About time | Sports Daily Newsletter

Baseball’s history books were rewritten a bit, with names like Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, and Satchel Paige finding themselves at or near the top of several all-time leaderboards.

It’s where they belong, Marcus Hayes writes.

Major League Baseball announced Wednesday it would recognize the statistics of thousands of Negro Leagues players.

These were the baseball heroes Hayes heard about growing up. And Wednesday, their stats were counted among the best in MLB history. Better late than never, Hayes writes.

— Maria McIlwain, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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❓ Who was your baseball hero growing up and why? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

As the days get hotter, the biggest sports story is the Phillies’ blazing start to the season. It’s historic. It’s fun.

But will it lead to champagne showers, a big trophy, and glittering rings? Only time will tell, really. But the data offer some insights, and Scott Lauber offers a look into what it means, from the caliber of foe they’ve faced to the dominance of the starting rotation.

When seemingly all they do is win, that three-game skid felt like an eternity. But the Phillies snapped out of their funk with a resounding 6-1 win over the Giants on getaway day.

J.T. Realmuto is riding a 17-game hitting streak. So why was he sitting Wednesday?

Next: After a cross-country flight, the Phillies have an off day before welcoming the St. Louis Cardinals (6:40 p.m. Friday, NBCSP). Aaron Nola (6-2, 3.04 ERA) faces Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas (3-5, 5.64).

The 76ers made a Memorial Day weekend splash last year when they hired Nick Nurse as head coach. The hottest available coach at the time, Nurse opted to reunite with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who worked as Houston Rockets GM when Nurse coached the team’s G League affiliate. Coaching Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey also proved intriguing for Nurse.

A year later, The Inquirer’s Gina Mizell takes a look at Nurse’s first season with the Sixers. Those takeaways include his efforts to keep defense as a hallmark, instill confidence in Maxey, and make key rotation tweaks.

There are a lot of unknowns right now — “a world of uncertainty,” as St. Joseph’s AD Jill Bodensteiner put it. What will the $2.8 billion settlement the NCAA agreed to last week mean for her school, programs like it, and even bigger ones?

Bodensteiner, for one, isn’t thrilled about St. Joe’s, which doesn’t sponsor football, potentially having to help foot the bill for Power Five FBS programs distributing back pay to former athletes. Other schools, like Villanova with its FCS football and marquee basketball program, and Temple, which competes in FBS but isn’t in the Power Five, are left with questions, too.

But there’s more. What about the collectives like Friends of Nova, the TUFF Fund, and the Hawk Hill Alliance at St. Joe’s? Will those be folded into their respective schools or remain independent? Will sports get cut? The Inquirer’s Jeff Neiburg addresses all of that as we await a California judge’s ruling on the future of college sports.

Speaking of Villanova, a freshman wing is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery. What does that mean for next season’s rotation?

In Division III action, Rowan is back in the softball finals. Here’s a look at how they got there.

The Philadelphia area has had plenty of soccer Olympians over the years. This time around, four of the 18 members of Team USA could boast local ties. In a pre-Paris training camp, two Union players, Nathan Harriel and Jack McGlynn, were called up, along with former Union standout Paxten Aaronson, a Medford native.

The Olympic team is made up largely of under-23 players, but each team gets three over age members, and Media’s Auston Trusty could be picked. Jonathan Tannenwald breaks down the latest training camp roster.

Without Julián Carranza in the lineup, or even on the bench, the Union played their second straight scoreless tie on Wednesday, this time against Toronto FC. It marked the Union’s fifth straight home game without a win.

Next: The Union are right back in action Saturday as they take on Montreal (7:30 p.m., Apple TV+).

We asked you: In your opinion, what is the most disappointing Phillies signing of all-time? Why? Among your responses:

I’m choosing Lance Parrish as the worst signing of all time for the Phillies. Here was a All-star, power hitting catcher, that we got absolutely nothing from. — Tom G.

There is a long list to choose from since Free Agency changed baseball dramatically. For my money perhaps the worst was Lance Parish. Frankly he was just plain awful. He came here with such fanfare, with the promise of filling the big hole left when Bob Boone moved on. Catching had been a huge problem for the Phillies since the 50s. Bob Boone largely solved the problem. And when we no longer could depend on him, signing a competent catcher became a big deal. Unfortunately, Parrish seemed as if the American League, where he played before the Phillies, was apparently a minor league when you compare the performances Parrish had with Detroit and the total lack of performance with the Phillies. Frankly the fans might have run him out of town if the Phillies did not. — Ray C.

Without a doubt, Castellanos is the worst signing ever by the Phillies. — Joseph R.

Some of my biggest Phillies disappointments go back to the mid 60′s when Gene Mauch and John Quinn picked up guys like Dick Stuart and Bo Belinsky who did nothing, and then trading young Ferguson Jenkins to the Cubs for two somewhat over the hill pitchers Larry Jackson and Bob Buhl. Jenkins of course went on to become a Hall of Fame pitcher for the Cubs. When I watch Taijuan Walker pitch with such mediocrity I can’t believe that they paid this guy 72 million. That is a sore disappointment for any team. — Everett S.

There are quite a few sadly. Adam Eaton comes to mind as a pitcher with a losing record who has a World Series ring even though he never pitched in the series. (Which was a good thing) Jake Arrieta is a close second. An honorable mention goes to Craig Kimbrel. Thanks to him, last year’s season ended prematurely. Good riddance to all three. — Kathy T.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Marcus Hayes, Scott Lauber, Gina Mizell, Neil Paine, Jeff Neiburg, Kerith Gabriel, Jonathan Tannenwald, Gabriela Carroll, Jackie Spiegel, Joseph Santoliquito, and Colin Beazley.

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.

Thanks for reading along! Jim will return tomorrow with the week’s final Sports Daily. — Maria