The Philadelphia faithful have yet to see a win, literally or figuratively, so far this month.
asserted
faithful → have → win
Philadelphia sports have had an abysmal October, from blown leads and postseason exits to a winless hockey team.
asserted
sports → have → team
THE EAGLES AREN’T EXACTLY FLYING
The Philadelphia Eagles have lost two heartbreakers in October.
asserted
Eagles → fly → October
First, they blew a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead to the Los Angeles Rams, eventually losing 24-20 and dropping to 2-2.
asserted
they → blow → 2
During the week, they traded away two-time Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens to the Baltimore Ravens, and stalwart right tackle Lane Johnson abruptly retired.
asserted
Johnson → trade → Ravens
They then flew across the pond to London to play the Jacksonville Jaguars and blew another fourth-quarter lead, this one more confounding than last week's.
asserted
one → fly → week
Trailing by one point in the final minute of the game, the Eagles had a first-and-10 on the Jaguars' 34-yard line with 25 seconds left to play.
asserted
Eagles → trail → seconds
The Eagles stopped the clock twice, allowing Jacksonville, which had only one timeout remaining, to get the ball back with eight seconds left after Jake Elliott's go-ahead field goal.
asserted
which → stop → goal
Then, head coach Nick Sirianni elected not to kick the ball out of the end zone, and the Jaguars returned the kick into Cam Little's field goal range.
asserted
Jaguars → elect → range
Little buried the 57-yard field goal as the Jaguars snatched victory from the jaws (or, in this case, claws) of defeat.
asserted
Jaguars → bury → defeat
The NFL's win probability model gave the Eagles a 96.7% chance of winning against the Rams, and ESPN gave the Eagles a 99.9% win probability against the Jaguars after the Elliott field goal.
asserted
ESPN → give → goal
The Eagles lost both games and are now 2-3, falling below .500 for the first time since 2021.
asserted
Eagles → lose → 2021
The Philadelphia Phillies were eliminated by their NL East rivals, the Atlanta Braves, to begin the month in the National League Wild Card Series, and the future looks bleak.
asserted
future → eliminate → Series
After making the World Series in 2022, they have regressed year after year.
asserted
they → make → year
In 2023, they lost in the NLCS, lost in the NLDS in 2024 and 2025, and now in the Wild Card round this season.
asserted
they → lose → round
Since 2022, the team has maintained the same core but has still not managed to get over the hump and win a World Series title.
asserted
team → maintain → title
The issue for the Phillies is that the core of first baseman Bryce Harper (33), designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (33), shortstop Trea Turner (33), catcher J.T. Realmuto (35), starting pitchers Zack Wheeler (36), Aaron Nola (33), Jesús Luzardo (29) and Cristopher Sánchez (29) is only getting older.
Compounding the Phillies’ problems, their farm system was ranked 26th in the sport by MLB.com, meaning there aren’t any immediate options to supplant struggling stars.
The cherry (or Philly cheesesteak) on top of it all?
asserted
system → designate → it
Much of their aging core is under contract for a long time, making those players difficult to trade and potentially undesirable to other teams.
asserted
players → age → teams
Harper’s deal runs through 2031, Schwarber’s through 2030, Turner’s through 2033,
asserted
deal → run → 2033
Luzardo’s through 2031 and Sánchez’s through 2032.
October marked the beginning of a long offseason for the Phillies.
asserted
October → mark → Phillies
THEY ARE BARELY WALKING, NOT FLYING
Should we start with the good news or the bad news first?
asserted
we → walk → news
Let's begin with the positive, because it will be brief: The NHL is back!
asserted
NHL → let → positive
The Flyers haven't won a game, starting the season 0-5-2.
asserted
Flyers → win → season
They have scored a grand total of eight goals in seven games while giving up 28, good for a minus-20 goal differential.
asserted
They → score → differential
The hits don't stop there, though.
asserted
hits → stop → ?
The Carolina Hurricanes decided to remind the city of Philadelphia just how awful its October has been with this brutal tweet.
asserted
October → decide → tweet
The burden LeBron James was going to have in his first season with the Philadelphia 76ers was already going to be substantial, but the NBA great is now tasked with getting the city something that feels impossible right now: a win.
His first crack at a victory will be next Tuesday, when the 76ers play the reigning champion New York Knicks.
asserted
76ers → go → Knicks
The Aporia
