Against all odds | Sports Daily Newsletter
And, Brandon Graham returns to practice for the Eagles.

Saquon Barkley cannot wait to play in his first Super Bowl. Brandon Graham cannot wait to play in his third — and he might get the chance.
It’s a long shot, for sure, but the 36-year-old defensive end returned to the field Thursday as the Eagles opened the 21-day practice window for him. Graham said his season was finished after he suffered a torn triceps on Nov. 24 and yet here he is, preparing for a chance to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9.
The New York Times and Forbes have reported that torn triceps typically take five to six months to fully heal. “So far, man, this has been one of the easiest injuries I’ve had compared to the ones I had before,” Graham insisted. “If it’s not feeling right, I’m not going to do it, but so far, so good.”
Again, it’s a long shot, but what a story it would be. Barkley will be a story for sure when he celebrates his 28th birthday on Super Bowl Sunday. In the midst of a historic first season with the Birds, the All-Pro running back is intent on sealing the deal. His Eagles teammates have told him how wrenching it was losing the Super Bowl two years ago.
“Definitely don’t want to be part of that,” Barkley said. “That’s definitely something that drives us. For those guys that have been a part of it, but also just want to get the job done and knowing how it is for those guys, how it felt, and doing everything I can in my ... ability to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
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The 76ers will not have an All-Star for the first time in eight seasons. That became official Thursday when Tyrese Maxey was not selected as a reserve for the Eastern Conference. Perennial All-Stars Joel Embiid and Paul George were already taken out of contention, largely because of injuries.
As for Maxey, his exclusion could be considered a snub. The point guard is sixth in scoring at 27.6 points per game and third in steals with 2.0 per game. His best work came in the Sixers’ most recent games. Maxey has scored 28 points or more in his last 12 games, joining Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Allen Iverson and teammate Embiid as the only players to maintain such a streak.
Maxey faced steep competition at guard, though. Selected as reserves for the East were Boston’s Jaylen Brown, Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard, Cleveland’s Darius Garland, Miami’s Tyler Herro, and Detroit’s Cade Cunningham.
Playing for the 49ers, linebacker Oren Burks found himself thrust into Super Bowl LVIII last year when starter Dre Greenlaw went down with an injury. Burks is headed back to the big game, this time as an injury replacement for Nakobe Dean. And this time, Burks is coming off one of the best games of his career in the NFC championship game.
“The season has a lot of ebbs and flows, but this is the big one that you’ve been preparing for your whole life,” Burks said.
The Chiefs are saying all the right things as they get ready for the Eagles. Andy Reid heaped praise on the Birds, saying “they’re fully loaded on the offensive side.”
Ahead of their game Thursday with the New York Islanders, the Flyers decided to make a change on the blue line. They called up a Swedish defenseman from Lehigh Valley, but it was not Emil Andrae or Helge Grans. This time, the Flyers called up Adam Ginning from the Phantoms. A stay-at-home defenseman, Ginning brings one thing for sure to the Flyers at 6-foot-4: size.
Amid that game, it was discovered that the Flyers struck a deal with the Calgary Flames to trade both Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2028 seventh-round pick. An interesting move, considering both Frost and Farabee were once valued as part of a young group poised to lead the Flyers.
The team could use some guidance at the moment, following a 3-0 loss to the New York Islanders last night.
Our Devin Jackson is at Senior Bowl workouts in Mobile, Ala., checking out the next batch of NFL players ahead of the draft in April. With Dallas Goedert showing some wear and tear in the last few seasons, the Eagles could be in the market for a tight end, and LSU’s Mason Taylor could fit the bill. His father is Hall of Famer Jason Taylor and his uncle is another Hall of Famer, Zach Thomas.
Take heart, Phillies fans: Pitchers and catchers are due to report for spring training in less than two weeks. Before that gets started, it’s time to check in on the team’s farm system with The Inquirer’s ranking of the top 10 Phillies prospects.
Philly fan photo
Here is our Philly fan photo for this week as part of our Friday lineup. Want to be included? Submit photos with a Philly sports theme here for the opportunity to be featured.
Worth a look
Home sweet home: Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Temple are 9-0 at the Liacouras Center this season.
Off the mark: St. Joseph’s was ice-cold on three-pointers but still managed to beat Duquesne.
Pitching in at Penn: Assistant basketball coach Nat Graham is committed to activism and community service.
In the latest episode of unCovering the Birds, Jeff McLane shares exclusive locker room insights from the win over the Washington Commanders and previews the epic rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs. Listen here.
The schedule
The Sixers host the Denver Nuggets tonight at 7:30 (ESPN).
The Flyers visit the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday at 3 p.m. (NBCSP+).
The Eagles play the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. (Fox29).
What you’re saying about Eagles fandom
We asked you: Who kick-started your Eagles fandom? Among your responses:
My earliest memory of watching the Eagles (on a tiny black and white TV) was during the 1956 season. However, I will never forget listening to the NFL championship game at Franklin Field between the Eagles and Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers in December 1960 on WCAU Radio — because home games were blacked out on local TV — with my Dad. I can still hear Bill Campbell’s voice counting down the final seconds of the 17-13 win after Chuck Bednarik’s final tackle of Jim Taylor on the Eagle 10-yard line. Oh, and did I mention, my father and I were jumping up and down? If there were a moment when I truly became a proud Eagle fan, that was it. — John D.
I’ve been a fan since the mid ’50s but it was the “Cinderella” 1960 championship team that really kick-started my fandom. They were picked to finish last in the conference ( back then there were 2 conferences-8 teams in each. The 2 teams that finished in 1st place played for the championship). We finished 10-2 and beat Green Bay, 17-13. Caught them just before the Lombardi dynasty kicked in. Van Brocklin, McDonald, Bednarik, Retzlaff, et al... Great year! — Jack H.
The Eagles won the NFL championships in 1948 and ’49, beating the Chicago Cardinals and then the L.A. Rams. We did not have a TV, but I would see newsreels of the team on the Saturday morning movies at Media and Drexel Hill when we would go to see the Westerns. Then I followed them in the newspapers back then and talked about them with my school friends. Bosh Pritchard, Pete Pihos, Tommy Thompson, and Steve Van Buren were the stars. I sometime rode my bike from Springfield to Clifton Heights to visit Steve Van Buren on Baltimore Pike where he was selling cars during the offseason. I did not see a live game until the 1950’s. — Everett S.
This is gonna sound super lame, but I have the people at EA sports to thank! When I was about 7 or 8, I downloaded Madden Mobile on my iPad. One of the first things you had to do was choose a team! I picked the Eagles because I was (and am) a very patriotic person and associated eagles with America. Less than a few years later [Nick Foles] led us to our first ring. — Stiles B.
My dad got me going with the Eagles, but they were not totally on my radar until the 1960 NFL championship. Back then, the league wasn’t the TV presence it has become, nor was any pro sport. When we visited my grandparents on Sundays, we’d watch home games on a black-and-white TV in a tiny room on the second floor, so as not to distract the family. It was that classic win over Green Bay, and Concrete Charlie basically holding Jimmy Taylor down as the clock ran down and the Birds won. This 11-year-old was sold for good. — Mike R.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Keith Pompey, Gina Mizell, Olivia Reiner, Jeff McLane, EJ Smith, Jeff Neiburg, Devin Jackson, Ariel Simpson, Scott Lauber, Jackie Spiegel, Gustav Elvin, Matt Breen, Mia Messina, Conor Smith, and Sam O’Neal.
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.
Have a great weekend, Sports Daily fans. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you in Monday’s newsletter. — Jim