Reflecting on red | Sports Daily Newsletter

It may be about a week earlier than anyone wanted, but Bryce Harper said the three words every Phillies fan wants to hear: “We’ll be back.”

Sure, it might be even sweeter if he was saying that as confetti fell around him and his teammates, but the steely resolve following Tuesday’s Game 7 loss in the NLCS still offers plenty of food for thought.

Will Aaron Nola be back? How about Rhys Hoskins? Is Harper a first baseman forever now?

There’s more time than we all anticipated to ponder these and many more Phillies-related questions. So let’s get started.

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

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❓ Give us your best Sixers prediction. How far do you think they’ll go this season and why? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

The James Harden saga has dominated so much of the 76ers’ airspace that there hasn’t been much talk about reigning MVP Joel Embiid. He’s following up one of the best individual season’s of career, yet Embiid has shifted his focus to dominating on defense and getting his teammates more involved in Nick Nurse’s free-flowing offense. The Inquirer’s Gina Mizell takes a deep look at Embiid’s new outlook and MVP encore.

Speaking of Harden, he won’t attend the Sixers opener against the Bucks and instead will remain in Camden to “ramp up” as the season begins.

Next: The Sixers start their regular season on the road against Milwaukee at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (TNT).

It still may not feel real that the Phillies season is over. After breezing through the first two rounds and the early games of the NLCS, it seemed like a return to the World Series was their destiny. They were so tight-knit. So locked in at the plate.

But late Tuesday night, their clubhouse was quiet. The season was over, thanks to a 4-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 7 of the NLCS.

“This is going to sting for a while,” reliever Matt Strahm said. “But I expect nothing but hunger from this team showing up in Clearwater. This group is special and a lot of them are coming back. Let’s just roll into it.”

Aaron Nola’s future is one of the biggest question marks this offseason. While he says he’s been “blessed” by his years in Philadelphia, should Dave Dombrowski and company bring him back? David Murphy takes a look at precedent as well as the team as it stands now.

First, we’ll start with the good news: Jalen Hurts will play this weekend, by all indications.

OK, now for the concerning part: It’s awfully early for injury issues to be cropping up for the star quarterback.

Hurts is no stranger to bumps and bruises. An ankle issue two seasons ago, a shoulder down the stretch last season. Now? A knee problem. So if his health is a concern now, at the end of October, what will it be like in December? The postseason? Mike Sielski ponders the health of the franchise centerpiece and what it means for a team with championship hopes.

Meanwhile, one of his favorite targets received NFC offensive player of the week honors for the first time.

On the defensive side of things, the newest Eagle is playing for the team he grew up cheering for, and he’s eager to help out.

Next: The Eagles look to win the rematch with Washington on Sunday (1 p.m., Fox29).

For two periods, it looked like the Flyers, yes, those Flyers, just might beat the top team in the NHL. But with about eight minutes to go, the Vegas Golden Knights tied it up.

Even then, it looked like the Flyers might escape with a point. But a turnover by 22-year-old defenseman Cam York led to a Shea Theodore goal with 33 seconds left. Those last moments of Tuesday night’s game proved to be the Flyers in a microcosm — flashes of potential but plenty of youthful blunders to go around, Jeff Neiburg writes.

Next: The Flyers return home to host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (7:30 p.m., ESPN+).

Climbing the hill: St. Joseph’s looks to build off a promising 2022-23 season. Here are the biggest keys for the Hawks.

She’s back: Villanova basketball great Maddy Siegrist, now a WNBA player, is returning to the program as a special assistant.

Goals on goals: Union striker Mikael Uhre didn’t reach the 20-goal threshold he set, but the playoffs offer a new chance to step up.

We asked you: What’s your most devastating Philly sports moment and why? Among your responses:

How can you pick just one? Ten Phillies excruciating “moments” in ‘64. The ‘68 Sixers choke (with Wilt) after leading 3-1. The 1977 Game 3 Phillies playoff loss. The ‘81 Eagles Super Bowl loss to a team they defeated earlier that season. The 1981 Sixers choke (after leading 3-1). The ‘84 Sixers Game 5 loss (to New Jersey (GAG!). 1993: Toronto, Game 6. The Eagles 2004 Vomit Bowl. The Phils‘ 2009 loss to the Yankees. Game 5, 2011 Phillies playoff loss. The 2019 Game 7 Sixers loss to the Raptors. Phillies lose three straight, 2022 World Series. Eagles, 2023 Super Bowl. Sixers vs. Celts, 2023. And now, the 2023 Phillies. Such a rich history — of defeat. The later ones hurt less than the earlier ones, I guess because familiarity breeds resignation.

When one chooses to be a Philadelphia sports fan, one embraces masochism. It’s a Philly thing. (But I’m not bitter). — Karl Z.

This whole series quite frankly. But last night’s loss was like a sucker punch. This was a must-win game and despite all the talent on this team, they could not get the job done. It should never have gotten to that point because the losses in games three and four rest solely on Thomson and Kimbrel. After blowing game three, Thomson put him in game four and watched him blow it again. I will never understand that. I hope when 2024 comes, we have a new and better closer. — Kathy T.

As a 13-year-old boy in suburban Philly, I saw games at Connie Mack Stadium during the ‘64 season in the last weeks of the season, and the losses were gut-wrenching. 6½ games ahead with 12 games left only to lose the pennant on the last day. Last two games while watching TV in Southern California were just as painful. — Andy P.

Before this one I would have said the last day of the 1964 season when the Cardinals edged us out by winning the 1964 NL championship after the Phillies blew a 7-game lead. But now last night moves into first place. What a disaster. We were outpitched, outhustled, and outmanaged in a game we should have won. Outstanding plan by Lovullo and his staff. Phillies want to hit homers — don’t let them. Put the ball in the dirt and let him swing. And our guys did for 13 K’s. But let’s not hang our heads in shame. Phillies had an outstanding season and beat arguably the best team in baseball to get there. Let’s be Red October again in ‘24. — Everett S.

The three Super Bowl losses were a hard pill to swallow (lost to the Raiders, Patriots and Chiefs) and during the 1960s, the 76ers losing to Boston in the playoffs each year (Boston and Philly was a classic rivalry with Chamberlain and Russell going head-to-head). But the most devastating Philly sports moment for me has to be the collapse of the 1964 Phillies. Since the beginning of the 1964 season, the Phils had been in first place and sometimes led the National League by 9 or 10 games. They were destined to go to the World Series. On Sept. 21 with a 6½-game lead with 12 games to play, the collapse started. This has to go down in Philly sports history as one of the worst disappointments for the city. — Skip B.

Ronde Barber pick six in NFC CHAMPIONSHIP game, last football game at the Vet. That play still haunts any diehard Philly fan…. — John S.

For the first time in over a decade, the Eagles wore their kelly green uniforms, last seen in the hectic 2010 season. That year, the anticipated Kevin Kolb era was derailed due to his concussion and injuries to other key players — that’s until Michael Vick emerged as a surprising savior, sparking a quarterback debate. In Episode 3 of unCovering the Birds, Eagles beat reporter Jeff McLane explores this chaotic Kelly Green era and the unexpected season that followed. Listen here.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Keith Pompey, Gina Mizell, David Murphy, Alex Coffey, Matt Breen, Mike Sielski, EJ Smith, Olivia Reiner, Jeff Neiburg, Mia Messina, Matt Ryan, and Jonathan Tannenwald.

As the cliché goes, time heals all wounds. But even better than time may be a Sixers win. We’ll see tonight about that, and I’ll be back with all of our coverage on James Harden, Joel Embiid, and ... the product on the court. — Maria