Phillies fail to win | Sports Daily Newsletter

Anyone nostalgic for 2016? That’s the last time the Phillies had an 0-4 start. The throwback this time was largely due to the famously damp-haired, bearded Phillie, Brandon Marsh.

Despite the beard, Marsh is still young, and young players understandably make mistakes, but the Phillies can’t seem to catch a break in player lapses leading to games lost. It may only be four losses in a row, but without a single victory for the team to hang its hat on this season, it feels like forever.

Perhaps the cure for all that ails the Phillies will be found when the team is back in the friendly confines of Citizens Bank Park. Of course, there’s still more road games to go before that day arrives, so it could get worse before it gets any better.

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

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After winning the pennant and getting all the way to Game 6 of the Series last year, the Phillies are back to finish the deal. The home opener of the 141st season in franchise history is set for Thursday at Citizens Bank Park — and The Inquirer will have it covered. Join Phillies/MLB reporter Scott Lauber and staff writer Matt Breen as they host Gameday Central starting at 1:30 p.m. at inquirer.com/philliesgameday.

At Thursday’s home opener at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies will unveil their newest video board, a screen so big that it makes Veteran Stadium’s screen look like rabbit ears. The new PhanaVision is 152 feet wide and 86 feet tall, 77% larger than the one it replaced, and as the team says, “the size of 516 Phillie Phanatics.” It’s huge and the controversy that greeted the original PhanaVision in June of 1983 is gone. A humongous TV is now just part of the ballgame.

Five weeks after being shut down with tenderness in his right elbow, top prospect Andrew Painter still isn’t throwing. But a source says there has been no setback, and the Phillies are being extra cautious.

Next: The Phillies continue their series in New York at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday (NBCSP+). Matt Strahm will start against Yankees right-hander Domingo German.

The Eagles introduced yet another new face on Monday, as defensive tackle Kentavius Street, who was signed last week, met with the media.

Street called the Eagles’ team closeness “special” and says he can’t wait to work with veterans Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox.

Street might not be the last defensive tackle the Eagles add this spring after the departures of Javon Hargrave, Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh. With just a few weeks until the NFL draft, EJ Smith looks at the top interior defensive lineman in this year’s class.

The Flyers might be playing out the string on another losing season but the final six games are important for several young players.

One of those is winger Joel Farabee, who hasn’t looked himself for much of this season following offseason disk replacement surgery. The positive news is that Farabee’s offense has come around of late with the 23-year-old winger scoring four goals and tallying nine points over his last nine games.

While the 2022-23 season hasn’t gone as Farabee planned, he and the Flyers hope he can carry his recent momentum into the summer and next season.

Tonight will also be a big night for prospect Ronnie Attard, as the defenseman will make his season debut against the St. Louis Blues.

Next: The Flyers play visit the Blues Tuesday night (8 p.m., NBCSP).

De’Anthony Melton learned to play chess by chance, walking into a study room at his North Hollywood, Calif., high school as classmates were engaged in a game. Soon after, he taught himself how to play the game. “I just fell in love with it,” he said.

So it made sense that Melton, who still plays every day via an app on his phone, hosted nearly 45 local students from After School Activities for a chess tournament. While Melton said, “I got me a ‘dub,’” he was quick to point out that students were skilled and it showed.

Next: The Sixers host the Boston Celtics at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center in what will likely be a second-round playoff matchup.

The Union are used to being the plucky underdogs, but what happens when the underdogs meet a team that feels it has a similar inspiration?

It’s a cliché that someone evokes Rocky Balboa whenever they’re in Philadelphia, but Atlas FC may indeed have some claim to the comparison. Jonathan Tannenwald takes a closer look at how the Liga MX club has overcome the odds to even arrive at this point to challenge the Union in the Concacaf Champions League.

Fare thee well: Some players you wish the best for as they move on - a former Saint spreads his wings.

Fair assumption: Some players leave without much said, as Conner Brière is now off his college hockey team.

Fair winds: The bite of the Philly winter weather takes a toll on St. Joe’s baseball and softball, pushing teams out to the road.

The famous baseball movie, The Natural, starred Robert Redford and was based on Bernard Malamud’s novel inspired partly by which Phillies player? Give us your best internet-research-free guess.

A) Eddie Waitkus

B) Richie Ashburn

C) Robin Roberts

D) Sparky Anderson

unCovering the Birds with Jeff McLane Ep 2: F*** This Game

What’s it like to play offensive line in the NFL? According to Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson, not much fun. So why, then, did he agree to a recent one-year contract extension? Inquirer Eagles beat reporter Jeff McLane tries to find out what the passionate Johnson is really thinking.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts or go to Inquirer.com/podcasts

I would draft an edge rusher at #10. Brandon Graham, although he had double digit sacks last year, is not getting any younger and is only on a 1 year contract. Those double digit sacks could have been helped along with the outstanding play of Javon Hargrave. To have another stud edge rusher to go along with Reddick and Sweat can only help the defense. Since the game has changed to more passing, you need to put as much pressure on the QB as possible. — Skip B.

The Eagles two biggest needs are at defensive tackle and safety, so their #10 pick should be the very best available player at one of these two positions. At this point I don’t think they need another running back. —Everett S.

If I was Howie Roseman, I’d use the top pick in one of these three ways to get a future great defensive player. (1) a defensive player who is judged to be a potential Hall of Fame player and who is far better than the second best player at his defensive position, or (2) a game changing linebacker who can start in his rookie year, or (3) a probable Brian Dawkins-like safety who could be a HOFer. I’d break a tie by using this 1-2-3 order of priority. Don’t try to get tricky either. The pick should make sense to the draft-nicks, and not some obtuse sleeper that surprises the experts. —Jay W.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jonathan Tannenwald, Aaron Tully, Isabella DiAmore, Robert Moran, Gina Mizell, Olivia Reiner, Giana Han, EJ Smith, Josh Tolentino, Scott Lauber, and Matt Breen.