What the heck is this? Is this absolutely amazing or incredibly cringey?

The trailer for I Play Rocky features Anthony Ippolito looking so much like a young Sylvester Stallone that it takes a second to realize this is not old footage. Then, he starts talking. Sometimes he sounds exactly like Stallone; sometimes he sounds like someone doing a very committed Stallone impression at a bar. Either way, it works.

The trailer gives us the full Rocky nostalgia package: the meat locker, the Art Museum steps, the original score, and Stallone refusing to let anyone else play the boxer he created. It could all be unbearably corny (it probably is).

And yet, when that music kicks in, you kind of want to run up some steps.

Philadelphia already has three Rocky statues and has spent 50 years treating a fictional boxer like a founding father. Somehow, this movie may make us love him even more.

First, the heat index soared into the triple digits. Then Canadian wildfire smoke rolled in.

This week, simply stepping outside came with a list of disclaimers. Don’t exercise, limit your time outdoors, keep kids inside. People with asthma, heart disease, and other health conditions were urged to avoid going out altogether. The Phillies even moved up a game because the air quality wasn’t safe enough.

Summer in Philadelphia is supposed to mean block parties, concerts, long walks, baseball games, and dinners outside. Instead, this week felt like the weather was actively negotiating against every plan you tried to make.

Congratulations, you’ve made it!

Opposing players at the Home Run Derby got the full Philadelphia welcome this week, prompting predictable outrage online from people who somehow expected Phillies fans to politely clap for everyone. That’s adorable.

In Philadelphia, booing isn’t always about hate. Sometimes it’s acknowledgment or respect, but mainly it’s just our way of making sure everyone knows they’re in our house. The louder the boos, the bigger the moment.

People acted like Phillies fans had violated some sacred baseball etiquette, when in reality they were giving the rest of the country exactly what it came to see.

One last All-Star Week thought.

The biggest winner wasn’t the American League, it was Citizens Bank Park.

Citizens Bank Park spent two nights showing off on baseball’s biggest stage, and by the end of the All-Star Game, players from around the league were saying what Phillies fans have believed all along. Freddie Freeman called it his favorite place to play. Others raved about the atmosphere, the crowd, and the city itself.

For years, The Bank has lived in the shadow of baseball’s older cathedrals — Fenway, Wrigley, Dodger Stadium. It doesn’t have ivy-covered walls or a century of history. What it does have is 43,000 people who treat a Tuesday in May like Game 7 of the World Series and somehow crank it up another level when the spotlight gets brighter.

So the All-Star Game wasn’t just a showcase of baseball’s best players, but also a showcase of one of baseball’s best ballparks.

Millions of people know him as @ChefReactions, the social media creator who makes a living critiquing food videos. Philadelphia, meanwhile, has thousands of self-appointed cheesesteak critics who do it for free. It was an inevitable friendship.

After spending time here judging some of the city’s most iconic sandwiches, he said what stood out wasn’t just the food — it was Philadelphians’ brutal honesty.

Around here, telling you exactly what we think isn’t considered rude. It’s our version of customer service.

We miss you, Megabus.

Pacifico’s new $5 Shore Shuttle, offering round-trip rides from Philadelphia to the Jersey Shore on weekends, feels like it belongs in 2014, not 2026. Sure, this one comes with a beer sponsor, a swag bag, and a very specific schedule, according to Philly Voice. And yes, anyone who’s ever ridden a too-good-to-be-true bus deal has probably spent an unexpected hour in a Walmart parking lot wondering whether they’d ever make it home.

That’s part of the adventure.

If someone else wants to deal with the gas, tolls, Parkway traffic, and parking while you spend less than the price of a Wawa hoagie, that’s a pretty good deal — especially in this economy.