⚙️ Kicking into gear | Sports Daily Newsletter

The World Cup is set to begin later this week, and Philadelphia will host its first match on Sunday. The United States last hosted the men’s FIFA World Cup in 1994, and this year marks the first time that Philadelphia is a host city.

But why didn’t Philly welcome the World Cup the last time it was here? Well, it was actually up for consideration, thanks to Diane McGraw.

Before she married Phillies reliever Tug McGraw, Diane led the charge to make Philly and Veterans Stadium a host city for the 1994 World Cup.

Diane, who went from having no interest in sports to living a life full of them, organized celebrity tennis tournaments and national and international sporting events throughout her career. She eventually found herself atop sports and entertainment commissions in four U.S. cities — Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Louisville, Ky,, and Orlando.

But her most fulfilling project was one that never came to be. Now, she feels grateful to have played a small part in the largest sporting event in the world coming to Philly.

— Isabella DiAmore, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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Sometimes you have to go back to the basics, and for Andrew Painter, that’s as basic as throwing a strike. Eleven starts into his major-league career, Painter has a 6.21 ERA, 108th among 111 pitchers who have worked at least 55 innings this season. It’s not what the Phillies expected from the 23-year-old.

Meanwhile, interim manager Don Mattingly confirmed that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts asked him to join the National League coaching staff.

And the Phillies recorded 11 hits in Sunday’s 9-5 series finale win over the White Sox.

👕 Wearing: After two years of planning, the U.S. Soccer Federation released its 11X11 World Cup clothing collection in a collaboration with designers from each hosting city.

🏀 Learning: The Sixers promoted Jameer Nelson, formerly the organization’s assistant general manager, to vice president of basketball operations.

📖 Reading: James Develin grew up in Gilbertsville, Pa., rooting for the Eagles before defying long odds to play in the NFL with New England. Now he’s selling smoothies down the Shore.

🤔 Wondering: What advice Kyle Schwarber had to offer to Brandon Marsh and how it’s helped him break through against left-handed pitching.

Alexander Command, a Swedish center, could be available when the Flyers select at No. 21 overall in the NHL draft on June 26-27. He finished tied for 11th in the peak power output test that concluded the combine for each player. Also, consensus top pick Gavin McKenna was among those who dominated the testing during the final day of the NHL combine.

Fifteen years ago, Markhus “Duke” Lacroix arrived at Penn from New Egypt, N.J. He has spent a decade grinding through a series of lower-division American clubs. Earlier this month, he earned a place on Haiti’s tournament squad.

Now he gets a World Cup trip not just to Philadelphia, but to his old college field.

And even after a 2-1 loss to Germany in its last Friendly, the United States men’s national team has some momentum going into the World Cup.

Philadelphians generally seem relieved that A.J. Brown’s diva act no longer will be a distraction for a perennial title contender.

That’s just Brown fatigue. What he has done is no better than what Carson Wentz did five years ago: hamstrung his franchise, dissed the fan base, and hung his teammates out to dry, writes columnist Marcus Hayes.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Alex Coffey, Marcus Hayes, Lochlahn March, Scott Lauber, Jonathan Tannenwald, Jackie Spiegel, Ariel Simpson, Gina Mizell, Brett Friedlander, and Becca O’Reilly.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Happy Monday, and thanks for reading. I’ll be back in your inbox with Tuesday’s newsletter. — Bella