We May Not Have the Eagles, But We Do Have Quinta Brunson

Quinta Brunson accepting the Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series from Carol Burnett (Getty Images)

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We May Not Have the Eagles, But We Do Have Quinta Brunson

I have no idea why I even watched the Eagles game last night. Like you, I knew exactly what was going to happen. Sure, the Eagles were slight favorites. But we all knew better. The Eagles were going to suffer an embarrassing defeat. And that’s just what happened. If you want to linger in the Eagles heartbreak more, scroll to the bottom for my colleague Sandy Hingston’s daily sports recap.

But instead of wallowing in grief over the Eagles, I am going to focus on the positive. You have to be grateful for what you do have. And I, for one, am grateful for Quinta Brunson.

I had the chance to interview Quinta Brunson in March 2022, just as her star was beginning to not just rise but skyrocket. (You can read the full interview here.) Her Philly-based comedy creation Abbott Elementary, in which she stars, became a quick hit. She’s won award after award. And she just picked up another one.

On Monday night, as most of us were watching the Eagles tank, Brunson picked up the Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. None other than comedy legend Carol Burnett announced the award. And Brunson could barely make it through her improvised speech, overwhelmed by the “Carol Burnett-ness of it all.” She’s the first Black actress to win the award since Isabel Sanford won it in 1981 for her work on The Jeffersons. You can watch Carol Burnett and Quinta Brunson here.

But the really important Quinta Brunson news here is that Abbott Elementary will finally return to TV with season three on February 7th. It’s one of the few shows everybody in my house can agree on. And we’ll be watching.

Snow Day!

Speaking of things to be thankful for: Our snow drought is over! Yesterday, my 16-year-old daughter asked me what the probability was that she’d have a snow day. I said 10 percent or less. But I gave her a 50 percent chance that she’d have a two-hour delay. Last night, a two-hour delay was announced. And this morning at 7 a.m.? A full-fledged snow day. I’ve heard that some districts are requiring the kids to do virtual school. And I respond to that like I respond to last night’s Eagles performance: With a big old booooooooo! Let the kids kid.

Looks like we’re free of any major snow for the coming week. (There’s a possibility of a few more inches Thursday into Friday, but nothing life-changing.) Temperatures, though, aren’t exactly balmy. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday aren’t expected to get out of the 20s. Brrrrr.

Sources Say Jason Kelce Is Retiring

Speaking of more things to be thankful for… No, not that Jason Kelce is said to be retiring. Just a quick moment to say how thankful we’ve been for Jason Kelce over the years. From that Super Bowl speech to the Eagles Christmas albums, truly a one of a kind. He will be missed.

By the Numbers

715: days Philadelphia’s snow drought lasted

100%: chances more than a few people will play 715 in the Pick 3 tonight

1 in 1,000: chances those people will win, if played straight. One in 333.33 if boxed.

And from the That’s-That Sports Desk …

I am deeply ashamed of the schadenfreude youse guys exhibited over the Cowboys’ trouncing at the hands of the Packers on Sunday. For shame. Maybe karma really is a bitch, though, seeing as in our Wild Card game last night, the Buccaneers put up a field goal less than two minutes in, as our unvaunted D lived up to its reputation. Tampa then scored a touchdown halfway through the quarter; see comment above. And us? We looked “stunningly bad,” said Joe Buck, and he wasn’t wrong. Meantime, the Associated Press had called the Iowa caucus for Donald Trump. What a day, what a day. DeVonta Smith came alive in the second quarter, and Jake Elliott kicked a FG: 13-3. Troy Aikman could not stop talking about our missed tackles. Thanks, guy.

A big pass and a big catch by Smith took us to the five with three minutes in the half, and Dallas Goedert scored un-touched, just to toy with our emotions. An offsides call on Tampa put us at the two for a Brotherly Shove and the two-point conversion. Was he in? Nope, not on this night. But Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox got a big sack two minutes before the half to give us back the ball. If only Britain Covey hadn’t dropped it at the 10 on the return … At the half, 16-9 Bucs.

We got the ball to start the second half, but we lost Julio Jones to concussion protocol. And Hurts was sacked in the opening drive, so the Bucs started their initial drive at the 40. On social media, Birds fans were manifesting whole new levels of existential despair. Especially after the safety. And then the touchdown by Bucs rookie Trey Palmer, untouched and unscathed: 25-9.

A 56-YARD TD MY GOODNESS!

Bucs up 23-9.

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/fEICGYzoY4

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 16, 2024

These are your Eagles, Philly, a.k.a. the Keystone Cops. You don’t need — or want — to hear any more. Sad-sack final: 32-9. What a terrible end to what started out as such a promising season.

It’s like Yakety Sax became a football team

— Jawn Gonzalez (@JohnGonzalez) January 16, 2024

We’re So Sorry. But — How’d the Sixers Do?

Two for two! The Sacramento Kings came to town on Friday night to face the still Embiid-less team, who were also missing Robert Covington and Kelly Oubre Jr.. But they got off to a good start behind shooting by Tobias Harris, who was hot. He had 14 of the team’s 29 points when the first quarter closed with the Sixers up 29-21. An early 11-0 run in the second quarter put us up by 14 with nine to go, and Harris was up to 23 when the half closed with a hefty 65-46 Sixer lead.

https://twitter.com/NBCSPhilly/status/1745986947070242921

“Isaac Newton on line two,” Alaa declared. In the third, the Kings closed the gap a bit, to 87-73, but Tobias was up to a season-high 35 three minutes into the fourth, and the starters ALL came out with three minutes to go. Final: 112-93. A great team effort. Looks like they finally figured out how to win without Big Guy.

So naturally, Embiid was back for yesterday’s home game against Houston, and from the first tip-off, the game was never in doubt, even though a host of Sixers were injured – Nic Batum, Robert Covington, De’Anthony Melton and Jaden Springer. Jo-Jo scored 41 points in what wound up as a 124-115 win that wasn’t nearly as close as that score makes it seem.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1747000406259962295

They’re at home against the Nuggets tonight, with a 7:30 start. C’mon, give us a reason to keep on living, dudes.

Any College Hoops News?

Lots, since we last talked. On Thursday, Drexel beat North Carolina AT&T, 67-63, to go 4-0 in Coastal Athletic Conference play, and the Dragons made it five in a row with Saturday’s win vs. Elon down in North Carolina, 51-69. Villanova had no problems against DePaul on Friday night; they had Justin Moore back, finally, though they were without Jordan Longino. Five Wildcats wound up in double figures in the final 94-69 win, led by Eric Dixon’s 24. They dropped an MLK Day game against Marquette, though, 87-74.

On Saturday, the VCU Rams poured it on in the second half to beat La Salle, 71-65. St. Joe’s hosted Loyola Illinois in a tight one and just got nipped, 78-75. Temple was at North Texas in a game that was scheduled to be shown on ESPN but experienced “technical difficulties” several minutes into the first half. The game finally appeared, but the Owls were down 32-22 at the half and never really got into gear in the 69-51 loss. It was the Mean Green’s 16th home win in a row. The Owls play again tonight at SMU at 8 p.m. The Penn Quakers took a loss to Cornell in Ithaca yesterday, 77-60, and in a City Six matchup between La Salle and St. Joe’s, the Hawks prevailed on their home court, 82-62.

The Flyers also played.

All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.