If you didn’t believe it before, you need to understand it now: Donald Trump never should have picked up that phone, never should have put in that call to one of his toadies, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and never should have tried to exert his icky influence in a sport rife with corruption.
The 4-1 loss by the U.S. men’s national team to Belgium on Monday night at Lumen Field in Seattle was a fitting result. It was an embarrassing end to the World Cup for the home country. It was cosmic payback for a club that hoped to benefit from a president who wanted to strongarm Team USA into the quarterfinals and found out that sports can resist even an autocrat’s attempts to stack the deck.
Sometimes, once you show you’re willing to wallow in the mud, you can never wash the stain away. The justifications for the Trump administration’s overtures to FIFA to wipe out the one-game suspension for Folarin Balogun — and for FIFA’s acquiescence — were oh-so easy and obvious: This is FIFA.
U.S. forward Folarin Balogun (20) was the center of attention against Belgium in the World Cup’s round of 16 on Monday.Ted S. Warren
This is an organization with a history of scandal and corruption so long and detailed that Robert Caro could only begin to chronicle it. This kind of back-scratching and deal-making is nothing new at soccer’s highest level. This is how things work, and everyone knows it and holds their nose against the stench, and all the complaints from Belgium and the other countries left in the World Cup were nothing but rank hypocrisy.
If another national team were in the same situation that the USMNT found itself after Balogun was hit with that questionable (at best) red card last Wednesday against Bosnia and Herzegovina, its president or prime minister would have done the same thing Trump did, right? Any means necessary in an every-country-for-itself system, right?
Wrong. The corrective to dishonor and dishonesty isn’t to do more dishonorable things. Yet that was the remedy that Trump sought and put Team USA in the position of accepting. No, Balogun never deserved a red card and the subsequent suspension. Yes, it was a terrible call. But terrible calls happen at all levels of sports, because sports — at least until the gamblers and robots take them over completely — are officiated and overseen by human beings, and errors and mistakes are part of the game.
Stuff happens, and you deal with it as best as you can, and no one gets a do-over days later just because Donald Trump says so. His actions wouldn’t have been appropriate in youth soccer — imagine a parent of a punished player pressuring a league’s commissioner to lift a suspension and the commissioner giving in — let alone in the biggest sporting event on the globe.
What’s more, Trump and those who supported or tolerated his interference in The Balogun Affair apparently never stopped to consider that he might be damaging his own national team’s chances. In that 2-0 victory over Bosnia, Balogun’s teammates not only survived the final 26-plus minutes of the match without him but also scored shorthanded to extend their lead.
They had become underdogs. They had acquired the momentum that comes with being a team that had to fight adversity and had given a strong indication that it could overcome it.
But once FIFA reversed its decision, that entire narrative — that sense that the USMNT might use Balogun’s suspension as inspiration and triumph in the face of an unjust call — disappeared. Now, the USMNT wasn’t the tough, resilient bunch that could withstand the absence of its best player. Now it was so out of its depth without Balogun that it needed the shady political boss to cut a deal in the smoke-filled room to bail it out.
Belgium players react after their team scored one of four goals against the United States in Monday’s round-of-16 World Cup match. RUTH FREMSON
Well, the Americans fit that pathetic profile Monday night. They allowed Belgium to take an early lead, then gave up the winning goal just 61 seconds after Malik Tillman tied the game at 1, then conspired to commit a crushing gaffe when goalkeeper Matt Freese played the ball outside the box, burped it up, and watched Hans Vanaken roll a shot past him for a two-goal Belgium edge.
They were outplayed, outmatched, and outclassed, their performance all the more humiliating for the strings that their president had pulled for them, for the message that he had sent about their chances.
Donald Trump told the world that these athletes needed a man willing to act like a mob boss to make things easier for them, that the USMNT wasn’t strong enough to take home victory on its own and without his help. It turned out he was right. He treated them like losers, and on Monday night, they met his expectations.
In a world full of blowhard self-promoters who lack expertise in anything outside hat-backward bro-chat, it’s refreshing to hear smart guys talk about interesting stuff in plain words.
That’s what you’ll get when you find Episode 12 of the Negotiation Warriors podcast on YouTube. On the podcast, former Chicago Bears executive Cliff Stein spends 75 minutes discussing the evolution of NFL front-office practices with a certain former Eagles and Cleveland Browns executive.
The episode is titled “The Salary Cap Godfather with Joe Banner.”
This is not hyperbole.
Banner entered the NFL in 1994 as the salary cap and free agency became the league’s most important drivers of roster construction. Banner was, simply, smarter and braver than almost everybody else making those decisions. It was he who designed the template for salary-cap management, free-agent pursuit, and, to a degree, the maximization of early- and late-round draft pick evaluation.
Banner (with an assist from his then-administrative assistant, Lee Ann Hartley, who gets name-dropped in the episode), also invented Howie Roseman, who since has led the Eagles to three Super Bowls, two championships, and today generally is considered the NFL’s top executive.
But everybody has a godfather.
Banner served a similar role to Stein, a North Philly kid who played receiver for Ron Cohen at George Washington High School and rose from fringe-player agent to the role of senior vice president for 22 years with the Bears, until regime change in 2023 ended his tenure.
Stein, 59, then became a consultant for college programs dealing with NIL challenges, helped develop software called Front Office 360 to help schools manage their salary caps, and, of course, started the pod. He’s already hosted super-agents Drew Rosenhaus and Peter Schaffer, and he has about 30 more in the bank. None, he said, was as rewarding as the Banner pod.
“He’s not known as a very tall man, but he is a giant when it comes to negotiations,” Stein says, introducing Banner in anatomically and metaphorically appropriate terms.
Why Banner? Why now?
Because the business of the NFL was uncharted territory in the mid-’90s. Banner was Magellan. Now semiretired and semiforgotten by a generation that uses his methods but has no appreciation of their origins, it is important to Stein to shine light on Banner’s massive contribution, from negotiating stadium deals to navigating the cap to assigning values to players on the front and back ends of their careers.
“My biggest takeaway was the value of a negotiator in the role of a GM, and to show that’s what he was doing,” Stein said.
Banner’s one of the most respected sports executives, one of the most brilliant minds and canniest negotiators the NFL has ever seen. Some would even call him the Godfather.
From North Philly to the South Side
Stein got his business and law degrees at Temple, then began work as a union lawyer in 1994 when he also got his NFL agent’s license. Three years later he partnered with Jerrold Colton, continued his law practice, and acted as agent for a few low-level players such as former Eagles offensive lineman Jerry Crafts and kick returner Michael “Beer Man” Lewis, the 29-year-old Arena Football League speedster who delivered Budweiser but did not play college football. The Eagles cut Lewis in 2000, but he eventually reached the Pro Bowl with the Saints.
In 2002, the Bears solicited Stein’s application to be their contract negotiator. He spent much of the next 22 years in that role and several others as senior vice president and general counsel, a vital adviser for Bears executives and ownership, until Kevin Warren was hired as president in 2023 and dismissed him.
Banner was instrumental in nurturing Stein’s development.
The podcast is 75 minutes of two of the deepest sorts of sports insiders discussing not only the inner workings of the NFL’s well-cloaked business models and practices but also the origins of those practices in the salary-cap, free-agency world, the very creation of which they played a crucial role.
Detail-oriented pod
That’s the word that keeps popping up: detail. Banner’s philosophy in preparing to negotiate: be detailed. The key trait in every hire Banner makes or recommends: obsession with detail.
Stein learned from Banner, and the stories in the podcast episode are clinically detailed.
They discuss how, under Banner, the Eagles used principals of analytics years before the Moneyball revolution coalesced in the later 2000s.
The most poignant anecdote involves Roseman’s biggest hit. In 2004, as a low-level assistant — director of football administration — Roseman, in his fifth year with the organization, was eager to add a kid named Jason Peters. At that time, Peters not only was a rookie tight end, but he was on the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad. It would have cost the Eagles nothing to acquire him except a minimum salary. Coach Andy Reid didn’t want to use the roster spot for Peters.
Four years later, again at the insistence of Roseman, who now was vice president of player personnel, Banner traded three picks for Peters, gave him a six-year, $60 million contract, and watched him go to seven of the next eight Pro Bowls.
Joe Banner (center) and Jeffrey Lurie (left) came to the Eagles in 1994. YONG KIM / Staff
Banner had more stories Sunday afternoon, stories that didn’t make the pod. Such as:
Lurie bought the Birds in 1994, the same year Stein got into the agent game. As newcomers, Banner thought it would be wise to introduce himself and Lurie by entertaining the adversaries.
In October 1994, at the owners’ meetings in Chicago, Banner and Lurie hosted a cocktail hour for the Eagles’ agents at the time. This was tantamount to Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, inviting Jefferson Davis and his generals to Thanksgiving dinner. The other owners and league office were furious.
Banner claimed ignorance.
“We were flagrantly breaking the ‘rules,’” Banner said, “But we honestly didn’t realize how bad a line we were crossing.”
When Stein was with the Bears, they regularly crossed that line.
Later in the podcast, in addressing the number of front-office executives who began their careers under Banner, Stein recalled his introduction to Roseman.
For months, Hartley had received and rebuffed Roseman’s daily letters pleading to join the Eagles — a plea he sent to virtually every other team, too — in any capacity. Roseman’s persistence impressed her, which, Stein said, was key: “I knew that if someone like Lee Ann likes you, you’re going to get the respect of Joe Banner and Jeffrey Lurie.”
In 2000, after Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum met and vetted Roseman — a Fordham Law graduate, just like Stein — Banner finally relented and gave Howie an interview.
“I think I saw a little of me in him,” Banner said.
Banner then fired his current numbers guy and hired Roseman, who took up residency on the corner of Hartley’s desk outside of Banner’s office on the fourth floor of Veterans Stadium. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Fast forward
Stein says he’s content to continue his life in Chicago to be near his two grown children, unless some team comes at him with an offer he can’t refuse. For now, he’s eager to plumb the podcast depths. He says he’s gotten a commitment from an executive who said he’d never do a podcast but changed his mind after seeing the Rosenhaus pod.
Until then, Stein is positively giddy at the chance that the Eagles might make Hartley available for an episode. She now is the vice president and senior adviser to Lurie; essentially, the job she used to do for the president she now does for the owner.
Imagine the stories she could tell.
“I’m going to do a behind-the-scenes on someone who knows everything about the business, part of the NFL population that never gets credit,” Stein said. “To have her as a potential guest? I mean, she’s half the reason Howie got hired!”
As for Banner, he left the Eagles in 2012 to become Cleveland’s CEO, but he was out by 2014. He’s been an adjunct professor at Villanova, a role in which Stein, still in Illinois, now serves at Northwestern. Banner has acted as a consultant on dozens of NFL coach and executive searches; cofounded the 33rd Team group of football consultants with Tannenbaum; acted as an adviser during the 2021 NFL CBA negotiations; and has sat on the board of Patricof Co, a venture capital firm that caters to pro athletes.
In his dotage, Banner, like so many, splits time between Maine and Florida, enjoys his grandchildren, and hopes to stay relevant and appreciated.
The pod, and maybe this column, will serve that end.
“I gotta say, I feel like that 45-year-old golfer who’s leading the Masters after the first round,” Banner said with a chuckle.
Well, Jack Nicklaus won it at the age of 46. Banner might not be the Nicklaus of the NFL, but he’s at least the Fred Couples of the boardrooms.
Rich Paul said something the other day that is worth a little bit of reflection for anybody who rolls their eyes at the idea of LeBron James joining the Sixers.
Paul, the NBA superagent who was essentially created by James and who also hosts a podcast alongside former ESPN personality Max Kellerman, claimed that the Knicks would have been James’ clear first choice had they not won an NBA title this season.
“If the Knicks hadn’t have won, this wouldn’t even — there would be no board. He’d be going to the Knicks,” Paul said to Kellerman as he was breaking down James’ potential landing spots.
Rich Paul on LeBron James to the Knicks 😳
“If the Knicks hadn’t won, there would be no board. He’d be going to the Knicks…. Jalen Brunson would literally have to pick up the phone and say ‘hey man, there’s no issue with me.’ They (Knicks) have checked in.”
The comment was both surprising in its bluntness and unsurprising in its conclusion. To anybody who had followed James’ career and psychologically profiled him from afar, it would have made perfect sense if he decided to go where he would be the biggest fish in the biggest pond and also have a chance to write a story that ended up near the top of the local history books.
That probably sounds discouraging to anybody who had been holding out of picking Philadelphia from the list of 10-14 potential destinations Paul broke down for Kellerman. And let’s be clear, that’s probably the correct interpretation. Hey, we all love Philly. But it’s generally not a place for people who dream of places like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Except, there’s another way to interpret Paul’s comments, at least as it pertains to James’ psyche heading into his 24th season in the NBA. While it is impossible to overlook his clear affinity for the bright lights and big city, James also clearly cares deeply about his legacy and his place in the historical record. Neither the Clippers nor the Nets are on his list, after all. His desire for the Knicks would have been as much about the story as the setting. Not only would he have had a chance to become the first player to win four NBA titles with four different teams, he would have won each of them in a place where they meant something.
Such motivation is perfectly reasonable. Inevitable, even. When a competitor spends two decades as the undisputed greatest player in his sport, he needs to find something else to compete against. For many of them, that something is history. James has accomplished more than almost all of the greatest of the greats, and thus needs to keep coming up with new historical challenges to overcome. Leading the Knicks to their first title in 50-plus years would have been the ultimate bucket list item. But Jalen Brunson did it first.
The Sixers aren’t to Philly what the Knicks are to New York. As far as I know, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce didn’t tour Xfinity Mobile Arena as a potential wedding venue. That being said, the Sixers do offer James a chance to do something novel. You can’t say that about many of his potential landing spots.
What could James accomplish in Denver, Golden State or Boston? All have won championships within the last decade led by stars who’ve spent their entire careers with the organizations. Each has a significant edge over Philly if James’ goal is basketball nirvana. Playing alongside Steph Curry or Nikola Jokic or Jayson Tatum would be a hell of a lot of fun, and any of the three could arguably offer James a better chance at winning a title. But none of them offer him a chance to prove something one last time.
In Miami and Cleveland, James has been there and done that. Miami would offer him a unique narrative symmetry along with a chance to play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo. He went back to Cleveland and won a title with a totally different team from his first stint. Now, he can do the same in Miami. That’s almost as compelling as the prodigal son returning home to close out his career where his heart has always remained. The problem with both situations is the fit.
Look, James would fit pretty much anywhere, even at 42 years old, which he’ll turn Dec. 30. He averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, and 6.1 rebounds last season. His efficiency remains elite. He led his team to a first-round upset of the Rockets before getting swept by the Thunder. The question is whether he would enjoy playing basketball with James Harden in Cleveland.
LeBron James averaged 20.9 points during the 2025-26 season.Charles Fox / Staff Photographer
In Miami, the trio of LeBron, Giannis and Bam Adebayo might be too clunky to get it done given the Heat’s deficiencies in the backcourt and in overall depth. One can argue the Sixers with LeBron have a chance to be a much more enjoyable experience, and potentially much better team than Cleveland and Miami. Going home again comes with the risk of undoing some of the good feelings you carried with your initial departure. Does LeBron really want to risk ending his career in either city with disappointment?
I’ll believe James is seriously considering joining the Sixers as soon as I see him shaking Mike Gansey’s hand in front of the cameras and fielding questions from reporters at the team’s practice facility in Camden. In the event he does not hold an introductory news conference this summer, I will believe he is joining the Sixers the moment I see him at training camp in a Sixers jersey. Even then, I might want to at least poke him with a finger to make sure my eyes do not deceive me.
We’ve done this dance before, haven’t we? Once upon a time Ben Simmons was the Klutch Sports mentee and Joel Embiid was the rising superstar. It was only eight years ago that Josh Harris and Brett Brown climbed aboard the Starchaser Enterprise and flew out to California with the hope that they could sway James to sign with the Sixers. Somehow, they managed to express these hopes with a straight face. The result was little more than a needlessly expanded carbon footprint. The Sixers didn’t even get face time with James himself, and the four-time MVP wound up signing with the Lakers, as everybody had long expected.
LeBron James and Tyrese Maxey are both members of Klutch Sports.Chris Szagola / AP
At this point, there is little reason to assume that things will play out any differently. The one commonality between all three of James’ free agencies is that they’ve all involved a level of protracted drama that, in hindsight, seemed at least partially contrived. In all three instances, James wound up in a place that looked like the most obvious option, at least in hindsight. The first time he left Cleveland, and went to a place where he could build his own superteam in America’s premier locale for the young, rich and famous. His return to Cleveland both rebuilt and burnished his standing as a hometown legend. The Lakers are the Lakers.
No offense to James, and no offense to Gansey or Bob Myers or Tyrese Maxey or whoever else thinks their personal connection to the King is strong enough to convince him to spend what could be the last season or seasons of his career in a city that offers a tiny fraction of the prestige or narrative value of several of the other potential destinations he is allegedly considering after opting out of his Lakers contract.
I’m not suggesting that anybody on the Sixers side is deluding themselves, and I’m not suggesting that James or Paul is feeding those delusions in bad faith. I’m sure Paul would be thrilled to see James team up with Maxey, another one of his clients at Klutch Sports. I’m sure James loves Maxey, who is impossible not to love, and it’s more than possible that he feels a genuine connection to Gansey, a fellow former Ohio schoolboy star who began climbing up the ranks of the Cavaliers front office around the same time James returned to Cleveland after his four seasons with the Heat. I’m far from sure that any of that will matter in the end.
The Heat and Cavaliers make the most sense from an end-of-career narrative standpoint. The Warriors and Nuggets make the most sense from a pure basketball bliss standpoint. For James to choose the Sixers, he’d need sentiment, basketball bliss, a setting to take a backseat to his desire to put his singular imprint on a new city and a new organization, and to potentially leave both of those entities better off after he is gone than they were before he arrived.
As long as the Sixers can offer him that, you can’t rule him out.
Auston Trusty plays centerback for the U.S. men’s national team, a position that doesn’t lend itself to scoring. But when he fired a goal against Turkey in the group stage finale of the World Cup, William Hall wasn’t surprised.
The University of Richmond junior was well-acquainted with Trusty’s shot. He’d seen it dozens, if not hundreds, of times, standing in the net at Chester Park in Wallingford, Pa.
It was the spring of2020. Hall was 14 years old, an incoming freshman at Strath Haven High School, and Trusty was 21, a starting defender on the Colorado Rapids. COVID-19 had, pushed back the MLS season, and Trusty was at home in his native Media, Pa.
He still needed to train, but there were few options available. So, the professional athlete decided to return to where it all began: Chester Park, home of youth soccer club Nether United, now 1776 United FC.
Trusty had played under coach John Waraksa for six seasons, two years above his age group, before going to the Philadelphia Union Academy in 2013. Hall was on Nether United’s U-15 team when the pandemic hit.
The teenager would often train with his teammates at Chester Park, and one day in late April or early May, Trusty showed up. They ran through warm-ups, then L-shape passing drills, then finishing drills, then shooting drills.
Hall was the only goaltender present, which put him in the unenviable spot of having to defend against a world-class athlete. It didn’t go well for the teenager.
Unlike players Hall’s his age, Trusty moved with a quicker pace and a harder strike. The ball would curl into the corner rather than launching straight ahead.
Auston Trusty (center) made his return to the Philly area in November as part of the U.S. men’s national team group that faced Paraguay at Subaru Park. Jonathan Tannenwald
“He would just pound them into the net, over and over,” Hall said. “I would say if he shot 20 shots, he’d probably make 18. Maybe hit the post on one of them. And I could scrape a hand on the last one.”
Trusty continued coming back to Chester Park, training with Hall and a group of local players five or six times that spring. It was a thrill for the teenager then, but now, those moments mean even more.
The “Delco-head,” as national team goalie and Wayne, Pa. native Matt Freese calls him, has made an imprint on the sport’s biggest stage. His goal against Turkey on June 25, which came in the third minute, was the second fastest in U.S. World Cup history.
It was not only Trusty’s first international goal, but the first men’s World Cup goal scored by a player born in the Philadelphia region.
“The group chats were going crazy,” said Hall. “But I think my first thought was, ‘I played with a player who just scored in the World Cup. That is insane. I saved his shot as a young kid.’”
Others throughout the Delaware Valley soccer community felt similarly. Paul Norris, who coached Trusty as a freshman at Penncrest High School, said he became emotional just hearing his name and hometown during the roster reveal.
As was the case with Nether United, Trusty was playing far above his weight at Penncrest. Even as a 14-year-old, he was starting alongside players who were much older and bigger than he was.
“What people laugh at now is he plays professionally as a defender,” Norris said. “But at the time, he had obviously a lot of skill, and we had him as a striker. And he was our second leading goal scorer that year.”
For the last 25 years, Norris has worked both at Penncrest and at Springton Lake Middle School, where he taught Trusty physical education. He still sees that lanky kid when he’s roaming the defensive line for Team USA (even though that kid now stands at 6-foot-3, 172 pounds).
So does Waraksa. The 1776 United coach has known Trusty since he was 8 and was at his World Cup debut in Seattle against Australia on June 19. He was down the shore, in Ocean City, N.J., watching with friends and family when the Media native scored his first goal.
U.S. men’s soccer defender and Media native Auston Trusty (left), poses for an image with his former youth soccer coaches and his former club head coach John Waraksa (center).Courtesy / John Waraksa
It brought Waraksa back to 2013, when Trusty scored in Nether United’s state cup final against Lehigh Valley.
“Lehigh had won the last five state championships at our age group,” the coach said, “so he stepped up, even two years young, in a state cup final. I mean, who does that?”
Trusty found himself in some challenging situations with Nether United. Waraksa put him on a high back line, but even from an early age, he took to it. Once the centerback realized he could compete amid a more advanced style of play, his confidence only grew.
And as he continues to represent his country, that confidence is as high as ever. Norris is still coaching varsity soccer at Penncrest, and for the past few years, he’s shown his players clips of Trusty back when he was playing for the Philadelphia Union.
In addition to his time with Nether United, Trusty was also groomed in the Philadelphia Union’s academy and played for its first team. JOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer
A lot has happened since then. In 2022, Trusty signed with Arsenal. He returned to Europe in 2023, signing with Sheffield United, and in 2024, he penned a five-year-deal with Celtic.
But Norris now has the best Auston Trusty highlight reel of all, one that is “slightly updated” from his Union days. And with Penncrest’s preseason rapidly approaching, the coach can’t wait to show it off.
“We try to remind the kids that this was somebody who was local,” Norris said. “This was not that many years ago. These are things that somebody who was in this school, and in the seat that you may be sitting in, has done.
“You’re all capable of it. It’s just a matter of, do you want to put the work in for it?”
Jefferson’s Joseph G. Cacchione ranked as the highest-paid CEO at the Philadelphia region’s nonprofit health systems in 2024, with total compensation of $7 million, according to The Inquirer’s annual review of public tax forms.
Madeline Bell at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia collected $5.5 million in 2024, giving her the number two spot.
Both also were top earners in The Inquirer’s 2023 compensation analysis. Jefferson is the largest system based here, both by revenue and number of hospitals, with 33 stretching from South Jersey to near Scranton. CHOP is among the nation’s top-ranked children’s hospitals.
Janice Nevin at ChristianaCare joined the ranks of the top five. She received$3.5 million, about the same payas the region’s fourth highest earner,Al Maghezehe at Capital Health, which has a network of outpatient clinics in Bucks County and two hospitals in Mercer County. Maghezehe’s compensation stands out because Capital had by far the lowest revenue among the systems with the 10 highest-paid CEOs.
A couple of CEOs who left their positions before 2024 continued collecting long-term compensation, as is common in the industry.
Most notably, Jefferson’s former CEO Stephen K. Klasko collected just over $1 million in 2024. Heretired at the end of 2021, but remained an adviser through June 2022. The 2024 payment brought his total through 2024 to $48.7 millionfor 8½ years as CEO.
Lori Herndon left AtlantiCare in June 2023. Her compensation the following year was $1.3 million.
Here’s a look at the numbers from The Inquirer’s review of the latest 990 tax returns of 20 nonprofit health systems, covering 11 health systems with operations concentrated in Southeastern Pennsylvania, seven in South Jersey, and two in northern Delaware:
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The Phillies game wasn’t over yet last month but it was over as Nick Piccone kept the TV on mute like a distraction in the background. The Phils trailed the Nationals by two runs and were down to their last strike with the bases empty in the ninth on June 23. It was over.
But Piccone — just like lots of diehards who accepted a loss but refused to stop watching — didn’t turn it off.
“Just in case,” he said.
And then it happened. The Phillies scored eight runs with two outs, delivering the most unlikely win of the season. It was time for Piccone to work. He’s built a following in recent seasons for being the guy who clips the radio calls of Philly sports highlights and posts them to social media.
First, he had to listen to how Scott Franzke — the Phils’ radio voice on 94.1 WIP — described the action.
“I got goose bumps when I listened to it,” said Piccone, who lives in Delaware County. “And I just knew Phillies fans are going to love this.”
He posted a montage of Franzke’s pitch-perfect calls that night and then watched them go viral. Philadelphia loves its teams but the city has always had a deep relationship with the voices, putting Piccone at the intersection of fandom and the way we enjoy it.
Brandon Marsh’s homer was thrilling, but how much better did Franzke’s narration make it feel?
“You could tell that the fan kind of came out,” Piccone said. “Like, he didn’t think that was going to happen. He had the same reaction that we did, and he’s calling it. He reaches that second level for a regular season game when I’m sure he probably thought this was going to be a loss. You could hear the surprise in his voice.
“If you’re listening live on the radio, you feel that instantly. And even if you’re watching the video, you’re like, ‘Oh my God.’ Having him feel what we feel and hear his voice match what we’re feeling inside, makes it so much better. It makes those moments so much better.”
Phillies radio play-by-play announcer Scott Franzke (left) with TV analyst John Kruk. NBC Sports Philadelphia
Piccone does not get paid to post his videos, but he commits himself every game — “I watch every pitch,” he said — to tracking the calls of the big plays and sharing them on social media. He does the same thing for other teams. It’s how he enjoys the game.
It takes about 10 minutes for Piccone to edit the clip on his computer and post it on social media.
“People would message me from Europe or Asia and say, ‘I’m stationed here’ or ‘I moved here for work, and your videos make me feel like I’m home,’” Piccone said. “When I started doing it, I wasn’t even thinking about that stuff. So when people say that I was able to provide that, I was like, ‘Wow.’ That’s a huge reason why I continue to do it.”
His hustle gives a radio broadcast a new life, allowing Franzke’s words to be heard again and again. Some people want to relive a moment they already enjoyed. Others want to feel closer to home.
“It’s flattering, honestly,” Franzke said. “It’s humbling to know that it resonates enough with someone to know that they’re willing to go through that sort of trouble and effort to spread the word.”
Brandon Marsh watches the ball after hitting a two-run home run against the Washington Nationals on June 23.Jess Rapfogel
From Dolly to Franzke
Franzke was told when he first got into the business to have someone in mind to whom you are broadcasting.
“For me, the general Delaware Valley listener is stuck in traffic on the Schuylkill,” Franzke said.
His voice is the soundtrack of traffic jams, days at the beach, and backyard barbecues. Kids tune their radio to the Phils while they’re putting on their PJs, just like their grandparents used to sneak transistor radios under their pillows. They listen to Franzke on their porch at night and power walk around the neighborhood with his voice in their earbuds.
Radio broadcasters Larry Andersen (left) and Scott Franzke (right) call a Phillies game in 2011.
The Phillies broadcast their first game on the radio in 1936 with a former umpire named Dolly Stark calling the action. He was regarded as the National League’s top ump but quit after the 1935 season when the league balked at his request for a raise from his $9,000 salary.
“A new sports thrill,” said the advertisement for the games that were broadcast on WIP 610. “Seeing the game through the umpire’s eyes! Hearing what he thinks about every play, while that play is being made! And it’s a thrill that will last all summer.”
Stark called games for just one season before he returned to calling balls and strikes. But the game became the perfect radio sport. The pace is slow enough for the broadcaster to share a story and make you comfortable. Yet the action becomes exciting enough for them to build drama and make you feel something.
The umpire was followed by greats who became voices of summer like By Saam, Bill Campbell, Harry Kalas, and Franzke. Richie Ashburn ordered pizzas, Chris Wheeler taught you something, and Larry Andersen admires the umpire. There’s just something about baseball on the radio. It works.
“I think one of the reasons that baseball on the radio still works is because people can consume it passively,” Franzke said. “They’re driving, falling asleep in their beach chair, or doing yard work. They can do other things and be a part of it. A lot of people like the audio wallpaper, if you will. It’s there. It’s around them. They enjoy it passively and do other things in their life. We’re just along for the ride, I guess.”
Piccone’s clips show that Franzke is more than just enjoying the ride. He’s driving the car. It wasn’t a silent clip of Marsh’s homer that went viral last week. It was the clip of Marsh’s homer with the announcer sounding just as stunned as you were that it happened.
Franzke said it’s the moment that “generates the goose bumps,” since he’s just a guy. And it was the guy calling that moment last week that gave Piccone chills.
“It doesn’t matter when it is during the season, September or April, the story of the game takes over,” Piccone said. “I think he tells that story perfectly in his calls. Offense, a great defensive play, a strikeout. That emotion comes through and you know it’s a big moment.”
Nick Piccone says he’s “kind of jealous” of people who grew up listening to baseball games on the radio. “I didn’t even think of consuming sports in that way when I was younger. I’m glad I’m able to do it now.”Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Being that guy
Piccone grew up on the 1993 Phillies and started watching the other teams in 1999 as a freshman at Kingsway High School. He soon was a diehard: devastated when they lost and elated when they won.
“I just consume it,” Piccone said last month. “Like, I’m mad the Phillies lost today.”
But the guy who chops up the audio of every radio broadcast didn’t grow up listening to the radio. He just watched it on TV.
“People who say they were brought up listening to sports on the radio, I’m kind of jealous of them,” Piccone, 40, said. “Because I didn’t even think of consuming sports in that way when I was younger. I’m glad I’m able to do it now.”
“We just have amazing play-by-play guys. You think of the Phillies, you think of Franzke. You think of the Flyers, you think of Tim Saunders. You think of the Sixers, you think of Tom McGinnis. Eagles, Merrill Reese and Mike Quick. They’re synonymous with the teams.”
Piccone planned to do what he does now — clip the radio call and match it to the TV feed — when the Eagles played the Patriots in Super Bowl LII. But his buddy’s Wi-Fi dropped that night, so Piccone closed his laptop and watched the game like a normal fan. And then the Eagles won, and he wished he had the clips.
He made sure to have a stronger connection in 2022 when the Phillies went to the World Series. He clipped every call that October, and his social media following soared.
He sends out Franzke’s call along with the team’s Spanish broadcasters and the opponent’s call. Piccone noticed that the TV calls are the ones usually shared by the teams or networks. The radio guys, he thought, weren’t getting their due.
People soon started messaging him for specific calls or pointing out things he may have missed. He suddenly felt like he had a responsibility. He became that guy.
“It’s fun being known for that,” said Piccone, who writes for Crossing Broad. “I like being that guy.”
The Phillies season likely will end in October again, giving Piccone plenty of moments to share. The goose bumps, he said, usually are felt in the fall when the stakes are higher. But sometimes the broadcaster makes you feel it on a weeknight in June. And that’s why you leave the game on.
“People will say, ‘I heard your call,’” said Franzke, who is not on X, formerly known as Twitter. “And there’s two places they heard it: WIP playing it back or on social media. It’s cool that Nick invests that kind of time. At the end of day, this promotes what we’re doing.”
If you’re a regular visitor to the Jersey Shore, catching up with your longtime favorite foods, chefs, and restaurants can often tell a wider story about what’s been happening in your favorite beach towns. The economic pressure of rising real estate prices has made the arrival of a sweet little BYOB like Joy & Salt on Long Beach Island a test case for the future of the small operator. The saga of ongoing attempts to revitalize Atlantic City’s Tennessee Avenue development? It just got a fresh boost from the comeback of a talented local chef. A new gem for stellar soul food, a growing audience for deep-crusted pizza, the rise of fancy iced coffee (with everything but the taste of coffee), and sage advice on how to choose the right pasta shape all added a tasty helping of color to this week’s fresh batch of restaurant reports from LBI to Margate.
The burrata with fresh basil and plain cheese pie at Queen City Crust in Beach Haven, N.J., on Thursday, June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
I also delve into the Ventnorian controversy over a classic sub shop that’s been remade into an artisan sourdough bakery and touched a nerve with locals who fear their community is becoming too bourgeois. Then again, when something is as good as Florida Cuts is, perhaps it’s not simply change for the sake of trends but actual progress.
Next week: new options from Cape May to Ocean City.
The outside of Queen City Crust in Beach Haven, N.J., on Thursday, June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
LONG BEACH ISLAND
Joy & Salt Cafe
With a temporary sign, and an understated location at an intersection near the ocean where drivers slingshot on and off the causeway to Long Beach Island, you could easily miss Joy & Salt Cafe. But it’s worth a stop at this low-key newcomer to Ship Bottom, a collaboration between two veteran chefs hoping to claim one of the few remaining corners of the island and make what partner Jordan Miller says is “a last-ditch effort for the charm of an old-school BYOB.”
Miller and his business partner and co-chef, Jimi Savianeso, make up for the understated location with genuine hospitality and hands-on scratch cooking. The duo met cooking on the line years ago at local favorite Black-Eyed Susans. With years of fine dining experience behind them, they are opting for a more casual approach to this diner-space and channeling good local ingredients into food they simply like to eat.
James Savianeso, chef and co-owner of Joy & Salt Cafe, working in the kitchen in Ship Bottom, N.J., on Thursday, June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerThe grilled ahi tuna sandwich at Joy & Salt Cafe in Ship Bottom, N.J., on June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
That could mean a flavorful chowder made from just-dug whole clams, a slice of locally fished grilled tuna on brioche glossed in house-made Japanese barbecue sauce, or a bountiful chilled shrimp cocktail tossed in a saucy Mexican-style marinade (the secret? fresh tomato juice and orange soda). The duo routinely cook fresh-off-the-boat seafood specials for dinner sourced from the nearby docks, but the menu’s default is a homey Italian touch that comes natural to Savianeso, whose North Jersey upbringing imbues his red sauce and sausage and peppers with a nonna-esque magic. That is especially evident at lunch, where Savianeso’s chicken cutlet parm drenched in super-creamy vodka sauce may well become LBI’s sandwich of the summer.
Joy & Salt Cafe, 816 Long Beach Blvd., Ship Bottom, N.J. 08008; 609-342-0794; joysaltkitchen.com
Ellis’ Chicken & Crab Cakes
Takeout can be tricky when determined diners are waiting in lines up to two hours for a seat at one of the Tide Table Group’s roster of popular restaurants on Long Beach Island (Parker’s Garage, Bird & Betty’s, Black Whale, Ship Bottom Shellfish) and in Manahawkin (Mud City Crab House, the Old Causeway Steak & Oyster House). They’ve addressed that conundrum with the creation of Ellis’ Chicken & Crab Cakes, a convenient destination for some of their greatest hits, collected in the fast-casual confines of a crisply rehabbed former antiques shop in Beach Haven that doubles as a boardinghouse for many of the company’s summer workers.
The name offers a good clue as to the specialties: the fried chicken is the same crackle-crusted, buttermilk fried bird from Parker’s Garage. The crab cakes comes in two styles, the somewhat bready OG cakes from Mud City or the baked variation from Parker’s which I far preferred, not only because they’re gluten-free, with tapioca starch for binding, but because they’re made from sweet lump crab bound with a béarnaise sauce flavored with tarragon and Old Bay. The super-plump peel-and-eat shrimp offer a worthy, non-fried option. But this kitchen’s best assets are all about the crisp. Don’t leave without a side of deep-fried green tomato tots covered in creamy drizzles of zesty pimento cheese.
Ellis’ Chicken & Crab Cakes, 208 N. Bay Ave., Beach Haven, N.J. 08008; 609-342-1100; ellislbi.com
Queen City Crust
Jersey Shore pizza has been trending toward thicker crusts in recent years, rising from the cardboard-thin rounds that have long been the boardwalk prototype to heartier, pan-baked pies with flavorful slow-fermented doughs and borders that snap with crispy cheese edges. Bakeria 1010 and Squares & Fare are two outstanding examples I’ve enjoyed in Ocean City and Somers Point, respectively. Long Beach Island has also gotten into the Detroit-style pie action with Queen City Crust, a former pop-up sensation that is now in its third year as a standalone storefront in Beach Haven.
Hot honey pepperoni pie Queen City Crust in Beach Haven, N.J., on Thursday, June 18, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Owner Troy Sambalino, who spends his offseason running the service pass at Jean-Georges in Manhattan, says the Detroit style, which involves a slower, lower-temp prebake followed by a hot flash to finish pies to order, is ideal for beach locations with the technical limitations of a standard oven. But he still manages to crank out 200 pies on a busy Friday night, good enough to earn him the No. 1 spot in a 2025 ranking of 55 Shore pizzerias by NJ.com.
Sambalino has a patient approach to his dough, which, after a two-day cold ferment, has both an impressively airy interior and a bottom that forms a delicate crisp against the olive oil-lined pan. Mozzarella and tangy cheddar are his cheese combo of choice, with the cheddar tucked near the edges forming a toasty crisp. One 10-by-13-inch pan can easily feed two to four people, but I appreciate that Queen City also sells its pies by the slice so you can taste a variety of toppings. From the cup-and-char pepperoni drizzled with hot honey to sausage with crunchy banana peppers, basil-topped puddles of milky burrata laced with bright tomato sauce, or a fusion pie of breaded chicken bits streaked with spicy Asian barbecue sauce, these pies offer hearty satisfaction when your teeth sink into their crusts.
Queen City Crust, 13504 Long Beach Blvd., Beach Haven, N.J. 08008; 609-661-7769; queencitycrust.com
Guapo’s Coffee House
As I steadily caffeinated during my restaurant research missions up-and-down the Jersey Shore, my encounters with confectionary-sounding coffee drinks that included “dulce de leche, “dot cake,” and “banana bread” in the titles made it clear that running a cafe in 2026 is as much about thinking like a pastry chef as a barista.
The Salty Dog iced coffee at Guapo’s Coffee House in Beach Haven blends salted caramel-sweetend espresso with whipped cream turned blue with spirulina. It’s become a viral hit.Craig LaBan / Staff
In general, I’m not a dessert coffee fan. But the reason I returned multiple times to Guapo’s in Long Beach Island is because their specialty drinks still taste like they also actually include coffee. Even owner Sammy Jo Alvarez’s most viral and colorful drink, the Salty Dog (named for her pup Guapo), still delivers a toasty undertow of the house blend of Ethiopian and Colombian beans, roasted to a medium hue by Yellow Dog Roasters in nearby Manahawkin. The secret to making creatively flavored drinks that still have coffee integrity, says Alvarez, a longtime local bartender before launching her roof deck-topped cafe in Beach Haven four years ago, is balance and focusing on natural ingredients. All the add-in ingredients here are made in-house, from the sea salted caramel syrup to the top layer of fresh whipped cream (aka “cold foam”) that she turns sky blue with organic spirulina. “Basically, it looks like a day at the beach inside a cup — and people love it.”
Guapo’s Coffee House, 106 N. Bay Ave., Beach Haven, N.J. 08008, 609-661-3504; guaposcoffee.com
The gochujang carbonara and Oaxacan meatballs at the Iron Room in Atlantic City, N.J. The Iron Room is hidden behind a door at Bar 32.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
ATLANTIC CITY
Nana’s Good Eats
If there’s a 20 minute-plus wait for your food at Nana’s Good Eats, it’s for a good reason: nothing hits the fryer before you order from this cheerful soul food hub, located on the pedestrian pavilion of Atlantic City’s Tanger Outlet mall. The wait is absolutely worth it, because Nana’s serves up some of the most delicious fried whiting I’ve had in recent memory, a huge portion of plump and lemon-scented fresh fillets sealed inside a delicate cornmeal crust, just as owner Samantha Prescott’s grandpa Dennis McDowell, a professional chef, taught her as a little girl. (“Most parents lead with how to tie your shoe, but my grandpa started by teaching me how to stir a pot of grits so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.”) Prescott’s cooking chops are also evident in her succulent fried jumbo shrimp, as well as every side I sampled. The mac and cheese retained the almost fluffy texture of perfectly cooked cavatappi while a balanced five-cheese sauce remained creamy, not broken or greasy. The tender braised collards were infused with the whiff of smoked turkey wings and a perky finishing tang.
The OG banana pudding at Nana’s Good Eats in Atlantic City, N.J.Monica Herndon / Staff PhotographerOwners Rahman and Samantha Prescott at Nana’s Good Eats in Atlantic City, N.J.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Prescott’s talent as an entrepreneur, meanwhile, answers all that savory goodness with the sweet indulgence of her first endeavor, Nana’s Good Puddin’. Prescott brought the customization concept of Cold Stone ice cream to the world of pudding in a popular dessert business she opened in 2020 in the Hamilton Mall, which she has since closed and merged into the Atlantic City Good Eats location. The build-your-own options here are vast, with 30 different base puddings (from classic flavors to white chocolate, pistachio, or Oreo cream), crunchy cookie add-ins and various different crumbles. I chose the OG banana pudding and was impressed by its banana-flavored intensity, but also by the meticulous manner in which it was constructed to order, with multiple layers of creamy pudding, crunch and vanilla wafer cookies being patiently added until, at last, it was finally handed over and I dove in spoon first.
Nana’s Good Eats, 122 N. Michigan Ave., Atlantic City, N.J. 08401; on Facebook
The Iron Room
Do you believe in do-overs? The reboot of chef Kevin Cronin’s Iron Room, Atlantic City’s favorite hidden gastropub — now in its third incarnation and second location — might be the spark that finally gives the Tennessee Avenue development some momentum. First, you have to find it. True to its speakeasy roots (the original Iron Room was located behind a liquor store) this restaurant is tucked into an enclosed back alley patio accessed through the rear door of another establishment, Bar 32 Chocolate & Cocktails. A tall green wall on one side of the 50-seat al fresco space faces an awning-covered bar where some of the best cocktails I sipped this summer — a smooth but potent Manhattan; the mezcal-washed Storm Queen — are served in antique crystal coupes inherited from Cronin’s grandmother while a retro acoustic soundtrack sets a mellow mood.
The Oaxacan meatballs at the Iron Room on Thursday, June 11, 2026 in Atlantic City, NJ. The Iron Room is hidden behind a door at Bar 32.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
The small plates emerging from the shipping container kitchen are pure fusion fun, with bold flavors that resurrect some established Iron Room hits, including a thick-cut hunk of candied Nueski’s bacon, truffled udon mac and cheese, and a tamari-charred hanger steak fanned over brussels sprouts. Cronin’s new creations are equally bold. The spicy Oaxacan chorizo meatballs glazed in red salsa and shavings of Bar 32 chocolate were a favorite, along with the barbecue sauced boneless Korean-fried chicken and a rich pasta carbonara blushing with Korean gochujang spice. I would have loved the shrimp toast had the top layer of crustacean paste not been turned an unappetizing gray by the addition of black garlic. Next time, I’d consider preordering one of the menu’s large-format specials: a spatchcocked whole barbecue chicken with sides; a “big ass whole snapper” with tostones, or the Ron Swanson special (a rib eye, deviled eggs, and a flight of Lagavulin) that was also an old Iron Room “iykyk” draw. Hopefully, this time it will take.
The Iron Room, 121 S. Tennessee Ave., Atlantic City (enter through Bar32 Chocolate, and head to back alley through back door); instagram.com/ironroom_ac
Bar 32 Chocolate & Cocktails
There’s no dessert served at the Iron Room by design. The separate and independent bar that fronts it has that course covered. Nicole Callazzo’s revamp of the project formerly known as Made Atlantic City Chocolate Bar has kept the original concept’s ambitious bean-to-bar chocolate production in place as the anchor for the chocolate-themed sweets menu. While there are more sophisticated chocolatiers in the region, the quality of Callazzo’s small batch chocolates made from ethically sourced cacao, which can take up to five days to make, is satisfying in a straightforward way. You can sample a little bit of several specialties on a tiered platter, which brings multiple shades of chocolate bars, double fudge brownies, chocolate mousse, and various bonbons. Try it while sipping a martini infused with the bar’s own 60% cocoa chocolate. The baked-to-order brown butter cookie skillet is also a popular choice here, if you have an extra 15 minutes to wait. But I’d return especially for one of the Bar 32 whiskey flights, which pair three different pours of Michter’s (or Whistle Pig) whiskey with different chocolates for $40. Considering the quality of the spirits, it’s a fair deal.
Bar 32 Chocolate & Cocktails, 121 S. Tennessee Ave., Atlantic City, N.J. 08401, 609-248-6960; bar32chocolate.com
“A little bit of everything” at Bar 32 on Thursday, June 11, 2026 in Atlantic City, NJ. Bar 32 offers bean-to-bar chocolate, handmade desserts, and craft cocktails.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Moments at Scannicchio’s
Some places are all about the food. Others revel in quirky ambiance. You can get a bit of both at this Atlantic City sibling to Scannicchio’s, one of my favorite old-school Italian haunts in South Philly. The AC experience offers the split personality of two adjoined spaces: the charming intimacy of a dark corner barroom lit with Christmas lights, and a bright sports bar lounge next door where a DJ spins retro hits for a handful of dancers while spillover dinner crowds sup at high-tops in the glow of large TVs.
The corner dining room of Moments at Scanniccho’s in Atlantic City is darker and more intimate than the neighboring lounge.Craig LaBan / Staff
A tender and massive double-cut pork chop Siciliana buried beneath a zesty gravy of cherry peppers, onions, olives, and mushrooms was the hands-down highlight of our meal. The big menu also showcases several familiar favorites from the South Philly original (clams casino, a stuffed artichoke, the sausage and figs app), although it was not cooked with the same consistency and finesse. Even so, we enjoyed the experience. And I’ll especially treasure the moment our larger-than-life server (who had a bear hug for every one of the restaurant’s many regulars) offered a memorable logic for his general preference of pasta shape with entrees: “Why should I waste calories twirling spaghetti when I can just get straight to it with penne? Stab and eat! Stab and eat!” Such wisdom alone is worth the visit.
Moments at Scannicchio’s, 2647 Fairmount Ave., Atlantic City, N.J. 08401, 609-344-5338; momentsatscannicchios.com
The halibut entree at Rustico in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
VENTNOR
Rustico
Few restaurant couples have been able to create evocative dining experiences in small BYOB spaces through DIY design as deftly as Tanya and Petar Petrov. A veritable lemon grove on the ceiling of their debut Italian hit last year, Martina’s, conjured a glimpse of the Amalfi Coast on Atlantic Avenue. This year, they’ve turned to a closer source of marine inspiration — the bay beside their Ventnor home — for the makeover of Petar’s former Cafe Velo into Rustico, a naturalistic dinner cove that wraps diners in plastered wall montages of foraged driftwood, sea moss, and rocks. The menu is still decidedly Italian. While some Ventnorians have complained to me about menu overlap between the two restaurants, the fact that waiting lists can exceed 300 names for those hoping to get into 48-seat Martina’s means there is a legitimate demand for 80 more seats at Rustico (plus 28 more outside), where devotees can order the tried-and-true arancini, linguine with vongole, and chicken Parm.
The octopus dish at Rustico in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerThe inside of Rustico in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The chicken Parm was the least compelling thing we ate at Rustico. An unconventional starter of grilled octopus curled over a platform of sweet potato turned out to be delicious, the potato’s soft sweetness contrasting the texture of the meat while balancing the savory tomato sauce. That dish is a legacy of Cafe Velo’s early days, when the tiny kitchen would cross-utilize ingredients between the popular breakfast and dinner menus. Rustico, which expanded both its dining rooms and kitchen, has capacity now to undertake ambitious specials like broiled lobster and linguine feasts for two (very limited nightly). A soulful short rib and shiitake ragù was a hearty winner over fresh pappardelle made by Haddon Township’s Severino, whose owner is the Petrovs’ neighbor.
Fresh seafood also remains a strength, with entrees like blackened ahi tuna with red bliss potato hash and hollandaise. A moist and meaty halibut set over two-toned purees of cauliflower and carrot was also fantastic, a special-turned-standby from chef de cuisine Lorenzo Hernandez. Of course, I ordered at the very moment this kitchen ran out of halibut. Luckily, Petar had a spare portion in the fridge at nearby Martina’s, and he retrieved it just in time for this busy kitchen not to miss a beat: “That’s the beauty of having two restaurants so close,” says Petar. “Stuff happens!”
Rustico, 6525 Ventnor Ave., Ventnor City, N.J. 08406, 609-727-0499;rusticoventnor.com
The inside of Florida Cuts in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Florida Cuts
Cookie Till of Steve & Cookie’s bought the half-century-old Florida Cold Cuts & Liquors deli in 2022 and began to reshape it to her vision. What was a gradual makeover the first few years, most notably upgrading the sandwiches and bottle selection, became a wholesale change this spring when Till removed “cold” from the name and replaced the classic sub shop format with an artisan sourdough bakery turning out a lineup of grab-and-go sandwiches built on two kinds of focaccia and sesame-speckled semolina baguettes. The longtime tuna salad and Italian hoagie crowd is not pleased: “Cookie really took a good thing … and turned it into something nobody needed,” a reader wrote me in a direct message on social media.
The ham and butter baguette at Florida Cuts in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
I loved the old corner shop’s house-baked tavern ham sandwiches as much as anyone, but I disagree. What makes a smart restaurateur like Till so invaluable is her willingness and wherewithal to take risks to do things differently. Till has a track record of creating top-notch progressive concepts people simply didn’t realize they needed until she made it happen, from a craft coffee shop in Ventnor No. 7311 to an interactive organic farm with a philanthropic mission at Reed’s Farm. There are plenty of places to get a classic sub on Absecon Island, but there is nothing like the new Florida Cuts, where lead baker Santina Renzi (a longtime key contributor at Her Place Supper Club), consultant Jon Taus, and sourdough specialist Victoria McHugh are working with Till’s partner Kim Richmond to create stellar loaves made from flour milled from local grains that result in bread with integrity and flavor. They’re used for original sandwiches that are largely outstanding, from the minimalist focaccia laced with mortadella, ricotta, and pistachios (all crackly crust and lush stuffing richness), to the freshly house-roasted turkey layered with Steve & Cookie’s signature “ugly tomato salad,” Gorgonzola, and crispy shallots. The tuna salad fragrant with lemon zest and crunchy peperoncini rings is a sleeper hit, while the ham and butter on a sesame semolina loaf can compete with Philly’s best.
Owner Cookie Till at Florida Cuts in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff PhotographerThe soft-serve sundae with Steve& Cookie’s blueberry pie at Florida Cuts in Ventnor City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
My one disappointment was the cutlet sandwich, which didn’t have nearly enough Caesar salad inside. But there were so many consolations: a fridge case stuffed with local farmstead cheeses; focaccia flatbread topped with butter-poached clams; warm rounds of fresh-baked sesame tahini cookies; shelves stocked with quality spirits and affordable natural wines. There’s also soft-serve now, offered as a sundae layered with Cookie’s famous blueberry pie. Now I definitely need that, even if I didn’t know it before I walked in the door.
Florida Cuts, 7301 Ventnor Ave., Ventnor City, N.J. 08406; floridacuts.com
MARGATE
Tideline
The scene at Tideline on the bay behind Margate City, where full restaurant service is offered on deck to 30 moored boats and 12 Jet Skis at a time, could make anyone have yacht envy. But this splashy yearling from the family behind Tomatoes — an unabashed gesture to the city’s ever more ritzy denizens — has room on its multifloor 240-seat bar complex for everyone else to linger, nibble, imbibe, and observe. One of the area’s most spectacular bay perches for sunset views is an undeniable bonus. Given the swanky setting, the food from chef Carlo Marsini’s kitchen is a notch better than it has to be, from the generously stuffed truffled cheesesteaks and chicken Italiano cutlet sandwiches to the shot glasses stuffed with fried soft-shell crab halves dunked into an avocado green crema sparked with poblanos.
The lobster Cobb salad at Tideline in Margate City, N.J., on Wednesday, June 10, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
I’d definitely return for the generous lobster Cobb salad and a Dockside cocktail of watermelon juice spiked with Tito’s. But don’t get too ambitious. The items we ordered from the large plate section, chicken kebabs and a $32 coffee-rubbed pork chop, were incinerated by the grill chef. The drink menu has a danger zone, too, with a cocktail called Liquid Asset. It’s made with trendy Clase Azul Gold tequila and a chile pepper but what’s spicy is the price tag of $1.1 million. That’s because this drink comes with a 39-foot speed boat. That may be the stuff yacht club dreams are made of for some, even if there’ve been no takers yet. But unsurprisingly, this land-loving mezcal fan wasn’t even tempted.
Tideline, 9317 Amherst Ave., Margate City, N.J. 08402; 609-350-6717; tidelinemargate.com
Jaylen Brown loves attention, which is why he went on Twitch to talk about his feelings just hours after releasing a statement on social media expressing his feelings about being traded from the Celtics to the Sixers for a PED cheat and four speculative draft picks.
While Twitch-ing, or whatever it’s called, Brown got a phone call from the coworker who probably is happiest to have him aboard: VJ Edgecombe.
It was just 30 seconds of Gen Z acknowledgment and ego stroking, but there was a real vibe of Thank God you’re on my team so now I don’t have to play every minute of every game.
V.J. Edgecombe calls into Jaylen Brown’s stream. 🤣🤣🤣
"You on stream gang, it's JB…I know it's JB bruh. I got your number."
Call it Process 2.0, and understand that Edgecombe, properly nurtured, will be as important to its success as anyone.
That nurturing process got a lot smoother when the Celtics gave Brown away on Wednesday.
It could get even smoother if King James arrives.
On Thursday, LeBron James’ camp let it be known that he would consider playing next season in Philadelphia now that Brown has joined Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Edgecombe. The King, now 41, is hunting a fifth NBA title, and Philly has become a viable contender within the last few days, even though the Sixers currently can pay him only the veteran minimum, just under $4 million. This would be a $48 million pay cut from last season with the Lakers.
Don’t hold your breath.
As insane as landing LeBron would be, shedding a bad contract and landing a superstar is even nuttier. And fishier.
Something is amiss when the smartest organization in basketball gives away a top-10 player and asks in return for a broken-down PED cheater and two first-round picks that probably aren’t going to be that good anyway.
At any rate, the Celtics on Wednesday traded Brown, a five-time All-Star, who is 29, to the Sixers for Paul George, who is 36, and who has had just one good season since he was 29. The Sixers also sent first-round picks in 2028 and 2031 and two second-round picks to Boston. The most significant aspect of the deal is that it erased the worst contract in the history of the franchise; George has two more seasons left on a four-year, $211 million deal, and he hasn’t been worth one-tenth of it.
The move also made the Sixers an immediate NBA title contender, since Brown is everything the Sixers wanted George to be: a shot-creating athlete at all three levels who can play and defend multiple positions.
The deal also delivers an invaluable byproduct.
It gives Edgecombe time.
Time to develop.
Time to learn.
Time to rest.
Edgecombe not only led rookies at 35 minutes per game, he ranked 11th in the entire league and averaged the eighth-most minutes for a rookie guard in the last 17 seasons. As the Sixers dealt with injury absences of Joel Embiid as well as the early load-management strategies and the late PED suspension of George, Edgecombe proved himself too good to not protect.
“VJ is going to be a lot better in the long run with J.B. around,” said an NBA source who is intimately familiar with the 76ers. “At the end of last season, he was pretty worn out.”
Outside of a diminished three-point shooting percentage, the wear and tear didn’t really show up in his other raw stats. They dipped in the playoffs, but then, Embiid and George were back on the court for much of the late season and postseason. But his decision-making became errant, his shot selection more questionable, and he tended to disappear. He needed help that his big-money vets were not there to provide.
The absence of Paul George (8) had a trickle-down effect at times on VJ Edgecombe. Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Combined, they missed 89 of 164 games, more than half. This has been the norm for both of them for the past few seasons.
Brown plays about 20 more games a season than Embiid and George.
That means that when Embiid misses his 30 or 35 games this season, Brown will be there to carry the load, whereas George was not.
That also means that when Embiid plays, Edgecombe will not have to serve as the second or third offensive option, using moves he shouldn’t be making and taking shots he shouldn’t be taking for at least another season or two. When the Sixers drafted him third overall, most projections cast him as a superior athlete with unlimited defensive potential but with limited plug-and-play offensive ability. He learned fast, averaged 16 points per game, and made the All-Rookie team, but, man, there were some ugly nights and some ugly shots.
Brown will also help Maxey get off his feet a little more. Maxey led the NBA at 38.0 minutes per game in an MVP-caliber season, but he wore down, too. Both were affected by the early injury absence of Jared McCain, and then by McCain’s exit at the trade deadline, as well as the lack of consistent contributions from guard Quentin Grimes.
Edgecombe and Brown don’t play the same position, exactly, but they will combine with Maxey, and possibly rookie Labaron Philon Jr., to manage the primary backcourt duties.
Brown will arrive motivated to make the best impression possible.
He’s in line for a two-year, $140 million extension that will put him under contract for the next five seasons. He will be a more focused defender and rebounder, play-make with more alacrity, and, inevitably, he will assume the role of mentor to Edgecombe that George served last year.
He said in Thursday‘s social media post that he was “Excited and disappointed at the same time” to be leaving Boston, where he won a title, and coming to the Sixers, who bounced him from the playoffs this spring.
It was delivered with Brown’s typical class and polish.
The Twitch stuff? Less classy, less polished, but just as real.
The Celtics, meanwhile, immediately started planting narratives about how zero-time All-Star guard Derrick White is a more valuable player than Brown. ESPN insider Brian Windhorst also reported that the Celtics, after consulting their analytics, considered it imperative to get backup center Mitchell Robinson off the court when they played the Knicks. Then, on Wednesday, they signed Robinson to a three-year, $47.4 million deal.
No wonder the Sixers knocked them out in the first round.
There is always the possibility that this trade is not as lopsided as it seems. The Celtics certainly didn’t see the value in retaining a guy who can make more than $320 million if he’s offered an extension.
The pocket protector crowd loves to cite and manipulate undependable metrics that diminish Brown’s obvious talent, skill, value, and performance. They insist that his playmaking fluctuates, his defense is overrated, and his shot diet doesn’t regularly generate the most efficient looks for him or his teammates.
Remember, analytics is an industry, and it has to feed itself and convince its consumers of its necessity.
Therein lies an irony. As much as analytics have torpedoed the Sixers’ plans, execution, and hopes over the past 14 years of “The Process,” it appears that analytics now have delivered an unexpected reward — in the form of Jaylen Brown.
NovaCare Rehabilitation’s parent company, Select Medical Holdings Corp., was taken private in $3.9 billion private equity deal this week.
NovaCare has more than 100 physical therapy locations in the Philadelphia region, including some through a partnership with Rothman Orthopaedics.
For 25 years, NovaCare sponsored the Philadelphia Eagles practice complex in South Philadelphia. Jefferson Health took over the sponsorship this year.
Top management joined private-equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe in the acquisition of Select Medical, which is based in Mechanicsburg, Pa. The sale was completed Wednesday. The price per share was $16.50 per share, an 18% premium to the latest close before the deal was announced in November.
In addition to outpatient physical therapy through NovaCare and other subsidiaries at 1,850 locations in 36 states, Select Medical operates 104 long-term acute-care hospitals in 28 states and 38 rehabilitation hospitals in 15 states. The company has more than 45,000 employees and had $5.5 billion in revenue last year.
Select Medical acquired NovaCare in 1999. Publicly traded NovaCare fell on hard times because of Medicare reimbursement changes under the federal Budget Reconciliation Act in 1997. The law capped reimbursement for speech, physical, and occupational therapy in nursing homes.
The company, then headquartered in King of Prussia, lost $700 million in annual revenue because of those changes, The Inquirer reported at the time.
Chestnut Hill Hospital was not cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for any safety violations between April 2025 and March of this year.
The Philadelphia-based hospital is majority-owned by Temple Health, which holds an 80% share in a partnership with Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Here’s a look at the publicly available details:
May 21, 2025: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance. Complaint details are not made public when inspectors determine it was unfounded.
July 7: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
Aug. 15: The Joint Commission, a nonprofit hospital accreditation agency, renewed the hospital’s accreditation, effective June 2025, for 36 months.
