Rumors

During the NFL season, we saw a huge uptick in the trend of players wearing customized sneakers-turned-cleats during their games on Sundays. Eagles’ Jalen Hurts was consistently rocking the newest Air Jordan footwear on the field, while players like Stefon Diggs and Tyreek Hill continued to show out with their custom creations.

Clutch Points

To be clear, the Eagles have not publicly stated whether they will or won’t go to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs. But according to Barkley, they should go. “I don’t care who the president is,” Barkley said on the latest episode of The Steam Room podcast with co-host Ernie Johnson. “He’s the President of the United States. It’s bothered me, the last 10 years, they’re like, ‘Well, I’m not going because this certain person is president.’ Dude, it’s the President of the United States. “Even though I disagree with President Trump on some things, if I met him, I would still give him the respect and dignity he deserves. We can disagree, but it bothers me when these teams don’t want to go to the White House. I’m just disappointed…we got so divided. Where did we get to as a country when we’re like, ‘We’re not going to the White House, we don’t like who’s in there.’ That’s just stupid.”

Awful Announcing

Miami Heat president and minority owner Pat Riley could see his wealth expand if the Kansas City Chiefs, who won Super Bowls 2023 and 2024, defeat the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday and become the first team to pull off a Super Bowl “three-peat.” Riley famously trademarked the term more than three decades ago and controls the commercial rights for use of the phrase. Sportico has learned that the Chiefs are in discussions with Riley’s team on a license for three-peat. If a deal is reached, the Chiefs would pass rights through to a handful of companies—Fanatics, New Era, Wilson, Riddell and Wincraft—to make products. Neither the Chiefs nor an attorney for Riley responded to a request for comment.

Sportico

Zach Berman: Jeffrey Lurie on report linking him to buying the Celtics: "No, I'm not really interested in acquiring another sports team. I think it's connected because they're my childhood team. I've got a tremendous amount of respect for their whole culture. I sort of see it as like a kindred soul in the NBA. Wyc (Grousbeck) has been an outstanding owner. I love the way they've developed that team. And we've got to celebrate so many banners over the years. It's not something that's top of mind. And my whole focus is on my love of the Eagles and to win another Super Bowl for Philadelphia. And I'm obsessed."

x.com

Austin Krell: In non-Eagles injury news, Joel Embiid is not listed on the injury report for tomorrow’s game vs the Spurs. Victor Wembanyama is not listed for San Antonio. The only time the two faced off in the NBA, Embiid scored 70 points.

bsky.app

Stefan Bondy: Jalen Brunson and Jason Kelce pick the Eagles to beat the Falcons by 50.

Twitter

Alongside three booths were multiple photos of Bryant with the restaurant’s employees and customers. In others, he is with friends in that exact nook, now named Kobe’s Corner. A poster shows him wearing an Eagles beanie while hanging out with his daughter Gianna above the words, “Goodbye Kobe, Gianna Bryant. You will forever be missed” — a replica of a banner that hung outside Larry’s the day after the two died with seven other people in a 2020 helicopter crash in Calabasas. Kobe’s Corner showed Bryant at his purest — just a regular guy who loved his family and friends, liked to grub down with them, and happened to be one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet.

Los Angeles Times

The Sixers want to take things slow with Melton as he moves forward and Philadelphia wants to make sure he is going to be ready for the big games and matchups in the future. “Just physically taking hits,” Melton said of any challenges at the moment. “Taking hits and landing and stuff like that has been the biggest thing. When I first got out there, I was a little nervous just to hit somebody off rip, but once I hit somebody, I felt pretty good about how the back responded. Now it’s just pretty much mentally and staying on top of my rehab.”

USA Today

Let’s put it another way. An estimated 17.2 million people watched the NBA on Christmas. In comparison, 29 million people watched Giants vs. Eagles on Monday afternoon. The Giants are 5-10 on the season and are only notable to a non-NFL person like me because their Italian-American QB is feuding with their social media manager (or something, I’m not an NFL person). Almost twice as many people watched that team face off against the Eagles than watched any of the five NBA games.

Tom Ziller

UTA Sports was created nearly four years ago in anticipation for greater investment in sports while leveraging Klutch’s client sheet, which includes high-profile pro athletes such as Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts . Paul says appointing Thau was a “no-brainer” due to his rapport and complementary skill sets. “We’re interchangeable in a lot of ways in terms of this initiative,” Paul, a UTA board member, said in a video interview. “You need that duo, that one-two punch, and more. It makes all the sense in the world.”

Sportico

After leading the Eagles to a 23-11 record, their fifth regular-season championship since 1987 and the National Invitation Tournament’s second round, the 6-foot, 7-inch, 195-pound 2019 Ellensburg High School grad Steele Venters announced Friday via Twitter his intent to transfer and to declare for the 2023 NBA Draft while retaining his final two years of collegiate eligibility.

dailyrecordnews.com

Had all gone according to plan, Towns might have been able to return in that 12-week window. But he said he suffered “a major setback” in his recovery in late January. Towns posted a picture of himself on Jan. 29 watching his beloved Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL playoffs, wearing a custom green jersey with his name on the back. Also significant in the photo: Towns was wearing a boot on his right foot after being seen earlier in January with no boot. “It was obvious. You have a boot one day, then you’re out of a boot and now you’re back in a boot. That’s a setback,” he said, declining to say what specifically happened. “I think there will be a time and place to talk about that. But not right now.”

The Athletic

He was drafted by both the NBA and NFL, briefly playing for the Minneapolis Lakers after college and winning an NBA title, before transitioning full time to football with the Eagles, where he played two years as a defensive end and wide receiver.

wjbf.com

Joe Mussatto: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, a KC native, said he stayed humble after his Chiefs won the Super Bowl. He knew plenty of Eagles fans from his Villanova days. JRE said the team watched the game at Shai’s house.

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