Sports
Knicks fans swarm 76ers' arena, Embiid calls out home crowd
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid is disappointed, and not just because his Philadelphia 76ers are only one game away from elimination.
Following a 97-92 defeat to the New York Knicks on Sunday that widened Philadelphia’s deficit in its first-round series to 3-1, Embiid said that he found the turnout at his home arena “disappointing.”
Knicks fans filled up large portions of the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday, serenading the team with cheers and its point guard, Jalen Brunson, with MVP chants.
“I love our fans,” Embiid said after the game. “(I) think it’s unfortunate and I’m not calling them out, but it is disappointing. Obviously you got a lot of Knicks fans and they’re down the road and I’ve never seen it, and I’ve been here for 10 years. Yeah, it kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered a sports town. They’ve always shown up and I don’t think that should happen. Yeah. It’s not OK.”
“Kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered a sports town.” pic.twitter.com/zfghjGvi94
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 28, 2024
New Yorkers didn’t show up only because the Knicks own one of the NBA’s largest fan bases. It was also about the location.
The Amtrak ride from New York’s Penn Station to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station is only 90 minutes. With a 1 p.m., weekend tipoff, Knicks fans could take the train down to Philly and return home before dinner time. Of course, Knicks fans are known for traveling well.
The team routinely takes over crowds in other, less intense markets. Orlando is often referred to in jest as New York South, because of all the Knicks fans who invade Kia Center whenever the orange and blue play there. Knicks fans swarm Capital One Arena crowd in Washington, D.C., twice a year, too, as do those in attendance just across the bridge at Barclays Center.
This is not the first time they have streamed into the Wells Fargo Center, either. In January, Knicks fans spilled into the 76ers’ arena during a 36-point romping of Philly. By the end, when many of the Philadelphia fans had cleared out, Brunson was receiving MVP chants in a road arena, one that houses an otherwise passionate fan base — and the reigning MVP, Embiid.
Philly sports fans have their own reputation, too.
They live or die with their major sports teams, including the 76ers. Brunson, who went for 47 points in the Game 4 victory, is more familiar with it than your average NBA player. He may have never played for the Sixers, but he starred in college at Villanova University, which is just outside Philadelphia and plays its games in the same arena as the Sixers.
“No matter where we are, they’re gonna be there. I’m appreciative, I’m thankful… and a lot of these situations wouldn’t be done without them.”
Brunson on seeing Knicks fans and hearing MVP chants in Philly 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/ZJnyoULyJw
— NBA (@NBA) April 28, 2024
There’s one more reason, too.
“This Philadelphia fan base, I’ve said this before, they’re very relentless, very passionate,” Brunson said. “I mean, I’m an Eagles fan, I would know, but seeing the Knicks, hearing the Knicks here is pretty cool. It’s awesome.”
(Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Sports
Shaun White admits itch to return to competitive snowboarding is 'always there'
Shaun White retired from competitive snowboarding following a fourth-place finish in the halfpipe event at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
White was only in his mid-30s when he decided to step away from the spot he dominated for so long. He won three gold medals at the Olympics dating back to 2006 in Italy, not to mention the 10 X Games gold medals he racked up during his illustrious career.
With the trend of great athletes possibly second-guessing retirement, White admitted in an interview with Fox News Digital that the itch to return to snowboarding is “always there.”
“It’s just kind of maintaining this sort of like, well, ‘you stopped for a reason.’ And I spoke to a lot of athletes and they were just like, ‘It never goes away,’” he said. “You’re like watching TV and (say) I could’ve made that catch. They’re just like that’s just embedded and ingrained in your for so many years of doing it. But there’s like this amazing life waiting for you outside of that.”
White said he picked the brains of some famous athletes about how they look at their careers when they are off the field or out of the pool.
EX-OLYMPICS STAR SHAUN WHITE RIDES WITH CVS FOR NEW SNACK AND BEVERAGE LINE: ‘THEY’VE REALLY UPPED THE GAME’
“Guys like Michael Strahan, Michael Phelps and I even ran into Tom Brady, which was actually great because he did the, ‘Hey I’m gonna come back’ and yeah it’s hard to let go of that feeling. And it was cool to talk to him about (it) like, ‘Man, we did it. We had our moment and we can celebrate that because the history books will show,’” White said.
He told Fox News Digital he is developing a solid career outside of competition but is still practicing tricks. While he may not be competing against other nations come 2026, he expects to be back in Italy to cheer on his friends.
“It’s definitely fun, and I’ve still been able to get back out on the mountain and work on tricks and have fun and ride. I have my own brand called White Space and we do boards and outerwear and all this stuff. I’m still involved in the sport through that. I was still testing products. We have now young riders that we sponsor. It’s been cool but yeah definitely, like, I’ll be there probably on the microphone or something for that Games. Definitely cheering my friends on.”
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Sports
Thursday's high school boys' volleyball playoff results and pairings
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONALS
Thursday’s Results
Semifinals
Division I
Loyola d. Corona del Mar, 25-22, 25-16, 25-18
Mira Costa d. Torrey Pines, 25-16, 25-18, 25-18
Division II
St. Margaret’s d. San Clemente, 25-19, 27-25, 21-25, 25-20
Redondo Union d. Carlsbad, 25-19, 25-20, 30-28
Division III
La Costa Canyon d. Sage Creek, 19-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-19
West Ranch d. Mission Vista, 23-25, 25-21, 32-30, 25-17
Division IV
Arroyo Grande d. Foothills Christian, 24-26, 25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 18-16
Grant d. High Tech San Diego, 25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 20-25, 19-17
Saturday’s Schedule
(All matches at 6 p.m. unless noted)
Finals
Division I
#2 Mira Costa (37-4) at #1 Loyola (31-1-1)
Division II
#5 St. Margaret’s (34-4) at #2 Redondo Union (31-8)
Division III
#4 La Costa Canyon (17-19) at #2 West Ranch (27-11)
Division IV
#2 Grant (33-8-2) at #1 Arroyo Grande (21-12)
Sports
EA Sports College Football 25 cover athletes, release date revealed after 11-year hiatus
This July, there will be a lot of sports fans tapping back into their childhood.
Earlier this year, EA Sports announced that its College Football video game series will return this year after last being released in 2013.
On Thursday, the brand announced that the game will be available for play on July 19.
This year’s video game features three athletes headlining the cover: Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Michigan’s Donovan Edwards, the latter of whom had two rushing touchdowns en route to winning the national championship.
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe and Carson Beck of Georgia can also be seen, as can Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins.
The series began in 1993 with the release of Bill Walsh College Football, and the game was released under the legendary coach’s name for two years.
The name changed to College Football USA for the 1996 and 1997 seasons before changing to NCAA Football from 1998 to 2014.
The game was on hiatus for a while due to disputes among EA, the NCAA and college athletes. Each installment since the 1997 version featured a cover athlete as video games normally do. However, the cover athlete wasn’t permitted to be paid for his image and likeness.
DABO SWINNEY DISCUSSES WHY CLEMSON HAS BEEN ONLY SCHOOL THAT HASN’T LANDED TRANSFER VIA PORTAL
Plus, in each installment, game players were unable to see the names of the athletes when controlling them. Instead, Reggie Bush, for example, would be listed as “HB No. 5” and Tim Tebow as “QB No. 15.”
But now, with name, image and likeness running rampant, game players will know exactly who is on the field, rather than just a position and number.
EA Sports announced a return of the game three years ago and even said a game would be released last summer, but it did not happen.
The last cover athlete was Denard Robinson of the Michigan Wolverines.
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