⚾ October in April | Sports Daily Newsletter

The Phillies have beaten up on the Washington Nationals and Colorado Rockies, who are both 1-5 so far this season. It’s time to face some real competition. How does an 8-0 team sound?

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the closest thing we have these days to a super team. With a projected luxury-tax payroll of nearly $400 million, they spend whatever they need to augment their loaded roster. Fresh off a World Series title, they added Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, closers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, and Japanese ace Roki Sasaki this offseason.

“They’re the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Bryce Harper says. “You expect them to go out and do those things, just like the Yankees did in the ‘90s and 2000s. It’s just what kind of team they are. ... But there’s some really good teams in baseball. There’s a lot of sneaky teams as well that nobody talks about.”

At 5-1, maybe the Phillies are one of those sneaky teams. It’s early spring, but it could be a preview of the fall when Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers open a three-game series with the Phillies tonight.

— Jim Swan @phillysport, [email protected].

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Tom Hoover was the original ‘Nova Knick, but there is a lot more to his life story. He played with Villanova and the New York Knicks in the 1960s, which opened doors to other opportunities. Hoover became Wilt Chamberlain’s friend. He was Richard Pryor’s tour manager. And he was looking in on Joe Frazier’s corner during the Fight of the Century against Muhammad Ali. “I’ve lived many lives,” says Hoover, 84. Matt Breen tells his tale.

Taijuan Walker’s mother, Nellie Garcia, cried last year hearing her son get booed.

Boos from the Citizens Bank Park crowd had been the soundtrack to Walker’s prolonged struggles in 2024. He was even booed this year in spring training after getting hit hard in his final two starts, and again when he was introduced in the Phillies’ lineup before Monday’s home opener. On Thursday, Garcia cried again. This time, they were happy tears.

Edmundo Sosa is batting .600, but with Trea Turner back healthy, keeping him in the lineup gets trickier. Says manager Rob Thomson: “I’m gonna call MLB and see if we can play 10.”

Next: The Phillies welcome the Dodgers to the Bank for the start of a three-game series at 6:45 tonight (Apple TV+). Jesús Luzardo (1-0, 3.60 ERA) is scheduled to start against Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0, 2.70).

The 76ers shut down Tyrese Maxey on Wednesday. Or did they? While reports indicate that the 2024 All-Star is set to sit out of his team’s remaining six games, the Sixers were mum on the topic when asked.

“Our medical [staff] just told me he’s out for tonight,” coach Nick Nurse said when asked if a thumb injury had ended Maxey’s season. When asked whether the ESPN report — and confirmation from Maxey’s agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports — was inaccurate, Nurse was equally cagey. “I don’t know. I’m just telling you what they told me: that’s he’s out for this evening.” Well, the rest of this dreadful season will tell.

While Maxey didn’t play Thursday, big man Adem Bona did. The rookie poured in a career-high 28 points against the Milwaukee Bucks but it wasn’t enough. The 126-113 defeat was the Sixers’ 10th-straight defeat and keeps the club in the driver’s seat for a top-5 draft pick.

DeVonta Smith scored a 46-yard touchdown on a pass from Jalen Hurts to all but finish off the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX and Jimmy King captured the moment in his own unique way.

Using Lego figures and stop-motion camera work with his phone, the Center City resident created a viral video of the moment. The 33-second video took him 25 hours to create.

Want to be included in our weekly feature? Submit photos with a Philly sports theme here for the opportunity to be featured.

We asked you: What do you think Joel Embiid’s next move should be? Among your responses:

Hopefully, the 76ers can work out a buyout and he can go away and I never hear his name again. — Bill M.

I don’t expect anything positive from Joel Embiid. He has only given us one high-effort year out of the last 10 in his pro career, while collecting ridiculous money. It was apparent in his 2022-23 MVP year that he came to start the season in good shape. He had improved in all aspects of his game by focusing on improvement in skills and conditioning in that one prior offseason. ... He never worked hard in seasons before that, and he hasn’t pushed himself since. ...

Why should any of us expect anything different now, when he can collect the rest of his ill-advised contract that gives him the option to continue getting paid for four more years, and $299.5 million total. For a guy who has little motivation, he now has none. — John W.

The Process has reached its last chapter! Get rid of George and Morey too and start over, building around Maxey, McCain, Oubre, Bona ... — Charlie F.

Please, haven’t we had enough of this project. You’re not going to increase his speed, lateral movements, and his persistent out of shape, endurance levels to come close to Celtics mentality. If you don’t have speed, quick threes, you’re not going to win. The slow game is not professional basketball. Just look up in the standings and match if you can the Cavs and Celtics philosophy. It’s time to end this nonstop train to oblivion. Lastly, while you’re changing your thinking, replace the GM with a sound thinking guy that can build a winner. — Dick F.

Joel should get the surgery, then retire, and move back to Cameroon where he can develop their Olympic team and also become the Cameroon ambassador to the United States. — Everett S.

Tiring. Write him off. Alternative is to repair the damages. Bandage him up. Haul him to a Kryptonite-free warehouse over in Jersey and place him in a Recovery Room next to Kate Smith’s statue. Leave him there till his body mends sufficiently, in both knee and mind. When able, carefully scrimmage him with Camden High’s Purple and Gold Panthers. Given the past physical misfortunes of Embiid, we can expect he’ll be ready in a couple of more years. — John B.

The next knee surgery will never enough to encourage Embiid to actually want to play. He will continue to find ways to avoid playing and collect the absurd salary the Sixers are forced to pay him. — Ronald K.

He should take a buyout and retire. — Joe R.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Lochlahn March, Matt Breen, Gina Mizell, Keith Pompey, Gabriela Carroll, Jeff Neiburg, and Jonathan Tannenwald.

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.

Thank you for reading. That finishes off another week of Sports Daily. I’ll see you in Monday’s newsletter. — Jim