🦅 Foles: Forever Philly | Sports Daily Newsletter

Nick Foles will officially retire from the NFL as an Eagle at their home opener next month, a news item that should surprise no one.

Where else would one of the most popular Eagles ever want to be when he hangs it up? His career stats are not the most eye-popping, to be honest. But Foles is beloved in this town for an obvious reason: The Philly Special, and that sweet Super Bowl upset of the New England Patriots, will live forever.

But there is more to Philly’s deep love for Foles than that, Marcus Hayes writes. It went beyond Super Bowl heroics to a human moment on the field amid playoff disappointment a season later. Foles learned to appreciate his teammates’ effort, even in defeat.

Defeat? The vaunted U.S. men’s basketball team was staring at that prospect Thursday in the Olympics before a certain Sixers center helped save the day. More on that below.

Enjoy your weekend, folks.

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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The Eagles are officially back in action tonight for their first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith at 6 p.m. as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from M&T Bank Stadium. Click here to join the show.

Cristopher Sánchez tried to put a rough July behind him and did just that in his first August start with the help of a small tweak. Austin Hays’ struggles against right-handers kept him stuck in a platoon with the Orioles, but he’s showing progress with the Phillies. Alex Coffey shares a few observations from this week as the Phillies enter the final stretch of a 10-game road trip.

This Phillies trip was about returning to Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday no worse than how they left it last Wednesday, Marcus Hayes writes.

Speaking of Hays, the outfielder left Wednesday’s series finale against the Dodgers, becoming the latest Phillie to experience the dreaded “grab” in his hamstring. He was out of the lineup in the series opener against the Diamondbacks, and became the fourth Phillie this season to hurt his hamstring while running the bases.

The Phillies offense kept rolling on Thursday night, thanks to a four-run sixth inning. J.T. Realmuto homered for the first time since May and Bryce Harper picked up three hits in four at bats to spark the Phillies past the Diamondbacks.

Next: The Phillies continue their series in Arizona at 9:40 tonight (NBCSP). Zack Wheeler (11-5, 2.77 ERA) will start against Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson (8-6, 4.65).

We asked for your Philly sports-centric photos and you continue to deliver. Here are our Philly fan photos for this week as part of our Friday lineup.

To keep this feature going, we’ll need you to keep submitting photos with a Philly sports theme. Send your photos here for the opportunity to be featured.

The Eagles are back in action with their preseason opener tonight against the Baltimore Ravens. While Nick Sirianni hasn’t revealed how much the starters might play, Olivia Reiner has a look at some players to watch during the preseason as training camp battles take shape.

Next: The Eagles begin the preseason tonight at 7:30 against the Ravens in Baltimore (COZI TV, NBCSP+).

The U.S. team’s rousing Olympic comeback to beat Serbia just might be Joel Embiid’s finest hour on the basketball court. After more playoff fizzles than we care to remember, Embiid became the U.S. team’s go-to guy down the stretch, helping the Americans complete a 17-point comeback. Can he produce similar results in the postseason for the Sixers? This could be the start of a new phase in Embiid’s career, Mike Sielski writes.

Awaiting the Americans in the gold-medal game on Saturday is a physical team from France. Former Sixer Nico Batum is among the players who will spill blood trying to win.

The Games are winding down. Rower Nick Mead of Chester County will join swimming great Katie Ledecky as the United States’ flag bearers in the closing ceremony.

Fresh off their Olympic experience, Jack McGlynn and Nathan Harriel are back with the Union, preparing for tonight’s Leagues Cup game vs. CF Montréal at Subaru Park (7:30, Apple TV). “You see some of the top talents and how it is across the world, so it’s a good learning experience for sure‚” McGlynn said.

The U.S. failed to make it out of the Olympic quarterfinals, but the exposure was good for both players. McGlynn has many suitors in Europe — including some who’ve called the Union this week. Harriel now has clubs asking about him as well.

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

We asked you: Do you think Eagles starters should play in the preseason? Among your responses:

I do think starters should play in preseason games. … Practice speed is just that, game speed is different. The team needs to be sharp on Week 1 of the regular season, not just ramp up as the early part of the season unfolds. Wins/Losses count the same regardless of the time they occur on the schedule. — E.M.

Yes the first string players should play a significant amount of time in the preseason. Play them against the other team’s scrubs if need be to lessen the likelihood of a high level player getting an impactful play on a starter. They need an opportunity to jell, especially this year with 40% of the offensive line new to their positions, Barkley new to the offense and numerous players new to the defense, along with new offensive and defensive schemes. The problem over the last several years is that the first several games of the season are very sloppy as the starters get acclimated to game speed play. — Ray G.

Yes, they should play at least the first quarter. They need to be exposed to some real time situations against the other teams who do not practice with them every day. They need to see and feel the game from a different perspective, not the schemes they see every day in their own environment. The teams charge for the tickets so the fans deserve a real experience, not a watered down third team scrimmage. — Gig B.

I think it would be best to hold them out for the first two, but at least for the Vikings game they play a quarter and for some younger players maybe the first half. I would hate to see them meet up with the Packers in Brazil without at least some real game contact. — Everett S.

Of course the starters should play. The Birds are called a team. That’s what they get paid for. To play as a team. At least it was that way back when. Maybe the coaches shouldn’t “start” either! Let their assistants have their day in control. — John B.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Marcus Hayes, EJ Smith, Olivia Reiner, Alex Coffey, Lochlahn March, Mike Sielski, Jonathan Tannenwald, Gabriela Carroll, and Aaron Carter.

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 closes the book on another week of Sports Daily. Thanks for reading. See you on Monday. — Jim