The Ramos roundup is a weekly Philadelphia sports column highlighting all the pertinent news of the week featuring the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, Sixers, and Union.
Flyers Fire Tortorella; Sign Karsen Dowart
On Thursday, the Flyers opted to fire John Tortorella after the coach said he was “not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season” in a post-game media scrum. The following day, a report from The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz, pointed to an altercation between the abrasive head coach and defenseman Cam York, where the two reportedly “both crossed a line.”
York was further disciplined during Philly’s 6-4 win over Montreal; the 24-year-old defensemen dressed for the game, but did not play, sitting on the bench.
Certainly, Tortorella leaves behind a complicated legacy with the Flyers. At times, he appeared to bring the needed change in order to adapt to the modern player, but it’s clear now that the rebuilding and losing clearly weighed on him. Tortorella is unapologetically old school in his philosophy and approach.
In other Flyers news, the club announced Saturday they have signed forward Karsen Dorwart to a two-year entry-level contract. Dowart, 22, is an undrafted center from Michigan State. The expectation is that the Sherwood, Oregon native will join the Flyers. We’ll see if he gets some time in the lineup. For more on Dowart, read here.
Union Fall to Inter Miami 2-1
The Union dropped a 2-1 decision to Leo Messi and Inter Miami on Saturday. Despite the result, Philly set a club record for most road goals scored in the first three road matches to start a season with seven in the loss.
Danny Gazdag scored a volley off of a Quinn Sullivan cross to settle the final score in the 80th minute.
Moreover, the boys in blue had a couple of players reach career milestones in South Florida. Sullivan reached 100 MLS appearances for the Union and becomes the first Homegrown player to reach this mark. Goalkeeper Andre Blake made his 250th MLS start for Philly as well.
The Union return to Subaru Park to host Orlando City SC on Saturday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Apple TV.
Phillies Take 2-of-3 with Nationals
The Phillies got their season underway on Thursday and after a three-game set, are officially 2-1 to start 2025.
In game one, Alec Bohm delivered a two-out, go-ahead double in the 10th inning to give the Phils an opening day win. While the Fightins did strike out 19 times, but Zach Wheeler struckout eight of his own over six innings pitched to help preserve the win.
And speaking of strikeouts, how about newcomer Jesus Luzardo in game 2? The Peruvian-born Venezuelan lefty was brilliant on Saturday, fanning 11 National hitters in the second series win. Bryson Stott, Kyle Schwarber and Brandon Marsh each homered in the 11-5 win as well.
On Sunday, however, the Phillies couldn’t get the sweep in a 5-1 loss. Philly struggled to maintain their offensive pop, despite nine hits. Further, the Phils went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, leaving 10 runners stranded as well.
On Monday, the Phillies will have their home opener against the Colorado Rockies. First pitch is set for 3:05 p.m.
Sixers lose 127-109 to Raptors
The tank rolls on for the Sixers, as they drop a Sunday matchup to Toronto. The loss marks the Sixers 23rd loss in their last 26 contests. Equally important to the cause, they’ve also lost eight straight games. Of course, the Sixers draft lottery odds have certainly improved with yet another loss, but one of the more noteworthy news items to come of this game? This was was the 51st different lineup combination Philly has used this season. This is the most in an NBA season since 1976.
