Chartreuse in stock at all.
Champs-Elysees at Sassafras ($16) with St-Rémy VSOP, Green Chartreuse, lemon juice, Angostura bittersSassafras
“You need to have contacts within the PLCB,” explained Laughlin. “Certain [liquor] portfolios are broken down to different vendors and it’s a lot of homework to discover who has what products and how to get them. The liquor control board took it away from the stores and allocated Chartreuse to certain bars and restaurants — but you have to buy it in bulk.”
And so, Sassafras has been stocking up on Chartreuse for years. Supply is never regular. “There’s no warning when the ship [from France] comes in and how much you’re going to get,” said Laughlin, who just two weeks ago, managed to obtain four cases each of Green and Yellow Chartreuse.
“We’re comfortable offering six cocktails at Sassafras that use it,” said Laughlin. The newest cocktails at Sassafras include the 1904 ($65) featuring Yellow Spot Irish whiskey, Chartreuse VEP, and Antica Formula, Naked and Famous ($17) made with Catedral Espadin Mezcal, Aperol, Yellow Chartreuse, and lime juice, the Champs-Elysees ($16) with St-Rémy VSOP, Green Chartreuse, lemon juice, Angostura bitters. And for high rollers, the bar has also debuted one Chartreuse-based cocktail that costs $115 The Àrd-Rìgh (Irish Gaelic title meaning “High King”) is crafted with The Macallan Rare Cask, alongside Chartreuse VEP and Chartreuse MOF — “two exceptionally rare and highly coveted expressions of the French liqueur,” said Laughlin.
The Àrd-Rìgh (Irish Gaelic title meaning “High King”) at Sassafras is crafted with The Macallan Rare Cask, alongside Chartreuse VEP and Chartreuse MOFSassafras
Chartreuse has also entranced newer cocktail programs, like the one at chef Scott Calhoun’s Ember and Ash. Calhoun also recently put a Chartreuse cocktail on his menu: “Our Herb Your Enthusiasm ($19) is a play on a gimlet with Green Chartreuse, gin, charred fennel and cucumber syrup, and lime,” he said.
Herb Your Enthusiasm from Ember and Ash on East Passyunk. The cocktail is a play on a gimlet with green chartreuse, gin, charred fennel and cucumber syrup, and lime.Lulu Calhoun
“When we start to get low on either and our purveyor is out, I scour the PLCB online system to have bottles shipped to my local store for pick up,” said Calhoun.
The dearth of Chartreuse has also inspired Chris Fetfatzes of Grace and Proper and Sonny’s Cocktail Joint, establishments known for crafting their own spirits like amari. Fetfatzes’ liqueur, dubbed the “Green Monk” is made with about forty botanicals and is inspired by the forty Kelpius monks of the Wissahickon, a doomsday cult that inhabited Wissahickon Valley Park in the 1690s.
“Green Monk has a hint of chamomile, a hint of mint, and a hint of génépy with a little bit of a menthol burn,” said Fetfatzes.
And given that it’s produced in Philadelphia and not by actual monks, a shortage is unlikely. .
