Coach Fran Brown takes Camden with him as he leads a turnaround at Syracuse

Syracuse is experiencing a football rebirth this season. With new coach Fran Brown at the helm, quarterback Kyle McCord and the Dutch are 7-3.

Brown, a former quarterback and defensive back at Camden High, hasn’t 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 leveraged his Camden roots to bring in talented players from his old ranks.

Seven of Syracuse’s players are from Camden, another is from Millville, and McCord, a transfer from Ohio State, is also from South Jersey. (Imagine if Temple, where Brown was on staff, could have kept this talent closer to home.)

There is a culture change happening in New York State and Brown is at the center of it.

– Jim Zwaan, @phillysport, [email protected].

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

Joel Embiid had played just two games for the 76ers entering Monday’s road game against the Miami Heat — and he looked ready to miss another one. Still, the former MVP started after appearing on the injury list as questionable due to an illness, missing a shootaround and later being downgraded to questionable. The team recalled rookie Adem Bona in preparation for missing Embiid, but the Sixers star decided to press on after going through a warm-up session 45 minutes before tip-off.

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

Injuries continue to haunt this team, which still can’t match the Big Three of Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey this season. Players feel the effects. Normally 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.

Saquon Barkley’s year is an eye-opening one. More subdued were Kenneth Gainwell’s contributions, particularly at third, and he came up big on the drive that resulted in the go-ahead goal against the Commanders. So here’s to Kenny.

Zack Baun is no longer overlooked, and in this week’s film review we tell EJ Smith about his big game against the Commanders and why he could be in line for a contract extension.

Anyway, the Commanders and the Eagles agree on this: it’s good not to be the Giants.

This season has been full of firsts for the Flyers as standouts Matvei Michkov, Jett Luchanko and Aleksei Kolosov made their NHL debuts. In Monday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, a fourth Flyer played his first NHL game when defenseman Helge Grans was called up by the club on an emergency basis. The call came at a perfect time for Grans, as his parents are in Philadelphia visiting from their native Sweden.

But while the news was good for Grans, it was less so for fellow countryman 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 could not overcome a slow start in their loss to the Colorado Avalanche, snapping a three-game winning streak.

Worth a look

🧠 Trivia time

Who scored the most career points as a Sixer? The first with the correct answer will be mentioned here in the newsletter.

A) Allen Iverson

B) Hal Greer

C) Julius Erving

D) Charles Barkley

The schedule

What you say about Tempel

We asked you: Should Temple cut its football program? Among your comments:

My response is an emphatic “Hell no!” I graduated from Temple in 1985 and have since spent 10 years in LA and 26 years in Sarasota, Florida. I watched every basketball and football game (when available) along the way. I think we need to rebuild our basketball and football programs to get any national exposure. In my time, John Chaney put Temple U on the map and brought it into the national discussion as a university. Matt Rhule brought Temple to national prestige in 2015 when ESPN Game day was in Philadelphia for the Temple vs. game. Notre Dame. Whether you like it or not, sports make people talk about your university. Hearing about your university means more new students coming and more interest in the school in general. A university of this size should have a football program; it would be shameful not to. Let’s find a real coach, build a manageable stadium and move Temple into the future! – Bob L.

I have been a supporter of TU Football for a long time. However, I don’t believe the university has anything to do with football anymore. The schools that do well are larger, better funded and better resourced. Recruiting diamonds in the rough from the tri-state area has always been Temple’s strength. But the coach who excels at that is not the coach who will be a factor at an FBS school. Those players probably won’t be the kids who go to 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 wasting its considerable assets on a sport that will never see it again keep . 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 real fan base when you attend games with only 10,000 people (who usually get free or heavily discounted tickets) in a stadium that seats 70,000 and play against teams in a conference that no one in Philly even remotely cares about ? …..great atmosphere! – DJG

Of course, Temple, a world-class urban university, must have excellent athletics programs to complement its wide range of excellent arts and academic opportunities. However, many components are missing to attract top student-athletes from our region: namely, Temple Stadium football on campus as proposed several years ago, an enhanced marketing program to attract student and alumni support, a commitment and a long-term goal which includes recruiting the most experienced and successful technical staff with competitive salaries. Temple cannot continue to lose top coaches and expect to attract top athletes. –Kenneth S.

… I would drop football and focus on building an elite basketball program. They haven’t had a winning record since 2019, and their all-time record is also a losing record at 338-456-26. They are in a league where most 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 suspect the program costs a lot more than it generates. –Everett S.

Very few programs are destined for the ultimate success: winning a national championship. Obviously, this is a very long shot to ever happen at Temple. However, can’t we just enjoy the competition of a Temple home game on a fall afternoon? For many people who can’t afford the expensive prices of pro football or a six-hour round trip to Penn State, it’s 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 Temple will “fight, fight, fight for the cherry and the White” and keep Temple football. – Joe O.

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

It wasn’t that long ago that Temple was ranked every year and played in bowls. Recruiting is hard enough in today’s college universe of transfer portals and recruiting for an urban school is even harder, but shutting down the football program without trying to find the right coach and give them the support needed to build a competitive program putting is not the solution. . –Edward W.

Don’t lose the program. The right coach can win at Temple in this conference, see Army and Navy this year. Scheduling Penn State, Pitt and Delaware (moved to 1A next year) as non-conference matchups would also generate interest. –Richard V.

We put together today’s newsletter with 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 those of The Inquirer Terms of Useincluding the grant of rights in Article 10.

Thanks for reading! Bella will be present again at the Sports Daily checks on Wednesday. –Jim