Philly fury | Sports Daily Newsletter

Maybe we can all relate to that particular Delco Eagles fan last season, Mary Kate, who raised her hands in frustration in the stands of the Linc and said, “That’s [expletive].”

Well, Eagles fans, it turns out that Super Bowl aftermath’s feeling of disbelief, rage, frustration, and sadness mixed with a bit of nostalgic happiness for Andy Reid, (and maybe Travis Kelce, by family proxy) and lots of gratitude for an amazing season isn’t unique to those supporting the team.

Those in charge feel much the same way.

Coach Nick Sirianni certainly does. So does GM Howie Roseman.

Marcus Hayes explains how all that emotion can be fuel for next season.

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

❓What will you remember most from this Eagles season? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Howie Roseman has some decisions to make in the aftermath of the Eagles’ Super Bowl loss. With a large number of free agents, the roster is expected to see numerous changes next season. Which players will stay and which will go? Beat writer Jeff McLane makes his picks and has some surprises in there.

The priority for Roseman, of course, is working on a contract extension for Jalen Hurts that will make him the franchise quarterback for years to come. Yes, the Eagles gave a bad contract to Carson Wentz. But Roseman indicated that in thinking about this deal for Hurts, the Eagles love what he brings to the table. The quarterback is the No. 1 reason for optimism with the Eagles going forward.

James Harden will not be taking his talents to Salt Lake City for All-Star Weekend. For the first time since his the 2011-12 NBA season, Harden was not selected to participate in the All-Star Game, which will be played this Sunday. The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey spoke with Harden about how he’ll handle this rare respite.

Next: The Sixers enter All-Star break at 38-19 and third in the East. And while Joel Embiid and Mac McClung will participate in All-Star weekend festivities, the Sixers don’t play until Feb. 23.

When Zack Wheeler heard that Andrew Painter would get an honest-to-goodness chance to claim the Phillies’ fifth-starter vacancy, he spoke with team officials about breaking a loose spring-training custom of assigning the players lockers in order of their uniform numbers. Instead of putting Painter — No. 76 on his red jersey, No. 1 on the prospect chart — on the far side of the room, why not next to Wheeler or co-ace Aaron Nola? And that’s how a 19-year-old phenom landed a prime piece of locker real estate alongside the runner-up for the 2021 National League Cy Young Award. “I just want to make myself available,” Wheeler said. “I know [Nola] is always available. He’s easy to talk to. Just make things as easy as possible for [Painter], so he can just go out there and be himself and throw.”

Painter showed up to camp with a new pitch, one he hopes will help him get left-handed hitters out.

Seranthony Domínguez avoided salary arbitration — and then some — with the Phillies, agreeing to a two-year contract extension with a club option for 2025.

Former Phillies ace Cole Hamels is trying to reboot his career with the Padres.

Check out all the sights from Thursday’s spring training opening day in Clearwater, Fla.

The Flyers had another crack at the Seattle Kraken and did worse with the second opportunity than they did with the first.

Which doesn’t bode well for the stretch run of the season at all.

Next: The Flyers play the Vancouver Canucks Saturday at 10 p.m. ET (NBC Sports Philadelphia).

The name change from Pugh will take some getting used to for longtime fans of the United States women’s national team, but Mallory Swanson is making sure her married name is lighting up the scoreboard to help the transition along.

As the SheBelieves Cup kicks off, so does Swanson’s campaign to make sure she is considered one of the team’s top striker options ahead of this summer’s World Cup. Jonathan Tannenwald adds his perspective to the report of the team’s win.

Also, as their season nears kickoff, the Union have signed a young goalkeeper to back up Joe Bendik and regular starter Andre Blake.

Next: The SheBelieves competition continues Sunday in Nashville. The USWNT will face Japan at 3:30 p.m. (TNT, Universo, HBO Max, Peacock), and Brazil will play Canada at 6:30 p.m. (Universo, HBO Max, Peacock).

We asked, What do you think will be the biggest news of Phillies spring training? Among your responses:

I believe that Andrew Painter will be the biggest issue to watch. Trea Turner is a wonderful addition with no downside. Nick Castellanos’ issues will take all summer to determine the outcome. Bryce Harper’s return will come when he is ready. Nola and Wheeler have recouped from the previous year for nearly a decade each.

Andrew Painter is either the next coming of Cole Hamels or the next flash-in-the-pan to disappoint a city still yearning for a championship. I would like to see him make it on his first try. We have seen a few pitchers who arrived while in their teens. The most prominent in Philadelphia was many years ago --- Curt Simmons. Andrew Painter has a big arm. He has the poise of someone well older than nineteen. Let’s see what happens when he is confronted with major league hitters. I’ll be following him all spring and hope that he becomes “the next one.” — Milton T.

After the Painter and Turner excitement, the real news of spring training will be the health of the starting pitchers. Wheeler, Nola, and Suarez were throwing in high-stress situations until the very end of the post-season and that’s something they’ve not done in the past. Let’s hope they are all feeling strong on opening day.— Mark P.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jonathan Tannenwald, Marcus Hayes, Cayden Steele, Lochlahn March, Isabella DiAmore, Scott Lauber, Alex Coffey, Keith Pompey, Kerith Gabriel, Olivia Reiner, Giana Han, EJ Smith, and Ed Barkowitz.