🏈 ‘We protested and pleaded’ | Sports Daily Newsletter

As the high school football season begins to take shape across the Delaware Valley, the Cheltenham community is on the outside looking in after its season was suspended following allegations that former head coach Terence Tolbert allowed bullying to fester.

Tolbert, along with three other Cheltenham coaches, have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy last week after a 15-year-old player was allegedly assaulted in the football team’s locker room by teammates twice last year. Six players were also charged.

But parents of players on the team say they warned the district in the past that Tolbert had alleged prior transgressions during his time at Abington High School.

“We protested and pleaded,” said Naim Ferguson, father of last season’s Cheltenham quarterback Kendall Jackson. “We didn’t think the people they were putting in place were adequate to handle the kids.”

Inquirer reporter Jess Rohan dives into this ongoing investigation and looks at what’s next for the program and the community.

If you’re headed out today, know that scattered storms are in the forecast, with temperatures expected to hit the 90s across the region.

— Kerith Gabriel, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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The other two-thirds of the Phillies’ haul at the trade deadline is settling into their new bullpen, which was in need of reinforcements.

Left-hander Brooks Raley, 38, might not throw Jhoan Duran heat — his fastball averages 90.1 mph — but he mixes and commands his pitches well. And it works for him. Raley, who had a 1.96 ERA in 41⅓ innings entering Wednesday’s game, throws his sweeper 37.8% of the time, with a cutter, sinker, and changeup rounding out his arsenal.

Meanwhile right-hander Caleb Kilian, acquired from the Giants with Luis Arraez, will look to continue what has been a significant season for him. This is the first year he has seized a regular role in the major leagues after transitioning to the bullpen.

The Phillies got hit with the injury bug has pitcher Andrew Painter and outfielder Derek Hill left the game with injuries in their 10-4 loss to the Nationals in 11 innings.

Next: The Phillies wrap up their series with Washington at 6:05 tonight (NBCSP). Cristopher Sánchez (14-4, 2.61 ERA) will start against Nationals right-hander Miles Mikolas (3-8, 5.67).

🦅 Sharing: The ‘mental challenge’ of trying to transitioning to the NFL, as told by Eagles rookie tight end Eli Stowers.

🤞🏽 Hoping: Philly native Abdul Carter wins NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors this season — without it coming at the expense of the Eagles.

⚽ Wondering: What does Union interim coach Ryan Richter have up his sleeve to keep his win streak going ahead of eight games in a jam-packed month?

🍒 Watching: Larry Berg, who will take over as commissioner of Major League Soccer in January, discuss his Cherry Hill roots.

🤔 Questioning: Those who believe the moves the Phillies made during the MLB trade deadline weren’t enough.

The Eagles offense is going to face heavy scrutiny throughout the month of August, as it adjusts to life with new coordinator Sean Mannion and without wide receiver A.J. Brown. For his part, quarterback Jalen Hurts is not stressing too much over missed connections or shaky play.

“I like to think of the term calibrating,” Hurts said Wednesday. “This is a time where we’re kind of putting it together and finding out who we are. We’ve got a lot of new pieces, an entirely new approach and MO, philosophy, to our offense. Being able to put that together and make it our own, I’m excited about where we are.”

Wednesday’s practice was a run-heavy day, and it was a shorter practice compared to Tuesday’s session that ran nearly two hours. For Hurts, Wednesday was another chance to “continue to take strides.” It isn’t supposed to be easy to install a new offense against one of the best defenses in the NFL.

Inquirer writer Jeff Neiburg has more on Hurts’ approach.

The 76ers had the splashiest offseason in the NBA, signing LeBron James on a two-year, $8 million deal and trading for Jaylen Brown. Those additions elevated the expectations for the Sixers, who were previously considered a playoff-bound team anchored by the young backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe and former MVP Joel Embiid. So what should we expect in the 2026-27 season? Will the Sixers be title favorites? Our experts Gina Mizell, David Murphy and Gabriela Carroll weighed in.

Ahead of Union’s MLS Leagues Cup opener tonight at Subaru Park (8 p.m., FS1, Apple TV, TUDN, UniMás), their opponent, Cruz Azul, stirred up some drama by putting out a social post displaying their team’s flag on the Rocky statue.

Historically, that’s been a terrible idea, with the most recent instance coming by way of this summer’s World Cup, when Ecuador found out the hard way, and Brazil put out all the stops, literally, to make sure they didn’t share the same fate.

Needless to say, social media had a field day.

Aug. 6, 1963: Professional basketball in Philadelphia would no longer be known as the Nationals, but the 76ers, to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

“They have to assert and maintain their authority, or at least some semblance of it, in the face of James’s esteem and power. James won’t necessarily be as controlling and demanding as Jordan, but he can be controlling and demanding enough. He’s accustomed to getting his way all the time, and it would be a lot to expect him to be just along for the ride now.” — Columnist Mike Sielski offers a warning to Sixers president Mike Gansey and coach Nick Nurse ahead of the arrival of James in Philly.

We asked: On Monday, which Sixers player was once ranked the 153rd-best player in the country coming out of high school by 247Sports?

Answer: B: VJ Edgecombe. Originally ranked the 153rd-best recruit in the 2024 class, Edgecombe worked his way up to a consensus five-star by the time he was a senior and headed off to Baylor.

We asked: How would you grade Dave Dombrowski’s trade deadline moves and why?

Honestly, very good trades. — John B.

I’ll give him an A+ for the [Luis] Arraez trade. It’s a major culture shift in the Phillies’ hitting philosophy, adding a Richie Ashburn-type hitter to a group of overswinging strikeout victims who refuse to adjust their hitting approach in any given situation. Basically, they’re way more focused on hitting home runs than just getting a runner on third base, with less than two outs, home. Mattingly’s strategy, or lack thereof, is like that of Earl Weaver, waiting around for a three-run homer rather than manufacturing runs like Gene Mauch. Not sure if he even has a bunt sign. Hopefully, some of Arraez’s hitting style will rub off on the team, and we’ll cut down on strikeouts and runners left in scoring position by putting the ball in play. — Gary M.

A+. How in the world can you trade for the best hitter in the National League for nothing? The Giants will always be at the bottom of the standings with trades like this. Also, an A+ [for the] Mets [to] just give their top reliever to the Phillies again, for nothing. To make a team in your own division better just shows you why the Mets will always be the Mets. Good job, Dave! — Ronald R.

Will have to give Mr. Dombrowski a high five for a change after many years of criticism. What an exciting game with the standing ovation for Arraez as he stepped to the plate for the first time as a Phillie. And then he lit up the park with an RBI single, and finished up with another hit and RBI. And Killian adds a scoreless ninth to end it. And perfect with the first fly ball going to Bryce [Harper] in right and no problems with Bohm and Stott at their new positions. — Everett S.

It’s questionable. The goal was acquiring a right-handed bat, a starting pitcher for the fifth spot, and bullpen help. The “haul” was a left-handed infielder and two relievers. We are all jazzed with former batting champion Luis Arraez, with the expectation he would lead off or bat second, but no! He bats clean-up with a natural clean-up hitter, Kyle Schwarber batting lead-off. Defensively, is he better at second than Bryson Stott? Moving three infielders to new positions is a great idea in spring training, not in August. The division is likely lost; let’s hope the wild card remains in play. — Bob C.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jess Rohan, Ryan Novozinsky, Jeff Neiburg, Lochlahn March, Mike Sielski, Kerith Gabriel, Gina Mizell, Gabriela Carroll, Jonathan Tannenwald, and Conor Smith.

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That’s all I have today. I’ll be back one more time tomorrow to get you ready for the weekend. Have a good one. — Kerith