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While Halloween brings its share of frights, the past month in Philadelphia sports has delivered a different kind of horror. From devastating injuries to controversial comments, the city's teams have provided plenty of moments that had fans covering their eyes.
A year ago, The Inquirer's sports team revisited the scariest moments in Philly sports history over the past 25 years. But there's no need to look back that far—the last month alone has offered a fresh batch of unsettling developments. Most of these have unfolded during the spooky season of September and October, a period that saw the heart of the Eagles offense suffer catastrophic injuries, a nine-game losing streak on the ice, and the Phillies' postseason hopes vanish in about 72 hours. In no particular order, here's a look at some of the most terrifying moments in Philly sports over the last month, with two months still remaining in the year.
Luis Arraez's Season-Ending Play at First
The injury to Luis Arraez might have been one of the biggest momentum killers for the Phillies heading into the postseason. Arraez's arrival had felt like the boost the team needed, especially with Bryce Harper struggling at the plate and Kyle Schwarber's signature home runs having cooled off. But then Arraez suffered a season-ending ankle injury against the Milwaukee Brewers—who went on to win the World Series—on a bizarre play at first base. The scare was significant given that Arraez was hitting .312 with 64 RBIs. While it wasn't the same injury, it evoked memories of Ryan Howard's Achilles tear in Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS, also on a play at first.
Manufactured Basketball Beef
As the city hopes that The Process finally pays off, early-season reports of friction within the Sixers camp caused concern. Fans have seen how locker-room drama can derail a season, so when a report surfaced that LeBron James had a confrontation with longtime Sixers center and 2022-23 NBA MVP Joel Embiid over Embiid allegedly showing up late to practice, alarms went off. Then came a report that Jaylen Brown and former Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum had an issue after Tatum expressed surprise at Brown being traded. Brown responded on Instagram with a cap emoji, internet slang indicating the report was false. The situation escalated when an ESPN report suggested Brown demanded a trade, which he later denied, all while Sixers fans watched anxiously.
Soft Flyers Have Just Three Wins in 15 Games
This was supposed to be the season when a young, hungry Flyers team was ready to take the NHL by storm. They had an engaged coach in Rick Tocchet, a supportive front office, a young phenom in Porter Martone, and another wunderkind in Matvei Michkov, who touted offseason weight loss that made him faster on the ice. But it's a scary thought that after 15 games, the Flyers have only three wins. The poor start led to finger-pointing, and on Thursday, captain Sean Couturier called the team's play soft, with Tocchet not necessarily refuting that claim. It's been a long time since the Flyers were a legitimate NHL threat. This was thought to potentially be the year, but it's somewhat frightening to learn, even early in the season, that they might be anything but.
Soaring Union Are Spread Thin
The Union have arguably become the best story in Major League Soccer this season. An overhaul in leadership following just one win in 15 games has led to an unprecedented run, including qualifying for the upcoming MLS Cup playoffs. But lurking beneath the surface is the fact that multiple players are dealing with significant injuries, notably leading goal-scorer Milan Iloski. They've played six games in a month, with three games over a weeklong period twice since mid-September. Whether this team will power through or limp into the postseason is a real concern. It's already been a remarkable season, but how long it can continue at this rate is a legitimate fear.
Breakdown of the Birds Offense
It's frightening how quickly everything changed for the Eagles, and much of it happened over the last month or so. In the span of four weeks, the team bid farewell to longtime guard Lane Johnson, who announced his retirement on Oct. 6, and Cam Jurgens, who was traded to the Baltimore Ravens just one day later. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith is set to miss his second straight game because of a hamstring injury, and running back Saquon Barkley is doing his best to play through back and hamstring pain, including a gritty sideline moment in Monday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys. It's even scarier when you realize that's not even the worst of it.
The Severity of Jalen Hurts' Blood Clots
It's a miracle that there isn't a more serious conversation about Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who was found to have trained and played with a blood clot in his leg that later migrated to his lungs. To recap: He flew on a transatlantic flight to London and played four quarters against the Jaguars with the injury. And yet, all of this seems to have dissipated after the NFL said it found no wrongdoing, despite an ongoing independent investigation by the league's players association into how team officials handled the situation. The team has largely remained silent, aside from a few comments by head coach Nick Sirianni.
Kevin Willard Attacks Fledgling Big 5
For the city's old basketball guard, there's already a real fear that the Big 5, which has been losing mass appeal in the city despite changing its format, might sail off into the sunset. In fact, it's been a fear for a while, with some even concluding that it could be a matter of time. That's all it was, until last week, when, ahead of the team's season-opening trip to Rome, Villanova announced its intent to pull out of the Big 5 under its current format next season. The move effectively removes the one blue blood that the other five mid-majors held themselves up to and gave fans a must-watch moment. The notion was further realized when men's basketball coach Kevin Willard called the current format stupid, all while throwing other Big 5 programs under the bus and lambasting an Inquirer reporter despite nothing being inaccurate in his report.
Originally reported by headtopics.