🏒 Ice time | Sports Daily Newsletter

The dust has settled on the 2025 NBA draft, but draft week rolls on with the NHL’s entry draft kicking off tonight (7 p.m., ESPN).

The Flyers are hoping for a spark, and judging by the deep dives done this week by our Flyers team, there are a ton of options to consider. Inquirer writer Jackie Spiegel has spent the last two weeks, if not more, analyzing the best picks in the draft, speaking to a few of them, and, ahead of tonight, even answering a few of your questions.

It’ll be interesting to see who the Orange and Black select tonight, but personally, I’m excited for Tuesday, the start of the NHL free agency period, which always makes for a fun time.

Speaking of fun, round two of the NBA draft saw the Sixers take Auburn center Johni Broome with the 35th pick. And shoutout to St. Joe’s guard Rasheer Fleming, who the Phoenix Suns traded up to get with the 31st pick. 👏🏾

— Kerith Gabriel, @phillysport, [email protected].

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Meet Johni Broome, the newest Sixers addition after being selected with the 35th pick in last night’s NBA draft. The 6-foot-10, 235-pound power forward also doubles as center. He averaged 18.6 points and 10.8 rebounds this past season for Auburn.

Time will tell where he fits, but despite a perceived lack of athleticism, it’s believed Broome is a bit of a security blanket should the Sixers have a difficult time resigning Guerschon Yabusele in free agency.

Here’s more to know about Broome.

The Phillies head to Atlanta for a weekend series against the Braves, reeling from their three-game sweep by the Astros. How much worse can a sweep get? Try one run in 27 innings. And three straight strong starts wasted. This time, it was Cristopher Sanchez, who struck out 11 and allowed one run in six innings.

But a Brandon Marsh sacrifice fly in the eighth inning — their first run in 26 innings — was all the offense the Phillies could muster. Said Trea Turner: “I think it’s a little bit trying to do too much, but we also just got to be better.” They’ll get another chance tonight in Atlanta.

All of this has manager Rob Thomson eager to get back to basics as the Phillies have officially reached the midpoint of the season.

Next: The Phillies open a series in Atlanta at 7:15 tonight (NBCSP). Mick Abel (2-1, 3.47) will start for the Phillies. The Braves have not yet announced their starter.

If there’s one person who deserves kudos today, it’s Mantua, N.J., native John DiSanto. DiSanto has made it a mission to revive, literally, Philly’s rich boxing history by searching out the unmarked graves of former fighters and etching their memories in stone.

His boxing website — PhillyBoxingHistory.com — chronicles the city’s fight scene from the 1920s to the present day. But much of his free time is spent raising funds to give a fresh face to fighters of the past.

“Most of these guys have been gone for a long time,” DiSanto said. “I didn’t know most of them, I never met them, I’ve never seen them fight live. It’s not often that you can do something to acknowledge them and do something positive in their memory. It’s an opportunity to bring their name back up and have people hear about them and read about them.”

Inquirer writer Matt Breen has more on DiSanto’s remarkable story — and how you can help.

The noise met the hype from the moment Real Madrid’s players started their pregame warmups at Lincoln Financial Field. And once the game began, it also lived up to expectations as Brazilian superstar Vinícius Júnior scored the first goal and led Madrid to a 3-0 rout of Red Bull Salzburg before 64,000 fans on Thursday night.

July 27, 2019: In a night game against the Braves, the Phillies revived their all-burgundy “Saturday Night Special” alternate uniforms made popular in 1979 during a throwback promotion at Citizens Bank Park.

Here’s a place to access your favorite Philadelphia teams’ statistics, schedules, and standings in real time.

DIME LOBEJI

There’s a strong belief inside the front office that employs this Philly athlete that they’re “on track” to return in time for training camp. Think you know who? Take a guess and then click here to see if you’re correct.

We asked: How do you think Sixers first-round draft pick VJ Edgecombe will fit in with the Sixers?

It is hard to see how Edgecombe will fit with the already guard-heavy 76ers roster. Two veterans are still there in Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon. Edgecombe will be contending for playing time with Maxey, Grimes, and McCain, who all showed good promise last year. The Sixers should consider a three-guard offense, something that other NBA teams employ at times. It would be more interesting than the offense built around Embiid. They must count on the guard contingent to lead them back to the playoffs. It is foolish to count on Embiid or even Paul George to get them back to the postseason. Having a dominant center is no longer a sure way to win in the NBA. Just ask the Thunder and the Pacers. — John W.

If VJ is the type of player that will always be hurt, resulting in his playing in only about 50% of the games and loves sitting on the bench watching games in street clothes, he’ll fit right in. — Bob A.

I hope he does; maybe he can become a physical therapist in his spare time, since all the 76ers are always hurt — Bill M.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Matt Breen, Gina Mizell, Lochlahn March, Gabriela Carroll, Keith Pompey, Jonathan Tannenwald, Owen Hewitt, Isabella DiAmore, Gus Elvin, and Jackie Spiegel.

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.

That’s all for today. Jim will be back in your inbox on Monday to get you ready for the week. Enjoy the weekend, Philly. — Kerith