Philly’s summer of soccer | Sports Daily Newsletter

Yes, the Union squad is going full-tilt in the summer season, looking as formidable as ever, but Philadelphia’s summer of soccer is about more than the local team, as good as it has been of late.

Lincoln Financial Field was rocking to raucous cheers for European teams on tour. The Aaronson brothers, Brenden and Paxten, both products of Union youth development, are now on that famed continent, playing in Germany’s league. Havertown’s Sinead Farrelly is at the women’s World Cup, playing for Ireland. The United States team has a new generation of players vying for an unprecedented three-peat of that title.

The men’s World Cup itself is coming to Philly in 2026, when the city hosts games.

Even though the team is not currently scheduled to play against Inter Miami in league play (a meeting is a distant possibility in the playoffs, if Miami makes the postseason) the Union also got a bit of the stardust blown off of reigning men’s World Cup champion Lionel Messi’s spectacular debut for Inter Miami. The many fans signing up to AppleTV to watch the Argentine star could now also check out the Union on the same streaming platform.

It is, Marcus Hayes writes, a convergence of so many elements, it’s created a new level in the Philly soccer scene.

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

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The Phillies will have to make a decision on Rule 5 right-hander Noah Song by Friday, which makes his last two outings “important,” according to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Song pitched two innings with triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday night. He has one more outing — on Wednesday — before his 30-day rehab assignment ends and the Phillies decide whether to add him to the active roster or expose him to waivers and offer him back to the Red Sox if he is not claimed. But those who have been around the 26-year-old Song since spring training have seen improvements — and believe he is actually ahead of schedule.

Craig Kimbrel blew his first save of the season, but the Phillies overcame it to snap their four-game losing streak.

Seeing his parents walk to their seats to watch his first major league game was a “feeling never topped again in my 17 years,” former Phillie Scott Rolen said in his Hall of Fame induction speech on Sunday.

Next: The Phillies return home for a three-game series against Baltimore at 6:40 p.m. Monday (NBCSP). Cristopher Sanchez (0-3, 3.06) will start against Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer (10-4, 4.80).

Here we are in another summer of drama for the Sixers. Another summer of watching the Celtics and Bucks upgrade their rosters. Another summer with a Sixers cornerstone player wanting out and the NBA universe paying close attention to the spectacle it is creating. Another summer with people wondering when Joel Embiid will say enough is enough and ask to be traded. It’s awfully familiar to the Ben Simmons saga. And just like then, Daryl Morey wants a king’s ransom if he’s going to trade one of his stars.

The Union may not have any league games scheduled against Lionel Messi in what remains of the MLS season, but they’ve got an Argentine player of their own worth watching. Julián Carranza doubled up Messi’s goal total in Leagues Cup action.

If longtime fans in Philly can’t go to Fulham, then Fulham (and Chelsea, Brighton, Brentford, etc) must come to Philadelphia. And those teams did!

Cheesesteak at the Cup: Are there cheesesteaks in Middle Earth? Well, sort of, since New Zealand, the country that played the part in the popular movies by native son Peter Jackson, has a spot our World Cup reporter, Jonathan Tannenwald, checked out.

Hidalgo’s a hit: On the world stage of basketball, Hannah Hidalgo stepped up and shone brightly.

He’s the coach now: Khalif Wyatt still wants players to think of him as a winner, but first, he wants them to make the switch to thinking of him as a basketball coach instead of a player.

In 1860, Olympics beat St. George, 25-17 at St. George’s Cricket Grounds, which is now around where the Temple University bell tower stands, in the first enclosed baseball game in history.

Being a long-time sports fan in Philly isn’t easy if you are expecting championships. Rather than being disappointed, I focus on the high points rather than the low ones. I appreciate the players whose accomplishments range from spectacular to superhuman. Philly is blessed with overachievers who are also Philly kind of players like Harper, Hurts and Maxey. Watching Joel Embiid brutalize his opponents creates moments of joy. It is a shame he follows his spectacular abilities with whiney protestations about whose fault it is he never reaches the pinnacle of a championship.

I appreciate the managers and coaches who make a team more than the sum of its parts. Topper and Sirianni qualify on that count. Sports, like life, aren’t day-to-day or even season-to season. They are a lifetime experience. My first Phillies game featured a rookie outfielder — Richie Ashburn and a kid who went to my high school a dozen years before I did — Del Ennis. I attended the Easter Sunday Phillies game in 1971 when rookie Mike Schmidt hit a 10th inning HR to beat Bob Gibson. Preview of coming attractions.

I’ve experienced the few highs — when the words “World Champion” were affixed to the rafters of the stadiums and arenas. I survived 1964 and Chico Ruiz. I survived Donovan McNabb’s case of the yips in his only Super Bowl appearance. Our teams are best when they are like Philly — gritty and hard working — like the city. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose and sometimes they are rained out. But I can’t think of a better set of teams to root for in 2023.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Keith Pompey, Meg Swanick, Sapna Bansil, Jonathan Tannenwald, Isabella DiAmore, James McClendon, Alex Coffey and Marcus Hayes.