Dawn of a new era | Sports Daily Newsletter
No Black coach had won two national college titles before Dawn Staley did it.
In North Philly, in the seventies, a little girl was growing up on the basketball courts of her neighborhood.
Dawn Staley would go on to become the national high school player of the year, an Olympic gold medalist, a college star at Virginia, then a WNBA legend. She transitioned to coaching at Temple with great success and now, as the head coach of the women’s basketball team at the University of South Carolina, has reached the NCAA championship pinnacle twice over.
Yet Staley is anything but satisfied, because she sees too much that has yet to be done, in both sports and society.
Andrea Canales, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
❓What lies ahead for Staley and the Gamecocks? Back to back championships? Or will another coach with Philadelphia connections, Geno Auriemma, get there next season? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.
Phillies (again) looking for bullpen upgrades
Another season approaching the trade deadline, another Phillies team in need of bullpen help. In three of the last four seasons, the Phillies dealt for at least one reliever at the deadline. This year’s trade market is still a few weeks from crystalizing, so the Phillies will keep mining their internal options before president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski goes shopping. First up is Michael Kelly, who was called up on Monday. Could Francisco Morales, Ryan Sherriff, or even Mark Appel be far behind?
The numbers behind Nick Castellanos’ struggles show a much different hitter than the guy they invested $100 million in before the season.
The magic has returned — the Phillies were triumphant against the Marlins in the 9th inning and once more claim a winning record, 31-30.
Next: The Phillies continue their series against the Marlins at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday. Zach Eflin (2-4, 3.76) will get the start against Mets left-hander Trevor Rogers (3-5, 5.58).
Could Jalen Williams be the Sixers’ next draft steal?
The 76ers’ postseason run — during which they played against the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat — revealed that the team needs to get tougher and longer. If they don’t make any trades in the coming weeks, those needs could be addressed in the June 23 NBA draft.
While few players will be key contributors at the No. 23 pick, Jalen Williams of Santa Clara could be an outlier. He stands at 6-foot-4 but has a wingspan of 7-foot-2 ¼ inches. A complete player, he can also handle the ball and contribute on defense. The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey dives deeper into Williams’ fit with the Sixers .
Devon Allen is a fast man
Who’s the fastest Eagles player? Is it Darius Slay? DeVonta Smith? Or quite possibly it’s new wide receiver Devon Allen, the track star who wants to go full-time in football. Before he does, Allen is still running track and on Sunday at the USATF NYC Grand Prix showed that he’s one of the best in the world by winning the 110m hurdles with the third fastest time ever at 12.84 seconds. Allen, who also won at the Penn Relays, wasn’t able to participate in OTAs. But if he shows good hands at training camp, his speed alone could be a factor for the Eagles this season.
Fleet Street
Sure, World Cup winners don’t sweat not being called in for every training camp or pair of friendly games, but with a new generation of players pushing for playing time, some fans wondered if an era was over not only for the retired Carli Lloyd, but other roster stalwarts as well. For one particular pair, their time in the USA jersey is not over yet.
They’re back.
To the horror of opposing teams, perhaps, United States women’s national team coach Vlatko Andonovski has brought Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan back into the squad ahead of the Concacaf qualifying tournament.
Next: U.S.-Colombia friendlies will take place on June 25 in suburban Denver (7:30 p.m., FS1, ViX) and June 28 in suburban Salt Lake City (10 p.m., ESPN2, ViX).
Worth a look
Fast man: Not many other Eagles rookies have an agenda to set a world record ahead of reporting to training camp.
Bet it on Rob: We’re not saying you’ll win big betting on Rob Thomson’s magical management skills with the Phillies, but apparently others already have.
Philly is the real star: What, you thought it was the WWE wrestlers? Think again.
Trivia Tuesday
Where did North Philly native Dawn Staley go to high school?
A) Central
B) Dobbins Tech
C) Benjamin Franklin
D) Kensington
Without checking online for the answer, send us your response: sports.daily@inquirer.com.
What you’re saying about the Phillies
Judging by the past history, we could very well trend back in the direction of mediocrity, a place in which we are very familiar with. — Tom B.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jonathan Tannenwald, Scott Lauber, Gus Elvin, Matt Breen, Alex Coffey, Ed Barkowitz, and Keith Pompey.