The World Cup is still weeks away, but there’s no shortage of soccer news, particularly yesterday, when the Union elected to fire its manager, Bradley Carnell.
It’s wild when you recall that just six months ago, Carnell was named Major League Soccer’s Coach of the Year after leading the franchise to a point shy of its best-ever regular season record.
The Union are expected to hold a press conference today to discuss the decision to oust Carnell alongside its embattled sporting director Ernst Tanner, who the Union noted it replaced by removing the interim tag from the executive who took over Tanner’s responsibilities while he underwent league-mandated sensitivity training.
And that’s just the Union.
Mid-afternoon, news broke that the attorneys general in New York and New Jersey subpoenaed FIFA over alleged price-gouging in its ticket practices.
We also reacted to Tuesday’s less-than-thrilling announcement of U.S. Soccer’s 26-man roster ahead of the World Cup, which begins June 11 (June 14 is the first game in Philly).
Hey, at least you’ll be able to digest all of this drama on what’s expected to be a picture-perfect day across the region, with highs in the mid-70s under sunny skies.
— Kerith Gabriel, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
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Cristopher Sánchez made history yesterday and aided the Phillies impressive sweep of the San Diego Padres after running his scoreless innings streak to 44⅔, surpassing an 115-year-old franchise record.
We almost didn’t want to bring it up because we don’t want to jinx just how remarkable Sánchez’s run has been, but when you consider he hasn’t allowed a run since April 30, and has thrown at least seven scoreless innings in each of his last five starts — also a franchise record, how could we not?
Inquirer writer Lochlahn March has more on Sánchez’s historic day in San Diego and the fine form the Phillies displayed.
Next up: The Phillies are off today but stay out west to open up a three-game weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night (10:15 p.m., Apple TV).
What we’re …
⚽ Sharing: Union defender Olwethu Makhanya made South Africa’s World Cup roster.
🦉 Awaiting: When Penn State and Temple kickoff Week 2 of their respective football seasons at Lincoln Financial Field on Sept. 12.
🦅 Watching: Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts discussing his relationship with wide receiver A.J. Brown.
👏🏽 Applauding: Jimmy Rollins will play the role of manager at Citizens Bank Park in the HBCU Swingman Classic as part of MLB All-Star festivities.
We’re still early in the Eagles’ acclimation to new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, but to hear Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts tell it, the process is going “really good.”
It was only been the second day of organized team activities, so the Eagles are very much still “laying down the foundation.”
“[Mannion has] come in and he’s very clear,” Hurts said after OTAs on Wednesday. “Giving good direction. You can definitely see the vision. Been able to answer all of my questions. Very instructive, very helpful. So it’s been a very enjoyable journey so far.”
Inquirer writer Olivia Reiner has more from OTAs as Hurts and the Eagles’ offense picks up Mannion’s scheme.
Speaking of OTAs, Jeff McLane offers his observation from the session, which included notable absences from Lane Johnson, Jalen Carter, and Jihaad Campbell and featured an offense that looked precise in its execution.
Over a million nuggets served. That’s what the Sixers and fast food giant Chick-fil-A can boast dishing out to fans this past season, courtesy of its Bricken for Chicken promotion. After a season that ended with a second-round exit at the hands of the New York Knicks, the win was that the promotion saw 1,102,272 redemptions for Chick-fil-A nuggets.
“When we launched Bricken for Chicken, reaching 1,000,000 nuggets was always the goal,” said Owen Morin, the chief revenue officer of partnerships with Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. “Four years later, thanks to the incredible energy and unwavering dedication from our fans who bring the noise each game at Xfinity Mobile Arena. They are the reason why we hit this milestone. It’s been an incredible run with Chick-fil-A, and we’re excited to keep building on this momentum and hope to deliver even more nuggets next season.”
Ariel Simpson chews more (pun intended) into the promotion and how it became a massive success both on and off the court.
Another year means another dominant season for both the baseball and softball teams at Rowan. Softball is first up today, when it opens up first-round play of the NCAA Championship tournament against No. 1 seed Virginia Wesleyan (11 a.m., ncaa.com).
Anchoring that run has been pitcher Emily McCutcheon, who is hoping to finish her senior year as an NCAA champion on top of being a recent college graduate.
On Friday, Rowan baseball will open play in the NCAA Division III College World Series against Adrian College (5 p.m., ncaa.com). The Profs take a 37-5 record to the series in Eastlake, Ohio, their second time making the trip in as many years.
On this date
May 28, 2006: Barry Bonds surpassed Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list with his 715th home run. Of course, many suggest that distinction comes with an asterisk.
“[Brandon] Marsh has come back to earth a bit over the last couple of weeks. On May 10, he was hitting .353 with an .893 OPS. Going into Tuesday’s game, those numbers were down to .318 and .824, courtesy of a 10-for-46 skid in which he has struck out 14 times with just two walks. That’s not to say his improvement isn’t real. More that, he is still a version of who he has always been, albeit improved.” — A look at Marsh’s trajectory and more in this Phillies brain dump from Inquirer columnist David Murphy.
What you’re saying about the Flyers
We asked: What is one move you would like to see the Flyers get done this offseason?
The Flyers need to take the statue of Kate Smith and place it where it belongs. In front of the arena. The Flyers are cursed and will never win the Cup again. As an original Flyers season ticket holder with seats in Section R, row 19, seats 3,4,5,6 sitting across the aisle from Ed Snider’s box. Just being in the original Spectrum winning those two Stanley Cups is something that only a few of us still around can share. Watching it on TV is one thing. Actually being there is another. And we can’t forget the game against the Russians when Ed Van Impe sent one of the Russians down for the count two minutes into the game. The Russians then skated off the ice and said we quit if you keep hitting us this hard. The Flyers agreed not to hit hard again. They instead had 50 shots on goal and won the game going away. We still have season tickets for the Eagles and the Phillies, but my wife, Mary, and I stopped going to Flyers games when they removed Kate. — Ronald R.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Conor Smith, Owen Hewitt, David Murphy, Jonathan Tannenwald, Mia Messina, Kerith Gabriel, Olivia Reiner, Jeff McLane, Devin Jackson, Scott Lauber, Vaughn Johnson, Ariel Simpson, Henry Savage, and Lochlahn March.
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.
That’s your Thursday. I’m back tomorrow to close out your week. Make sure you get outside today and bring that water bottle. — Kerith