Last night was a reminder of where the Sixers stand in terms of their growth and development.

They’re beyond the point of losing nearly every game. Even though they went on a five-game winning streak, there’s still flaws that opponents are able to pick out. And the Sacramento Kings did just that with a 109-108 win in the final seconds.

The Kings scored seven unanswered points in the game’s final 1:38, which reminded me a little bit of the loss to the Rockets at home two weeks ago.

Robert Covington, who’s had a huge impact on the team’s success, had a game-high 24 points, while Joel Embiid (22 points, 15 rebounds) and Dario Saric (13 points, 10 rebounds) each had double-doubles.

But the Kings’ bench played a significant role, outscoring the Sixers’ reserves 56-17. The Sixers also had eight more turnovers than Sacramento.

The team has a big game ahead Saturday night in the Bay Area against the Golden State Warriors. Also, be sure to read Kevin Kinkead’s post on how the Sixers are numbers wise, along with balanced contributions from the team.

The Roundup:

There was some good news involving Philly teams. The Flyers showed up after a five-day break, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks at home 3-1. The entire first line of Claude Giroux, Jake Voracek, and Sean Couturier scored all three goals and contributed to seven of the team’s eight total points. Goalie Brian Elliott made 38 saves on 39 shots to get the win.

Shayne Gostisbehere made history, becoming the fastest defenseman in franchise history to score 100 points with his assist on the second goal:

https://twitter.com/CFJastrzembski/status/928783603001110528

Radko Gudas made his return to the ice as well.

Up next are the Minnesota Wild Saturday night back in Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, Nolan Patrick still hasn’t practiced with the team after suffering a concussion seven games ago. Ron Hextall thinks he’s close to practicing again:

“It’s a matter of kind of ramping him up every day and hopefully things continue on the path they’re going on right now,” Hextall said.

Hextall said Patrick’s recovery has “taken longer than we thought and certainly hoped, but he skated [Thursday] and everything went good. He worked out. You just can’t go from zero to 60; it’s got to be zero to 20 and then up, so he’ll go a little harder”  Friday.

The general manager said he did not anticipate sending Patrick  to the AHL’s Phantoms for a rehab stint. He also ruled out sending him back to his junior team in Brandon.

Nobody will have a better bye week than Timmy Jernigan. The defensive tackle signed a four-year extension reportedly worth $48 million. $26 million is guaranteed. Huge move by Howie Roseman.

LeGarrette Blount wanted Corey Clement to get his third touchdown of the game against the Broncos. I think the running backs are happy here.

Carson Wentz and his AO1 Foundation will hold his first ever charity softball game at Citizens Bank Park on June 1. It’ll pit the Eagles offensive stars against the team’s defensive players:

The family of Roy Halladay issued a statement two days after the former pitcher’s death, including info about a public service down in Clearwater on Tuesday:

The radio host that was dumb to say that Halladay deserved to die is a hypocrite. And to nobody’s surprise, he went on the air yesterday to apologize for his comments. He’s still a scum.

There was another scum that tried to take a jersey away from the Halladay memorial at Citizens Bank Park:

The man, who’s accused of placing the jersey under his jacket, was chased down by officers.

Police say the man was cited for disorderly conduct and released.

Authorities add that since no one claimed ownership of the jersey, no charges will be filed.

Finally, a great personal story from Jim McCormick on how Halladay helped him battle through a personal battle:

The smell of cotton candy being whipped was actually in the air. Cases of water sat wrapped on pallets. It was an immersive baseball climate. From the corner of my eye, I see someone in the third-base stands running the steps. It looks oddly mechanical, like a precision you couldn’t match if you tried.

It’s Halladay. I have no interest in false mythologies. I don’t often believe the “first to the stadium, last to leave” narrative given just how human most humans are. This was different. He was honestly running the damn steps. I stopped at the railing, just behind the plate at the park, and just watched. It just didn’t stop. It was a Powerade commercial. It was a person reflecting on results and working on that goal.

It was love of craft.

There is an “inside baseball” anecdote about how Halladay and Chris Carpenter were in a hotel room together during Spring Training 1998, amid a time when both were struggling for the Blue Jays and famous pitching guru Mel Queen gave them a rousing speech of how they’d reconnect with the game and both would thrive as professional pitchers at the highest level. Queen was all about mental reflection in pitching.

In non-Halladay news, Gabe Kapler is…my god, that dude’s jacked up.

Tonight’s a night for college sports. Temple football travels to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats at 7 pm on ESPN2. The Owls look to win their second straight game and keep their bowl hopes alive.

The Owls hoops team defeated the Jefferson Rams (the artist formerly known as Philadelphia University) in an exhibition last night.

But there will be two regular season college hoops games tonight in and around the city. Drexel opens their regular season at the DAC against Bowling Green at 7 pm, while sixth ranked Villanova hosts Columbia at 8:30 on FS2. Villanova is playing most of their home games at the Wells Fargo Center while the Pavilion undergoes a major renovation.

In other sports news, once again, the Ezekiel Elliott suspension is back on. And it starts on Sunday:

Elliott can appeal to the full 2nd Circuit or even the Supreme Court, but they appear to be extreme long shots. Elliott will be suspended for at least four games before the December 1 hearing, including the Sunday Night Football game next week against the Eagles.

In the Seahawks’ 22-16 victory over the Cardinals, Richard Sherman ruptured his Achilles and is done for the year. He knew it when it happened:

Sherman was one of many Seahawks that got banged up during the game. Duane Brown, Frank Clark, Sheldon Richardson, and Kam Chancellor also got hurt to go along with Earl Thomas, who didn’t play.

A day after being released by the Packers, tight end Martellus Bennett is back with the New England Patriots.

Jerry Jones’ attorney says NFL owners are being misled over Roger Goodell’s contract negotiations. So he’s probably pissed about something and he wants his way.

The Colts released former Pro Bowl cornerback Vontae Davis before he could have season-ending surgery on his groin. The team has zero defensive starters from last year’s season opener.

Devils forward Brian Boyle shed tears after scoring his first goal since he was diagnosed with leukemia:

Nike is trying to stop their new NBA jerseys from ripping.

This is crazy: For eight years, a teenage girl from Missouri disguised herself online as baseball writer Ryan Schultz, who wrote for three sites, including Beyond the Box Score for SB Nation:

Schultz’s fraud was as true to the catfish genre as can be. She told the people who discovered she was not who she said she was that she assumed the identity because she felt as if she couldn’t write about baseball professionally as a woman, especially at the age of 13. As the deception went on, she couldn’t figure out how to get out of the middle of her web of lies.

Over time, Ryan formed serial relationships with women who use Twitter to talk about baseball and hockey. Some women told me that he would get drunk and berate them; others told me they felt emotionally abused and manipulated because he would imply that he’d hurt himself if they didn’t continue to talk to him. Ryan received nudes from at least two women I spoke with, one of whom said she did it because she was afraid he would hurt himself if she didn’t.

Schultz’s story is interesting for reasons far beyond its sheer shock value. It’s entirely reasonable that at the time she created the Ryan persona, she might not have thought she could easily have a career writing about baseball as a woman. She’s also drawn a big red arrow sign pointing toward the exploitative ecosystem of online sportswriting, which created the conditions for her to get her enviable opportunities without much interrogation from editors who have a lot to do and few resources with which to do it.

Most of all, though, there are real women who have been genuinely hurt by their interactions with a woman who, as she tells the story, caught herself up in a lie she didn’t know how to untell, not least because it was bringing her what she wanted.

The Yankees are looking at Aaron Boone as a possible candidate to become their new manager.

In the news, a stroller-pushing robber was caught on camera at a CVS in Springfield, Delaware County.

There’s skeletal remains found near a corporate center in West Conshohocken.

The New York Times reports five women have accused comedian Louis C.K. of sexual misconduct.

A new Star Wars trilogy from director Rian Johnson is coming.

Magnum, P.I. actor John Hillerman died yesterday at the age of 84.