The Ramos roundup is a weekly sports column highlighting all the news of the week featuring the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, Sixers, and Union.
Howie Rosman, Eagles have Productive Draft Weekend
Once again, the Eagles come out of a draft weekend with plenty of assets. Here is how draft weekend shook out for the birds:
1st Round, Pick 20: WR Makai Lemon, USC
2nd Round, Pick 54: TE Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt
3rd Round, Pick 68: T Markel Bell, Miami
5th Round, Pick 178: QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State
6th Round, Pick 207: G Micah Morris, Georgia
7th Round, Pick 244: S Cole Wisniewski, Texas Tech, Pick 251: DT Uar Bernard, International Player Pathway Program, Pick 252: OLB Keyshawn James-Newby, New Mexico
It should also be noted that the Eagles traded picks 23, 114, and 137 to the Cowboys in exchange for pick 20 and a 2027 seventh-round pick to select Lemon. He and Eli Stowers look to be great upside picks for Philadelphia, as is tackle Markel Bell.
Then on Friday night, Howie Rosman worked his magic again, this time in a trade. The Eagles acquired former Pro-Bowl LB Jonathan Greenard in exchange for their 2026 third-round pick (No. 98) and a third-round pick next year. Additionally, Greenard also signed an extension as well, worth $100 million dollars that includes $50 million fully guaranteed. The contract is a four-year pact.
Greenard, who will turn 29 in May, should help bolster the Eagles pass rush since Jaelen Phillips took a more lucrative deal in Carolina. Philly could certainly do worse than Greenard to replace Phillips and it comes at a relatively cheap cost in terms of compensation.
Chalk another win for the Eagles General Manager this draft season.
Celtics Pummel Sixers, Take Commanding 3-1 Series Lead
The Sixers took the floor in game 4 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs on Sunday night, but then Payton Pritchard and Jayson Tatum each dropped 30 points in a 128-96 Celtics win. This is the second time in this series Boston has beaten Philadelphia by 20-plus points. However, in more positive news, the Sixers did get Joel Embiid back from his appendectomy in this game. The big fella scored 26 points in 34 minutes played in his first game since April 6th, despite that not making a difference in the contest.
Game 5 is Tuesday night in Boston and the Sixers will look to stave off elimination. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and will broadcast on ESPN.
Phillies Snap Skid, but Drop Series to Braves
Despite snapping their 10-game losing streak this weekend, the Phillies lost their weekend series in Atlanta on Sunday, this time by a 6-2 tally. Aaron Nola struggled once again, especially with the location of his pitches. The Phillies starter entered the day with a 5.06 ERA over his last five starts and was taken deep by Matt Olsen and Eli White in the ball game.
Now with a record of 9-19 this season, the pressure is beginning to mount on the Phillies’ front office. Is manager Rob Thomson on the hot seat? Our own Mike Giletto is predicting that the Phillies will fire the skipper on Monday (you can listen to the pod that he said it on here), which is an off day for the club. Perhaps somewhat related is on Saturday, the Boston Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and many on his staff. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski hired Cora as Boston’s manager in October 2017. They won a World Series together in 2018. Would Dombrowski consider a reunion? We shall wait and see.
The Phillies open a three-game series against the Giants on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Penguins Force Game 5 with 4-2 Win Over Flyers
With a chance to sweep their cross-state rivals, the Flyers couldn’t close out their first round series with the Penguins on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell each had a goal and an assist, while goaltender Arturs Silovs started in place of Stuart Skinner, who was in goal for the first three games of the series, perhaps in an attempt to jump start the team. Silovs played well, making 28 saves in the win.
The Flyers, on the other hand, received goals from rookie Denver Barkey and Travis Konecny in the losing effort.
Philadelphia is leading the best-of-7 series 3-1. Game 5 will be at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Monday. Puckdrop is set for 7 p.m. and will broadcast locally on NBCSP.
Union Shutout by Crew 2-0
On Saturday, the Union slide down the Eastern Conference standing with a 2-0 loss to the Columbus Crew at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field. The Crew opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a tally from midfielder Max Arfsten and then doubled their lead just before halftime.
The Union are now 1-2-7 this season and are dead last in the Eastern Conference. They will head home to take on Nashville SC on Saturday, May 2nd at Subaru Park. The match begins at 7:30 p.m. and will broadcast on Apple TV.
