The real ‘Invincible’ story | Sports Daily Newsletter

We all know the Vince Papale story, the truly Philly tale of a former track athlete at St. Joseph’s who tried out for Dick Vermeil’s Eagles in 1976 and actually made it.

The story got the Hollywood treatment: In the 2006 movie Invincible, Papale provides inspiration, making the cut without a lick of college or pro football experience. Except it didn’t really play out that way.

Before that Eagles tryout, Papale made his pro football debut 50 years ago with a World Football League team that wildly inflated its attendance numbers at the cavernous JFK Stadium. Papale recalls the “glory” days of the long-gone Philadelphia Bell.

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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John Kruk returned over the weekend to Camden Yards to broadcast the Phillies’ series with the Orioles. Kruk retired on that field — in the middle of a game — in 1995, after his good friend Ozzie Guillén had persuaded him to join the Chicago White Sox. Kruk recalls his farewell and his close friendship with Guillén, which began in the minor leagues.

The heat wave in the forecast has not quite hit us yet, but Rob Thomson was plenty hot on Sunday in Baltimore. Thomson lost his cool after some questionable calls from umpire Mike Estabrook and got ejected from a loss to the Orioles. The Phillies finished a tiring trip from London to Boston to Baltimore with a 3-5 record.

Trea Turner has been on the injured list with a hamstring strain since May 4, but the Phillies expect to activate him today.

Next: The Phillies open a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres tonight at 6:40 (NBCSP).

The Union (4-5-8) are on a four-game winless streak, and a shocking seven-game winless streak at home halfway through the season. After a 2-1 loss to Inter Miami on Saturday, Kai Wagner called on the team’s ownership to spend more money to help the team win.

“I think we should see now that we have to invest in the team,” Wagner told a group of reporters. “We need players who can help us.”

Next: The Union visit Cincinnati at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday (Apple TV, FS1).

Everyone noticed when Joel Embiid and Paul George appeared together on NBA Countdown. Could it mean that the possible free agent is giving the Sixers a glimmer of hope? Many Sixers followers will note George’s downside (age, injury history), but David Murphy has decided that the team’s possible signing of George actually might make sense. Have you looked at Plan B?

June 17, 2008: Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett each scored 26 points as Doc Rivers’ Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 131-92, to win the NBA Finals in six games.

Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni sounded like they were on separate pages when asked about how much of the Eagles offense will be new heading into this season. What’s really happening? In Episode 8 of unCovering the Birds, Inquirer beat reporter Jeff McLane dives into this question and other important subplots heard about and observed during spring workouts. Learn more about the Eagles’ new coordinators, emerging leaders, and key position battles as training camp looms around the corner. Listen here.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Keith Pompey, Dave Caldwell, Jeff McLane, Alex Coffey, David Murphy, Jackie Spiegel, Jonathan Tannenwald, Ben Istvan, Kerith Gabriel, and Devin Jackson.

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.

It’s kind of refreshing to see Rob Thomson melt down, isn’t it? That’s easy to say when you’re not the one blowing a gasket. Thanks for reading. See you on Tuesday. — Jim