Harden’s hard place | Sports Daily Newsletter
The guard’s choices leave him little choice now.
You can’t always get what you want, the Rolling Stones informed the world in song, and James Harden, who has been a rolling stone of late in his basketball career, may realize the truth of those lyrics in a new way now.
He’s not happy any more with the 76ers and wants to move on to another team, specifically, the Los Angeles Clippers. Turns out, however, that the Clippers aren’t really interested in offering much of value to the Sixers in order to secure Harden’s services.
That makes sense, because Harden is simply not the player he once was. While he has shown the ability to evolve as a point guard, especially in terms of learning to facilitate the scoring chances of Joel Embiid, Harden’s focus on remaining instead a shoot-first option shows his impatience to develop further as a playmaker.
So where does that leave a team unwilling to move a player without something of significant worth in exchange? Where does that leave the player? In a word, stuck.
The Inquirer’s David Murphy gives his take on the situation, pointing out Harden has only himself to blame.
— Andrea Canales, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
If you’re not yet receiving the Sports Daily in your inbox, sign up for free here.
❓Who on the Eagles impressed you during the preseason game against Baltimore? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.
The Eagles saw a few rookies make strong impressions in the preseason-opening loss at Baltimore.
Jalen Carter’s eye-popping first snap featured him getting to the quarterback quickly to force an incompete pass.
Eli Ricks came through with a pick-6 in the fourth quarter that could help him win a roster spot as an undrafted free agent.
Sixth-round pick Tanner McKee showed poise and precision in throwing for 148 yards.
Unfortunately for the team, veteran Shaun Bradley, who has been a special teams ace, did go down in the game with a season-ending Achilles injury.
Next: The Eagles host the Cleveland Browns in a joint practice today.
You’ve caught the action, now flip through it! Score JALEN HURTS: RARE BIRD today. Catch 20-plus stories and 50-plus photos from the award-winning staff of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Brought to you by the expert sports reporters, editors, and photographers of The Inquirer.
Our ultimate tribute to Philly’s star QB has touched down at The Inquirer Store. Shop now.
After coming home on Aug. 4 and scoring 60 runs in eight games, the Phillies scored one run in two games against Twins pitching, including a 3-0 loss on Sunday. Ten days that included standing ovations for a scuffling superstar, the 14th no-hitter in club history, and a home-run resurgence ended with less a thud than a whimper. Through it all, the Phillies did move into the lead in the wild-card race, 1½ games ahead of the Giants and three games clear of the Cubs for the final National League playoff spot. That was worth remembering on a day when the franchise saluted the pennant-winning 1983 and 1993 teams.
Taijuan Walker won’t start during this week’s five-game road trip. Here’s why.
Next: After an off-day on Monday, the Phillies open a two-game series in Toronto at 7:07 p.m. Tuesday (NBCSP). Zack Wheeler (9-5, 3.74) will start against Blue Jays left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (9-4, 3.53).
After the controversy brought on by players not wearing Pride Night warmup jerseys last season, the NHL banned all specialty night jerseys beginning next season — including Pride, Military Appreciation, and Hockey Fights Cancer warmups.
The unpopular decision to ban these jerseys will no doubt have consequences for the respective charities and causes. Sapna Bansil talked to several organizations that will be impacted by the decision and the Flyers to see how the two sides are planning to continue their allyship despite the jersey ban.
Unless you have been living under a rock, by now you’ve probably heard this Lionel Messi character will be in Chester this week. But what should fans expect and why is this such a landmark moment?
Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes has some thoughts.
We also asked our resident expert, Jonathan Tannenwald, to weigh in from Down Under on Messi, the Union, and their Leagues Cup clash.
Next: The Union will host Messi and Inter Miami Tuesday night at Subaru Park in the semifinals of the Leagues Cup (7 p.m., Apple TV).
Worth a look
Cooling waters: Here’s where you can still go swimming in Philly as the summer winds to a close.
Bad bet: Marcus Hayes considers a book’s revelations about Phil Mickelson and his gambling “friendships.”
Media heroes: Yes, it’s the first time a team from Media has gone so far in the LLWS, and yes, they’re as pleased as punch.
Australia’s Swans: No, they aren’t the Eagles, but our World Cup reporter was on hand to take in another kind of football.
On this date
In 1981, Mike Schmidt hit his 300th home run off New York Mets pitcher Mike Scott, in a game the Phillies won 8-4. Later in the season, the Phillies would fail to defend their World Series title.
Schmidt would eventually hit a franchise-record 548 home runs for the Phillies.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Sapna Bansil, Lizzy McLellan Ravitch, Kevin Riordan, Jonathan Tannenwald, Marcus Hayes, Olivia Reiner, EJ Smith, Josh Tolentino, Scott Lauber, and David Murphy.