Quinn’s Sports Quickies: Phillies Move On, Tush Push Whines, more ⚾🏈😭🏀

It’s been a while since I tried my rapid fire look around sports. I’m re-dubbing it Quinn’s Sports Quickies. As always, get in the comments with your thoughts. Let’s do it:

Catch and release. The Phillies dismissed the Miami Marlins in the Wild Card Series 2-0 🍾 behind dominant pitching by Zack Wheeler (6.2 innings pitched, 1 earned run) and Aaron Nola (7 IP, 0 ER). The bats did their part, delivering 4 and 7 runs, in what were, quite frankly, easy wins. Now the Phillies face the 104-win Atlanta Braves in the division series beginning Saturday. Interestingly, the broadcast of last night’s game mentioned that the National League has a day off Sunday. I’m not sure if there is a travel day Tuesday or possibly next Thursday (before Game 5). But if Rob Thomson can get three starts collectively from Wheeler and Nola in the 5-game series, I think the Phillies upset the Braves.

Push Eagles Push. Mike Sielski wrote a great piece in the Inquirer detailing some of the whining going on about the Eagles’ “Tush Push” play. (I still prefer my nickname for their version of the quarterback sneak, the “Mush Rush.”) Sielski quotes NBC’s Peter King as saying, “It’s not a football play.” Huh? 🤔 The logic went south from there. (Sielski was being tongue-in-cheek. I’m pretty sure the people he quoted were serious.) I’ll grant that it’s a bad look for the NFL – it’s terrible TV – which I’m guessing is why mostly media people were quoted complaining about it in the article. But even the NFL, one of the most arrogantly run professional sports leagues, didn’t have the stones to ban the signature play of one of last year’s Super Bowl teams in the off-season. I wouldn’t put it past NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to eventually find a way to get rid of it, but doing so would be the most non-competitive move ever by a sports league. I think it’s here to stay as long as the current run of the Eagles lasts.

Running it back? The Sixers opened training camp this week, and once again the guy who’s supposed to be the “Robin” to Joel Embiid’s “Batman” doesn’t want to play here. 😒 General manager Daryl Morey had all off-season to get something for the disgruntled Ben Simmons . . . I mean, James Harden. (Ok, Harden’s not scared to shoot. Usually.) Yet, here we are again. A season that is supposed to be about contending for a championship looking like it will be upended. And, by the way, Harden pretty much disappeared in the playoffs. Reportedly, Harden opted out of his contract two off-seasons ago to give the team salary cap flexibility with the understanding he’d be resigned. He shouldn’t have been given that assurance. The Sixers should have rode out that final year and moved on. That’s probably all they can do now . . . wasting another year of Embiid’s prime.

Just asking. Patrick Mahomes slid to the ground at the end of the Chiefs’ matchup against the Jets instead of walking in for a touchdown on Sunday night. This has become the chic thing to do for a while now. The Chiefs keep possession of the ball and are able to take a knee a couple times. And they win by 3 instead of 10, while being favored by 9.5. Before I go further, I lost 10 bucks, capping a terrible gambling week. But something else caught my attention. David Payne Purdum, who covers gambling for ESPN Chalk tweeted that he’d “estimate conservatively that $80 million was bet on Chiefs-Jets around the US, with 80-90% of the money on favored Kansas City. Mahomes’ heady decision to slide before scoring a TD that would’ve covered the spread undoubtedly caused an 8-figure swing in favor of the books.” Even Mike Tirico, calling the game on NBC, instantly brought up the ramifications for fantasy football players and alluded to people who had other interests, meaning gamblers. (I forget his exact words, but it’s interesting he chose not to just say words like “gambling” or “point spread.”) I’m absolutely not suggesting Mahomes or anyone else directly involved with the game bet on it. But are we really worried about a perfectly legal play by the Eagles, and not an $80 million dollar move? 💵 A thought: Miami scored 70 points last week. They won by 50. The game (and point spread) long since decided, they only took a knee on their very last offensive play, according to the play-by-play. Another thought: Mahomes had dropped back to pass on the play where he eventually slid on 3^rd-and-8 at the Jets’ 11. Presumably, the Chiefs were trying to score. Is it really instinctual to slide just before the endzone on a scramble? Or heady? I’m just asking.

Saw that coming. In the most obvious business move of the year, the USFL and XFL are likely merging. Duh. No way two spring football leagues were going to survive. I hope they stick with the USFL branding. I liked it. They need to have home games and get some local coverage for teams, but I thought it was more than serviceable for something to watch in the spring and early summer. Besides, a decade from now it might be the only professional football not being streamed. 📺