PHILLY FAN FIVE - May 8, 2026
Five Topics. One City. One Rabid Fan. One Newsletter.
Welcome to the Philly Fan Five!
Here’s the gist! Every Friday (hopefully) I’ll be releasing this newsletter right on Substack. It will cover FOUR hot topics in Philly sports and ONE of the hottest topics blazing through sports media in general. I am sure there will be weeks with three and two or some sort of combination. There may even be some pop culture talk when a certain topic, show, or movie captivates the people! But there will always be a plan to cover it all locally and nationally. Let’s get going.
Clocks Strikes Midnight on Cinderella Flyers
Starting with the Flyers because I am fearful this is the last time I will be able to talk about their games. Man, what a fun team. It has been thoroughly enjoyable watching this team takeoff on the back stretch of the year and create some magic in the playoffs. I hope they become the Hurricanes honestly. I thought they were the 2022 Phillies, maybe they were the 2007 Phillies after all. They look outgunned and outmanned against the Canes and it does not help losing Owen Tippett all series on top of that. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how bad this Power Play is. Who would’ve thought the cost of my electric bill would NOT be the biggest PECO affiliated thing ruining my life right now.
I hope they win Game 4 for the sake of just getting to watch them play again.
“Madison Square Garden East”
Knicks fans infiltrating Xfinity Mobile Arena is actually bad for everyone. This is not some sign of superior fandom for Knicks fans. They have been priced out of living in their city, and they have been priced out of Madison Square Garden. There are certain apartment agencies in Philadelphia who advertise specifically to New Yorkers. They preach about what an easy Amtrak commute it is from 30th Street Station back “home” while the rent would be more affordable here. And it’s not JUST the influx of former New York residents who have moved South down 95 to our friendly confines. Let’s talk tickets too. Lowest ticket price for Game 3 in Philadelphia: $179. Lowest ticket price for Game 5 in New York: $546. Both are upper level, last row in the arena seats by the way. Even if you wanted to travel back to NYC and catch the game at The Mecca, it would cost you TRIPLE. It annoys me when Knicks fans take over our arena. But NOTHING annoys me more than true fans being priced out of sports.
Sorry To Do the Jared McCain Thing Again But…
You were THAT sure that McCain couldn’t give you 90 seconds to spell Maxey in a crucial playoff game? That is insane to me. The defending champion Thunder seem to think he can! The fight the Sixers showed in Game 2 without Joel Embiid was awesome. It felt like they were in control of that game for three quarters through their defensive pressure and some shot creation on offense. The only weakness they showed was Drummond on KAT and they fixed that by the second half with Dominic Barlow. They got pleasantly surprising minutes out of a Paul George/Barlow 4/5 combo where PG guarded KAT. Seriously, it felt like they did everything right until the gas tank hit E. They lost that game because two roster spots were given to Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon and then they traded Jared McCain at the deadline.
For the record, I still believe in this Sixers team. It is the most enjoyable core of players to watch…well maybe ever in the Process Era. Just get that first win!
Sorry To Do the Dianna Russini Thing Again But…
They’re calling it the least sneaky, Sneaky Link in romance history. How is there still evidence of you two coming out every week?! You rented a BOAT and put BOTH your names on it?! We’re a week away from finding out these two paid for a billboard together. Do you think they listened to the public Spotify playlist they created together on the public they rented together? My God.
How this impacts the Eagles: this feels somehow like only the tip of the iceberg of this scandal. Despite the fact they have had photos and videos and tweets and boats leaked of them together for a month. So, if Vrabel loses his job before June 1st, does the AJ Brown to the Patriots deal still work? It by all accounts seems like an under the table handshake agreement. And one of the hands is no longer under the table, it is steering a boat with his mistress.
Noah Kahan Wrapped “Album of the Year” by May
The last Noah Kahan album was such a perfect timepiece, had so many hits, (and so many deluxe versions), I was curious if he could recapture the magic. That would be yes.
There are SEVERAL songs on this “The Great Divide” album that are already my favorite songs of the past few years regardless of any artist. American Cars and Staying Still in case anyone was wondering.
He crushed it with the songwriting again. Writing the songs like Haircut from the perspective of his friend who didn’t make it out of their small town? Brilliant. And yet again, really relatable lyrics for anyone who tried to make it but leave their friends or their hometown behind. Even if that place or those people are the fabric of what made you to begin with.
I also love when an intro song on an album takes you to a specific time or place in your memory in a way that sets the tone for the album. When you hear the piano intro on End of August you genuinely feel like you are transported to watching a sunset at the End of August. Especially here in the Northeast.
10/10 album with a listen back value that will last decades.