Eagles’ heart | Sports Daily Newsletter

Jason Kelce is large and in charge, and, in many ways, is the emotional heart of the Eagles. He may not be the best singer, but he was the drive behind the Eagles’ Christmas album. He may not be the biggest lineman, but he is the anchor of the offensive line. The Eagles are well aware of what a gift it was that Kelce agreed to return this season and that the odds are against another year for the veteran player.

So they’re trying to make the most of it and go as far as they can. That includes bringing the Kelce stories out from the vault of options. Decide for yourself which gem is your favorite.

From the West Coast side of things, there is consideration for Lane Johnson as the non-Hurts MVP of the Eagles.

Who is your pick? Or even better, who is your favorite Eagle to color? Yes, we’ve got Eagles coloring pages!

—Andrea Canales, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

❓Which player do you consider the heart of the Eagles and why? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

The NFL announced its five finalists for MVP on Wednesday, which included Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

In just his second season as a starter, Hurts has blossomed into one of the league’s top quarterbacks, leading the Eagles to a 14-1 record in games he started while accounting for 4,461 total yards and 35 touchdowns. Hurts will be hoping to beat out Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and Justin Jefferson to become the first Eagle to win the award.

While Hurts was recognized for being among the best at his profession, coach Nick Sirianni was notably not. Sirianni was not among the three finalists for coach of the year, which included former Eagles coach Doug Pederson. Does Sirianni have a gripe?

Speaking of gripes, A.J. Brown looked to have one with someone on Saturday during the win over the Giants. On Wednesday, Brown revealed why he was so visibly upset.

Meanwhile, the Eagles could get a lift on Sunday as cornerback Avonte Maddox returned as a limited participant in a walk-through as he works his way back from a toe injury.

Next: The Eagles will host the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game at 3 p.m. Sunday (Fox29).

The 76ers have gone on quite the run in recent weeks, putting together multiple win streaks and capturing five straight road games on a tough West Coast trip. Asked what is behind that recent success, forward Montrezl Harrell said brotherhood and togetherness fueled those victories. “It’s not a ‘me season.’ It’s a ‘we season.’ So literally, we just bought into the team we want to be.”

After all the hype, Joel Embiid had a relatively quiet game against the defense of Ben Simmons. But the center also got bragging rights between the former teammates as the Sixers beat the Nets.

Next: The Sixers host the Denver Nuggets at 3 p.m. Saturday (6ABC).

Eric Cressey has known Andrew Painter since the Phillies’ top prospect was 15 years old. Over the past year, Cressey has seen something different in Painter, the 13th overall pick of the 2021 draft. The 19-year-old pitcher is coming off a dominant minor league season in which he jumped three levels and posted a 1.56 ERA in 103⅔ innings with 155 strikeouts. But he has also developed a degree of self-awareness that Cressey deems unusual in a pitcher so young.

“He left as a teenager and returned as an adult,” Cressey said. “He’s part of the pro crowd now.” Cressey has been working with Painter to help him leave Phillies spring training at the end of March as a member of their starting rotation.

The Flyers are thoroughly disappointed in the manner in which they lost Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings.

John Tortorella’s team led three separate times and never trailed until Kevin Fiala’s overtime goal just over a minute into a frantic extra session. The biggest issue? A sloppy night defensively that included a defensive zone giveaway on the tying goal and two defensemen getting caught up ice leading to the two-on-one that resulted in the game-winner.

Next: The Flyers face the Wild in Minnesota at 8 p.m. Thursday (NBCSP).

It was a lively game against a similarly young Serbian squad to start off the new year for the U.S. men’s national team. Brandon Vásquez got the USMNT going with an early goal, but ultimately, the Serbians were more clinical in their finishing and the young Americans made too many mistakes by giving up possession in bad spots.

Jonathan Tannenwald took a measure of the positives and negatives.

Temple men’s basketball forward Kur Jongkuch is a long way from the life he began. His family fled South Sudan to Ontario — by way of a Kenyan refugee camp.

In Canada, he was teased. He was bullied. He contemplated suicide.

But then he found sports, specifically basketball. Today, Jongkuch is getting minutes — and buckets … and boards, as a graduate student on the Owls’ basketball team. If you have a few minutes today, make this one a must-read.

Sticking with Temple, yesterday was a busy day for its basketball program with both teams action last night. For the men, it was an overtime victory their first game after an upset of top-seeded Houston while the women topped Tulane in the Big Easy. The Tulane game arrived on the same day the women’s team announced that two players were suspension and that two more had abruptly left the program.

We asked you: Which other former Phillies deserve Hall of Fame enshrinement and why? Among your responses:

Dick Allen deserves to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. — Steve A.

Honestly I’d say the entire 2008 WS team. But that would never happen. I’d have to pick Chase Utley, who is my favorite from that year. His stats show what a superstar second baseman he was and he was always cool, calm and collected when it mattered most. He also was a “Mets Killer,” which always brought me great joy! — Kathy T.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Marcus Hayes, Kerith Gabriel, Josh Tolentino, Matt Mullin, Emily Bloch, Cynthia Greer, Eric Branch, Jeff McLane, David Murphy, EJ Smith, Jonathan Tannenwald, Keith Pompey, Alex Coffey, Olivia Reiner, Joey Piatt, Javon Edmonds, and Cayden Steele.