The Camden Orange | Sports Daily Newsletter

Syracuse is in the midst of a football rebirth this season. With new coach Fran Brown at the controls, quarterback Kyle McCord and the Orange are 7-3.

A former quarterback and defensive back at Camden High, Brown has not forgotten where he came from. His last job was as an assistant at Georgia, so that should tell you what kind of recruiter he is. And in his first head coaching job, Brown has drawn on his Camden roots to bring in talented players from his old stomping grounds.

Seven of Syracuse’s players are from Camden, another is from Millville, and McCord, a transfer from Ohio State, is from South Jersey as well. (Imagine if Temple, where Brown worked on the staff, had been able to keep this talent closer to home.)

There’s a culture shift happening in upstate New York and Brown is at the center of it.

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

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❓ The Eagles have won six straight, but they still have weaknesses. What is their biggest one? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Joel Embiid had played only two games for the 76ers entering Monday’s road game against the Miami Heat — and he appeared primed to miss another. Yet the former MVP started after showing up on the injury list as questionable with an illness, missing shootaround, and later being downgraded to doubtful. The team recalled rookie Adem Bona in preparation for Embiid to miss the game, but the Sixers star decided to push through after going through a warmup session 45 minutes before tipoff.

But even with Embiid’s presence, the Sixers let a 19-point first half lead slip away in Miami to drop their fourth straight game in a 17-point loss to the Heat. Jared McCain led the Sixers with 20 points.

Injuries continue to bedevil this team, which still hasn’t suited up its Big Three of Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey together this season. Players are feeling the effects. Typically calm and collected, Maxey took to X (formerly Twitter) to take note of the franchise’s doubters before clarifying his message and imploring fans not to give up on the team.

The year Saquon Barkley is having is an eye-popping one. More understated has been the contributions from Kenneth Gainwell, specifically on third down, and he came up big on the drive that resulted in the go-ahead score against the Commanders. So here’s to Kenny.

Zack Baun is no longer overlooked, and in this week’s film review, we have EJ Smith breaking down his big game against the Commanders and why he could be lining himself up for a contract extension.

But hey, the Commanders and Eagles can agree on this: It’s good not to be the Giants.

This season has been full of firsts for the Flyers, as top prospects Matvei Michkov, Jett Luchanko, and Aleksei Kolosov have made their NHL debuts. Monday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche saw a fourth Flyer play his first NHL game as defenseman Helge Grans was called up by the club on an emergency basis. The call-up was perfectly timed for Grans, as his parents are in Philadelphia visiting from their native country Sweden.

But while the news was good for Grans, it was less so for compatriot Sam Ersson. The Flyers have placed Ersson, the team’s No. 1 goaltender, on injured reserve.

The Flyers scored twice in the third period, thanks to goals from Tyson Foerster and Owen Tippett, but couldn’t overcome a slow start in their loss to the Colorado Avalanche, snapping a three-game winning streak.

Who scored the most career points as a Sixer? First with the correct answer here will be featured in the newsletter.

A) Allen Iverson

B) Hal Greer

C) Julius Erving

D) Charles Barkley

We asked you: Should Temple get rid of its football program? Among your responses:

My response is an emphatic “Hell no!” I’m a 1985 graduate of Temple who has since spent 10 years in LA and 26 years in Sarasota, Fla. I’ve watched every single basketball and football game (when available) along the way. I think we need to rebuild our basketball and football programs to bring some national prominence. John Chaney, in my day, put Temple U on the map and into a national discussion as a university. Matt Rhule brought Temple to national prestige in 2015 when ESPN Gameday was in Philadelphia for the Temple vs. Notre Dame game. Like it or not, sports gets people talking about your university. Hearing about your university brings more new students visits, and more interest in the school overall. A university of this size should have a football program — it would be embarrassing not to. Let’s get a real deal coach, build a manageable stadium, and move Temple into the future! — Bob L.

I have been a longtime supporter of TU Football. However, I do not believe the university has any business pursuing football any longer. The schools that do well are bigger, better funded and better sourced. Recruiting the diamond in the rough from the tri-state area has always been Temple’s forte. But the coach that excels at that is not the coach who will be a factor in an FBS school. Those players will probably not be the kids that go onto the NFL. In my opinion as a former Temple D1 athlete, who has seen college sports from the inside, as a fan/supporter/donor and as a parent, I believe Temple has no business squandering its considerable assets on a sport that will never love it back. End this dysfunctional relationship and focus on sports you can win and sports that will benefit young women and men. — Lisa M.

No. Keep the program. — Michael L.

Yes. What does it really have to offer? Will they ever have a true fan base when you attend games with only 10,000 people (who mostly get free or heavily reduced tickets) in a stadium that holds 70,000 and play teams in a conference nobody in Philly even remotely cares about. .....great atmosphere! — D.J.G.

Of course, Temple, a world class urban university, must have excellent athletic programs to compliment it’s large array of excellent arts and academic opportunities. However, there are many components missing to attract elite student-athletes from our region: namely a Temple Stadium football on campus as proposed several years ago, an upgraded marketing program to attract support from students, alumni, a commitment and long range goal setting that involves attracting the most experienced and successful coaching staff with competing salaries. Temple cannot continue to lose top coaches and expect to attract elite student athletes. — Kenneth S.

… I would drop football and concentrate on building an elite basketball program. They have not had a winning record since 2019, and their all time record is also a losing one at 338-456-26. They are in a league where most of the other teams take football much more seriously than Temple. Looking at how far they often have to travel for away games, and the cost of renting Lincoln Financial etc., I am guessing the program costs far more than what it earns. — Everett S.

Very few programs are destined for the ultimate success, to win a national championship. Obviously, that is a very long shot to ever happen at Temple. However, can’t we just enjoy the competition of a Temple football home game on a fall afternoon? For many people who can’t afford the expensive prices of pro football or a 6-hour round trip to Penn State, it is an affordable alternative right here in Philadelphia. … It’s easy to be an Alabama football fan, it takes dedication to be a fan of a team like Temple. I hope that Temple will “fight, fight, fight for the cherry and the White” and keep Temple football. — Joe O.

I think so. I have never thought of Temple as a school where they play football. When I lived in Philly the only time it was discussed was when they had Randy Grossman and Steve Joachim. (That was over 50 years ago.) — Daniel W.

It was not that long ago that Temple was ranked and playing in bowls every year. Recruiting is difficult enough in the present college universe of transfer portals and recruiting to an urban school is even more difficult but to terminate the football program without trying to find the right coach and give them the support needed to field a competitive program is not the solution. — Edward W.

Don’t get rid of the program. The right coach can win at Temple in this conference, see Army and Navy this year. Scheduling Penn State, Pitt and Delaware (moving to 1A next year) as non conference games would generate interest also. — Richard V.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Devin Jackson, Gina Mizell, Gabriela Carroll, Sam O’Neal, Jackie Spiegel, Jonathan Tannenwald, Mike Sielski, EJ Smith, and Isabella DiAmore.

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.

Thank you for reading! Bella will be back at the Sports Daily controls on Wednesday. — Jim