Syracuse is in the midst of a football rebirth this season. With new coach Fran Brown at the controls, quarterback Kyle McCord and the Orange are 7-3.
A former quarterback and defensive back at Camden High, Brown has not forgotten where he came from. His last job was as an assistant at Georgia, so that should tell you what kind of recruiter he is. And in his first head coaching job, Brown has drawn on his Camden roots to bring in talented players from his old stomping grounds.
Seven of Syracuse’s players are from Camden, another is from Millville, and McCord, a transfer from Ohio State, is from South Jersey as well. (Imagine if Temple, where Brown worked on the staff, had been able to keep this talent closer to home.)
There’s a culture shift happening in upstate New York and Brown is at the center of it.
— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
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Joel Embiid had played only two games for the 76ers entering Monday’s road game against the Miami Heat — and he appeared primed to miss another. Yet the former MVP started after showing up on the injury list as questionable with an illness, missing shootaround, and later being downgraded to doubtful. The team recalled rookie Adem Bona in preparation for Embiid to miss the game, but the Sixers star decided to push through after going through a warmup session 45 minutes before tipoff.
But even with Embiid’s presence, the Sixers let a 19-point first half lead slip away in Miami to drop their fourth straight game in a 17-point loss to the Heat. Jared McCain led the Sixers with 20 points.
Injuries continue to bedevil this team, which still hasn’t suited up its Big Three of Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey together this season. Players are feeling the effects. Typically calm and collected, Maxey took to X (formerly Twitter) to take note of the franchise’s doubters before clarifying his message and imploring fans not to give up on the team.
The year Saquon Barkley is having is an eye-popping one. More understated has been the contributions from Kenneth Gainwell, specifically on third down, and he came up big on the drive that resulted in the go-ahead score against the Commanders. So here’s to Kenny.
Zack Baun is no longer overlooked, and in this week’s film review, we have EJ Smith breaking down his big game against the Commanders and why he could be lining himself up for a contract extension.
But hey, the Commanders and Eagles can agree on this: It’s good not to be the Giants.
This season has been full of firsts for the Flyers, as top prospects Matvei Michkov, Jett Luchanko, and Aleksei Kolosov have made their NHL debuts. Monday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche saw a fourth Flyer play his first NHL game as defenseman Helge Grans was called up by the club on an emergency basis. The call-up was perfectly timed for Grans, as his parents are in Philadelphia visiting from their native country Sweden.
But while the news was good for Grans, it was less so for compatriot Sam Ersson. The Flyers have placed Ersson, the team’s No. 1 goaltender, on injured reserve.
The Flyers scored twice in the third period, thanks to goals from Tyson Foerster and Owen Tippett, but couldn’t overcome a slow start in their loss to the Colorado Avalanche, snapping a three-game winning streak.
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