End of an era | Sports Daily Newsletter

Less than 24 hours after Temple beat Florida Atlantic University in overtime Saturday, athletic director Arthur Johnson announced that Stan Drayton was out as the football coach with two games left in the season.

In nearly three seasons at the helm, Drayton finished with a 9-25 record, including a 4-18 record against American Athletic Conference opponents, and was 0-15 on the road.

So where does Temple go from here? Drayton, who was Texas’ running backs and associate head coach prior to taking the job at North Broad, inherited a 3-9 team from Rod Carey. The Owls haven’t had a winning record since 2019, and for the fifth straight year, there will be no bowl game.

Temple needs a major hire to turn the program around. Here are four options who could be considered for the job.

However, columnist Marcus Hayes writes when you fire a coach after a win, it might mean that the program has more underlying issues and probably needs to go away.

— Isabella DiAmore, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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Andrew Painter is healthy and pitching again. He’s on course to make his major league debut in 2025, two years later than expected, but how many innings can the Phillies count on from Painter? They’re working on it, with the same methodical approach they’ve taken during his successful recovery from Tommy John surgery.

Lane Johnson has been so good for so long that his impact on the field is something that seems to just exist in perpetuity. But he might be having his best season yet. The All-Pro right tackle has allowed just four pressures this season on 541 total snaps. Also, Jalen Carter doesn’t need sacks to dominate. Here are some other Eagles trends that might be flying under the radar.

Eagles fan Julianne Affanato threw her kelly green jersey on stage to Jason Kelce at the Mt. Joy pregame concert on Thursday. But she never got it back after Kelce signed it. However, thanks to a Facebook group called Philaqueens, Kelce replaced her jersey and more.

This isn’t the way the 2-10 Sixers wanted to start the season. The team is struggling because of their medical report, increased ages, scoring droughts, lack of continuity, and shockingly lackluster execution. Their ability to get out of this funk relies heavily on the Big Three of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey finally getting on the court together and playing well.

Heading into Monday’s matchup with the Heat, the Sixers are focused on eliminating “really egregious” turnovers. On Friday, the Magic parlayed the Sixers’ 11 second-half turnovers into 15 points, flipping an eight-point deficit into a double-digit lead before winning, 98-86.

There have been two constants in the Flyers’ three-game winning streak against the San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, and Buffalo Sabres. One is the defensive group, as the same six guys have skated all three games. The other never touches a puck or hits the ice. Meet the Flyers’ secret weapon: black hoodies with a camo Flyers logo for the coaches.

After their 5-2 win over the Sabres Saturday night, the Flyers are on a hot streak. They have won seven of 11 and have points in five straight games. Here are four reasons why they may have turned a corner.

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

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Devin Jackson, Declan Landis, Jeff Neiburg, Keith Pompey, Marcus Hayes, Jackie Spiegel, Gina Mizell, Gabriela Carroll, Ariel Simpson, Mia Messina, and Jonathan Tannenwald.

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! Let’s have a great week, Philly. Jim will be back on the controls tomorrow. — Bella