☹️ Time to take stock | Sports Daily Newsletter

Hey, that could have gone better.

Philly fans were realistic about the possibility of the Sixers and Flyers climbing back into their respective playoff series entering the weekend. Both teams had generated enough goodwill over the past month for plenty of people to feel at least cautious optimism.

So much for that.

The Sixers fought the Knicks on Friday night before running out of gas in Game 3. Sunday’s Game 4 started bad and ended worse, in a dreaded orange and blue celebration.

The Flyers, meanwhile, took an early lead on the Hurricanes on Saturday but saw their season end on a Jackson Blake overtime goal.

And now we reflect on what must happen for two teams with a surfeit of young, promising stars to avoid this feeling next year.

— Staff reports, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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No team in NBA history has ever recovered from a 3-0 series deficit, a fact of which Sixers fans were well-aware heading into Sunday’s Game 4. But taking a game from the hated Knicks didn’t feel out of the question ... until soon after tipoff.

The Knicks ran away and hid in a 144-114 laugher that will elicit questions about the team’s staying power among Eastern Conference contenders moving forward.

Hey, we’ll always have that Boston comeback.

The Flyers exceeded expectations in 2025-26. Who will forget the “3.8%” phenomenon for a team that was essentially written off at the Olympic break?

Their young core has fans dreaming of perennial contender status, but as The Inquirer’s Jackie Spiegel writes, the team’s continued power play failure is at the top of Rick Tocchet’s list to fix this offseason.

Make that 10-3 in the Don Mattingly era.

The Phillies wrapped up another series win with a 6-0 dismissal of the Rockies on Mother’s Day.

Kyle Schwarber hit two Schwarbombs. Cristopher Sánchez continued his scoreless innings streak. Brandon Marsh went 4-for-4 and looks set on taking Trea Turner’s NL batting title.

Despondent Sixers and Phillies fans will now turn to the Fightin’s for hope.

One positive from the otherwise disappointing Flyers result on Saturday?

Diehard Philly sports fan and Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch was on hand to watch some playoff hockey at Xfinity Mobile Arena, as a guest of the Flyers.

Koch talked to writer Alex Coffey about how she became a devoted fan of area teams, about watching the Eagles from space, and about finding common ground with her father-in-law, Bob, over the Flyers’ power play.

“He was like, hip thrusting during the power play,” Koch told Coffey. “I mean, you can’t make this up. Bob was like ‘Yeah, nothing gets testosterone going like a good power play.’ And I was like ‘OK!’”

May 11, 1980: Slugger Pete Rose was in his element, stealing second, third, and home in the same inning (seventh), fueling the Phillies to a 7-3 win against his future team, the Cincinnati Reds.

“One thing is clear. It may or may not be actionable. But it is beyond dispute. The Sixers need to build toward a future where Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe are surrounded by a roster that fits them. From this point forward, any championship aspirations must begin with their young backcourt. The Sixers can’t allow Joel Embiid to be a factor in any decision that they make with regard to their future.” — The latest as Murphy unpacked the Sixers’ grisly season-ending loss.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Gina Mizell, DeAntae Prince, Jackie Spiegel, Scott Lauber, Alex Coffey and David Murphy

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