👋 Good morning! The Phillies went out in pretty rough fashion this postseason.

I am sure you remember that whole thing with Orion Kerkering, we don’t need to rehash it. But if the Phillies went out in a Game 7 of the World Series like the Toronto Blue Jays just did, I would probably be off the grid for a solid month. No newsletter, no human contact, just some deserted island.

That is an all-time “hand on the trophy” loss. Some Phillies fans talk about the 2023 team, and how the loss to Arizona cost them a World Series. Maybe, and that series will forever be a gigantic missed opportunity, but the Phils still would have needed to beat a very good Rangers team in the Fall Classic. Same thing with some Sixers fans and the quadruple-doink by Kawhi. They would have only been in overtime of that Game 7 if that shot does not fall!

But the Blue Jays, man, they were right there. The Jays had a bunch of things go wrong for them in the 9th through 11th innings, any of which would have won them the dang title had it gone the other way. A slap hitter takes Cousin Jeff yard. Andy Pages’ insane catch, trucking Enrique Hernandez in the process. And what on earth was Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s lead off third?

I do not dislike Toronto, but I do hold a grudge with the best of ‘em and that city has handed Philly two truly awful playoff losses over the past 35 years (Joe Carter, Kawhi Leonard). That said, I do not wish that type of loss on anyone.

As a neutral who did not really care too much about the outcome, though? That was an incredible Game 7 and World Series. Feels like the sport has a ton of momentum… just in time for a lockout. Sweet.

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As always, you can reach me at [email protected]

Here I thought the Eagles were done adding to the defensive backs room. But there is nobody, I mean NOBODY, who likes swapping a sixth-round pick for a seventh-round pick like Howie Roseman. Do we think Howie’s kids got into the whole 6-7 trend on TikTok and he decided to base all of his trade deadline acquisitions off of that? This is two of those babies in just a few days!

Jaire Alexander is a big name. But, as Deniz pointed out, Jaire has been healthy but either inactive or did not play a single snap in each of the past three games... for a legitimately terrible Baltimore defense. Uh oh, does this remind anyone else of The Great Shaq Leonard Sweepstakes of 2023? That is only the first failed 2023 acquisition that I am gonna bring up in today’s newsletter.

Alexander was very good for most of his seven-year run in Green Bay, a true No. 1 corner. But he is now 28 years old and does not appear to be the same type of athlete, which is not uncommon at that position. In related news, Darius Slay is an alien.

Two other tidbits I have on Alexander…

(1) He worked with Christian Parker in Green Bay for two years: Parker, the Eagles’ highly-regarded defensive backs coach that everyone seems to think is gonna get a defensive coordinator job sooner or later, was a Green Bay quality control coach in 2019 and 2020. Seems like he worked pretty closely with Alexander, too. Might be something, might be nothing.

(2) Alexander was born in Philly: In that respect, it kinda reminds me of The Great Kevin Byard Trade of 2023. And that closes out the book on failed 2023 Eagles acquisition mentions for this newsletter.

Ultimately, this boils down to whether Alexander can play anymore or not. The lack of playing time in Baltimore and super light trade compensation attached to him suggest that the answer to that question is no, but hey, we’ll see. Maybe Jaire can provide some value in the meeting rooms? I dunno, but considering the relatively low price, probably not something to get too worked up over.

All eyes locally will still be on Howie, as the trade deadline is tomorrow. I think he finally dips into the mid-round pick stash and gets a pass-rusher, maybe Jermaine Johnson or one of the Miami guys.

And around the NFL, the Eagles had a good bye week:

One other thought after an afternoon of football watching: Lots of Tush Pushing going on around the league! Good to see everyone getting in their reps before they all vote to ban it in the offseason. And good to see the announcers embracing it as well, as long as it’s not the Eagles who are running it.

Frustrating Flyers weekend: Two regulation losses, including a completely lifeless performance on Sunday against Calgary. Feels like the Flyers are absolutely dreadful when they play on Sunday night. I dunno, maybe stop doing that?

Love that YouTube thumbnail. But it’s true, the Orange and Black’s biggest issue right now is that they are not generating enough offense. It was enough on Thursday against Nashville when Trevor Zegras had a few moments of brilliance, but you look up at the scorebug on the broadcast and see some obscenely low shot totals. That needs to change at some point.

Rick Tocchet even apologized to the fans for a sleepy Sunday performance.

The Sixers get a split: The dream for 82-0 died on Halloween night, a one-point loss to Boston. Oh well, one of those coin-flip games was gonna go against you. Stinks it had to be against the Celtics, though. The Sixers just might not be built for The NBA Cup.

Oh well, 5-1 is not all that bad after a beatdown of the dreadful Brooklyn Nets. The Sixers’ fifth win last year came on December 3rd. That is a month from now! Kyle’s observations are here.

Even if Kelly Oubre is not usually my cup of tea as a decision-maker, shooter and rebounder (Kelly, stop falling into the first row while bobbling the basketball!), I have come to appreciate that the guy just brings the effort every single night. The Red Rifle, Basketball Edition started to swing a 24-point deficit against Boston by sheer effort defending Jaylen Brown. He is playing 100 percent, and then doing delightful Kelly Oubre Stuff — blowing kisses to the crowd, doing pushups, signaling first down like a football ref on dead-ball turnovers, etc. — to top it off.

But Oubre has also been awesome as a scorer to start the year. He is shooting over 50 percent from the field and over 40 percent from deep. He dropped twenty-two points in the first quarter in Brooklyn because, well, the Nets stink. Do I think he can keep the shooting up? Probably not, but awesome start to the season from him. Now, enjoy a very niche Brett Brown joke that made me laugh.

Did I mention that the Nets stink? Good year for that with the top of the draft shaping up to be excellent, but Brooklyn might give the 2015-16 Sixers a run for their money in terms of ineptitude. Watching this game, I could not help but think back to the meaningless buzzer-beater Nic Claxton had in Philly late last season. That was a two-game swing, and the Sixers finished two games worse than the Nets in the standings.

As a result, the Nets got Egor Demin and four other so-so rookies. And the Sixers got this guy.

VJ had an incredible missed dunk highlight as well. That is how you know he is a nuclear athlete, when the missed dunks are truly breathtaking. Anyway, Yabu, thank you for missing that box-out on Claxton my man.

Joel gets fined: $50,000, which is chump change to him but also an amount I am sure he would prefer to not cough up. And it was because of what the NBA called a “lewd gesture,” the DX chop that Embiid loves to fire off after big buckets.

That got Joel thinking about what qualifies as “a lewd gesture.” Does the exaggerated blocking call qualify? It’s at least an interesting question!

Union 3, Chicago Fire 0: That is three-nil, as us footy guys say. On to the quarters!

The last road game of the Union’s season was a good one. Remember, the MLS has a goofy postseason format: Round of 16 is a three-game series, which the Union won 2-0 (“two-nil,” as us footy guys say), and now everything else is single-elimination. And because the Union won the Supporters’ Shield, someone will have to beat them in Chester to deny them the MLS Cup.

As for the game, an easy Union win against the Greggs, one that was sealed just 35 minutes into it. A brace for Tai Baribo, my mom’s favorite soccer player. And the Union, who have a checkered history with backup goalies in the playoffs (see: McCarthy, John), picked on Chicago’s backup goalie, who was sloppy playing the ball from the back with his feet.

I am not here to defend time-wasting and flopping, the two worst parts of soccer. But I did get a kick out of the Chicago radio announcers going all Jack Armstrong and complaining about something that literally every soccer team on the planet does. Luckily, there was no equivalent of Pascal Siakam elbowing Joel Embiid down the stretch of this one. Guys, you are soccer announcers. You have never seen time-wasting tactics before? You are in for a rude awakening at the World Cup next year!

The Union get the winner of Charlotte and NYCFC in three weeks.

Nothing with any of our teams today. But college hoops kicks off tonight, with Villanova taking on heralded freshman AJ Dybantsa and the rest of Kevin Young’s No. 8 ranked BYU Cougars. The Unexpected Steve Donahue Era also kicks off on Hawk Hill. And I will at least have one eye on Monday Night Football, with the Cowboys taking on The Fightin’ Ganzes.

Your tentative Monday schedule at PHLY:

Let's make it a good one.

Rich Hofmann
Daily Newsletter Editor
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