Why doesn’t Philly have a major pro women’s team? | Sports Daily Newsletter
Also: Flyers draft Cutter Gauthier in the first round.
Heading into the WNBA All-Star Game this Sunday, it is worth mentioning that Philadelphia does not have a team in the league. Never has. In fact, the city has not had a professional women’s basketball team since Dawn Staley and the Rage played in the American Basketball League, which folded in 1998.
“I would love to see a team in Philly,” says North Philly’s Kahleah Copper, a WNBA All-Star with the Chicago Sky. “It would be amazing for the city.”
It also would be amazing if a National Women’s Soccer League team played here. The Philadelphia Independence of Women’s Professional Soccer entertained fans in 2010 and ‘11, but they were the last major women’s pro team to represent the city.
“I’ve been to plenty of Philadelphia Union games, and I know that if there was a women’s team there, I think people would also love to see those games,” says the San Diego Wave’s Amirah Ali, an NWSL player out of South Jersey’s Eastern High. “So I think that’s really something that should get in the works soon if it can.”
Is a Philadelphia women’s soccer team close to being in the works? And how about the fledgling Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association? Could Philly land one of its teams? Jonathan Tannenwald takes a close look at the dearth of professional women’s sports in the city and examines the prospects for teams here in basketball, soccer, and hockey.
— Jim Swan, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.
The Flyers went big with their first pick in the NHL draft, selecting 6-foot-3, 194-pound power forward Cutter Gauthier with the fifth overall selection Thursday night.
Gauthier, 18, starred with the U.S. National Team Development Program, collecting 34 goals and 31 assists in 54 games this past season.
“It’s everything I dreamed of growing up, hearing my name called someday, and I’m so happy that the Philadelphia Flyers are the ones to do it,” Gauthier said. “So I’m super excited for the future, and I’ll see what it holds.”
Next: Rounds 2-7 of the NHL draft begin at 11 a.m. Friday (NHL Network).
A five-star recruit from the same Phoenix high school that produced No. 1 overall draft pick Deandre Ayton and 2022 first-round selection Dalen Terry, Michael Foster was expected to be the next first-rounder in line. But after a season with the G League Ignite in lieu of college, he went unselected in last month’s NBA draft.
Now the forward who patterns his game after P.J. Tucker is with the Sixers in the summer league with hopes of proving he belongs in the NBA. He also has a bit of a chip on his shoulder after being passed over. Foster told The Inquirer’s Gina Mizell a “fire is there in my gut, the chip on my shoulder. I’ve got to come in here and show what I’m really about.”
The Phillies have a blind spot for Odúbel Herrera the way Daryl Morey has a blind spot for old Houston Rockets. It’s hard to see what they see in the center fielder known most for his boneheaded plays and whiplash inconsistency. The former was on display Wednesday when he misplayed a hard-hit ball to center field, allowing the tying and winning runs to score. Marcus Hayes writes that should be the last time we see Herrera in center field.
Nick Castellanos has struggled for most of the season, but Rob Thomson is staying patient.
The Phillies’ bullpen has been on a roll lately. That success continued Thursday in a 5-3 victory against the Washington Nationals.
Next: The Phillies hit the road to open a four-game series in St. Louis at 8:15 p.m. Friday (NBCSP). Zack Wheeler (7-4, 2.66 ERA) will start against Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright (6-6, 3.26).
There’s plenty of buzz about the talent that’s been added to the Eagles roster, and training camp will determine who makes the team and how much playing time the players get. EJ Smith has analysis on what the depth chart could look like as the team reconvenes later this month.
The charge of the Union’s youth brigade is led by their excellent development academy, and not only has it helped the team financially, as their players have generated transfer fees from teams abroad, but it also has helped the team on the field.
Still, Union manager Jim Curtin has resisted giving the younger players regular minutes. Now, however, with their latest national team youth performances, it may be impossible to deny that their talent needs opportunities to shine.
Worth a look
Basketball treasure trove: Norm Eavenson was a noted talent evaluator on the Philly hoops scene. After he died of the coronavirus last fall, he left behind a basketball museum of sorts.
Back to the track: South Jersey’s Stephen Mallozzi gave up on auto racing years ago when his father was stricken with cancer. But his father fights on and now Mallozzi is returning to racing in the Camping World Truck Series.
Eric Lindros memories
We asked you: If you were a Flyers fan during the Lindros era, what’s your standout memory or moment from that time? Among your responses:
Lindros and the Legion of Doom was my most favorite time as a Flyers fan. When the Big E, John and [Mikael] were placed out on to the ice for a faceoff at the start of a PP and “Welcome to the Jungle” was being played, you knew that you were about to see something special, whether it was brute force or great stick work, you just knew not to blink, for fear of missing some of the greatest hockey ever played in Philly. — Ed K.
When I think of Eric Lindros, I think of heart. He kept on getting back up. Only Rocky got back up more times. — Brad L.
My favorite memory of Eric was in Game 4 of the 1997 Eastern Conference finals against the New York Rangers. He scored a goal with 6.8 seconds left in regulation against goaltender Mike Richter to put the Flyers up in the series 3 games to 1. — Bruce R.
That moment [when Lindros scored against the Rangers] in May of 1997 may well have been the apex of his star-crossed career. I will always remember that Lindros goal as an example of sheer joy in being a Flyers fan, and thrilling to the Legion of Doom. — Cory N.
[On the winning play against the Rangers,] the five Flyers on the ice all touched the puck: [Eric] Desjardins to [Paul] Coffey to [Rod] Brind’Amour to [John] LeClair to Lindros. LeClair’s pass to Lindros was also a backhand pass. — Eddie G.
The Rangers playoff series stands out the most. Not only the series-clinching strip of [Mark] Messier and ensuing goal, but the play behind the Flyers net, when a stickless Lindros held off multiple Rangers, all while protecting the puck against the boards with his body and skates. It seemed to go on forever and the Flyers fans just got louder and louder. It completely disheartened the Rangers. — Dan F.
I was a salesman for Nabisco at the time sitting in a supermarket parking lot in New Hope waiting for the arbitrator’s decision whether Lindros would go to the Flyers or the Rangers. When they announced he would go to the Flyers, I heard several cheers across the parking lot. — Dave S.
I attended a home game early in his first season as a Flyer. I sat in the 13th row, not far from the Flyers bench. As we all stood for “God Bless America,” I recall being struck by Eric’s size. He stood “head and shoulders” above everyone else.
As a hockey fan and one who spent my summers in Canada, I had been reading the many newspaper articles about him for several years, then the protracted articles about the negotiations with the Quebec Nordiques that eventually brought him to Philadelphia. As a longtime Flyers fan, I was very impressed. He was the complete package. — Bob F.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Marcus Hayes, Alex Coffey, Giana Han, Jonathan Tannenwald, Gina Mizell, Mike Jensen, EJ Smith, and Isabella DiAmore.