Please excuse us while we shake off the cobwebs of a long, summer-closing weekend this morning. The Phillies may have been away for the weekend, but it was still a busy couple of days at the Bank, where Bruce Springsteen played a pair of shows. Meanwhile, up on the Parkway, Jay-Z's Made In America Festival dodged the rain to bring in some starpower. Dan De Luca reviewed the Boss for the Inquirer [Inq] and Patrick Rapa posted a Made In America photo gallery at CityPaper.
Here are a few quick reads to get you caught up if you took the weekend off from sports.
On the field in Atlanta and Cincinnati, the Phils won two of three this weekend, their only loss coming on a devastating home run by Chipper Jones off of Jonathan Papelbon on Sunday. That blast ruined a would-be sweep of the Braves, but the Phillies came back with a win to start the next series yesterday afternoon in Cinci.
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Tyler Cloyd faced 17-game winner Johnny Cueto and was up to the pitching duel task. Cloyd threw nine strikeouts and even got his first career hit, reaching base just before Jimmy Rollins went yard for his 1,999th career hit. A pair of Cloyd's IronPigs' teammates maintained the win for him as Justin De Fratus held the lead in the eighth and Phillipe Aumont earned his first career save despite allowing two hits and a run in the 9th, and the Phils closed out the holiday weekend with a 4-2 win. Through his first two starts, Cloyd has 14 K's, the third best mark in Phillies history. [Jim Salisbury, CSNPhilly]
Searching for a running back to have at the ready if you need to replace AP or Ryan Mathews in your hastily drafted starting lineup for week 1? Maybe a Redskin back or three are on the waiver wire? Even if so, good luck picking out which one will get fantasy-volume totes in week 1. As usual, there's no clear picture as to which guy the Shanahans will feature in DC this week or this season. The RB picture is so murky there—in large part by design—that now-former tight end Chris Cooley last November said he never had any idea who was going to get the touches in a given week. This season, even possible "starter" Evan Royster doesn't put any stock in the Redskins' depth charts. [SB Nation]
In Cleveland, the big news on Labor Day was that rookie running back Trent Richardson got to work, practicing for the first time since a knee cleanup by Dr. James Andrews in early August. Richardson's presence at practice, despite being in shorts with no contact, bodes well for his dressing for the opener, though it's not yet known how his surgically repaired knee will respond to continued activity this week. We'll have plenty more previewing the Browns later. [Mary Kay Cabot, Cleveland Plain Dealer]
The Eagles also saw a key player return to practice as sackmaster Jason Babin got some work in. Babin told reporters he's not quite 100%, but "adrenaline will pick up the slack." He returns to one of the most threatening defensive lines in the league, a deep group that faces a rookie quarterback making his first NFL start on Sunday in Cleveland. [Reuben Frank, CSNPhilly]
News
The Flyers committed to Scott Hartnell for the long-term, and his brother got this sleeve tattoo in their honor. Yeah it fooled me for a split second, thankfully not long enough for me to actually do the post I was about to… [@Hartsy19]
Ya gotta keep busy though, right NHLers? Because there's still a giant wedge splitting the labor discussions. [Scott Burnside, ESPN]
Tyler Cloyd photo by US Presswire.