Go bananas! | Sports Daily Newsletter

Good morning, readers, happy Friday.

This weekend, with the Phillies out of town at Yankee Stadium, the Savannah Bananas will play Saturday and Sunday at a sold-out Citizens Bank Park.

And for one of the Banana Ball members, the moment is pretty special. Delco’s Joe Sperone will be playing in the ballpark he grew up going to as a kid.

Last year, Sperone was working at a mortgage brokerage in Conshohocken and thought his baseball career was over. But then he received a call from the Savannah Bananas, the viral sensation often described as baseball’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters.

They wanted him, so Sperone quit his job at Freedom Mortgage and found himself in Texas with the Tailgaters, one of the three teams who play against the Bananas. Suddenly, Sperone, who pitched at Cardinal O’Hara and West Chester, was surrounded by more than 40,000 screaming fans in a major-league ballpark.

Sperone aspired to play professional baseball, and more so, wanted his dad to see him get there. John Sperone, who was diagnosed with Stage Four cancer in 2024, kept pushing his son to chase his dream.

It may look different, but Joe Sperone is still playing, and on Saturday night, John will be in the stands at Citizens Bank Park with his wife and a hundred family and friends to watch.

“This is why I did it,” Joe Sperone said. “This is why I wanted to do this. For them to see me live out my dream.”

— Isabella DiAmore, @phillysport, [email protected].

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On Wednesday, Jesús Luzardo went from a no-hit bid in the fifth inning to issuing four walks to force in two runs, capped off by serving up a grand slam to Boston’s Romy González. At times this season, the left-handed pitcher has looked like two different pitchers. He knows what’s happening to cause his struggles, but Luzardo doesn’t know why.

And in cased you missed it, Matt Breen shared an intriguing story about Dick Allen’s daughter, who was murdered in 1991. Terri Allen “was the kind of person that you didn’t forget” and would have loved to see her father’s Hall of Fame induction.

Allen’s hometown of Wampum, Pa., will also be celebrating its Hall of Fame hero. His friends have now hung a banner over Main Street and an artist is finishing a mural of Allen.

Cooper DeJean has found himself on the field playing the same position as friend and podcasting partner Reed Blankenship early in training camp. Vic Fangio and the Eagles are trying DeJean at safety in their base defense package. The goal is to have DeJean on the field as much as possible, so the second-year defensive back, who primarily played nickel last season, is OK with learning a new position. Camp just started, and we’ll see plenty of moving parts in the upcoming weeks.

As for Jordan Davis, he entered camp with the mindset of wanting to do more this season and spent the offseason transforming his body. The Eagles asked the defensive tackle to come to camp weighing between 330-339 pounds. Davis said he shed 26 pounds to reach 330. His improved health also has him feeling “more comfortable.”

Here’s other takeaways and notes from the Eagles’ second day of training camp as Jeff McLane breaks down his practice observations.

Kahleah Copper, a North Philly native, is in the midst of a Phoenix Mercury season she acknowledged has personally been “kind of a lot for me.” Copper is still working her way back from multiple injuries, first a left knee surgery that kept her sidelined for about a month and then a recent hamstring setback. As a result, she’s leaned into leadership and contributing to the team off the court. “How can I still make an impact on my teammates, on the organization, and what we’ve built as a culture?” Copper told The Inquirer Tuesday. “Just understanding that it’s not about me.”

Carter Hart breathed a deep sigh of relief on Thursday, as a judge found the former Flyers goaltender, and four of his Canadian World Junior teammates, not guilty in connection with a 2018 sexual assault.

Hart was one of five pro hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ontario hotel room after a Hockey Canada banquet in 2018.

“It is both gratifying and unsurprising to hear an impartial and fully informed decision-maker accept Mr. Hart’s testimony about what happened … as unshaken, credible, and true,” his lawyer, Megan Savard said afterward.

With Hart cleared of criminal charges, attention will turn to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who could still levy penalties or suspensions on the five players involved.

We asked: Which sport are you most excited to see the return of? Among your responses:

Most excited about the NFL and particularly the Eagles. They have a tough schedule, but I’m hopeful. GO BIRDS !!!! — Tom G.

Been a Penn State fan since Lenny Moore and an Eagles fan since. Steve Van Buren so will be very happy to see both teams back in action. — Everett S.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Jeff Neiburg, Matt Breen, Jeff McLane, Lochlahn March, Olivia Reiner, Alex Coffey, Sidney Snider, Gina Mizell, Gustav Elvin, and Ethan Kopelman.

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.

Thanks for reading. Hope you have a nice weekend, Philly. I’ll be back in your inbox on Monday. — Bella