A.J. Brown keeps promise to young Philly plane crash victim

We’ll discuss the Sixers and Villanova in today’s send. But in the wake of the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory, first we have a reminder that sports can be bigger than… well, bigger than sports.

In the email today:

• ❤ A.J. Brown keeps promise to young Philly plane crash victim

• 🧟 Zombie Sixers drop fifth straight in loss to Nets

• ✌️ Villanova stuns St. John's at the Pavillion

  • 📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

  • 📊 Poll

  • 🔗 Links

  • 📺 Coming Up

10-year-old Andre "Tre" Howard III is a hero.

And Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown is a man of his word.

Tre was injured by debris when a medical plane tragically crashed in Northeast Philadelphia on January 31, killing seven. Tre's father, Andre Howard, Jr., told reporters that he was picking up donuts with Tre and two younger siblings when the aircraft went down.

Tre heroically covered his sister during the chaos. And he paid an awful price.

"I turn around and he has metal outside of his head," Andre told ABC News.

Tre was rushed to the hospital and underwent emergency brain surgery. Doctors informed Andre that there was a strong chance Tre wouldn't survive. But the young man awoke and is recovering.

Tre had two primary concerns when he woke up: his sister and the Birds.

"He asked me, 'Daddy, what's today?' I was like, 'Monday,'" said Andre. "'OK, wait. We didn't play yesterday did we?' 'No, you didn't miss the Super Bowl,'" Andre said.

Tre then asked, "Daddy, did I save my sister?" His father assured him that his sister was ok.

Tre's story made national news, and Brown promised to visit the young fan after the Super Bowl.

And on Wednesday, Brown followed through. "Dear A.J. Brown, Thank you for being a man of your word," wrote Lala Sayon Hamiel, Tre's mother, in a public Facebook post. Hamiel also shared photos of Brown's visit.

Brown may be a "hero" to millions of Eagles fans, but Tre's actions the day of the crash were on a whole different level. It's fantastic to see the NFL superstar following through on his promise to visit.

In the Sixers’ prior three losses, the troika of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George all played starters’ minutes. They lost in Detroit, they lost at Milwaukee, and they lost to Toronto here.

Last night’s tilt was a back-to-back, which Embiid specifically hates. Maxey was also a no-go with a right knee contusion. George led the depleted Sixers into battle last night. Although if this is leadership, no wonder the Sixers are in so much trouble.

We are way past “maybe this Paul George contract was a bad idea.” “Maybe” left the building a couple of months ago.

Anyway, with two “stars” out of action and the other “star” getting in some light cardio (George finished with two points), the scoring load fell to Quentin Grimes (who got here last week) and Kelly Oubre Jr. Both went for 30.

Grimes played really well for a guy who can’t be all that familiar with the Sixers’ system. The downside for Grimes is that he does a lot of what Maxey does and a lot of what Jared McCain does. So the fit here is a question.

Grimes had free rein last night. He scored the Sixers’ last six points to make the final score look far more competitive than the game was.

So the Sixers head into the All-Star break at 20-34 One of this newsletter’s authors cashed a Sixers “Under 50.5 wins” prop in early February.

The Sixers didn’t earn this break, but they’ll surely take it. Their next action will come at home against the Celtics on February 20. Can’t wait to see who suits up for that one.

“The line is telling you something” is one of those sports betting cliches that is more fun to say than to actually deploy.

And yet. There are times where the line really does tell you something, and St. John’s -2.5 against Villanova last night was one of those times.

The Johnnies, led by the legendary (in many ways) Rick Pitino, entered this matchup 12-1 in the Big East and 21-3 overall.

Conversely, Villanova came into the game a pedestrian 14-10 overall and 7-6 in conference. St. John’s has capable athletes all over the floor. Most nights, Villanova has Eric Dixon and some guys. So -2.5 looked a little light.

Last night, though, Dixon’s supporting cast picked him up. Dixon’s 5-17 shooting line was the result of Pitino keying on him. Pitino was content to let other Wildcats try to win the game for Villanova. Other Wildcats did.

Even with Poplar’s heroics and Dixon’s mostly steady presence, Villanova was at times exceedingly shaky.

The Wildcats led by 11 with just under 10 minutes to go in the second half. St. John’s then broke out full court pressure, and the Red Storm went on a 14-0 run to take the lead.

In the end, though, neither Dixon nor Poplar put the dagger in the Johnnies.

The Wildcats have six conference games left. They won’t be favored at UConn or home to Marquette, but the other four are extremely winnable.

Going 4-2 the rest of the way would leave Villanova at 19-12 overall and 12-8 in conference. That, and an unexpected Big East tournament run, might be enough for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.

Difficult, but not impossible.

The moment has arrived—our Authentic Philly Fan Contest has entered the voting round, and we need YOUR help to choose the winner! These fans live and breathe Philly, but only one can take home $5,000.

Click here to check out the incredible entries and cast your vote.

Voting closes on February 16th—don’t wait!

📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

On February 13, 2024, the Phillies signed free agent pitcher David Buchanan. What a special day.

Buchanan would go on to appear in exactly one major league game in 2024, for the Cincinnati Reds. He allowed one run in 3.1 innings.

📊 Poll

Results from Wednesday:

We’ll see 51.2% of you at the parade!

🔗 Links

• ⚾️ Alec Bohm’s third base job won’t be going to Alex Bregman.

• 📺️ Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley yukked it up with Jimmy Fallon.

• 👱‍♀️ Barkley separately spoke up for Travis Kelce’s lady friend.

• 🏀 ICYMI: Kevin Durant joined the 30,000 point club.

📺 Coming Up

No games for the locals until February 20.

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.

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