⛰️ Mountain’s climb | Sports Daily Newsletter

Today, we’re leading off with one of the best stories of resilience I’ve read in quite some time.

The past couple seasons have not been the best for La Salle women’s basketball coach Mountain MacGillivray. Each year has seemingly been more of a rebuild than the year before yet, there’s MacGillivray screaming instructions from the sideline, doing his best to orchestrate the Explorers to defy expectations.

But in the backdrop of having to reconstruct a roster are real issues. MacGillivray, a father of eight, takes shifts looking after his daughter, who recently came home from the hospital after her second battle with leukemia. And earlier this year, MacGillivray’s beloved father, Mark, died at 72. But MacGillivray keeps finding the bright side in life.

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

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❓Which athlete or coach is an inspiration? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

There’s been a lot of noise in Eagles land this week.

It started with A.J. Brown’s frustration with the passing game after Sunday’s win over Carolina. Things got worse Monday when injured Eagle Brandon Graham poured gasoline on the fire during his weekly radio appearance on WIP by speculating that Brown and QB Jalen Hurts’ relationship had deteriorated.

On Wednesday, Brown and Hurts spoke to the media for the first time since Graham elevated the situation to a full-blown crisis. Brown clarified that he wasn’t directing his “passing” response directly at Hurts but was trying to communicate that the entire passing operation needed to improve. “Me and Jalen are good,” he added.

Hurts echoed similar sentiments, conceding that he needed to be better in some areas and saying he accepts his responsibility as QB1.

“Heavy is the head, it comes with it,” Hurts said. “And it’s a privilege. I tend to thrive in moments like this.”

Garrett Crochet found a new home during the winter meetings when the White Sox traded him to the Red Sox for four prospects on Wednesday. After rekindling July trade talks for the left-hander, the Phillies stood down when part of the asking price was prized pitching prospect Andrew Painter. That’s because Dave Dombrowski thinks Painter is “pretty good” along with other prospects who are on the verge of making an impact. Scott Lauber puts a wrap on the winter meetings with some takeaways from Dallas.

The Phillies lost their minor league pitcher of the year in Wednesday’s Rule 5 draft.

Winners of four of their last five games, the 76ers feel good coming out of a four-day break in the schedule. And with a stretch of 14 games, nine of which will be played against teams with losing records, they might have reason to be. After a rough start to the season, the Sixers obviously have some issues to clean up along the way. Their big priority will be getting Paul George more involved when he plays alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. They’ll also look to cut down on unforced turnovers and shoot the ball better. “There are about six or seven games right now where we played pretty well,” Nick Nurse said. “There’s still so much low-hanging fruit we can get better at right now.”

On the heels of three straight losses, the Flyers entered Tuesday needing a victory against a subpar Columbus team.

They got one thanks to a complete team effort that featured contributions from several lines. The trio of Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost, and Matvei Michkov was especially impactful, combining for two goals and five points and largely tilting the ice in the Flyers’ favor during a 5-3 win.

As Jackie Spiegel writes in her takeaways, Tuesday’s effort is part of a larger trend when it comes to continuity and chemistry.

Dec. 12, 1968: Tennis great Arthur Ashe becomes the first Black player to rank No. 1 in the world.

On Tuesday, we asked if the Eagles passing game is a concern.

Yes, the passing game is a worry. Hurts needs to do a much better job at reading plays and getting the ball out quicker. He’s always struggled with a quick release but if he wants to be a long term quarterback he can’t rely solely on his running to get out of situations. More work with the quarterbacks coach, a different mindset, and more repetition so it becomes innate to get the ball out of his hands all will help him have a long, successful career. Your legs can only take you so far. I wish him the best! — Bob L.

The passing game is definitely a concern. Jalen is being Jalen. Slow to find receivers, slow to throw the ball and not very good on timing patterns and hitting receivers before they make their breaks. Why? He doesn’t want interceptions. The losses he takes on running around and eventually getting stacked only make it more difficult to control the ball, get easy first downs, and dominate the game offensively. Yes, Saquon is being featured, but that should open up the passing game, and Jalen just isn’t getting it done. If this continues the Birds will go nowhere in the playoffs. If that happens, look for Jalen to be shopped in the offseason. — Tom G.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Avery Hill, Jackie Spiegel, Ariel Simpson, Jonathan Tannenwald, Keith Pompey, Gina Mizell, Scott Lauber, Olivia Reiner, and Jeff Neiburg.

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.

Thanks for reading, Philly. Jim will be back in your inboxes to close out the newsletter for the week. — Kerith