👋 Good morning! I am seeing a bunch of people in red and black soccer jerseys walking throughout the city, and then I see this.

Flamengo fans apparently have never heard of the Minnesota Vikings. Is Tailgate Ted running that thing? — Rich Hofmann

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

Phils win 5-2, their fifth win in a row.

I have a soft spot for Marlins starter Sandy Alcántara. That guy was so nasty in 2021 and 2022, and he was wasting those innings pitching for a professional sports franchise that I do not understand the point of. Are they ever gonna try to win? Remember when Derek Jeter ran the team and nothing good happened?

What is the point of the Marlins? I understand that South Florida is not exactly Philly in terms of passion, but you cannot blame the market. The Heat have been to the NBA Finals twice in the past six years, and the Panthers are one game away from repeating. It can be done there.

Anyway, Sandy was nasty before he unfortunately needed Tommy John surgery and missed all of last season. Still early, but he has not looked like the same guy so far this year. I truly hope he regains his form. One thing that I enjoyed about Sandy is that he would generally pitch pretty well against the Phils, and the Marlins still had an uncanny knack of finding a way to blow the game. Since 2021, when he became SANDY, Alcántara has just a 2-9 record against the Phils.

That record does not even include the no-decisions. My favorite game in this genre? In August 2023, right before Sandy needed TJ, he threw eight scoreless innings against the Phils down in The Fish Tank. Dominant stuff. The Marlins turned it over to David Robertson throwing meatballs, and he immediately blew the game. Robertson was their key trade deadline acquisition that season. Great stuff.

As for the current Phils, Trea Turner sure is going good right now. He had three hits, including a leadoff homer off Sandy that was crushed. Mick Abel provided five perfectly cromulent innings, Max Kepler hit another aesthetically pleasing homer, and Orion Kerkering recorded his first career save. Good stuff all around.

The only negative I saw from the game? Bryson Stott hyperextended his right elbow on a swing-and-miss, which is what he did in the same stadium at around this time last year. The Fish Tank might be cursed.

Desnoyers Day: I read enough Flyers content over the past few years to do a double take when I first heard the name “Caleb Desnoyers.” He has to be related to the guy on the Phantoms, right?

Well, Caleb is in fact Elliot’s brother. And he is a center that should go in the top handful of picks in the NHL Draft. And yesterday was Desnoyers Day at PHLY, with a podcast and an Alex Appleyard article:

As a plus, Desnoyers is a 6-foot-2 guy that seems like he will stick at center. That is cool, and something the Flyers badly need. But listening to the pod and reading Alex’s article, it seems like he does not have an incredible amount of high-end offensive skill for a top center prospect. That would scare me.

The Phillies love bamboo: I do not think Rob Thomson is usually much of a storyteller, but he told a good one on Sunday after the Phillies swept the Blue Jays. The gist of it goes…

Something about the Phils and bamboo, man. Never forget the night that Bamboo Brad Miller went yard thrice at Wrigley Field.

They did get him three hats.

An olive branch for Ace Nation: The guys had Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell (pronounced PIKE-ull, in case you were wondering) on the pod yesterday. He called Ace Bailey “an energy giver.”

One point that Pikiell made about Bailey, which I found interesting: He was one of the best players in the country, and those guys usually attend “basketball factories” like Montverde Academy (where Cooper Flagg, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons all attended) for their junior/senior years. Not Ace, though. He stayed at his normal high school in Georgia, which I think is kinda cool/refreshing. You are allowed to be a teenager and just stay home.

And then Ace chose Rutgers, when he could have played anywhere in the country. I do not know what the NIL situation was for him (pretty nice, I imagine), but he clearly chose a different path than most blue-chip basketball recruits.

Derek continued his Ace series with a detailed look at his current strengths. The kid can certainly shoot the rock:

Heading into draft season, I thought Ace was a boom-or-bust prospect. I definitely think the “boom” part still exists, as there are multiple things he needs to get much better at to reach his ceiling. But tall guys that can shoot and cover a ton of ground on defense are gonna have long careers if they buy into a role. It seems the floor on Ace is relatively high, not sure I see quite as much “bust” potential on him.

I actually think Ace might be the best plug-and-play fit on this current Sixers team, which badly needs shooting that can play on the wing. They will try to draft the best player regardless of current fit, but I am just pointing that out.

T.J. McConnell, Finals Killer: Don’t you dare go under the screen on T.J.

I love this Pacers team, but they are so weird. Tyrese Haliburton is the best guy on the floor half the time, and last night I am thinking, “Why did they sub him back in for T.J.?”

I do not mind the Thunder, but they certainly have a “Legion of Boom” quality to them. Lu Dort and Alex Caruso are Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor, just fouling the entire game under the “They can’t call all of them” strategy. I mean, they can, but they won’t.

The Phils are back at it in The Fish Bowl (6:10 p.m., NBC Sports Philly), Jesús Luzardo against Cal Quantrill. This is the first start for Luzardo in South Florida since the offseason trade. Not only did Jesús pitch for the Marlins, but that is also where he grew up. Let’s hope he continues to un-tip those pitches back home.

Elsewhere, Danny Briere and Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr are gonna do a pre-draft press conference. Mystery Guest Tuesday on all of our shows!

Your tentative Tuesday schedule at ​PHLY​:

Let's make it a good one.

Rich Hofmann

Daily Newsletter Editor

PHLY SPORTS