Follow the leader | Sports Daily Newsletter

Amid a tsunami of sports news — Brittney Griner’s release, Trea Turner’s debut before the Philadelphia media, the good vibes surrounding the Phillies’ flurry of signings — it would be easy to push the city’s NFL team to the back burner for a change.

We’re not doing that here at Sports Daily, not on a Friday anyway. Yo, it’s the Eagles. They are 11-1, the class of the NFC, and on the verge of clinching a playoff berth. And Jalen Hurts is climbing to the stratosphere as this remarkable season progresses. He must be a legitimate candidate for MVP by now.

Hurts has made tremendous gains in his two seasons as the Eagles’ starting quarterback. Josh Tolentino talked to four of the team’s captains about Hurts’ growth. In a nutshell, they are all impressed.

We’ll give those other top stories their due below. But this Sunday, of course, it will be all about the Birds.

— Jim Swan, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

Jalen Hurts was a second-round draft pick in 2020, and when he was selected, it was the beginning of the end of Carson Wentz’s tenure here. Two years after Hurts was first named the starter over Wentz, the 24-year-old has become quite a leader. Looking back at the draft now, if we were to do a redraft as beat writer EJ Smith did, Hurts would be a top-5 pick. Wentz really wouldn’t have liked that.

Hurts and the Eagles go into Sunday’s road game against the New York Giants as favorites, and here are our beat writers’ predictions.

The Phillies’ first impression on free agent Trea Turner made a big difference. The Phillies delegation that met Turner and his wife, Kristen, at their Florida home made sure they knew that the star shortstop was their top free-agent priority. The Phillies brass told him they wanted him to play in Philadelphia for the rest of his career. And that was how it happened. That was how Turner decided to walk away from more money from the Padres — $42 million more, to be exact — and sign an 11-year, $300 million contract with the Phillies. “I didn’t really care to play the games and all that,” Turner said Thursday after buttoning up a red-pinstriped No. 7 jersey at a news conference at Citizens Bank Park.

Turner says the good teams he’s been on have “loved each other,” and he sees that in the Phillies.

The Turner signing is one more example of managing partner John Middleton’s never-ending commitment to winning.

What goes through the mind of a 76ers player as he tries to stave off injury and make it back on the court to help his teammates? How are the Sixers adjusting to the return of James Harden? Why did the Sixers go 0-3 on their latest road trip?

Sixers forward Georges Niang dives into each topic in his Inquirer diary, taking readers inside the team’s latest skid and his injury recovery.

Next: The Sixers host the Los Angeles Lakers at 7:30 p.m. Friday (ESPN).

Friday’s game between the Flyers and Vegas Golden Knights should have pitted Ryan Ellis against the man he was traded for, Nolan Patrick. Instead, neither player will play on Friday, or the rest of the season for that matter, because of injuries.

Olivia Reiner looks back at the marquee July 2021 trade involving Ellis and Patrick and how it has gone bust for all three teams involved.

While the Flyers won’t have Ellis on Friday night, they will get some help on the blue line, as the team called up former first-round pick and top defensive prospect Cam York.

Next: The Flyers begin a four-game road trip on Friday in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights (10 p.m., NBCSP+).

Got your popcorn and snacks ready for World Cup quarterfinal action? Because after a short break following the round of 16, the last eight teams are ready to go.

After looking as if he might exit early with Argentina in the group stage, Lionel Messi is now on the cusp of the semifinals, but the Netherlands won’t make it easy to advance. Jonathan Tannenwald has the information fans need to plan out their Friday and Saturday viewing.

Next: Follow all our World Cup coverage.

Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday in a high-profile prisoner exchange as the U.S. released notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Throughout the 10 months that Griner spent in detention in Russia, Dawn Staley was one of the biggest champions in the fight to gain her freedom. The Philly-born coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks was among those in the basketball community who cheered Griner’s release.

Tobias Harris, Montrezl Harrell, and coach Doc Rivers of the 76ers also expressed excitement and relief.

Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino preview the team’s Week 14 game against the New York Giants on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Watch at Inquirer.com/EaglesGameday

We asked you: Any other moves you’d like the Phillies to make this offseason? Among your responses:

You can never have enough pitching: starting, mid-relief and closer. It’s a long season and additional depth in the pitching staff is critical to outpace the Braves and Mets in the NL East. I would also like to see them acquire some “secret-sauce” to feed to [Rhys] Hoskins and [Nick] Castellanos that would make them more consistent offensively. It’s going to be a challenge starting the season without [Bryce] Harper and we can’t afford Hoskins and Castellanos to be near automatic outs for long spells of games. — Jim V.

Topper? Swept by the Cubs! Swept by the Giants! On and on. Yes, we captured the flag. There is a reason this man was never a manager. Let’s quit while we are ahead. — Paul O.

Fix the bullpen. — Robert U.

I’m thrilled at signing Turner. Not sure how I feel about Walker. One thing for certain is the bullpen still isn’t where it should be. There are still players in the bullpen who can go and not be missed. And I’ve always felt they need an elite closer. Pitching defines winning teams. They still have a way to go with the current bullpen. — Kathy T.

... The move I’d like to see the most is the replacement of Rhys Hoskins at first base. he will make over $10 million in 2023 (not yet signed) and is not as solid as that pay level calls for. Hoskins is a liability in the field, and not as effective and efficient as other Phillies so-called power hitters. [Kyle] Schwarber homers 20% more often than Hoskins. Harper hits more consistently (.280 lifetime BA) than Hoskins (.242 BA) and homers at about the same rate. I hate to see Jean Segura leave, although I think they are better with Turner and [Bryson] Stott in the middle infield. However, Segura did want to stay in Philly, and has been an excellent hitter (and clutch hitter) for his 4 seasons with the team. Keeping Segura would not cost more for the Phillies than re-signing Hoskins, and he would easily learn how to be a better first base fielder than Hoskins. ... — Jay W.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, David Murphy, Alex Coffey, Jonathan Tannenwald, Gina Mizell, Joe Santoliquito, Josh Tolentino, Mike Jensen, and Olivia Reiner.