The Ramos roundup is a weekly sports column highlighting all the news of the week featuring the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, Sixers, and Union.
Sanchez Signs Contract Extension
With MLB Opening Day on the horizon this week, the Phillies got some important business done Sunday morning, inking LHP Christopher Sanchez to a new long-term contract. The deal will keep Sanchez under contract through the 2032 season, with a significant pay increase on his previous $22.5 million he was guaranteed. Now, Sanchez will receive $30 million for both the 2031 and 2032 seasons and a club option for $44.5 million in 2033.
Sanchez, 29, finished second in National League Cy Young voting last season. He is excepted to operate as the Phillies ace this year, but especially since Zach Wheeler is recovering from blood clot surgery.
Eagles Trade Sydney Brown to Atlanta
On Friday, the Eagles continued tweaking their secondary, trading safety Sydney Brown to the Falcons. Philly will also swap 4th and 6th round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft as a part of the deal as well.
Brown, 26, spend roughly three seasons with the Birds, but never truly caught on as a starter perhaps due to his over aggressiveness. He did, however, parlay that into being a decent special teams player.
Sixers’ Late Push Down Jazz 126-116
The Sixers concluded a three-game, west coast swing on Saturday with a pivotal win in Utah. Philly was led by Quentin Grimes’ 25 points and five rebounds, while VJ Edgecombe added 22 points and career-high 13 rebounds. Trendon Watford also picked up a 20-point effort with nine rebounds. Finally, Adem Bona and Cam Payne each dropped 16 points in the win as well.
On top of that, the Sixers also made positive steps in their pursuit of playoff spot. By nights end, Philly jumped from ninth place and to seventh with the victory. We’ll see how the standings continue to shake out in the final stretch of the campaign.
Philly will play host to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, with Paul George returning from his suspension.
Flyers Sweep West Coast Trip
Speaking of pushing for the playoffs, the Flyers picked up wins in Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose the past week to aid their playoff push. The trip was bookended by a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Owen Tippett, Christian Dvorak, Travis Sanheim and Noah Cates picked up the goals in the win.
The Flyers trail the New York Islanders by five points for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with 13 games to go. The orange and black will host the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Chicago Blackhawks this week on Tuesday and Thursday.
Union Skid Reaches Five in 2-1 loss to Fire
Things have gone from bad to worse for the Union, who fell 2-1 to Chicago Fire FC on Saturday afternoon and are now 0-5 this season. Chicago’s Hugo Cuypers opened up the scoring in first-half stoppage time, before Philly Forward Milan Iloski equalized shortly thereafter. However, it was Chicago that regained the lead in the 58th minute with a tally from Jonathan Bamba for the deciding goal of the match.
Generally, it’s been hectic week for the Union. On Monday, MLS suspended Union sporting director Ernest Tanner without pay through June 1, 2026 for “violating the policies and standards of professional conduct required of league and club leadership.” Back in February, The Guardian reported that Tanner had used sexist and anti-gay language in the workplace, in addition to making racist remarks about Black players, coaches and referees. The league has previously looked into these claims and closed the case after failing to verify the initial claims. Since The Guardian piece, however, MLS is now reopening the case.
Nevertheless, the club returns to action on April 4th, when they travel to Bank of America Stadium to face Charlotte FC. The match is set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff and will broadcast on Apple TV.
