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🦅 Mama Birds | Sports Daily Newsletter

And the Sixers wake up winners again this morning.

Nakobe Dean, then as a rookie linebacker with the Eagles, takes a picture with his mother, Neketta Dean, after speaking in the auditorium at C.C.A. Baldi Middle School in Philadelphia on Tuesday in 2022.
Nakobe Dean, then as a rookie linebacker with the Eagles, takes a picture with his mother, Neketta Dean, after speaking in the auditorium at C.C.A. Baldi Middle School in Philadelphia on Tuesday in 2022.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer

Nestled in the frenzy of this Super Bowl run for the Eagles season are these little nuggets of inspiration that have guided the team all along the way.

You understand exactly what I mean if you now own a copy of Inner Excellence.

Today, we bring you another gem, courtesy of Inquirer writer EJ Smith, who discovered that all five of the former Georgia standouts on the Eagles roster share a much deeper bond than an alma mater in common. In addition to their band of brothers, Nakobe Dean, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Kelee Ringo, and Jordan Davis have each other’s mothers to rely on as a coalition of sorts. They’ve tirelessly worked to support the others all along the way.

They call themselves “Moms on the Move,” and all five will make the trek down to New Orleans to watch their “kids” go after a world championship. It’s a great story of family, faith — and food.

All the ties that bind.

It’s just one story among a bevy of great Eagles reads ahead of Super Bowl LIX, in addition to this piece that was a personal fave of mine — showcasing how Dallas Cowboys brass are desperately trying to figure out how they can be just like the Birds.

Queue the LOL emoji, please. 🤣

— Kerith Gabriel, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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Philly is on fire after the Eagles punched their ticket to the Super Bowl with an NFC championship win over the Washington Commanders. The 76ers aren’t immune to that excitement, especially players who were in attendance at Lincoln Financial Field like megafan Kyle Lowry and new fan Guerschon Yabusele. Lowry filled a box with family and friends, while Yabusele opted to fully experience the Linc among the Philly faithful. The coronation continued at Tuesday’s Sixers game against the Los Angeles Lakers, where Tyrese Maxey (and LeBron James) greeted A.J. Brown, Darius Slay, and DeVonta Smith before tipoff.

“It’s amazing to have a city with so many sports — and successful sports, too,” Yabusele said at his locker following the Sixers’ 118-104 victory over the Lakers. “Just to be able to witness this and to be able to be here — and be able to get to the game, too — it was just amazing for me.”

You know what else is amazing? The Sixers earned their fourth win in a row last night, a 117-104 win over the Sacramento Kings.

With the Flyers in a rebuild and the organization preaching patience, the last thing Flyers fans want to hear is that ticket prices are going up.

But fans got that news on Tuesday evening, as Comcast Spectacor CEO Dan Hilferty sent out an email notifying season ticket-holders that tickets would be going up by an average of $5 per game for the 2025-26 season. The measure marks the first time in six years that Comcast Spectacor has raised season-ticket prices for the Flyers. Flyers fans were not pleased, understandably, with the team trending toward missing the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season.

On the ice, the Flyers are hoping that their penalty kill is close to turning a corner. Brad Shaw talked Wednesday about getting the PK, which was such a weapon last season, its identity back.

The early returns were not good Wednesday, in a 5-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

When Ed Wade’s baseball career came to an end eight years ago, he had to find something to fill the void left by the game. The Phillies let Wade go from his scouting role after the 2017 season. The guy who once made trades on Christmas Eve had time on his hands. His career started as a young guy from Carbondale, Pa., who wanted to be a writer. And now that former GM is a writer again.

Inquirer soccer writer Jonathan Tannenwald was a busy bee yesterday. In the wake of Major League Soccer announcing its latest competition rules poised to make it somewhat less rigorous for its players, Tannenwald followed that up with a conversation with Nelson Rodriguez, MLS’s scheduling and competitions guru.

Then he wrote that the league is considering flipping its calendar for more of a European-style model and reported that Apple has struck deals with distribution partners, notably including Comcast, to broadcast matches away from its platform for the first time in two years.

And in case you were wondering, the FIFA World Cup is coming to North America in just 497 days.

Worth a look

  1. Leaders of the nest: Temple coach K.C. Keeler finalized his football staff. Here are the names you should know.

  2. Embiid injury counter: You read that correctly. Our interactive team has begun tracking how much in-game action Sixers center Joel Embiid has missed this season.

  3. Mask off: The Eagles say no dog masks are needed, as they have no intention of embracing the underdog role this time around.

On this date

Jan. 30, 2018: Former Sixers guard James Harden had his moments here, but nothing like when he was with the Houston Rockets. It was on this day he made NBA history, scoring the highest triple-double ever after a 60-point game coupled with 10 rebounds and 11 assists, led the Rockets to a 114-107 win over Orlando.

Standings, stats, and more

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

What you’re saying about coaching searches

We asked your thoughts on Birds offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who is currently interviewing for a head coaching position in the midst of an Eagles Super Bowl run.

Moore should be wary of going to the Crescent City, where only one coach in its history has had success. And there’s no [Jayden] Daniels in this year’s draft. Stay home, Kellen. Wait for a better opportunity. — Joel G.

The post-regular season but pre-Super Bowl head coach recruiting window is now a standard operating procedure in the NFL. Everything I’ve heard or read about Kellen Moore indicates that he is a man of high integrity. With that said, I would expect that he will go about his Eagles Super Bowl preparations and his future career aspirations in a most professional manner. Unfortunately for the Eagles, I can only assume that as every day passes without an announcement [from] the Saints, they are properly waiting until the conclusion of the Super Bowl to make their announcement of Kellen as their next head coach. Go Birds!!! — Jim V.

It is, of course, a distraction for coaches who are being interviewed by teams seeking new coaches, but it is what it is unless the NFL changes the rules and forbids it until a coach’s team is done playing. I think Kellen Moore will work as hard as he can to prepare an offense to take down the Chiefs, but those seeking to talk to him, of course, will take him away from his work. He has done an outstanding job for the Eagles and wish he would stay, but the dream of every assistant coach is to be a head coach. I think the Chiefs pay Steve [Spagnuolo] very well to keep him from leaving for a head coaching job. Maybe the Eagles need to do the same. — Everett S.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from EJ Smith, Jeff Neiburg, Gabriela Carroll, Ariel Simpson, Gina Mizell, Jonathan Tannenwald, Scott Lauber, Jackie Spiegel, Jasen Lo, John Duchneskie, and Rob Tornoe.

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’s all we got for you today, Philly. Have a good one. — Kerith