Big Philly Sports Weekend Ahead

HELLO AND WELCOME to On Pattison, THE Philly sports newsletter. This is our first send, so expect us to improve and experiment rapidly. Have a suggestion or comment? Just reply to this email!

The Phillies have won 94 times and STILL have something to play for this weekend. The Eagles carry a winning record into a playoff rematch with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And our fair city’s mayor wants a WNBA team. Let’s get to it.

In the email today:

• 🏛️ Phillies Head to CBP South for Crucial Series

• 🏴‍☠️ Eagles Seek Revenge Against Buccaneers

• ⛹️‍♀️ Sixers May Share New Arena with a WNBA Team

  • 📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

  • 📊 Poll

  • 🔗 Links

  • 📺 Coming Up

It’s good news and bad news for the Phillies. The good news is that they have won 94 games entering the final series of the season. The bad news is that despite that gaudy total, the Phillies still trail the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won last night, by a game.

A silver lining: The Phillies have the tiebreaker over the Dodgers. The Phils just need to have a better series outcome against the Nationals this weekend than the Dodgers have in Colorado against the Rockies to lock down the top seed.

• The Phillies are a -185 favorite tonight with Ranger Suarez pitching.

• Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are slated to pitch on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

• The Phils will be prohibitive favorites in both of those games unless they clinch the #1 seed on Saturday night.

• Both the Nationals (69-90) and the Rockies (61-98) are playing out the string, which means the Dodgers don’t project to hand the #1 seed over easily.

Hopefully, the Daycare will be energized by some new paint in the city:

Look at those punims. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t loose and sexy, baby.

The Bucs have caused the Eagles a lot of misery for a team that isn’t in the Birds’ division.

The Tom Brady-led Bucs knocked the Eagles out of the playoffs in 2021. Tough, but understandable since it was Brady. Last season’s 32-9 Wild Card round drubbing at the hands of Baker Mayfield’s squad was much tougher to take.

And there are more than a few of us who will never forget the Bucs closing Veterans Stadium:

That’s gross. So is Jalen Hurts’ 1-3 record against the Bucs. The Eagles are coming off a narrow 15-12 win over the New Orleans Saints while the Buccaneers are looking to bounce back from a 26-7 loss to the Denver Broncos.

Hurts might be working with a limited receiving corps.

• A.J. Brown’s hamstring is still a worry.

• DeVonta Smith’s concussion might sideline him.

• Britain Covey is on injured reserve with a broken scapula.

Tight end Dallas Goedert likely will again be relied upon to carry much of the receiving load. And the Eagles have to hope that Jahan Dotson finds his footing in the offense.

Of course, all of these worries might be alleviated by another dominant Saquon Barkley performance.

The Eagles are a slim 1.5-point favorite as of this writing. The over-under (43) suggests a game punctuated by stout defenses, sputtering offenses — or both.

Let’s just hope it doesn’t come down to coaching.

The Sixers were recently given the green light from the city to move forward with 76 Place at Market East.

Mayor Cherelle Parker has aspirations for the new arena beyond just seeing the Sixers hang the 2024-2025 NBA Championship banner there one fine day:

The details here are still evolving, but here’s a quick and dirty summary:

• Mayor Parker expressed hopes of bringing a WNBA franchise to Philadelphia during a meeting about the proposed Sixers' Center City arena.

• Parker previously collaborated with a group of women to pursue a WNBA team while serving on the City Council, engaging with city and state leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The WNBA has gained popularity and plans to expand to 15 teams by 2026, with new franchises recently awarded to Portland, Golden State, and Toronto.

• The Philadelphia 76ers confirmed their support for pursuing a WNBA team alongside the development of the new arena.

• WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has indicated that Philadelphia is a viable candidate for a franchise.

And check this out:

It’s fun to project The Process’ little girl playing for Philadelphia’s WNBA team in 20 years.

📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

Happy 75th birthday to the greatest third baseman in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies and, in our opinion, in the history of the game.

📊 Poll

🔗 Links

• 🤼‍♀️ “Mr. McMahon” is a compelling watch, but it’s not an easy watch.

• 🥅 Flyers wunderkind Matvei Michkov made his debut at the Wells Fargo Center.

• 🏀 ESPN’s latest cost-cutting measures made Zach Lowe a free agent.

• ⚽️ The Philadelphia Union are hanging onto faint playoff hopes.

• 🧑‍🎨 The Phillies Reportedly Declined To Include Andrew Painter in Garrett Crochet Trade Talks

• 🏋️ Great stuff from John on Nick Castellanos’ 162-game grind

📺 Coming Up

Games before our next send.

• Phillies at Nationals: Tonight at 6:45 p.m., Saturday at 4:05 p.m., Sunday at 3:05 p.m.

• Buccaneers at Eagles: Sunday, 1:05 p.m.

• Union v. Atlanta United, 7:30 p.m.

Thanks for reading. See you Monday.

Be sure to follow On Pattison on social media:

• Follow on X

• Follow on Instagram

• Follow on Facebook