Thursday, April 3, 2025
Sixers' elder statesman Lowry finds joy in late-season return
Sixers' elder statesman Lowry finds joy in late-season return originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
As he began to describe why he returned to the court at the tail end of a dreadful, injury-stuffed Sixers season, Kyle Lowry could’ve been any age.
“It’s always fun to play basketball,” he said.
That’s still true at 39 years old with a team piling up late-season losses (and boosting its NBA draft lottery outlook). So Lowry, who’d been sidelined since Feb. 9 with a nagging right hip injury, played Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
“Listen, we’re privileged and we’re honored to play the game of basketball,” he said in the visiting locker room after the Sixers’ 105-91 defeat to the Knicks. “I love this game at the highest level. It’s provided for me and my family, my friends with everything that I could ask for.
“I wanted to try to go out there and play, and just have fun. You don’t know how long this game is going to last for each individual, so just go out there and enjoy the process. Just enjoy being out there and in the game.”
Lowry logged 16 minutes and only attempted one shot. His corner three-point attempt early in the fourth quarter popped in the hoop and then spun out.
The night did feature a few Lowry staples, though. He shared his two cents with teammates at every stoppage; grabbed a sneaky steal from OG Anunoby; craftily drew a whistle against Josh Hart and then immediately wondered why it wasn’t a shooting foul.
“You could see him directing a lot of traffic out on the floor,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said.
Of course, Lowry was also vocal during his months on the bench as a quasi-assistant coach.
“Kyle’s one of those guys where if you’re going to go out there, play hard and play the right way, he’s probably going to try to help you,” Nurse said. “But if you’re not, he’s probably not. That is leadership, right? That’s part of who he is and how to lead people.”
The generational gap between Lowry and the nine other available Sixers was striking.
Rookie wing Justin Edwards was 2 years old when Lowry made his NBA debut. Lonnie Walker IV, 26, was the second-oldest active Sixer.
“It was great,” Walker said. “I took a tough layup and he told me just about being aware — passing the rock, making the right decisions. He’s a leader, he’s a vet and I think for the most part, even if you don’t want to hear it, it’s best to listen because he knows the game. He’s been playing for 19 years. The respect, it wasn’t given, it was earned. He’s been a hell of a player, an All-Star player. You name it, he’s done it all.
“To have a player like that on this team and to be able to listen to him and grow, see what you can get better at, it’s a very grateful moment.”
On Lowry’s end, he was glad to dish out on-court feedback again.
“My job is to help these guys get a little bit better, get some more experience,” he said. “But it’s just fun to play basketball. It’s just fun to have some new faces and new thoughts. It makes my brain work a little harder to try to figure out what these guys have to do and what I can help them get better at.”
There’s six games left for the 23-53 Sixers. It’s clear Lowry hopes his hip stays healthy enough to play them.
And after that?
“We’ll get there when it gets there,” he said with a smile.
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Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Jeff Lurie: Brandon Graham will have a job with Eagles ‘forever'
Jeff Lurie: Brandon Graham will have a job with Eagles ‘forever' originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
When he announced his retirement two weeks ago, Brandon Graham made it clear he hoped to find some sort of non-playing role with the Eagles.
“I want to sit down and talk to Mr. (Jeff) Lurie, have some dinner with him and so we’re going to do that and figure out what I could do to be a part of what’s going on,” he said. “Because I feel like we’ve got some good stuff brewing right now and I want to make sure that I can be a help in whatever it is that I do.”
B.G. and Lurie didn’t even need to have that dinner.
Lurie said Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., that Graham will be a part of the franchise “forever.”
Although Lurie didn’t share any specifics, he made it clear that B.G.’s days with the Eagles aren’t over just because his playing career is over.
“Thank you for bringing up B.G. because I would have been remiss not to,” he said when asked about Graham.
“So last year, we said goodbye temporarily to Jason Kelce and Fletch(er Cox), two incredible, incredible Eagles.
“B.G., he embodies everything that one can be proud of as a Philadelphia Eagle, as do the others. Outstanding person, outstanding career. Very, very special person and player.
“B.G. and I, we’ve always talked about him being part of everything that we’re doing forever. We haven’t had that dinner yet, but you know, B.G. will be a welcome addition and part of our family forever and (I) look forward to it.”
Lurie didn’t specify any particular role for Graham. Former Eagles have assumed a variety of roles over the years. Connor Barwin has been in the front office since 2020 and is currently head of football development and strategy. Darren Sproles and Brent Celek were hired in 2020 as personnel consultants.
But Graham said when he retired last month that he’d like to fill a variety of roles as he begins his post-playing career.
“I want to be creative,” said Graham, who turns 37 on Thursday. “It doesn’t have to all be in one basket, but just kind of move around.”
Graham, the Eagles’ 1st-round pick in 2010, retired after playing a franchise-record 15 seasons in an Eagles uniform and a franchise-record 218 games.
Along with Lane Johnson, Jake Elliott and Rick Lovato, he’s one of only four players in franchise history to win two Super Bowls.
“I don’t want to just leave the game cold turkey,” he said. “Because I love it.”
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/vJGqxaC
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie fires back at Tush Push detractors
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie fires back at Tush Push detractors originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
PALM BEACH, Fla. — After a few days of debate about the fate of the Tush Push, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie weighed in to close out the 2025 NFL owners meetings on Tuesday afternoon.
And, no, he definitely doesn’t think the play should be banned.
“It’s ironic that people would bring up health and safety,” Lurie said on Tuesday. “We’re at the top of the game in terms of wanting health and safety on every play. We voted for hip-drop tackle and defenseless receiver. We will always, always support what is safer for the players. It’s a no-brainer.
“If this is proven to be less safe for the players, we will be against the Tush Push. But until that’s the case, to me, there’d be no reason to ban this play.”
Entering this week’s annual NFL meetings, the Green Bay Packers had proposed a rule change that would ban the push element of the Eagles’ signature play. But that debate was tabled on Tuesday and will likely be discussed again at the next league meetings in May after some rewriting of the proposal.
While the proposal was tabled before an official vote, reports indicate that support was split right down the middle 16-16 out of 32 owners. In order for any rule proposal to pass, 24 votes are required.
So will tabling the debate and fine-tuning the wording of the proposal gain an extra eight votes? It seems possible. But the Eagles aren’t going down without a fight and Lurie on Tuesday publicly made his case for keeping the play legal.
The NFL has previously said there were zero injuries on the play in 2024 league-wide but this week, the word “proactive” has been thrown around in regard to preventing future injuries.
“We’ve been very open to whatever data exists on the Tush Push and there’s just been no data that shows that it isn’t a very, very safe play,” Lurie said. “If it weren’t, we wouldn’t be pushing the Tush Push.
“But I think, first of all, it’s a precision play. It’s very practiced. We devote a lot of resources to the Tush Push. We think we have an unusual use of personnel because we have a quarterback (Jalen Hurts) that can squat over 600 pounds and an offensive line that’s filled with All-Pro players. That combination with incredible, detailed coaching with Coach (Jeff) Stoutland, has created a play we can be very successful at. There’s other ways of gaining that half yard, that yard. There’s quarterback sneaks, other types, but we’ve been very, very good at it.”
Lurie on Tuesday actually argued that the Tush Push version of the quarterback sneak is safer than the traditional version of the play. His point was that quarterbacks on a traditional sneak are less protected by the players around them.
While the Packers cited player safety in their initial proposal, Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay on Tuesday divulged that there were other reasons teams want the play banned, specifically aesthetics. That came up during the 30-40 minutes of debate this week.
Even though this rule change proposal entered the week under the guise of player safety, several teams basically argued that the Tush Push doesn’t look like a traditional football play.
“You know what?” Lurie said. “I remember reading about the forward pass and they said it really was an odd play that is no part of American football. It was controversial when the forward pass came out. I think aestheticism is very subjective. I’ve never judged whether a play looks, OK. Does a screen pass look better than an in-route or an out-route? I don’t know. To me, it’s not a very relevant critique that it doesn’t look right or something like that. I don’t know what looks right. Scoring. We like to win and score.”
The Eagles spent the week at The Breakers fighting for a play that they have been able to perfect, unlike most of the other teams who have tried it. They’ll likely continue to battle for it going into the meetings in May.
Although it seems possible all these efforts might be in vain if the league wants to return to pre-2004 rules, which prohibited pushing or pulling on all plays.
“I don’t ever remember a play being banned because a single team or a few teams were running it effectively,” Lurie said. “It’s part of what I think I personally, and I think most of us love about football, is it’s a chess match. Let the chess match play out.
“And if for any reason it does get banned, we will try to be the very best at short yardage situations. We’ve got a lot of ideas there, but I think it’s a credit to using our personnel in a way. There aren’t that many teams that have 600-pound squat quarterbacks and that offensive line. Listen, if there were any injury concern, I would be concerned.”
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/6BAYEv8
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Where do Eagles stand with Dallas Goedert ahead of 2025 season?
Where do Eagles stand with Dallas Goedert ahead of 2025 season? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
PALM BEACH, Fla. — We’re well into the 2025 offseason and it’s still unclear if tight end Dallas Goedert is going to be with the Eagles this season.
At the NFL’s annual meetings, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was asked for an update on the Goedert situation and he didn’t really have one. But he was notably non-committal about Goedert’s future.
“There’s no update,” Roseman said. “Obviously, Dallas has been a tremendous player and person for us. We have a tremendous respect for him in both those regards as a player and a person. The opportunities that we got into free agency with Harrison Bryant and (Kylen) Granson were just opportunities we felt were good for our football team. And certainly Dallas is a unique player. Really, that’s kind of where we stand on that.”
OK, so where exactly do the Eagles stand with Goedert?
Here’s what we know: Earlier this offseason, several reports surfaced that Goedert’s name has been on the trade block. That has since been confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia by multiple league sources. This is an offseason in which the Eagles have already made several tough decisions with their eyes on long-term roster-building; trading Goedert would be yet another tough one to make.
I know what you’re asking: Why would the Eagles trade a productive player like Goedert?
Well, Goedert is 30 now and even though he has been a huge piece of the Eagles’ offense, he has struggled to stay healthy, missing significant time in recent seasons. He was productive again in 2024, including the playoffs, but played just 10 games in the regular season.
And, as always, follow the money. As it stands, Goedert’s contract isn’t ideal for either side and that makes it feel like some sort of solution will need to be reached at some point before the 2025 season starts.
Goedert is entering the final year of his deal, which has run out of guaranteed money — not good for Goedert. Meanwhile, he’s set to get paid over $15 million in 2025, including an option bonus of $13.995 million, a base salary of $1.255 million and a workout bonus of $250,000. Not good for the Eagles.
If you’ve been paying attention to the Eagles’ offseason, paying an aging player over $15 million doesn’t exactly jibe with the rest of their moves. If Goedert returns to the Eagles this season, he would likely need to agree to some sort of pay cut and there we likely have the impasse.
While Goedert is owed over $15 million, his cap hit in 2025 is just over $11.8 million. With this current deal, if he gets traded before June 1, his cap hit would balloon to over $21 million in dead money, according to OverTheCap. If he gets traded after June 1, the Eagles would actually save around $4 million in cap space.
If nothing else, testing the trade market with Goedert should give both sides a better understanding of his value to the rest of the league.
The other significant problem is that the Eagles don’t really have a perfect replacement for Goedert in-house. They still have former sixth-round pick Grant Calcaterra, who filled in admirably when Goedert missed time in 2024. But Calcaterra isn’t the same type of dual-threat that Goedert is. The Eagles also signed Bryant and Granson as free agents. They have differing skills but neither are the caliber of player Goedert has been in his career.
Then there’s the draft later this month. This is considered to be a strong crop of tight ends and the Eagles could find Goedert’s successor in an early round.
Until then, though, we wait. With months to go before the start of the 2025 season, there doesn’t seem to be any hard deadline in place for a resolution.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/y5m8XAu
Sporticast 436: Breaking Down the NBA’s Europe Expansion Plans
On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams are joined by Richard Gillis, host of the Unofficial Partner podcast, to talk about big news in both the NBA and European sports. The NBA is looking into launching its own league in Europe, one that would blend aspects of major American leagues and also incorporate parts of the European sports culture.
The NBA has been exploring a more comprehensive European strategy for more than a year, including options that included working with the establish EuroLeague, or working in competition with it. The current plan is a hybrid of sorts–one with a set number of permanent new franchises, and slots for EuroLeague teams to qualify into on a yearly basis. Owners discussed the plans at owners meeting in New York City last week, and commissioner Adam Silver spoke publicly about the discussions on Thursday.
The plan would be for the NBA to own about half of the league, with franchise owners holding the rest of the equity. Silver made it clear last week that NBA owners would not own the European clubs themselves, they would be sold to outside groups.
The hosts talk about the cultural differences between U.S. sports and European sports. They include salary caps, regional history and profit motives. Will European fans support this? Who might want to own clubs? And what are the potential hurdles?
They also talk about the various successes and struggles that U.S. leagues have had in their overseas pursuits. The NBA is at an advantage relative to many of its peers because of the sheer popularity of its sport across Europe, both for fans and for participants. Compare that with the NFL, which has neither, and failed to sustain its own European league launched in the 1990s.
They close by pondering the “Why Now?” for the NBA. The league is also considering domestic expansion, but its labor peace and new TV deals have launched a few year stretch of relative stability, a time when leagues typically look toward their longer-term projects.
(You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Google, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)
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from NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games https://ift.tt/WqjYyiS
Monday, March 31, 2025
Sam Farmer's NFL mock draft 2.0: Need for QBs will create some surprises
Will NFL teams pass on the passers?
In five of the last seven drafts, clubs have selected at least three quarterbacks in the top 10. This year the class isn’t as deep at the position, and other needs could mean quarterbacks need to wait a while to hear their names called.
But this mock draft, which comes on the eve of the NFL’s annual owners meeting, contemplates three quarterbacks in the top seven picks. Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders go quickly, unsurprisingly, but also Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart, who’s garnering increasing interest.
Down. Set. Mock!
1. Tennessee Titans: QB Cam Ward, Miami — First-year Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi was in Kansas City when Patrick Mahomes flipped the fortunes of that franchise. Can Ward be a difference maker?
2. Cleveland Browns: Edge Abdul Carter, Penn State — Big Ten defensive player of the year would be a devastating bookend to Myles Garrett.
3. New York Giants: WR/CB Travis Hunter, Colorado — This two-way phenom could help the Giants on either side of the ball. Now, if they only had a quarterback on the rise.
Read more:Matthew Stafford excited about Rams signing Davante Adams: 'A big addition to our team'
4. New England Patriots: Edge Jalon Walker, Georgia — The Patriots love those versatile defenders they can move all over. Just the way new coach Mike Vrabel used to play.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars: DT Mason Graham, Michigan — New GM James Gladstone, who came from the Rams, knows well how building a rock-solid defensive line can reverberate throughout the team.
6. Las Vegas Raiders: QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado — The acquisition of veteran Geno Smith gives coach Pete Carroll’s Raiders the luxury of patience in bringing along a young quarterback.
7. New York Jets: QB Jaxson Dart, Mississippi — Dart impressed a lot of people at the combine, and while many might say this is too early for him, the Jets have a pressing need.
8. Carolina Panthers: DT Walter Nolen, Mississippi — The NFL’s worst defense against the run gets a boost with an immovable object in the middle.
9. New Orleans Saints: RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State — Alvin Kamara will turn 30 in July, and although he’s still productive, it won’t be long before he’s passing the torch.
10. Chicago: OT Josh Simmons, Ohio State — Caleb Williams was sacked 68 times last season, and while those aren’t all attributable to his blockers, the Bears' line is in need of help.
11. San Francisco 49ers: DT Kenneth Grant, Michigan — Not too long ago, the 49ers were loaded on the defensive line. Now, that group is Nick Bosa and a bunch of regular guys.
12. Dallas Cowboys: CB Will Johnson, Michigan — The Cowboys haven’t used their top pick on a cornerback since taking Byron Jones 27th in 2015. Johnson is big, physical and instinctive.
13. Miami Dolphins: S Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina — The Dolphins could use a couple of safeties. Although Emmanwori is built like a linebacker, he ran a scorching 4.38-second 40-yard dash.
14. Indianapolis Colts: TE Tyler Warren, Penn State — The Colts got very little production from their tight ends last season, and that often meant they couldn’t sustain drives.
15. Atlanta Falcons: Edge Mykel Williams, Georgia — The Falcons were 31st in the league last season with 31 sacks. Williams can get to the quarterback and play the run.
16. Arizona Cardinals: OT Will Campbell, Louisiana State — The Cardinals have their left tackle in Paris Johnson, and the versatile Campbell can help them at other spots along the line.
17. Cincinnati Bengals: CB Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky — Hairston melted the turf at the combine with his 4.28 40, providing a big bump to his draft stock.
18. Seattle Seahawks: WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona — The Seahawks picked up Cooper Kupp, who will help them, but the 6-foot-5 McMillan is built more like a DK Metcalf replacement.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: LB Jihaad Campbell, Alabama — Campbell, the prototypical middle linebacker, can learn a lot from a Lavonte David in the late afternoon of his career.
20. Denver Broncos: Edge Mike Green, Marshall — Having acquired a tight end, and this being too early for the second-best running back, the Broncos grab the NCAA sack leader.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: DT Tyleik Williams, Ohio State — The Steelers need help along the defensive line, particularly when it comes to stopping the run.
22. Chargers: TE Colston Loveland, Michigan — Justin Herbert gets a tight end he can reliably target, and coach Jim Harbaugh is reunited with a player he knows well.
23. Green Bay Packers: G Tyler Booker, Alabama — The Packers need help along the interior of their offensive line, and the gigantic Booker would bring that immediately.
24. Minnesota Vikings: G Grey Zabel, North Dakota State — The Vikings need an upgrade at left guard, and Zabel has turned heads of late. He can play at either guard spot or center.
25. Houston Texans: OT Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota — The Texans have spent a ton of money on their offensive line but haven’t seen satisfactory results. Quarterback C.J. Stroud needs help up front.
Read more:After 'terrible' season, Mike Williams eager to win with Jim Harbaugh and Chargers
26. Rams: CB Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame — Having re-signed offensive lineman Alaric Jackson, and with the acquisition of star receiver Davante Adams, the Rams turn their attention to cornerbacks.
27. Baltimore Ravens: Edge Shemar Stewart, Texas A&M — Baltimore’s defense came on late last season, and the Ravens need to beef up what traditionally has been their signature.
28. Detroit Lions: OT Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas — With so much money going elsewhere, the Lions have had to reshuffle along the interior of their offensive line.
29. Washington Commanders: WR Luther Burden III, Missouri — Quarterback Jayden Daniels could use another fleet-footed, sure-handed target to take some of the heat off of top receiver Terry McLaurin.
30. Buffalo Bills: DT Derrick Harmon, Oregon — The Bills have gotten better on the edges but still need to fortify the interior of their defensive line.
31. Kansas City Chiefs: G Armand Membou, Missouri — It was musical chairs on the Kansas City offensive line at the end of last season. This is an area of extreme need.
32. Philadelphia Eagles: DE Nic Scourton, Texas A&M — Scourton is built like a run-stopper at 6-4, 280, but he’s got a lot of quickness and moves that make him a dangerous pass rusher.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/rByVmoF