Andrew Noel, Editor

The Eagles are back in the Super Bowl! After a dominant performance against the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship game, the Eagles have earned the right to play for the ultimate championship. The Super Bowl kicks off this Sunday, at 6:30 p.m. on FOX. Here is your one-stop preview of what should be a thrilling game.

First, the opponent. The Kansas City Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl, looking to win their third in a row, which would be a first in NFL history. They are very familiar opponents to the Eagles, who faced them in the Super Bowl just two years ago, with the Chiefs coming out on top. Most recently, the teams faced each other last season, in Kansas City, with the Eagles coming out on top. They are also slated to face one another next season, with that matchup also taking place in Kansas City. There is a saying that familiarity breeds contempt, and given the amount of high-stakes games that these teams have played against one another, one could argue that Chiefs-Eagles is the best current rivalry in the NFL.

One of the oldest sayings in sports is, “offense wins games, and defense wins championships”. This will be the case for the Eagles this Sunday in New Orleans.

It was hard after the Eagles were blown out by the Buccaneers in Week 4 to imagine that they would be on the cusp of a championship. The reason behind the Eagles’ poor start was bad defense, and the reason that they went on to win 15 of the next 16 games was good defense (unsurprisingly, the one lose in that stretch, the defense gave up 36 points). The point is, the Eagles go where the defense takes them, and it will be no different in the Super Bowl.

On paper, this is a matchup that favors the Eagles. Kansas City has been able to put up 30 points only twice this season. A stuttering Chiefs offense versus a red-hot Philadelphia defense, should, at least on paper, favor the Eagles. However, championships are not won on paper, and at the end of the day, this is still the Chiefs, and Patrick Mahomes is still their quarterback.

Eagles fans, when thinking of Sunday’s game, will no doubt have flashbacks to two years ago when the Eagles defense literally could not get a second-half stop, which, despite Jalen Hurts playing the best game of his life, led to the Chiefs winning their second Super Bowl in four years. People should not compare that game to this Sunday. The Eagles are on their third different defensive coordinator since then, and only three of the 11 defensive players that started in that game will suit up for the Eagles in New Orleans. Beyond the fact that these are two great teams, and two deserving Super Bowl winners, nothing from that night in Arizona two years ago is the same as it will be on Sunday.

There are two possibilities. One is that Sunday is one of the greatest days in the entire history of the city of Philadelphia. The other is that the city goes through that indescribable devastation that it has felt many times in the last few years. No matter what happens, this Eagles team should be remembered as one of the best in franchise history. Let’s just hope that the city is able to celebrate with them on Broad Street.

Lily Gebbia, Staff Writer

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles’ Sunday afternoon victory was a massive one against the Baltimore Ravens, a highly anticipated matchup this season. The Eagles won by a mere five points, 24-19, but that score doesn’t tell the tale. Going into the game, fans knew that it would be a rushing frenzy, and that’s exactly what happened. 

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, who just passed Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in MVP contention, had 117 yards of offense and one touchdown, a lot of this offense coming in the second half with the score at 14-12 in the Eagles favor. This is Barkley’s third game in a row with over 100 yards and has achieved this mark seven out of 11 games for the birds. He is a major reason this team is so hot right now and arguably the best team in the league. 

So, with the Eagles winning their last eight in a row, achieving a record of 10-2, why aren’t they in the talks as Super Bowl contenders? They are the fifth most likely team to win the Super Bowl behind the Chiefs, Ravens, Bills and Lions, according to analysts across the league. However, they are number one in their division and number two in their conference by only one game. They have a superb defense that only allows 18.2 ppg, an electric offense with 38 touchdowns and over 4,700 yards over the course of the on-going season. With all that being said, why are they still not seen as true contenders?

The one issue that comes to mind is quarterback Jalen Hurts. Even with over 2,400 yards, 14 touchdowns and the eighth best quarterback rating (64.6), he is still a liability to many. Despite the on-going season, Hurts is underperforming in comparison to his 2022 Super Bowl season. In 2022, he had a better QBR and more touchdowns and yards than he is projected to get this season. Additionally, he is not throwing as much and running a lot more than last season, which is what makes people so weary considering his past injuries. 

Despite these factors, he is making smarter plays and has stayed healthy throughout this year. With the addition of superstar Saquon Barkley, it is understandable that Hurts’ stats wouldn’t be extraordinary. This sheer underperformance from Hurts shouldn’t take away the credit the Eagles deserve. The Eagles are first in rushing, first in defense, and fourth in overall offense, but still remain an afterthought in contention across the league.

Andrew Noel, Editor

By the way people have reacted to the Eagles this season, you would not know they have a great record. Has there ever been an 8-2 team getting such negative vibes from both the media and the fans? Sure, the Eagles, despite winning six games in a row, have not been playing their best football, especially on offense, but that’s a good thing. Teams should not peak in mid-November. If they do, they flame out and do nothing in the playoffs. Case in point is the Eagles of just twelve months ago.

The last week and a half could have been season-defining for the Eagles, but not in a good way. In a space of five days, they had to travel to Dallas, a stadium they have not won in since 2017, and then return home on short rest to face the upstart Commanders in Philadelphia. Everyone knew going into this stretch that the Eagles were good. Everyone was about to find out just how good they are. 

Based on how those five days and two games went, you would have to say, they are pretty good. An easy 34-6 win in Dallas was followed up by a gritty 28-16 win over Washington. Five days, two cities and two divisional wins. It is time to be excited about these Eagles. 

The most exciting part is that their best, at least on paper, is yet to come. Four of the last five games of the season are at home. The Eagles also benefit from having one of the easier remaining schedules in the NFL. Obviously, with the scars of last season still fresh, no one is going to get ahead of themselves, but with where the team is today versus where they were just six weeks ago, it is hard not to be hopeful about how the rest of the season will play out and where it will end (hopefully, New Orleans). 

One can only hope that the Eagles continue to be disregarded by the national media. They are a team that plays better as the underdog. How last season ended proves this point. The Eagles started 10-1 and people were planning for a parade in mid-November. The second that the Eagles became favorites for the Super Bowl is the second that the wheels fell off. Let’s hope that the media keeps ignoring the Eagles as they chase the number-one seed in the NFC; the longer the media keeps doubting them, the better the chances that the Eagles play very deep into January (and hopefully into February). 

As Jason Kelce said on the art museum steps six years ago, “an underdog is a hungry dog.” These Eagles are hungry, so let’s see how far that hunger takes them.

Lily Gebbia, Staff Writer 

PHILADELPHIA– Monday was a big day for La Salle’s men and women’s basketball teams. The women’s basketball team played early Monday morning at 11 a.m. against The University of Maine at Memorial Gymnasium in Maine. Maine upset the Explorers 65-51 with an incredible performance from their starting senior guard, Paula Gallego. Gallego had 21 points, 10 rebounds and went four for six from the three-point-line to lead her team to a blow-out win. 

La Salle men’s basketball played its first game of the season on Monday

Although the women’s team didn’t win, it was a well rounded performance for multiple starters. Notably, junior guard Ayisse Magassa had 13 points, three rebounds and went five for seven from the free throw line. The  Explorers have only faced Maine twice and lost both of those matchups by at least 10 points. This isn’t the way La Salle would have liked to start off their season, but there’s plenty of games ahead in the upcoming months for them to turn around this loss. Looking ahead, the Explorers will face The University of Delaware on Saturday, Nov. 9 at John Glaser Arena for their Home Opener, hopefully with a different result. 

On a more positive note, the La Salle men’s basketball team won their home opener in the new John Glaser Arena on Monday night, 65-52. The Explorers dominated American University with incredible performances from graduate guards Corey McKeithan and Jahlil White. McKeithan led the team in scoring with 16 points while White contributed 15 of his own.

The notable factor for the Explorers was getting to the free throw line and converting. The Explorers went nine for 12 from the line compared to only three for eight from American University. This very convincing win was a great way to start homecoming week for La Salle students, who will surely look forward to their next game. The men’s team will have less than a week until their next home game on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 3:30 p.m. against Lafayette University where the Explorers hold the historical edge, 5-3 against them. 

La Salle basketball has finally started and there’s a long list of games ahead, but the university remains optimistic that both teams have the potential to make big runs this year. 

Andrew Noel, Editor

The Los Angeles Dodgers just won the 2024 World Series. Depending on who you ask, some will say it was their first title since 1988, and others will say it was their second title in five years. The Los Angeles Dodgers also won the World Series in 2020. The legacy of that title, and of all COVID era sports championships, is complicated to say the least. How should these championships be remembered?

There were no crowds in the stands during the 2020 MLB season, and the season itself was just 60 games, a whopping 102 games shorter than in a normal year. The playoff format was also different than it would be in a normal year, with more teams added to the field. Some argue that because of these unique circumstances, the titles won during 2020 should come with an asterisk. However, some may argue that it depends on which sport is being discussed.

The NFL, for example, played a full season (albeit with no fans) and maintained the regular playoff format. Compare this to baseball with the reduced schedule and changed playoffs and it is easy to see why coming to a consensus on this issue is so difficult. 

It is not fair to look at each championship from the same view point, as they all had different circumstances surrounding them. Instead, the fairest way to evaluate championships from this era is to do it individually, not as a group.

Starting with the most straightforward championship, the Super Bowl. As discussed, it came after a full season with the same playoff format as always, no asterisk here.

The NBA and NHL both went into bubbles, where everyone got together in a single city and completed the season in that specific city. The vast majority of the regular season was done for both leagues when the lockdowns both occurred, and the playoff format for both leagues remained largely intact; as a result, both the Lakers and Lightning’ titles should count as full titles.

So far, pretty easy..The hard one, however, is baseball. One of the many things that makes baseball unique is the length of the season which is 162 games. Even with the expanded playoffs, the World Series winners, the LA Dodgers, only played 79 games which is less than half of a normal regular season. Granted, the timing of the lockdowns influenced scheduling decisions as the MLB had just begun its spring training. However, the fact that there could only be 60 games fit into the schedule when both the NBA and NHL stopped their seasons for three months and still completed them, demonstrates the sole controversy in regard to COVID championships. 

The argument will go on forever as to if the championships won during COVID should fully count, but one thing is certain: the Dodgers winning their first “real” title since 1988 certainly helped them get the COVID monkey off their back.

Andrew Noel, Editor

Well, that was quick. Red October lasted all of five days, with the Phillies losing almost without a fight to the Mets. This playoff loss will no doubt be the most consequential of the last three In 2022, the Phillies lost to the Astros in the World Series bringing hope back to the Phillies. In 2023, there was the heartbreaker versus the Diamondbacks proving that this Phillies team is good enough to win a championship. All those good vibes disappeared in just five days, with the archrival Mets leaving the Phillies with an offseason of certainty with more questions than answers.

The main issue with the Phillies is their lineup. The rotation is in a solid spot, especially compared to other World Series contenders, and the bullpen, despite its October collapse, is one of the best in baseball. Not many would complain about adding a bullpen arm, but that should not be where the focus is for the Phillies front office this winter.

In addition to the Phillies’ lineup, a major problem is the lack of variety in style that the hitters have. Every hitter is boom or bust and homerun or strikeout. This leads to wild variations in offensive performance. When things go great, they are unbeatable. However, what happens more often than not and what happened in the playoffs this year, is when everyone gets cold, the offense does not even come close to scoring enough. There was one run in Game 1 and one run in Game 4. The lack of consistent offense has been the Phillies’ downfall these past three years. The good news is that there are free agents available who will be able to help solve these issues.

The Phillies need players who get on base and don’t strike out. Enter 3rd baseman Alex Bregman and outfielder Jurickson Profar. Both are free agents this winter, meaning any team can sign them. The only issue is that neither of them (especially Bregman) will come cheap. 

Another option, albeit unlikely, is superstar outfielder Juan Soto. He will likely command the richest contract in MLB history but is currently younger than every Phillies starter. Signing Soto would extend the Phillies championship window by at least five years. The Phillies, who already have a top five most expensive payroll will face very, very stiff competition for his services. However, Soto is great friends and former teammates with both Bryce Harper and Trea Turner, and he sees current Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long as one of his mentors. Signing Soto is unlikely, but is certainly not impossible. 

These three players can be the last pieces to a championship roster, and with the Phillies players all getting older, time is ticking to transform the Phillies from contenders to winners. 

No matter what the Phillies do this offseason, one thing is clear. The team, as it is right now, can not win a World Series, and not making major changes to the playing roster this winter will be a disservice to the fans and to the city of Philadelphia.