The G.O.A.T. and the Beard | Sports Daily Newsletter
Two superstars, two vibes.
Arguably the greatest fútbol player of all time will play in the Philadelphia area tonight. And one of the NBA’s top 75 players of all time never wants to play for a Philadelphia team again.
Leave it to James Harden to steal some of Lionel Messi’s buzz — and to do so from China no less. Amid soaring ticket prices, the Argentine great and Inter Miami will visit Subaru Park for a Leagues Cup semifinal against the Union at 7 p.m. and there is more on that below.
Harden, meanwhile, is on a tour of China, where he fired a long-distance salvo at the 76ers in a battle that will get really interesting once the team opens camp on Oct. 3.
Word broke Saturday that the Daryl Morey and the Sixers have ended trade talks involving Harden and plan to bring him back for the start of the season. Not so fast, says Harden, who told the Sixers on June 29 that he wanted to be traded, preferably to the Clippers.
By now, you’ve probably seen the YouTube video that surfaced Monday, on which Harden says: “Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”
Well then. Those are fightin’ words, but remember that it’s still the summertime and there is plenty of time for this situation to fester into something even worse than the Ben Simmons debacle.
But we stay positive around here. The real drama will unfold tonight when the G.O.A.T. visits Chester.
— Jim Swan, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
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❓ What would you do now with James Harden if you were Daryl Morey? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.
The Messi Momentum will roll into a packed Subaru Park, and although the Union are saying all the right, respectful things, there’s little chance they’ll be intimidated tonight.
“He’s a world-class player and I’ve learned a lot from playing with him,” said Union goalkeeper Andre Blake. “I’ve gathered some experience that hopefully I can use [Tuesday] to my advantage.”
Said manager Jim Curtin: “Once the whistle blows, our guys are going to give it their best. And I know we won’t be scared, we’ll be brave, and in this building, I’ll just say, anything can happen.”
The Union are slight underdogs at home.
Next: It’s the Union vs. Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup semifinals. (7 p.m., Apple TV, paywalled).
The Eagles give more weight to their joint practice sessions than they do preseason games, where starters didn’t even appear in the opener Saturday at Baltimore. They were on the field in Monday’s session with the Cleveland Browns, and the Eagles defense did well in pressuring quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Defensive end Josh Sweat is coming off a career year and feeling good heading into Year 6 about taking on a veteran role, and he registered sacks on Watson.
Safety Reed Blankenship is looking like a starter and also picked off Watson and provided good coverage.
Beat writer Jeff McLane has watched Eagles practices for years, so it’s no surprise that he told Jordan Mailata a certain player was no joke, and Mailata agreed.
A documentary on Eagles center Jason Kelce will premiere Sept. 12 on Prime Video.
Jalen Hurts has landed a major endorsement deal with Jordan Brand.
Next: The Eagles’ second joint practice with the Browns will start today at 5 p.m. The Eagles then host the Browns in their second preseason game, Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (NBC10)
Johan Rojas was among the first cuts of spring training by the Phillies, who sent the speedy center fielder back to minor league camp just a few weeks in. But the Phillies calculated that he would benefit more from working with the minor league hitting coaches. What followed was a plan to transform his swing, always a work in progress relative to his elite defense. And while nobody knew it then, it turned Rojas into a key contributor for the Phillies down the stretch.
Next: The Phillies open a two-game series in Toronto at 7:07 p.m. Tuesday (NBCSP). Zack Wheeler (9-5, 3.74 ERA) will start against Blue Jays left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (9-4, 3.53).
Ivan Fedotov has finally been cleared to join the Flyers. The International Ice Hockey Federation ruled Monday that the Russian goalie has a valid contract with the team, and that the contract he signed with CSKA Moscow earlier this summer was invalid.
With a glut of goalies under contract, it remains to be seen whether the Flyers will loan Fedotov to CSKA or bring him over to North America.
Worth a look
TV gig: Doc Rivers officially joins ESPN as an NBA analyst.
Youth movement: Freshman receivers Xavier Irvin and Richard Dandridge are impressing the coaches at Temple.
Veteran stability: With 27 returning seniors, Penn’s football team is picked to finish third in the Ivy.
Williamsport-bound: Media’s first game in the Little League World Series is Wednesday.
🧠 Trivia time 🧠
Joel Embiid has led the NBA in scoring the last two seasons. Who was the last Sixer to win the scoring title? No Googling! First with the correct answer here will be featured in the newsletter.
A) Jerry Stackhouse
B) Allen Iverson
C) Julius Erving
D) Charles Barkley
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Keith Pompey, Gustav Elvin, Kerith Gabriel, Scott Lauber, Jonathan Tannenwald, Jeff McLane, Josh Tolentino, EJ Smith, Lochlahn March, and Isabella DiAmore.