Today’s Friday is more enjoyable. The Eagles are 5-1. The Nationals are out of the NLDS, again. But we’ll stick with the Eagles for now.

Catch up or relive some of the best parts of the game in our live thread. There were some great moments, but also plenty of bad ones, especially when EVERY PENALTY EXCEPT ONE WAS AGAINST THE EAGLES. How this is possible I still don’t understand, but the Birds defeated the Panthers and Pete Morelli’s old ass last night.

The Panthers had one penalty for one yard. That was on the two-point conversion on which the refs never gave the option for Pederson to go for two in the first place.

And we did it without Lane Johnson.

Also, Nigel Bradham played out of his mind on defense. He made plenty of big tackles that stopped drives for Carolina, and Mychal Kendricks played a big role when Jordan Hicks left the game in the second half.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Kempski gives out his 10 awards from the game, Paul Domowitch lists five quick observations, and Les Bowen on the offensive line improving after a very rough start.

But isn’t this such a sweet feeling?

The Roundup:

The Sixers play their preseason finale tonight against the Miami Heat in Kansas City. Markelle Fultz is questionable with knee soreness.

This is Joel Embiid’s homecoming after spending his lone college season with the Jayhawks. His status is unknown, but he says he’s playing. He also misses the KU campus:

“I don’t know if anyone knows this story, but I actually decided to stay because I love this place so much,” Embiid said about the time after his freshman season. “But I was kind of pushed to leave” for the NBA. “But I love this place so much.”

Part of the reason is that Embiid blossomed into an elite basketball player during his lone season at Kansas. He said he wouldn’t have been the third pick in the draft without coming here. That’s why Embiid was overjoyed to practice in the fieldhouse.

“I’m really thankful,” he said.

Wanting to take in the campus, Embiid opted not to ride the team bus to practice. He walked from the team hotel to the fieldhouse.

Embiid playing is good for the Sixers. But is it also bad?

For success-starved fans of the 76ers, it must have been both glorious and nerve-racking to watch Embiid eviscerate the Nets. For every brilliant play that he made — and there were more than a few, including the 40-footer that he swished during a dead ball — there was a more minor-key moment when he flirted with danger. Was that a slight grimace after he took a fall in the second quarter? An almost imperceptible limp after a tumble in the third?

Basketball is a physical sport, and contact is unavoidable. But forgive those fans who would prefer that Embiid cover himself with bubble wrap.

Brown understands. He used the word “reckless” to describe Embiid’s Tonka Truck style — “He doesn’t know any other way to play,” Brown said — but expressed hope that Embiid would settle into a more conservative frame of mind once his playing time is more consistent, an imposing prospect for the rest of the Eastern Conference.

18 years ago yesterday, Wilt Chamberlain passed away at the age of 63.

Thank god NBC Sports I’m Also Not Calling Them By Their Full Name And I’ll Stick With Philly aired the Sixers-Nets game on Wednesday. This fan base is unbelievable. They won’t broadcast tonight’s game, but that’s fine.

The Phillies plan to interview Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway for their managerial job.

So far, the team has interviewed Juan Samuel, Dusty Wathan, and Jorge Velandia.

Ryan Lawrence grades each hitter:

Aaron Altherr, A-

Phillies fans should thank Howie Kendrick for his inability to stay on the field, eh? As a result, Altherr, who was deserving of more playing time coming out of camp, got it and thrived. He was one of 36 major league outfielder with at least 18 home runs and a .340 or higher OBP in 2017. The only knock on Altherr was that he was once again slowed by injuries. He hit .228 with a .288 OBP in his final 28 games (after the first or two stints on the DL with a hamstring injury in mid-July).

Rhys Hoskins, A

We really don’t have to explain this one, do we? Hoskins basically did in Philadelphia what Gary Sanchez did for the New York Yankees the previous season, arriving on the scene late and creating nightly Home Run Derby drama. (Notable: Sanchez finished second in the 2016 A.L. Rookie of the Year voting, despite playing in just 53 games.). Hoskins slowed down in the season’s 2 1/2 weeks, but even with that slump, only Aaron Judge had more walks after August 31. Extra credit to Hoskins for playing predominantly at a position (left field) he hadn’t taken reps at since college prior to two months ago.

The Flyers plan to unveil a new Ed Snider statue at the Wells Fargo center next Thursday, the 50th anniversary of the team’s first ever home game.

Custom created and built by Chad Fisher, of Fisher Sculpture of Dillsburg, PA, the nine-foot tall, 1,300-pound bronze statue will stand on a three-foot base encased by solid granite. The process, which took eight months from start to finish, began in the Archives office of the Wells Fargo Center where Fisher selected photos of Snider to base his design. Fisher met with members of the Snider Family and Comcast Spectacor executives to agree on the proper layout.

The statue is being unveiled on the 50th anniversary of the first-ever Philadelphia Flyers home game when the team made its debut at the Spectrum against the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 19, 1967.

In other sports news, the Cubs defeated the Nationals 9-8 to advance to the NLCS. Washington can’t get out of the first round once again.

Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension was reinstated by a court ruling, but don’t expect it to be the end of this saga.

Michael Jordan is not a fan of the superteams:

“I think it’s going to hurt the overall aspect of the league from a competitive standpoint…You’re going to have one or two teams that are going to be great, and another 28 teams that are going to be garbage. Or they’re going to have a tough time surviving in the business environment.”

Roger Goodell’s wife is the newest victim of using an anonymous Twitter account to defend someone. In this case, it’s her husband.

Two Winnipeg Jet players caught a 600 pound sturgeon that took them about a half-hour to reel in.

Barstool Sports is coming to ESPN2:

Could these kids beat the US Men’s National Team?

In the news, Philadelphia Police are searching for an escaped prisoner.

The wildfires in Northern California continue to burn on.

President Donald Trump plans to end some subsidies from the Affordable Care Act.  He’s also expected to make an announcement regarding the Iran nuclear deal.

Paris hopes to ban gas-powered cars by 2030.

Finnair Flight 666 flew to HEL(sinki) earlier today.