The best Philly sports stories of the week
From fixing the Phillies to saving St. Joe's and even playing Sixers GM, here's a look at some of the best we had to offer last week.
Welcome to Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start to summer. And while this time of year is typically slower period on the sports calendar, the news never seems to stop around these parts.
That’s because, despite the Phillies and Union currently being the only shows in town, we’re quickly coming up on the NBA draft, followed by the NHL draft, the MLB draft and eventually baseball’s trade deadline. Like we said, no rest for the weary.
But that’s just fine — even if you’re one of the people who already got a jump start on the holiday weekend and headed to the shore early — because we’ve got you covered with a roundup of some of our best coverage from the week that you might’ve missed. Let’s dive right in with one of our favorites, a column from Mike Jensen on Hawk Hill’s rapid decline.
Take it away, Mike...
As Mark Reed, president of St. Joseph’s University, leaves for a similar post in Chicago leading Loyola University, it will take years to judge his tenure on Hawk Hill. The school’s merger with the University of Sciences may top that eventual judgment determination … again, it could take years.
One important aspect of Reed’s time can be judged right now. When it comes to men’s basketball, Reed’s leadership gets an F.
Maybe an F-plus, or a D-minus? Nope. Straight F. Not just for how it all played out under his watch. How Reed handled it himself. Straight F. — Mike Jensen
You can read the rest of Mike Jensen’s column, here.
What you need to know
These are some of the most important stories from the past week or so that you might’ve missed.
Columnist David Murphy opined about the Phillies’ current situation — it’s bad — and whether firing Joe Girardi would actually fix anything.
Ray Didinger is calling it a career, and Matt Breen caught up with the Philly sports legend to discuss his amazing 53-year career.
Unlike Didinger, the Flyers’ public address announcer has no plans on retiring any time soon as he wraps up his 50th season with the organization.
Sixers writers Keith Pompey and Gina Mizell went through each player on the Sixers roster — plus the coach — and voted on whether or not they should be back next season. Check out what they had to say and cast your own vote in our latest Stay or Go.
As is happening more frequently, sports seemed less important this week in the wake of the Uvalde massacre. While some players, coaches, teams and leagues did more than others, Marcus Hayes doesn’t think they went far enough. And, if you’ve been paying attention, that’s not surprising.
As Mike Sielski wrote last week, the Flyers’ Stanley Cup drought doesn’t appear like it will be ending any time soon. If they want to at least begin to turn their fortunes around, according to Giana Han (and Flyers fans everywhere), they need to sign South Jersey native Johnny Gaudreau.
Former homegrown Union star Brendan Aaronson — a Medford native — is headed to the Premier League after signing with Leeds United on a $30-million transfer from Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg, including $5 million going back to the Union.
We took a look back on the 40th anniversary of the time Celtics fans and Sixers fans actually agreed on something: their hatred for L.A. That’s right, it’s been four decades since the berth of the now-famous “Beat L.A.” chant.
And finally, we take a look at how Temple was able to get a jumpstart on college’s new NIL rules — and how that’s already paying dividends.
Worth the time
Before you head out for the holiday weekend, we’ve got one more for you. And while this one might be a little long, it’s definitely worth your time.
Today, our longread comes from Phillies scribe Scott Lauber, who takes a look at why some of the Phillies minor-leaguers are getting fed up with the organization over their team-provided housing. According to Lauber, the Phillies are believed to be the only team in Major League Baseball that did not provide apartment housing to their players at each of their affiliates.
“This is typical Phillies [crap],” said one player spoke to Lauber. “Even the [Oakland] Athletics are giving their players apartments, and that’s one of the cheapest owners in baseball. If you’re going to be a $2 billion company, at least treat your employees better.”
This is not a good look for the Phillies, who technically aren’t violating MLB policy since it allows for organizations to provide hotel rooms “to the extent apartments, rental homes, or host families are not feasible.” But since they’re the only team utilizing this loophole, some players are beginning to wonder how hard the Phillies actually tried.
Be sure to check out the rest of Scott’s story, here.
And then go enjoy the rest of the weekend!
