🏀 Reason to believe? | Sports Daily Newsletter

Excuse us for being skeptical, but we’ve been here so many times before with the Sixers. They have won six of eight, Tyrese Maxey is back, Joel Embiid looks like he can play through a lingering injury in his side, Paul George is rounding into shape after his drug suspension ...

At least the three star players should be rested for the remaining eight games. We’ll see what it all means as they try to move up in the Eastern Conference standings before playoff time. Marcus Hayes, for one, is a believer, writing that a fully fortified Sixers lineup can beat almost anyone.

We’ll see. In fairness, the team has not had much luck in the last few years. Tonight at 7 in Miami (NBCSP), the Sixers will face a Heat team that is fighting for playoff positioning, too. Buoyed by Maxey’s return, though, Nick Nurse’s team came back to beat Charlotte on Saturday in what our Gina Mizell called one of its best wins of the season.

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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Here’s all you need to know about the Phillies after their 1-2 start to the season: They are batting .186. They drew eight walks Sunday against the Texas Rangers and managed only three hits in an 8-3 loss at Citizens Bank Park. They didn’t get any hits until the sixth inning.

“We’ve got to get something going earlier in the games,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I think everybody in the lineup is trying to get off to a good start, maybe a little bit anxious, and they’ll settle in.”

The hitters are still trying to settle in when it comes to automated ball-strike challenges, too. On the defensive side, the Phillies are already seeing the benefit of a veteran catcher in J.T. Realmuto.

The Flyers have signed Porter Martone, and the team’s first-round pick from the 2025 draft could make his NHL debut as soon as Tuesday in Washington. Martone, 19, signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Flyers on Sunday after his Michigan State team was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.

Entering Sunday, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Martone’s 1.43 points per game ranked fourth in the nation. He was tied for second in goals and was the only freshman selected to the All-Big Ten first team.

After signing his first professional contract, Martone attended the Flyers’ overtime win over the Stars.

The Eagles are joining the rest of the NFL at the annual league meeting in Phoenix this week, and team officials will gather individually with the media to answer questions as well.

There will be plenty. Olivia Reiner lists some of the top questions facing the Birds, including: Where do the A.J. Brown trade talks stand? Who’ll start at safety with Reed Blankenship gone? Is there more help coming at edge rusher? There is that and is plenty more to consider here.

Howie Roseman didn’t provide any details regarding Brown’s status with the Eagles during the NFL owners meetings on Sunday.

With the World Cup approaching this summer, U.S. national team manager Mauricio Pochettino tried experimenting Saturday with a four-back defense in a matchup against Belgium in Atlanta. It did not go well in a 5-2 loss. Jonathan Tannenwald explains what happened.

Next up is a matchup with Portugal on Tuesday (7 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62).

March 30, 1985: Dwayne McClain scored 19 points to lead Villanova past Memphis, 52-45, in a national semifinal in Lexington, Ky. That set up the championship matchup with Georgetown.

Phillies fans have heard about Andrew Painter for years, since he dominated three levels of the minor leagues in 2022. In 2023, at age 19, he was competing in spring training for a rotation spot — and probably would’ve made the team — when he tore a ligament in his elbow. Rest and rehab didn’t work. He had surgery four months later.

When he finally takes the mound Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park, it will be 1,126 days since Painter’s ill-fated spring-training start in 2023 and 980 since his surgery — and 10 days shy of his 23rd birthday. Painter will still be the youngest pitcher to start a game for the Phillies since Ranger Suárez on Aug. 16, 2018.

Here’s more from Scott Lauber on Painter’s long-awaited debut.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Marcus Hayes, Gina Mizell, Jackie Spiegel, Lochlahn March, Scott Lauber, Olivia Reiner, Maria McIlwain, Jonathan Tannenwald, Colin Schofield, and Conor Smith.

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.

As always, we thank you for reading Sports Daily. I’ll see you in Tuesday’s newsletter. — Jim